Hello to all those lovely people who have favorite, followed, and reviewed my story thus far (which is sadly only one chapter in HOWEVER, I fully intend to update more often.)! Without further ado here is Chapter Two!

Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat or any of its characters! Thank you.

Kyoko stared at Ren blankly. She remembered back when Ren was acting as Cain Heel and Cain Heel's starring role, BJ. There were moments that Tsuruga-san appeared to be somewhere else entirely, as if he had almost disappeared. Those frightening moments that were violent and spiteful…..and dangerous…. was that ….Kuon? Kyoko shook her head. That simply couldn't be Kuon, the boy she'd developed, the boy who Tsuruga-san had matched his feelings perfectly, could never turn out to be that person. The type of person who embraced violence; who thrived on angry, blood thirsty emotion. If she was in love with this man before her, just which part of him did she love? More importantly which one was the mask and which one was genuine?

"But I fear, the worst of my betrayals is yet to come." He spoke softly peering at her over his long well-manicured hands. Ren felt a stone drop into his stomach but his face remained passive. Kyoko's face may have been blank but her jaw was clenched and he'd bet anything beneath the table her hands were sweaty and clenched into little fists. She was angry and he supposed she had every right to be.

"….." Kyoko remained silent.

" You may know the Hizuri family filmed for a long period of time outside a small village in Kyoto. The reason I treated you so coldly upon you entrance to LME is because I feared you would recognize me…" Ren trailed a sad smile playing softly on his lips. No, not Ren, Kuon. But which is which?

"Recognize you? I knew no one by the name of Kuon Hizuri. How could I have possibly been a threat?"

"You were very young when I met you it Kyoto, so I'm afraid you actually mispronounced my name…..and it ended up sounding like….."

"Corn….." Kyoko was hit with a resounding thud of realization. Her features darkened and she knew this was what he had been waiting for. The bomb he had meant to drop, so to speak. She felt so stupid, so used, like such a fool….

"I had meant to tell you. I honestly hadn't meant to take it so far. Your heart was just so pure and honest I couldn't bring myself to break the illusion." Ren swallowed the lump in his throat as he watched Kyoko's whole world come crashing down around her. Why did he let it go so far? Kyoko began to laugh. Ren was taken aback a bit but he merely watched her. The laughter felt a bit…off. It felt dark.

"Who was I kidding right? Thinking that someone so ethereal could truly exist….just the dream of a child who wanted nothing more than to be spirited away by whatever means possible. For me, fairytales were the escape. I convinced myself to be in love with Fuwa Sho, just as I have convinced myself that I am love with Tsuruga Ren. "

Ren's eyes widened at her speech. She was…..in love with him? He watched her now, her body was contorting a bit and she made a wobbly movement to exit the table and walked over toward the wide bay windows. For as unstable as she surely felt, he applauded her efforts to appear strong. Everything about Kyoko was beautiful to Ren. Even the parts she hated, the darker parts of herself, he could embrace those. There were things and times Ren didn't know of, emotion of hers he had never seen. He hoped like hell that this would be a turning point for them. But her speech didn't die there. He knew Kyoko would not be so forgiving. Her body remained turned, facing the window. She could hardly stand to look at him, he figured.

"Why do you wear that watch? I remember during our time as the Heel siblings, even then you had carried it with you. It was stopped at a very odd time. Not only that but you reacted oddly when performing as Cain Heel. There were times when a completely different person acted in your stead. It was a bit frightening, almost like you were possessed." Kyoko turned and looked at him with cold empty eyes, the stare was almost chilling. Did she really say she had loved him not five minutes ago?

"I have a rather violent past and it's not something I am particularly proud of. I lost myself trying to achieve something separate from my parent's success. I was looked down upon for the mixture of my blood. I was a very angry person for a very long time. I had a sort of rage that was nearly uncontrollable."

Ren felt a bit ashamed, though he had made a sort of truce with his past self, the honest truth was he hadn't welcomed back many of the emotions that belonged to Kuon. The fight was in his blood and he knew it would probably never truly leave. It was probably what had made the Heel sibling act so unstable for him; it has been that much easier to relapse.

"There's more to the story than that isn't there? Something else you're not telling me. But I want to know. I need to know the truth. I need to know why I've been played the fool. Why it is that Kuon's biggest landmine is the word 'murderer'? Did you…were you responsible for someone's death?" Kyoko hung her head low, leaning against the table, invading Ren's space. Her face had darkened, she was terrified. Ren couldn't blame her. He reached out and swept back the hair out of her face. She flinched and Ren took it with a grain of salt.

"I separated myself from my parents for a while and grew close to a man named Rick. He was a former gang member made good and I expect he had meant to help me grow strong and turn my life around after seeing me in too many bloody fist fights. Rick was…..my omurice master. Rick was engaged to be married to a woman named Tina. I'm not sure why Rick was so adamant about building my strength. Perhaps he thought I would be his predecessor. I was just so angry, I kept looking for fights, and I would go out on my own. One night, I was in a particularly nasty one after some thugs had ganged up on me. I had beaten most of them within inches of their lives, though no man I had hot had ever died of his injuries. Rick and Tina had come after me one thug from the group had ran off and escaped my blind rage. I ran across the street after him to exact his just rewards for calling me a half breed. Rick had followed me into the street, he called out my name, just as I turned he was struck by a car. Tina had hurriedly cradled Rick in her arms, trying her best to keep him alive until help could arrive. Rick taking in such an angry kid had never sat right with her. She called me a murderer. She told me it would have been better if I had died in his stead. The watch was Rick's, it had broken when he was struck, and therefore, the time had stopped. This was the time that Rick had died. I kept it so as to remind myself of all the horrible things I have done. I deprived a woman and man who loved each other the chance to live happily together. And for what? Rage and anger? Acceptance? Those are just excuses."

Kyoko's face revealed nothing. Ren was pouring his heart out to her, the least she could do is show some type of response-

"You think that's enough?"

"Excuse me?"

"You think wearing some stupid watch makes you sorry for what you did to that woman and that man? I'm asking if you truly think that makes you even?"

"What—"

"Have you seen her since the night he was killed? Did you take care of the woman he left behind like a friend would truly do?"

"She would not want to see me Kyoko. She surely would not accept any help from me—"

"How do you know that? What's worse I get the astounding feeling that this is also why you can't play a decent love role! You've never been in love with anyone!"

"You're wrong."

"You have this misguided belief that because you deprived someone else of their chance to live a happily ever after, you shouldn't get one either. Whether or not you believe you deserve one… that is another matter."

"Kyoko….."

"Love is not rainbows and butterflies! It's painful and harsh and cruel and be honest, you are not avoiding love because of your sense of honor, you're doing it to protect yourself!"

Ren grabbed Kyoko and crushed his lips on to hers. It was certainly not a gentleman's kiss. But rough and savage. It was a Kuon kiss. She felt the angles of his body that pressed against her own. She liked it. She didn't want to like it but she did. He pulled away fast, leaving her a bit breathless.

"Kyoko, I lov—"

Ren felt a stinging pain across his left cheek. It began to throb as he eyed Kyoko. Her eyes filled with angry tears.

"How dare you." She sputtered. "You made a fool out of me; you do not get to say anything! Especially not that." Kyoko stomped her foot to make her point.

"…"

Ren remained silent. He had imagined this going badly, but not this badly. She had turned and began walking toward the exit. Just before exiting the hall she peered over her slender right shoulder and spoke to him calmly but with passion.

"I can't even look at you until you begin to fix this, if it can even be fixed. I think I'll be spending some time away from the agency. Don't look for me."

With that Ren watched the woman he loved, his saving grace walk out of his life. And he'd be damned if his cheek wasn't going to bruise.