Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat or any of its characters… But you all knew that anyways.

Ren hadn't been expecting it to be a good day. Any day he had to spend with 'professionals' that didn't take their job seriously tended not to be 'good'. And Ruriko had a tendency to take that to the extreme. She was already a full day late getting to set. But it seemed she had finally arrived.

Now the only question Ren had was, what to do with the girl collapsed in the middle of the path between him and the set?

Option 1: Walk by as if he hadn't noticed.

Well, that option was out. He had already made eye contact and the girl had started trying to crawl away. Ren couldn't help it though, she had Kyoko's eyes. Of course he was drawn to the only color in his world.

Option 2: Tell her to stay put and send help when he got back to set.

That seemed like a good option. Except she had already asked him if Ruriko had sent him to help her. So she was expecting help and her ankle was obviously swollen. How had she injured herself that badly walking up a hill?

Ren sighed. It would be decidedly out of character to just ignore an injured girl. Even if it was her. He knelt down to inspect the injury.

The girl's response was a bit… extreme. Or she was genuinely hurt. After all, repeatedly slamming her fist into the ground must have hurt too.

Ren's choice was made for him.

Option 3: Pick her up and carry her to set where there was a first aid kit waiting.

There was only a brief moment when Ren considered throwing her over his shoulder like a sack of rice. Then he came to his senses and switched his approach to a bridal carry. She was a girl after all. Not that she acted like one, throwing a tantrum the entire 5 minute walk to set. Really, was it that hard to say 'thank you'?

The day was turning out worse than predicted and Ren hadn't even seen Ruriko yet. It was only a matter of time though.

And unsurprisingly, when she finally did show up, she seemed to think the world revolved around her. Tugging at the elbow of Ren's costume, her expression was one part infatuation and one part expectation.

Ren smiled. "You're finally here. I was getting impatient waiting for you."

That was clearly not what she had wanted to hear.

Ruriko stormed out of the room… Like she always did apparently. Somehow the president of LME expected Ren and the director to 'fix' this bad habit she had developed. How exactly they were supposed to be doing that… hadn't been all that well explained. They shared looks of long suffering before settling down on the couch to wait for the idol's return. The one thing they had agreed on was that no one would go after her.

They had not however, shared this plan with that girl, who, with the help of Ren's manager Yashiro, hopped back onto set. Her injury was wrapped, but tinges of discoloration could be seen at the edges of the bandage. She shouldn't have been walking, let alone helping to carry a struggling pop singer. It didn't seem to stop her though.

And those eyes. Ren was going to have to figure out how to control his fascination with the girl's eyes. He had to stop staring at her. Not that it was any easier to look away when Ruriko pushed the girl to the ground at his feet. He could practically see the pain and anger waring for control. How did anyone like her think they could become an actress? As far as Ren could tell, if a thought crossed the girl's mind, it crossed her face as well.

Not that he was doing much better. Ren was more than irritated by Ruriko's behavior and at least some of it was showing on his face. There was unprofessional and then there was childish. The only bright side was that Ruriko finally agreed to start filming. Unfortunately, she was terrible. And that stubborn amber eyed girl…

"Miss would you like to take a seat?"

The girl didn't even look at Ren as they stood by the back wall of the set. "No thanks." Then, when it felt like the silence had stretched on too long. "Why are you being so considerate towards me?"

Ren glanced down at the girl. She seemed almost subdued. Five minutes ago he wouldn't have believed she was capable of it. "Most people tend to be considerate to those who are injured, right?"

She looked thoughtful for a moment before violently shaking her head. "If Ruriko-chan sees you standing beside me she'll probably be upset." Then she glared openly at Ren. "Stay away from me."

"SERIOUSLY!?"

Speak of the devil and it will blow out your eardrums. Or was that not the right phrase? Either way, Ruriko looked furious as the director explained his expectations, again, giving even more detailed instructions on posture and poise. Instructions that the amber eyed girl didn't need apparently.

"I Quit!" Ruriko looked smug with just a hint of malice. "Since you wanted an amateur actress, why not ask her to act?" The pop singer's finger was pointed at the LoveMe section member's chest. Ruriko seemed to be under the mistaken impression that the director would humor her and bend to her will. She also seemed to be mistaken in her assumption that, that girl wouldn't gladly take the opportunity to earn Ruriko's role.

Ren watched with passive interest as Ruriko fled and the other girl wandered off to wardrobe and makeup with her aura fluctuating between sparkly and sinister. "Director, are you serious about this? Are you really going to allow Ruriko and that girl to compete and then use whoever performs the best?"

The director didn't even hesitate as he responded in the affirmative. He was more interested in making a good movie than retraining a bratty actress. Though, in Ren's personal experience, it was never wise to ignore direct orders from the president.

Ren sat up straight as a roar echoed through the manor they were using as a set. "SAY IT ONE MORE TIME!" There was a short moment of silence. "AGAIN!"

Well, that was worth investigating. Ren rose to his feet and padded down the hallway, following the sound of continued outbursts. That was how he found Ruriko, huddled against the wall with her knees tucked up under her chin just outside the wardrobe room. "Ruriko-chan."

"Tsuruga-san."

Ren offered the advice he could, hoping that his message would sink in. "If you want the director to change his mind, you can only rely on your acting skills."

Ruriko looked back despairingly. "But didn't you want to work with me, Tsuruga-san?"

"Tsuruga-san? Ruriko-san?" A makeup artist asked as she noticed them. She had just walked out of the wardrobe room. "Are you waiting for Kyoko-chan to come out?"

Ren flinched. Of course that girl had the same name as his soulmate. She had the same eyes, why wouldn't she have the same name? And… Ren's brain short circuited. That girl was dressed in a dark kimono with amber accents that matched her eyes. Long hair fell around her, giving her a traditional beauty that had been lost with the short haircut she had chosen for herself. And the black framed her piercing eyes far better than the pale grey she had chosen to dye it.

The next scene passed in a blur.

Even as he tried to distract himself, Ren found his gaze always wandering back over to that girl. She seemed so happy to be acting. When the camera was on she was the demure young heiress she was supposed to be, but the moment it was off she was something else entirely. She heaped praises on the makeup artists, traded tricks to putting on the perfect kimono with the wardrobe workers, and generally danced around the set on one foot. Her joy was contagious, but a single wrong word from Ruriko and her ire was bone chilling.

Unfortunately for her, the acting contest was all but rigged. The next scene was a tea ceremony and with her injured ankle there was no way she could complete the scene. Or so Ren thought.

He respected determination, but really? The woman couldn't even kneel in the proper position with her injured foot, let alone preform a full tea ceremony and act. "If you have to act in that position you'll have no chance of winning." He commented as she balanced on all fours. It wasn't the most ladylike of poses.

"After 'action' is called I will resume the correct position."

At least that was what she said. Ren had a hard time believing it though. Right up until the moment the word left the director's mouth.

Two things happened simultaneously. First, that girl sat down on her injured ankle, all signs of pain vanishing from her face as she started the scene. Second, the flowers on her kimono grew more vivid in Ren's view, the cloth taking on a rich hue he had never seen before.

The first thing Ren knew how to handle. The second he didn't. People didn't have two soulmates, but this wasn't his Kyoko-chan either. Ren didn't know what to think. So he buried the thought, telling himself the change was nothing more than a trick of the light. It had to be. Even if the colors got brighter as he acted opposite her. It had to be a trick of the light.

A/N: Someone asked how Kyoko and Ren know what color is what. And the answer is they don't at the moment they first see the color. In my head Kyoko associates the colors with specific items and Ren secretly prints a color wheel off the internet to check what color is what. (But later. He's still in denial.)

To Shizuhoe: Why, yes. Ren really was that much of an ass in the beginning. And hopefully this chapter answered your second question. As for why Kyoko was suddenly able to see pink, it was because she learned something about who her soulmate is as a person (even if she's totally oblivious to Ren's identity at the moment). I hope that makes sense. If not let me know. And about the Corn stone... that would be the next chapter.