Is everyone just holding their breath for the last chapter? well this is it. I better get more comments on this one. Here we go!

21 – End Game

Sho was steamed when he heard the news from Shoko. "What do you mean I've been pulled?"

His manager sighed heavily. "I mean, four different studios have banned you from them for the time being. No one in those buildings will let you in for an interview or a performance, and all the ones previous scheduled at those locations are canceled."

"But why?!" It didn't make sense. Fuwa Sho was one of the most popular musicians of Japan! There was no reason for them to cancel him!

"They didn't say." Shoko looked at her phone, still trying to figure it out. "Best I can guess, you made someone powerful mad and this is how they retaliate." She looked up at him, suspicious. "Sho, what did you do? Harass a CEO?"

"I don't harass-"

"Harassment has nothing to do with how you view it and everything to do with how others see it." Putting her phone away, she eyed the teenager. "The way you interact with Kyoko-chan can be considered harassment Sho, if she ever wanted to press charges. And childishly running off to 'talk' to your rival, could also be considered harassment.

"If you want to have a good reputation Sho, and get the jobs you want, then be on your best behavior." Her glare chilled him to the bone. "I can't keep covering for you."

He knew she was right, but he didn't want to admit it. The musician looked away and trudged down the hall to where Kyoko and Tsuruga were doing their dubbing. Sho's part was done earlier that day because it was a lot longer and took a lot more editing in general. Those two did such a good job that their readings only took a fraction of the time. The editors were having a field day with his parts, even saying they might need to do retakes because his footage wasn't near as clear as theirs were. 'Dammit, why were they so good?' "I get the point."

"I certainly hope so." Before them, the doors leading to the recording studio opened, letting Kyoko out. She was smiling after talking to someone in there, but quickly shut the door after her, headed towards a nearby vending machine. Seeing her, Sho remembered how much he wanted to talk to her yesterday, and nearly ran at her to catch the girl's attention. "Sho!"

Kyoko was making selections on the machine when he finally caught up to her. "Kyoko! There you are!"

"What do you want?" The young actress was startled at first, but she covered it well with annoyance. Coldly she bent down and picked out two teas and a canned coffee from the machine's catch so she could go back to her work.

"We need to talk." He didn't bother to look around for listeners, but she did. He just needed to talk to her. "About-"

"If this is about how you got one of your fans to break into our dressing room and steal Ren-san's contacts and my pin cushion for you, forget it. I already know."

Her cold voice struck him harder than the shock of her statement. She already knew? "Then… you know-"

"That you're a low handed, no good, sneaky bastard? Oh yeah. I know that very well." Kyoko glared up at him, not at all happy about his actions. "How dare you use someone to do your dirty work. And on top of that, since when did you sink so low as to try and blackmail people? You should be ashamed of yourself."

Her words mingled with Tsuruga's for a moment in Sho's mind. He had admitted to theft, vandalism, and attempting blackmail. He really did not think this all the way through. His manager's recent news on being blocked from several studios and many more job opportunities returned to his mind, connecting at long last. Some else had found out and he was being punished. Someone big. 'I really screwed up this time didn't I.' "Kyoko-"

"I know a great deal about you Shoutaro," she reminded him firmly. "We grew up together and I thought I knew you better than anyone. I never would have pegged you for being a thieving blackmailer. I guess I never really knew you."

That hurt him more than he realized. Stunned, he just took the blows coming to his ego. "Until now I never considered using my story or any of my knowledge to take you down. I am determined to defeat you with my talent and hard work. But if you try and hurt any of my friends, especially Tsuruga Ren," her amber eyes cut him to the core, "I will not hold back. Understood?"

Unable to speak, Sho took a step back, realizing how bad his mistake was. Swallowing, he nodded. He'd behave. Satisfied, Kyoko flashed him a cheerful grin. "Good. Now if you don't mind, I have some drinks to deliver and one more scene to dub before we leave. Thank you for all your hard work. Shoko-san."

The actress walked past him, greeting his manager briefly, before making her way back to the recording studio to finish her part. Shoko was caught between surprise and a smile at the scene she witnessed, but her charge was trying to figure out what happened to the Kyoko he once knew. Looking back to where she was headed, he spotted a tall figure waiting for her.

Tsuruga greeted her cheerily, taking one of the cans before guiding her back in. The man seemed unusually happy for some reason, and his eye caught Sho's for a few seconds. A knowing smirk appeared on the man's face, raising the can to eye level as if toasting him. It only made the musician's blood boil. He completely lost this round.

"Bastard gaijin…" Sho muttered under his breath as the actor disappeared from view. 'Just you wait Tsuruga. I will beat you one day. Kyoko, the number one desirable man spot, all of Japan! I will get them all and you'll be nothing! I will win! Fair and square!'

Thus the game continued… Just not here.

END

A/N: And that's it! I am NOT planning a sequel. It ends with Kyoko telling him that he has nothing to use against them and she will hurt him if he tries anything like that again. Step up for Kyoko and Ren, huge step down for Sho. I don't think Mimori is going to have any setbacks because of this, so I'm not having the pin cushion brought up anymore than those two times. It is in my personal cannon for skip beat though. Please use it. XD

Thank you so much for reading this long story! I've worked pretty hard on it, starting last year I think in october. *goes to check* nope, June. It's just felt a lot sooner because I got most of it done recently. Thank you all for your encouragement and please stay tuned for future pieces I will be posting. I am not done with this world, not by a long shot. The Omake will be going up shortly and it's not my best work. Once it's up, PLEASE REMOVE THIS FROM YOUR WATCH LIST. Those lists get long if you aren't careful. That being said, thank you again for your support and I'll see you next time! ^^V