"The number you're trying to reach is switched off. Please try again later." With a beep, the call disconnected, and Sho muttered a few silent curses to Kyoko.
I'm wasting my precious sleep here just being worried about her safety, and that girl has the gall to switch off her phone! He minced his teeth.
Sho could almost picture her making a dirty face after seeing his number pop up on the screen and then just switching off her phone before going back to sleep, and the thought irritated him to extreme heights.
Fine! I don't wanna talk to you either! Throwing his phone down, he started for his bed.
Five minutes passed, and he jerked up again. Putting his coat on, he started reaching for the door. As stupid as the idea seemed to visit Kyoko in the middle of the night, he just couldn't help himself since there was this sense of foreboding in his mind.
He was almost out when his inner voice stopped him: Why are you going so far for her? It's not like you're in love with her.
The thought struck him. Why was he suddenly so worried about Kyoko's safety? He had never cared before. And even if she was spending an awful lot of time with Ren Tsuruga, it was not like they would be together right now. That would be crazy.
I'll just check up on her tomorrow before driving to the agency, he thought, jumping back on his bed again. Wait, why should I waste my time? Specially after she switched off her cell. Nevermind!
What Sho didn't know was how Kyoko actually was with Ren at the very moment, and that her cellphone had only switched off when it was hauled from her grasp and thown against one of the walls.
Back in the Heel's room, Kyoko slowly inched away from Ren. Her eyes widening with genuine fear. However, the farther she stepped away from him, the closer he came towering over her. His dark eyes burning with a new glint of malice.
"Who was it?" To Kyoko's immense shock, the words tumbling out of Ren's mouth were in Japanese. He was angry enough to break character in the middle of an act? If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she might've never believed it to be true.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" He demanded. When Kyoko still couldn't respond, his eyes narrowed as he slowly shifted even closer to her. "Answer me." The words were a warning whispered into her ear.
She was unable to move, or even speak. She would've shifted back even further if the bed wasn't blocking her path. Her calfs touched the smooth surface of the bed, making her halt.
"It was him? Fuwa, wasn't it?" A new dose of fear jolted into Kyoko making her gulp. How did Ren know? And more importantly why was he talking about it now? While they were supposed to be in character. The Ren she knew would've at least given her a chance to explain before exploding like this. What was going on?
"The only person whose number you wouldn't bother saving and who wouldn't mind shamelessly calling you is him, so it must be Fuwa, right?"
Being blocked by the bed from behind with Ren towering over her in the front, Kyoko felt trapped. All of a sudden, the perfectly ventilated room was too cramped from her and she wanted to get away in order to breathe. However there was no room for her to try to escape. And even if there was, she wouldn't have dared with those dark pits mercilessly staring her down, as if trying to decipher every secret she even held.
Kyoko shuddered. Having no more space to move away, she bent her head a little back when all of sudden, the heel of one of her boots slipped on the marble floor and she crashed hard on her back on the pillowy surface of the bed.
As Kyoko tried to get up, she was suddenly restrained by a pair of arms that pinned her down again. Reopening her squeezed eyes, she saw Ren's face looming over hers as he was on top of her with his knees on either sides of her belly caging her in.
"Why are you still in contact with him?" He demanded.
Being too stunned to react or even respond, Kyoko felt the bile rise in her throat.
"What were you doing with him in that car? You were supposed to be at school. You two seemed quite friendly to each other?" One of his fist cupped around the ball of her shoulder, their skins making contact sending electrocuted shots through out her body and Kyoko had the sudden sharp realization of how revealing her clothes were.
"You say you hate him," Ren went on, his lips almost brushing against her ear as he whispered, "is that really so? Or are you just trying to fool me? Have you actually been in love with him all this time?"
Still getting no response, he continued in his deadly calm and gentle tone, "Do you want Sho Fuwa? What do you want from him? Exactly what do you want?" His grip tightened around her shoulder to the point that it almost hurt being squeezed like that. While his other arm shot up to her bodice, his fingers slowly tracing patterns on collarbones, stretching downward between her breasts gently tugging down the fabric from her cleavage.
Considering how long she had been suppressing the deepest desires of her heart, if all this had been happening in a different time, under different circumstances, and in a different way altogether, Kyoko might have secretly enjoyed it, but with things as they were now, the adrenaline coursing through her body was there not because of any sort of excitement, only fear. Pure agitation and horror.
Who is this person? Kyoko asked herself, coming to the realization that she did not know this man. Whoever it is, it's certainly not Ren. Once again, she had the same feeling from before that if she didn't held on to Ren, he'd disappear forever.
Until now, Kyoko had been paralyzed with fear. However, now it was a different kind of fear. She was not afraid of what might happen anymore, the only thing that scared her now was losing Ren forever.
The President's words echoed in her mind: That guy is fighting a battle within himself. Maybe Takarada was not speaking figuratively. Maybe he meant it in the literal sense. As absurd as it seemed, she also experienced something similar when she had costared with Sho in his video. Back then, her hatred was so strong that it almost had a will of it's own and she was being controlled.
"No answer?" Ren asked, tracing his finger further down on her stomach, chills crawling down her spine. "That must mean it's true." He dark eyes narrowed to slits, and to Kyoko's horror, she sensed that whoever was behind them wouldn't hesitate to hurt her, but she wasn't about to give up on trying to get Ren back somehow.
His hand started moving up now and his fingers enclosed around her thin neck. Kyoko's eyes widened. She was herself too scared to even move, much less fight back, but that was not the case with Setsu. She needed to get back in character so she would have the strength to face this, but more importantly, so she could pull Ren back through acting. Her words might not get to him right now, but her character's might.
Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. "Why're you asking me this now?" It was Setsu who asked it, and Kyoko's sudden slip into her character made Ren frown.
Before he could even blink an eye, Kyoko used all her energy and the newfound rush of adrenaline to push him sideways. She exchanged positions with him, and now she was the one sitting on top of him.
"Could it be that you're jealous?" She licked her lips and smirked. "Bro-ther?"
Ren's eyes widened with his frown still intact. Even he could never get in a character so fast and so smoothly in the blink of an eye. A second ago, the girl he was staring down at was Kyoko. No amount of makeup and style would have changed that. Despite her outfit being alien for Kyoko, she was still the same. The fear in her eyes was the same. The way her lips quivered was the same. And the hope on the her face was the same as well, but now she disappeared without a trace. Because the girl above him was just Setsuka. Her tantalizing smirk, her mischevious eyes and her condescending attitude was proof enough.
"What's wrong, Bro-ther?" She caressed his cheek. Her smirk teasing. "Are you shy to admit it? That you were jealous? Besides, why are you taking that stupid phone call so seriously?"
Tracing her fingers on his face, she swept away his side bangs. Her thumb moving to and fro from his temple to jaw, before lingering on his lips.
"Puh-lease," she snorted. "You cannot possibly think i could he interested in someone like Sho Fuwa? Why would I be when I have my brother?"
Cupping his face, she hung her head so low that the pink-highlighted tips of her strawberry-blonde bangs tickled the skin of his face.
In an agonizingly slow speed, her lips moved closer to him. Ren gulped in anticipation, his heart running wildly. A soft kiss on his forehead from her velvet lips made him forget about everything else. His only focus was on the spot where her lips burned against his skin. He heaved in long breaths feeling the sudden lack of air.
The moment he felt her lips drawing back, an epiphany struck him and something crashed within him into a million pieces. It was a cage. The same cage he had used all this time to trap Kuon. Now however, he had the sudden realization that he could never win this fight by suppressing his other half. The trick was to embrace him.
So he let go of the cage, breaking all the walls around him which he had worked hard to keep standing for the past five years. He was Kuon again. But instead of becoming that monster with all that anger, the bloodlust, and the murderous intent, to his surprise, he turned into that little boy again whom Kyoko had met in that forest ten years ago. The same boy who loved nature and acting, who admired his father and looked up to him, who pretended to be a fairy just so he could make a strange little girl feel better.
He had won. Ren closed his eyes. It was all he do to not smile triumphantly. But he couldn't, because Setsu was waiting for her brother to respond, and he needed to get into character.
The next time he opened his eyes, Setsu was looking at him expectantly, waiting. And the moment she saw the coolness in his eyes, Kyoko was flooded with so much relief that she could barely keep her smile away. She was convinced now that everything was okay, because it wasn't some stranger behind those eyes anymore. It was Cain.
Her smirk returning, Setsu traced a finger on the spot on his forehead where she had kissed him and chuckled aloud. "It stuck there."
"What?" Cain asked, equally amused, just to see his sister laugh.
"My lipstick."
"Don't wipe it," he smiled. "I want it to stay."
"Why?"
"Because it's your mark."
"In that case, I'll leave it somewhere where you can see it." Setsuka dragged her hands from his cheeks down to his stomach and then back again, as she searched for a more suitable place. Not being able to find one to her liking, she reached for his neck and started unbuttoning his shirt all the way down.
Sitting on top of him, she ripped open his shirt and moved her hands all over his torso, tracing each of his abs, while Cain lay there with no reaction whatsoever with only a slightly amused smile for an exception.
"How about here?" She chose a spot on his hard chest. As she was about to press another kiss, he interrupted her.
"No, if you're being so generous, then I'd prefer a more permanent one."
"What do you mean?"
"Leave it here," he suggested, poking his thumb on the side of his neck. "And leave it strong."
Without a word, she lay down on her chest on top of him, and pressed her lips to the side of his neck. Having no idea how to leave a 'stronger' mark, she nibbled at the spot and let her teeth sunk into his flesh until she was sure a mark would be visible.
Cain winced. When she looked up, he frowned. "You bit me?"
"You're the one who wanted a stronger mark?" Even though Kyoko was dying from embarrassment in the inside, she didn't let it affect her character.
"I wasn't talking about a teethmark, silly! But I can guess how you assumed it that way, since you're so inexperienced."
"Then what?"
"I meant a mark that would not only be visible, but it would also leave an impact here," he poked his heart.
Setsu frowned. "What? Should I bite there too?"
"No!" Cain snickered, something he would only do when alone or in front of his sister. "No biting. You have to suck. The same spot. Hard. Stubbornly. Over and over again. Persistently until you carve a darker mark. It'll show your desire to have me."
"And how will that leave a mark?"
"There will be an internal bleeding under the skin, and it'll form a clot, dark enough to be visible even outside. That's how."
From the way he was talking, Kyoko could guess that unlike her, he was saying all this because he had experienced it himself. The thought of other women being with Ren and doing this stuff churned her stomach and pissed her off to new heights.
Though she maintained Setsu's sweet smile outside as if she was having the time of her life, she had the strong urge to get away from him, especially after he accidentally let it slip exactly how experienced he was. I always knew he was a playboy. That would explain why he was not even a little flustered, while she was turning into all shades of pink.
In order to hide her face and not give away her frustration, she let her head rest on his chest. You have to suck. The same spot. Hard. Stubbornly. Over and over again. Persistently until you carve a darker mark. It'll show your desire to be have me. There was no way she was doing any of that, no matter how curious a part of her was getting.
"Setsu?"
"Hmm." She did not look up. "Even if I don't do it, you'd still be mine. So what's the point?"
"Of course. But I want everyone else to know it as well."
The mischevious smirk returned to Setsu's face. "In that case, I'll put it right here. So it can be seen." She put her finger of the spot where she had bitten him just now. Judging from the look of it, it must be still hurting. Kyoko was pretty sure Ren would refuse her.
To her surprise he nodded, "Go on."
Having no other choice left, she once again bought her lips down to his neck. "Remember, that I'm the only one who understands you, Brother. No one could take you away from me," she whispered before she began to do what he had asked her.
"I'll remember." He closed his eyes. "In return, I'll make a promise to you. I'll never disappoint you again like I did tonight." He only mumbled the last part, but Kyoko heard it. She knew he meant it for real and it was not just a part of his act. She smiled, and with her lips pressed against him, though not seeing it, he felt it.
The moment she was done, before she could even glance at her handiwork to make sure a mark had formed, Cain wrapped his arms around her and swooped her down, while raising himself on his elbows. He was on the top again.
"My turn now," he whispered. "Let me teach you how to do it properly." Without waiting for an answer, he bought his lips down to her neck, but before he could begin, she cupped his face and pushed him away. He looked at her questioningly, because no matter how flustered Kyoko was, her character would have never refused something like that.
"What's wrong?" He asked gently.
"You're gonna teach me?" She snorted, her customary tantalizing eyes were full of unusual anger. "You'll teach it to me when you yourself have gotten better by practicing with other women?" She pushed him away even further.
Kyoko knew if she continued to put up the act and didn't stop Ren, once she broke out of character, she would crawl into a hole to die since she wouldn't be able to face Ren again. A thing about Setsuka was she was supposed to be the most possessive and jealous of the two. So Kyoko used her jealousy to get out of it, though she was secretly pissed about the same thing herself.
"Don't get mad," he tried to pull her back towards him, but Setsu shot him a glare so cold that he withdrew his hands. Snapping out of his arms, she rose up and started putting on her coat again.
"Where are you going?" Cain demanded.
"Out." She answered. "Since I'm so inexperienced, I'll come back when I learn to do it properly on my own." She buttoned her coat. "I'm sure there will be lots of men outside who'd be willing to practice with me."
Her words startling her brother, as she was about to exit the door, he wound his arms around her hugging her from behind.
"Tsk." A chuckle bubbled out of her throat. "You took me seriously? It was a joke, obviously. I'm only going to the supermarket to get some stuff for breakfast."
"In that case, I'll go. You stay here." He immediately buttoned back his shirt and put on his own overcoat. "I told you not to go out alone at night. You get a bath or something, I'll be back soon."
He left, slamming the door shut behind him. And the minute he was alone, and out of her eyesight, he felt his legs go so numb that he had to support himself with his hand. Grabbing the door frame with one hand, he used the other to press it to his mouth.
Remembering all the things he had done under the pretense of his character, he muffled a sound coming out of his throat. It was good Cain was supposed to be stoic and unexpressive, because if he could show even a fraction of his feelings, he wouldn't have been able to hide how flustered he was. It was the first time since coming to Japan since someone had shaken him this hard to his core.
I'm so sorry for the late update guys. It had been quite a busy week.
PS. I had intended not to upload pictures after reposting the story, but I just had to in this specific chapter! I had been waiting for MONTHS to write this scene. Please leave your reaction in the comments.
There were so many different reactions in the manga that it was quite difficult to describe all of them, but I tried the best I could. Still though, I'm leaving a few pictures just for reference.
Cain Heel.