Summary: There was no way this weird, shameless girl was ever going to be his rival, much less make him fall. Absolutely no freaking way. Turns out, Shou's type is "girls who change him and make the impossible into reality.

"If you love the spotlight so much, why'd you leave?" It came out as an accusation rather than a question. Good. He meant it.

"It's tough." She replied with a wistful smile, too old and knowing for her age. He hated that damn smile. "Living, I mean." Her voice was so soft, so vulnerable, so tired...he didn't know what else to say.

"I hate you." And she laughed, genuine laughter that even made her snort a little. Even he couldn't fight a tiny smile as they watched the sunset on the hotel room's balcony. Was this what genuine love was like? Or was this something different all together?

--(six months previously)--

"They're not going to!" He'd insisted from the very moment the idea of a body guard was suggested to him. His manager, being the capable woman she was, made it so he didn't have to worry about anything like she always did. This time, she did it by hiring the bodyguard behind his back. "Those damn Beagles aren't going to do anything; you can just fire the stupid guy already!"

"We can't risk it, Shou!" She argued with him once again. "Besides, it was hard work getting Kurisu-san to even agree to six months! Breaking that deal would be a disaster!"

"Like I care! What kind of guy wants some macho man following him around twenty four seven?!" Sho snapped, irritated by the very idea of needing a body guard to deal with those dumb copycats! He could handle those weaklings just fine!

"Not many, I'd imagine." Someone replied from behind them. Smirking triumphantly, the singer didn't even notice for a moment that it wasn't his manager that replied. Wait a second...! He quickly turned, shocked. "But I don't like to judge people on their preferences." The speaker took a huge gulp of her canned coffee, even tilting her(?) head back to get the last drops.

She (?) wore an oversized trenchcoat the fell to her ankles and concealed even the shape of her body. Peeking out underneath were scuffed up combat boots and the fraying legs of her black sweatpants. Golden curls with black streaks stuck out in every direction, like she'd never seen a comb before. Her hands were covered by fingerless black mittens and her eyes by bulky sunglasses. She (and he assumed it was a girl by the feminine voice and small shoulders) was small in stature, but still the very textbook picture of a suspicious person.

"Ah, you just thought I looked like a suspicious person, didn't you? Don't worry, I ain't." She grinned freakishly as if reading his mind. Why is she showing all her teeth?! He instinctively panicked, edging over to hide behind his manager who was staring wide eyed at the stranger.

"Are you..." Shouko hesitated. "Are you Kurisu Reiko-san, the bodyguard?" The girl nodded, still baring all her teeth in a frightening grin. You've got to be kidding me! "It...It's nice to meet you. I'm Fuwa Shou's manager, Shouko Aki...This is Fuwa S—"

"Oh, I know. I looked you both up before I accepted the job. Shouko Aki, once auditioned for the agency as a star but quickly bounced back from your rejection to become an a-class manager instead. Impressive!" Kurisu nodded, finally hiding her teeth like a normal person. "And Fuwa Shou's...eh. Want a doughnut? They're good." Oh no, the weird, scary grin was back.

From the very start, every little voice in Shoutaro's mind screamed "I hate this chick." She was creepy, completely unattractive, treated him like an insignificant detail, and kept smiling at people like she was going to hunt them down and eat them. He was already opposed to the idea of a bodyguard before, but there was no way he was going to back down from that now! If ye had to deal with her all the time, he'd probably kill her!

Meanwhile, all Reiko thought of him was "meh." She had more important things on her mind.

As you've probably already guessed, this is the start of their painfully awkward and unlikely love story.

I love OC/Canon fics and wanted to try my hand at doing one for one of my favorite manga but didn't want to mess with the main pair so here's this awkward mismatch pair.