The Old Switcheroo

Disclaimer: Skip Beat! was created by Nakamura Yoshiki.

Prologue

None of his acquaintances understood why he stayed there. Sure, the street before a studio building outside of the center was a strange enough place for a homeless person to live – most of his partners in pain had chosen their spots at the mall or subway stations – but he liked being here.

Hasegawa Taizou and his black cat Kuro had been staying here for months. It felt safe there – as safe as someone living in the streets could be anyway. The studios never closed, and no matter what time of the night, there was always someone around. He liked to look at the celebrities going in and out; he had even gotten to know some of them. The ones who talked to him all belonged to the same company, he believed. He sometimes met them in pairs or in small groups. He didn't know their work, but he had nicknames for all of them.

There was the extravagant man, the one who drove a shiny limousine, he was always dressed weird and he sometimes gave him clothes and accessories. A pirate hat, a bow, a magician cloak… Hasegawa would never wear any of them, they were way too much for someone like him, but it was useful for trade. The extravagant man was sometimes accompanied by a small girl – the princess witch – she liked to pet Kuro, and she taught him a different black magic spell every time. Then there was the cold beauty, a young woman with long black hair who always gave him a water bottle. She hardly talked, but at least, she looked at him. She and two other teenagers seemed to be in a club together. He called them the pink graces: the cold beauty, the notebook girl and the chestnut flash.

The chestnut flash was his favorite. Her and the tall Adonis. These two, whenever they were together, there were sparkles in the air. He smiled, just thinking about them. Kuro rubbed his head on his arm and Hasegawa picked him up.

The chestnut flash really was one funny individual. Cheery one minute and dark the next, she always had a nice smile in store for him. She always asked how he was doing, and asked about his cat. As for the tall Adonis, he was the first one who came to him. Hasegawa had found himself on that street by a matter of circumstances; he remembered how nervous he was when he saw the charismatic star walk up to him. He had tried to make himself as small as possible. He even looked behind him, to see if there was someone else that the man was talking to… But there wasn't. The tall Adonis had noticed him on the first day and addressed him as a person. He offered him a bento box he happened to have on him. Hasegawa was embarrassed by the look glasses kun gave him, but tall Adonis had assured him it was better this way. Ever since that day, Hasegawa received a bento box on regular basis.

And then, there were the ones he didn't like. His eyes thinned as he noticed the guitar brat coming out of the building. That one was the worst. Maybe Hasegawa was partial, since he'd noticed that chestnut flash and guitar brat were rivals, but still! That kid was always posing, acting as if the city belonged to him. He had never acknowledged his presence, not even to avert his eyes when he saw him, like most people usually do.

As the guitar brat walked pass him, a small metallic object fell to the ground. Hasegawa picked it up curiously, before calling out to the boy.

"What?" guitar brat turned his way in annoyance.

"I'm sorry." Hasegawa said "Did you drop this?" Guitar brat's eyes landed on the instrument in his hand.

"My capo!" he shouted "Give that back!" and he grabbed it quickly. "Now get out of my sight, you Madao." He barked before he turned around. He palpated his guitar case to find the open pocket his capo had just fallen out of, and put the device back in.

Hasegawa looked at him walking away. How could someone like that be adored by thousands of fans? He sat back down, ranting inside. This brat deserves a good lesson. He thought.

And Kuro agreed.

Author's note: You might have recognized the character's name from Gintama. I decided to use madao because social isolation is a serious topic, and it felt wrong to create a character for the sole purpose of having them being homeless… My heart goes to those who encounter these challenges, I wish for everyone to find their place in this world.

This prologue is not exactly characteristic of what this story is going to be. Sho is not going to switch place with Madao. I went for a more interesting – though arguably crueler (for everyone) switcheroo. But you'll see soon enough.

There will be 19 (not too long) chapters including prologue and epilogue.

Thanks for reading, as always!