| Relationships | ||
| Love Interests | ||
|---|---|---|
| Hatred | ||
| Friends | ||
| Family | ||
Love Interests[]
Kyoko Mogami
| Main article: Ren and Kyoko's Relationship / Kyoko Mogami Ren's relationship with Kyoko is quite complicated. The two met when they were little, in Kyoto, when Ren was 10 and Kyoko was 6 years old. Kyoko also inspired Ren's ideal of a Japanese woman while being together with him for a few days in Kyoto. At the time they met, Kyoko was trying to find a place to cry alone so she would not be bothered by Sho, and while finding a place to cry, she found Kuon (Mispronounced as "Corn" by Kyoko) where she befriended him. 10 years later, Ren meets Kyoko again when she was trying for an audition to get into LME. At first Ren didn't like Kyoko, because she explicitly told him she wanted to Kyoko and Ren. As for Kyoko's feelings, she greatly admires Ren and wants to become an actress whom he can respect one day. She has made little dolls of Ren with startlingly precise accuracy and uses them to scold herself. This distresses Ren a little because he thinks that is the impression she has of him. For her 17th birthday he surprises her by giving her a huge rose (Queen Rosa) with a real crystal inside the rose – which Kyoko didn't discover until later. In order to prevent Kyoko from returning the gift, he made up a story that mystifies the crystal. This made Kyoko believes that it brings out her character as Natsu and insisted Ren to keep it when he was in trouble. Ren consistently holds back his affection because he knows that Kyoko has rejected the entire notion of love and she might reject him (both their senpai-kouhai relationship as well as their friendship) if she knew about it. He also holds back because he believes he doesn't deserve love and wants to keep her at arm's length to protect her from him. However, there are times where he briefly loses self-control and his affection leaks out, but he is able to regain that control fairly quickly. One such incident was when he and Kyoko were rehearsing for Dark Moon at his place. Kyoko was reaching for something on a high shelf and was about to lose her balance when he came in just in time to catch her and cushion the fall. Instead of letting her go, he held onto her even more tightly, leaving Kyoko very much bewildered by his actions. However, he managed to recover quickly and put on his 'Emperor of the Night' act to cover up. He is also very protective over Kyoko and worries about her. In the Valentine's Arc, Kyoko was kissed by Sho Fuwa that makes Ren jealous. After Kyoko calms down a little (Ren tried to convince her that it should not be considered as her first kiss), Kyoko asks for some of his time because she wants to give him something. At the dressing room, Kyoko gave him red wine jelly, a slippery and easy-to-eat dessert. The jelly serve in a crystal glass decorated with roses on vines that Kyoko bought which resembles the Queen Rosa. Ren resisted a little, believing that it is Kyoko's special treatment (he was the only one not to receive chocolates from Kyoko and she was excited and concerned about how Ren would receive her gift). But in the end, Kyoko made an ugly face because she suddenly remembered something that reminded her of Sho's kiss. This made Ren consider a plan of action to try to stop the indecision of Kyoko by doing the same thing as Fuwa did because he saw that every little thing is making her think of Sho. He wanted to repaint her memory because as long as she was obsessed with Sho, he thinks that Kyoko will never think of him. He thanked her but eventually just kissed her cheek; however, that was enough to make her lose concentration during the shooting and she was deeply affected. He explained his way out later on, telling Kyoko that it is a way of thanking her, something that he picked up after working with foreigners. At first she called him a playboy for that but somehow it calms her mind and she returns to the normal Kyoko. But in the corner of Ren's heart, he wished that a little bit of what happened would linger in Kyoko's heart. For Tragic Marker, a murder-thriller film in which the director wants to keep up an aura of suspense and atmosphere even behind the scenes, Ren is cast as the demonic serial killer, played by mysterious unknown actor Cain Heel. Kyoko is assigned as Ren's "good luck charm" by Lory, who knows that Ren will need to come to terms with the dark parts of himself to be Cain Heel. Together, the two Heels are a brother and sister with obsessive sibling complexes. Encounters between Kyoko and Sho activate Ren's jealousy and he blends all parts of himself as Ren, Kuon, and "Cain" in a confrontation with her about Sho. Kyoko, remaining in character as Setsuka Heel, pushes things between them to a physical level, and successfully shocks Ren back into himself as an actor. It culminates in an in-character hickey given by Kyoko to Ren, and ends when Ren attempts to return the gesture. After the incident concludes, Ren acknowledges how many parts of him match Kyoko, including Kuon's acting desires to face off with her abilities, which are strong enough to make him break character. In Guam, Ren crosses paths with Kyoko again without any disguising of his true appearance, and Kyoko recognizes him as the grown-up "Corn." As Corn, Ren tells Kyoko he loves her and tricks her into giving him a kiss to "end his curse" of not being able to smile. Her kiss is more of a quick peck, so when their day together ends, Corn steals a light kiss from Kyoko. Later in Japan, as Ren, he comes across Kyoko in distress and crying. She mistakes him for Corn and bawls in his arms, taking comfort. Ren regrets putting his disguise back on, but holds Kyoko close all the same. Her embarrassment after realizing that she was hanging onto Ren and not Corn only adds to his angst. Ren gets caught in a romantic scandal when a paparazzi catches a picture of a popular actress kissing Ren's cheek. Meanwhile, he sees a picture of Sho kissing Kyoko, taken directly before he himself had comforted her in his arms. Jealous, and worried that Kyoko will misunderstand the scandal with the actress, Ren tries to clear things up with Kyoko, but she runs away every time. He is even stopped from chasing after her by Kanae Kotonami, who warns him off from hurting Kyoko. Ren vents his frustration with the situation to Bo, who advises him to just confess his feelings already. He immediately determines that he'll do this, and crosses paths with Kyoko directly after. When she runs, he gives chase through the TV studio until he finally traps her in an elevator. There he confesses that she is the one he has feelings for, and that he's been jealous, and he no longer wants her to misunderstand him. Her reactions make him realize that she must have been jealous at some point, too. Ren insists on her giving him an answer of whether she did feel that way and if he can have any hope. Kyoko gives a pressured but sincere nod. They talk things out a bit more calmly back at his greenroom, and decide to not become a couple until they have reached their personal life goals. However, Ren gives Kyoko his necklace and promises her that his heart is hers no matter where he might be. |
Rivals[]
Sho Fuwa
| Main article: Sho Fuwa Sho has always considered Ren his rival in showbiz, though they are in different fields. (Sho Fuwa is a singer, Ren an actor.) He once kicked an ash tray and its contents into the path of Ren who was passing by. Ren coolly righted the ash tray, then instructed Sho to pick up the trash, and walked off. Ren got mad at Kyoko once after he found out that she took on a role in one of Sho's music videos and didn't tell him. Ren also gets angry whenever he found out Kyoko is in contact with Sho. They both seem to be fighting for Kyoko's attention, however, Kyoko (being as dense as she is) doesn't realize that they are battling in secret. In volume 25, Sho kissed Kyoko in front of everyone including Ren. Sho thought this will make him a winner. After Sho had left the set, Ren kissed her on the cheek in private. He hoped this would replace Sho in her mind. However, this only causes Kyoko to panic. Ren quickly returns Kyoko back to her normal self by explaining 'the actors rule of heart'. He told her that Sho's kiss didn't count, but that there are no second chances. This made Kyoko more careful, fearing his anger. |
Hiromune Koga
| Maine article: Hiromune Koga Koga has always come in as number 2 in any popularity lists that include Ren. While Ren does not appear to be aware of Koga's dislike and competitiveness, Koga desperately wishes that Ren would move on from Japan and leave him to become the new number 1. Koga is also aware that he only gets some roles after they were offered to Ren first. A Lotus in the Mud is a recent example. |
Cedric D. Bennett
| Main article: Cedric D. Bennett Cedric Bennett is a western star whom Ren knows personally, but it has not yet been revealed how. Though, since Cedric is related to Eltra Duris, this might be the connection. Only an author's note in the margins lets us know that Cedric Bennet is of great importance to Ren's arc completion in the story. He is potentially the grown version of the Curly-haired guy that is seen in Ren/Kuon's flashbacks but this is just speculation. He is one of the few people that Ren speaks about disdainfully (the other being Sho Fuwa). |
Family[]
Kuu Hizuri
| Main article: Kuu Hizuri Ren's relationship with his parents is quite difficult. He really loves his family and respects his father a lot. However, it was hard on him as his parents' fame caused people to dismiss his own acting ability. He went to Japan and took on the stage name of "Ren Tsuruga" to get out from under his father's shadow. The lack of communication from his parents made him believe that his parents had given up on him. But during Kuu's visit, Ren came to understand their silence and sent a video message for them. |
Juliena Hizuri
| Main article: Juliena Hizuri Juliena is Ren's mother. When Ren was young, she used to feed all her hand-made food to him which Ren implies to be not as good. She wasn't there when Ren ran away from their home to go to Japan so she wasn't able to say a proper goodbye to her son and was instead forced to be silent, to not meet him so Ren could work in peace in Japan with his new stage name. That was the reason she nicknamed Lory a "kidnapper". She also stopped talking to Kuu for quite a while because she wasn't aware of their plan with Ren. When Kuu visited Japan, a more mature Ren came to understand their silence and sent a video message to them. He knows his parents misses him a lot and at the end of his message, he promises to come back again one day with his own power and call them "mother" and "father" like he used to. |
Friends[]
Lory Takarada
| Main article: Lory Takarada In a way, Lory is also the guardian of Ren in Japan. He is probably the only person in the whole of Japan who know of Ren's true identity as Kuon. He was the one who helped Kuon get away from America and start living as Tsuruga Ren, because Kuon's father, Kuu Hizuri turned to him for help. He knows Ren's affections for Kyoko and believes that Kyoko is Ren's "good luck charm" for when he gets into trouble or is feeling down. |
Yukihito Yashiro
Main Article: Yukihito Yashiro Yukihito Yashiro is Ren's manager. He often teases Ren about his and Kyoko's relationship, and when he does, his smile often looks like Doraemon's (a popular Japanese cartoon cat character). He knows when to keep his space, but steps in whenever he feels it is necessary. He is a very good mamager, and often has all (or at least most) of Ren's schedule from day to day planned out a year ahead. |