AN: Hope you enjoy. I've been having a little bit of writers fatigue that I'm hoping will pass. I hope you enjoyed this chapter though 😊

Act Eighteen – A Devious Plan

Kyoko sighed as she waited to watch the scene. The ache of her foot was nothing compared to the ache in her heart. She had wanted to do the best job possible and she had felt that she had a pure hearted emotion when she had wanted it but it had crumbled to nothing. Part of her was wondering why she was even here but just looking at him made it seem so right. She wanted to see Corn act, she wanted to see the magic again.

Just as she was thinking that, she felt a presence behind her and attempted to hide the smile at seeing Ren there with a chair so that she could sit down. She looked around. His career might get ruined if people started believing for them to be a couple. Maybe they would even be able to tell the truth about Ren. No, it was better if she kept his secret.

"Mogami-san?" he asked with a tilt of his head and Kyoko tried to avoid looking at him, concentrating on the scene in front of them. "Would you like to have a seat?" he asked her and Kyoko looked at him for a split second. Usually she would thank him for his kindness but this meant that she had to have a lot of strategy. She didn't want to cause him any pain.

"No thanks," Kyoko replied as she ignored the concern in his eyes. "You shouldn't be so openly considerate towards me," she said and Ren looked at her with a frown. She looked down and closed her eyes. "You should be thinking about yourself, if people started to think that fairies aren't real."

"Fairies aren't real," Ren stated but Kyoko didn't even pause.

"I mean, yes, I know that's what you're supposed to think when you're Ren," she said as she brushed off his statement. "I just don't want for people to suspect that there is something off between the two of us," she continued and Ren sighed, shaking his head.

"I don't think anyone would be suspicious," he told her and Kyoko paused, "Most people tend to be considerate to those who are injured, right?"

Kyoko froze. She looked at him wanting to accept his offer but she shook her head. There were other factors at play here and it was a little annoying that Ren wasn't speaking about those things.

"If Ruriko-chan sees you standing beside me, she'll most probably be upset. I don't want this kind of trouble and besides, the one to be hated will be me. For your own good, you should stay away from me," Kyoko said bluntly and Ren closed his eyes, taking a deep breath in. "I don't want people to misunderstand our living situation."

Ren shrugged before looking at her in a mature manner, "Mogami-san, I…I can't begin to tell you ho sorry I am, I've bee-"

"Seriously!?" Ruriko screamed loudly, catching Kyoko's attention. "Again!? I just need to walk out! How many times do you want me to walk out again?" Ruriko complained.

Ren bowed his head and sighed. He knew as she stepped forwards that she wouldn't be able to hear him. "I've been lying to you," he said in a soft whisper. He hated himself for not having the courage to talk to her directly. Maybe if he actually told her the truth – well not the whole truth of course – then she would find it in her heart to forgive him and to try to understand his situation.

Seiji leaned back in his chair, giving her a long blink and staring at Ruriko as if she were an inconvenience. "You walk until I think it is okay," he told her and Ruriko looked at him in disbelief. Seiji sighed, "I told you before. You're acting the part of a young lady of a rich family, your every move must portray that of a rich young lady's conduct." He told her and Kyoko sighed as she watched the two of them argue. This was what happened on a set? Did Ren get told that he wasn't doing things properly as well? There must have been such a learning curve for him since he came from the fairy world.

Ren continued to look to Kyoko, wishing that she would at least sit down if she wouldn't let him accompany her to the hospital. He didn't know how to get it through to her that her health and happiness was much more important than people getting the wrong impression of her. That being said, he did understand her emotions. He didn't agree with them but he did understand them.

"Start over again," Seiji told Ruriko as Ren sighed, trying to look away from Kyoko. "Stand with you back straight up, tuck in your chin slightly. The alignment of the body must be centered from head to toe."

Kyoko remembered her past when she would often have to behave in this way to please the guests at the Fuwa ryokan. In the world that Shotaro had grown up in, there were many rules that had to be followed which others wouldn't have considered. This was something that she knew how to do. She knew how to access her inner peace and stand in front of the customer.

In fact, doing this might help distract her from the man that was making her heart beat faster just by standing beside her. She saw Ruriko flip out and start screaming again but all that she could do was try to keep her attention off of Corn because she didn't want to betray the desire to not have love as a major part of her life. Corn was just far too easy to fall in love with.

There was silence and Kyoko blinked back in as Ruriko's words played themselves on repeat in her head.

"Since you want an amateur to act," Ruriko said proudly as she seemed to look down on everyone around her and Kyoko turned to the cast and crew. She was even positioning herself above Ren. That was something that she hated seeing. Corn had given up so much to be able to be here on Earth. Ruriko continued, "Even if it not me, it does not matter. Why not ask her to act? To earn points that woman will be willing to do anything!"

Kyoko took a glance at Ren who was concentrating fully on Ruriko and her challenge. She saw the discomfort and unease in his body language and wished that she could do something to help him feel better. This woman was spoiling things for him and Corn deserved to be happy. Kyoko felt a buzz in her head as her body seemed to move on its own and she stepped out trying to cut an invisible power that linked Ruriko and Ren to one another.

This was the power that Ruriko was keeping with her arrogance. She was putting herself above a fairy prince which was wrong for her to do. Kyoko looked around at everyone's shocked faces despite the fact that she hadn't even brushed against Ruriko. She wouldn't do that. As loathsome and deceitful as somebody was, she couldn't do that.

"What you said," Kyoko told her in a dark voice, "is right." She took a step forward, looking at Ruriko in the same way that Ruriko looked towards everyone including her precious friend. "For this small matter, I will be able to act well. This invitation into showbiz, since it is rare that you give me a chance to debut, I gladly accept."

As Kyoko gazed at Ruriko a smug look appeared over her face and she started feeling her little grudges swirling around her. If she pushed her away then Ruriko wouldn't be able to get next to Corn and Kyoko could get her revenge whilst also doing a favor for her friend. She looked at Ren who seemed surprised. Well, she could prove to him where her determination came from. She wasn't going to let him down.

…

…

Ren sighed as he looked at the director. He wasn't sure whether he should try to help Kyoko or not. Telling the director that Kyoko was his friend didn't seem too bad but then Seiji was just one person. He could keep this a secret. Ren shook his head and pushed his hair back. He was uneasy about her being played around with but maybe she could be nudged into finding out what she wanted to do. It was like a big brother to want to take care of her, right? This was only brotherly love that he was feeling.

As Ren approached Shinkai, he noticed that he was watching Ruriko. Since Kyoko had now been dragged in, this felt much less like a game to him. "Director," he said in a balanced manner, "Are you serious about this?" he asked, trying to hide the fact that he was mainly asking because of his concern for Kyoko. "Are you really going to allow Ruriko and….Ky—that girl…compete and then use the one who is more suitable?" he asked.

Seiji answered without hesitation, "I am being serious," he told him and Ren blinked. Really? Was he going to actually give Kyoko a chance? How was Ren supposed to act if this was actually going to happen? His friend was going to be given a chance to enter showbusiness but her heart wasn't pure but neither was Ruriko's, but Ruriko was a singer and an idol who had already been said to have the part. This might cause some backlash by Ruriko's fans onto Kyoko.

Ren frowned, "You said it so frankly, and you acted on your own," he worried. He didn't want anyone to hear him say that this might not be a good idea and that Kyoko shouldn't be used in any games, he wasn't confident that he could say that without anyone being suspicious of how he felt towards her. He sat down beside the director. "During the production press conference, it was widely publicized that Ruriko will play the lead."

Seiji shrugged, "True," he nodded before laughing and Ren felt a little more disturbed by that. "Don't worry, it is possible for the director and actor to have a disagreement and that the actors withdraw hallway into the filming so everyone is prepared for this. Don't take it to heart," he laughed and Ren felt uncomfortable by the way he was treating this. This was about Kyoko's future and it was his brotherly instinct that made it so Kuon placed a lot of importance in how she was feeling.

Ren sighed, he had to get his mind refocused. He needed to not give people the idea that Kyoko was his…he couldn't really have her or be with her anyway. "Then," he said with a tilt of his head, "the matter that the president asked of us. What should be done? The president, didn't he…didn't he want us to help change Ruriko's willful, selfish, and unreasonable personality?" he asked and Seiji shrugged causing Ren to feel a little nervous about this.

"Because she caused me to stop the filming, if she continues to be the female lead actress, I will not be able to achieve the feeling that I want from this filming," Seiji said as he looked into the distance, the boredom on his face and Ren felt himself sweat. He had no right to tell Seiji-san to leave Kyoko alone. He wasn't her boyfriend or her actual brother.

"Then why Mogami-san?" he asked and Seiji shrugged.

"She was there," he said and Ren felt his stomach was unsettled because of that statement.

End of Act Eighteen

Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated

Thank you to the reviewers of Act Seventeen

H-Nala, Kaname671, Kris XD, ktoll9, misherukuro, MWEH, PaulaGaTo, puffinzero, The Real Jackie-O

Author Response

I feel like sometimes I'm fatigued by this story but the reviews really help. I find this work a lot harder than some others because I'm copying the original story but people tend to like it better than my original stuff, lol. Thanks again for all of the support 😊