AN: Because of all the support already on this fic I decided to write Chapter One this morning and if this fic continues getting attention I might turn it into a once every other day fic. I'm going to be using some of the events of Skip Beat (or quite a few) but approach them in a different angle. Hope you enjoy this chapter and Kyoko's childlike innocence.

Act One – To Be Human

Kyoko stared up in wonder at the guy who was standing behind her. She wanted to scream, ask him what was happening in a loud voice, but she didn't want to risk his exposure. She felt that he was trusting her with more than he was supposed to. She blinked at him confused. She was just a plain boring girl from Kyoto and this was this guy who was top of the idol charts in Japan. She froze as she remembered all of the words that she had said against him and turned to him as he pulled back, trying to pass her Corn back safely.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I said such mean things about you," she whispered as she had tears in her eyes, "I didn't know it was you. I would never have said those things if I had know-"

Ren laughed at her, he smiled with a playful grin as he raised an eyebrow. "Really? What kind of mean things were you saying about me?" he asked and Kyoko's eyes widened.

"It doesn't need to be repeated," she said quickly as she raised her head, her long black hair falling upon her shoulders. "No. It doesn't need to be repeated. I'd be so embarrassed if I said it to you now."

Ren chuckled and leaned in towards her, "Won't you tell me…Kyoko…chan?"

Kyoko stiffened, she had her fists by her side, her eyes wide as she stared at him, her heart starting to zip together a little bit. "Umm, I…" She frowned before staring at him, "How do I know that you're really Corn?" she asked him. "Maybe you heard about the fairies and I asked th-"

Ren sighed before closing his eyes, "First of all, do you really think that we would be having this conversation were you just a regular working girl?" he asked before looking down. "From what I remember, you cried about your mother a lot, we went looking for rocks that reminded you of hamburgers, and you called me a fairy prince, of course I did have my blond hair back then. Oh, and you seemed determined to marry your prince Sho," he commented and Kyoko growled causing Ren to take a step back.

"Don't mention that guy. That guy deserves to sink into hell. I'll get back at him for what he put me through. That guy is going to choke on his own tears," Kyoko told him and Ren looked at her, he blinked in confusion.

"He's not your prince anymore?" he asked and Kyoko scowled causing Ren to tilt his head to the side.

"I would never call that guy a prince if you paid me one billion yen," she said before looking at the surprised look on his face. Had she embarrassed herself in front of Corn even more? Wait, so Corn had come to earth to pose as the actor Ren Tsuruga. Well, Corn did need a disguise if he was going to live a life on earth but she would never expect for him to have taken the form of Ren Tsuruga.

"Corn?" she asked him and he coughed.

"Please address me as Ren," he told her and Kyoko froze. He really was determined to keep this persona, well, it was well-crafted and he had obviously spent a long time trying to get used to human customs. She hummed. It felt impolite to just call him Ren when she hadn't known his human form for a significant time.

"How about Tsuruga-san?" she asked and Ren paused, he looked at her and nodded.

"I'd prefer Ren-san," he said before seeing her blush and sighed, pushing his hand through his brown hair. How was he going to explain this? Was he just bestowing misplaced trust in this girl who could sell him out to get money of her own. She had just said that she had insulted him just the previous night. He looked at her cautiously. She understood right, she knew that he was under cover, right? He saw her looking at him nervously, her cheeks turning red. "Tsuruga-san will be fine."

"Tsuruga-san," Kyoko said quietly, "How long did it take for you to get used to being human?" she asked and Ren paused, the words repeating in his head. What the… His eyes widened and he looked at her, his jaw dropping. She hadn't just asked him what he thought she had, right?

"Take me to do what?" he asked and Kyoko smiled.

"Well, I know that it's most likely highly confidential information that you're the prince of fairy kingdom," she said as Ren looked at her stunned. What was she talking about? Did she actually believe what he had told her ten years ago. They were children. "So, I promise not to tell anyone your real identity but I'm just wondering. You couldn't stay on earth when you were younger and…"

"I traded my magic," Ren said sadly. He would take this chance. If Kyoko really thought that he was a fairy in disguise then wouldn't she be more inclined to keep his identity a secret. He knew he was lying but he needed to keep the information classified. "Well, most of my magic. I realized that if I stayed in the fairy kingdom, my father's hands would crush me accidentally. I made a deal to come to earth as an actor and I've been working at my dream for five years. I would have come sooner but I was scared that you wouldn't want to see me. It was your prince Sho after all who you wanted to be with."

Kyoko looked at him with tears in her eyes, "I would have wanted to see you. I would have wanted to see you whether you were a human or a fairy. I'm sorry if I did something that made you think otherwise."

"Well, we're seeing each other again now. Of course, the only other person who knows my identity is the president," Ren attempted to explain and Kyoko stared at him.

"The president of the United States?" she asked as she looked around. "If that's -"

"I'm sorry," Ren said quickly as he shook his head. "No, Takarada-san, Lory Takarada, he's the president of LME. That's the agency that I work for. He's…well he knew my dad when he was younger so he agreed to test my skills as an actor and so my identity is a huge secret. I hope I can trust you with it…Mogami-san?" he looked at her with a tilt of his head and puppy dog eyes which Kyoko found adorable.

Kyoko looked at him before saluting, "Yes, of course," she nodded and Ren smiled.

"Thank you," he told her and Kyoko grinned, her cheeks turning red again. "May I ask you a question, Mogami-san?" he asked and Kyoko stared at him with wide eyes.

"Can you call me Kyoko-san?" she asked and Ren blinked confused. "I mean, I know that I'm calling you Tsuruga-san but…but I like it when I hear my name come out of your mouth," she said and Ren rolled his eyes before nodding.

"Sure, but maybe in public I should call you Mogami-san," he suggested and Kyoko nodded in agreement. "So, my question?" he asked and Kyoko nodded. "May I escort you back to where you're living. I have my car here and I'd like to be able to visit you, if that's okay."

Kyoko nodded before she looked away. "I don't really…have anywhere that I'm living or I won't," she said and Kuon stared at her. "I'm going to have to look for somewhere else to live," she whispered and Ren tilted his head to the side. "It's all that damn Shotaro's fault," she fumed and Ren blinked as he watched her. "If he hadn't had done what he…I could kill him. I'll get my revenge on him. When he finds out what I can do he won't call me a plain bori-"

"You don't have anywhere to live?" the actor asked her as he sighed, "You want to come back with me?" he asked and Kyoko blinked nervously, she pushed her black hair behind her ear forgetting she was wearing a Moz Burger uniform. Hadn't he taken note of that? Was he secretly laughing at her situation?

"I couldn't do that," she said, "I'm….I couldn't afford to pay the rent and I'm sure it's more than I'm paying now and you don't really want me there and…"

"I'm not asking you to pay rent," Ren shrugged, "I've got a spare bedroom and you're an important childhood friend to me. Besides, all I'm going to ask for in return is that you keep my secret. I don't want to draw attention to…my kind."

Kyoko gulped, "No, no it's okay. I would never want to harm you or any part of the fairy kingdom. It's a really nice offer but I couldn't take it, I'd want to pay you something or else it would feel like I was indebted to you. Thank you but I'll be okay."

Ren hummed, "That's too bad. I would have liked you living there, Kyoko-chan," he sighed before looking at her with another playful smile. "I know, I'll hire you of course I don't want to act like your boss but it'll be a simple trade. Your services for room and board, sound good?" he asked and Kyoko stared at him not quite understanding what he was saying.

"My services?" the younger woman repeated.

"Well, a hard-working bachelor like me often doesn't have time to cook and to clean. I know, it's a rather unbecoming life for someone who is an actor. I don't even have my powers so I can't wish everything neat and orderly any longer. I always thought that with what you told me when you were a child, you were able to cook and clean and do laundry and take out the trash. You were always such a hard worker," he sighed dramatically. "If only you could help me with those things."

Kyoko bit on her top lip, gazing at him, "Would that be enough to earn my room and board?" she asked and Ren nodded.

"You have no idea how stressful life can be for a fairy not to be able to do those things with a wave of his hand," he told her. "For five years, I've had to balance those duties as well as my acting work. It's exhausting. It would definitely make my life much easier."

Kyoko paused, "You could say that I'm your live-in maid?" she asked and Ren shrugged.

"I'd prefer to say my childhood friend but you can give yourself whatever title you'd like if you could help me ease my burden," he said dramatically and Kyoko watched him. How could someone like this think so much of normal chores? Well, Corn was a fairy prince, he probably hadn't grown up having to do things like laundry and cleaning.

"Deal," she grinned and Ren smiled to her. "I have to move some things from my old apartment though. There's a lot that I want to sell," she said before her eyes narrowed. How many damn things of Shotaro did she have? She shouldn't have given him all that attention. She looked at him. "This isn't a trick is it?" she asked and Ren shook his head.

"No. The cleaning really is a hassle to me. If I still had my wings then I would surely get dirt and cobwebs in them," he sighed and Kyoko's eyes widened.

"You…you don't have your wings?" she asked with tears in her eyes.

"Humans don't have wings," he told her as she nodded slowly. "Now, how about I give you a hand with your things," he told her and Kyoko paled. How was he going to react when she showed him the collection of Sho Fuwa things that she had. She didn't want him to have a bad impression of her. He wouldn't, would he?

End of Act 1

Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated

Thank you to reviewers of the Prologue

Blue Sky of Love, H-Nala, Julez, Kaname671, kotoko-98, Megumitasama

Author Response

Thanks for all the support 😊 There will be secrets and misunderstandings but it's going to be a little smoother than the manga. He's still a little nervous about his identity being found out but he couldn't ignore her this time 😊