I still feel bad about skipping a day and the two shorter chapters, so here is an extra-long one for your enjoyment. You are all right, Ren gets to play Bo! I guess I am just predictable. Oh well… I hope you enjoy the new chapter.
Note I do not own Skip Beat!.
Kyoko led Ren into the studio for the filming of "Kimagure Rock" in silence. She had not explained what he was going to be doing, but if it was something that anyone could sub out, then it could not be that hard. It had taken Ren scolding Kyoko about how unprofessional she was being for her to relent to Lory's request. Ren kept pondering how bad the job was going to be. It's couldn't be as hard as cleaning out Lory's prop room, and the president would not expose his favorite LoveMe member to anything that was immoral. Several people waved to Ren as he followed Kyoko into the back of the studio, she looked as if she was walking to her execution. She opened one half of a double door and held it open for Ren to enter. His eyes swung around the prop room for the talk show but stopped when they fell on a familiar form setting on a cloth waiting for someone to inhabit it.
Someone had decked the chicken out in a red cape and mask with a neon green spandex suit covering most of the body. There was a large silhouette of a chicken on a circle on the stomach. The cocks comb was slicked back into a dramatic wave giving the costume a very heroic feel. One of the guests on the show was the star of a comic book movie that was going to be released in the next few weeks. Ren stared at the costume and could feel Kyoko withering behind him before he even turned around to talk to her. He pulled out his professional smile to cover the shock and anger seething inside of him. Now that he knew his temper was shortened, he was going to do his best to not let it go again.
Kyoko cowered behind Ren as she felt him slip into professional mode. Her grudges swarmed from her to bask in the glow that was radiating from her senpai as he turned and shot her an award winning smile. She would rather have dealt with the uncharacteristic outburst he had been having all day then be faced with that lying smile. All of Kyoko's grudges flew out as she dropped to the floor in a full dogeze bow as she begged his forgiveness. Ren looked down on his body folded so neatly on the floor.
"Get up Kyoko. This is not the time or place to have this conversation." Ren spoke in a sweet tone that lifted Kyoko to her feet in terror. "We will talk about this when we get back to the apartment this evening." Ren was livid, but there was still a job to be done and not a lot of time to get ready. He closed on the costume and Kyoko came to help him get into it. Ren took a deep breath to help him calm down. He kind of understood why Kyoko had not told him about her role as Bo. He had told this chicken many things that he had not given away to other. He practically told her that he loved her. As Kyoko helped him dress, his mind wandered back over the few times that he had sat to talk with the Bo. Now that he knew it was Kyoko, he could see her personality showing through the feathers, the excitability, the teasing, the laughter, and the caring. He could not believe it was the love resistant teen that had shown him his true feeling for her. He sighed as each thought passed through his mind.
Kyoko listened to Ren as she helped pulled the chicken around him. Every sigh made her twitch, she was sure that Ren was going to tear her up as soon as they got to someplace more privet. When he got his body back, she would be cast out of his life forever. Kyoko bit her lip and forced the tears threating her eyes back inside, it would not do to have people see Ren bawling in the stock room.
"Do you need any help Kyoko-chan? We need you soon." Once of the stage hands poked her head into the room and stopped when she saw the tall actor helping the orange haired girl. She blushed as she recognized Japan's top actor. "I didn't know you have company. You're need in five." The stage hand apologized and back out of the room and ran to tell her friend about Kyoko's help. Ren and Kyoko watched the girl close the door and Ren sighed again. Kyoko stood petrified that she had let Ren get seen by that stage hand, she had a very bad habit of blowing things out of proportion and would have the entire set bubbling with the rumors that the two actors were dating or worse, having an affair.
"If anyone asks you what is going on, because I am sure they will, just tell them you brought me over from another job." Kyoko thought up the first thing that she could to cover their situation. Ren was not surprised when Kyoko came up with a cover for why 'Ren' was in the prop room helping 'her' get dressed, but it still hurt his heart. Ren sighed deeply again and nodded his head. Kyoko handed him Bo's head and started to give him instructions on how to play Bo.
"I know Bo." Ren confessed. "I watch Kimagure Rock when I can catch it." Kyoko was taken aback by his words. She did not think that he would watch that type of show. Ren could not miss the shock expression on her face. "I like to watch the chicken." Ren admitted in a quiet voice that made Kyoko blush even harder. Ren cleared his throat to break the tension that had built between them and stood up taller. "Why don't you get out of here so that we don't spread anymore rumor." Ren suggested, he did not want to cause her problems later. This was, after all, her job. "I will call you when this is over." Kyoko agreed and decided to go find an empty room to spend her last few hours of life in, because she was sure she was dead as soon as Ren got out of that costume. Ren pulled Bo's head on and waddled his way towards the stage area.
"Hey Kyoko-chan." Ren was pulled from his musing on how Kyoko had kept this a secret for so long by the sound of a male's voice. He looked out of his costume to see the three host of the show had joined him in walking to the stage. The shortest one had spoken to him. Ren fished in his memory and found that all three hosts had the same last name of Ishibashis, so it would be best to address them by that name.
"Good evening Ishibashis-san." Ren answered in his best impression of polite Kyoko he could get. The three hosts stopped and stared at him as he realized that he had made an error.
"Are you alright Kyoko-chan?" the shortest of the three boys asked again. Ren groaned to himself, of course she would be on first name basis with the boys if she worked with them for as long as she had played Bo. It seemed Ren was the only one she refused to allow any informality with. Ren was glad that he had the head of the costume on so that they could not see the face he had made. "We heard you were not feeling well. Are you better now?" Hikaru continued. Ren could hear the concern in the young man's voice.
"I'm fine." Ren chose to leave the man's name off not wanting to repeat the same mistake twice. "I am just not feeling like myself today, but I will do my best" Ren had to smile at his own inside joke. The three band mates looked at Ren warily for a moment before continuing to the stage.
"Just let us know if you need anything." Shin'ichi patted Ren on the shoulder before heading out to get ready for their entrance.
"What are you doing back here Kyoko!" Ren spun on hearing the angry voice. "You're supposed to be getting ready to open the show." Ren spied the director glaring at him. He was not sure how he was supposed to open the show. He knew it was Bo's job to warm up the crowd and get their attention before the main cast came on, but his entrance changed every show. Ren tried to think like Kyoko would to come up with an entrance, but nothing came to him. "Get to your spot. And don't screw it up!" The director yelled at him and pointed to a stage hand waiting for him by the curtain. Ren's heart beat wildly as he realized that he had no idea what he was doing. His feet squeaked his doom as he scurried over to the stage hand waiting to let him out.
"Evening Kyoko-chan. Glad to see that your better." The girl spoke softly to him and peeked around the curtain. "We have just a few minutes so listen carefully. Today Bo is the 'Masked Chicken' so we have Koi playing a villain." The woman went on for a few more minutes outlining what the opening skit would be and Ren let out a deep sigh of relief. "Then you stick him in the cage and Miki and I will come out and cart him off the stage. Then it the intro like normal. Got that." Ren nodded his head. He loved to watch Bo's antics and he knew how the bird behaved, so now that he knew what was going on he would have no problem being the mascot for the evening.
The stage hand peaked out the curtain to see if they were ready for the 'Masked Chicken' to make his appearance and saw that they still had a little time.
"I heard that you and Tusuruga Ren were going out." Ren was flabbergasted at how fast the chance encounter with the stage hand had escalated their relationship from helping to put on a costume to dating.
"N-n-no." Ren stuttered in his shock. "He dropped me off and was helping me get into my costume." The girl nodded.
"I figured it was something more innocent then what Aki-chan was claiming." The girl shook her head. "To listen to her talk, one would think he had you pressed up against the wall having his way with you." Ren's eyes widened as the woman spoke. He only wished he was able to do that to Kyoko, but he would never choose a stockroom at her work to do it. 'Well maybe if it was just kissing.' Ren shook the thought away before it could hook itself into his brain. He had a job to do and fantasizing about the girl whose body he was in would not make his task easier. There would be plenty of time to do that when he got his own body back. "I will go pop a hole in the rest of the grip's speculations. Sorry about that Kyoko."
"Thank you." Ren whispered, he was glad that someone would squash the crazy ideas before they got out of the studio. It would make both of their lives easier.
"It's time." The woman pulled the curtain apart so Ren would not drag it with him when he made his entrance. "Break a leg."
On the girl's cue Ren bunched himself up and rushed through the split in the material to a loud fanfare announcing the arrival of the hero. The crowd cheered madly for the shows mascot as he struck a dramatic pose with his feet apart and his wings on his hips. Ren made Bo raise one wing above his eyes to shield it from the glare of the overhead light and exaggerated leaning into his gaze as he scanned the audience for the stage hand that was playing the villain. He spotted Koi decked out in a black bandit suit 'hiding' in the crowd. Ren knew about where he was, and almost laughed out loud when his eyes landed on the ridiculous costume among the normal people.
Ren jumped in place and struck another dramatic pose as he shifted the elbow on the wing on his hip back, took a more striding position and pointed to the bad guy in the audience. Koi took this as his cue to hop up and rush his way to the stage so that he could escape. Bo's feet squeaked as Ren scurried forward flapping his wings as he went to apprehend the criminal. Koi hid behind one of the couched and peeked over as Ren stopped the chicken in the middle of the set and struck the same searching pose as before while the audience screamed for Bo to turn around. Koi came up to stand directly behind the giant chicken and moved to stay behind him as Ren exaggerated the twist looking around the room. Bo's fans screamed and cheered the chicken on until Ren turned suddenly and was face to face with Koi in the black costume. Ren lung at the man and Koi backed up to taunt the chicken again. Ren flapped wildly as he chased him across the stage to the soft squeaking of the chicken's feet and the thunderous roar of the happy crowd. Koi let himself be caught on the other side of the stage and struggled as Ren pulled him back to the cage that had been set out for them. About halfway back, Ren pulled Koi into the large wings to the costume so he could get him into the cage.
Koi struggled weakly as he was supposed to, but he stepped on the large foot of the poultry and tripped. Ren tried to stop the man, but the bulky costume caused him to get off balance in the unfamiliar body and they both went down. Ren twisted instinctively and the man fell on top of Ren driving the air out of him. The soft padding of the body saved him from further hurt and Ren struggled to his feet without releasing his captive, because that it what a super hero chicken would do. Koi helped as much as possible, but he was still playing the bad guy it would look bad if the villain helped the hero up. Once on his feet, Ren dragged the man in black over and shoved him in the cage and he struck a triumphant pose as the two stage hands came out and wheeled the criminal away. Ren pointed himself towards the side slightly and someone started a large fan that forced the cape to flap in the breeze behind him. Once the roaring from the crowd died down Ren made his way over to the entry way as the announcer introduced the Ishibashis Brothers. They patted the chicken and congratulated him on his capture before taking over the stage for the main part of the show. Ren slipped behind the curtain and pulled his head off.
"Nice job." A different stage hand greeted him and pulled him farther backstage. Koi came over as soon as he saw Bo step from the stage area.
"I am so sorry, Kyoko-chan." Koi bowed to Ren slightly. "Are you ok?" Ren's ribs hurt a little, but he was mostly ok.
"I'm fine." Ren reassured the worried man. "Nothing's hurt." Koi breathed a sigh of relief before speaking again.
"Good." He held out a sign board for Ren to take. "They are going to be waiting for you soon." Ren was not sure what the man was talking about until he looked at the board and saw an introduction written on it. Ren remembered that it was Bo that brought the guests out. Ren popped his head back on and took up the board to go retrieve the stars from their dressing room.
Ren spent the rest of the night running the little errands that were Bo's job. He only got a little lost in the backstage area before he found the dressing rooms, but the stage hands were quick to set him right with only a slightly raised eyebrow. Ren found himself back out on stage several times by bringing the guests out or delivering props that would signal the start of the next segment of the show. Everyone was really helpful in making sure that Ren got what he needed and was on mark when he had to go on stage. It was common knowledge that Kyoko was in replacing her sub tonight, it had been hard to miss the emergency crew that had taken the unfortunate girl that had fallen away, so the crew figured she was not feeling well and did their best to help Kyoko out when they could. Ren appreciated the extra care they were showing 'Kyoko' today.
"It's time for the final skit before the ending song." The same stage hand spoke to Ren softly from where they watched on stage for Bo's cue. Koi, now dressed in the black and white strips of an convict, was going to sneak out on stage and take one of the Ishibashis brothers as a hostage. Bo was going to go out and save the musician from the escaped man. The crowed called out a warning as Koi slipped up and pulled the oldest and smallest of the musicians from the seating. The boys were expecting this, but weren't expecting Koi to sling Hikaru up onto his shoulder to carry him away. The stage hand signaled Ren and Bo rushed out on squeaky feet to the wild calls of the audience. Ren bounced back and forth in the path of the kidnapper so that he could not escape with the leader of the band until Koi dropped the man on his feet and shoved him lightly into the open wings of Bo. Ren caught him and tucked him protectively into his wing so that he would not get hurt. Hikaru blushed madly at being pressed into the side of the girl that he liked, yes there was a chicken suit in the way, but it was still Kyoko in there. The pair shifted back and forth in front of Koi one more time before Ren released a slightly reddened Hikaru. Ren paused long enough to make sure the small man could stand on his own before lunging at the villain and tackling him to the ground. This fall was written in so Koi was able to get to the ground on his stomach without getting hurt. Ren stood up and placed on big chicken foot into the fallen man's back and crossed his wings triumphantly over his chest as they pointed the fan at him again to make the cape flutter. Two stage hands dressed as cops came out and pulled Koi back stage as if he had been knocked out by the 'Masked Chicken'. Ren returned the kidnapped man to his friend and everyone cheered for the savior of the day.
"Thank you 'Masked Chicken'." Hikaru bowed to Ren, who flourished his cape and disappeared off stage as super heroes are known to do. Ren went back to the prop room to shed his chicken persona. That suit was extremely hot and Bo would not be needed as they brought the show to an end. He received a glower from the director along with a disgruntled 'good job'. Ren pondered what Kyoko could have done to that man to get him to hate her so much. He received several other congratulations as he walked past. He raised his wing limply in acknowledgement, he was exhausted and he just wanted to sit down and relax before going and finding Kyoko. Ren's feet stilled as his mind turned to the girl he loved. He was not looking forward to the conversation he was going to have to have with her. He picked his feet up and squeaked his way to the prop room and struggled out the costume. He had just sat it back on the cloth when the three hosts from the show came in to check on 'Kyoko'
"Nice job tonight." The tall brunette said as he came over and started to help Ren wrap the suit up in the cloth. Ren recognized him as the Shin'ichi and the same man that had patted him on the back before the show had started. The spikey blond boy came over and helped his band mate take the bundled chicken up and place it on the cart to go back to wardrobe.
"We thought you were not going to be here today." Yusei said as the boys stabilized the bundle on the cart. Ren tried to think of a plausible reason that Kyoko would not have been there.
"I have a bit of the stomach flu." Ren pulled something that would keep the girl down for a few days as he rubbed his stomach. He got the idea from the comfortableness he was feeling in his gut. Hikaru stepped closer to Ren and the three boys started to escort her to the prop room with the cart.
"I am sorry to hear that." Ren could hear the concern in the oldest man's voice. "I know where there is a nice place that makes some soup that is easy to digest, it you would care to join me." Ren was shocked to hear the man so blandly asking Kyoko out. He could see from the look on his face that he cared deeply for the short actress. Jealousy shot through Ren and he was torn between telling the man she already had a date for tonight (forever is Ren had his way) or just politely refusing on the grounds that she was sick. He also wondered how many times this man had made a pass at Kyoko and if she did ever go out with him.
"I'm sorry. I don't think my stomach would handle it right now." Ren chose the way that would keep Kyoko in good favor with her coworkers. He could deal with Hikaru after he got his body back and won Kyoko's heart. This little encounter just proved that Yashiro was right and Ren needed to make a move before someone else did. "Maybe next time." He could see Hikaru's face fall, but the man did not drop away from her side. Ren guest this was a common occurrence from the way the spiky blond jostled their leader and teased him about his height.
When Bo was taken care of and the cart was returned to the prop room, Ren bowed a good bye to the host and picked up Kyoko's bag to leave. He liked the Ishabashis brothers, they looked after 'Kyoko' and made sure 'she' was ok before letting Ren go. They were good friends for her to have, he was just not sure about the oldest and his designs on the woman he love. Ren's mind turned back to the girl and he pulled out Kyoko's phone to call her. He nearly dropped the thing when he flipped it open to find there were over 70 missed call all from the same number. He guessed the number belonged to Fuwa. The phone rang again, but he chose to ignore it and wait for it to go to voice mail before trying to reach Kyoko. He so wanted to answer the call and tell that stupid musician that Kyoko was in better hands now and to go screw off, but he knew that would only cause his love more problems. He was emotionally drained and he still had to go confront Kyoko about her acting as Bo, so getting worked up by Sho was not in his best interest right now. When the call had passed Ren flipped open the silent phone and called the girl he loved. Maybe she had calmed down and they could talk rational about this, but he was not going to hold his breath. This was Kyoko after all.