Authors Chat: Thank you to those who left me comments. Before I should forget again, this story is dedicated to Yumiko27 (aka TohkoXKetsueki). I mentioned a while back that I would write an M fic for her using Natsu and Ren as the 'Emperor of the Night'. I haven't gotten to the, erm, GOOD stuff yet, but that's because this is a story, not an article in a smut magazine. ^_^

I would greatly appreciate your comments and constructive criticism!

That being said, italics text are direct thoughts of characters, text is in quotes, noises are done with asterisks.

DISCLAIMER: Skip Beat! and it's characters are not my original creation, they are owned and created by Nakamura Yoshiki.

Story Timeline: This fanfic is outside the timeline Nakamura-sensei has set forth. This would take place past the present storyline, but a not-so-distant future. Character development applies as I will attempt to keep the characters as Nakamura-sensei has made them. (Otherwise it just isn't a fanfiction but rather a fiction merely using the same names!) Just don't forget that some things may seem a bit out of character since they (characters) are in situations that Nakamura-sensei has not yet put them into or developed the emotional necessity for.

Playing With Fire

Act 2

"Tsuruga-san, are you feeling alright?" it was strange for him to request a break of any kind. It seemed to go against his work ethics, so why now did he request a break? Kyoko was grateful for the break for sure, but was concerned because of Ren's odd behavior. Was she being an inconvenience? Did he know how much her knee was hurting from falling on it so many times? She HAD been taught in lessons at LME how to fall gracefully in order to not hurt herself, but with so many NG's and Tsuruga-san landing on her leg, she had twisted her knee and banged it enough that it was bruised and quite sore.

"Everything is fine Mogami-san. Why would something be wrong?" He looked up at her from the floor and smiled.

Eeh!? There it is! This overwhelming tension! He IS upset with me!

"N-never mind then. I thought... Because Tsuruga-san requested a break..."

His expression softened. "It is because I know that if Mogami-san does not eat regularly, we could not continue filming because the words would be drown out by the noises from your stomach."

What!? He's playing with me!? To actually be in a good mood after I gave him so many NG's!? Unlike Tsuruga-san!

Kyoko was adamant something was wrong. Tsuruga Ren was acting strange. He refused to let himself be sick when he had a fever before, perhaps he WAS feeling ill?

"Go change out of your costume. I'll give you a ride."

Kyoko obediently turned and walked to her dressing room, thinking, trying to figure out why Tsuruga Ren was acting funny.

Ren let out a sign of relief as he watched Kyoko walk away. Only then did he force himself up from where he was sitting on the set and return to his own dressing room.

Ren ran his hand through his hair in reprieve. That was close. I'm afraid what would have happened had she noticed. If we had done any more takes… I would not have been able to control myself. He felt so young, being unable to control his body as he wished. He was supposed to be a professional! Yet…

Her skin was so soft… Ren shook the thoughts from his head. If this keeps up, I'll never be able to calm down. As it was, the form his slacks took showed they were never meant to contain men who were well endowed. No young male teacher who instructed high school girls could actually wear these slacks. They show things much too well. If the director Sutoyo had kept at it until they had a good take, it would have been unusable as soon as they played it back for editing and noticed an unsightly bulge in Ren's clothing.

He just… needed some time to calm down before he continued working on the scene with Kyoko. He would take her to get some dinner, then they could go back to his apartment to work on the scene. He would be fine by then.

It was good that Yashiro had allowed him to attend this shoot on his own. It was meant to be just a simple shoot, and since it was Yashiro's baby sister getting married, he gave Ren some slack and left for the weekend to attend the wedding. Had Yashiro been there today, Ren would never hear the end of it.

Thinking of Yashiro helped Ren calm down enough to quickly change and pack up his bag. Kyoko would be waiting for him in the studio lobby. Her Natsu character, unlike Mio, would only take a little to get into and out of costume. With Mio, there were prosthetics and layers of makeup to remove before finding her true face, but with Natsu, it would be unlikely Kyoko would even remove the makeup at all.

Sure enough, when Ren entered the lobby, Kyoko was already there, waiting for him with her own bag over her shoulder and her hands folded in front of her.

She bowed in a very formal bow as Ren approached.

"Thank you very much, Tsuruga-san, for giving me a ride today, I know Yashiro insisted since he is away, but I am indebted to you still." She looked up with just her eyes a bit when Ren did not respond and found him staring in the distance. "Tsuruga-san?" She stood up and looked the direction he was staring before looking back at him.

Keep it together! Even her antics were endearing and beginning to have an adverse affect on him.

"It's nothing Mogami-san. Shall we go?" He held the door open for her then followed her out to the parking lot and his own car. She waited at the passenger side for Ren to open the car door for her as she knew the car would not unlock until Ren opened the door and the electronic key registered on his person.

Kyoko slid in and Ren closed the door after her then got in on the drivers side and started the engine. He started down the long driveway of the studio before asking her, "What would you like for dinner?"

It was part of Yashiro's instructions, and his true reason for insisting Ren give Kyoko rides to and from the set while he was away. This way he would be sure Ren ate, and would not receive another verbal lashing from the president or Kyoko herself.

They settled on a bistro and silence filled the car until Ren turned into the parking lot of the restaurant,

"Have you been here before Mogami-san?"

Kyoko shook her head. "I really do not eat out much. The Taisho and Okami of Daruma-ya usually leave enough aside for me when I return from work each day."

"I have been here a few times with Yashiro. It is relatively dark inside, so it is harder for people to notice me. It's also central to many of the shoot locations, so it is logistically a good place to eat."

Ren turned the car off and went around to Kyoko's side to open the door for her.

"Tsuruga-san, but how is the food?"

"The food? Mm… I really do not remember. Palatable I'm sure."

When they entered the restaurant they were shown to a small table in a far corner where the dim lights were dimmest. Ren sat with his back to the crowd while Kyoko sat with her back to the wall on 'fan duty'. Sometimes it seemed easier to just cook and eat at Ren's apartment than dealing with the public.

They were in a dark enough corner though and they were not spotted through the entirety of the meal until they were ready to leave. A quick walk to the car and they were easily away.

Through the course of dinner they had discussed the purpose of Katsuki making a cameo on the Box 'R' Chronicle, and Ren now returned to that topic.

"It's a little ironic how this cameo for Katsuki is after Tsukigomori has been aired, but is meant to be before the story all together. The script Director Sutoyo presented me is easy enough to understand though… This was the job before Katsuki winds up at Mio and Mizuki's school. …You realize this is the last project I will be doing as Katsuki, don't you Mogami-san?"

"Yes, it makes me a little sad."

"Sad?"

"Yes, sad. You worked so hard to find your Katsuki, and now that you know him well, you will be putting him away. Your Katsuki has surpassed the original Tsuruga-san, that's amazing! If you hadn't convinced me to play in Tsukigomori with you, I would never have found my Mio either. You always help me so much!"

Ren smiled a little. "I only found Katsuki with your help. It is I who am grateful to you."

This time it was Kyoko's turn to blush and smile a little. "You've helped me with Mio, and with Natsu, and now again with Natsu… I'll be sad when we no longer work together."

"You know you can come to me with anything Mogami-san."

"Oh, I couldn't do that! I already take advantage of your help so much-"

Ren cut her off. "I mean it Mogami-san. You can come to me with anything, even non-work related. I do not see you as a burden, nor do you take advantage of me for any help that I am unwilling to give."

The blush spread on her cheeks and she smiled a little bigger.

"Oh, Tsuruga-san, you missed the turn."

"No I didn't. We are going to my apartment to work on the scene. I promised Director Sutoyo I would explain the mechanics to you about the fall. I would wait until tomorrow, but it may take some time and I know you would rest easier knowing you are prepared for the shoot on Monday."

Kyoko could not argue. He was right. Despite the soreness in her knee, she would continue to work on the scene and fall as many times as necessary until she could do it flawlessly. This would likely be a very long night.