I do not own Skip Beat!

Hello, people! Yup there's a new fic XD I couldn't resist! this one just wouldn't leave me alone! It's a High school AU, some people aren't as dead as they're supposed to be *cough* Rick *cough*, there is a bunch of OCs and others are OOC *sneeze* Saena *sneeze* and more cultural inaccuracies than I'd care to admit.

I hope you guys will like it, despite of all things mentioned above!

Thanks a ton to bboo-berryfor beta reading and editing, I love you angel!

Ch1: A change in surroundings

Kyoko's POV

As we drove through the busy streets of the city, I had my head leaned against the window. My mother has been "talking me up" all the way from Kyoto. Assurance after assurance, that I will like my new family and that I will fit in just fine in the big city. Little did she know her words only added oil to my burning anxiety.

I blast on my earphones and temporarily lose myself in the world of music. Every song seemed to trigger a bad memory; bring back some sort of remembrance from my recent heartbreak. Lyric after lyric awakens a feeling of nostalgia and a yearning to go back to the place where I had spent all my life. Strange how you understand the music when you're at your lowest point of depression. So, I just stopped the playlist at the third song, now isn't the time to start breaking down. The music stopped just in time to hear my mother's instructions for what I should do when we get there. To my "new home" as she put it.

"Now remember Kyoko, the boys will not judge you no matter what but it wouldn't hurt to make a good first impression." Although she was smiling, I could hear the nervous shake of her voice, she was gripping the steering wheel so hard her knuckles had turned white, while her eyes twitched slightly. "You're beautiful anyway, but I would like you to wear your best dress at dinner tonight. This will be our new life, we might as well start it looking our best, right?"

My "best" dress was a black, above the knee, dress with lace-covered sleeves and collar. It was the dress I wore at my father's funeral. I wanted to voice that out but I refrained from making such a comment. She loved him just as much as I did, and I know that she never completely moved on after his death, new husband and all.

"Right." Was all I could say. I have nothing against this new stepfather of mine. Granted, I have never met the guy but I have no ill feelings towards him. I'm just not in a good place right now. I don't feel like meeting new people when all I want to do is just sleep and cry. Not only that, but this new man brings kids of his own to this marriage. Two boys, 'an elder brother and a younger brother for you Kyoko!' My mom had said excitedly. 'I know you always wanted a sister, but... Well, I'm sure you'll get along greatly with the boys too!'

Right. Like I said, I'm just not in the right mindset to meet new people, let alone a new family.

"Kyoko... I don't know how you feel about all this honey, you don't talk to me anymore. I know this is all overwhelming, but... I hope you know I'm doing this for you as well." She said before she turned to look at me with teary eyes.

"I know mom, I get it. It'll be alright." I assured her, hoping that even though I wasn't convinced of my own words, she at least, would be.

"Right." She let out a long sigh, and I knew that she was exasperated that I didn't say anything else.

I don't mean to make her feel frustrated, it's just that every word I need to say takes such a great effort to let out. I just need more time and space. Maybe another year or so...

We made it to the house, feeling as drained as we were anxious. Mom was tired from all the driving, I was nervous at the thought of meeting my step father and step brothers. Mom keeps reassuring me that they're all nice and that I don't have to worry. Easy for her to say, she doesn't have to go through the awkward first meeting.

In truth, there was no wedding. Mom's second marriage was almost like a business deal. She met the guy a couple of months ago, at a press conference, and they got along well, then they got married a week ago, at city hall Tokyo. She did tell me about him before, even asked if I wanted to meet him, but I was too caught up in my own issues at the Fuwa's and I honestly wasn't too thrilled about the idea of having another father figure barely a year after my dad's death, so I passed on the 'meet the mom's bf' thing. Now, I'm not sure if that was a good thing after all.

His sons have already met her. She says they were good and polite with her, so that's a relief I guess, she won't be perceived as the evil stepmom or something like that.

Mom's knock on the door brought me out of my musings, not a moment later, a kind looking, middle-aged man opened the door. He smiled warmly at us, gave mom a one-armed hug and looked expectantly at me, in a silent request for introductions.

"Ryouta, this is my daughter, Mogami Kyoko." Mom said, wrapping her arm around my shoulder. "Honey, this is Matsuda Ryouta-san, my husband and your... Stepfather." I found it endearing that she hesitated before saying 'stepfather' but there's no need for her to tiptoe around my feelings, I'm a big girl, I can handle this.

"Nice to meet you, sir." I tried to smile but I'm sure it looked more like a sour grimace than anything remotely close to a smile.

He managed to gracefully beam at me "Now, now Kyoko-chan, no need to be so formal, please call me Ryouta, we are family after all!"

I blushed slightly and I was very grateful that he didn't ask me to refer to him as 'my father'. I guess mom had a chat with him, or maybe he just gets it. Whatever.

He happily ushered us inside, mumbling something about fetching our luggage later.

In the living room, we found two boys standing by the couch. One looked no older than six years old, his eyes widened when he saw my mother and he briskly walked over and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Saena oba-chan!"

My mother gently stroked his hair and told him that she missed him.

The other one looked older than I am, perhaps in his early twenties. Tall, handsome, lean. The more I looked at him, the more I could feel the blush spread up my cheeks.

He smiled, and lazily walked towards us, hands tucked in the pockets of his sweatpants.

"Hello." He said before kissing my mom on the cheek. Whatever it is she did with these boys, it worked like a charm. They obviously love her and I felt a sudden twinge of jealousy at the thought of sharing my mother.

"Kyoko-chan, let me introduce Matsuda Hitoshi and Matsuda Kenzo." He pointed at the older guy then the younger boy as he said their names, respectively. "My mischievous sons; and now, your step brothers."

Hitoshi openly grinned at me, while Kenzo curiously looked at me from his position as he was still glued to my mother. "Boys, this is Mogami Kyoko, your step sister. You better treat her like a princess." Ryouta and my mom chuckled, Hitoshi's smile widened and I could hear Kenzo snort a little. My mom had obviously been talking about my childhood fantasies with these people and I felt embarrassed, to say the least.

"But of course," Hitoshi smiled and bowed with a silly flourish. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance my lady."

He was obviously the teasing type. I glanced at Kenzo and I saw him stick his tongue out at me when no one else was looking. I might have more trouble dealing with him...

"It's nice to meet you. Please take care of me." I said with a stiff bow.

"Why don't you show Kyoko-chan her room, Hitoshi? You brother is obviously planning on monopolizing Saena for a while."

"Sure, why don't I fetch your bags while I'm at it. Can I have the car keys oba-san?"

"Oh, yes!" Mom fished her keys out of her pocket and handed them to Hitoshi with a thank you and we made our way to the car.

"Which are yours?" He asked.

"It's alright, I can carry my own bags," I said, reaching for a duffel bag and a small suitcase.

He gently slapped my hand away. "You heard dad. We can't have you doing the heavy lifting, Princess." He said, smirking at me before letting out a chuckle at the sight of my mortified face. Isn't he a handful?

"Are you always going to tease me, or do you get better with time?" I huffed, surprising even myself with the small outburst. I mean, just half an hour ago, I could barely listen to my mom speak where did I get the energy to sass back?

He looked at me, flabbergasted for a moment before he laughed and ruffled my hair. "That's more like it! I have a feeling we'll be thick as thieves; you and I!"

He snapped the trunk closed and made his way back inside. "Well, move it, princess! You still have to see your royal chambers!"

I watched his back for a moment, shook my head and snorted at my step brother's antics. He was so childish but a little cute too, I guess!

He led the way upstairs and then stopped next to a white door. He turned to look at me as he put his hand on the door knob. I expected another wave of teasing but he smiled softly instead. "We didn't know how to decorate it, dad didn't approve of football wallpaper and a car bed, Crazy as that sounds, I mean who doesn't like car beds?" I grinned and rolled my eyes at him. There it is, almost had me worried there. "So, um, anyway, it looks very plain now but I was ordered to take you shopping tomorrow for paint and sheets and whatever it is girls use to decorate their rooms so... Just think of it as the cake before the icing? Makes sense?" I internally snorted at that.

"Yeah, it's ok. I wasn't planning on decorating anyway." I shrugged. To be honest, I'm not in the mood to decorate or make myself feel at home or anything right now, I don't even know how I want my room to look like.

"Why don't we get you settled first, I'm sure you'll change your mind when I drive you around town tomorrow." He winked and opened the door.

The room was decent, Large enough, clean, good lighting. There was a big bed with plain white sheets next to the window. There wasn't any other piece of furniture and I almost thought I had said that out loud when Hitoshi assured me we'll be shopping for a closet, a vanity table, a cupboard and even one of those fluffy chairs we always see in big summer movies. His words, not mine.

"Here are your things, you'll have the time to unpack once we get you that closet and cupboard." He put my suitcase next to the door and handed over the duffel bag. "Dinner should be ready at six, you can sleep a little meanwhile, or shower? The bathroom's at the end of the hall, you'll have to share that one with me and Kenzo... Dad and ba-san have their own..." He trailed off, looking distractedly around. "Or you can join them downstairs? Or you can join me and Kenzo in the kitchen? I'll be cooking and he'll be helping, well, more like eating half of the ingredients..." He chuckled awkwardly and I decided to have mercy on him, he obviously wants me to be comfortable so I told him I might sleep off the soreness from sitting in the car for hours and the next thing I knew I was alone in the big white room.

Dinner was nice. Hitoshi, I discovered, is a very good cook, everything he made tasted good. He prepared light, well-seasoned dishes and everyone licked their plates clean. I obliged my mom and wore a light gray knitted dress that made me look 'very charming' as Ryoutahad put it.

Hitoshi was his carefree, easygoing self, making funny comments or teasing someone along the meal. Ryouta and mom seemed to be content, they often smiled and had a peaceful look on their faces. Kenzo kept clinging to mom and tried his best to have all her attention to himself, he and I have yet to say a word to each other.

All in all, we had a nice, uneventful evening after I excused myself, I showered and got ready to go to bed until I heard a faint knock on my door. I gave whoever it is permission to come in and Ryouta awkwardly peeked his head through the door. I stood from the bed and looked at him expectantly, he smiled and walked towards me.

"Your mother's tucking Kenzo in." He said with a faint smile and I absent-mindedly nodded. "I just wanted to see if you're all set, for tonight at least?" I was about to answer but he spoke again before I got the chance to say anything. "I know the room might look plain now, but I asked Hitoshi to take you shopping for, erm, stuff to make it feel more like home to you, I would've taken you myself but I thought you'd like someone closer to your age to offer their opinion and I figured it would give you kids a chance to bond." I nodded again and his smile widened. "Kyoko-chan, I know you have been through a lot, your mother told me you were very close to your dad?" I looked down at the mention of my father and braced myself for whatever he was going to say. I couldn't help but feel defensive as soon as my dad was mentioned, it felt like people crossed a line just by saying his name and as irrational as that is, it hurt.

"I don't know how you feel about this, but I want you to know that the moment I married your mother, you became my daughter. that doesn't mean I am trying to take your father's place or anything of the sort, he will always be in your mother's and your hearts just like my late wife will always be in mine and the boys', I only wish to become someone you can trust and that you will see me as someone who will unconditionally love and protect you like the boys have come to see Saena." For all my efforts to detach myself, his words hit hard and I could feel my treacherous tears slide across my cheeks. I felt embarrassed, how could I cry in front of him so easily?

He fumbled his pocket and awkwardly offered me a handkerchief. Sweet, but who still carries handkerchiefs, anyway?

"And speaking of the boys, I want you to know that this is as much as your home now as it's theirs. I know Hitoshi have been very welcoming, he's been very excited at the prospect of having a younger sister, now I know Kenzo might be a little harder to approach, he's used to be the center of attention, and your mother's the only female he's been around for a while now, I know he will probably act spoiled and maybe a little cheeky and I want you to put him in his place when he does. You are his older sister now and he has to show respect, he's a good boy but he needs to have his ears rubbed occasionally." He chuckled and I smiled at the floor. How could I act cold to someone who was putting up so much effort in trying to make me feel welcome?

"Now, I know this is unlikely to happen, but if any of the boys say or do something to upset you, I want you to tell me or your mother immediately, likewise if any of the neighbors or your future classmates bother you, please let us know and we'll make sure it stops."

I knew what he was referring to. Bullying. Mom must have been really worried about that, but she shouldn't have. I'm not the same girl I was back in Kyoto. Dad's death, and ... Other circumstances changed me. I'm stronger now, I can take care of myself.

I nodded all the same and thanked him. He moved to hug me but settled for patting my head in another awkward attempt to comfort me and give some space at the same time.

"If you need anything at all, please tell me...or your mother if it makes you more comfortable." Again, I nodded and looked up at him with a weak, awkward smile.

"Uhm... One last thing before I let you go to bed." He extended his hand and I noticed he had been carrying something this whole time, he was giving me a small, wrapped box. I took it and questioningly looked at him.

"It's a 'Welcome home' gift." He said. "For all the good times to come." I looked at the decorated paper-wrapped box and up at him again.

"Thank you, I didn't bring any-"

"That' alright!" He laughed. "It's not a rite of passage or anything of the sort, I just wanted to give you something, I hope you'll like it, your mom and the boys always say I have the worst taste for presents." We both chuckled at that and I thanked him again.

"Anytime. Good night, kiddo." He said smiling his signature smile. He reached his hand and ruffled my hair and left.

I sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the object in my hand before tearing the paper off of it.

It was a square, wooden alarm clock with a teddy bear sitting on top.

I laughed, marveling at the thing. It really was quite ugly, and that, somehow made it even more endearing.

For all the good times to come, indeed!

My ugly alarm clock woke me up the next day, and I almost fell off the bed trying to silence it. I slipped on my slippers and it took me a moment to remember where I was. I headed to the bathroom, still sleepy and walked in on Hitoshi who had seemed to be shaving his face. I blushed and made a mental note to myself that I should be knocking from now on since I will be sharing this bathroom with two boys after all.

"Morning, Princess!" He said, then looked at me in the mirror and grinned. "What are you so scandalized about? it could have been worse!" My blush deepened and he chuckled. obviously enjoying my discomfort. "You could've walked in on Kenzo, pooping. Now that is horrifying, trust me, been there..."

I snickered and he fully beamed at me before splashing water on his face. He dried his face, threw his towel over his shoulder and turned to leave. "All yours. We leave after breakfast." He said as he walked past me.

I nodded and started my morning routine, this will be a long day.

I put on a pair of dark jeans with a warm, over-sized, woolen shirt and a pair of sneakers, if shopping with Hitoshi will be anything like shopping with mom, I will need to be comfortable.

I found everyone in the kitchen, Hitoshi was stirring something on the stove, Ryouta was putting bread in the toaster, mom and Kenzo were stealing some strawberries from the blender behind Hitoshi's back and I just stood by the door frame for a moment, not sure about what to do.

Ryouta noticed me first. "Good morning, Kyoko-chan!" He said. "I hope you slept well, Hitoshi made some rice but you could have toast instead if you want, have a seat!"

Mom and Kenzo started and took their seats lest they get caught stealing from the still unmixed smoothie.

"Morning sweetie!" She kissed me and Kenzo just looked away, still giving me the silent treatment... Not that I heard him talk to anyone else before, either.

"Alright, everything's done!" Hitoshi exclaimed, he served miso soup with rice and eggs with the toast Ryouta had been making, there was also butter and jam on the table and Hitoshi turned off the blender and set the pitcher in the middle of the table.

"Do you always cook?" I asked, earning everyone's attention.

"I used to before dad met Saena ba-chan, sometimes she cooks when I have late courses at uni."

"Kyoko enjoys cooking too, maybe you two can cook together sometime?" Mom said buttering her toast and smiling at us.

"I'm down with that! what do you think, princess?"

"Sure..." I squirmed at the nickname and the attention, it was still weird no matter how welcoming Ryouta and Hitoshi were.

We ate breakfast, mom and Hitoshi made some small talk, she told me they'd be taking Kenzo to his friend's house on their way to work and Hitoshi asked if we can get them anything. I offered to do the dishes and Ryouta asked Kenzo to help with the drying, which he reluctantly did. I suspected it was another attempt from Ryouta to have me "bond" with his kids but Kenzo wasn't nearly as interested in chatting with me as Hitoshi was.

As he was drying the dishes, one of them slipped through his hands and crashed to the floor.

"Don't move, I'll clean it," I said, looking for the broom.

"I can clean my own mess." Kenzo snapped. I was a bit taken aback at hearing him speak to me for the first time.

"There's glass everywhere, I don't want you to cut yourself," I said, as softly as I could.

"I'm not a baby." He mumbled, fetching a broom and a dustpan.

With an internal sigh, I let him sweep off the shards of glass making sure to watch him, just in case.

When he was done, he got back to his place near the sink and said that we should hurry and finish because he didn't want to be late.

I obliged and we finished cleaning up in silence. If Kenzo wasn't interested in talking, I sure as hell wasn't going to make him.

"What about this?" Hitoshi said, holding up a pink music box with a ballerina standing in the middle.

"Seriously?"

"What? It's very...princessy." He smirked and wiggled his eyebrows.

"Erm, yeah... I'm not buying that."

He feigned sadness as he put back the box and pouted at me.I arched an eyebrow and he sighed, putting an end to the sad show."Are you going to buy anything at all, princess?"

"Are you going to keep calling me that?"

"Yes. I like it, it sounds cute."

I snorted and walked further down the aisle. There were some nice things but I didn't like anything enough to buy it. I just couldn't see any of those things in my room.

Hitoshi and I chose the furniture from other stores, we got paint, brushes, and even a carpet and some sheets. Now he insisted on getting trinket boxes and frames and whatnot.

"C'mon! maybe some action figures or plushies then?" He said, grabbing me by the wrist and dragging me to a different aisle.

Hitoshi messed around with some teddy bears and dolls and basically, everything that was in the store and regardless of how tired and depressed I was I couldn't help but giggle at his behavior. He was positively wild! Does he ever get tired?

"We should get some lunch! There's a nice restaurant around, I mean the food there is not even half as good as what I make but I'm sure you'll like it."

"Are you always this modest?"

"I like to stay humble most of the time, yes."

"Wow..." My eyes were in danger of rolling out of their sockets the more time I spent around him!

"So how do you like Tokyo so far?" He said, casually eyeing his menu. I could hear the real question, though, 'How do you like your new family?'

"It's... Overwhelming, more crowded than what I'm used to."

"Is that a bad thing or...?" It was almost amusing watching the blunt and teasing Hitoshi subtly test the waters, but I knew he meant well and I appreciated it.

"It's a new thing. It's different to what I'm used to but it's not necessarily bad." I said with a shrug and I actually believed it. Change might not be so bad.

"Hitoshi!" I turned to get a look at who was calling my step brother, who got up from his seat.

"Rick! Man, long time no see!"

"I know! I was passing by with Kuon and I thought I recognized that ugly face of yours!" The young man beamed at Hitoshi. "I asked him to go first, while I said hi."

Hitoshi smiled and invited his friend to join us. Rick accepts after making sure I was okay with it and Hitoshi remembers his 'manners', as he put it, and introduces us.

"Rick, meet Mogami Kyoko," Hitoshi starts. "Aka, princess,"

"Hey!" At my protest, Rick grins and arches an eyebrow at Hitoshi who's having way too much fun with this.

"Aka, my new baby sister." He laughs at Rick's disappointed expression and punches his shoulder. "See? It's nothing like what you were thinking."

"Maybe Kyoko-chan can help you get a girl." Rick retorts and I snort at this.

"So, you don't have a girlfriend, Nii-san?" I say teasingly without thinking about it.

Hitoshi looks stunned for a moment and the next, he breaks into fake sobs before looking up dramatically. "This is the first time you called me Nii-san."

"We only met yesterday." I deadpan. "And I only called you that jokingly, don't get used to it too fast," I smirk and Rick laughs at that.

"Seems like even your lil' sis can't stand you, Hito!"

My step brother pouts and tries to act upset but it doesn't last too long.

lunchtime is spent with Hitoshi and Rick catching up and trying to outdo each other by telling me the other's most embarrassing moments, it was entertaining and some anecdotes wre so funny I had to put my chopsticks down and stop eating while I laughed.

We were about to order dessert when Rick's phone rings, Hitoshi and I were talking about splitting a chocolate cake when he answers. We're pulled out of our discussion when Rick gets up and yells. "What? Why? Where is he now?" He bites back a curse and shrugs his jacket on before hanging up.

"Hito, man I'm sorry, I gotta run. Kuon got into a fight again," He says, before turning to me. "It was nice meeting you, Kyoko-chan."

I didn't get to say anything as Hitoshi grabbed his own jacket and tells Rick he'll go with him.

"Princess, you can order anything you want," He says as he hands me money to pay the bill. "I'll come back to fetch you but if I take too long, you can take a cab. You know the address, right?"

"No, take me with you, I'll stay in the car," I say, getting up and grabbing my coat.

"Kyoko, fights can get really dangerous!"

"Please?" I say, pleadingly and Hitoshi's expression softens. He probably knows that I don't want to be left alone on my first day out in the city.

"Alright, come on."

Hitoshi drives us to where Rick said the fight took place. The guys get out of the car in a hurry and from what I could see there were several men scattered about, two were doubled over holding their sides, one was limping away, while another was lying unconscious and I prayed it wasn't Rick's friend. Three men were still actively throwing punches at each other...well, it was more like two were ganging up on one. He seemed to have the advantage, though, and I could clearly see him blocking both of their strikes before he threw himself at one of them, Rick grabbed him from behind and threw him behind him as he swung his fist at the other man, while Hitoshi punched the third guy square in the jaw. It didn't take much longer before the two men scurried away, Rick grabbed the other man by the collar and I noticed for the first time that his hair was the most striking shade of blond, he winced when Rick pushed him ahead of him and all three of them walked towards the car.

When they were close enough, I heard Rick tell blondie to go wait in the car, gesturing to one of the vehicles parked behind us and as the younger man limped towards it, he glanced down at me and our eyes met for the briefest moment, I blushed and looked down and I saw him go from the corner of my eye.

He had the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen, and if his striking blond hair wasn't a good enough indicator, his green eyes left no doubt that he was a foreigner.

A foreigner named Kuon. How interesting...

A/N: Soooo, whadaya think?

If you like it enough to want more make sure to tell me, I'm still debating juggling two fics simultaneously, so if this doesn't get a good response I might drop it!