Appearances Can Be Deceiving

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A/N: For the record, I do not own anything of Sensual Phrase. The only things that are mine are the original plot and the original characters

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Chapter 8: "You know me!"

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"So? Are you going to answer me?"

Languidly, Anie moved her eyes from the spot on the ceiling she had been studying, to look at Zero who was lying stretched out on his stomach beside her on a wide vintage settee.

"What was the question?"

Zero turned his head to face her and sent her a slightly irritated look.

"Oh! That question," Anie smiled at him while turning her eyes back to their previous task of finding patterns on the studio ceiling. "Until we leave," out of the corner of her eye she saw him simply nod his head and return it to its more comfortable position.

It had been three months since she and the others had made their appearance in Tokyo, and in that time Anie maintained the charade that she had no memory of her time with Lucifer. She would be lying if she said it hadn't felt good to see Sakuya and the others struggle to tell her why she could not meet with their lyrist.

As had been pre-arranged, a few days after their arrival Kouga had told Lucifer that he and the other members of Legend were aware that Siren had, had some kind of contact with them before she had moved to Shanghai. However, she had not told them exactly what it was and she never got the chance. Not long after her arrival she and Zero had been in a motorcycle accident (which was true) and though not physically injured she had lost some of her memories (for about a half a second). When Lucifer tried to explain what her connection had been, Kouga cut them off saying, "If Siren remembers than we will let her tell us what ties she has to you."

Lucifer, Sakuya especially, tried on several occasions to breach the subject with the male members of Legend only to be met with a wall of resistance and annoyance that the subject was being pushed. This lead to a slight tension between the two groups that, was smiled upon by the executives of the studio. It brought out the "friendly rivalry" that they had been hoping for. Though the groups were friendly with each other, the moment "that" subject was breached demeanors changed and the desire to one up the competition showed in the performances and song writing of the groups.

Anie let a soft sigh escape her lips as she turned onto her side to face Zero. The story was taking its toll on her and it was a nuisance to remember what she was suppose to "know" and "not know". Zero had asked how long she planned to keep up the ruse, and though she said until they left, in reality she felt that possibly she would end it sooner. Carrying on the game was unfair to the group even though they played along without complaint.

Not every thing on this trip to Japan had been stressful. Anie smiled as she recalled at least twice when she and the others had snuck out and hit the local karaoke bars. Poor Uncle nearly had a heart attack when he found out none of the body guards were with them, and Matsumoto the head of their security had been inches away from smacking Koga and Sasuke around when they argued that going out had helped expose the group to the people of Japan, and aided in their current rise in popularity.

Anie was just about to tap Zero on the shoulder and ask where the rest of their group could be, when the door of the room opened and Kaname stepped into the lounge that had been set-aside for them by Jupiter Studios.

"I thought I would be the first one back from lunch," he remarked a bit surprised to see them.

"Anie and I grabbed a quick bite and came back to get some rest," said Zero not bothering to open his eyes.

"Hmmm, I'm surprised the two of you could fit on that thing," he said motioning toward the settee.

"It's wider than it looks," muttered Zero as he tried to fall back asleep for a bit. Anie laughed softly and pushed herself into a sitting position. "I'm going to get something to drink."

"A bottled water, since you're going?" asked Kaname tossing her his wallet. With a laugh Anie nodded, "I'll be back soon," she called over her shoulder.

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Sakuya was only half listening to his friends as they entered Jupiter's lobby. His mind was, as it was so often in recent days, in another place. His Little Bird was in his reach. She was back physically but she was absent at the same time. He frowned to himself as the picture of Legends lead male vocal and base player appeared before his eyes. It was clear they each had their own interest in Anie, and they knew it was killing him to see them act so freely with her. His frown deepened to a scowl. He did not need rivals. Especially now! Instinctively he knew things were more complicated then they seemed. He just didn't know how much.

The main complication was of course these two men. Anie was very comfortable around them, and on several joint band sessions he had found her either sitting comfortably in one of their laps, or whispering confidences in the circle of an embrace. He had to help her remember what they had together. It really shouldn't be as hard as it presently was. After all he had done it once before when that signer had hypnotized her. And Sakuya had a growing suspicion of why that was. Though Anie had supposedly lost her memory of her time with Lucifer and him, he believed she was starting to remember. The down side however, was that she was feigning ignorance about these recovered memories. He was positive it was due to the rest of the members of her band, that they did not want her reconnecting with him. He had caught her from time to time watching him with a knowing gaze, but she would quickly divert her attention when she realized he had caught her. Enough was enough! His resolve was firm. He would confront Anie the first chance he got. He would make her remember all that they had shared, explain to her what the reason had been behind the events on that horrible day that had caused her to fly from him.

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Anie gave an inward groan as she stepped through the door into the hallway. Coming towards her from the opposite end of the hallway was Lucifer. She watched them a moment as she let the door close behind her. The vending machines were in the direction they were coming from, so she couldn't move away in the opposite direction. She wasn't going to be a coward and duck back into the room with her brother and Kaname either, so that left her with only one option …to walk past them. She felt ashamed of herself for still being anxious around them, and as she quietly walked past the group, she flashed them a friendly smile, while she inwardly berated herself over her behavior. Almost immediately she heard Zero's voice telling her not to be so hard on herself. She smiled at the thought and came to a stop before her destination and fed the machine the necessary money for Kaname's wallet. Quickly selecting the water, she absently tossed it back and forth between her hands as she let her mind fill with the debate of what she wanted.

"I suggest the green tea," Anie jumped a bit at the sudden intrusion to her contemplation, and looking into the reflective surface of the machine, saw Sakuya standing behind her, his head lowered towards her ear. Steeling herself she turned to face him.

"Did you want something Mr. Sakuya?"

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Sakuya had tried to lock eyes with Anie as she stepped into the hallway of the practice rooms. She had studied them for a moment, only looking his way for the briefest of moments, before offering a friendly smile and walking past them without saying a word. Sakuya started to turn to follow her but felt a pull on his arm to continue walking forward. He looked to find Yuki trying to guide him towards the room that had been reserved for them.

"Come on Sakuya," he said firmly, "I don't think she would appreciate being interrogated by you right now." Sakuya shook off Yuki's hold and turned to follow his Little Bird.

As he approached her, she was studying the drink selections before her seemingly oblivious to his approach. For a moment he froze, not really sure how to proceed.

"I suggest the green tea." Sakuya kept his face neutral as Anie turned to face him.

"Did you want something Mr. Sakuya?" He felt irritation flare up inside of him at her formal question.

"Sakuya," he said, "It is just Sakuya." Anie just gave a slight nod of her head before turning to the vending machine and promptly selecting a fruit drink. Grabbing it out of the bin she moved to go back the way she had come but he moved to stand in her way.

"We need to talk Anie. We cannot keep avoiding each other, or what has passed between us."

"Let me pass," she said firmly, " I do not know why you insist on calling me by that name, but I will ask you to stop. I am not on such familiar terms with you, as you seem to think I am. My name is Siren. Anie is something only those closets to me may call me. We do not have such a relationship." For Sakuya that was it!

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"You know me," Sakuya stated firmly. For a moment he saw a flicker of recognition pass Anie's eyes but it melted into confusion as she pushed past him.

" Of course I know you. I know all of you," she said motioning to others, "Your Lucifer. Japans number one band. You would have to have been living under a rock not to know that."

"No," said Sakuya grabbing her arm before she could reach her door. She dropped the bottles in her hands in surprise.

"You will release my arm Mr. Sakuya!" she said firmly.

"Not until you listen to me," said Sakuya. Anie tried to take a few retreating steps away but soon met the wall behind her.

Sakuya pressed forward, "You know me and I know you. I have kissed every inch of you."

"Let go of me!" Anie demanded while trying to pull free, but he kept a firm hold on her shoulders.

"Anie look at me. You have not convinced me that you have forgotten me," Sakuya released on of her shoulders and tried to turn her chin in his direction. Anie kept her head turned away from him a frightened expression crossing her face.

"Little Bird. You and I have spent many a night in each other's arms. Loved each other we…"

"Stop!" Sakuya felt his heart drop as the fearful expression turned angry and she looked straight into his eyes. "Alright I admit it. I do remember you."

"But your band mates told us that you had forgotten everything that had to do with Lucifer," said Santa, "Why would they lie about that?"

"They wanted to keep you from me, didn't they?" Sakuya demanded.

"I lied to them."

"What?"

" I was in a motorcycle accident a few months after joining Legend. For a short time I did forget," a wistful smile crossed Anie's lips. "How I wish that had lasted…but then all those memories came flooding back. I lied to them, saying I could not remember and they believed me."

"Why?" asked Sakuya his grip tightened on her shoulders. It was one thing if his rivals were trying to trick Anie from being with him, it was quite another if she was the one making the obstacle.

"Let go," said Anie pushing his hands away from her. "I did it because I didn't want to be reminded of you or what happened here. And you know what? They proved to me what kind of men they are—men of good character. They didn't avoid or keep anything from me about you or the band. We listened to your music; they didn't avoid any story that came out about you. They wanted me to remember on my own—if I wanted to. They even agreed to come here knowing that we would inevitably meet."

"Siren?" everyone turned to see Zero in the doorway of the room that Anie had first come through.

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Anie gave a soft cry of relief and ran into her brother's waiting arms.

"What's wrong?" he asked glaring at the others.

"Hey what's going on here?" Anie looked up from her brother's shoulder to see Sasuke, and Koga walking up to the group. Kaname had also joined having heard Anie's cry the same time Zero had. Everything seemed to crash down on her in that moment. All the feelings she had kept locked in, all the words she had wanted to say to the members of Lucifer and specifically to Sakuya. Tears started to flow from her eyes as she started to sob into Zero's shirt.

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"Si what happened?" asked Zero looking worriedly down at his sister. He tried to look into her face but she kept it buried in his chest.

"You bastards!" yelled Sasuke as he took a threatening step towards Sakuya. Anie reached out and quickly grabbed their cousin's arm.

"I'm sorry!" she cried, "So sorry." Zero looked to his cousin and saw that he was just as confused as he was by Anie's words.

Sasuke gently covered her hand with one of his own, "For what?"

"I've lied to you. All of you,"

Zero moved to stand beside Anie, "What do you mean?" Anie took in a few shuddering breaths before she answered, her gaze focused on the floor.

"I never lost my memories of my time in Japan," she looked up then, her eyes pleading them to forgive her. Zero quickly realized what she was up to and placed a confused expression on his face, hoping the others would realize that Anie was playing one final card in the charade.

"You never forgot?" asked Kaname his own brow furrowed in "confusion."

"Si, you said" Anie cut Sasuke off mid-sentence.

"I just wanted to forget," she began avoiding eye contact with the guys. "I wanted to start over. To not have to think about what had happened here."

"Oh Si," Zero pulled his sister into his arms. "What happened here that caused you so much pain?" Zero noticed Lucifer shift a bit uneasily at his words and found it hard to keep the smile from his lips, enjoying their discomfort perhaps a little too much.

"I…I was Lucifer's lyrist," she whispered pulling back from him a bit. "I was also deeply in love with Sakuya and at the time I believed he felt the same way about me."

Sakuya started to say something but a rather venomous glare from Kaname told him it was not his time to speak.

"But I was wrong. When my presences became a nuisance to the band I was fired and thrown out. I was not allowed to participate or associate in any way with them. It was made clear to me that my talents where no longer needed and they were the only reason Sakuya had paid any mind to me. Of course you all know that on top of all this I was evicted from my home." Anie hiccupped a bit trying to calm herself down. "If you guys had not been in Tokyo, I don't know what I would have done since mother and father had disowned me."

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Anie felt drained and as she finished her speech, she cradled herself back into Zero's embrace.

"Anie…Little Bird," Sakuya's words were not something she wanted to hear at that moment. She just wanted to get away. She was disappointed that she had again retreated into a lie, but she didn't want Sakuya to see how badly he had hurt her. So instead she decided to show that she cared more about what her current band mates thought than making any attempt to reform a connection with Lucifer.

"Please Zero," Anie pleaded ignoring Sakuya's call, "Please let's just leave for today."

"Uncle won't mind," came Sasuke's voice comfortingly, "We can start a bit earlier tomorrow to make up for it."

Anie looked up into Zero's face and he nodded his head in agreement and turned her towards the elevator.

"Alright, let's head home" he kissed the top her head and the others fell into place behind them. Without another word Legend entered the elevator and while Anie kept a tight hold on Zero, she wondered what events would unfold now that Sakuya knew she had all her memories.

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A/N: Thanks to all my faithful readers for reviewing and sorry for the long wait.