Act 77 – Feelings of Jealousy and Revenge

Yashiro watched Ren as they sat together in a restaurant after a long day of filming. Ren knew that he didn't want for Kyoko to be seen in the public eye until she had her strength but it bothered him. He knew her intentions already and he knew who had spoken to him on the phone. He saw Yashiro's steady gaze as he tried to sort through his feelings for Kyoko and come up with the right emotions he had towards the girl.

"Ren?" Yashiro asked as Ren seemed to sit there like a zombie. The stiffness being the result of the complications of his emotions when Kyoko was involved. "Have you finished? Are you full? You didn't really touch your food, I won't allow you to do this."

Ren paused. It wasn't really the food but he wasn't sure who could overhear the conversation. It was risky to show such emotions on his face when it could have easily been picked up by somebody else. "A-Ah," Ren smiled as he lifted his head. "It's nothing. I was just thinking about some stuff, that's all."

Yashiro looked at him and leaned forwards, "Huh? Some stuff? What stuff?" he asked and Ren looked to the side. He didn't know how to explain these feelings. He didn't even want to reflect on them himself. Instead of replying, Ren lifted his head and smiled strongly. Yashiro blinked watching him.

"That I can't tell you," he said and Yashiro looked at him looking bored. Of course, Ren would hide everything behind that false smile and not give any feelings out. That was what Ren had trained himself to do. It was what Kuon had trained Ren to do.

As much as Ren wanted to deny it, the voice on the other end of the phone call had been undeniable. It was Fuwa. Fuwa who had hurt Kyoko so badly and yet she had returned to him. He didn't want to imagine that she had fallen under Fuwa's spell but then he wasn't ready to be with her himself. He couldn't keep her captive but he didn't want her heart to be filled with anger and want for revenge. He wanted her happy. She deserved a happy life.

Was Fuwa Sho going to invade every part of her life and distribute more poison. Was he going to hurt her? What choices did Ren have, he wasn't her boyfriend but hopefully their friendship carried some weight. He'd have to try.

…

…

A few days later, Kyoko was walking through LME when she spot him. He was just standing there looking as gorgeous as ever. She blushed a little but then froze, none of her calls had been returned or had gone through when she attempted to apologize to him. She didn't want for him to have the wrong idea. Still, the button-up that he was wearing with the casual pants and black tee really made her heart stop in her chest. Why was she falling for him so badly?

She blinked and was able to see the blond hair and emerald eyes. Still, she was a little nervous to approach him. Did he hate her after he had found out what she had done? Was he going to tell her that he no longer wanted to be friends with her? She didn't want that. She saw him turn from where he stood with Yashiro and his long legs carried him over to her.

Without meaning to, Kyoko screamed and dropped onto the ground in a dogeza. Ren's eyes widened as she seemed to draw attention from all areas of the building. Ren's eyes widened and he looked to Yashiro nervously before putting his hand on her shoulder.

"May we talk?" he asked with a weak laugh and Kyoko believed that she was imagining it. Kyoko looked up at him and saw that he was smiling, his eyes were also showing concern for her. She shivered and nodded as he blinked but then gestured for her to follow him to a more secluded area.

"I'm sorry about that time," she said as they stood by a window and Kyoko found it hard to look into his eyes. She didn't want to see any anger in them. "That phone call," she said and Ren sighed, he bowed his head.

"That guy was the one being rude and childish, not you," Ren said but Kyoko could read that there were some deeper emotions behind that weak smile. She could see that in his eyes he was holding back. She didn't want to imagine that he was angry. "There's no need to take it to heart," he said as he put a hand on her cheek and then immediately removed it, second guessing the action but Kyoko raised her hand and slipped it onto her cheek where he had just been touching her.

"I'm not angry…" he said but Kyoko could tell that he was lying about that. Maybe it wasn't a demonic rage but he was still upset over what had happened and it must be because of his love and appreciation of the acting world. He had such a radiant smile that it scared her. He was hiding something that he didn't want her to know about.

"So, you and him," Ren said as Kyoko could see more concern and even possibly some jealousy in his expression. "is your work coming along smoothly?" he asked with his smile still glued to his face. Of course he was angry at him and disappointed in her that she had gone and acted so foolishly. She was mocking his position in the industry by doing things out of revenge and she knew that he hated that. She didn't want to disappoint him and that was why she hadn't told him about what she was doing.

"Or," Ren said and Kyoko could see that the weak smile was gone and he was looking at her in a casual way with his shoulders slumped but a glimmer of sadness in his eyes, "did you go to ruin it?" Kyoko felt her breath caught in her chest and Ren turned from her, turning instead to look out the window, a sad kind of gloom surrounding him. His disappointment?

"With a mind full of vengeance, you joined the filming of a PV, right? Sho Fuwa's PV."

Kyoko could tell that he didn't want to look at her. She felt that she had shamed him but it was worse than that. Was he actually depressed because of the choices she had made? He knew the truth and somehow it appeared that he was rejecting her because he disapproved of her decision. He could read her heart and maybe he didn't want to continue their friendship.

Kyoko took a deep inhale and saw his annoyed expression in the reflection of the window. He was judging her. He knew everything and he was waiting for her to admit to it. She bowed her head solemnly. She felt a few tears in her eyes and saw him shift uncomfortably. "I'm sorry," she whispered and he turned to her but only so that he could look at her, he wasn't facing her straight on anymore.

"You knew everything," Kyoko said and Ren nodded.

"He told me all about it, you remember?" he asked. "I've encountered him before so I recognize his voice. He challenged me," he told her and Kyoko stared at him with a shocked expression. She thought he had said something like that in the past but she had been hoping that he hadn't recognized Shotaro's voice. The fact that he knew everything which was going on made this even more painful. She didn't want to lose either Corn's trust in her or his friendship.

"Then…afterwards," Ren said in a pained voice, "Did you get your revenge successfully?" he asked and Kyoko looked at him, her eyes filled with the tears but she just wanted to prove to him that she wasn't the person he seemed to be imagining her to be.

"I'm sorry," she whispered again and he sighed. "I…in the beginning it's true that I only thought about revenge," she admitted and Ren nodded, listening to her. At least he was giving her a chance. "I didn't want you to know that it was because of revenge. I know how much you love acting. I didn't want you to know that I thought about using acting as a tool when you've given up so much for it."

Ren looked at her stunned. So, she had been considering more than his feelings as a man towards a woman, she had been thinking about all of the things which he had denied himself. Yes, he didn't like her motivation but she was young. She was a teenager and he had no place to judge people for their mistakes as a teenager. She was even honestly admitting this to him. He smiled weakly.

"I'm sorry," he apologized and Kyoko stared at him confused over why he was apologizing to her. Unless… was he going to end their friendship right there? Was her admission to these facts the breaking point for them. She had only recently forgiven him for lying to her. "I didn't mean to give you such a harsh view of me," he said and Kyoko's jaw dropped as she wanted to protest. "It's true. I don't like that you're spending so much time thinking about revenge but since you were able to complete the video, it must have gone well."

Kyoko stood still, fidgeting a little. "Yeah, I think it went well," she said and Ren smiled.

"I'd like to see it," he said and Kyoko's eyes widened, she opened her mouth to argue but then saw that godly smile that Ren had over his face. She always had trouble arguing and disagreeing with him when he smiled like that. "Will you get me a copy to watch when it's finished?"

"It's going to have Fuwa in it," Kyoko said and Ren laughed before continuing to smile.

"But it'll also have you in it. I'd love to see your work," he told her before sighing and pulled out a cloth from his pocket. Was there something inside of it? Kyoko tilted her head to try to see what he was holding. Was it medicine? Did he have another cold where he needed medicine? He turned to her and held out the item and Kyoko's eyes widened as she stared at Corn, the stone he had given her so long ago. She had thought that it would be lost forever.

"You had it?" she asked before taking it in her hand, holding it safely. She closed her hand held it to her heart. "Thank you. Thank you," she said energetically. "I can't believe you had it."

"I thought you had thrown it away because you hated me," he told her and Kyoko quickly shook her head. She was surprised when Ren pulled her into his chest, wrapping his arms around her. She suddenly felt precious and treasured.

"Promise me that you'll think twice about your acts of revenge in the future?" he asked her and Kyoko nodded. She sighed, closing her eyes and just relaxed in his warmth. "I'm sorry," Ren said after he had held her for some time, "I have to get back to work."

"Work hard," Kyoko said with another bow and Ren nodded, he looked at her one last time before leaving. Kyoko smiled. He understood. Of course Corn would understand.

End of Act 77

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Thank you to the reviewers of Act 76

Jeremy VD, Kaname671, Lita of Jupiter