Recap / Skip Beat Volume 31

A kiss to congratulate?

With the continued acting of Cain Heel, Kyoko begins to worry about Ren. His behavior keeps getting stranger, and even becomes a physical threat to Murasame, leaving Kyoko to feel overstrained.

Even when trying to find some help through President Lory, all he can offer her is encouraging words to keep supporting Ren. Can Kyoko find a way to help Ren or will she have to keep watching him self-destruct under the influence of Cain Heel?

This volume contains the chapters:

• Act 183: "Dark Breath" ^note After the phone call with Yashiro dropped, Kyoko hesitantly calls the president of LME and talks about Ren's behavior. Lory states that Ren is currently fighting a battle with himself and she is there to help and support him. Kyoko wonders how she could possibly help him there, but he tells her to simply express her thoughts as Setsuka. On the set, the actors are terrified of the special makeup Cain Heel is wearing in his role as BJ now. Murasame briefly wonders where Setsuka is, but earns nothing but a glare from Ren. Kyoko wakes up from a prolonged nap and hurries over to the studio, only to find the scene in chaos, with Ren holding Murasame suspended over an unsafe ledge.
• Act 184: "Dark Breath" ^note Ren recalls mockery of his mixed ancestry as he keeps Murasame in a choke-hold. Murasame realizes that he can't get himself out of the grip, so he decides to pull Cain over the edge, too. Ren manages to save himself and Murasame, with everyone dispersing from the tense atmosphere. While the two eat lunch, Ren says how her voice saved him and thanks Kyoko.
• Act 185: "Dark Breath" ^note Shou sees the footage of Kyoko at the celebration party, wondering how she managed to look so completely different. He leaves an angry voicemail on her phone, citing her as a demonic soul-sucker. After listening to his voicemail, Kyoko gets visited by the director and they talk about the strange event between Cain Heel and Murasame. Ren is trying to keep Kuon reined in, finding it an embarrassment that he showed such behavior towards Kyoko.
• Act 186: "Dark Breath" ^note The director relays the conversation that resulted in Cain suspending Murasame over a ledge, wondering if that really was Ren simply acting his role of Cain Heel. Kyoko can dissuade his worries, then says that 'Setsuka' will be gone for a few days because she has to head to the filming of Box "R". Ren apologizes for his acting out as Cain and promises to not let it happen again. Kyoko wonders if the 'landmine' Murasame had stepped on was his calling Ren a 'cold-blooded killer'.
• Act 187: "Dark Breath" ^note Kyoko rushes off to school and gets greeted by a very annoyed Mimori Nanokura. Despite learning that exams are around the corner, Kyoko has difficulty focusing on her classes and keeps worrying about Ren.
• Act 188: "Dark Breath" ^note Kyoko is still worried about Ren, while Yashiro is doing the exact same thing. He realizes that Ren is doing his typical act of smiling to gloss over unpleasant events, but Yashiro doesn't find a chance to ask Ren about this. Meanwhile, Shou heads off to... school?
• Extra: "The Reason His Number-Withheld Calls Stopped" ^note Ren wonders why Kyoko keeps answering Shou's calls when she doesn't want to deal with him, to the point of not even having his number and name saved into her phone. Kyoko says that, if she were to ignore any 'Number Withheld' phonecalls, she'd end up not answering any calls from Ren or the agency. Ren asks Lory to please change this, meaning Ren's and the agency's name will now appear when calling Kyoko.

Chapters in this volume provide examples of:

• Berserk Button: Ren reacts to Murasame calling him a cold-blooded murderer.
• Blatant Lies: Kyoko claims to be concerned about Ren's hair excessive curling while talking to Lory on the phone, to disguise the fact that she's overcome by memories of having spent the last night with Ren in the same bed.
• Call-Back: Murasame asks the director if he managed to successfully step on Cain Heel's 'landmine', referring to his instructions for Murasame to test Cain in earlier chapters.
• Covered with Scars: Cain Heel's special makeup as BJ has his face covered in them, including what looks to be pieces of skin about to fall off completely.
• Flashback
  • Chapter 184 begins with a flashback to Kuon being mocked for his mixed ancestry.
  • Chapter 186 flashes back to Murasame yelling at Cain Heel, including his words that triggered Cain into holding Murasame in a choke-hold off a ledge.
• Flower Motifs: It's a shoujo managa after all:
  • Chapter 187 has Kyoko's thoughts wander to Tsuruga, flowers blooming behind him.
  • Most chapters have a few instances of panel backgrounds filling with unexplained flowers.
• High-Class Gloves: Kyoko wears a pair of turquoise ones on the cover.
• I'm Not Here to Make Friends: Cain states this, citing that he is here because he's acting in the movie and supposed to make everyone 'live in fear and despair'.
• Late for School: Kyoko bursts out of the trailer and runs off to school, with Yashiro noting that she was doing the whole toast-in-mouth routine.
• Morality Chain: Kyoko's role as one to Ren's Cain personality becomes clearer. Ren even admits to himself that hearing Kyoko's voice ripped him from blind rage and allowed him to save Murasame and himself.
• Nightmare Fetishist: Kyoko manages to act Setsuka out as one, looking pleased at seeing Cain covered in his makeup, intending to take a picture of it and setting it as her phone's background image.
• Ojou Ringlets: Kyoko wears loose ones on the cover.
• Taking You with Me: Murasame realizes he can't get himself out of Cain's choke-hold and figures that, if he's gonna die here, he will take him along, too, and pulls him off the ledge. Both manage to survive, thanks to Kyoko's intervention and Ren's quick thinking.

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