Welcome to the (very late) third installment in my now-trilogy-that-was-supposed-to-be-a-one-shot! It's been a long time since I started this fic… and I still don't own Skip Beat!

Please note that updates will be few and far between due to school. I've got a heavy course load this year! (How heavy? I started writing a Halloween one-shot in early October and it's not even halfway done.) This fic should be the final part of this little mini-series. I hope that you enjoy it!

Kyoko awoke to the buzzing of her alarm and groaned. She'd been having such a lovely dream… she'd spent the day with her prince, and he'd crowned her a princess. Hence, she did not take well to being awoken. However, as she is Kyoko and therefore work-obsessed, she crawled out of her futon, shut off her daruma-shaped alarm clock, and began preparing herself for the day. Her sleepy gaze fell upon her calendar; a slight shock jolted through her system, and then she was very much awake and beaming.

"Moko's plane gets in today!"

This realization caused her to bustle around at twice her usual speed, albeit with less care than usual. It was this very lack of connection to reality that brought her to terms with the fairy-tale occurrences of the previous day – or, at least, forced her to accept them as reality – when she went to grab her shoes before heading downstairs for breakfast. The shoe-back into which her finger hooked was not that of an ordinary shoe, nor did it have a companion. It was one of the faux-glass slippers from her fairy-tale. And if the shoe was real, then that would mean that… that…

That her impossible dream had been reality.

Her legs gave out beneath her; she was in equal measures happy (for obvious reasons), ashamed (for having taken advantage of her sempai in such a way), and terrified (for having even accepted his offer and thereby allowing him to take an even firmer hold on her heart). She tapped the lonely slipper with her still-fancy nails; the Royalty-treatment had included a manicure and a pedicure, and she'd seen no reason to remove the beautiful artwork. She fully planned on wearing it until she needed to take it off for work, or until it chipped beyond help. Natsu could probably pull off butterflies and her hands were not visible as Bo, so the latter was the more likely of the two options.

Where was the other slipper? Had been left in her bag? Perhaps she had set it aside somewhere when she was half-asleep. She had been brought home at midnight, after all, and –

Her cheeks burned. Honestly, how could she have been so – so improper? She was a traditional Japanese woman! Yet she had kissed him – on the cheek, yes, but still! It was just like his thank-you kiss, but… how was she going to face him, and after he sacrificed so much to cheer her up? Even if he'd said he'd enjoyed it as well… and even if he said that she deserved it. The memories of these words stilled her for a moment, and then she sent the rest of the Kyokos into a meeting to discuss the problem while she went about the business of her day. Moko was coming back after a month abroad! Her best friend would be home, and she would be there to pick her up – in a horribly ostentatious car the president had insisted upon providing, of course. But the car aside, she was ecstatic, and vowed to treat Moko to a welcome-home meal and ice-cream trip. Thus her day began, and she made a mental note to finish the glitter on the welcome-home-Moko sign.

"Good morning!" she sang, skipping down the stairs and bowing to her landlords.

Taisho nodded, glad to see her in good spirits again. Okami-san greeted the young actress, and then added, "How was your date yesterday?"

Her abrupt question caught Kyoko off-guard. "It… it wasn't a…" she hesitated, the various events of the day mixing with the comments of the people whom they had met and the forming conclusions of the Kyoko meeting. "It was wonderful," she admitted eventually, deciding to leave the question of what to call that day unanswered. Please let the reader note that this is a giant leap of progress, as only the morning prior Kyoko had violently denied the outing being anything close to a date.

"I'm glad to hear that. He treated you well, I take it?" At his wife's words, taisho stilled; did he need to get his carving knife?

"Of course! Tsu—Re—he," she decided finally, "wouldn't do anything to hurt me. He wouldn't let me pay for anything, though." She sighed, and taisho resumed cutting up vegetables, slightly appeased. Ren would be permitted to live, though he was still on probation. Thus, Kyoko began her breakfast, with some grunts and a light-hearted interrogation from her landlords. Afterwards, she went back upstairs to finish the poster, and then hurried off to start her day.

Ren's morning did not begin quite so smoothly. He had, for the first time in his professional life as Tsuruga Ren, not awoken on time. 'Awoken' is used in the loosest sense of the word, as he did not sleep; rather, he did not snap out of his Kyoko-induced gaze from the time he left Darumaya until he was very late indeed. This led to a rather hurried morning for him, as he needed to pick up his manager before his day could properly begin – and he needed to get dressed before that could happen. He skipped breakfast, knowing full well that Kyoko would scold him later for it, dressed, and rushed to pick up his manager.

Yashiro paced back and forth in front of his apartment building, debating about whether or not he should call Ren. On one hand, they needed to be on time to protect Ren's professional record; on the other, Ren might still be with Kyoko, and Yashiro would not risk interrupting his favorite potential couple. He was, however, getting close to doing so by the time Ren pulled up. The manager let out a sigh of both relief and disappointment - relief, as they could get to work, and disappointment, as Kyoko was not in the car with Ren. "Thank goodness you're here -"

It was then that he noticed the passenger door of Ren's car. He got in, a smirk curving his features and giggles fighting to get loose. Ren realized his mistake; in his post-date (he didn't care if she would deny it, it was still a date to him) elation, he'd forgotten to remove the pumpkin-carriage car decal. He groaned and pulled onto the road without even greeting his manager.

After a few minutes without questions, he relented. "Good morning. I apologize for being late. I did not sleep well last night."

Yashiro's brain whirred madly after hearing this, of course. "Oh? And did that have anything to do with the Cinderella decal on the side of your car?"

"Not directly." He turned into the parking lot of their first destination of the day.

"Where's Kyoko-chan?"

Ren parked and blinked at him. "I assume that she's at LME by now."

Yashiro sighed heavily, but let that particular angle of attack die. Instead, he asked, "How was your date?"

"I believe that she enjoyed herself," Ren admitted, but said nothing more, even when Yashiro squealed about the non-denial of it being a date; they were, after all, running rather late. The director was surprised and rather displeased… but that's not vital to this story, so it shall now switch over to Kyoko, who was walking through the airport with glittery poster in hand. She was early, but did not mind; it was a much better alternative than making her precious Moko-san wait! When Moko got off of the plane, Kyoko fantasized, she would come rushing into her best friend's arms for a giant hug, and then….

"Flight E-7!" crackled over the loudspeaker, jolting Kyoko out of her reverie. That was Moko's flight! She held the sign high.

Kanae stretched and rolled her neck; that had not been a pleasant flight. Her seat partner had been one of her more lascivious co-stars, making for several uncomfortable hours and one actor with demolished pride. Thus it was with no little relief that she stepped off of the plane, dreaming of a long soak in her own bathtub. She walked out into the reception area and was immediately assaulted by a view of something a violent, glittery green.

"Moko! Welcome home!" Kyoko called, waving her poster proudly. She would have hugged her best friend immediately, but said girl was still on the other side of a fence.

"Mo…." the older of the two girls sighed as she stepped around the barrier. "I'm back."

"Moko!" It was then that she flew to her friend; whispers sprung up around them as they embraced (Kanae hugged back for a moment; it had been a month, after all), onlookers wondering about the nature of their relationship. "I missed you so much!"

"Yeah, yeah." She wriggled free. "C'mon, I still need to get my luggage."

Kyoko let out a small cheer and linked her arm through Kanae's. "Then let's go! The president sent along a car, too, so we don't have to worry about getting a taxi."

Kanae nodded, a smile working its way onto her features against her will. Knowing the president, the car was likely to be even more glittery than Kyoko's sign. She couldn't quite bring herself to care, however, as she'd missed her friend, even if she would never willingly admit it. The gathering of her luggage was accompanied by chatter about Kanae's trip (Kyoko had resolved to wait until later to talk about her horrible month and one glorious day) and a brief explosion of grudge demons when Kanae's persistent co-star had re-appeared. The poor man beat a hasty retreat, leaving Kanae to reward Kyoko with a brief one-armed hug of thanks. Kyoko then became rather unbearable, which cleared the pathway for them to their Lory-provided, LoveME pink limo. The inside was peacock-themed. Kanae let out a sigh as she settled in next to her best friend. Sebastian shut the door behind them, straightened his peacock hat (which did not look remotely ridiculous, as he is Sebastian and therefore looks good in everything), and got into the driver's seat.

"Oh, yeah - I have your souvenir," Kanae muttered, rummaging in one of her bags and dodging Kyoko's hug simultaneously. "Here."

"Thank you, Moko!" Kyoko squealed. "My best friend got me a present… a souvenir! That's never happened before! Oh, thank you!"

"At least open it first." Kanae rolled her eyes. "How else will you know if you like it?"

"It's from Moko! Of course I'll like it! It -" she opened it and squealed - "oh, I love it!" It was a paper fan, handpainted with images of sylvan creatures dancing over flowerbuds. After placing it carefully in her lap, she flung her arms around her protesting friend. "Thank you so much!"

Kanae suffered the hug for a few moments before shimmying away. The two girls spent the rest of the ride catching up with the acting portions of each other's lives. It was not until after they had dropped Kanae's suitcases off at her home and entered the LoveME room at LME that the topic of Kyoko's month of sadness appeared. Kanae dragged it from a highly reluctant Kyoko's mouth before pausing. Natsuko slithered into the room unnoticed, her rock lobster costume clicking softly.

"That… is one awful month."

"Yes! I missed you so much!" Kyoko hugged her friend around the waist. "But it wasn't all that bad - I mean, yesterday was wonderful and today you're back! So everything's okay!"

"What made yesterday wonderful?" What could so easily make up for that month?

"Well, um," Kyoko paused, her cheeks coloring slightly, "I knew that you'd be back today, and… um…"

"And?"

"Ah, Natsuko!" Kyoko yelped, seizing her only opportunity for a topic change - she wasn't quite ready to tell her best friend about her date with Tsu-with Ren. Kanae screeched and scuttled backwards; Kyoko knelt down to take the note from her reptilian friend. Natsuko nodded and slithered out of the room. "Moko, the president wants to see you now, alone."

"Fine," Kanae sighed, pushing her bangs back from her face, exasperated. "But this conversation is not over! Got it?"

"Yes," Kyoko murmured, plopping onto one of the heart-shaped couches and tucking her feet beneath her. Kanae looked over her friend once, nodded, and hurried away after the snake to report to Lory.

By this time, Ren and Yashiro had finished the first job of the day and arrived at LME, Yashiro for his paperwork time and Ren for his (unofficial) Kyoko time. The morning had been rather horrible for Ren, who was running on no sleep and no breakfast; he'd not even had time for coffee before his first scene. He'd not let his acting suffer, of course - he was too professional for that - but his temper had been a bit shorter than usual. This was an unfortunate truth, as Yashiro was elated about his favorite ship starting to make its way out of the port and therefore prone to squealing… and teasing.

"So you took Kyoko-chan out on a date?" he inquired - perhaps for the third time, perhaps for the twenty-seventh - as Ren parked the car.

"I've already answered that," Ren bit back, unclenching his fingers from the steering wheel. "My answer has not and shall not change."

Yashiro grinned. "Are you going to go see Kyoko-chan now, then?"

"If she is in the building, I might encounter her. She forgot something last night." His tone was clipped, as were his movements; he unbuckled his seatbelt, retrieved a bag from the back seat, and hurried out of the car.

"Not just something - a special something!" Yashiro chuckled (let it be taken as a victory that he did not giggle, as that would be disgraceful and unbefitting of Ren's image).

"I beg you, be silent." Ren gave a small groan. Yashiro had been like this all morning. If he wasn't such a skilled manager….

Yashiro sniggered, but obeyed. The remainder of their walk into the building occurred in silence punctuated only by various small forms of laughter from the elder of the two men. The two did not part ways upon entering the building, but instead traversed the same path down to the LoveME room. Yashiro, after all, had curiosity to satisfy.

Kyoko was humming to herself and absentmindedly tracing the patterns on her nails when Ren's knock sounded on the door. She stood quickly and bowed as the two men entered the room. "Good morning, Yashiro-san, Tsu-" (Here she paused for a fraction of a second.) "Ren!"

"Good morning, Kyoko," Ren replied as Yashiro dissolved into silent squeals. "Did you sleep well?"

"Oh, yes!" She smiled. "I slept better than I have in a month, and had lovely dreams. What about you?"

"I didn't sleep too well, actually, though I rested for a while." To his surprise, she bowed deeply.

"I'm so sorry, Tsu-Ren!"

"Huh?"

Yashiro regained his composure, if only just. "I've read that sometimes when you can't sleep, you're awake in someone else's dream. Right, Kyoko-chan?"

She nodded, looking to one side, and mumbled, "My brain was replaying yesterday. I apologize for keeping you up at night."

While Yashiro doubled over with silent laughter at the double entende of her words, Ren waved her apologies away. "I'm sure that if that were true, no celebrity would sleep well. I was going over the day, as well."

"Speaking of which," Yashiro interjected before Kyoko could respond, "how was your date with Ren yesterday, Kyoko-chan?"

Ren flinched; yes, he'd thought of it as such, but it was too much to expect Kyoko to think the same. He opened his mouth to contradict his manager for her sake, but was stilled by a feather-light touch on his wrist.

"It… it was lovely," Kyoko murmured, glancing up at the two of them through her lashes, "a perfect fairy tale."

Both Ren and Yashiro froze for a moment, processing what had just been said. Kyoko had not denied that it was a date. She had actually prevented Ren from correcting Yashiro. And she - the fairy-obsessed girl - had deemed it a fairy tale.

Yashiro hovered for a moment longer before turning on his heel and sprinting out of the room. The president needed to know this information.

Ren blinked. So he hadn't imagined her words last night, her admission then of their fairytale, their chance of a happy ending. Her demons huddled behind Mio, wearing protective suits and shuddering. "I'm glad to hear that, princess."

She ducked her head. "Thank you again."

"The pleasure was mine, I assure you." He paused, then reached into his bag. "Speaking of fairytales…."

"Yes?" She blinked up at him.

"I am searching for a girl - nay, a woman - with whom I parted ways at midnight last night; all she left behind was a lone glass slipper." He withdrew it from his bag and continued, "Would you, perchance, be willing to try it on, to see if you are indeed she of whom the faeries speak?"

Her mind spun for several moments before she could form words. "I would."

"Then please, princess, take a seat."

She sat down upon the LoveME couch, feeling ridiculously nervous; she knew it was hers, and yet… what if for some reason it didn't fit? What if this wasn't her fairytale, even though she'd claimed it as such? It's not like that hadn't happened to her before… so why should she expect a happy ending this time around? Her hands clasped together in front of her. Why was he just standing there? Did he realize that she could never be worthy?

"Princess… your shoe, please," he, requested, smiling. At her blank look, he added, "Please remove your right shoe."

Oh.

She laughed and bent over to remove it. "Sorry."

"Not at all." He knelt down in front of her and was all solemnity when he took her ankle into his hand. The shoe slipped on without any problems - it had been made for her, after all.

Her breath caught as he stood up and offered her his hand. She took it; he helped her stand and had to restrain himself from pulling her to him. "It fits, princess."

She made no response as he kissed her hand, instead staring wide-eyed and open-mouthed at him.

"Princess Kyoko…?" Had he crossed one of her invisible lines? "Is something wrong?"

His words snapped her from her daze. "I… no, I'm fine! I-I just can't quite believe that this amazing fairy tale… is happening to me." This last part came out as a whisper with a slight laugh; the glance she gave him after she'd finished speaking was shy and quickly finished when she ducked her head.

He smiled. "I'm glad that it is… and hope that it will be allowed to continue," he paused for a moment before adding, "now… and forever."

His intentions attempted to fly over her head, but her angels were having none of this. They snatched the intentions out of the air and shoved them into the Kyoko meeting room, right in front of the boss Kyoko's eyes, demanding, "Mama. Look. At. It!" Kyoko, forced to realize what exactly was occurring and what he meant, flushed a rather pleasant shade of chartreuse.

Fortunately or unfortunately (as the case may be), Kanae re-entered the room at that moment. "What the-?"

"Oh, fluffernutters," Kyoko squeaked.

Aaaaaand chapter break! :D Last line is dedicated to one of my sempais, who says that frequently. Doesn't that so fit Kyoko?

This was supposed to be a one-shot. No, I'm not just talking about this particular story… "The Truth about Onee-san" was supposed to be a one-shot. Now it's a trilogy. Also, any suggested names for what I should collectively call it? I still have it saved as "Kyoko Tells Maria about Past (chapter #)" in my documents, but that no longer really applies. If you have a suggestion for me, please feel free to leave it in your review (hint, hint)! :D