The gun fell from his trembling hands, weak due to blood loss. His shirt was already stained from the wound on his chest and his pale hands clamped onto it to try and stop the flow. It proved to be ineffectual, however, as more blood escaped to trickle between his nearly nerveless fingers.

"Shit," the spikey-haired brunette cursed, "How the hell did this happen?"

His legs finally gave up on him and he slumped onto the rocky ground, his bloody hand that was clutching at his chest slipping to land beside the empty gun.
"Ah hell," he sighed huskily, "I guess my time is up..."

"CUT!"

Akira Sendoh blew a sigh of relief and stood up, accepting the towel from one of the crew.

"Damn it's hot today," the dark-haired actor grumbled, wiping his neck with a towel that was cooled for him.

"Go ahead and take a break," the assistant director told him while the director was busy looking back at the scenes captured a few seconds ago. A few feet away, a small group of admirers stood behind a makeshift gate which looked flimsy but with the presence of two huge security guards flanking it, no one dared to enter.

Akira took a short glance at his fans but when he saw a tall young man with red hair around his swooning groupies, the dark-haired actor's face broke into a full-fledged grin.
"Hanamichi!"

"Yo," the redhead grinned back and at once the brunnette walked over to allow him in. Hanamichi smiled weakly when the girls around him gave him way while also screeching and giggling when Akira smiled at them patiently.

When the redhead was on the other side of the gate, Akira wound an arm around him and began to drag him to a spot away from the crowd, stopping to pick up two lunch-boxes before finding a nice cool spot under a tree.

A few minutes later, the two were sitting down eating their lunches as they chatted away.

"You want to attract comsumers to your 'mystical' products?" Sendoh blinked before biting onto a fried prawn.

"Yeah," Hanamichi nodded, "Do you know any shows that can help me do that?"

Akira chewed on his meal, looking thoughtful, "Well, I do know this producer who's into that kind of show. Want me to introduce you to him?"

"You would?!" asked the redhead in surprise.

"Sure," the brunette shrugged.

"Yatta!" Hanamichi cheered, "Thank you so much! I owe ya one! Especially since you're so busy and all."

"What's that?" the actor asked curiously when the redhead took out a folded piece of paper from his jeans pocket and began scanning through it.

"It's your schedule for the entire month," the redhead told him, "Kaede gave it to me."

"Huh??"

"He's very thorough. Even to the names of your dates and what you're going to be doing. And here are also some info on you that would be printed out in the 'Idol of The Month' column for next month..."

Akira gritted his teeth against the chopsticks in his mouth.

"...and this here is a notice that you shouldn't be absent for Anzai-san's birthday party tonight."

"Huh," Akira huffed, "I'd forgotten about Anzai-san's birthday. He's going to be 60, I think. Like every year, the party will go on till late night and I bet every Kanagawa will be there for the celebration to talk about nothing but business."

The redhead blinked, "Who's this Anzai-san anyway? Is he your grandfather?"

The brunette chuckled, "If you and Kaede get married someday, he'll be your father-in-law."

"Oh."

"...."

The two young men suddenly shot up from their seats on the ground, their lunchboxes falling from their laps unnoticed as they stared at each other in shock.

"WHAT?? HE'S KAEDE'S FATHER??!"

"WAITAMINUTE!! HOW COME YOU DON'T KNOW??!"

"I'VE NEVER MET HIM AT THE HOUSE BEFORE!" the redhead cried, panicking in front of the suspicious young actor.

"He lives at his own private villa away from Tokyo," Akira said, narrowing his eyes, "How come you don't know Anzai-san, yet you and Kaede have become close to the point of Kaede coming out publicly? This is unlike Kaede."

"I...I..."

"I knew there was something weird going on between the two of you. You say you are boyfriends but how you two act sometimes is all wrong!" the actor's normally merry blue eyes blazed in anger, "Tell me the truth! Who are you?"

The redhead gulped, Shit...


~~~~

Kaede was standing beside the window of the dining hall, holding a glass of wine which was as red as the silk handkerchief tucked in his breast pocket of his beige suit, complementing the crimson tie he was using looped under the collar of his cream shirt. He was as elegantly dressed as the rest of the people around him but compared to them he was reluctant to mingle unless necessary. A young man with a scar on his chin sauntered up to him with a cigarrette in his mouth.

"I knew Akira won't come," Hisashi sighed, joining his brother, "He knew that even he has a share in the Kanagawa company, yet he does not make the effort to strengthen his relationship with the rest of the clan. When is that kid gonna learn?"

Kaede looked down on the plush carpeting under his feet before he spoke up, "That's Akira for you. Only he has the guts to be free."

Hisashi exhaled a puff of smoke, looking at Kaede with a smile, "Maybe."

At that moment, one of their father's assistant, a gentle and intelligent young man by the name of Kogure Kiminobu walked towards them and said, "Kaede-san, Hisashi-san. Anzai-san would like to see the both of you now."

"Hai," Hisashi nodded as he ground his cigarrette in an ashtray handed by a manservant before following the spectacled young man with his younger brother beside him.

"Put your tongue back in your mouth, aniki," murmured Kaede, when he saw his brother checking out Kogure's behind covetously, "It wouldn't do to have people see the CEO of the family's company lusting after his father's assistant like a dog in heat."

"I am not," scowled Hisashi.

"You could've fooled me," Kaede said sarcastically, "In this family, keep whatever you're feeling hidden behind closed bedroom doors."

"It's not my fault he looks good tonight," sighed Hisashi, still checking out the young man's butt.

"Whatever," Kaede said, cutting off their coversation as they stood in front of their father who was holding a glass of the same wine Kaede was having a few moments ago.

"Ah, Kaede, Hisashi," began Kanagawa Anzai heartily, "I must congratulate you for a job well done. You managed to raise our profits by 20% because of our increase in customers. Your plan worked."

"It was Kaede's idea, father," Hisashi said, nodding towards his brother beside him, "He deserves most of the credit. I only help him execute it."

"It was a team effort," Kaede cut in before he assured the older man before them, "We won't let you down, father."

Instead of looking pleased like the two siblings hoped he would, Anzai's expression held a look of deep thought, "I hope you are happy with this arrangement, Kaede. True, the family business has grown to proportions we can only dream of... but are you happy?"

When Kaede did not answer but merely stared at his father with his sapphire blue eyes, Anzai sighed.
"You have given the family so much Kaede. Even your freedom."

Kaede remained expressionless.


~~~~

"So, what you're saying is that if you agree to pretend to be Kaede's boyfriend, your dad's debt will be cleared?"

"Yeah," Sakuragi muffled voice replied, his head between his knees as he sat forlornly on the couch in Akira's trailer.

"Why?"

"I don't know," the redhead huffed, finally lifting his head to look at the brunette, "Hisashi won't tell me and Kaede pisses me off all the time that I keep on forgetting to ask."

The dark-haired actor inhaled the last of his cigarrette before grounding it on an ashtray beside him.

"It's hell, Akira," Sakuragi continued, "They treat me like one of their possessions to be exhibited - not caring how I feel. I just want my life back."

"Hanamichi..."

The redhead looked up and his brown eyes locked with the blue ones that was now gleaming with... something... strong. And it pulled at him. Capturing him with their intensity.

"I'll help you," Akira said, moving onto the couch beside Sakuragi before taking the redhead's hands in his own, "We can work together. Kaede may be my cousin, but you know that I don't care for him. I'll help you gather the money because I know Kaede won't accept it unless it came from your effort. And I know he won't make it easy on you."

"A-Akira..."

"You and I will get to the bottom of this," promised the actor as he slipped his left hand to rest on the redhead's waist, "I like you, Hanamichi-kun. I really do. We'll be one helluva team."

"That means betraying Kaede," the redhead pointed out.

"No. You will not be betraying him," Akira said, lifting one of the redhead's hands to kiss the tips of the fingers, "Because you are the one who is trapped."


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