Disclaimer: I love Skip Beat!, but that doesn't mean I own it. Pure fan love here.
Story: Various one-shots where Kyoko finds love in unexpected places and unexpected people.
Set all over the place.
Spoilers: Yeeeessss. Yes, yes, yes. Beware?
Warnings: Hm, I need to think about this time.
Pairings: Various/Kyoko

Chapter Plot: Matsushima was all about work and he realized that. But when makes a move to change that, he sees things a lot differently and maybe that's not so good after all.

The Love Me Confessionals
Matsushima

Matsushima Keisuke admitted that working at LME could get…a little strange. It was hard for it not to since the President of the agency was such an odd man and was over exuberant with everything, especially if it had something to do with love.

But while he had no problems with love, he just didn't have the time for it.

He worked a lot. His time was spent at his desk at LME and fielding as much work as he could for the actors and actresses under his supervision. He simply had too much to do and too much work to focus on, to ever really try to socialize outside of work (much less in a romantic sense).

Though, truthfully, it wasn't like he really tried hard at that…

"Eh, Keisuke," Nakazawa Daisuke, his best friend and Head of the Singing Division, should've been working too, but was instead hanging around Keisuke's desk and fiddling with his music player. "That blasted Fuwa Sho is dominating the charts still. Isn't Kyoko-chan a super fan of his? Maybe she'd know something that we can use to target a weakness of his or something."

Keisuke frowned. "I don't know. Maybe she is and maybe she does. You should ask Takenori about it."

"Ah, I forgot she's not one of yours."

Keisuke's frown deepened. Lately, that had become more and more of a sore point for him, especially with how much traction Kyoko was getting in her acting career and how much attention she was now getting.

He remembered giving her high points and being impressed with her audition and doing something so strange and extraordinary as katsuramuki, and then her ability to produce such a murderous aura. He'd been rather disappointed she hadn't passed onto the fourth round, but he (like the others) had been pleased with the President's decision to create the Love Me section and for her to accept being in it. It had also given him an opportunity to have Kotonami Kanae be placed into it, though to his gratefulness and amusement he'd been glad that Kyoko had managed to somehow forcefully have Kanae also agree to accept and be in the Love Me section.

Still, as he'd been Kanae's patron, Takenori had been Kyoko's. He'd been the one who'd met her first and to push her application through to the next round for actual auditions. Though, since the Love Me section was more or less in the Talent division, Takenori had been put in charge of the section. Keisuke had then been put more or less in charge of Kanae's acting offers and her de facto manager, while Takenori had become Kyoko's de facto manager.

Honestly, it kind of galled him. He was the Head of the Acting Division after all. Kyoko wasn't really a Talent, not anymore, and was a real actress with tremendous talent, and he thought that he should be in charge of her, like he was with all the other actors and actresses for LME, like Kyoko's sempai Ren.

Instead, he wasn't and he wasn't sure if she ever was going to be, even though she was more or less acting out roles all the time now and garnering fame and praise for them. She wasn't debuting in a lead role yet, but all the supporting roles she'd played had practically outshined the leads, and she was getting noticed for her acting ability and getting more and more commercial offers that were beginning to diversify and not just center around villainous roles. Which reminded him…

"Kyoko-chan is currently auditioning for the role of Momiji on that historical drama I told you about," he told Daisuke. "I hope she does well."

Daisuke blinked in surprise. "Is she? I hope she does well too. It would be great if she got another role that she impresses everyone with."

Keisuke nodded, smiling a bit. "She has been doing rather well, hasn't she?"

His friend laughed and patted his shoulder good-naturedly. "That's an understatement, Keisuke. Well, I've got to go back. Hopefully
I'll see you later!"

"Bye!"

Then Keisuke was alone again and thinking about Kyoko's audition. He really did hope it went well, though he was worried about it. Kuresaki Yuki was the producer of the historical drama, and the man was notorious for a reason. The most difficult person in the industry alright…

He just hoped Kyoko would be able to survive the experience with him, even if she didn't get the role.

Keisuke sighed and shook his head. It was no use dwelling on it now. He should just get back to work. Maybe he'll find out later on, if Kyoko was successful or not.

He hadn't even noticed it, but by the time he finally realized that it was dark, he'd skipped lunch and it was getting really late. Being that he was practically finished with work for the day and much of tomorrow's paperwork, he decided that he'd probably either head home now or head to LME's cafeteria for something quick to eat.

"Ah, Matsushima-san!"

He blinked. Oh, that voice…Turning around from where he was heading to exit his division, he saw Kyoko walking quickly towards him. When she reached him, she bowed formally (but when was she not formal?).

"Thank you so much for helping me, Matsushima-san."

He had no idea what she was talking about. "For what, Kyoko-chan?"

She straightened up and smiled at him. "For helping me with my application and trying to warn me about Kuresaki-san."

Oh.

"Oh," he echoed aloud, swallowing heavily. He forced a smile on his face. "Did…did it go well?"

If, by her bringing up Kuresaki and the man's adamancy on using just actors and actresses, did that mean that it had somehow been brought up and she came to know about it? That…that didn't bode well. Maybe he'd just made it worse for her, trying to keep her division secret. But putting either the Love Me section or the Talent division would've guaranteed her a no-consideration when it came to Kuresaki!

She rubbed the back of her head. "Ah, well, they did find out I was just a Talent."

Damn it. He hid his wince, but he felt it was a shame and that they were missing out on hiring Kyoko –

"But in the end, I think that made my audition more interesting to Kuresaki-san! Somehow or other, I got the part of Momiji," she excitedly revealed to him.

He stared at her before a huge grin covered his face. "That's fantastic, Kyoko-chan! Kuresaki-san must've been really impressed with you and your audition if he ignored his usual demands."

"I hope so," she smiled widely back. "Anyway, for your help, I wanted to show how grateful I am and was wondering if there was anything I could do for you?"

Keisuke normally would've brushed it off, just glad one of his actresses (technically she was…) had gotten a part and be proud of her. But remembering his thoughts earlier that day, he hesitated.

"Um, would-would you come have dinner with me?"

Though still smiling, Kyoko looked at him in confusion. However, "Um, okay?"

Well at least she'd agreed.

He'd picked a restaurant that he liked to go to that was near the LME building, which was actually pretty cozy and quiet and the two of them managed to get a quaint booth in a corner where they wouldn't be bothered or could easily be seen. It was good for privacy, he decided, especially since Kyoko was getting so popular and might actually get recognized now. He didn't want her or their evening to end up being harassed.

He cleared his throat nervously. "Thank you for coming with me, Kyoko-chan. To be honest, this was kind of random, asking you out and all, but I realized this morning that I don't socialize so much outside of work or date much. So thank you again for agreeing to this."

A look of realization came across her face and she nodded, smiling more relaxed at him and not looking so confused and nervous any more.

"It's fine, Matsushima-san. Whatever I can do to help, I will!"

He chuckled. Kyoko could be so cute.

"We could celebrate you getting the part too," he said proudly. "Especially regarding Kuresaki-san! That's really amazing, Kyoko-chan. Tell me all about how it went!"

And he found himself listening intently to her, smiling at her exuberance and how her audition had gone. Of course she'd go up against Kuresaki the way she had and blow the competition out of the water. It amazed him that Yashiro had purposely didn't warn her about Kuresaki nor had he prompted her to dye her hair for the part, solely because he knew it would get her kicked out of the audition process and that she would stubbornly fight her way back into the audition and stand out even more. It suited them and would probably only work for them because they were the type to pull that off, and had the guts to actually try it.

Still, uncomfortably, he realized and felt his heart quickening at places, especially as he continued to watch her happy face, the sparkle in her eyes, and the sweet smile she wore. He glanced at his drink, but he'd ordered just a water, since Kyoko wasn't old enough to drink wine and he didn't want to drink in front of her. So that meant his reactions had nothing to do with it, and also that he couldn't use his drink to distract himself.

He ignored his strange feelings and continued to focus on her. Or at least he'd tried. The more and more he talked with her, the more he enjoyed being around her and watching her act so lively. Dinner with her had gone by so fast because he'd liked listening and talking with her and he'd had such a good time.

When he'd had to escort her back to the LME building and she met back with her temporary manager to be brought home, he was disappointed at having to part with her.

A feeling of dread entered him and he tried his best to ignore his newfound thoughts and feelings, pushing them deep into the recesses of his mind.

To his surprise, he found himself inviting and going out with Kyoko several more times. And each time, he felt his heart pounding at her smiles, swelling with emotion as he watched, and squeeze painfully at the thought of her being with someone else.

No amount of ignoring could make him not realize that he was falling for Kyoko and fast. It was ridiculous! Was he so desperate for company, female company, that he'd fall for just anyone? That had to be it. Kyoko was just 17 after all and he was already in his thirties.

But he'd always thought she was pretty and cute and sweet and entertaining –

Keisuke closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Really, what was he doing? He was just…

"Matsushima-san, um, I brought you a bento box," Kyoko's voice broke through his thoughts and he opened his eyes to see her standing hesitantly in front of him. She gave him a small smile as she held out the bento. "I might be running late tonight, so I might not make it in time for our dinner date. I made you a bento to eat, to make sure you ate dinner! Also, if you're still here, even if I'm late, maybe I might catch you and we could still end up eating together, even if it's both bento boxes?"

He gave her a gentle smile, accepting the bento box. "That would really make me happy, Kyoko-chan. And you know, you can call me Keisuke outside of work. I don't mind."

He watched as her cheeks reddened a little and she became hesitant, but the look she gave him made his breath catch in his throat.

"Okay, Keisuke-san! Hopefully I'll see you later!"

Though she was long gone, Keisuke exhaled loudly and said, "Yeah, hopefully."

Not that he had any when it came to her. Why would she even look his way anyway?

Thoughts like that plagued him the entire day. And when it became dark and night, he decided to pull out his bento box and start on dinner, though he wished that Kyoko was there. He opened up the bento and laughed lightly as he saw the cute designs Kyoko had made for him.

He blinked back tears and placed his head in his hand, covering his eyes.

"Keisuke-san! Sorry I'm so late!"

He wiped his eyes and looked up, smiling shakily. He wouldn't take Kyoko for granted. Even if it was like this, it was fine. He was fine.

Because he could just love her silently, like he was afraid to lose her in his life. It was better than not having her in it at all.

Started 2/8/17 – Completed 2/9/17

A/n: I'm oddly fond of this guy. Ehhhhh…Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed it! Please remember to review! I really appreciate them and they motivate me to keep going!

1. These one-shots: Anyone is welcome to use these ideas and expand on them, or even continue from what I have.

2. Pandora Box: My rare pair forum that has challenges. Please subscribe!

3. The Regions Legends: If you're a pokémon can, this is my collab account and the link is on my profile. I'd really appreciate it if you check it out since it hasn't garnered too much attention.

4. (Pretty Please?) Request: So I'd gotten back into this fandom because one day I felt like rewatching the anime and seeing certain arcs again, and then I thought about the manga and went to its wikia and ran across the wiki profiles of Kuresaki and Koga, which interested me enough to go and read the newest arc of Skip Beat! (and henceforth skipped all the chapters since I last read the manga), and then end up rewatching the anime for real and then read the manga from where I left off on the anime. I loved the new arc so much I really got back into Skip Beat!, but I was disappointed to come back and find practically no variation of stories with Kyoko other than pairing her with Ren! It's frustrating and part of the reason why I lacked any interest in this fandom before, so I would like to request a story, even if it's a one-shot, pairing her with either Kuresaki, Koga, Director Shingai, Yashiro, Matushima (the Head of LME's acting department), Nakazawa (the Head of LME's singing department), Kuu, or even anyone not mentioned that is practically NEVER paired with Kyoko. In fact, I'll call this the Rare Kyoko Love Fest Challenge!

Please answer this challenge and do your best to write it!