Here's a new chapter. I hope you enjoy! :) Please review to let me know how I'm doing. They really help.
Taken aback, Saena scoffs as she tries to bury her fear of this terrifying man. "I'm her mother. I have every right to touch her!"
Cain takes a step towards her. "Anyone who abandons their child and slaps them has lost that right."
Saena takes a step back, confused.How does he…She takes a closer look at him.Ren Tsuruga!?
"You…!" Saena stops and looks around. A few bystanders are watching their interaction. She also remembers that she is just outside her workplace. "Come." She says quietly but sternly.
"No." Cain responds. He begins to pulls Setsu's hand again and Setsu tries to follow him, except her mother grabs her again.
"I said to wait!" Saena says a bit louder.
Meanwhile, a man sitting in traffic in his car notices the scene- at first because of the two darkly dressed people looking wound up and standing out from those around them, but then he recognizes the woman that is standing before them. He sits up to get a better look. Is that…?
"Sho?" his manager asks, noticing him taking an interest in something. "What is it?"
He narrows his eyes in disgust at seeing Kyoko's mother. He may not have loved Kyoko back then like she did for him but he did care for her as a friend. He used to try to find ways to comfort her when she was constantly put down by none other than the woman he was now looking at, but he never knew how. Why is she in Tokyo? I thought she'd still be back in Kyoto. He pauses. Wait… Does Kyoko know about this? He looks back at the other two people standing with her. Though he sees a resemblance in both of them, he shakes it off. There's no way that's Kyoko. She may have looked different those times but… He looks at the man with her. There's no way someone like Ren Tsuruga can look that… dark. However he does remember the look he received when he told Ren he saved her from Reino. Maybe… Finally the traffic moves and he is carried away from the scene before him.
At her mother's touch again, Setsu comes alive and snaps herself away from her mother as Cain once again steps between the two of them.
"I said to not touch her." Cain says menacingly.
"Brother, it's okay." She soothes his anger before turning to face the woman in front of her. The woman who, currently, was not "Setsu's" mother. "Setsu" had never met her before. So she pushes "Kyoko" deep down, and faces Saena with a look of indifference. "Can I help you?"
Saena is startled by the look on Setsu's face. If she didn't know any better, she would truly think that this wasn't Kyoko. She looks like she really doesn't know me. But she clearly said "mother" and he, she looks at Cain, he knew what happened the other night. It has to be them. "Yes. You can actually." She crosses her arms in defiance. "You can pack your things and move back where you belong- Kyoto."
So that's what she wants… Setsu quirks and eyebrow at her declaration. "Excuse me, but you must be mistaken. I don't know you." Setsu scoffs. "Who are you to tell me what to do?" She pauses and continues with a softer voice, "I'm never going back there."
Cain looks down at his sister with pride. She's got her character perfectly, He thinks. I wonder if she's used a character like this before…
As he contemplates this, Saena speaks up again. "I am your mother! You are to listen to what I say."
"No. You're not." Setsu replies with no emotion in her voice and then turns and walks away.
Cain doesn't immediately follow Setsu. Instead, he looks at Saena darkly. "Do not ever approach her again." He turns and follows after his sister and Saena does not follow. When he reaches her, he takes her hand tightly and feels her trembling from fear, anger and sadness. He squeezes her hand in comfort. I will protect you… he thinks but does not voice. She squeezes his hand back, thankful that he is there with her.
I really can't even begin to deny it anymore… She smiles slightly. I'm really in love with Tsuruga-san. Once they are out of earshot of her mother, Cain sighs heavily. This has got to stop. He looks at Setsu and sees the sadness on her face. "Come on. Let's go here." He pulls her hand and leads her into a cute café, not befitting of either one of them with the way they're dressed. The few patrons that are there look at them curiously.
"Brother?" She asks, confused as to why he would take her here of all places.
They both sit at a booth that has no customers sitting nearby. Still without answering Setsu, he glances at the menu and points out some ice cream to Setsu with an expectant face. She laughs, something Cain was aiming for. A waitress appears and Setsu orders the ice cream he was pointing to.
"Coffee." Cain adds as the waitress is about to walk away.
When the waitress returns with their order, Cain glances at Setsu and sees excitement in her eyes at the ice cream sitting before her. Good. He smiles warmly at her.
Setsu looks up at him after eating a spoonful, "Aren't you going to have any, brother?"
He takes a sip of his coffee. "No. That's for you."
Realization dawns on her. "Brother… Did you bring me here to cheer me up?"
He takes another drink of his coffee and doesn't answer.
"Thank you…" She says quietly, but happily.
Cain and Setsu arrive on set and Cain is whisked away to have his special effects makeup put on. Setsu walks by herself to their dressing room as it will be a while until he is finished. As she is walking, her phone rings and when she answers it a voice she despises comes over the phone.
"Kyoko. We need to talk." Sho says as soon as she answers.
Knowing that she is in character and cannot talk with him about anything personal, Setsu simply hangs up and turns her phone off. She doesn't want to deal with him right now anyway.
Angered by her hanging up on him, Sho calls her back many times to no avail. That idiot! Her mom is here and she ignores me! He thinks about the two people he saw talking to her mom and wonders if they aren't truly Kyoko and Ren. But how would I find them like that? He calls his manager. I have to find a way.
Once it is lunch time, Cain and Setsu move to their dressing room together and she gets their lunch prepared. While she does, Cain watches her and contemplates their day, especially how well she used her character to hide her true feelings. He humorlessly chuckles to himself. Reminds me of someone… Setsu hears him chuckle but when she asks about it, he ignores her question. I wonder if she's hidden anything from me… Without noticing she was done setting out their food, Cain realizes Setsu is staring at him expectantly. He looks down and sees that she is waiting for him to start eating. He looks back up at her with disinterest in the food. Setsu recognizes the look as one saying he's not going to eat.
"Brother. Eat it yourself or I'll feed you."
He smiles and leans back in his chair. "Then feed me."
Eh? He actually said it! I thought he would give in! Setsu smiles sardonically and stands up. Inside, Kyoko is freaking out, but Setsu is as cool as ever. She walks over to her beloved brother, sits on his lap and wraps her arms around his neck. "Okay." She beams another smile. "What first? Salad or soup?"
Cain smiles slightly mischievously up at her and puts his arms around her waist. "How about you?"
Again, Kyoko wants to dig a hole to crawl into, but Setsu leans forward and kisses his forehead. "Maybe later." She turns and picks up his soup that once again has a straw so that his makeup doesn't get messed up. She holds the bowl and points the straw at his lips, offering it to him.
He pouts like a puppy, something she was growing accustomed to, but he drinks the soup without ever taking his eyes from hers.
Setsu chuckles. "Good boy."
Cain is still watching her expressions and is satisfied that she seems to be okay after that morning's events. He tightens his grip on her and then releases her. "Setsu, we need to talk."
At that, she gets off of his lap and goes back to her own seat so she can be attentive without being distracted. "What?"
He takes a deep breath, "No… Mogami-san. I need to talk to you."
Eh? He's never done this before. She lets her Setsu act drop, knowing that she was no longer talking to "Cain". "W-what is it?" She was frazzled by him dropping his act like this. Not to mention that she was sitting on his lap and feeding him just moments ago.
"It's about what's been happening lately. I realize I haven't really talked to you about it much and we should."
Kyoko nods, understanding his rationale.
"About being that chicken…"
Kyoko bristles and Ren notices her terror. Suddenly, he laughs and she stares at him in confusion.
"I'm sorry," he says between laughs. "I know you were probably scared of how I'd react. To be honest, I was upset at first." He takes on his typical scolding tone. "To think my junior would hide something like that from me."
Kyoko goes to stand and bow deeply in apology, but Ren stops her.
"But then I realized that you actually helped me more than anything."
Huh? She looks at him, hopeful. "I did?"
He smiles warmly at her. "Yes. So all I really want to say about it is thank you."
She lets out the breath she had been holding in. "I'm so glad…"
She really was scared… "Now. The issue with your mother."
Kyoko clenches her fists at the memories of her run-ins with Saena. "I'm sorry for what happened today. I spoke without thinking."
"It's okay." Once again he recalls that he is not supposed to know the details about her relationship with her mother as she had never explained it to "Ren". "I am curious though. Do you know what she wants?"
"She did say something about going back to Kyoto… I don't know what she'll do to make me go." Kyoko pauses as she remembers that she hasn't told him anything that happened in the past. "Truthfully… When I was growing up I didn't have a good relationship with my mother. I don't remember my father because he died when I was very young and in the end, my mother had no reason to stay with me. She ended up leaving and I hadn't seen her again until that day outside Darumaya…"
Ren's heart breaks for her. She went through so much… "I'm so sorry." Wait. If she left her then who did she stay with? "Who did you live with after she left?"
Kyoko sighs knowing that she can't hide the truth from him forever. "I stayed with Sho's parents. They liked me and knew I loved him so they started training me to take over the inn with him one day. That's why he left home and subsequently why I am here."
Wha- She did what!? "As a bride!?" He was stunned, but it made many things make sense now. That's why she was such a good "young lady" and speaks so politely.
Kyoko nods. "I was taught everything I would need to know in order to run the inn with him up until we left." She shakes her head at her stupidity. "Anyway, my mother is here now and seems to be embarrassed of my being an actress. It can make her look bad. She had always tried to keep up certain appearances. That's why I used to try to get good grades in school. I wanted to please her." A smile breaks through her darkened face. "That is something I tried to keep up until that time as your manager… For that, I thank you."
Ren had been trying to let go of his jealousy over knowing she was being trained to be a bride for another man and failing, but at her thanks, he smiled a genuine smile that left Kyoko blinded. "I see. Well you have to let me know if anything happens." He looks right at her. "I will do what I can to help." That's why I asked for you to have a manager.
"No!" She responds fervently. "I mean," she calms herself, "I can't bother you with these things."
"Mogami-san, we are working together right now. For both of us to complete our job without any problems, I need to know what I can do to help," he easily bluffs the reason for wanting to be involved with her problems. However, it works and she relents.
"I understand…"
"Good."
In that moment, Kyoko's phone rings. She gets up to turn it off as Ren watches. "Your phone has been ringing a lot lately. Is someone trying to get ahold of you?"
Kyoko tries her best to nonchalantly place her phone back in her bag and respond, but Ren is no fool. "It's no one of importance. I can call them back later."
He lets her answer go, not wanting to spoil their good mood although he can guess who is on the other end of the phone. What could he possibly want? After grabbing her so hard it left bruises, he needs to just back away and leave her alone too.
The week is coming to a close without any more catastrophes. It is almost too calm to Ren and Kyoko. They wonder why her mother hasn't tried to contact them again that week, but they decide that it's for the best. Setsu acts with Cain without any problems, and she was relieved but confused that Ren never brought up her being Bo again. She lets it go- if he isn't angry then she doesn't want to tempt his anger. She, however, is slowly becoming irritated by all of the calls from Sho. Cain notices her mood but when he asks her about it, she shrugs it off.
Now they were walking hand in hand to the set for their last day of filming for the week. Cain walks inside the studio ahead of Setsu, as she spots a vending machine and wants to go get them both a drink because she forgot their tea at the hotel, much to her internal dismay. As she is walking there, she is lost in thought over how much Cain has changed in the recent weeks. Maybe Tsuruga-san has overcome that darkness… She smiles and suddenly runs right into someone standing before her.
"I'm so sorry!" She says, accidently snapping out of Setsu mode as she picks herself up off of the ground. When she looks up, she is surprised to see Sho standing before her and puts her Setsu walls back up.
He is standing, glaring at her curiously. "You… Are you-"
Setsu cuts him off, not wanting him to recognize her. "Sho Fuwa? What is someone like you doing here?" She is able to maintain Setsu's indifference.
Sho is not shaken by this and jumps right into his accusations. "I called my manager and she wasn't able to get any information on my friend, Kyoko, for this past week. In fact, no one would give us information on her or Ren Tsuruga for the week, someone she works with. Odd, right? That both of them would be missing." He takes a step towards her, getting a better look than the one he got in his car before. "But there was word that some big movie was being filmed here today, and one of the main actors was some terrifying dude." He notices Setsu's eyes flare at that. "Thing is, I saw a scary guy walking down the street recently with a girl a lot like you. They were talking to an acquaintance of mine. Someone Kyoko would know. What I didn't understand is why they would be talking to her. Then I realized they looked oddly familiar."
Realizing where he was going with this, Setsu tries to cut in. "I don't know what you're ta-"
"Then it gets better!" He cuts her off again, angrily. He takes another step towards her and she takes one back. "You see, as I look at you I see that you were the girl with that scary guy on the street. So why would you be talking to Kyoko's mom? I can only come to one conclusion…" He pauses, letting it sink in for her fully that he knows. "Kyoko."
Setsu doesn't confirm or deny him, but turns to walk away. Sho quickly grabs her shoulder and slams her against the vending machine.
Again! Setsu shakes in anger as this scene has become too similar to the last time she met him. "Don't touch me!"
"What the hell are you doing!?" Sho shouts as no one is around them. "Walking hand in hand down the street like lovers! And what's with this getup?" He looks her up and down, disgusted.
"I said…" She shoves him off of her. After everything with her mother and now him, she has had enough. "Don't touch me!"
Sho has seen her angry before, so it was not so shocking to him. Instead, he stalks toward her so that she is forced back against the machine without him even touching her. "Your mom is here."
"You think I don't know that!? Don't tell me you came all the way here just for that."
This did stun him. "How? And why is she here?"
Setsu tries to turn to walk around him, but he puts his hand on the machine to block her escape. "Tell me, Kyoko."
She quickly looks around. "Don't say that name." She didn't want anyone connecting Setsu to Kyoko because she didn't want anyone connecting Ren and Cain.
Sho narrows his eyes at her, but doesn't ask why. "Tell me."
"I don't know! She must have moved here. I hadn't had contact with her until I tried to get consent for a passport, so how she's here is a mystery to me that I don't care to find out."
Passport? Where the hell is she going? "Did she-"
"Yes. I met with her. No. I didn't go well. Now let me go!" Setsu is fed up with everything.
"What did she want?"
"That's none of your busi-" Setsu was about to respond.
Suddenly, Sho is ripped away from Setsu. Cain is there and Sho is stunned by how evil he looks. With him being changed into his black costume and colored contacts, he is even more dark and terrifying than how he looked walking down the street. "Ren Tsuru-", he nearly asks too loudly, but Cain's glare is enough to silence him. Cain wordlessly grabs Setsu's hand and pulls her away. "Hey! I wasn't done!" Sho shouts.
Cain lets go of Setsu's hand to whip around and stalk toward Sho, forcing him back until his own back is against the vending machine. Cain slams his fist beside Sho's head on the machine and stands so close that he is looking down on him with his towering height. Setsu watches on his fear, knowing that nothing good comes from Cain's anger.
"B-Back up!" Sho stutters with feigned strength.
Cain answers with another glare and menacingly whispers, "Shut the f**k up."
Though Sho had been exposed to Ren's angry expression before, he could never imagine him like this. He would never admit it, but right then fear crawled up his spine. This guy… he looks like a cold-blooded murderer… He recalls Kyoko talking about taking advantage of Ren's kindness. There's nothing kind about him!
Cain sees the fear hidden in Sho's eyes and is almost satisfied, but he adds in another whisper so that Setsu cannot hear, "touch her again and I will rip your arms off."
Although he fears Cain, Sho refuses to show it. "I'm sure the media would love to hear you say things like that. If you want to talk about things being ripped apart." He tries to look at Setsu but Cain shifts his body so that he can't see anything but him. "That goes for both of you. She wants to become an actress big enough to make me bow down in defeat? She'll never get there with someone like you!"
Hearing this just made Cain angrier as it was a subject he never wanted to think about but couldn't refute. He brought his arm back, ready to strike Sho.
Setsu gasped as she noticed his movement. "Brother! No!"
Instead of hitting Sho, Cain's fist lands on the machine. He hangs his head and shakes it, dispelling his anger. He knows Sho isn't worth the backlash he could potentially receive. Plus he promised to not disappoint Setsu again. Once again her voice saved me from making a mistake. I may accept Kuon now, but I still don't want to hurt anyone. He turns away from Sho and once again begins to pull Setsu's hand toward the studio.
What did she mean by brother? Sho thinks through his fury. He watches them walk away, staring angrily at their entwined hands. What's with those two…? He is still shaking in anger, but he dares not to follow them.
Once they are inside, Cain leads them both to their dressing room and doesn't let her hand go until the door to the room is safely shut. Cain turns to Setsu then. "Are you okay?"
She hesitates and Cain's face darkens but she eventually responds. "Yeah."
He places his hand on her cheek. "Liar." Though she fights it, a tear makes her way down her cheek until it is interrupted by his hand. Cain hugs her. "I'm sorry I was late."
Setsu takes deep breaths, refusing to cry again. She was done with crying so much lately. "It's just everything that's happened lately… It's not easy."
Cain releases her from his embrace, but keeps his hands on her arms. "I'm sorry. You were late so I went to check on you. When I saw you with him…" He drops his head and trembles with fury. He looks back up at her. "I was late, but I will always find you." Setsu can see the warmth in his eyes shining through the darkness of his anger and it fills her with a sense of comfort. "I will always come for you." He fights to control himself from saying more. From saying everything he's held back for so long. I will always love you. "Always."
Another tear escapes Setsu's eyes but this time it is from happiness instead of sadness. She smiles sweetly at him, nearly destroying his control. She hugs him, something he isn't used to. "I love you."
Cain's eyes widen and Setsu can feel his heart speed up considerably. She replays what she just said and did in her mind and blushes furiously in Cain's chest. She waits until she gets her expression under control before she releases him and smiles up at him. "You are the best brother a girl could ask for."
Ah… That's what she meant. Cain is disappointed in himself for getting ahead of himself. She's still Setsu after all. "Yeah. I love you too."
A shiver of thrill threatens her persona so she makes sure to step away from Cain so that his hands fall from her arms. She doesn't want him to notice her excitement at his words. "Thank you for saving me."
Cain lets his disappointment go as he could never keep it up with her around, she always brightened his mood. "Any time."