Dark Moon arc

Dark Moon arc
Kyoko lands a role in Dark Moon, a remake of a popular drama 20 years ago. She had trouble with her role but with Ren's help, she made the best version of her role, better than the original. Ren is also having trouble with his role. He doesn't know how to act love. All that changes when he finally realizes—with the help of a certain chicken mascot—that he is indeed in love with someone, and he passes his role's acting test. Message: Don't give up. Listen to your heart. Be true to yourself.
Manga		Anime
Volumes	9-13	Number of Episodes	6
Number of Chapters	28
ACT.051 - End of the Dark Road ACT.052 - The Unexpected Truth ACT.053 - Looked Like Smooth Sailing ACT.054 - Invitation to the Moon ACT.055 - Tsukigomori ACT.056 - Qualified People ACT.057 - Memory of the Heart ACT.058 - Unexpected Wind ACT.059 - The Day the World Broke ACT.060 - Each Person's Shadow ACT.061 - And the Trigger Was Pulled ACT.062 - Lunar Eclipse ACT.063 - The Permissible Encounter ACT.064 - The Spell at Dawn ACT.065 - The Silent Siren ACT.066 - Unbalanced Lock ACT.067 - Deep Shock ACT.068 - A One-Night Connection ACT.069 - The Game Heats Up ACT.070 - Honey Trap ACT.071 - A Guilty Scene ACT.072 - Scenario Takeover ACT.073 - DARK MOON ACT.074 - The Drama Trick ACT.075 - Climax Concerto ACT.076 - Love Phantom ACT.077 - Access to the Blue ACT.078 - The Fairy's Magic		STAGE.20 - Invitation to the Moon STAGE.21 - The One Who Deserves to Be STAGE.22 - The Day the World Shattered STAGE.23 - And the Trigger was Pulled STAGE.24 - The Permissible Encounter STAGE.25 - And Then the Door Opens
Previous Arc: Kanae's arc		Next Arc: Suddenly, a Love Story arc

Notable Moments

• Lory informs Ren that his love acting skills are fake. Ren reels at the idea that there is such a major flaw in his acting skills.
• Kyoko reveals her past with Sho Fuwa to Kanae, hoping she'd get advice as to why Ren would still be angry when she didn't accept the PV for revenge. Kanae guesses that Ren was jealous and may be in love with her. Kyoko dismisses this as ludicrous for she thinks that Ren hates her.
• After having decided that Ren is angry with her for lying, Kyoko decides she must apologize to Ren. However when he appears out-of-the-blue and catches her mentally unprepared and she screams at seeing him so suddenly.
• Ren confronts the President in his office about taking on the lead in Dark Moon. He discovers from Lory that what he thought was love was not love at all. When Lory expresses his doubt about Ren's ability to express the kind of love necessary for the part, Ren still insists on taking on the role of Katsuki.
• Ren discovers that Kyoko will also be starring in Dark Moon.
• Hiroko Iizuka, the former Mio Hongo from 20 years ago, doesn't think Kyoko's qualified to play the part. She puts Kyoko to a questionnaire, and tells her if she fails to answer even one question, she must quit. Kyoko fails the last question, wondering why Mio would hate Mizuki Hongo.
• Rather than let Iizuka force Director Ogata and Kyoko into making her leave the set, Ren stands up for Kyoko by putting his own reputation on the block too.
• Kyoko struggles, but then has an epiphany that clarifies a contradiction in Mio's character. She leaves the shooting location, which causes either alarm or derision in those left behind, except Ren. Kyoko, in fact, gets her hair cut so that the makeup-applied scar on her temple cannot be hidden by hair.
• Kyoko returns to the set fully in character as her much more extroverted Mio. At first Director Ogata and the rest think her Mio is too intense, but after Kyoko roleplays with Iizuka, Ogata realizes her intensity is exactly what he wants. 
• Ren runs into the trouble that Lory predicted during a subtle romantic scene between him and Mizuki. He is unable to portray Katsuki's conflicted feelings of being in love with Mizuki and attracted to her but knowing he shouldn't be. He is NGed multiple times, and Director Ogata sends him home to find his character.
• Kyoko runs into Ren as Bo again, after he starts having trouble with portraying Katsuki Tachibana's romantic nature. She learns that he's never been in love and while trying to help him out as Bo accidentally encourages him to think of herself as someone he can love.
• Kyoko gets upset when she overhears Itsumi Momose calling her a better actor and coworker than Ren. Determined to show these people what Ren is truly capable of she asks for his timetable from Yashiro. Yashiro asks for payment for the information which is to make Ren dinner. 
• Kyoko meets Ren on her way to his house and reveals that she's there to make him dinner. While eating they watch a TV show with a couple that has an age gap, and Kyoko compares his nonchalance about this to the excuse about the girl he told Bo about.
• When Ren drives Kyoko home and gets out of the car to see her to the door, they two have a moment of eye contact with a tangible spark between them. Ren immediately gets back in the car; he moves so fast that Kyoko wonders if he teleported.
• In an attempt to boost his confidence, Kyoko makes a heartfelt confession that she is waiting to meet the new Katsuki more than even Mizuki is. An expressionless Ren answers that he will try his best and drives off, leaving a slightly embarrassed Kyoko behind.
• Ren realizes he is experiencing tender feelings for Kyoko when she makes a heart-felt gesture of her faith in his acting ability.
• Kyoko hauls a stolen Bo's head (from TBM) and a borrowed duck's body (from LME) to TV Japan in order to catch Ren while he's on a break. As duck Bo she brings up the couple with the large age difference and confronts Ren about his contradicting opinions. Ren reveals that he cannot allow himself to become attached to anyone.
  • Ren has an epiphany connecting Katsuki's behavior to his own behavior regarding Kyoko. Coincidentally, Kyoko is there, bring him a bento to cheer him up. Ren very suggestively invites Kyoko over to his place. "There's one more thing I'd like to have with that lunch box to perk me up...Your body and your time tonight."
• Kyoko joins Ren at his apartment that evening so that they can role-play as Mizuki and Katsuki to help him find his character.
• Kyoko falls in the kitchen while standing on a chair to reach a high shelf; she is caught and her fall cushioned by Ren. When Ren pulls her closer, Kyoko becomes very uncomfortable, not sure where he's taking their Katsuki and Mizuki roleplaying. She freezes when he leans back and strokes first her lips and then her cheek, cradling her face. He asks her if she's ever kissed anyone, and both in character and as herself she answers in the negative. When he offers to teach her how, she mentally freaks out and just barely manages to pull her character into place as she stops his lips with her hand.
• News of Ren's trouble with the part has spread, and when Ren returns to the Dark Moon set is it to an acting test. Lory is present and ready to fire him from the part. Ren pulls it off through an improvisation with his co-star Itsumi.
• After a successful acting trial, Ren compliments Itsumi and Kyoko feels jealous. Seeing Itsumi get flustered, though, allows Kyoko to convince herself that her reaction to Ren's Katsuki flirting was typical and not a sign of beginning to fall in love.
• During a private talk after the acting test, Lory realizes that Ren is in love with Kyoko when he sees Ren's face reacting to her waiting for him.
• Kyoko waits for Ren to finish talking to Lory. When he emerges from the limo where they were talking, Kyoko gives him the Corn stone. She reveals to him her story about the young fairy she met and shows her confidence that he is flying high. Ren thanks her for the stone but also for her words. He gives it back to her, telling her already has something precious and magical, but not before he kisses it.