Skip Beat Surprise!
Chapter 10
Happy Reading!
NOTE: it seems that ffn deleted my dividers in my previous chapters, so major editing is needed. Thanks to Shiroyuki76 who pointed it out.
"Ah-Choo!"
Sniffing somewhat pathetically, Sho grabbed the box of tissue, reached deep inside and took out the last few sheets. Blowing his nose loudly, he groaned and stretched out on the sofa.
Following the fiasco yesterday, the production team decided to take the next two days off. Fortunately.
Especially since he caught a cold.
No thanks to her. Tch.
Replaying yesterday's events in his mind, Sho closed his eyes and groaned again, feeling as if he was dying.
"It's just a cold. You don't have to be so dramatic about it." Shoko placed a mug on the coffee table. "Here, drink this."
He eyed the glass suspiciously, coughing, "What is that?"
"Honey Lemon Tea." She turned and made her way back into the kitchen. "I heard it helps to make you feel better." Shoko continued to talk as she rummaged in the kitchen, "You should be grateful that the director is rather understanding and…"
Sho tuned her out, his attention focused on the mug.
"Sho-chan! Are you all right?"
Worried eyes were trained on him, her hands busy submerging the towel into the basin of water and wringing it. She placed the towel on his forehead, gently pressing it down. She then patted his face; her hands cool against his feverish skin.
"You really should not push yourself too hard. After all, Akatori Agency just accepted you right?"
"It's Akatoki!" Sho coughed, and sat up, pushing Kyouko's hands away. "And it's precisely because I just got accepted that I can't afford to fall sick now." He breathed heavily, the room swaying as he got to his feet. "I need to prove myself. You wouldn't understand!"
"Sho-chan!" She appeared to be on the verge of tears.
"Don't be such a crybaby!" He pressed his hand to his forehead, squeezing his eyes shut. "Where's my guitar?"
She gave in quietly, hovering worriedly from a distance as he strummed a few chords and wrote them down. She went to the kitchen instead, and prepared a meal for him.
Sho immersed himself in his music, completely forgetting about the fact that he was ill. He ignored the mug of drink that she prepared for him.
Honey Lemon Tea, he scoffed inwardly. Like it has any effect.
"…ho! Sho!" He blinked, and looked at Shoko, who had an irritated expression on her face. "Is that anything that you like to eat? I'm calling for take-out."
Chestnut pudding. Like I'll ever admit.
"Not hungry." He turned his back on Shoko and pulled the blankets over himself, trying to get the image of her worried, amber eyes out of his mind.
"Ah-Choo!"
Baka Shoutaro! This is your entire fault! I'm going to haunt you forever if I die!
Kyouko groaned and shifted uncomfortably in her futon, coughing. A knock sounded lightly on her door.
"Come in." She replied, sneezing again.
"Kyouko-chan, are you feeling better?" A cool hand pressed upon Kyouko's forehead, and the landlady's worried face came into her view.
"Ah! Okami-san!" Kyouko coughed and tried to sit up, but was stopped by the landlady.
"It's okay." She smiled, "Just lie back down and rest. Do you want anything to eat?"
"Okami-san…" Kyouko sniffed, feeling warm and well cared for.
"What's with the look on your face?" The landlady laughed lightly at the sight of Kyouko sniffing and trying to hold back her tears. "You're like our child and it's normal for a mother to fuss over her kid, right?"
Kyouko's eyes darkened, a memory from her past came up at the landlady's words.
"Mother…" Kyouko coughed, shivering slightly.
"Don't come near me with your germs!" Sanae's eyes flashed a warning to her daughter. "And no going to bed until you finished those questions!" Her manicured finger pointed to a stack of assessment books.
Kyouko sniffed, forcing back her tears, knowing how much her mother hated her crying, and picked up her pencil.
It was little surprise that she fainted from exhaustion a couple hours later. And even then, it was the Fuwa couple who brought her to the local hospital.
"…ouko-chan? Kyouko-chan? What's the matter?"
Kyouko looked into the worried eyes of the landlady, who had so kindly taken her in when she was at one of her lowest points in life and treated her like a daughter, and smiled, tears rolling out freely.
"Kyouko-chan! Does something hurt?" The landlady was flustered.
"I'm sorry. It's nothing…" She shook her head, smiling and crying at the same time. She sniffed, "Okami-san, thank you."
The older woman's heart melted at the young girl's thanks. Kyouko, in such a short period of time, had become so dear to this couple.
"AH!"
The landlady blinked in surprise. The girl sat up in a sudden motion, and turned to the landlady.
"Okami-san, can I borrow the phone? I had forgotten that I have filming for 'Dark Moon' tomorrow!"
"All right, all right… I'll inform them for you." Sawara Takenori sighed as the girl rambled on in his ears. "It's okay, no need to thank me."
It's just that I'll be cursed if I don't help you. He doodled on the note pad in front of him, listening patiently to the young actress on the other of the line, until she started coughing.
"You should stop talking and get some rest now." Sawara gently berated Kyouko, "I understand. Get well soon." He hung up the phone, letting out a sigh.
"Was that Kyouko-chan?" Sawara leaned back in surprise as Yashiro's excited face came into view.
"Ye-Yeah…" Sawara inched backwards as Yashiro's face practically shone with delight, before a scheming look took over his face.
"What did Kyouko-chan say?"
"It's confidenti-" Intending to not answer Yashiro, Sawara gulped and changed his mind when he saw the mobile phone he left on the table in Yashiro's bare hands.
"10…9…8…"
"My phone! W-Wait, Yashiro-san…" Sawara tried to grab the phone in futile.
"5…4…"
"Ok! Ok! She's ill and won't be coming in tomorrow for filming of 'Dark Moon'!"
"Yes! Thank you, Sawara-san!"
A triumphant look came over Yashiro's face, and he placed the phone back down, which the older man hurriedly picked up to check for damages. Seeing that everything is fine, Sawara looked up to see Yashiro skipping out of the office.
What did I do to offend him?!
Yashiro Yukihito sighed for the seventh time, and this in turn caused his charge to give a little sigh of his own.
"Yashiro-san, if you have something to say, just go ahead." The tall actor flipped through the pages of his script. "You have been acting awfully depressed since you came back from the office."
This takes all the fun out of it. But, oh well. Yashiro pouted, knowing that to get Tsuruga Ren to ask him would be as easy as stabbing a rock with a toothpick. He leaned forwards, and spoke.
"I just found out that Kyouko-chan wouldn't be coming for filming tomorrow."
A heavy silence hung over the room.
"… And?" Ren flipped to the next page of his script.
A mischievous grin spread across Yashiro's face. "Do you want to know more?"
Quiet except for the flipping of the pages. "Only if you want to tell me."
"Eeh…?" Yashiro sighed again, wanting to make the young actor speak his mind, "Poor Kyouko-chan…" More sighing.
Though he was itching to know more, Ren was not about to ask Yashiro directly. He flipped through his script, his eyes not taking in any words.
Yashiro counted the seconds, wondering how long it would take Ren to open up. Ten seconds went by and Yashiro exploded.
"All right, all right. I'll tell you!" Ren hid a smile, knowing his manager, who cannot keep secrets for long, well.
"Kyouko-chan's ill. So she's taking these two days off." Yashiro crossed his arms, slightly irritated by how easily he caved in. "I wonder why? Could it be because of her other assignment? Hmm…"
As Yashiro pondered silently, Ren stopped flipping through the script, a dark look in his eyes. He knew that Kyouko's other assignment was with that guy, so what happened between the two of them? Why was she ill? He desperately wanted some answers.
"I know! Ren, why don't you go over and visit Kyouko-chan tonight?" Ren hid another smile. Trust his manager to help him out. "I've checked your schedule. You end at seven tonight, so you can go over after that!"
A cheeky grin on his face, Yashiro patted Ren on the back. "Isn't it great? You get to see Kyouko-chan later. I know! I'll get something for her on your behalf. Remember to show your concern properly. After all, she took good care of you when you were sick."
Satisfied that he settled everything nicely, Yashiro skipped out of the room, creating a list of items to buy for Kyouko.
Ren looked with amusement at Yashiro's skipping figure, and leaned back into the couch, staring at the ceiling. He was going to get some answers tonight.
Gravel crunched under the tires as the car pulled up in front of Darumaya and the soft purring of the car silenced as the engine was cut. A tall figure stepped out of the car, a huge bundle in his arms, and closed the door with a little difficulty. He looked at the Darumaya sign and stepped towards the store.
"Ah! I'm sorry, but we're closed for the night!" The landlady bowed apologetically at the man who just stepped in. She looked up, curious, when the tall stranger did not move.
The man then spoke up, "I'm sorry." He balanced the bundle in one hand, and reached up with the other to remove the cap that was obscuring half of his face. The landlady gasped in surprise, a light blush spread across her face, as she saw whom the person was.
"Tsu-Tsuruga Ren-san!"
Ren nodded his head, a small smile on his face, as he greeted blushing landlady and the ever-unchanging face of Taisho.
"Good evening, I'm here to visit Mogami-san. Is she here?"
A/n: Late update, I know. To those who are still following me throughout this story, thank you. To those who are new to it, thanks for reading it ^^
I never expected this story to go past 6 chapters, and we're at 10 now. I wonder how far this will go… My story is not based solely on Sho and Kyouko, but also on other characters as well, in case you're wondering.
Reviews are greatly appreciated =) Thanks to itachisgurl93, leavesfallingup, Hinata-cutie, eternalLament43, okinawa haruhi, DREAMLYN-LA-DY-BUG-, Spazz, Debbie Lynn Cooerrider, Katmonty, sheep-san is here to stay
Thanks for the reviews, I hope to write more and better for each and every chapter as we go on. Criticisms, suggestions are greatly appreciated =)
P.S: Interested in a Skip Beat! fanfic award? Head over to the forum =)