Title: Jellyfish Love [Chapter Eleven] Author: Matrim Email: matrim _ no _ aijin @ yahoo . com Warnings: Vague mentions of yuri and Yura breaking your heart. Heterosexuality, more vampires and sappiness in chapter twelve. ++ She is alone in the room with her enemy and even if it thrills her to think of killing him, Luci'fer knows she cannot. It is not simply because Shinya told her not to. Luci'fer knows this man is dangerous and refuses to be killed because she underestimated him. All it takes is one moment of pride and her life would be at an end. Kyo is like Shinya because he is quiet and commanding. Both do not use words but they do use them differently. He is unlike Shinya in the fact that he does not treat his people like family. Even his own family isn't treated as closely as they should be. Luci'fer ponders all this while the short man takes a phone call. She observes to learn because this is the way she works. Kyo hangs up the phone and looks straight at her. He moves out behind the desk and puts his hands in his pockets. However, what he says next is not what she expects to hear. "Do you love my sister?" Luci'fer doesn't know how to answer that. Nene was like a cat who had suddenly adopted her. She wasn't even sure if the woman loved her. She didn't think Nene did. She did think Nene was amused with her and kept her around. Pretty soon, she would be bored and Luci'fer would have to defend herself against whatever the woman decided to subject her to. "I like her," She replies. It's honestly the truth. "She's sweet when she's...she has her moments." It's not nice to say, 'She's great when she's not insane'. Kyo is pacing around the office. He stops at his desk, turns around and walks toward her. He stops three feet from her then turns around and goes back to his desk. She's never seen Shinya pace. She wonders if this is normal for Kyo. He blinks slowly. "Nene speaks clearly now. Whenever she's been with you, she sounds normal." Luci'fer nods. She would like to say that Nene doesn't, in fact, speak very much around her. Sometimes, she says things to try and bait her but when that doesn't work, Nene scoots close and curls up against her. They don't do much. Nene likes to make Luci'fer read out loud to her out of the strangest books. Nene once handed her a cook book on chocolate to read out loud. But she doesn't mention this. It is nice, though, to have someone take your arm when walking around. It's nice to escort someone who doesn't have a jealous wife. "Why are you here, Luci'fer?" Kyo's voice interrupts her inner thoughts. "I know it can't be Nene." Kyo is advancing toward her only to turn around in his pacing. "Shinya wouldn't try toying with my sister again. It'd be more merciful to kill her. And he wouldn't sacrifice you…" Luci'fer doesn’t answer. It is the best course of action. "I didn't expect an answer. I don't think you're here to kill me because you would've tried that already. A spy then. But don't you feel as if your skills are being wasted?" Kyo stops in his pacing and tilts his head at her. He is halfway between the desk and where she stands. He raises his chin and the lights in the office serve to make him just a little scary. And those contacts don't help him look any more snuggly either. "A part of my skill is realizing when not to use them." Luci'fer says in the most humble tone possible. "Interesting. The problem is that you don't know what I'm doing. And that makes you…expendable?" No one is expendable on Shinya's side, Luci'fer wants to say but she doesn't. She knows she'll only sound like a petulant child. Kyo goes on as he stretches his neck. "I could make you valuable. Let you keep your life. So, I'm going to cut you a deal. I'll tell you what I'm up to. Not everything I do but enough to keep Shinya happy. And all you have to do is simple." She's almost afraid to ask but she has to. It seems as if he's waiting for it. "What?" He smiles. To her credit, she doesn't take a step back. She's tempted to because he has a disturbing smile and it is only her loyalty to Shinya that keeps her from wavering. "Keep Nene safe and happy. If you do, I won't hurt you. But if she kills you herself, I won't be able to do anything about it." ++ Aya glances back at Yura talking to Seek and thinks that he is going to be unnoticed if he slips out once again. Earlier that day, he's given Kengo a pass to meet him backstage and he had cleared it with Die and the others. He waits near the door just in case security gives the other man a hard time and when they don't, it is with an awkward glee that Aya meets Kengo. Kengo is dressed entirely in black, like usual, but this time he's wearing black leather pants and a black lace shirt. Most men would wear nothing under it but Kengo, out of some strange sense of modesty, has worn a black tank under it. There are black gloves on his hands. That's odd but that's Kengo. He doesn't say much. He never does unless they are entirely alone but Aya's fine with it. That's Kengo. Kengo also comes with flowers. Aya feels almost underdressed standing next to him. He's wearing a black jacket, black and white stripy tights, a red shirt, plaid shorts and well—he doesn't feel classy. He feels comfortable but not classy. And his outfit does not call for flowers. At least, he thinks as he awkwardly takes the bouquet, they're not too extravagant. Yellow lilies and blue irises are much better than red too-obvious roses. "Did you like the show?" Aya asks. "It was wonderful." Kengo says mildly, but the way his hand hovers near Aya's for ten seconds more than it should betrays his real feelings. Aya stares at the flowers and tries to ignore the situation. After a moment, he clears his throats and shifts uncomfortably. Kengo's voice drops to a whisper. "If you put it in the dressing room…I wouldn't mind." They stare at each other for a second before Aya moves to hand his bouquet to a security guard with instructions on where to leave it. He watches the security guard leave and then he glances back to Kengo. "You didn't attack anyone?" "I suppose….they can look. But only…only if I am…the only one who can touch." A gloved hand captures Aya's bare hand. It holds on, lightly, as if waiting for him to pull it back. Aya decides not to. "Kengo?" The other man just looks at him. "We're not friends anymore…are we?" Kengo tilts his head and breathes in deep. Then he shakes his head. "No. No. We're not." His hand tightens on Aya's and stops a fraction before it becomes too painful. "Are you ready?" Aya nods, as he glances down at their hands. He forgets that he's standing only in a small hallway that serves as a backstage. He forgets that the people might be watching them. But he doesn't forget that he doesn't want to be here anymore. He wants to be somewhere safe. "I want to go home." "Home it is then." Kengo whispers. "Your home." Aya says and smiles when Kengo pauses. "Funny face. You're hitting on me." Aya laughs, nervous and a little bit loud. He clears his throat self consciously. "Yeah, I guess I am." Their quiet moment is interrupted by a burst of noise. Kamijo, Katsura and some tall skinny guy moves in backstage. The skinny guy is laughing and it's a kind of cute laugh—not at all nervous but louder than Aya's laughter. They pass by them and head to Seek and Yura. Aya watches them for a second and turns back to Kengo. But he is staring at the other man with a strange look on his face. "Kengo?" When the black haired man doesn't respond, Aya tugs on his hand. "Kengo?" Finally, he blinks and glances to Aya. "Are you okay?" "I'm fine." But his voice is cold and wrong. He takes one last glance back at Kamijo and the others then turns away. "Come on then. Let's feed you and take you home." Aya rubs the back of his neck as they walk to the exit. It feels as if someone was watching him but he didn't want to turn around to see if he was correct. ++ "Dressing room is off limits again." Seek tells Yura as he hands him his bag. He had only managed to get that one thing before he was glared out of the room by Dada. Apparently, whatever had happened between Mana and Dada was still sorting itself out and if that's how Dada dealt with things, it'd been a wonder that Mana hadn't thrown the other man into the mirror. He had a feeling if he mentioned it out loud to Yura, the man would only shrug and say it wasn't elegant and that mirrors were expensive. Yura takes his bag with a grimace and slings it over his shoulder. "I've got a call that we're going to Ikebukuro for some dinner." "With who?" Yura asks. "I don't think Aya's eaten yet. Do you think he'll come along?" Seek grimaces and glances down the hallway. He physically winces as he sees Aya holding hands with the man in black. He looks to Yura, who thankfully has not noticed yet and is cleaning his glasses with a cloth. He sets them on his face with a pleased smile and checks his face in the mirror. Instead of answering Yura's question, he diplomatically changes the subject. "Well, Katsura told me that Kamijo wanted to introduce us to his new boyfriend. He was hoping Die and Kaoru could make it but they're busy." He knows exactly why they're busy too, but that wasn't Yura should know. Sometimes, family had to hide things from each other and as Seek glances back to Aya, he decides to step in front of Yura's view just in case the man should look up. It was best if Aya told him, really. No nasty surprises here, you know. "Where are we going to eat? There's a restaurant that Aya really likes…" Yura says and Seek tries not to physically wince in front of Yura (where he can see it this time). He'd told Yura to go ask Aya about things but the man just balked. He wouldn't do it. But every other topic about going out or doing things had Aya's name in it and Seek was just too tired to argue anymore. A part of him wonders if Yura is really as sharp as he seems. Just as Seek is about to answer, laughter captures his attention. It's loud, it's joyful and it's definitely not any laughter that Seek recognizes. Coming toward them, dressed in a blank trenchcoat and odd hat was a tall man holding Kamijo's hand. Next to him, in pink and yellow, Katsura has a big smile on his face but then again, Katsura usually has a big smile on his face. Seek glances to Yura, who looks up to see what's going on. Kamijo waves to them. "Oh…Seek, Yura—this is Toshiya. Toshiya, this is Seek and Yura—well, since you said you liked his act, you have to call him Yurasama now." "The one who dances with the fans?" "That shows everything and nothing—yup!" Yura beams, proud and happy, like he should. Mana told him he did very well that night and Yura was starting to gather a formidable base of fans. They were mostly female. But suddenly, the smile on his face disappears. "Hey…it's that guy again." Seek grimaces. Toshiya looks confused while Katsura and Kamijo glance over their shoulders to where Yura is looking. "They're not holding hands, are they?" "I'm not sure, Yura." Seek tries to play dumb in an effort to distract Yura. "I can't see from here." Yura pushes the others aside but Aya has already left with his mystery friend. The dancer stands in the hallway with his hands on his hips. He looks a bit distraught until his hands fall from his sides and he sighs. "Totchi? Are you okay?" Seek hears Kamijo ask and he glances over to see what could be wrong now. The other man looks a bit angry and there's something else in his face that makes Seek wary. "I'm okay, Kamijo." And the look is gone from Toshiya's face as if it hadn't ever been there. He gives a squeeze of the blonde man's hand and smiles in a way that makes Kamijo blush and Katsura mockingly roll his eyes. "Thought I saw something. So let's eat, hm? I'm starving." Yura nods but grabs Seek's elbow and pulls him down so he can murmur in his ear. "Seek, can we look into finding a bodyguard for Aya? He's always…not with us lately and I'm worried that he might get hurt." Which isn't what Yura means but Seek understands. And he wants to sigh and take enough medicine to get rid of his tension headaches for a year but that's not going to happen. He doesn't want to interfere in something Aya's made but this isn't how Shinya's side works. Everyone has to get into everyone's business because they cared. Speaking of which, he had to check out Toshiya, too. Seek oddly wonders, as they all pile into his car, why on earth no one's ever checked out Izam. He remembered asking about it once and getting a sharp 'Are-you-crazy?' look from Die. He was told that Katsura had to be trusted, that his life was his own and because he wasn't going to be with them all of his life. He wanted something normal and something safe. Maybe that's what Aya was trying to capture, too. But the look on Yura's face makes him worry. If only the guy weren't such a closeted softie… ++ To Chapter Twelve Jelly Home Fics Home