In Charge

Maria went to Sakuya and Aine's apartment. When she and the baby arrived, Yuuka and Miya were already there. With little Yuki playing on the floor, the ladies of Lucifer began their meeting.

"How are you doing Aine? You're eyes look bruised." Yuuka asked and felt guilty. Aine was really there at Sakuya's side helping him while she hadn't done much at all for Atsuro or the other guys.

"I'm okay. I miss those days when I could skip school but that's not an option now!" Aine grinned at them. There had been many missed days once she and Sakuya had become a couple. Aine had followed him everywhere, needing to be at his side but now graduating with good grades had become her priority. "So Maria, you called this meeting, what's up?" She'd been surprised when Yuki's wife had declared that they needed to meet but Maria wouldn't say why over the phone.

Maria looked away from her little boy to the other women. Being a wife and mother agreed with her, she absolutely loved it but now she wanted to do her part in helping her husband realize his dream. "I hear this Marcy Page had been very demanding of your time Aine. Yuki's worried about you and I hear Sakuya's just barely holding his temper with her. Tell me, what I can or we can do to help you?" Maria waved a hand at herself, Miya and Yuuka.

"Yes! Oh please let us help you Aine." Yuuka scooted forward on the couch. "Atsuro's so excited with all the new things they're doing but when he comes home, he's too exhausted to even talk to me. I want know that in some small way I participated in helping him take on the world. Maybe if we help out we can ease the burden on you and them." Yuuka nodded and smiled at Maria. It was a good idea.

"Oh! That's so sweet." Aine looked at them with gratitude. Any help would be welcomed. "I'm not sure what you could do because it seems Marcy always has something new for me to do but if you're serious – yes! Please." She laughed then laughed more when little Yukihiko said yes too.

"Is something wrong Miya?" Maria had noticed that the shy girl had said nothing about her suggestion to help Aine. "You don't have to help or it might be too much for you too. You're already helping them out every day. I just thought that since we all want the same thing, we should do what we could. I'm sorry I didn't even think about how much more work this would mean for you." As Yuki's wife, she was sort of the de facto leader of the ladies. Aine would be a close second because of all the work she does for Lucifer but Miya in her quiet way had always been there for Lucifer.

Miya jumped. She'd been staring down into her glass of tea. "No – no that's not it! I mean yes – I'll help. Sorry." She smiled sheepishly. It was weird being asked her opinion and just being with these women. It had been just her and Towa for so long that getting used to girlfriends again was kinda awkward. "I'd like to help out in a more substantial way but…what about Marcy? She's…she's not the type to want other women around. Marcy prefers men – I mean being the only woman surrounded by a bunch of men. She won't like it if we start showing up and butting in to what she considers her world." Miya thought she'd better warn them. The bitch barely tolerated her around even though she was only there doing her job at the photo shoots and such.

Maria blinked slowly. Yuki hadn't said much about the woman other than she worked hard and expected the same of Lucifer but Miya hinted there might be a bit more to the business woman. "Aine, tell me what happened when you first met Marcy. Yuki said for a moment there things got tense but that's all he would say." Her husband tended to protect from anything he thought was too controversial.

"Oh, I know. Atsuro told me. He was shocked at her reaction. He said she hurt your feelings Aine. Actually, she offended all of them by what she said." Yuuka reached down and threw back a ball Yuki had thrown. She smiled at the boy then looked back at Aine who seemed to be choosing her words carefully.

Aine shook her head. "They were wonderful. Each of them defended me and my songs. They were ready to toss her out then and there if she couldn't get over the news that I was the lyricist." She felt a blush rise to her cheeks as she remembered the love the guys had showed for her and not just her talent. Aine looked back at the other women.

"Well I was warned by Sasaki that fans wouldn't take well to knowing a teenager was writing for Lucifer." Aine took a sip of tea and looked up at them sort of embarrassed. "She was…shocked to say the least. But now that you mention it Miya, her reaction may have had more to do with working with me – a girl." Aine shrugged, there were women like that.

"I'd say it has everything to do with you being not only a girl but Sakuya's girl. Marcy fawns over the guys like they're hers or something!" Miya exclaimed surprising them all. She blushed. "Well I see things since I'm with them at the photo shoots." She explained. Even though she'd now made them aware of Marcy, Miya didn't mention how Sakuya gets the majority of Marcy's attention and how sometimes this whole promotion seemed all about Sakuya and less about Lucifer.

"Really? She kind of sounds like Kei." Maria spoke of the female member of Trio. In the beginning when Lucifer had first decided to work with Trio, wearing their clothes during concerts and other public events, Kei had at first started a relationship with Santa then decided she wanted Sakuya as well – at the same time! Maria crossed her legs and looked down at her son. He was so much like his father. "All the more reason to help out Aine. We can let you get some rest and keep an eye on the new barracuda." Most thought of Maria as just a naive young woman forced into an arranged marriage that got pregnant almost immediately and therefore she was just a wife and mother with no common sense. They were wrong.

"Well I certainly won't turn down the help but I don't think we have to worry too much about Marcy. None of them would ever cheat on us or let her get away with anything. Marcy's an American, she just does things differently. I'd like to give her a chance; it's only been a month after all." Aine wasn't really comfortable with Marcy but considering all she was doing for Lucifer; Aine didn't want to cause any problems just when things were going so well.

Yuuka nodded. "Sure that's fine but even though the guys will behave, we don't know if Marcy will. I'll give her a chance Aine, but I'll be watching her more closely now too." There had been one obsessive fan that had intimidated her in the past and Atsuro had taken care of the problem, well now Yuuka would take the lead. She'd protect not only Lucifer but her precious relationship with Atsuro.

Maria sat back pleased. "Good! Now Aine write down a list of your responsibilities and we'll divide them up between us. Of course the song writing is all yours!" She looked down at her son as he laughed responding to his mother's happiness. "We'll see who's in charge won't we baby?" Maria grinned at the others as they laughed. This was going to be fun.

Earlier that very same day, Lucifer was at Jupiter Records for their meeting. The morning had been specifically left open. Not only was it a good time for them but Aine couldn't be there since she had school. Marcy did what she could to limit the girl's influence.

Dressed more business-like in a long but tight skirt with a matching short jacket, Marcy told them of her latest accomplishment. "You will all be starring in an American TV show! Yes, it's true!" She leaned over the table smiling widely at their shocked faces. Marcy looked to Takayama for confirmation.

"It's true. It's a cop show and two detectives follow the criminals back to Japan. There will be a club scene where you guys will get to perform and there may be a line or two for each of you." Takayama's eyes sparkled. "Sakuya -." He started but was interrupted.

"Sakuya! Because of that TV movie you starred in, they were most interested in giving you a much larger part! Just think, you could quit the band and become an actor!" Marcy had walked over to him and spun him around to smile in his face.

He leaned back in the chair away from Marcy. Using his long arms, he pushed her back. "I like it – being on TV in America. It's just what we need but I'm a singer Marcy. Even if I stop singing one day, I'll still work in the music business. I've no dreams to act." Sakuya had spoken rather mildly even showing a hint of excitement this that arrangement would bring them but now his wonderfully expressive voice dropped an octave and his blue eyes went hard. "Don't ever consider I'd leave my friends or Lucifer behind Marcy. That is not an option!" Sakuya had been holding onto her forearms but now he gripped her firmly and moved her out of his way as he stood up.

Everyone was silent as they watched Marcy blink at Sakuya's back. There were times when the woman didn't know when to keep her mouth shut. This wasn't the first time she'd spoken only of Sakuya and the things she could do to make him a star.

Sakuya stalked to the glass wall and looked down at the busy city. The woman was pushing his buttons. He'd wanted to hurt her just now. Yuki, Atsuro, Towa and Santa were his family. For many years since his mother's death, Sakuya had been completely alone and doing what he could to get by. Yuki had shown up and invited him to join the band. At first he hadn't wanted anything to do with them, it was hard to believe that someone actually wanted him around but the first time he'd sung with them – it had been magic. It still was and if that bitch did anything to jeopardize his relationship with them by harping about him going solo or anything else…

He looked over his shoulder his eyes landing on Yuki. Sakuya was relieved to see that the band leader wasn't angry or upset by Marcy's words. They both nodded at the same time, a silent message from one to the other. Sakuya turned back to the panoramic view of the city.

"Excuse me; it seems I got carried away again. Please…forgive my outburst." Marcy moved back to her seat and opened a file. "Let me give you the details." For the next half hour she talked with everyone but Sakuya asking questions and offering their input.

Marcy continued to glance at Sakuya whenever she thought no one was looking. I just want what's best for you Sakuya. Why can't you understand that? As talented as all of you are, no one is as charismatic or as gifted as you are! She stiffened her spine. Marcy wasn't going to give up. Sakuya was still young and unsure of what he truly wanted in life. She would continue her job and show him just how much the public loved him – as she did.

Atsuro liked the idea of starring on TV and was happy with being given the chance to actually have some lines to say. Sakuya got most of the attention since he was the face and the voice of Lucifer but he and the others had gone solo that one time when they'd had to break up. Each of them could make it on their own but like Sakuya he first wanted to do this together. Nothing lasted forever and chances were Lucifer would one day end but for now, things were exactly right. "Come back Sakuya, we're going to need you to give us some tips about on being TV. We need your help!" He grinned, Sakyua often responded to his teasing.

"Yes especially Santa, you know how excited he gets. You'll have to show him how to act like an adult." Towa said pulling his long hair over his shoulder and winking at Santa.

"Now why do you have to pick on me?!" Santa growled playfully. "I can kick your girly ass Towa!" He waved his fist in the air much to the amusement of most everybody.

"Can't you guys ever be serious?" Sasaki sighed and got up to pour himself some coffee. "Marcy has worked wonders for your public image and all you can do is joke around." He turned back to face the conference table. "Sales are up on all the products your faces have appeared on. We've also gotten news that the ratings on the programs you've appeared on has gone through the roof. It's happening. Lucifer is being seen by the Japanese, the English and now the Americans. And then there's the fashion show coming up plus this TV thing. It's quite conceivable that in two or three month's time, we could be in London. That's not a very long time gentlemen. Quit playing around and focus!" His cup rattled against the table as he set it down.

"Oh pull the stick out of your ass Sasaki!" Kai said with a smile. "You just said how well the different campaigns have been going. And I was there for a great many of the shoots and recordings. Santa – every one of them has been working very hard. Just because they take a minute to joke doesn't mean they don't know what they're working for!" The production director said knocking Sasaki off his high horse. "This is their dream you know."

Yuki nodded. "Thank you Kai." He turned not to Marcy or Sasaki but to Takayama. "Kai mentioned something that the rest of us would like to talk about." Briefly downstairs in the garage, Yuki had talked to the guys about the things Sakuya had brought up. The work was too much all at one time with all the responsibilities they already had. Everyone was in agreement.

Takayama sat up, curious. Usually when they acted this way, it was about something he did not want to hear. Automatically he thought of Aine, Maria, Yuuka and now Miya. Because of their ties to these women, life could get very complicated. Of course sometimes it worked in their favor, the company's favor that the men of Lucifer were in committed relationships and unlikely to do something stupid that would cause them to end up in the tabloids or arrested. "What is it?" He asked warily.

"We've been working very hard. We've done everything you and Marcy have asked. We were happy to do it and we're very pleased with the results but it's too much." Yuki looked around at his friends and up at Sakuya who had come back to the table but continued to stand.

"Too much?! But you have to! You won't get anywhere if you don't!" Marcy stood slapping her hands on the table. "Sakuya!"

"Wait!" Takayama held up a hand, this time interrupting the willowy woman. "Let's hear them out." He didn't think they were giving up, not after coming this far.

"We're tired." Yuki said simply. "We've been working nonstop this whole time."

"You knew you'd have to going in. What's the problem?" Sasaki folded his arms and leaned into the glossy table frowning.

Yuki leaned back and crossed one long leg over the other. "Didn't you tell us we needed more music?" He looked from Takayama then to Sasaki, both nodded. "So when are we supposed to come up with that new music? From morning to night we're either on radio, TV or at some event. Then there are all of those little performances that grease the wheels for everything else. When was the last time we were in the studio?" He asked of Sasaki who kept track of their studio time.

The man's face darkened and with a shaky hand, checked the binder in front of him. "…Almost two months ago right before your last big concert." He answered sheepishly.

"Exactly." Yuki smiled indulgently. "We'd like to offer a compromise. Three days off a week. It doesn't have to be three days in a row or everybody off at the same time. Well, we should all have one day off together to go into the studio to rehearse and brainstorm. We'll gladly continue everything Marcy has come up with but if we get to London and we don't have anything new to offer, then we would have done all this for nothing, right?" He winked at his friends. They had originally decided on only two days off but he'd thought three was better and who knew, Takayama might agree.

"No! No way. That's just not possible!" Marcy stalked around the table to confront Yuki. "If you back off now, you'll lose momentum! Think about it Yuki – the people in this business are out to make money and you're doing that for them. If you slack off now, it will make Lucifer look bad. They'll start to think you can't handle success." Marcy softened her tone and tried to reason with him.

Santa blinked once then twice before he started laughing. "You can't be serious! Hello – Lucifer has been a success in Japan for the last few years! All of Japan knows that we're trying to go global and our sponsors are making money. If we take a day or two off to rest and write music, nobody is going to complain! We are a band and we make music. Can you not understand that?" As smart and savvy as Marcy was in business, sometimes she was downright silly. Santa wondered which color was her natural color because the blond side seemed to be taking over.

Sasaki hid a smile at Santa's derogatory tone. "He's right, they're both right. We forgot about the music. The music has gotten us this far and we will need new material." He looked at Kai and Takayama who nodded.

"Yes but the time off – we need to discuss that more. Just now, full days off are out of the question because we have too many things scheduled but say in about…three weeks?" Takayama looked down at the schedule in front of him. "Things sort of calm down by then and soon you'll have the TV show to prepare for so it will all work out nicely." He looked up at the guys judging their reactions. "I also think we can work in some half days for now. How's that sound?" Hitoshi was chagrinned to learn that he'd been acting like Sasaki and thinking about the money side of things and forgetting about the music. Lucifer had many years left in it before they reached their peak and he wanted to see just how far they could go on their sound.

Yuki looked at his friends and ended with Sakuya. He raised his eyebrows in question. Sakuya was the one most bothered by the current situation.

Sakuya sighed. It would happen just not as soon as he would like it to happen. It wasn't like he could refuse so he nodded then took his former seat and slumped down into it.

"Good then that's settled." Takayama smiled, relieved. Artists worked better when they were happy. He'd seen these guys when they were upset and down – they had hardly been able to play their instruments like the pros they were. Considering how upbeat they'd been through all of the hard work, he was anxious to see what their excitement could come up with once they hit the studio. "Marcy from now on, you'll work with Sasaki when setting up all of their media appearances. Kai you too when it comes to the commercials and such."

Marcy was quiet for a few minutes. She didn't like this at all. This would severely limit her time with Sakuya but at least she had a few more weeks to try and make him realize that they were the perfect couple in business and personally. Okay, I'll just make sure I'm with him wherever he goes. Guess I'll have to pretend that this is about Lucifer and not Sakuya. Once I regain his trust, then I can seduce him! "That won't be a problem. I'm sure that between the three of us that we'll give the band all the time they need to rehearse and some well earned time off. And I'll try not to get so carried away." She blushed in fake embarrassment.

"Good, good. I'm glad we cleared that up." Takayama stated with his large smile. "Okay, I'm sure we have a few more things to discuss. If we get through with this meeting early, you guys might get a chance to go down to the studio for a few hours."

"Yeah! I've been going through withdrawals." Santa started tapping the table with his hands. "I've got this new beat – you guys are going to love it!"

Kai, Hitoshi and Sasaki all smiled as Santa tapped out a beat and Towa, Atsuro and Yuki started moving their fingers along with the beat and nodding.

Sakuya was listening with his eyes half closed. "You got words?" His blue eyes suddenly bright with excitement.

"Huh? No, I've just been obsessing over this beat." Santa explained feeling his temperature rise at the vibe in the room.

"Got a MD? I think I could do something with this." Sakuya had reached for pen and paper to jot down some words.

"Yeah but it's really rough. I thought I'd give it to you guys after the meeting." Santa said pulling the mini-disk out of his pocket grinning when Sakuya snatched it up.

"Hey didn't you make enough for all of us?" Atsuro pouted and watched as Sakuya put it in his player to listen.

"Hold on!" Sasaki smiled. "Let's finish this meeting then we can all go down and hear this new beat. Looks like we've got the beginnings of our first new song."

Yuki reached over and pulled the ear bud from Sakuya's ear then listened for a minute. "Oh yeah, good work Santa! Okay, what's next on that list of yours? My fingers are ready to make some chords to go with that beat!" His band members cheered and they all turned to Takayama eagerly.

Sakuya again returned home late but his mood was much improved. That is until he crossed the threshold and realized that he hadn't really helped Aine out with her problems. Nothing had been resolved in how much work she had taken on. "Damn!" He whispered harshly and felt guilt steal upon him.

The downstairs was quiet so he figured Aine was already upstairs and possibly in bed. He went to the kitchen and found the food she always had prepared for him in case he was hungry when he got in. He did eat but mainly to buy himself some time to think. Well I never told Aine I was going to fix things since she would have argued with me that she could handle it, so as long as I keep my mouth shut I'll be fine. …But she'll notice the change in my schedule shortly and I'm going be down in the studio whenever I can. Shit! I know she won't complain but I'd like to tell her that she didn't have to work so hard. I'll just have to talk to Sasaki or Takayama tomorrow.

Sakuya placed his dishes in the dishwasher and rinsed his hands then headed upstairs. One of their older CDs was playing over the speakers in the bedroom. Sakuya was always bemused by how much Aine loved to hear him sing. He saw her singing the words under her breath as she typed on her laptop. "Aine."

"Sakuya!" Aine smiled brightly. She saved what she'd been working on, turned off the computer then jumped up to run to him. "You're home early than usual. Hello." She circled his shoulders as he bent down to hug her.

"I missed you today." Sakuya picked her up then went to go sit on the bed with her in his lap. "You finished working? I didn't mean to interrupt." He held her against his heart relaxing.

"Yeah, I was just trying out some phrases. Maybe you could take a look at it later?" Aine lifted her head to look at him. "What happened? You're smiling and your eyes are shining. What has Marcy come up with this time?" Aine laughed knowing it must be something good to make him look like this.

Sakuya tilted his head. "You actually sound curious. Lately whenever I tell you what Marcy's been up to, you get tense and sigh." He really looked at Aine. The worry and tension lines around her eyes had faded away. Something good must have happened for her too. "Something good happened at school today?"

Aine shook her head. "Nope not really, I just had a good day." They, the Lucifer ladies had decided not to tell their men. If they happened to find out fine but for now it was a secret just between the females. "So, tell me!" She lifted a hand to brush his hair back.

Sakuya's good mood returned. Funny how Aine being happy made him happy. "We were able to get into the studio today. It was great! Santa's got this new beat and though it's really rough right now – this will be our next hit! I'm sure of it! I've already got some of the lyrics for it." He laughed excited. Part of him wanted to go downstairs and get to work on the song right away. "Oh and we're going to be on an American TV show." He said as an afterthought.

Aine's mouth dropped open then she too laughed. That was so typical of Sakuya. Music came first for him. Even though he'd gotten rave reviews for the TV movie he'd appeared in, acting was not what he wanted to do with his life. "The whole band?" She asked and when he nodded Aine sighed happily. "Good. Oh but what song? Will you use one of your current hits or do you need something new? I should get busy writing. Will it have to be in English or can we do it in Japanese? How much time do I have? Gracious, I may need Takato to tutor me in English! I'll ask him tomorrow, I should have done it a month ago! Sakuya, don't just sit there smiling – answer me!" It was awkward to put her hands on her hips but she tried as she stared at her lover.

"You're adorable." Sakuya leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. "So very adorable. Don't worry; I'll give you all the details tomorrow." Quickly he dumped Aine on her back and leaned over her. "You had a good day, I had a good day. Let's make it an even better night." In between kisses to her face and neck, Sakuya's long fingers slipped under her shirt and freed her breasts from her bra.

Aine arched her back pressing her breasts into his touch. "So much is happening…so fast…Sakuya I…" She couldn't speak when he started sucking on her nipples.

He knew her so well. Even in the throes of passion, Sakuya could hear the worry in her voice. "You'll graduate and we'll go together Aine. I can't leave Japan without my heart now can I?" He lifted his head to stare down at her. Blue to brown. Different colored eyes but the same love and devotion showed in each.

She blinked rapidly. Sakuya could always make her melt. Aine smiled for him then removed his shirt and placed her hand over his heart. "You're heart? I thought it was mine." The laughter of love escaped her lips as he did the same to her but made sure he captured her breasts first as he kissed the valley between her silken globes.

"Mine, yours, one and the same." He said and lay there for a moment, his face trapped in that sweet smelling valley.

"One and the same." Aine repeated holding him as tightly as possible as if trying to absorb him into her skin.

Aine found out that it wasn't necessary to have a new song but if they came up with one before they started filming then they just might use it. But what really eased her anxieties was the fact that they didn't want the song to be in English. The director wanted to emphasize that the main characters were most definitively not in the United States anymore and besides that, current polls showed that Japanese music was on the rise in the U.S. so they wanted Lucifer to just be themselves.

Despite that good news, she recruited Takato and Yuko to help her with English. Aine was determined to be ready when it was time for their songs to be sung in English and she needed to learn to speak it as well. She didn't want to feel awkward when she got to England. Learning the language now, not only would she be able to write in English but speak it as well.

Unbeknown to Sakuya and the others, the Lucifer ladies were hard at work. Maria and Yuuka had taken over the details for the MD contest and working together got the job done quicker than Aine could alone. That freed up Aine's time to work on the website and her lyrics. Miya helped too. She focused on the details around the band's shows. Since she had been there even longer than Aine, she was able to the job easily. The other staff knew and respected her and with a few words from Aine, followed Miya's directions. Neither Lucifer, Sasaki nor Marcy noticed the change - yet. For a while it proved that the ladies were most definitely in charge without the men or the American knowing a thing.