Author's Note: Last chapter, finally! And it's slightly longer than the others! Hope you enjoy it!

Translation Corner: I'm pretty sure most of you are aware, but for those that aren't, "-san" is a suffix in Japanese (called an honorific) which acts just like "Mr./Mrs./Ms." in English. Adding "-san" after a name is a sign of respect. In the manga, Kyoko only uses Sho's first name because they were close friends, and I think she also doesn't care about his opinion of her. In contrast, she always calls Ren "Tsuruga-san" because he is older than her and is her "senpai" at LME. So, when Ren is thinking about Kyoko showing respect, it is because she used the honorific "-san".

Chapter 8: The Day of Broken Promises

"Fuwa-san?"

Hearing her confused response, Ren flinched. Of all the moments to ruin, and of all the people to ruin them, why did that guy have to weasel his way into the perfect ending of their date?

But it couldn't be Fuwa Sho, Ren reasoned. There was no way that, after everything he'd done to her, she'd ever speak to him with respect!

"Kyoko, it's nice to hear your voice after so long!"

It felt like déjà vu, hearing Sho's mom's voice. Maybe it was because she'd thought about her just today. After the "incident" at the love hotel, Kyoko guessed that Sho must have called his parents.

Frankly, it surprised her that he'd take the initiative to phone them. When they'd been living together, Sho had always complained to her about how his parents scolded and lectured him. At that time, he wouldn't bother to call them at all. Not wanting to nag her Prince Charming, Kyoko would secretly call his parents every other week to update them on Sho's progress in showbiz. She'd make excuses for him about how he was too busy to talk to them directly.

It never bothered her at the time, because she felt indebted to the couple for taking her into their home for the majority of her childhood. But after he broke her heart, she couldn't summon the courage to explain the situation to them. A major source of guilt from her and Sho's falling out was that, from that point on, his parents would be left in the dark on the subject of their only son. They deserved better, but it was something she couldn't bring herself to do.

Apparently Sho had finally swallowed his pride and contacted them. It was just the kind of mature thing that she thought he was incapable of doing. Kyoko didn't like that this small gesture actually impressed her. Stranger still was the fact that he bothered to give them her phone number. Did that mean that they'd talked about her?

"And we were so excited to hear that you'd started a career as an actress!" Sho's mom was saying. "Imagine our surprise! You had never expressed any interest in your school plays and the like…"

Sho had told her this much?

Nodding along and giving a few "thank you"s while Fuwa-san rambled on and on about how much she'd liked Mio in [Dark Moon], Kyoko was lost in her thoughts.

Was this some sort of peace offering?

Shotaro knew how much she cared for his parents, and how much it bothered her that he wasn't on speaking terms with them. However, when she'd mentioned them earlier today, it had only been to relieve the tension in the atmosphere. It hadn't been a jibe at his childishness, but due to her own honest curiosity. Sure, she'd actually felt a bit concerned for them after she'd pictured them having some sort of accident that landed them in the hospital, but when it was resolved that it was just her imagination running wild, she didn't expect anything to come of her asking after them. But not only had Sho given her words consideration, he had gone out of his way to tell his mother about her every role, and in such detail!

Why?

Her ears burned. The whole situation gave her an uncomfortable feeling. But there had to be a catch – Sho must have had an ulterior motive.

"We'd been grooming you to take over the ryokan (inn), but honestly, we're prepared to support whatever career you choose for yourself. We're just excited to have you as a daughter … so Otousan (Sho's father) and I figured this was as good a time as any to start planning the wedding!"

"Huh?" Kyoko blurted, being jolted out of her brooding and back to the conversation. "Which wedding?!"

"Why, yours and Shotaro's of course," Fuwa-san replied mildly. "It's been arranged since you were kids, didn't you know? My, by now, you must have been engaged for about 7 years."

"Engaged?!" Kyoko yelped.

Didn't he…?

Didn't he tell her about what happened between them?

"Oh, surely you remember," Fuwa-san urged. "It was New Year's when it was decided. It was one of the last times your mother was in town…"

With Fuwa-san's words, the memory shook off the many layers of dirt that she had shoveled onto it.

The ryokan was very busy that year. All of the rooms had been occupied since Christmas Eve. It was one of those rare frosty days where the morning dew collected on the cedars branches as ice crystals. She remembered thinking that even the trees were excited, and had dressed themselves up for the occasion.

The Fuwas had told her that her mother was returning for New Year's Eve and Kyoko had felt personally responsible for preparing her room. She remembered getting up early and assisting the elderly head maid with her morning cleaning routine: dusting, emptying garbage, laundering the sheets, and replacing the flower arrangements. With all the chores, the day passed so quickly so that she barely had time to worry about how her mother would take her latest exam score (only a 95%).

There was going to be a special buffet in the main restaurant at midnight to ring in the New Year. That was when her mother would arrive, they'd told her. She'd made sure to wear her best dress.

As she'd been heading over to the restaurant, she remembered having run into the head waitress on the way and being given some small task – really she couldn't remember now what it had been – but she did remember that she'd needed to bring something to the proprietress, Fuwa-san. She'd taken the shortcut outdoors, rather than walking inside, because it had been so crowded and she didn't want to inconvenience the guests.

The sun had set enough that long shadows covered the gardens and, with the steam-haze from the busy kitchen vents, the air was misty and cold.

She remembered kneeling and opening the sliding paper door to the proprietress' personal quarters. At the time she'd been so impatient to get to the restaurant to see her mother, she hadn't thought of whatever it was she was supposed to deliver. But then, as she lifted her head, she'd laid eyes on her. To her complete surprise, her mother had been sitting right next to the proprietress and her husband. In her confusion and disbelief, she'd frozen in place.

Without warning, Shotaro passed in front of her and out the door, reaching back and dragging her by the collar along with him.

There had been a struggle, but in the end, Sho kept her from going back inside.

"Hey," he'd said, kicking a tree trunk. The frost was shaken loose and fell around her shoulders, glittering in the lamp-light.

"Take this."

Shoving his fist towards her, Kyoko had been skeptical.

"No," she'd told him. "It's going to be another dead moth."

"Don't be stupid," he'd responded. "Your mom would never give you something like that."

"It's from my mom?!"

She'd grabbed his fist with both hands, prying his fingers apart to reveal the ring in his small palm.

"Isn't this…"

"Yeah, it's hers. My parent's said it'll be yours one day, when we get married."

His attitude at the time had been so nonchalant, as if he hadn't given the statement a second thought. For him, it was obvious that they'd be together for the rest of their lives. They were best friends and barely spent a moment apart. But, by this time, Kyoko recalled having already developed a serious crush on Shotaro, so that moment was especially pleasing.

She remembered being warmed to her core despite the weather.

"But," Sho continued, hiding his face sullenly. "I told them that that wasn't fair. If it was a present from her, then why didn't they just give it to you now? Why should you have to wait?"

Kyoko cringed against her buried emotions. It hurt to remember.

"Sho, I don't mind," she'd told him giving back the ring and folding his fingers over it. "For you, I'd wait an eternity."

So that's how it was, Sho was too much of a coward to have told his mother the truth about their relationship. He couldn't admit that he'd cast her aside with disgust, just like the dead moths he used to give her.

"But, Fuwa-san, We're…"

"Oh, don't worry, Kyoko," interrupted Fuwa-san, completely misunderstanding her hesitation. "I know you're both still young. We were thinking it would be prudent to wait until you're both done high school before we make everything official."

"No, that's not it," Kyoko insisted, being reminded of how difficult it was to get a word in edge-wise when Sho's mom was this excited.

"Well, your mom is definitely on-board. Like I said, we've had the papers signed for years. Maybe it should be a spring wedding…"

It was too cruel. Even coming from Sho, this was low. Having his mother call her with all these expectations – reminding her of how deeply she'd loved him and digging up old feelings of betrayal – it was like twisting the knife in her back that she'd forgotten was there.

Her demons were awakening from their slumber. In her current state of mind, she couldn't recall why they'd been sleeping in the first place. That box inside her that Sho had broken, wasn't it only filled with hate?

Since she'd answered the phone, it was as if Mogami-san had lost sight of her surroundings. Ren watched her face the whole time, speculating on who had called her and why.

Words like "wedding" and "engaged" deepened his curiosity. But the most worrying part of it was her expression. Only moments ago, she'd been smiling and teasing Cain about learning how to drive. He thought she'd finally calmed down over whatever had happened between her and Sho. Looking at her now, though, the pain seemed so fresh that he expected to see blood dripping from the wound on her heart.

What could this relative of Sho have said to get this kind of reaction?

As with all things to do with Sho, it initially filled Ren with rage. It angered him that she was always caught up in that guy's web – but more than that – he hated feeling like an outsider in this part of Mogami-san's life. But, seeing those amber eyes harden and dull, when they'd previously been sparkling, was enough to pull him out of Kuon's foul mood.

He didn't want to lose her to that hatred.

Understanding what it was like to have a dark past, Ren knew that he couldn't let her succumb to those feelings again – not after she'd made so much progress in opening her heart to him.

He didn't want her to lose!

Pushing through the uncomfortable atmosphere, Ren reached out to Mogami-san. His large hand touched her head softly, barely enough for her to register the sensation. Slowly he stroked the hair of her Setsu wig, praying that his feelings would reach through the layers of her defenses. All the characters that she'd built around her and all the locks she'd used in an effort to protect the most fragile part of herself had to be cast off. It was only by cutting away the sickness that she could grow.

Just as the swirling horde of demons threatened to burst forth from Mogami-san, he channeled all of his feelings toward her – his appreciation of her kindness, his admiration of her acting talent, his attraction to her strong will and devotion, his love… – he put all of that on display with a tender smile that was 100% not fake at all.

As Mogami-san's head tilted up to face him – as her blonde bangs shifted out of her eyes – the vulnerability and fear he saw there almost made him turn away. But he didn't. He faced her with that smile on his face and didn't back down, because the moment he turned away would be the chance Mogami-san needed to convince herself that it was all a lie.

In the light of that pure smile, her demons evaporated.

Kyoko flinched as if she could feel their demise like one hundred little pinpricks. It made her shiver.

But then, they were gone. She was still angry at Shotaro, of course, but that bottomless rage that possessed her had been replaced by something just as scary but entirely different.

It wasn't like little fluttering angels or butterflies or fairies – this feeling of [opening the box] didn't have an imaginary spirit animal. There was just Tsuruga-san, standing in front of her, looking concerned and hopeful and all the things that made her heart beat like mad. His smile didn't falter.

Why was he smiling so brightly?

Suddenly, the conversation she'd been having with Fuwa-san seemed unimportant. Everything faded to the background when she was in the presence of that smile.

She wanted it to mean something… She wanted it to be just for her. But first…

Coming clean about the break-up was just a formality at this point. It didn't change anything that had happened between her and Sho. It was as if Tsuruga-san had lifted her up out of the mud she'd been stuck in since Shotaro had dumped her, and she felt lighter than air. Like this, with Tsuruga-san, she felt she could conquer any obstacle that stood in her way.

"Fuwa-san, stop," she said, locking eyes with Tsuruga-san as she spoke, "I can't marry Sho."

White day should be renamed the "Day of Broken Promises", Kyoko considered as she chose her next words.

On Valentine's Day, she'd promised Tsuruga-san that she'd guard her chastity with her life, and never let Sho kiss her again.

Four days ago, she'd promised Sho that she'd never revert back to a foolish person in love, and that as an object of her affection, Tsuruga-san was the least likely candidate.

Seven years ago, she'd promised her hand in marriage to Sho… and that she'd always be waiting for him.

More than a year ago she'd promised herself - in order to protect what little piece of her heart that was left - that she'd never allow that box to be opened again.

And just today, she'd promised the President that she'd never reveal her feelings to Tsuruga-san.

"I'm in love with someone else."

"Oh, someone… someone else, is it?" stuttered Fuwa-san the conversation came to an abrupt halt. She chuckled absently, in an effort to hide her embarrassment and disappointment. "Well, that's great! I didn't mean to trouble you. I wish you all the best."

"Thank you. Good bye."

Kyoko closed her phone with a snap, not taking her eyes off Tsuruga-san's.

"Sho's parents?" he asked simply, his face schooled into blankness.

"Yeah."

People were moving toward the exits like a solid mass. The fireworks were over. The park was set to close in a few minutes. Still, Kyoko and Ren stood in the middle of the path, so that the stream of people parted around them like a rock in a river.

"Listen, Tsuruga-san-"

"It's alright," he interrupted, his eyes soft. "I think I understand now. It was an arranged marriage between the two of you, right? You and Fuwa Sho?"

Finally he found it – the red string that connected those two. But he hadn't needed to sever it, because Mogami-san had done it for him.

"No! Well, I mean," Kyoko hung her head, figuring it was time to let him in completely. "It was. For a long time it was something I wanted more than anything… But it isn't like that anymore… So I put an end to it."

"Because you are in love with someone else?"

The teen's face burned bright red in the floodlights that were supposed to guide them out of the park. The spell that made this date possible - the Heel siblings' personas - had expired as soon as she answered her phone. Kyoko felt exposed, vulnerable. There was nowhere for her to hide from Tsuruga-san's questions.

The tightness around her eyes said enough. It was as if she was preparing herself for a fall from a ten-story building. This wasn't the moment he'd been waiting for. Although she'd expressed her interest indirectly, she wasn't ready just yet.

When he thought about it, Ren realized he wasn't ready either. It wouldn't be fair to Mogami-san to enter a relationship half-way. At some point he'd need to let her know his true identity. As much as he wanted to just blurt it out, things were too complicated for that - and it was only getting worse. Every day he didn't tell her that he was her childhood friend "Corn" was another day that he'd lied to her. Even still, he wanted to guide her towards the answer gently.

But that was a decision for another day. And with Mogami-san taking time off work for her exams, he'd have a chance to plan everything out.

For now, he'd savor their last few moments together before they reached the gates.

"Do I know him... or her?" asked Tsuruga-san mildly as he started walking with the rest of the crowd.

"Her?!" Kyoko moaned. "Why does everyone think I'm a lesbian today?"

Ren paused and gave her a double-take.

"Never mind," she said, chuckling at his surprise. "But it's definitely a Him."

As they made their way towards the RV, Ren insisted that she tell him all about how the director of [Box "R"] could have come to that conclusion. With a touch of pride, Kyoko relived the scenes shot that afternoon and explained how she'd changed Natsu's character. Ren listened with interest, and asked questions along the way as to her reasoning behind each alteration.

When she mentioned that Director Kazutoyo had reminded her that she wasn't the star of the drama, Ren was incensed. He started a tirade about the importance of having well-rounded characters, even in small roles. But the young actress impressed him by having convinced the director to change the script of the last few scenes to better compliment the new facets of her character. For once, she accepted his praise with modesty - rather than claiming she didn't deserve it.

By the time they arrived at the door to the Muse's trailer, it felt like the date had only just begun. The difference was that this time they weren't hiding behind other characters or misunderstandings.

Upon opening the door, the President jumped out at them with a burst of confetti and ribbons.

"Young couples shouldn't end their dates inside an RV!" he scolded with a smile.

"President!" Kyoko cried in surprise.

Ren scowled at his meddling boss. Hadn't he promised to stay out of Mogami-san's sight?

Lory gave Tsuruga-san a knowing smirk. "Ren, we'll be driving back to LME, so I've got a car waiting for you. It'll drive you to the hotel."

A quick glace told him that the "car" the President was talking about was just a normal taxi. Maybe even below the normal standards, though he couldn't really say for sure. Were there rust-colored taxis?

"You do remember that Cain Heel is an international talent, right?"

"Yes, but I figured he was trying to be inconspicuous."

Ren face-palmed. "Please don't presume to understand the motivation of my character."

Kyoko's attention bounced back and forth between the two men. Tsuruga-san didn't seem at all perturbed that the President was there. For her on the other hand, it had been quite a shock. She worried that she was going to be scolded for using Setsuka Heel, considering that it was only this morning that she'd been told to take a break from the role.

But the President continued to ignore her, to the point where she started to relax.

"Can you give me a few minutes alone with Mogami-san, since you're forcing me to use this objectionable mode of transportation?"

"Haven't you had enough of her time already?" chastised the President, looking at his watch. "It's past midnight, for crying out loud! She's still a student, you know. Plus, she has to study in the morning – right Kyoko-chan?"

Being thrust into the conversation, Kyoko instinctively agreed. "Y-yes."

"One minute," negotiated Ren.

Kyoko stared at him. Was he really fighting the President on this?

"Twenty seconds."

"Forty."

"Thirty. And no kissing!"

If she could have, she would have died of embarrassment.

"Deal."

With that, the President climbed back into the RV and closed the door. Before Kyoko looked away, she noticed something peeking up from the bottom of the window. Though she didn't catch it, Ren made some rude gesture and it disappeared behind the curtains.

The parking lot was emptying steadily around them. The night sky was that sort of pitch black color that reminded you that it was very late and the day had been long. Exhaustion dragged on Kyoko, and she couldn't wait to go home and tuck into bed.

"Mogami-san," Ren said, pulling her attention back to him.

"Yes?"

"Good luck with your exams."

"Thank you, Tsuruga-san," Kyoko replied. Her sleepiness crept into her voice, and she had to stifle a yawn.

Ren understood. Although he wanted to keep extending the date indefinitely, he knew it was time to let her go for the night.

As he shifted his weight, Kyoko realized he was about to leave. In the back of her brain she knew he had to eventually, but the less rational part didn't want this to end. The night felt unfinished – the date, incomplete. She had to say something, especially after he'd given her such a wonderful gift!

She gulped down her nerves and added, "And thank you for tonight."

"It was my pleasure," Ren responded with a smile. "Happy White Day, Kyoko."

"TIME!"

A/N: It's over! Arg, I didn't want it to end either Kyoko!

So that was White Day. Thanks for reading. I really like the Skip Beat! fandom - everyone reviews! (so nice!) Let me know what you think of this story, and PM me if you want to discuss the latest chapters/scans!

Bye for now,

XD