Chapter 7 This Is Halloween
A month passed without further incident. Although, Eizaki suspected that it was mostly due to the disastrous consequences of before that the brothers were keeping their space. Still, he knew- feared, feared greatly and with additional rage- that the brothers were only biding their time. They were just biding their time before they would strike like the beasts they were.
Anyway, things had been relatively peaceful...
"Noooooo!" Kasai shouted in despair, drawing Eizaki over to her in a panic.
"What?! What is it?!" Eizaki yelped, looking for any possible injuries or brothers nearby.
Kasai, deciding to be a ridiculous drama queen, actually went as far as to go down on her knees, through her arms up and look skyward. That was when Eizaki began to suspect the problem wasn't all that serious. Her next words confirmed it to him.
"My manager wants me to do a talk show!" Kasai shouted in a panic.
"What?" Eizaki sighed, pressing his thumb and pointer finger to his temples to calm the headache his youngest sister seemed determined to cause him so early in the day… "That's all?"
"A TALK SHOW!" Kasai spat out in disgust, like those two words were just the most offensive things she had ever heard. "I don't do TALK SHOWS!"
"What's this about a talk show?"
Kasai and Eizaki whipped around at the appearance of a new voice...and were met with the stylish and undeniably pompous figure of a certain idol.
"Oh, nothing." Kasai waved her hand dismissively, determined to make him lose interest and leave the room as soon as possibly possible for the sake of what was left of her sanity.
"You really must be an idiot if you think I'll believe that." Fuuto sneered.
Of course he didn't take that explanation. Eizaki prepared himself for yet another headache as the idol brat looked down on his sister- not that it was uncommon, Kasai was a shortie- and stayed in place, waiting for a better explanation. Eizaki hoped Fuuto wasn't getting interested in his sister. A stuck-up brat he could handle- Kasai was living proof- but a stuck-up brat who was interested in his little sister...
"It's..." Kasai searched for some explanation as Eizaki's glare on the idol grew deadly.
'Let's see, who else can I say this is about...'
"Eizaki."
"What?!" Eizaki shouted, snapping out of his glaring to face his sister. No. She was not dragging him into her manipulations. No way.
"No need to be shy, bro." Kasai grinned as Eizaki aimed his glare at her. "Yep, I talked Eizaki and Eimi into doing a talk show." Kasai continued to lie.
Eizaki gave her a look that clearly said, 'We'll talk about this later'. Fuuto gave her one last suspicious glance before huffing arrogantly and walking away, leaving Kasai to be scolded by Eizaki.
"It's not good to lie."
"It's not a lie." Kasai countered, pulling out her phone.
"What do you mean it's not-"
Eizaki was cut off when Kasai pulled out her phone and speed dialed her manager. He watched suspiciously, a sinking feeling in his chest.
"What are you doing?"
Kasai held up a finger in the silent motion 'hold on a second'.
"Hello, Dillon, you'll never believe this-"
"Kasai?!" Eizaki whispered anxiously but was ignored.
"-you know the two who were popular in the musical world in Europe but never accepted a contract?"
"Yeah." Dillon answered, his skeptical tone projecting over the phone.
"Well, I know them and convinced them to go on the talk show with me."
"Really?!" Dillon asked with obvious delight that Kasai rolled her eyes at.
"Yeah, so is it alright?"
"Of course! It's a Halloween special, so they're hoping to gather lots of celebrities from different professions." Dillon informed her and Kasai hummed halfheartedly.
"Alright, thanks, bye." Kasai hung up the phone.
Not even a second after, Eizaki's freaked out voice rang through the room at a nearly deafening volume.
"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!"
"Because I hate talk shows." Kasai offered, gaining an irritated glare from Eizaki in return. "...And it would be better with you guys there." Kasai finished sheepishly- as sheepish as she could be. Eizaki calmed down and ruffled her hair affectionately, Kasai wrinkled her nose in distaste, but didn't push him off.
"Alright, fine. Just don't do that ever again."
"Yes, sir." Kasai mock saluted and Eizaki smiled at her.
Eizaki then went to break the news to Eimi and she actually took it fairly well. He had thought she wanted to abandon everything to do with her career in singing, but...now, he believed it was the opposite. Eimi's eyes sparked when he mentioned their time in Europe.
A part of him wanted to tell her she should start singing again, but a part of him knew she wouldn't be able to handle it if he did, so Eizaki remained silent.
October 31st, Halloween
Kasai was less than pleased to see what she would be wearing during the talk show in honor of the holiday.
"What is that?" Kasai scrunched up her nose at the monstrosity in front of her.
"It's a dress." The woman who was supposed to help her with her hair and makeup said in a hesitant tone, her lips slipping into a frown at the possibility of dealing with yet another finicky celebrity.
"And what are those?" Kasai pointed at the item like it was covered in blood.
They might as well have been, the sparkles were just as bad in her mind. Where others saw cheer and innocence, she saw blood and guts. Specifically, the blood and guts of her manager, if he really did intend for her to wear that.
"They're fairy wings."
"And those." Kasai grounded her teeth.
Surely, they weren't what she thought they were. No, Dillon was smart enough to know that she would never wear those in a million years. Especially not for some stupid talk show she was roped into because she had been adamant about avoiding her bratty step-brother.
"High heels." The woman said, now seriously worried about the girl before her. Was she crazy, or just a particularly finicky writer?
"Dillon!" Kasai shouted in anger.
She was sure he was near, anticipating her bad reaction to the horrible combination of girly fashion and sparkles she was being forced to wear. The makeup artist flinched at her reaction. At this point, the woman was convinced she wasn't getting paid enough for this job. Would it be unprofessional to bolt from the room?
"Get your ass in here!"
"Yes, sweet Kasai?" Dillon asked innocently.
Innocent, her ass. He knew exactly what she was yelling about at the top of her lungs. Even if he hadn't, it would have been made obvious the second he walked in the room. Kasai wouldn't exactly willingly stand next to such a monstrosity of an outfit.
"Don't you 'sweet Kasai' me! Why in the hell are you making me wear-" Kasai pointed angrily at the costume. It wasn't necessary, as the sparkles reflected the room's light like stars...or fire from the deepest pits of hell, if you were to ask Kasai, "-that?!"
"Because it's a talk show, it's Halloween, and..." Dillon watched Kasai's glare grow fiercer as he listed off reasons and thought it best to make a quick escape. "You can take it up with the agency."
Dillon spoke those words calmly, but as quickly as he could before leaving the room at a speed just barely slower than what would be unprofessional. Kasai stared after him for a moment with gritted teeth, then turned back around. The make-up artist flinched as she caught her gaze and Kasai was sure the woman thought her insane at that point. Kasai scrunched her brows up and stood silently for a while before letting out an almost pained sigh.
"Alright, I'll wear it." The woman was visibly relieved. Kasai was just glad that Dillon had the sense to include fingerless gloves in her outfit, even if they were covered in shimmering designs.
'At least this can't get any worse.'
Right?
Sakura was used to dressing up. Being a model, it was literally in her job description, so having to dress up as a demon wasn't a huge feat for her. In all honesty... she was just thankful it wasn't a slutty costume, as was the usual association with model in a devil costume.
It was actually tasteful and pretty- not at all something she minded wearing. The horns were clips, the dress wasn't particularly tight and flowed down to almost her knees, the wings weren't flimsy, and the heeled boots she wore were only two inches. Sure, red wasn't her favorite color, but she didn't have any complaints.
As Sakura made her way to the waiting area before the show began, she bumped into someone.
"Sor-" Sakura looked up and froze. Eyes exactly the same as her own stared back at her with the same shocked expression. Sakura didn't even think as she breathed out a word almost inaudibly, "Dad?"
The boy she bumped into didn't hear her. Sakura shook her head at herself. This kid was younger than her by at least a couple years. There was no way in hell- ignoring the pun- he could be her father. Still...the three times she had seen her father's picture...this kid looked a heck of a lot like him, and the eyes matched her own perfectly.
"Sorry." Both Sakura and the boy apologized, giving each other one last curious look before continuing on their ways.
Sakura put a hand over her hair, where the eye that used to match her other one in a deep purple, was under.
She looked exactly like her mom, except for those eyes. There was no other trait she shared with her biological father, as far as she knew. It couldn't just be a coincidence, could it?
'What else could it be?'
"Oof." Sakura grunted, having bumped into yet another person.
"Watch it!" Said person exclaimed angrily, a far cry from the shocked-polite boy from moments ago.
Sakura looked down slightly, as the person was about an inch or two shorter than herself. Her one purple eye met with the caramel ones of one Fuuto Asahina. He looked suitably pissed for a haughty idol who had just been bumped into, but what was he doing there?
"Fuuto...Asahina-kun?" Sakura questioned incredulously.
This had to be some bizarre hallucination, otherwise she had a feeling the evening was going to get complicated. Unfortunately, when Fuuto looked up he looked equally confused.
"Sakura." It was said, not questioned.
The lack of honorific made Sakura slightly irritated. She could understand the use of her first name. Even if they weren't family, it would just be confusing with all of the Hinatas around. Still, she felt that some respect was due, considering she was- at least legally- his older sister and- literally- his elder in general. Of course, it was really the sneer on his face that made Sakura snap.
"Respect your elders you little twit." Sakura flicked Fuuto's forehead, causing him to flinch back and hold his head.
"Hey!"
Of course, she was at least polite enough to make sure it wouldn't leave a mark. Marking the face of anyone in a position similar to hers, where looks were especially important, wasn't something she was inclined to do.
"Careful." Sakura mocked, secretly checking to see how severe the red mark on his forehead was. To her relief, it was already fading. "You don't want me going around and telling everyone I'm your nee-chan, now do you?"
Fuuto's expression showed no change, but his face blanched slightly. Sakura had to commend him for that. That level of acting ability was something to respect, although she wouldn't want to inflate his already bloated ego by praising him.
"Whatever." Fuuto clicked his tongue at her before walking away.
Sakura had a feeling that there was more to this talk show than Arina had bothered to tell her. Well, it hadn't been the first time her manager had done something like this.
'I wonder if it's some kind of Halloween special…'
Sakura continued on her way to the waiting area, assuring herself that whatever Arina had kept from her would have little effect.
Right?
"Eizaki nii-san?" Eimi suddenly spoke.
"Yeah, Eimi?"
"I think I just saw Azusa-san."
"You must be imagining things." Eizaki assured his twin, but there was a nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach.
'There's no way.'
Right?
When Kasai got to the kind of waiting room backstage she was surprised to see Sakura, frozen in place. To Sakura's left were Eimi and Eizaki who were in the same state.
"Hey, what are you-"
Kasai cut herself off, seeing the answer to her question right ahead. Right in front of them were four very familiar faces sitting on the couch. Kasai froze in place with an expression of mild horror.
Four persons by the family name of Asahina were looking over at her and her siblings. She stood frozen as she observed four faces she absolutely did not want to see today. Tsubaki, Azusa, Hikaru, and-
"'Nothing special' you say." Fuuto smirked at the stunned Kasai.
That was all it took for her to return to her usual temperament. "Whatever, you phony idol."
Before Fuuto could make a- likely rude- retort, they were all called to the stage. Neither Kasai or Fuuto seemed very happy to cut their argument short. (Sakura secretly hoped their animosity wouldn't carry over on stage while Hikaru prepared himself for an interesting interview.)
Their first sight was a pretty woman with very bright lipstick and flat ironed brown hair, smiling into the camera as she spoke with far too much enthusiasm. Although, maybe Kasai was just being biased.
"In honor of Halloween, a holiday that has wormed its way into our hearts, our pockets, and our media," All nine stars waited behind the curtain, wondering why they had agreed to this...or maybe that was just Kasai. "Please welcome some special guests of ours from all different sides of stardom." The curtain rose in dramatic fashion to reveal said stars of different professions.
"Keichii Hanaka," They all looked to the guy on the far left, who had the same eyes as Sakura. His hair was messy and brown while his skin was tan, and he seemed to share no resemblance to the dark-haired model except for those eyes. The dark black robe, gray wings, dark eyeliner, and scythe in his hands made it easy to identify his costume as the Angel of Death. "Well that's foreboding." Sakura mumbled.
"Eimi and Eizaki Taiyo," Eimi smiled brightly and Eizaki waved. Eimi was sporting a pair of white cat ears clipped to her pig-tail styled hair that was left curly, elbow-length white fingerless gloves with pink paws on her palms, a puffy, above the knee-length white dress with a white cat tail pinned to the back, a fur vest, and white slipper-boots. Eizaki similarly had cat ears, a tail, and a fur vest, but all were in black. Other than that, he wore simple black jeans, a black t-shirt, and black boots.
"Fuuto Asakura," Fuuto gave a phony smile- or phony to all those on stage at least, save the host and maybe Keichii. Fuuto was dressed like a king...literally. He had on an extravagant crown, a red velvet cape lined with fur, and a gold-embellished navy suit-type outfit with white and gold boots. "Arrogant." Kasai scoffed and Fuuto smirked over at her.
"Tsubaki and Azusa Asahina," The only people who don't have to use a fake last name- save maybe Keichii- both smiled and waved, although Tsubaki's was more of a grin. The pair of twins seemed to have chosen to dress as rabbits, shown by the fluffy pinned tails and bunny ears atop each head- white for Tsubaki and black for Azusa. Other than that, their outfits were normal, if a bit whimsical, and in keeping with their normal color schemes. "Cats and rabbits." Eimi giggled and Azusa smiled over at her.
"Sakura Umiko," Keichii looked to Sakura is surprise and Sakura glanced over to him, a curious look on her face before dismissing it. Instead, she smiled and gave a small wave, red painted nails catching the light.
"Hikaru Asakawa," Hikaru flashed a quick grin over at Kasai before smiling and waving and said girl cursed fate for doing this to her. He was dressed as a jester, wearing red pants and a black shirt with a long black and red checker-patterned vest over the top along with pointed black boots, a red and black jester hat, and a black diamond drawn over one eye. Kasai rolled her eyes and muttered, "How appropriate." Hikaru shot her a wink in response.
"and Kasai Taeru." Kasai mentally cursed as Hikaru looked over to her as if he had found out her greatest secret. Kasai knew exactly why too. Her stage name held a bit of information easily overlooked if you didn't know her personally and if you weren't perceptive enough to see anything more than just a stage name. Unluckily for her, Hikaru was very aware of her and very perceptive. Taeru. To withstand. Kasai thought it appropriate, considering how much she had to go through to be where she was today.
She met Hikaru's eyes challengingly, raising her chin as if to say, 'So what?'.
"Come take a seat." The host smiled brightly at them.
There were two couches- plush, red, and flashy enough to make at least Kasai cringe mentally. Unfortunately, since they couldn't be obvious about who they didn't want to be near, the stars took the most practical seats, trying to act natural. So, the seating arrangements ended up ever-so-slightly awkward.
On the first couch, from left to right, was Eimi, Azusa, Tsubaki, Sakura, and Keichii. On the other couch sat Fuuto, Kasai, Hikaru, and Eizaki.
Azusa and Eimi sat together uncomfortably, trying to ignore the tension between more hostile pairings- namely Sakura with Tsubaki, and the trio that was Fuuto, Kasai, and Hikaru. There was also the way Keichii eyed Sakura intensely. Of course, the glaring Eizaki also couldn't be forgotten, looking ready to snap and kill any of the brothers the second they made a move- if they weren't on live television, that is.
"Doesn't it feel a bit-" Eimi started quietly, a slight nervous squeak in her voice as she looked over to the side.
"Awkward?" Azusa finished for her with a nervous lilt of his own. Eimi and Azusa turned to each other and smiled amusedly at the other before something seemed to spark between them and both quickly turned away, light blushes adorning both of their cheeks.
Tsubaki grinned flirtatiously at Sakura and she responded with a flat look and a flick to the forehead, laughing as Tsubaki cringed. Tsubaki caught Keichii studying Sakura- for what? He didn't exactly know- and glared subtly over at him.
Fuuto was leaning just a bit close to the blonde at his side, just enough to make Kasai twitch in discomfort and remind herself that she still had to avoid leaning to the other side where Hikaru was flashing her his, ''I-know-all-of-your-darkest-secrets' smile. Kasai was, for once in what seemed like her entire life, lacking in any hot-headed comments and instead seemed like she was trying to disappear into the couch.
Eizaki seemed like he was trying to glare to death all of the other males who were present.
"Ah..." The talk show host started awkwardly, sensing the tension in the air, as thick as honey. "Well," She began, trying to ignore it and seemingly succeeding, "let's start with Sakura-chan! You and Tsubaki-san recently had a photoshoot together. Now, after seeing those photos," Sakura looked up with dread and Tsubaki's grin returned, "we were all wondering, are you two dating?"
"No."
"Yes~!"
*smack*
"Azusa~!" Tsubaki whined at his twin.
"If he didn't hit you, I would have." Sakura stated seriously.
"So mean, Sakura-chan~!" Tsubaki pouted at her.
"Ok," The talk show host continued, seemingly taken aback by the sheer familiarity between the guests (if only she knew), "but the kiss," Sakura and Tsubaki turned their attention back to her as the woman smiled, "that looked pretty real to me."
Tsubaki grinned cheekily at the midnight-haired model and Sakura's cheeks flushed crimson.
"I-it was just part of the photo sh-shoot!" Sakura waved her arms in front of her defensively, surprising herself for stuttering at all, but taken aback by the line of questioning.
'What the hell kind of talk show is this?'
Sakura had lost her trademark composure and was now stuttering and blushing, unwittingly portraying a very cute side usually covered by her professional persona. Although, Tsubaki seemed to decide that just wasn't good enough, if one were to go by his next actions.
"That good, huh~? Should I try it again~?" Tsubaki teased. Sakura's entire face went red and she squirmed uncomfortably on the couch.
"Tsu-baka!" She snapped at him and brought a hand up to her face in vain attempt to cover what wasn't already concealed by her hair.
"You're such a tsundere, Sakura-chan~."
All of the Asahina family had decided to watch television in the living room as a family. Save, of course for those who were out currently. Natsume, surprisingly, was included in that count of those who were there. He had actually just come to drop off more game demos for Ema and was dragged into watching with them by a cheerful Wataru, and a small, encouraging smile from Ema.
The television was turned on. All the siblings present sat down on the couch. The channels were flipped until...
No one even seemed to react as Ukyo's teacup smashed against the ground, the glass shards spreading out- harmlessly, thank kami- over the ground. All eyes stayed fixated on the television with a range of different expressions between them.
"Oh, no." Ema mumbled troubledly.
It was an awkward picture- delightfully awkward to some, uncomfortably and/or irritable awkward to others- and it only got more and more awkward as the show went on. Sakura was blushing a thousand shades of red from Tsubaki's comments- probably boosting the show's ratings tremendously, although he obviously had a different goal in mind. Kaname was glaring at the screen as he watched the interactions between Azusa and Eimi. The rest of the present members of the Asahina-Hinata clan, however, were watching the show intently. Strangely enough, Natsume couldn't find the will to take his eyes off Sakura.
"Hmm," The talk show host hummed curiously, obviously thinking up more embarrassing and/or revealing questions to ask the special guests. Kasai was personally dreading her turn for questioning, but the woman had other targets currently. "Eimi-chan, are you really nineteen?"
"Yes." Eimi stated decisively before mumbling under her breath, "Everyone always asks that." Azusa glanced down at her from beside her and flushed just a bit at the cute pouting expression she was unwittingly making.
"And you and your brother really never accepted a contract?"
"We didn't." Eizaki answered in his sister's stead, giving a charming smile.
The host blushed over the enchanting expression, brown eyes turning round in admiration and wonder before stuttering out, "W-well," All of the sister's collectively rolled their eyes at the typical reaction to Eizaki's charm. 'Thank god he doesn't play around anymore.' All of the sisters blew out silent sighs of relief.
Finally, the woman seemed to shake herself out of the effect of Eizaki's smile enough to ask, "Why didn't you accept a contract?"
"I..." Eizaki glanced over to Eimi, who seemed to be trying to keep a smile on her face while her eyes were downcast. "I only really play backup for Eimi and, that's really the only reason I did it in the first place."
"Ah, and you Eimi-chan?"
The change in Eimi's demeanor went unnoticed by most- including Keichii, who was busy watching Sakura, and the talk show host-, but most of those sitting on the couches could see the shift. Eimi's eyes stayed downcast, even as her cheerful smile (fake) stayed on her face. Her heart clenched. 'Because it made me happy, and after all the trouble I've caused, I don't deserve to be happy.'
"My lungs couldn't take it." Eimi's eyes rose back up and she put a bit more force into her smile, beaming.
"Well, that's too bad." The host acknowledged, smiling back, before glancing over at the other couch. "Now, Fuuto-kun, it's time for a fun question!" The more cautious of the quests blanched at the eager look on the woman's face, while Fuuto smirked in preparation. "If you could date any one of these three fine woman," The talk show host waved her hand to indicate Sakura, Eimi, and Kasai with a beaming smile, although she didn't even get to finish the question before Fuuto answered.
"Kasai-chan."
Even noticing the obviously fake smile attached to words he'd just spoken, Kasai nearly fell over out of her seat in shock. "Wh-what?!" She stuttered.
'What the hell are you trying to pull, you prick?!'
"You're that surprised? Is it so hard to believe?" Fuuto questioned as if he were concerned with her self-esteem, all the while leaning in close to Kasai.
'He's just acting, he's just acting-holy fuck, he's close!' This time, Kasai really did fall off the couch. Unfortunately, when she fell to the ground her dress rode up a bit, leaving her long, tanned legs were in full view of both the camera and all her fellow talk show guests. Kasai quickly realized her position and immediately got up and slipped back into her seat, staring hard at her lap as she flushed and desperately tried to forget her embarrassment.
"Ah..."The talk show host muttered awkwardly before pasting back on her smile and moving on. "So, Kasai-chan and Hikaru-san, I heard you both recently met. What were your first opinions of each other?"
Kasai, mostly over her initial embarrassment, deadpanned, "Sneaky."
"Childish~." Hikaru teased back.
Kasai glared over at the redhead and Hikaru grinned back slyly.
"Heh," The talk show host laughed awkwardly before glancing over at the other couch again. "So then, Keichii, how does being Kyo Hanaka's son feel?"
Sakura flinched and froze from beside him, the name echoing in her head. 'Kyo Hanaka.'
"Ha ha, I guess I was kind of born into fame, huh? It's okay, but right now, I'm looking for my sister." Keichii's voice became serious as he spoke the last sentence and he glanced subtly over at Sakura, who was growing increasingly uncomfortable.
"Oh, really? Oops, looks like our time is up. It was nice meeting you all," The talk show host looked curious and a little let down, but she kept her smile as she turned to face the camera and, with a wave, said, "and I hope all enjoyed this, happy Halloween!"
After changing out of her costume, Sakura found herself outside, waiting for her cab to come pick her up and bring her home- where she would, ironically enough, reunite with most of the people she'd just been on stage with. Sakura tilted her head back to look up at the evening sky as she tried to come to terms with all that had happened today.
A name repeated in her head.
'Kyo Hanaka.'
"The way you reacted."
Sakura startled and quickly turned her head to see Keichii standing to the side an apprehensive look on his face. Although, it wasn't just apprehensiveness. There was a mixture of emotions on his face. Worry, hope, disbelief, and wonder…
"You're her, aren't you?" Keichii took a step forward and Sakura felt her heart speed up, panic rushing through her as she stumbled back. "My sister."
Wow, it's been a while. College has kept me busy and to be honest I'm really happy to be writing again!
This chapter ended up way longer than I thought it would, but I have no regrets!
...Except maybe that I realized how much like a soap opera this gets at points.
Fun fact: Originally, Eimi's costume was supposed to be an Angel and for the brothers and Eizaki I hadn't even bothered mentioning their costumes. I was so lazy...
I hope you liked this chapter, please reveiw!
