Yay! The Spring Break! Except, I might be busy with all my studies... Ugh...

Anyway, I made a new vid called, "Skip Beat!- Brick by Boring Brick". Be sure to check it out! Though, it kinda is terrible... I think. Meh, I'm not too sure.

A tiny tinkle sounded the alarm in Keiko's brain. When she turned, she saw Ren holding her contract with a bell on another hand. He ran it again, sending shivers down her spine.

What was he doing?

Then, the bell disappeared. He slowly held his hand onto the top of the page, and tore the paper into shreds.

In terror, she gasped as he continued to rip it into even more tinier pieces. NOOOO! What was he doing? Why did he do that? She had a contract that she signed that she had to make him happy for a year! Why did he do that?

"Heh heh heh... Keiko, I don't need your help. You can't grant me anything I can't already get, and isn't it you that is receiving happiness? I give you gifts, and it seems like you are the one that is happy. So..." He threw the pieces of his ripping frenzy into the air. Like blossoms that lost their petals, or snow that was slowly falling, Keiko saw her contract torn in front of her eyes.

By Ren.

Ren...

"N-n...NOOOOOOOO!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" She stood abruptly from her bed and reached out for nothing in particular. Keiko screamed, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. "DON'T!" She searched the room, and found darkness all over her. She shivered, gripping her arms as she was plunged into darkness.

"I... I don't want to wake up like this. I thought that being blind made me use to the dark but," she gripped her head, "the darkness I see, rather than what I always saw when I was blind, are two different things. I'm more scared now that I can see."

Someone... save me!

Her attention was alerted quickly as she heard a click of the door.

"Keiko? Why did you scream just now?" Ren was in his pajamas, hair ruffled and a mess, and he was panting as he walked toward her. He sat down hard, and felt her forehead. "Are you okay; did you have a bad dream; is there anything I can do?" The questions went on and on. It soon stopped when she nodded her reply.

"Ren... it was just a bad dream. No need to worry!"

Ren... if I told you what my nightmare was... would you confirm it? You don't really need me, do you? She sadly smiled at this. It seemed right. What use was she to him?

He sighed, patting her head lightly. A warm sensation filled her body as her cat ears popped up. "I'm glad you're okay." He hesitated, even Keiko could see it in the dark, and he was about to get off before she grabbed hold onto his sleeve.

"D-don't go! Please!" she cried. A tail was formed. How long has it been that she had these features? When she finally knew how to get rid of them, she didn't mind. Now, they suddenly appeared. "Please... I..." Her ears folded downward; her tail swished on the mattress. "I hate the dark."

She was expecting much. She was such a bother to him. Why did she even bother to say that? What could he do about it? It was as if he would sl-

"Then do you need me to sleep with you?"

She jerked up. Was he reading her mind? He done that several times, repeating her thoughts but instead with his mouth. It was just freaky. But...

"Is it okay?" Much of her body was burning up, as she stared down at her fingers. Thank goodness that it was dark, or Ren would see a tomato in front of him.

He nodded, or was it a shake? She couldn't tell, but she heard, "I don't mind. Tsuki-" He paused. His mouth was covered, as he pondered. "Uh... U-Uriel and Vidka aren't here in the guestroom, so I understand that you are lonely. And my parents aren't here either, since they already left after Boxing Day." He patted her head again, feeling her soft ears. She mewed as she leaned toward his chest.

She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly as she murmured, "Thank you."

Act 45, Scene 2

(Enter Sato and Shiki)

[ Sato paced around his living room, dialing his daughter's phone number numerous of time, so much that he lost count. Was it twenty four... thirty... FIFTY? Rabenda had been gone for two months, same with Toto, but that didn't stop him from calling her every now and then, hoping he could get a signal.

Another worried father was in the same state, as he typed in Toto's phone number and code in his laptop, wanting for it pick up a signal.

"C'mon! What is wrong with modern technology?.! There are days when you wish it wasn't around, and the next time you actually relieved about them, they're no use!" Shiki shut the laptop, slamming it hard against his lap. It stung, not like he cared, and he glared at a house. That house...

Sato saw his frustration and shook his head. He touched his friend's arm. "Please, you can't be angry with Sara. She did nothing wrong and-"

"NOTHING WRONG? Are you crazy? It's because our children are so interested in her that this happened! This would never had happened if we weren't so..."

"Shiki... she was once our Social Studies teacher... Of course we would trust her, but we don't have any proof that she-"

"Who needs proof? It's just like everyone says! She's a witch! She suddenly made them disappear when we had eyes on her house the whole time! When we went inside, they weren't there. She must have-"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Sato shouted.

He jumped, his laptop clattered onto the ground. Shiki shook his head, laughing. "Oh? That woman... does she deserve to live? Our friend, Taimu, is gone, and she doesn't even shed a tear. Don't you think that she doesn't care who dies?"

"Shiki, that's enough." Sato sat down in a chair next to him. He glared. "I understand you're worried of the kids' disappearance as much as I am, but that doesn't mean you can pass the blame to Sara."

"But..." He couldn't finish as he saw Sato give him one final look.

Sato stood and began to walk away his so-called friend. "Anyone would blame someone just so they can feel better, but," he looked squarely at Shiki, "what about the person you're blaming? Have you ever thought what they felt when you blamed them for something they never did?" ]

(End of Scene)

"And... cut! That was wonderful! Now... let's go to Act 48, Scene 1! Ren san, Kijima san, do you remember your lines for that scene?" asked the director.

"Yes!" they both replied.

"Good! Now... I want to see you two in a realistic argument and..."

While the director was speaking, Keiko glanced at Kanae and whispered, "I thought they were just on Act 45? Why would the director skip all the way to Act 48?"

This was confusing after all. She was reading the script (She could finally read! Yay! Thank you for dictionary speed reading!) and saw that in Act 46, it was Kanae and Hio's turn.

"Oh, well, in those scenes, they still have Ren and Kijima in the same clothes, same place, so in order to fasten the speed, we do all the scenes that are needed in this one place, even if we're jumping acts. It's so we don't have to go back and forth to the same set when we could shoot it all for an hour or so, and then go shoot a different one. It's just so we don't complicate our work."

Keiko nodded, sucking it all in, and she unconsciously looked at Ren. He looked so serious, with him holding the script, a folded hand on his chin."Nii san... must really love acting."

"Eh? That's an understatement!" Kanae laughed. "Acting is Ren's life, believe it or not." She smiled at Keiko as she noticed her staring at her "brother" with lovey dovey eyes. "You know, if you want to go up to him to talk, you can. It's close to our break, and I'm sure the director won't make us do more scenes just to tire us out. Imagine! One scene, you're all healthy, and then the next, you are sweating and your stomach growls every time and the mic picks it up!"

Keiko nodded. "So... Chiori isn't here today?" She looked around, not finding said person. "Is Sara not needed on set today?"

"Nope. Most of the scenes for Sara have already been shot, so there are few that are actually needed."

"I see..."

Kanae closed her eyes, and opened one. "Do you like Ren?" she whispered.

Keiko blinked. "Huh?"

The actress rolled her eyes. She expected the "NO! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! WHY WOULD I FALL IN LOVE WITH SOMEONE WHO HAS ZERO CHANCE OF EVER SHOWING THE LEAST INTEREST IN ME?" statement. Of course, maybe Keiko wasn't like that, as she barely even knew what love was.

She repeated, "What do you mean, Kanae?" She followed her as they saw the rest of the crew moving to the cafeteria. Opening the flapping doors, she immediately went in line. She scanned her selections, and ordered a cinnamon roll, lasagna and Golden Emperor tea.

Golden Emperor tea? Since when did they serve that? Kanae ordered the same, minus the cinnamon roll, and grabbed her tray. As they got to their table, she glared at Ren, giving him the "girls only" look.

Ren nodded, and sat with the other male actors.

Now, you're probably wondering what a "girls only" look looks like. It's not very different from a cold glare, really, but Ren saw it several time by Kanae's icy blue eyes, and she only used it when she wanted to be alone with Kyoko to talk. It must have serious if she was using now when Kyoko was Keiko at the moment.

Sitting down, Keiko placed her tray and began to pick her food. Taking a fork, she relished the feel of the lasagna. The perfect blend of the noodle, meat sauce, and mozzarella was something more than divine. Of course, it really couldn't beat the food in Heaven. When someone ate something and they thought it was Heaven, or they thought that they would instantly be transported to heaven every time they had it, well, they just don't know. Real food in Heaven can't be beat. No matter what.

"What did you want to talk about?" she asked, scraping the sauce into her mouth. She finished quite quickly, and began to take the cinnamon roll out from its wrapper. She popped the whole thing into her mouth, swallowed it, and gulped loudly.

In the mean time, Kanae stared this. What? Did you trade Tsuki's stomach or something? "Uh.. Uh hum!" she cleared her throat. "Well... you didn't answer my question. Do you like Ren?"

"Of course I do," she replied nonchalantly, as if it was so obvious or as if was the only answer to every question, "I mean, who doesn't? He's nice, helpful, gives advice that I never even knew existed, doesn't care if he has to scold me for me to bloom, doesn't cut back on his words, speaks the truth, and-"

"I get it." Kanae held a hand. She cut the lasagna on her plate and silently swallowed it, eating it slowly as she could. Really, she was trying, but she didn't feel at all that hungry. Watching Keiko swallow and eat so fast... UGH! It was like watching a princess gracefully falling down the steps. You couldn't help by watch and wonder how she could do it without looking like a mess.

"I'm just saying," she continued, "are you..." Kanae looked around. Everyone was laughing, smiling, and gossiping instead of eating. Some were, but they were also concentrating on each others' conversation. Not listening to them. Good. "... in love with Ren."

Keiko squirted out her tea at Kanae, gripping the cup tightly, her knuckles turning white, as her eyes were unfocused. She flustered. "Wh-wh-WHAT?"

That's the kinda scene she expected. Only, all she got was Keiko sipping her tea, not spitting it out, and finished all in a gulp before she tilted her head. "Love? No, I'm not in love with my victim. That's just ridiculous." She waved her hand. "I don't think that's even possible. To me, he just looks like any other guy out there. There is no distinguished person in my life where I see him differently."

Only, that was just a lie. Or was it? Keiko performed it perfectly, keeping her posture in check and her facial expression was hard to read.

She looked up at Ren, and saw him groan as the male actors joked around with him.

"It's impossible," she finished.

"Huh?" Kanae glanced at the direction she was looking at. "What do you mean? I always see you laughing with him. When you're with him, you seem to be the happiest and-"

"But... there doesn't seem to be a point in falling in love with someone who won't love you back, now is there?"

Pausing, Kanae stared at her as if her on battery was low and she need new ones.

"What's with that look!" Keiko folded her arms. "It's true! I don't think he-"

"I heard you the first time." she rested her hand on her cheek and sighed at this. "I'm just surprised you would say that."

"H-he...! He doesn't even asked me to grant any of his wishes, well, it he had any. He doesn't even need me here! He can be happy all on his own!" She turned around. She then bit the inside of her mouth, and played around with the empty plate before her. "Why would it be surprising for me to think this way? It's only natural."

"It's because you're Ky-!" Kanae gasped and covered her mouth.

"Ky...?"

"Uh..." Kanae sweated. "Um... forget what I just said. Hey! I'm not hungry right now! Can you eat my lunch for me?"

"Sure, but that doesn't answer who Ky-"

"Forget what I said! Are you hungry?" She shoved her plate and stuffed the cinnamon roll into Keiko's mouth. She began to muffle her words, but gulped it down.

"Hey! What was that for?"

"Nothing."

"It didn't seem like nothing. Are you going to tell me or-"

"There's a party near midnight that the President is throwing tonight. It's to celebrate New Year's eve together. Would you like to come?"

Keiko nodded, still confused of the sudden change of topic. "I guess."

"Good; it wouldn't be a party without you."

"Yum... Maria, this tastes so good!" Keiko munched on the gingersnaps inside the plastic teddy bear shaped bag. She giggled as Maria gave her another plate of cookies. "I can taste both the orange juice and ginger you put! Yummy..."

"Keiko... You might go fat if you eat so much," Maria continued to pass the plates to Keiko though. She warned her, "Too much sweets near your bed time results pimples and weight!"

"Don't worry! I won't- Hey! Is that a cake? Can have some?" asked Keiko. She beamed brightly as she held the fork to her mouth. "Mmm! So good! Maria, why are you so good at cooking? Even with baking?" She moaned as the taste hit her mouth. "So good..."

"Well, I had a sister that taught me!" Maria proudly said. "She taught me everything there is to know about cooking."

"Really? Wow, she must be great! I can't even do much! It was only thanks to that video of you making food that helped me! Thank you so much!" She bowed. "Oh! There was a girl next to you in it, too. Was that your sister? You really look like her, with both of you with golden eyes," she commented.

At this, Maria laughed. "Oh? I'm sorry, she's not my real sister. I just respect her a lot."

"Huh? But you just said-"

Maria continued to laugh merrily. "In the Japanese culture, I think this also applies to the Chinese one also, you call the people you are friends with as if they're your siblings sometimes."

"Really? Wow... at Canada and the US, it's never like that." Keiko gulped the last piece of the the whole cake. "That was delicious! Thank you!"

"And thank you for shortening our supply of leftovers! I don't know what I would do if they all went to the trash again. There are always so much after a party... but was it okay for you to..." She made an eating motion, then it turned it into a frenzy of eating, as if she was stuffing herself.

"Don't worry! I was hungry, so it was the least I could do!"

It was the end of the glorious party they had, and they already did the count-down last... was it an hour ago or two? Who knows; they weren't really keeping track.

Keiko was in the kitchen, and she managed to finish all the thousands of plates in less than an hour. Did that beat Tsuki or Kuu's stomach, or was she a long way to go from beating them. Well, those two weren't around keeping score, so the points she was earning right now are probably doesn't even count.

Along with her and Maria, there was Lory, Ren, Yukhito, and Kanae that watched the horrendous feast for one girl.

Yashiro san gulped as he rubbed his eyes as he taped the whole thing on his camera. Maria asked him to do this, as a present for Tsuki to see his partner eating all of this. To make him jealous, or was it to show she was well fed?

"Keiko... since when did you suddenly... eat like this?" Yashiro san sweated as he closed his camera, almost forgetting to stop recording.

She smiled as she got a napkin and patted it against her lips. "I always get hungry somewhere during the winter. Kinda like a bear that hibernates. They eat lots, then they sleep for a long time, wake up to eat again, then sleep. I'm kinda like that at winter!"

Uh... Okay?

"Anyway... I think my work here is done!" She stood up. stretching her arms over her head, and continued to smile. "Let's go, Ren!"

"Okay," he took her arm and gracefully left the kitchen. Believe it or not, it almost seemed like he was used to her eating like that. Only...

"Keiko... why were you eating like that?" he asked, as he buckled his seat belt and drove out of the President's driveway, where all of the cars had already left. He continued to keep his eyes on the road, but he would occasionally look at the mirror in front of him, waiting for her to answer him. "Well?"

"I... There's no reason," she muttered. She glanced out the window, still seeing people outside laughing, with noise makers and kazoos, celebrating how it was a new year.

"Is that so?" Ren drove in silent.

"Ren... thank you for... last night. Or was it a year ago now?" she attempted a laugh, but soon fell into more silence. "It's really rare for me to have a nightmare, so... thanks."

"You just said that already. And I don't mind if..." he paused. "Why are you speaking like that?"

"Speaking like what?"

He already drove near his apartment, so he had no problems of stopping his car.

"Ren, what are you doing? The parking lot is over there and-"

"Answer my question. Why are you talking like that?"

"And again, what do you mean by "like that"?"

They stared at each other, but seeing as no one would budge, or blink, apparently, Ren growled at her. "Why are you speaking as if you're going to leave me. As if it's forever?"

So he caught on.

She sighed. "I am no longer needed."

"What? What do you mean you are-"

"It's just like I said. I am no longer needed. If my victim doesn't need me to grant wishes, then my existence in their lives aren't needed, now is it?" Keiko looked down, avoiding his eyes. "I was thinking of sleeping for a few years, just to forget this. It was a nice three months with you." And she opened the door.

Ren was stunned, but managed to get out and lightly shove her back in. He closed the door behind him, and slammed her shoulders onto her seat. She was sprawled, hair everywhere, and her redden cheeks were even more red than before.

"Why are you stopping me? You never even ask me to grant you anything. So, again, why are you stopping me?" Keiko looked into his eyes.

"Because..." He groaned. He looked away from her. His eyes left her, but when he looked back, she was waiting for an answer, just like he was before. "I don't ask for a wish because... you with me is all that I could ever hope for."

She rolled her eyes. "You think corny lines will bring me back?"

"Keiko, please, listen. The only reason why I- Keiko! Please!" Ren cried out as she suddenly was beginning to disappear.

"I'm sorry. My time with you... I loved it, even if it was just a short moment."

With that, she was gone.

Ren was in the same position, as if he was just caging someone. When he came to his senses, he noticed it was warm underneath him.

Huh? Why am I here?

He looked around and peered to the side at his car's clock. It was already 2 in the morning.

"Huh. I must have sleep walked here."