DISCLAIMER: SKIP BEAT! and its associated characters are the creations of Yoshiki Nakamura. This author claims no ownership of Skip Beat or any of its characters. All other rights reserved.
Word: The word-prompt for this one-shot is 'Moral.'
Note: time period is during the Heel Siblings arc, after the hickey incident but before Guam.
Research
*Sizzle* went the bacon on the frying pan. Kyoko—no, Setsu, she was Setsu, she was definitely Setsu—hadn't been paying attention and had been caught unawares when a stray bit of bacon grease had stung her finger.
"Ow!" she said, and stuck the finger in her mouth. Kyoko probably would've done something practical, like wash it immediately under cold water. But she had to be Setsu, and Setsu was going to yelp, pout, and stick her manicured finger in her mouth while she finished cooking her brother breakfast.
…Her brother, who was taking one of those intensely long showers of his after trapping her in his arms all night. Again.
She shook her head. Setsu had fallen into bed with him, but Kyoko couldn't relax. After his little 'vow,' he hadn't devolved back into that dark person who was neither Cain Heel or Tsuruga Ren. But things had changed somehow. They clung to each other tighter than ever—but she was so much more aware of the little things. Like the fact that her clothes smelled like his now, because she washed them together. Or the way she could feel the tension leave his body when he fell asleep.
Kyoko told herself that this was all Cain's love for his little sister. Because Ren Tsuruga was the kind of actor who lost himself in his characters, wasn't he? Just like she would lose herself in Setsu. After all, Kyoko was an upright, virtuous, moral Japanese woman—and Setsu was, well…she was Setsu.
Setsu—and yes, it was definitely Setsu who wanted to do this—was going to open that bathroom door because she needed to tell her brother to hurry up.
Setsu did not care whether or not her brother was naked. Her brother belonged to her, therefore, she could see him whenever and however she wanted. Setsu wouldn't think twice about opening that shower door to tell her brother that breakfast was nearly ready. Nope, not at all. They were siblings, right? What was the big deal, right?
It had nothing to do with the fact that Kyoko was altering her Ren dolls to be more…representative of the actor's physique. Nope. Or the fact that Kyoko couldn't forget the taste and the smell and the feel of his skin. Nope. Not at all. Nah uh.
This was all Setsu. Setsu needed to poke her head in there, because if Cain didn't get out of that shower soon, they would be even later than their customary two hours. Setsu would nonchalantly open that door, look her brother in the eye, deliver her message, and then shut that door behind her.
And Kyoko would use the opportunity to…research. Yes, that was it. It was research, just to check the precise ratio of Tsuruga-san's deltoids to his pectoralis minor.
There was nothing at all untoward about it. She was just being Setsu.
She finished plating breakfast, turned to twist the doorknob to the shower, and ignored the steam that came from the shower.
"Cain!" she said, "breakfast is—"
"Never too late to join me, Setsu," he interrupted.
Setsu narrowed her eyes, but inwardly, Kyoko died.
"—haha, Nii-san," she forced herself to say. Nevermind that the water was running down his chest and then down his abs…all the way down to his…legs…
Kyoko kept her eyes trained onto his face with an iron will. You are an upright, virtuous, moral, respectable, decent, pure woman, Kyoko, she thought. You are only here to ensure you are getting the proper proportions for his shoulders. Out loud, she kept her voice steady. "Breakfast is ready and we're going to be late. Again."
Cain pouted and a soapy hand reached out to her. "Come on, then, if you help me rinse off this soap, I'll get out sooner."
"HA!" Setsu said. "And mess up my hair?" She shook her head. She forced herself to take a step back, just out of his reach. "Hurry up, Nii-san, the food will get cold."
She closed the door behind her and couldn't help but break character to breathe a sigh of relief.
Research. She'd done it for research. Right?