DISCLAIMER: SKIP BEAT! and its associated characters are the creations of Yoshiki Nakamura. This author claims no ownership of Skip Beat or any of its characters. All other rights reserved.

Word: The word-prompt for this one-shot is 'Leap.'

Romancing the Bo

"Ishibashi-san, good evening," Ren Tsuruga said, "Have you seen Bo?"

Hikaru Ishibashi was on his way to sound check for the evening's show. He'd known Ren Tsuruga was tonight's guest, which meant the crowds were going to be…particularly enthusiastic. The actor was promoting his new movie—some romantic comedy-or-other, guaranteed to make the women in the audience swoon. They had a whole segment planned—did Tsuruga-san know about the bit they planned on having him do with Bo? It was supposed to be an impromptu thing—a special extended episode of Yappa Kimagure Rock.

"Ah, I think Kyoko-chan is in her dressing room," Hikaru said. The bit with Tsuruga-san had been a last-minute addition. He didn't even know if Kyoko herself knew.

But Tsuruga was looking at him as if he'd seen a ghost. "Kyo—Kyoko-chan?" he asked. "Mogami Kyoko!?" What?! When?! he thought. Part of him was outraged—how had she fooled him, and for so long?! He'd thought she was a man, for god's sake! An old man! He'd been taking love advice from a virgin.

"Sure," Hikaru replied. "I think she's in LME, just like you are."

Ren kept his face impassive. He paused, reassessed, and felt everything click into place. It all made sense. Her presence at TBM that day he'd confessed. Her foreknowledge about his intentions. Even that chicken's mannerisms—all that stomping about, talking about cockroaches. Those spastic little movements—all of that was entirely Kyoko. It was obvious, if only he'd been looking. He'd just been too preoccupied to see it. The only thing that still puzzled him was her reaction to his confession. Had she truly not realized it was her he'd been talking about all along?

"Do you know her work? She's really great—" Hikaru was still talking, and Ren was getting the sense that the boy had a little crush on his kouhai.

"She is," Ren replied. "I know her well." He couldn't help but scowl at Hikaru. "But I had no idea she was Bo," he said. His mind was spinning. She'd known he was going to confess. But he was absolutely sure she'd been surprised when he'd confessed to her. How could she not have realized he was talking about her? Kimiko Morizumi? What had all that been about?

"Not many people do," Hikaru said. He was completely oblivious to Ren's darkening mood. "It's not exactly a glamorous role, you know? But Kyoko's one-of-a-kind. She says that a great actor once told her to grab every chance she could to stand out."

Ren smiled. He'd told her that—right when she'd started. That day he'd cornered her at the women's restroom—he remembered how terrified she'd been, and how adorable. He might have bullied her extra hard just to see her squirm.

"Does she really?" he asked.

"I know," Hikaru sighed. "She's so impressive. She always puts one hundred percent of herself in her role."

Ren gave him a long, long look—long enough for Hikaru to notice. "You like her very much."

Hikaru blushed and had the sense to look away. "Yes. No, wait—No! I mean—I mean yes, of course, she's very nice—but—I mean, well—"

Ren watched him flounder, wearing his gentlemanly smile all the while. "Well then," he told Hikaru, "I'll just see her onstage."

He turned and walked to the green room. Hikaru watched his back wondering if he'd done something wrong.

=.=.=.=

"So of course, Tsuruga-san," the host was saying, "we know you're here to promote your newest movie! I understand you play a rental boyfriend that falls in love with your customer?"

"Well," Ren replied, "I prefer to think of it more like…a jaded man has his belief in love restored."

"We saw some extremely romantic dates during the movie, didn't we, everyone?"

The crowd cheered.

"And some smooth moves."

The crowd cheered some more.

"I think you could make anyone fall in love with you, Tsuruga-san."

"Now that's not true—" Ren flashed a charming smile, remembering his despair at Kyoko ever seeing him as a man.

"Of course it is!" the host countered. "And we want to see your patented playboy ways, now don't we?"

The crowd cheered again, pitched to a frenzy this time.

Ren wasn't entirely sure where the interview was going—Yappa Kimagure Rock didn't air live, which left some room for long-form gags. He hadn't been told about anything out of the ordinary, but he wouldn't put it past them to have planned something.

Were they going to have Bo prank him?

=.=.=.=

"You want me to do what?" Kyoko said.

"Go on a date with Tsuruga-san," the producer said. "As a chicken."

"But—"

"You hate Fuwa. You hate Ren Tsuruga too?" She could see the vein on his forehead pulsing as he scowled down at her.

"I don't, but—"

"Now I know you're not exactly Kana Kusunoki, but you don't have to be," he said snidely. Kyoko heard the insult but let it go. "Just be a chicken. Tsuruga's talented. He can do the rest."

Kyoko sputtered and bit back a retort. She was not the impulsive newbie she used to be—she could and she would control herself. She wasn't going to strangle anyone today. She had a reputation as an actress to protect, and more than that—she knew she was committed to making this gag a success. If they wanted Tsuruga-san to date a chicken, then she would be the most ridiculous chicken she could possibly be.

=.=.=

"...And so, Tsuruga-san," the host continued, "we thought we could set you up with the ultimate blind date!"

The Ishibashis played a little fanfare.

"Your date is…."

Drumroll.

"BO!"

The chicken of the hour burst onto the stage, a spotlight trained on him—no, her. Why have I been thinking of a chicken as a 'he'? he asked himself. Bo was not a rooster, Bo was a chicken. Bo had always been a chicken.

Ren watched as she hammed it up for the crowd, fluttering her feathers, blinking her eyes coquettishly. She made a deep curtsey and then blew him a kiss.

The crowd laughed. He found himself grinning. It was too good of an opportunity to waste. He'd been restraining himself around Kyoko since Dark Moon. Now? He could pull out all the stops. He could follow Bo's own advice and 'seduce her.' They wanted him to romance a chicken? They wanted him to take the chicken out on a date? Oh yes. He was going to give them exactly what they wanted.

Ren leapt to where she was, jumping over the couch, sprinting past the audience that was now going oooooh and aaaah. In seconds, he was beside her, and then with little warning, grabbed her for a dip in his arms.

"Bo-san," he said loudly, "please, allow me the honor of taking you out on a date."

He let himself look at her the way he'd always wanted to—the full force of Katsuki-in-love, of a Jacob's ladder smile…all of that and his lust on full display—he should have felt ridiculous looking at the chicken mask this way, but he didn't. Now that he knew who was behind it, it was all but invisible to him. Let them think he was playing up to the cameras—he knew he wasn't, and he was hoping the girl behind the mask knew it, too.

The girl inside Bo felt her heart racing out of her chest. He really didn't know what he did! He was shameless. How could he look at a chicken like this? He's just acting, he's just acting, Kyoko! He thinks you're a MAN, she thought to herself. Pull yourself together. She pulled herself together enough to bat her mascot eyelids and shake her head up and down. She brought up a wing to fan herself, and the crowd cheered.

Ren took a hand and caressed the curve of her beak. "Someone needs to call God." His face was dead serious as he said it. "He's missing an angel." Gently, he raised her back up and took a wing. Her hand was in it, and his own curled possessively around hers once he found it through the felted costume. "Your hand looks heavy," he smirked. "Can I hold it for you?"

Kyoko pulled away and played up to the crowd, bringing up her other arm and pantomiming the beating of her heart.

Ren smiled as she did so. Silly girl, he thought, she thinks I'm faking.

"Something's wrong with my eyes, Bo," he said. "Because I can't take them off you."

The crowd laughed. Ren continued. "Aren't you tired? You've been running through my mind all day."

Bo pantomimed, shaking her head and attempting to push him away, but he tightened his grip on her hand and pulled her towards him until she was standing chest-to-chest with him in the middle of the studio. "Do you have an extra heart?" he asked in a low, seductive voice. "Because mine's been stolen." He was staring into those chicken eyes intently, aware that Kyoko's real eyes were somewhere below.

"I can't tell if that was an earthquake," he continued, "or if you just seriously rocked my world."

Kyoko wasn't sure whether she would survive to the end of this so-called date. She was sure she'd die of embarrassment first. But she reminded herself that she was Bo-and Bo was not going to chicken out.

"You're so beautiful you made me forget my pickup lines," he continued.

"Now now, Tsuruga-san!" the host interrupted. "If you keep doing this, Bo will faint!"

Kyoko took the hint and put an arm up to her forehead, wobbling her knees, and then making as if to sink to the floor.

She realized too late that she'd merely given Ren another opportunity to catch her and sweep her off her feet.

"Did it hurt?" he asked. He hoisted her up. She was about to shake her head 'no' when smirked again. "When you fell from heaven," he added.

He was terrifying. He was a monster. How was he managing to hold her in the chicken costume? Wasn't it too big!? She felt the soft bits of the costume compress where he held her. She waggled her chicken feet ineffectually as the crowd roared some more.

"Never gonna give you up…never gonna let you down…" he sang, and Bo covered her eyes up in utter embarrassment.

"OK, ok," the host interrupted, "before you rick-roll us all…we've got a limo for you."

Ren kept humming as he walked towards the entrance, cameramen in tow. Kyoko was squirming in his arms but he refused to put her down. The crowd cheered as the monitors showed a live feed of them exiting the TBM studios and entering the limo.

He refused to give up his charm offensive. They were dropped off at a shopping arcade; he bought out a florist's inventory of roses to give her a massive bouquet. He bought fancy French desserts that he knew she couldn't eat, all packed up for her to take home. He dragged her to mini-golf and shamelessly 'taught' her how to hold a club by putting his arms around her and guiding her hands with his. He demanded that the limo bring them to a park with a lake in it, and then rowed her out on a boat-and just when she thought they were going to be done, he insisted that the film crew shoot them looking up at the sky while laying on a field of flowers.

An extremely tired Kyoko made her way back to the studio, still accompanied by the camera crew and her 'date.' Keeping up the Bo persona was an intensely physical effort-Bo never spoke on camera, so Kyoko could only react within the confines of her suit's movements. But Tsuruga-san hadn't missed a beat. No wonder he was such a co-star killer. Cheesy pickup lines aside, she could easily believe that he could seduce any girl that he wanted. She shunted an unwelcome thought aside: what if he looked at every girl like that? What if she wasn't special at all?

He was still holding her hand, and she hated how good that felt. She quickened her pace to get back to the dressing room, but he kept up. The camera crew had finished filming; she was wondering why he was still with her. She tried to pull her hand away, but he was stubborn-didn't he know the 'date' was over?

"I had a great time today, Bo-san," he said.

And then, to her great horror, he took the pinkie finger of the hand he was still holding and held it up to his lips. "No matter where I am, my heart will always belong to you."

He looked her in the eyes as he said it, past the black netting that kept her face invisible.

Kyoko gulped. He knows, she thought.

She ran into her dressing room, sitting in it for what felt like forever. She knew she'd have to leave it eventually, and she hoped that Tsuruga-san had gotten tired of waiting for her and left. Dutifully, she took the costume off and cleaned up as much of it as she could. And then, putting on her street clothes, she opened the door.

She heard a voice as soon as she peeked past it.

"We're not finished with our date, Bo-san." Ren held out his hand. He wasn't going to let her live this down.

=.=.=.=

Author's Note: I know, I owe DoK Chapter 29. And there's a few thousand words of that already written. But DoK is hard, guys. And I've been through an awful lot lately. ANYWAY! Let me know what you think? Reviews keep me going. (11/2/2022)

I also want to give a shout-out to Bo's Bo fic, Choking the Chicken, which partially inspired this one.