Skip Beat! is by Nakamura Yoshiki

Why write about Shou? Because he's a character with lots of potential for development - and that's what makes him a challenge to write. And there just isn't enough love out there for the rocker-yarou.


"Oh, look!" the girl exclaimed, tugging at her co-star's sleeve and pointing to a wide-screen TV, "They're showing the teaser for Shou's latest PV."

"I'm not really a fan of-" Amamiya Chiori started, only to do a quick double take when she saw the bride who was running away with the rock star. "Eeh? It's Kyouko-senpai!"

"Wow, lucky her." Maruyama Rumi excitedly gushed, still clutching at her friend's sleeve, "The first time she appears in his PV and she even gets to kiss him!"

No. It's her second time appearing in one of his PVs, Chiori silently corrected, watching the scene with a critical eye. It's amazing that she actually agreed to do this scene! Anyone watching who was not privy to their history would never suspect that Kyouko-senpai hated the rocker-yarou.

The short promotional video ended with an accompanying chorus of sighs. Rumi and Chiori glanced about and noticed that the number of awestruck fan girls around them had considerably grown in less than two minutes.

"That was so intense! If that was me, I think I would have fainted on the spot!"

"Does the single come with the video?"

"Oh, wow. If Kyouko-chan's on it, then I'm buying!"

"Let's get going, Rumi." Chiori groused, trying her best to give the clamoring mob a wide berth, "I don't want to be stuck in the middle of this useless drivel."

"Ne, Chiori-san. That kiss..." Rumi worried her bottom lip, unsure how to continue, before she finally managed to forge ahead,"D-do you think t-that Kyouko-san is in love with Fuwa Shou?"

"I think you got it wrong." Chiori's eyes narrowed shrewdly at life-size poster cut-out of the singer. "The question should be: Is Fuwa Shou in love with Kyouko?"

~o|0|o|0|o|0|o~

Shou resisted the urge to tap his foot as he watched the closed door from across the hallway, while drinking his bottle of Pocari. It was not as if Kyouko knew he was waiting for her in the first place - if she did, she would have probably snuck out of the building without him ever knowing that she already left.

The dressing room door finally opened and Kyouko stepped out with her fellow actresses, prompting him to straighten up and toss down the rest of his drink. He waited for them to say their goodbyes before walking up behind her. "Oi, Kyouko."

It was quite a sight to see her jump out of her skin in alarm when he whispered her name against her ear. She turned around so fast, her hair whipped against his chest.

He met her corrosive glare with a smirk of his own. "Could you at least pretend that you're happy to see me?"

"A wasted effort and, besides, I'm too tired to bother." She kneaded her forehead and tucked a wayward strand behind her ear. "What are you doing here, Shou?"

"Just finished a TV spot on Music Heaven," he said, keeping his voice light and casual as he slipped his hands inside his coat pockets. "I was on my way out to grab a bite when I saw you, and... I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner." She gave him a blank look, which in turn, had him fidgeting and prompted him to add tightly: "With me."

"Why?" she queried, one brow raised in skepticism.

His hands, hidden from view, fisted inside his pockets. "Let's say it's my way of apologizing for what happened on Monday."

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to," she stated evenly and continued towards the taxi stand. "Stop using me to assuage your guilt."

"Like hell I'm going to feel guilty for telling that pin-head actor to fuck off!" he cursed, grabbing her wrist - forcing her to stop and look at him. "And, despite what you think, I don't go around bad-mouthing him to get back at you."

Because the last thing I want to do is hurt you, again.

The words hung in the air between them; unspoken, yet understood. He could see that she was surprised by his outburst - possibly rendered speechless, as well. She dropped his gaze and stared at a point just beyond his shoulders, her brows pinched in thought.

The silence stretched until it bordered on uncomfortable.

He cleared his throat, trying to salvage the situation from being too awkward. "Look, it's just dinner. I know you're tired, so I'll try not to keep you for too long."

After a heartbeat or two, she finally met his gaze and offered, "Palette Town's the closest food place from here."

It was his turn to be caught by surprise: he fully expected her to put up a fight and was more than ready for it; what he did not expect was for her to a come up with a tentative truce.

She hailed a cab and climbed into it. Having no other option but to follow her lead, he climbed in and sat next to her in the backseat.

"Any preference?" he asked, unable to fend off the smile from spreading across his face.

"Anything is good," she replied, setting her bag down on the seat between them, "just as long as it's not frog legs."

~o|0|o|0|o|0|o~

Dinner turned out to be ramen. After all, one would never expect famous personalities, like an award-winning actress and Oricon's chart-topping rock star, to dine at such an ordinary ramen shop.

"Are you going to finish that?" Shou motioned to the plate of gyoza sitting next to her elbow with his chopsticks. Kyouko simply shook her head and continued to slurp her ramen.

He chanced upon the sight of noodles disappearing between her pursed lips and suddenly felt his gut tighten... He fumbled with the dumpling, it accidentally (luckily) dropped into the sauce dish, causing a bit of the soy sauce to spatter on the table top.

"Careful, there," she cautioned, licking the broth from her lips, the tip of her pink tongue disappearing at the corner of her mouth. Shou was sure that the sight of it was going to haunt him for days - not that it was going to make things any worse, considering he's been losing sleep over that kiss since Monday night.

Had he simply imagined it all? Her tender gaze, the longing in her touch, and the passion in her kiss. How she could kiss him like that and not feel anything at all?

He viciously speared the offending dumpling and decimated it in two bites. He was about to start on the last piece when he caught her looking at him. "What is it?"

"That's supposed to be my line, isn't it?" Kyouko set her chopsticks across her bowl and pinned him with her amber gaze. "What exactly are you playing at, Shou?"

"What makes you think I'm playing at anything?" he retorted, but she only narrowed her eyes at him.

Shou sighed; he reached into his coat pocket with his free hand and withdrew an envelope. "I just wanted to give you these concert tickets; the show's happening at the end of this month."

"That's next week." Kyouko glanced at the tickets but made no move to take them. "I can't - I'll be really busy by then."

"It's on the weekend."

"Especially on the weekend."

"C'mon, Kyouko! It's the launch concert for my new single, the one for which we just finished filming the PV a week ago." Shou took her hand and forced her fingers to close around the tickets. "You have to be there."

"I told you, I already have something planned," she griped, waving the envelope in front of his nose. "You can't expect me to just drop everything for this!"

This time, it was he who narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "You have a date with that pin head actor, don't you?"

"That is none of your business," Kyouko replied heatedly, "and even if I did, it doesn't have anything to do-!"

"Of course, it does!" Shou violently cut in, slamming his hands on the table. "You won't be there, because you'd be with him instead."

Her nostrils flared as she took a long breath, her lips tightened in a straight line as she met his glare head on. In the next instant, she grabbed her bag, pushed away from the table and walked out on him without another word.

Shou, having finally gotten over his initial shock, quickly marched after her. Practically causing the cashier to jump as he slapped a 2000-yen bill on wooden countertop on his way out.

He looked both ways the moment he hit the streets and found her at the sidewalk curb.

"Hey, you want a pair of free tickets to that jerkwad's concert?" She had the tickets shoved under some stranger's nose as she jerked a finger at his poster ad for a cologne.

"Eh? Why would I want... Did you say FREE?" The guy pushed back his spectacles and squinted down at the pair of tickets peeking out of a torn envelope. "Are you serious? These are VIP seats to Fuwa Shou's sold-out concert!"

"Well? Do you want it or not?"

What the fuck? The crazy chick was trying to pawn off her prime seat tickets on some random passerby on the street!

"Of course-!"

"No, you don't." Shou filched the tickets from Kyouko's grasp and bared his teeth at the 'lucky' bystander. "Trust me, four-eyes: You DON'T."

"Uh-huh. Yeah, y-you're r-right. I'd much rather go l-listen to an indie rock b-band, anyway." They both watched the guy skitter away with mixed-feelings and opposing sentiments.

The air between them was fraught with so much tension, he could practically feel it crackling. In the end, it was he who conceded the wordless battle and finally broke the silence.

"There's an after-concert party at the Nikko. You just need to show these tickets at the reception and they'll tell you where," he said, holding out the tickets for her to take. "If you can't make it for the concert, you could at least try to make it to the party."

She sighed, but decided to accept the tickets anyway, "I'll try."

"Promise me that you'd be there," he demanded.

He had NEVER begged for anything in his life, dammit! And he sure as hell was NOT going to start now!

"I promise that I would TRY to be there."

"Ok, fine," Shou huffed and stuffed his hands back into his coat pocket. At this point, he knew it was the closest thing to a promise he could wheedle out of her.

~o|0|o|0|o|0|o~

It was quarter after nine, but Shou still loathed for his impromptu date to come to an end without accomplishing anything. Kyouko was still stubbornly making her way to the trains despite his offer to share a cab and just drop her off at her place.

"Want to get coffee?" he asked, in hopes of keeping her for another half-hour.

"I better not - otherwise, I'd have trouble sleeping later."

Shou kept walking beside her, though he deliberately slowed down his pace to buy himself time to think of something. He smirked when Kyouko was forced to do the same.

His eyes alighted on the Daikanransha - its mesmerizing lights called forth a long buried memory to the forefront of his mind.

They were walking home from a gig he did at one of the more prominent clubs in the city. He fished out the fancy card from the babe who approached him after his set and introduced herself to be a talent scout for Akatoki Records. Somehow, he had a good feeling about this one - hell, he wouldn't mind meeting her again, since she's got a dynamite body.

"I wonder how Tokyo looks like from up there?" he heard Kyouko ponder aloud beside him, staring up at the huge Ferris wheel. "I hope to ride it and see for myself, someday."

"Why not now?" he asked. Feeling magnanimous, he peeled off a couple of bills from his wallet. "My treat - I got paid for tonight's gig, after all." Besides, having the world under your feet in a span of fifteen minutes was a very appealing prospect.

Kyouko only shook her head and smiled. "No, we'll ride it when your dream has finally come true." She pointed at the top-most capsule suspended in the sky, "We'll ride it together, Shou-chan! All the way to the top!"

"Yeah," he reached down to link his pinkie finger with hers and smiled at her blushing face, "all the way to the top!"

Looking at her now, he wondered if she still remembered that promise - more importantly, he wondered if she could bring herself to even care about it.

"Hey, Kyouko," he heard himself ask, "do you want to ride that instead?"

For a moment, he thought he saw a flicker of emotion cross her face when she briefly glanced at the Ferris wheel - but the non-committal tone of her voice had him thinking otherwise: "No, not really."

"Well, I guess after a ride or two, the novelty starts to wear off," he offered, fighting off the irrational surge of bitterness at her apathy.

"Actually, I haven't been on it."

Her words brought him to a complete halt. He was just about to ask why when his gaze accidentally met that of a random bystander.

"Oh, shit," he murmured under his breath, pulling the cap lower over his head. His pace quickened as he began to notice the speculative glances around them.

She tensed, but immediately hastened her own pace to match his. "What is it?"

"C'mon." Shou gave her no chance to protest as he grabbed her hand and began to shoulder his way through the throng of people in front of them.

"Where are we going?" she called after him, her boot heels clicking against the cobbled walkway.

"Guess." He glanced back with a half-smirk and saw the neon lights of the Ferris wheel reflected in her eyes.

He broke into a run and imagined running away with her.

The two of them breezed through the ticket booth (it was already closed) and headed straight for the platform. He reached across the boy who just emptied a car, his hand on the door, keeping it from sliding shut. "I'll take this one, thank you."

"H-hey! You can't ride that! It's the last-!" The pimple-faced youth stopped midway, his jaw dropping to the floor when he finally got a good look at who had just commandeered the car.

Shou quickly tugged Kyouko behind him, using his bulk and the door to shield her. He reached into his pocket and threw a crumpled bill at the boy, flashing his best hell-raising rocker smile. "Here's 5000 yen: tell the guy manning the wheel to give me another round," he said, shutting the door.

The boy opened his mouth, only to close it again. He cleared his throat, then hoarsely cried out, "Holy shit! It-it's Fuwa Shou!"

Shou watched as the boy ran over to the wheel's control box and talked to some guy who he figured to be the technician. He chuckled when the boy finally turned around to wave at them, flashing a victory sign.

Kyouko, who was also watching the entire exchange, turned away from the window to face him. Her reaction vacillated between hilarity and horror. "Did you just bribe that guy?"

"I sure did!" He plopped down on the padded bench beside her, still high from all the adrenaline-induced excitement.

Their eyes met and there was just no helping it... They burst out laughing. He laughed until he was red-faced and had to wipe away tears from his eyes. And she was laughing too - that pure, tinkling, chime-like laughter that he had dreamed of hearing for the past year.

Soon, the laughter died down and comfortable silence settled over them. He missed this - The unassuming quiet and warmth of her assurance that he was not alone.

"Ne, Shou. I guess you can let go of my hand now."

His gaze automatically fell on their joined hands resting on the seat between them. He had been holding on to her since they started running, and had yet to let go of her.

"Didn't you know? Holding hands is a must for riding these things!" he declared, shifting his hold, bringing their palms flat against each other, his fingers twined with hers.

"Would you stop kidding around?" She started to tug her hand away, but he was having none of it - he brought their hands up to his chest and pinned her elbow against his side. The move had him looming over her, preventing any futher movement as he stared her down.

"I'll let go," he said, even as his grip tightened reflexively. "I'll let go, only if you agree to answer my question."

Kyouko glared back. "Fine - ask away, Shou."

"Why wouldn't you ride this Ferris wheel?" he queried, his eyes boring into hers. "You're at Fuji TV often enough. How many times did those friends of yours beg you to ride it with them, only to have you turn them down?" He leaned in, bringing his face dangerously closer. "Did that beloved senpai of yours ask you to ride it with him? Did you have tell him 'no' as well?"

"That's one too many questions," she said, looking at him from under the fringe of her lashes. "Why didn't you just ask straight out if I'm still waiting for you to make good on that promise to ride it with me?"

His eyes widened in disbelief as he backed away, utterly flabbergasted at how she managed to cut through his layers of pretenses and simply asked the question for him. "Well, are you?" he pressed, feeling like a heel for leading her on.

She waved her free hand dismissively. "Nah. I gave up on that a long time ago. No need for you to feel guilty over something so trivial."

Trivial. Is that what his promises amounted to in her eyes - something trivial?

His grip slackened and her hand fell away from his grasp. He took a deep breath despite the tightness in his chest and looked out the window to the thousand of lights that littered the ground below.

The old Kyouko had been needy, clingy and everything that a rock star on the rise would consider detrimental to his career. He had considered Shouko-san's suggestion to send her back home to Kyoto, but he doubted he could have done it so easily.

Even though he did say all those things, he had never meant for her to hear them. But words said in ignorance do not make them less true - and, as Kyouko had pointed out, he could not really blame her for leaving after hearing all that trash-talk.

This new Kyouko was confident, self-assured and all that he could ever want in a woman - only problem was that she didn't want him.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she whispered beside him, her fingers lightly tracing the faraway city lights on the glass pane. A ghost of a smile was on her lips when she turned to face him. "Thanks for showing me this, Shou."

There was precious little she would allow him to do for her. He gazed at her heartbreakingly rare smile, and wished that he could stretch fifteen minutes to forever.