Veneer

IV: Quell

"What passions cannot music raise or quell?"

-John Dryden

36 hours ago

"He's making good progress," said Ophiuchus, scribbling something down on his clipboard. "The Apophis Program is ensuring that the being known as 'Ryusei Sakuta' will be nothing more than an alias to a beautiful, young specimen known as Inseki. Isn't that right, Asclepius?"

"Hmm?" Asclepius placed a kiss on Gentaro's forehead before turning to Ophiuchus. "Sorry, couldn't hear you over the noise we're making."

Ophiuchus just rolled his eyes as he took a glance back at Ryusei's unconscious form. The unconscious teen had wires and patches covering his arms and legs, one of them twitching every now and them from the stimuli currently bombarding his brain. His sense of hearing and sight were dulled by the goggles and headphones he wore the night before, his subconscious mind absorbing the programming as his real thoughts. Stuffed into his mouth was a cherry lollipop, one that would normally be found at the carnival that could last for days. Drool fell down Ryusei's lips as his senses were being overloaded by the contraptions that binded him to the chair.

"He looks so cute!~" Asclepius cooed, going to Ryusei. He admired the martial artist's toned body, rubbing a hand over Ryusei's stomach. Ryusei just smiled and purred in response. "Ooh, he's like a little kitten!"

"That's the point," said Gentaro, dressing himself in a blue and gold kimono. "If I call him 'Inseki-neko', he'll become a cat for us. He'll purr, lick his paws, lick up any cream that's given to him, and more...he'll be such a sweet pet for the three of us."

"But he's more than that, you two," said Ophiuchus., adjusting his glasses. "We've been losing more and more of our employees to something called the 'Ugly Ducklings', and we don't know who's the head of the operation. Hopefully, we can use Inseki to go undercover for us and expose the ringleader trying to make a mockery of our cause."

"Then what do we do with the employees we still have?" asked Gentaro.

"Tell them to keep doing any jobs they've been required to do, and also tell them to keep up with their weekly videos," Ophiuchus answered. "As for Inseki, enforce his trigger words whenever you can, and make sure you give him a cherry lollipop for stimuli."

"Ah, why can't we give him some drinks?" Asclepius whined. "I mean, he needs to lighten up. A lot."

"Just because we serve non-alcoholic drinks, doesn't mean that we can go sharing it to every Dick and Jane at school," Gentaro replied. "If an outsider gets a taste of it with the venom laced with it, we're going to have a bigger scandal than what happened with the Lunar Witches a while back."

"Ritsuko can really go over her head sometimes," Asclepius nodded his head. "She really thought that she was actually a witch and she had to go through training all over again so she didn't cause another incident where she wanted to burn down your High School. We definitely have to ensure that the lines between 'fantasy' and 'reality' don't get screwed up again after that."

"Which is why we have Inseki here," said Ophiuchus. "We'll use him as a way to test our limits, and to ease our personal satisfaction..." He smirked as he scribbled down some more notes. "Along with him getting along quite well withour little family, don't you think?"

"That should work out just fine," said Gentaro, checking his cellphone. "And in the meantime, I might want to use him for my own devices."

"Such as?" said Asclepius.

"I have some friends in my little school club that could actually be of some benefit," Gentaro began to text a emssage as he spoke. "One will be a great employee for the rental service, and the other could be great for getting intel on some fresh meat that we're in desperate need of. If I can play my cards right, I can get both of their attention and guide them to enter Ouroboros and..." he smirked. "I think you two can figure out what's coming."

"Ooh, new friends!" Asclepius cackled. "That'll be so much fun, Matthew!"

"Then it's settled," said Ophiuchus, pouring a mixture of the Blue Shepherd's Drink into three glasses. "To us, the Serpents of Order...and may the great King Ouroboros continue to guide us in our circle of life."

"Hear, hear!" Asclepius cackled, taking a drink into his hands. Gentaro just smirked as he began to plan what he had in store for Ryusei Sakuta.

0-0-0-0-0

Sarina Sonada, the homeroom teacher for Ryusei's class, didn't make it to school that day. Instead, they had a substitute teacher named Takashi Satake, who was also Amanogawa High's detention counselor.

Unfortunately, Ryusei's mind wasn't on that. His mind was feeling so fuzzy. All he could think about was Gentaro Kisaragi. The way Gentaro smiled, spoke, laughed...his eyes wouldn't stop gazing at this delinquent.

"What the hell did he do to me?" Ryusei thought to himself, scribbling something in his notebook. He was trying to write theories as to the missing 36 hours of his life, but all he had were doodles. This was something definitely unlike him. He was so caught-up trying to figure out what was going on, he didn't notice someone calling his name.

"Oi! Ryusei!"

At the sound of his name, Ryusei shot up, seeing Gentaro waving a hand in front of his face. Gentaro smiled.

"Come on, man," he said, patting Ryusei's shoulder. "You need to focus, okay? Focus, Ryusei."

When those words left Gentaro's lips, the fog in Ryusei's mind vanished. He could think clearly now, as if the veil shrouding his mind was lifted. Ryusei smiled and nodded his head.

"Right, Gentaro," he said. "I'm sorry about that."

"It's all right, buddy," said Gentaro. "That's what friends are for, right?"

"I don't know what type of friends you're talking about, Kisaragi..." thought Ryusei. "But don't lump me with your kin."

Gentaro kept smiling as he turned his gaze back onto the teacher's words. He narrowed his eyes as his mind began processing how well the plan was turning out. He searched his pocket for something and pulled it out. It was a cherry lollipop. Slowly unwrapping it as to not disturb anyone's concentration, he stuck it into his mouth and began to lick it slowly.

0-0-0-0-0-

Classes went by faster than expected. When the bell finally rang for the students to go home, Ryusei packed up his bags and began to rush out of the classroom, heading straight for the Rabbit Hatch.

He stopped walking and shook his head. He wasn't supposed to be going there—he was going to go home and do homework and figure out what happened to him back at the Ouroboros club. There was this black void in his mind and it was getting harder and harder to concentrate on those missing memories.

He remembered riding his motorcycle and handing the keys to a girl named Shirogane.

He remembered showing the card with the host's name "Matthew" to the bouncer, signing a long registration form, and drinking something.

He remembered entering the room with the starry sky, the scent of rain, and the blue and black pillows. He remembered tasting lollipops and a warm body against his own. He just couldn't recall the face or voice of this person, or why that person was there to begin with. He also couldn't recall what happened after that...it was just so frustrating!

"Are you all right, Inseki?" said a voice. "You don't look so well."

Ryusei groaned and felt his head starting to spin. His vision became blurry as he turned around to see who was speaking to him. The person behind him was so familiar, but he just couldn't put a finger on it.

"Shh, Inseki," The person began to stroke his hair and run a finger down Ryusei's neck. "Relax, and let your fake persona fade away. Let the true you come forth."

Inseki's eyes fluttered open and a gentle smile appeared on his face. Now he remembered what happened and who called out to him. Standing in front of him was his beloved master.

"Master," Inseki cooed, wrapping his arms around the strange person. "Oh, Master...did I do good today?"

"Yes, you did. However, while at school, you must remember to call me by my alias, Gentaro Kisaragi. We don't want anyone to know of our little 'love affair', do we?"

"No, of course not." Inseki placed a kiss on his Master's lips. "It's only for us...no one should know of our love." He trailed his hand toward Gentaro's legs. "No one..."

"Good." Gentaro placed a kiss on Inseki's forehead. "Do you remember what I told you this morning?"

"Of course. I'll do whatever you say...only for you." Inseki leaned in close and wrapped his arms tight. "I want you so badly..."

"For now, just do what I asked you to do this morning so no one raises suspicion. Also, I shall be calling you by your alias 'Ryusei' while we are in the presence of my 'friends'. Unless I say your alias alongside your special trigger, do not revert to your alias. Do you understand?"

Inseki nodded his head as if he was an eager puppy ready to play fetch. Gentaro licked his lips and pulled a lollipop out of his pocket.

"Open," he commanded. Inseki stuck his tongue out as his master placed a cherry lollipop into his mouth. He shivered in delight as he began to suck it gently, his tongue absorbing the flavor that always drove him wild. Gentaro just took Inseki by the hand as they walked toward the abandoned locker to prepare for their special day ahead.

"Sakuta is so easy to fool..." Gentaro thought to himself. "The process worked perfectly, just how Master Ophiuchus and Asclepius said it would. It won't be long now until his old persona is erased forever, and there's nothing that he can do about it."