Hoshizora

Okay well, working out the title issues. If it doesn't fit, I'll place the prompt in the text instead.
________________________________________
[WP] After some kind of event superheroes have emerged. Describe the incident and how their existence affects society

When the meteor had struck the ground, the explosion had deafened all those in the area. Elsa recalled how her ears had rung afterwards and the fear she felt running through her. Clara had wanted to go look, despite the fact that Elsa was terrified but she had always followed what Clara had wanted.

“Hold your arms out.” Elsa stands with arms spread out, legs apart, shaken from her thoughts for only a second. Yeah, she had always followed Clara’s little wants and needs. Clara wanted to go see the place it landed. There had already been a fairly large group of people gathered around the park the meteor had landed in. A few trees had been on fire and the small gazebo had been destroyed. Elsa had loved that gazebo, her first kiss had happened in it. And of course, even with the destroyed, raw looking area, Clara had wanted to get closer. So they had. There had been a couple of others but not many wanted to get close to the still smoking rock.

“Open your mouth.” Elsa opens her mouth, allowing the officer to swab a sample from inside her mouth. They had all touched it, had marveled at how cool it was to the touch and how amazing it was and that had been when things got weird. The plants had grown, the fires had burned hotter, the wind had picked up, and it had begun to rain. People complained afterwards of pain in their heads and ears and a couple claimed they had been flung through the air. And it had happened all over the world with hundreds of meteors dropping out of the sky.

“Pull your hair back.” The electrodes are placed to her head, it all feeling second-nature to her by this point. Elsa had remembered feeling shocked as fire had raced up Clara’s arm. Afterwards, these groups of people had appeared in the world, all based around finding these meteors and getting strange abilities from them. It was something out of a comic book.

“You’re cleared. We appreciate your normality and thank you for joining the cause for getting those freaks off the planet.” Elsa nods soundlessly at the woman’s wide smile and continues past all the officers and checkers into the next room. Everything had gone hell so fast. People had a terror of this new breed of people and there had immediately been a backlash against them. Elsa stood in the room, looking around at obviously terrified older men and women. The men eyed her like a fat kid eyes a candy bar. She’s only twenty-six.

“Hello darling.” The slurring accent of the man ten years her elder floats by her. Clara had always been good at these sorts of situations, not her. She was always awkward and uncomfortable. But she had the advantage over Clara in this particular situation.

“Hello.” She responds finally, nervously, tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear shyly. These men worked hard to kill everyone who had been affected by the meteors. All of their children too. The meeting pulls together, beginning to open. They want to welcome her to their clan and she finds herself on the podium at the front. The room is full of people that want all of these mutated people dead. And they do it without permission. With money and mercenaries and assassins. Without repercussions thanks to money and terror that they give to people.

“Please. State your name. Tell us about yourself and your encounters with the mutants.” The woman pulls to one side, waving her towards the podium with a disturbing smile.

“My… my name…” Elsa pauses, looking about the room. Everyone is here. Every single member that ordered people dead. That controlled hospitals that killed babies that picked up as positive in their tests and many of those employees were here as well. They all smile and sip their drinks as if they’re not trying to kill hundreds of thousands of people. There were other groups of course but this one was different. “My name… is Elsa Tolland.” The floor groans as vines begin to tear through it, closing off all the exits. “My son was Douglas Tolland and you murdered him.” The screams echo but all she can see is red. “I carried him for nine months and birthed him.” Her voice rises with the screams, fingernails digging into the podium as vines reach out and strangle parts of the masses and the ceiling starts to collapse. “I held him and smiled and felt so happy. And you murdered him. She smothered him with a pillow.”

“Kill her!” Some cries break through the screams and she feels the bullets whiz past her head as she sobs, recalling the smiling, giggling baby that had been taken from her. The plants grow faster and more violent, ripping through people and impossibly large Venus Fly Traps snapping shut on humans in their way, oozing digestive juices.

“You killed my baby!” Elsa screams over and over again as the building crumbles around her.

The plants wither and die as the police arrive on the scene, their job done. Elsa is also long gone, a small, area where she had been standing the only undamaged portion of the building with a great amount of withered and dead plants around it. While it didn’t bring Douglas back, it certainly made Elsa feel like she had avenged him and all the other mothers like her.
___________________________________________________________________
I really enjoyed writing this. I'm sure the idea of it has been done before but having such a strict society probably comes from the ideas within the X-men comics. The mutants (which is kinda what I consider these people) are looked down upon and considered as less than people. I love making someone with control over plants though and how she could slip under the radar. Just a lot of ideas in this. I would really love to frankly spin this out into something much larger but I'm pretty lazy about things like that. 

I've been doing writing off of the WritingPrompts section of Reddit. It's been fun but I decided to post a few that I like to my LJ just to have them up somewhere else than reddit. They're all saved on my computer currently and most are posted on reddit (save for one that I think I'm turning into a big short story) but I want them somewhere else too. I've been having so much fun writing on prompts every night. I pump out at least one every day and in most cases, I've been doing three! THREE! Though it does depend on the length of some of them to see how many I can do. I'll place the prompt name in the Subject as most of these don't have any sort of real title. I really should make titles for them but I don't see a point in doing so. 

                Miyu gives a slight noise as she awakens, feeling sunlight streaming over her face.  Her eyes slowly drift open, hazily taking in the hospital room around her.  Was everything a dream?  She winces as she sits up, holding an arm across her torso in pain.  Maybe I just dreamed the whole thing… hilarious…  She looks around quietly and curiously.  This… doesn’t look like the same place…  The door opens and she blinks up at the person walking in.  Gackt gives her a soft smile but winces, his lip busted in a couple places and one arm in a sling.  He glances away, a black bruise around one eye looking like it was beginning to fade away and a bandage across his nose stands out against his skin.

                “How are you feeling?” He asks quietly, moving over and taking a seat beside her.

                “Better…”  She pauses shortly, “I-I’m sorry.  I should tell you everything.”

                “You don’t have to.”  Gackt cuts her next sentence off, “Chirolyn brought back a background check.”  Miyu blinks up at him in shock, mouth dropping slightly. “He offered and I allowed it.”  He pauses only slightly. “May I?”  She nods softly, looking mildly upset as she clamps her mouth closed.

                “D-Douzo.”  Her voice is quiet and there’s a short pause before Gackt begins to speak.

                “You real name is Miyuki Malcuit and you lived in Los Angeles with your ‘sister’ Syra as of six years ago.  While you both held regular jobs, you held a band together on the side in which she played bass and…”  He pauses as Miyu’s eyes drift away from him, the soloist licking his lips. “…you were lead vocal, originally playing some rhythm guitar.”  Her eyes don’t move back up to him and he continues speaking. “You added an actual rhythm guitarist, Nick, allowing you to focus on singing.  Not that long after he joined, you and he began a relationship but it began going badly quickly.  The reports of domestic violence prove that.  Eventually, his abuse placed you into the hospital and he was finally brought up on charges.”  Gackt pauses again for a second, considering Miyu. “Have I said anything incorrect so far?”  Miyu shakes her head softly, biting hard at her lip and the soloist watches her for a bit before continuing.  “He was locked away but threatened you with a torturous death upon his escape or release.  It’s mildly fuzzy beyond this point until recent events, but you sister planned against that.  She set it up to where he couldn’t find you and sent you to Japan with a new name and personal history that couldn’t be traced very well back to you.  Her and her friends then created a net around the country to make sure he never left it to chase you.  He is released a period of time later, tries to find you, and fails.  Obviously, he doesn’t give up but Syra is waiting at the end of any connection to you and cuts the lines.”  Gackt pauses a while again.  “It’s my fault that he did find you however.”  Miyu blinks up at him, shaking her head in surprise. “These were leaked recently.”  The soloist fishes some photos from a bag and the woman in the bed blinks at the magazine pictures of herself alongside Gackt and Hyde. “They’re apparently the talk of the Internet at the moment.  But because of these pictures, he knew you were in Japan, took precautions against Syra’s safeguards and came directly for you as fast as possible.”  The soloist looks upset, glaring softly at the pictures as Miyu continues to stare at him in shock. “Honestly, I don’t know how he figured out where you lived, even if his Japanese was fairly good.  But that’s where I leave this; he broke into your apartment and waited for you…”  He trails off before giving a sigh, eyes soft again as he moves them back to up Miyu’s face.  Her eyes dart away from his and she twists her hand into her hospital gown.

                “I… I’m sorry I-“  She starts but the soloist cuts her off.

                “Miyuki.  Look here.”  The woman pauses before raising her eyes to meet Gackt’s, the singer’s lips drawn thin and his face serious as he speaks in English. “Do not apologize.  It is not your fault.  You had a life to pretend to be that you enjoyed.”  He fades back to Japanese, “It’s okay, Mi-chan.”  He smiles softly, “Just let me know if there are any others I need to look out for.”  She blinks before shaking her head, face flushing softly.

                “”No- no one else…” She pauses, “Just Syra.”  She gives a weak smile and the soloist looks almost ecstatic at the small joke.  Her eyes travel to the arm sling finally and she bites her lips for a second nervously. “What… what happened?” Gackt follows her gaze before tilting his head.

                “He and I fought and he almost won.  Seems he was on drugs and I had just run a full four minutes to your apartment.  He had a knife at the end and stabbed it into my shoulder.”  He reaches up and pulls his shirt to one side, showing the stitches in his skin on his shoulder. “My fingers still work though.  I don’t know, however, how long it will take Hyde-kun to recover.”  Miyu paled.

                “W-What happened to Hyde-san?”  Gackt pauses a while before seeming to choose his words carefully.

                “Hyde-kun, to protect both you and me, hit Nick in the head with a statue in your apartment, resulting in Nick’s death.  Hyde-kun is okay physically but still in a state of shock.”  He pauses a while, “Syra has been talking to him as well as myself to help him out.”

                “N… Nick… is dead?”  Gackt nods softly to her question and Miyu’s mind whirls with the new information. “H-Hyde-san and my sister are talking?”

                “Yes but they don’t know who the other is, it’s quite anonymous for Hyde-kun to talk to, seems to relax him.”  Miyu pauses.

                “And Syra… doesn’t know it’s Hyde-san then…”  Gackt gives a nod of agreement, Miyu beginning to trip on her sentences.

                “He gives her a short Japanese lesson and gets what he’s dealing with off his chest.”  Gackt smiles very softly. “It’s good for both of them.”  Miyu gives a nod of agreement and there’s a slight pause before he reaches out and grasps her hand in his, making the woman look up in surprise at him. “Go to sleep and rest Mi-chan.  I’ll be here when you wake up next.”  She pauses slightly before lying back down with a nod, quickly falling into a peaceful sleep. 

-----------------------------------------------------------

                Gackt felt horrible for Miyuki after finding upon her return to her apartment, that most, if not all, her wardrobe had been either ripped apart or burned.  She was dressed in the same clothing he had found her in, bloodstains and all.  Her eyes survey the destroyed apartment- nothing had been untouched from Nick’s fury.  Her computer monitor is cracked, lying on the ground, the tower is cracked open and on its side, and her cell phone lies in shattered pieces in the living area.  Scattered remains of her clothing dot the room, a shirt sleeve here, part of a jacket there, her bed not even spared, long rips going through the blankets and torn back sheets.  Her stereo lies in pieces across the kitchen area, tables and seating overturned and broken as well as everything in the kitchen and a guitar lay in pieces in the middle of the living room.  Gackt was surprised that he hadn’t noticed but he had been quite focused while he had been there.  Two large dark stains on the bedroom carpet indicate where Nick had lain with his skull cracked open and Gackt’s own shoulder injury.  It was almost completely healed and he had stopped wearing the sling.

                Miyu’s eyes fall on the darkened floor and there’s a pause before she turns and buries her face in his chest, arms wrapping around him.  Gackt wraps his arms back around the woman, loud sobs drifting up to his ears as his shirt grows wet with tears.

                “Mi-chan… let’s go home.”  His voice is quiet and she nods, sniffling before blinking up at him, tears still rolling down her face, looking confused.  He smiles softly at her, one hand gently wiping the tears away from her face, “What, did you think I’d allow you to stay anywhere alone?  I’d prefer you to stay with me.”  Her eyes move away to look around the destroyed room, seeming to be considering his statement before her head nods, eyes closing before looking back up at him.

                “L… Let’s go home.”  She affirms and he leads her from the apartment, an arm still around her shoulders as he leads her to his car and drives her home.  She quietly picks at her clothing most of the time, seeming disturbed with her current state of cleanliness.

                “You should take a shower and I’ll wash your clothing when we get in.”  A slight flush appears on his face at his suggestion, fingers gently grasping her hand again and running across her skin.  She blinks at him before her face flushes softly as well.

                “I-I don’t have any clothing…”  Her eyes move away from him.

                “You can borrow a shirt until it’s done… A lot of clothing shops are closed right now.”  Gackt pauses face still slightly red and there’s a pause before she gives a nod. 

                “A-All right.”  The woman still looks as if the idea is quite awkward.

                “If it would make you feel better, I’ll take my shirt off.”  He offers calmly and she gives a soft laugh and before she can speak, he states, “Then it’s settled.” 

                The agreement had led to him standing in the kitchen, making a small meal for the pair of them and his shirt lay somewhere upstairs.  He felt slightly worried about the meal, considering how unplanned it was.  The washer was currently running, drowning out any sounds from Miyu’s shower.  The soloist’s mind drifts for a second before returning.

                “Anou…”  Gackt turns and blinks at the woman standing in the doorway, Miyu’s fingers pulling the shirt further down over her thighs.  He blinks a few more times, seeing that she’s only wearing the shirt he had left upstairs.  I forgot that I said that I would leave clothing out for her… “Is… Is there anything else to wear?”  Her eyes are focused where away from him, face a dark red.  There singer’s fingers turn the stove off, eyes still focused on her, and he moves over to her, one hand tiling her head up and to where his lips meet hers.  Her eyes widen in surprise as he deepens the soft kiss, his other arm wrapping tightly around her, fingers drifting up under the loose shirt.  He draws back quietly, leaning his head against hers, still holding her close.

                “I think you look beautiful in just that.”  A slight smile drifts across Gackt’s face again as he pressed another kiss to her lips, feeling slight surprise run through him when she kisses back.  Her face is less red when he draws back from the kiss a second time and her arms move to wrap around his shoulders. “Mi-chan…”  He pauses softly, pressing a kiss to her head again, “I love you.  Stay here with me permanently.”  Her face flushes softly before she presses a kiss to his lips, arms tightening around him as he kisses back.  She’s smiling as she draws back and he returns the smile, “Would that be a yes?”  She nods with a soft giggle. 

                “As long as you don’t burn any more meals.”  He blinks at her statement before the smell of smoke reaches him and he turns to stare at the smoking pan on the stove.

                “Ah…”  He presses a kiss to her head again happily before quickly moving to rescue the meal that he had quickly forgotten about and accidently turned the heat up on.  The pair of arms that wrap around his waist make him feel as if everything was much better, even if dinner was ruined.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
and that is the final chapter lol. I can't believe it's taken me I think it's been four years to create this story. I seem to recall starting the idea while in my senior year of high school and now I'm halfway through my fourth year of college.  I'm happy to say that I finished this project :) 

Here it is~ Chapter 14.  I'm far past excited now because I realized while I was writing that this was the second to last chapter lol.  I'll be extremely pleased to have another finished story under my belt when I finish this... but I'm also considering a sequel <.<..... anyways- please enjoy the second to last chapter of Misfortune's Fortune. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                Hyde gives another large yawn- trying hard to pay attention to what Kaz was saying, head bobbing up and down in a nod of agreement.  Unfortunately, being awoken at two am and never going back to sleep had taken a large toll on the vocalist.  He had awoken to find a particular soloist next to him in bed and himself stripped to nothing.  He’d immediately screamed- ‘like a girl’ Ju-ken had stated later- and attempted to leap out of the bed.  Gackt hadn’t let him leave with the blanket however and he’d been facing a very bare soloist.  Hyde had flipped further out, screaming about rape and how Gackt was going to jail for this.  The younger man had simply chuckled and asked that Hyde simply return to bed.

                “Hyde?”  Arimatsu asks and Hyde yanks his head up from resting on his chest.

                “Yes- yes- it’s a great idea!”  Kaz sends him an extremely dark glare- obviously having been trying to get his attention. “S-Sorry Kazu-kun.”

                “Lovely to know that you enjoy hearing me talk, Hideto.”  The vocalist winces slightly, opens his mouth to speak before his eyes land on Ju-ken.  The bassist’s eyes are sparkling mischievously and Hyde clamps his mouth shut, shaking his head.

                “Sorry… no sleep…” He murmurs and Kaz shakes his head again, going back to his speech about the music.  Hyde felt a bit of anger boiling up at the bassist’s amusement at his predicament, considering he was part of it.  He was the one had taken lovely blackmail pictures of the two of them.  Hyde hated the bassist now.  Even more so after Gackt had come clean, stating that it was simply a joke and that Ju-ken had the pictures.

                “Hideto!”  Kaz’s voice breaks into his thoughts and the vocalist realizes he’s lying on the ground.  He blinks upwards at the worried faces of his band mates.

                “Ow.” Hyde states as the pain in his head and back finally register.

                “Damn, what the hell Hideto?!”  Hyde winces slightly more at the anger in Kaz’s voice.  “We thought you had a heart attack or something!”  A heart attack- really?

                “I’m fine.”  Hyde pauses a while as he yawns, “Just… really tired.”

                “Well, we can see that.”  Was the simple statement from the guitarist and Hyde feels like hitting his head into the ground again.

                “Sorry that my nights are spent sleeping on couches Kazuhito.”  Kaz’s eyes drift over to Ju-ken, who looks away guiltily, Hyde getting up slowly with a couple winces.

                “No bed last night?”  There’s a pause.

                “Not for long.”  Hyde admits, eyes also moving to the band’s bassist.  “Why do you ask?”  The vocalist’s eyes move back to Kaz.

                “Ju-ken- wasn’t he at your place last night?  You have more than one bed.”  Silence fell and Hyde’s eyebrow rises slightly at Kaz and his eyes move to look at Ju-ken.

                “Well… I might’ve gone somewhere else…”

                “He took me to Gackt’s and the pair of them played a prank on me.”  The vocalist crosses his arms and watches Ju-ken begin to flounder.

                “He would’ve done it with or without me.”  The bassist defends himself and Kaz immediately frowns.

                “The pictures- give them here.  Now.”  Kaz holds his hand out and Ju-ken sighs, dropping a camera into the guitarist’s hand.  That worked out well…  Kaz immediately turns the device on and blinks. “Wow.” Or not?  Kaz’s eyes move up to him and there’s a pause.

                “What?”  Hyde asks, feeling at a loss.

                “You sleep that deeply?”

                “When I haven’t been sleeping at all?  Yes.”  Hyde rubs his head softly, feeling more annoyance rise up in him.

                “All right, I’ll delete the pictures … Haido-kun, go ahead and lay down for a bit, I think this is an early day.”  Kaz shakes his head before blinking.  “You were really asleep?”  The camera tilts at an angle within Kaz’s grasp and Hyde growls, reaching out and snatching the camera from Kaz.

                “I’ll delete the pictures.”  He glares at Ju-ken and begins away, Kaz actually looking mildly abashed.  He’s partially down the hallway before he turns the camera’s screen towards himself to look.  There’s a pause as the screen flickers to life and shows one of the last pictures taken.  “What the hell is wrong with you two?!”

-----------------------------------------------------------

                Hyde reaches out for his phone, glaring at the number again.  He’d locked himself into the recording studio as of last check, two hours ago.  The music production wasn’t going so well by this point as the vocalist, while adept at guitar was sorely lacking in his bass and drum skills.  Kaz was still outside the door; Hyde could see a tuft of the guitarist’s hair still sticking up.  Hyde had thrown a fit at seeing the pictures and video that Ju-ken had taken and he’d attempted to avenge his damaged pride.

                The vocalist takes a deep breath before actually answering, feeling much better than he had earlier.  “Moshi moshi.”

                “It’s getting late.  I heard you had someone to meet that should be apologizing to you.” Kaz’s voice is quiet and Hyde sighs, relenting.

                “Fine.”  He begins making ready to leave and pulls his jacket on and continues packing everything else up.

                “Good.”  There’s a pause.  “Do me a favor and make sure that girl is okay?  Ju-kun is extremely worried about her.”  Hyde blinks as he sees the tuft of hair outside begin moving and it disappears away.

                “A-All right, I’ll do that.”

                “Be sure to let me meet her after that.”  Kaz sounds happy as he speaks, “I hear she’s a good, nice person.”

                “If Gackt lets me.”  Hyde receives a chuckle as he finishes cleaning and packs up what he was working on.

                “Okay- see you later Hyde-kun.”

                “Ja ne.”  The vocalist responds before hanging up and finally exiting the studio.  He takes a few deep breaths and continues out of the building and towards where Gackt’s practice was, pulling his jacket’s hood up against the rain.  Miserable weather.

-----------------------------------------------------------

                Gackt knows that he must be obviously distracted to the rest of his band, as he continues to try and hold both his lyrics and the melody in his mind.  He gives another wince as he hits a wrong note once again and You shoots him another worried glance.  A pair of eyes sitting nearby belong to L’arc~en~Ciel’s vocalist also seems worried, the vocalist sitting backwards in a chair, head resting on the back.  He continues singing, pulling his voice back in tune by focusing solely on the melody.  You is suddenly in his vision and he blinks at the frown on the guitarist’s face.  Gackt’s voice falters and dies away.

                “You sound like a robot.  We’re taking a break and when we come back, have your issue fixed.”  The guitarist simply walks away and Gackt gives a sigh.  Chachamaru pats his shoulder and offers a smile before moving away.  Hyde gets up and moves over to him.

                “Gacchan…”

                “Just thinking about what’s going on…”  Gackt shakes his head before blinking, removing his phone from his pocket, the device buzzing loudly and Hyde blinks.

                “Who is it?”  The older man pauses, “Miyu?”  Gackt’s head shakes softly again and a look of confusion comes across the taller man’s face causing L’arc~en~Ciel’s vocalist to lean in again.

                “I don’t know the number.  It looks foreign.”  There’s a slight pause before he answers, “Moshi moshi?”

                “What are you doing?”  You asks before Gackt sets the device to speakerphone, a curious Hyde still standing in front of him.

                “Moshi moshi, Gackt-san desu ne?”  A female voice questions.

                “Hai sou desu.  Dare desu ka?”  Hyde blinks at Gackt’s direct question in surprise.

                “Kore… taisetsu… It’s not important!”  She gives up on Japanese and jumps to English, seeming highly upset.  “Where’s my sister?  I can’t contact her.  She’s in danger.”  Gackt had gone still and Hyde felt a sense of dread rising within him.  “Is she with you?  Is she safe?”  The phone hits the ground as Gackt takes off running, the soloist slamming into the door and there’s a resounding thud as it bounces off the wall.  A call of Miyu’s name echoes back to the studio as Hyde grabs the dropped phone and gives chase out into the rain.

                The younger man is internally berating himself as his feet splash through puddles gathering the streets, pressing his body to run as fast as it can.  The water is just another obstacle; just like the people he’s dodging around and through, not bothering to waste a breath on them.  The pathway is laid out in his mind, a fifteen minute walk there.  He’s willing himself to make it in less than three.  Horrible images dash through his mind of her battered body growing cold in a dumpster or a river somewhere.  His feet slide on the wet pavement, pain shoots up through his knees and is promptly ignored.  His hands push off of the pavement, shoving him, stumbling for a second, back forward.  Why didn’t I listen?  Thoughts of her answer to asking him what made her come to Japan drift through his mind.  About how nervous she had really sounded when she had stated “That’s… not really important.”  The way her eyes had drifted to the left when she had spoken about getting a job here from her former Los Angeles home.  Pain darts through his shoulder as he comes too close to a wall, dodging a couple walking with an umbrella.  He’d kept his suspicions to himself however, since she had allowed him much the same for privacy.  He can feel a stinging sensation in his eyes, sliding around another corner, landing hard on his side and immediately scrambling up to his feet.  He’s deeply regretting the decision.

                The building comes into view and Gackt continues willing himself forward, fear driving him faster.  He slides into the building and pauses only slightly, dripping water onto the floor.  “The elevator is slow…”  His feet pound up the stairs, now slick soles sliding across the landings.  If she was hurt or damaged or even dead, it was his fault for not watching over her.  He was sure Syra would agree to this, the upset woman’s voice echoing through his mind, asking for her sister again and again.  The railing slams into his ribs as he dodges past a door opening, the hit reverberating through the railing, the vocalist sucking air back into his burning lungs.  He was really regretting not driving to her work and inquiring where she was that day she hadn’t called.  He had thought it had been too forward of him to do.

                The soloist comes to a stop in the hallway, heart hammering in his chest as he pulls more air into his shaking body.  He begins moving down the hallway, hands searching for the key that he’d begun to keep on him.  His legs are shaking with exhaustion as he quickly unlocks the door and pushes it open.  “Miyu?!”  He calls immediately and moves more into the apartment.  He can make out a shape lying across the floor in the bedroom but instinct tells him to duck.  A knife embeds itself in the frame of the bedroom door loosely and Gackt turns to face the man standing in the kitchen entrance.  “Who are you?”  His body naturally takes on a fighting position, considering the hostility he had already faced.  His body is still aching from the run.

                “You're him- aren’t you?”  the man steps forward, short tousled brown hair having spikes in every direction, some blond like an unfinished dye job.  His eyes are bloodshot and the irises a dark green as they follow Gackt’s movements.

                “Him who?”  The soloist questions as he glances back towards where he can see Miyu on the floor.  Who is this?  Some ex-boyfriend?  Is… is this who she was running from?  He refocuses in time to dodge a swing at his head and feels his hair move with the air displaced.  With a quick upward movement, he catches his opponent in the jaw, sending him reeling backwards.  It’s all right Mi-chan… I’ll save you.  His opponent pulls himself back up quickly and launches himself at Gackt with a flurry of swinging blows, surprising the soloist who can only block and dodge.  The bloodshot eyes focus on his again, the man looking almost like a rabid dog and a realization comes across Gackt’s mind.  Shit- he’s on something- this isn’t going to be as easy as I thought.  A couple blows find their way through the vocalist’s defense and a groan of pain leaves his lips.  Gackt wings an elbow into the depraved man’s stomach to create breathing room between himself and the other.  His opponent comes back without delay and into a set of waiting palms that shove him off-balance despite sending Gackt himself back a couple steps, exhaustion beginning to rack his body from his run.  The man swings around and grasps the vocalist’s calf, yanking the weakened limb out from under him.  Gackt hits the ground hard and feels hands grasping at him and the bloodshot eyes come into view again.  The soloist jerks his head forward, feeling pain crawl through his skull as it connects with the other man’s head.  A fist connects with his jaw and a groan of pain slips out as he knees his opponent multiple times, hands grasping at the brown-haired man’s clothing.  There’s a snap as the vocalist’s necklace breaks and Gackt’s knuckles break open on the strung out man’s face.

                “I’ll kill you!”  Spit splatters his arm and face as more blows land across his body.  Gackt’s legs and arms ache in agony as he returns the blows; despite feeling more strike his face and upper body.  He’s almost sure that blood is running into his mouth from his nose, tasting a strange flavor.  The man begins drawing back and Gackt takes advantage of the situation, pulling his opponent in close again and hooking an arm around his neck tightly.  Just a few seconds.  Blows arch back into his upper body and continue as he clings desperately to the hope of knocking him out.  The soloist gives a loud shout as teeth sink into his arm and an elbow rams into his stomach.  Despite the pain, he pulls his arm tighter until the blows slowly come to a halt, the body of the crazed man falling limp.  Gackt lets the man slip to the ground as he falls back, landing even more exhausted on the ground.  He gives another groan of pain and struggles up to his feet, staggering over to where Miyu lay unconscious.  The bruises were glaring against her skin and the vocalist wipes blood from his nose before reaching and pulling the woman into his arms, dropping to his knees beside her.

                “Mi-chan?”  He manages out around his heavy breathing, holding her face softly, his entire body shaking.  “Mi-chan, wake up…”  Her eyes are lightly shut, dried blood streaked across her bruised face, one eye swollen and her lips busted.  He feels more relaxed as her breathing, slow with slight catches from pain, continues.  He begins to lift her up to leave when a white hot pain runs down through his shoulder, his knees slamming hard back into the ground.  The soloist swings wise with one arm, missing the man as the knife grates against the bones in his shoulder and a scream of pain is pulled from his lips.  He holds Miyu closer to him, trying to ignore the pain seething through his body and the bloodshot eyes staring at him with the idea of death behind him, the knife dripping red on to the floor.  A sense of terror quickly wells up in Gackt’s chest, watching as the man’s eyes move down to the knife before back up to the singer.  Fuck.  He quickly begins moving for his only option, moving to sweep the man’s legs before there’s a sickening thud and crack.  The hopped-up man lands in a heap, blood running from his head steadily and Hyde, standing right behind him, drops a heavy small statue, it giving a resounding thump as it hits the floor.

                “Oh fuck- did I- I just kill him?”  The vocalist looks suddenly pale and extremely shaky, breathing heavily, holding a hand to his mouth in shock.  Gackt gives a relieved smile at seeing L’arc~en~Ciel’s vocalist before he can hear more people rushing into the apartment.

                “Gaku!”  You’s voice calls for him but a softer one grabs his attention, even over Hyde beginning to ask himself over and over if he had killed someone.

                “G… Gacchan?”  The soloist’s eyes drift back to the woman on his lap, his one arm still tight around her.  Her eyes are hazily focused on him and he gives an exhausted but happy smile.

                “Hai Mi-chan… I’ve got you, you’ll be okay now.”  She gives him a pained smile.  He leans in and presses a kiss to her lips, ignoring the pain still screaming through his body.  When he draws back, he finds that she’s passed out again and he presses another kiss to her head, leaning his against it as he hears the wail of sirens getting closer. 

far too late for my own good.  13 must be bad luck for my stories lol, then again this is the first one that's gotten this far and only from a BUNCH of prodding <3 this is literally EVERYTHING that is written so far right now (and I mean RIGHT now- I plan on writing more shortly) but I hope it's enjoyable and not TOO late.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                The soloist moved to the door, opening it up to Ju-ken and surprisingly, Hyde.  The shorter man looked annoyed and slightly worried, his appearance making Gackt blink.  “Eto… Hello Ju-kun… Hyde-kun… it’s a surprise.  Come in…”  Juken gestured and Hyde quickly moved inside the door, the vocalist giving a soft sigh.  Ju-ken followed, giving a slight smile.

                “Hello Boss… How has your day been?”

                “Decent… I received some interesting information earlier from You-kun… I think he’s working more on it…”  There was a pause.

                “Is it about Miyu-chan?  Because I called and got no answer- I was going to invite her to dinner again…”  Hyde almost looked to be pouting but worried at the same time.  “Is she all right?”

                “I… I don’t know- I haven’t talked to her since I dropped her off on Monday…”  Gackt stated and Hyde looked more worried.

                “That’s not good… You should call too…”  There was a pause before he smiled.  “Let’s drop by her place tomorrow… well… practice… the day after tomorrow!”  Gackt gave a soft nod.

                “We can go after my practice on that day…”

“Sounds good…  I’m sure You-kun will join you two.”  Ju-ken stated before pausing.  “What did you find out?”

                “Miyu Alkit isn’t her name- it’s fairly close but her real name is Miyuki Malcuit… She’s only been in Japan for the last three years thereabouts…”  There was a pause.

                “Are you serious?”  Hyde blinked.

                “Hai…”

                “Hen… sounds like she ran away from something.”  Hyde gave a nod of agreement with Ju-ken.

                “Interesting… I want to see the actual report though… it’ll come in a few days.”

                “That’s good.”  The three took seats and quietly continued talking, Hyde being eager to express why he was convinced she was hiding.  It involved music, children, vampires in an almost overtly soap opera fashion.  Ju-ken out rightly laughed and Gackt commented that it sounded like a bad offshoot of Moon Child.  Hyde pouted again before speaking.

                “Better than what I’m really thinking.”  He stated quietly and silence fell across the room.

                “Hyde-kun… What do you really think?”  There was an extremely long pause.

                “That… she’s running away from someone dangerous, that she’s had to leave everything she knows and loves behind and take this new life up.  And maybe… deep down, she thinks she’s safe…”  The vocalist’s lips twitched into a smile, “Maybe she’s been rescued by a vampire.”  Gackt paused a while, gaze drifting downwards before a slight smile appeared on this face.

                “Sounds plausible now.  But how can she have the resources to do what she did?  By You-kun’s description, she completely disappeared off the map, even for the background check company…”  There was a pause.

                “She knows some cool friends then.”  Ju-ken stated and Gackt gave a soft sigh at Hyde nodding in agreement.

                “Yes but they have to be very good… I’m almost curious enough to try and figure out who her sister is… I think she’s the main one that started whatever this is…”

                “Really?”  Ju-ken questioned and Gackt nodded before grinning at Hyde.

                “I hear she’s a real big fan of yours.”

                “Ugh… I can’t stand fangirls- I’m tired of seeing all this damn gay fan-fiction…”  The annoyed look on Hyde’s face said all and Gackt chuckled.

                “Don’t worry- she apparently also said that she wouldn’t like you if she met you personally.”  Hyde blinked, looked a little lost before muttering with a soft growl.

                “I bet she would… I’m a nice person… Just opinionated…”  Ju-ken chuckled softly.

                “I’m sure… Your wife is considering leaving.”  There was a pause, a growl, and a sharp round of cursing at Ju-ken- the vocalist generally telling him to shut up.  Gackt gave a soft smile, getting to his feet with a shake of his head and retrieving some drinks.

                Upon his return, Hyde was looking over the lyrics sheet Gackt had kidnapped back from You’s car.  “Bad dreams lately?”  The vocalist questioned and Ju-ken blinked before looking more like the light bulb had come on.

                “That’s why you’ve been tired…”

                “Hai… sou… very bad dreams…”  Gackt placed the drinks down as Hyde placed the new song downwards onto the table.

                “About death?”  There was a pause again.

                “Sou…”  Gackt replied simply as he took a seat, lifting his drink up to his lips.

                “And about Miyu-chan?”  There was a longer pause.

                “… sou….”

                “What happened?”  Ju-ken asked and Gackt gave a soft sigh.

                “I continue dreaming of dying by some unseen hand as I try to get to Mi-chan.”  There was a pause.  “It’s different each time but the malevolence is clear- they don’t want me interfering but she’s either hurt or in trouble and I have to… I’m not going to sit back and let her suffer.” There was a long silence.

                “Gacchan… You sure we’ll be okay going over there?”

                “Hai- we’ll be fine… Nightmares come and go and don’t come true.”  Gackt stated and Hyde paused before shaking his head but staying quiet.

                “Boss… be careful… You’re being warned repeatedly for a reason.”  Gackt paused at Ju-ken’s statement before nodding.

                “I promise…”

                “Hey Gacchan…  I’ve meant to ask… why are you obsessed about her?  Is it because of the dreams?”

                “…Hai… sou…”  Short pause. “Why do you think someone’s after her?”

                “Because of her actions and what you said today.  It feels like she’s escaping and pretending…”  Hyde slowly trailed off and there was a long silence between the three as they continued drinking.

                “How do you think practice is going to go tomorrow?”  Ju-ken asked, setting his drink down.

                “Knowing Gacchan- he’ll make it perfect… unlike ours…”  Hyde growled and pouted slightly, making Gackt look curious.

                “What happened?”  Ju-ken began chuckling softly and Hyde’s expression darkened.

                “Kazu-kun attempted to break Haido-kun’s foot~.”  Ju-ken chuckled.  “We’re lucky that Haido’s fast- he barely dodged Kazu-kun’s falling guitars.”  Gackt gave a soft chuckle.

                “Ah- so he wanted you to feel his pain then?”  Gackt received a growl for his trouble and Gackt gave a soft chuckle again.

                “Bastard, and you didn’t help!”  Hyde sent Ju-ken a glare, making Ju-ken laugh.  “You tried to actually let it happen!  I almost really did break my foot!”  Ju-ken gave a louder laugh.

                “You and Kazu-kun would match then~!”  Gackt gave a short chuckle at Ju-ken’s statement drawing Hyde’s attention for a second before the short vocalist tackled Ju-ken.

                “Kisama!”  Ju-ken gave a yelp and Gackt watched the fight, rescuing one of the glasses from hitting the ground.  Hyde got up after a while and took his glass back, quickly drinking it.  “Arigatou.”  He took a seat nonchalantly as Ju-ken struggled back up to a sitting position, looking a little worse for wear.  Ju-ken sipped at his drink, looking more worried towards Hyde.

                “Are you two done?  I don’t like drink stains on the floor…”  Gackt commented and Hyde gave an odd smile.

                “If Ju-ken’s done attempting to break my foot.”  Ju-ken immediately choked on his drink and stared at Hyde.

                “I am not!”  Ju-ken defended and Hyde continues sipping at his drink, creating a long silence.  “Fine you fucking drama queen- I’m done attempting to break your foot.”

                “Arigatou~ Ju-kun.”  Hyde took another sip from his glass before Ju-ken brought his heel down full-force on Hyde’s foot, making the vocalist gag and choke on his drink, most going back into the glass.

                “I’ll really fucking break it!”  Gackt managed to grab Hyde’s glass before he could spill a drop of it, the vocalist moaning softly in pain.  Gackt gave a deep sigh, looking obviously annoyed at the childishness of his two good friends.  Ju-ken was still angry, sipping on his drink and muttering pointed curses under his breath.  Hyde continued holding his foot and seething in pain.

                “Are you two children done?”  Gackt growled softly.

                “Yes.”  Ju-ken stated- looking happy with himself.

                “Ow…”

                “If I find a drop on the floor- you’re both going to pay for the cleaning of the whole room.”  Ju-ken blinked up in surprise at Gackt and there was a silence as the soloist sipped at his glass, one leg crossed over the other- showing his seriousness.

                “Of course Boss.”  There’s a pause before the bassist speaks again, “They’ve been really bad then…”  There’s a long silence.

                “Yeah… very bad.”

                “My foot…”  Hyde moaned softly and there was a long silence between Ju-ken and Gackt as they continued drinking quietly. “Have you even hinted that you like her?”  Hyde groaned in pain again as he spoke. “I know how you can be so indirect that one thinks you’re going in the opposite direction…”

                “Yeah Boss, you need to work on that…”  A silence followed.

                “I… Hasn’t everything I’ve done been enough to show her?”  the soloist seems to pause in thought.  “I’ve even kissed her… twice if one on the head counts.”  Hyde drew his attention away from his foot long enough to stare at Gackt.

                “You… kissed her?”  The soloist’s face darkened at Hyde’s shock.

                “Yes… I admit, I was rather drunk.” Another pause.

                “You kissed her when we all got drunk that night!  The very first night!”  The vocalist called out and Gackt seemed even further embarrassed as Ju-ken simply watched the exchange with a raised eyebrow.

                “Yes, it was… Why are you making such a big deal out of this?!”  The red-faced younger man demanded of Hyde and the elder musician simply gave a giggle.

                “Love at first tackle~.”  Gackt blinked before a smile broke onto his face at the meaning behind Hyde’s statement.

                “I suppose it was.”  There was a long silence, “I did feel rather panicked when I saw her laying in the street.  I think I was acting rather strangely, ne Hyde-kun?”  Hyde paused before nodding with a slight smile, finally returning to his drink.

                “Well… what do we do now though?  She’s been silent for… what- two days now?”  Ju-ken states calmly as he tents his hands beneath his head, eyes focusing down on his near-empty glass.  Silence falls again in the room as each person falls into their thoughts.

                “I want to go with… maybe after your practice tomorrow Gacchan?”  Hyde asks softly and Gackt sighes.

                “You-kun wishes for me to wait for the report to come in.  He was rather insistent.”  Hyde’s lips turn into a pout.

                “Don’t tell him you’re going then- I do it to Tet-chan a lot!”  At this statement from Hyde, Ju-ken broke into laughter, making Hyde pout more. “Shut up!”

                “You’ve gotten caught so many times, it’s not even funny!  All he does is ask Ayana to call Megumi and ask what you’re doing.”  Ju-ken pauses.  “Though considering your current situation, it may work.”  He received a kick for his second statement and Gackt’s eyes moved away from the pair.

                “Children.”  Gackt curtly reminded them of his earlier threat and the two stopped fighting, everything falling into silence again before Gackt continues speaking.  “As much as I dislike it, I’ll wait for the report.  If You-kun is worried, then I have reason to be as well and place caution into my actions.”  Hyde gave a deep sigh at Gackt’s reply to his idea.

                “Fine.  I can wait an extra day.”  Hyde paused, “Oh!  Wait, Yukki-kun’s not recording tomorrow!  I’ll send him to check things out.”  The vocalist smiled devilishly and Gackt sighed.

                “I… suppose that’s all right.  Tell him to watch himself though.  Nothing should happen to Yukihiro-san because of this situation.”  Hyde smiled more as he pulled his phone out.

                “I’ll inform him of that.”  Gackt gave a nod as Hyde began texting his drummer.  Ju-ken was silent for a while again.

                “So do we get the couch, Boss?”

                “Possibly.  It’s become late.”

                “Indeed it has.”

                “I call bed!”  Hyde called out, a wide smile on his face and both Ju-ken and Gackt stared at him and the smile turned into an almost innocent blink. “What?”

                “I’m going to try and sleep there.”  Gackt stated simply and Hyde paused.

                “I don’t know if I’d like to share a bed Gacchan- seems dangerous for my sexuality.”  Hyde stated with a grin, making Gackt blink before the shorter vocalist received a glare.

                “Then sleep on the couch.”  The soloist pulled himself to his feet and began away.

                “But Gacchan~ I’ve been sleeping on the couch for months!”  Hyde exclaimed, getting up, downing the rest of his drink, and chasing after the younger man.  “My neck and back are horrible!”  Ju-ken began chuckling as the shorter locked his arms tight around Gackt’s waist, beginning to be pulled along.

                “No!  Let me go!  You’re like a damn fangirl!”  Gackt began attempting to pry Hyde off.

                “But Gacchan!”  Hyde wailed and there was a long silence as Hyde continued squeezing the soloist.

                “Fine.”  Another pause.

                “The whole bed?”  Hyde inquired, arms still locked around Gackt’s waist.  He received a growl for an answer and simply grinned evilly again, nuzzling the taller man’s side.  “The whole bed?”

                “Fine- the whole bed.”  Gackt spoke through clenched teeth and Hyde gave a happy call, releasing the soloist and disappearing in the direction of the bedroom.

                “Persistent, isn’t he?”  Gackt could catch a glimpse of tattoos on bare skin as Ju-ken spoke and he gave a deep sigh, turning away.

                Indeed he is.”  He sunk back into his seat on the couch.

                “He does know when you need to talk more though Boss, and when he can’t be here for it.”  There was a long silence between the two.

                “I’m truly concerned for her safety and now Yukihiro’s.  I’m not sure if I want him being involved in this, especially if he gets hurt.”  Gackt finally spoke, eyes fixated away from Ju-ken.

                “That’s not all though, is it?”  The bassist pressed slightly and received a light sigh before the soloist continued to speak.

                “The dream is a lot more than I’ve said honestly.  It begins simply with me entering her apartment; I take a seat in her kitchen and begin to wait for her to return.”  There’s a silence as the soloist unconsciously reaches up and his fingers brush over a small patch of skin above the collar of his shirt, Ju-ken waiting for the rest of the story.  “I hear someone strange coming up behind me and begin to defend myself from the knife that they’re attacking with, and the fight moves from one room to the next before I trip over something and he gets a very lucky shot…”

                “Right into your chest.”  Ju-ken finishes for Gackt and there’s a slight nod.

                “I can feel myself dying, still trying to get up and he begins stabbing more times… He pulls away eventually, leaving me on the floor before I can hear Mi-chan and him talking… and her crying…  It tends to end rather quickly after that.”  The silence laces back around the two of them before the bassist breaks it, Ju-ken’s voice quiet.

                “And you didn’t tell You-kun because you know that he would never let you go over there again- whether she was in danger or not.” At another nod, Ju-ken seems to pause in thought for a while.  “Love is a fool, it rushes in where angels fear to tread.  But it makes those situations better, because of what it is.”  Another pause as Gackt blinks at the bassist, eyes finally moving to him.  “Go with Hyde tomorrow afternoon to see her.  Don’t listen to You.”  Gackt cracks a slight smile.

                “Strange to hear you say that Ju-kun.  I think I’ll follow that advice though.  I’ll tell Hyde-kun to stop Yukihiro from going.”  Gackt stretched out on the couch and there was a pause.

                “You’re letting him keep the bed?”  Ju-ken asked with a raised eyebrow and Gackt smiled very slightly again.

                “Hell no.  I’m going to go in there and kick him out in an unpleasant way at about two.”

                “Seems that you’re still Satan-sama, Boss.”  Ju-ken grinned and Gackt returned it.

                “Only when I want to be.”

-----------------------------------------------------------

                A set of blue eyes skims the screen in front of them, looking increasingly worried.  Thin fingers nimbly type a message out and send it shortly after, before they reach over and pick up a phone.  The female holds the phone for a second, eyes closing before they reopen and she dials a number.

                “Pat… I need to know where he is.  She hasn’t responded in two days.  She’s not picking up her phone either.  Tell me if I’m going to have to do something bad.”

                “You mean… you’ll go through with that plan?”  A male voice questioned.

                “Yes.  Give me good news.”

                “I can’t.  I’ve got a record of a flight bought.  I’m still tracking where.  Airline online security has gotten better.”  Her eyes close.

                “Then we assume the worst.”  She pauses, taking a deep breath.  “I’m going through with my plan.  I’ll call you later with any updates.”  She moves to hang up the phone.

                “Hey…”  She pauses, the phone staying at her ear.  “Good luck Syra.”

                “Thanks.  I need it.”  She hangs the phone up and stretches, eyes refocusing on the screen in front of her.  “Ikou.”  She murmurs before beginning to type.

   Gackt sat in a chair, pieces of paper with lyrics and music on it strewn across the table in front of him. He was playing with a cell phone, repeatedly opening and shutting it, lost in thought. She never called… Did she forget? …or… The soloist’s feet were up on the table as he continued playing with his phone before flipping it up, quickly sending a message. There was a long pause before he received a phone call in return. 
    “Gaku, I’ve got nothing…” You stated, the guitarist sounding annoyed. “I swear there’s something I’m overlooking at this point. I’d usually have something for you at this point but…” 
    “I understand… It’s all right…” There was a slight pause. 
    “What happened?” There was a long pause as the soloist wrote a few things out on a piece of paper. 
    “…She never called.” He finally stated. “I told her to call when she was finished for the day…” 
    “Gaku… I’m sure she just forgot…” There was only a slight pause before Gackt filled in the rest of You’s unsaid statement. 
    “Or she didn’t want me to pick her up.” The soloist twirled his pen across his fingers. “I’ve been thinking…” There was a murmured statement from You, sounding almost like “Oh no.” Gackt ignored it and continued speaking. “Maybe I should leave her alone for a while… a few days? Let her relax away from me and try again?” 
    “Whatever you think is good… I think she’s in shock still anyways…” Gackt could hear You tapping away at his computer. 
    “Hm, good point. You’ll be coming by tomorrow to see what I haven’t done, ne?” 
    “Of course Gaku.” Gackt allowed himself a slight smile at You’s distracted reply. “Although if you want any other work to be done, you should do some work today instead of pining away f-” 
    “Okay- you were paying attention.” Gackt’s smile had turned into an annoyed look at his guitarist’s almost sarcastic voice- glaring down at the lyrics sheet in front of him. There was a pause. 
    “Gaku… Maybe you should do something else tonight…” 
    “I’m fine… these songs aren’t going to write themselves.” The soloist replied before adding, “Besides- I have to run through that SKIN song…” You gave a deep sigh. 
    “All right… don’t stay up all night… Okay? I don’t want to find you dead from exhaustion during practice tomorrow…” 
    “I’ll try. Gackt stated in response, beginning to write more.
    “Promise me.” The pen stopped mid-word. 
    “… I’ll try to get some rest…” You gave another sigh. 
    “Okay… I’ll settle for that. Have a nice night Gaku…” 
    “You too, You-kun.” The soloist continued writing as he shut his phone and set it to the side. He looked back and forth between sheets, continuing to work late into the night and ignoring all calls, save to check the person they were from.     You was greeted by a few bars of an unfamiliar melody as he stepped into Gackt’s home, having his key in hand. The guitarist blinked slightly before following this sound, stopping outside of the room Gackt was on. The soloist sang for a short time longer before stopping, writing things down, seeming to be extremely focused. 
    “Did you rest?” You asked, arms crossed. 
    “Yes.” Gackt replied. “Not very well or for very long but yes.” The soloist continued working for a while before speaking again. “What time is it? Time for practice?” 
    “Not yet. I’m still working on what you asked for…” 
    “Still nothing? How odd.” 
    “What’s the Kanji for her name? I’ve been just using Hiragana…” 
    “She’s American You-kun… It’s katakana.” The guitarist paused. 
    “Miyu… Arikito?”
    “Miyu Alkit in katakana.” There was a long pause after Gackt’s spoke in English. 
    “Her Japanese is really good…” You replied. 
    “Hai, very good.” Gackt finished writing before giving a soft sigh. “… She never called.” There was a short pause. 
    “Gaku… I think you’ve been dumped.” 
    “I’d rather hear that from her than you.” You blinked in surprise at the short-tempered statement from the soloist and there was another silence before Gackt let his pencil drop, rubbing his forehead. “You-kun… I’m sorry… I just feel like there’s something wrong with this whole situation.” 
    “I know the feeling Gaku. Even with technically messing her name up, I should’ve found something…” You watched the soloist nod in agreement. 
    “Hai… sou desu… Try looking it up in English.” You blinked more. 
    “A… All right… Though I doubt I’ll get much of anywhere. There’s probably 30 of her.” 
    “Try please… Maybe this feeling will go away if I learn more…” You gave a nod. 
    “I’ll do my best.” 
    “Arigatou.” Gackt quickly placed some papers together. “Here, take a look.” You blinked and began looking them over, the half-finished lyrics and general melody looking mildly completed. There was a silence as You read. 
    “Gaku…” 
    “I know… dark… It’s just what I wrote…” You gave a soft sigh. 
    “I’m sure the fans will love it.” 
    “Of course… dark is popular. Do you mind if I hear this melody at practice?” 
    “No, not at all. I’ll see how well Chacha can do it and I’ll play with him.” Gackt nodded. 
    “Arigatou… Shall we go?” Gackt got to his feet and You paused, looking the vocalist up and down. 
    “If you’re leaving wearing what you did yesterday, then yes.” The singer looked down at himself before sighing, leaving the room. You crossed his arms and waited for him to return. The singer was pulling a different shirt on as he reappeared. “Better… Let’s go.” Gackt picked some papers up and followed You to his car, locking up behind himself. You had started his car and Gackt joined him in the car, belting himself in as You began driving. There was silence between the two for a while. “I doubt anything’s happened to her Gaku… I’m almost sure of that… She’s not that unlucky.” The guitarist’s nervous statement was greeted with silence and he raised an eyebrow. At a stop, the guitarist looked over and blinked more. Gackt was asleep, head resting against eh window. “…I told you to sleep Gaku…” You shook his head and let the soloist sleep as he drove. 
    Gackt started slight as he came to, You’s hand on his shoulder. “I’m fine.” You gave a wry smile.
    “I’m sure. We’re here.” You got out of the car and Gackt blinked before almost pouting, quickly getting out and joining You. The guitarist and vocalist quickly made their way away from the car towards the nearby building. 
    “Don’t let me do that.” 
    “Uh-huh.” 
    “You-kun…” 
    “I can’t promise that. You’re the one who fell asleep in my car.” Gackt gave a deep sigh as they went inside, the practice area set up. Both Ju-ken and his replacement, Chirolyn, for when he couldn’t work with Gackt were onstage, discussing and playing back and forth.  
    “Gaku!!” Chachamaru was suddenly nearby with a smile, making You and Gackt blink. 
    “Eto… hello…” 
    “Hi! I thought of something when I got home~! About that thing yesterday. What if she was a musician? A guitarist? Maybe she wouldn’t want you knowing that cos of your status. If her band didn’t make it, she would be embarrassed of it.” Chachamaru looked proud of himself as Gackt and You paused. 
    “She hated the idea of being on stage though… I’ve never seen someone turn so white at something like that before…” Gackt stated. 
    “And I would’ve found something on her honestly.” Chachamaru blinked at Gackt, then You. 
    “One: she probably had a different name for her band, and two: I’d hate to get onstage if my band fell apart…” Chachamaru began away. “I just tuned that!” Gackt paused before looking at You, the guitarist nodding softly. 
    “I understand. I’ll keep a better eye on my search now.” Gackt nodded and the two quickly moved to the stage, quickly beginning practice. 
    You looked around at the end of their break, not seeing Gackt in sight. Where did he go? The guitarist began searching for his vocalist and friend, finding no trace of him. He said he’d leave her alone… You continued searching before finding someone curled in a jacket. Gackt’s now black hair was sticking out the top, You recognizing the pants he was wearing supporting the person in the chair, keeping them upright. You gave a soft sigh as he pulled the jacket back carefully, revealing the sleeping vocalist’s face. 
    “Didn’t sleep much… ne?” Chachamaru’s voice was quiet and You replaced the jacket over Gackt’s face. 
    “Hai... though I told him to…” 
    “It’s Gaku… You can’t tell him to do anything.” 
    “I can’t help trying… I think she’s really gotten under his skin…” The two guitarists moved back towards the stage as they spoke. 
    “Hontou? So I’m not I’m only one that’s noticed that he’s head over heels?” Chachamaru asked and You sighed. 
    “I think it’s hard not to.” 
    “I agree.” Ju-ken stated, the bassist sitting on the edge of the stage. 
    “He really is obvious- I’m surprised that she hasn’t figured it out.” Chachamaru stated and You blinked at him. 
    “You think she doesn’t know?” Ju-ken gave a snort of laughter at You’s question. 
    “If she knew, she’d obvious be doing something other than blushing and flipping out every time he calls her ‘Mi-chan’.” Chachamaru nearly rolled his eyes as he spoke. “Honestly, she’d either be pulling him closer or pushing him away. As it is, she acts like a fan that got shoved into the van of her favorite band.” 
    “Well she is a fan of his so technically…” Ju-ken stated and Chachamaru laughed softly. 
    “Yeah… technically my reference is true when he shoves her in a car with half of SKIN.” There was another soft laugh from the two of them. 
    “I think Gaku thinks that she knows honestly… I don’t know why though…” You shook his head. 
    “He’s assuming and honestly… She’s as thick as he is.” Chachamaru stated, beginning further away, back towards his guitar. “I mean… even Miyavi knows that he’s head-over-heels in love.” 
    “Is it… really that obvious?” Gackt’s soft voice made Chachamaru and You jump, Ju-ken having seen him coming. You turned to look at the sleep-deprived vocalist, seeing the same tuft of hair sticking up, even with the vocalist standing. The jacket was now draped around his shoulders. “And… she doesn’t know?” 
    “Yeah Boss.” Ju-ken answered honestly, his replacement walking over in confusion. “I mean… Hyde-kun’s pretty thick and he realizes it. But your girl takes the cake, she still doesn’t know.” There was a long pause. 
    “Why don’t you just tell her?” Chirolyn suddenly chimed in with a smile. Gackt was silent before glancing at You, the guitarist catching his look and pausing before speaking. 
    “Gaku wants to know more…” You almost winced at the three gazes suddenly focused on him. “He’s got a bad feeling and honestly, so do I.... So I’m attempting to find information on her.” There was a pause. 
    “And nothing?” Ju-ken ventured. 
    “Hai sou… nothing.” You nodded. 
    “Hen… I don’t like it.” Ju-ken shook his head. 
    “Eto… My good friend’s brother works for a background check company… I can ask if he can discretely look her up…” Chirolyn stated and You blinked before smiling. 
    “That’d be fantastic Chirolyn-san.” 
    “How long for it?” Gackt asked, looking curious. 
    “A week at most if I ask it with a bit of money behind it.” Chirolyn scratched his head. “I had to look an old band member up when he started acting weird… it works…” You gave a nod. 
    “That’s good… I’ll continue to look online and if you can start that check today or tomorrow, that will be fantastic.” Chirolyn nodded to You’s statement. 
    “No problem, I can do it tomorrow.” Chirolyn smiled before Gackt spoke. 
    “Good. Let’s get back to practice.” You blinked as the vocalist put the jacket in a chair and Chachamaru groaned softly. Ju-ken looked worried for a second before shaking his head, starting away with Chirolyn, the two speaking softly. 
    “Gaku… are you sure?” Gackt nodded as he quickly moved up onto the stage. 
    “Of course.” You gave a deep sigh before following the vocalist onstage. Practice finally restarted with You keeping a careful eye on Gackt. There was a long pause between songs, the soloist rubbing at his head before the song was restarted. Gackt sang loudly before he swayed and Ju-ken leapt forward to catch him as Gackt passed out, Chirolyn playing at the time. Ju-ken gave a soft groan at holding the suddenly unconscious vocalist upright. 
    “When’d he eat last? And how much sleep?” Ju-ken demanded as he began moving Gackt offstage. 
    “Not more than three hours sleep I think… and as for food, lunch yesterday as far as I know.” You stated, guitar being set down onstage and he quickly ran to catch up and help Ju-ken. 
    “Not good… he’ll be out for a while…” 
    “As usual.” Chachamaru joined them, throwing a door open and the group disappeared from the other’s sight quickly before reappearing back near the jacket. Chirolyn hopped off the stage after them as Gackt was set on the comfiest chairs, even if they weren’t too comfy. You took a seat beside his good friend, watching him carefully for any signs of anything worse than the unconscious state. 
    “Does this mean practice has ended?” Chirolyn inquired, looking nervous for asking so. All eyes moved to You. 
    “Yes- practice is finished for today.” The guitarist stated calmly and Chirolyn nodded, quickly moving around the area. Ju-ken look a seat on a chair backwards as You continued to sit beside Gackt. 
    “I wonder what he was doing all night…” 
    “Working… the usual…” You replied and Chachamaru sighed, the older man leaning against a chair. 
    “I really wish he’d stop doing that…” There was a general murmur of agreement between the three before silence fell. There was an extremely long pause before Chirolyn came back, very subdued and silent as the band sat and stood around their vocalist. 
    “You can go… If everyone’s still here, he’ll try to insist that practice will continue…” 
    “Eto… but I told Junji to leave and he did…” Chachamaru laughed softly and shook his head at Chirolyn. 
    “He’ll play drums and try to sing at the same time then. Didn’t you know that he started off drumming?” 
    “I think the only thing he can’t play at this point is bass… I doubt it’d take him long to pick it up though…” Ju-ken stated, shaking his head softly. 
    “Then Ju-ken-san and I should leave…” 
    “I think just you would be sufficient- you are my replacement…” Ju-ken gave a slight nod and Chirolyn nodded in response. 
    “All right. I’ll have that information for you all soon. I’ll see you later…” Chirolyn started away, quickly disappearing out the door with his things. A silence fell between the three remaining band members, You quietly beginning to run a hand across Gackt’s hair. 
    “You really can go, both of you… I’ll deal with him when he wakes up.” You stated and received murmured “no”s from both other band members. Another silence fell before Gackt began to come around, eyes slowly blinking open. “Ah Gaku… welcome back.” Gackt’s eyes managed to focus on You, the soloist’s vision obviously have to get sharper. 
    “You-kun… what happened?” 
    “You passed out Boss… You’ve been out for the last 10 or 20 minutes.” Ju-ken stated and Chachamaru nodded. Gackt turned his head to focus on them. 
    “Ah… well practice can continue now then.” Gackt sat up and swayed slightly while sitting. 
    “You’re missing a drummer and a bassist to do that.” Chachamaru stated and Gackt looked around, looking slightly dizzy still. 
    “That’s… that’s all right, Ju-ken can play and I’ll do drums.” 
    “Iie- my stuff’s already away and besides… it’s not perfect because Chirolyn’s playing for you now.” There was a long silence. 
    “True…” The vocalist seemed to relax more and there was a pause. “You planned this- didn’t you?” Ju-ken and You gave slight smiles and Chachamaru chuckled softly. “I’ll take that as a yes. Shame on all of you.” 
    “Ah! I’m very shamed Gaku~…” Ju-ken smiled widely, “Although… Chirolyn is getting Miyu’s background checked this week. He’ll have the results soon.” Gackt blinked before giving a slight nod. The soloist sighed. 
   “I guess… We’ll find out soon then…” There was a long silence. 
    “Well- I’ve gotta go~!” Ju-ken began towards the door. “See you tomorrow~!” 
    “Ja mata~…” Gackt called after him. There was a long pause before the soloist gave a deep sigh. You pulled the soloist to his feet. 
    “Come on… I’ll take you home- you need some rest Gaku… If I remember correctly, you’ve got that meeting tomorrow.” 
    “Hai sou…” There was a pause. “Oh! I need my new song… I have to work on it…” Chachamaru waved the papers around. “Ah~ thank you…” 
    “You’re not getting them anytime soon…” You stated and Chachamaru giggled. Gackt gave a deep sigh. 
    “Fine- I’ll be a good boy and sleep…” 
    “Good.” The two led the soloist to the door and Chacha handed You the papers. 
    “I’ll completely wrap up here… See you all tomorrow~!” Chachamaru disappeared back into the building and You silently sled Gackt to his car. He placed the soloist in the passenger seat, jogged around to the other side and hopped into the driver’s seat. There was another long silence. 
    “You-kun… when do you think she’ll call?” You was silent for a while. 
    “You really care for her… ne?” There was a silence. 
    “If I said yes… is it a problem?” 
    “Only if it hurts you Gaku…” Another pause. 
    “Wakatta…” 
    “…ii desu…” There was a long silence. 
    “You-kun what if she doesn’t call?” 
    “Then you should.” You felt mildly disturbed by his best friend’s actions and mannerisms. The soloist was playing with the door lock at this point, seeming deep in thought. “This is your new song… isn’t it?” You questioned. 
    “Hai… sou…” 
    “Omoshiroii…” There was a silence as You continued driving. 
    “You-kun… what if I gave up music to give her a happier time?” 
    “What?!” 
    “If… if it does work-out… I don’t want her being attacked by cameras all the time…” 
    “Gaku… if it made you happy to continue with your music… I doubt she would wish you to stop.” There was a long silence. 
    “Wakatta…” The lock clinked in and out of place as the soloist listened and spoke. “Maybe I’ll do an American film…” You chuckled and the lock stopped suddenly, “What?” 
    “I can’t see you in an American film.” 
    “Then I’ll do one. The first one I can.” 
    “Ganbatte.” 
    “Arigatou.” The lock began clicking again and You resisted giving a sigh at the obviously depressed vocalist. 
    “Gaku…” The lock stopped again. “One day doesn’t mean anything. It’s two or three that does.” 
    “I… I know.” You could hear the embarrassment in Gackt’s voice. 
    “Hontou?” 
    “H-Hai!” You grinned at the now defensive soloist. 
    “That’s good.” The lock didn’t start again but You hit the lock button anyways, putting it to locked. There was a pause. 
    ‘Click.' You blinked at Gackt unlocking the doors and the guitarist relocked them. Another loud click signified them reopening. You locked them again, ignoring the smirk on Gackt’s face and the doors were unlocked again. There was an extremely long pause. 
    “Gaku… do you wish for the fangirls to attack and rape you?” There was a short pause. 
    “Iie~…” 
    “Then leave the locks alone.” Gackt gave a soft chuckle, not replying as You locked the doors again. There was an extremely long pause before they unlocked again. “Gaku…” The doors locked. 
    “Hm?” You gave a deep sigh. 
    “Please don’t.” The doors unlocked. 
    “Don’t what?” A ‘click’ signified the locks closing again. 
    “Please stop playing with the locks…” 
    “Oh~…” There was a long pause. “All right…” There was silence until the soloist chose to speak again. “How obvious will it be tomorrow?” You blinked, feeling lost before Gackt again, “The fact that I’m ‘head-over-heels’?” There was a short pause. 
    “If you don’t focus on her, not really.” You slowly came to a stop at Gackt’s house finally and quickly moved to help the soloist from the car. Gackt had already gotten out though, swaying slightly on his feet until You supported him. 
    “You really think so?” 
    “As of the moment- it’s written all over your face.” There was a slight pause in the conversation. 
    “Then I’ll wear sunglasses.”  
    “Sounds good.” You almost laughed, seeming to consider the fact that the soloist usually did wear sunglasses everywhere. The two quickly went inside, You giving a soft sigh as he pulled the soloist to his room, Gackt almost being unwilling. 
    “I’m worried.” 
    “About which?” 
    “Mi-chan. I had… some kind of vision when I was at her place…” The soloist took a seat on the bed, You giving him a serious look. 
    “A ghost Gaku?” The soloist was silence for a while. 
    “I’m not sure… Maybe… maybe some sort of cry from Mi-chan herself…” 
    “What did you see?” There was a pause. 
    “Both her and I dead with someone I didn’t recognize holding the knife. It was very… dreamlike. I think it’s just extremely strong feelings on both sides… It didn’t feel like anyone there was really dead.” You stared at Gackt, the soloist seeming less burdened suddenly. 
    “Gaku- why didn’t you say anything earlier?” The soloist was silent. 
    “Because something like that has never happened before. I thought it might be my imagination… from lack of sleep in the first place…” You shook his head softly. 
    “It’s all right… it explains why you’re trying to be so close… I’ll tell Chirolyn to hurry, all right?” 
    “Hai.” There was silence as You began to leave. “It’s not my fault that I’m not sleeping or eating well You-kun… after having multiple nightmares about laying dead by stabbing in a kitchen tends to kill one’s appetite and desire to sleep.” You stopped in the doorway. 
    “It’s fine… just rest a bit- I don’t care if you sleep or not now that I know.” Gackt’s head moved in a soft nod and You disappeared out the door, quickly leaving as he pulled his phone out. 
    “Moshi moshi~… Hai sou desu. I know you just got home… I need you to hurry the check as fast as possible. There’s something new that’s come up.” You quickly started his car up. “I promise I’ll repay you everything you pay out.” You fell silent, beginning to drive, listening to Chirolyn. “Understood… So the fastest is three days from tomorrow… Can you get it in three from today?” There was another long pause. “Ah~ ii desu… I promise I’ll buy you a nice dinner for this.” You grinned at Chirolyn’s reply, “Yes- I promise that- you’re doing Gackt and me a huge favor.” You continued driving, making sure to be extremely careful. “All right- arigatou Chirolyn-san~. Ja mata~.” The guitarist hung up and paused for a while. I’ll tell Gackt late tomorrow… Best for everyone so he won’t be champing at the bit tomorrow to see the results… 
    You was driving back to Gackt’s home the next day to check on the vocalist and to drop some news off. Chirolyn had already gotten some of the information early because of the results, the information he’d given You sitting on the passenger seat, hand-written out from the telephone call. The guitarist tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, almost looking annoyed that he couldn’t go any faster. His eyes darted to the paper multiple times, seeming to review the information even as he dodged through traffic. He quickly stopped at Gackt’s home, nearly leaping from the car with the paper in hand, barely remember to lock it. 
    “Gaku! Gaku!” You opened the door and closed it behind him. “Gaku!” The soloist staggered from a further back room, looked tired and confused. 
    “What?” You grabbed his arm and sat the vocalist down. 
    “Sit. I have information. 
    “What?” Gackt blinked more as You paced in front of him holding the piece of paper in front of him. 
    “Name Miyu Alkit is listed as an alias. History for Miyu Alkit is partially falsified before three years ago. Subject of investigation’s real name is listed as Miyuki Malcuit… Marukuito in katakana. Previously lived in California, USA, previous other locations unknown as of the moment.” There was a long pause. 
    “LA.”  
    “What?” 
    “Tell Chirolyn to tell them to look in Los Angles. Her sister lives there, she must’ve been there for a while.” You stared at Gackt before moving and sitting down across from him. 
    “Sister?” Gackt rubbed his head at You’s prod. 
    “Hai… not by blood buy by feeling. She’s a video game programmer and plays bass…” The soloist got up and walked over and picked the photo he’d taken from Miyu’s apartment up. “This is her in costume on stage.” You paused at the picture. 
    “This is a guy.” 
    “Iie- that’s a girl.” There was a pause before Gackt gave a smile- looking as if he was remembering something fondly. “Trust me, I did the same thing.” You shook his head softly. 
    “Fine.” You paused before taking a phone picture of the picture and sending it to Chirolyn with a message. “He also said that whoever stuck her in this Witness Protection program did a damn good job and it’ll take an extra day or two because of it.” 
    “…Wakatta…” Slight pause. “Witness Protection?” 
    “It’s not an official one because the Americans would be jumping down our throats at looking her up so I’m assuming a group of her friends did it.” There was a long pause as Gackt nodded, staring almost blankly ahead. 
    “Try… her occupation as a singer… or guitarist…” There was a pause. 
    “You think Chacha was right?” 
    “Hai.” 
    “Interesting… I already gave Chirolyn everything we could think of though, including Chacha’s thoughts but I’ll be sure to tell him that you agreed with Chacha.” There was a long silence between the two friends. “Gaku… What do you think happened?” 
    “I don’t know…I think it can be related to what I saw…” 
    “Hontou?” 
    “Hai… I’m not sure but I get the feeling it has to do with whoever attacked the two of us. There was an extreme feeling of malevolence from the person… maybe they’re really close?” At his own question, Gackt looked fairly alarmed and You shook his head. 
    “You don’t know that Gaku… She'll be okay…” Gackt gave a soft sigh, seeming reassured. You clapped Gackt on the shoulder. “I’m going to go for today… Ju-ken should drop by to say hello and spread gossip… Do try to get some rest for tomorrow, all right?” Gackt gave a soft nod. 
    “That’ll be fun… I get more VAMPS information from him than Hyde-kun.” You chuckled softly. 
    “Souka? Well, I’ll see you later then… if anything happens, call me.” You smiled as he received another nod from Gackt and the guitarist got to his feet, beginning away. 
    “You-kun… What if she’s not okay?” There was a pause. 
    “She’s all right… Don’t worry about it…” 
    “What if she’s not?” 
    “… then she will be.” You sighed, “Get some rest and don’t worry about it.” 
    “All right…” You quietly left the soloist alone in his home, Gackt sitting still on the couch before rubbing at his face- looking very tired still. He got to his feet and disappeared away to begin working on more songs. 

Happy to post this- it hit me while I was RPing the other day and finished it up the next day.  I'm very proud of it because it's mostly written in present tense... well as much as I can manage lol.  Anyways, the main character should be slightly obvious after a bit and I was very surprised that this turned out to be centered around him as well... and I swear he knew it too cos of the pictures on his blog >>;;; but anyways~~~ enjoy~~~!!

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Some nights are nice, a good night's rest and a good feeling day with complete focus on all his actions.  Some nights are sleepless, 2am... 3am... 5am... up until dawn and later- a tired but not sleepy feeling pervading his senses.  Out on the balcony is where these nights end up- sitting and thinking, pacing sometimes as he smokes, occasional bars of melodies coming from his throat.  Sometimes his music player joins him, singing songs he sometimes doesn't know half the words to at the time, sometimes it's simply the sounds of the still bustling Tokyo below.  It's the reason he stays far away from home, the lack of sleep dragging at his nerves no matter where he goes but somehow- it's worst at home even if it's the quietest.

 

A faint sea breeze blows the few strands of his dyed brown hair it catches into his face as he leans partially over the railing, heart hammering in panic.  It's not safe! Seems to be the message but he continues to lean anyways- staring straight downwards toward the street far below. He's always been terrified of heights and doesn't remember why, even as his body fills with adrenaline from seeing the distance to the ground.  When he's surrounded by music, it's almost forgettable.  All of the panic, all of the adrenaline goes into the music- into creating something he can be proud of and others can be proud of.

 

Seconds later, he's drawing back, moving away from the railing as far as he can- heavy breathing racking his frame- the reason for the shoes and the program he spent good money on instead of the regular games and DVDs.  Calculated steps take him inside, across the floor, before leading him outside of his home and downstairs to the night air.  He's off within seconds, feet pounding the concrete and asphalt downwards with each beat.  There's no music tonight- simply the run that becoming routine.  His feet remind him of their existence with each hit that resonates upwards through his body.

 

He's proud of himself.  The run tires him out, makes him sleep more, even if he wakes with a worse feeling in the morning.  As his body adjusts to the almost early morning run, it takes longer.  He knows that the little chip in the shoe is keeping track of how far and how long he's run but he's ceased paying attention to that.  He loves these shoes only because of how comfortable they are.  The rhythm he runs in is almost burned into his head- the route replayed over and over, almost as if he's escaping away every time he runs, only to find that he’s made a circle at the end of it.

 

His legs are burning with exhaustion by the time he comes back to his home but he runs past the door.  It's still too loud.  Maybe he'll crash at a friend's place.  Maybe he'll find a way back.  It's almost the fourth time he's passed the door when his legs give out.  The burn in his legs is no comparison to the burn across his shin, though he feels both, a hiss of pain leaving his lips.  When he begins to pull himself up, discovering that his legs have become exceedingly wobbly, far enough that he can’t stand on them- causing him to question how he was able to run the distance he did.

 

His heart is still pounding in his chest as he leans against the wall, the wall scratching into his back as he slides to the ground, eyes closing as his body shakes in exertion, crimson blood running from his leg as he almost gasps for air.  His eyelids flicker slightly as he attempts to reopen them in exhaustion, the neon lights of the city blurring together in one massive haze.  His breathing begins to lessen down to a normal pace, the aching in his burning legs taking over from the pain in his lungs as his eyes continue flickering open and closed.  He is just a bystander in the city’s nightlife, his run having created the same effect as always- nothing.

 

Heavy lids close again before the feeling of movement in his pocket brings him back.  His phone vibrating silently in his pocket, a tired hand drug it out of its spot.  It stopped, showing him that it had been going for a while before he had even noticed the movement.  5 missed calls.  The text was almost cheery- blinking again to show that he had a new voicemail on top of the other two that he had received while on his run.  Mao… Mao… Mao… Mao… and Mao… His head touched back against the building again- legs feeling like jelly despite being motionless on the ground as his eyes closed again.  His phone began buzzing again.

 

“Moshi moshi… Aki desu.”  He could hear faint breathing on the other end of the line as they paused.

 

“Aki-kun?  Daijoubou?  You didn’t answer.” His eyes stay shut even with the concern in Mao’s voice.

 

“Daijoubou… I was out.”  A longer pause halted the conversation again.

 

“Are you sure you’re all right?”

 

“Hai…” He waited for the vocalist to speak again.

 

“I… I have an idea but… you didn’t answer- I really was worried…” A silence spread between the two for a second, his eyes finally opening again.

 

“Did you want me at the studio?” His eyes came to focus on his legs.

 

“Aki-kun…” He vocalized a soft sigh at Mao’s whine.

 

“I’m all right.  Do you want me at the studio?”  Another long pause between them.

 

“Can I come to your place?  I can be there in five minutes.” He blinked slightly, the realization of the fact that Mao had possibly been sleepless as well washing over him.

 

“…gofun ii yo… I’ll see you then…”  He hung up and began struggling to his feet- legs still unfeeling under him but able to be walked on.  A few deep breaths filled his lungs before he began moving inside the building, taking the elevator upwards to his home again.  It was still unnervingly unsettling but he ignored it as he exited the elevator and walked inside.  The door was left unlocked as it shut behind him and his shoes left at the door, his body collapsing onto the couch.  His eyes closed again in exhaustion.  A voice faintly reached his senses before he was gone.  Mao would leave a note and pages of lyrics or music… like usual.

                Kyoko tapped her on the shoulder at about noon, the secretary giving a smile.  “Lunch?”  Miyu blinked before smiling in return, giving a nod.

                “Hai- arigatou.”  The artist got to her feet and followed after Kyoko, locking up after herself.  The two stood in the elevator and quietly started out the building.

                “Eto… where’s your umbrella?” Kyoko asked as she began unfurling her small umbrella.  Miyu blinked before blushing.

                “Eto… it’s not mine.” Kyoko and Miyu quickly started outside, the latter ignoring the odd looks she received from the people in the area.  The two women quietly started down the street, Miyu giving a smile as the rain hit her face and Kyoko shook her head.

                “You can be so weird…  I’d swear you were locked up half your life.”  Kyoko paused suddenly before smiling again, “So… Gackt-san gave you the umbrella… That means he dropped you off…” There was a pause.  “Did he stay at your place?”

                “No- absolutely not!”  Miyu blinked at Kyoko and Kyoko gave a sly smile in return.

                “Well how many other reasons does a man have to be at a woman’s place so early in the morning?” Kyoko received a sigh and a slightly annoyed glance for a response.

                “To simply take her to work apparently.”  There was a slight pause.

                “Hontou ni?”

                “Hai soo desu.”

                “Weird…”  Kyoko stated, watching Miyu seem to enjoy herself in the rain before she pointed at a building.  “That’s where we’re having lunch.”  Miyu gave a nod and followed Kyoko into the building, drops of water glistening in her hair.  The two grabbed a table quickly and after giving their order, a silence falling between them before Miyu broke it.

                “What… do you think if you don’t mind me asking…”  Miyu’s eyes were focused downwards on the table.  “I’m not sure yet about anything…”   Kyoko was silent for a while as the drinks were brought out to them.

                “I’m not sure either, unless he’s interested in you… But you would be aware of that.”  There was a long pause as Miyu attempted to keep her face calm but a bright red flush came across her face.  “Miyu-san, he’s not trying to gain your affections, ne?”  Miyu’s flush darkened.

                “I… I really don’t know… I…I may have accidently kissed him while I was drunk…”  Kyoko gave a deep sigh.

                “So you were trying to get his affections… God only knows about his…”  Miyu blushed darker.

                “I said may… I don’t remember who initiated it or if it was even real…”  Kyoko gave a loud sigh.

                “Then why would you talk about it?  Obviously something happened…”  Kyoko stated and Miyu shrugged.

                “I don’t know… He just… He’s just such a question mark.”  Their food came and the two carefully began eating, another silence falling with only slight breaks of small, work related conversation.  After the dishes were taken away, the conversation turned back to Miyu and Gackt.

                “He does follow you around like a puppy though.  I’m surprised he wasn’t there at lunch.”  Slight pause.

                “He’s going to come and get me when or if I call at the end of the day.”  There was a short silence.

                “I think he likes you.”  Kyoko sipped at her drink as Miyu darkened to a very dark shade of red.

                “H… He is not a puppy!”  Miyu almost hissed quietly.

                “Sure acts like one following you around.”  There was a pause. “Shouldn’t you be smoking?  I saw your cigarettes on your desk.”  Miyu paused before blinking.

                “Eto… I guess the time I was knocked out in the hospital helped.  I really… don’t crave them anymore.”  Miyu blinked in surprise.

                “Hen desu…  You’ve been planning to quit for forever and a car makes you quit.”  Kyoko shook her head.  “Maybe I should get hit too…”  Miyu gave a sigh.

                “Yes, because everyone needs to feel that pain…”  Miyu’s sarcasm didn’t go unnoticed.

                “Ooh… touchy subject then?”  Miyu sent Kyoko a dark look as the two paid for their meals, getting to their feet and leaving. “Okay- I understand- it hurt like hell…”  Miyu shook her head and the two went back outside, Kyoko putting her umbrella up again.

                “Just… don’t mention it again, it’s not something I’d like to repeat…”  There was silence as the two women walked back to their work building in the rain.

                “Oh, I almost forgot to tell you.  I had an odd phone call the other day.”  Miyu blinked at Kyoko, feeling her heart begin to drop with the rise of the elevator.

                “What was it?”  Miyu questioned and Kyoko shook her head.

                “I have no clue.  It was some American guy.”  Miyu took a few deep breaths as the elevator dinged to let her off, Kyoko going to head up a few more floors.

                “What’d he say?”  Miyu began to get off.

                “Asked for a Miyuki…. Miyuki Malcuit.  I told him that he must’ve misheard your name, that we had a Miyu Alkit.  He hung up.  See ya later!”  The elevator shut and Miyu felt as if there was dead weight around her legs.  She clunked over to her small office, pure white face reflected in the glass along the hallway.  The woman worked non-stop on her drawing for the next five hours, completely finishing it.  She placed all the pieces in a large envelope and sent it to the next section, signing off on it.  She quickly gathered all her things together and began to leave, grabbing the umbrella on the way without thinking.  She disappeared into the elevator, mind twirling, not paying attention at all.

                She quickly left the building, pulling her jacket more around her and starting off towards the subway.  Her art portfolio was under one arm, almost empty and a bag on her back as she quickly moved from the rain to the subway.  She paid and quickly got on, getting off a while later at her stop and quickly moving towards her apartment.  She splashed through a few puddles and into her building, taking the elevator up to her floor.  She quickly reached her door and tried the knob, finding it still locked.  She gave a relieved sigh and opened it, going inside and locking it behind her.  She moved around, dropping her things off.  She gave a deep sigh, slumping into a chair, eyes closed.  Suddenly she had a horrible feeling and quickly realized why, her phone sitting on a distant table.  Gackt… I forgot to call him… I should say that I’m home safe…  She stayed still for a while, the uneasy feeling not going away.  I should play guitar… maybe this’ll go away…  She got to her feet, moving towards her bedroom, opening that door and reaching to flip the light on.

                “Hello lover…”  The warm breath on her neck sent ice into her veins, the woman frozen before attempting to scream.  She hit the floor hard, a large weight on top of her.  Her yell was muffled by the carpeted floor as she struggled, feeling repeated blows across her body until it all went black.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yes-- everyone hates the person who puts the cliffies up ^.^v Since regaining a lot more inspiration for this story AGAIN I'll be working harder on it from now on.  Hopefully I'll have more chapters up soon.

Just in time for Valentine's day~~ yay~~ lol posted the links to previous chapters at the beginning of this one

1 syramoon.livejournal.com/1099.html
2 syramoon.livejournal.com/1719.html
3 syramoon.livejournal.com/2220.html
4 syramoon.livejournal.com/2894.html
5 syramoon.livejournal.com/3093.html
6 syramoon.livejournal.com/3811.html
7 syramoon.livejournal.com/4246.html
8 syramoon.livejournal.com/4707.html
9 syramoon.livejournal.com/5116.html
10 syramoon.livejournal.com/5291.html

                Miyu was led back out of the restaurant by Gackt, despite being able to walk just fine with Chachamaru and You behind them.  The two were chatting away quietly as the group started away.

                “E-eto… I should…”  Miyu started, stuttering slightly again.

                “Ah- yes, you were working and I pulled you away…”  Gackt’s grip on her tightened for a second almost nervously.  “I’ll walk you home…”  The soloist looked at his fellow band members and the two nodded, waving and beginning away.  Gackt quietly began walking with Miyu, letting go of her as Miyu gave a soft blush.  There was a long silence between the two as Gackt appeared to fall into thought.  “Mi-chan… how long have you lived in your apartment?”  There was a slight pause.

                “A long time… I don’t remember exactly anymore.” Miyu responded and Gackt gave a slight nod.

                “Did you play guitar before then?”  The soloist ventured.

                “E-eto… h-hai….”  Miyu answered shakily.

                “Ah… you must be very good… I really wish to hear you play one day…”  Gackt gave a soft smile but Miyu didn’t focus on him, her face red.  There was another long pause before Miyu spoke.

                “Why are you so nice?  I know I saved your life but… I just don’t understand…”  There was a long silence.

                “Mi-chan… I-”  The soloist was cut off by someone beeping, making him curse under his breath.  “I think they recognized me.”

                “Sorry Gackt-san…”

                “Gacchan.”  The soloist sent her a slight glance.  “I thought we fixed this…”  Miyu blinked at him before blushing again.

                “I…”  Miyu paused before continuing to walk alongside the soloist.

                “Yes?”  Gackt questioned, looking almost slightly hopeful before Miyu shook her head.

                “Nothing…”  She stated and Gackt’s slightly hopeful look disappeared as they continued walking, reaching Miyu’s apartment building after a while of silence. “Arigatou Gacchan…”  Miyu gave a soft smile and Gackt blinked in surprise before smiling in return.

                “Arigatou Mi-chan.”  Gackt paused for a while, seeming nervous before Miyu began pulling away.  Gackt quickly moved and caught Miyu’s arm, lifting her hand to his lips, focusing his eyes on her.  There was another short silence after the soloist kissed her hand.  “Oyasumi nasai Mi-chan.”  He quietly spoke before starting away.

                “O-Oyasumi n-nasai Gacchan…”  Gackt gave another smile before disappearing out of Miyu’s sight.  Miyu stared after him for a while before moving completely into her building, starting up the stairs.

                She quickly reached her floor and went into her apartment, locking the door quickly moving into her living area.  She moved across the floor before heading into the kitchen, getting a drink.  She quietly sipped at it, shaking slightly before moving into her bedroom.  She turned her computer on, taking a seat as both screens lit up.  She logged in before her messenger came up, the woman logging into that as well.

                ‘Thanks for sending the pictures~!’  Was the message from her sister.  Miyu sat for a while before beginning to type.

                ‘He keeps asking questions about my past… I’m not sure what to say anymore…’  Miyu paused before moving out of the room and getting her work from the kitchen table, dragging it back with her to the bedroom, beginning to work again.  There was a noise from the computer and Miyu blinked over at it.  She’d received a message back.

                ‘Just… be yourself… it’s obvious to even me that he likes you…’  Miyu blushed at her sister’s message.

                ‘Iie~… he’s Gackt!  He would never… Besides, he’s not all… lovey dovy and I saved his life- he’s just attempting to pay me back….’  Miyu bit at her lip as she sat there in thought for a long time before moving away, beginning to work on her drawing more.  Even if he doesn’t have to… Miyu continued working even after the message alert came up before walking back over and looking at the message.

                ‘Sure- keep telling yourself that.  I’m sure that he likes you a lot more than he’s letting on.’  Miyu gave a soft sigh.

                ‘That’s a foolish dream- like yours of dating Sugizo.  He seems to be very happy until drunk and reminded of sad things.  Honestly, Gackt can’t like me- I’m very unlikeable AND I’m sure he doesn’t think I’m pretty.’  Miyu went back to her drawing quietly, continuing to work on it as she yawned.  A while went by before Syra answered, Miyu getting up and looking at it.

                ‘Sis- I wish I could knock some sense into you right now, but I’m hoping he will… Just realize you’re a very beautiful, nice when you want to be, woman.’  Miyu blushed slightly before giving a soft smile.

                ‘Arigatou Sissy-chan…’  There was a short pause.

                ‘Do itashimashite Sis.  Eto… so, you’re busy, ne?  I was hoping you could listen to me play…’  Miyu gave a smile before replying.

                ‘I can take a break.’

-----------------------------------------------------------

                Gackt took a sip of his glass, the soloist and his two guitarists sitting quietly in his home.

                “I just don’t understand what’s so bad about the guitar playing…”  Chachamaru complained loudly.  “I mean- I play guitar!” You gave a sigh as Gackt was silent in thought for a while before speaking.

                “You-kun… can you do me a favor?”

                “Of course.”

                “Can you look her up?”  You raised an eyebrow but nodded.

                “No problem…”

                “I don’t care if it’s as detailed as a background check of if you just get her hometown… anything will do.”  Gackt took another sip off his drink.

                “I understand Gaku-chan.”  You stated and paused for a second.  “Should I look now?  I have my computer…”

                “No… look it up tomorrow You-kun…”  There was a long silence.  “I want to think about what’s happened for tonight.”  You gave another nod.

                “I understand…”  You stated again, giving another nod before the guitarist drank more from his drink.

                “Thank you…”  Gackt replied softly as he finished his glass, making You give another nod.  Chachamaru gave a loud groan.

                “I still want to know what she’s dodging about the guitar playing… I want to know how good she is!”  Gackt and You watched the older guitarist throw a fit.  “I want to know~!”  You gave a deep sigh.

                “Chacha… calm down…”  Gackt stated and Chachamaru gave another sigh as Gackt filled his empty glass up.

                “It just… bothers me that she’s played for such a long time and won’t say anything about it.”  Chachamaru gave a deeper sigh.

                “I understand that… I feel the same… I think she’s created herself in a n odd sense, much like…”  Gackt gave a short pause.

                “Yourself or Hyde-san?”  You ventured and Gackt gave a nod.

                “And this self doesn’t involve guitar playing.”  Gackt stated before drinking off his glass.

                “Sounds like the  witness protection program…”Chachamaru muttered and took a long drink off of his glass.  There was a long pause between the other two band mates.

                “That… may be a possibility Chacha…”  Gackt seemed to pause a long time in thought as he drank more before Chachamaru got to his feet, finishing his drink.

                “I should get going… You young people can stay up…”  Chachamaru stated, starting for the door.  Gackt waved after him and You chuckled.

                “Ja ne Chacha…”  There was a long silence between the two old friends in the room as they continued drinking.  You finally spoke after a long time.

                “Gaku… are you sure that you’re okay with her?  I’m worried about you…”  You watched as Gackt gave a soft nod.

                “Don’t worry.  I promise I’ll be careful.”  Gackt stated in response, drinking more and You gave a nod.

                “All right…”  You quietly moved over and grabbed his bag.  “I guess I should get going as well..  I’ll see you later Gaku.”  Gackt got to his feet, following You to the door.

                “Please remember to look that information up You-kun…”  Gackt gave a slight smile as You nodded.  “Thank you.  I’ll see you later.”  You gave another nod as he disappeared out the door.  Gackt turned around, giving a soft sigh, quickly drinking the rest of his drink.

                The next morning found him knocking on Miyu’s door for a long time before finally letting himself in.  The soloist moved across the floor near silently, glancing into the area where he had found her yesterday, not seeing the artist there.  There was a pause before he followed the general trail to her bedroom, gently glancing inside.  Miyu lay out across her bed, drawings around her and computer blinking at her.  The soloist shifted almost nervously from one foot to the other before knocking on the door.  Miyu didn’t respond at all, the woman out of it still.  Gackt paused before quietly reaching in and grabbing Miyu’s phone from a nearby table, glancing at the messages he had sent to her.  The soloist gave a soft sigh before moving into the room, pausing to look at the drawings before blinking, a high flush coming into his face.  Miyu gave a soft groan in her sleep, stretched oddly across the bed that was remaining from the drawings taking up the other part. Gackt quietly moved over and gently shook Miyu.  The artist moved slightly, latching her arms around the vocalist.

                “Five more minutes…”  The woman murmured in English.  Gackt blinked down at her before giving a soft smile, gently shaking her again.  Miyu tightened her hug, burying her face further into Gackt’s side.  “Iie… gofun…”  She murmured again- showing a return to wakefulness with her change of language.  The soloist continued prodding her for a second before leaning down close to her ear as best he could.

                “Wake up Mi-chan…”  Gackt was sure she was awake about half a minute later and there was a long pause.

                G-Gacchan?”  The soloist almost heard her cuss at the use of his nickname but he gave a broad smile.

                “Hai soo desu.” Gackt blinked as she drew back.

                “G-gomen nasai.”  Miyu’s face was bright red.  Gackt focused on her face, seeming to think for a second.  Miyu suddenly moved off the bed before he could move, the soloist giving a soft sigh. “Crap… I forgot my Sis…”  The girl murmured before looking at the messages.

                ‘I’m heading home now- I’ll catch you later if they don’t drop a huge assignment on me.  Sorry that ya fell asleep on me!’

                Miyu gave a soft sigh at the lack of messages before having to remember someone else was in the room.  She quickly typed a short message back: ‘Yeah sorry- I was really tired’ before turning to Gackt.

                “Eto…”  Miyu blushed as she saw him looking at the drawings.

                “Any… particular inspiration for these?  Other than work obviously…”  Miyu blushed harder at seeing the soloist holding the near likeness of himself that Ruyuki had become.

                “I-I was tired… I-I guess I was just redrawing what I saw during the day…”  Miyu quickly pulled the drawing of Ruyuki away from Gackt- beginning to pack it all away.  Gackt gave a soft smile.

                “So your character looks like me?”  Miyu blushed bright red.

                “H-hai…”  There was a short pause.

                “Ah… I wished to give you a ride… the weather is bad…”  Gackt gave a soft smile at Miyu’s surprised look.

                “H-hontou?”  The woman moved over and checked out the window.  The rain was pouring down outside in buckets and Miyu’s eyes narrowed slightly- the woman muttering, “I hate the rain when I’m working…” She nearly jumped as Gackt leaned softer over her, looking out the window as well.

                “Hai soo desu…”  He gave another soft smile, “So can I give you a ride?”  Miyu blushed darkly again.

                “It’s not… trouble?  I mean- I can take the subway like usual.”

                “It’s no problem- let’s go.”  Gackt moved back towards the door and Miyu quickly put her stuff together to leave and follow after Gackt.  The soloist held the door for her and Miyu quickly locked up afterwards with a smile.

                “Arigatou gozaimasu.”  Gackt gave a smile in response and the two quickly left the building, dodging from the rain into Gackt’s car.  Miyu gave a soft sigh at the rain- holding her art portfolio to herself, having saved it from getting too wet.  Gackt gave a soft smile.

                “It’s all right, ne?”  The soloist put the vehicle in drive and began driving quickly as Miyu clicked her seatbelt in place.

                “Hai… it’s fine… it’d probably be rain-soaked by now if it wasn’t for you.”  Miyu gave him a grateful smile and Gackt gave a slight nod, a faint flush coming onto his face.

                “Do itashimashite Mi-chan…”  The car ride was mostly quiet, save for a few soft comments on the rain back and forth.  The car came to a stop outside Miyu’s workplace as Miyu glanced out the window before Gackt spoke again.  “There’s an umbrella under your seat…”  The artist blinked at the soloist before giving a soft smile.

                “Eto… arigatou… I’ll run it back down-”

                “It’s all right.  I can come and pick it back up later… you can give me a call when you’re leaving- I’ll come and get you.”  Gackt gave a slight smile and Miyu gave a nod, face bright red again.

                “I-I can do that…”  She quietly pulled the umbrella up and Gackt held her portfolio as she got out, opening the umbrella.  Gackt waiting on handing it to her- seeming to pause in thought.

                “Mi-chan… eto…”  There was another pause before he handed the portfolio over.  “Have a nice day.”  Miyu gave a soft nod, giving a slightly blushing smile in return.

                “Arigatou…”  She gently shut the door, the umbrella shielding her from the rain as she walked up and into the building.  Gackt’s car sat still until she was inside before the soloist left, the car slowly rolling away.

                Miyu ignored the odd looks she was getting simply for the umbrella she was wrapping up to make sure it didn’t leak before quickly starting for the elevator.  Note to self: Buy an umbrella…  Miyu quickly made her way up to her floor and nodded a greeting back to Kyoko before disappearing into her office.  The woman quickly set herself up and continued working, trying to rearrange her drawing so that it didn’t look like a particular soloist.
~~~~~~~~~~~
part two: syramoon.livejournal.com/6033.html

               Miyu sat and listened quietly, blinking as Gackt began screwing songs up badly about another thirty minutes in.  An hour later, the vocalist was doing better but was obviously distracted.  Practice ended fifteen minutes after that, Ju-ken quietly talking to Gackt quietly along with You.  Chachamaru was speaking quietly with Jun-ji, the drummer putting his things away.  Miyu bit at her lip before someone leaned over the back of the chair beside her.

                “Wow- he was really distracted, ne?”  Miyavi gave her a wide smile as Miyu jumped literally off her chair, landing hard on the floor.  “Eto~~ didn’t mean for that to scare you.”  The soloist quickly helped her back up.  “I came by to deliver Yoshiki’s lyrics… He sent them to me because of Gackt not really caring for computers.  Hopefully he’ll get over it~!”  Miyavi shook the pieces of paper in his hand as he spoke, smiling the whole time.  Miyavi bounced off to the stage, quickly and easily leaping up onto it.  “Gakkun~~!”  Gackt blinked around in surprise at his fellow soloist.  “I brought you lyrics~!”  Ju-ken shook his head slightly and focused on putting his instrument away as Miyavi, You, and Gackt all spoke together.  Miyavi waved after a while as he began moving away.

                “It’s what he said~!”  Miyavi called back.  “See ya later Miyu-chan!”  The guitarist quickly disappeared from sight, leaving Miyu in a state of confusion as she looked to Gackt and You.  Ju-ken had disappeared from sight with his bass and Jun-ji was finishing putting away all his things with Chachamaru.  Gackt gave a soft sigh and You patted him on the back before moving away.  Gackt quickly moved away as Miyu continued to stand in confusion.

                Gackt quickly came over to her and gave a slight smile before calling back to the group, “heading to dinner and paying for it!”  Chachamaru was almost immediately at Gackt’s elbow.

                “Dinner?”  Chachamaru smiled and Gackt sighed as You quietly moved over.

                “Can’t!  Working early tomorrow!  VAMPS!”  Ju-ken called out loudly, his bass backed away and in hand as he started for the door.

                “I thought vampires slept during the day?”  Chachamaru jokingly called after the red and black-haired bassist.

                “We do~.”  Ju-ken smiled widely- showing his teeth.  “It’s why it’s early.”  Gackt shook his head slightly with a smile.

                “No reporting things… I’ll speak to Hyde-kun later.”

                “No promises Gaku~!”  Ju-ken waved as he disappeared out the door.  Gackt immediately frowned.

                “I wasn’t kidding…”  The vocalist murmured, making Miyu blink up at him.

                “We should get going.”  You stated and the group moved towards the door.

                “We’re not walking… are we?”  Chachamaru asked and there was a pause.

                “What… made you think we weren’t?”  Gackt asked, a hand gently on Miyu’s shoulder, guiding her towards the door.  A low complaint came from the guitarist as You shook his head and simply started after the two.  Chachamaru slowly followed after, sighing deeply.

                “Guess it’ll build up a larger appetite…”

                Most of the walk was silent, save for Chachamaru’s soft complaints as Gackt kept an almost protective arm around Miyu as they walked, still guiding her as if she was the one leading instead of him.  You and Chachamaru continued following after, there suddenly being soft chatting between the guitarists before Chachamaru was extremely loud.

                “Are you kidding?!  No way!”  There was an immediate, loud thump afterwards and a yelp from one of the guitarists.  Miyu turned and blinked at the two as she walked to find Chachamaru holding his head in pain and You looking rather annoyed.  Gackt gave a deep sigh before turning slightly, guiding Miyu into a restaurant, making You quickly follow, and Chachamaru scramble after the three.

                “Ah` we’ve been expecting you~!”  Someone called and someone quickly led them into a different part of the restaurant, Gackt still holding onto Miyu.  She was turning dark red, despite being relaxed, silently happy to be so close.  The four quickly took a seat and Gackt turned directly to the waiter and ordered the drinks, making Miyu blink and You sighed.  There was a pause before Gackt glanced around the table.

                “That… is what everyone wants, ne?”  There was a pause before  Miyu’s quiet voice spoke up.

                “I… I’ll have water instead of tea…”  She received surprised looks from Chachamaru and You, who immediately glanced at Gackt.  The soloist gave a slight smile.

                “I forgot that you don’t like tea…”  Gackt ended up giving the woman a soft hug, softly apologizing to her.  Miyu turned brighter red.

                “Dr. Pepper~ for me.”  Chachamaru stated with a smile, making the waiter nod again.

                “Tea’s fine.”  You stated, making Gackt blink at both of them.  The waiter nodded and moved back into the kitchen and there was a long pause.

                “That’s going to rot your teeth Chacha.”  Gackt stated, receiving a Cheshire grin in return.

                “One day, far in the future, yes.”  The drinks were brought out and Gackt looked up at the waiter, ready to order for everyone again before looking at Miyu.

                “What would you like Mi-chan?”  Miyu blushed more.

                “E… E… eto…”  The woman quietly stuttered before stating what she wanted.  Gackt paused before ordering for himself and You before Chachamaru burst in, quickly ordering for himself.  The waiter glanced at You, the guitarist giving a nod of agreement with his dish.  The waiter disappeared away before Chachamaru focused on Miyu again.

                “So~~ Miyu-chan~~…”  The woman blinked up at the older guitarist of GacktJOB.  “What about those calluses?  How long have you played?  You’ve quit recently, ne?”  Gackt’s eyes drifted over to Miyu almost curiously, You keeping his eyes down on the table.  Miyu paled slightly.

                “I… I play on and off…” Chachamaru blinked at Miyu’s shaky response, glancing at Gackt to make sure that the soloist wasn’t going to stop him.

                “Eto… how long?  How good are you?”

                “E… eto I’m o…okay…”  Miyu had become extremely evasive suddenly, making even You look up at her.

                “How long have you played?”

                “Eto… a while…”  Miyu glanced at Gackt for help but the soloist seemed impassive to her plight, letting Chachamaru continue.

                “Were you ever in a band?”  Chachamaru gave a smile to try and calm Miyu down, “You know, like just Indies, like how Gaku here started off in Cains:Feel?”  Gackt suddenly gave Chachamaru a dark look before looking back at Miyu again.

                “E… eto… n-no…”  Miyu’s eyes darted around, very nervously, before she began to pull away from Gackt.  “I… I have to… to go- be right back…”  The girl almost shot out of the chair and disappeared in the direction of the bathroom.  Gackt’s eyes followed after her before You spoke.

                “Gaku… There’s something wrong…”  Gackt gave a nod of agreement with the guitarist’s statement.

                “She’s keeping secrets…”  Chachamaru thought for a while before finally speaking again.

                “I can tell that she’s played for a while.  The calluses are old- they’ve been there for a while.”  The guitarist paused for a second.  “She’s stopped playing recently though, her calluses are fading slightly.”  Gackt gave a slight nod.

                “Arigatou Chacha…”  The vocalist stated before You spoke again.

                “You… don’t know that much about her, do you?”  You paused as Gackt shook his head.  “I’m worried… if you really want to stay after her- then find out more.”  The soloist gave a soft smile, not replying to his good friend.  There was a short silence as the waiter and a waitress came out and placed the food down in front of all four spots before disappearing away.  Miyu quietly reappeared and nervously retook her seat. 

                “Ah~ I’m starving~!”  Chachamaru exclaimed, quickly beginning to eat and the three music artists pretended not to care about the earlier conversation.  Miyu slowly gave a soft nod before quietly beginning to eat.

                “How was the practice Miyu-san?”  You asked, oddly formal.

                “It was good, I enjoyed it a lot.”  Miyu stated, ending up sounding just as formal.  Gackt was blinking in confusion at the cheerfulness of Miyu’s formal voice as he ate.  You raised an eyebrow slightly, eyes glancing at Gackt for a slight second.

                “I’m glad you enjoyed it Mi-chan…”  Gackt stated as he sipped at his drink.  “I apologize for taking you away from your work.”

                “I-It’s all right…”  There was a slight pause, Gackt glancing at Chachamaru after Miyu’s stutter.

                “Ah Miyu-chan~ how was my playing?  Good ne?”

                “H-hai, soo desu…”  Miyu seemed less nervous, but glanced about, looking slightly suspicious at the group.  Gackt gave a soft chuckle, looking at Chachamaru.

                “If you call goofing off good, then yes.”  Chachamaru pouted at the comment from the vocalist.

                “I was still playing- I was just having fun too~…”  The guitarist stated and You gave a soft smile.

                “And the times of making fun of Gaku was playing too?”  Gackt raised an eyebrow before looking at Miyu.

                “Is that true Mi-chan?”  Chachamaru was clasping his hands as if begging out of Gackt’s sight.

                “E-eto… he played…”  Miyu stated and Gackt gave a nod as Chachamaru looked to relax a bit.

                “Hai… but was he making fun of me?”  Miyu watched Chachamaru beg more from the corner of her eye.

                “E…eto… I-I thought he was making fun of You-san or Ju-ken-san…”  Chachamaru turned and looked at You worriedly and the younger guitarist shook his head.

                “Ah… interesting…”  Gackt stated, Chachamaru quickly going back to eating, face slightly red.  Miyu was a bit red herself as she quietly ate.  You and Gackt attempted to ignore the quiet and continued chatting about almost random things for the rest of the dinner.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hope it was enjoyed by all ^^v Hopefully I will work faster on the next few-- because this simply took TOO long... lol
From now on also- I'm going to copy links to all previous chapters to stop any confusion ^^v which is going to take a ton of space but whatever >.> if the chapter is in parts- I'll simply place the first part as the link- the other links should be there... I will also figure out how to make it look pretty later ^^;;;
1 syramoon.livejournal.com/1099.html
2 syramoon.livejournal.com/1719.html
3 syramoon.livejournal.com/2220.html
4 syramoon.livejournal.com/2894.html
5 syramoon.livejournal.com/3093.html
6 syramoon.livejournal.com/3811.html
7 syramoon.livejournal.com/4246.html
8 syramoon.livejournal.com/4707.html
9 syramoon.livejournal.com/5116.html