A/N: I don't own Skip Beat...Or Book of A Thousand Days. I hope you all know that by now. lol. I know that some of you got the book. Yay. Do you like it? Any scenes that you can't wait to see? Enjoy.
Chapter 29: The One With Sho
(I blame the title on the fact that I've been watching every episode of every season of Friends...lol)
Finding out that Kyoko was in America hadn't been as difficult as he had suspected. Lory had given him the information when Sho had come in, asking if there had been any progress. Lory had informed him that Kyoko was staying with a friend, secretly of course, and that she was working in a movie. A little more begging had gotten him the name of the movie, "A Thousand Days." After some internet research, he had found out where the movie was filming, and was determined to find her. His manager had disagreed.
"Sho, leave her alone. She's probably going through a hard time right now and doesn't need you to show up and make things worse for her." She had scolded him.
"I'm not going to do anything to her! I just need to talk to her. I…want to see her." Sho had stared so pleadingly at his manager that she couldn't refuse.
"You have three days, Sho. That's all you can afford to take off. I expect you back before Tuesday afternoon." She said simply. He had agreed and was now checking into his hotel.
"Can I help you, sir?"
Sho nearly groaned. English had always been his worst subject. "A room please?" He asked, and the man pecked at his computer.
"How long with you be staying sir?"
"Um…3 nights." Sho managed in accented English.
"Very well, sir. That will be $600." Sho handed him a credit card and the man swiped it. "Here is your key." He handed Sho a key card. "You are in room 433." Sho thanked him and carried his lone suitcase up.
'Now I just have to figure out how to find that studio."
"Why do you wear a broken watch?" Kyoko was lying on her side, snuggled next to Kuon, who was on his back on her bed. After their date, they had returned to find that Yukihito had cooked everyone dinner. They had all eaten and then Kuu and Julie had disappeared. Yukihito had gone for a walk, and Kyoko had gone up to her room to change, which had somehow led to the present situation. The details were still a little fuzzy in Kyoko's mind, but she remembered a lot of kissing. Eventually, Kuon had pulled away for his own sanity and had pulled her next to him. Her question made him stiffen.
"It was Rick's." He told her softly.
She looked at his face, contorted in pain, and reached for his wrist. Slipping her fingers over the clasp, she pulled the leather through and undid it. He stared at her, not moving, as she slipped the watch from his wrist. She pressed her lips to his wrist and he smiled softly. Rolling onto her back, she lay her hand down on her stomach and fastened the watch around it. He stared at her in surprise. "I want to help you." She whispered, staring at the watch that was no on her wrist. "I don't know if this helps, but…" She was silent when he took her wrist in his hand, studying it for a minute.
"I don't think you know how much it helps." He told her softly, his voice husky. Kuon slipped the little piece of leather through the clasp and pulled it off of her wrist. "But I don't need this anymore." He whispered. "I have you." He reached his hand over the side of the bed where her garbage can sat and dropped the watch.
It was decided that Kuon and Yukihito would leave on Sunday evening so that Ren could get back to work more quickly. He had a lot to do during the week if he was going to try and take off on the weekends. When the time for them to leave arrived, Kuon and Yukihito stood at the door, luggage in hand, ready to go. Kyoko and Kuon had already said goodbye, but he was loath to leave her. "I'll see in you two weeks. " He told her softly. "I love you." He whispered as he leaned down and kissed her again.
"I love you too. See you soon. Be careful. Make sure you eat!" He chuckled and nodded.
"Of course. Bye."
"Bye Kuon. By Yukihito."
"Goodbye Kyoko." The shorter man waved as they headed out to the car. Kuon looked back once more at the girl in the doorway, and then Ren drove off.
Kuu walked in while Kyoko sat in the poolroom, reading over her script. "You okay?" He asked.
"Mmhmm." She gave him a cheerful smile. "He's going to visit again soon." She chirped, obviously excited. "And we get to start filming again tomorrow evening."
"Yes…that's good." He smiled. "What are you doing for the rest of the day?" He wondered.
She looked down at her script and smiled. "This." He nodded. "What scenes are you filming tomorrow night?" He asked, sitting next to her.
"The one where they escape." She pointed to the script where the scene was outlined and he read it over.
"Hmm. It seems like the story is getting interesting."
"Yes! We will film a few more scenes in the tower but we are getting to the next part. I still have a lot of narration to do."
"Are you doing any of it on Monday?"
"No. We aren't starting that until Tuesday."
Dashti sat slumped in the corner, halfheartedly eating meat out of an earthy bowl. She looked up for a second when there was a thumping sound. "It was a lookout tower that doesn't look out anymore." Her brow furrowed at the unfamiliar voice and she stood hesitantly. "See here? Steps lead to nothing, and these bricks aren't as old as the rest. The door's been bricked up just like the windows." Dashti's eyes widened and she dropped the bowl and jumped up.
"And who told you there was a lady inside?"
"Who didn't tell me! That's been the rumor for years." Dashti took a step toward the wall.
A small group of men laughed loudly. "Then she's waiting for us, isn't she? Just ripe for the picking." Dashti paled and began to back away, glancing up at the ceiling where Saren's room was. "I get first go!"
For a while, there was knocking and beating and scraping. Saren came down and Dashti grabbed her arms. "What's that knocking? What's going on? Who's here?" She asked Dashti, her eyes dull and tired. Dashti looked around wildly as the men's voices came back, muffled but intelligible.
"Lady Saren, go to the cellar." Dashti grabbed her hand and pulled the now terrified girl over, yanking the cellar door open.
"Dashti? What…" The girl's voice was shrill, and Dashti shoved the girl toward the stairs.
"Into the cellar!" She cried, pushing her down, and Lady Saren did as she was told, tears falling down her eyes. Dashti quietly closed the door, shaking. She took a deep breath and turned toward the wall where the thumping continued. She gritted her teeth and forced a laugh, silently. "Come on in." She snarled quietly. She reached over and grabbed a kitchen knife on a table by her bed. "I'll scratch you first." She bared her teeth at the wall where they were trying to get in. "I'll bite you and tear out your eyes. I'll fight like a mad rat." She shivered, an angry tear slipping down her face, gripping the knife tightly. "I will cut out your pig parts before you touch me."
A few minutes of tense silence suddenly fell, and she let out a shuddering breath. Lady Saren came out of the cellar and found her maid siting on her mattress, shaking. Saren knelt beside her, wrapping her arms around her maid, and they sobbed silently. "Can we please light a fire?" Saren asked in a tiny voice.
"No, my lady." She whispered, still shaking. "They'll see the smoke." She warned her.
Suddenly, there was a ruckus on set. "Look, I just want to see her! I know she's here!" Dashti fled the building and Kyoko's eyes widened. She stepped away from Halee, who stood quickly and looked over at the blonde man trying to break through the line of security. Director Song jumped up from her chair.
"What is going on! Who are you!"
"Sho! Sho Fuwa. I just want to see her!" Kyoko felt the blood drain from her face as her old friend fought off a security guard. Before he could yell her name, she strode forward.
"Shotaro Fuwa, what are you doing!" She cried, and he turned her, relief in his face.
"Rosa, you know him?" The director wondered. Sho looked confused, and then seemed to understand.
"Rosa and I are friends!" He assured her. "She knows me. This is very important. I have to talk to her, now!" Maya narrowed her eyes.
"Director Song, I am so sorry about this. I had no idea that he was coming. Please, let's finish filming." She gave Sho a scathing look. "He can wait."
"No." She said simply. "We're about done anyway. We'll save the scene where you break out for tomorrow. We fell behind today because it took so long to get that scene right. We can stop it there and finish later. You can go."
Kyoko grabbed Sho's arm and dragged him into her dressing room, threw him inside, and slammed the door behind her. "How dare you!" She cried. "Who do you think you are, barging in here and…" She froze when she saw his pained face. "What? What's going on?"
"I…I just had to see you." He whispered, feeling foolish.
"What? Why?"
"Because." She realized that she had unconsciously switched to Japanese and then rolled her eyes at his childish answer.
"Because why?" She snapped.
"Because…I missed you."
"What!" She cried, unbelieving. "Why would you miss…"
"I love you!" He cried, grabbing her hand. "I…for a long time now…I fell in love with you." He looked into her eyes and moved to kiss her, but was shoved backwards.
"No!" She cried, pulling away. He watched her in surprise and hurt.
"What? I said that I love you!" He cried. "You can't still be mad at me?"
"No…but…"
"But what? Give me a chance, Kyoko. Please. I really am sorry for everything that happened between us, but I never stopped thinking about you, and…"
"No Sho!" She snapped. "Don't. The answer is no!"
"Why!"
"Because I'm with someone." She informed him quietly, and he blanched.
"With someone?" He repeated. "As in dating someone?"
"Of course! What else would I mean?"
"Who?" He demanded. "Tell me who!"
Her eyes hardened and her lips curved down. She drew herself up and stepped away from him. "Don't you dare speak to me like that." She said coldly. "Who I am dating is none of your concern. Now excuse me. I'm going home."
"I'll tell!" He cried, making her pause and look back at him. "I'll tell everyone who you are." She smirked.
"I don't really care. The stage name was to protect myself when my mother was looking for me. It doesn't matter anymore."
"I'll…I'll…" He floundered.
"Sho, go home. You don't have any power over me anymore, and I don't want to see you again."
"But I love you!" He cried desperately, grabbing her arm. She looked back at him tiredly.
"You don't love me Sho." She told him quietly. "If you loved me, you would never have treated me the way that you did."
"But I apologized! I would never do it again!"
"Sho…" She sighed and pulled her hand away. "I can never trust you again. Because of you, I was almost never able to trust anyone again. I forgive you. You apologized honestly, so I can't hold a grudge anymore. But I don't want to be associated with you in any way."
"Kyoko! Please just give me a chance? Can we at least be friends?"
She thought for a moment. "No. Not now. Maybe in the future, when I go back to Japan. But not now."
Kuu found her an hour later in her room, on her bed, her head in her hands. "Kyoko?" He asked softly, walking over and standing in front of her.. "Kyoko, what happened? Are you okay?" He knelt in front of her, touching her cheek.
"He told me that he loved me." She whispered, a tear running down her face.
Immediately, his imagination ran off with him. A murderous look filled his eyes. "What!" He cried. "Who? What happened? Did someone hurt you!" She seemed to realize what he was thinking and gave a shaky smile. "Sho came to the set, and told me that he loved me. He…he asked me to give him a chance and I said no. He asked to be friends, and…and I told him no. His face…was so heartbroken. I hurt him." She whispered. "I hurt him like he hurt me."
The image of his hurt face, of his shoulders slumping and of him walking away, defeated, filled her brain. 'He wasn't even angry, like I was. He just looked so devastated, like I ruined his life.' She closed her eyes when her father pulled her to him. "It's not fair." She hiccupped. "How can he do this to me? He's hurt me enough. Why is he coming back and making me feel so horrible?"
Kuu had a good idea of why, but decided that she wasn't really interested in his answer. 'He hurt her too badly. I wonder if she can ever really get past it.'
Kanae looked up when Yukihito entered her apartment. "I told you to stay away!" She snapped as best she could when her throat felt like it was throbbing. Yukihito correctly interpreted her pained expression and headed to the kitchen.
"You shouldn't be yelling when you're sick." He scolded. "You'll make your throat worse." He put a bowl of soup in the microwave and poured some mild into a pot and put it over the stove. "Have you taken any medicine?" She glared at the kitchen door, not answering. He chucked. "Good. You aren't talking. Just nod if you have." She rolled her eyes and lay back down on the couch, rolling over with her back facing him. He laughed softly as he poured chocolate syrup into the milk, stirring it and turning the heat down.
When he entered the living room, she was coughing violently and shivering. He frowned and put the food down on the table, hurrying over to place a hand on her back so that she wouldn't be scrunching her stomach, which he figured was sore from the coughing. "Here, let me get you another blanket." He said quietly when she finally stopped. She only nodded, out of breath from the coughing, and he emerged with her comforter and wrapped it around her. "I'm sorry. It was all I could find."
"It's fine." She whispered as he pulled it around her. Then he gently sat her up, propping pillows behind her back, and held out a spoon of the soup, which she ate without complaint. After she finished half the bowl, she shook her head and leaned back. Since she wouldn't eat anymore, he grabbed the now cooled cup of hot chocolate and handed it to her. Shivering, she took a few sips and handed it back to him. "Thank you." She said quietly, her eyes closing.
"Did you take any medicine?" He asked, moving the pillows and laying her down.
"No. I don't have any." She mumbled. He sighed. It was a long walk to the nearest drug store, and he didn't really want to leave her. He stepped into the kitchen and pulled a glove on. He dialed speed dial number 3 and waited.
"Hello?"
"Hey Ren, I have a favor."
"Sure." The man sounded surprised. "Everything okay?"
"Yea. I just need some cold medicine, a heating pad, and some cold packs."
"Um…okay. Are you sick?"
"No Kanae is, and I'm taking care of her." There was a slight pause when Ren took a breath. "And if you start teasing me, I will call Lory right now and tell him that you made a Kyoko doll and that you keep it in your closet."
Ren knocked lightly on Kanae's apartment door. The door opened and Yukihito stepped back and let him in. Ren looked around briefly, then found Kanae curled on the couch, her face flushed. She looked at him with confusion. "Good evening Kotonami-san." He said softly, handing two bags to Yukihito who took them into the kitchen.
Her eyes widened in comprehension and she groaned, rolling over and pulling the blanket over her head. "Ugh. Go away, Tsuruga." He chucked softly and went back into the kitchen with Yukihito who was pulling out a thermometer.
"How is she?" Ren wondered, leaning against the counter.
"She'll be fine." A tired Yukihito answered him while pulling out the heating pad and pulling the box of cooling pads open. "Just a cold." He was about to say something else when they heard a phone chime.
"Hello." They heard Kanae's voice and frowned, walking over to the entrance. "Yea, I am." She paused. "Just a little. No! Don't…" She coughed hoarsely and sighed, pulling the phone back to her ear. "Don't start that. Just tell me what's wrong." She listened for a few moments, then her eyes widened. "What?" Her voice was soft, disbelieving. "Oh…Kyoko." Ren jumped at the name and had to stop himself from taking the phone away from her. "Are you okay?" A long pause. "I can't believe that jerk!" She cried, and Ren felt anger and concern bubbling up. "How could he do that to you! After all that's happened…" She broke off, anger brightening her tired eyes. "Are you okay? Did he do anything to you?" Ren took a hesitant step forward but didn't say anything. "Okay. It's okay. You did the right thing." She took a sip of water. "No, I don't think you should. Not now. You're still hurting and you just have too much going on. Yes. Uhhuh. Don't worry, I won't." She glanced at the anxious man slowly making his way over. "You too. Bye." She hung up and lay back down.
Seeing that Ren was too polite to run over and demand answers, Yukihito walked past him and placed a cold pack on her head and took her phone, quickly placing it on the table. "Who was that?" He asked casually, as though he hadn't heard the girl's name.
"Oh you know who it was." She gave him an amused grin. "Kyoko's just having some…" She thought about the worst possible way to phrase it. "trouble with a man bothering her and she doesn't know how she feels about it." Ren's eyes widened and she caught several emotions hidden in them. She rolled over again with her back to them and smirked when she heard her front door slam.
Kyoko opened her eyes blearily and looked at her clock. It was 2 in the morning. Trying to figure out what had woken her, she looked around. 'There it is again…music…phone? Oh!' She reached over and looked at the Caller ID. She flipped it open quickly. "Kuon? What's wrong!" She cried, panic filling her heart.
"What happened?" He demanded, and she flinched, instantly reminded of Sho's tone the day before.
"What do you mean?" She asked quietly.
"What is this about some man bothering you?" Her eyes widened.
"How did you know about that?" She asked quietly, trying to stay awake now that she knew hew wasn't in any danger.
"I was with Yukihito and Kotonami-san when you called her. What happened?"
"Kuon…" She took a deep breath. "Are you aware that it is currently 2 in the morning."
"Kyoko, tell me what happened." He demanded.
She exploded. "Don't talk to me like that!" She yelled and heard him take a sharp breath. "Don't talk to me like I'm your slave to order around! I've had enough of that in my life and I don't need it from you!" She felt a hot tear run down her face and realized that she would never get back to sleep now. "Sho found out where I worked and…" She took a shuddering breath, trying not to sob so that Ren wouldn't know that she was crying. "…he told me that he loved me…and that he wanted me to give him a chance. And I said no." She sobbed once, feeling the hurt from Kuon's anger in her heart. "That's how he talks to me." She whispered.
In Japan, Kuon felt his heart break.
"He ta…talks to me l…li…like I'm nobody...like you just..." She broke off and sobbed.
"I'm sorry." His whispered, but she kept crying.
"If…if you lo…loved me, you wouldn't talk to me like that." She sobbed again, and felt her heart break.
"Kyoko! I do love you!" He cried. "Please, I'm sorry. Don't be angry. I love you. I was worried. I…"
"Just leave me alone." She whispered and he froze. He heard a click and the dial tone in his ear.
"Oh no." He whispered, closing his eyes. "Oh God…please no…." He hit redial.
Kyoko hit the little red button on her phone and held it until the tone sounded and the screen went dark.
A/N: Aww. Sad ending. Well, it's not the end of the story...I wouldn't do that. lol. There had to be trouble at some point. I'll update...eventually. Tell me what you think :)
