A/N: Last chapter! Plus the epilogue. Thank you to everyone who's hung with me to this crazy end, you guys are awesome. :) The next Skip Beat! chapter, chapter 143, comes out July 18th in Japan, so let's just see how desperately wrong I am compared to the canon, huh? My new Skip Beat! story, "Aka-chan", is published simultaneously with this last chapter, so I ask you to read that as well. Well, thanks once again! Please, enjoy. :)

This chapter is dedicated to Loverly Light, despite its lack of ShoxKyouko hints. Happy Birthday, Loverly. :D

Tsuruga Ren was not expecting chocolates today.

No, that was a lie. He was expecting chocolates. He was expecting a truckload of chocolates to be delivered to him today, having to thank each girl and trusting Yashiro-san to note their face, name and occupation so he could give them an appropriate gift for White Day. He was expecting it, had gotten used to it. He just wasn't expecting chocolates from the girl he loved.

And so when he saw her from across the Dark Moon set, and saw she had no bag full of chocolate, he smiled anyway. She was cute, and she seemed fairly happy. She laughed and smiled and said "Good morning" to each stage hand and actor that was on set.

"Good morning, Mogami-san," he said when she came close enough for conversation.

"Good morning, Tsuruga-san!" she replied, putting on a lying smile for him.

Something's wrong, he thought as he put his own fake smile on in response to the one on her face, Does it have anything to do with Valentine's?

"How was the quiz last night for Box "R"?" he asked, trying to sniff out the cause of her fake smile, "Did you do well?"

"Yes, better than I thought I would," she said sheepishly, embarrassed to getting the majority of the questions wrong, "Still, I could have done a lot better."

"Something to work for next time," he said kindly, "By the way, I tried calling you last night, but there was no answer on your cell."

"Ah!" she said, eyes widening. To anyone else, it would look like a normal reaction. To Ren, who was, after all, an actor, there was a trademark glint in her eye that revealed she was acting, "I'm sorry, I turned it off during the quiz show and forgot to turn it back on! I'm so sorry, Tsuruga-san!" She bowed low, a gesture he would have expected from Mogami-san, but the action also cleverly hid her face.

She's lying, he realized. Now it was on. There was no way he would leave Dark Moon set today not knowing her reasons. He was determined to find out the reason for her fake smile and her lies. He had a feeling they were the same cause.

"Ah!" she said again, and this time it was an honest reaction, not acting, "I also forgot Tsuruga-san's birthday present! It's still back at the Darumaya!" Her eyes unfocused as she thought of the logistics of returning to the restaurant, fetching the present, and getting back to Dark Moon set before she had to go in for makeup. "I have enough time before Mio's scar is supposed to be applied, I'll go back and get it quickly!"

"You really don't have to," he said hopelessly, knowing she would run off despite his words, but wanting her to stay, even if he couldn't figure out her secret, "It's not that big of a deal."

"No, no, no. I'll go back and get it," she smiled one more time, "I'm too grateful not to!"

With that, she left at a near run, unwavering in her goal to get there and back as soon as humanly possible. He sighed in an odd mix of exasperation and amusement as he watched her dodge and apologize her way across the set to the doors.

What's your little secret, Mogami-san? he asked silently as he finally turned his attention away from her to the set. Does it have anything to do with Valentine's? Is she regretting not giving someone Valentine's Day chocolates? No, no, that's wishful thinking. Don't think that she would regret not giving you chocolate, Tsuruga. To rid himself of this train of thought, he went back to the original topic. Well, what normally is involved whenever she tries to keep something from me? Fuwa's face immediately sprang to mind as the events of Karuizawa recalled themselves. And there was that chocolate with "Hate" on it…Did she give chocolate to Fuwa? What the hell would that be about? Doesn't she hate him? Did he blackmail her with something from the past? What the hell is going on here? Mogami-san…

"Sho!" came Mogami-san's startled voice from across the set. Ren's head snapped in that direction. He could see two silhouettes in the light; Mogami-san's and Fuwa's, presumably. Fuwa was holding a plastic bag.

Well, speak of the devil…

The entire crew, the director, and the actors who were on set were all watching the two, whispers flying through the air. Ren had heard rumors around the extras and crew that Fuwa and Mogami-san were dating, the evidence being his visit to Dark Moon set, and Mogami-san never gave a sufficient reason for his visit, and at Karuizawa when, apparently, they had breakfast together and he hung around set while she was in makeup. Ren had never asked Mogami-san about this, because her reaction to Fuwa and their relationship tended to put a strain on Ren's relationship with Kyouko, but he was confirmed that these things had happened by Momose-san. Momose-san had said, albeit nervously, that Fuwa had hung around set that first day Ren wasn't there, and that Mogami-san had also denied any dating between the two. Ren judged another wave of rumors in response to this second unexpected visit on Dark Moon set. Yet at that moment, he didn't really care.

Because Fuwa's presence now confirmed that he had something to do with Mogami-san's attitude today.

Before he even registered his actions, he was crossing the set, the only one who was moving. Everyone else had frozen as they watched, and the couple they were watching were staring each other down. He used his long stride to arrive as quickly as possible, while still looking graceful and unrushed, but they were on the opposite side of the room. He heard Yashiro-san follow him, and he knew Yashiro was feeling a strange combination of foreboding and excitement at seeing the development of this situation.

"You forgot this," said Fuwa as he held up the plastic bag, and, damn it all, Ren was still too far away.

Mogami-san barely looked at the bag, but seemed to know what was in it. As he grew closer, Ren could make out a large rectangular-ish shape straining at the plastic. What was it?

"I don't want it. Keep it," she said coldly, all traces of the cheerful attitude she had before gone.

"What can I do with it?" he asked, holding the bag out closer to her, "You're the chef here."

"I don't have a use for it," she said as she pushed the bag away. Ren was surprised at the casual way their hands brushed. Neither of them seemed to notice the close contact, and she continued on, "You can give it away, donate it, wrap it up as a white elephant gift. I don't care. It's yours."

"I really can't think how to use this thing," Fuwa said, "And I know you probably know a thousand uses for it. Take it."

"Sho!" yelled a rather busty woman with long hair as she ran towards him, looking annoyed "Don't just run off like that! You could have told me you were leaving!"

"I did," he said simply, not taking his eyes off Mogami-san.

"I thought you meant later, after we were done at the studio! We're still paying for that time, you know! How did you get here so fast, anyway?"

"I walked. It's right around the corner."

"And a few blocks! You have to tell me when you run off like that! First Karuizawa, and now…what do you expect me to do?"

"Wait. You knew I was going. You could have just waited."

"Will you stop arguing and do what she says!" exclaimed Mogami-san as Ren finally grew level with them, "Shouko-san's supposed to look after you! It's not easy being a manager! Besides, it looks like you're wasting your money and my time. I don't want the thing, you can do whatever you want with it."

"Thing?" asked Yashiro, a little out of breath from trying to keep up with Ren, "What thing?" He gave a nod to the woman, Shouko-san, which she returned. Somehow they had recognized each other as mutual colleagues, managers of big stars.

"The pan Kyouko-chan used to make okonomiyaki last night," explained Shouko-san, "She left it and we wanted to give it back to her."

"You bought it, after all," Fuwa reminded her, an eyebrow quirking.

"With your money," Mogami-san fired back.

"That I gave you," he countered.

"That I never wanted," she said contemptuously.

"That you took anyway."

"Because I knew you wouldn't let it go until I did!" she exclaimed.

"It's yours, then," he said, recognizing a victory, "Take it."

Not good, thought Ren, She's slipping away from me...how to bring her back?

"Last night?" said Yashiro, finding the first pause in the verbal struggle between the two, "What were you doing last night?"

"Sho destroyed Kyouko-chan's chocolates," explained Shouko-san patiently, "And so to make it up to her, he gave her money to make more chocolates and the kitchen to make them in. Because of the late hour, Kyouko-chan also agreed to make us dinner. It was delicious." Shouko-san's eyes grew distant as she remembered the okonomiyaki.

Mogami-san, though her eyes never left Fuwa, flinched at Shouko-san's explanation, and it was that small movement that clicked everything into place in Ren's mind. The reason for her fake smile was that she didn't want him to find out what she had done last night. The reason for her less-than-cheerful attitude was that she was still coming off her time with Fuwa.

But something still wasn't right. Before he even realized what was missing from this story, his mouth was already speaking the question that asked.

"Chocolates?" he said innocently, using his acting skills to cover up the anger that was building up again, "Who for?"

All three of them straightened uncomfortably.

Well, damn…

"Mogami-san?" he called, slipping a bit of ice into his voice. She seemed paralyzed.

"Reino!" she blurted out, "Reino blackmailed me into making chocolates for him! Don't blame me for this, Tsuruga-san! I didn't mean to stay the night! Honestly!"

She seemed to realize she had just divulged that she had slept over at Fuwa's, and her gaze finally left Fuwa to look nervously at Ren, fearing his reaction.

And for good reason.

The anger that had simmered before, building slowly but still manageable, burst from every cell of his body. He was furious. How did that happen? How did she allow herself to stay the night at Fuwa's place? Did she consider it no big deal to spend the night at a guy's place, even if nothing scandalous happened? Was that why she was so comfortable in Ren's apartment? Was Ren on the same level as Fuwa in this, the one thing he thought he was better than him? How did she allow this to happen?

Yashiro whistled low, impressed. He wasn't a fool; he knew how difficult it was to get two people who seemed to want nothing to do with each other in that situation. Yes, it took luck, but there was also a bit of skill, finesse if you will, involved to smooth everything over so it wasn't quite so awkward.

Though he should have been paying attention to Ren, or Kyouko-chan or Fuwa, his eyes left all three of them to look at the woman, Shouko. Admittedly, the moment he saw her he knew she was the same as him; manager by day, matchmaker by night. That nod wasn't one of greeting, but of rivalry. They both wanted Kyouko-chan with their client, and both were willing to get their hands a bit dirty to get that done. But he hadn't realized just how slick of an operator she was. To get Kyouko-chan, who hated Fuwa, to sleep over at his place, took more ability than any of those three stars realized.

Sliding away from Ren's side to get closer to the woman, he caught her attention. She unwillingly gave him an ear, her eyes still on her star and his childhood friend.

"How did you manage that?" he asked in a low voice. No one but the two of them even heard him, and they were standing far enough apart to not draw attention to themselves. Perfect for having this conversation.

She grinned, a catlike smile of triumph and pride of having her work acknowledged.

"Two words," she said softly, a challenge gleaming in her eyes, "Male pride."

His eyebrows went up as he considered that. Male pride. It was…brilliant. Simple and clean and yet it could work so beautifully to bring the two together. Plus, that concept applied not only to Fuwa, but to Ren as well. This woman could have just handed him the key to being Ren's best man at his and Kyouko-chan's future wedding.

He appraised the woman one more time, a smile working its way on his lips. For the first time in a while, a woman interested him. Here was a woman who was smart, but hid it, and, though nice enough, had a streak of cunning in her. She wasn't a simpering fan or a misled girl, she was a mature woman who was so very different than the ones he knew in his line of work. He wanted to know more. More about her methods, her strategy, her passions. He wanted to know about her. And there was a way to know more...

Suppressing a grin as he made his move, now completely ignoring the three stars who were now outright arguing, sliding a bit closer and asked the woman, Shouko, a question.

"Want to go out for drinks tonight?"