AGENT WALLFLOWER
Kyoko has a journalist-friend? Everybody else is suspicious except of course, Kyoko. How do you protect a clueless actress with secrets from a possible enemy masquerading as a friend?
Disclaimer: I do not own Skipbeat!
Chapter 12
The memory of when he first saw Kyoko in front of TBM replayed in Monobu's mind.
Back then , he had already felt that she looked familiar as he watched her draw near to where he was standing in the crowd. And when she turned around and looked straight at him, he had known instantly that she was the girl with the blinding smile and the chameleonic ability to hide her true personality from everyone else.
The girl he accidentally called Agent Wallflower-san.
Why the hell did he not listen to his gut?! He was so stupid! She had even smiled that megawatt smile because SHE had recognized him in the crowd!
Like a computer, his brain started analyzing his other memories with Mogami bit by bit. All the clues had been right in front of him, for Chrissake!
"Well, maybe I can help you," Mogami said cheerfully. "I've learned a bit since I joined LME. I can fill you in some stuff you don't know."
"Wait! Aren't you in Box-R?" he blurted out at Chiori. "And Moko-san was in that commercial with Kyoko!" he pointed at Mogami's other friend.
"Kyouko Nee-san went to the Box-R shoot obviously," Maria flippantly said while she played with her dolls.
"So what did you want to ask me about?" Mogami asked brightly as she stood over him.
"Don't hesitate to ask, Wallflower-san! I'd be happy to help," Mogami cheerfully said to him.
There's no denying it anymore, the actress that he had been chasing all this time had been right beside him all along.
Kyoko is Mogami Kyouko.
"Mogami-san is... Natsu... Kyoko... Is that really you?" he gurgled out.
The girl in front of him stopped fiddling with her accessories and stared at him inquisitively. She came closer, delicately pushed his jaw shut, and then suddenly pulled him into a headlock.
"Let's keep my real name between us, okay? Right now, call me Setsu... Setsuka Heel, alright Kenta-kun?" she cooed in his ear.
"Setsuka Heel? Now she's Setsuka Heel?! And why the heck is she calling me Kenta-kun right now?" Monobu bemusedly asked himself. Can't she give him a break? He hadn't even fully digested that she's the same actress that he'd been chasing, and now she's adding another character in the mix?!
"Listen here, pet. Setsuka's nii-san is not here. And without Setsu's nii-san, she's bored, that's why she's out here to play with you. You're just here to alleviate boredom. Is that clear?" Setsu's breath tickled him as she gave her instructions. Monobu mutely nodded although he hardly understood what was being said. Her relative closeness and the headlock he was currently in was making it hard to think.
After letting go of him, she rubbed Monobu's head affectionately. She grabbed his arm next and started leading him towards Caprice. In a daze, Monobu let himself be pulled along towards the club.
Setsu boldly led him to the entrance, ignoring the waiting line altogether. Although still confused, Monobu noticed the interested stares that followed them as they passed. Well to be exact, guys stared admiringly at Setsu and then would look dubiously at him. He couldn't fault them, he looked downright ordinary while his companion looked eye-catchingly provocative. Total mismatch.
Setsu abruptly stopped and Monobu realized they had reached the club entrance. He swallowed uneasily as he stared up at the burly man who was guarding the entrance. Glancing at the girl beside him, he saw her merely raise an eyebrow at the bouncer, silently demanding access.
'Where the heck did she get that confidence?!' he thought to himself. Mogami had never shown this level of self-assuredness before. Right now, the girl before him gave off a feeling of superiority, that she was used to demanding whatever she needed and always got whatever she wanted.
Unbelievably, the bouncer looked her once over and waved them in.
As Setsu pulled him towards the door, Monobu abruptly shook her off. He suddenly felt unreasonably angry. Something about how the bouncer was easily swayed by Mogami's character ticked him off. It reminded him of how stupid he'd been all this time, easily convincing himself that the actress Kyoko was not Mogami Kyouko despite all the clues practically in front of his face.
"Something wrong, Kenta-kun?" Setsu asked curiously.
"Sorry, Mog... Setsu. You completely threw my mind into a mess. I... I don't think I can stand to be around you right now. I have to sort things out first," he bitterly said, taking a step back.
For a moment, he thought he saw Mogami looking startled & uncertain, but Setsuka's mask quickly snapped back into place.
"Aaaw... That's too bad, I wanted to play with you tonight! But I can't force you to do something you don't like, can I?" Setsuka said, making a cute pout.
She paused for a moment in case he changed his mind and then just shrugged nonchalantly. With a little wave, she turned and sauntered into the club.
"Come in if you still want to play, okay?" she called out to him as she disappeared inside.
As Monobu slowly walked away, he realized his mistake.
It wasn't Mogami's fault that he'd been so stupid. She had never intentionally hidden anything from him at all. The only secret she held was about her past with Fuwa Sho, and she'd even shared that secret with him! All this time, she had shown him her true self - her quirky, entertaining and troublesome self. So why was he venting out his anger at her when he was the one at fault here?
He shouldn't have let her go in the club by herself. Even though she's Setsuka in the outside, she's still the same old Mogami who always gets him in trouble in the inside.
'She'll surely attract trouble again, especially looking like THAT!' Monobu muttered to himself, recalling Setsu's eye-catching, sexy attire. He hesitated for a moment before finally sighing in defeat. Turning around, he prepared to follow Setsu inside but a beefy arm barred his way.
The bouncer stared at him with scary eyes and pointed at the end of the waiting line.
"...But... but my companion just went in!" Monobu protested incredulously.
The bouncer scowled even more, silently shook his head, and then pointed to the end of the line again. Monobu sighed. In resignation, he walked away from the bouncer and joined the line of waiting clubbers. Seriously, why does he put up with all the trouble that girl subjects him into?!
o-0-o-0-o
Sho loved Caprice. The booze was good, the music was good, and the diversity of the club-going girls here was outstanding. Whenever he wanted to loosen up, he came here.
And he really had to loosen up, especially after yesterday.
Meeting Kyouko was completely unexpected. He had been trying to call her, and even dropped by LME a couple of times but she always seemed to be out. Chasing after her was starting to tick him off big time. And then he suddenly finds her in the shopping district, of all places!
The look of intense dislike on Kyouko's face when she recognized him really made Sho angry. What's more, she had ran away with Monobu Kenta, the guy he was warning her about!
Yes, he knew the guy who pushed him was Monobu Kenta. As soon as he got home, Sho looked for the old school registry in the internet to confirm his suspicion. He was right, damnit! Kyouko didn't listen to his warnings at all! Instead, she went and naively marched into the mess he was trying to save her from.
"What an idiot," Sho snidely thought. "When everything goes public, she'll surely come crawling back to me for help." The scowl he wore while nursing his glass of liquor slowly turned into a sinister grin.
He already had a contingency plan worked out. It was simple, really. When everything blows up in her face, he'll swoop in, have Kyouko move back in with him and then they'll announce they're actually in love and were engaged even before they entered Showbiz. Their back story will be Kyouko was so afraid that their engagement would affect Sho's popularity so she insisted to hide their relationship from the public. Of course he was against her plan, but he followed her wishes. But in the end, they couldn't stay away from each other anymore... and the rest is history.
The Public will absolutely love a romantic story like that.
Sho marveled at his ingenuity. Soon, Kyouko will be at his beck and call again, just like before. He just needed to wait and bide his time. And that's exactly what he was doing.
He let his eyes roam through the crowd of partying people. Hmmm... who would be the lucky girl to win his attentions tonight? He suddenly spotted a blonde girl making her way to the bar. She must be really hot, judging by the admiring group of men trying to get her attention.
"She will do nicely," Sho smirked to himself.
o-0-o-0-o
Kyouko felt apprehensive as she entered the dimly lit club. It 's her first time entering a place like this, and she had been counting on Monobu to be with her. It was a big shock for her when he suddenly changed his mind to accompany her. Why did he look that angry? Maybe he was too overwhelmed by her new character? She had been hanging around people like Tsuruga Ren and the cast in Box-R who had learned to adapt to her abrupt character transformations, that's why she'd forgotten other people not from Showbiz might actually find it hard to cope. She made a note to apologize later for springing all this on him so suddenly.
But now, she had to set that aside for the moment and face the job she gave herself. She closed her eyes for a second and let her new character flood her senses. The culmination of her and Wallflower-san's research - Setsuka Heel.
o-0-o-0-o
"What is up with these guys?!" Setsu thought in annoyance.
All she wanted was to be left alone, enjoy the music and observe the crowd but they kept coming one after the other asking if she wanted company, or could he buy her a drink, or would she like to dance, or would she like to go to another bar with him.
Well, most of them took the hint when she ignored their advances. But others had to be told a very firm "no" before they gave up. She quietly groaned to herself when she sensed another guy sidle close to her.
"You look very familiar," he said right next to her ear, his breath smelling of liquor.
When she glanced at the new pest, Setsu's mask almost slipped because of the chibi demons that awakened upon seeing the very last person she wanted to see.
Fuwa Sho.
He leered at her openly, but she realized that he had not actually realized it was "her". There was no hint of recognition in his face, only interest for the mysterious girl in front of him. "You look very familiar" must be one of his favorite pickup lines because he didn't bother to expound on who she looked like after he got her attention.
"Stupid Sho!" she silently thought. He would likely puke if he found out he had actually been flirting with the girl he had labeled as "plain and boring", she cackled to herself.
With Setsuka's character firmly in place, she gave him a frosty smile.
"Go away," she curtly said before turning away from him. Maybe if she ignored him, he'll just give up. No dice.
"I'm Fuwa Sho. You must have heard of me," he said charmingly, leaning closer again to her ear.
"No," Setsuka replied. Her eyes narrowed down in warning but she stayed in place. It wasn't in Setsu's nature to be cowed by a mere guy like Fuwa Sho.
" If I guessed correctly, you must be in the entertainment business, noh?" she said sweetly, looking straight into his eyes. " Your face must be one of your valuable assets... If you get any closer to me, I might just lose control of my hand and scratch your pretty face."
A little disconcerted, Sho gave in and withdrew a bit, glancing down at her long, manicured nails. But he wasn't about to give up yet. He couldn't believe that a girl he's interested in would ever refuse his advances. It's practically unheard of! She must be playing hard to get, he decided.
"Pretty face? Oh, so then you find me attractive? I'm more than just a pretty face. You'll find that out if you get to know me more," he said suggestively. Setsu just stared at him blandly before saying a very firm "no".
"You're feisty, aren't you?" he laughed. "Now I'm really interested! Tell me your name, princess," he said huskily. A little challenge was good to have every now and then. Especially if the challenge came in a sultry little package like the one in front of him. His eyes drifted down to her scowling lips.
Setsu sighed in irritation."You're not my type, Fuwa Sho, so just get lost. I already have someone I like, and he's way better than you'll ever be. It's really not a good idea to pick a fight with him," she warned, turning away again from him for the second time.
Disgruntled by her apparent dismissal of him, Sho seized her arm. "Too bad, I just decided you're thoroughly my type. I'll snatch you away from the one you like and make you fall for me instead," he said as he pulled her closer, intent on her luscious-looking lips.
"Moron. There's no one better than my nii-san. You're trash compared to him," she hissed as she finally snapped.
"Your nii-san?!" Sho exclaimed, completely taken by surprise.
"Yeah," a deep male voice answered for her.
o-0-o-0-o
Monobu was right. He had just been away from Mogami for just a short amount of time and she'd already managed to get herself in trouble.
When he finally managed to enter Caprice, Monobu immediately searched for 'Setsu' in the crowd. He quickly spied her by the bar, getting hit on by guys. As he inched his way towards her, he realized that she was actually capably turning the guys away. He heaved a small sigh of relief. She was completely in control of her situation. Maybe there really was no reason for him to worry at all.
But he quickly backtracked when he saw the next guy approaching Setsu.
Why did it have to be Fuwa Sho?
Why did he have to be here as well?! And worse, why did he have to zero in on Setsu out of all the girls in the club that night!?
Panicking, Monobu doubled his pace to get to Setsu, but abruptly stopped before finally revealing his presence to them. He suddenly remembered that Sho had seen his face yesterday when he pushed him away from Mogami. If he interfered right now, the singer might recognize him, put two and two together and realize that Mogami is Setsuka. Mogami didn't want anyone else to know about Setsuka's true identity. She definitely wouldn't want to reveal it to Fuwa Sho, of all people.
As he pondered what to do, he watched nervously as Setsu tried to rebuff Sho to no avail. He could see the mounting irritation on Setsu's face. If this goes on much longer, Setsu might accidentally reveal her true identity herself! When Sho suddenly seized Setsu's arm intent on stealing a kiss from her, he decided to finally do something.
To hell with secret characters! Mogami looked like she was about to explode with rage!
But before Monobu could interfere, someone else beat him to it. A huge, sinister-looking man stepped forward and grabbed the hand holding on to Setsu's arm. Sho winced as the man increased pressure on his grip and was forced to let go of Setsu. The singer then angrily turned to the interloper but balked when he finally got a good look at him.
This was Monobu's chance!
Monobu gathered up his courage. While Sho and the scary stranger were pre-occupied, he moved closer, grabbed Setsu's hand and pulled her away with him.
"Kenta-kun?!" Setsu exclaimed as they weaved through the crowd.
"Shhh! We're getting out of here! I swear, it's like you're some kind of trouble magnet! Not only did you attract Fuwa Sho's attention, now I think you also attracted the eyes of the devil incarnate himself!" Monobu muttered to her. He threw a glance to the scene they had just left. The sinister-looking man was glaring right at him!
When they finally got out of the club, Monobu relaxed a bit, but he kept dragging Setsu with him. "This is the last time I'm going to pull you out of any mess, you hear?!" he heatedly declared. He felt her shrug her arms nonchalantly.
"Kenta-kun, I think that Fuwa-moron won't be coming after us, so let go of my hand already," Setsu remarked in an off-handed manner. The way she was acting so cool after almost causing a fight was a bit maddening to Monobu.
"Oh, yeah? But I'm more worried about Mr. Devil Incarnate, the other guy you attracted," he glanced at her accusingly. "Didn't you see?! He looked like he could murder someone! Maybe he DID murder someone! That guy is positively dangerous!" he said, shivering a bit as he recalled the bleak glare he received earlier.
"He does, doesn't he?" she replied, giggling a bit. DId he just hear a note of fondness in her voice?!
"Anyway, I think it's a bad idea to run away any more," Setsu stated somberly as she dug in her heels. Monobu was forced to stop with her.
"Why is that?" he asked despite himself.
"Because it will just make him angry," she replied.
Suddenly, a dark figure detached itself from the shadows of the back alley. Monobu unexpectedly found himself pushed against a wall with a hand uncomfortably wrapped around his neck.
It was the scary-looking man from the club. "I AM angry," he growled.
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Sorry for the long wait, guys! The chapters are getting harder and harder to write. Hmmm... I'm even thinking this chapter needs a lot more polishing, too. Is it because the more I get excited with the story in my head, the harder it gets to actually write it down? Huh? Does that make sense?
Your comments will definitely help me through my difficulties, though... so please be nice and review!
Let me know what you think about the story so far, and I promise to release the next chapter as fast as I can if you do! Promise! :D