FANFIC: "Tiger Tamer" (Ch 3: An Ominous Feeling) (The GazettE- Aoi & Uruha)
Title: Tiger Tamer: Ch 3: An Ominous Feeling
Pairings: Aoi x Uruha, Reita x Aoi (friendship), Reita x Uruha (friendship), Aoi x Kai (flirtation), (More to come?)
Writer: black_prophet (Midsummer_Slave)
Genre: AU, Sci-Fi with Angst & Smut
Rating: PG13 (For Now)
Warning: None so far.
A/N: Chapter 3 is finally here! So this took a little longer than expected and is a little rocky but we had some things to start here... Hope you guys enjoy the Chapter!
Summary: Kouyou has settled into his life, he has an apartment and a killer roommate, as well as another great friend who's always over. Akira is his best friend as well as his roommate, and just happens to be waiting for his past to catch up with him. Unfortunately, it's about to catch up with Kouyou as well.
Disclaimer: I do not now, nor will I ever, claim to own The GazettE (though I do have several CDs & Concert DVDs and a LOT of pictures). They belong to themselves and each other. This fic and the world it is set in is completely the product of my imagination. I do all my own stunts writing. Please do not attempt these techniques at home. Please do not repost this whole or in part anywhere, do not steal the location or plot, do not write a sequel/side-fic etc. No Beta (sorry for mistakes, I try to spare you).
Previous Ch: "Summary & Bios" "Ch 1: Unlikely Beginnings" "Ch 2: The Unwanted"
***
Where are you going? Flat black eyes watched the honey-haired male slink through the crowd, narrowing as a side door opened just wide enough to admit the lithe body and then closed behind him. Fighting the urge to snap his teeth and surge after the departing stranger, Yuu contented himself to wrapping around his partner who carried lingering traces of that sought-after honeyed-sugar scent.
Twisting to speak against the other male’s ear, he smiled as his dance partner shuddered in his arms. “What did you say your name was again?”
Grinning as he wrapped arms loosely around his dance partner’s neck and stretched to return the favor, the brunet shouted his reply. “Kai, my friends call me Kai.”
“Kai? Aoi, nice to meet you.”
“Aoi?” Kai echoed, grinning as a stray light highlighted the midnight-blue stripes that curled along the stranger’s ribs, otherwise invisible against the black shirt. “Nice to meet you too!”
**
‘What the hell?’ The blond muttered to himself, folding his arms over his chest. ‘How long does it take to listen to a damn message, Kou?’
With a rumbled growl, Akira checked his watch yet again, and then cast his gaze over the crowd in search of his best friend. Still no sign of Kouyou, and quite a bit of time had passed since he’d gone outside to check the unexpected message. Enough time that Akira was growing restless and worried, and he wasn’t generally the paranoid sort.
Glancing toward the back door of the club and then the front, he swept his eyes over everyone in between once again. This time the sweep was more thorough, the blond male’s narrowed eyes looking for any hint of danger. No one stood out, but he didn’t expect them to. If they didn’t belong, they would go to great lengths to ensure it looked like they did.
That knowledge made him all the more worried. Thoroughly sweeping through the crowd again, Akira gave into the insistent buzzing of his nerves and worked his way through the crowd toward the back door. He had to find Kouyou, now. The hair on the back of his neck had long-ago stood up, his very spiky hairstyle even bristling with his tension. Just because he hadn’t picked them out in the crowd didn’t mean they weren’t there.
In fact, he was willing to bet they were. Hopefully they hadn’t been able to single him out either; things would be much simpler if he remained ‘lost’ for a little longer. Long enough to get his best friend out of danger, at least. Best idea right now is just to get Kou and get out of here…
Searching the crowd again, Akira relaxed faintly as he caught sight of Kai. Well at least he’s alright…
The smiling man was gleefully writhing on the dance floor, white teeth flashing in silent laughter as the music drowned out all other sounds. Kai always was the joyous sort, bright and smiling unless someone was harsh enough with him to change his positive attitude. Then it was all kicked-puppy sorrow and tear-filled brown eyes.
‘If you drag him off the dance floor just because you’re paranoid about Kouyou, you will get the kicked-puppy look.’ Akira’s mind lectured, and he sighed at the thought.
The last thing he wanted was Kai to burst into tears that Akira cared more about Kouyou than him. While it was true -as Akira and Kouyou were best friends and had known each other far longer than either of them had known Kai- it wasn’t intentional. Not that there was any way to explain that to a teary-eyed Kai, which was why Akira wanted to avoid that if at all possible.
As he threaded his way off the crowded floor to the hallway and reached the side exit, Akira sent Kai a quick text to explain where he’d gone in case the brunet decided to leave the dance floor and seek him out. That done, he pushed a heavy metal door open and slipped out into the night.
The side exit of the club lead to a thoroughly hidden alley, the serpentine twist of brick buildings offering many alcoves for people to disappear into. Meant as a discreet exit for celebrities, the twisting length of road was shielded from the bright lights of the Club District by the surrounding buildings and ink-black at night.
The sudden silence of the alcove compared to the thrumming of the club made Akira sway slightly, leaning against the brick wall of the building and inhaling deeply. He ignored the low thud of the door as it slammed closed behind him, reveling in the breeze that chilled his sweat-soaked limbs. Without the crush of bodies pressing in on him, it was almost like he suddenly could breathe again after being starved for air. Cold on his bared arms, Akira reveled in the night breeze and drew another deep breath, tasting darkness and the threat of rain.
Good, great. Rain will make us harder for them to track us if they have wolves. His mind supplied.
He furiously hoped it was right. A low sound down the alley made him turn, eyes searching the shadows. He could see nothing, and that further raised his hackles. Considering his options for a moment, he gave into the urge of a subtle shift, a faint flexing of his gifts. Lost in the night, his dark eyes slid to pale lion-gold; the talent a side effect of being in his feline form so much in his youth. The added strength of the lion’s eyesight ensured his steps were silent and swift as he moved into the darkness.
“Kou?” Akira rumbled, eyes narrowed as he stalked down the alley toward the glimpse of pale skin and silver he wasn’t exactly sure he’d really seen. “Kouyou?”
“Go back inside, Akira.” The honey-haired male ordered in a low murmur, arms tightening over his stomach as he tucked himself into brick alcove. “Go back inside before Kai freaks out that you left him alone.”
“Kai found a friend of his, or something.”
“What?”
“He’s enjoying himself on the dance floor Kou, he’ll be fine without me for five minutes.” Akira replied in a hiss, almost stomping over to his reluctant companion. “I texted him just in case, so he knows I’m ok and to entertain himself. You, however, seem to be in desperate need of me. So cut the crap and tell me what’s wrong, Kou.”
“Go away, Akira, please.” He hissed, turning away from the other in the hopes of hiding his tears. Pain roiled in his stomach, lancing through his organs and burning in his abs, it made his breath short. “Please, please just go away.”
“Kou, what did your mother say?” Akira rumbled, catching his friend’s shoulder and dragging the other male into a hug. The gesture meant quite a lot, as Akira was not the hugging sort, and Kouyou’s sudden stillness proved he knew that. “Tell me what happened.”
“Kisa.” Kouyou gasped, clutching the gruff male as tears swamped him once more and the faint aftershocks of pain twisted through him.
It was strange to try and say the words, to say his twin was dead. Even though they hadn’t seen each other in years, with Kisa going into training and Kouyou running away from home… None of that had really mattered, because he’d always been able to feel she was there, somewhere inside him…
And now everything was strangely empty and wrapped in bitter pain. “Kisa is dead.”
“Kisa, your twin sister.” Akira murmured, frowning as his thoughts lurched. Golden eyes snapped wide open, sweeping the dark alley again as his voice lowered. “The Tamer.”
As loath as the lion-breed Shifter was to admit it, fear surged through him as the realization dawned. Akira’s escape from the WTA had been sheer luck, a poor judgment on the part of a Keeper and reaction on his part. The attack had been instinctual, a surge of rage and desire to be free. He’d overheard of his Tamer’s loss and their plans to experiment, and known that life was not what he wanted.
And so he had acted and run, fed instructions by those he knew more of the compound than he, urged to escape rather than attempting to save them. He had found Kouyou, had befriended the rebellious beauty that was once friend to all of the Shifters even though they had not wanted it. And now he knew that his friend was in danger.
“Yes.” The other whimpered against his collarbones, the word barely a breath between shudders of barely-contained sobbing. No fresh tears raced down Kouyou’s cheeks, but the tremors continued to rack his body.
“How?” Akira demanded in a low tone. “Tell me how, Kou.”
Lifting his face away from Akira’s chest, Kouyou blinked up at his friend through his tears. “She said that Kisa died in a training accident at the Academy… And… And she says she wants me to come home.”
Akira bristled, nerves singing with tension. “What?”
“She says that she’s worried, and she wants me home and safe.” Kouyou remained leaning on Akira, trusting in his friend to hold him up as he curled an arm over his aching stomach. The pain surged and he crumbled, Akira barely reacting in time to save him.
“Kou!” The blond hissed as he wrapped an arm around his friend’s waist and tugged one of Kouyou’s arms around his shoulders.
‘Is this how she felt?’ Kouyou wondered, prodding at the pain and trying to discern if it was actually his or just courtesy of their twin-bond. ‘Is this how she died?’
“Kou?” Akira murmured, tense and worried. “I don’t think ‘home’ is safe for you right now… But we probably should get out of here.”
“She hasn’t cared about me since I left, I don’t know why she’d want me to come home now.” Kouyou muttered, shaking his head. “I don’t think I want to dance anymore tonight, Akira… I don’t feel so good.”
“Alright, Kou, we’ll go then.” He promised roughly. “Just hold onto me and I’ll get us back through the club and out of here… Kai will understand.”
“No hospital, ok? If Kai sees me like this he’ll want to drag me to the hospital. I just need to go home and lay down…” Kouyou muttered. “I think I’ll be fine if I can just lay down for a bit.”
“I promise that I won’t let Kai drag you to a hospital.” Akira muttered. “Just hold on and I’ll get us home, Kou… We’ll work things out from there.”
**
“What’s up?” The black haired male whispered during a break in the music as he wound himself around a slightly-retreating Kai, pierced lip brushing the other man's ear.
“My phone.” Kai called back over the thrum of bass and purr of guitars as the next song began. He shivered as his dance partner pressed closer, smiling. “I need to get it out of my pocket, so you need to give me some space.”
“What if I don’t want to?” Black eyes gleamed as a teasing smirk pulled at the corner of perfect lips. “I like you close, Kai; you’re easier to dance with that way!”
“I’ll get back to dancing in a minute; just let me make sure my friends are alright. I’ve already abandoned them for you anyway.” Kai grinned, laughing and Aoi’s mockingly irritated grumble. “It’ll just take a minute!”
1 New Text Message:
From: TougherThanYou
Lost the Princess… Going to find him. Stay out of trouble, K?
1 New Text Message:
From: TougherThanYou
Uru got some bad news, taking him home. Later?
Aoi frowned at the suddenly worried look on his dance partner’s face, detecting the scent of worry before the crowd washed it away. “Are you alright? You look like you got some bad news.”
“Oh… It’s just one of my friends.” Kai replied, gesturing toward the edge of the dance floor. “Can we?”
“Yeah, sure.” Aoi replied easily, following the worried male to the walkways surrounding the packed floor. Glancing at Kai, Aoi hesitated on the steps, quickly raking his gaze across the room. “You gonna go?”
“I… Yeah, I should.” Kai sighed, seeming to wilt. “Sorry, I was having fun.”
“Me too, but I understand.” Aoi gave him an easy smile. “See you around?”
Kai nodded, beaming. “I’d like that.”
Turning away, the Shifter lost himself in the crowd, drifting without care as his mind buzzed with speculations and possibilities. Stopping suddenly, he inhaled carefully and barely swallowed a growl at the faint scent of other shifters. It seemed like they were here after all, looking for him.
White teeth flashed as he faded into the darkness of the club and inched toward the door to the alley, sensing two in pursuit. Well… Isn’t tonight about to be a bad night for you?
***
Don't freak out at the additional pairings, alright? They're not sexy!time pairings, but they do exist in some form (carefully noted in parenthesis). I hope you enjoyed my darlings! Comments are like Uruha's guitar solos, good for my SOUL. Gimme?
Pairings: Aoi x Uruha, Reita x Aoi (friendship), Reita x Uruha (friendship), Aoi x Kai (flirtation), (More to come?)
Writer: black_prophet (Midsummer_Slave)
Genre: AU, Sci-Fi with Angst & Smut
Rating: PG13 (For Now)
Warning: None so far.
A/N: Chapter 3 is finally here! So this took a little longer than expected and is a little rocky but we had some things to start here... Hope you guys enjoy the Chapter!
Summary: Kouyou has settled into his life, he has an apartment and a killer roommate, as well as another great friend who's always over. Akira is his best friend as well as his roommate, and just happens to be waiting for his past to catch up with him. Unfortunately, it's about to catch up with Kouyou as well.
Disclaimer: I do not now, nor will I ever, claim to own The GazettE (though I do have several CDs & Concert DVDs and a LOT of pictures). They belong to themselves and each other. This fic and the world it is set in is completely the product of my imagination. I do all my own stunts writing. Please do not attempt these techniques at home. Please do not repost this whole or in part anywhere, do not steal the location or plot, do not write a sequel/side-fic etc. No Beta (sorry for mistakes, I try to spare you).
Previous Ch: "Summary & Bios" "Ch 1: Unlikely Beginnings" "Ch 2: The Unwanted"
***
Where are you going? Flat black eyes watched the honey-haired male slink through the crowd, narrowing as a side door opened just wide enough to admit the lithe body and then closed behind him. Fighting the urge to snap his teeth and surge after the departing stranger, Yuu contented himself to wrapping around his partner who carried lingering traces of that sought-after honeyed-sugar scent.
Twisting to speak against the other male’s ear, he smiled as his dance partner shuddered in his arms. “What did you say your name was again?”
Grinning as he wrapped arms loosely around his dance partner’s neck and stretched to return the favor, the brunet shouted his reply. “Kai, my friends call me Kai.”
“Kai? Aoi, nice to meet you.”
“Aoi?” Kai echoed, grinning as a stray light highlighted the midnight-blue stripes that curled along the stranger’s ribs, otherwise invisible against the black shirt. “Nice to meet you too!”
**
‘What the hell?’ The blond muttered to himself, folding his arms over his chest. ‘How long does it take to listen to a damn message, Kou?’
With a rumbled growl, Akira checked his watch yet again, and then cast his gaze over the crowd in search of his best friend. Still no sign of Kouyou, and quite a bit of time had passed since he’d gone outside to check the unexpected message. Enough time that Akira was growing restless and worried, and he wasn’t generally the paranoid sort.
Glancing toward the back door of the club and then the front, he swept his eyes over everyone in between once again. This time the sweep was more thorough, the blond male’s narrowed eyes looking for any hint of danger. No one stood out, but he didn’t expect them to. If they didn’t belong, they would go to great lengths to ensure it looked like they did.
That knowledge made him all the more worried. Thoroughly sweeping through the crowd again, Akira gave into the insistent buzzing of his nerves and worked his way through the crowd toward the back door. He had to find Kouyou, now. The hair on the back of his neck had long-ago stood up, his very spiky hairstyle even bristling with his tension. Just because he hadn’t picked them out in the crowd didn’t mean they weren’t there.
In fact, he was willing to bet they were. Hopefully they hadn’t been able to single him out either; things would be much simpler if he remained ‘lost’ for a little longer. Long enough to get his best friend out of danger, at least. Best idea right now is just to get Kou and get out of here…
Searching the crowd again, Akira relaxed faintly as he caught sight of Kai. Well at least he’s alright…
The smiling man was gleefully writhing on the dance floor, white teeth flashing in silent laughter as the music drowned out all other sounds. Kai always was the joyous sort, bright and smiling unless someone was harsh enough with him to change his positive attitude. Then it was all kicked-puppy sorrow and tear-filled brown eyes.
‘If you drag him off the dance floor just because you’re paranoid about Kouyou, you will get the kicked-puppy look.’ Akira’s mind lectured, and he sighed at the thought.
The last thing he wanted was Kai to burst into tears that Akira cared more about Kouyou than him. While it was true -as Akira and Kouyou were best friends and had known each other far longer than either of them had known Kai- it wasn’t intentional. Not that there was any way to explain that to a teary-eyed Kai, which was why Akira wanted to avoid that if at all possible.
As he threaded his way off the crowded floor to the hallway and reached the side exit, Akira sent Kai a quick text to explain where he’d gone in case the brunet decided to leave the dance floor and seek him out. That done, he pushed a heavy metal door open and slipped out into the night.
The side exit of the club lead to a thoroughly hidden alley, the serpentine twist of brick buildings offering many alcoves for people to disappear into. Meant as a discreet exit for celebrities, the twisting length of road was shielded from the bright lights of the Club District by the surrounding buildings and ink-black at night.
The sudden silence of the alcove compared to the thrumming of the club made Akira sway slightly, leaning against the brick wall of the building and inhaling deeply. He ignored the low thud of the door as it slammed closed behind him, reveling in the breeze that chilled his sweat-soaked limbs. Without the crush of bodies pressing in on him, it was almost like he suddenly could breathe again after being starved for air. Cold on his bared arms, Akira reveled in the night breeze and drew another deep breath, tasting darkness and the threat of rain.
Good, great. Rain will make us harder for them to track us if they have wolves. His mind supplied.
He furiously hoped it was right. A low sound down the alley made him turn, eyes searching the shadows. He could see nothing, and that further raised his hackles. Considering his options for a moment, he gave into the urge of a subtle shift, a faint flexing of his gifts. Lost in the night, his dark eyes slid to pale lion-gold; the talent a side effect of being in his feline form so much in his youth. The added strength of the lion’s eyesight ensured his steps were silent and swift as he moved into the darkness.
“Kou?” Akira rumbled, eyes narrowed as he stalked down the alley toward the glimpse of pale skin and silver he wasn’t exactly sure he’d really seen. “Kouyou?”
“Go back inside, Akira.” The honey-haired male ordered in a low murmur, arms tightening over his stomach as he tucked himself into brick alcove. “Go back inside before Kai freaks out that you left him alone.”
“Kai found a friend of his, or something.”
“What?”
“He’s enjoying himself on the dance floor Kou, he’ll be fine without me for five minutes.” Akira replied in a hiss, almost stomping over to his reluctant companion. “I texted him just in case, so he knows I’m ok and to entertain himself. You, however, seem to be in desperate need of me. So cut the crap and tell me what’s wrong, Kou.”
“Go away, Akira, please.” He hissed, turning away from the other in the hopes of hiding his tears. Pain roiled in his stomach, lancing through his organs and burning in his abs, it made his breath short. “Please, please just go away.”
“Kou, what did your mother say?” Akira rumbled, catching his friend’s shoulder and dragging the other male into a hug. The gesture meant quite a lot, as Akira was not the hugging sort, and Kouyou’s sudden stillness proved he knew that. “Tell me what happened.”
“Kisa.” Kouyou gasped, clutching the gruff male as tears swamped him once more and the faint aftershocks of pain twisted through him.
It was strange to try and say the words, to say his twin was dead. Even though they hadn’t seen each other in years, with Kisa going into training and Kouyou running away from home… None of that had really mattered, because he’d always been able to feel she was there, somewhere inside him…
And now everything was strangely empty and wrapped in bitter pain. “Kisa is dead.”
“Kisa, your twin sister.” Akira murmured, frowning as his thoughts lurched. Golden eyes snapped wide open, sweeping the dark alley again as his voice lowered. “The Tamer.”
As loath as the lion-breed Shifter was to admit it, fear surged through him as the realization dawned. Akira’s escape from the WTA had been sheer luck, a poor judgment on the part of a Keeper and reaction on his part. The attack had been instinctual, a surge of rage and desire to be free. He’d overheard of his Tamer’s loss and their plans to experiment, and known that life was not what he wanted.
And so he had acted and run, fed instructions by those he knew more of the compound than he, urged to escape rather than attempting to save them. He had found Kouyou, had befriended the rebellious beauty that was once friend to all of the Shifters even though they had not wanted it. And now he knew that his friend was in danger.
“Yes.” The other whimpered against his collarbones, the word barely a breath between shudders of barely-contained sobbing. No fresh tears raced down Kouyou’s cheeks, but the tremors continued to rack his body.
“How?” Akira demanded in a low tone. “Tell me how, Kou.”
Lifting his face away from Akira’s chest, Kouyou blinked up at his friend through his tears. “She said that Kisa died in a training accident at the Academy… And… And she says she wants me to come home.”
Akira bristled, nerves singing with tension. “What?”
“She says that she’s worried, and she wants me home and safe.” Kouyou remained leaning on Akira, trusting in his friend to hold him up as he curled an arm over his aching stomach. The pain surged and he crumbled, Akira barely reacting in time to save him.
“Kou!” The blond hissed as he wrapped an arm around his friend’s waist and tugged one of Kouyou’s arms around his shoulders.
‘Is this how she felt?’ Kouyou wondered, prodding at the pain and trying to discern if it was actually his or just courtesy of their twin-bond. ‘Is this how she died?’
“Kou?” Akira murmured, tense and worried. “I don’t think ‘home’ is safe for you right now… But we probably should get out of here.”
“She hasn’t cared about me since I left, I don’t know why she’d want me to come home now.” Kouyou muttered, shaking his head. “I don’t think I want to dance anymore tonight, Akira… I don’t feel so good.”
“Alright, Kou, we’ll go then.” He promised roughly. “Just hold onto me and I’ll get us back through the club and out of here… Kai will understand.”
“No hospital, ok? If Kai sees me like this he’ll want to drag me to the hospital. I just need to go home and lay down…” Kouyou muttered. “I think I’ll be fine if I can just lay down for a bit.”
“I promise that I won’t let Kai drag you to a hospital.” Akira muttered. “Just hold on and I’ll get us home, Kou… We’ll work things out from there.”
**
“What’s up?” The black haired male whispered during a break in the music as he wound himself around a slightly-retreating Kai, pierced lip brushing the other man's ear.
“My phone.” Kai called back over the thrum of bass and purr of guitars as the next song began. He shivered as his dance partner pressed closer, smiling. “I need to get it out of my pocket, so you need to give me some space.”
“What if I don’t want to?” Black eyes gleamed as a teasing smirk pulled at the corner of perfect lips. “I like you close, Kai; you’re easier to dance with that way!”
“I’ll get back to dancing in a minute; just let me make sure my friends are alright. I’ve already abandoned them for you anyway.” Kai grinned, laughing and Aoi’s mockingly irritated grumble. “It’ll just take a minute!”
1 New Text Message:
From: TougherThanYou
Lost the Princess… Going to find him. Stay out of trouble, K?
1 New Text Message:
From: TougherThanYou
Uru got some bad news, taking him home. Later?
Aoi frowned at the suddenly worried look on his dance partner’s face, detecting the scent of worry before the crowd washed it away. “Are you alright? You look like you got some bad news.”
“Oh… It’s just one of my friends.” Kai replied, gesturing toward the edge of the dance floor. “Can we?”
“Yeah, sure.” Aoi replied easily, following the worried male to the walkways surrounding the packed floor. Glancing at Kai, Aoi hesitated on the steps, quickly raking his gaze across the room. “You gonna go?”
“I… Yeah, I should.” Kai sighed, seeming to wilt. “Sorry, I was having fun.”
“Me too, but I understand.” Aoi gave him an easy smile. “See you around?”
Kai nodded, beaming. “I’d like that.”
Turning away, the Shifter lost himself in the crowd, drifting without care as his mind buzzed with speculations and possibilities. Stopping suddenly, he inhaled carefully and barely swallowed a growl at the faint scent of other shifters. It seemed like they were here after all, looking for him.
White teeth flashed as he faded into the darkness of the club and inched toward the door to the alley, sensing two in pursuit. Well… Isn’t tonight about to be a bad night for you?
***
Don't freak out at the additional pairings, alright? They're not sexy!time pairings, but they do exist in some form (carefully noted in parenthesis). I hope you enjoyed my darlings! Comments are like Uruha's guitar solos, good for my SOUL. Gimme?