Sho Business

Synopsis: What if Sho had had to make an honest woman of Kyoko in order to get her to agree to come to Tokyo with him?

Disclaimer: Skip Beat! and its characters are the sole property of the legal copyright holders. This story borrows the characters and is not for profit or professional gain. To support the original artist and enhance enjoyment of this story, it is recommended that readers purchase copies of the manga at their nearest bookstore if at all possible.

Notes: Obviously, from the description, I am taking some liberties with the circumstances surrounding Kyoko and Sho's move to Tokyo. That aside, I intend to make every effort to mold the story to fit manga events as much as possible, though some modification will be necessary.

Special thanks to past and future reviewers!

Chapter Eleven: What They Did Instead of Sleeping - Part Two

"But are you sure..." Kyoko trailed off hesitantly, as she dragged her feet up yet another long, uphill side street.

"For the eleven thousandth time, YES, the station is this way," Sho insisted, through clenched teeth, speeding up his already brisk pace.

"Excuse me, young man, do you mean Shiinamachi station?"

Sho stopped dead in his tracks, causing Kyoko to walk right into his back. Slowly, he turned to face a balding, middle-aged man in a magenta track suit who was obviously out for an evening jog.

"What other station would we be going to in Shiinamachi?" Sho bit out.

The older man raised his eyes at the bad manners, but glancing at Kyoko, he shook his head and continued. "Well, you want to turn around then, son. The station's about six blocks back the way you just came."

Sho opened his mouth, immediately closed it again. Grabbing Kyoko's arm, he turned to drag her back down the hill. Kyoko called a faint "thank you!" to the stranger, which only made Sho walk faster and pull harder.

They didn't say another word as they walked past the tall fences and winding allies that lined the way to the station. They were silent as they passed the tangle of parked bikes and entered the terminal. Not until they had spent a good five minutes reclined on the surprisingly comfortable blue upholstered seats of the Yamanote line did Sho turn to Kyoko, who was nodding deeply in rhythm with the train's movement, fighting hard to stay awake.

"You're the one who wanted to come anyway, idiot." he muttered quietly. She didn't reply. A sudden stop jerked her sideways and she almost banged headfirst into the metal bar in front of her seat. Reflexively, Sho had thrown a hand up, so her head bounced painlessly off his palm.

"Idiot," he said again, standing to push her into his seat, taking the one in front of the bar himself.

Kyoko blinked several times, wishing she had the energy to take in her surroundings. Shibuya Station was every bit as dynamic as the movies had made it seem. There were lights and billboards to rival New York's Times Square and it was fascinating to watch traffic stop in all four directions while pedestrians crossed the street all at once.

"Look, Sho-chan, it's Hachiko-san!" She grabbed his sleeve and pointed towards a statue of a dog on a high pedestal.

"Who cares? We're not meeting anyone. And why are you speaking formally about a dumb dog?" Sho shrugged her hand off and straightened his jacket.

"Hachiko-san wasn't dumb, though, he remembered the last place he saw his master and came back every day for years and years."

"Like I said: what a dumb dog. His master was dead, but he still kept coming." He concluded, trying to be discreet about figuring out what direction they should be taking. He spotted a couple wearing leather - the woman with a bare midriff, the man with a bleach blonde Mohawk and a case of Kirin over his shoulder - and decided to follow them, hoping that they were going to the club district and not from it towards Love Hotel Hill.

Fortunately, the couple was starting and not ending their evening. Soon enough, they turned onto a side street that was entirely lined with alternatively dressed young people. The queue followed along the side of a brick-walled building, leading up to a distant marquee that shouted in neon letters that The Breaks were headlining at Punkass Lady to You. Sho assumed that was the name of the live house, and he liked it already.

He raised a hand to quickly tap at his hair, assuring himself that it was still perfectly in place, then shoved one hand nonchalantly into his pocket and strolled to the back of the line. Kyoko followed, collapsing against the brick wall to support herself. She raised her hand to cover a yawn and closed her eyes briefly while Sho eavesdropped on the people around them.

"We're NOT having a baby!" The mohawked man they'd followed was crowing, handing out cans of Kirin and shaking hands with random strangers in line. His girlfriend had buried her face in her hands and Sho heard her mock-whisper to a girl in fishnet stockings that she was surprised he hadn't taken the pregnancy test to have it bronzed.

"Oh my god! Do you still have it? That's a great idea!" The boyfriend jumped with enthusiasm, so much so that the next three cans of beer he gave out exploded when opened.

When the man settled down, his eyes fell on Kyoko and he handed her a drink, telling her she had an awesome jacket. This caused several people to turn around and Sho could swear he overheard someone saying that she was hot. Annoyed, he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall next to her, propping one leg against the brick like James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause. He considered finding another club, because obviously the people at this one had terrible taste if they thought a plain, boring woman like Kyoko was hot when he was standing right there looking a hundred times better.

Meanwhile, the mohawked man had bypassed the entire line and was attempting to stroll into the club. The gigantic thick-lipped bouncer grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back. Sho smirked in anticipation.

"Ryota, no one is happier that Mei isn't propagating your retarded genes than me, but no outside drinks in the house. You trying to drive us out of business?" The mohawked man gave the rest of the case of Kirin to the bouncer, who opened one immediately and waved him through. His girlfriend, presumably Mei, followed him in, laughing and waving winningly to the line of people they had just cut. There were a few catcalls, but no one really seemed to mind.

Author's notes:

Okay, this is a really short update, I just haven't touched the story in a long while and realized I had to pick up again sometime or I'd never touch it again. Real life has been a trainwreck, but things are settling down. I should be able to finish transcribing this chapter – for which I finished the draft months ago! - this weekend and move on with the story.

Fair warning, I'm not just interested in mapping out Kyoko and Sho's relationship or lack thereof. I'm also really interested in how he gets started as a musician and how he relates to his art, how the industry changes him. Expect to see a lot of things the manga is unlikely to ever touch upon – like his first real band and why he started out at a punk club and ended up doing visual kei.

I appreciate everyone who's stayed with the story, and I promise there should be more coming soon.

Review if you enjoyed it, or if you hated it. I love hearing what everyone thinks. It's good to have my head back in this story!