Skip Beat! belongs to Nakamura-sensei. Perfect Fifths, and the rest of the Jessica Darling books belong to Megan McCafferty. Those of you who have read it, you will know which scene I lifted for this chapter. Those of you who don't... I hope it's incentive for you to pick up that series. :)

And yes, I believe wholeheartedly that this scene belongs here. Enjoy.

There were a lot of things Kyoko loved about being an actress – not least of which was princess make-up – but if she had to pick one at that precise moment, it was how she could immerse herself into a role so deeply she would forget everything else.

With such thoughts in her head, she donned her Setsu gear in the bathroom. She imagined herself as a knight, putting on his suit of armor before riding into battle, and every piece of her disguise – clothes, wig, piercings – hid her vulnerable heart. It wasn't as good as the locks on her heart, but those things were flimsy – she needed some substitute, at least for now.

Yet, when she assessed herself in the bathroom mirror, she could already tell that there was a crack in her façade. Maybe it would heal when she saw her brother, but there was something stopping her from becoming Setsu fully. A small envelope, tucked into her pocket.

She returned to her seat. A few boys called after her, but she paid them no heed. She dropped her chin on her fist and looked out, her thoughts running in pace with the train.

Her mother was dead.

She remembered all the times her mother had made her cry, and decided that she wasn't ready about that particular retrospective.

She was rich.

Kyoko recalled the sum Kato-san had quoted to her, and tried imagining what she could do with it. The sheer amount of cosmetics she could now afford was overwhelming, but at the same time, she knew that she would never be able to use them up, even if she lived a hundred lifetimes. Perhaps she could give some to Moko-san, but her friend would kill her if she tried.

That thought was too horrible to bear, so she moved away from the topic.

The Fuwas had lied to her.

They'd lied to her.

The whole family had screwed her over, only it was a hundred time worse now. With Sho, she had known on some level that he was using her, but she had clung onto him because she'd thought, stupidly, that goodness paid off. His parents, though, had raised her like an obedient servant, so that when she married their son, they'd be able to use her money freely. They'd tried cheating her of something she didn't even know she possessed, and didn't even bother hiding how they used their love as leverage.

It hurt. It hurt so much.

Kyoko took a deep breath and thought about Tsuruga-san instead. No. About Cain Heel. Her brother, who she adored. Her brother, who had this tendency to get into fights, and then cuddle her throughout the night. She wondered if he wanted to do that. It wasn't something she minded, though at this moment, she was a little leery of people being affectionate with her.

Stop it. It's different. He's your brother. He's your sempai. He's in love with someone else. His intentions are good.

But were they? Kyoko thought back, to that disastrous party where she'd let Kijima-san dress her, and then further on, to the Valentine's Day when Sho had all but molested her. Tsuruga-san had told to keep her actor's heart "pure", to reject the advances of other men, yet he had no qualms about hanging onto her like a piece of driftwood when it suited his purposes.

But he really needs me. He is genuinely scared.

So what?

"So what?" she repeated out loud, causing some people nearby to scowl at her.

Tsuruga Ren was a man she greatly respected, but he definitely didn't act like he respected her. He was angry with her for things she had no control over, he kept secrets even when they affected her directly, and he told her how to act around men while he had no trouble using women to his advantage. The hypocrisy of the whole thing was so blatant, she couldn't understand why she hadn't noticed it before.

This is the anger talking, the fairies said. He's not who you're angry at.

Yeah, well… that didn't make him less of a hypocrite, Kyoko thought. And yet, what does that make me, if I run to him nonetheless?

Everything was so complicated.

The train got to the outer limits of Tokyo, and she shifted a little in her seat. A rustle reminded her of her mother's letter, sitting like a bomb in her pocket. She reached out for it, tracing the edges carefully. Could she read it? Should she read it?

The station was coming up. There was no time. She rose and grabbed her bag, and darted for the exit as soon as the doors opened.

Ren stood in the waiting room in his full Cain Heel glory, feigning nonchalance and failing miserably. Kyoko's train was delayed, and he was getting antsy. What would be in character of him to do? Wait, or go look for her?

Then she breezed in and he relaxed. She was back. Everything was alright.

She walked up to him, until she was within his reach, and stopped. She didn't reach out to hug him, and he didn't do anything either, not knowing what was appropriate to do. Was he Cain or Ren? Was she Kyoko or Setsu?

"I'm back," she said, and threw her bag at him.

He caught it effortlessly, and then smiled.

"Welcome."

Once outside, they took the subway to the hotel. He kept sneaking glances at her, but her face betrayed nothing. Was this Setsu-like? Perhaps she would sulk but she seemed a little too pensive.

"So what happened in Kyoto?"

"I don't want to talk about it. What happened on the shoot?"

"I don't want to talk about it." He looked at the adverts flying across the screens. "Not yet, anyway," he said.

"Whatever," she said. "As long as you're fine."

He caught her eyes in the glass, and for a moment, he was struck by their intensity. There was definitely something there, but it wasn't her usual grumpy aura. Nor was it the particular brand of evil which she reserved for those times when he got particularly out of line with her. Her eyes were intense but… quizzical, rather than mad. Like she was trying to figure something out, but she was missing some vital information.

It annoyed him, too, because she still hadn't become Setsu, and he couldn't fully become Cain either. But he couldn't say it out loud, so he chose instead to treat her with stony silence, hoping that at some point, she would notice and do her job.

She did, and she didn't like it.

Kyoko had been working up the courage to speak to him, but she never really came up with a good conversation opener. The sheer… unbelievability of the scenario was too much to put into words, and combined with her earlier epiphany… well, it was too easy to stay quiet when he obviously didn't want to speak to her.

The only exchange they had, before going to the hotel, was on whether they needed to shop for something or not. (Ren wasn't hungry. Of course he wasn't.) Kyoko didn't object, but suspected that he hadn't set foot in the store since she left.

Those suspicions confirmed when, upon returning to the room, she checked out the kitchen area and found nothing but a jar of pickles and some apples.

"Really, you'll make yourself sick like this," she muttered under her nose, while examining the former. "Those things expired two days ago."

"I never ate those," he said, feeling surly. His resolution not to piss her off anymore was crumbling under the dual pressure of her silence and his own tension. "Really, there's no need to make a fuss when there's a perfectly good restaurant on every corner around here."

"You can't do that every night. It's expensive, and furthermore…"

"What?"

Kyoko blinked. The word expensive made a tiny pirouette around her head, and she blinked a few times to gather her thoughts back.

"It's not healthy," she said. "You don't know what they put in your meals."

"I think I can afford it," Ren said. The dismissiveness in his tone ticked her off.

"Well, it won't kill you to learn some simple things," Kyoko said, grabbing her jacket and turning on her heel. "Come on, let's go downstairs and get some ingredients. I'll show you some stuff you can make real fast."

Ren gave a long, tired sigh. The NG sign. It made her freeze up.

"What?" she asked, at length.

"Mogami-san, do you really think this is something Setsu would say to her brother?"

"No." Setsu would be absolutely thrilled to leave her brother clueless about basic kitchen operations because it made her indispensible. But she wasn't Setsu. "But she wouldn't want her brother asking another woman to do something that has only been her duty. And besides, Cain can't stay as some kind of floundering man child for the rest of his life – he has to learn some basics."

Ren's eyes widened, and she realized she had hit upon a nerve.

"I wouldn't think badly of anyone who isn't perfect at something," he said. "In fact, if Cain never learned to cook, it was probably because he never had the time to. Or, perhaps, it was because he was spoiled."

Kyoko squared her shoulders.

"Well, he can change that, can he?"

They stared each other off. Then Ren took his jacket off and turned his back to her.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"To take a shower," he said. "Call room service for our dinner. You can order whatever you like."

"But…"

"Setsu, I'm tired, and you just travelled a long distance. Neither of us is in a mood for cooking, and there's no need to misuse a service that was created for just this occasion."

And he retreated to the bathroom as fast as it was humanly possible without running.

Kyoko stared after him, feeling a mixture of anger and frustration, both towards him and herself. She had come all the way from Kyoto to help him, and ended up antagonizing him instead.

Well, it was his fault, wasn't it? She was only trying to teach him a useful skill. Sure, she may have been a little rude, but he was a grown man, for goodness' sake. He ought to have learned.

Oh, Kyoko… it's not him you're angry at.

With a long, drawn out sigh, she sat down on her bed and ran her fingers through her wig, effectively removing it. It was no use trying to work – her head wasn't in the right place. It never would be, unless she did something about the thing that was bothering her.

Just do it, she thought, rip it out like a band-aid.

She removed the letter from her pocket and turned it in her hands. It was in her mother's handwriting, with her name printed on the front, and the date of her sixteenth birthday underneath. Taking a deep breath, she unfolded it and started reading.

Kyoko,

By the time you're reading this, you would have already learned everything. I imagine you have a lot of questions, but I haven't got much explanations to give, or apologies to offer. There are only so many things in life that we can help, and what has happened to me is not one of them.

You are sixteen now. You may leave school and start work, or even get married at that age. I hope you will not – education is very well worth it, and the money you have access to should enable you to get a very good one, if all else fails.

There is one aspect I should probably talk to you about. If you have seen your birth certificate, you will find the name of your father, as well as his contact information at the time of this writing. You will no doubt want to find him – I hope you will not. If there is one piece of advice I can offer you, it is to let this particular ghost rest. There were things about my life that I'm not proud of, and I know from experience that it's better sometimes to avoid things rather than face them head on.

Be safe,

Your mother

Her hands were shaking so bad that the signature blurred. Then she felt the tears on her face, and her breath caught, and suddenly she was bawling. Like a child scolded for the first time, like a baby's first cry into this world.

Ren stood under the spray of the shower, quietly beating his head against the tile. Why, why, why, why was he such an idiot? First that thing with Murasame, then antagonizing Kyoko. Couldn't he do anything right?

His watch was on the sink, mocking him quietly. He shut his eyes, but the image had imprinted on the back of his lids, making it impossible for him to distract himself.

Katsuki, Black Jack, Kyoko… he'd started these things in the hopes of becoming a better actor, yet he failed so epically at it. There was no way for him to keep a muzzle on Kuon, and in fact, things seemed to be getting worse, if he was unable to even have a conversation with the woman he loved without blowing up in her face.

Perhaps it was time to put an end to things. Perhaps he was never meant to face his mother and father proudly, without cameras or personas to hide behind.

It was too late anyway. He had less than two months.

A horrible scenario, yet this was his reality. He was failing, and there was no way for him to reach out for help.

Such were his thoughts, and he could have easily let the darkness consume him – after all, it was easy enough. It was like falling asleep in the snow – he could just close his eyes and never wake up. And then he heard it – loud and clear, even through the haze of his self-loathing and the walls surrounding him – a sobbing. It wasn't just a cry – it was a scream of torture. And it was coming from his room.

Kyoko.

He stumbled out of the shower, not even bothering to turn it off, and rushed out of the bathroom to find her doubled over on the bed, arms wrapped around herself like she was trying to hold herself together, and bawling inconsolably.

The sight paralyzed him.

"Mogami-san… Kyoko…" he began, but she paid him no heed. She tried, a few times, to pull herself together, but then another sob tore through her and she was crying again.

Not knowing what to do, he knelt down and placed his arms on her shoulders. "Kyoko, are you alright? Are you hurt? Look at me, please."

"N… Not hurt…" she managed, but barely. Her whole body was shaking.

"What is it then? Are you sick?" A horrible thought occurred to him. "Is it because of what I said?"

She shook her head furiously. With a monumental effort, she met his eyes and said:

"My mother is dead. I learned it in Kyoto." The sheer effort it took her to keep her composure was heartbreaking. It took him a while to process what she had said.

And he felt like a monster.

"I am so sorry," he said. "Forgive me, I had no idea."

She wiped at her eyes, but it was in vain. The tears just kept coming along.

"I'm sorry," she said. "It's probably stupid, since we weren't so close…"

"Never say that." And then he did something he had only allowed himself twice – he reached out and wrapped his arms around her. She welcomed his embrace, burying her face in the crook of his neck and breathing deeply. "I'm so sorry. I should have never called you like that," he said.

She shook her head. "She's been dead for years. Cancer. But I just learned it, and… and the people who raised me… they lied to me. They never said a word." That proved to be too much for her, and she started crying all over again. This time, however, he was there to comfort her. When the sobs wracked her body, his arms steadied it, and little by little, she calmed down.

And, miracle of miracles, she didn't pull away as soon as that happened. For a while, they stood like that, on their knees, with him holding her and her letting him. For once, Ren's mind was completely on her. Carefully, like the smallest touch might spook her, he lifted one hand and caressed her hair.

"I'm sorry," he said, not knowing how to approach this. "I should have never spoken to you the way I did."

"You didn't know."

"That doesn't make it better." He turned a little so that he could look at her eyes. She lifted her head. "I'm sorry. What I said was out of line and cruel. I had no right to treat you like this, ever."

For a long moment, she stared at him. She nodded.

"Thank you, then, for admitting this."

Sighing, she let her head drop again. "Do you know what the really weird part is?"

"No. Tell me."

"I never thought I would want to see her again. I never fantasized about telling her off, like I did for you or Sho." Ren smiled at that. "I didn't want to revisit this part of my life, ever. But now that I can't… I feel bad. There's suddenly so many things I want to say, and the fact that I can't—" she blinked a few times to dispel the tears that threatened to flow again "—it's frustrating."

Ren nodded, distractedly. He was shocked, in a way, at the similarities between the two of them. Moreover, if his father hadn't come to Japan, it was likely that he would have learned of his own mother's illness in the same manner – told by strangers, maybe years after the fact, or worse, hearing it announced on television.

"I'm sorry," he said, for her sake as well as his own. It felt like his heart might break under the weight of this tragedy.

Kyoko nodded and sat back on her heels.

"Thank you," she said. "For listening to me and… everything. Thank you."

"That's what friends are for," he said. "We are friends, aren't we?"

"Yeah. Friends," she said, then smirked. "Although I don't think friends usually see so much of each other, do you?"

Ren blinked, not knowing what she was talking about. Then he looked down on himself, and winced.

Of course. He was stark naked.

A/N Yes. I'm evil. I think that deserves some reviews, doesn't it? I'll try to update once more before I go offline, but if I don't, I think this is a nice image to end on.