Apologies for the long hiatus. I was in a pinch since my laptop crashed on me and all my files, videos and documents were in it. I'm saving up for a new one now, I'll be updating with ch. 13 until i get a new one. For now this pre-saved chapter 12 is dedicated to everyone! The constant buzzing of my phone whenever a notification for a review or a follow came up urged this. Thank you guys! - July 10, 2014

-xx-

SKIP BEAT FANFICTION

PRISONER

Chapter 12: Pursuit

Kyoko pursed her lips, an unconscious habit to keep the anxiousness and frustration from showing on her face while she stared at the line of people in front of her. She picked up the glass of pineapple juice on the table and took a sip from the straw then glanced to her right where Tsuruga Ren was sitting, gently smiling at the current fan he was attending to and signing a huge poster of himself from his last movie. She glanced from the male fan, yes male, with his unblinking, wide brown eyes on the famous actor. She turned her gaze ten feet away from the fan, down the stage she, Ren and Fuwa were stationed, and watched wile the bouncers tended to Tsuruga Ren's fans' line. There was a sea of people, it was insane.

It made her more anxious. She wasn't that way on the jet ride to Sapporo for the event. On the ride, Kyoko felt warm, drunk in the presence of Tsuruga Ren, he was seated across from her in the private jet so they were facing each other.

Through the flight they talked about random things, from school, to their own schedules and how to act at fan meetings. The senior actor was open to any questions and answered patiently. Kyoko was oblivious to anything else, the presence of her mentor in front of her, with the weight of the 'Princess Rosa' pendant on her neck elated her.

Upon landing on Sapporo they were met with banners and sign boards and were led to separate vans, Tsuruga Ren was ushered by his bodyguards first, confident that Kyoko was in the safe hands of their shared manager. "You'll be seeing each other at the mall, he has to attend to some quick business first. You need to go the hotel and prepare for hair and make up." Yashiro said with a smile.

"If it's for business then he needs you more." Kyoko frowned, it might be an interview or a meeting with an endorser.

"He has my assistant with him, I'll catch up to themm after I talk to your stylist, the LME headquarters here were already briefed with your stat so I only need to talk to them about a couple of things." Yashiro said gently, reassuring her that she didn't need to fret but Kyoko didn't like the idea that she's stealing Tsurugan Ren's manpower, which was Yashiro's assistance at the moment, he's the bread and butter of LME and she didn't like the idea that she's inconveniencing him when she barely makes 10% of what he makes. The thought was a precursor to the unease that would plague her for the rest of the trip.

It began on her way out of the airport, she nearly forgot that Shou Fuwa was on the jet ride with them since he was in a different room, if it hadn't been for the posters the fans were waving on her face upon their arrival. Her pace faltered noticing how papers and cardboards with their blonde and black haired male leads invaded her view.

Chills went up her spine before she even noticed the blonde devil, his legs looking longer in black leather pants and a simple black button shirt, he walked by gracefully beside her, glancing at her with a pompous sneer before putting on his sunglasses and passing her by completely, his bodyguards and female manager, paving way through the crowd while he exited through the special entrance and out of her sight. She inhaled deeply, her face masked in calmness, reminding herself that she's a top-tier actress and won't be beaten.

Sapporo was bright with snow but a feeling of warmth could be felt since it was still the month of hearts. Red and pink decors still adorned the streets even though it was the last week of February. She reached her hotel where her crew was ready for her. She changed into what they deemed fitting for her and which she approved then she headed to the convention.

Upon arrival they were interviewed and had a number of fans ask them some questions on stage. Most of the questions were about their romantic links but then they were already briefed about how to answer everything. After the question and answer they had Fuwa Shou perform two songs before they proceeded to the meet and greet portion.

Which leads to the current situation of her ogling Tsuruga Ren's fans.

She felt pride in knowing that his line nearly filled the first floor of the mall. It was a straight and thick line, his supporters were well-behaved though noisy. Although proud at the love Tsuruga Ren was receiving she couldn't help the uneasiness at the pit of her stomach. She wasn't stupid, she wasn't completely unknown but she wasn't completely famous as well, she's in the middle of the pyramid so-to-speak, there are hundreds of famous actresses like her out there. Tsuruga Ren had years to plant and nurture the seed in the entertainment industry resulting him to being the highest paid commercial model in the industry.

Tsuruga paused in the middle of signing a poster from a young woman then glanced at Kyoko's direction which caught Kyoko off guard but the awkwardness soon disappeared when she saw Tsuruga's supportive smile before focusing back to what he was doing. Kyoko smiled to herself, she felt a sense of security from just Tsuruga's smile.

A loud scream from her left ruined her moment of peace and she stole a glance at Shou Fuwa's direction to see a fan being detained by the guards and taken somewhere in the back for whatever insane action she did which Kyoko never witnessed. She placed down her empty glass of juice and continued scrutinizing her nemesis.

She noted that while Tsuruga Ren was wearing his usual expensive suit-look, this time minus the tie, with the white dress shirt underneath unbuttoned and tucked in impeccably, Fuwa on the other hand was on rockstar-mode. Tight white skinny jeans, a lavender cotton sleeveless shirt, underneath a brown leather jacket, with matching brown leather belt and high cut shoes. His blonde hair in its usual careless style, his eyes covered by white framed sunglasses, he looked sleek and carefree that Kyoko frowned, he didn't have an ounce of anxiety that Kyoko had.

She sighed when she looked at the young pre-teen in front of her, handing her a little card with Kyoko dressed up as an angel,

"What's your name?" Kyoko asked, her voice gentle, her gaze softening when she laid eyes on the cute pre-teen with the straight raven hair.

"Stella." The girl said shyly, "I've been a fan ever since you played Mio. I've never seen someone look so powerful and beautiful." The girl said, her eyes glittering with wonder that Kyoko can't help but be moved.

"I'm glad that you liked it." Kyoko smiled at her,

"And meeting you now just inspired me more to become an actress myself. If I didn't know better, I wouldn't guess that you played Mio. You're like a goddess in person."

Kpop and Jpop were booming worldwide, of course a newbie actress like her would stand no chance if she stuck with her country-bumpkin way of dressing, so she made it a point to ride the trend.

She made sure she looked her best. She wore a white V-neck playsuit with lilac prints and short cuff sleeves showing off her long slim arms, the mid-thigh skirt displayed her long legs while the soft fabric of the dress made her look ethereal. Her blonde hair was tastefully up in a high ponytail to display her amazing shoulders and slim neck.

"Oh," Kyoko blushed, "I… it's just the blonde hair, I can't go back to the hair color I want because ofmy role as Kat."

"I'm gonna work hard so I can get into LME this year."

"Good luck with that. Here." Kyoko handed her the photo she signed with Stella's name, "Thanks for coming and I'll be looking forward to seeing you at LME."

"Um! Thanks!" at that Stella walked away, Kyoko leaned back with a smile waiting for the next fan to come up the stage when suddenly a low voice sounded to her left,

"Professional actresses don't waste energy explaining themselves to their fans. Just sign what they hand you and get it over with." Shou said in disgust, in a voice only Kyoko could hear, and then he sneered, "But I think I can see why you're wasting time," his blue eyes darted to the line of people sandwiched between the organized crowd on the right and concert-like-mob on the left, they were in front of Kyoko's post, less than fifty people were lined up and then he openly diverted his gaze to his line, the entire left side of the mall was filled with 'Shou Fuwa' posters, CDs dangling, some even hired caterers to feed his crew, dozens and dozens of gigantic gift baskets were loaded in front of his section. It was like a concert, the second and third floors were also filled with his fans with banners spread out on the railings, his blown up photo and name on them mixing with Tsuruga Ren's own daunting support. The number of people he had lining up for him rivaled Tsuruga's and Kyoko groaned, it was not looking good for her. It's not even about the wager she had with Fuwa anymore but how she looked to the people. It just magnified the obvious: She's not up to par with Tsuruga Ren's fame yet. She didn't need Shou's biting words to chew on her.

Thankfully Shou didn't talk to her the rest of the fan meeting.

Some of the people switched to her line as well after getting autographs from the two actors so she had a decent line by afternoon. She focused on meeting and greeting her supporters which she found to be something she liked doing.

Due to the surprising attendance of fans, they were only able to tour two malls that day. It was six o'clock when she noticed Yashiro approach Tsuruga Ren to whisper something in his ear making him tense for a second while signing before nodding absently. He smiled at his current fan before standing up, Kyoko figured that he was leaving earlier than scheduled, she was only expecting a smile from him to tell her she was leaving but he approached her and leaned so that he could whisper in her ear.

She saw everybody's eyes on the two of them, camera's flashed, phones trained on them but the moment she felt his breath on her ear everything was shut out.

"Colla Company's Director wanted a meeting with me, he'll be flying out of Japan tonight so this is the only time I can meet with him to finalize the contract. Take care of yourself and see you tomorrow." He paused, inching out a bit so they could look at each other face to face, "Let's have breakfast outside the hotel tomorrow. Our schedule's free until 10." He gave a warm smile,

"Hai, I'd like that." Kyoko found herself breathless for no reason as she stared into Tsuruga Ren's unnatural-looking chocolate brown eyes which seemed unusually intense on her honey brown ones. He finally stood up straight giving his other co-actor a polite nod, the look his face was masked in its usual friendly smile but his eyes were heavier, deadlier, or was it just Kyoko's imagination, but then he turned and exited backstage.

The hosts' voice boomed through the speakers explaining Tsuruga Ren's sudden departure, "Tsuruga Ren has a private meeting to attend to. Don't worry, because of these kinds of things we get to see him more all-year-round." the crowd booed but then piped down after some time, "You can still see him tomorrow in Sapporo Super Mall at 11 am. You don't have to sulk for long."

A few hours after Tsuruga Ren's departure the event was finally done as well and the artists were led to their respective vehicles.

"Kiro. Can't we stop for some food?" Kyoko asked Yashiro's assistant, Yashiro went with Tsuruga this time.

"Oh, the staff already prepared food in your hotel room, based on your nutritionist's plan."

Kyoko pouted, so much for fast food, she'd be eating egg whites and fish the rest of her stay in Sapporo after all. While on location or shoot for 'Prisoner' she had to follow the strict meal plan her nutritionist gave her that's being implemented by Yashiro or Kyoko's personal assistant, or whoever Yashiro tasked with the job.

She leaned back and gradually fell asleep until Kiro woke her up to tell her they've arrived. She'd been having dreams about luxurious buffets and had the idea of ordering room service later when she get to her room, at least she'll be alone there and no one would know!

To implement her plan she made sure to bid Kiro goodnight at elevator so he could go to his room which was also in the hotel but on a different floor while she could go to her room and order room service!

The dream she was having about sushi, chicken, noodles, pizza, meat buns, cakes and ice cream was still fresh in her mind putting on a crazy smile on her face for her devious plan, so when she entered her room she automatically went to the telephone beside the queen-size bed to dial room service, completely bypassing the large figure sitting on the red loveseat near the huge glass window.

"Don't tell me you're going to sneak food in when your manager isn't looking." The thick low voice made Kyoko jump from the bed, her body snapping around with the phone falling on the table.

Her eyes widened in complete shock when she spotted Fuwa Shou, in all his blonde pompousness sitting on the red loveseat at the corner of her spacious hotel room, just beside the flatscreen television, but facing away from it. The wide glass window wall to his right would've been worthy of awe since it was overlooking everything in Sapporo but at the moment the blackness of the night reminded Kyoko that she didn't even bother inserting her keycard and turning on the lights, she didn't even wonder how the dim lampshade (the only light source in the room at the moment) was able to be lit without her there.

"You're so predictable." He said eyeing the phone in her hand, she didn't even get to finish dialing for room service, "You look like you've seen a ghost." His voice was calm and low, thick like honey.

Kyoko stared at him, her emotions still on high "More like the devil." She said, he'd changed from the white pants and lavender dress shirt he wore earlier to a more comfortable black jeans and black button shirt which was unbuttoned all the way showing his gray sleeveless undershirt inside.

Kyoko frowned when she noticed that he'd removed his shoes and was left with his black socks to fully relax in her room. "What are you doing here? Wait, How did you get in!?" her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"I'm famous. At least half the staff here worships me," he shrugged, his blue gaze never leaving hers," it also helps that we're working together and that Prisoner already aired." He gave her an arrogant smirk but his eyes were warning her that he can do anything he wants.

Kyoko clutched her palms into fists and gritted her teeth out of frustration, after a long day an argument with Shou was not what she was looking for in her bedroom. Instead of Shou she was thinking someone older, with darker hair and more mature air would be there waiting for her, which further infuriated her because that wasn't the case.

She pulled herself together and sat on the bed again, with her back to Shou, she picked up the phone started to call the operator.

"What are you doing?" Shou's voice was tight, his gaze on Kyoko's back, watchful.

"Clearly, they have the wrong notion that you and I are close and that they can just let you have my room key just because we're working together." Kyoko said while waiting for the concierge to answer on the third ring. When there wasn't an answer she added, "And to call for someone to get you out of here." She said before the hotel picked up,

"Hello, ah, this is Mogami Kyoko, I-" Shou's finger dipped into the flash smoothly cutting off the conversation while staring down at Kyoko who was frowning up at him, clearly agitated.

"This is not funny Shoutaro." She gripped the phone and placed it down beside her on the bed.

The corner of Shou's lips lifted and in a split second he had Kyoko trapped between his body and the soft mattress of her bed, Kyoko's amber eyes widened in panic when she felt the tip of his nose against her and she can clearly see the blue and gold specs of his eyes because of their distance, or lack of. In a smooth clear voice Shou said, "For me it might be, I'm here to collect."

To be continued. -x-

Hey guys, thanks for the awesome reviews and follows, they're overwhelming and kicked me into re-writing the next chapters.

My laptop crashed and it was hell-month for me, I mourned for movies, videos, photos, and programs in it but I'm over it :), I was an idiot for not having a back up drive since I didn't see it coming, but yeah…

The original Skip Beat manga is freakishly in slow-mo. Have you seen the update?

I'm back now and my story's on again! I'll update next week, can you get the feel that Shou's up to something evil? Muhahaha. Hope you enjoyed my chapter!