Disclaimer: Puff-chan doesn’t own Malice Mizer, Mana, or Gackt. Or the car company Lexus, k?
Gackt: *rubbing his neck*
Mana: *massaging Gackt’s shoulders*
Puff: Gackt-chan!!! Who bruised you like this?
Gackt: *blinks* You did!
Puff: Me?
Gackt: Yes, you.
Puff: Couldn’t be.
Gackt: Then who?
Puff: Mana!!!
Mana: *looks stunned*
Chapter Two
Gackt looked lazily out of the airplane window, gazing at the steady blue of the Pacific Ocean. Mana was half-asleep on his shoulder, delicate gloved fingers entwined with his traveling partner’s. Slowly, Gackt thought back to the day after they had been all but kidnapped.
*Flash Back*
The pair of musician stumbled down to the main lobby sometime after eleven in the morning. The guitarist had managed to procure ponytail holders, a curling iron, blue eye shadow, and a tube of lip-gloss. Of course, Mana had gotten up earlier than Gackt and had been sweet-talking several of the receptionists and maids. Gackt, however, looked nothing like his normal perfected self; his red-brown hair was limp without its gel and the clothes that both of them were wearing weren’t well fitting.
“It’s good to see you up and about,” the chairman of the board cooed, ushering Gackt and Mana into the board room. The blue-haired beauty gave everyone, save Gackt, death glares, which were diminished in strength by the fact he looked very innocent. A few people even chuckled at his attempt, but were quickly silenced when others told them just whom they were laughing at.
“Yes, yes, now tell us what needs to be told,” Gackt said sharply, rapping his pointed fingernails against the glazed wood tabletop.
“As you already know, we’re going to send you to America for a unknown amount of time for your own safety,” the chairman began to explain, gesturing slightly with his hands, “We’ve arranged for a four bedroom two bathroom house to be purchased and furnished by the time you arrive in a month. You’ll have plenty of time to perfect your English, so you can effectively converse with Americans.”
“Is that all?” Mana questioned coldly, his pale hands glimmering in the incandescent light. His slightly sloppy curls slid over his shoulder and spilled onto the brilliant white shirt he wore.
“No, you’ll say that you’re both from well to do families and just invest your money in the stock market to make more. We’ll really send you more than enough money to live every week,” The chairman continued, tapping his pen on the armrest of his high-backed chair.
“Now is that all?” Mana inquired again, pushing the ringlets behind his ear.
“There is one more thing,” the chairman said nervously, “You two have to pose as husband and wife.” A loud thump was heard as an unconscious Mana fell out of his chair.
*End Flash Back*
The vocalist glanced at the slender silver bands on Mana’s left ring finger; one held a large diamond, the other was carved with thin roses. A matching, albeit thicker, silver ring graced Gackt’s hand. They had been forced into ring shopping only minutes after Mana had awoken and the silver set was the first thing they agreed on.
*Semi-Flash Back*
After their clothes had arrived, Gackt was shoved into a well-cut suit of his. Mana was allowed to choose between his selection of wedding dresses that he had posed in. Wedding pictures were taken with staff members dressed like the guests. Fake papers were printed, including a new birth certificate for Mana that indicated he was a girl and a marriage certificate that ‘proved’ the pair was married.
From sunup to sundown, Gackt and Mana were tutored in American customs and English. Mana had to learn how to make his voice slightly higher pitched and more feminine. Every once and a while, one of them would drift off into a light sleep, only to be poked mercilessly in the ribs by the other. Dark bruises soon developed.
During the brief meals throughout the day, photos of furniture had been shown to them and they picked their favorites to go into their new house. The selections consisted of mainly carved ebony, etched glass, black leather, dark velvets, dark silks, silver accents, and white lace. The dish set was black with white edging and a white drizzled pattern under the glaze. Crystal wine glasses, only the finest silverware, and black enameled chopsticks joined the dishes in the kitchen.
Mana and Gackt, after their grueling lessons were complete, picked through all of their important belongings and decided which should be sent ahead and which should stay with them until they set out. Of course, the pretty guitarist had a difficult time parting with any of his tailored clothes, hair ornaments, shoes, or make-up.
Gackt had to get used to not only referring to Mana as a girl, but as his wife as well. For three weeks, he kept slipping up when he least expected it and called Mana a ‘he’. Mana seemed to settle right down into being ‘married’ to the delicious vocalist.
The month flew by and before either of them could think, they were being hustled along to a jet with cell phones and laptops being hurried into their carry-on bags. Everyone wished them luck, handing them slips of paper with phone numbers in case they needed help with something.
*End Semi-Flash Back*
“Oh, look at that couple,” an elderly woman fussed to her husband, rousing him from his sleep in the airplane seat, “They look so good together. The wife is so pretty.” Gackt had recently woken Mana, the plane beginning its descent into San Francisco.
“Thank you,” Mana responded sweetly, reaching across the aisle to shake hands with the woman, “Gackt and I have only been married a month. We’re very happy that people think we make a cute couple.” Gackt blinked slowly, staring at the back of Mana’s perfectly curled hair.
“Oh, then you must be coming back from a honeymoon in Japan,” the woman speculated, raising a quizzical eyebrow at the pair.
“Yes, Japan is lovely this time of year,” Mana stated, nodding his head as he spoke, “Kyoto was gorgeous and Tokyo was simply alive. I’d like to go back sometime soon.”
“Japan is nice,” the old woman confirmed before asking her question, “I would like to know what your name is, miss; would you mind telling me?”
“My name is Mana,” the guitarist cooed, “Mana Camui.” Gackt nearly choked at how easily Mana used his ‘new’ last name. Mana looked around worriedly, reaching to run a lace covered hand over Gackt’s russet locks.
“I just wanted to know your name, so I could tell my granddaughters that I ran into a lovely young woman who still wore a dress,” the woman explained, smiling at Mana with his intricately made outfit, “It’s so rare nowadays to find a young lady who will wear a dress for a formal occasion, let alone a long flight from Japan.”
“I really can’t stand to wear pants,” Mana giggled, batting his long eyelashes over his sky-colored orbs, “ I guess I’m one of the few very feminine natured left in the world.” The intercom system of the plane interrupted their conversation, warning the passengers that their seatbelts need to be securely fastened and that no one was to leave their seat until the plane comes to a complete halt at the exit gate. The elderly couple returned to looking out of their window, the view of the bay simply spectacular.
“Gackt, I hope everything works out right,” Mana stated worriedly in Japanese, snatching the vocalist’s hand off of the armrest and twisting their fingers together.
“Please, Mana, if everything goes as smooth as that last conversation went, we’ll be absolutely fine,” Gackt soothed confidently, gently pushing a few of Mana’s ringlets off of his face. The guitarist beamed, squeezing Gackt’s hand even tighter.
The plane landed without an issue. Gackt and Mana had to switch to progressively smaller modes of transportation, till they were being delivered to their address by a bright yellow cab. Carefully and tiredly, they climbed out of the vehicle, paid the cab driver, and dug the keys out of Mana’s coffin shaped purse.
“This seems nice,” Mana said confidently, his hand held over his eyes to shield them from the harsh setting sun, “Look; they already bought us a car.” He gestured at the black Lexus parked in the rose-lined driveway.
“I wonder if we’ll have to hire a landscaper or if they’ve already done it,” Gackt pondered, his blue eyes flicking over the carefully manicured lawn, shrubbery, and garden.
“We can worry about it in the morning,” Mana teased, grabbing his fair share of the luggage off of the sidewalk where they left it, “I think we should go see the inside of the house. Like how well they arranged the furniture, whether or not they purchased the right things, and if they put food in the refrigerator for us.” Gackt rolled his eyes and followed his new wife into their home.
Author’s Note: I forgot to put one these ones in last time. For a little explanation of things; I don’t know if Camui is Gackt’s last name. I’m just assuming it is because it’s always put first and Japanese people put their last names first. So if Gackt and Mana are posing as a married couple, Mana would use Gackt’s last name. It probably won’t come up again. Oh, yes, I know Mana put the last name second, but that was so he wouldn’t confuse the elderly American couple. ^_^