Skip Beat: Kyoko/Shou [Asunder, part 1]
I've been meaning to write a 3 part series about them. Because I'm a big fan of second chances.
Title: Asunder, part 1
Author: namistai8
Character/Pairing/Group: Kyoko/Shou, with mentions of Kyoko/Ren
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer/Notes/Whatever: Based on chapter 39-45, when Kyoko acts in Shou's PV. All told from Shou's POV
You don't want to hurt me / But see how deep the bullet lies. / Unaware that I'm tearing you asunder. / There is thunder in our hearts, baby. / So much hate for the ones we love? / Tell me, we both matter, don't we?
~Placebo
She looked like Kyoko. Except for the hair. The style and color were wrong. But it looked so much like her. Even the name was the same.
The more he looked at her, the more he was certain it was Kyoko.
But why was she an actress?
It made him smirk. He decided to use her after all. To be able to see her and gloat about her pathetic revenge. There was no way she could touch him. His star was rising, higher and faster. It made him chuckle in amusement, to show her how naive she'd been concerning him. So yes, he would extend invitation for her to act in HIS PV, so that she could see him in all his glory.
He couldn't wait to see her again.
***
He wasn't so sure it was her after all.
She shook his hand. She giggled. She even knew who Mimori was.
No, it couldn't have been his Kyoko.
Still, he couldn't shake the nagging doubt that she was. Maybe it was because she looked so much like Kyoko. Except for the hair. And when she opened her mouth.
But Mimori's comments about her being still in school, and missing a year and being part of LME clung to him. Kyoko knew that the guy he despised the most was Tsugura Ren, and if she were really after her revenge, she would align herself with the same acting agency.
But he'd been so sure that Kyoko would never be civil to him and this Kyoko was civil. She wasn't all over him like Mimori was, but she was at least polite.
It didn't explain the sense of disappointment.
***
He thought he was giving her a sporting chance. To see what her revenge plans amounted to.
He thought he knew her the best in the world, the same way she had always known him the best. But looking at the girl in front of him, it startled him to think that maybe he had never known her at all. She looked different, she carried herself differently. She wasn't beautiful, but there was something about her. The girl he knew and remembered was sweet, bubbly, plain, simple. Utterly ordinary. Utterly forgettable. That's why he had chosen her, because he had known her and had known that there was nothing to fear. No suprises with dear sweet Kyoko.
The girl in front of him was everything but plain. Everything about her seemed to radiate... energy for lack of a better word. It wasn't just the make up, although he had to admit that they had done a fantastic job. She looked almost beautiful.
He couldn't tear his eyes away. Who was this girl? This stranger?
And then she kicked him. And it hurt. Kyoko would have never hurt him. Never grabbed his shirt and grimaced at him. Where were the smiles? Where were the encouraging words? Instead, Kyoko looked like a viper ready to strike at him.
And when Kyoko looked at him with the sadistic smile and the calculating glint in her eyes, he actually felt a shiver run down his spine.
A person couldn't change that much in a few months, could they?
He didn't know why it hurt. In fact, Shou could not recognize it as hurt, bundled with shock and surprise as it was. And the flood of memories that happened in its wake. They were supposed to have been a 'perfect couple', and how he had hated that phrase but everyone had used it. Even his parents. But the girl he knew, wasn't the girl in front of him.
***
He didn't answer questions about their relationship. Especially not from Mimori.
It didn't matter. It was all in the past.
Sho looked at Kyoko and knew with a sudden finality that the girl he knew no longer existed. And it was all his fault.
***
She was crying. Honest to God crying.
And suddenly, he was eight years old again. Seeing her cry. Only one thing made her cry like that, and it must have been a particularly harsh rejection, because she was used to her mother being harsh.
And he doesn't know what to say. Doesn't know what to do. It would all be a lie, because his parents love him. What does he know about what she's suffering about? His father has always been there. His mother has never slapped him. He's never known what it's like. He knows, keenly in those moments, that he's lucky. Anything he says would just bring attention to him, and how he's lucky and how she's not lucky. And he can't explain why not. Why raise the question when you don't know the answer?
So he did nothing, but stayed with her. Because she shouldn't have been left alone. And he made himself watch. Even though it pained him, he bore witness to her suffering.
He can't close his eyes. He had to watch.
***
He told himself he wasn't expecting her, but that didn't explain the disappointment or the irritation when Mimori showed up.
And it certainly didn't explain the guilt when she caught them together. Not that he had kissed Mimori, like she was begging him to. But still.
And her words... her words drove him mad. The disdain in her tone. Making him sound so low because she thought he didn't comfort her at all. So he defended himself, "It's not that I didn't want to comfort you, but what could I have done? I knew how your mother treated you. But what could I, who both parents love me, say that wouldn't sound like boasting?" And the minute the words flew out of his mouth, he regretted it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Embarrassed because he had admitted it. And ashamed because he still had done nothing.
"I knew that," Kyoko said.
Sho looked at her.
"So naturally, I never cried in front of you again. I didn't want to make things difficult for you," she finished before turning away.
It made him feel worse. Because she had gone to cry alone because he couldn't bear it. It made him weak. He wasn't weak.
To top it off, she walked away from him.
So he followed, because he wasn't weak and she certainly didn't walk away from him. What gall did she have, especially wearing that horrible pink uniform?
***
"Are you still dating?" stopped them both in their tracks. He blinked and looked at the director and his agent. His agent, for crying out loud! She had been there when he'd dumped her. How could she even think that?
So maybe they had gotten caught up in arguing - but that's because she was so annoying. She had even almost let his real name slip out! Of course he was pissed at her. And he just had to laugh over the fact that while she looked different and she acted differently, she was still attached to childish things like "Princess Cindy". How could anyone think he was dating someone so uncool and childish as her?
It was so obvious, really. Dating? It would have made him want to laugh, if he wasn't so angry. So angry in fact, it was like a strange sense of euphoria. He was carefully explaining the situation to his agent and the director, when she answered the phone. To talk to Tsugura Ren, in front of him! In the middle of their fight!
It didn't explain the bubble of panic that rose from the anger - of being ignored so suddenly, the jealousy of Tsugura Ren's popularity, of being thought that they were dating, of seeing her smile into that damn phone.
The smile spurred him into action. He snatched the phone away, to talk to the one man that he hated the most in the entire entertainment industy, and end the call.
And suddenly, her attention was back on him. Where it should be.
Crossposted to skip_beat
Title: Asunder, part 1
Author: namistai8
Character/Pairing/Group: Kyoko/Shou, with mentions of Kyoko/Ren
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer/Notes/Whatever: Based on chapter 39-45, when Kyoko acts in Shou's PV. All told from Shou's POV
You don't want to hurt me / But see how deep the bullet lies. / Unaware that I'm tearing you asunder. / There is thunder in our hearts, baby. / So much hate for the ones we love? / Tell me, we both matter, don't we?
~Placebo
She looked like Kyoko. Except for the hair. The style and color were wrong. But it looked so much like her. Even the name was the same.
The more he looked at her, the more he was certain it was Kyoko.
But why was she an actress?
It made him smirk. He decided to use her after all. To be able to see her and gloat about her pathetic revenge. There was no way she could touch him. His star was rising, higher and faster. It made him chuckle in amusement, to show her how naive she'd been concerning him. So yes, he would extend invitation for her to act in HIS PV, so that she could see him in all his glory.
He couldn't wait to see her again.
***
He wasn't so sure it was her after all.
She shook his hand. She giggled. She even knew who Mimori was.
No, it couldn't have been his Kyoko.
Still, he couldn't shake the nagging doubt that she was. Maybe it was because she looked so much like Kyoko. Except for the hair. And when she opened her mouth.
But Mimori's comments about her being still in school, and missing a year and being part of LME clung to him. Kyoko knew that the guy he despised the most was Tsugura Ren, and if she were really after her revenge, she would align herself with the same acting agency.
But he'd been so sure that Kyoko would never be civil to him and this Kyoko was civil. She wasn't all over him like Mimori was, but she was at least polite.
It didn't explain the sense of disappointment.
***
He thought he was giving her a sporting chance. To see what her revenge plans amounted to.
He thought he knew her the best in the world, the same way she had always known him the best. But looking at the girl in front of him, it startled him to think that maybe he had never known her at all. She looked different, she carried herself differently. She wasn't beautiful, but there was something about her. The girl he knew and remembered was sweet, bubbly, plain, simple. Utterly ordinary. Utterly forgettable. That's why he had chosen her, because he had known her and had known that there was nothing to fear. No suprises with dear sweet Kyoko.
The girl in front of him was everything but plain. Everything about her seemed to radiate... energy for lack of a better word. It wasn't just the make up, although he had to admit that they had done a fantastic job. She looked almost beautiful.
He couldn't tear his eyes away. Who was this girl? This stranger?
And then she kicked him. And it hurt. Kyoko would have never hurt him. Never grabbed his shirt and grimaced at him. Where were the smiles? Where were the encouraging words? Instead, Kyoko looked like a viper ready to strike at him.
And when Kyoko looked at him with the sadistic smile and the calculating glint in her eyes, he actually felt a shiver run down his spine.
A person couldn't change that much in a few months, could they?
He didn't know why it hurt. In fact, Shou could not recognize it as hurt, bundled with shock and surprise as it was. And the flood of memories that happened in its wake. They were supposed to have been a 'perfect couple', and how he had hated that phrase but everyone had used it. Even his parents. But the girl he knew, wasn't the girl in front of him.
***
He didn't answer questions about their relationship. Especially not from Mimori.
It didn't matter. It was all in the past.
Sho looked at Kyoko and knew with a sudden finality that the girl he knew no longer existed. And it was all his fault.
***
She was crying. Honest to God crying.
And suddenly, he was eight years old again. Seeing her cry. Only one thing made her cry like that, and it must have been a particularly harsh rejection, because she was used to her mother being harsh.
And he doesn't know what to say. Doesn't know what to do. It would all be a lie, because his parents love him. What does he know about what she's suffering about? His father has always been there. His mother has never slapped him. He's never known what it's like. He knows, keenly in those moments, that he's lucky. Anything he says would just bring attention to him, and how he's lucky and how she's not lucky. And he can't explain why not. Why raise the question when you don't know the answer?
So he did nothing, but stayed with her. Because she shouldn't have been left alone. And he made himself watch. Even though it pained him, he bore witness to her suffering.
He can't close his eyes. He had to watch.
***
He told himself he wasn't expecting her, but that didn't explain the disappointment or the irritation when Mimori showed up.
And it certainly didn't explain the guilt when she caught them together. Not that he had kissed Mimori, like she was begging him to. But still.
And her words... her words drove him mad. The disdain in her tone. Making him sound so low because she thought he didn't comfort her at all. So he defended himself, "It's not that I didn't want to comfort you, but what could I have done? I knew how your mother treated you. But what could I, who both parents love me, say that wouldn't sound like boasting?" And the minute the words flew out of his mouth, he regretted it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Embarrassed because he had admitted it. And ashamed because he still had done nothing.
"I knew that," Kyoko said.
Sho looked at her.
"So naturally, I never cried in front of you again. I didn't want to make things difficult for you," she finished before turning away.
It made him feel worse. Because she had gone to cry alone because he couldn't bear it. It made him weak. He wasn't weak.
To top it off, she walked away from him.
So he followed, because he wasn't weak and she certainly didn't walk away from him. What gall did she have, especially wearing that horrible pink uniform?
***
"Are you still dating?" stopped them both in their tracks. He blinked and looked at the director and his agent. His agent, for crying out loud! She had been there when he'd dumped her. How could she even think that?
So maybe they had gotten caught up in arguing - but that's because she was so annoying. She had even almost let his real name slip out! Of course he was pissed at her. And he just had to laugh over the fact that while she looked different and she acted differently, she was still attached to childish things like "Princess Cindy". How could anyone think he was dating someone so uncool and childish as her?
It was so obvious, really. Dating? It would have made him want to laugh, if he wasn't so angry. So angry in fact, it was like a strange sense of euphoria. He was carefully explaining the situation to his agent and the director, when she answered the phone. To talk to Tsugura Ren, in front of him! In the middle of their fight!
It didn't explain the bubble of panic that rose from the anger - of being ignored so suddenly, the jealousy of Tsugura Ren's popularity, of being thought that they were dating, of seeing her smile into that damn phone.
The smile spurred him into action. He snatched the phone away, to talk to the one man that he hated the most in the entire entertainment industy, and end the call.
And suddenly, her attention was back on him. Where it should be.
Crossposted to skip_beat