Skip Beat! is by Nakamura Yoshiki
Fuwa Shotarou was made to suffer for the duration of this fanfic because it's just like karma kicking him in the a$$. (o. 0)v
"Ne, Shouko..."
"Don't look at me," Aki Shouko crossed her arms defensively over her chest and met her friend's worried look, "I know just about as much as you do, Haruki."
"Well, least he's not doing his 'Angyo' or 'Ungyo' impersonation," the bespectacled woman nodded at Shou who was currently fiddling with the mixer in the recording booth. "That's a good sign... right?"
"I-I think so."
"Ohayou," He greeted as the he exited the booth, making his way to join them at the breakout table where they usually hold their small meetings.
"Coffee?" his manager offered, placing the carrier with three steaming cups on the table along with a bag of sandwiches.
"Thanks," Shou pulled up a chair and stirred in a packet of sugar into his coffee. He was just about to take a sip when he noticed both women were eyeing him rather intensely, "What?"
"So, uh, about Saturday night," Shouko started tentatively, "did you manage to talk with-"
"Is that the tour schedule?" He suddenly asked, causing both women to jump in surprise as he reached out to extract a sheet of paper from the clipboard across him.
The list indicated the date, place, timing and contact info for each event. The tour would span 5 months, averaging at around 10 lives per month. Roughly a total of 50 performances all over Japan. He checked the bottom of the list and noted that he would only be back in Tokyo at earliest by November. But before then...
"Asami-san, any chance we could swing by Kyoto during the tour?"
"Eh? But I thought you specifically did NOT want to set foot on Kyoto." Shouko pointed out, knowing full well that Shou avoided his hometown like the plague for fear of his past being discovered.
"I changed my mind." Shou frowned as he stared unseeingly at the list in his hand, "There's something I need to do."
Haruki pushed her glasses up her nose before conceding, "I'll see what I can do."
He looked up, flashing her a relieved smile, "Thanks, Asami-san."
"Now, let's discuss the set list," his producer was suddenly all business as she passed him a couple of papers, "Shou, we'd be needing at least three list with 10 to 12 songs..."
~o|0|o|0|o|0|o~
Half a day's worth at an attempt to write one complete song produced five different compositions in varying stages of (in)completion. It was only when he ran out of sheet music that Shou finally decided that it was time to take a break.
He placed his guitar on its rack and settled back on the couch. The remains of his half-finished lunch, which he had had delivered an hour ago, littered the coffee table. Not a lot of people drop by the in the afternoon, which was why he could afford to do his writing at around this time. And since his manager was busy preparing the itinerary for the up-coming tour, he had the lounge all to himself. He shifted against the cushions until he was lying comfortably on his back, throwing an arm over his eyes to block the light. Surely he could afford to rest... a nap would be nice... even for just... a short while...
She is crying again. Crying and running away because she dare not let him see.
"I never cried in front of you again. Because I didn't want to make things difficult for you."
But he is chasing after her this time. Because that's what he was supposed to do - what he should have done.
The child-Kyouko trips on something, a rock or a fallen branch - he's not sure, but he sees her falling gracelessly (painfully) on her side. He rushes to her aid as fast as his small legs can carry him.
"Kyouko!"
He does not ask if she is hurt, because that would be just stupid. But he cannot help wince at the sight of the gashes along her shins and her bleeding knees.
"Give me your hanky," he orders, knowing that she always carries one. She glances down at her skirt pocket and he quickly fishes out her handkerchief. He gingerly wipes off bits of dirt from her wounds, she looks away and bites her bottom lip to keep from crying out.
Glaring at the still-dirty wound, he thinks of spitting into her hanky to dampen it a bit, only to stop at the sound of her trembling voice. "Shou-chan, there's a stream over there."
And sure enough, a bubbling stream borders the clearing just a few feet away. He hurries off and dips the cloth into the cool water. He comes back to find her valiantly sniffling back tears and wiping her nose with the back of her hand.
"Baka," He mutters, crouching down beside her, not quite sure if he is referring to her... or himself.
He cleans her face, taking care to rub away the dried tears and dirt tracks on her cheeks. Folding the handkerchief, he begins to clean her wounds, lightly wiping off the dust and then the blood.
"Why?" she asks, harshly. "You never bothered before? So, why start now?"
He looks up to find 17-year-old Kyouko, glaring at him with anger and distrust shimmering in her amber eyes.
"Because I want to be here," he says with the confidence of the years behind him, reaching out to brush away the moisture that escapes her lashes. "Even if just for the sake of drying your tears. I'm here for you."
"You expect me to believe that?" she shakes her head and laughs, a tired self-deprecating sound that tears at his heart. "What kind of fool do you take me for?"
"Don't give up on me," he pleads, cradling her face between his hands, forcing her to meet his gaze, "Someday, I'll prove myself worthy of-"
"Don't," Kyouko says firmly, stopping his words with the light touch of her fingertips against his lips, "Don't put yourself through this, Shoutaro. We're just not meant to be."
Everything in him screams in denial. He wants to rage, shout and destroy every argument she have and could ever possibly think up for not being with him.
He brushes her hand away and captures her lips in a desperate kiss, his fingers digging into the gossamer weave of her hair to keep her in place. He kisses her - hot, open mouthed kisses, that sought to cure her and himself of her fears and his own anxieties.
"A chance, Kyouko." he panted against her soft lips "That's all I'm asking."
He gasped as he awoke to a sharp stinging pain against his cheek. His hand flew to his face as he blinked at the sight of Mimori leaning over him, angry tears trailing down her face. His lips were bruised and he could still taste her strawberry lip gloss.
"Why, Shou-chan?" she bawled, her fists pounding at his chest, "Why can't it be me?"
The past him would have simply charmed her off her feet and kissed away her tears. But he cannot afford to indulge in such casual dalliances anymore.
"I'm sorry, Mimori," he sighed, a belated apology even as he broke her heart, "But I only want Kyouko."
~o|0|o|0|o|0|o~
It was a Tuesday night and the LoveMe girls were having their first ever official sleepover to celebrate Kyouko moving into her new apartment.
The original plan for Sunday got moved since everyone had an early call time on Monday morning. The logical thing to do was set the schedule for the next weekend, but Kanae was very adamant about not wanting to wait that long. Hence, they all agreed on Tuesday night considering that everyone, coincidentally, have a late start on their Wednesday schedule.
They all came straight to her place from LME, taking a short detour at a supermarket on the way to buy ingredients for dinner. Kyouko was more than happy to cook for her friends. Between the three of them, they had dinner prepared on the living room table in record time. They were tucking into their meal while watching the news when the entertainment segment kicked in with a special feature:
"Fuwa Shou's concert at Zepp Tokyo proved to be an amazing success. The rock star kicked-off his first nationwide tour with his 20th birthday concert last Saturday. The biggest surprise happened during the encore; Shou went into the front row crowd and bowled everyone over when he came back on-stage with Kyouko in tow!"
The scene changed to a footage from the live concert coverage. She could barely make herself out from the crowd and was riveted on his expression as he cuts through the crowd to reach her side.
"Are you really going out with Fuwa Shou?"
"No. I'm afraid she's not."
Kyouko lowered her chopsticks and rice bowl on the table and watched. Throughout the song, there were times he would smile down at her with a tender kind of sadness - one that she completely missed that night... or did she?
The female host could not help but smile at the dialogue in the clip, "It was Fuwa-san himself who denied such rumors of him and Kyouko dating. But from the looks of things, it was not because of any lack of trying from his part."
"That's what you were talking about with Sawara-san on Monday?" Kanae asked, gesturing at the TV with a nod of her head.
"Well, it's not as if you knew Fuwa was going to pick you out of a crowd of hundreds, right?" Chiori said, before sipping her miso soup.
Kyouko, needing to do something, started pouring tea for them, "Still, I feel guilty for causing Sawara-san an inconvenience that could have been avoided."
"C'mon, it's not that big a deal," Kanae pointed out as she deftly picked the fishbones off her mackerel, "They're just going to see it as a marketing strategy to hype up the romance aspect of the video."
"It's working pretty well, that's for sure," Chiori dipped a piece of fish meat into the sauce and sighed the moment the flavor hits her tongue, "Kami, I've never had mackerel this good!"
"You were saying?" Kanae prompted.
"Remember Maruyama-san?" Chiori asked Kyouko, then turned to Kanae to elaborate, "She worked with us in Box-R. She and I were hanging around Tower Records last week where we managed to see the PV. The first thing she asked me, after seeing the video, was if Kyouko was in love with Fuwa Shou."
"WHAAAT?" Kyouko and Kanae chorused.
"Don't worry, I managed to set the record straight and told her she got it backwards." Chiori waved her chopsticks, towards the general direction of the TV, "I mean, it's so damn obvious, in that concert footage. Anyone with half a brain could see that he's the one in love with Kyouko-senpai."
"WHAAAT?"
This time, Kanae was doing a solo. SHE was obviously lacking the requisite half of her brain since she missed it completely. She whipped her head to turn and glare at Kyouko, "When the fuck did this happen?"
Chiori flinched. Kanae rarely cursed, but when she did, it was comparable to being hit with a bokken upside the head.
Kyouko opened her mouth, only to close it again, a feeling of trepidation welling in her chest. In the past few months, it felt like as if she had been trying NOT to see the clues that hinted at Shoutarou's feelings for her. It was all there in plain sight, if only she cared to look. Only problem was, she didn't WANT to see.
"I-I'm not really sure..." Kyouko croaked, her throat suddenly going dry as she replayed every significant event in her recollection that had anything to do with Shou recently.
"Well, the way I see it, it's not your problem until he says it clearly," Chiori's brusquely lectured, "Until you hear a confession from that guy, his vague affections are as good as writings on water."
"A confession. That's not gonna happen," Kyouko snorted as she picked up her chopsticks to resume her meal, "Shou's an idiot. But he's not THAT stupid."
Later that night, as the three of them were lying side by side on the futon they laid out in the living room, Kanae turned on her side to find Kyouko staring at the ceiling.
"Something happened on Saturday night," she whispered under her breath.
It was a statement, not a query. An open invitation that her friend could chose to ignore or take.
Kyouko gave an almost imperceptible nod of her head.
That was all the response she needed - Kanae reached out and held Kyouko's cold hand in her warm grasp. Some things were better left unsaid. And some things you needed to say out loud for someone to hear, but not judge. Like a wound that needed to bleed out for it to heal cleanly. Completely.
"He asked me to not give up on him. To wait. Because someday he would be worthy of me."
"And what did you tell him?"
"That I can't." Kyouko turned to face her with a bittersweet smile, but her eyes were clear and free of tears, "Because we weren't meant to be."
~o|0|o|0|o|0|o~
"Kyouko's latest photo spread on Vogue Japan is making a huge wave throughout Tokyo."
"The theme 'Facets' was conceptualized to capture all of Kyouko's memorable characters, and apparently new ones she would be portraying as well. Both local and international fashion brands were more than happy to sponsor the 10-page photo collection that featured the young actress modeling their merchandise."
The male host laughed, "I'm guilty of buying my first copy of this magazine just because of those 10 pages."
"Let me show you my favorite," his co-host flipped through her copy and unfolded the centerfold.
It was a top view shot of a couple lying at the bottom curve of an impressive marble staircase. Kyouko dressed in a rose-colored ball gown, with diamonds at her throat, flowers askew in her hair and a languid look in her amber eyes as she stared at the blond stranger pinning her against the steps. The man's dark tailored suit was a stark contrast against her own image. He was leaning over her, one hand cradling her head, his fingers delving into her russet tresses, the other lightly tracing the contours of her bottom lip.
Kyouko felt herself blush up to the roots of her hair and remembered a similar scene on someone's kitchen floor years ago.
"What a coincidence. That happens to be my favorite, too," a deep voice declared smoothly, before a paper bag was deposited on the coffee table in front of her.
She felt the cushion beside her dip before her senses were assaulted by fresh mint and aftershave. A sleeved arm draped along her slight shoulders, it took little to no prompting for her to cuddle up to the lean body next to her, much to the delight of the newcomer who rewarded her with a chaste peck on her forehead.
"I came across Kanae-san and Chiori-san at the elevator on my way up."
"Did you say 'hi'?" she asked teasingly.
"I almost did!" he chuckled good-naturely, "Good thing I saw myself in the elevator panel and just barely managed to avoid getting into trouble."
She lifted a hand to brush back a golden lock that fell over his clear eyes. "I never thought I'd see you looking like this so soon, considering we're back in Japan."
"Neither did I," he shrugged, pulling her closer to sit on his lap, "But mother was quite adamant that she didn't want sightings of 'Tsuruga Ren' carrying shopping bags for some gorgeous American model all over Tokyo."
She burst out laughing at the droll way he said that, only to stop short when she remembered something, "Have you had lunch yet, Ren? I made some curry and-"
"Kyouko," he silenced her by the simple act of placing a finger against her lips, "'Tsuruga Ren' is not the one sitting on this sofa with his lovely girlfriend on his lap at the moment."
She could definitely feel the tip of her ears burning as she cleared her throat and tried again, "Would you like to have some curry for lunch, Kuon?"
"Yeah. That would be nice."
A/N:
This was one hard chapter to write - I realized I wrote myself into a deadlock after posting ch08. I think ch09 just wrote itself out half-way though. This was a by-product of boredom and being pumped with anti-virus for 4 days straight - Yes, I blame the drugs and chicken pox. Checking the dates, this would be the fastest update I've done for this story (we're counting days here instead of months).
At this point, I would like to thank the die hard RenxKyouko fans who bothered to read this ShouxKyouko story. That last scene was bound to be tackled sooner or later, and with 3 chapters to go - I said, "Oh why not write it out NOW."
That being said, thanks again for reading.
