Crazy Surprise Meeting

Disclaimer: Both TCP and Skip Beat! are works of the living genius, Yoshiki Nakamura

A/n: This was written on a whim. I figured "heck, why not?"

Tokyo, AD 2022

"Let's see… What else did Kaya-san asked me to get? Hmm…"

Tsukasa looked through her shopping list and peered into her shopping bags, humming as she made her way back home. Kaya-san had offered to teach her a few simple dishes tonight.

Though 'practically demanded' would be a more appropriate term. Tsukasa mused. Kaya-san kept mumbling something about how a good wife should know how to prepare soup at the very least. What 'wife'? I'm not married! It's not as if Ryuji… Wait, she must be making fun of me because of the other night. Is it my fault that Sho and Toshi distracted me with those new wrestling moves? Besides, it wasn't a very big fire. We put it out, didn't we?

Tsukasa continued along, not in any hurry. She savoured the moment. It's not often, make that never, that Ryuji gives her a weekend off to spend time with her family. As she walked, she overheard someone saying, "Should we help…?"

Another voice replied, "Nah… Best to keep out of it. Besides, the lady wasn't shouting for help… right? Let's just go…" The two hurried away, anxious to get away from trouble.

Tsukasa froze, clenching her fists, furious. Her entire being radiated a dark aura. She created a wide berth around her as people steered clear away from this scary person.

Tokyo has gone to the pits of hell. What is this world coming to when people won't even lift a finger to help people in need?

She hurried forward, practically smelling trouble just ahead. She found the lady in need soon enough, in the nearest alleyway.

Three ugly and burly men cornered a single lady. The petite lady had her head down as the guys continued chatting her up.

"Hey, miss… You look cold, How 'bout we warm you up…"

Coarse laughter filled the air as one man stretched his hand out towards her.

Piack!

A bag of flour smacked the guy's head. The bag burst open, covering the group in white.

"What the…!" The men started turning around. Before they could finish swearing, a chain of some sort caught one of the men, causing him to lose balance and fall flat on his face.

"Hey…!" The other two, confused and trying to rub flour out of their eyes, started to move forward, albeit clumsily, to help their friend.

They froze before they could move far, unable to move a single limb. They felt a chill. As far as they could tell, nothing physical was holding them back, so why couldn't they move?

Before they could hurt their brains from thinking too deep, a solid kick landed in one guy's gut. He doubled up in pain, and the person continued raining punches down on him, each one getting more painful, until thankfully, he fell unconscious.

The remaining guy stood there, still frozen. His eyes darted back and forth at his friends, both of whom looked as if they had been trampled by a herd of elephants. He shot a glance at the lady they were 'befriending'. She was smirking, an evil glint in her eyes. He shuddered, having no doubts that his immobility was because of the lady. Then he looked at the person who had punched the living daylights out of his friends.

The person, an effeminate looking boy, was also smirking. He wasn't even panting after so much fighting. The poor man gulped. He wasn't sure which was the more fearsome of the two. He wished desperately he hadn't listen to what his friends said. A whimper escaped from his trembling lips, "Mummy…"

The poor guy never stood a chance.

A while later…

"Thank you. Really, thank you very much!" the lady bowed low, really low.

Any lower and her head would hit the floor. Tsukasa was amused. There isn't that many polite people left in Tokyo these days. They were still standing in the alleyway, the police had just taken down their statements.

Tsukasa shrugged and waved her hands in embarrassment. "It's nothing much really… I do this on an almost daily basis… unfortunately…" She added on the last bit, sighing. Then she brightened up, "Anyway, I'm just glad that you weren't…" Tsukasa trailed off as a thought struck her.

The lady looked up, her amber eyes showing curiosity. "What's the matter…?"

Tsukasa was staring at her hands. Her very empty hands.

"AHHHHH! Wh-Where are my groceries?!" She whipped her head back and forth, trying to locate her missing bags.

"Erm…" The lady hesitated, then pointed somewhere behind Tsukasa. "C-Could you be referring to that?"

Tsukasa turned around, and saw the destruction she had left after fighting. Flour, eggs, and other various condiments littered the floor. She hung her head, letting out a heavy sigh. Kaya-san is going to be so mad… Where am I going to get the money to buy groceries again?

The lady surveyed Tsukasa with frank curiosity. A small smile played on her lips. She reminds me so much of… She spoke up.

"Erm… It is my fault, so please allow me to compensate your losses." The lady bowed low again in apology. Then seeing that Tsukasa was about to object, she hurriedly added, "Please allow me to do so… I would feel bad otherwise…"

She looked at Tsukasa with such pleading eyes that Tsukasa found it hard to refuse. The lady smiled.

"Let's go…!"

She reminds me of me.

"So…" The lady broke the silence between them as they walked along the aisles in search of the things on Tsukasa's list, "Judging from what I had managed to see, it seems that you're going to make okonomiyaki, tempura and miso soup?"

Tsukasa stared, her jaw dropping to the ground. "That's amazing! You can actually tell from the mess on the ground just now…?"

The lady smiled, a sparkle in her eyes, "Let's just say that I'm as interested in cooking as you are in fighting. You kept on punching them, even when they were all out cold."

Tsukasa grinned sheepishly, raking a hand through her short, dark hair. "Well, it's just that scum like that deserves it. They are the worst. Besides, it's not often that they stand still for you to punch them, so maybe I got carried away. Just a little… But I wonder, why didn't they run away just now…? Speaking of which, weren't you afraid at all? You were so calm, standing there…"

The lady looked at Tsukasa, a mischievous spark in her eyes, "Let's just say I have ways of protecting myself…"

Tsukasa opened her mouth, wanting to say more, when the lady picked a bag of flour and placed it in the basket.

"This flour is best for making the tempura batter…"

Tsukasa took one glance at the price and placed it back, "No… We can't buy this. It's too expensive…" She added the last bit in a whisper.

The lady stared at her. She took the flour and put it back into the basket, "It's okay. I'm paying for it. Anyway, I never compromise the quality of the food I cook…"

"Besides" She continued, "I know that guys would be in a better mood after eating good food and hence would treat their ladies better…" She gave Tsukasa a nudge, "Though I'm pretty sure your boyfriend would be happy, no matter what you cook, as long as it is for him… Am I right, miss?"

Tsukasa froze in her tracks, a slight blush colouring her face. "H-How did you know that I'm a girl…?"

Amber eyes met hers with amusement, "Well, I am in a career where I see many different people everyday… So, I guess you can say it's from experience…"

Tsukasa nodded her head, "I see… What do you work as anyway?" Before the lady could answer, Tsukasa interrupted, "Wait… I just realised that we've been chatting for so long but I've yet to introduce myself…"

Tsukasa stretched out her hand, smiling, "I'm Tsukasa. Kozuki Tsukasa."

The lady gripped Tsukasa's hand, smiling as well, "Kyouko. Mogami Kyouko."

Tsukasa was humming as she made her way back home again. Kyouko was really nice. Not only did she buy ingredients of the best quality, Kyouko had also given her tips on cooking, as well as a few simple recipes to try out.

"Remember, the key to cooking the dish lies in the heat. Use only a small fire…" Kyouko reiterated as they stood outside the supermarket, about to part ways.

Tsukasa chuckled, "Yes, yes… That is the sixth time you've told me…I knew I shouldn't have told you the story about me ruining the soup… I think you and Kaya-san would get along very well. Both of you love cooking so much…"

Kyouko laughed as well, "Yeah… You're probably right. Maybe I should pay a visit one day…"

"Why not?! Here's my address and my phone number…" Tsukasa scribbled hurriedly on the back of the receipt and thrust it in Kyouko's direction.

Kyouko took it, and looked at it with amusement, "Are you sure? After all, I am a stranger… Aren't you worried?"

"It's weird…" Tsukasa pondered, "We've only known each other for a short while but it feels like I've known you for a long time…"

"Cheesy… But you're right…" Kyouko teased. Then looking at her watch, "I'd better hurry off now… It's going to be dinnertime soon and I have to cook, otherwise… Let's just say my husband's cooking skills are no better than yours. We'd just repainted the kitchen last week after he tried cooking…"

Tsukasa laughed, "Well, I'm glad he has you and I have Kaya-san to help… Well, I guess I'll see you around?"

"Definitely!" The two ladies waved and parted ways.

"I'm home…!" Tsukasa called out. Silence, except for some murmuring in the living room, greeted her.

Hmph! I bet they're watching television again… Taku-nii had just installed a television. It was small but it served its purpose.

"Hey… What are you watc-…" She trailed off when she caught a glimpse of the show everyone was watching. It was an old show but it had been extremely popular in the past. She even remembered her parents buying the DVD and watching it whenever they weren't out on GRAVE duty.

"I hate you" A pair of eyes filled with hatred appeared on the screen. "Isn't that reason enough for me not to help you?"

Everyone on the room shuddered at the actress's glare and let out a collective breath when the scene cut to the commercials.

Kaya-san was the first to notice Tsukasa, and got up hurriedly, "Ah… You're back. I didn't know… So are we ready to start cooking?"

Now I know why Kyouko wasn't worried when those bad guys surrounded her. Heck, even I am scared. Tsukasa shuddered involuntarily.

"Tsukasa?"

Tsukasa broke out of her reverie and nodded her head, smiling, "Yeah… Let's cook! Oh… and there's something I want to try…"

'Dark Moon' had been an epic drama in its time.

Meanwhile…

"I'm home…!" Silence greeted Kyouko when she entered the house.

Looks like they're not back yet…

She took a seat on the sofa and stretched. It had been a rather long day. She thought back about the day.

Hmm… How long has it been since I last let my demons out? Thankfully, they're still as demonic as before… Tsukasa is a really nice person. It's surprising how well we can get along despite the fact that she's half my age… Maybe we can go out for tea someday. Moko-san's always too busy these days…

"Welcome home…" Long hands surrounded Kyouko, breaking through her musings. Kyouko leaned back, closed her eyes and smiled.

"I thought you were out…"

A deep chuckle was heard, "Nah… I was in the room going through the new script so I didn't hear you come in… Sorry."

Kyouko opened her eyes and looked into his dark eyes. "Where are the kids?"

Her husband sat beside her and wrapped his arms around her, "Both of them are with Yashiro and Kanae. What better practice for the future than taking care of a four-year old and a six-year old?"

Kyouko laughed. "I can't imagine Moko-san taking care of those terrors… They might change their minds about having children at all. Also, Yashiro would probably murder you, and I would have to raise both of them as a widow… Thanks a lot, Corn…"

Tsuruga Ren chuckled, "Aah… Aren't you thinking a little too far? Anyway, it's just that it's been such a long time since we last spent time alone, Bo…" He tightened his embrace.

Any objections Kyouko might still have were lost as she snuggled closer.

Then something rumbled, loud.

Kyouko shot Ren a look, a disapproving look on her face.

"Did you skip your lunch again?"

Ren cleared his throat, not meeting Kyouko's eyes, "Erm… Well… I… er… I…"

Kyouko rolled her eyes and got up, "Looks like I have to prepare dinner now…"

Ren got up as well, trying to make amends, "I'll help… I'll…"

Kyouko stopped him, "Please don't… Unlike you, I like our kitchen…"

Ren grimaced and sat back down. "One incident. Only one time… and you bar me from our kitchen?"

Then he sighed and leaned back. There was no arguing with her when it comes to this.

A/n: Like I said, this was written on a whim, so it's not really well written. Please review and give me your feedback. I'd like to know what you thought about this. Should I go another chapter, mainly in Kyouko's POV this time? Ah, forget it. I don't even know if anyone would read this… OK, promotion time: please read TOKYO CRAZY PARADISE if you haven't done so. It's a fantastic manga =) it has comedy, romance and lots of action. So, hope you enjoyed it anyway =)

FYI: Since it's 2022, assuming Kyouko is 17 in 2009, she would be (does some calculations) aound 30? Tsukasa is 14 in 2020 (start of manga) so around 16 now.