To Capture the Monster

Disclaimer: I have no legal or artistic claim to the manga Skip Beat!, nor do I have any claim to the characters therein (doesn't that sound nice and official?)

Summary: Kyoko is worried about Ren after his near-catatonic state that morning. How far will she go to help him to recover his equilibrium; and what will she learn in the process? Major spoilers for Chapter 168.

Chapter 1 – Maui Rice and Masochism

Kyoko watched in horror as Ren flung the questionable mass of rice, raw chicken, frozen shrimp, and spices up into the air. She cringed as it fell back into the wok, spraying rice and other substances all over the once-spotless kitchen. I don't understand. Why did he ask me to come here at 11pm at night if he was just going to cook it himself?

She couldn't help but marvel at the amazing strength it must take to hurl such a heavy concoction into the air one-handed over and over. That's not the point! What manner of cooking…

"Okay! Viola!" Ren's cheerful voice broke through her thoughts, "This is a much better result than my previous attempts. Practice makes perfect."

Kyoko stared down at the two globs that completely hid the plates they had been pressed onto. Mechanically, fighting back all manner of thoughts, she looked up at Ren. "And now," he said with a triumphant smile, with the wok slung over his shoulder, "I'll use Mogami-san's help for this."

Kyoko could only stare as he held out a bottle of ketchup and asked her to make a perfect figure-8 on the top of each glob.

She sat there, thirty minutes later, and remembered his words as he tried to force the horrific mixture down his throat. "The best time to capture the monster is when it is still warm."

She watched his smile slip in and out of focus as he tried to project a façade of cheerfulness. As he ate, he said, "I plan to thoroughly eat and sample something I have worked hard to create. I got this far, so I don't want to destroy this piece of work now."

Is he a masochist? Is he trying to torture himself for something? Somehow I feel as if his words hold some deeper meaning.

They began a long, meaningless discussion on the history of Omu Rice while they both forced themselves to dig into the obnoxious substance in front of them. Kyoko was determined to match her sempai spoonful by spoonful, though she still didn't understand the reason for his self-flagellation. All she knew was that whenever she looked past Ren's pasted-on smile, she saw a tortured soul. Somehow, slowly, she began to understand this man a little better.

After swallowing another disgusting spoonful, she let out an exhausted sigh. "Mogami-san," Ren's soft, deep voice drew her attention, "Don't force yourself; just leave it."

Kyoko straightened her slender body to its full kneeling height and declared, "What are you talking about? In a state of emergency, when your heart is broken, would your comrades leave your side and abandon you, and leave you in a situation where you can't survive?" She met his eyes and held them defiantly, "Don't give up yet!"

The mask slipped off of Ren's face and he gave her a long, meaningful look that made Kyoko's entire body tingle with unknown energy. I can do this, sempai! I will do this for you! She took another bite and thought, I can't do this. I can hardly quench my gag-reflex. But… to just sit and watch him struggle from the sidelines… She studied the man she had always thought to be so perfect. Whenever his face was directed away from her, he looked like a lost soul. Tsuruga-san looks like he's fighting with something. What reason could he have for making this and forcing himself to eat every bite.

Kyoko remembered his words again, "…capture the monster." He's fighting with something so terrible that it wants to consume him. He's doing this to fight back somehow. Maybe he's more vulnerable than I realized. I think, maybe Tsuruga-san and I may not be that different after all.

They finally made their way through the dread substance and rose together to tackle the dishes. Ren insisted on washing, so she waited for each item so that she could towel-dry it. Although Ren never verbalized his agony, Kyoko knew that his stomach must be suffering. He never eats that much, even when it's palatable. She felt her own stomach and the terrible taste which still assailed her tongue, but that wasn't what was dominating her thoughts at the moment.

There're only a few dishes. When the last one is finished, he'll want to drive me home. She couldn't see his face at that moment, but the memory of his haunted eyes was imprinted on her soul. What if he slips away again, like this morning? What if he falls down, or starts drinking? He shouldn't be alone.

Ren was scrubbing the final glass when suddenly two slender arms wrapped around his back. A body, tiny in comparison to his, pressed against him and warm breath blew through his shirt and tickled his spine as Kyoko said, "Sempai… I know that it is presumptuous of me… and I don't know what help I can be… but please… let me stay… You shouldn't be left alone like this."

She sat on the couch thirty minutes later, rigid with shame at her own presumption, waiting for Tsuruga-san to scold her. He had barely said anything after she suddenly hugged his back. How could I do such a thing? What if he misinterprets my action? Dummy, how else could he interpret my action? He probably thinks I'm one of those silly schoolgirls who chases him around everywhere he goes. Oh, poor man… he must be so disgusted with me…

He sat there on the couch, two feet away, and said nothing. In fact, his only words since she had attacked him were, "You should call your landlords so that they don't worry." That was it. He hadn't scorned her, or mocked her, or even scared her away with his Emperor of the Night persona. He had simply placed one dishwater-soaked hand over her hands and held them there for a minute before asking her to phone home.

They sat there silently, watching some meaningless movie that neither seemed to be interested in. She squirmed in her seat and tried to think of something to say, some way to apologize. I'm not some silly schoolgirl, Tsuruga-san. I'm just worried about you. I just don't want you to be alone. I only wanted to protect…

She jumped when soft hair slid along her right arm and travelled down into her lap. She felt the warm heaviness of Tsuruga-san's head as it came to rest on her legs. No words were spoken, no apologies made; he simply laid his head down. She sat rigid for a long moment, unable to think or move, until he turned his head and met her eyes. How long she looked into those soft, sorrowful eyes she would never know. She looked at him as he looked at her and a silent message was sent: Please? Just for a little while? She didn't know if she nodded, or if she responded at all, in any way. He must have heard her agreement, because he turned on his side, facing away from her, closed his eyes, and slept.

The movie credits rolled and then faded to blackness, but Kyoko never noticed. She was looking down at Ren's princely, handsome face as one hand rested on his shoulder and another hand stroked fingers through his thick brown mane.

Notes: I'm going to end up with too many stories in the pipeline, but I read chapter 168 and an entire storyline jumped into my head. I knew that I wasn't going to get any more sleep until I typed out this first chapter. This will be a short fic, probably only five chapters. Please enjoy.