Runaway Royalty

Disclaimer: I do not own SkipBeat or any of its characters.

The history of the Ryukyu Kingdom is true, but the plot of the movie is entirely fictional.

Chapter Seven – The Manager Auditions

In keeping with the timeline of Always With You, the following takes place the day after the LoveMe graduation party.

A manager often spends more hours with a talent than a husband and wife spend together. A manager must keep their talent out of trouble. A manager must keep their talent healthy. A manager must keep their talent on the move. Essentially, a manager's job is to eke the best possible results out of every waking moment of their talent's day. Therefore, finding the right manager for a budding new talent is extremely difficult; ask Matsushima-san.

But finding the right manager for the Laurel and Hardy of the LoveMe section can be nigh on impossible; in this case… it might be safer not to ask Matsushima-san.

The morning after the LoveMe graduation finds our two young heroines seated on one side of a long table while the aforementioned head of the Talent and Acting Section of LME paraded one candidate after another before the two girls.

To be fair our two young ladies, you must understand that 1) Kyoko had just been informed that her mother had passed away, and 2) Kanae absolutely did not want a manager; manager's tried to control your life, and Kanae had been responsible for herself since she was in middle school.

But, then again, you really had to wonder where Matsushima-san found these people. Ok, enough stalling… on with the story:

Our first contestant… Ok, ok! I'll behave!

The first candidate to be presented was Egami Takao. At first glance the thirty-something lady seemed fine, unti… "Oh, oh, oh, I can't believe this! I'm in the same room as Mogami Kyoko! I just love your characters! My favorite is Mio, no wait… Natsu… well, I really like them both. I saw the clips of your new character, Enoki Masami; you look so cool! Could you… maybe… do that thing with the spinning crescent kick? No, wait, you're in a wheelchair. Of course you can't, I'm being silly. Oh, I saw all about that nasty boy who tried to run you over on television! You lead such an interesting life! It must have been so-o exciting being in a real chase scene! I mean…"

Her monologue was cut short as she felt a cold, eerie feeling wrap around her. She looked up to see Mio in place of Kyoko. "So, you think that it would be exciting to be chased by someone? Maybe like a stalker who is trying to kill you? Perhaps, after the interview of course, we can arrange for you to experience it yourself. By the way, where did you park?"

The first victim… I mean candidate… suddenly remembered that she had something to do… right away. Matsushima sent in the next candidate.

Horri Okiku was the next candidate. She looked to be in her forties, a pleasant-faced, motherly type. "My, but you girls are both so pretty! You should really meet my son; he's very handsome, has a good job, and he's very eligible. Not you, of course, Mogami-san. You're already being chased by too many men. But you, Kotonami-san, would be a perfect wife for my son! Oh, and you're so beautiful, I bet you'd make wonderful grandchildren. Do you like children?"

"Only the plump ones, Horri-san," Kanae gave her best evil-witch smile, "the scrawny, stringy ones get caught in your teeth. Tell me, has your son purchased life insurance?" (Ok, so maybe Kanae has been spending a little too much time around Kyoko. She mixed a little Wednesday Adams in with a little Natsu, and walla, exit one matchmaker.)

Fugunaga Iku walked in next… or rather, she started to walk in, stepped back out, stepped back in, looked around the room in a confused manner, was startled to see two young ladies across the room.

"Fugunaga-san?" Kyoko asked the bewildered lady.

The thirty-something lady gasped, "You know my name? Have we met?"

"Are you Fugunaga Iku?" Kanae asked in frustration.

"Well… ye-es. That is my name. But… how do you know me? Wait, you're not a bill collector or something, are you?"

"NEXT!"

Kowagichi Oki walked purposefully into the room. She gave the two young ladies a professional bow, appropriate for a woman in an expensive business suit, and gracefully took her seat. Both girls were favorably impressed, until she started speaking.

"The first thing that we need to do, Mogami-san, is dye your hair back to its natural color. It's inappropriate the way young Japanese girls dye their hair these days. That's probably the reason you're getting a reputation about all these men who are chasing you around. And you, Kotonami-san; we need to cut off about a foot of that mop you drag around on your head…"

While the lady droned on, the two girls looked at each other. "Mio?" Kyoko asked.

"…and that's another thing: girls shouldn't be riding around on motorcycles in the first place…"

"How about Enoki Masami?"

"…you should expect stalkers when you parade around in tight leather suits…"

"It wouldn't work as well in a wheelchair. Besides, I'd need my sword. Wait! Didn't you bring yours to practice with?"

"Are you two even listening to me?!" The lady demanded sternly.

"Of course, Kowagichi-san," Kanae purred as she reached for the bundle leaning against the wall behind her. "I suppose that you don't think we should be in action films either?"

"Well, I don't see anything wrong with action films," Kowagichi mused, "just not with a woman as the hero. Women should be sweet and vulnerable. Men like to see themselves as the protectors…"

Kanae was Euiko now, strong, resourceful, powerful, "Actually, Kowagichi-san, I rather enjoy being the strong, self-sufficient type." She extracted the brilliantly polished sword from its sheath. "I like to think of myself much like this sword," she turned the blade back and forth, catching the light against its polished surfaces. "The sword is beautiful; it is a work of art. It is strong; it cannot be easily broken. And it is purposeful…"

Euiko walked, or rather almost danced around the table. "…If called upon, this beautiful, strong piece of art can become deadly." Euiko suddenly started flowing through her basic sword kata. As she floated through the motions she transitioned into the more complicated katas. Her movements took her in dizzying steps around the bewildered older woman's chair. Although the sword never came close, it flew past in whistling arcs that had the lady trying to make her self smaller and smaller in her seat. Euiko was flying now, her entire body, not just the sword, spinning and whirling in an intricate and deadly dance of death. (The truth is, her movements were still quite clumsy in her own eyes; but in the eyes on Kowagachi-san…)

And then, suddenly, she stopped with the sword pointing directly at the older lady, "Now wasn't that fun?"

In her wheelchair, Natsu clapped and gave the other girl a gratifide smile. "Wonderful! I wasn't bored at all! Do it again?"

Matsushima opened the door to step in just as Kowagachi Oki scurried hurriedly out. Matsushima watched her go and then turned his bewildered gaze upon the girls. Kyoko, seated in her wheelchair, was smiling benignly. Kanae appeared calm and composed as she aimed the three-foot long sword at the entrance of its sheath and slammed it home. "What exactly did you just do to her?"

"Send us another candidate like her, Matsushima-san, and I'll be happy to show you. Or would you care for a more direct demonstration?"

As the man wisely exited the room, Kyoko smiled at her friend, "You've really improved quickly. Keep that up and you'll be ready for the fight scene with Hiou in no time."

"Actually, I'm waiting for you to get back on your feet so that I can test my skills against yours."

Kyoko gave her friend her best "bring it on" smile of anticipation.

* * *

Renate Analise DeGarmo of Interpol frowned at the report she was flipping through. It had been six months; the trail had gone icy cold. "Cameo," how does a guy who looks like you just disappear?

Half of the police agencies in the world had been on alert, looking for the "pretty boy" gone bad. Part of the problem was that nobody had a photograph of him. All of his kidnapping victims had described him as "beautiful," "handsome," even "gorgeous; they worked with sketch artists, but nobody had a photograph. In his first two kidnappings he had taken his money and returned his victim as-promised. This last time he had deliberately left the teenaged girl tied up in a hole in the ground. This escalation worried Renate. The money obviously wasn't enough anymore; now he wanted to flex his muscles and show his power.

It was Sergio Fabriani, Renate's assistant, who had found the girl within hours of her oxygen running out. Now, six months later, he was finally taking his well-earned vacation. There was no resolution on the man who called himself "Cameo."

Renate knew that it was only a matter of time before he struck again.


Notes: Please forgive me for pulling in OC characters that I have already used in Convergence Zone. This story and that one have absolutely no connection. Also, the events that surrounded Renate DeGarmo have not taken place. Sometimes, when I "imaginate" a character they become very alive to me. When I was plotting out this story, I just knew that she had to be in it. I am including her partner as well. So please indulge me, and I hope that you come to like her as much as I do.

Please review. It helps me to know that I'm staying on the right track.