A/N: I'm so glad everyone was so pleased with the last chapter. I hope you enjoy this one just as much! Thank you for all the wonderfully fantastic reviews!
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"CUT!" the director exclaimed. "Cut, cut! Wrong scene, Ren-kun, B.J. doesn't confess until episode eleven."
Ren eased back from Kyoko.
"Ah . . . right, I'm sorry, I got the scenes mixed up . . . the two are so similar . . ." Ren did his best to appear sheepish.
The director gave an understanding grin.
"Yeah. I know. But, what can you do? I would set that scene in a different setting than the writer indicated, but the producers insisted . . ."
Ren nodded. It was then he took the opportunity to glance at Kyoko who was now sitting next to him. Her face was in her hands, but Ren could see that her ears were tomato red.
"Mogami-san . . . are you alright? Might I get you something? A drink of water?"
"No. No . . . thank you, Tsuruga-san."
Ren ventured to lay his hand gently on her shoulder. His heart sank when he felt her flinch.
"Mogami-san?"
Kyoko finally lifted her head to reveal the blush that was beginning to fade from her warm cheeks.
"I'm sorry, Tsuruga-san. I'm okay. It's just— I think I forget sometimes what a truly great actor you are and . . . that unexpected line . . . startled me, that's all. You delivered it so well I almost believed you."
It was the truth . . . and it frightened you . . .
It was like the time he almost made a move on her in his trailer and she had frozen up with fear or the time he had caught her when she fell in his kitchen . . .
"Okay, everyone, that's all for today."
Kyoko looked up at the director. "Aren't we going to do another take?"
"No, the take was good. We can easily edit out the slip-up."
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Kyoko couldn't shake the sound of Ren's voice repeating the wrong line in her head, over and over.
Each time she thought of it, she re-lived it and all its feelings, causing her to blush at seemingly random times. She lost count of how many people asked if she was coming down with something. Mr. Sawara even offered to fetch her a thermometer. Why was it affecting her so much? Why did everything about Mr. Tsuruga matter so much? Especially regarding her.
Kyoko stumbled into her Bo costume. Today she was a doctor. She inspected her red complexion in the speculum of the endoscope on Bo's head.
"Lucky thing I'll have this on . . ."
Kyoko sighed and put on the final piece of her costume. She had no sooner done this when a familiar voice sent a jolt through her heart.
"Bo!"
Kyoko forced herself to turn around to see Ren quickly striding toward her with his long legs. She gulped. The sensations of him came back and hit her like a freight train.
"H-hey, there, friend . . ." she somehow managed.
"Bo, I need your advice!"
"H-ho, ho, you've come to the right rooster." She gestured to her endoscope. "The doctor is in."
Kyoko pushed to crates together and gestured for him to lie down. Ren did not miss a beat and stretched out over the boxes.
Kyoko found herself staring at how his muscles worked as he acclimated his body to the makeshift therapy couch. What would it be like for this man to love her . . . in real life?
"S-s-so, what's wrong?"
Ren heaved a great sigh.
"I lost control today . . . I told her . . . sort of . . ."
"The high school girl you're in love with?" Kyoko felt an odd yet familiar jab.
Jealousy?
"Yes."
"What happened exactly?" Kyoko whipped out a notepad and pen from cartoon space.
"Well, I kissed her for one thing . . ."
Stab #2!
"Then, on the set today I confessed to her."
"On the set . . . you work with this girl?"
"Yeah . . ."
Kyoko's mind began to go through the teenage girls that worked at LME.
On set today . . . wait a minute . . .
Ren gave a small chuckle. "It's such a funny thing, fate. I haven't told anyone this but . . . when I was thirteen I was on vacation in Kyoto with my parents. I got lost and met this nine-year old girl crying in the woods . . ."
Waitaminutewaitaminute . . .
"For some reason, it was really important to me that she cheer up. So, I did some acrobatics for her. I felt so sorry for her that I gave her a blue crystal. I had purchased it from the gift shop of a cavern tour in America." Ren laughed again. "She was so impressed with my stunts and the stone, not to mention my . . ." Ren made a vague gesture towards his head. "That she declared me to be a fairy prince . . ."
WAIT A MINUTE!
Ren covered his face with his hands. "She's my kohai now, no matter what I do or how I feel . . . I just can't let myself. . ."
Wait . . .
"Love her . . ."
Ren gave a deep sigh. It felt good to finally get all that off his chest. He thought about telling the whole story to the president someday or Yashiro. Yet, here he had spilled his guts to a chicken . . . who had yet to respond.
"Bo?"
THUD!
Ren turned to find that his feathered friend had fallen over and now lay sprawled out on the pavement.
"Bo!"
When no response came Ren began to be concerned. "Hey!"
Did he faint? My story wasn't that riveting . . . I should probably take his headpiece off to give him some air . . .
Ren placed both hands on either side of the chicken's head and gave it a good yank. In the next moment it tumbled from numb fingers as he stared at the person who had been such a willing ear.
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MWHAHAHAHA!