AN: Even though I probably shouldn't say this because I might change my mind or have people troll me. I have so much to concentrate on with work and school that I have to save reading this month's chapter of Skip Beat (please no spoilers). I really loved October's chapter. Hopefully when I read both chapters in December they'll be just as good.

Act 80 – Kanae's Boyfriend

Kyoko grinned as she stood up in her disguise for acting as a spy. Despite this not being how she had originally wanted to find out information on Moko, it was rather fun to spend some time with Maria and find out things that Moko wouldn't tell her on her own. It would lead to a deepening of the understanding she had of Kanae and then she'd be able to give to her the ideal present.

Maria stood next to Kyoko as the two looked out at the streets of Tokyo. There were some people giving them strange looks because of their costumes but Kyoko was feeling excited to be out of the Love Me uniform and into another outfit. "Onee-san," Maria said as she turned to the sixteen-year-old.

"What Maria?" Kyoko asked and saw the way Maria was looking slightly uncomfortable.

"We…aren't we attracting a lot of attention?" the young girl asked her and Kyoko paused. She knew that they were but she also wanted to spend some time having fun with Maria. These were clothes that belonged to the costume department at LME after all. It would be a shame not to enjoy the experience of being in character.

"Huh," Kyoko said as she looked to the side, "but isn't this better than running around in an LME uniform? Plus, I always wanted to try wearing this kind of outfit," she smiled as she played with the hat. She looked like a classic noir detective from a movie. She had seen some of these movies when she had been growing up since Shotaro would find them more interesting than princess stories but he would always say that the best private investigators were men. It was more fun though for Kyoko to experience it.

Kyoko grinned as she closed her eyes and laughed happily, "It must be because I really want to become an actress," she tried to explain despite there being other reasons. Maria sighed and closed her eyes but Kyoko fully believed that she understood her reasoning. Was it really that difficult to follow?

"Moko-san doesn't tell me anything," Kyoko pouted as she thought about the difficulty that Kanae was having and that the point of dressing up in this style was so that she could try to figure out what was going on in her best friend's life. It was heartbreaking to be kept as an outsider but with the right intel, Kyoko could strengthen the bonds of friendship.

Kyoko had been following her for a while before this as well and she had seen Kanae talking with the head of the actors section. She had seemed bothered by something and was looking sad. There had to be something that was going on with her work. They were discussing something important and Kanae had lied to her and said that there was nothing of importance going on. That was definitely a lie. Seeing as she was talking with the head of the actors section, it had to do with her work but maybe Moko was too proud to let something like that be told.

Kyoko put her hat on and then slipped her glasses on. She wondered whether this would strengthen their friendship but at the same time, she wanted to be a better friend too. If she could prove her friendship desire to Kanae then she would be doing her part as well. She would find out for herself if Kanae refused to tell her the truth.

Lifting her head up and ignoring the men who were talking behind her, Kyoko looked straight out at the scene wanting to perfect the disguise of being a private eye without worrying what other people thought of her. "Maria, let's go," she said acting within character and Maria soon followed her lead.

"Okay, Onee-san," Maria said before they walked off into the city. They needed to find out the facts no matter how they went about doing so.

…

…

After following the route where Kyoko believed that she would see Kanae, she stood there completely stunned. She had seen Kanae disappear from view and then she had returned wearing a different outfit with different makeup and a wig on. It didn't make sense to her. What was going on and why was Kanae trying to hide who she really was? It felt shady but Kyoko really didn't want to accuse her friend of that.

She didn't understand this situation. As soon as they had spotted Kanae, the two of them had tailed her and they had watched her enter a building still with the gloom radiating around her. Kyoko had never expected to see what was now in front of her. After Kanae had gone into the building, which Kyoko would have understood if it was her home, she had returned as a completely different person. If it wasn't because of her skill making dolls and learning people's body statistics, Kyoko might never have recognized her.

In only a few seconds, the black haired actress had put on a light brown wig which made her hair look very stylish. She was wearing cute clothes that Kyoko had never expected for Kanae even to own. She was wearing a jacket, cute top, a flowing skirt and fashionable shoes. She had even put on perfume so she smelled differently. It was like a complete fairytale transformation. Kyoko didn't want to think about Kanae needing that, to her Moko-chan was always so beautiful.

Had she done this so that she could go on a date with this man who had just kissed her head. The man looked like someone who would be very popular because of his appearance but Kyoko still felt jealous of him. She didn't trust men and she had felt that Kanae, her Love Me partner, had the same kind of sentiment. Why was she in the Love Me section when she could so easily allow a guy to kiss her on the top of her head like that?

Kanae turned to him with a smile and Kyoko kept thinking about how cute and pretty she was. The glow over her face was of a girl who was in love and Kyoko felt that she was being replaced by this strange person. She had a glimmer of hope in her eyes and her smile was so beautiful. What kind of spell had this jerk placed her poor Moko under?

"I saw it," both Kyoko and Maria said together as they turned so that Kanae and the teenage boy couldn't see them. They gasped in disbelief, "They kissed," Kyoko said still unsure of what to do since the situation seemed so out of character for Kanae. "Although it was on the forehead."

After getting over the shock for a moment, Kyoko and Maria turned again to watch Kanae as she walked down the street with the boy's arm around her in a very loving and protective fashion. Her mood had seemed to change entirely, she was happy and Kyoko stared at her. How could her move just flip so easily like that? Kyoko didn't want to see her depressed but she did want to be someone who Kanae could confide in.

Kyoko turned to Maria, trying to reason it all to herself. "Kanae-chan was once a spokesperson after all, she may be considered a celebrity," she said more for her own benefit than Maria's. "It's understandable for her to put on make up to go on a date."

Kyoko turned back and sighed. Kanae was acting like one of those teenage girls that Kyoko had seen in all of those movies about the perfect friendship. She had wanted that type of friendship and those interactions with Kanae but Moko would always reject her for it. Kyoko bowed her head, Kanae had never smiled like that in front of her before, she had never really acted like a teenage girl before. Did the disguise allow her the freedom to do so? Was that the meaning behind it?

It hurt that Kanae didn't need her and she wouldn't show this type of behavior to her. Before she could control herself, Kyoko had sent her demons towards the guy in an envious manner. She saw as he rubbed his neck as if something had struck him.

"it hurts," he commented and Kanae turned to him concerned.

"What's wrong?" she asked and the teenager looked from side to side. Kyoko hid herself from sight as she felt her anger towards this guy grow even stronger. Kyoko knew that he couldn't see anything but she still wanted to direct her pain somewhere. This was someone who might be abusing and using Moko just as Shotaro had done to her. It was as if the devil and angel scene really had taken place again.

"Ouch!" the man said and Kanae turned to him looking worried about this.

"As long as this guy disappears," Kyoko whispered feeling a sense of hatred towards him. Men were somewhat despicable, especially if he was forcing Moko to dress up like this. He should love her for who she really is and not who she was turning herself into for his benefit.

"Wow," Maria said in awe of Kyoko's strong emotions, "Incredible, sis!" she gasped, "How did you do it? What are you controlling?" she asked but Kyoko was feeling too much anger to really respond to her. There had to be some way she could drive this idiot away from Moko.

Kyoko paused as she remembered when she had been filming Shotaro's promo. Kanae had told her directly that if she would choose to love her life for a guy she would feel very blessed. Kyoko felt a shiver creep through her body as she thought about the possibility of this being the person who Moko had been referring to. Kyoko caught a look at them and saw Kanae standing beside the guy. She was concerned about what had happened to him and seemed to be making sure that he was okay.

Had Kyoko done something terrible to her friend? Had she hurt the guy who Moko really cared for? Was she about to curse someone who didn't deserve it just because she didn't feel special enough to be chosen as Moko's most important person. She had almost really hurt someone who seemed like a good guy and wasn't about to play around with her feelings. If he did that then she would have a reason but maybe love for other people wasn't as cold and bitter and painful as she had led herself to believe.

Somehow, Kanae's laughter and playful nature concerned Kyoko. She didn't like the fact that this man was handsome because it made him harder to trust. People who were handsome often had many other options, that had happened to Shotaro. Still, if he was ugly then he wouldn't be good enough for Moko who was always so stunningly beautiful.

Afterall, it wasn't up to Kyoko who Moko chose to spend her life with. She was willing to take second then if that made Kanae happy. Even though it gave her a lonely feeling in her heart, Kanae would always be precious to her.

"Sis," Maria called out and Kyoko raised her head, "This isn't good, Kanae-san, she.."

Kyoko had a happy smile on her face, "They broke up?" she asked energetically. If that guy was no longer in the picture then Kyoko could secure the number one place for herself.

"No," Maria shook her head. "It's not a break up. After saying goodbye to her boyfriend another guy appeared."

Kyoko lifted her head and looked out. Kanae had barely spent five minutes with the first guy and now another guy, a much older guy had his hand on her back and she was smiling at him happily. Kanae couldn't really be having a relationship with a rich middle aged guy, could she? What the heck was going on?

End of Act 80

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