Chase the Sun
Disclaimer: I do not own SkipBeat or the story that this title makes allusion to. In the interest of creating a more western feel, some of the names of the main characters have been slightly altered.
Chapter 2 – The Ugly Truth
Kyoko waited in growing consternation as the platform cleared. Everyone else had been picked up or had caught some mode of transportation to their final destination and she was still standing there. Maybe Shotaro didn't receive my letter! What if he isn't even in St. Louis anymore? What if he is? How could I possibly find him among all of these people? Kyoko set her face and wouldn't allow herself to sink into despair. She had faced many hardships in life, and she would face this one as well… but she did hope that Shotaro would come soon.
She watched with interest and a sense of other-worldliness as people of every description passed by on the busy cobblestone street that paralleled the railroad tracks. There were the usual businessmen in suits, but there were also men dressed in canvas, in leathers, and even in furs. They travelled by foot, by horse, and by carriage. One man even passed by looking completely ridiculous on a bicycle. It wasn't so much that the little man looked ridiculous on the odd-looking contraption; it was the way that the huge front wheel bounced and jarred and jinked along the cobblestone of the street. Despite her worries, she had to giggle at this.
One thing that startled her was the number of men who walked or rode casually through town with weapons. There were pistols in holsters and rifles and shotguns. There was even one man who wore what appeared to be a cavalry sword attached to his belt. Kyoko had only seen two guns before in her life. In Boston even the policemen usually only carried batons.
There were women too… several had passed by… but their manner of dress, their painted faces, and their very forward attitude toward the passing men immediately told Kyoko of their profession. She blushed and turned her face away as one of them hooked arms with a man and led him off towards a tall, freshly painted two-story hotel. Working in a hotel since early childhood, Kyoko had seen enough to know that not every woman who came into the hotel on a man's arm was his wife, but the Fuwas had always drawn the line on ladies of the evening plying their trade in or in front of their hotel. This scene made her feel that she was seeing a world she never could have imagined; raw and wild.
A part of her wondered if the tall, arrogant man hadn't been right after all: did she really belong there? She shook that thought from her head. She was here and she was staying. Shotaro had sent for her at last! He needed her! He lov… well… no… he hadn't written anything in his letter about loving her… but then, why else would he have sent for her?
Two older men holding a loud conversation said something which caught Kyoko's ear. They were sitting on a bench that faced the street, oblivious to her presence. Kyoko scooted a little closer to hear more.
"I tell ya, that young Fuwa Kid, now… you give him a few more years and he'll be just as fast as any man in these parts," the tall, balding man proclaimed.
"Yeah sure… if'n he lives long enough. Now you take that Ren Tsuruga character who just rode back into town this mornin', you were there as well as I was when he faced off with those three varmints. Why, I reckon I'll still remember that fight 'til my dyin' day! Shot all three men before any one of them could draw a bead on 'im."
"I know that!" the first man rejoined, annoyance in his voice, "I'm jes' sayin' that the Kid's got the stuff! You don' need ta go trottin' out that Ren fella ev'ry gol durned time I says sumthin'!"
"Excuse me?" The two men were jarred out of their usual argument by the soft voice behind them. They turned in tandem to find themselves looking into eager, sincere golden eyes, "I'm truly sorry for eavesdropping, but I heard you mentioning the name of Fuwa… could you be speaking of Sho Fuwa?"
The first man, remembering himself, hopped up and attempted to remove a nonexistent hat. Failing to find one, he tried instead to smooth his thinning hair. The second, shorter man followed suit, only he did have a hat, which he removed and held to his chest. The second man was quicker to regain his tongue and he spoke up, "Yes, Miss… we was speakin' of Sho Fuwa… only folks around here'uv been callin' him the Fuwa Kid."
Kyoko smiled brightly, unaware of the deep impact her glowing face was having on the two old bachelors. "Oh! That's wonderful! Please, Sir, could you tell me where I might find him?"
The taller man had found his voice now and he shoved his way in front of his compatriot, who tried in vain to regain the fore. They looked like to mischievous school boys as they tried to look composed while continuously shoving. The tall man was the first to answer this time, "That's an easy 'un, Miss." He gestured one long, lanky arm toward the two-story building that Kyoko had seen before, "He's most likely tryin' his luck on the tables in there."
Kyoko thanked both men profusely, gathered her belongings, and made her way down the platform and across the cobbled street.
oOoOOoOo
Despite the intensity of the game, every eye drifted away from the cards as the beautiful, shapely Aki Shoko approached the table. She scanned both cards and faces and frowned prettily. Her eyes met and held the brown eyes of the youngest man at the table. He was tall and young, thin but well-formed, and rakishly handsome. He was also in debt to Aki and to her establishment. "Play out your hand, Sho. You and I need to talk business."
This was a friendly, mid-afternoon game and it had been kept low-stakes, according to the rules of the house. Later, after the sun had set, the high-rollers would take their seats. During the daytime Aki liked to keep the hotel saloon peaceful. Sho folded shortly afterward, but he didn't mind too much. He had already won several good hands. He pushed back from the table, glorying in the jealous glares of the other men. They all thought that the gorgeous hotel owner and proprietor was pulling the young man aside for some… private time. Sho was a regular at the Westward Hotel and Saloon and everyone assumed that he had an established relationship with Aki. Sho knew this and he did nothing to dispel the rumors.
Sho craved fame, and it didn't hurt his already growing reputation when men thought that he was intimate with one of the most desired women in St. Louis. He had already earned a reputation as a gunfighter after two shoot-outs. In both cases he had been challenged, so there had been no problems with the law. Coupled with his bad-boy good looks, his height, and his perceived relationship with Aki Shoko; Sho was well on his way.
The truth was far different. It was true that the pair had a relationship, but it was purely business and purely platonic… not that Sho hadn't tried to change that. He wasn't used to women rejecting him, and it only made the lady more alluring. He followed her into her large office without closing the door completely. Then he walked up close behind her. Making his voice deep and caressing, he asked, "What can I do for you, Aki?"
Aki Shoko turned sideways in a manner that forced Sho backwards. Then she increased the distance further by placing herself on the other side of her large Maplewood desk. "Where is my money, Sho? You're gambling with the money you still owe to me. Frankly, I'm becoming a little tired of waiting."
Sho sat himself down casually on a wooden chair and stretched out his long legs. He smirked, "Relax, Aki. I promised you that I would pay my debt and I will. As a matter of fact I am expecting a large sum any day now. Look, you asked me to play poker in your hotel because you knew that my recent fame and my looks would attract business. Haven't I held up my part?"
"Would that money have anything to do with the girl you wrote the letter to? Oh, don't look at me like that. You know that the postman has been trying to get me to take a Sunday ride with him for a year now. Did you honestly think that he wouldn't tell me about your letter? What I want to know is: how do you expect this girl to furnish you with twenty dollars? Are you going to marry her? Because you would certainly have to change your ways before you should let any poor, innocent girl drag you to the altar."
Sho scoffed, plopping his long legs onto the polished desk and ignoring Aki's scowl, "Oh, she'll bring the money. She'll do anything for me because she worships the ground that I walk on. She has been raised by my family since early childhood and she has been devoted to me since we met. And as far as the money, she works harder than any three men… so she'll make plenty of money and she'll bring me every last penny of it."
"And then what?" Aki almost felt sorry for the girl Sho described.
"And then… nothing. She'll show up here and she'll go right back to work making more money so that I can live the kind of life I deserve," Sho noticed a smear on one of his highly-polished boots and used a handkerchief to wipe it away.
"It sounds as if you don't care anything about this girl, Sho. Surely you must care something about a girl you've known since childhood? You can't mean to treat her like some sort of servant?" Aki sounded disgusted.
"Well… I suppose that's what she is. I mean, if she were rich and beautiful I might consider marrying her. But Kyoko is poor, plain and boring. I'll be doing her a favor making her my personal servant."
"Is that right?" A female voice as cold as the deepest depths of hell chilled the two. "So what you're saying is that you just lured me across the states and the territories… you induced me to betray the two people who have done so much for me… you persuaded me to work until my fingers bled to make enough money to give us a start… all so that I could become your servant!"
Aki Shoko wasn't sure of exactly what was going on, but she could have sworn that the room dropped twenty degrees, the light dimmed, and the very timbers of the hotel began to shake. Worse, it felt as if tiny, invisible wraiths were dancing around her.
If Aki was startled, then Sho was even more so. He must have gotten his dates mixed up, because he recognized this girl as his childhood companion. But his Kyoko had never looked like that! Her figure hadn't grown that significantly and she was definitely not comparable to the hotelier in measurements, but the fire in her eyes and the rosiness of her cheeks made her look almost beautiful. Unfortunately, Sho was used to being around beautiful women and he wasn't scared of them. Despite his surprise, he quickly determined that it was more important on this day to put the girl in her place rather than apologize for a conversation she should never have listened to anyway.
With that determination in mind, Sho smirked, "That's what I said. Come on, Kyoko. You couldn't seriously believe that a man like me would want to tie himself down for the rest of his life… and even if I did, would I seriously marry someone as plain and boring as you? I don't know if you've heard, but I've killed two men since I came here; both of them in fair fights. I'm famous around here as one of the fastest guns in the states."
Kyoko was shocked at the idea of Sho killing anyone, but other emotions were stronger. In her anger and disgust, Kyoko remembered the conversation that had led her across the street. What was that name…? Oh, yes! Kyoko smirked back at Sho, "From what I've heard, Ren Tsuruga is much faster."
Sho's face turned livid and he surged forward. He hated the fact that any other man was more famous than him, and he was sick and tired of hearing that name. "REN TSURUGA! I can beat him any day of the week! Why, he won't even show his face around here anymore. He hasn't been in this area for two years. I think he heard of me and chose to hide away in some cabin up north. Who knows, he may be dead by now."
Again the memory of the conversation came to mind, "That's not true, Shotaro," Kyoko taunted, "Because I just heard that he was back in town."
Sho blanched for a moment. His hand fell to his gun as if he was facing a challenger. Then he breathed deeply and relaxed. "Look, Kyoko, did you bring the money? I need it to take care of some things and…"
"Did you honestly think that I was going to give you money after…" Kyoko was so amazed that it rendered her momentarily speechless.
Sho used the lapse to talk over her, "Come on, Kyoko! Don't be like that. You and I are friends. We used to do everything together. Besides, you owe me because where would you be right now if my parents hadn't taken you in?"
"Your parents took me in, Shotaro; not you! No, you ignored me and now you want to treat me like a servant!"
Sho, finally sensing that he might be in trouble, tried wheedling, "Please, Kyoko! You don't know how much trouble I will be in if I don't pay off the money I owe. These people can be cruel and my life may be in danger!"
Aki's eyes went wide, but she was too fascinated with the drama to bring up the issue of who he owed. Obviously he was playing on the poor girl's sympathies. Aki might have stepped in, but she was a woman of the world and her first priority was the money that Sho owed her. Still, she found the girl intriguing. Sho had described her as "plain and boring," but standing there now in her travelling dress with fire in her eyes, this Kyoko looked quite beautiful. She had hair as black as a raven and it hung to the small of her back. It was shiny, and well-brushed, despite the long trip, and it perfectly framed a pixie-like expressive face. The girl was not tall. She was slender and not well-endowed, but her perfectly-erect posture made her seem regal and pure woman. And yet it was none of these features that arrested Aki's attention… it was those large, stunning golden eyes.
Aki had seen pale eyes before, from light brown to hazel, but she had never seen such a captivating shade of honey-gold. If I could get her to work for me, the men would be standing in line… but no, this girl would die rather than ever set foot on the second floor of my place.
The second floor was half-hotel, half-brothel. Aki Shoko had not come to St. Louis with the intention of opening a cathouse, but there were so many single men and such a demand that she finally gave in. The one concession she wouldn't make was that she would have no part of the daily, or nightly, operation of that portion of her business. She had found an older, more… experienced woman to take on that role. She also made it quite clear to any man who approached her, and there were many, that she was not for sale or rent. Therefore she quickly squashed the stray idea of attempting to recruit this girl for that side of the business.
Sho's pleas and years of devotion both played their games with Kyoko's wounded heart. She would never trust this boy again, but she was unwilling to just throw him to the dogs just yet. In her anger and hurt, without thinking things through, she asked her question through gritted teeth, "How much, Shotaro?"
Aki saw the flash of triumph in the boy's eyes and it made her sick. Sho quickly altered his expression to something resembling penitence before answering, "Twenty… five dollars."
"TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS! Shotaro, do you even understand how hard it is to make that much money?" Kyoko was too shocked to even take in Sho's look of unconcern. "Fine!" She reached into her reticule, pulled out a smaller bag, and began counting out the money.
In 1859, twenty-five dollars was a very significant amount. For a sixteen year-old to earn and save that much was actually quite remarkable, and Aki was impressed. She turned to see Sho's reaction, and all that she saw was greed. He's trying to figure out how much more she has! He's actually trying to find a way to get the rest! Without thinking it through completely, she stepped forward and cleared her throat, "Miss, twenty will be enough. You'll need the rest to make your way back to Boston."
Sho lost his smirk and his face became suffused with anger, but he held his tongue lest Kyoko wise up and leave him with the whole debt. Kyoko's golden eyes turned to the older lady and seemed to see her for the first time. When she saw the kindness in the beautiful lady's face, her own eyes softened slightly. "I won't be returning to Boston. There is nothing for me there now. I will make my way here in the west."
"HA!" Sho, feeling cheated out of the additional five dollars, put every ounce of scorn he could generate come through in his voice, "You, make your way here in the west? That's ridiculous! This is a man's world out here. You wouldn't have the first clue how to survive!"
Any softness in her eyes disappeared in an instant as Kyoko wheeled on the tall teenager, "I'll make it here, Shotaro! And I'll tell you what: I will do better than you ever have or could. You wait and see; in two years you'll be begging me to notice you!" She turned back to the beautiful hotel owner, "I take it that he owes this money to you?"
Aki was even more taken with the fire in this girl. She quirked her lips in a slight smile and nodded. Kyoko stepped up to her, "Then I'll place this money directly into your hands… it is far too much to risk in his."
The incensed boy began to bluster and protest, but Kyoko ignored him completely. Once the twenty precious dollars were in Aki Shoko's hands, she walked over to her belongings, gathered them in her arms, and walked out without a backwards glance.
Later, in the tiny room she had rented above a small restaurant, Kyoko's anger faded long enough for her to feel the pain and stab of Sho's betrayal. Rebellious tears came, and she wailed for hours until she fell into an exhausted sleep.