| His Depths After Five Years | |
|---|---|
| ACT.113 | |
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| Character/s in the cover | Kyoko Mogami and Ren Tsuruga |
| Volume | 19 |
| Arc | Kuu's arc |
| Chapter Guide | |
| Previous | Next |
| ACT.112 | ACT.114 |
His Depths After Five Years is the 113th chapter of the Skip Beat! manga series.
Plot[]
Ren remembers arriving in Japan before Ren briefly becoming Kuon to give a video message to his parents. He then goes to say goodbye to Kuu with Kyoko.
Chapter Summary[]
Ren remembers when the president took him from the U.S. to Japan to create a new identity as Ren Tsuruga. It is revealed that he was so focused on rebuilding a new persona that it was 2 years before he realized he hadn't been in touch with his parents.
Jelly Woods turns Ren back into his birth-given appearance. Ren records the video and Jelly is asked to change him back into Ren.
Her surprise at being asked to do this already and the subsequent conversation is the first of several scenes that have the words of Kuon's video to his parents interwoven.
"My dearest mother Juli ... I've heard that you've been worried about me. If I could, I'd like to see you, hold you, and apologize instead of sending a video like this. I want to apologize from the bottom of my heart. Not for being completely out of touch for five years, but for not understanding you and father. I've just realized that for the first time now."
Ren remembers the conversation between Lory and Kuu about Juli's struggles to see Kuon.
"You patiently waited for me. You suppressed your urges to see me. Everything was all done for me, but I misunderstood why you two never contacted me."
Lory gives Kuu the disc with Ren's video on it and tells him that Ren is there to see him off.
"I thought you were disappointed with me and had given up on me. Because I was the son who selfishly left home to protect himself and became a stranger. Ren Tsuruga. But you two still loved and protected..."
Lory is amused to see Kuu refer to Ren formally, which is staying in character outside the father/son roles. Kuu admits he thinks Ren's a consummate enough actor to do the same, since technically Ren and Kuu only met once. Lory agrees. Ren is exactly like that, which is why Lory told Kuu and Juli not to contact Ren.
"...someone like me. I thank you from the bottom of my heart..."
Kyoko is curious why Ren is there to see Kuu off, and Ren fibs that Lory ordered him to as a representative of Dark Moon. Inwardly he notes that Kyoko accepted it, not considering that she alone could have represented Dark Moon. Kyoko admits she thought she'd be the only one to see Kuu off. Is there a festival going on? Nope, it's how many people came to say goodbye to Kuu. Kyoko is disappointed she won't be able to say goodbye after all, and Ren tells her to call out to Kuu, calling him father. Kuu is surrounded by people while Ren remains silent, letting Kyoko do the hard thinking.
"...for both of your deep love [1]. If I called you by the names I used when I was little my strained nerves might snap. So I still can't call you that. But I will return to you two on my own. Let me call you my parents again then."
"Faaaaather!" Kyoko calls out long and loudly, causing everyone to turn around and open up a space between her and Kuu. Ren smiles. Kyoko walks forward, a direct line between Ren and Kuu.
Kuu looks up in surprise and notices from the expression on Kyoko's face that she's slipped into character. "You came to see me off, Kuon."
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
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Notes[]
- ↑ It is worth making note of here that the words "deep love" are in a panel that exclusively works as a frame around Kyoko's face.