A story based on...
Hanazakari no Kimitachi e
Hana Kimi story by: Hisaya Nakajo
Featured in: Hakusensha's Hana to Yume
This tale by: Hideki Kinomoto
Act IV - The Phantom of The Phantom of the Opera?!
A new day came whether or not anyone wished it to. One of life's great certainties was that every day had an end and every day had a beginning. That beginning, often was kicked off with one of the most annoying sounds in a persons life. Such was the case for Mizuki and Sano. Both exchanged awkward and groggy mornings with each other as the alarm clock sounded off, looking completely disheveled. Most mornings they would head straight to the cafeteria once they'd readied themselves. But this morning was a little different. Hara had informed them to meet him out front of Osaka High and he'd be more than willing to treat them to food before the shoot. Which was the topic of conversation while they waited, brought to them by Nakatsu and his bottomless stomach...
"I won't lie to you guys! I snuck a meal in already before I ran out here. I, of course, plan to totally abuse the generosity of Akiha though. I mean, who can pass up free food and I only filled up an arm and a half with that cafeteria meal..." Nakatsu ranted, making wild hand gestures all the while.
"Nakatsu...have you ever thought that maybe you eat too much? I mean..." Whatever Mizuki had planned to say wouldn't get near its epic finish, as Nakatsu sought to cut her off right then and there.
"Eat too much!?" he seemed to cackle out, following up with a near maniacal laughter that made even Sano turn his head, which had been cemented in a never-moving tired stare at the asphalt.
"Keep it down, would you? The two of us are still waiting for our food..." Sano requested quite simply, while giving Nakatsu a very moody stare.
"Yeah, yeah!" grumbled back Nakatsu, crossing his arms over his chest. "So damn grumpy when you're tired and hungry..."
Mizuki was reduced to grinning rather uneasily as she listened to the two. Who were now reduced to silence, which coming from Nakatsu meant he was trying really hard. Poor guy had a bit of a reputation for being loud, especially when excited. In the silence though, it gave her time to think about just what Hara might have her wear. On top of that hunger she knew was in her stomach, there as a thin sheet of shaky nerves and a slab of nausea. The silence wasn't only utilized by her. As once Sano had finished dealing with Nakatsu ranting about wanting more and more food, he'd taken to looking at Mizuki. Watching the uneasy grin fade and that tell-tale slight pout of worry take hold. Before he could open his mouth to say anything helpful, Nakatsu stole the stage once more.
"Don't be sad Mizuki! I'm sure Hara will treat us to some really yummy breakfast. You won't have to be hungry for long!" With a big cheesy grin painted across his face, he offered her a pat on the back.
"Then we'll be dressed according to the characters we portray, nothing more and nothing less." Added Sano, looking off to this left at a vehicle slowly approaching.
"Yeah...you're right! I mean, both of you are!" She originally was only agreeing with Sano, who's lone comment focused on her fear of being dressed as a woman for everyone to see. A secret revealed to even more people, would be worse than it already was. But she was hungry, so Nakatsu's help wasn't entirely without merit.
The vehicle Sano had been focused on was coming to a slow stop in front of them. Now the entire trio was staring at it with a very cautious interest. It was a rather fancy car, yet far from a limousine. Shining silver and a clean sleek black body reflected their images back at them. Finally, the passenger side rear door opened and a very familiar face emerged from within. It wasn't, however, the one person they assumed would be coming to get them.
"Hey guys! Long time no see! Don't tell me you've forgotten the one and only master of makeup, Ebi Kotobuki!?" Grinning ear to ear, Ebi waved at them energetically.
"Ah! Ebi!" Overwhelmed with excitement, Mizuki was the first to dash up to the open car door and give Ebi a warm hug. "How have you been!?"
"I work for Hara! I think that explains just about anything and everything you might wonder about. Busy, busy, busy!" Ebi replied returning Mizuki's hug and motioning for Sano and Nakatsu to come closer.
"Hi there Ebi! You gonna be the one to take us to our fantastic little breakfast?!" Nakatsu wasn't the best greeter, and it showed.
"Breakfast? Haha! Don't be silly, we've a busy day ahead of ourselves. Surely you've already eaten." Ebi had a very vacant expression, she honestly had no clue about Hara's little promise.
Ebi wasn't the only one to wear a very empty look. Sano, Mizuki, and Nakatsu looked like they'd just been told something along the lines of a family member having died. It made more sense that Sano and Mizuki looked as empty as their stomachs, but Nakatsu had no reason to dare compare himself to his stomach. Ebi's head drooped downward, Mizuki grabbed at her stomach trying to mute a growl, and Sano smacked his lips softly as though he really wasn't surprised. Glancing at his stomach, then between the three of them, Nakatsu attempted to be a stomach ventriloquist and fake a growling noise. Both Mizuki and Sano gave Nakatsu a cross expression. In silence, they all slipped into the car and drove off. Exactly where they were headed, only Ebi knew.
Though it was still quite cold and snowy, Hara had chosen the sight of the photo shoot to be outside. The location was what no doubt had been a rather flat area of terrain in the middle of a park, but there now were stone archway's that randomly had tattered deep purple and silken cloth flowing to and fro. With the mixture of the snows delicate frosting of the land and these little ruins of stone and cloth, the sight was elegant. A good twenty or so people were already there, bustling about at Hara's every command. As the car pulled up, he turned his gaze upon it with utter delight and began trudging towards it. Each step leaving a little imprint in the snow.
"Now, now, my loyal workers! Keep up the good work. Our guest of honor have arrived!" As he shouted this, he turned to face those who he had employed, however continued to walk towards the car backwards. Upon turning around, he was met face to face with a disgruntled looking Ebi. "Why good morning, Ebi! Why the expression that resembles a crewman gone traitorous?"
"You promised these poor kids breakfast! Promised! Now they're all famished and far from energetic. Its going to take a miracle of makeup to make them look cheery, you jerk." Ebi stamped down her foot and left no time for Hara to comment back before marching off towards the little tent they'd set up for costume and makeup.
"Despite my obvious fabrication..." began Hara, studying the emotionless faces of Sano and Mizuki. "I'm glad to see you all still came! I can tell you stole a meal back at school Nakatsu, so don't even give me that look."
"Don't you two argue, we can always get food after we take pictures, ya?" Mizuki attempted to drown the ensuing argument under a sea of optimism. Even if Hara agreed, it was clear there was no certainty if he would even hold true to that promise. It did seem to be enough to keep Nakatsu quiet, though.
"Well duh! I'll be absolutely starving by then. Consider it done!" Taking a bow to the trio, Hara took a few steps back and waved his arm out, trying to turn their attention towards the photo shoots set and took a slight bow. "So! What do you think? I couldn't very well fly the lot of you out to Paris and get some french architecture. My aim was to capture the cast in the elements of sorrow and emptiness. Not exactly the central theme of the play, but it gets attention."
The three studied the set, eyeing each pillar and archway of stone. Watching the wind cast the flowing curtains of cloth this way and that. Mizuki gave it an adoring stare, she liked how it looked maybe too much. In Mizuki-vision, she saw her and Sano, striking poses in their costumes. It made her feel like she was really getting to live the play, to live the part of Christine. Nakatsu let out a rather heavy yawn, he didn't care so much for the architecture they'd set up. His mind was now on the lunch promise that Hara made. Sano, on the other hand, was staring at someone among the staff that Hara had assembled. This didn't go unnoticed by Mizuki who grabbed Sano's sleeve near the shoulder and gave it a tug.
"What's wrong Sano, don't like the set Hara's group put together...?" softly tilting her head, she studied him a second more before he took off towards whatever he was looking at.
"That kid..." he grumbled as he neared the person his eyes had firmly been resting on. Reaching out, he placed a hand on the guys shoulder and spun him around. Meeting eye to eye with a very surprised someone before they both flashed a winning scowl to one another. "Shin...what are you doing here?"
"I should ask you the same thing!" spat back a very ornery Shin Sano. "I have a photography class and while Hara was in Hokkaido he enlisted our class to help him with his next big project. How the hell was I supposed to say no?" Brows furrowed, he crossed his arms over his chest and stared up at his brother in wait.
"Oh...I was just making sure you weren't skipping out of school of anything." Rubbing the back of his head, Sano felt pretty much like an ass. Presuming things had always been a weak point of his. Before he could continue, Mizuki cut him off.
"Shin? Is that you!?" leaping over towards Sano, she finally stood beside him and flashed Shin a delighted grin. "You trudged off looking so serious that I didn't dare follow at first." she finished, directing the last words at Sano.
"Of course he wouldn't tell you why he ran over here, he likes to make a scene then look at things logically." Still sore, Shin looked from Sano to Mizuki, an odd shade of pink slipping across his cheeks.
"I wasn't sure it was him or not. But anyway, we're here for the photo shoot. Mizuki, Nakatsu, and I are the leads in a play." Though feeling guilty, he was trying to move the conversation a long in hopes that Shin would just calm down.
"A play? You three are the leads in The Phantom of the Opera? Gotta say, didn't see that one coming..." With a quirk of his brow, he looked from Sano, to Mizuki then over her shoulder at Nakatsu over by Hara. "So Little Red Riding Hood over there is Raoul, Mizuki here must have somehow gotten cast for the female role of Christine and you..." More than a few moments passed as he stared at Sano. Mizuki wasn't accustomed to what this usually meant, but Sano knew sarcasm was about to come seeping out. "Are there any dogs in that play? I just can't figure what you'd be brother..."
"Don't be so childish..." sighed Sano, giving Shin a little glare of his own. "For some reason they cast me in as The Phantom. Sounded fun enough so I..." Sano always seemed to be the one to get cut off the most in his sentences and this would prove to be no different a case.
"Did you accept because he wanted you to?" interjected Shin, pointing at Mizuki who still looked miffed by the prior comment about Sano being a dog or other unimportant role in the play. But Mizuki quickly came to when she was mentioned, never mind being pointed at.
"Don't be stupid..." mumbled Sano, as he turned his back on Shin and began walking towards the tent. It was apparent Shin's undertone with that comment agitated him. A huge huff of steamy air clouding from his mouth and dancing in the wind as he sighed.
"Well, it was good to see you again Shin." Mizuki bowed a bit, eyeing Shin in a slightly sympathetic way. Siblings were like that all the time anyway, so who was she to say anything. "I'm going to go get dressed up so we can snap these photo's and grab some lunch! I'm sure Hara wouldn't mind you came along."
"Lunch, eh? I'll think about it." Shin smiled softly, a smile not often shown. Though for some reason he felt safe enough with Mizuki to act more delicately than he normally would. "Good luck with the photo shoot, Mizuki."
Turning away, Shin went back to some of the minor set detail that he'd been working on. Mizuki stood there for a bit, watching him work in a rather spaced out fashion. There were so many similarities with Sano that he shared. All the same, however, they shared many differences. Sighing softly to herself, she turned towards the tent and made her way over to it. Once inside, she saw Sano and Nakatsu already being taken care of. White cloths over hiding their clothes from the puffs of makeup and girls buzzing about them. If they were already in the body portion part of their costumes, she'd never have known. Grinning at her upon Mizuki entry, Ebi motioned for her to follow her behind a curtain far in the back of the tent.
"Come on, Mizuki! We've got to get you dressed and get your make up done! The shoot starts in fifteen minutes!" shouted Ebi as clearly as she could with a mouth full of hairpins. "Lets make you into a little Christine Daaé!"
Fifteen minutes flew by as though but mere seconds. Everyone in the makeup tent was hustling and bustling to get the job finished in time. If it were a major shoot, such time constraints would have meant failure. As they exited the tent, prepared for the show, the three of them took a look at each other. Nakatsu no longer had to use his own format of seeing Mizuki. As she looked elegant and ladylike with longer hair, something she was embarrassed to show in public for many obvious reasons. Nakatsu looked like a well dressed aristocratic heir. Albeit a bit strange with his hair slicked back and so organized. Not to forget, he had fake hair extensions like Mizuki, which made him look as though his hair was long and had a pony tail. Sano didn't require extensions, but he was the very image of what Hara felt screamed "The Phantom". Mizuki stood opposite Nakatsu and had taken to leaning forward or back to peer past him and see Sano. The day was quite colder now that they were out of their coats and bundled up states. Onward they went regardless, photo after photo.
"Sano and Mizuki! Just the two of you for this one." Hara began ushering Nakatsu away with various hand gestures. Though he wore a scowl as he did, Nakatsu leapt aside and stood by Ebi. "Now, Sano. I want you to lean in as though you're about to kiss Mizuki. Mizuki, lean back against the far pillar. Right hand on the pillar bracing yourself as though you realized you're pinned in, but your left hand reaching upward to take off The Phantom's mask." A grin tugged at the corner of Hara's mouth. Naturally, he knew just what he was doing.
Slowly, Sano leaned in towards Mizuki. Quickly, her right hand found the pillar behind her, back thudding softly against the wall. Though they had just been told the position to take, it was as if they were taking the pose of their own volition. Once they were snug against one another, Mizuki raised her left hand up towards Sano's mask. To her side, the tattered curtain ruffled against a strong yet chilly breeze. The scene was flawless, the emotion without argument. There wasn't the sound of a shutter flash though, instead there was a cackle coming from a direction Sano and Mizuki couldn't quite ascertain. Hara and the others, however, could see its source. A cloaked man stood crouched atop the stone archway overlooking the scene between the two. A mask, much like Sano's, adorned the right side of his face. In the strong breeze, his cloak tail ruffled and clapped. Looking past Sano, Mizuki saw the man, letting out a tender gasp and pointing for Sano to look. Looking up, he met eye to eye with the stranger.
"A mockery, I profess! Surely, I am only to look this hideous..." a smirk played his lips. "...behind the mask." Standing from his crouched position, he thrust his arm out to his side sending the tail of his cloak raging with the wind. "Will I sit back and watch, as beauty is given to beast? No. I shall not."
"Look, sir..." started Sano, standing a bit away from Mizuki to get a better look at the man. "We're here simply for a photo shoot to advertise a play." A slight dislike for the man had settled within and his glare now showed this fact.
"You steal my style. Parade my existence in a manner lacking gloriousness all together. Place your hands upon my dearest. Yet still you find time to insult my intelligence?" The furious expression the stranger wore slowly slid away, as he once more smirked. "Find yourself in my shoes once more and you shall find your life cut short."
"Hey now! You wanna threaten him, you freak?! Why don't you stop hiding up there and say that where we can do something about it!" Nakatsu interjected, fist clenched and aching to belt the stranger in the face. All he found himself rewarded with was a slight stare of bemusement, emotionless despite that.
"In slumbers sweet embrace I shall sing to you. In dreams I'll wait. For now you'll find, that I, The Phantom of the Opera am there..." He spoke, completely dropping the thought of hearing out Nakatsu. Instead his gaze fixated upon Mizuki, words trying to penetrate within her.
"...inside my mind." Mizuki whispered, barely audibly. Finding herself strangely drawn towards his words, feeling a need to finish the thought.
"Mizuki...!" gasped Sano, turning to look to her quickly. Only to notice that she looked rather entranced. Whoever this stranger was, he wasn't going to stand for what was going on a second longer. Leaping up, he clung to a portion of the stone archway and began climbing up it towards "The Phantom".
"Heh..."cackled the stranger softly, eyeing Sano as he made his attempts up the structure before turning his gaze back upon Mizuki. "Sing, my Angel of Music..." Though he was becoming surrounded by various people from the staff, he hadn't paid them any attention.
Looking out over the crowd, he saw that the police had pulled up. Knowing when to run and when to stay, with a flutter of his cloak he leapt off the backside of the structure and seemed to disappear entirely. Nakatsu looked around rather confused as he had been waiting for the man to leap down. Everyone stood in a complete daze, mumbling and whispering about the awkward scene which they'd just seen. Sano on the other hand, had climbed back down and was staring at Mizuki with nothing short of a concerned expression. Mizuki had finally stopped staring at the archway and studied the crowd. Despite wishing her good luck, where was Shin? Hara decided to call it a day, he'd gotten enough photo's for advertising and would run the pictures past Himejima within the next few days. Sano, Mizuki, and Nakatsu went back into the tents to have their makeup removed and get back in their normal clothing. Upon exiting the tent, they were met with Shin who was heaving a large box on top of another. Sweat nearly cascading down his face.
"Oh, hey guys! Pretty creepy, that hobo trying to get in the act and all." Running his arm over his forehead to wipe away the sweat as best he could and glanced between the three of them, awaiting a response.
"You can say that again. What I wanna know is how he managed to disappear like that?!" Growled Nakatsu, burying his right fist in the palm of his left hand, popping his knuckles.
"It was pretty strange. We won't have to deal with that guy anymore though, since we'll be rehearsing in the school from now on." Sighing a bit, he placed his hand atop Mizuki's head and frazzled up her hair.
"That guy was pretty creepy! I just feel silly for ending his thought. Guess I've been practicing too much." Laughing to herself a bit, she studied Shin a second. "So, will you be going back to Hokkaido now that the advertising shoot is done?"
"I figure so. Its nice here and all, but I'd like to get back practicing the jump. After all, gotta be better than my silly brother!" A smirk slipped across his lips as he said this, looking up to Sano. It went from a smirk to a smile, as though they hadn't fought earlier at all.
"You make sure to take care of yourself, I'll give the house a call here in a few days, alright?" Sano returned the smile and gave his little brother a small punch on the shoulder.
"Should I keep that to myself, so when you don't call mom doesn't get all upset?" Studying Sano's expression, he knew when to speak up again. Returning the small punch first, however. "I'm just kidding! I'll let mom and dad know. Good luck with the play guys! I'm going to get back to work before Hara see's me and brings out a whip or something..."
Hara's promise of lunch turned out to be a clever play on words. They were treated to lunch, but only because he had them back to school before the cafeteria started serving lunch. Which was amazing news to Nakatsu, who turned into a giddy little school girl over the idea of getting to have first dib's on food. Mizuki felt something strange standing between her and Sano now, but it wasn't something she could pinpoint. Though she was certain it was something inside Sano, as he'd been distant since the scene at the photo shoot. Life continued onward, however, and Sano let not a peep out about what was troubling him. At the same time, Mizuki made no question towards him about it. Before they knew it, two days had passed and it was the morning before their next rehearsal and Sano was particularly rigid. Mustering courage within, Mizuki strolled up and was determined to figure out the problem.
"What do you think it could be?!" whimpered Mizuki, staring down Dr. Umeda.
"Let me get this straight. You mustered up the "courage" to get to the bottom of Sano's problem...by coming to me?" Umeda was holding back the darker side of his agitations as to just how lacking in logic this was, but when had Mizuki ever been logical.
"Well, yeah...I mean, I didn't want to ask him directly if I didn't have to! I don't like to trouble him over little things..." With how she was sitting, she was able to finger at the cloth of her pants in a nervous feat with her head tilted downward.
"You're hopeless. Even with the two of you being more than acquaintances, friends, or Negotiators, you still manage to never talk out problems with him. I'm sure he'd be rather keen to tell you if only you'd ask..." Less growl this time, but still a notable grumble of aggravation
"Well..." stopping in her words, she looked at Dr. Umeda with a perplexed expression. "Negotiator? Doctor, just exactly what is a negotiator?" Genuinely curious, she ignored everything else he said, seemingly.
"It's a long story! A kid like you probably wouldn't understand." Clearing his throat, he leaned forward and stared right into her eyes. "If I had to guess, I would say he's frightened. At least a little. Someone did just threaten that if he got back into the role of The Phantom, they'd kill him. At least think a little, will you..." Crossing his arms over his chest, he leaned back in his chair and offered a matter-of-factly nod.
"I forgot that the guy threatened him!" Reaching up, she lightly punched herself on the side of the head and released a heavy sigh. "I'll go tell him to just not rehearse tonight if he's really worried about that guy somehow finding us." Leaping to her feet, she gave a little arm pump of joy and waved to Umeda. "Off I go then! Next time you better tell me what a Negotiator is!"
"Maybe one day..." he mumbled back, watching her leave. "Then again, maybe not."
Turning around in his chair, he went back to filling out sheets of paper, when a little head poked through the curtains and turned to look at him. The face, however, was greeted with a fist. Hara yelped in pain an disappeared back through the window, cursing up a storm.
"Wasn't very nice my sweet Hokuto!" he chimed in a very pout-ridden tone, parting the curtains this time to look in at Umeda.
"Well, maybe you shouldn't sneak around like some pervert and you wouldn't get punched. Jackass." If there was one thing the doctor was good at, it was insulting people while multi-tasking work assignments. "Anyway, did you need something?"
"Tonight is rehearsals so we have to be there too, but I wanted to check to see if you knew about what happened at the photo shoot. Mizuki was here though so I thought I'd listen in and she told you and saved me some breath." Hara nodded, stroking his chin as though he had any facial hair at all.
"If thats all, go away until rehearsals then. I have work to do..." Stopping to take a sip of his coffee, he eyed Hara and let out a little sigh. It was obvious something was bothering the deranged photographer. " Fine, fine! What is it then?"
"I think that Phantom might show up again tonight. I mean, if he found us at the shoot whose to say he won't show again. I know no matter what Mizuki says to Sano he's going to keep at the part, even if only to bring this character into the spotlight and put an end to his little act." Clearing his throat, he realized he caught Umeda's attention and took this moment to leap into the window and pop a squat in front of the good doctor. "My thoughts are that we act as sort of body guards. You know, keep our eyes on Sano and make sure the poor guy doesn't get hurt. I ran into that Kayashima kid whose playing Buquet and he's going to keep an eye out for any interesting aura's for us."
"Sano's body guards, huh?" Leaning back in his chair again, he tapped his finger over his lips in thought. Seeming to size up the situation and its probable risk in keeping Sano out in the open like that. "Well, I suppose if we got that aura reader keeping an eye then we'll always have the advantage. So alright, we'll carry out this little plan."
"I knew you'd agree Hokuto!" With a large grin, Hara leapt at Umeda, wrapping his arms tightly around him and locking his lips firmly to the good doctors. But it wasn't to last long, as Hara seemed to move in reverse all of a sudden but mingled with a yelp of pain. "You bit me!"
"Thats what you get for stealing kisses you fucking bastard! I swear to everything holy you try that shit again and I'll bite your tongue out and feed it to a dog!" Eyes glaring and catlike, Umeda wiped at his mouth to remove any lasting remnants of Hara saliva.
Evening came and still Mizuki hadn't brought her questions to Sano about what was bothering him. Frowning a bit as they walked to the auditorium, she found herself opening her mouth to speak but failing to give the words any sound. Once inside, they found that everyone else was there already and a few of them were off in corners or small groups figuring out scene's and whatever else may have needed to. Io, Hara, and Hokuto were in a little group practicing. Out of those three, Hokuto was the only one not absolutely enthralled at acting out anything. Of course, both Umeda and Hara eyed Mizuki and Sano as they entered. In the rafters atop the stage, Kayashima had taken to hiding and studying everyone's aura for any male outsiders he wasn't particularly knowledgeable of. Nakatsu motioned for the two of them to join him on stage, flailing his hands quite adamantly.
"We get the stage because we're the leads! Look it, Hara even brought our costumes so we could actually get into character and stuff!" Nakatsu was maybe a bit too happy about all the attention, but he felt like a Star as he showed off his Raoul costume. Looking once more rather aristocratic, just not having hair extensions this time.
"Oh, Sano look!" Mizuki had seen the sides of the stage were decorated in little fliers. The fliers had a very dramatic picture of Mizuki knelt to the snowy ground, a tear rolling down her cheek and a sheet of the tattered tapestry flowing past her and in the background wielding rapiers, both Sano and Nakatsu dueled as The Phantom and Raoul. "Osaka High and Saint Blossoms present to you an Oscar M. Himejima reproduction of The Phantom of the Opera!"
"I hadn't even seen those yet!" squeaked Nakatsu, looking at it as though it was just about the coolest thing he'd ever seen. "Pretty nice, huh Sano? We make good rivals!"
"It is a pretty nice picture. What do you guys say we dress up and get this rehearsal over with? I'm a little tired tonight..." A yawn slipped from his mouth, very noticeably fake. It was the best excuse he could cook up for not wanting to be there. For the past few days all he thought about was if the man returned.
Once dressed, they acted out various scene's wordlessly. Practicing out the subtle motions Himejima had underlined for them. As for Himejima, he hadn't had to say a word to anyone yet. Everyone he'd cast for roles had been very willing and studied their scripts nearly every night. To see this level of diligence, robbed him of any worries he might have had. Hara and Umeda hadn't told him of this "stranger" from the photo shoot, so he remained cleverly incompetent regarding any issues it could cause. Finally, Sano had taken to practicing a few lines to himself. After an hour of being up there, he was certain he was safe.
"Sing for me! Sing, my Angel of Music!" Sano shouted, practicing just how he wanted to say it but never seeming to like the outcome. This was signified with a wrinkle of his nose.
Kayashima stared down at him from the rafters walkway and sort of grinned, he thought Sano was doing a pretty good job of portraying The Phantom. Slowly, his eyes darted from person to person, looking for strange aura's. A part of him felt strangely uneasy at the moment and he wasn't sure why. Suddenly, a form kneeled beside him. Turning his head slowly to the left, he saw the shining cheekbone outline of a mask. Sliding back away from the facial profile he saw, he stood to his feet and clenched a fist. He wasn't much for fighting, but the stranger had slipped in somehow and managed to hide atop the stage. It was his job alone to pinpoint anything strange, and this man was the furthest from normal he could imagine. He'd have to stop the man himself. The aura though, it seemed familiar.
"I don't know who you are or what you want, but not here and not now. Lets talk this out or something..." Sweat glazed over Kayashima's forehead, a tiny bead of it slipping down his face and dripping from his chin.
"Buquet, is it? Are you familiar with the tale, dear boy?" The Phantom's mouth contorted into a bizarre grin. Reaching to his head side, a rope dangled in mid-air. One end freed and in the Phantom's grasp, the opposing end held up a weighted bag.
Nakatsu laughed heavily at Sano, the three of them had been poking fun at each other lacking abilities to sing out certain parts. But the humor of the moment was broken as a scream rang from the ceiling above them. Everyone in the auditorium seats sprang up and looked towards the stage to see Kayashima falling from the darkness of the ceiling, a rope tied around his hands. Nakatsu's pupils shrank at the sight of his best friend plunging from such a high place. Sprinting as fast as he could, he leapt towards the falling Kayashima, catching him in his arms and scuffing across the slick stage floor.
Looking Kayashima over, Nakatsu quickly reached for the ropes to untie his hands. Sano glared up to the rafters, seeing the form of the stranger pretending to be the Phantom. While studying the man he couldn't help but notice the man was smiling and pointed to the weighted bag. Sano's eyes trailed after the rope that held it suspended. But before he could see where it led, the rope he had been following began to move and the bag fell towards him. There wasn't any time to react, in mere moments he'd be incapacitated by the bag. It stopped, however, just above his head. Instead, it began to go back upward quickly and on the opposing end of the rope The Phantom descended. Boots landed to the wooden stage with a heavy thud. Mizuki had gone from confused to panicked and back to confused so many times in the past few seconds that all she could do was stare at the stranger. After his landing, the Phantom released the rope. This time Sano had enough time to leap back and off the stage as the weighted bag landed with a heavy thud, forcing a trap doorway open.
"If only you had listened, then none of this would have happened. For you, a simple star, could never dream to outshine the moon." Reaching out, he grasped Mizuki by the arm and pulled her close, hiding her behind his cape a moment before forcefully ruffling it back out. "Next time I play no games. Do not test me!"
Holding onto Mizuki, he cleared the distance to the trap door and the two of them jumped beneath the stage. This was an area of the school Mizuki hadn't seen. Much unlike the true Phantom's lair, this was no sewer. Instead it was a small hallway that lead to some stairs leading back to the main building. Once in the hallway, the stranger stopped midway and turned to Mizuki who was too frightened at the moment to have said anything. Rounding on her, the man placed his hands to either side of her to pin her against a wall. Eyes, so terribly familiar in their calmness, studied her face. It was hard for her to remain panicked. The man leaned in and she found herself leaning forward, but it was just not meant to be. Least be, not yet. Raising a gloved hand between the two of them, a leather barrier blocked lips touch. The Phantom kissed the top of his hand and Mizuki kissed the inside. As he moved away from her, their eyes never disconnecting, he spoke to her.
"Sing for me and only me, my Angel of Music. I shall be, forever, your Angel of Music..." The words were a hushed whisper that had he said them a second later would have been drowned out as people jumped through the trap door to pursue him.
With a flourish of his cloak, ruffling wildly, he began to run toward the opposite end of the hallway. Leaving Mizuki to stand there utterly confused. Why had she leaned to kiss him, just what about him drove her desires to surface? She had all she wanted, the one who stood before her now. Who had been first to take chase down the trap doorway of the stage. Sano reached out and placed an arm around her, the other to the back of her head and pulled her in close to hug her tightly to him. Without hesitation she returned the hug, holding him close as the terror that once brought her speechless returned and the need to feel him there consumed. That illusive and strange man, where would he go, where did he hide, how could there be a Phantom of The Phantom of the Opera?
Here's hoping this chapter of the fanfiction was everything it was anticipated to be! Feel free to Read and Review and let me know my area's of weakness and strength. Incase any of you are curious what a "Negotiator" is, I'll tell you next time..or maybe not! This is a work of fiction. No characters from Hana Kimi are mine. No rights to The Phantom of the Opera are mine. But the idea to mingle both into an art of fanfiction IS mine, mwah-haha. Thank you for your time! Hope you enjoyed!