AN: Hope you enjoy. I was talking to someone today about disliking the drawn out nature of the manga right now and I thought of writing this which kind of is where my heart is right now. I hope that you enjoy it. If you could leave a review too it would be much appreciated.

No Loose Ends

Chapter One – The Death of Ren Tsuruga

Three months ago he had tried to tell her what would be happening, the fact that by the beginning of the following year, he, Kuon Hizuri, would be starting a new role in America. He had gone to audition under the stage name Ren but with his appearance and they had loved him but it had been decided that he would start the new TV show, a comic faithful retelling of Aquaman, in the new year.

That should have given him some time to finish with what he was doing.

In October he had grown tired of not making progress despite trying to subtly win favor with the girl that he adored and he had stepped up from flower rings, to getting her makeup and even, as a last resort, waiting for her outside where she was filming. He knew that he had to tell her but he had to make sure to do it in person.

Then again, maybe him turning up to set had been a little…over reaching.

With every time he would see her it would always start the same way, him asking her how her day was, how her work was, what she felt about the latest role or project that she was working on. She would respectfully treat him like her senior and whenever he wanted to get more intimate and honest with her, she would pull back as if he had just suggested peeing all over her. He needed him and time wasn't something he had.

He was giving up. He loved her but it wasn't enough for him to get his heart broken time after time after time, there weren't enough BandAids in the world for him to do that. He looked through his phone messages again as Ten finished on his hair. He smiled as he placed the contacts into the case. His work in Japan was done.

"Thank you for everything," he smiled politely to her as he got up and dropped into a bow. "I am so appreciate of you taking such good care of me," he told her before seeing her pout.

"I'm sad I have to give such a beauty like you up and I heard that you'll be going by your real name over there and I don't even know what that is," she said and Ren gave another weak smile.

"It's Kuon, Hizuri Kuon," he told her to see her mouth drop open and he shrugged a little. Jelly opened her mouth to say something but they both saw the president there, grinning like a proud parent whose kid was about to graduate college.

"Are you sure you can't stay until after the new year?" he asked and Ren shook his head. "Well, I wish you'd at least stay until Christma-"

"What's the point?" Ren sighed as he pulled out his company ID and a set of keys for some of the high access places. Lory took the keys but kept the ID with Ren.

"You'll want that as a souvenir….Kuon," he said and Kuon nodded, his eyes showing that he was scared to make this leap but he felt confident that he could do it. He had done some minor roles internationally and a lot of modelling work, now it was time to prove that he could make it in Hollywood as an actor.

"Thank you, Boss" Kuon grinned as he dropped into a bow as well.

Lory sighed, "You know, it sounds like there's going to be some really great food at the party, good nightlife, a lot of…pleasure," he tried to stir Kuon off but the guy's heart couldn't give any longer. He smiled to Lory.

"Enjoy it for me, okay? I think that my mother might attack you with savage wolves if you kept me away from her for another Christmas. You've been in touch with my dad right, he kno-"

"Shuuhei is going to meet you at the airport and promises that he'll help you find an apartment as soon as your mother lets him," Lory said before leading Kuon to the office. "I've got one more surprise for you before you board your plane tonight."

"You didn't tell he—" Kuon said nervously but as they stepped in, he found that Kyoko wasn't the person waiting in the president's office.

Ren Tsuruga had already said his parting words to Yashiro Yukihito but Kuon Hizuri hadn't. He stood stunned as the manager took him in, his eyes widening and his jaw dropping. He could see the excitement in Yashiro's eyes.

"Oh my god, you're Ren, right?" he asked as he started to bounce up and down slightly, noticing all the changes and differences. "Ren, it's not a -"

"I'm the former Tsuruga Ren," he grinned to Yashiro before dropping into a formal bow, "Thank you, Yashiro, for all of your guidance over these years, for being a manager to a reckless teenager who had too much anger inside of him, for helping me by being the best manager one could ask for and an amazing friend. I'm sorry that I never told you my real name but hopefully, since Boss has given the chance for me to do so," Kuon's breath caught on his throat as he held out his hand. "Hizuri, Kuon."

Yashiro paled as he stared at him, everything was starting to make sense now and he felt that there weren't words which he had the ability to say. "Wow," he finally said as he shook his head to get over the shock. He shook Kuon's hand, "It was an honor to work with you, Kuon," he said and Kuon paused before doing something that neither Yashiro or Lory expected from him, he hugged his manager before pulling back.

"It would be an honor to stay in contact with you," Kuon said and Yashiro grinned.

"Definitely. I don't want you to starve to death. Have you tried contacting Kyo—" Yashiro started and Kuon shook his head.

"I'm on my way to the airport," he told him, "as I said yesterday, I've been gone from home for long enough. I'll walk there myself," he said but felt surprised when Lory hugged him. Kuon went to grab one of his bags, the two others in a car waiting for him arranged by the president. Kuon took a look around the room and then walked out not knowing when would be the last time he would see LME and all of the people who still worked here. He wanted to leave with no fuss and give people the idea that maybe Ren Tsuruga was still out there after all.

As Kuon got to the lowest level of the building, he pulled something out of his bag and looked at it again, a set of the Love Me stamps. He could remember putting the different stamps on Kyoko's book and it felt like something that would always tie him to her. It was where his memories of her were brought forth, where they met. He would always love her even if he would never have her.

He checked his watch before walking over to the stairway where he had picked up Corn and went to where he had found the stone. He smiled, tears in his eyes as he felt the pain of losing her but it wasn't going to be good to labor on this. A tiny amount of progress after all of these months that never led anywhere, that wasn't good for anyone.

As he stood there, he felt his back straighten as he saw Kyoko seeing him there. He wasn't sure whether to pretend to her or not. He might never see her again.

"Corn?" she asked confused and he looked at her, she had grown up so beautifully and since she was earning more, she could treat herself if only just a little. "What are you doing here?"

"I suppose I'm here to say goodbye," he told her and Kyoko blinked before blushing.

"You used your magic again," she said as she turned bright red hearing that voice, "You sound like him. I guess I'm not doing very well at getting him out of my head."

"It should be easier now," Kuon told her as he looked away and Kyoko could see the seriousness on his face, his more human expression. "Kyoko. I'm sorry. You must think that I'm the biggest creep on the planet, the biggest jerk ever -"

"I would never think that about you, Cor—" she began and Kuon looked at her with a guarded expression.

"I'm not a fairy prince. I went along with those ideas when you were a kid because I needed to make someone feel happy. I'm not such a jerk that I'll let a girl sob alone and when we were at Karuizawa, you told me that you were surprised to see me somewhere you didn't think I would-" he started and Kyoko froze, everything clicking around in her head.

"I've been attempting to tell you this for three months but you've never allowed me to get it out," he said as he looked away from her and Kyoko felt as if her breath had been stolen. She took a few steps backwards as it all started to make sense. The way that he wouldn't tell her his name. The way that he knew how to help her when she was worried about Corn. The way he had held that stone when he had been standing right here. The proportions of his body, the voice, the…she was such an idiot.

"Tsuruga-san?" she asked as she took a step backwards.

"Ren Tsuruga was a name I used to make my way in this business because it was far too hard to make a dent in the industry when you're Kuon Hizuri, the son of Kuu HIzuri. I was fired multiple times and following….following the loss of my friend, the president took me here and helped me find work as a favor for my parents. He wouldn't have done it if I hadn't had talent but he would never have thought about it were it not for my father."

Kuon sighed, he could see that she was backed against the wall with her arms wrapped around her. He had scared her, he had never wanted to scare her. "I'm sorry, think whatever you want of me but I'm done. I'm going to be the lead actor in a new TV show that's being shot in L.A. I'm not coming back here, I'm sorry."

"Was this all…a ga-ga-game fff-for you?" Kyoko asked through her tears, her body feeling like it was being ripped open and he shook his head.

"No. No, it wasn't a game for me. I've just lived so many years with this secret. It was important that until I was able to work in America that I would follow the president's rules and I would be Tsuruga Ren. Never did I think that you would be here. I thought that you would have stayed in Kyoto. I'm sorry, Mogami-san," he said as Kyoko started to cry with more painful sobs. "If I don't leave now I'm going to miss my car. I wish you luck in the future," he told her and Kyoko stared at him.

"Am I allowed to hate you?" she asked as her body shook and he paused before nodding.

"You're free to have whatever feelings you want but please know that….no, it would be selfish of me to leave you with that," he said as he started walking away from her and Kyoko rushed after him as soon as she had caught her breath. Suddenly the world seemed far too sunny, too full of light.

"Are you coming back?" she asked. It hadn't been announced on any major news shows, he just meant that he had some temporary overseas work, right? "It's just…"

"This is my final day as an actor in the Japanese entertainment industry," he told her and Kyoko's mouth opened. Kuon bowed his head and walked towards her. He leaned down and nervously pushed some of her hair behind her ear. He sighed and was surprised that she ran to him again, her arms wrapping around his torso as she sobbed into his shirt.

"Listen," he told her gently, "You're such a skilled actress, Mogami-san. You've always done your work well and developed your characters. You'll continue to do great things and I have no doubt that you will be the actress that represents Japan and who knows, maybe we'll even work together on a set if you do some international filming," he told her and Kyoko closed her eyes and attempted to steady her breaths. "I would love to work together as actors in the future and maybe one day we will be able to do so. Good luck with your career because I know you'll do amazing things."

"Tell me," Kyoko said as she refused to let go of his shirt, people starting to stare at them from all directions, "What did you want to say that would be selfish? I should know why I hate you," she said though anyone could see that hate wasn't the feeling she was going through.

"That I love you," he told her and Kyoko paused.

"You say that to all the girls, what about your girlfriend, the girl you like…" Kyoko said nervously and Kuon looked at her confused. He didn't know what she was talking about. He didn't have anyone that he was dating. He sighed.

"I love you and only you," he said to her and she took a step back, he adjusted his bag on his arm before walking towards the private exit of the building where the car would be waiting for him. Kyoko blinked back the tears, no…she couldn't let her tears blind her now, she couldn't let these emotions prevent her from following him. With a deep breath in she followed him out into the street.

Kyoko wandered out blinded by her tears, shocked by her emotions, and she managed to see him giving the bag to some guy in a car. She wanted to stop him. She wanted to – she ran into the road without looking and the next few moments happened before she was even aware of them.

There was a big black shadow, then something grabbed her and she found herself to fall onto the sidewalk, she looked up and she saw the crumpled body of a blond man aged twenty-one.

Kyoko's body caught onto one thing that made everything within her turn to ice, blood.

Kyoko stepped backwards as she heard the driver run over to Corn's…no Ren's…no Kuon's body.

Something had landed by her feet, LME stamps, the same ones that Ren Tsuruga had used to put points in her book when she was starting out as an actress.

Then, amid yelling and the sound of phone calls being made, Kyoko felt cold and dark and silent as she lost consciousness and connection with the world around her.

Kyoko had fainted.

End of Chapter One

Thank you for reading

Thank you Erza Tsuruga for motivating me to write this by chatting with me