Is it an Act?

Sounds of the flow of water from the tap and the scrubbing of glasses with cloths filled the empty bar. Marui placed the last glass in the cabinet and wiped his hands on his apron, loosening the knot at the back and stripped it off of his body. Folding it neatly, he placed it on the counter top and turned towards a girl, barely the age of twenty, with thick brown curls that flowed down her waist and bright blue eyes, behind the tap soaking the cloths in the sink. Marui subconsciously reached into his black pants pocket to pull out a pack of cigarettes. He placed one in between his lips before reaching into his other pocket to pull out a lighter. The girl, Watanabe Hinako, pulled off her apron and draped it over her left arm while plucking the cigarette out of Marui's mouth.

She carefully placed her apron on top of Marui's and waved the cigarette in the air, pointing towards the no-smoking sign at the top of the wall, flanked by photographs of not-so-popular idols who visited the small bar. Marui roughly ran his hand through his bright red hair and grabbed it back, dumping it into the box and shoved both the packet of cigarettes and the lighter back into his pockets. Watanabe smirked as if she had won a competition. "Ah," she suddenly exclaimed, and ran through the staff-only door – leading to the locker room – to return with her phone in hand. "Did you hear about it?"

"What about?" Marui replied, leaning against the bar counter.

"This! Hold on a sec," Watanabe muttered, her fingers flying across the screen of her touchscreen phone. When she was done, she flashed it towards Marui, the screen displaying an article from the entertainment section – full of pointless gossip that Marui never bothered to read.

Rising Star Falls Out of Stardom?

The popular young actor, Niou Masaharu (27) announced his retirement from the film industry at four this afternoon at Piers Hotel during an interview with Celebs Galore magazine, much to the surprise of millions of fans. Niou Masaharu has not disclosed any information for his sudden decision.

"Hmm…" hummed Marui as he turned away from the screen, busying himself with keeping the cutleries in its appropriate places in the cupboard.

Watanabe pouted and folded her arms across her chest. "How can you not be interested in this? Niou-san is the best actor alive! How could he just retire now?" She waited for a response from Marui, only to receive none. "Guess you're not a fan, eh?" Watanabe ended up being disappointed for Marui said neither yes nor no. Tucking her phone away, Watanabe puffed up her cheeks and fixed her hair. She then tapped Marui's shoulder while he was putting away their folded aprons and said, "The night's still young. Wanna go on a date with me?" so cutely that most men would fall on their knees and kiss the floor she walked on.

Marui straightened up and laughed. "You should be heading home and getting some sleep or you won't be able to attend classes today. It's late, little one." He then gave her a pat on the head and entered the locker room. Watanabe pouted for the second time.

"Why won't you go on a date with a pretty girl, Marui-san?"

Marui poked his head out. "Your lack of shame amazes me."

"You'll end up old and lonely if you keep rejecting dates with a beautiful – yes, beautiful – girl." Watanabe stuck her tongue out childishly. Marui walked out, having changed out of his uniform and into his skinny jeans and button up shirt.

"Shouldn't you be finding someone your own age?"

"I will when you get a girlfriend."

"…you really should stop hitting on your boss." Marui rubbed his temples.

"Get a girlfriend then." Watanabe pointed to herself. "Come on, a hot girl is offering herself. Accept it already."

"That's because he'd rather take it up the ass." Marui opened his mouth and closed it again. The voice was a male's and very familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger onto it. Watanabe had turned away from him and was furrowing her eyebrows at a strange figure at the door, clad in a trench coat, huge sunglasses which hid most of his face and a Fedora on his head.

"We're closed," said Marui, eyeing the strange man skeptically.

"I know," the male replied, and took a step forwards. The posture, the movement, in addition to that smirk, all so familiar that it hit Marui and he sucked in his stomach. Watanabe edged closer to Marui and tugged on his top, taking caution towards that stranger in the shop.

"Watanabe, go home, I'll take care of things here." Watanabe shot him a stunned gaze but Marui didn't waver, and instead repeated more firmly, "Go home. Now." Glancing back and forth at her employer and the stranger, she started to back away and head into the locker room at the back. Neither Marui nor the strange man spoke until Marui heard the back door, which led to the alleyway, slam shut.

"Niou," Marui breathed out and the man removed the Fedora, revealing a brown wig very much similar to the one he always used when dressing up as Yagyuu, greeting Marui with his signature smirk.

"It's been a while, Marui."

.~.

No one was surprised when Niou announced that he was going to go into the acting industry. They all thought that it would fit the man known as the Trickster perfectly. Niou had auditioned for a minor role in a popular drama series right after graduating from Rikkaidai University and made a name for himself ever since. Marui fixed his eyes onto Niou as the other male settled on a stool on the other side of the bar counter. Niou placed the Fedora on the bar counter and removed his wig – still sporting the same hairstyle he did since middle school – and sunglasses.

"What are you doing here?"

Niou made eye contact with Marui. Those blue eyes stared right into Marui's soul; a feeling that he had been so accustomed to, but hated. It felt different somehow. "Can't I visit an old friend?"

"Nothing's ever just a visit with you," Marui spoke from experience. He averted his eyes. Memories threatened to force open the locked chest Marui buried deep inside his mind. "Niou Masaharu does not pop into a bar past opening hours for a casual chitchat. Especially after years of no contact."

"I'm just here to visit." Niou glanced around the bar and placed his chin on his palm. "Still, never thought that Marui Bunta would open up a bar of all things."

"I do what I like." Marui folded his arms across his chest, shifting his weight onto one leg. "Isn't that what you did?"

Niou hummed. "You can say that." He played with the brown wig on the counter, running his fingers over it as if stroking a pet. "I expected you to open a bakery. You rambled on and on about it during high school."

"And here I thought you would continue being an actor till you die. We can't assume things can we?" Marui replied. Niou froze in his position. "…why did you quit?" He had been interested despite his reaction towards Watanabe, it being unbelievable, for Niou loved his job. Or so he thinks.

Silence filled the empty bar and Marui wanted to eat the words he said. That was an impossible motion so he waited. "I don't know," Niou answered. Marui didn't know whether to believe in those words. "So…that girl's pretty cute." A deliberate and obvious change in subject, very unlike Niou, Marui thinks.

Marui raised an eyebrow, before remembering, ah, Watanabe. "I guess."

"Not doing anything illegal with a minor are you?"

"She's like, twenty. Not quite a minor. And no, I'm not you." Marui rolled his eyes. "Now, what was that about me taking it up the ass?"

"Don't you?" Niou smirked.

.~.

"That's not how you do it," Marui instructed, shaking his head. Watanabe held a two-piece cocktail shaker in her hands and stopped her movement, placing the shaker down on the counter with a frown. There was still an hour or two before opening hours and Marui was teaching Watanabe how to shake the beverages. "You're not using enough strength. Don't just rock it back and forth, you're doing nothing except for moving the ice from one end to the other."

Watanabe curled her bottom lip up and Marui demonstrated for her, picking up the shaker and filled the smaller one with the ingredients and ice. Then he covered the smaller half with the larger half and stuck the base of the inverted half with the heel of his hand, to lock the halves together, creating a seal. Picking it up after ensuring that he had made a good seal, Marui shook it as hard as he could over his shoulder back and forth – the type he preferred. Once the outside of the shaker collected condensation and became frosty, Marui stopped and broke the seal with a firm strike and strained the cocktail into a glass like a professional.

"You always make it look cool," Watanabe mused. "Like on television."

Marui laughed. "Stop thinking about looking cool while shaking and focus on getting your technique right."

"Yes boss…"

"Now do it again," he ordered, reaching to the cocktail that he shook and brought the glass up to his lips. Watanabe looked up from the shaker and glared at him.

"No drinking on the job!"

"Yes ma'am!" Marui placed the glass down and saluted. They both laughed and Marui felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Keeping an eye on Watanabe as she repeated the training, he fished it out from his pocket and looked at the screen. A text message from Niou. Realising that he had Niou as Niou Masaharu in his contacts, Marui makes a mental note to come up with a pseudo for him, lest someone sees it and recognises Niou's name.

Expect me outside your apartment later

Niou knew where he lived? Marui gaped at the screen. Then again, Marui thinks, Niou did found out where his bar was located and that he owned a bar in the first place.

wtf

:D

"Marui-san, how was – You're not even looking." Marui looked up to see Watanabe with her hands on her hips. He had unknowingly directed his full attention to his phone – damn that Niou – and quickly shoved his phone into his pocket. "How suspicious. Your girlfriend?"

"Not even close."

"Hmpf, boring." Watanabe tapped her fingers on the counter top. "So, do you want me to redo it?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

"Make sure you watch closely this time!" Watanabe sternly told him and Marui rolled his eyes. Their roles seemed to have swapped around. Signalling for her to start, Marui focused for the first few seconds, but ended up being distracted by his thoughts about Niou. Really, why did everything always have to lead back to Niou?

Later, Marui opened up the bar with a red spot on his forehead.

.~.

True enough, when Marui jingled his keys in his hand as he approached his front door, Niou was leaning against his door with a toothpick in between his teeth, looking bored like heck. Marui stopped a few steps away from Niou and the latter turned, greeting Marui with a casual two-finger salute. Marui scanned Niou from head to toe and frowned.

"What if someone sees you?" Niou was dressed in a gray hoodie and baggy jeans, his noticeable silver hair and rattail out in the open for all to see. Marui immediately unlocked his front door and ushered Niou into his apartment, shutting the door behind him.

"Chill-lax, there's no one out in the wee hours of the morning. You make it sound like I'm a criminal on the run." Niou's shoes were gone in a flash and Marui vaguely saw his rattail disappear into the kitchen.

"Fans and the paps are on your tail twenty-four-seven. Close enough." Marui shrugged off his coat and kicked off his shoes. He tossed his keys onto the coffee table and slumped down onto the sofa. Lighting a cigarette, Marui smoked it and tossed the lighter onto the coffee table, similarly as he did with his keys. "Would be troublesome if the paps start stalking me because of you."

Niou groaned upon seeing Marui's empty fridge and emerged from the kitchen. "Since when did you smoke?"

"Don't remember. Years ago, maybe." Marui placed his feet up on the table, the cigarette held between his index and middle finger. "What do you want?"

"Woah, straight to the point. Fine, 'lemme crash over at your place tonight, or I guess I should say for the day."

"Why?"

"Tsuki-san – my manager, ex-manager – is staking out at my place. It's a pain, really." Niou rubbed the back of his neck and rotated his head. "She just can't accept the fact that I said I'm quitting. Keeps trying to get me to "reconsider" my decision. The paps are nothing compared to her."

Marui leant forwards and snuffed out his cigarette. Running his fingers through his hair, he stood up and said, "Alright. Only for today though. I don't care if you have to sleep on the streets tomorrow."

"How mean."

"I don't run a charity. Deal with it. Make yourself comfy, I'm goin' to get a shower." Plodding on the wooden tiles, Marui vanished into his room. A few moments later, he poked his head out and said, "Ah, I forgot. You can sleep in the other room. I think I have a spare mattress in there. It's a mess but, like I said, deal with it."

"Yes sir."

Nodding, Marui's head disappeared from the doorway again.

.~.

Marui entered his room after a nice long shower, only wearing a pair of shorts, with his towel draped around his neck, and jumped when he saw Niou lying on his bed, flipping through an old photo album Marui forgot existed. "The hell you're doing Niou."

"Yo."

"I told you to make yourself comfy, but not to invade my room and fucking – I don't know – dig out some crap out of nowhere." Marui tossed on a shirt sat on the floor, leaning his back against the side of the bed. "Where'd you find that by the way."

"Under your bed believe it or not, plus, a lot of other things I'd rather forget about."

Marui raised an eyebrow. He didn't have anything strange underneath his bed, if he remembered correctly. Excluding maybe the occasional laziness to throw away a pizza box and kicking it under there. Okay, fine, maybe he was a little messy. Sue him. "What possessed you to look for my photo album anyways."

"Nothing, just bored." Niou flipped over the page, scanning his eyes over the photos and stopped. "Ah. This was…"

Curious, Marui got up and squeezed onto the bed with Niou. It was a photo of all the former Rikkaidai regulars in their third year; the day Yukimura was released from the hospital, just before the Nationals tournament. "We look like little kids."

"That's because we were kids, dum-dum."

"Teenagers," Marui corrected. Niou didn't really find the difference and shrugged, as much as he could in that position.

"Oh, yeah, I visited Hiroshi earlier today – or yesterday, I guess – and you should have seen his face. It was like he saw a ghost or something. That might have been because I flung a praying mantis at his face when he opened the door but that's another story."

"Good God!" Marui chuckled at the mental image. "Yagyuu must have been pissed."

"Yup. I would have done it once more but the mini Yagyuus appeared. Scared the heck out of me. They were definitely his kids, yeah, that unbearable stiff politeness. They're only four and they act like freakin' adults!" Niou shuddered. "His wife – Manami, I think her name was – flipped out when she saw me though."

Marui tapped on his sheets, rummaging through his memories. "…yeah, I think he did mention that she was a fan of yours. It was at their wedding if I remember correctly…" He scrunched up his face; like how he always did when he was thinking. "…ah, after she saw you in the lead role of Three Mice?"

"Well, he certainly didn't tell her that we knew each other." Niou paused. "Wait, wasn't that four years ago? Where'd the kids pop out from?"

"It was a shotgun marriage."

"Hiroshi? This is Hiroshi we're talking about here, that stupidly frigid guy who refused to say 'fuck' even after I threatened to sell his kidneys to the black market."

"That's just how it happened."

"Heh…" Niou hummed. "Whatever. I still don't get why he didn't mention me to his family. After all the things we've been through together," Niou dramatically moaned and buried his face in his hands.

"I don't think any of us told anyone." Marui rolled over onto his side, resting his head on his palm as he stared at Niou. "I mean, I didn't think I would even see you again. And I don't mean on television."

Niou returned the stare. The corners of his lips curled into a smirk. "Why? Do you want to ravish me?"

Marui choked on air and shoved Niou off the bed. Looking over the latter, who was rubbing his back in pain, Marui said, "Get out and go to sleep."

"But the sun's rising."

"In case you don't know, I've turned nocturnal ever since I opened up the bar. Now if you would please…" Marui pointed towards the door. Niou was about to rebut but Marui didn't waver and continued to point at the door. Giving up, Niou left and Marui turned to look at the open photo album. Picking it up gently, Marui looked at the photo; where he, Niou, and Akaya were sitting on the ground in front of Yukimura and the others. He didn't fail to notice the way the past him was leaning slightly closer towards Niou and quickly slammed the photo album shut, chucking it under the bed where Niou claimed to have found it.

Little by little, Marui knew, the memories and feelings he kept locked away were seeping out, and there was nothing he could do about it.

.~.

Niou was gone by the time Marui awoke, leaving only a message on the coffee table.

Thanks :D

It was typical of Niou; to come and go as he pleased. He hadn't changed one bit since they first met. Marui sipped on his cup of coffee and scrunched the paper up in his hand, aiming at the paper bin situated at the corner of the apartment. He missed. Marui took another sip. He would pick that up another time.

Finishing up the rest of his coffee, Marui placed the empty cup into the sink, realising that his old stack of stinky and dirty dishes was gone and placed neatly on the drying rack. Niou, Marui smiled to himself, really, still that clean freak as always. Deciding to leave the washing till later (like he always did), Marui left the kitchen and heard his phone ring.

Watanabe Hinako

Oh, that's strange. Watanabe mostly never called him unless it was job related. While working though…was another story.

"'ello?" Marui clasped the phone between his ear and his shoulder, flipping through the letters he grabbed from the mailbox. Bills, junk, bills, more junk.

"Marui-san, help!"

"Eh?" Marui straightened his head, catching his phone with his hand as it fell from its previous position. "What's wrong?"

"There are some scary-looking people, they're harassing my friends. I've already called the police. Marui-san, I'm scared!"

"Calm down Watanabe. Where are you?" Marui ran around his apartment, tossing on a random set of clothes he found in his wardrobe.

"Outside Hem's café. Marui-san, please hurry!"

"Just hold on, I'll be there in a sec." Hurriedly putting his shoes on, Marui dashed out of his apartment. Crap, that seemed serious.

Marui arrived fifteen minutes later, huffing and puffing, only to see Watanabe – her long hair tied up in a high ponytail, dressed in a frilly pink dress – with a big innocent smile on her face, waving at him from across the street. When he got his breath back, Marui swore under his breath. He had been tricked.

.~.

Marui looked awkwardly down at the group of people seated around a table. There were two girls and two guys, other than himself and Watanabe. Watanabe had dragged him by the arm into the café and cheerfully introduced him to her friends. She gestured to a petite girl with short black hair that barely reached her neck in a simple gray dress.

"This is Minami Seri, she's shy so please don't scare her," Watanabe said, giggling at the blush on Minami's face. Then, she gestured to the other girl with long blonde hair with pink streaks and multiple piercings in her left ear, in a biker jacket and skinny jeans. "That's Hori Kiyoshi, don't be intimidated by her looks, she's like a fluffy chick on the inside."

Marui nodded slowly, still unsure of the reason for his presence there. Watanabe ignored Hori's death glare and turned to the guys, "Uh…you two can introduce yourselves."

The two guys slapped their thighs and shook their heads. "I'm Yuusora Tomoya, nice to meet you," one of them said, holding out a hand for Marui to shake. He had dark blue hair and wore a pair of black framed spectacles. The other, with black hair and green highlights, followed suit, introducing himself as Igarashi Gen.

Watanabe clapped her hands in joy and said loudly, "Now that we all know each other. Let's start this group date! By the way, Marui-san's mine, don't touch him you two." She then latched herself onto Marui's arm and sat down beside him. Marui's eyes went wide.

Crap, what did he get himself into?

Marui didn't know whether he was lucky or not but his phone started to ring in his pocket. "Excuse me," he told Watanabe after looking at the caller id and sneaked away from the table, hiding behind one of the giant artificial potted plants scattered around the café. "Niou."

"You sound grumpy. Are you free right now? Let's go somewhere together."

Marui peeked out from behind the potted plant. "I can't. I'm kind of busy right now."

"Your bar doesn't open on Wednesdays."

"I know. But that's not the problem. Watanabe tricked me, I got myself into a group date."

"Guys or girls?"

"Don't joke with me! A normal group date, what do you think?" Marui nearly yelled into the phone, and muttered apologies at other customers that he had disturbed. Cupping his hand over his mouth, Marui softly hissed, "You going to help me or not?"

"Sorry. Please repeat yourself. You're at where?"

"In Hem's café on a group date," Marui hissed annoyed.

"What's a gay guy doing at a group date with other girls?"

"Shut up. I told you, I got tricked. It's not like I want to be here." Marui was gay. Not quite the closeted gay, not quite openly gay either; he liked to think of it as being semi-closeted. His parents and brothers knew, they were the first he told, and the only others who knew were the former Rikkaidai regulars. He was already on the verge of exploding from annoyance. It didn't help that Niou was laughing on the other end of the line. "Stop laughing or I'll change your name to Bastard," Marui threatened, remembering that he had forgotten to make a pseudo for Niou in his contact list.

"Then I'll change yours to Moron. Dude, you got owned by a girl!"

"Touché. But seriously, help me."

"Geez, okay okay, I'll get backup."

Finally. Marui pocketed his phone and walked back to the table, apologising to Watanabe for taking too long. Maybe it was because he looked annoyed, for Watanabe asked, "You're not going to dock my pay are you?"

"No, why?"

"You look annoyed." Yup, maybe it was because he looked annoyed. Watanabe continued, "Sorry for tricking you, one of the guys couldn't make it so we had to find another to even up the numbers."

Marui sighed and patted her on the head. "How about you get yourself one of those two as your boyfriend and stop hitting on me already."

Watanabe grimaced. "Not my type."

Marui rolled his eyes. "At least try." Watanabe stuck out her tongue at him and sipped on her Coca Cola. His phone beeped – a text from Niou.

backup will be there in a few

Marui smiled. Niou certainly was useful in some ways, but he wondered what the backup was. He didn't have long to think, for someone distracted him from his thoughts by calling out his name, "Eh, Marui-senpai?"

Marui swivelled around and saw Kirihara standing by the entrance to the café. "Akaya, what are you doing here?" Watanabe nudged him, curiosity in her eyes, but Marui ignored her.

"Niou-senpai – " Ah, Niou. Marui didn't bother to listen to the rest of Kirihara's sentence. Smirking inwardly, Marui stood up and grabbed Kirihara by the arm, dragging him towards Watanabe and the others – he didn't even remember their names anymore.

"Watanabe, this is Aka – I mean, Kirihara Akaya. Twenty-seven years old, single, he plays tennis and can be a real brat at times. I have something to attend to right now so he'll be my replacement. See you!" he went on like a bullet train, with a cheeky grin fixed onto his face and was out of the café in a jiffy. Marui wondered if he should feel guilty for using Kirihara as a scapegoat but decided against it for it was Niou's plan after all – at least, he thinks it is.

Walking aimlessly on the streets, Marui pulled out his mobile phone and called Niou. "To think that the backup was Akaya. You're one fearsome Trickster, Niou. You've not lost your touch."

"Worked like a charm, didn't it?" Marui heard Niou laugh on the other side of the line.

"Yup, he's most likely the centre of attention as we speak." Marui paused at the streetlight.

"Hmm…" Niou hummed. "Go to the clock in front of the station."

"Ehh…? Why should I?"

"You're free right now aren't you? Plus, you owe me one. Get your legs moving and come over here already!"

"I let you sleep over at my place. You owed me. So now we're even. Now that that's over, I'm going to return home, kick back and relax. Without disturbance!" Marui cut the call, shoving his phone into his pocket and turned a hundred-and-eighty degrees as his home was in the opposite direction of his initial direction of motion. His mobile rang in his pocket, but Marui presumed that it was Niou and ignored it.

.~.

Marui flopped down onto his bed the moment he reached his room. He didn't even bother to change. What a hectic day, it was his one day of rest for the week for goodness sake. First was Watanabe, next was Niou; couldn't a man get his rest? Pushing himself off the mattress, Marui walked over to his balcony and lit a cigarette. Jackal never failed to tell him that it'll give him cancer, but really, Marui could care less. It was always a touchy subject around Jackal, for his father had died from lung cancer caused by excessive smoking a few years back.

Marui closed his eyes and enjoyed the breeze in his face. Needless to say, when the doorbell rang like a fire alarm, Marui was less than pleased. He stomped over to his front door and burst it open, eyes narrowed, eyebrows slanted down and cigarette dangling from annoyed lips which was shaped in a somewhat lopsided frown. It was a sight worthy to be on the front page of the newspaper.

"You're smoking. Again." Niou blinked rapidly in front of Marui, stating the obvious.

"There's no witty comeback for how stupid that was. That, and I'm too lazy to think of one." Marui sighed and placed his hands on his hips, resting his weight on one leg as he tilted his head to the left. "State your purpose in less than ten words and get lost."

There was a long moment of silence as Marui watched Niou rub the back of his neck, his hand brushing against the black wig he had on. Niou then clicked his fingers and pointed at Marui. "You." Then, pointing to himself. "Me. Out. Yukimura. Garden. Hole. Egg. Explode. Stinky. Yes? No?"

"I said less than ten. That was eleven words."

"You actually counted? I lost count after me."

"I do as I please." Marui removed the cigarette from his mouth. "A definite no."

"Why not?" Niou more or less whined. "You always jumped in no matter what last time."

"Firstly, it's too troublesome. Secondly, we're not kids anymore. Thirdly, I don't want to get on Yukimura's bad side." Marui moved to shut the door. He paused halfway. "Oh and additionally, I do not always join in your pranks."

Niou kicked his foot into the gap, preventing Marui from closing the door. Marui made a low growl and opened the door wider again. "What? I told you to get lost."

"I've already told Yukimura that you're accompanying me."

"Tell him that I cancelled."

"I can't do that."

"Yes you can."

Niou fell silent and he had downcast eyes. "Yes, you're right. I could tell him that…"

Marui narrowed his eyes at Niou, that tone Niou spoke in suggested a 'but', and Marui did not like it when Niou utters the word 'but'. As if trying to avoid the dreaded word, Marui quickly said, "Only for a few hours. I'll join you for only a few hours. After that, you'll leave me alone, got it?"

Niou smirked in victory. "I knew you'd say that."

Marui grumbled some incomprehensible words. He hadn't failed to notice that Niou made sure not to answer to his question. Gesturing with his hands, he told Niou to wait and ran further into his apartment, to grab his keys. Shutting the door behind him, Marui looked up and Niou, sighed and said, "Okay, let's go."

"Yes, Master."

Marui took a few steps and swirled around, confusion written all over his features. "What did you call me?"

"You're a bar owner, hence Master."

"Maybe if you're a customer." Marui paused. "Actually, no. Don't ever be my customer. Hell, if I have to see you even while I'm working – "

"I shall take you up on that offer, Master," Niou interrupted, a grin on his face. Marui groaned, threw his hands up in the air and would have stomped his feet against the ground like a three-year-old but refrained himself. Curse his mouth. Actually, no, curse Niou. Yes, that'll work nicely.

.~.

Marui felt like an idiot.

He felt like an idiot, squatting down behind a bush outside Yukimura's house next to an even bigger idiot, who had sticks in his wig and leaves on his face. He sighed, grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled out a cigarette with the other hand.

Niou swiped the cigarette off of him and hissed, "Are you trying to set us on fire?" He gestured to the bush just a hair away from their faces.

"If that'll make us not look like creeps and get those rubbish off your face, sure."

"This is Operation: Egg Stink Bomb in Yukimura's Garden, not Operation: Set Niou on Fire. I know I'm hot, but you don't have to make me even hotter till I'm literally in flames."

"You sure are modest."

"You have to admit I'm hot."

Marui kept silent and stole the cigarette back from Niou like the genius he was; practice made perfect as he often had to do the same with Watanabe for he kept forgetting that he shouldn't smoke in the bar.

"I'll take the silence as a yes."

"And, how do you plan on doing this?" Marui ignored Niou and changed the subject. He ended up sitting down cross legged on the grass for his muscles started to ache from squatting for too long.

Niou held up the shovel in his left hand and grinned. "Dig of course. How else would a hole appear? Magic?"

Marui rolled his eyes. "Obviously I don't mean how you're going to create the hole. Are you an idiot? Wait a minute. You are an idiot. I'm asking how do you plan on digging up someone's garden without being seen by the neighbours, stupid."

Niou waved his hand in the air and chuckled. "It'll work out somehow. Don't stress too much about the tiny details."

"Yeah, I'm not picking you up from the police station," Marui mumbled under his breath. Leaving Niou there would save him a whole lot of trouble.

"I won't go to jail."

"We'll see about that."

"I'll show you." Niou stood up, his shovel by his side, posing like a heroic warrior entering the final boss battle. Only it looked idiotic because it was Niou, with sticks in his wig and leaves on his face, and his 'weapon' as a shovel.

"Good luck…" Marui monotonously cheered him on, waving from behind the bush as Niou went on his courageous mission.

To dig a hole in Yukimura's garden.

.~.

Right. Of course Marui had no need to worry. For Niou simply transformed into Yukimura. It wouldn't be strange for the owner to dig a hole in his own garden would it? Just when Marui was wondering how deep Niou was going to dig – his entire lower body was already out of sight –, Niou straightened up and threw something into the hole before quickly dashing over towards Marui and hiding behind the bush together with the red head.

The stench from the stink bomb was foul.

Marui pinched his nose and swore, his eyes watering up from the horrible smell. Yukimura was going to be pissed. Damn it! He knew he shouldn't have came along. Marui wondered what Niou did to that stink bomb to make the effect this widespread for residents from nearby houses started to appear with their hands over their noses. Marui saw the crowd gather outside Yukimura's house and Yukimura's blue hair bobbing around them. The crowd suddenly split in the middle and Marui saw Yukimura facing their general direction.

Oh shit.

"I'm grateful for your concern," Yukimura said to his neighbours and bowed slightly, his eyes however, still eyeing the bush the two were hiding behind. "But it's just a small prank from a friend of mine. I'm sorry for any disturbance that they've caused."

It wasn't surprising to see that Yukimura's neighbours adored him, for they said many nice and kind words and retreated back into their own homes. Marui gulped when Yukimura stared full on at their bush.

"Isn't that right, Niou?"

Niou jumped up and did the pose Marui always did. Marui was not amused. "Puri."

.~.

Unexpectedly, Yukimura did not get angry at them for ruining his garden. Instead, he welcomed them into his house, introduced his family – his wife, Kyouko, and one-year old daughter, Fuuko – and served them tea. They sat around the dining table and Marui sipped on the cup of tea, fleeting his eyes towards Yukimura, then to Niou, and back again.

"A stink bomb, Niou?"

"It's called sticking to the classics, Yukimura."

"What? Are you planning on attacking Sanada with a fart bag?"

"I just might."

The two grinned at each other in a grin-fest while Marui continued sipping on the tea. It was only when Yukimura broke the grin-fest and turned to look at Marui that the latter put down the cup onto the tabletop.

"Marui, how has it been going with the bar?"

"It has been goin' alright." Marui shrugged.

Yukimura smiled and turned to Niou, "I was happy to hear that Marui would be accompanying you. See, that boy rarely contacts us after all."

Marui coughed. "Boy?"

Niou merely raised an eyebrow and replied, "Well, isn't that naughty of him?" Marui hated the way that the two spoke. It was as if he wasn't there.

"I speak to Jackal," Marui mumbled, in a small attempt to defend himself. But then again, it was only because Jackal frequently called to check up on him. He left out that detail of course.

"And not your old captain?" Yukimura faked hurt. It was during these times in which Yukimura acted like Niou did. Yukimura then laughed and changed the topic, "Niou, we have a gathering once in a while. You should join us sometimes."

"Oh?" Niou leaned forwards. "When would that be?"

"I can plan one in December if you'd like. I don't think any of us would be out of town then." Yukimura rubbed his chin and looked at Marui. "Would you agree, Marui?"

Marui nodded and it was decided.

.~.

"You don't contact them?"

Marui paused as they neared his apartment. "I do. Just not all the time. There ain't much to tell." They continued walking again. "Normally people call to inform others of their wedding, birth of a kid or stuff like that. It's not as if I have anything interesting to share," he added.

Niou made a low growl in reply, as if understanding what Marui meant. Marui stepped into his apartment and said, "I did my part of the deal, you do yours."

"I never agreed to it." Just as he expected. "Marui, you'll go to the gathering, won't you?"

"I always do."

Marui closed the door behind him and Niou didn't bother him for the rest of the day.

.~.

The bar was quiet, save for a few customers at a table in the corner. Marui poured beer into a few glasses and passed them to Watanabe to serve. He wiped his hands on a cloth and felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Glancing up, he observed the bar and shrugged, walking into the locker room to answer the call. There was nothing much going on, nothing that Watanabe couldn't handle.

"Hello?"

"Shh," Niou made a shushing sound from the other side of the line. Marui moved the phone away from his ear and stared at it puzzled, before placing it back.

"What is it? I don't have time for jok- "

"Just shush," Niou interrupted him. "Hold on for a few."

Marui sighed and leaned against the wall, tapping his fingers on his arm. He heard Niou turned the call on speaker and Sanada's voice in the background, welcoming Niou into his home. Ah, Niou was visiting Sanada this time. A few minutes later, a loud noise that sounded like a fart floated into Marui's ear through the phone.

"Sanada, did you just FART?" he heard Niou's teasing tone and Sanada yelling out the Trickster's name. Marui sniggered into his fist and heard Niou speak to him, "Classic old fart bag. Works every time. What d'ya think?"

"That you've just wasted precious minutes of my life." He paused. "But plus one for Sanada's scream. Haven't heard that in a while."

"Good to hear that."

"I've got to go back to my job now." Marui ended the call and left the locker room in somewhat better spirits.

.~.

"Master, one beer please."

That tone. Marui narrowed his eyes, and sure enough, in front of the counter was Niou, wearing a blond wig and green contacts, passing off wonderfully as a foreigner. "You."

"I took you up on that offer."

Marui swallowed a growl and poured Niou a glass of beer, just like he ordered. "Don't disturb me."

"Since when do I ever disturb this oh-so hardworking fella?"

"When you open your mouth."

Niou widened his eyes and nodded, locking his mouth with a key and throwing the key over his shoulder. He then smiled widely at Marui, in the way he knew irked Marui. Niou stayed in the bar till closing time, but neither of them spoke to each other during the whole time Niou was there. Marui couldn't help but notice that he had felt oddly comfortable with Niou there, like it was natural for him to be.

.~.

Marui curled up on his bed into a ball. He clutched his chest and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Stop," he mumbled under his breath, "don't return. Please."

For the first time in a long time, Marui felt as if he was back in high school all over again. All because the man named Niou Masaharu returned into his life.

.~.

Niou was at his apartment again. Looking for a place to stay. His own apartment was still under surveillance by his ex-manager, who apparently had nothing better to do. Marui looked at him and squashed the feelings that bubbled up within him, letting Niou into his apartment with an exaggerated sigh.

Before Marui knew it, Niou was in his room, on his bed, and flipping through his photo album yet again. "What are you doing?" Marui asked, folding his arms across his chest as he leaned against the side of his bedroom door.

"This is from when we were in high school, isn't it?"

Marui raised an eyebrow and walked towards Niou, looking over his shoulder at the photo. "Yeah, what about it?"

"Nothin' much."

Marui wondered what went on in Niou's mind, then again, no one knew what Niou was thinking.

"Oh, Yanagi's old haircut," Niou suddenly spoke up. "How nostalgic. His current one suits him better though."

"You always used to say that he placed a bowl on his head and cut around it."

"That's how it looked like!" Niou rolled over onto his back, his wig falling off his head and onto the bed. Silver strands spread out as Niou glanced up at the ceiling. Marui sat down beside him and stared down at the other man.

"You went to visit Yanagi today?"

"Yup, met him and his partner – I wonder why he doesn't want to get married, they're pretty much an old married couple already."

"I've never asked him that. Maybe he doesn't find it necessary?"

Niou hummed under his breath. "Yanagi's still hard to fool. But in the end, he fell for my toy cockroach in his cup." One minute Niou was smiling, and the next, Niou sighed and said, "Everyone has a nice family of their own. How nice."

Marui blinked, looked away and replied, "Don't say that to Jackal." Niou turned his head sidewards to look at Marui's back. "He separated from his wife a few months ago. He caught her having an affair. I think Jackal still has some feelings for her."

"That's rough."

"Yeah…it is…"

They both didn't know what else to say and Niou started to flip through the photo album again, pausing every few seconds when he caught sight of their photographs from high school. Marui wondered why he was so fixed on them.

.~.

"You look like a mad cat went wild on your face."

"Akaya."

"Oh." Marui raised an eyebrow. Damn, that boy could scratch. He passed Niou the first-aid kit he found lying around his apartment. It was strange how Niou always wound up at his place one way or the other. "What did you do to make him so mad?"

"The group date, you know. It's your fault, actually. You should be the one getting mauled, not me."

"Hey." Marui raised his hands in the air. "It was your idea to make him my backup."

"But you were the one who needed the backup because you got fooled by a girl."

"Touché."

"You always say that." Niou hissed as he dabbed the cotton wool against his cheek. "Since you agree that it's your fault, take care of these for me." He pointed towards his entire face. "Doctor Marui."

Marui's mood darkened, then, there was a glint in his eye that Niou couldn't quite catch. Marui smiled sweetly – in a way so fake that it brought shivers down Niou's spine – and said, "Sure. Just hold on a sec." Marui took the cotton wool away from Niou and took a new one from the kit. "Stay still."

Niou knew what was going to happen next. Marui was quite transparent in his plots after all. Even so, Niou obeyed Marui's words and kept still, only to be groaning in pain while Marui "treated" him like a nice doctor he was.

.~.

It was Niou's birthday on the day of their gathering, which ended up being a birthday party for Niou. A coincidence, maybe? But Marui thinks otherwise. After all, Yukimura was the one who planned it. The gang were in a restaurant owned by one of Yukimura's friends and had the special VIP room to themselves.

"Marui-senpai! Niou-senpai and you are so mean!" Kirihara was the first to make himself heard when Marui entered the restaurant – he was the last to arrive. Even though he was already an adult, Kirihara still acted like a child around them. "Handing me like meat on a silver platter into a group date! I'm not single you know!"

Marui sheepishly chuckled and sat down beside Jackal, who poured a cup of juice for him. "Tachibana isn't in town, it's not like she'll know. Not unless you tell her of course."

"She'll get mad."

"Learn to keep your mouth shut."

"She'll be furious when she finds out I kept it a secret."

"Then just tell her the truth?" Marui shrugged, gulping down the juice – orange, yuck. Those bottled orange flavoured juice never tasted like real orange, just sour and disgusting artificial flavouring. He spotted a bottle of Pepsi and tossed the plastic cup he held away, filling up a new one with the soft drink.

Niou moved to sit on Marui's other side. Marui glanced at him through the corner of his eye. He thought that Niou looked funny with a small party hat on his head, also noting that Niou wasn't wearing a wig. He later found a brown wig somewhere on the floor at the corner of the room.

"Happy birthday, I guess."

Niou turned to look at him and the corners of his lips curled up, "Thanks, I guess."

Marui placed the cup down onto the table and realised that he didn't buy any presents for Niou. Crap. Going to a birthday party without a single present, great job, Marui Bunta. Marui decided to keep silent about it, hoping that Niou wouldn't mention a present. Unfortunately for Marui, things never seemed to go the way he wished they went.

"Where's my present?"

"Didn't get you any."

"Ho…that's too bad." Niou placed his cup against his lips. "How about a kiss for the birthday boy?"

There was a moment of silence as Marui gazed back at Niou's eyes, trying to figure out any underlying meaning to those words. It was useless of course, as it probably had worked the other way around. Marui averted his gaze and scoffed, "Don't even think about it."

Niou muttered a few words Marui couldn't quite catch.

"Huh?"

"Nothing."

"Niou! Niou!"

Marui lost the opportunity to probe further when Yukimura called Niou over. Niou got up and went over to where Yukimura was beckoning him to. Marui glanced down at the table and played with the plastic cup in front of him, careful not to spill any of its contents.

He swore he had heard something along the lines of 'You actually considered it, didn't you?'

.~.

Before long, the party food, soft drinks, and juice disappeared and the alcohol appeared.

"Niou, how does it feel to be a retiree?"

"It's alright, I have a lot more free time that I used to have."

"Yeah," Jackal said, before downing a glass of beer. "The other day, he came over and I got itching powder in my toilet paper." All of them – besides Jackal – roared into laughter. "It was uncomfortable!"

"You mean uncomfortable as the time Akaya got ants in his pants back in middle school?" Niou teased. They all laughed at Kirihara's expense. Even Yanagi still couldn't solve the mystery as to why Kirihara had ants in his pants in the first place – he suspected Niou, but had no concrete evidence to prove it.

"You're really sticking to the basics aren't you, Niou?" Yukimura asked, thinking back to the egg stink bomb in his garden. "I hurt my back trying to fill up the hole again."

"Are you sure you're not getting too old, Yukimura-buchou?"

"Akaya…" Yukimura smiled menacingly – a combination no one wanted to see.

"Since Akaya said so, you should get him to do all the manual labour for you next time," Yanagi suggested, raising his glass in the air.

"Yanagi-senpai!" Kirihara protested, his jaw dropping open.

"You should do so, Yukimura-kun," Yagyuu agreed. He and Yanagi exchanged glances with a nod.

"Yagyuu-senpai? Even you?"

Marui laughed and pointed out, "Don't insult others if you're not willing to pay the price, A-ka-ya." He turned to look at Sanada who was glumly sitting at the corner of the table. "Sanada, why are you so quiet today?"

All of them turned to stare at Sanada, who turned slightly red and muttered, "Tarundoru."

"He's probably still upset that he fell for the fart bag trick." Niou waved it off, and sipped on his beer.

They spent the night chattering about gossip like bored housewives and laughing till their stomachs hurt. Yagyuu looked at his wristwatch and excused himself for it was getting too late. One by one, the former regulars started to leave. It wasn't until one in the morning did Marui and Niou leave – Marui wondering why Niou followed him.

Marui knew he was tipsy, his cheeks were red and his movements slightly wobbly. Niou, on the other hand, showed no signs of being drunk. Not even the slightest. Perhaps it was a façade, Marui didn't know. "Why are you following me?" he asked.

Niou shrugged, but didn't answer his question. Marui shook it off and stopped by the street where he could flag down a taxi. One came five minutes later and the two squeezed in. Marui rattled off his address and leaned back in the seat, placing his hands over his face.

"Marui, can I – "

"No."

"I didn't even complete my sentence."

"You want to stay over at my place again. The answer is no."

Marui heard Niou click his tongue. He felt victorious for a moment that maybe he had managed to make Niou back down for once. The rest of the ride was quiet. Just before Marui got out of the taxi, Niou grabbed his arm and whispered, "Do you have plans on the twenty-fourth?"

"Huh?"

"Do you?"

"No…?"

"Good. Want to meet up?"

"Why?"

"I'm free. You're free. It works out."

Marui gave it a few thoughts. The position he was in was uncomfortable, half out of the taxi, and half still in. Niou's grip on his arm seemed to be on fire and he also really wanted to just go back into his apartment and sleep. "Fine."

Niou smiled and said, "I'll text you."

He then released Marui and the taxi zoomed off. Marui scratched his head and walked up into his apartment, dozing off for the night.

.~.

"It's Christmas Eve tomorrow…"

Marui looked up to see Watanabe with her chin on her palms as she gazed at the Christmas decorations around the bar. "It is, isn't it?"

Watanabe turned to look at him. "Hey, Marui-san, do you have any plans on Christmas Eve?"

"Yup."

"Heh…" Marui swore that he saw Watanabe's eyes light up and started to sparkle. "That's unusual. Marui-san has plans for Christmas Eve…I see I see."

Marui sighed and closed his eyes wearily. Just wait for it…

"It is with your girlfriend?" There they go…

"No. I'm just meeting up with an old friend."

"An old girl friend?"

"An old guy friend."

"Tsk," Watanabe clicked her tongue. She twirled the end bit of her hair around her finger and said, "Two guys going on a date on Christmas Eve; the most romantic night of the year. You have no girlfriend. You have no intention of dating me. Marui-san, I'm starting to wonder whether you are gay." Watanabe quickly waved her hands in the air and continued, "Of course, I'm only joking. Don't get angry Marui-san."

Marui dryly laughed. If only she knew how right she was. "Maybe I am."

Watanabe's jaw dropped open, she blinked a few times and laughed back. "You almost got me there just now."

Marui shook his head in reply. But it was the truth.

.~.

No matter where Marui turned, there were couples everywhere. It wasn't like he felt jealous, he just felt awkward to be on the streets that night with another guy – who, by the way, was not his boyfriend what-so-ever. No wonder Watanabe teased him about spending Christmas Eve with another guy.

Marui shivered in the cold – glad that it wasn't snowing, for he had a low tolerance for cold weather. He was already dressed in five layers worth of clothing, a scarf, and a beanie on his head. Niou had commented that he looked like an Eskimo.

"Why are we here?"

Marui grumbled as Niou had brought him to the illuminations, a hotspot for couples during this period. They were the only two single men there, which caused a few heads to turn and look at them skeptically, probably wondering whether they were gay. Marui hated the way others would think of him differently because of his sexual preference, that was why he only opened up to the people he could trust.

"…because it's pretty?" Niou took a bit too long to answer, tilting his head to the side as he shrugged.

"You'd normally come with your girlfriend or something. I'm sure you've done that plenty of times."

"Does it matter who I come with?"

Marui pursed his lips. "I guess not."

"See? What's pretty is pretty. It has nothing to do with the company." Niou gazed at the illuminations. "Although, I guess it's nicer because it's you…"

Marui looked up at Niou, feeling his heart skip a beat and silently cursed. He forced a chuckle and said, "Stop joking."

He walked ahead before Niou could say anything else.

.~.

"Marui, would you believe me if I said I love you?" Niou asked out of the blue. The two of them were in Marui's apartment – which turned out to be their hangout place. It was a few minutes after the New Year's countdown, they had drinks on the table and the television switched on in the background. Marui sat across him and blinked cluelessly back. Niou tilted his head to the right and a cheeky grin appeared on his face. Was this a prank? Marui then realised that even though each of the other ex-regulars had gotten pranked by Niou ever since he visited, but he himself had yet to get pranked. Was this it?

"Not with that grin."

Niou shook his head and smiled. One second he was smiling, the next, his face was serious and his eyes stared right at Marui. "Marui, I love you."

Marui felt annoyed at himself when his heart skipped a beat. "I won't. Niou, you're a professional actor. I know what you're capable of. You can go from an innocent little boy to a grumpy old man in a split second. Not to mention, I've seen how Akaya fall for your lies all the time. But that could fool many people, I hope you don't to that to every Tom, Dick or Harry you come across. Imagine the number of hearts you'd break."

Niou hid his face and his shoulders started to shake. Marui simply gave him an inquisitive gaze. A few moments later, Niou softly mumbled, "It's because it's me, right?"

"…huh?"

"It's because it's the Trickster, the actor, in front of you saying that. That's why you wouldn't believe whatever I say, is that right?"

Marui knew that it wasn't the right time to say something stupid. He had never seen Niou act this way in his life. "Niou…is this why…?" This was dangerous ground. The last time he asked, Marui remembered wanting to eat back his words. But maybe the Niou right now would answer him. Marui probed further. "Is this why you quit?"

Niou looked up and pushed his bangs away from his face. His eyes held a look Marui had never seen before. So raw, nothing was shielding them. Marui felt as if he had uncovered a thousand year old mystery. Instead of replying to Marui's question, Niou asked, "Hey Marui…who am I?"

"W-what?"

"When I was acting, I realised something. For every single drama, every single movie, I'm a different person. I become who the character is. Sometimes I'm friendly, sometimes I'm anti-social. Sometimes I'm funny, sometimes I'm dull. I've played all of these roles, it's fantastic, they always said, about how I seemed so natural being the character. Even pros, the rich-ass, award winning ones, can't be as natural as I could be, for sometimes, their personality is just the exact opposite of their character's. I should be happy, shouldn't I? But I'm not. I can't."

Marui bit his lip, not knowing how to respond. The least he could do was listen.

"I couldn't find the wall in my career. My exact opposite. I couldn't find it. I've played all sorts of characters, all sorts of personalities. I just couldn't find it. One day, a thought came into my mind. That maybe I didn't have a personality. That's why there ain't any opposite. I've been a Trickster pretty much my whole life. I was Hiroshi, I was Yukimura, hell, I even became you! But where's me? Where am I? Who am I?" Tears started to roll down Niou's cheeks. "I thought that by running away I could find myself, but I ended up taking up the role of the Trickster all over again. Nothing's working."

"…Niou…"

Niou had downcast eyes. Marui could see the tear tracks on his face. His hand gripped the bottle of beer on the tabletop tightly. He wonders how long it had been since Niou last cried – he was never one to be so transparent about his feelings. Marui refilled both their glasses as he gave Niou time to let it all out – sometimes it was better to do so. Minutes flew by and Niou slowly calmed down, his breathing became more steady and he looked up at Marui.

Niou was glad to see that Marui didn't look at him with pitiful eyes – those only rubbed salt to the wound, but was also what most people do unknowingly. He circled his palm around the glass and downed it, Marui following suit.

"Sorry for having shown you that."

Marui shook his head, and their glasses were refilled once more. "No." He paused. "I'm actually happy that you opened up to me."

Niou gave him a questioning gaze.

Marui let out a sigh – it wasn't a bad one – and gazed up at the ceiling. "I should be the one saying sorry for not noticing. How many years have I known you, you know?"

Niou sipped his drink, and played with the glass after setting it back down onto the table.

"Who you are…eh?" Marui took a gulp of beer. "Humans are shaped through their experience, their life, don't you think? You were given the title as a Trickster, but isn't it because you like pranks? A title and your career doesn't make you who you are. As we age, we tend to change, maybe that's why you felt as if you have lost yourself. You've been exposed to a much greater variety of things, more so than others. But there are some parts of us that would never change, they stick with us throughout our lives. Niou, you're the guy who wouldn't let others close to your heart easily. You're the guy who always have a reason for your actions – you don't do anything because of a mere whim. You tell crappy jokes most of the time – some of which I admit makes me laugh like a psycho. You love spicy food that makes your mouth burn and keep going for seconds. You are the clean freak who washes my dishes for me because you can't stand the sight of them lying in the sink for days. You are also the person I love." Perhaps it was the alcohol speaking, but Marui finally confessed after many years of hiding his feelings.

Even though fireworks boomed on the outside, and the television was on in the room, to Marui, the air was silent as he and Niou stared at each other for the longest period of time. Marui's heart was pounding so fast and Niou leaned forwards to kiss him full on the lips. When they parted, Niou whispered a few words that made Marui's cheeks turn red.

"I wasn't lying when I said I love you."

"I believe you," Marui whispered back.

They kissed again and again until Marui lost count. He couldn't think of a better way to spend the New Year's.

.~.

"Marui, let's take a photo," Niou said, pointing towards the photo booth that was in the middle of the shopping mall.

Marui was whisked into the booth before he could even reply. "Oi, Niou!"

Niou was tapping away at the touch screen in glee and Marui sighed, looking at his boyfriend. He then leaned over towards Niou to see him picking the background for their photo. After squabbling amongst themselves over the background, they finally settled for the simple tennis ball border. Marui fixed his hair and Niou placed an arm around the red head's shoulder as they waited for the machine to count down.

"Ready! 3, 2 – "

Right before the machine counted down to one, Niou removed his wig and fake glasses, and the camera flashed brightly. Marui glanced at Niou with his silver hair uncovered and his eyes widened as large as saucers.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Marui repeatedly swore as he tore himself away from Niou and rushed out of the booth where the photo was sitting waiting to be collected. He grabbed it and hurried back into the booth, on the other side of the curtain. He was pretty sure that his heart was thumping madly away at a thousand beats per second. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" he hissed angrily at Niou, who was smirking and adjusting his wig on his head.

Niou grinned and replied, "You know I make your heart race all the time."

Marui's face went bright red and he muttered, "I hate you."

"Love you too, Bunta." Niou smiled and everything was forgotten.

.~.

The Star Returns

After a few months of disappearance from the film industry, actor Niou Masaharu (28) announced his return and apologises for his rash decision to retire four months before. Fujisaki Akane from Celebs Galore held an interview with the young actor. Here are a few questions that were asked.

I: Why did you decide to retire?

Niou: There was something that I was searching for. Something important.

I: Important? What do you mean?

Niou: -laughs- I'm afraid that's a secret.

I: That's just making us want to find out more! So now that you're returning to the film industry, does that mean that you've found that important thing?

Niou: Yes, I've learnt a lot while I was away. I've not only found what I was looking for, I've also found something else. That's a secret too by the way.

I: So many secrets! A man of mysteries, Niou Masaharu. Is there anything you would like to say for your fans who have been eagerly waiting for your return?

Niou: Well…I'm very sorry for my choice back then. But, now I'm back so please look forwards to seeing more from me in the future. Puri.

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any brands mentioned in this fanfiction.

A/N: Wow. Longest one-shot I've written so far. May I have the honour of hearing some of your comments? :)