| A Guilty Scene | |
|---|---|
| ACT.71 | |
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| Character/s in the cover | Ren Tsuruga and Kyoko Mogami |
| Volume | 12 |
| Arc | Dark Moon arc |
| Chapter Guide | |
| Previous | Next |
| ACT.070 | ACT.072 |
A Guilty Scene is the 71st chapter of the Skip Beat! manga series.
Plot[]
Kyoko awakens in Ren exactly what he needed to complete his role. A little physical intimacy was the trigger.
Chapter Summary[]
Ren is not at all unaccustomed to holding a female close, but he recognizes that it's more meaningful when its Kyoko and doesn't even stop to think when he holds her closer. Kyoko is shocked and addresses him by his character's name. Ren decides he can't just back away because then Kyoko will realize it was him holding her tighter, not Katsuki holding Mizuki. He moves his arm out from underneath her, and Kyoko is relieved until he strokes her face with that hand.
Ren gazes at Kyoko and cups her face, running his thumb across her bottom lip. Slowly, Ren asks Kyoko if she's ever kissed someone. Kyoko/Mizuki answers in the negative. A wicked grin accompanies an offer to teach her how. Kyoko just barely prevents a kiss by placing the tips of her fingers on the sides of his chin and Mizuki begs Katsuki to pull himself together. Ren freezes, eyes widening, and Mizuki asks if he's better now. Ren gets off her, shaken with disbelief, and turns his back to her. Mizuki tries to reassure her teacher that she understands it was a moment of confusion while ill and breaking her fall. In truth Ren is not in character and is shocked that while trying to avoid Kyoko figuring out that holding her tight was his own genuine reaction, he completely forgot to act and behaved like his true self.
Kyoko tries to figure out how Mizuki would respond to this situation beyond what's she's already done when Ren starts laughing. Kyoko is completely nonplussed now. Ren bangs his fist on the kitchen floor unable to hold back. He had thought that he would never again stop acting and just be himself, but his mind had gone completely blank in that moment.
Kyoko wonders if she's witnessing someone actually losing it. She calls him by his character title and Ren turns to confront neither Mizuki nor Kyoko but one seriously upset Mio. She admonishes him for teasing her. Katsuki wickedly claims he was simply punishing Mizuki for not going home when told to. He apologizes for laughing at her reaction. Kyoko's angry, and she channels it into their continued role play. Ren is comfortable again and assures her in his double role that he never intended to kiss her.
In his mind, Ren acknowledges that his true self, who is neither Katsuki nor Ren Tsuruga the celebrity, is how he covers up when he loses touch with acting—though he's never lost it like then. Kyoko brought out of him a part of himself he didn't know existed. Which, it turns out, is what he needs to play Katsuki: himself.
While cooking, Kyoko is screaming at Katsuki in her head what she really wants to say about how inappropriate what happened was between a teacher and a student. But she also realizes that when she was being held close, it was like being with someone who was neither Katsuki nor Ren. She's losing focus dwelling on this when Ren startles her by calling her real name. He thanks her for helping him and Kyoko's bad mood flies away when she realizes that Ren found what he needed.
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
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