DISCLAIMER: SKIP BEAT! and its associated characters are the creations of Yoshiki Nakamura. This author claims no ownership of Skip Beat or any of its characters. All other rights reserved.
Word: The word-prompt for this one-shot is 'Motive.' This is a continuation of the Special Bonus chapter at the end of Volume 46, when Moko asks to talk to Ren about 'something.' Sensei still hasn't shown us what they talked about, so…
The Bomb
"There's something I want to talk to you about," she said.
Ren looked at Kotonomi Kanae and gulped, hoping that the gentleman's smile he kept on his face was enough to fool her. She was staring at him with a certain disapproval, and he had the unsettling feeling that she was suspecting something. He didn't think Kyoko had told her—she wouldn't ask him if she knew. But they only truly had one subject to talk about, and that subject was Kyoko. It stood to reason, then, that the something she wanted to ask about was a certain orange-haired girl who he'd recently trapped in an elevator. "Certainly, Kotonami-san," he said. "What can I help you with?"
"Not out here," she said, motioning him to the Love Me room.
Ren nodded and made to follow, expecting Yashiro to come along, too. But the manager shook his head. "I have to meet with Sawara-san, Ren," he said. "I'll come by here when I'm done and we'll go to lunch."
"Traitor," Ren said under his breath.
Yashiro just grinned. "Kyoko has her own bodyguards," he whispered back," And she's her best friend. You're just lucky Kotonami-san doesn't have her sword right now."
"What?! What do you mean?"
But Yashiro shook his head and stalked off, and Ren looked up to see Kotonami-san with her arms crossed, tapping her foot impatiently.
"Are you done, Tsuruga-san?" she asked.
"Of course, Kotonami-san," he replied.
She ushered him into the Love Me room, and motioned for him to sit at the table.
He sat.
She remained standing, looking down at him under a furrowed brow. She paced back and forth as he twiddled his thumbs awkwardly.
He half-expected the lights to dim and a bright overhead bulb to flicker on overhead as she interrogated him—though of course, no such thing happened. The Love Me room was a far cry from the police precinct, after all. But it didn't change the fact that something unpleasant was surely coming. He made a concerted effort to keep his smile gentlemanly, his eyes wide and unassuming.
He hadn't realized it, but he was…terrified.
In the past, girls had taken him to meet their parents, or their friends, and he'd never been nervous. It was easy to not be nervous, he supposed, when you didn't really care about the girl you were dating. But with Kyoko, the stakes were infinitely higher. He'd always been a little jealous of Kotonami in the past. Kyoko was so affectionate to her—always trying to hug her, always wanting to spend time with her. He'd even bought Kyoko the Dajowney Land tickets and suggested she take Kotonami, when he would have given the moon to go with her instead. And he had to admit that Kotonami was an excellent best friend. She reciprocated in kind, protecting Kyoko like a particularly elegant bulldog. How could he forget the way she'd confronted him after seeing the reports about him and Kana?
He'd managed to sidestep her questioning then, but he had a feeling it would be harder to do that now. And yet he had to. His confession to Kyoko—and her confession to him—was a joint secret. It was something both of them should decide to reveal together. But he desperately wanted Kotonami's approval. Not just her approval—he wanted her blessing. He'd be lying if he claimed otherwise.
Boyish, he thought to himself. Look boyish and innocent. Yes, that's the look to go for…
"What did you do to her?" Kanae said.
He did a double take. "What!?"
"I said, 'What did you do to her?'" she repeated.
"I—I didn't do anything—"
"So…you've got nothing to do with her looking all awkward and sad?"
"Awkward and sad?! Kotonami-san, I—"
"And you've got nothing to do with her freaking out and blushing whenever someone says your name?"
"I—well, uh—"
"So you DID do something," Kanae said. She had a smug smile on her lips.
Ren was feeling somewhat chagrined. The day had been full of revelations, all of them pointing to the fact that he was not nearly as good at fooling people as he'd thought he was. He'd never imagined that fans would notice his necklace. He'd never imagined that they'd even seen his watch. But from what Yashiro said, all of these were subjects of discussion on fan forums. And now Kotonami was here interrogating him like a bad cop, and he had a feeling that she already knew how he felt about Kyoko, the same way Yashiro did.
"Confess," she said. She was implacable, truly an ice queen.
He froze, and she saw it. He was going to have to tell her. He was going to have to tell her everything—
And then he saw her soften. "Listen," she said, "You can tell me or not, but I've suspected for a while."
She stopped and looked at him, but he kept his silence.
"Ever since the Happy Grateful Party. Why else would you give her that pink sapphire?," she said. "No, maybe even before," she mused. "But all I'm trying to figure out, Tsuruga-san, is your motive."
"My…motive?" he asked. "What do you mean?"
"You don't know what I mean?" Kanae responded. "You, her beloved senpai, the most lauded actor of your generation, the 'sexiest man' in Japan—you single her out even though she's a newbie actress…you look at her with those puppy-dog eyes of yours—" She paused and looked over at him. "Oh yes, don't think I don't notice. You can get her to do just about anything when you look at her like that…It doesn't work when anyone else does it, either. Anyway, you can have anyone you want—you even have Kana. But you still give Kyoko those Dajowney Land tickets, and instead of her floating around on wings, she looks troubled and unsure of herself. Which begs the question—what has her beloved Tsuruga-senpai done to make her act in such a fashion?"
Kanae pulled out the chair opposite Ren and sat down on it, glaring at him. Classic bad-cop move, Ren thought.
"And all I want to know, Tsuruga-san, is why. Because if you're playing with her, so help me, I will never forgive you."
"Why?" he echoed. Because I love her, that's why, he thought. Because I can't be the boyfriend she deserves. Because she deserves to know that someone loves her, even so. But he couldn't very well say that out loud, could he?
"I would never hurt her," he said.
Kanae looked unsatisfied, so he continued. "She's one of the best actresses I've ever met," he continued, "and one of the most wonderful people I know…"
"And?" she asked.
"And, well—"
The sound of the door saved him. Yashiro strode in briskly, a pile of new scripts and offers in-hand. "Sawara-san and I finished extremely quickly," he said. "And I was able to come get you sooner. Did you answer Kotonami-san's question?" he asked. The manager looked at Ren and then looked up at Kanae, still pacing.
Ren looked at Yashiro gratefully. I owe him so much, he thought. "In a way," he responded, "I think I have."
Kanae glared at him, and then turned away. "Tsuruga-san," she said.
"Yes?"
She refused to look at him. A faint pink flush was on her cheeks. "I'll take you at your word. Don't hurt her. Whatever you do."
"I won't," he said softly. "I promise."
Quietly, she said, "We're going to Dajowney Land this Saturday. It was your White Day present."
He bowed. "Keep watch over her for me, Kotonami-san," he said.
"I will," she responded. He hadn't confessed, not really. But he'd said all she needed to know.
=.=.=.=.=.=
Author's Note: Thank you for reading :) I hope you enjoyed it. Please let me know what you think!
