Chapter 62: Old Friends

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Skip Beat, for if I did, Kuon would be talking to his parents by now.

Tadashi watched his daughter enter the resident elevator before he turned to get back in the car. He had wanted to deposit her at her front door to make sure she got in safely, but she insisted she was fine. The security of the place was top notch so he reluctantly let her go. As he stepped into the car, he received a text from her stating she was safely inside.

Tadashi replied, happily, bidding her good night again. He stared out the window thinking about the day. He had planned on taking the whole week off before he left, but since he was extending his stay Mya asked him to look over a proposal. He would deal with work tomorrow and get it out of the way.

Sota had called him earlier during her act as Boh, but he couldn't leave Kyoko's side. He was now on his way to see his old friend.

When he arrived, Tadashi stepped out of the car and made his way to the basement club full of elites. He skirted past patrons and some of the hostesses that were all vying for his attention.

"Yo, Tadashi, you want a drink?" Sota asked waving towards the sake.

"Sure, I'll take one," he replied as he waited for Sota to pour their drinks. He lifted his cup in salute.

"Kanpai!" they cheered in unison, clinking their cups, and downing the drink.

"Ah, there's nothing better than having a drink with a good friend. It's like old times, eh. Remember that night in-" Sota began, but Tadashi gave him a look that told him to not recall that memory out loud.

Sota gulped. "Noted. I won't reminisce on the good old days. You're a new father now, after all."

Tadashi poured them another round. Sota raised his eyebrow, I guess we're drinking.

"Rough day at the office?" Sota asked as Tasdashi sipped his sake.

By his third cup, Tadashi was feeling a little more relaxed. "I got exhausted watching my daughter's day. I seriously don't know how she does it. I put in long hours, but all I do is sit in a comfortable desk chair. She has to work physically and mentally. If they don't nail the take just right, they have to repeat a scene over and over until the director is satisfied."

Sota laughed at his friend's expression. He couldn't miss this chance now that the liquor was talking.

"Are you drunk already?" Sota asked, testing the waters to see how much he could get out of his friend.

"It will take more than this to get me drunk. I've spent a lot of time training my body to tolerate a high amount of alcohol."

Sota laughed. "What kind of training is that? I thought you just pretended to drink. I've seen you at some events. You may have had the people around you fooled, but you use misdirection to let them think you're drinking with them."

Tadashi stopped his cup midway and looked at Sota in surprise.

"What? You think I didn't notice that your jolly drunk act was all a sham. Your daughter seriously got her talent from you!"

"Sheesh, what the hell are you doing staring at me so hard? Are you in love with me or something?" Tadashi grumbled then smiled. He liked the idea that some of his daughter's talent came from him even if it was just a tenth of it.

Sota laughed again, "That's right I love you, man! You're my oldest friend. Look at us, a bunch of brats off the streets living the good life."

Tadashi cracked a small smile. He couldn't have agreed more. A moment later he frowned.

"Hey, don't spoil the mood. We'll figure things out. It seems fate has brought you back into your daughter's life at the moment she needed you most. We should drink to fate!"

"To fate!" They cheered and drained their cups.

Sota snapped his fingers and one of his henchmen presented a thick folder. "Here's the information you asked for. My guy went through all the people associated with The Sacred Lotus. I have no doubt this is your man, Hanazawa Soujirou."

Tadashi looked over the first file his eyes resting on occupation Lead Set Designer. In that position, it would be easy to pull off the "accidents" on set without anyone noticing.

The incident report Lory had provided him stated that all the problems that occurred on set could easily be dismissed as coincidental. A weak tree limb, a spilled drink, an overlooked loose tile, and an earthquake to name a few. It was difficult to pin such things to outside tampering, but the director and producer had instilled fear into the cast and crew's hearts. The incidences were few and far between now that they had re-established safety as a top priority on set.

Tadashi scanned the information. He had a sick wife and was trying to raise two daughters that were younger than Kyoko. He looked over his financial situation. His debt to income ratio was very high. Probably medical bills. He couldn't possibly be making ends meet on his salary. A desperate man would probably do anything for money even commit crimes against others.

Tadashi shifted to the next document. I'll take care of him tomorrow.

"Here's the more in-depth information you asked on the Morizumi family. My guy managed to find a deleted police report from a couple of years back. Usually, in cases like those, it was probably settled personally."

"Can you get me the name of the officer that filed that report? Maybe I could talk to him."

"I'm one step ahead of you. His name and contact number are on the next page. Do you think this family is covering up this girl's crimes or are they just ignorant?" Sota asked.

"I think it's both. Kyoko's current director is a Morizumi. He didn't choose his niece for the part that's why she's retaliating. Her father was on set today too. I hung back to observe. I did not doubt that if I inserted myself into the conversation, he would be alerted to my animosity. You may think I'm a good actor, but I'm not professional enough when it comes to my daughter yet. I didn't want him to put up his guard."

"So like you to observe the enemy from a distance. Did you learn anything?"

"My gut is telling me he doesn't know anything, at least regarding Kyoko. He praised her for her talent and even mentioned working with her in the future. I could tell he adores his daughter the way he mentioned her. I'm not so sure if I would act any differently than him. If our roles were reversed and Kyoko was causing the trouble, I'd do what I could to help her even if it was the wrong choice."

"Good for you my friend! You lucked out. Kyoko-chan is a good girl."

"I'm going to follow up on this man. Maybe this has nothing to do with the girl. This guy could be responsible for the whole thing. A disgruntled employee, perhaps?"

"That girl is still stirring up trouble online though. I printed out her latest posts. She's now on that singer's website. I guess she found people that would listen to her. She's still trying to sell the idea that he and your daughter were more than just friends."

The loud ring tone of Sota's phone halted any further conversation.

"What do you have for me?" Sota was quiet as he listened to the speaker. "Really, okay I'm on my way." Sota ended the call, drained his cup, and stood from his chair.

"Let's go!" Sota told Tadashi as he put on his leather jacket

"Go? Where are we going?" Tadashi asked, grabbing the file and following after Sota.

"I'll tell you in the car. Call your driver."

Tadashi called his driver as they walked through the club. Sota flirted the whole way with some of his female employees. By the time they reached the street, his car was waiting. Sota told the driver to head to the police koban downtown.

"Koban? What the hell is going on? Who was on the phone?"

"I had a guy tailing the Morizumi girl since she left her house."

"I didn't ask you to do that?"

"I was sure you would appreciate that I did. You're getting too soft."

Tadashi scowled at him. He had thought about doing just that but it felt creepy. Paying someone to follow a young girl didn't sit well with him, so he concentrated on just making sure Kyoko was safe.

"Anyway, that guy just said he followed her to a sketchy part of downtown. She disappeared down an alley for a good ten minutes before emerging in an angry huff. Apparently, cops showed up and took three delinquents into their custody. He thinks she called the cops on them. He stuck around like a bystander instead of following her. The boys claimed they were innocent and just having a smoke. They didn't do anything wrong. She came to them."

"That's it? So why are we going to the police station again?"

"Oh yeah, he said he heard one of the guys say Kyoko-san."

"What the hell?!"

"Yup, he called me when he heard her name so he figured I'd be interested. Hopefully, we get there before their parents are called."

At the police station, Tadashi and Sota arrived right on time.

"Hey man, how long are you going to make us kneel here. This is bullshit! You're not even doing your job," the orange-headed delinquent taunted as Tadashi walked in.

That irked the policeman sitting at the desk. He stood up and demanded, "give me your school ID you good for nothing. I'm going to call your parents." All three boys groaned at the threat.

Tadashi took in their appearance. They looked the part of delinquents with that angry chip on their shoulder, wearing their school uniforms in a way that violated the dress code. Physically, they weren't scrawny; fighting probably kept them in shape. They had the signature dyed hair, and multiple ears, nose, and lip piercings typical of delinquents these days.

"Come on, sir. We didn't do anything wrong. My mom is going to kill me," he pleaded with the officer.

"Well, Jin-kun," the officer began, glancing at the ID and addressing the orange-headed kid. "Next time, stay home and study like a good student."

"Excuse me, officer. I'm here to pick up the boys. I'm Jin's uncle. A friend of my sister saw him getting into trouble and called her. She asked me to take care of the situation since she couldn't leave her shift at the hospital. She's a nurse," Tadashi lied smoothly.

"See, boy! Your poor mother is working hard this late at night to provide for you, and you're just slacking off like scum," the cop lectured.

"Officer, I don't know this Oji-san. My mom doesn't even hav-." Tadashi stepped up to the boy and smacked him upside the head.

"Ow, shit! The fuck was that for!"

"Damn, still so rude! Be quiet if you know what's good for you," Tadashi growled. Jin was about to protest, but Tadashi poised his hand ready to smack him again.

The boy shielded his head in fear. "Fuck, okay, just don't hit me!" Tadashi hit him again.

"What the hell old man?!"

"Language," Tadashi said, turning back to the officer. "I try to step in as a positive role model for him to help my sister out, but kids are just so disrespectful these days."

"Tell me about it. Back in my day, my dad would beat my ass when I stepped out of line. These days, it's all just spoon-feeding them until they get to college where they crash and burn alone."

Tadashi chuckled and nodded, agreeing with the cop.

"I didn't process any paperwork yet, so you can just take them home."

"Could I ask what exactly happened?"

"We got a call from a girl saying she was sexually assaulted by three delinquents at the precise location we found these guys."

All three boys exploded in unison, "That ugly bitch is fucking lying!" "That fucking whore is a liar!" "That lying bitch!"

"We have high standards, you know!" The boy with the bleach blonde hair added.

"People think just because we're delinquents that we have no honor!" Jin finished. "We're not the ones looking for fights."

"Hey, settle down! Anyway, we found these boneheads there and decided to bring them in for questioning. Since that girl wouldn't come in to make an official statement, it's pointless. She called from a payphone too. I think it was just a prank."

"Thank you, officer," Tadashi said bowing. He reached up and shoved each boys' head down to bow. "Put your head to the floor you punks, and apologize for wasting hard-working people's time."

"Alright! Get out of here!" Tadashi shouted, ushering them out after they apologized.

The boys tried to run away as soon as they came out of the station but ran right smack into Sota.

"Whoa, not so fast boys. Let's have a nice little chat shall we," Sota threatened with a menacing smile and he pushed them into the car. Tadashi climbed into the front seat with the driver.

"Shit, man, we're going to be ass raped and killed. Please mister, I'm too young to die. I promise I'll study harder," Jin begged.

"Yeah, mister. I'll stop smoking and get a job to help my mom. Please just let us go," the bleach blonde kid wailed.

The darker blonde kid was quietly sobbing.

"Shut up, you damn morons! We just want to talk about what went down with the girl. In exchange, we'll buy you a meal," Sota promised.

"Fuck, thank god! I didn't want my first time to be with an old dude," Jin confessed.

"Damn, kid. How old are you, and you still haven't gotten laid? That's sad!" Sota snickered.

His friends forgot their fear and started laughing at him. "Fuck you guys! Like you're any different. I'm waiting for the right girl."

"Yeah, bro sorry to break it to you, but Kyoko-san is taken. She's got herself a real man. He's tall, rich, handsome, did I mention rich?" The bleach blonde guy teased him.

"Fuck off! I know. It's because I'm stuck in a school with a bunch of ugly assholes that I don't have a hot girl," Jin grumbled.

The car pulled up to a nearly deserted Mos Burger joint where the boys scrambled out and headed in to order. They took advantage of the invitation and ordered enough food and desserts to feed ten people. Sota grumbled as he paid.

"You little shitheads better eat every bite! There are starving kids in the world. Now tell us what happened," he demanded once they were seated.

Jin, the obvious ring leader, decided to speak with a mouthful of food. "Me mmerrre mmmhmmiinding..."

"Shit stop eating and talk!"

Jin swallowed what was in his mouth and took a sip of soda before he started again.

"As I was saying, we were minding our business having a smoke watching the rerun of tonight's YKR when this ugly chick, well she wasn't ugly at first, walks in acting like she owns the place and says." His voice changed to a high pitch nasally sound that they all assumed was his version of a girl's voice. "'Hey, I heard for the right price you would kick someone's ass.'"

He changed his voice back and forth as he told his story. "So I shut off my phone and looked at this chick. She reeks of money, brand-name shoes, clothing, bag. So I say, 'Yeah, so, you want us to fuck up your ex or something?' Then she says, 'I'll give you 100,000 yen if you harass the actress Kyoko-san. I'll triple it if you bruise her face.'"

Sota looked at Tadashi. The man's golden eyes had grown dark with anger. "Easy, we can't do anything rash. You won't be able to help her if you're locked up."

"Yo, Oji-san wha- what's w- wrong with y-you all of a sudden," Jin stuttered as Tadashi tilted and cracked his neck to loosen the tension.

"Don't worry about him! Then what happened?" Sota demanded, bringing Jin's focus back on him.

"We laughed. She even showed us the money. I told that bitch that Natsu-sama was our idol and Kyoko-san was our goddess. Anyone that had a problem with her had a problem with us. But I would never hit a girl so I told her to get lost. It was the first time I ever saw a chick turn ugly due to her insides. Her face got all scrunched up with anger and jealousy when she started insulting Kyoko-san. She was pissing me off, badmouthing my goddess, so I charged at her. I acted like I was going to hit her and she got all scared then left. The rest is history," Jin finished and began eating in earnest.

Tadashi showed the boys a picture of Kimiko on his phone. "Is this the girl?" The boys looked nervously at each other. "Is it her or not?"

"Well it looks like her I guess. It was still kind of dark?" Jin said rubbing the back of his neck.

"You just said you saw her face turn ugly and her brand name stuff," Sota said exasperatedly.

"Well of course the part I did see so I imagine the rest of her face was ugly. If I saw her again, I'd recognize her for sure. She had all that cash so she had to be wearing expensive stuff, right?" Jin replied, defensively.

"You fucking, idiots! Give me your goddamn cellphones. We may need you to tell this story again so you better remember it." After Sota made sure he got all the boys' names and contact information, he threw down some bills and told them to take a cab home.

Kimiko was livid (though she didn't show it) when her father had mentioned Kyoko this afternoon. She couldn't think rationally. She was in a better mood after stirring things up on the Fuwa fansites. The gossip channels were eating up the fan theories of her and Fuwa being an item. There were so many public references on Fuwa's part to link them together that it was easy to convince them. After the broadcast of Yappa Kimagure Rock that night, she thought Japan would finally see what a total loser she was for playing a mascot on a variety show. With such a demeaning job, she had no business staying by Ren's side. Naturally, the people in the audience were all idiots. The legit entertainment news channels were advertising how humble and sweet she was for sticking with her first on-camera job no matter how popular she was becoming.

She changed the channel and caught a portion of Ren's live interview. The guy looked like a lovesick puppy on TV as he talked about him meeting Kyoko when they were kids. She wanted to barf! She changed the channel and caught sight of a short clip showing Koga and Cedric being bombarded with questions as they left the Sacred Lotus site. The fact that Cedric was also praising her was the last straw. Kimiko's mind was so clouded with rage and jealousy that she didn't think of what she was doing and sought out those hoodlums. They didn't attend her school, but the gossip at school made them notorious enough to be helpful.

Now she was standing in the shadows outside of Cedric's apartment freaking out. What had she done? How could she make such a careless mistake by confronting outsiders without a proper disguise? She was so pissed off she didn't think twice about calling the cops on them to get them in trouble. At least she was smart enough to call using a payphone. Hopefully, those guys wouldn't talk to the police about her. She pulled at her hair in frustration. What would be the best thing for her to do? Kill them? No, she preferred maiming her enemies. Killing is too permanent, I prefer they live on and suffer. I could try paying them to keep quiet, but that never works in movies. They would keep blackmailing me. Her best bet was to hope it was dark enough that they wouldn't recognize her. She could always deny being there. Society would believe the sweet rich girl over some Yankees. For now, she would go see Cedric and remind him that she is the only Japanese girl he should care about.

Cedric opened the door in surprise wearing a t-shirt and pajama bottoms. "Kimiko, what happened? Come inside," he said opening his door wider for her to enter.

Cedric closed the door quickly behind him and looked at Kimiko in the better lighting. Her hair was in disarray, her shirt ripped, there was a hint of a bruise starting on her cheek, and a small cut on the corner of her lip. "Who did this to you?" Cedric asked, gently touching her cheek.

"Do I look that bad?" she asked her eyes welling up with tears. "I couldn't go home. My parents would be all over my case. I didn't want to make trouble for them."

"I'll get you some ice and make us some tea. You can tell me what happened. Call your parents. You can stay here tonight if you like."

"No, I couldn't intrude. I should just go home. I'm sorry for bothering you."

"It's fine, you're no bother. Make the call," he said firmly as he went into the kitchen.

"Ric, can I use your bathroom?" Kimiko asked after finishing her call. Her mother was too lenient sometimes. Shouldn't she get a little angry at her when it was this late?

"Sure, it's the door on the left."

Kimiko made her way to the bathroom while Cedric was busy in the kitchen. She cringed as she took in her appearance. She had hit herself harder than she thought. It was a small price to pay since her little act had managed to earn her a night's stay and she didn't even have to ask. This had to be a sign that he wanted her here.

Cedric knocked on the bathroom door. "Kimiko, I brought you some clothes and a towel if you want to get cleaned up."

Kimiko opened the door and smiled. "Ouch!" she hissed. It really did hurt to smile. Cedric scowled. "Are you mad at me?" she asked, timidly making her eyes water on cue.

He sighed. "No, we'll talk after you clean up," he said closing the door.

Kimiko was settled on Cedric's couch, in his t-shirt and a pair of gym shorts icing her face between sips of tea.

"Are you going to tell me who assaulted you?" he asked in a strained voice. He may not love her, but she was still his friend. He was pissed at whoever hurt her.

Kimiko trembled as she recounted the ordeal for Cedric. "I was so scared. I thought I was going to be raped or murdered or something. They were trying to steal my purse and I fought back instead. I should have just given them the thing. One of them backhanded me before they took my bag and left."

"We need to call the police and report them."

"No, please, no police. They didn't really hurt me. I don't want my family's name dragged into a negative light because of me."

"Dammit!" He was part of a show biz family so he understood her reasons for wanting to keep this quiet. The press would have a field day with them. He felt frustrated that he couldn't do anything for his friend.

"Well, where were you at? How many of them? Give me any details of their description," he stood up heatedly.

"No, please, that's not what I want. I didn't come here for you to avenge me or anything. I- I just wanted to feel safe again. I always feel safe with you," her voice trembled and a floodgate of her tears opened. Guys were usually helpless against a crying woman. She hoped Cedric wasn't the exception.

Cedric's anger left him. He knelt in front of her and gathered her in his arms. "Hey, shush, it's okay you're safe with me. I'll keep you safe." She felt so small and fragile in his arms as her body shook with sobs. Only cowards would hit a woman.

Kimiko smiled into his chest. This was exactly what she was hoping for. Let's see how far I can take this.

"It's okay," she said trying to push away from him. "You won't always be here so I can handle this on my own."

"Don't be silly. You don't have to act strong in front of me," he replied caressing the back of her head as he pulled her closer. She accepted his comfort and melted in his arms.

Shotaro was lounged in the living area of his hotel room, finally unwinding after tonight's performance. Reporters and fans were all demanding answers from him. It was the first time in his career that he was unable to bask in the glory that was him. He hightailed it to the waiting limo before he was mobbed. Now, he was watching the replay of Yappa Kimagure Rock on his phone. He wanted to confirm what was being said on social media. She had admitted it in the article, but he still couldn't believe it. He shut it off after she removed her chicken head! That damn girl made an ass of me that night. Kyoko was trying to exact her revenge. If only he knew before, he would have had a loaded weapon to use against her. This was the best she could do back then, but he couldn't stop himself from laughing at her antics on the show.

Shoko walked into the room carrying a bag of his requested pudding. It was pointless to hide his immature taste buds from his manager. She knew too much about him as it was for him to keep up his cool guy facade. Plus, it was exhausting. Shoko looked at her phone and turned on the TV to Japan's late-night ET news just in time.

"Fans have been speculating all day who the mysterious childhood friend of Kyoko-san could be and I think they've stumbled upon the answer," the reporter announced.

"Kyoko-san's story hit shelves this morning in, surprisingly, the popular tabloid magazine Boost. This magazine is notorious for publishing false information on celebrities; however, in this case, it has been confirmed by LME, Kyoko-san's agency, that she was interviewed specifically for the piece. The article highlights many aspects of the young actress's ups and downs in the showbiz world. The main topics that have dominated on and off-line discussions have been her relationship with Tsuruga Ren that appears to have started when they were mere children, her long-time spot as Boh the chicken in Yappa Kimagure Rock, and this so-called mysterious childhood friend. "

"Tch!" Sho clucked his tongue. This was not looking good as he continued to watch the broadcast. No wonder he couldn't catch a break today.

"Tonight's topic focuses on the childhood friend who took advantage of her kindness trying to make it big in the showbiz world. Our online sources all point the finger towards our country's top idol singer, Fuwa Sho, and we have proof."

They replayed clips of his dedication to "K" during his live performance on an interview, his red carpet declaration of the inspiration of his new song, and finally, the Yappa Kimagure Rock episode featuring Fuwa-kun and Boh interacting.

"Neither agency of each party is confirming or denying these speculations. I'm sure we'll get clarification soon. The question to leave here with tonight is, was Kyoko-san really betrayed, or is this just a ploy to 'boost' her popularity?"

Shoko shut off the TV when the segment ended. "The President wants you to do an interview with Kyoko-chan. We'll be heading back in a few days. You should try to get in touch with her again before then. It's late so go to bed."

This was such a pain in the ass. It's all that stupid girl's fault! Sho thought as he trudged to his bedroom.

Kuon was half asleep when he tried to reach over and shut off his alarm. He kept pressing, but it wasn't stopping. He disentangled himself from Kyoko as he searched for the source of the offending sound.

"What is it?" Kyoko asked as she stretched.

"It's your phone, I think," He said as he picked up his phone to check.

"It is?" she exclaimed bolting upright to find her phone. She opened the bedroom door and found it where she left it the night before.

"Hello," she answered breathlessly without checking the caller ID.

"Mo! What took you so long to answer? I thought you were an early riser!"

Kuon heard Kyoko exclaim, "Mooookkkoooo-san!" He smiled when he heard her excited voice as she talked to her friend. He had just pulled the covers back over his head when his phone started ringing.

Kuon threw the covers back with a sigh and answered his phone, "Hello?!"

"Morning, son, I hope I didn't wake you!"

AN: Ahahaha I went ridiculous, sometimes I wonder where my mind takes me. I apologize for the lack of RenKyo in this chapter. I tried to salvage it by giving you a teaser of what's to come. I had to go back and tell you what else happened during the RenKyo dance party.

Thank you for continuing to read and I hope you enjoyed it. Big thanks to those that left me a review of the last chapter, I appreciate hearing from you guys.

Until next time, sayonara! ^_^