Disclaimer : I do not own Skip Beat!
Author's Note:
Gomen ne, Minna... I was so busy, so it took time to finish this chapter. I wish you leave your reviews, it cheered me up a lot and boosted my writing mood.
Night crept slowly and the sky turned dark in no time. Kuon and Kyoko walked hand in hand after their stroll. When they reached the house, Sebastian was waiting for them.
"Hizuri-sama, Mogami-sama, the President asked me to tell you that you should change your clothes for the party. The costumes have been prepared in his room. If you can follow me." Sebastian led them to the president's room.
'What party costume? I get that he absolutely can't stand wearing something ordinary, but why drag us?' Kuon silently grumbled, followed the aide.
'Oh my! Please let it be a normal clothes. Why do we need costume anyway? It's a little party at home. Can't he just let us wear pyjamas?' Kyoko was really anxious. 'Last time he talked about costume, I ended up in that awfully sexy attire of Setsu.'
"Sir, they are here." Sebastian announced as he opened the door for them.
"Good timing! Come here, have a seat. I haven't had enough seeing you two together. How was the party at Guam? You didn't commit any crime, did you, Kuon? Or should I inform her father to give you lesson?" Lory teased Kuon as soon as they enter the room.
It's impossible for Lory to ignore the fact that they came in together, hand in hand, and with happy smile on their face. He was waiting for so long to see both of them happy. Now, having them in front of him, happy, gave him so much happiness.
'After everything they have been through, they deserve to be happy. Now, my part will be keeping their happiness and for that, I'll use every power I have at my disposal.' Lory determined.
"So, why do we here?" Kuon asked nonchalantly, and got smacked on his back.
"Good evening, Sachou! It's been long time. How are you?" Kyoko bowed, politely greeted Lory.
"I'm very well, thank you, Mogami-kun. How was your holiday?" Lory smiled.
'As polite as ever. How come there are people who dislike her.' Lory shook his head slightly.
"Thank you so much for Guam, it was so beautiful. It's a pity we can't stay for long. I had fun with ms. Woods too. Please give my best regards to her." Kyoko bowed once more to express her gratitude.
"You are very welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Now, for the party, I want to introduce Heel Siblings to the people here. It's unfortunate that Ten couldn't be here, but I'm sure you can do well enough by yourself, right?" Lory asked seriously.
"And why do we need to do that if I may ask?" Kuon confusedly asked.
"The more people know about it, the more options we have to counter the possibilities of any media leaks. You sure know that by now, right Kuon?" Lory asked him back.
"So, we have to put on the Heel Siblings' attire and act as them once more, in front of Mom and Dad?" Kyoko asked hesitantly.
"That's exactly what I meant, Mogami-kun." Lory enthusiastically answered.
"And what do you want us to do, exactly?" Kuon asked. 'Now I won't get away from my parents teasing me of Kyoko being my sister. Great!' Kuon sighed deeply inside.
"Just how you usually act. Think about us all as the family of your boss, which is close enough. How was that?" Lory gave them the basic situation for their stage.
"Alright then. See you in a minute, Setsu." Kuon stood up and breathed Cain as he moved.
"I'm a girl, Nii-san. I'll need more than a minute to be properly presentable as your sister." Kyoko blew a kiss-bye and walked to the opposite direction to get ready.
It still amazed Lory to see how natural the way they slipped into their characters in an instant.
Cain attire was rather simple, so Kuon only spent a short amount of time. He wore black T-shirt, black ragged pants, and black boots with straps crisscrossed. The black coat covered his body up to mid thighs. He then put on the black wig as finishing touch. Finally, the Demon Lord descended.
On the other side, Kyoko was busy putting on the hair net. She glanced at the costume on the bed. It was a pair, the top was off shoulder type with long loose sleeves white blouse, combined with black leather pants and black boots. It was somehow looked like Setsu's at home style. She put on her clothes then her blonde wig. She tied her hair loosely and then put on minimal make up. She put on her boots as finishing touch and go out to meet her beloved brother.
'Setsu, guess you got some time with your brother. Let's ask him pamper us.' Kyoko smiled inside.
Cain was waiting with Lory in the sitting area. Setsu walked straight to Cain and sat on his laps.
"Nii-san, did you wait long? Hi, Uncle Black." She glanced at Lory and greeted him lightly.
"Setsu, sit straight! You're being impolite in front of Uncle Black. We're meeting with some relatives now so behave well." Cain reprimanded Setsu softly.
"Hmph!" Setsu pout, she tried to get up from his laps.
"I didn't ask you to move away, I asked you to sit straight. Don't pout. You're already too cute." Cain stroke her back, up and down, and gave her his precious smile.
"Gee, Nii-san! I thought you don't want me anymore. So, uncle Black, who are those people?" Setsu turned to face Lory while Cain continued stroking her back.
"They are very important people, so you two, behave! Let's head there, they are waiting for us." Lory shook his head as he stood up and saw how Cain picked Kyoko up before slowly put her down on her own feet.
Cain and Setsu walked behind Lory, and waited outside when Lory entered the room. Setsu squeezed Cain's hand slightly and gave him smile. In an instant, black aura surrounded him.
'Hmm... He's getting serious. I better keep up or I'd get another NG from him.' Kyoko straighten her back and pose like Natsu. When they heard their name were called, they walked inside, hand in hand.
Everyone inside froze and stared at them, followed every move they made. When they finally stopped before them, Lory started the introduction fully in English, "Cain, Setsu, meet my friends, Hizuri Kuu and his wife, Julie, and this is Yashiro Yukihito."
Setsu offered her hand for a handshake as greeting, "Nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Hizuri, Mr. Yashiro. I'm Setsuka Heel. This is my brother, Cain Heel." Knowing her brother best, she acted as his manager and that way, allowed Cain to just nod his head as acknowledgement.
"Just Kuu is fine, dear. Welcome in our home." Kuu answered.
Yashiro shuddered at the black aura that surrounded Cain. 'He was scary at the casting, now I know that was nothing compared to this. And here I thought I know him but this side he showed us is completely new.'
"Thank you for having us here. It's nice way to spend some time after a job's done." Setsu smiled lightly. "Nii-san, at least greet them properly."
Cain responded by nodding his head. Kuon felt as if he was in a test with slim chance to pass.
Setsu slipped her arm on his waist, half hugged him, and Cain put his hand on her shoulder, pulled her closer and kissed her temple. seeing that, both Julie and Kuu raised their eyebrows.
'Ah, forget it. I don't give a damn of what they think. I love my sister, anyone doesn't like it may lost.' Cain thought, and whispered to Setsu.
"I don't think they like the way you hug me, Setsu. Should I let you go?"
"I like the way I hug you. Which matter more?" Setsu looked up, watched her brother's expression.
Cain smiled brightly and pulled her closer.
"Come on in, have a seat. I told you, we'll have a party. I'm thinking of going public with your identity and you will need their help. Since I don't have the right to release the movie before it's done, let's watch some behind the scenes which you two took part. It's my first time seeing it too, I'm so excited." Lory explained calmly.
Cain choose a double seat sofa and as soon as he sat, Setsu snuck into his side and leaned on his shoulder. He patted her head and rested his hand on her waist and another arm on the armrest, propped his head up. He looked totally indifferent of everything but his sister. He kept stroking her side lightly.
Kuu sat beside Lory on the triple seat sofa and Julie followed. Sebastian, after he set everything on the player, sat down across the siblings on the double seat with Yashiro.
'He said it's a collection of unused scenes. I wonder what he really wants to do with showing these to them.' Kuon thought.
'Scenes which I took part? Really? I wasn't even one of the casts and I don't remember took any scenes. Could it be... Ah, he won't be that tricky, right? Or really? Don't tell me, was it about our interaction as siblings?' Kyoko wondered.
(the dialog that appear in the scenes will be '.....' without italic)
The first scene appeared on the screen. It was the wrong hotel room given to the siblings, the single bed room.
Kuu, Julie, and Yashiro gasped as they see the way Kyoko dressed as Setsu.
'Setsuka Heel, tell me precisely what your character setting was.'
'Yes, Cain... My brother, comes first, and second, and third, and fourth, and fifth. He is just the only one for me. I have a pathological brother complex.'
'That's right. Would a sister with such a pathological brother complex want to sleep in a separate room?'
'No, Brother. In fact, she would sleep in his bed with him.'
'You're right.'
'Um, I could sleep in a sleeping bag, on the floor.'
'I'm not making a girl sleep on the floor.'
'And you can't sleep on the floor!'
'Why don't we go for it and share a bed? I'll let you rest your arm on me.'
The scenes stopped there and changed to the scenes they left the hotel room.
"Ahhahahaha... I'm so sorry, Cain. Seems I ruin your little plan." Lory was laughing out loud. He paused the film.
Kuu and Julie bewildered by the scenes and looked at them.
"Not really, we ended up slept on the same bed either way." Cain answered nonchalantly.
"WHAT??!!" This time Lory and Kuu jumped and stood up, facing them with death glare.
"Oh, please! What's the hike? It's just sleeping with my brother, what's wrong with that?" Setsu wove her hand, asked them to sit back.
"Sleep, you mean really sleeping?" Lory and Kuu asked synchronizedly.
"I told you. Having Nii-san as my teddy bear is comfy." Setsu sighed as if she was tired of explaining.
"I can't believe it" Kuu said, slumped his body back to the sofa.
"How could you, really?" Lory asked in the same time, his face showed pity.
'You damn old git! That's your doing! What do you expect exactly?' Kuon wondered.
'Oh my God. I'm telling my parents I slept with a guy. What will they think of me now?' Kyoko panicked inside.
'And why didn't I asked to monitor their room too at that time? I would have had that scene and who knows what's more. Gee! I was so stupid!' Lory regretted his decision to leave them be in their room.
'What the hell was that old git asked them to do actually? No wonder Kuon hates the idea of her being his sister. If it was what it's like and he did it for long time, I wonder how he could stay sane at those time. What a torture to be that close with the one you love and do nothing.' Kuu admired his son from the bottom of his heart.
"Haaaaaaah..." Lory sighed and shook his head, pressed the play button and continued watching.
This time, it showed their first outing as siblings, shopping. Apart from the siblings, they were laughing out loud seeing how they tried to manipulate each other. They stopped at the scene when Cain fought with hoodlums.
Kuu and Julie were shocked as they saw their son fought and nearly killed them. They were worried that Kuon still couldn't control his darker side. Until they heard her cried to stop and saw how he really stopped.
'Brother! Don't kill him!!!' Setsu shouted, then slowly approached him, 'Brother?'
'I... Who am I? Just now, there's a black devil inside of me.'
'Yes, you were completely controlled from head to toe.'
'Am I still possessed by him, Setsu?'
'No, Cain Heel, you're my beloved scattered brain brother.'
Everyone sighed, relieved to see the scene ended peacefully. Cain kissed Setsu's head, grateful for her existance that saved his life countless times. Kuu and Julie clasped their hands, to prevent them hugging their children. Lory nodded his head. Yashiro clenched his fist, knowing well what kind of pain the memory brought him.
The next scenes were taken on location. Several acts and rehearsals between Cain and other casts. There was the fight with Murasame where Cain almost fell down the set with him and Kyoko saved him once more. The scene taken from the beginning until the time when Setsu approached Cain after his fall.
'Ooh... Terrific. Cool. The special make up. Frankly, I wasn't expecting much, you know. To think japanese technique is pretty realistic, I'm surprised. This dried skin that's ready to come unstuck is the most...' Setsu giggled. 'Let's use it for my cellphone background image. 💕'
'But from that distance, only the scar would be included.' Cain answered.
The scenes changed again. This time it was in their hotel room. Lory was worried after Kyoko's call and Ren's behavior so he decided to check on them in their room on the night after 3 days separated.
The scenes was normal siblings banter, normal for them at least, until Setsu's phone rang. Cain suddenly walked toward her, snatched the phone, checked it then threw it away.
Everyone could feel the tension rose and Cain's voice became lower like a growl. It was as if they could see the black aura radiated all over his body.
'What happened? You're not saying anything? You can't deny either? Or that phone call wasn't Fuwa? It can't be anyone else but Fuwa. The only people to call you with an unknown number in the end are either me or the agency or him.' Cain took steps closer to her and as the result, Setsu stepped back.
All those times, Setsu didn't utter a single word.
'But, now, both I and the agency have a number that shows up. In this case, he's the only one left. Why is he calling at such time?' By the time Cain reached her, Setsu tripped and fell on the bed. Cain continued approaching her and hovered above her, caging her on the bed.
Everyone gasped and even Kyoko unconciously jerked her body out of embarrassment. As the scene continued, she clenched her hands on Kuon chest. Meanwhile, Kuon struggled to fight the urge to laugh. Seeing them like that was definitely worth million words.
'Oh, I've to ask for a copy. You'll love what you see after this, people! Though I should say, at that time I was really on the verge of losing my sanity.' Kuon reminisced.
Cain's one sided interrogation continued, 'Are you still keeping in contact with him? Is that why you could come? Even yesterday, you were supposed to be at school, yet you were with him at the TV studio. You seemed to be quite friendly to each other, sitting together. You say that you hate him but what do you really want from him?'
Setsu was still silent and didn't answer him. 'Still no answer? If you don't deny, it means it's true.' Slow but sure, his hand reached her body, slightly touched the slits on her clothes as if he was gonna rip it off of her.
Losing his patience, he gritted his teeth, 'Why are you asking me this now?' Cain crooked his fingers on her cleavage, really intended to rip her clothes when suddenly Setsu pulled him closer and flipped their position so that she was straddling him this time.
Setsu sat on him, licked her lips and smiled, not even broke her character. 'Whaaat? Could it be that you're jealous, Nii-san? How stupid. Why are you taking seriously that phone call?' Setsu leaned closer, 'Please! I can't possibly be interested in someone other than you. I'm sure that you understand, right?' And she ended her question by placing a kiss on his forehead.
And with that, the storm of black energy that swirled around him vanished right away. Everyone held their breath, waiting to see what happened next, but the movie stopped there.
"What?!!" Lory shouted first.
"Is that it? What happened?" Kuu's question followed.
Kuon and Kyoko relieved that the movie stopped there. 'Thanks God! At least the one recorded it respected the term "privacy" in his act.' Both Kyoko and Kuon thought the same.
Lory faced them, "What happened?"
Cain and Setsu just shrugged, not uttering a single word.
"You better did nothing shameful to your sister, young man!" Kuu pointed his finger to Cain.
"As if! I'm telling you this once, my sister means world to me and I let nothing, I mean nothing taints her let alone hurts her, not even myself!" Cain voice clearly conveyed warning.
Lory clapped his hands. "Alright everyone. That's it! I hate you for this!" He pointed his finger to his aide. "Kuon, Kyoko, party is over. Let's talk about our plan." He turned to the siblings who clearly heaved a sigh of relief as they moved slightly further apart to a decent distance.
"Were you really act that way all the time as Heel Siblings?" Lory asked, a wide grin on his face.
"You better explain everything as clearly as possible or I swear I'll use everything in my power to make you pay for this." Julie threatened Lory.