I'm back again with another one for you guys. I realize that lately, this couple hasn't been receiving a lot of fanfiction love and they deserve more, especially after that TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE ending they got in the manga.

I was honestly disappointed. I followed VK all the way until its last chapter and this is all I get? Sigh, whatever. Please enjoy!

Disclaimer: The characters are NOT mine.

Behind the Curtain
Act 2
Enigma

Summary: He's too upset to focus on work. Determined to put his mind at ease, he confronts his problem headfirst.

He frowned irritably.

His left eyebrow twitched.

The rumored "enigmatic" model wasn't cooperating. Sure, his pale skin was smooth and unblemished. Yes, his regal nose was perfectly straight and refined. But even through the eyes of any distant passerby, it was evident that something was very off with the living Adonis.

"Shiki-san, please, please try to smile." The photographer raked her fingers against her scalp, further disheveling her already messy updo. She knew he was a handsome being and an experienced professional, but the scowl on his face could not be overlooked.

As much as that expression impeccably suited his face, it did not mix well with the spring, nature-embracing theme of the shoot. He grunted in response and nodded slightly in understanding.

Forcibly, the corners of his lips tugged outwards into what appeared to be a mysterious, fitting smile. His grey eyes remained the same as usual; blank and void of emotions.

The photographer quickly jumped back into her half-squat position and continued from where she had left off earlier. The air was still just as suffocating and heavy with pent up anger, but any kind of cooperation was better than none.

He sighed. As much as he had tried to collect his thoughts, he just could not focus. He was borderlining his snapping point. "Yahashi-san, is it possible to finish the last 3 scenes tomorrow? I apologize for bringing this up so late, but I have urgent, unfinished business that I can't postpone."

He didn't provide much context, but his tone was convincing enough to the person behind the camera. "Of course, Shiki-san. This means that we will have to adjust the schedule for tomorrow, but I will work out the details with your manager tonight. Have a good evening!"

"Ummpf, thanks for the hard work everyone." Quietly, he slipped off the wooden bench and made his way to the dressing room. He was gone before she could reply and she let out a shaky breath that she hadn't realized she'd been holding in.

The rumors only added on to her intrinsic curiosity that arose the moment Shiki Senri walked through the door. He was definitely a strange, rare creature. She was determined to figure out exactly what kind of person her subject was.

The door slammed shut. She knew who had entered the room without having to turn around. She hadn't expected his confrontation to be so soon though; the photo shoot wasn't scheduled to finish until 6 PM and the sun was still up and shining.

'Well it's now or later. Might as well get this over with before his anger heightens.' She set her magazine face down beside the table lamp and turned around to face the entrance of the room. She could already feel the moisture collect on her palms as she clenched the comforter with more force.

"Senri, I –"

"Don't."

She hesitantly met his gaze. She took in his expression with an audible gasp. His usually silver orbs were unreadable, but she could feel the fury and irritation pierce through her soul like a sharp, polished arrowhead.

He stalked across the floor, his footsteps purposefully heavy and deliberate. She inched backwards on the comforter as he approached.

"What the hell were you thinking?" he yelled. His verbal assault underrepresented his actual inner turmoil.

"You know it's not like that," she whispered meekly. "I don't know what you heard, but –"

"But what? It doesn't change the fact that you felt it was too trivial to tell me directly and I had to find out from Ichijou! I can't believe you would do this to me…to us," he growled, his face burrowed into the crook of her neck, the reverberations seeped into her skin and throughout her body.

She felt even weaker and guiltier. She hadn't expected his response to be so dramatic at the time, but now she instantly regretted her mistake. "This doesn't change anything, you know?"

"Oh really now?" he asked sarcastically. "Explain, because I don't exactly understand why the hell you would agree to something so ludicrous if you knew that it would be completely pointless."

"Mother kept insisting that I see him so I finally relented. It's just a lunch meet. I can't even call it a date because I barely know the guy!" She looked away to her left, afraid of even looking at his expression.

"Why would you say yes then? I don't understand, Rima."

"You know…" she started nervously, her fingers brushing against her forearm. He sends her a questioning glance, urging her to continue.

She wanted to just die right then and there. 'This is so embarrassing.' She collected herself and spoke as quickly as she could, "Mother has been insisting that I getmarriedsoonsoourclanwillhaveanheir."

He loosens his grip on her, "Why didn't you just tell me sooner?"

"It's not like you have a better solution to this! You know how persistent she can be and it's obvious that I can't just brush off her efforts forever!" she crossed her arms.

"I do actually," he stated calmly.

"You do?" her head cocked to the side.

He nodded, "yeah, I have a few ideas. Does the order matter?"

"What order?" He wasn't making any sense to her.

"The order of what you need to do first," he stated as if it was so obvious.

"I don't see how that's relevant to my problems," she argued.

"Well, if I could suggest an alternative to wasting your time meeting Mr. I Need a Third Party Intervention to Get a Girl for some kind of lousy date…"

She was losing her patience, "So? What's your plan Shiki?"

"Cancel the meeting first," he ordered. "And give me your phone."

She lifted a perfectly manicured French nail and pointed to the object on the edge of the nightstand. He reached over to grab it.

Without comment, he swiftly scanned through the lines and scrolled through her message box. "Dear Kami, has he been sending you all these cheesy texts?"

"Now do you finally believe me when I tell you that there's no hope?" she probed.

He nodded, "poor bastard can't take a hint."

He rotated her phone and his fingers flew across the screen as he typed out a long message. "Hey, don't be too harsh, okay?"

He didn't bother to proofread before sending it.

She frowned, "that wasn't necessary."

"Whatever. He won't be bothering you anymore from now on." He placed it back where he found it under her scrutinizing glare.

"Okay, that's done. What's next?"

His sudden grin took her by surprise. He sauntered towards her. "Senri?"

He leaned over her shoulder so that his lips caressed her earlobe. "We make your mother that grandkid she wanted."

"Is this the last scene?"

Sori Yahashi wiped her camera lens for the nth time that afternoon. "Yes, Shiki-san. Sorry for taking so long."

"Well then, I'm off. Have a nice weekend Yahashi-san."

"Ahh-h, you too Shiki-san!"

That was unexpected; something was definitely off.

For some reason, her model would not stop smiling.

Frustrated, she went through the pictures again, but came up empty-handed. There was still no explanation to his sudden mood shift.

Shiki Senri was truly an unsolvable mystery.

End.

Sorry if this was a bit confusing! I would have written more, but then I'd have to change the rating of this story (blushes). I was planning to post this sooner, but my birthday was yesterday and I didn't get the chance to go over it one last time.

Please inform me if there are any grammatical errors or mistakes of any kind. I try to edit thoroughly, but I can't always catch every mistake!

Lastly, please leave me a REVIEW or FAVORITE this, because positive feedback is really my fuel to writing faster and posting more often.