Recap / Skip Beat Volume 39

I will strike down anyone in my way!

Kyoko has finally learned the truth about her mother's cold behavior towards her since childhood. As painful as the truth and its details was, she doesn't feel worse. In fact, she feels relieved and can let go of some of the ghosts of her past. Kyoko promises to become an amazing actress to her mother.

Back at LME, the company has been receiving disturbing phone calls for the Love Me section for the past few days. Someone wants the Love Me section to help them get their revenge on someone over a stolen role. The role in question relates to the The Lotus in the Mire period drama that is undergoing re-auditions for the role of Momiji.

Is there some truth about the story of a role having been stolen by unjust means?

This volume contains the following chapters

• Act 231: Ground Call ^note Saena leaves Misonoi alone for some time and then checks on the Jousei case discs. Fortunately, they are alright. But when Misonoi has to leave, he turns to her and gives her a sad grin before disappearing into the night. The disc's information has been stolen. Saena has been used. And she has done irrepairable damage to her superior lawyer Katagiri's career, which also stunted her own career. To top it off, she noticed that her relationship with Misonoi has resulted in pregnancy. In the meantime, Ren and Yashiro listen to Kyoko's voicemail about going to meet her mother and worry.
• Act 232: Endless Give Up ^note Ren tries to call Kyoko about her voicemail, but she isn't answering her phone and he can't leave a voicemail of his own. He and Yashiro will have to try to contact her another time. Kyoko and Saena come to terms with their strained relationship, with Kyoko feeling relieved that she knows the truth. However, she says that she will continue to strive to get accepted as Saena's daughter.
• Act 233: Clear Mist ^note Kyoko will keep trying to get accepted by Saena, to make her a proud parent and prove herself. She promises to become an amazing first-rate actress, not just for herself, but also for her mother. Kyoko heads to LME, where Sawara tells her about some strange Love Me requests the company has been getting. Someone wants the Love Me section to help them get revenge because the caller gained a role, which ended up being taken away through unfair means. The role in question being that of a female ninja.
• Act 234: A Sacred Lotus In The Mire ^note Kyoko notices that the calls about asking for revenge could be connected to the periodical drama that Kanae is working on right now. She discusses with Kanae, who admits that there was an obnoxious person in the audition for Chidori, her role, and might try to go for the role of Momiji, the female ninja, this time. Enamored with the idea of getting to act alongside Kanae, Kyoko wants to audition for the role of this Momiji. Before the two part ways, Kanae mentions that Ren looked downtrodden earlier and that there might have been some trouble at work. Worried, Kyoko wonders if she should contact Ren, only for the man himself to arrive at Darumaya to see her.
• Act 235: Sakura Messenger ^note The misunderstanding of thinking that Ren was worried about work, when he was actually worried about Kyoko's voicemail and how her meeting with her mother went, gets sorted out. Kyoko tells Ren and Yashiro that she is going to take part in the re-audition for the role of Momiji in The Lotus in the Mire, but learns it's another role that would likely end up being 'hated' by the audience. The next day, she happens to meet Shouko at TBM and asks if she could meet Shou. She takes Kyoko there and Kyoko proceeds to kick Shou in the shin.
• Act 236: Howling Ambition ^note Kyoko 'thanks' Shou for his concern about her mother, and then tells him that his mother will come to visit Tokyo on the 22nd of the month. She reiterates her goal to stomp on him by becoming more famous than him. With her eyes set forward, she already plans her next move to prepare for the role of Momiji. She contacts Kanae about a favor she has to ask of Hiou Uesugi.

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Chapters in this volume contain examples of

• Affectionate Gesture to the Head: Kyoko asks if her mother could give her a pat on the head upon achieving her goal of becoming an amazing actress.
• Alternate Character Reading: Kanae is surprised that Kyoko instantly knew to read the Lotus in the The Lotus in the Mire title as hachisu, while she initially read it as hasu. Kyoko admits that it's correct, but that she figured it was hachisu because of the time-period the story takes place in.
• Driven to Suicide: In her emotional, vulnerable state, Saena had actually considered committing suicide while pregnant, but she survived, and Katagiri helped her regain her will to live.
• Flashback
  • Chapter 236 opens with Kyoko's phone call with Shou's mother, making an appointment for the visit.
  • The same chapter contains a flashback to a time when a younger Kyoko says her dream is to become Shou's bride. Shou is not happy to hear that at all.
• Flower Motifs: It's a shoujo manga, after all.
• Good Girls Avoid Abortion: Discussed, with Saena implying that she had planned to abort her pregnancy, but no doctor was willing to do the procedure because she was already in ill health due to a bad lifestyle and it was riskier. The legal time-limit for an abortion passed and Saena had no choice but to give birth.
• Heroic BSoD: Played for laughs, with Kyoko turning into a claydoll statue upon learning that the role of Momiji is someone who hates Chidori, the role that Kanae was auditioning for.
• Invented Individual: No matter how hard she tried, Saena could not find any information about 'Kazushi Misonoi' even existing after he ran off.
• Little Girls Kick Shins: She's not a little girl anymore, but Kyoko gives a piercing kick into Shou's shin.
• Love Triangle: To Kyoko's sorrow, she learns that the roles of Momiji and Chidori are those of two love rivals, who are both in love with the wandering Samurai Shizuma.
• Manchild: Kyoko flat-out calls Shou one.
• "Not So Different" Remark: Kyoko admits that she can't blame her mother much for her mistakes when younger because Kyoko herself knows what it's like to become a complete fool because of love.
• Shower Scene: Chapter 231 opens up with Saena taking a shower.

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