Authors Chat: Way-to-go rsdc99 on getting the word-play! I've agreed to write a story for rsdc99 for getting that right, so look for it in the future!

My most recent reviewer mentioned the characters felt a bit out of character. I wonder if this is because I am failing to characterize them properly, or if it is because of the situation. If I am failing to characterize them, please let me know and tell me how they are short-coming. If it is the situation, there is bound to be SOME Out-of-Character'ness because Nakamura-sensei has not yet put them in this or these types of situations.

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: Y'all know the timeline by now. If not, go back and read it in an earlier chapter! (taken out for length).

Playing With Fire

Act 41

Her arms tingled where his hands had ran. With one hand holding her own and one tangled gently in her hair, Kyoko felt trapped and embarrassed to hold so much of Ren's attention.

What was she supposed to say to that? "Take me, I'm yours!"?? No Way! Running now would be bad, and she didn't think she wanted to, so she withdrew the only way she could. She looked intently at her lap, and blushed red. She couldn't actually get away, but if she looked at Ren now, she knew she would be in danger of drowning in his eyes.

Cute. Ren's mind threatened to stop working, so as promised, he let go of Kyoko, picked up his set of dishes, and walked to the kitchen. He put the remainder of the food – his leftovers – in containers and in the fridge while allowing Kyoko to get her bearings.

By the time Kyoko finally stumbled into the kitchen, Ren had dishwater in the sink, already run. He had a dishwasher, sure, but he rarely ever had enough dishes to fill it, and so was used to washing them by hand, however much he hated to.

"Here Kyoko… hand me your dishes. I'll wash them." His voice softened when he said her name, as if hearing it from his own mouth held some piece of paradise.

Kyoko couldn't blush darker than she already was, so she thrust out her arms, holding the dishes, and waited silently for him to take them from her. His long fingers curled around the glass in her hand, lacing with her fingers as he closed them. Little pin prickles tickled her flesh where his fingers touched between her fingers, and it startled her, letting the glass slip from her hand before he could catch it.

It landed on the hard floor and shattered across the tiles.

"Kyoko! Don't move… I don't want you to get cut." She was wearing slippers, but she did as he asked.

"I'm so sorry Tsuruga-san! I didn't mean to! I-it just slipped!"

"Ren. And it's alright. Just stay there. I'll find a broom." He stepped past her, carefully avoiding the large shards of glass.

Ren… REN… He really wants me to call him Ren! He should be mad at me though! I broke on of his juice glasses! Aaah! get a grip Kyoko! If I keep letting every little thing get to me, I'm going to really screw things up on the set tomorrow! For Tsuruga-… for Ren's sake… I have to control myself! She couldn't deny the warmth spreading through her chest as she thought of him as Ren rather than 'Tsuruga-san, her sempai.'

"Kyoko… I couldn't find the broom. This should work fine though for now." He held up two pieces of cardboard, then bent down to scoop up the largest pieces of glass before walking it over to the garbage and letting it slide into the bin. "I'll pick up a new broom after I drop you off. For now… come on." He held his arms out to her. Her eyes went a little wide and she started to protest.

"I AM wearing slippers Tsuru-"

"Ren."

"R-Ren… slippers! I can walk myself!" she had to force herself to remember what she had been arguing about. Her mind went all fuzzy when she said his name.

"I don't care. If you get glass shards in the slippers, then you could wind up cutting yourself on them next time you're here if they were to fall out." He reached out to her again and lifted her easily, pulling her in to his body before stepping outside the kitchen.

She squeaked, but did not protest too much. She held herself stiff as soon as Ren pulled her close.

"There" He set her down, "now if you gather your things, I'll take you back to the Daruma-ya."

She nodded once, not trusting her voice yet for words, then scrambled to pick up her few belongings to stuff them in her bag.

Ren ushered her out of his apartment and to his car. He seemed as if he wanted to say something, but then became lost in thought, and so she did not mind the silence. She was unsure herself what to say, but she fidgeted in the passenger's seat the entire way to the Daruma Ya.

As she got out of the car, Ren finally spoke.

"Kyoko… would it be alright… to take you out? On a date I mean." He looked at her through the lowered window.

She smiled at him and after a moment, "un!" she agreed with a quick nod of her head.

Ren smiled back. Those radiant beams didn't seem to hurt as much as they used to, but they still made her want to look away. His smile was just too bright. Too warm. Too perfect. It made her heart thump loudly in her chest and her breath caught in her lungs.

"I don't know when yet, but I'll let you know when I have some free time. For now, I'll see you tomorrow on set?"

She nodded, then watched him put the car in gear and drive away.

***

Kaminari knew exactly what she was doing when she convinced Kyoko to cook a meal for Tsuruga Ren as an apology. She had heard the history about Ren's eating habits, and knew Kyoko could not resist the temptation to ensure he ate properly.

She had found Yashiro early to inform him they had dinner plans. It was a bit of a surprise to Yashiro to suddenly be informed he was occupied for dinner, but she had promised to explain, so he went along with it.

She's got THAT LOOK. What did she do this time? The last time Yashiro could remember seeing that smug grin on her lips was when she had told everyone on the day of her high school graduation that she was going on a tour around the world, tickets were already purchased for her first leg of the journey, and she was set to leave that night. Granted, she didn't make it past a few months in the United Stated before she ran out of money and Yukihito had to bail her out because she was too ashamed to beg her parents, but that was beside the point. That look meant she had done something drastic.

Yashiro was slightly abhorred as his mind processed all the drastic things she could have done. True to his nature – cheerleader for Ren and Kyoko – all he could think of was the worst for his friends. His mind was in turmoil, and his usually calm demeanor was broken as he sat at the table of the restaurant, edgy and waiting for Kaminari to breach the topic.

"So I thought I was really going to hate taking Risk Management, but it's starting to look not-so-bad for next semester. I think my advisor was going to have an aneurisms from trying to convince me to take it. With everything that's going on though, I think it's probably a perfect time to take it. I'm glad I waited. Acting as Kyoko-chan's manager has really given me some insight on practical application."

"I suppose she is a good introduction to Risk Management. With her relationship with Fuwa Sho, there would be a bit of practical application. They really don't run into each other too often though. Well, there was Valentine's Day, but that was already controlled before your internship started."

"Valentine's Day? What happened on Valentine's Day?"

"Oh… I thought you knew about Fuwa-san's kiss?"

Kaminari gasped. "Fuwa Shou kissed Kyoko-chan!?"

"Shhh! Say it a little louder and you'll REALLY have a risk to manage! Just because this isn't a well known restaurant doesn't mean people won't talk."

"Sorry!" she hushed her voice.

"So I take it you didn't know about Valentine's day then. So what are you talking about? Why do you think Kyoko-chan will be good for Risk Management experience? I doubt we'll see Fuwa-san around for quite a while.

Kaminari grinned. "Kyoko-chan, at this very moment, should be over at Tsuruga-san's apartment cooking him dinner."

"You! … You're sure?"

"Um-hum," She nodded.

"How did you manage to get them even in the same room together Kami-chi!?"

"Girl-talk."

Yashiro rolled his eyes at her all-too-common excuse. 'Girl Talk' was Kaminari's way of flaunting in your face that she had a secret. As if she has some super-human ability to get people to open up. Irritating!

"Come on Kami-chi, just tell me," he let his irritation be heard in his voice.

"Fine. You want to know how I got Kyoko-chan to talk to Tsuruga-san again?"

"Yes, I do. If I didn't, I wouldn't have asked!" his patience was wearing thin.

"I got her to spill about what happened between her and Tsuruga-san."

Yashiro's eyes went wide, then he shook himself and his eagerness to know couldn't be contained. "b-b-bu but-- w-what? HOW?" he leaned forward on the edge of his chair.

Kaminari smiled smugly. "Lets just say… I have a way with words," she giggled. "Don't look at me like that!"

Yashiro was glaring. "You always go around and around! Just TELL ME TSUTSUI KAMINARI!" he was raising his voice. Kaminari always got a kick out of making him loose his cool, and she smiled.

"Really Yukihito. It wasn't anything significant. We just talked. A woman's lips are looser than a man's after all. We LIKE to talk about our problems. It makes us feel better. For Kyoko-chan? I just offered her some support." And blind sided her. "You could actually probably figure it out if you just thought about it."

"I HAVE thought about it Kaminari, but no one will confirm or deny it! Can't you just tell me what happened"

Kaminari fell silent a moment while Yashiro watched her with anticipation.

"Actually Yukihito… I don't think I can. It was very personal. I don't feel right divulging Kyoko-chan's secret."

Yashiro looked at her incredulously. "Are you serious? After all that, now you won't tell me what happened? It isn't only about Kyoko-chan, Kami-chi, it's also about Ren!"

"I know, but I'm sorry. I really don't think I should say. This should definitely be something Ren, or even Kyoko-chan, tells you."

"What the hell is it with everyone NOT wanting me to know what's going on with my charge!?" Yukihito looked as if he was ready to pull out his hair.

"It isn't that Yukihito. It really isn't. It's just… something that happened outside of work," Kaminari smiled at him weakly. "Oh! But I WILL tell you that it led to them having dinner tonight! So that's a good thing, ya?"

Yashiro was sulking. "Yeah… I guess."

"And I wouldn't be surprised if Kyoko-chan starts spending more time around Ren."

That peaked his interest. Why? "Did something happen? No, wait. Of course something happened, but you won't tell me more than that." Yashiro stopped mumbling with a gasp. "Did Kyoko-chan finally acknowledge Ren's feelings?"

Kaminari smiled. "You could say that."