Author's Note:

Sorry this update took so long guys. There were a whole bunch of plot nuances that I had to work out. Hoped you like it! Review and tell me what you think.

I should have done this earlier but thank you to Firey Koneko for reviewing! Your words are really encouraging.

I hope all my readers have started to notice the two different chapter titles (for each chapter) That eventually comes into play so pay attention!

Also as a warning this chapter enters T+-M territory with suggestive themes and implied sexual violence.

Chapter 4: The Amazing Kaleido Kings!

Kaori awoke in a cold sweat. She glanced around the dark room, unsure of what could possibly have woken her, until she heard the soft knock again. She glanced at her alarm clock, taking in the glaring 2:30, and groaned.
"Who...and at this time of night?" she mumbled angrily. She fell out of her bed and slouched to the door. Cracking it open just a bit, she beheld Marion, a too bright smile plastered on her face. With an "Ungh..." she almost closed the door again.
"Ah, ah, ahhhh..." Marion teased sticking her arm through to keep it open. "Training. Now. Move it."
"Got it. Moving." she grumbled sleepily. Kaori left the door open and struggled into her shorts, stretching a good bit to wake herself up and to make up for not doing so after her unexpected training run with Opal. Speaking of which...
"What's taking you so long!" Marion hissed. Kaori broke off that train of thought and jogged out of her room, tapping on her shoes by the door.
"It sure took you." Marion teased as she broke into a steady jog beside Kaori. Kaori watched out of the corner of her eye, watched her as she brushed back wisps of cotton candy blonde hair, and rolled her eyes.
"Race you to the trapeze!"

It was those words that Adrian awoke to. He sat up in his bed and roughly ran his hand through his now short silver hair.
"Who...?" His eyes unsteadily fell upon the silver paneled clock bleeping from the other side of the room, to which he rose slowly.
"Kaori!" he heard a familiar voice call. His breath stopped short. Marion? He stumbled to his window, his body not quite following his mind's commands, and stopped to stare dazedly down at Akibara Kaori. She was obviously tired, he could tell from the dull way her crimson eyes gleamed with semi consciousness. He found it hard to believe, though, that she wasn't leaping about with yipping squeals of delight.
"Maybe she really isn't a morning person." The thought brought something touching amusement to him until dread's icy fingers gripped him; the Fool was nowhere to be found. The Fool should always be with his chosen–regardless of whether that chosen one could see him–was he losing the ability to see? Was there another chosen? The Fool had made it abundantly clear that he had chosen Akibara...how could there be another? Maybe he really just couldn't see Fool. "Damnit." He rolled into something vaguely presentable and fled his room. The Fool must be found.

Sora Naegino stretched in the tangle of sheets that was her bed and let out a warm mumble of pleasure as generous kisses swam over her collarbone. Upon their reaching a particularly sensitive spot just below her ear and right along her jaw-line, she let out something short of a squeal.
"Oh not the spot, Leon." The response was a dark chuckle as his lips finished their morning rounds.
"Morning, love."
"Already?" She gave him a pout that smacked of a young Sora, a Sora from before his meeting her, one he was still trying to uncover.
"Not if you close your eyes."

She giggled at that as he ran a thumb along a cheekbone, crushing her to him as he did so.
"Sarcasm'll get you nowhere." Leon Oswald's silver blue eyes lit as they widened in mock surprise.
"Eh? I happen to remember charming a certain Odette with this very same sarcasm."
"Leon!"
"Mmmm?" he mumbled sleepily. The warmth of their bed was entirely too pleasant–and he had a meeting soon. Glancing at his wristwatch, a contraption cast in rose gold, a result of Sora's unhealthy love of anything pinkish, he uttered a barely audible "Blast." Stealing a last, long kiss from a surprised, though no doubt placated Sora, he rose snapping a crisp white blouse off a nearby chair. Sora rose, the warm sheets pulled loosely around her.
"What is the next production, anyway?" Hardly able to resist he caught her lips again as he hurriedly buckled his belt. He pulled away only after the belt hung securely at his hips, though this took him longer than buttoning his shirt had. A tricky thing belts were.
"Hamlet." was his simple reply as he snatched up a clean cut blazer and disappeared as if he had never been.
"Bye, love." Sora mumbled absently.

As his driver pulled up to the Kaleido stage complex, Yuri Killian glanced at his watch. The indicated three o'clock did nothing to help him forget his throbbing headache, or to quell the incessant yawn that threatened to overtake him. Regardless, he put up a cool front as the driver opened the door, exposing him to the barely glinting sun.
"I shall return at the designated time, Mr. Killian." Yuri nodded his approval and steeled himself for what would no doubt be a tense meeting. This would be his first entrance as stockholder representative and as Mr. Kenneth's successor; so to speak, he would take upon himself the role of producer. With the hard headed Leon and indecisive Ken, the morning would be long and trying.
"What's this about you not being a morning person, eh?" came a familiar voice. Uncharacteristically confused, Yuri glanced around for the source of the commotion. What he found was a spiraling ball of bouncing energy with crimson eyes. The girl landed with an impressive spin, less elegant than she perhaps would have liked. "Kaori!" came the voice again. Marion Benigni, he thought with some humor. That was who the voice belonged to. But why so early? If Yuri recalled correctly, and he always did, Marion usually liked her beauty rest. He glanced at his watch again. It was still early no matter which way he looked at it; early for him and undoubtedly too early for Marion. The girl, insisted a small voice in his head. Blinking at the now growing sun, Yuri regarded the warping ball of energy he had initially dismissed. What he saw was something that, even with his second glance, he had not immediately recognized, a simple existence he had been waiting to see for a good fifteen years, someone that he had needed to see to believe in what was now an unpromising future for Kaleido stage. He had not dared to hope, but accepted her readily nonetheless: a dreamer. Merely watching her roll her eyes at the approaching Marion sent his curiosity rampant. Who was she?
"Well, well, Marion." he called out before he could stop himself. The spiral was almost instantly still, her curiosity giving her the appearance of a prettily tranquil thing. Interesting...
"Yuri!" cried an astonished Marion. "W-what're you-I mean why so-
"You look fine, love." Yuri chuckled as cheerily as three o'clock in the morning permitted him, which admittedly wasn't very. Marion's honey eyes narrowed in a satisfied smile.
"Well, thank you very much-
"Yes, the very image of the blushing bride-I heard the good news! Congratulations." His genuine pleasure must have surprised her, or so her expression suggested. She returned his handshake with a wordless sunbeam smile and couldn't quite bring herself to do anything else. With wry understanding, Yuri changed the subject. "And this is?" Kaori blinked for what must have been the first time since seeing Yuri Killian.
"Oh! Um...sorry...uh Kaori Akibara...um...I'm sorry this must seem extremely rude but...are you by any chance Stefan's father?"
Yuri's eyes widened and then noticeably darkened at that. For a moment he said nothing at all.
"How do you know my son?" Kaori didn't miss a beat.
"I met him in Japan and we became really good friends. He's sort of like a brother I never had-and helps keep me motivated here." She bowed with that explanation and continued, "thank you for raising him so well. It's because of you and Layla-sama that Stefan has been able to help me catch sight of my dream." Her disturbing use of the present tense took a back seat to her mention of a dream.
"W-well...Kaori what is this dream of yours? It must be very important to you." Yuri knew that the tone he was using was patronizing, as if he were talking to a child, but as had been the case with another special dreamer in his life, he was a bit bewildered. Kaori on the other hand didn't seem to mind.
"To be a Kaleido star." She said it simply, as if an "of course" should follow those words and Yuri didn't know if he should be amused or severely concerned. To dream was one thing but this... Did she have any idea what she was doing? What forces she was messing with? Could she even see the Fool? The look Marion gave him told Yuri to keep his opinions to himself. As a result, he tempered the incredulous look that threatened to cross his face.
"I honestly wish you luck in that endeavor...that road is not an easy one."
Kaori's smile was graceless. "I honestly couldn't have it any other way."
He returned her grin, unsurprised as an idea occurred to him.
"What do you know of the play Hamlet, Miss. Akibara?" Yuri watched her stance relax as she seemed to lean back into thin air. She closed her eyes thoughtfully.
"Do you want the sparknotes version, or my opinion?"
Yuri barely managed to keep what would have been considered a rare spurt of explosive laughter at bay.
"An opinion, if you please."
"Kaori's fine, and if you ask me Hamlet was a whiny, emotional fob of a royal nut. Reminds me a lot of Adrian." Her smugness was priceless.
"Adrian...you don't say. I thought most ladies your age found him charming."
"Check back with me in the next ice age. I'm sure being senile will slightly better my humble opinion of him."
"Oh, Hamlet couldn't be all that bad."
Kaori blinked, taking in his reversal and what might have been a joke.
"Well, he has his redeeming qualities."
"Hamlet or Adrian?" Now he was just teasing.
"Both of our princes cannot be completely helpless." She insisted playing along
"Oh?"
Her grin faded as her gaze seemed to swoop inwards. "Both of our princes are brilliant, you can see it in their stances, in their words. But both of our princes carry a heavy burden, one that they've both had to carry out alone. Oh sure there's Horatio to comfort and occasionally guide, to remind of the true goal but...alone...that is the nature of our princes...tragically...lonely isn't it? They must be cold to protect those for which the burden is carried...but also to protect their own hearts." Kaori blinked then and caught Yuri's spellbound gaze. "I think its madness really...but there's something wrong and beautiful about that madness; it's warped and twisted- something I can't quite fully express, but that's what plays are for, ne?"
Yuri Killian let out a small gasp as his body remembered how to breathe. "Y-yes of course. That's what plays are for." Kaori smiled, for all the world sunshine and ray beams but Yuri suspected that somewhere in that narrative a third prince had joined the bunch. The new dreamer was not as pure as Sora had been. What this meant for her, he could not say. Perhaps her hidden, darkly glinting scars and the pragmaticality that had resulted would save her the pain Sora had needed to grow. But if her story followed the rules of this world, her flaws would damn her, just the same. He smiled down at her nonetheless, ignoring how very small she looked in her bravado; how very fragile she looked. Perhaps it was cruel to let her follow this path, but he would do so regardless. It was for the good of Kaleido Stage, and he was sure Marion had decided so as well. The best they could do was prepare her. "Well I have a meeting to get to, Kaori." He patted her head with a rougeish grin and made his way past her refusing to meet Marion's peering eyes.

"So is daddy Hamlet?" asked an adorably inquisitive Kate.
"Haha, no honey. Daddy's going to go meet with Uncle Leon and Uncle Yuri to choose Hamlet." Kate's lips formed an unspoken "oh" as Anna cut in, her voice low and denoting some sort of importance.
"Do we have an Orphelia?"
Ken let out a heavy sigh as he fastened his shoe buckle, appreciating the groan of the worn leather.
"Marion is all wrong for the part, and she knows it. She's just...too...
"She's getting married soon, hardly the image of a blushing maiden in her teens. She's too old for the part...though I hate to say it."
Ken's smile was tired, his eyes lit in stale apology. "You're merciless, Ana."
She raised a confused eyebrow. "But really...we're the merciless ones, aren't we?" The apology seeped from his eyes into his bones; she saw it in his stance as he stood. Ken's eyes darkened then. "What have we done...what have we done to her dream?" Ana's caramel eyes warmed as she reached a hand out to him, only to let it fall. The weight of his responsibilities crushed him now: he was no longer the man he had once been. Ken had made a choice long ago, between Sora and the system; he had chosen the system. Somewhere in her heart though, Ana knew they all had.
"Papa?" Ken blinked out of his trance in time to hide his troubled gaze from his daughter.

"Up we go honey."

"Yay, yay!" she squealed. She leapt onto her father, totally unaware of his fatigue, and waited patiently for him to settle her on his shoulders.

"You ready hun?"

"Mmhmm!"

"Alright, onwards!" Ana walked beside him, index finger caught by Kate's little hand, and shot concerned glances at her husband every once in a while. He needed a vacation. With a gentle smile she planted a kiss on Kate's palm. She would surprise him tonight then. It wasn't a vacation, but it had been a while since she's seduced the hapless Ken Robbins.

She sat with one leg out stretched and the other propped up as a rest for her elbow. Hunched over, Opal Allen resisted the urge to break. Her long spill of dark hair pooled between her thighs and to the floor as she sat against a wall, steadying herself. She had not left this place. Not since the night before.

"This isn't the body of a performer."

Her left eye visibly twitched.

He sat atop her, straddling her hips. Jewel green eyes had taken on a gloating gleam.

She curled in on herself, hugging her knees and supporting her back against the wall.

Hands and teeth roamed.

Her skin was set a-crawl.

She shrieked, utterly humiliated, tears streaming down her face. Teeth at her collarbone.

Opal shuddered again.

"What you have here, my Muse…

Her fingers brushed across her bruised collar. With a slight grimace she ducked her head down again.

Is a pleasure machine…" He voiced low, in her ear.

"Stop it."

"See how you inspire me?"

"Stop it!"

She let out an anguished groan. "Ah, there it is. Sing louder muse…"

"No."

"Alas what a sadist you make of me."

"Muse." Opal blinked into awareness to behold the glittering form of the Fool. She gazed weakly through her lashes at him, too sore to risk raising her head. His face tightened in uncharacteristic empathy.

"Did you mean for this to happen? For him to—

"I…I am sorry…"

Opal's head sunk back to her knees as she stilled another quaking fit.

"Oh my dear, Mnemosyne…

"Please don't, Fool."

The Fool sighed, taking in a deep breath before voicing his thoughts further.

"The path I have set you on is a cruel one…I am so very sorry." When she did not respond, the spirit tried again. "Opal?" She raised her head enough to barely glimpse him from beyond her veil of hair. "Opal I tell you this now to be kind: You cannot hate him." Her golden eyes flashed then.

"And why the hell not?" she snapped. Fool winced, and then glided to a spot in the air before her, taking Opal's cheek in one small hand.

"Because it will destroy you. Your hate will consume and destroy you…until you are just as he is—

"A lunatic, monster—

"Yes. Yes, all those things and worse." His voice hummed in a sort of soothing way that Opal could not resist. She relaxed, if only slightly, allowing her quivering anger to subside to reason. "You will become a hypocrite."

"I almost don't care."

"Almost. And that is the difference between you two." There was a silence as Opal digested his words.

"Fool…did…did you know Stefan Killian?"

"He is the product of the last Shattering."

"But the glass-scape still stands!" she hissed in an astonished whisper.

"Yes."

"Oh. Then…"

"Yes Opal?"

"So…so he could see you? It's a pity you didn't blind him to you after that failure." She breathed, voice laced with bitterness.

"Pity?" His gaze was disappointed in her. "It was pity that stayed my hand, Mnemosyne. You will see that before the end."

"Not likely." She muttered under her breath.

The Fool's gaze grew glassy. "That is the key to everything…The Shattering awaits only your understanding, Muse." Opal mustered up a smile.

"Cryptic as always. You're so useless sometimes, Fool." The Fool's smile deepened.

"You are not the first to have told me so."

...

"The obvious choice for Hamlet is Adrian."

Rosetta raised an eyebrow at Leon's declaration.

"I see no reason for Hamlet to have to be played by a man." Ken offered catching Rosetta's gaze.

"So then who do you suggest?" Leon sighed through gritted teeth.

Ken sighed, "I—

"What is your concern, Ken." Yuri interrupted. "I know you wouldn't shut down a theory without a reason."

Ken regarded Yuri carefully then looking to Leon he continued, "I'm not sure if Adrian is at the level of emotional maturity needed to fully understand this character." He watched Leon's eyes harden dangerously and quickly added, "His skills are superb Leon, please don't misunderstand …it's merely that—

"We understand, Ken. Thank you. Perhaps if we team him up with someone who can challenge him with that..?"

"That was sly of you Rosetta. So we come to Horatio. Who shall he be then?" Yuri chuckled. Rosetta turned a crystal shade of crimson.

"I only meant to say that Adrian's lack doesn't need to be the be all and end all of the matter. If anything Horatio understands Hamlet better than Hamlet may understand himself. We should be most worried about selecting him." Her statement was met with silence.

"Ah. You may have something there, Rosetta." Ken sighed. "When you think about it that way…I suppose I have no problem with selecting Adrian as Hamlet…as long as we have a strong Horatio."

"Well Yuri? What do you think?" Leon snapped, though not as harshly as he would have liked. He could tell when that man's mind was elsewhere. It was elsewhere. Yuri blinked with a shake of his head. But rather than looking abashed, a slow smile crept onto his face.

"A strong Horatio, hmm? Most importantly this performer would have to understand the nature of Hamlet's loneliness, don't you agree?"

Leon narrowed his eyes. "Get to the point Killian. If you have a plan spit it out." If not for the small pleased grin barely dawning on Leon's face, Ken would have had to intervene.

"I wonder…

"Oh come on Yuri." Rosetta sighed.

The culprit laughed outright and sat up in his chair leaning towards the board table for emphasis.

"My candidate for Horatio is Kaori Akibara."

Another silence.

"Who?"