Chapter 11

Author's Note:

Skip Beat! and its characters belong to the creator Nakamura Yoshiki. Skip Beat! is serialised in 'Hana to Yume' magazine (Hakusensha) and licensed in English by 'Shojo Beat' (VIZ Media, LLC).

The work below is written in the spirit of fan appreciation.
UK English has been used throughout.

The day after the first script read-through, Kyouko had a meeting at LME with Matsudaira-san, one of the president's restaurant owner friends. She swallowed down her nervousness and described to him her intentions for the web series. She was sure that Matsudaira-san would think the whole idea was silly, but of course any friend of the president would be open to the unusual. After listening attentively, he took a bundle out of a bag and placed it on the meeting room table. "I heard that you auditioned for LME by performing the katsuramuki technique. May I see?"

Kyouko unwrapped the bundle: it contained a daikon and a chef's super-sharp knife in a sheath. Well, why not? she thought. She stood, eyed the contour of the daikon to get a feel for how it would need to be peeled, and then made a nice big rose. It was a wee bit wobbly because she was out of practice, but Matsudaira-san seemed pleased enough. He took the knife from her, wiped the blade clean with a cloth, and sheathed it.

"Thank you very much, Mogami-san. That was very impressive for a young woman your age. My restaurant Nebunohana will be more than happy to sponsor your show. All I ask is that we see the videos before they go to air and have a chance to raise any concerns we have."

"Thank you very much, sir," she said while performing a deep bow. "I am very grateful for your generosity."

"What lovely manners you have. If you ever decide that show business is not for you, please come and interview for a job at my restaurant. Ah, what am I saying? You were Mio in Dark Moon, weren't you?"

Kyouko nodded.

"I'm sure you'll do fine in show business after all. I enjoyed your performance. My son is one of your fans, you know. He's going to be rather jealous that I got to meet you."

Kyouko blushed. "Thank you, sir. Please pass my thanks on to your son for supporting my career. I'm very grateful for all of my fans." Truth be told, hearing that she had a fan was rather weird, but she knew well enough to show her appreciation — being thankful for fans had been drilled into her at the acting school. No one lasted past their debut years if they didn't build a fan base.

Kyouko slunk through the corridors after the meeting. First of all, she wasn't ready to accidentally run into Tsuruga-san: she was still far too embarrassed about what she had said to him the night before. Secondly, even though she had just gained sponsorship for her web series with ease, she didn't feel comfortable with the accomplishment. When am I going to achieve something significant in my life that doesn't originate ultimately from the skills I learned from the Fuwa family?

Besides, it had seemed far too easy to win Matsudaira-san over. She was sure that the funding had already been secured and the meeting she'd just been to had been nothing more than a formality.

She walked out the front door of LME, put up her umbrella, and started walking to the Tokyo Metro station at the end of the block.

"Kyouko-chan!" someone called out to her over the rain and the traffic noise. "Kyouko-chan!"

Kyouko turned and was surprised to see Shouko-san running towards her. Kyouko looked around, but Shoutarou wasn't in sight, thank goodness.

Shouko-san stopped in front of her and stood gasping for a moment. She was wearing a hoodless coat and had no umbrella, so her hair was sopping wet and plastered to her forehead. When she caught her breath, Shouko-san opened her mouth to speak ...

... and burst into tears.

Ten minutes later they sat in the LoveMe room. Kyouko had brought her upstairs as a visitor, found her a towel to dry her hair, and had started making her a pot of rejuvenating tea. Shouko-san sat with the towel around her shoulders; she was steadily working her way through a box of tissues as she continued to cry softly.

Kyouko placed the teapot and a teacup on the table. She poured the first cup. "Here: this will warm you up," she said.

"Thank you, Kyouko-chan. You're very kind."

Kyouko waited while Shouko-san took a few sips — enough for the colour to start to return to her face.

"Would you like to talk about it?" she asked the older woman.

Shouko-san turned the cup around and around in her hands. "I shouldn't have come to you, Kyouko-chan," she said. "It's unfair to ask you to deal with even more problems caused by him."

"It's OK, Shouko-san. I already figured he'd done something when I invited you here. Don't worry about me."

Shouko-san sat in silence for a while. Kyouko waited her out. She was clearly upset, and she didn't want to make whatever it was any more difficult for her.

"I've been fired," she said eventually.

"Oh, Shouko-san."

Tears streaked down her cheeks again. "We had an argument. I didn't see him for a couple of days. I thought he was just cooling off. But he told the managers at Akatoki things, and they fired me."

Kyouko reached out and held the other woman's hands. "That's terrible! That wretch! Didn't they listen when you told them he was just lying out of spite?"

Shouko-san smiled through her tears. "You're such an innocent, Kyouko-chan. I couldn't say that because they weren't exactly lies." She took a deep breath. "I feel so stupid. I was such an idiot! I ... let him into my bed." She hung her head.

Kyouko stilled.

"I know it was wrong, but somehow it just ended up that way."

"I'm sorry to ask: was this before or after his eighteenth birthday?"

Shouko-san slumped even further. "Before," she whispered. "He has pictures of me sleeping on his phone. Date stamped pictures. He showed them. The only reason I'm not in a jail cell right now is because I knew about something illegal one of the managers has done in the past. I was saving the knowledge for a rainy day." She laughed and ran a hand over her wet hair. "It's really raining, huh? I've been fired and blacklisted, and I'm only not headed for conviction because I blackmailed someone."

Kyouko didn't quite know what to say. It wasn't that she was shocked or surprised by Shouko-san's confession; she'd had her suspicions. She just didn't know how she could help.

"I'm revolting, aren't I?" asked Shouko-san.

"No!" Kyouko jumped to her feet and put her hands on the other woman's shoulders. "I know what Shoutarou's like, and I'm certain he was no child being taken advantage of by you. It happens a lot, I'm sure. Lots of people in my class at school drop hints that they have lovers already. It's just that most people are courteous enough not to out their partners." She crossed her arms. "He's getting worse! What will he do to the next poor woman who annoys him? He needs sense talked into him!"

"Don't put yourself in his way for my sake," said Shouko-san. "I'm not worth it."

"I don't want to hear you say that, Shouko-san. You're talented, beautiful, and kind. You put up with his crap for ages. I bet a huge chunk of his success is due to your hard work. It's his loss!"

Shouko-san rubbed at her eyes, accidentally smearing her mascara. "Thank you, Kyouko-chan. Remember, though, that all those words apply to you as well. He lost out with you, too."

That small part of Kyouko's brain that always wanted to protest any compliments she received flared up as usual, but for once she silenced it. This didn't feel like the time for that sort of thing. "Thank you, Shouko-san."

Kyouko sat and poured another cup of tea for her guest, then one for herself too. "What are you going to do now?" she asked.

Shouko-san sighed. "I have no idea. Go home to my parents, maybe? I've been working in the entertainment business here in Tokyo ever since I graduated high school. I don't know anything else. If I'm blacklisted ..." She took a quick swig of the tea.

"But that's just with Akatoki, right? You could work for another company."

Shouko-san shook her head. "It doesn't work like that. Word gets around. If you're blacklisted from one company, no one else wants you. Especially not if the company is Akatoki. No one wants to get on their bad side; they're too powerful."

"LME can stand up to them."

"No, it's hopeless. No one can risk taking me on because if word of my transgressions ever gets out, then it would cause trouble for whichever company hired me, so they wouldn't even risk it."

"You mean if the blackmail doesn't work?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I mean." Shouko-san's face looked paler and more drawn as the conversation progressed.

Kyouko felt more and more worried as the full extent of Shouko-san's troubles became clear to her. How dare Shoutarou do this to her? Sure, Shouko-san had done something stupid, but it was a stupid thing that many other people had done before her. Most people looked the other way if the under-aged person wasn't very far under age and seemed mature enough, particularly if the male was the younger partner. Kyouko was sure that Shoutarou had lost his virginity years ago, long before they'd even left Kyoto. Why was he claiming to be a victim? How ridiculous! He had even passed his eighteenth birthday. It was totally fine now! The past could have remained hidden.

"I'll talk to the president on your behalf."

"It's OK, Kyouko-chan. I don't want to cause trouble for you here. Your company president wouldn't be able to help me anyway."

"Even if he can't hire you, I'm sure he would have some advice for you. He's been in the business for a long time. I'm sure he's seen it all before."

"But the company president! Wouldn't it be hard to get an appointment with him? Don't waste that effort on me."

"Oh, no, no, don't worry about that. The president is a meddler extraordinaire. He doesn't pass up opportunities to attempt to improve people's lives. He's a Love Monster who wants to spread love and happiness to all, whether they want him to or not."

Shouko-san stared at her. "You speak about your company president like that? What sort of working relationship do you have with the people here?"

"It's normal. Everyone here talks about him like that. If I can get him to meet you, you'll see why."

Shouko-san bowed deeply over her teacup. "Thank you, Kyouko-san. Even if you can't help me any further, thank you for talking to me today. Your words have made me feel so much better. You have a rare gift."

Gift? thought Kyouko. She wasn't sure what the other woman meant.

"Promise me one thing, though," continued Shouko-san. "Promise that you won't lie for me. If you manage to talk to your company president, tell him everything. Tell him the central accusation is true. I don't want you to have to lie for me or get in trouble for me, and I don't want to approach the president of LME under false pretences."

"OK, I understand. Would you like another tea, or how about a coffee?"

Shou hadn't yet unpacked the boxes in his new apartment. It wasn't really bothering him yet, though. The new apartment was much bigger and was in a much fancier building than his old one, so he had plenty of space. He hadn't wanted to meet Shouko in the elevator or anything like that, so he'd moved. The new rent was a little steep, but since his career was surely about to take off overseas, that wasn't a problem.

The new apartment was also very close to a supermarket that had a wide range of fancy bentous so he didn't have to worry about not having access to home-cooked food at the moment. There were several empty bentou containers lying around. At least one was starting to smell, but that was all right; he'd get around to it soon. Just as soon as he reached the next level.

The doorbell rang. He paused the PlayStation and sighed. That was the apartment door, not just the call button from the lobby. Wasn't this building supposed to have all the mod cons when it came to security? How had someone reached his floor? He shuffled to the door. "Who is it?" he called as he looked at the man in the business suit through the peephole.

"My name is Sasaki. I'm from Akatoki. Please let me in, Fuwa-san."

Shou supposed this guy was a middle manager of some sort, perhaps one of the lawyers. Maybe he was here to talk about Shouko. He opened the door and let the middle-aged man in. "Make yourself at home," he said.

Sasaki took off his shoes in the genkan, stepped up into the apartment proper, and looked around with wide eyes.

"Nice place, isn't it?" said Shou. "What are you here for? Is it about punishing Shouko? Or do you have news about who my new manager will be? Like I told the old man, I want another babe. Hot women suit my look."

"Sorry to disappoint you, Fuwa-kun," said Sasaki. "I doubt anyone would all me a 'babe' and I'm certainly not a hot woman. I am your new manager, though."

Shou gaped at the man. "You're what?"

"Your new manager. Please regard me favourably." He bowed. "Also, I'm sure this place was nice, but it's not now. It's a pigsty."

"Hey, hey, come on!" said Shou. "Is this a joke? A man can't be my manager!"

"Why not, Fuwa-kun?"

"Wh-who's going to cook and clean for me?"

Sasaki looked at him in silence for a long moment. "You will do that for yourself. You're not a child."

"But Shouko always—"

"You got rid of Aki-san yourself, remember? Although I don't know the details, it seems you were unhappy with her performance and pulled some strings to have her let go from the company. I don't care what she used to do for you. I'm going to be the type of manager who focuses on your career and keeps you in line. With me at your side, success will be assured." He strode over to the PlayStation and pressed the power button.

"Hey! I was in the middle of a game!"

"Not anymore. You need to be at the recording studio in half an hour to record that drama theme song that was commissioned. I received comprehensive notes about the job, but unfortunately not the music or lyrics. May I see them?"

"Oh, that. I haven't finished it yet. Can you reschedule the recording studio?"

Sasaki stared at him for nearly half a minute. "Please tell me that was a joke," he said finally.

"Why would I joke about that? The drama's just a silly little fluff thing. I wasn't feeling it, so the muse hasn't spoken to me yet."

Sasaki sat on one of the boxes and rested his head in his hands. "We can't reschedule."

"Why not? Just call them."

"What did Aki-san do in these situations? From your file, I never saw any indication that you ever pulled stunts like this. You've always turned up for recordings on time before."

Shou frowned. "Yeah, I guess. I mean, Shouko used to make sure that all my other stresses were taken care of. You know."

The other man blinked.

"Like food, and stuff. She gives a great back rub." He winked.

The other man just continued to stare.

"Anyway, I guess I always got things done on time because she made sure I was in the right headspace."

"And you got rid of her? You idiot. Well, I'll call the recording studio, but today's booking still needs to be paid for. Akatoki doesn't cover mess-ups like this. Today's recording fee will be coming out of your next royalty check."

"What?!"

Sasaki held a hand up. "Get to work and finish that song, Fuwa-kun. Now." He pulled his phone out and wandered into the unused kitchen while he made the call.

Shou stood in the middle of his living room frozen to the spot with shock. What on Earth was happening? Was this a nightmare? Where was his new sexy manager and why had this grumpy old man turned up instead?

OverheardAtLME 4 h
"Just ask her to wave that knife around for you. She knows her stuff: I'm sure you'll enjoy her performance."

Next time: The LoveMe girls visit Jelly Woods' salon.

I've always felt uneasy about what we've been shown of Shouko and Shou's relationship. For a long time I tried to convince myself that it wasn't what it looks like, but we've seen him not only in her apartment, but also in her bedroom. In her bed. She even dragged him off to have a shower with her to distract him from seeing Kyouko's Dark Moon wrap party interview. It's so wrong! I find that my own morality isn't quite compatible with this particular plot thread. I think Shouko is wrong, but in the story we're clearly supposed to sympathise with her. So I've tried to write it as one of those 'grey' issues where it's too hard to judge if it's right or wrong. I think that's closer to the truth than anything else. I really do feel that Shouko has been manipulated by Shou. I just think she should have known better.

Well, at least there is nothing in Skip Beat! that is nearly as bad as the secondary romance in Tokyo Crazy Paradise. (Suddenly remembers the Heel Sibling arc, which makes it look superficially like my precious bby Kyouko has an incest fetish. Uh ...) And really, this is a chronic problem with manga, isn't it? Even Hana to Yume shoujo manga push the line. Also, come to think of it, I know someone in Japan who is married to a man who used to be her teacher in high school ... so it's not as if these sorts of stories don't have a basis in fact ...

Everything that happens in real life deserves to be covered in fiction. OK, maybe I've talked myself into accepting this part of the story after all. I'm still holding out for the day when Shouko comes to her senses, though!