Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat! or any of its characters. I only borrow them for my own amusement.
Disillusioned
Shouko could only listen disapprovingly, (her voice and face though, were carefully neutral) as her talent lamented over the clingy, lovesick, plain country bumpkin of a girl he lived with. She made noises in all the right places, but personally thought he was exaggerating the situation. Not once had she seen this girl at the studio or heard of her phoning him. And the girl had to know his phone number. If she really was as clingy as he claimed, then surely she would be just as obsessive (if not more so) when he was at work.
But Fuwa Sho was her talent, so Shouko made sympathetic noises and very carefully suggested that he send the poor naïve girl home to Kyoto in hopes that the girl would restart her life, possibly heartbroken, but hopefully seeing the evils of the world a bit more clearly.
Sho latched onto the idea enthusiastically, but made sure that Shouko understood that he was not becoming independent, but only transferring his dependence onto her. Right about the point that Shouko was dearly wishing that her talent had a bit more humility and shame, something new entered the scene.
A scuff of shoe and quiet sniffle could be heard. Shouko looked around Sho – who had taken up residence in her lap – and saw what looked to be a very plain looking girl in a fast food restaurant uniform, holding a bag of food as though her life depended on it. A look of utter heart-break was on the girl's face.
"Sho-chan?" The voice was soft and warbled.
Sho stiffened almost unnoticeably in Shouko's lap before sliding to the floor and turning.
"Kyoko." The name was said flatly and the girl seemed to shrink further. Shouko's eyes widened. This was the girl that Sho complained about as being a plain country bumpkin? While the girl didn't have the flashy good looks some had, she certainly wasn't bad looking. And Shouko, talented as she was for finding celebrity material, could see the potential for beauty in both the face and body of the girl should she simply put a bit of time and effort into it. To be completely honest, the neutral look this Kyoko had was perfect for a model or actress. It allowed the director/photographer to get whatever they wanted from the girl, be it an ugly homeless person, or a beautiful goddess. Though that kicked puppy look seemed to fit her current plainness perfectly.
"Is that really how you see me?" Shouko noticed that while the girl had a warble in her voice, tears in her eyes, and was trembling, there seemed to be an aura of excited anticipation surrounding her. Sho didn't appear to notice. "Just a housemaid? Not even a…" she swallowed as though the idea was distasteful, "sister? I just happened to be useful?"
Sho looked to the side as a tear finally lost the battle with gravity and rolled down Kyoko's cheek. But, while he felt a pang at the sight of those tears, he felt no real emotional upset from this confrontation. For too long Kyoko had been a reminder of what his parent's had wanted of him. So, while he might regret it in the future, at that moment, Sho only snorted.
"You're a good cook Kyoko," a large understatement, "and keep a decent house," another almost lie, "but you were only useful. Now that I have the money, I don't need you anymore. You should go back to Kyoto. I'm sure my parents would be happy to have you back." Sho, looking away as he was, didn't see the way the tension left Kyoko, but Shouko did, and she wondered. For all of two minutes.
"Oh." The flat, neutral was the word was said brought Sho's eyes back up to Kyoko's carefully blank face. She scrutinized him for half a minute before releasing a breathless laugh of relief. "Oh, thank God." Her face smoothed once more into careful blankness as her hand extended, palm facing upwards. "Keys, please."
In his dazed incomprehension, Sho followed the direction and handed Kyoko his ring of keys. Just as he finally realized what he had done, she was handing the key-ring back, minus one key.
"Wha-?" Sho blinked dumbly, not even being able to properly formulate his query.
Kyoko studied him for a moment, weighing the consequences before deciding that the amusement she would receive outweighed the need for discrepancy. A smile of light amusement overtook her face, as though sharing an inside joke. "You've no idea how tiring playing that part was. Especially with no knowing when you'd show up. I'm just relieved that now I don't have to pretend for anyone anymore. At least, not unless I want to."
"Pretend?" Sho croaked in disbelief.
Kyoko laughed in pity. "Yes. Pretend. Your parents took me in. The least I could do was pretend to be what they wanted. Now that I know you hold no affection for me, and you wish to cut ties, I can, with clear conscience, leave off said masks. It is a bit sad that after 13 years of friendship you don't care a whit about me, but," she shrugged, "oh well. Better to start from scratch."
Kyoko tossed the bag of fast food onto the sofa, ignoring the gob-smacked expression on Sho's face. Turning to face Shouko directly, she bowed respectfully. "Nice to finally meet you Shouko-san." An amused smile quirked her lips. "Good luck."
Kyoko looked at Sho once more, only a small sting in her heart. "I'll have your things delivered to the agency." Sho looked down at the key-ring in his hand, only then registering that she'd taken the key to their apartment. When he looked back up, she was already striding away, walking in a manner he'd never seen before. Cool confidence.
That, more than anything, secured one thing in Sho's mind: he'd never truly known Mogami Kyoko, and now he probably never would.
Shouko left her talent standing in shock, almost running down the hallway in hopes of catching up with the girl she'd seen transform from a soft-spoken, plain country bumpkin into a quiet confident young woman with a face that hinted at beauty. She didn't work in the acting section of her agency, but she knew talent and potential when she saw it.
Kyoko raised an eyebrow, looking from the card to Shouko's very serious face.
"Acting, huh?" She seemed to ponder it momentarily before nodding decisively. "Yes, that sounds fun." Kyoko looked back down at the card in her hand before handing it back to the talent manager. "Thanks, but I won't be needing that." She smiled one last time, her expression of anticipation and satisfaction making her beautiful, before turning on her heel and leaving a quietly flustered Shouko behind.
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A/N: An explanation for the background of this - Kyoko was disillusioned early in life, through both the behavior of her mother and the way that Sho seemed to merely tolerate her presence. Her love for Sho slowly tapered off into affection one might feel for a distant cousin, but she was still very grateful to the Fuwa family. Kyoko takes honour very seriously, so she acted as she felt she should, by appearing as the girl she felt they wanted her to be. While this Kyoko would not have the extreme demons that the original Kyoko does (nor her obsession for fairytales - neither does she believe them), she does have her own version of grudges, etc.
