Recap / Skip Beat Volume 27

Could spending so much time together drive these two apart?

Ren faces his own challenge with the situation. A fight with a handful of delinquents nearly unleashes Kuon's violent personality, but thanks to Kyoko his pulls back from the edge. Back at their hotel room he takes time in the shower to process the events of the evening, but gets interrupted when Kyoko walks in on him. It seems like the intrusion doesn't phase her, and he has to wonder: can he stand to have the woman he loves treat him like a brother? Kyoko worries over Ren's state of mind, but resolves to carry on with the acting exercise.

"Cain" and "Setsuka" get through the night without any further hiccups, and in the morning they meet up with Jelly Woods and Lory to transform back into Kyoko and Ren. Lory gives Ren the choice to dismiss Kyoko from her role as Setsuka, and Ren is forced to admit that he needs Kyoko by his side. But the past night haunts both of them as they go their separate ways for special on-location filming of Box "R" and Dark Moon.

This volume contains the chapters:

• Act 157. "Violence Mission, Phase 4" ^note Kyoko struggles to get into character as Setsuka while acting with Ren's Cain. But once she discovers how adorable Ren can be, she slides right into character. They two finish their shopping trip just in time for a standoff with a handful of delinquents who want to "play" with Setsuka.
• Act 158. "Violence Mission, Phase 5" ^note Cain ignores the delinquents, but they won't be so easily dismissed. One of them instigates a fight with Cain, and Ren avoids getting violent even when all four pull weapons on him — at least until Kyoko gets knocked down in the conflict.
• Act 159. "Violence Mission, Phase 5.5" ^note When Ren goes berserk, Kyoko's scared that he's let the role of the serial killer BJ take him over. She stops him from killing one of the delinquents he's fighting, and the two get back in character as Cain and Setsuka Heel. But Kyoko realizes there's some darkness inside of Ren.
• Act 160. "Violence Mission, Phase 6" ^note Kyoko tries to figure out what's going on with Ren, but it's hard to focus after she walks in on him in the shower.
• Act 161. "Violence Mission, Phase 6.5" ^note Between feeling rejected by Kyoko and coming to terms with his actions, Ren is not doing very well. The pair spend the night in the same hotel room without too many hiccups. They meet up with Lory and Jelly Woods in the morning before parting ways the for their respective jobs on Box "R" and Dark Moon.
• Act 162. "Violence Mission, Phase 7" ^note Lory offers Ren the opportunity to dismiss Kyoko from her role as Setsuka, but Ren has to come to terms with the fact that he needs Kyoko in more ways than one. Kyoko has trouble dropping her act as Setsuka even on the set of Box "R", but at least Chiori shows some character growth. Lastly, Kyoko hopes for a fairy sighting.
• Act 163. "Violence Mission, Phase 7.5" ^note Chiori is struck anew by Kyoko and her ability to transform. Dark Moon has a location shoot near Box "R", so Kyoko and Chiori drop by to say hello to Ren. Kyoko learns that Ren is to do an incredibly dangerous car stunt by himself.

---

Chapters in this volume provide examples of:

• Big Brother Attraction: Kyoko knows this is a huge part of Setsuka's character, but that doesn't stop her from being embarrassed about acting it out.
• Dress-Up Episode: The volume starts with Ren and Kyoko as Cain and Setsuka visiting an upscale street-style clothing shop. Cain relishes the opportunity to dress up his little sister, but Kyoko is worried about Ren spending his money on her.
• Fairy Tale Motifs: Fairies play a role in the latter chapters, with Kyoko mistaking a "Ren sighting" for a fairy sighting and Chiori wondering if Kyoko is the "human being with transparent, colorless wings" that she and "Mr. D" search for.
• Fanservice: Kyoko gets her first big fanservice-y scene wearing the cute underwear Jelly Woods packed for her. While she admits to herself that Setsuka wouldn't mind wearing nothing but lingerie in front of her brother, Kyoko herself is too embarrassed to do it.
• Flower Motifs: It's a shoujo managa after all:
  • The title page for chapter 160 shows the Heel siblings playing inside a giant hourglass decorated with intertwining roses.
  • The title page of chapter 163 shows Kyoko between Natsu and Mio. Behind Mio is a background of Asiatic lilies, and behind Natsu is a background of hibiscus flowers.
  • Most chapters have a few instances of panel backgrounds filling with unexplained flowers.
• Good Luck Charm:
  • The reason Lory created "Setsuka" was so that Kyoko could hang around Ren. He even refers to her as Ren's good luck charm.
  • Kyoko wanted to get Ren a charm for his stunt driving, but she decided against it because it would have been admitting that he's in danger. Though Ren is disappointed not to receive a trinket from Kyoko, she reasons that he won't need a good luck charm because he won't be in danger.
• Goth: Cain Heel and Setsuka Heel both dress in incredibly trendy street-style punk/ gothic clothes, but they also look like they've raided a Hot Topic. The volume starts with them having a shopping trip at a trendy (in-universe) punk/ gothic clothing store. Jelly Woods even shows up dressed in gothic lolita fashion so that she'll blend in with them.
• Japanese Delinquents: A couple delinquents invite Setsuka to "come play with them." Cain Heel takes care of them in a no-holds barred 4-on-1 fight.
• Lost in Character: All over the place in this volume:
  • Ren goes on the offensive against the delinquents and his killing intent makes Kyoko terrified someone might lose their life. She worries that Ren-as-Cain has gotten lost in the role of BJ the Killer (when in actuality it's Kuon's personality showing through).
  • Kyoko is having trouble giving up the role of Setsuka between assignments — even on the set of Box "R" she has to do a retake because her "Natsu" personality was momentarily overcome by "Setsuka." Later she's mortified when Chiori catches her buying the kind of sexy underwear that Setsuka would like.
• The Makeover: Jelly Woods shows up in the morning to transform "Setsuka" back into Kyoko and "Cain" back into Ren so they can get to their respective jobs.
• No Stunt Double: Ren is all set to perform a high-speed partially backwards driving stunt that ends in a deliberate crash. Yashiro asks him if he's ever practiced and Ren replies that he's run through it in his mind.
• Nonchalant Dodge: Ren tries to avoid an all-out brawl with the delinquents who were hitting on Kyoko by dodging their attacks. He goes on the offensive after one of them strikes Kyoko.
• Portent of Doom: The clasp holding the chain on Kyoko's Princess Rosa pendant comes undone. Kyoko emphatically corrects her coworkers who ask if it's broken — a broken chain would be a sign of misfortune, but one that's merely come undone is nothing to worry about.
• The Power of Acting: Chiori thinks back on a promoter named "Mr. D," who is searching for an actor he calls "the immortal butterfly"... which is a poetic way of saying an actor who can completely transform themselves for each and every role they take on. The way she describes that theoretical actor is also very poetic:
  "It has transparent, colorless wings. It doesn't glow and isn't flashy at all. It sits still and lives by tricking our human eyes . . . The butterfly dances with different colors depending on the time and place, and humans fortunate enough to see it never realize it's the same butterfly each time. It hides its real self. It hides its existence. When you're able to recognize the 'essence' of that butterfly without being fooled by its ever-changing wings, the 'immortal butterfly' might then be called a 'fairy' as people know it. I am still looking for it in this world of showbiz, a fairytale realm that actually exists. Someone who can keep transforming when given an existence called a role. An immortal butterfly called an actor. A human being with transparent, colorless wings."
• Shirtless Scene: Ren's pre-Shower of Angst scene and Kyoko walking in on him both count.
• Show Within a Show: Box "R", Dark Moon, and Tragic Marker are type 1 examples, with "characters involved in the production of the show."
• Shower of Angst: Ren takes one after he gets in a fight and nearly kills a man - then Kyoko walks in on him and it turns into a Shower of Awkward.
• Shower of Awkward: Kyoko walks in on Ren in the shower.
• Tragic Keepsake: Ren's broken wristwatch belonged to his dead friend Rick. Ren feels responsible for Rick's death, and he wears the watch as a reminder of his vow that he would never allow another person to be hurt because of him.

---