Disclaimer: I will never be Ryougo Narita. His genius is UNATTAINABLE. I also don't know a psycho's mind so well like he does. (Sometimes I wonder what kind of person he is to have written Baccano and DRRR…)

A/N: I'm somewhat going to mimic Ryougo-sensei's style (not his writing style, no way…) of giving the time and location of the scene. MAKE SURE TO READ THE TIME AND LOCATION INFORMATION-I PUT IT THERE FOR A REASON. I also plan on including lots of light novel only things (what happens after the anime) but don't worry, non-light novel readers, I've got you covered! :)

There's a somewhat long entrance, but bear with me! I want to have this make sense, so this is what I need.

Midnight, at an unknown street in Ikebukuro

Heiwajima Shizuo was, under all those layers of violence and explosive temper, a kind man. He was also a man who loved his brother very much. One could even describe his feelings for his brother as a brother complex, which would have resulted the unfortunate person to have ever uttered that in front of the debt collector to be thrown across the city. Luckily, no one had ever been subjected to such a fate from that cause. (On the other hand, the monstrous man did subject this fate to people nearly daily, for various other reasons.)

Even though Shizuo loved his brother very much, he currently was trying, with all his might, to hold in his volatile temper because of him. "Sorry, Kasuka," Shizuo ground out through his teeth as evenly as possible. "I'm not cut out for that kinda stuff."

"Brother. Don't put yourself down like that, especially when you haven't even tried it. We need you." These words were kind, but it was hard to tell if he meant it or not from the emotionless tone Heiwajima Kasuka had.

But Shizuo knew Kasuka meant it. He knew this was how his brother always spoke like. Taking a brief drag from his cigarette, he gave Tom a sideways glance before responding. "I can't. I have a job."

There was a long pause. "…I see." Kasuka bid him good night shortly after without another word.

Shizuo held the cigarette to his lips and took in a deep breath. Flipping close the orange phone with a hand, he turned to his employer. "Sorry about that. Kasuka went and asked for something ridiculous."

Even though it was impossible to see in the black haze of midnight, Shizuo knew Tom was somewhat amused by his words. "Kasuka asked something from you?" Shizuo merely grunted his affirmation. Tom let out a thoughtful hum. "That's unusual. I've never heard Kasuka ever asking you for anything."

The man in the bartender suit paused at this. He started again, walking out of the dark street. "Well, I'm not doing it."

Tom looked at his retreating back for a moment before catching up to him. Just what did Kasuka ask Shizuo?

They entered Sunshine 60 Street, the life of Ikebukuro. Even at midnight, the entire place was illuminated with multiple flashing lights from store signs and advertisements that rambled noisily. The large street had so many different kinds of people; no natives of Ikebukuro would be fazed at seeing a band of people strutting in gorilla suits. Very few things did elicit any reaction to the citizens there. Like an angry man in a bartender suit roaring a whole lot about nothing while wildly chucking multiple street signs and lamps at a laughing man wearing a fur coat, for example. (By the way, this was purely a hypothetical situation.)

Shizuo momentarily adjusted his sunglasses, something he wore no matter where and when it was. "So, where to next, Tom-san?"

Tom adjusted his glasses as well, replying, "Jack Creighton. A few blocks away, if I recall correctly." Shizuo nodded, waiting for Tom to lead the way.

"That one was our last one." said Tom as he walked down the creaking stairs of a rundown flat.

Jack Creighton had let out a desperate cry when he spotted a certain blonde haired man lurking behind the man with dreadlocks who had on an easy smile. The frightened man quickly dumped a sum of money into Tom's hands and had slammed the door shut. ("That was kinda rude." "At least he paid his debts." "Yeah…Look, Tom-san, the paint's flaking off of the door." "Hm. He must've closed his door too hard.")

Shizuo followed Tom out of the dark area and reentered Sunshine 60 Street. There, they parted ways with friendly goodbyes. He leisurely walked through the busy street, greeting Simon and assured the zealous Russian he would come eat sushi soon when he passed by the sushi restaurant. Shizuo reached his apartment soon enough—he lived very close to the heart of the city—and opened the door. He always left his house unlocked. There was no particular reason to leave it unlocked, but there was no particular reason for him to lock it either. He lived with the bare minimum and would suffer no losses if his apartment was robbed. Shizuo was not overly confident with a false sense of security either. He didn't think he wouldn't be killed in his sleep, or suffer any injuries below that scale; he knew it.

Closing the door with a click, he shuffled across the room without turning on the lights. He walked into his kitchen and opened the mini fridge, lighting up the apartment slightly. He carelessly grabbed a bottle of milk out of the many in there and popped the cap open, downing it in three gulps tops. Shizuo set the empty bottle down and crashed on the ratty couch. He ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. Muttering lowly to himself, he spoke, "Seriously, what is Kasuka thinking..." Me? Modeling? That's fucking hilarious. Everyone would be dead before any picture could be taken of him.

He soon drifted off to dreamland; even a monster like him needed some rest.

At the same time, in Hanejima Yuuhei's apartment

"Yes, please keep this position open. I know someone perfect for the job. I vouch for him."He listened to the man's response over the phone."You'll see when I bring him in tomorrow. Good night." The popular celebrity entered his bed as he hung up. His cat, a bite-sized Scottish Fold named Yuigadokusonmaru, jumped onto his bed right after him silently. Kasuka pet him without a flicker of emotion. Staring at the screen of his phone, he dialed one more number.

"Hello, Tom, this is Kasuka…"

The next morning, in Shizuo's apartment

The spoon in his hands became a pathetic ball of metal as Shizuo attempted to restrain his anger. "What?"

Tom sounded apologetic over the phone. "Yeah. You won't have any work for some time. There's no debts we need to go collect anymore."

Shizuo scowled darkly. "That's impossible! There's always debts!"

His employer said simply, "Well now there isn't. Sorry, Shizuo. I'll contact you when there's some work for you. Plus, isn't this good for you? We rarely have days off; take this chance to relax!"

Throwing down the now useless scrap of metal on the table, he said nothing as he picked up his bowl of cereal and drank the sugary milk along with the remaining cereal in the bowl.

"I'll take you out for some sushi later today, okay?" Tom offered when he received no response.

Shizuo took a deep, calming breath. He knew Tom meant well. "Whatever. I'll see you then, then." Shizuo hung up and tossed his cell onto the couch.

He didn't particularly like beating up random guys who weren't willing to pay their debts, but he hated not doing anything. A job, any job would be better than idleness. They gave him a sense of purpose, and that was something that was always comforting to have with his hectic life as Ikebukuro's monster.

Shizuo glanced towards the couch when he heard his phone ring. He stood up, regretting his action of throwing his phone so far away and walked over to answer the incoming call.

"Hello?"

"Good morning, Brother." Kasuka.

Shizuo sighed, scratching his head. "If it's about the model thing again…" His voice trailed off. Both of them knew what he was going to say without Shizuo continuing.

"Please."

The blonde blinked in surprise. It was the first time in a long while he had heard a sliver of emotion in his little brother's voice. His tone was pleading. Just a tiny bit.

"They will pay you fifteen thousand yen, base price. More if you do well."

Shizuo's eyes popped out at the number. Fifteen thousand yen?! That was enough to pay half of what he owed to the city for destroying public property. And just as Tom said, his brother had never, in his entire life, asked him for something. The show of emotion also spoke volumes of Kasuka's request. He must've really wanted Shizuo to do it. Plus, right now he was temporarily off his job.

But Shizuo knew it would not end well.

A few years ago, a reporter had managed to track down Hanejima Yuuhei's mysterious older brother to Heiwajima Shizuo. A talent scout had kept the person who found the fact out silent with a large sum of money. The scout (clearly he was not familiar with the monster of Ikebukuro) attempted to bring Shizuo into their agency, who was not pleased at that, and had nearly killed the poor man. Kasuka happened to be in the city at that time and managed to stop his older brother. The information had gotten leaked and appeared on the news for a bit but died down quickly. Shizuo's identity was kept hidden through it all, instilling a foreboding and dangerous image behind Hanejima Yuuhei's unknown older brother.

Shizuo had not touched upon anything related to the show biz at all since then.

Now his younger brother was the one asking him? No matter what, there was no way he was going to cause even more trouble for his brother. He couldn't accept this—

"I'll pay half of the fines you owe."

Shizuo wrestled with himself. If he accepted it, all his debts to the city would be paid, with some leftover probably…but it wouldn't happen. Something would go wrong, and he knew it. He couldn't ruin his brother's name. He opened his mouth, fully intending to say no.

"Fine."

His mouth fell open. What did I just- Quickly trying to rectify his impulsive response, he made the move to speak.

Kasuka beat him to it. "Great. Thanks, Brother. The male model who was supposed to do the job called in for a family emergency. No one else was available either, so thanks for filling in for it."

The blonde felt weak for once. "Uh, Kasuka. Actually I—" He hesitated. "Y-yeah, no problem. Just stand still for a few shots right?" He fell to his knees. What am I getting into?!

"Yeah. I'll come by to pick you up right now. Come in something other than the suits I gave you, please."

He stumbled on his words a bit. "Yeah, s-sure, no problem."

Shizuo sat there for a moment in numb silence. When he finally felt up to it, he stood and walked into his bedroom. Digging through his closet, he found an old white T-shirt and faded blue jeans he had worn back in high school. He put them on quickly, noticing they were slightly too tight but paid no mind to it, and grabbed his phone before he left the door.

He looked down from the second floor of his apartment when he heard a quiet roar of an engine. It was Kasuka in his red Ferrari. Shizuo let out a resigned sigh. That scheming brother of his. His younger brother had been waiting in front of his apartment the entire time, fully knowing Shizuo would succumb to his request.

The stoic man looked up when he heard the door open. He called up to his older brother in his usual emotionless tone, "Don't bring your sunglasses either."

Shizuo sighed again and tucked them on the hem of his shirt, climbing down the stairs and greeting Kasuka quietly. He entered the car without another word, Kasuka driving out of the small parking lot. When they reached the more populated part of the city, a girl squealed "Yuuhei!" stridently, alerting all the other pedestrians there. A hoard of paparazzi began to gather, chasing down the popular star.

Shizuo was an inch away from jumping out of the car and throwing cars at them all. He would make sure not to pick up Kasuka's car, of course.

"Don't." His brother warned monotonously.

The short tempered man scowled, but held in his anger. He reached his back pocket for a smoke when he realized he had left them in his flat. "Shit."

"What's wrong, Brother?"

"I forgot my cigarettes back at home." Shizuo growled out. He needed his fix. He knew he would need something to keep him decently calm during the shoot.

"Bottom drawer on the right. I bought them for you." His voice remained even.

Shizuo grunted his thanks, rummaging the drawer for them. When he found them, he was glad to find a lighter there too. He lit a cigarette and sucked in a breath. He exhaled slowly, feeling himself calm down. "So where is…the place I'm supposed to—to model?"

His younger brother turned to him for a second. "You'll see."

At the shooting location

Uzuki was the manager of the famous actor Hanejima Yuuhei. He had been assigned to him after Yuuhei's debut in "Vampire Ninja Carmilla Saizou" and had been ever since. Over the years, Uzuki had come to understand his strange charge a little bit more. He knew his charge took his job seriously. He knew his charge would not ditch his job without notice. He also knew his charge had never referred anyone into a job in the industry before. So when Yuuhei had stepped up and volunteered to find someone he knew was perfect for the job, the director accepted it without question. Uzuki's charge was very much respected in the Japan show biz, afterall.

Everyone involved in the shoot was asking the same question. Who was the person Yuuhei-san was entrusting the model job to?

They were currently taking shots of the female model first while they waited for Yuuhei and the fill-in model to come. He fretfully glanced at his watch for the fiftieth time that minute, resuming his circular pacing around his chair. Yuuhei-san…

Uzuki almost cried out of relief when the door opened to reveal the ever passive face of Hanejima Yuuhei. He started towards the actor with a grateful smile, stopping in his tracks when he noticed a tall, dirty blonde man following behind his charge. He had on an irritated scowl which only grew darker as they stepped into the room. Despite the angry snarl on the man's face, Uzuki could see the mysterious man was graced with a handsome physique. His sharp jaw line fitted with piercing almond eyes gave an air of masculinity around him. The T-shirt he wore, despite looking a bit wrinkled and old, fit tightly on his broad torso. His muscles rippled under the shirt from every small movement made. Uzuki easily see this man was not someone to mess with in a fight.

Little did he know how right he was.

Yuuhei bowed to his manager, apologizing in a quiet voice for being late. "I got held up in a little bit of paparazzi."

Uzuki glanced at the blonde man beside him when he saw him twitch. "That's fine. Who is this?"

Shizuo tried to ease his irrational burning anger with no avail. He managed a growl of "Nice to meet you. I'm Hibiki Shun." It was the alias he had decided with Kasuka. He didn't offer his hand at his introduction.

"Hello. I'm Uzuki, Yuuhei-san's manager." He extended his hand out, which Shizuo glanced down at and shook. He walked past the manager, not seeing the man wince as he nursed his hand.

Kasuka apologized again, this time for "Shun's" rude behavior, saying he didn't mean to squeeze his hand so hard, which was true. Shizuo's ever present scowl deepened again, already not liking the civil atmosphere the entire room exuded.

Give Shizuo anything but civil (and that flea), he could handle it. Civil represented everything the monster was not. He was not envious of the civility, no. Shizuo had long accepted his powers and what it brought with it. He embraced every aspect of his inhuman strength and enjoyed every second of his life with it. The only time he didn't enjoy his life was when he was angry. Unfortunately that happened much too often for his taste, but Shizuo had done his best to curb his explosive temper when he could. He couldn't deal with civil because dealing with civil meant being civil, which he knew he would never be.

"Excuse me, Hibiki-san."

"Hibiki-san."

Shizuo grimaced when he remembered he was "Hibiki Shun." He turned at his alias to see a lady looking up at him nervously. He tried to keep his tone even. "What is it?"

"Um, could you c-come with me to the dre-dressing room…? We need to get you ready."

A few minutes later, at the same location

If Kasuka wasn't here, the entire place would have been trashed right now. No doubt the stage lights would have fallen on the stage; the white background for the shoot would be torn; the doors would be off their hinges and thrown around; lots of stuff would have happened if Heiwajima Kasuka was not here.

Luckily, he was.

Shizuo was forced to put on some heavy black clothes made of what he thought leather that probably cost more than two months of his rent plus utilities, and then—oh, the absurdity of it all—had makeup applied onto him. He was absolutely baffled (and enraged) when the woman timidly told him so. He couldn't tell if she was joking or not.

He found out soon enough that she wasn't.

Kasuka managed to smooth his temper over enough for him to not go berserk, which Shizuo mentally noted to thank him later.

Now, he stood under the blinding lights with staff crowded around the shoot. He was somewhat back to back with his brother in an angle so they both faced the photographer. The man behind the camera could be heard constantly snapping pictures of them.

"Hibiki-san, please keep your face in at least a neutral expression."

"Loosen up, Hibiki-san. Follow Hanejima-san's example."

"Eyes on the camera, Hibiki-san."

"Hibiki-san—"

Shizuo's entire being quivered in withheld fury. He couldn't do this. He just couldn't He knew it wasn't going to work—

"Shizuo. Deep breaths." The voice came from his brother, so quiet that it came out less than a whisper.

The blonde squeezed his eyes tight, doing as Kasuka said. In. Out. In. Out.

Under the fiery haze of anger, Shizuo felt a small flicker of relief when he felt the wound up knot in his throat loosen slowly. His brother whispered to him in a breath. "Lean against the wall and tilt your head up a bit, but still look at the camera. Give them a scowl."

Doing what his brother said in slight confusion, he let himself relax against the white wall behind them. He put on a dark scowl full of contempt that was not at all an act.

The staff gasped at that. The photographer squealed in excitement, rapidly snapping pictures while gushing out, "Yes! Yes! Perfect! This is the 'bad boy ' image all the girls go for! Now, Hibiki-san, put your hood up and give me a more calculating and calm look but keep the same ferocity! Hanejima-san, match yourself with him!"

Shizuo, who didn't exactly know why his pose caused such a commotion but figured it was good, put up his hood with a glance at his brother. Kasuka returned his look with appreciation. It made Shizuo feel like doing this was slightly worth more than before. Not that he would ever say that.

He knit his eyebrows with a frown in confusion at the director's words, not understanding how to "keep the same ferocity" but be calmer. That just didn't work.

There was another squeal coming from the director. "Yeeeees! You got it, Hibiki-san! I thought you were an amateur at this, but are you really?"

The blonde cleared his throat with a blink of surprise. He let out a brief grunt. "Yeah."

The photographer almost seemed to melt in the ground at his response. "And your voice matches your image perfectly…" He literally purred out. "Could you perhaps be a singer?"

Shizuo lifted an eyebrow. Another squeal and rapid clicking of the camera. "Uh, no." He was no longer pissed at the entire situation, thanks to Kasuka; just unable to keep up the director's fangirling.

Kasuka explained plainly in his usual tone, "He has no prior experience at all in this field."

"Hibiki-san! That is amazing! Your passion is—is so—clear! You convey it as well as a seasoned pro! You are extraordinary!"

Yes, he knew he was extraordinary the moment he lifted the refrigerator above his head in blind anger when Kasuka had eaten his pudding as children. Shizuo didn't know what to say.

After that, Kasuka and Shizuo were fitted multiple different outfits, each one being taken pictures of. The blonde honestly couldn't care less what he was wearing as long as it wasn't his birthday suit or anything similar to it, so he didn't make much comment about it, except growl out in mild annoyance that there was too many of them. The director, who had warmed up to him exponentially more than before, assured him they were almost done. As for each and every pose Shizuo made, they were all based on Kasuka's whispered instructions, who seemed to know exactly how to excite the director.

Half an hour later, outside the photo shoot building

Shizuo shook hands with the director, making sure he kept his grip soft, deciding he wasn't that bad of a person.

Kasuka did the same and politely bid him good-bye.

The director smiled and nodded. He said, "I appreciate your service today, Hanejima-san. It is a whole other level to be able to purposely match with your partner. Thank you."

The famous actor merely nodded without a change in expression. Uzuki, the manager, was the last to shake hands with the director. To him, the photographer said, "The photos should be released sometime around mid-May. They'll be posted all over the place! I can guarantee that!"

Shizuo stiffened. He sincerely hoped "all over the place" didn't include Ikebukuro.

A/N: Whew! First chp, done! I hope I captured all the characters' characters (haha) correctly.