Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat! or "Impossible" by Shontelle.

I'M BACK! My test is done and I'm back in school now, it'll be a little busier but finishing this challenge is high on my list of "things to do". I want to thank everyone following the story and showing their appreciation through reviews, story alerts, and story/author favourites - it keeps me going, so please don't stop! Thought of this idea a while back, hope you all enjoy it!

Tell them all I know now
Shout it from the roof tops
Write it on the sky line
All we had is gone now

Tell them I was happy
And my heart is broken
All my scars are open
Tell them what I hoped would be
Impossible, impossible
Impossible, impossible

Ren was just about to collapse onto his couch as someone knocked on the door to his apartment; slightly annoyed, he thought about ignoring it and letting the person pass, however, his hopeless lover thoughts kicked – maybe Kyoko had come to see him.

He shook his head at his impossible teenage fantasy and opened the door; his jaw fell slightly ajar as he stared in astonishment at the messy carrot-top girl shivering in front of him.

"Mogami-san, please, come inside," he said as he shuffled to the side to make room of her. She smiled in response and entered, setting the grocery bags down as she removed her jacket. She wore a white, pashmina sweater and blue jeans, simple yet Ren couldn't help but stare at her. The redness in her cheeks in response to the brisk, fall night and her wind-tossed hair made her seem so classically beautiful; his eyes glazed over as he stared softly at her, her hand waving to catch his attention fell on blind eyes.

"Tsuruga-san?" She called, placing a hand on his arm. That jolted him out of his dream state so much that Kyoko retracted her hand immediately.

"I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed. "I know it was quite disrespectful of a kouhai to touch her sempai, but you seemed so lost that I didn't know how else to get your attention. Please forgive my insolence," she said as she bowed before him.

Ren took a deep breath in and tried to make his laugh around sincere. "Please Mogami-san, it was nothing. I was just surprised by the softness of your hand. Let me see it again."

Before she could respond, Ren reached out for her hand and began to trace along her fingers. "Yes, indeed, very soft hands." Ren mentally kicked himself for his bold move, but he just needed to touch her.

"Uh…thank you Tsuruga-san, you have soft hands as well," Kyoko replied slightly uncomfortable. Sensing her awkwardness, he dropped her hand and tried to smile away the situation.

"What are the bags for, Mogami-san?"

"Oh, I thought that I might cook you dinner!" Kyoko smiled as she carried the bags into the kitchen.

"That's not necessary, Mogami-san."

"Have you eaten already, Tsuruga-san?" She turned to look him in the eye.

Ren hesitated for a moment before dropping her gaze, he shook his head in defeat.

"Then there's no issue," Kyoko replied as she turned the stove on.

"I always enjoy your cooking Mogami-san, though may I ask what brought this on?" Ren asked curiously as he leaned against the entrance of the kitchen.

"Yashiro-san mentioned that you hadn't been eating well because you've been busy not only with your own work, but Heel Cain-san's work as well. Besides, Setsu missed her older brother," Kyoko smiled at Ren as she returned to chopping vegetables.

But Kyoko did not miss Ren. He sighed.

"Well Setsu is welcome anytime to dote on her big brother," he laughed. "Do you need any help with anything?"

"No, no Tsuruga-san, please have a seat and let me take care of everything!"

"Mogami-san, I'm not sure if I'm comfortable having you cook for me while I just lounge on the couch," Ren said as he moved towards the kitchen counter.

"Please, Tsuruga-san, you work very hard, you deserve to relax once in a while and have a home-cooked meal," Kyoko grinned at him.

Ren tried to argue but his voice was caught in his throat. The way her smiled brightened her face and that cute pink apron she had; he nodded and stumbled out of the kitchen, not wanting to scare her again with his stare.

Taking a seat on his couch he turned the television on and began to flip through the channels, nothing caught his attention. By this time, all that was on were teenage dramas, tabloids, and the news; Ren was hoping to possible catch Box-R so he could admire Kyoko's Natsu, however, he was not granted his wish.

Suddenly, a large clatter was heard in the kitchen followed by a bang, Ren dropped the remote and ran to the kitchen in fear that something had happened to Kyoko. Stopping at the entrance, Ren found Kyoko on all fours staring at the pots on the ground, she looked up at him, her cheeks tomato red.

"I'm so sorry Tsuruga-san! I didn't mean to break anything, the pan was so high on the counter that I thought I could reach it, but I lost my balance. Oh," she looked around frantically, "if I broke anything I promise to replace it!"

Ren remained silent as he dropped beside her, his eyes full of concern and panic. "Are you alright, Mogami-san?"

Kyoko caught his gaze, she felt a lump develop in her throat, she couldn't break their contact. "Ts-Tsuruga-san, your kit—"

"Unimportant."

His voice was soft, but deep. She was close enough to be engulfed by his presence; warmth radiated from him. Her heart thumping inside her chest, she could feel her cheeks reddening, but she couldn't help but stare. He looked perfect, except for his eyes. His eyes broke her heart. She felt as though she had done something harsh enough to suck the life out of him, his eyes were broken.

From the corner of her eye she saw him raise a hand and hesitantly draw near towards her. Finally, she found the strength to close her eyes, she didn't know why, but she anticipated the feel of his warm hand against her cheek.

"Well I suppose there was this one crazy chick that followed me around for a while."

"A fan?"

"Oh gosh no, much worse. She doted on me, it was kind of creepy."

Ren's hand froze in mid-air as he and Kyoko turned their heads to where the sound was coming from. There was no mistaking that voice. Kyoko was the first to her feet, she side-stepped past him and into the living room; Ren clenched his hand into a fist and begrudgingly followed her.

"So what happened?"

"Well being the good guy that I am, I told her she had to live her life, be a strong, independent woman and see that there was more to life than just being a housewife."

"Wow, Sho-san," the interviewer was seeing stars now. "What a man you are, encouraging a woman to break out of gender roles! Not many men would do that, rather, they'd keep—"

Kyoko didn't react when Ren turned the television off, she stood, immobilized. She was still, but not calm. Ren could see how tortured her golden eyes were – whether she was angry, confused, distressed –he didn't know.

"Mogami-san…"

He tried to be as soft and sincere as he could be, but he was having a hard time hiding the fact that there was a storm brewing inside him too. He hated that this guy still had that much of a hold on her heart that she'd react like this, so broken. He hated that he couldn't do anything a friend would do – hold her, comfort her – no, he was bound by the role of a "sempai", he was her respected "sempai", nothing more, nothing less.

"Mogami-san, you know that none of it is true. He's your past," Ren tried to put as much emphasis and stress on that word as he could. He didn't want her to think about him anymore, he didn't want her to be trapped by him. He wanted her to forget, forget and move on, move on to the man standing beside her, who was trying to say all this but the words weren't powerful enough to break through her shield.

"I apologize, Tsuruga-san," Kyoko whispered slowly to hide her cracking voice. "I won't be able to make you dinner tonight…"

And with that, before he had enough time to react, she raced from his side and out the door.

Ren could feel the warmth that she brought into the room slowly drift out of the open front door. His first instinct was to run out after her and bring her back, but he couldn't bring her back if she didn't want to. Taking a deep breath, he sat on the sofa and turned the television back on, his face filled the screen – Ren felt his grip tighten around the remote, his stomach in knots. He couldn't help but feel conflicted, on one side he had hoped that the time she had spent acting developed a love for acting and diminished the need for revenge, on the other hand, he couldn't help but expect this reaction from her – for him.

His eyes darkened as he watched the blonde talk about his rising music, talk about his fame and significance in the music industry. He ripped his eyes from the screen as a flash of lightening brightened the night sky.

Come back Kyoko.

-II-

Kyoko attempted to pull her sweater closer to her body, but it was no use, it was soaked through and provided no warmth to her, no comfort. Thoughts raced through her mind, spanning from hating Shoutaro to hating herself. She thought her time at LME had changed her, made her stronger, she had hoped. But hearing him say those things about her, he made her small – no matter where she went and what she did, he always had the ability to make her feel small.

The streets of Tokyo were quiet; the rain had drawn everyone inside but her. Her body had numbed to the cold, all she could feel was the shallow thumping of her heartbeat.

Thoughts of her childhood began to flood her mind, thoughts of her mother, her time in Kyoto, Shoutaro, and Corn. Often, during times like these, she'd wonder what kind of person she would be if things in her life had been different. What if her mother never left her and had loved her? Would she have grown to love Shoutaro? What if Shoutaro had loved her? What if she hadn't walked in on Shoutaro saying those things about her? She wouldn't be miserable, or she would be and not be aware of it. Kyoko had heard the proverb that "ignorance is bliss" and at times she wished she was granted such a luxury. If she could go back to being innocent and naïve, where she believed Shoutaro only had eyes for her and planned to marry her, she wouldn't have to suffer through a heavy heart right now. One that was closed and sealed, frozen solid.

-II-

A soft knock on the door brought Ren back from his thoughts, setting his glass down he sauntered towards the door. Opening it, he was relieved to see Kyoko looking back at him, even if she was soaked to the bone, she was safe and she came back to him.

"Tsuruga-san, do you love her?"

Ren stared at her, confused. "Love whom, Mogami-san?"

"The high school girl, do you love her?"

Ren's voice was caught in his throat. Only that chicken knew about that, Kyoko couldn't be…?

"Mogami-san, who are you speaking of?"

"Tsuruga-san, I know this is an intrusion of your privacy, but I need to know!" Kyoko demanded as she grasped a hold of her chest.

He stared into her pleading eyes, his own eyes mirroring concern. "I do love her, more than I can tell you."

"But you have to tell her!" Kyoko took a step forward, her eyes were determined now. "She has a right to know, you could lose her if you don't tell her!"

"Mogami-san," Ren reached out and clutched her shoulders. "What brought this on?"

Kyoko looked down to the ground and closed her eyes. The warmth of his hands were burning through her cold sweater; she could feel the individual water droplets sliding down her numb body. She clenched her fists and bit her bottom lip.

"Just the simple knowledge of what is and what isn't can set a soul free."

She kept her eyes closed and he stared at her pale face. Silence passed between them, neither of them moving.

"I love you."

He whispered it. Slowly and softly, he meant for it to touch her like velvet, caress her numb body and bring her back to him. But she kept her eyes shut tightly, she didn't react. Moments passed before the corners of her lips perked up and she smiled. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at him, her mouth opened to say something but her breath was caught in her throat once she realized how close his face was to hers.

"That's what you should tell her."

Ren's head slumped downwards as he stared at the carpet. He was caught between shaking her silly or banging his head against the wall.

"No, I love you."

If he could have, he would bold and underline the word, possibly put it in bright red letters with lights flashing around it. Instead he needed to put that much emphasis through is voice, he wanted her to know – he needed her to know that there was more than just her broken past, that if she let him, he would help her piece together a future.

He waited again for her response, the lingering moments were agonizing. Her eyes were closed again, her breathing was even.

"I'll go get dinner started."

Putting her hands on his, she slid off his hands and walked passed him into the apartment. Ren leaned against the wall for support.

Next time he'd get a sign.