Misfortune's Fortune -- Chapter 12

 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.
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 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… Marukatto 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 but 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.

Misfortune's Fortune -- Chapter 11

 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. Who 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 an 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.
 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.

Misfortune's Fortune -- Chapter 10

 The music shot up loud before dropping back down- almost making Miyu jump before Gackt began singing the beginning to Returner. Miyu stared, entranced by the soloist onstage before her eyes caught onto other people moving around onstage- mainly Chachamaru who was spinning in a circle. Miyu smiled and gave a soft laugh, causing Gackt to look over and the guitarist immediately received a dark glare from the annoyed vocalist. The cord was yanked out of the guitarist’s guitar by You stepping towards him and with the missing guitar the song sounded weird. Gackt stopped singing and Chachamaru blinked innocently at him.
 “Hm?” You abashedly picked the cord up and plugged it back into the guitar as the music came to a full halt.
 “No more spinning.” Gackt stated though the microphone, making Miyu giggle softly as the guitarist saluted him and nodded. Gackt gave a soft sigh, magnified by the microphone before the song was restarted.
 Half-way through, Gackt gestured to Ju-ken in the middle of a non-singing part and the bassist nodded, pausing to adjust a couple of the knobs on his bass. Miyu couldn’t help but smile a bit more as she watched the band continue to play.
 Partially through one of the next few songs, Miyu found herself staring at You before picking her drawing pad up, quickly beginning to draw. The woman kept glancing up at the band as they continued to practice, some songs stopping and restarting multiple times. Miyu continued along- flipping pages for multiple drawings before the band slowly wound down to a break after a long while. Miyu continued drawing- not looking up for a while before smiling, glancing up to see the band messing with their instruments for a second. Gackt was speaking with Ju-ken before Chachamaru plopped down beside Miyu.
 “Did you get bored or something?” Chachamaru gestured towards the drawing pad that Miyu had closed. The woman immediately blushed darkly.
 “N-no- I just have… inspiration… attacks…” Miyu claimed and Chachamaru blinked slightly.
 “Ah- like Satan-sama, ne?” Chachamaru gestured towards Gackt on-stage and Miyu blinked.
 “Eto…”
 “I heard that Chacha!” Gackt called to the troublesome guitarist who immediately looked like a kid in trouble as Ju-ken began laughing.
 “Kso… he heard me that time.” Chachamaru murmured and Miyu giggled softly. You clapped Chachamaru on the shoulder as he came up.
 “I hope you realize that the rest of practice is going to be hell for you…” Chachamaru nodded forlornly.
 “Indeed…” Chachamaru returned his attention to Miyu. “Anyways… what did you draw?” The guitarist looked honestly curious and Miyu blushed before opening the drawing pad up, flipping to the first drawing of You playing guitar. Miyu quietly flipped through the set of drawings slowly, not getting a response from either band member until she shut the book in embarrassment.
 “Wow…” You spoke first but fell silent again.
 “Those were amazing!” Chachamaru stated and Miyu blushed more.
 “Arigatou…” She responded before the notebook was suddenly missing, Chachamaru running off back towards the stage.
 “Gakkun! Look at your girlfriend’s drawings!” Gackt blinked as he turned around at Chachamaru’s loud yell, the soloist’s face taking on a red tinge. Miyu ran after Chachamaru- leaving You to blink after them. As Chachamaru came to a stop- Miyu slammed into him- sending the drawing pad flying. Ju-ken held tight to his bass with one hand and ran back a bit- grabbing the book with a grin. Gackt blinked at Miyu and Chachamaru lying on the ground from the edge of the stage.
 “Eto… Are you two all right?”
 “I’m okay!” Chachamaru and Miyu called up, despite the latter holding her head in pain, both of them pulling themselves up from the ground.
 “Hey, these are really good!” Ju-ken exclaimed, walking back over towards Gackt, the vocalist looking over at the bassist curiously. Ju-ken moved beside Gackt, holding the drawing pad down for the soloist to look at. “I really like my drawing…” Gackt quietly took the small notebook and began flipped through it, pausing to look at a few before smiling slightly.
 “I like it too- even if you’re not playing.” Ju-ken gave a laugh.
 “I was thirsty.”
 “I can see that,” Gackt gave a smile, “half the bottle’s gone. I didn’t think it was my imagination that your water bottle suddenly became a newer one.” Miyu blushed slightly as she carefully came closer, still looking to be in a bit of pain. Gackt continued flipping pages before pausing again- looking carefully at the drawing.
 “She’s good, ne Gakkun?” Gackt paused at Chachamaru’s comment, the guitarist holding out an ice pack for Miyu. Miyu took the ice pack gratefully, applying it to her head with a soft ‘thank you’ before Gackt spoke.
 “She deserves better than good Chacha. She’s an amazing artist.” The soloist gave the blushing Miyu a smile, flipping the book around to show the finely done drawing of himself. “This is amazing Mi-chan.” Miyu gave an abashed nod, face turning even redder. There was a pause before Miyu’s cell phone went off, making the artist blink in surprise and pull it out.
 “Who is it?” Chachamaru asked in curiosity.
 “Hyde-san.” The woman stated softly, still bright red. She quickly answered, “Moshi mo-”
 “Kusokurae kisama!” Hyde’s voice was loud enough to make everyone in the area stop and stare at Miyu holding her phone away from her head, staring at it blankly as there were a few loud crashes and a bit of yelling. Gackt was blinking before he set the drawing pad aside and held his hand out for Miyu’s phone. The woman paused before willingly handing it over, sounds of a fight still echoing from it.
 “Hyde-kun?” Gackt questioned the phone, receiving no answer. Ju-ken laughed slightly, shaking his head.
 “Don’t bother- he’s probably getting stuck in a cabinet or trash can by Ken.” A slight laugh went around, save for Gackt, Miyu, and You.
 “Dynamite comes in small packages…” Miyu murmured to herself and Gackt nodded as someone picked the phone up. L’arc~en~Ciel’s drummer spoke in a quiet voice to someone else.
 “What should we do about his call?” Yukihiro seemed highly worried before there was a sigh and movement.
 “Moshi moshi~?” Tetsu spoke strongly before telling Yukihiro to split up the fighting pair.
 “Tetsu-san, how are you?” Gackt asked as Miyu began to pale, the soloist putting the phone on speakerphone. “It’s Gackt. Why is Hyde-kun calling Mi-chan’s phone during my practice?”
 “We were on break!” Chachamaru yelled. Tetsu gave a soft sigh.
 “Seems like Doiha wanted Miyu-san here and to treat her to dinner with himself, Yukki-kun, and Ken-kun.”
 “Itai! Tet-chan! Make him stop!” Gackt gave a laugh at Ken’s loud yell as Hyde continued to yell at the guitarist in both English and Japanese.
 “Itai! That was me- not Ken-chan, Haido-kun!” Yukki called before the scuffle was heard close- there was a high-pitched noise and everything became silent. GacktJob and Miyu were staring at the phone held in Gackt’s hand as Tetsu spoke in a soft voice to his band.
 “Eto… Moshi moshi… Gacchan.” Hyde sounded a little shaky- the vocalist breathing a bit heavily.
 “Moshi moshi Hyde-kun. So why were you calling Mi-chan?” Gackt’s voice almost sounded like it had a smile in it. There was a long pause.
 “I wanted to invite her to dinner with Yukki-kun and myself.” Hyde stated, almost sounding spiteful.
 “Aw dammit… I wanted a free dinner…” Was Ken’s faintly heard reply.
 “Shine!” Hyde nearly shrieked at the guitarist, making Gackt, Ju-ken, and Miyu- the three closest o the phone- wince from its shrillness. L’arc~en~Ciel’s vocalist continued normally, “I was thinking about inviting Kazu-kun as well. But if she’s at your practice- then you’re probably taking her out…” Hyde almost sounded sad for a second.
 “Oi! You’re going to invite Kaz but not me?!” Ju-ken called to the phone.
 “Gacchan! Why am I on speakerphone?!” The vocalist yelped loudly and there was a laugh followed by another “Shine!” There was a slight pause.
 “Eto- you’re on speakerphone because frankly- I’m worried about losing my hearing and… it’s more fun.” Gackt received a loud sigh for his grinning comment.
 “Ju-kun! I’m sorry- I thought you’d be in practice. Like usual when I attempt to invite you out.” There was a long pause. “Eto… Miyu-chan?”?
 “H-Hai?”
 “Ah good! How are you?” Hyde asked happily. Miyu blinked and Gackt sighed.
 “Good?”
 “That’s good to hear… eto … Have fun with Gacchan today~! I’ll talk to you later Ju-kun!” There was a slight pause. “E-eto Bye!” As the phone left the vocalist’s ear there was a soft “N-now Tet-chan…” before the line fell silent.
 “Well that was interesting.” Chachamaru stated as Gackt shut the phone and put it away in his pocket. Miyu blinked at him.
 “Back to practice!” Gackt called out, looking slightly pleased.
 “Damn…” Chachamaru sighed and the band slowly made their way back to the stage, Gackt handing back Miyu’s sketchpad with a smile.
 “I promise I’ll try to wrap up fast Mi-chan, so we can hurry to dinner.” The vocalist pulled away, leaving Miyu in a state of confusion. She stood there for a second with her notebook before beginning to retreat back.
 “Miyu-chan~!” Chachamaru called after the artist. “Why don’t you play my guitar part for me?” Miyu immediately shook her head as You gave a deep sigh.
 “She doesn’t know the part Chacha. Stop trying to goof off and put your guitar on.” Ju-ken stated, strumming over his bass.
 “She can make it up- I can see her calluses, I know she plays.” Chachamaru shot at Ju-ken before smiling at Miyu. “Wanna play?” Gackt stayed strangely silent- watching Chachamaru and Miyu closely as the latter shook her head again, holding her drawing pad to herself.
 “N-no thank you…” You shot Gackt a curious look as the vocalist still didn’t intervene as Chachamaru continued attempting to get Miyu to play instead of him. Ju-ken also shot him a glance as Chachamaru actually tried handing his guitar to Miyu.
 “Chacha… leave her alone.” Gackt finally spoke and the guitarist immediately pulled away from Miyu- hearing the tone in the vocalist’s voice. Chachamaru quickly moved to the stage and joined the rest of the band. Miyu gave a deep sigh of relief, quickly moving to take a seat and the practice continued after a short silence.
 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- sounding almost sarcastic.
 “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. 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.

Misfortune's Fortune -- Chapter 9

 Miyu’s cell phone was singing to her as she woke in a cold sweat. She quickly got to her feet, holding her head in pain before running to get her phone.
 “Moshi moshi… Alkit-san desu…”
 “You know I know what that means…” A female voice spoke in English. “I learned that in 1201.”
 “Sis… gomen…” Miyu winced slightly and Syra paused.
 “You… have a hangover.” The elder woman stated slowly.
 “Yes… it hurts, I slept in my chair too.” There was an extremely long pause.
 “Are you alone?”
 “Yes… what?” Syra paused again.
 “Ashley says that… he’s gone. She doesn’t know how or exactly when… but he’s gone.” Miyu froze, staring at her table. “I asked a favor of Patrick… He’s making sure to call me if he leaves… and where he’s going.” They both knew that the conversation was vague but both knew the subject. “Sis… You have to be more careful. I’ll know if he pops up in your area… I asked Pat-kun to watch his credit cards.” Miyu’s breathing was shallow, “Sis, talk to me.”
 “I… I’ll be all right.” Miyu shivered, taking a seat in the chair she’d slept in.
 “That’s what you said… then too…”
 “I’ve been having nightmares again. Just recently…”
 “Tell me.”
 “He was in my apartment and had killed someone, blood was all over the place… He didn’t say anything, just started towards me with a knife… and then…” Miyu trailed off.
 “Sissy-chan… you actually saw another person?”
 “Yes…” Miyu curled up more in her chair, staying quiet for a second. “Gackt was on the ground.” There was a long silence between the sisters.
 “Sis… I knew you liked him as an artist... thought he’s hot too… but… why do you think he was there and why has no one else been there before?” There was a long silence.
 “I don’t know… All I know is how upset it made me to see his arm with the bracelet all bloody on the kitchen floor…” Miyu held her knees tight to her chest.
 “It’ll be all right… Gackt-san is a big boy… He can probably beat the hell out of… him.” Syra stated and Miyu leaned against the chair back, eyes closed.
 “I know…” There was a long pause between the two.
 “I have to get back to work… Look- if anything happens Sis… get away and either call me or… or call Gackt.” Miyu blinked in surprise at Gackt’s name.
 “Why him?”
 “Because… he’s closer and quite honestly, I have an odd feeling about everything now… Keep him close… I don’t want anyone hurt.” Miyu gave a deep sigh.
 “He has a key… I’ll be fine.”
 “You… all ready gave him a key?” Syra sounded shocked.
 “No- he stole mine and made a copy.” Syra paused before laughing.
 “Yeah- you’ll be fine- he gives more of a damn than I thought!” Syra quieted down. “I’ll give you a ring if Patrick or Pat-kun gives me a ring.”
 “All right… take care Sis.”
 “You take care- I’m fine.”
 “I promise.”
 “Good… I’ll talk to you later.” Syra sounded hesitant.
 “Kay… bye…” Miyu hung up and stayed against the chair before getting to her feet and going over the table, pulling her artist folder towards her and going into her dining area. She moved everything from the table to a chair and spread her drawings out on the table. She ran to her bedroom, pulling some more drawing supplies from her closet.
 The huge piece of paper was still blank. The pieces of armor were all drawn, details quite prominent. Miyu quietly began drawing on the paper, giving a deep sigh as she continued working on the character drawing. She got up later after having stared at it for an hour, attempting to figure out exactly the body-type of the hero, going into her kitchen. She grabbed an instant ramen from her cabinet and quickly made it. She came back, standing in her doorway as she ate, staring at all the pieces of paper, trying to get her mind away from the last night. She grabbed a piece of paper after a second and her pencil, scribbling notes down on it as she ate a bit.
 She quietly finished off her short lunch and sat back down, leaving the empty ramen cup on the table. An idea had struck while she’d been scribbling notes. She began drawing once again, sketching out the outline of a man.
 Two hours later found Miyu blasting music from her TV on the wall. L’Arc~en~Ciel’s Revelation was playing until it switched to Gackt’s Mizerable. Miyu was looking to be fairly done with quite a bit of the drawing as compared to earlier. She was adding in some of the pieces of armor on the man’s legs as she hummed along with the song. The song paused suddenly and Miyu frowned.
 “Damn thing keeps skipping…” The artist finished the line she’d been drawing before getting to her feet. The song started again and she moved to return to her drawing before realizing that the background was missing. “Ah shit… not the speakers…” She murmured before coming to another conclusion. The voice was behind her. Miyu whirled and Gackt gave a slight wave, finishing the line of the song.
 “How are you feeling?” Miyu moved slightly nervously from one foot to another.
 “I’m fine. How are you?”
 “Fine as well.” Gackt tilted his head slightly at Miyu. “Are you sure?” Miyu gave a nod with a slight smile.
 “I didn’t hear you knock- sorry.” Gackt gave a slight smile in return.
 “I’m not surprised- you can hear that out in the hallway.” The soloist gestured towards the TV system and a flush came to Miyu’s face.
 “G-Gomen…” The woman quietly took the remote from Gackt’s hands as she walked towards the television set, pulling her MP3 player from being attached to the stereo as she shut everything off.
 “Ah…” The soloist paused for a second before speaking, “Would you like to come to a band practice and… I can take you out afterwards…” Miyu blinked at the soloist as she began turning redder, eyes moving to the sketches on the table. She still had to figure out some more details and then color the whole thing.
 “Eto…” Miyu bit down on her lip as Gackt followed her gaze to the table.
 “Ah… Sorry- I should have asked if you had something else to do…” Miyu bit her lip after Gackt’s statement, but… I’m stuck again… maybe seeing them rehearse will give me a flash of inspiration…
 “No it’s fine… Are you sure it wouldn’t be too much trouble?” Gackt gave a slight smile at the woman’s question.
 “No trouble at all… We should get going.” Miyu cheered inside before quickly grabbing a smaller sketchbook and a couple pencils before running after Gackt. The soloist gave her an odd smile. “Afraid you might get bored?”
 “N… no…” Miyu smiled at him. “Never know when inspiration will strike…” The soloist gave a chuckle as she grabbed her phone and keys to follow him out the door, quickly locking up behind herself. Gackt followed her down the stairs, the woman moving quickly to not make him late. He quickly caught her arm as she tripped, making sure she didn’t fall down the stairs.
 “Careful Mi-chan…” Miyu blinked at him, “Maybe we should’ve taken the elevator?”
 “Eto… I didn’t want to make you late… the elevator’s slow…” The woman quickly continued down the stairs, making Gackt follow.
 “It’s all right… we have enough time- please don’t hurt yourself.” Miyu turned even redder as they reached the ground floor and she led Gackt to an outside door and there was a slight pause.
 “Eto… where is your car?” Miyu asked and Gackt bit at his lip.
 “Actually… We’re within walking distance of the studio…” Gackt confessed with a soft, slightly abashed smile. Miyu blinked.
 “You walked?”
 “Hai.”
 “Weren’t you worried about some group of fangirls pulling you into a dark ally and having their way with you?” There was a pause.
 “I’ll admit… the thought never crossed my mind.” Miyu gave a sigh, crossing her arms slightly.
 “I wonder if your fellow band members think you got kidnapped…” Miyu bit at her lip for lecturing the rock star suddenly.
 “I’m sure they’re enjoying themselves talking about it…” Gackt quietly pulled his jacket more around him, beginning down the street with Miyu behind him. The woman bit at her lip nervously, looking around for anyone to jump the soloist but she was surprised to not see anyone really paying attention. Miyu found herself questioning if everything was real for a while until some talking caught her ear- Gackt oddly silent as he led her towards the studio.
 “Is that Gackt-sama?”
 “Like hell… looks like an impersonator with his girlfriend…” Miyu’s face burned softly.
 “You’re right… not wearing anything like what Gackt-sama wears…” There was a long pause between Gackt and Miyu as they walked before the soloist spoke.
 “Is there some particular style I wear?”
 “Eto… fancy clothing? Nice stuff I guess…” Miyu bit at her lip. There was another pause.
 “It’s just things that I like… If I like the styling of some things it doesn’t mean I parade around in them all the time…” Miyu held back a giggle at the thought of the soloist ‘parading’ around in his clothing and nodded instead in response. “Do they expect me to be a fashion model every time I walk out the door- to have every hair in place?” There was a short pause.
 “Probably?” Miyu bit at her lip, realizing how meek her voice sounded and Gackt’s eyes met hers for a second- the soloist seeming confused. I think he’s perfect like this… hair messed up, no make-up, plain clothing… He’s a human just like the rest of us- even if he is a sex god onstage…
 “Mi-chan, what do you think?” Gackt suddenly asked and Miyu almost jumped- thrown off her train of thought.
 “N-nani?”
 “Do you think that- as an idol in the public eye- should we be expected to be perfect in look all the time?” Gackt asked and Miyu’s eyes went forward, thinking about something with a faraway look and a frown.
 “No.” Miyu shook her head with a sigh. “No- I don’t think you should… after all- the rest of us aren’t held to such high standards and we’re all human…” Short pause with Miyu feeling nervous, “I mean that’s not to say that you shouldn’t look decent- but it’s okay if you have a bad hair day or wish to walk around without makeup- the paparazzi shouldn’t have a field day with it.” Miyu quickly clamped her mouth shut before she could speak anymore- trying not to embarrass herself. Gackt seemed to consider her words before agreeing with them, the soloist’s head bobbing up and down.
 “Hai, hai…” Gackt sent Miyu a smile and the woman blushed slightly. “It’s very true… we’re all human… but in saying that- we still shouldn’t make stupid mistakes… such as drugs or doing the wrong things while under the influence of something.”
 “No person should. It’s part of human nature though to do such things…” Miyu bit her lip- looking down at the ground. “Take… me and Sugizo-san for example.” There was a long pause.
 “What you and Sugizo-san did wasn’t really stupid per say though or wrong…”
 “We made quite the scene between the two of us though- I consider that stupid considering who he is and you and Miyavi-san.” There was a pause.
 “Do you remember calling him Meev-kun?” The look on Miyu’s face told Gackt all he wanted to know- that she remembered and disliked the thought. “Eto… we’re almost there.” The soloist gave Miyu a smile- attempting to cheer her up. “No attacks from rabid fangirls Mi-chan.” Miyu blinked up and around.
 “Don’t jinx it now!” Miyu blinked at seeing no one and glanced at Gackt almost guiltily.
 “It’s fine Mi-chan…” The soloist took a left down a side path and guided Miyu past two extremely strong looking bodyguards with a slight wave. The woman felt nervous as she followed him into the building- seeing the bodyguard’s shocked looks.
 “Aah! Gaku! We were going to start taking bets on what happened to you!” A loud voice stated. Miyu blinked at the man and realized that she’d drawn the attention of all those working on the stage.
 “Hm? Is this her?” One man had come forward, his guitar in hand.
 “Ah, hai.” Gackt looked at Miyu almost too happily. “Mi-chan this is GacktJob,” The soloist turned towards the stage, “Everyone, this is Miyu- she’ll be sitting in on the practice today.”
 “Oooh ‘Mi-chan’.” The man with the purple shirt nudged the guitarist beside him- receiving two dark looks in return- one from Gackt and one from the guitarist. The man sighed, “Ah… all right.” Miyu hadn’t been more confused except when she woke up from the accident.
 The guitarist gave a formal bow- holding the guitar to him, “Nice to meet you Miyu, it’s good to see you awake. I’m You.” The calm guitarist gestured to the purple-shirted man, “This is Chachamaru, I apologize for him…” Miyu blinked before bowing in return.
 “Eto… nice to meet you, You-san… I remember you playing violin in the hospital…” Gackt, You, and Chachamaru blinked at her before a man with red and black hair called out to them.
 “Told you people in a coma can hear stuff!” He laughed, chatting with a person beside him as his fingers played across a bass, looking like he was talking about eh turning or the large amp beside it.
 “Aw damn- there goes that bet… You win Ju-ken.” Chachamaru called to the mixed color haired man. Miyu blinked in confusion before Ju-ken stood up- looking over at Chachamaru with a grin.
 “Heh, you should know that I would’ve won!” Ju-ken moved his gaze to Miyu. “Ah! Hyde-kun said something about you… I think it was… ah yeah- “Gacchan likeable”… I think.” Ju-ken tilted his head at an odd look from Gackt. “What? I’m not allowed to talk to my other vocalist?” Gackt gave a soft sigh.
 “Of course you are allowed… We should get practice started.” Chachamaru retreated, aiming for a guitar as You tilted his head in curiosity- watching Gackt turn towards Miyu. “Mi-chan, let me take you to a seat…” Miyu gave a confused, half-blushing nod as the soloist led her to a chair, gently allowing her to sit before smiling softly. “Maybe you should come up and sing a song?” The soloist jokingly inquired.
 Miyu paled at the statement, eyes not meeting Gackt’s. “N-no that’s a horrible idea…” Gackt was surprised, taken aback by her response to him.
 “I… I’m sorry for suggesting it if it upsets you that much.” Miyu felt a flush come into her pale face, feeling a few sets of eyes on her.
 “No- it’s not that… I… have horrible stage fright… I can’t perform at all…” Gackt blinked at her before nodding.
 “I understand.” He smiled softly, “I hope you enjoy our practice. Maybe you can tell me if something should be adjusted.” The soloist quickly moved away and to one side of the stage, leaving Miyu in her seat, the woman still pale but slightly redder. She moved slightly and looked at her sketchbook, flipping it open to look at a drawing on a page before moving her gaze back up to the stage.
 Ju-ken had picked up his bass, slinging it around his shoulders, making sure it was in tune before he grinned up at the rest of the band. You was strumming slightly on his guitar before Chachamaru walked over to him, it looking like the two were tuning to each other. The few other people onstage cleared off to a couple areas as Gackt started towards the microphone.
 “Aah so… I place a bet on… his screwing up lyrics…” Chachamaru stated to You and the latter rolled his eyes as Gackt glared over darkly, able to hear them. Chachamaru smiled almost worriedly at Gackt, speaking under his breath to You, “Hello Satan-sama- don’t send me to hell yet…” You gave a snort of laughter and spiraled away from his fellow guitarist. Gackt shook his head and returned his attention to the microphone in front of him.

Misfortune's Fortune -- Chapter 8

 Multiple car trips later found Miyu wondering what the hell she’d gotten into. They’d barely caught Miyavi waving people away and he’d immediately invited all his “Kabuki Boiz” back for a club trip… and there had also been Miyavi’s random glomp attack of Miyu that had gone something like:
 “Ah- this is Miyu.” Gackt had stated.
 “Oh cool- nice to meet you.” Miyavi’s “calm” reaction before he suddenly- for a six-foot tall man- attack glomped Miyu, chatting like they were old friends. “How are you?! Are you okay? Great, right? Hospitals suck!” Miyu had swayed, choked out a noise and caught an odd look on Gackt’s face before the 5’5” Miyu fell backwards and hit the ground.
 “Mi-chan!”
 Miyu could still feel the bump on her head where she’d hit the pavement. Gackt had freaked and so had Miyavi- the ADD soloist had started asking extremely quickly “Are you okay?” over and over again. The younger soloist had given her an ice pack- from a freezer full of them- and they had chatted for a short time before piling into Miyavi’s limo- parked close by for the Kabuki Boiz to leave. Gackt had kept an arm tight around her shoulder almost the whole time as if protecting her from the over exuberant Miyavi.
 “Your head’s still all right, ne?” Miyu smiled at the man in front of her.
 “Hai- I’m fine.” Miyu responded- holding a newer ice pack to the front of her head. The man, one of Miyavi’s Kabuki Boiz, gave her a wave, the peace sign and wander off. Miyu watched him for a second before her eyes met another set across the room. Sugizo quickly looked back down at his drink, the guitarist’s face red from drinking too much too quickly. Miyu bit her lip before wincing at the small knot on the side of her head. With the rest of the group in the limo- Gackt had protectively took her inside Sugizo’s house away from Miyavi.
 Sugizo had answered the door- said something intelligible and darted away. Gackt gave a soft sigh and stepped inside. Miyu had moved to join him but Sugizo rushed part- attempting to slam the door with most of his makeup done. The door bounced off of Miyu’s head as she heard something about a barn.
“Mi-chan!”
“Fucking young people- Miyavi-san does…”
The guitarist hadn’t even seen her standing there and felt really awful about it afterwards… Well- that was after he realized she was actually there- despite Gackt having to help her to get another ice pack. Miyu was fairly annoyed at herself though for how she’d acted after the second bit of head damage.
 Gackt had held her up and carefully picked her up as her head spun. “Mi-chan- are you all right?”
 “Gacchan… wha hit me?” Miyu’s head felt like it was spinning in place, the woman holding to Gackt’s shirt as if it was a lifeline.
 “Ah… the door Mi-chan…” He lifted her up higher as Sugizo ran past- hair hitting through where Mi-chan was.
 “Is there a red blur in here Gacchan?” Gackt gave a slight smile.
 “No Mi-chan- that’s Sugizo…” There was a slight pause.
 “Syra thinks he’s sexy…” Gackt almost tripped over his own feet. “She has lotsa pictures on her computer… I dunno where she got some... He’s naked.” Miyu’s head was still spinning around and around.
 “W-what?”
 “She finds too many pictures… She’s scares me Gacchan…” Short pause, “You smell good… Platinum Egotist?” Gackt gave another soft smile- despite his surprise.
 “Hai…” Gackt set her down on Sugizo’s chair and the woman whimpered slightly at Gackt going to the fridge. “I’ll be back.” As the soloist retrieved a new ice pack, he heard a soft thump and turned around quickly. “Mi-chan…” The woman lay out on the table- out cold. A worried look ran across Gackt’s face as the soloist gently applied the ice pack to the knot forming on Miyu’s head and watched Sugizo rush around until Miyu woke up.
 “Gackt-san- what’s going on?”
 “Sugizo-san’s still getting ready…” He looked at her curiously. “Why aren’t you still calling me Gacchan?” Miyu blushed with eyes wide.
 “I… ah… what?”
 “I must’ve been the head damage.” Sugizo- almost a blur- sprinted past.
 “Eto… Who’s that Gackt-san?”
 “Gacchan- that was Sugizo-san.”
 “Oh… he moves fast… how’d I get here?” Miyu sat up with a bit of help before she realized that Gackt was holding an ice pack to her head. “Ah… did I walk into something?”
 “Ah… no… Sugizo-san accidently hit you with the door.”
 “Oh… I… didn’t say anything weird- right?” There was an extremely long pause.
 “Not at all.” Gackt answered finally with an odd smile and Miyu blinked before another voice spoke.
 “How long has she been on my table?” Sugizo questioned, holding a jacket under one arm and checking his hair in a small handheld mirror.
 “About 5 minutes- you hit Mi-chan with the door and I’ve been taking care of her.” Gackt smiled at the now wide-eyed Sugizo.
 “Oh shit.” Sugizo said at the same time as Miyu- the latter’s memory having come back in full suddenly.
 Miyu frowned at her drink before she took a few more sips. Miyavi and Gackt were around somewhere- the younger had drug the elder off for a “talk” about 30 minutes ago. She heard footsteps again and smiled faintly. “I’m fine- I swear.” She blinked in surprise at Sugizo.
 “That’s good to hear.” The guitarist swayed on his feet slightly, “Look- I’m so sorry that I hit you with the door… I swear I didn’t see you there…” In the short time that Sugizo had spoken- Miyu had drunk the rest of her drink and half of another, thinking of her sister.
 “It’s all right. The alcohol is drowning the pain out a bit and the ice packs work good.”
 “That’s good…” The guitarist blinked, “Oh- my ice pack… I didn’t realize that you still had it.” As the two talked, they seemed to drink a bit more than alone, Miyu only thinking of the embarrassment she caused for her sister and Sugizo stuck on the door still.
--------------------------------------------------------------
 “You just have to go for it. I can’t believe you- I thought that you were better.” Miyavi patted Gackt on the back, the latter looking slightly annoyed as he held his drink.
 “Can I go check on Miyu-chan now?”
 “Oh- I almost forgot! What’d you think of that drink? Miyu-chan is fine. That drink is only served here.”
 “Miyavi-kun… I’m going to check on Mi-chan.” Gackt got to his feet.
 “I’ll go with!” Miyavi happily god up and followed after Gackt. The taller soloist ran into the shorter when Gackt stopped suddenly. “Eh?”
 Sugizo and Miyu each had an arm around each other’s necks, sitting on the floor- looking as if they were doing shots.
 “To hide!” They both downed a drink with Miyu’s comment as they burst into a new round of tears- the make-up Sugizo had worked so hard on running down his face.
 “I’m sorry I hit you with the door!” Another drink disappeared and Miyu sniffled loudly.
 “I’m sorry I told Gacchan about Syra’s picture fetish!” Sugizo gave a loud wail- making even more people stare.
 “I’m sorry I took those pictures!” Miyu gave a loud sob in return to that.
 “I’m sorry she found them!” Sugizo sobbed again in response.
 “Dear god they’re creating one hell of a scene…” Miyavi stated before smiling, “I’m proud.” He felt a soft touch to his arm and glanced down to see Gackt’s empty glass touching his arm. “Eh?”
 “I think I need another.” The older soloist stated, eyes fixed on Sugizo and Miyu.
 “Um… I think we should get them out of here actually…” Miyavi gave an almost sweet smile and Gackt softly sighed.
 “I need another drink to get them out then.” Miyavi gave a sigh before taking the glass.
 “She’s just drunk.” The young soloist rolled his eyes as he walked away. Gackt took a deep breath before starting over towards the still sobbing Miyu and Sugizo.
 “I’m sorry I killed my fish when I was 10!” Miyu called out, taking another shot of liquor with Sugizo.
 “I’m sorry I almost killed my dog when I was 7!” Sugizo wiped his face off on both his shoulder and Miyu’s sleeve.
 “I…” Miyu blinked up at Gackt- now standing above her and Sugizo and finishing the drink that Miyavi had retrieved. “I-I’m sorry about telling you about Sis’s pics!” Miyu had unlatched herself from Sugizo and had gotten to her feet to drunkenly latch both arms around Gackt’s neck, sobbing and hiccupping into the surprised soloist’s neck. “I’m sorry you got hurt when I pushed you out of the way… I’m sorry that you feel obligated to go out of your way for me… I’m sorry…” Gackt gave a slight shake of his head but held Miyu up- running a hand up and down her back. Miyavi came by- grabbing Gackt’s glass and placing it on the counter.
 “You’re going to regret that- that was almost straight vodka you dumbass.” Miyavi gave him a thumbs-up, despite the shot at the end. “I all ready got everything paid.” The taller soloist leaned down to the still crying Sugizo who blinked up at him- black still on his face from the running mascara.
 “I’m sorry I’m such a prick and focused on looks and a perfecti… perfecty-person…” Sugizo blinked almost innocently and Miyavi paused before looking back at Gackt almost hopefully.
 “Can I keep him drunk? He’s nicer…” Gackt gave a short of laughter and shook his head.
 “Meev-kun… You forgive me?” Sugizo asked in a small voice and Miyavi clapped the older guitarist on the shoulder.
 “Wouldn’t have you any other way Sugi-kun.” Miyavi gave a smile, “Let’s get you up and home.” Sugizo smiled back before Miyavi helped him up before looking at Gackt, “I wish I had a recorder for that…” Gackt shook his head as the two soloists began taking their drunken charges towards the door.
 “As so I… Simply to play that back for him during any practice.” Gackt gently guided Miyu ahead of himself, a gently hold on her arm.
 “I’m sorry Gacchan… I never call you that.” Miyu apologized.
 “It’s okay Mi-chan… you are now.” Gackt gave her a soft smile and she gave a slightly fretting smile. Miyavi, walking ahead of Gackt and Miyu with Sugizo’s arm over one shoulder, gave a slight smile too.
 Sugizo, despite still halfway crying for some odd reason, had a smile on his face. The older guitarist suddenly turned to look at Miyavi and Gackt could sense trouble. “I love you Meevers.” The taller man immediately froze to the guitarist slurred statement and seemed to build himself up for a second to yell at the older man.
 “Remember- he’s drunk.” Gackt called to Miyavi- the younger immediately gave a deep sigh.
 “Like… love…like…like…” Sugizo half hugged Miyavi suddenly which made the apparently not as drunk Miyu giggle. “I r…respect you lots…” Sugizo smiled, tears still running down his face. “I love you… like…”
 “Brotherly love?” Gackt questioned, attempting to save face for Sugizo.
 “Hai… sou desu…” Sugizo gave a wide smile.
 “Good cos I have someone who would be very angry with me if they heard you saying that earlier stuff alone…” Miyavi muttered darkly.
 “Ooh!” Sugizo managed to focus both eyes on Miyavi for a second. “That’s why you’re leaving the PSC?” The drunk guitarist received a glare for the question.
 “How fast do you want to be left in a ditch Sugizo-san?” Miyavi growled darkly- out of character for the ADD soloist- and Gackt blinked in surprise.
 “Be nice Miyavi-kun, no matter what he says- he’ll be less nice tomorrow.” Gackt stated as the four made it outside and also received a glare and some muttering in Korean from the younger man.
 “Meev-kun…” Miyu echoed Sugizo’s drunken call for the soloist, “How am I going home?” Miyavi blinked for a second before smiling slightly.
 “Gacchan can take you home…”
 “Sh sh shh…” Sugizo held a hand over Miyavi’s mouth, “That’s a bad idea Meev-kun…” Miyu seemed confused- a slightly blushing Gackt still holding her up.
 “I can’t? I’m not going home?” Miyu looked at Gackt in confusion.
 “No- we’ll make sure you’re safe…” Gackt replied and Miyu smiled, hugging Gackt.
 “Thank you…” The woman gently pressed a kiss to the surprised Gackt’s cheek.
 “Y-You’re welcome…”
 Miyavi smirked back at Gackt, “We’ll take good care of her.” The soloist laid Sugizo out in the limo when they reached it.
 “Eh?” The guitarist blinked in confusion.
 “Stay- rest- sleep- something.” Miyavi quickly moved back to the limo’s door. “Miyu-chan.” Miyavi held his hand out for Miyu’s and Miyu smiled, taking it with a glance at Gackt. Miyavi gently pulled Miyu up into the limo- the woman leaning against the soloist as Gackt joined them.
 “Where’d you friends go?” Miyu asked, appearing a bit more sober.
 “Home- after seeing you and Sugihara making such a huge scene, I told them to go.”
 “Oh… Gomen nasai Meev-kun… they were really nice…” Gackt gently pulled Miyu to sit down and Miyavi got his seat too, the car quickly starting away.
 “How was that drink Gacchan?” Miyavi asked and Gackt gave a slight nod.
 “Good very interesting flavor.” Gackt paused as a snoring noise started. “Hm… Sugizo-san seems asleep…”
 “Hai, sou~ ne.” Miyavi smirked. “I almost want to dye his hair.”
 “Now that’s a bad idea.” Gackt gave a soft chuckle and Miyu gently snuggled against the man- her eyes closed.
 “Hm… how does she ever put up with the amount of Platinum Egotist you wear? She’s not gagging or anything.” Miyavi shook his head, “I never thought I’d see that…” Gackt gave Miyavi a soft glare and the younger man chuckled slightly. “I get to text her, right?”
 “I… suppose.” Gackt stated begrudgingly and Miyu blinked up at him.
 “Meev-kun’s going to text me?”
 “Hai…” Gackt replied. Sugizo moved onto his side, snoring slightly still.
 “Ah… sugoi…” Miyu slightly snuggled against Gackt more as Miyavi gave a wide grin, holding up the peace sign. Gackt rolled his eyes as Miyavi turned, holding a card in his hand, towards the driver.
 “This address.” Miyavi got a nod and tossed the card to Gackt, “Here you go.” Gackt gave a sigh, pushing Miyu’s driver’s license into her pocket.
 “Eh?” Miyu blinked at Gackt before looking to Miyavi. “You stole my wallet?”
 “Nooo…” Short pause. “Borrowed.” Miyavi bit at his lip ring for a second. “It’s back already…”
 “It’s okay Mi-chan…” Gackt ran a hand across her hair and Miyu blinked up at him before nodding softly. Miyavi returned a note of attention to the still dozing Sugizo- pulling a pen from the door and snickering. “Miyavi-kun… I wouldn’t do that…”
 “I’ll be okay.” Miyavi leaned over to draw on the older guitarist’s face. He didn’t quite get the pen to his face and blinked at Sugizo having a hold of his sleeve.
 “Don’t.” Sugizo muttered.
 “Yes sir.” Miyavi immediately drew back like a child scared of a parent. Gackt gave a soft chuckle, Miyu blinking over at Sugizo and Miyavi. The car came to a stop and Miyavi smiled at Miyu. “Your stop…” Miyu blinked as Gackt helped her up a bit.
 “Really?” She smiled, “Thanks!” Miyu quickly began out the car door but Miyavi caught her arm, a serious look on his face as he spoke extremely quiet.
 “Be careful with Gacchan, right?” Miyu stared like he had three heads and he continued, “He really cares about you… just be careful with him. He’ll be back tomorrow.” Miyavi let her go and she blinked again before the limo pulled away and Miyu went inside the apartment building.
 She quickly reached the fifth floor, using the wall to walk straight. She unlocked her door and went inside, managing to lock it behind her again before dropping all of her things onto the table nearby. She moved quietly before collapsing on the chair she came to. She curled quietly up and quickly drifted off to sleep.