Disclaimer: Malice Mizer is made up of real people. Therefore, I can’t own them. I’m just using them. Well, my take on their personalities anyway.
Puff: *glomps Gackt*
Gackt: *spills tea all over Puff*
Mana: Oh my…
Puff: It’s hot! It’s really hot! I’m burned! I’m going to die! *falls dramatically to floor*
Mana: *staring at Puff*
Gackt: *pokes Puff with his shoe*
Puff: *doesn’t move; just moans in pain*
Gackt: And that was the last of the tea, too. *sigh*
Pre-Chapter Note: Yeah, I’ll probably be doing the freaky weird room switches again. ^_^ At least there aren’t any time warps this time around.
Chapter Seven
“This applicant sounds good,” Mana said brightly, his blue eyes flicking briefly over the filled out questionnaire, “It seems that he answered the questions truthfully. And he was pretty relaxed when I was watching them.”
“Should we put that one in the keep pile?” Gackt questioned, holding out his hand to look over the papers. Mana quickly handed it to the vocalist, reaching for another of the applications spread out over the floor. The doll-like man laughed lightly as he read over it, throwing it into a rather large disarrayed stack of papers.
“Do I want to know?” Gackt asked as he placed the application Mana had handed him into a small pile, straightening the papers lightly. The guitarist, still smiling softly, retrieved the application he had just gotten rid of and held it out so Gackt could easily read it.
“The questions are answered horribly and just look at that hand writing. The poor girl must have been shaking like crazy,” Mana said amusedly, pushing a dark lock of hair out of the way of his crystal eyes, “What were you doing to them in there, to scare some one that badly?”
“Oh, her. She was freaking out when I walked in. I think the little tricks in the entrance hall scared her and the questions didn’t help at all. Definitely not what we want,” Gackt commented casually, plucking another application from the floor. Mana flung the papers back into the messy pile, reading over the next application closest at hand.
They spent the next ten minutes or so reading over the few questionnaires they had left, discarding most of them with a chuckle or a sigh. Two piles of paper were what the pair ended up with; a horribly disfigured ‘get rid of’ pile and the perfectly straightened ‘keep’ pile.
“Well, should we go and send some people away before someone snaps?” Mana asked jokingly, snagging the keep pile off of the floor so they could remember just whom they wanted to continue the interviews with. He carefully flipped through the papers, separating six of the applications and handing them over to Gackt. Still clutched in his lacy grip were three of the stapled packets.
“After you, Mana,” Gackt said, bowing slightly as he opened the door politely and gestured his friend through.
“Thank you, Gackt,” Mana said sweetly, smoothing imaginary wrinkles out of his skirt with the tips of his fingers as he walked. His fingers coiled in his long hair, absentmindedly pushing the loose curls back into their proper place on his head. The guitarist quickly glanced into the silver framed mirror by the kitchen door, checking to make sure the lace headpiece hadn’t slipped forward.
“Time to eliminate some people,” Gackt said cheerfully, smiling as Mana slipped back into the living room. The auburn haired man walked back into the dining room, raising an amused eyebrow at the girl who was still crying at the table. All of the applicants looked expectantly at him, their eyes narrowing when they only saw the very small stack of papers in his slack grasp.
Gackt slowly sauntered back to his seat at the head of the carved table, languidly watching the reactions he was evoking. He let himself fall into the chair again, all the while carefully maintaining a blank look on his visage.
“Gentlemen, I’m sorry to say that some of you have gotten cut from the running,” Mana said calmly, standing innocently in front of the men. He fiddled with the three applications in his hand, running the edges along his lace-covered fingers.
“How many of us have gotten cut?” one man asked nervously, shifting slightly in his seat as he stared at Mana’s thin form. The guitarist smiled vaguely, batting thick eyelashes over sky blue orbs. He quickly fanned the questionnaires out in front of him, careful to show each of the separate edges of the papers. The men in the room looked at each other with shocked eyes.
“You only got rid of three?” another guy asked, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.
“No,” Mana stated coolly, shaking his head slowly, “Only three remain. If I don’t hand you your application back, please leave immediately.” He stepped towards the men, handing the first packet over to its owner. Torturously, he took his time in giving back the second and third applications. The three men who had their papers in their hands glanced around at their friends, looking both apologetic and envious at the same time.
“On what grounds did you eliminate us?” one of the men who had gotten cut asked sharply, glaring viciously at the doll-like man in front of him. Mana blinked at him, his blue eyes completely empty of any hints to what he was thinking.
“I don’t have to answer to you,” Mana snapped icily, his eyes quickly frosting over, “All I will tell you is that those of you who are leaving, are doing so because of the way you responded to the questions and your behavior while you where filling out the application. Now please leave so that the interviews may continue for those who remain behind.” He smoothed his skirt over placidly while the group of men stood and walked out into the dimly lit hallway, only looking back up when just three sat in front of him.
Mana was about to say something when a large group of women stormed out of the dining room, several of them holding up a frantic girl who was struggling to get out of their grasp. One of the guitarist’s perfectly shaped eyebrows raised slightly, his amusement clearly drawn in the small smirk his painted lips formed.
“I wonder what Gackt did,” Mana whispered softly to himself, openly watching the last of the rejected applicants shuffle down the hallway. The heavy front door slammed shut and a few seconds passed before six ladies and Gackt walked into the living room.
“Please, ladies, sit down somewhere,” Gackt said as he sat in Mana’s high-backed chair, pulling the guitarist down onto his lap. He wrapped an arm around Mana’s waist, pulling the lovely man close to him. After all, they were supposed to be married.
However, the applicants hadn’t been informed about the pair; they didn’t even know that there was someone else in the house that they could be working for. The nine people just stared, most of them looking very downtrodden when they realized that Mana and Gackt were ‘married’. The pair of musicians exchanged confused looks before they too made their own realization; introductions had to be done again.
“Ladies, this my wife, Mana,” Gackt said calmly, playing with the ends of Mana’s long hair as he turned towards the three men seated in front of him, “I’m Gackt, gentlemen.”
“Now that you know both of us, we can continue with the interviews,” Mana began professionally, tilting his head to the side slightly as he spoke, “We’ll be taking each of you in turn to ask a few more questions and to get a better feel for your personality. I recommend that you behave just as you normally would. After we finish questioning you, we’ll place you in another room with any others who may have gone before you. When we have talked to all of you, we’ll pick the candidates that we like best and think will be best able to perform the job that they applied for. Any questions?”
Nervous glances were exchanged as a few of the people shrunk back in their chairs. The girl, who had first tried to introduce herself when the front door had opened, lightly cleared her throat and sat forward.
“I think that I speak for all of us when I say that everything is perfectly clear,” she said brightly, smiling at Mana and Gackt, “I was just wondering if I could go first.”
“Sure,” Gackt said as he lightly pushed Mana off of his lap so they could both stand up, “Just follow us.” He walked out into the hallway, gesturing for the woman to follow him. Mana walked slowly towards the doors, pausing in the arched frame.
“Stay in this room,” Mana said darkly, looking over his shoulder, “I don’t want to be responsible if anything happens to you.” He stepped out and slammed the doors shut, looking over at Gackt and the applicant.
“Was that necessary?” Gackt teased softly, speaking in Japanese.
“I don’t want them to wander off and break anything,” Mana responded harmlessly, his blue eyes glittering coyly in the candlelight. He smiled slightly, opening the door to the spare bedroom and walking in. The girl quickly followed him, rather confused over the brief exchange in Japanese.
“Where should I sit?” she asked, her brown eyes dancing over the room. The overhead electric lights were deeply dimmed, the glow akin to the candles lighting the rest of the house.
“You can go ahead and pull the chair out from the vanity,” Mana explained softly, adjusting his skirt carefully as he sat on the edge of the bed. She did as she was told, sitting down promptly and smiling cheerfully at them again. Gackt sat down next to Mana, languidly looking around.
“What do you want to know first?” the applicant asked merrily, weaving her fingers together. Mana looked at Gackt with pleased cerulean eyes, obviously happy with the fact she had yet to freak out once.