A/N: This is not Trigun. I know I shouldn't be writing things until I finish the other story, but I got hooked on Skip Beat! and I had to write something about it or I was going to explode! Let this mark my grand return to fanfiction and let the next update be for The Long Slow Goodbye!

The little things were starting to get to her.

Normally, she could keep a good outlook on life. Normally, she could keep her head held high, and even if something got do her, she could use her fearful aura to beat back the sadness and sorrow that always threatened to overtake her. Normally, she could hold her stone Corn and dream about how someday she would prevail and everything she had gone through would ultimately be worth it.

But today was not a normal day.

She had recently been cast in a drama as a handmaiden to a princess. It should have been a great experience, especially for a newbie actress, since there was a lot of major talent working on the series. The set looked like a real castle! The costumes were amazingly ornate! The princess looked like genuine royalty, and even Kyoko got to wear dresses that were more gorgeous than anything she ever thought she'd be allowed to wear in real life. And the prince...

The prince...

Ren Tsuruga had been cast opposite the princess as the handsome, dashing prince, and ever since she had seen him in his full royal regalia, her mind had been completely unsettled. For this role, Ren had had his hair dyed a sandy blond color, and the effect was striking. He looked just like a prince...even a fairy prince...

He looked just like Corn would look if she met him today.

She hadn't spoken to Ren since she stuttered a hurried "Good morning" to him and retreated at full-speed to her dressing room. They had to be on set together, but they hadn't had any scenes together so far, and it was more or less easy for Kyoko to keep to herself. After all, she was also shooting another drama, working as Bo, and going to school. She had plenty of reasons not to be wasting time.

Holing up in the dressing room under the pretense of doing homework had become a normal occurrence, and no one thought it strange that a high-school aged girl was doing homework. Had anybody checked in on her, though, they would have noticed that she wasn't making much headway in her studies. In fact, she wasn't making much headway into anything. She was stuck...stuck in the past...a past that now seemed more ridiculous to her than anything she'd ever imagined.

Seeing a man, not just any man, but Ren Tsurgura, look so much like her cherished fairy prince had struck a blow to Kyoko's psyche that she was not prepared to deal with. He looked just like Corn. He even seemed to move just like Corn. He was everything Kyoko had ever dreamed Corn would be.

And the sudden realization of just how different she had been from Corn, and from Ren, was threatening to crush her heart. What had she been thinking? That magic was real? That princes and princesses were real? That someone, somewhere, would find her and save her? Had she really been thinking that for all those years? And now...how could she possibly justify having her heart set on Ren? Ren? The top male actor in the entire country?

What had she been thinking?

The only time she felt anywhere near normal was when she was in the middle of a scene. These were the only points of her day where she could forget her problems and focus on something else. But as soon as the director shouted, "CUT!" it was back to the realization that she truly was just as foolish as everyone had thought she was.

This went on for two weeks. She avoided Ren. She avoided Yashiro. She even avoided Moko. But then something truly terrible happened: the actress who was playing the princess broke her leg after a nasty fall.

Yes, it was bad for the actress, but it was even worse for Kyoko.

The writers hustled to alter the script to accommodate the actress's need to rest and heal. They had a few episodes in the can already and were about to embark on a major story arc involving a warring kingdom. The writers decided that this would be a perfect time for the princess to go into hiding and for the handmaiden to trade places with her.

That meant Kyoko had basically been promoted.

She would now be acting as a princess opposite Ren's prince. They would be in rehearsals together every morning. They would be shooting scenes together every afternoon. There would be no way for her to avoid dealing with him anymore unless she quit. She couldn't let the cast down like that, though, so she persevered.

The first rehearsal had been absolutely terrible. It took no time for Ren to get into character, but she couldn't do it. She simply could not match him in acting. Her heart just wasn't in it. Every time she looked at Ren, she saw everything she could never be and would never have. She saw all her foolish, childish hopes and dreams paraded around for everyone to see and make fun of. The director had been observing the scene and after about 30 minutes of attempting let Kyoko get into character, he saw how distressed she was and told her to take the rest of the day off. Feeling like a complete fool and an utter failure, it was all she could do to apologize to everyone and hurry into her dressing room before she began to cry in earnest.

She looked in the mirror and what she saw made her cry even harder. The makeup had been perfect. The costume was exquisite. She really did look just like a princess, so why did she feel so terrible inside?

There was a knock on the door, but she couldn't bare to answer it in this current state. After a few moments, there was another knock. In a bit of a panic, she said, "Please do not disturb me," hoping her voice didn't sound as weak as she felt. She hesitated for a moment, then hastily added, "I'm trying to get into character."

She held her breath hoping for the person to leave, but was dismayed when Ren announced through the door, "I know something is wrong, so I'm coming in."

Kyoko had no time to wipe the tears from her face before Ren was inside the room, his expression going from concerned to downright grave. He made no move to retreat, though, and quickly shut the door behind him. Kyoko closed her eyes in defeat. She heard him make his way over to the couch in the center of the room.

He waited for her to speak, but she didn't say a word. She didn't even open her eyes. Finally he said something.

"Mogami-san, look at me."

Kyoko shook her head stubbornly and kept her eyes closed tight.

Ren sighed. "You refuse to look at your sempai?" he said, sounding disappointed.

Kyoko's eyes snapped open at the sound of his voice. She looked at him, tears now freely flowing down her cheeks.

Ren leaned forward and grabbed hold of the arm of her chair and pulled it closer so that she was sitting directly in front of him. His face was drenched in concern. "This isn't about the role," he stated firmly, finally.

Kyoko's heart sank. In what felt like a former life, she would have jumped up, animated, denying his accusation with all kinds of energy. But she just couldn't do it today. She didn't confirm what he said was true, but she also couldn't deny it. She simply sat there feeling incredibly miserable and exposed under Ren's gaze.

For once, Ren was at a complete loss for words. He had noticed that Kyoko had been avoiding him for a while, but he figured she would come around on her own. He was getting wary of the image he was giving off to Kyoko, since recently when she talked about what she thought he was thinking, he felt like her interpretation of his character was unfeeling and demeaning. He didn't want to make her feel like that, so he had left her alone, having faith that she would come around and approach him when she was feeling better about whatever was bothering her. However, this had not come to pass. She had been a complete wreck during the morning rehearsal, and though he wanted to stop everything and ask her what was wrong, he did not want to embarrass her in front of the crew that had been gathered around the set. So instead, he had decided to confront her when they were not under the scrutinizing eyes of the director, crew, and especially his meddling manager. He had expected her to be upset about something, but he really couldn't recall a time when Kyoko had seemed so utterly devoid of hope.

"Tell me what's wrong," he said, gently but firmly. When she didn't answer him, he started to get anxious. "Has someone hurt you?"

Kyoko closed her eyes and her expression changed from one of complete misery to a flash of disgust, then back to misery again. Ren was startled by this, but didn't have time to question her before she opened his eyes and began speaking.

"Sempai, no one has done anything to harm me. Please don't waste your time worrying about this foolish girl. I deeply regret causing you concern. I will-"

"Mogami-san," he cut her off, "it's not a waste of time to worry about you." He watched her for a reaction. Her expression turned hopeful for just an instant, but she quickly smoothed her face to reflect only sadness again and sighed a very deep and troubling sigh. Her gaze trailed off. He waited for her to speak, but she didn't. Time to change tack. "Are you implying, Mogami-san, that I am foolish for being concerned about my kohai?"

Kyoko's expression instantly changed to one of embarrassment and regret. In an instant she was up on her feet and bowing deeply in apology. "I would never think that, Tsuruga-san. I am very, very sorry for giving you that impression. Please forgive me for saying something so stupid."

Her eyes had been focused on the floor, so when she felt Ren's hand rest lightly on her shoulder, she flinched involuntarily. She silently cursed herself for reacting that way. She was just in too much pain to react differently, though.

At her reaction, Ren pulled his hand away quickly. She did not raise her head, so she did not see the look of hurt and anger that fell upon his face before returning to one of concern. He had half a mind to walk out of the room and leave her alone, but he knew this was because his own pride had been stung by her reaction. Still, he had never seen her this way, and he made the calculation that if he left, he might be hurting her a great deal more than he could know. So instead of retreating, he took the bold move of reaching out for her hand. He didn't touch her, but merely held his hand to her.

"Kyoko," he said quietly and heard her gasp. She looked up at him with the smallest of glances. "Please stop apologizing and sit down with me and tell me what's wrong."

Kyoko seemed to notice his outstretched hand for the first time and hesitantly placed her hand in his. He gently guided her as she sat on the couch. She sat slightly facing him, but she couldn't seem to find words. She looked at his face, then away, then at his face again before looking down dejectedly. Under normal circumstances, he would simply scold her for something and she would snap back to normal, but he didn't think she could bear harsh words at that moment. Instead, he gently brushed a few strands of hair behind her ear and a few stray tears from her cheek before settling back into the couch.

He couldn't have predicted her reaction more accurately. Her eyes shot open and she looked at him with a shocked expression, like no one had ever shown her any tenderness. The truly sad thing was that he was beginning to realize that she found the gesture so unexpected because she had been shown so little tenderness in her life.

Well, at least she had stopped crying.

Ren spoke gently. "Kyoko, you don't have to tell me what's wrong if you don't want to, but a lot of people are relying on you to take over this role. I know you can do it. You've been offered a special opportunity and it would be a shame if you let it go to waste for whatever reason."

Kyoko looked down in what appeared to be shame and regret. "I...I don't deserve a special opportunity. I've already wasted everyone's time. I wish people were not depending on me because I don't know if I can rise to their expectations this time." She looked so lost and forlorn. Ren really was taken aback. She looked like the little girl he had met all those years ago in Kyoto.

Ren looked around for a familiar small purse. "Hey, where's that stone you always keep around?"

Kyoko sighed. "I...put it away." She didn't look away from Ren, but instead smiled a very disheartening smile. "I can't...continue to think foolish thoughts about..." she sighed. "About magic stones and fairy princes. It's not real, and I'm already an adult, and I just realized a little while ago how foolish it is to think that a rock could somehow make things better." She had resumed crying, but she had not broken eye contact.

This was not a reaction that Ren had foreseen. "But...I thought that Corn was special," he said with confusion in his voice.

She sighed again, shaking her head in a way that seemed to imply he simply didn't get it. "Corn is special." She finally let her gaze drift. "Corn is special, but I am not, and it's just time that I realized that."

Ren suddenly realized they weren't talking about a rock anymore.

"What do you mean, Kyoko?" Ren asked, more to keep her talking than anything while he figured out something to say that might get her out of this terrible depression.

She didn't look at him. "Some people are born special. They have a family that cares about them. They have friends who want to be around them. They go to school, they learn things, they get ready for their lives to start. They grow up and find someone who they think is special and feels the same way in return." She wore a smile of sad acceptance. "I don't know what that feels like, and I probably never will."

"Do you know how hard it is to break into the entertainment industry the way you have?" Ren asked, sounding a bit frustrated. "Do you have any idea how rare it is for this to happen? You're starring on a drama in less than two years after creating memorable roles on two other dramas. That is special. Don't you know that?"

"But," Kyoko stated calmly, "people think the roles I create are special." She trailed off and sighed deeply. She thought silently and her chin began to tremble again. "The life I've pulled together for myself was based on foolishness. You were right, Tsuruga-san. Courage won't get me through everything."

Ren was shocked to hear his words in this context. "That's not what I meant when I said-"

"I know," she cut him off quietly, "but they're true just the same. Living like that is simply foolish, and I'm beginning to realize just how foolish I have been my entire life. I have a job pretending constantly that I am somebody else. I have Moko, but she won't even let me call her my best friend. I know she cares, but it's just...so hard to be excited to be around someone who isn't that excited to be with you. I spent so long caring about..." She grimaced, but a moment later her expression relaxed into one of resignation. "It's just time that I start living my life in reality with everyone else and forget my daydreams of the past."

Ren's heart shook with pain at seeing Kyoko like this. Did she carry around these dark feelings everyday? "Do you...want to be special to someone?"

A ripple of despair creased Kyoko's features, but she fought to keep it under control. She sighed again in resignation. "Everybody wants to be special, Tsuruga-san," she said, matter-of-factly.

Ren swallowed, hoping this would tame her sadness at least a little bit. "Well, you are very special to me." Kyoko's eyes snapped open in a completely unrestrained expression of hope, but a moment later, Ren could tell she couldn't completely trust what he was saying. "It's true! And not just because you're such a talented actress. You really...you're just a very special person. Please don't let cruel people convince you otherwise." Ren could see Kyoko planning her counter arguments to his previous statement. "And please don't insult your sempai by doubting his sincerity."

Kyoko instantly blushed from embarrassment and tried to apologize, because that was exactly what she was doing, but she stumbled all over her words. Ren laughed, seeing a glimmer of the Kyoko that he knew shining through. She was still weeping, though, and he knew he couldn't magically make everything better, even if that was what he wished he could do most. To Kyoko's surprise, Ren pulled her close so that she was leaning against his chest and his arm was loosely around her.

Ren couldn't see her face, but he could imagine her flustered expression. "Is...this okay?" he asked.

Kyoko took a deep breath and let it out slowly, choosing to relax against Ren, if just for a moment. She let his words sink in while she leaned calmly against him.

"Yeah," she said quietly. "This is okay."