Chapter 99: Wavering Resolve

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Skip Beat, for if I did, Ren would be calling Yashiro by his first name already.

A soft knock on the door made Jiro look up from his laptop. He glanced at his daughter sleeping soundly on the hospital bed. After the latest skin graft operation, they removed the dressings from her wounds and letting them breathe for a short time before the nurse returned to cover them in gauze. The wounds appeared angry, glistening red from the smeared ointment.

"Jiro, sorry to disturb you. How is Kimiko doing?" Yuri's father asked. Jiro had given the hospital a list of approved visitors for his daughter with the strict instructions that they were only allowed in if he or his wife were present.

"Eiichi, good evening. Please come in," he offered, opening the door to let his cousin into the room. His cousin looked tired, a haunted look in his eyes. Jiro took his seat at the small table and gestured to the other chair.

Eiichi stood a moment longer, staring at his niece, the bane of their existence. He tried not to let his displeasure for her show on his face and instead pasted one of concern as he looked over her wounds. It wasn't right to have such ill feelings for a young girl, especially one that had learned a harsh lesson.

Jiro glanced at his cousin and then his daughter. "She's healing. The doctor said with proper care at home she could leave the hospital in a few days. We're setting up her room to accommodate her needs. They can't do any more operations on her until she's recovered more."

Eiichi nodded and took his seat.

"Do you want some coffee or tea?" Jiro asked, remembering his manners.

"No, thank you, please don't go out of your way."

"Thank you for visiting Kimi. I know the family is very angry with us, but she's my daughter."

Eiichi understood Jiro's feelings. They were experiencing the same contempt because Yuri participated in the matter.

"How is Yuri handling things? Have you spoken to Kento?"

"Yuri is very paranoid right now. She's worried she would be hauled off to prison at any moment. I did talk to Kento, her case is not looking good. They rejected the plea deal and are taking this to trial. The one saving grace is that Kento asked for a closed trial so as not to stain the Morizumi name further. He said it was a long shot, but the courts granted it before the day's end. At least this way, the details of the trial will not be public knowledge. He thinks whoever is pulling the strings must know some people in high places to get the trial rushed. What usually takes months in the legal system happened over a day," Eiichi sighed, rubbing his hand down his face. It was bullshit how the media frenzy and fans pushed the court to make this case a high priority. It's become too public. No amount of bribery could turn it over in their favor.

"I'm sorry. Kento didn't tell me," Jiro replied quietly. Taking Yuri to trial guaranteed that she would be serving time in prison given the evidence. It would be up to the judges to determine the length of her sentence. He couldn't get angry at the other party for taking this action. He was just glad they accepted the plea deal for Kimiko.

"Does he have a solid plan to help her?"

"He's trying to gather witnesses that can talk on her behalf, which brought me here. Do you think Kimiko would be healthy enough in a couple of weeks to help? She knows Yuri's good points best since they spent so many years together. I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important."

"I don't think that's wise at all…Kimi is…" How could he tell his cousin that his daughter was untrustworthy without making it sound terrible coming from him? She might end up doing more harm than good in the end. They weren't playing the insane card just to keep his daughter out of prison. Jiro didn't need a professional diagnosis to know his daughter had severe mental problems, even if she had everyone fooled by her sweetness.

Jiro was not going to be fooled by her again. He would get the genuine help she needed in South Korea once they were cleared to leave the country.

Kimiko stirred when she heard her father open the door, but pretended to remain asleep as the men conversed in hushed voices. A sinister smile played on her lips. She shifted in her bed to make it known that she was waking up, making them immediately stop talking. Kimiko managed to open her good eye to a slit and smiled.

"Hello, uncle," she greeted, an angelic smile gracing her lips. It looked horrific with her injury on full display.

"How is my cousin doing? I miss her," she whispered, concern laced in her voice.

After enduring a couple more hours of script reading filled with numerous "NGs" and repetitive instruction from both the producer and director, Ren was finally free to move on to some much-needed physical exertion. To wrap up his night, he would try to work his body ragged to keep his mind clear of her; however, his thoughts kept drifting back to her whenever he had a quiet moment. I want to see her. I want to hold her. I want to make her completely mine. It was that last thought that had him running scared. He had been doing well so far in their relationship but after seeing her in that sound booth, singing for him; he fell deeper in love with her. He had managed to hold himself back in the studio, taking extra care not to embarrass her in front of her father and colleagues. He couldn't trust himself to hold back when they were alone; he wanted all of her tonight. Am I in heat or something? He thought he could wear himself down and overcome it by throwing himself into physical training.

For two hours, he had exclusive dibs on the largest indoor and outdoor parkour course in Tokyo to train for his drama. The place had a decent-sized indoor gym with walls of varying heights, inclined surfaces, and numerous bar transitions. He watched the owner and his team of two other men display their acrobatic skills while navigating the site. His eyes tracked the foreigner with his arms splayed out for balance, run the top of a 15-centimeter thick wall, then jump to what appeared to be a span of 10 meters to another wall. The guy didn't make it but he managed to grip the top of the wall with his fingers and scramble up to continue. He clapped when the owner jumped towards a lone bar with foam blocks beneath it. He did a few rotations like a gymnast and somersaulted to the other side sticking the landing. The other two men attempted the same move but both slipped off the bar and ended up in the foam.

When the men were through with their demonstration, the stunt coordinator for Ryu introduced Ren and Yashiro to the men. The owner's name was Oki, the other Japanese man was Ishikawa, and the foreigner was American and went by the name of Zeke. They took obligatory celebrity photos once Ren was changed into a pair of black joggers, some camo green trainers, and a gray sleeveless moisture-wicking t-shirt that hugged every contour of muscle on his torso.

"Tsuruga-san, do you mind taking the picture with this on? I'll be honored if you wore it."

To top off his outfit Oki gave him a new white flat-billed hat with their gym logo of a colorful caricature monkey on it. Ren thanked Oki, brushed back his hair with his fingers, and put on the hat. He looked like he was part of the crew with arms crossed over his chest displaying his muscular biceps in an intimidating pose.

"Tsuruga-san, I've seen your latest movie Tragic Marker, fucking creepy performance by the way," Oki said honestly, shaking the chills from his body. "Zeke here screamed like a sissy every time BJ popped up."

"Thank you all for your support," Ren said with an amused smile watching Zeke blush in embarrassment.

"I have to ask, not to be insulting, but did you really perform those stunts?" Oki asked curiously.

"Yes," he answered while nodding. The stunts Cain had to perform were nowhere near as complicated as what these guys just showed him. He had a feeling he would be sore and bruised come morning.

"Well, that would make this so much easier, let's get started. Do you want to free run so I can get an idea of your capability? Or should we play follow the leader?"

Ren raised his eyebrow unsure about the last one so Oki explained. "Follow the leader is exactly what it is. I'll have my boys run through some routine and you copy them. We can change it up as we go along. We'll start with something easy." Oki tapped on his phone filling the gym with some Japanese hip-hop music. "Gotta have the tunes… Ishi, why don't you go ahead?"

Ren watched the guy take a running start straight at the walls in front of them. Ishikawa stepped with his left foot on a low wall and jumped up into the back wall with his right foot. He ricocheted off the wall and did a backflip landing on his feet. Everyone watching applauded his skill.

"What do you think? Can you do it?"

Ren took a few small hops on his toes like a boxer before sprinting off. He executed the move with ease and since he was significantly taller than Ishikawa he had more height on his flip. The room erupted in a ruckus and "high fives" were exchanged with Ren.

"Shit! That was surprising! We have to bump up the difficulty level or Tsuruga will get bored," Oki said excitedly. He huddled with his boys as they thought of a harder routine for Ren. They looked back and forth between the looming structures before them and the actor.

"Okay, I think we got it. Let's try up there," Oki suggested.

They climbed to the highest platform in the gym while Yashiro waited on the ground with his camera at the ready.

"Tsuruga-san, please stand over here to have a better view. I'm a consultant for the chase scenes in the drama so let's see if you can handle something like this. Zeke will go first, then Ishi. This way you can see it twice."

Ren stood at the platform's edge and focused, prepared to memorize the moves. Zeke surprised him by running straight at the low wall with nowhere to go but down. He sprang off the low wall with his hands and did a leapfrog over to a wall about 6 meters away and half a meter lower. His feet landed on the wall. Keeping up with the momentum, he immediately jumped towards his left to pivot on the adjacent wall into a side flip that landed him on a lower platform. From there, he did a body roll, jumped to his feet, ran a few more meters, then jumped over some railings and grasped the high bar. He did several rotations over the bar before releasing and continued his rapid descent until he reached Yashiro at the bottom.

Shit! That looked difficult! If he could nail these stunts without a double for the chase scenes, this drama would raise his status as an action star. He focused on Ishikawa as he ran through the course in a similar fashion. It didn't take Ren long to realize that Ishikawa did things differently based on his ability but used the same parts of the course as Zeke. If he attempted his run with that mindset, he could pull it off without hurting himself. A lot of parkour was improvisation, after all.

Yashiro held his breath as he watched Ren attempt the course. He wanted to call timeout after the first man demonstrated what they wanted Ren to do. It all went by in a blur to him and now he watched through his phone as he tracked Ren with the camera. Yashiro had to admit that Ren's transitions were sloppy compared to the professionals. He winced when Ren reached for the bars and slipped, landing flat on his back on the matted floor. Ren shook himself before getting up and continuing down the course. By the time he reached Yashiro, he was only slightly out of breath but already sore from his spill.

The men complimented him on a job well-done, but Ren was far from finished. It was exhilarating to immerse himself in this type of exercise. The work had managed to switch his focus on the task at hand, perfecting this new skill. He continued like that for the first hour of the session with little to no rest but to dry his sweaty palms. They were becoming a hindrance when gripping the bars. Yashiro had no clue what had gotten into him. The threat to call Kyoko and tattle had him sipping on, at least, a bottle of water.

By the end of the night, the guys had bestowed the nickname, "Beast," upon Ren. Everything they threw at him, he attacked wildly with no fear, especially when they transitioned outside. They had moved to the outdoor course located on the rooftop. It had similar ramps and walls as the indoor course but was done in the open air in true parkour fashion. Oki even had permission from neighboring buildings to use their rooftops as part of their free run. Only the most skilled runner was allowed to partake in this extreme course. Anyone that participated in the free run between buildings had to sign a waiver relieving the gym of any responsibility for injury or death. Yashiro couldn't talk Ren out of signing the paper. Did he have a death wish?

Yashiro didn't record Ren jumping and running between the adjacent rooftops. Should an accident occur, he didn't want to have any evidence of such a devastating event. The manager breathed again once Ren returned, excited but worn out. It was finally time to go home.

...

They rode home in silence. Yashiro didn't think much of it since he thought Ren was tired. Heck, he got tired just from watching them perform all those stunts and tricks.

Unfortunately for Ren, he wasn't so weary and contemplated his options.

"Yash- Yukihito, I don't mean to intrude, and I know this is asking for a lot, but could I possibly stay the night at your place?" Ren pleaded with his manager as they headed home. He had already taken his shower. All he needed was a place to crash and a new toothbrush. There was the option of staying at a hotel, but he was unsure how long he would last without the distraction of someone else to keep him there. It was barely past ten o'clock. Kyoko would still be awake, probably waiting for him to come home.

He thought about what his girlfriend could be doing right now at home. He imagined her sitting on the couch in one of his t-shirts playing the guitar or, in her craft room, trying to perfect the chibi Corn phone charm she had been trying to hide from him. I should ask her to make me one of her for my phone. He had accidentally come upon it while looking for fabric scissors to cut the sleeves off a gym shirt that had grown too snug on his shoulders. Kyoko's thriftiness was rubbing off on him. He was bulking up from the regular meals and the routine exercises of late. Yashiro would have to update his measurements in his work profile at this rate.

Horns blared from other drivers as Yashiro dangerously swerved to the shoulder, pulling over the car. He put the car in neutral, pulled up the handbrake then looked over at Ren, gnawing on his left thumb nervously staring out the passenger window. It was the first time Ren had ever called him by his first name. This must be serious. Yashiro thought Ren had been acting a little off ever since they left the studio.

He had plans to meet up with Kanae, but he could cancel them for his friend. Kanae would understand, wouldn't she? He needed to know why exactly Ren couldn't go home.

"You can, on one condition. You give me a valid reason why you can't go home. Did you and Kyoko-chan have some sort of text fight today?"

"No, everything is fine with Kyoko… for now….It's me," Ren sighed.

"What do you mean? I've been with you this whole time. What's wrong with you? Are you sick? Should I take you to a hospital? I thought you were overdoing things tonight, so maybe..."

"No, Yashiro-san, I'm not sick."

"Please just call me Yukihito like before."

Ren nodded. Yashiro waited patiently, but Ren didn't elaborate.

"Well, sounds like you don't have a valid excuse, so I'll just continue to your apartment."

Ren let out a loud sigh. Yashiro was going to make him say it. He didn't know how much Yashiro knew or guessed about their relationship, so it would be embarrassing to admit this to his friend.

"I can't trust myself to be around her right now. I love her too much not to be able to hold myself back anymore."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, hold on," Yashiro said, holding out a hand and rubbing the bridge of his nose with the other. "Are you telling me what I think you're telling me?"

Ren looked at Yashiro and nodded. He could swear he saw his reflections in the teasing sparkles of his manager's eyes.

"How is this possible? You two have been living under the same roof for months, and you still haven't done…IT? How are you functioning right now?"

Ren gave him a dry look, making Yashiro burst out in laughter. Damn it, Ren! Don't you realize I'm losing the bet right now?

"HA, HA. I'm glad my predicament amuses you."

"But, but, you're Tsuruga Ren...Voted number one male that women want to be 'held' by," Yashiro gasped out between chuckles. The notion that Ren was physically holding himself back was absurd, especially when he was living with the woman he loved.

Ren pursed his lips, waiting for his manager to quit laughing. It took a minute.

"So, Kyoko has expressed that she wasn't ready, and you are at your limit! You are a strong man Ren…You're like the enlightened one reincarnated."

"It's actually still just me."

"What?! Are you saying this pious living is self-inflicted? Are you a masochist?!"

Ren scowled at Yashiro. "I want…I want to give her the wedding night she deserves," he confessed.

Yashiro sighed heavily and stared at his charge with pity. Kyoko was only seventeen. How long did he plan on living like a monk? Yup, I'm definitely going to lose the bet, but if I'm lucky, a wedding is just over the horizon!

"I'll call Kanae right now and let her know."

"Wait, you had plans with Kotonami-san? If that's the case, drop me off at the nearest ho-."

The Bluetooth in the car suddenly lit up with an incoming call from Kanae. Yashiro hit the control on the steering wheel and answered. This feature was so convenient since he didn't need gloves while driving. He only had to tap the button for a second with his bare finger.

"Hi, Kanae. I'm in the car with Ren, so you're on speaker," Yashiro said, warning her to take care of her words.

"Hi, so you're still on your way to drop Tsuruga-san home?" Kanae inquired.

"Actually, there has been a change of plans. I hope you don't mind. Ren ne-"

"Yukihito will be dropping me off soon. Sorry to keep him out so late," Ren interjected. He wouldn't cock block his friend since they had little personal time as it was with his hectic schedule.

"Good, I actually wanted to talk to you, Tsuruga-san."

"Me?" he asked, surprised.

"Before going home, you need to stop by the convenience store. Pick up some dark chocolate and half a liter of double chocolate chip ice cream…that's all. Good luck," she said then hung up.

Yashiro and Ren exchanged confused looks. Kanae was always such an enigma, but Ren respected his girlfriend's best friend.

"What did she mean, Yukihito?" Ren asked, glancing at his manager to decipher his girlfriend's words for him.

"Maybe they talked earlier, and Kyoko mentioned wanting to eat that stuff," Yashiro guessed with a lift of his shoulders.

"So what do you want to do? You just ruled out my place. Are you going home or to a hotel?"

Ren was no longer hesitant. "Take me home!" There was obviously something going on with Kyoko, and he meant to find out what. His earlier reservations were dashed and replaced with concern. She loved sweets, but she rarely indulged in them these days ever since she heard about the upcoming swimsuit photoshoot.

"You're the boss!" Yashiro said as he eased back onto the road.

…

He opened the front door, carrying a plastic bag from the basement market and turned off the alarm. Kicking off his shoes in a hurry, he dropped his work bag and emptied his pockets into the glass bowl at the entrance table. He smiled at the framed photo of them sitting on the table beside a vase of flowers. It was one from their first impromptu photoshoot with Fuji at the beginning of their relationship.

"Welcome home, Corn," came the sweet voice he had missed all day. Kuon's smile faded when he found her curled on the couch under a blanket and wearing his sweatshirt.

Kyoko gasped when the next second Kuon was kneeling in front of her and leaning his head against hers. All I did was blink! It has to be teleportation jutsu!

"Are you okay, baby? You don't feel hot. Why are you bundled up? Should I turn up the temperature of the A/C?"

"I'm fine…" she replied, wincing as a slight cramp rippled through her abdomen.

Kuon's eyes widened as her beautiful face contorted in pain for a second. Kyoko gave him a weak but reassuring smile.

"I'm okay, really," she smiled and placed a hand on his cheek. "I'm just having cramps from my period. I just wanted to be comfortable," she told him with a slight blush. There was no point in being shy at this stage in their relationship. After all, her boyfriend had no qualms about stocking his bathroom with her sanitary needs.

Kuon laughed with relief. He felt so stupid right now. How could he ever think of leaving her alone for selfish reasons? Mother Nature bailed him out tonight. He would use this night as a reminder whenever his resolve wavered.

"Did you talk to Kotonami-san tonight?" Kuon asked. Kyoko froze as she recalled her phone call to Kanae.

"Mooookkkoooo-saaaan, I'm dyingggggg! My stomach feels like it's being ripped into shreds!" Kyoko wailed on speakerphone as soon as her best friend picked up.

"Mo! What's your problem now?" Kanae asked, irritated. Kyoko tended to exaggerate every situation.

"This is what I dislike most about being a woman! Why must our bodies have to experience this pain every month," she grumbled.

"Mo, take some painkillers and suck it up! Where's that boyfriend of yours? Tell him to pamper you!"

"He's probably where ever yours is," Kyoko retorted.

"Okay, I'm busy, so just take it easy. Watch a horror movie until Tsuruga-san comes home…one with lots of blood and gore to fit your mood."

"That's gross, Moko-san."

"Bye…"

"Bye-bye, good night, Moko."

"Yes, good night."

"Did Yashiro-san tell you?" Kyoko asked.

"No, she called Yashiro-san and told me to get you this," he explained, holding up the bag. Kuon sat down on the couch, placed her legs over his lap then handed her the bag.

Kyoko dug into it to see its contents and kissed her boyfriend's lips. I'm so loved! Thank you, Moko!

She opened the bag of chocolate first and popped one of the individually wrapped squares into her mouth, offering one to Kuon, which he declined.

"They're for you."

Kuon watched her with an amused smile as she attacked the small container of ice cream. Using the prepackaged spoon, she took a bite and groaned in happiness.

Thank you, Kotonami-san. I owe you another one. I have to remember this for the future! What's today's date? If he remembered correctly from health class, this usually happened to a woman around the same time every month. He would better prepare for next month. How he hadn't noticed her pain in the past was beyond him.

"Will you be okay? You usually don't complain about pain during this time."

"It varies, but I'm usually okay after taking some pain medication."

"Did you take any yet?"

"Not yet. I couldn't bring myself to get up."

"I'll be right back," he said, moving her legs. He returned with a glass of water and two pills. Kyoko gladly took the medication with gratitude.

Kanae almost poked her eye out, startled by the unmanly squeal from the bedroom. She rolled her eyes and continued to pat the designer cream gently under her eyes, careful not to tug at the corners. She had read in a fashion magazine that wrinkle prevention at a young age was paramount for any actress or model. Finished, she washed her hands, shut off the lights, and walked to her side of the bed.

Yashiro looked up at his girlfriend as she exited the bathroom wearing a long silk nightgown in lavender that showed off her creamy shoulders and graceful neck.

"What are you doing?" she asked, snuggling against him to look at his computer screen. She tried not to laugh as he navigated the website using his surgical gloved-covered hands. If she didn't know him better she would have thought he was a serial killer.

Yashiro turned his head and kissed the crown of her head, then showed her what he had been looking at. "Take a look! This is the combined social media page that Takarada-san proposed to Kyoko-chan and Ren. They posted their first picture, and it's insane. I took this photo of them this morning at Ren's photo shoot. It looks like they decided to use it."

Kanae whistled suggestively. It was a side profile picture of them embracing each other. Kyoko was dressed in a rocker glam outfit, while Ren wore a pair of traditional hakamas. They both had dopey smiles on their faces.

"Hey!" Yashiro shouted in mock outrage.

Kanae giggled. "Does Tsuruga-san have an irezumi like that on him? It's quite bold."

"No, it's just for his role in the new drama. It's fake. But take a look. They posted this less than fifteen minutes ago. It already has hundreds of hits and comments. Guess who got the first comment by the way?" Yashiro asked triumphantly.

RenKyo#1fangirl: OMG! Can these two look any hotter together!? Are they in character for something big?

"Pffft," Kanae burst out laughing. "I swear you're such a loon when it comes to those two bakas, but that's what I like about you." Yashiro blushed at her comment and kept reading.

Renfan1: I died! I'm dead! He looks so yummy. I hope that tattoo is permanent!

KyokoMYGoddess: Legs for days…*drool emoji*

Renfan2: I say we petition for Ren-sama to grow his hair out long. I'm sure Kyoko-san would agree with us.

KyoFan1: Is she in Heel-san mode? She looks gorgeous in that outfit!

RenKyoFAN1: Are the siblings back because I'll die from happiness seeing more of them! I love my favorite celebrity couple, but their Heels' personas jive more with me.

RenKyoFAN2: Is it me, or does Ren-sama look incredibly beefy?

Renfan1: *drool emoji*

Mori_T: My Princess is adorable when she smiles. I love seeing her happy!

"What was the President thinking by allowing this? Who is going to manage it? Those two are clueless when it comes to social media!" Kanae said, scowling. The number of comments and likes were growing at an exponential rate as they read. Most of the fans favored the couple, but a few trolls were posting negative comments. It didn't take long for the pro-couple groupies to get rid of those people. Are these two going to be okay? Eh?

"All they have to do is post a picture now and then. They don't need to respond to comments."

"Did that horrible comment about Kyoko just disappear?"

"What? Where?"

"I swore I read a comment shaming Kyoko, but it's gone now. Scroll down to find another one. There stop this anonymous person is calling Tsuruga-san a Lolicon….ah!" Kanae exclaimed, startled as the post she had her finger on disappeared.

"Hmmm, maybe the president has someone managing it already. I'll have to ask him tomorrow. Alright, enough of that. Do you want to watch a music video I just edited while you were in the shower?"

She didn't, but the look in his eyes softened her heart. "Fine!" She huffed, rolling her eyes.

Excited, Yashiro clicked on the video file and hit play. As they watched the video of Kyoko singing to Ren, Yashiro knew he would sleep happy later, knowing that Ren was already thinking long-term with Kyoko. He would stick to the Bro Code and not tell his girlfriend about his friend's current predicament.

AN: Hiya, everyone! Thanks for sticking with me. I seriously got carried away with Ren. I thought this was the night. Ren was finally going to get lucky tonight and yet somehow Mother Nature intervened…XD. As you can see, this latest chapter of the manga with Boh has rubbed off on me, and since in this fic, Ren knows Boh's identity, I've decided Yuki would fill in that Bro spot.

Thank you always for reading and for leaving me a review on the last chapter. I do appreciate all your thoughts. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed!

Until next time, ja ne! ^_^