Leave the rest to me

Peace, however, turned out to be only temporary. As the big showdown was approaching, Sora and Leon were beginning to feel more and more of the crushing pressure performers experienced before their first night. Rumor that the three top stars of Kaleido stage were going to have a contest to see which one was the best spread like wildfire. Tickets sold out faster than ever and it was going to be an occasion to celebrate, if the future of the stage wasn't on stake.

There was one week before the show, then five days, then three. People ran around, counted the hours before the big night and freaked out over the smallest of details. The pressure on the top stars was backbreaking, everyone seemed angry. May's usual overreacting because of her part was not cheering people as usual, Sarah couldn't find the time to smile, even Rosetta and Marion seemed to be getting in the way.

Sora and Leon did their best to make the act as perfect as possible, but they just didn't seem to get over the awkwardness between them. One day, three days before the big performance, they tried a lift and Sora didn't make it. That actually tipped the whole thing off.

"For crying out loud, Sora, just put some backbone into this. Are you trying to ruin this for us?"

"Me? I'm so strained I can hardly stay calm for five seconds! I work on my limit to pull this one off and you go ahead and ruin it with that cold glare of yours!" Sora, who hadn't had a decent night's rest during the last 48 hours, was finally getting the best out of her insomnia. "Kathy-san was right, how can we win when the closest thing to a passionate love for you is that mocking smirk of yours!"

"Well, perhaps I would have more time to practice my looks if I wasn't busy trying to stay up." Leon snapped back "And since we're on the attitudes theme, you should try trusting me more before criticizing my face."

"What do you mean?" she eyed him angrily

"Look at me in the eye and tell me you're not frightened of me." He stepped forward so that their noses almost touched "Tell me you can trust me and I'll say it's all my fault."

"What do you mean?" she looked away embarrassingly "I don't get it."

"You're saying we should give our all to this, but you can't stay calm whenever I'm around you, as if my mere presence is frightening you. As if the concept of me touching you is revolting."

"WELL, I WOULDN'T BE SCARED IF YOU DIDN'T FREESE MY BLOOD WITH COLD!" Sora yelled. Leon looked at her for a good couple of minutes, before sighing loudly.

"That's enough for today. We've both had too much."


He went to his room in the dorm, fully intending to take a cold shower and spend the rest of this day lying with a book, with the phone turned off. It usually helped him calm down after fights, but this time he felt as if his head was full of bees and that he wouldn't be able to regain his composure for quite some time. So when he found a message left for him upon returning, he was more or less glad to take it…even though it wasn't from a person he liked.

Ten minutes later, after refreshing himself and changing into a pair of clean clothes, Leon got out of the dorms and headed towards the centre of Cape Mary, to the Savoy Hotel.

Upon entering the bar, he noticed two things-one, it was almost empty, and two, they were already expecting him. The waiter showed him to a small corner table where Annett Blanche was waiting for him, cigarette in one hand and a glass of gin in the other.

"Mon cher Leon, it's so nice of you to come. Do sit down." She smiled "Can I offer you a drink?"

"No, but you can offer me an explanation." Leon, fully intending to stand up, satisfied himself with just taking off his scarf. "I'm busy."

"Obviously, if you could spare the time to come here, you can sit down and enjoy a drink for old time's sake."

"What is the meaning of this?" he eyed her angrily "You can't just call people out of the blue and tell them to come and meet you as if they're dogs that are meant to follow your orders."

Annett smirked.

"Well, you cam, dear, so I guess it's partly true." She showed him again to sit down and this time he obeyed, though reluctantly. "Gin? Or perhaps something stronger."

"I'd rather not." Leon crossed his arms and silently asked for explanation once again. Annett, feeling that the conversation was going nowhere, sighed and left her cigarette in the ash tray.

"What is so wrong in old friends having a drink together? It's not like we're on a date again. By the way, Sora does seem to have some strange ideas for spending time with her beau, don't you agree."

"Have you been watching us?" Leon felt his face going red with anger. Of course she had, that was Annett. He knew she had spies following their every move in the training hall, but he had to be dammed if he thought she'd go so low as to have someone spying on their personal lives.

"Leon, Leon, mon chere, I was just worried. Women fight to get close to you, but in the end none of them can last. Not that I'm worried-if you keep freezing their blood with cold, you'll have to go back to me."

"I thought we had an agreement." He hissed, not missing the fact that she was using the exact same words as Sora did earlier. "You'd stay away from me and I will stay quiet about that thing you did to me."

"It's been a long time. Besides, you haven't told anyone, so deep inside, I guess you liked it."

"If you called me out here to insult me, then I am leaving."

"Stay where you are." Her eyes suddenly undertook a dangerous look "You're not leaving until we have our talk." Leon pursed his lips angrily, but noticed with the corner of his eye a bunch of men in black suits lurking in the corners. So she was still up to her old tricks. He calculated that he could take out at least two of them and jump out of the hotel, but you could never know with Annett. The best thing was to play along until all the cards were not laid out on the table.

He turned to her and nodded, showing that he was listening.

"All I want to do is save you, mon cher Leon. You know that after Kaleido Stage goes down most of the staff will be fired. All except a selected few (aka spies), and I don't really want you to go."

"Why? According to you, I'm an unprofessional when it comes to the trapeze. Why keep me?"

"You know very well what I meant, Leon. But while Sora is a silly little dilettante, you have something. You accomplished the Angel's Act, you are a true devil, but you can't work with her." she leaned forward and ran her fingers down his cheek. He shivered-the touch was like the caress of a spider. Ignoring him, Annett reached down to his neck, but he seized her hand and squeezed it tight.

"You see?" She smiled triumphantly "You have a lot of passion hidden underneath that mask of a face, but Sora doesn't have the fire to melt the ice. That's why you look like an ice sculpture. With me, that can change."

"Are you done?" he pushed her arm away "Because if you are, I'm leaving."

Annett looked at him unbelievingly.

"You know she can't live up to Sophie, yet you still love her so? How can you betray your sister in such a way, Leon?"

Suddenly, without caring much about the outcome of the situation, Leon slammed his fist on the table and leaned forward.

"What do you know about love, when the only person you've ever cared for is you." He whispered lowly. Annett's face flushed with anger.

"Is that your final response?" he didn't say a word, just kept staring at her. "Very well. Close the door on your way out."

But before he had even left the hotel premises, she was dialing a number on her cell phone. If she let this go by unnoticed then her name wasn't Annett Blanche.


Preparing for a huge show was hard, but doing it when your two top stars didn't work together was practically impossible. The stylists, choreographers and screen writers ran between Sora and Leon, asking them for their opinion over various topics. Everyone was strained, but the looks those two threw people could drain all emotion form them.

They practiced separately and talked as little as possible. Sora was already beginning to regret about having yelled at him, but she just couldn't find the proper way to approach him. The big day came and she headed towards her dressing room, with a heavy heart and dark thoughts. The stage costume was waiting for her, a dream made out of a delicate matter, in blue and white, with gently flowing skirts and open shoulders. She stared at it for a good five minutes, before slowly starting to undress herself.

How could she manage it? Leon was hardly looking at her, how could she really do it? Was Annett really right? Was she too immature to meet the requirements of a true star and manage all? Was her moment on the stage just another case of five minutes of glory?

There was a knock on the door, and, thinking that Mia had come to help her with her costume, Sora yelled: "Come in". However, when she didn't hear her friend's gentle voice greeting her, she turned to the door and froze stiff upon seeing Leon standing there. His face wasn't frozen in its usual expressionless mask-his eyes were wide, his jaw was hanging and his cheeks were slowly growing pink. Sora blinked a couple of times before realizing that she was in her 'delicates', then let out a small squeak of surprise and hid behind the dressing screen.

"Leon-san…What are you doing here?" she managed, before daring a look. He had closed the door and was now studying the ceiling very hard.

"I just…wanted to talk to you…" he began and swallowed hard "Do you…need help with your dress?"

"Um…well…" She quickly jumped into the costume and started to fight with the zipper. Leon came up behind her and helped her with the various zips and ribbons. While his hands were working on her back, Sora's face was growing redder than a tomato and she found the words barely coming out of her throat. But before he retreated, she took a deep breath and shot out:

"I'm sorry about the other day, I shouldn't have yelled." And then blushed harder…as possible as that was.

Leon paused before answering.

"It's ok. We're all stressed, you don't have to apologize."

"No, I do." She quickly whirled around and looked at him in the eye "I really must, Leon-san. You have to know. I…really am sorry. It's not as if you're a cruel person, I was just…"

"I was asking for it." He shook his head "I shouldn't have been so selfish."

"So…you want us to forget about it…" was that disappointment in her voice? Sora couldn't believe she was saying that. But Leon just smiled.

"No, not forget. We both can get a good lesson from this…but now I wanted to ask you something. The stage is important to you…it's as important as it was to Sophie and I understand that…that's why I want this to work out."

"But…we don't have time to practice…" Sora babbled out, but her took one of her hands in his, and with the other cupped her chin.

"We don't have to. We just have to picture it." He sighed "Can you trust me, Sora?"

"I…of course."

"Then mean it. Please, just go out on that stage and, only for these ten minutes, look at me in the eye and convince yourself that you love me. And leave out all the rest to me."