~ Bad Magic ~

Kuon hits Pause on the DVD-player remote as thirteen-year-old Cain slinks into the living room.

"What are you doing up?" Kuon asks, not unkindly.

"I can't sleep," Cain replies. "Setsu had a nightmare."

Kuon sighs. As many times as he and Kyoko have told their daughter to come to them when she has a bad dream and not bother Cain, nightmares always send Setsu running to her big brother for comfort. Unfortunately for Cain, this means he gets to experience her nightmares for himself, and not just in the form of disjointed storytelling.

"Well, since you're up anyway, do you want to watch this movie with me? I can start it over from the beginning."

"Sure," Cain says, coming over to sit next to his dad on the couch. (Although not too close.) "What are we watching?"

"Tragic Marker. I hope it's not too scary for you..."

"I'm not sure anything can scare me more than Setsu's imagination."


His sister's nightmare has successfully been driven out of his thoughts by the time the credits roll.

"Hey, wait..." Cain says with a frown. "Who's Cain Heel? I thought you played BJ, Dad."

Kuon couldn't help laughing at the question combined with Cain's expression, which was a combination of serious and confused.

"When the movie was being filmed and for six months after it was released, the true identity of the actor who played BJ was kept secret. I played a role within a role. The mysterious actor 'Cain Heel' played BJ... and when the director was ready to publicly reveal who really played BJ, I also shed my 'Ren Tsuruga' persona and came out to the public as Kuon Hizuri. I know I've told you this before, but you were born on the set of Tragic Marker. Your mother didn't want to interrupt the filming when she went into labor, and by the time anyone realized something was wrong with her, it was too late to take her to the hospital."

Yes, Cain had heard the story of his birth before, but without having known about the role-within-a-role his dad had played, he never before thought to question the fact that his mother had been on the set with his father.

"Wait," Cain says. "If your identity was supposed to be a secret, then why was Mom there on set with you? Wouldn't people have been able to figure it out?"

"Are you forgetting that your mother is an actress? She was in a role to disguise her identity, too," Kuon replied, chuckling.

"What role?" Cain asked curiously.

"Cain Heel's sister, Setsuka. And before you ask, yes. You and your sister are named after the Heel siblings."

"Why?"

Kuon shrugged. "We liked those names, and we became rather attached to them. Actually, we considered naming you 'Ren' at first, before your mother decided that would be too confusing."

~oOo~