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: upset

Note: takes place after Ch. 311

Kyoko, In Katakana

Several things happened all at once. That, they could all agree on.

One minute, Kyoko was sparring again with Kanae Kotonami; a second later, she was falling. There was a hard thud as she hit the ground, but she wasn't on there long—because a second after that, Ren Tsuruga was crying out "Kyoko!" as he sprinted across the set. His long legs took him across the room in a blur.

Kyoko squealed as she felt his arms close around her, squirmed as she felt him lift her off the ground, winced at the pain in her ankle, and then blushed a bright octopus red when she looked up into his face. "Kyo—" He stopped midway, recalling himself and the conversation they'd had just yesterday. "—ko-chan," he finished lamely. Funny. Six years of ironclad self-control, and he'd been undone at the sight of her falling backwards onto a concrete floor. He knew how she'd react to hearing her name. He should've known better. It probably would've helped if he hadn't been calling her "Kyoko" in his head already.

She tried to scowl at him and then tried to freeze, but it was altogether too late to hide the blush staining her cheeks. His dark brown eyes were looking at her with undisguised concern. She could see his heartbeat in the pulse on his neck, feel his breath on her hair. He had that look on his face—that awful, awful look, the one that made women melt into gooey, slobbering puddles.

He paused before he spoke, getting himself under control. He had been clutching at her—he forced himself not to hold her so closely. Princess-carry notwithstanding, he was her senpai. Merely a senpai. He'd even done this before, back when she'd first joined the LoveMe section. He put a concerned-but-not-too-concerned look on his face before speaking. "Are you alright?" he asked. He sounded normal. He sounded just as a concerned senpai ought to. "I'm taking you to the infirmary," he told her.

She stared at him, aghast. Her ankle had healed since that on Ring Doh's set, but it was prone to injury—she knew she should've laced up those boots tighter. Or watched where she was going. It hurt, but she doubted it was broken. It was too much to take in—she could still hear his voice calling out her name, and she had no doubt which "Kyoko" he meant. By reflex, she'd looked up at him and stopped breathing for a second. Even though they'd "practiced" the last evening, she hadn't managed to get her guard up right then, and she was sure her face told the world everything. Not that his face had done any better.

But a good actress needed to be able to play a role, right? Kyoko tried to scowl just as she had during Ring Doh, but the effort failed—she tried again for an impassive professional look, matching the senpai-look on his. "That will not be necessary, Tsuruga-san." She kept her voice even and flat, like a robot. Yes, that's what she was: a robot. "Please, put me down."

He kept his face utterly immobile. "Mogami-san, as your senpai, I insist on taking you to the infirmary."

She could do this. She forced herself to look away from him. "As your kouhai," she said stiffly, "I insist that you not waste your precious time taking me to the infirmary. I am certain my ankle will be fine if you put me down and rest."

He was implacable. The dark brown eyes glinted dangerously under a fringe of dark hair, but the voice that came out was just as robotic as hers had been. "Mogami-san, are you arguing with your senpai?"

He walked off with her in his arms, holding her woodenly. Kyoko avoided his eyes, pretended she was a machine, and let him.

Neither one of them bothered to look around as their friends and colleagues watched him carrying her in the most awkward princess carry they'd ever seen.

=.=.=

Kyoko had insisted Ren go back to the set while the nurse bandaged her ankle. "Tsuruga-san." She was blushing again. She'd lost her composure when they'd gotten to the hallway and he'd softened, holding her close to his chest. She'd even…nestled into him, though her face had transitioned from the blush to the robot and back to the scowling-face-that-looked-as-if-she'd-eaten-something-terrible.

"Kyoko-chan." His voice was soft. "I'm sorry. I know we were only getting used to it."

"Maybe…maybe you should just call me Mogami-san," she said. "I—"

The look on his face stopped her. She blushed, instead, and he was thankful she was unable to run away for the moment.

He'd barely kept himself from giving her a soft kiss on her cheek and left the room quickly before could lose his composure any further.

=.=.=

He rounded the corner and walked onto the set, only to find Murasame and Koga staring straight at him. They looked…upset.

"Gentlemen," he said, acknowledging them with a nod.

"Oh no." Koga uncrossed his arms and moved towards him. "You're not going to stand there and pretend all that didn't happen. No no no."

Oh no, Ren echoed in his head. He looked for Yashiro around the set, finally meeting his manager's eyes. The man grinned—actually grinned!—and then shook his head. He saw Kotonami-san standing right next to him and she merely glared at him with disapproval. Traitors, he thought. He thought they'd at least help him do damage control here.

"You, sir, are going to explain exactly what you're doing with Kyoko-chan." Koga tapped his foot impatiently. "Especially as you're dating Kana."

"There is no relationship between myself and Kusunoki-san," Ren said smoothly. "We are merely colleagues at the same agency."

"That doesn't answer my question." Koga was backing him up against the wall as Murasame approached.

"Mogami-san is simply my kouhai."

Koga snorted in disbelief. "She's my kouhai too. You don't think I know her? I know her. And I know what a girl in love looks like, no matter what she's been saying about you. So if you're playing around with her, Tsuruga, I swear—"

"I have questions too," Murasame added. "Questions for Mr. Cain Heel."

Ren blanched. "I…don't know what you're talking about, Murasame-san," he said.

"You don't know?" Murasame asked. "All my life, I've only ever seen one man move as fast as you did just now."

"This Cain Heel person?"

"You are Cain Heel," Murasame said. "I don't know how I missed it, but you are Cain and Kyoko is Setsuka—"

"What!?" he asked. He couldn't admit such a thing.

"Did you make her give you that hickey, Tsuruga?"

Koga startled and stared at Murasme. "Hickey!?"

"Make him tell you," Murasame said. "That pervert."

Ren opened his mouth and then closed it, gawping like a fish out of water.

It was going to be a long day.

=.=.=.=.=

Author's Note: I am very sorry, indeed, that the next DoK chapter isn't done yet. I spent a good few hours on the fifth (yes, fifth) version of it this evening, but wanted something of a break. Goodtome, I promise, it's coming!

Anyway, please let me know what you think. I've been hoping we'd get some more breaks in Ren's unrelenting discipline in the manga, but siiiiiiiiigh, the two of them are so subtle in their interactions so far. In other words, i do think this fic is OOC for both of them, at least slightly.