Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat! I only wish I were brilliant enough to create a manga like this one:)

Kyoko knew.

She knew about his past. He finally told her.

Ren Tsuruga was a stage name for Kuon Hizuri, but it was more that simply that. Ren had become his alias, his alter ego, bars of a prison cell that held Kuon captive. Cruel and sadistic, a cold-blooded murderer - Kuon deserved to be chained for eternity. But the chains that Ren had tightened and locked around his other self had loosened, and Kuon had slipped to the surface. Ren had had a number of close calls, only returning to himself when Kyoko had called to him. Constantly worried and afraid of Kuon's breaking free, Ren had not acted as himself or as Cain Heel, and he realized that Kyoko had begun to suspect that something was amiss.

As she had seen more and more of his dark side, he knew that it was wrong for him to keep the truth from her. It could only hurt her to be so close to him without knowing who he really was. And so, for the first time, he had exposed his true nature.

Ren had come to his decision earlier that day. They had been on set, and Black Jack was outfitted in full Reaper attire...

... ... ...

"That look really suits you, you know," said a certain masculine voice. Murasame was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed in a relaxed pose. "You might think about wearing it when we're off set. Then people would know immediately what sort of person they were dealing with."

Cain Heel paid him no notice. Setsu was off to the side. As usual, her eyes followed her brother, not missing Murasame's provocation. Annoying little bug, thought Setsu. Murasame caught the look that passed between them.

"You two really are unnatural. The way you watch her...it's disgusting for a brother." Murasame pushed off the wall and leaned in toward Heel. "You two have...what? Six years difference in age? Eight?" He shook his head and clucked like a mother hen. "You're a cradle snatcher. She never had a chance, did she? Not with you lurking over her like an overgrown bat."

A muscle in Heel's cheek twitched. Murasame grinned, knowing he had struck a nerve. "As the older brother, you have to take responsibility for your sister's...taste. With you two together all the time, maybe you can't see it. So let me give you some perspective."

"Being close to you...it dirties her. It's clear you have loads of issues. And you're dragging her down with you. You locked her up in a prison of your own making. Because of you, she can't see anyone else. Because of you, she's a filthy -" He should have been prepared for the attack, but even a former gang leader like Murasame was no match for the raw violence and exceptional skill that was Cain Heel.

An iron fist caught Murasame in his gut. He dry heaved. He couldn't catch his breath and fell to his knees, clutching his stomach. Someone in the staff shrieked, drawing their attention to the actors.

"Nii-san," Setsu called sharply from across the room.

Kuon - no, Cain Heel - stopped in his tracks and turned to face his beloved sister. Anger rolled off his shoulders in waves, and he struggled to suppress it. Setsu strode calmly towards him, heedless of the numerous stares she was receiving from the staff. The fight had been so abrupt that panic had not been able to set in, but they knew what would happen if the Murasame continued to bait Heel. They looked hopefully at Setsu, knowing that she could reign in Heel's dark moods.

"Nii-san, such a pathetic man," she said with a bored glance at Murasame, "is not worth your time. If you must play with him, you should ignore him. That will surely irritate him the most." Setsu switched to English now that she was certain Murasame knew what she thought of him. "If you quit challenging his every jibe, then we can finish shooting early, and you can take me shopping." Her tone took on a pouting note. "It's been weeks since we went anywhere."

Cain Heel thought for only a moment before smiling approvingly. - Get yourself under control, Kuon! - "I think you may be right, Setsu. I was going to ignore him at first, but when it seemed like he would put up a fight, I got excited. As it happens, he was not even remotely interesting prey." He reached out a hand to stroke Setsu's cheek. "You're right. I'll ignore him like the dirt he is."

But if he tries again to cheapen our relationship, belittling and reviling you, I swear I'll - No! Be calm, Kuon. It's just an act! Kyoko is safe. That little shit was just baiting us. We haven't tarnished her.

Later in the dressing room, after Kyoko had left to film Box R, Ren buried his face in his hands. Murasame thought that Cain Heel was dirtying Setsuka, taking advantage of his position as the older brother and using her as a crutch to satisfy his own ego. But the tormenting thought rampaging through Ren's mind was...that Setsu and Kyoko might not be all that different. Kyoko trusted him, not with the adoration of a younger sister, but with the respect for a deserving senpai. And what was he doing right now if not using her as a crutch? He was unable to tame his own darkness and instead relied on her to pull him back from the edge of the abyss.

Setsu's character had changed. Once she would not have dreamed of challenging her brother when he was raring for a fight. Her brother was sovereign, and she supported him in all he did. The episode with Murasame that afternoon...To an onlooker, it might look as though Setsu had tamed her brother's wildness. In truth, it was Kyoko's worry overcoming Setsu's calm. More often these past few weeks, Kuon had struck out at Murasame. It's was like the guy knew just which buttons to press, and Ren was thankful that Kyoko incorporated peacekeeping into Setsu's character. Otherwise, filming might have to stop altogether. Because his control was slipping.

Worry had not been kind to Kyoko. Dark circles had formed under her eyes, covered easily by make-up, but such a trick could not fool Ren. By not being honest with her, I really am dragging her down. Her misplaced faith in me is like a shackle, and she's only beginning to feel its grip. While I'm like this, I can only hurt her.

Aren't you ashamed, Kuon?

... ... ...

Now Kyoko dressed as Setsu sat deep in thought on her bed in the hotel room that they shared, and Ren sat across from her, hoping, praying that she wouldn't be disgusted by him. He had taken a dangerous gamble, and any hope of a future with her rested on what happened in the next few minutes.

Kyoko's brows were creased in thought as she took in the story of his past. "So you live each day in atonement for what happened all those years ago," she said softly. "You cannot allow yourself to be happy because it would mean you had forgotten Rick-san." Now his comments to Bo made sense. The darkness and pain she had sensed from him were not mistaken.

Ren nodded. He should count himself lucky that she had not gone screaming for the door the moment he told her the truth. Instead she was talking to him. He could not have hoped for anything more.

"And you're Father - ah, Hizuri-san's son?" She should have been more shocked by the revelation, but they were both such extraordinary actors. Kyoko didn't know how she had not realized who Tsuruga-san was. She had even role-played as the young Kuon Hizuri!

But the happy, mischievous boy he once had been was gone, replaced by this broken man.

"I'm sorry to burden you with this, Mogami-san," said Ren quietly, pained. "But I know you've been worried about me, and at the very least, I didn't want to leave you in the dark. You deserved to know." A long pause followed his words, and Ren knew that Kyoko was struggling with how to respond. "On set, Murasame reminds me of those guys from my past. Before I realize it -" He stopped, unable to continue. Before I realize it, Kuon is breaking through the chains.

Kyoko watched as her respected senpai, who she worshipped as a god of acting, bowed his head in defeat. He was tormented by his past, battling his own self. She had no experience in matters like this. She didn't know what she could do to relieve his suffering. She didn't know what words she could offer that might help him. Tsuruga-san had lived through hell, and the guilt that weighed him down was almost palpable now that he allowed her to see it. The president had told her it was enough to remain by his side, but seeing her senpai in such pain made her desperate to do something, anything for him.

"I can understand if you can't bring yourself to continue acting as Setsu," Ren continued. "Living with a cold-blooded murderer can't be a pleasant thought. You won't be able to sleep at night, and your own work will suffer." He laughed grimly. As Murasame said, he truly would drag her to her doom.

"Tsuruga-san," Kyoko asked softly, "have you ever killed anyone?"

Ren blinked. Had she missed his entire story? "I am to blame for Rick's death," he reiterated. "The guys who tormented me all those years - I hurt them...badly." He would have stopped the next words coming from his mouth if he could have, but the truth had slipped out before he realized. "And...I enjoyed hurting them."

There. Now he had done it. She may have thought that he was just fighting back against his oppressors. But it was more than that. He was a bloodthirsty monster, and Kyoko knew it. She would run from him, as was only natural.

But Kyoko surprised him. Instead of moving away from him, she leaned forward and knelt on the floor in front of him. In shock, Ren looked at her, and her golden eyes held no condemnation.

"These hands," she said gently, wrapping her own hands around his, "are not those of a killer. These hands,"she lifted them to her cheek, "have guided me in my journey as an actress. They lifted me when I sprained my ankle. They gave me Princess Rosa. These hands are kind and gentle. So don't call yourself a murderer."

The woman he loved wrapped him in her gaze, and no force on earth could have pulled him away.

"I am not afraid of you, Tsuruga-san."

What do you think? Please let me know! The next chapters will follow Ren as he continues to fight his dark side, now with Kyoko to help him. As for our favorite starlet, she has her own battles to fight...