Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat!

They didn't hit his car, much to Kyoko's overwhelming relief.

A jolt of fear went down her spine. "Aw, no," Kyoko whispered, voice whimpered a bit, wondering how she must have looked at that moment, with Shotaro basically on top of her head, and with her sitting in Kobayashi Kenji's lap, of all people and wearing a lacy little dress and a pair of heels and wild, tousled hair, of all things. She was basically sexy sandwich filling, Shotaro and Kobayashi-san being the bread.

"Aw, no, no, why did it have to be Tsuruga-san?" Kyoko trembled.

"You have shitty luck, that's why," Sho snorted into her hair.

"He's getting out of his car. Oh god, why is he doing that?" Kyoko watched, wide-eyed, stiff, and uncomfortable from bowing her upper body to accomodate Shotaro's arms over her shoulders.

Tsuruga-san's long, muscled frame appeared, as did the shorter frame of his manager. Tsuruga-san strided over to Yashiro-san's side and they exchanged words.

"I bet he's asking if Yashiro-san is alright," Kyoko said softly. She tried lip-reading, but she became terribly distracted by some of Tsuruga-san's usually neat hair falling over his eyes. His strong brow was hard over slate gray eyes and his mouth was in a thin line. Finally, he looked at them.

Tsuruga-san's eyes squinted, then widened as he recognized her bright orange head through the window-less windshield, the shade of her hair matching the obnoxious shade of the car. Then he began to approach.

"Oh no, oh no, oh my – Shotaro, get off,"

"Mmmf...fmm?"

"Oh my – my sincerest apologies, Kobayashi-san, I'm getting off – Shotaro! Oh, he's getting closer!"

Sho rested his chin on top of her head, his steady gaze on the man striding towards them in long, quick strides, his four-eyed manager on his heels.

"Mmmf! MMMF!"

"Seriously, get off! Kobayashi-san is having difficulty breathing and my neck hurts!" Kyoko tried straightening up by aiming her elbow at Shotaro's chin.

"Alright, alright," Sho replied coolly.

The other man had stopped in his tracks, right in front of their car. Slowly, Sho slipped his arms off of Kyoko, brushing his hands against her lace-covered arms as he returned to the back seat.

"Thank you," Kyoko grumbled and shifted off of Kobayashi-san's lap and to the passenger seat.

"Mmm..."

"OI!" Kyoko squawked at the hand that had passed over her rear. She glared heatedly at Kobayashi-san's sleepy smile. "You – you damn pig!"

"Let's rock and roll, baby!" He roared and gave Kyoko a squeeze to the rump before he slammed his foot on the pedal. "Rock and ROLL!"

"KOBAYASHI-SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!"

Tsuruga-san's eyes widened, quite literally like a deer caught in non-figurative headlights and jumped out of the way.

"Sayonara, Tsuruga Ren!" Kobayashi-san cackled as he sped past. With eyes gleaming wildly, he charged towards the silver sports car.

Yashiro-san screamed and flailed before he too jumped to the side of the road as Kobayashi-san flew over Tsuruga-san's car.

Kyoko's heart had dropped sharply and her stomach lurched and she choked on her breath and a scream. She clung desperately to the car door, eyes wide and body rigid.

Shotarou roared his approval and laughed maniacally in the back seat.

Their modified orange vehicle slammed back down, jerking its passengers out of their seats. They all bounced up and down in their seats.

"Woo!" Kobayashi-san wooped as he accelerated the car, giving Kyoko whiplash as her body jerked back in her seat. "Viva la BOOTY!"

"Viva la BOOTY!" The singer agreed, laughing merrily as he bounced in the backseat.

"What does that even mean?" Kyoko wailed, shaking from head to toe.

Sho looked over his shoulder and his jaw dropped. "Holy cocksucking shit," He exclaimed. "Tsuruga Ren is tailing us!"

"What does it all mean?"

"Why the hell is he chasing us?" Sho glared at the silver car and then looked accusingly at his childhood friend. "Hey, stop freaking out," He flicked her forehead.

"Your girlfriend is chasing us," He turned Kyoko's head towards the back and sure enough, Tsuruga-san was speeding after them, almost rivaling Kobayashi-san's driving skills.

Yashiro-san was freaking out as well, Kyoko observed. His arms were flapping and his glasses were flashing as they reflected the passing streetlights.

Sho paused with a thoughtful look on his face. He reached down and grabbed Kyoko's ankles and swung them into his lap.

"Shotarou!"

He plucked her heel off and hurled it out the windowless back window...right at Tsuruga-san's windshield. He missed.

Kyoko gaped at Sho before calmly removing her other heel and not so calmly lunged at Sho like a snake. Aim for the eyes, ladies. "YOU'RE SO STUPID! YOU ARE A TERRIBLE EXCUSE OF INTELLIGENT LIFE FORM! What the hell are you doing?!"

"Oh," Kobayashi-san took his eyes off the road and back to Kyoko's wiggling butt. He smiled upon it gently and petted her. "For me, this is enough to make me a happy booty warrior,"

"VIVA LA BOOTY!" A feminine voice yelled.

"Yo, Ryo!" Sho waved to the woman, who was now driving in an empty, equally obnoxious-colored racecar.

"Don't touch me!" Kyoko shoved her other foot at Kobayashi-san's head while maintaining her eye-stabbing stance with Sho.

"Are you going where I hope you're going?" Ryo asked as she pulled alongside their car.

"Yup," Sho smirked and leaned back comfortably in his seat, having seized Kyoko's shoe and chucking it out the window again.

"Tsuruga-san!" Kyoko cried. This time, the heel made contact with his windshield and cracked it.

And this time, Kyoko didn't miss either. Nails work well in eye-poking procedures.

llllllllllll

"Re-en!" Yashiro helplessly glued himself to the car door. "Ren, what the hell are you doing right now! You're speeding! Tailing another vehicle! You...you are chasing Kyoko-chan," The manager blinked. "This...this wouldn't happen to be you 'being a man', would it?"

"Hm?" Ren's face was alarmingly calm compared to his tense body language. "I suppose it is,"

The bespectacled man slumped in his seat, staring at the orange vehicle in front of them. The windshield was cracked, but not broken, thanks to Fuwa Sho. Yashiro cursed the day the boy was born. The stars must have aligned over some demonic ritual to summon evil in human form and that was how Fuwa Sho was brought into the world.

"They're likely going there," The actor mused quietly to himself.

"There? With Kyoko-chan?" Yashiro's voice grew faint at the idea of Kyoko in that place with Ren and Sho.

Yashiro slumped further. "I give up."

llllllllllllllllllllllllllll

"We're here," Sho announced. He was only a little wobbly as he sauntered out of the backseat, hair tousled.

Kyoko breathed deeply, trying not to throw up. She was glad she hadn't eaten in a while. Ugh.

Kobayashi-san was also amazingly graceful and adjusted his sunglasses as he walked forwards. "Oh, this place,"

It was a pirate ship. Tattered, grimy gray sails and a creaking wooden body that wheezed like a dying old man. The water was bright in the darkness and the waves made a calm sound as they lapped the shore and the ship. It looked...

"Haunted," The orange-head whispered.

"It's not," Sho place a hand on her shoulder and pushed her forwards.

"Haunted," she insisted.

"Maybe," Kobayashi-san shrugged.

"Don't worry," Ryo smiled at Kyoko. "It's been around for a while -" Yes, Kyoko could see that - "but there haven't been any problems. It's popular amongst celebrities. They fund the place to keep it looking creepy and in such an obscure spot,"

"I said it once, I'll say it again. Rich people are strange," Kyoko sighed.

"Get with it, Kyoko. You're going to be a celebrity, aren't you? And you're plenty strange as is," The blonde musician grinned and they stepped inside.

llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

"Ugh," Kanae rolled onto her stomach. She was feeling hot and hungover. Her back was pressed up against a warm and hard chest, a nose buried in her neck. She did not want to open her eyes.

A hand snaked over her waist and tugged her so her butt were pressed into his hips. She glanced down. Black nail polish and rings on his fingers...damn it.

He ground his crotch into her and that was when Kanae decided she was done.

"None of that," she hissed as she rolled out of his arms and off of the bed. Her balance was off, so she ended up on her behind. The room was dark, since the curtains were heavy and black, but she could easily see the leader of Vie Ghoul peering down at her with one eye blearily open. His hair was messed and unstyled for once. Cute.

"Get back in bed," He demanded.

Kanae ignored him, looking around for her clothes. She spotted his boxers by the foot of the bed, but it was difficult to see much else with how dim the lighting was.

"Kanae," Reino's voice sounded grumpy and gravelly from sleep. He raised his arms at her like a petulant child wanting to be picked up. "Come here,"

Aha! Her dress. She could make do without her underwear, she supposed.

"Kanae," Now he was whining and wiggling his fingers. Ugh. "No. No. Don't get dressed,"

"I'm leaving," She announed curtly, pulling her fingers through her hair to neaten it.

Reino's eyes widened and he sat up quickly. His chest and arms were covered in tattoos. Kanae looked away when he yanked the sheets away from his hips. Yeah, she had enough of that even if her memory was hazy.

She made it to the door, ready to step into her heels and out of this place, when he hugged her from behind.

"Why are you being so cuddly?" She asked angrily. "I don't like you,"

Reino pressed his nose into her neck. "Come back to bed," he murmured. He tightened his grip around her waist when she struggled.

"No. This happened once and it won't happen again," she declared, moving her face away when he brushed his lips against her cheek.

Kanae screamed when he swiftly picked her up with his scrawny arms (she underestimated the strength in them) and dropped her back into the bed. He got on top of her, his chin between her breasts as he glared up at her. "I want it to happen again. And again. And again,"

She ripped out his earrings when he nuzzled her breasts and hugged her torso tightly. He didn't even wince. "Kanae, please. Let's cuddle,"

"You're so weird," Kanae huffed, glaring down at his head.

"Why do you keep fighting me?" His eyes were levelled to hers, his face straight and his mouth tense, all signs of playfullness gone.

Kanae frowned at the whiplash of his mood swings. "You're weird. You sexually harass me. I don't even know you," She listed off, watching his face becoming blanker with each word.

"If...I were to-" He looked away and shoved his fingers into his hair. Reino sighed and looked back at her. She stared back, with her standard annoyed face combined with a raised brow.

"What?"

He let out a humorless chuckle and gave her a forced smirk. "You're right," He pressed his mouth against her collarbone. "But you don't need to like me or know me to fuck me,"

Kanae bit down on her lip, eyes narrowed. She'd been intimate with ex-boyfriends before. She hadn't paid mind to men since she finally got her career going, more or less. They were distracting and needy and just caused her unnecessary stress. No one was going to get in her way of succeeding as an actress.

She pursed her lips and stared at the beauty mark under his eye."What are you suggesting?" She finally asked, looking warily at him.

Reino sat up and scratched his cheek. He stared back at her coolly. "Sex friends,"

She sucked in her cheek, eyes trailing down his chest and abdomen and to the sheets clinging to his hips. He was attractive, she had to admit, and it had been a while and she didn't really remember much of what he was like last night...but he was so weird and annoying. Kanae clicked her tongue. As long as it was a no-strings attached affair, she didn't mind that much. "Just don't be a bother. Don't call me or act like an attention-starved puppy,"

"Likewise," Reino replied, voice flat and bored as he glanced at his phone, taking in the time and checking for missed calls and texts. His real manager had texted him his schedule for the day. Reino tossed the phone at Kanae with the text messenger open, yawned, and headed for a shower.

She grumbled and took in his schedule. The president really did expect her to be his temporary manager. Kanae stretched her arms, hearing some satisfying cracks as she looked at herself in Reino's full-length mirror. The narcissist had a mirror all across the wall opposite his bed, as well as a vanity and a full-length one. She imagined the mirror-wall across the bed was for...kinky purposes. Gee, now she was a bit curious...Kanae touched the love bites (because of course he was a biter) on her neck and chest. She found some on her hips and thighs as well. Now she was really curious. Damn. He was acting pissy now, though. Why did he look so serious before he asked her to be sex friends? Asking her so abruptly like that. Hmph!

Kanae pulled opened the curtains and shrieked at the sight of shrunken heads decorating the window sill and what looked a lot like blood stains in his carpet.

Somehow, she felt like she'd made a big mistake. Kanae rubbed her temples and sighed. The actress had never been much of a drinker. She looked at the mussed sheets and her clothes scattered on the floor, leading a trail from the door to the bed. What the hell happened last night?

-the night before-

"So romantic," Kanae scoffed. "A haunted pirate ship,"

"Did you want romance?" Reino smiled at her (ew) and hooked her arm through his. "We came here for fun. It's part of my schedule,"

Unbelievablyenough, Reino's manager (vacationing on some island with his wife) had included "fun" in his schedule.

"He doesn't want me to be stressed," Reino had explained. Why did his manager have to be so nice?

She looked skeptical until they climbed aboard. Inside, strobe lights flashed, bartenders worked busily, and there were even bar maids dressed up as pirates, ruffled cream shirts and parrots and eyepatches and all. Club music played loudly and Kanae gaped at the number of people on the dance floor. There were couples cuddled in private booths and groups of people laughing and drinking.

"It's so..." she blinked at the scene and then at Reino. "...not you,"

"I go clubbing," he insisted with a frown.

"You seem like the type to write poetry in graveyards at midnight," she muttered, her voice lost in the sound.

"Let's drink," he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the bar.

Reino ordered a pink drink with an umbrella for himself. She laughed at him and ordered the same thing. She really wasn't into hard drinks.

"I am underage, Shotar – ow! Don't pinch me. That's your name. Accept it! Shota – ugh!" That voice. Kanae narrowed her eyes. That voice sounded an awful lot like -

"As long as you know the right people, your age doesn't matter," A loud male voice said.

"Oof! I'm so sorry," a bright orange head bowed to Kanae. The brunette shifted her feet after the girl had stepped on them. She stared intently at her.

"Kyoko?" Kanae said.

"Moko-san?" Kyoko's face turned up at her best friend's voice. "Moko-san, it's you!"

Kanae wrinkled her nose at her. "What are you doing here? Go home,"

The younger girl looked hurt as she took the seat next to Kanae. The other seat was occupied by the Visual Kei artist, but Kyoko only had sad, watery eyes for Kanae.

"I-I know I'm underaged, but don't be so cold to me," she whined.

"Kyoko," Fuwa Sho flipped his blonde hair back as he approached the girls. His eyes briefly flickered to Kanae and he gave her a nod in greeting before turning to Kyoko. "Kobayashi is usually more coherent once he has a drink or three in him. Don't know how that works, so don't ask. You can ask him about the movie then,"

He nodded towards the sunglasses-wearing director doing shots.

"I'm talking to Moko-san right now," Kyoko said, no room for argument implied from her tone. She waved him away.

Sho looked like he wanted to drag her away from Kanae but made a diry face at the older woman and ordered a drink.

Kyoko swung her feet happily. "It feels like I haven't seen you much late-" she stopped talking, eyes glued to the dark figure next to her bestie. "Beagle," she gasped.

He smiled at her (ew) but otherwise seemed more interested in keeping Kanae's drink full.

"LoveMe duties, remember?" Kanae said dryly, swirling her glass.

"Oh right," Kyoko smiled absently. Suddenly, she paled. She clung to Kanae's arm and stared deep into her blue eyes. "Moko-san, I need help. Advice, I mean,"

Kanae contemplated shaking her off, but decided it was too much work. The alcohol was getting to her. She regarded the younger girl with her mouth in a thin line. "What did you do now?"

"I almost killed Tsuruga-san," she mumbled, slumping onto the bar counter, amber eyes downcast.

"Wha –" She looked gravely at Kyoko. "There's a story behind this, yes?"

"Moko-san!" Kyoko wailed. "That's not the worst of it! We-We skipped work to play in the arcade! The director and the entire cast chewed us out, but mostly me because I'm the newbie and I cried because I was disappointed in myself," she sniffed. "A-And we've kissed, like a bunch of times and maybe even more but I drank too much to remember what we did. Ah – I drank! I'm underage and I drank hard liquor! But more importantly, it feels like when things like that happen, it's like somebody else is controlling my body or something,"

"You don't say," Kanae muttered, feeling slightly guilty. She was an accessory to Kyoko's current predicament, though it was mainly the stupid creep's fault that Kyoko was having some kind of sexual awakening.

She fixed a reassuring look on her face. "Kyoko, it's not unusual to be intimate with someone you like. It's normal,"

"Excuse me?" Kyoko leaned back as far as she could from Kanae, looking betrayed. "Who do you think I am, Moko-san? Intimacy? Before marriage? And who says I like him? Not me!"

Kanae rolled her eyes. "You would do things like that with someone you didn't like?"

"I don't want to love anyone," Kyoko said stubbornly.

"Mo, I thought you forgave Fuwa and moved on?" Kanae scoffed and tipped back her drink. "He hurt you, yes, but not every person you like will,"

"That's easy to say," she replied sourly.

"Nothing good is easy in this life," Kanae remarked sagely. "Tsuruga Ren is a step up from that obnoxious guy, if barely. And he likes you a lot, even though you're a lunatic,"

"Moko-san,"

"I know you're a very conservative person and you feel uncomfortable with your actions. I guess it'll take some time getting used to doing sexual things, huh,"

Kyoko clamped a hand over Kanae's mouth, blushing deeply. "Mo, Moko-san, you're so bold! That sounds like something American-like Tsuruga-san would say.

"That's all I have t' say," she slurred. "Take it or leave it. Accept that new side of you or don't. Your choice,"

Kyoko frowned at a peanut dish and looked up when there was murmuring from the crowd.

"Speak o' the devil," Kanae leaned on Reino's shoulder, eyes half-lidded.

Kyoko gulped at his tall frame sweeping over the crowd, dark hair messy and shirt unbuttoned at the top. "I'm not ready," she cried.

Sho and Ryoko were talking when Kyoko grabbed Sho's elbow. "Let's go,"

"We just got here," he said and returned to his conversation.

"Sho-ta-r-"

"Fine. Buzzkill," He let himself be led by her.

"Is there anywhere we can hide?"

"What the hell are you hiding for?" he cocked a brow and glanced back. His eyes widened at the sight of Tsuruga Ren calmly ordering a drink. Then he smirked. "I see,"

"See what?" she snapped. "Move your ass,"

"Hm, maybe I should just let him sue you. Driving a car so recklessly and without a license," Sho shook his head disdainfully at her.

I'm not really worried about that.

Relax, babe.

Kyoko shuddered at the sound of that sultry voice. It was...

Sex Kitten! That's right, baby! I'm back.

Oh God.

Oh yeah. Don't worry, she drawled, tossing her hair back. If that shitty punkass Emperor of the Night shows up, her eyes blazed. I'll destroy him.

Kitty, I'm not trying to...destroy him. I just want to figure out what our relationship is now that you're in the equation, mucking things up!

She huffed. Well! Is this the thanks I get for trying to advance your relationship? Give you a sex life?

I don't want a sex life! Mo! I'm waiting for that once I'm married, if I ever want a man in my life. Bunch of hedonists, all of you. Even Moko-san.

She's definitely getting some from that Golden Retriever guy.

Beagle, Kyoko corrected peevishly.

Whatever. Look, just go with the flow. Accept that the relationship is changing.

Because of you, not me. I haven't even decided if I really like Tsuruga-san like that. I'm attracted to him because well, he's Tsuruga Ren.

Sex Kitten nodded in agreement.

But we've done things to change our previous senpai-kohai relationship. You, specifically, were doing all of that stuff.

Kyoko, I am you. A part of you. You're so in denial about anything romance-related you can't even tell that you like the punk. You could be having lots and lots of sex, you know.

Is that what Tsuruga-san wants?

She shrugged, hair slipping over her bare shoulders. Lots and lots of sex? Probably. With you? That, I do not know. I'm not in his head. I'm in yours. Ask him yourself.

Kyoko sighed. Moko-san said to accept you and my...se-sex-sexuality.

I know. I was there.

Kyoko sighed again.

Look, if you're looking for a second opinion, you're wasting your time. We're telling you the same thing. Stop stalling and talk to him, clear things up. You're not a coward.

"Up here," Sho gestured at a spiraling staircase going up.

Kyoko gulped, wringing her skirt. "Actually, never mind. I need to talk to Tsuruga-san,"

Sho scowled. "Tch. Just make sure you see Kobayashi tonight," A pretty idol smiled at the handsome blonde from the top of the staircase. He grinned at her. "I'm going to have some fun,"

She frowned at him (hedonists! Each and every one of them!) and turned back towards the bar.

Steeling her resolve with a deep breath, Kyoko started walking towards Tsuruga Ren.

What she didn't know was that Reino had slipped a little something-something into a certain actor whose name rhymes with Shmuruga Shmen...

A/N: Been a while! I'm hoping to wrap this baby up in a few more chapters. I'm on break finally, so I've got free time now yaaaay.

I've also got a tumblr! How exciting! link on my profile, check it.