[Series] Truth In A Lie; 02 Teachings
Title: Truth In A Lie
Author: b_sim
Characters/Pairings: GACKT/Hyde (Hideto)
Rating: R
Genre: AU, humour, romance
Summary: As a model, Hideto meets with many fakes and frauds. His life gets even more confusing when Gackt, a video game character, materialises in his world. Hideto wonders if anything is even real anymore.
Notes: This wasn't as easy to write as I thought it'd be...
Disclaimer: Do not own Hyde and GACKT.
When Hideto had been younger, he had adored Disney movies. One of his all time favourites was Tarzan. Hideto loved jungles and forests, animals and the ocean so it was no wonder to anyone that he loved it. Most of his female classmates in kindergarten had liked the part where Tarzan placed his hand against Jane’s whereas most of the guys liked the scene where Tarzan fought against the leopard. Personally, Hideto’s favourite scene out of the whole movie was when a small group of gorillas had thrashed the camp of the humans, making music with the things they found there. For some strange reason, the part where the gorilla got scared of a typewriter always made him giggle.
Another Disney movie he had liked a lot as a child and got teased for liking was The Little Mermaid. He found it funny how Ariel had thought forks were combs, how she thought that normal things like pots and pans were amazing, how the gorillas from Tarzan had been so stupid and how they had been so freaked out at first with all these strange things around them. Hideto wondered why it didn’t seem so funny in real life.
Hideto, after pulling on his pants to cover himself up a little of course, had first brought Gackt to the kitchen, still rather unnerved by the entire situation. A fictional character was alive and walking about in his house; anyone would be as disturbed as he was. Still, there wasn’t much he could do about it. He couldn’t just throw Gackt out on the streets, could he? The poor guy would be so confused and he didn’t even want to think about the poor civilians who could’ve gotten injured. No, this was his video game character and he was going to take responsibility for him. Including providing him with breakfast.
Unfortunately, Hideto wasn’t exactly the handiest guy around. He couldn’t cook. He never learned how to. He could only make sandwiches, cereal and microwave meals. Deciding that now would be the best time to teach Gackt about appliances, he had whipped out a microwave meal and then opened the microwave but before he could go any further, Gackt had sliced his microwave in half with his sword.
Hideto stared at his innocent, dead microwave, eyes wide and jaw threatening to drop.
“So even your world has these Trick Boxes,” Gackt said, sheathing his sword. “They’re difficult to tell apart from Treasure Boxes[1] and, to be honest, I’m not sure which one this was. But, better safe than sorry!”
Hideto’s face stung from the facepalm he had given himself.
After Hideto explained what a microwave was, Gackt had blushed in embarrassment before apologising. Hideto wanted to yell and curse and whack Gackt over his head but it wasn’t the guy’s fault. Settling for sighing in exasperation, Hideto decided that he had to be extra careful with what he did, informing Gackt of every little step he was going to take. He took it so seriously that he even made sure to tell Gackt whenever he was opening a drawer or cupboard. He had successfully made a tuna sandwich for Gackt without anything else getting sliced in half so he believed he was getting somewhere.
After breakfast, he had brought Gackt up to his room, opening his wardrobe (and telling Gackt he was about to do so beforehand, of course) and pulling out the biggest sized clothes he had. He was definitely much smaller than Gackt and had a leaner frame but he had dry-fit gym shorts which would fit Gackt easily - Gackt wasn’t exactly fat, after all. He also remembered that he had a huge over-sized football jersey that his boyfriend in college had given him. He still slept in it sometimes and he was glad, especially now, that he had kept it. What Gackt wore wasn’t exactly fashionable but it definitely helped him fit in better than his armour, chain plates and leather boots had.
“I must say, this is much more comfortable than anything else I’ve ever worn,” Gackt commented, brushing the material of the jersey he wore as Hideto kept his armour (telling Gackt beforehand that he was going to, of course) in the storeroom, along with his sword. Gackt hadn’t noticed his sword was missing yet, too focused on his new clothes. Hideto was thankful for that though Gackt’s new outfit really burned his eyes - a yellow and green jersey with blue shorts. What a fashion statement.
“Uh, right,” Hideto said before closing the door to the storeroom. He turned back to face Gackt, grimacing. If Gackt was going to be here for much longer, Hideto would have to get him new clothes because that monstrosity of a get-up was not going to be tolerated. “Anyway, Gackt, I think it’s time I tell you more about where you are. So, come with me?”
Gackt looked up and then nodded. “Yes.”
Hideto wasn’t exactly sure how he was going to pull this off but he felt that starting with the time period would be best. He led Gackt down the stairs and then to the living room again, gesturing for him to sit on the couch while he himself sat down on the coffee table, facing the game character. Gackt took his seat, leaning back against the couch comfortably. It was a strange sight indeed, seeing a warrior in a terribly gaudy jersey and pair of shorts, sitting on a couch in a modern studio apartment. Yes, it was strange and Hideto still wasn’t fully sure he wasn’t dreaming.
“Don’t get alarmed, I’m just reaching down underneath the coffee table to get yesterday’s newspaper,” Hideto warned him. These warnings were troublesome but hell if he was going to lose anything else. Gackt no longer had his sword but, as a player of the game, he knew just how well Gackt could still kick ass with just martial arts. Warning given, Hideto reached down beneath him and into the coffee table, feeling around for something papery and then pulling it out when he found it. Gackt watched him cautiously. Hideto slowly stretched his hand out towards Gackt, offering the newspaper.
Raising an eyebrow and sending a threat to Hideto through his eyes, he took it warily and then looked at it. It was full of kanji he didn’t recognise but he could get the gist of it, at least. But it wasn’t the headliner or the article that Hideto wanted him to focus on.
“Gackt? Look at the date,” Hideto told him.
Hideto saw Gackt’s brown eyes trail over the newspaper a few times before they stopped on one spot, on the upper right hand corner of the paper. Hideto saw his eyes widen.
“Yeah… It’s 2011 now, not… whenever it is you came from,” Hideto said almost sympathetically - the confused, lost look on Gackt’s face could break anyone’s heart. “A lot of things have changed. You can take a look through it.”
Gackt did so, fumbling with the newspaper for a few seconds, unsure of how to open it up. But he was smart and once he had it figured out, he was browsing through the pages quickly, eyes growing wider with every article that he read. He made comments like, “Utagawa is no longer president?!” or “Women are allowed to dress that scantily now?!” Hideto wasn’t sure whether he should laugh or facepalm at Gackt’s naivety, settling for a neutral look.
When Gackt slammed the paper down on his lap and looked up at Hideto suddenly, the model had to fight the urge to yelp in surprise.
“What is this corrupted world you are living in, Hideto-dono?! All these scandals and murderers…”
Hideto wasn’t sure how he was supposed to reply. “Uh, well… That’s life, you know? Our world is kind of broken. I mean, it’s not just Japan now.” He then reached for his television remote, forgetting to warn Gackt of what he was about to do, and then turned on the television behind him and in front of Gackt.
A news report on a bombing in Norway came on screen, live from the area[2]. Gackt jumped and his eyes went even wider. He backed up against the couch, clinging on to it and then reaching for his sword, only to realise it was missing. “What is this witchcraft?! A magic mirror?!”
Hideto sighed. It was going to be a long day.
*****
After explaining to Gackt what a television was, they both flicked through the channels with Hideto managing to find something to teach Gackt on every one. He taught Gackt about teenagers and music and whatnot. He also taught Gackt what were video games but chose not to mention that Gackt was actually from one. Hideto wasn’t sure how Gackt would react to that and he really didn’t want to find out right now. His mind concocted up visions of Gackt losing his mind and then trying to get back to Uthonia by stuffing his face in the video game casing or something. Unlikely, but he wasn’t going to take any chances.
As he continued to explain more about his world, he could see Gackt starting to become more and more upset. By the end of the two and a half hours he had spent with Gackt on the couch, watching television, Gackt’s eyes had gone from shocked to simply sad. He reminded Hideto of this mother dog he had visited at the animal shelter once. Her eyes had been so dull and dead and he had learned that the mother’s puppies had all been adopted. Hideto swore Gackt looked exactly like that. Like he had lost everything.
“So how did I get here?” Gackt asked, turning to Hideto while the television continued to run its programs and channels.
Hideto bit his lip and then shrugged. He wished he could help, he really did. After all, he didn’t want Gackt living with him here as well. The video game character had only been here for a few hours and already Hideto’s life had turned upside down. At home at least. Hideto didn’t even want to think about the damage Gackt would do if Hideto had brought him to work. “I don’t know, Gackt. All I can do is be here to help you settle in, if you’re gonna be here for long.”
Gackt’s eyes dulled even further. Hideto felt as if he had just kicked a dying bird.
Sighing, the model reached out and patted Gackt’s shoulder. “Hey, things will be alright. We’ll figure something out.” Hideto then got up from where he sat, hand still on Gackt’s shoulder. “Just stay here for a while. I’ll go get something for you to drink.”
Gackt nodded numbly before he turned to look up at Hideto, gratitude in his eyes. “Thank you for your kindness.”
Hideto said nothing in return, turning away and then making his way to the kitchen, getting a bottle of red wine from his wine cooler and then taking two glasses. From the kitchen, he watched as Gackt flicked through the channels at a speed he didn’t believe was possible. Gackt wasn’t even watching anything, he was simply fooling around with this new piece of machinery he had learned about.
With this short amount of time to himself, he began to think. He tried to go back to last night, trying to figure out what had happened. He had simply fallen asleep while playing the game. Funny thing was, when he woke up the next time, his television wasn’t on. Perhaps there had been a blackout again? Was that what caused Gackt to come to their world? Hideto didn’t know, of course. But his mind still came up with plenty of questions that he believed no one had answers to. He was slowly getting over the initial shock, though. As he spent more time with the supposedly fictional character, Hideto was beginning to view him less of a video game character and more of a simply lost man. A man who had lost everything he had ever known.
Then suddenly, Gackt’s eyes popped into his mind. For no reason at all, the eyes that had been staring at him with such thankfulness just moments ago appeared before him. Something struck in Hideto then as he thought about it more and more.
In his line of business, Hideto often met with many phonies and frauds, asskissers and pretenders. Having felt the need to protect himself from such people and know what was real and what wasn’t, Hideto had become very skilled in reading people. It had been a long time since someone just complimented him just because they felt he deserved it and not because they were trying to get him in bed. It had been a long time since someone had said something nice about his work because it really was nice and not just because they were trying to get on his good side and hire him for another job. Hideto couldn’t even remember the last time someone had been completely honest about him with his work anymore.
But what he had seen just now… Emotion, so raw and so honest. It had been so long since he had seen such genuinity, such sincerity that seeing it in Gackt’s eyes had just jumped out at him. Hideto couldn’t find hidden intentions or ulterior motives. No, what he saw in Gackt’s eyes matched Gackt’s words. It wasn’t the same as someone saying, “I’m very impressed with your work,” but their eyes shining, “I’m a better model than you.” It was real. And Hideto couldn’t believe that he found something so real in something that was supposed to be fake. The irony was mind-boggling.
And Hideto hadn’t realised just how much he had missed that security, the security of knowing you were with someone who wasn’t lying, until now.
He was curious, suddenly. He wondered if Gackt ever lied. He wondered if Gackt ever had to pretend to be something he wasn’t just to gain something for himself.
Hideto suddenly didn’t want Gackt to leave until he found an answer for that question - perhaps he could find some bit of humanity, humanity that humans didn’t have, in a video game character.
Notes: Thoughts?
[1] Stole this idea from Battleon. You can either find treasure or get injured by spells in treasure boxes.
[2] I hope there aren't any more killings or injuries... Crossing my fingers and hoping for the best.
Author: b_sim
Characters/Pairings: GACKT/Hyde (Hideto)
Rating: R
Genre: AU, humour, romance
Summary: As a model, Hideto meets with many fakes and frauds. His life gets even more confusing when Gackt, a video game character, materialises in his world. Hideto wonders if anything is even real anymore.
Notes: This wasn't as easy to write as I thought it'd be...
Disclaimer: Do not own Hyde and GACKT.
When Hideto had been younger, he had adored Disney movies. One of his all time favourites was Tarzan. Hideto loved jungles and forests, animals and the ocean so it was no wonder to anyone that he loved it. Most of his female classmates in kindergarten had liked the part where Tarzan placed his hand against Jane’s whereas most of the guys liked the scene where Tarzan fought against the leopard. Personally, Hideto’s favourite scene out of the whole movie was when a small group of gorillas had thrashed the camp of the humans, making music with the things they found there. For some strange reason, the part where the gorilla got scared of a typewriter always made him giggle.
Another Disney movie he had liked a lot as a child and got teased for liking was The Little Mermaid. He found it funny how Ariel had thought forks were combs, how she thought that normal things like pots and pans were amazing, how the gorillas from Tarzan had been so stupid and how they had been so freaked out at first with all these strange things around them. Hideto wondered why it didn’t seem so funny in real life.
Hideto, after pulling on his pants to cover himself up a little of course, had first brought Gackt to the kitchen, still rather unnerved by the entire situation. A fictional character was alive and walking about in his house; anyone would be as disturbed as he was. Still, there wasn’t much he could do about it. He couldn’t just throw Gackt out on the streets, could he? The poor guy would be so confused and he didn’t even want to think about the poor civilians who could’ve gotten injured. No, this was his video game character and he was going to take responsibility for him. Including providing him with breakfast.
Unfortunately, Hideto wasn’t exactly the handiest guy around. He couldn’t cook. He never learned how to. He could only make sandwiches, cereal and microwave meals. Deciding that now would be the best time to teach Gackt about appliances, he had whipped out a microwave meal and then opened the microwave but before he could go any further, Gackt had sliced his microwave in half with his sword.
Hideto stared at his innocent, dead microwave, eyes wide and jaw threatening to drop.
“So even your world has these Trick Boxes,” Gackt said, sheathing his sword. “They’re difficult to tell apart from Treasure Boxes[1] and, to be honest, I’m not sure which one this was. But, better safe than sorry!”
Hideto’s face stung from the facepalm he had given himself.
After Hideto explained what a microwave was, Gackt had blushed in embarrassment before apologising. Hideto wanted to yell and curse and whack Gackt over his head but it wasn’t the guy’s fault. Settling for sighing in exasperation, Hideto decided that he had to be extra careful with what he did, informing Gackt of every little step he was going to take. He took it so seriously that he even made sure to tell Gackt whenever he was opening a drawer or cupboard. He had successfully made a tuna sandwich for Gackt without anything else getting sliced in half so he believed he was getting somewhere.
After breakfast, he had brought Gackt up to his room, opening his wardrobe (and telling Gackt he was about to do so beforehand, of course) and pulling out the biggest sized clothes he had. He was definitely much smaller than Gackt and had a leaner frame but he had dry-fit gym shorts which would fit Gackt easily - Gackt wasn’t exactly fat, after all. He also remembered that he had a huge over-sized football jersey that his boyfriend in college had given him. He still slept in it sometimes and he was glad, especially now, that he had kept it. What Gackt wore wasn’t exactly fashionable but it definitely helped him fit in better than his armour, chain plates and leather boots had.
“I must say, this is much more comfortable than anything else I’ve ever worn,” Gackt commented, brushing the material of the jersey he wore as Hideto kept his armour (telling Gackt beforehand that he was going to, of course) in the storeroom, along with his sword. Gackt hadn’t noticed his sword was missing yet, too focused on his new clothes. Hideto was thankful for that though Gackt’s new outfit really burned his eyes - a yellow and green jersey with blue shorts. What a fashion statement.
“Uh, right,” Hideto said before closing the door to the storeroom. He turned back to face Gackt, grimacing. If Gackt was going to be here for much longer, Hideto would have to get him new clothes because that monstrosity of a get-up was not going to be tolerated. “Anyway, Gackt, I think it’s time I tell you more about where you are. So, come with me?”
Gackt looked up and then nodded. “Yes.”
Hideto wasn’t exactly sure how he was going to pull this off but he felt that starting with the time period would be best. He led Gackt down the stairs and then to the living room again, gesturing for him to sit on the couch while he himself sat down on the coffee table, facing the game character. Gackt took his seat, leaning back against the couch comfortably. It was a strange sight indeed, seeing a warrior in a terribly gaudy jersey and pair of shorts, sitting on a couch in a modern studio apartment. Yes, it was strange and Hideto still wasn’t fully sure he wasn’t dreaming.
“Don’t get alarmed, I’m just reaching down underneath the coffee table to get yesterday’s newspaper,” Hideto warned him. These warnings were troublesome but hell if he was going to lose anything else. Gackt no longer had his sword but, as a player of the game, he knew just how well Gackt could still kick ass with just martial arts. Warning given, Hideto reached down beneath him and into the coffee table, feeling around for something papery and then pulling it out when he found it. Gackt watched him cautiously. Hideto slowly stretched his hand out towards Gackt, offering the newspaper.
Raising an eyebrow and sending a threat to Hideto through his eyes, he took it warily and then looked at it. It was full of kanji he didn’t recognise but he could get the gist of it, at least. But it wasn’t the headliner or the article that Hideto wanted him to focus on.
“Gackt? Look at the date,” Hideto told him.
Hideto saw Gackt’s brown eyes trail over the newspaper a few times before they stopped on one spot, on the upper right hand corner of the paper. Hideto saw his eyes widen.
“Yeah… It’s 2011 now, not… whenever it is you came from,” Hideto said almost sympathetically - the confused, lost look on Gackt’s face could break anyone’s heart. “A lot of things have changed. You can take a look through it.”
Gackt did so, fumbling with the newspaper for a few seconds, unsure of how to open it up. But he was smart and once he had it figured out, he was browsing through the pages quickly, eyes growing wider with every article that he read. He made comments like, “Utagawa is no longer president?!” or “Women are allowed to dress that scantily now?!” Hideto wasn’t sure whether he should laugh or facepalm at Gackt’s naivety, settling for a neutral look.
When Gackt slammed the paper down on his lap and looked up at Hideto suddenly, the model had to fight the urge to yelp in surprise.
“What is this corrupted world you are living in, Hideto-dono?! All these scandals and murderers…”
Hideto wasn’t sure how he was supposed to reply. “Uh, well… That’s life, you know? Our world is kind of broken. I mean, it’s not just Japan now.” He then reached for his television remote, forgetting to warn Gackt of what he was about to do, and then turned on the television behind him and in front of Gackt.
A news report on a bombing in Norway came on screen, live from the area[2]. Gackt jumped and his eyes went even wider. He backed up against the couch, clinging on to it and then reaching for his sword, only to realise it was missing. “What is this witchcraft?! A magic mirror?!”
Hideto sighed. It was going to be a long day.
*****
After explaining to Gackt what a television was, they both flicked through the channels with Hideto managing to find something to teach Gackt on every one. He taught Gackt about teenagers and music and whatnot. He also taught Gackt what were video games but chose not to mention that Gackt was actually from one. Hideto wasn’t sure how Gackt would react to that and he really didn’t want to find out right now. His mind concocted up visions of Gackt losing his mind and then trying to get back to Uthonia by stuffing his face in the video game casing or something. Unlikely, but he wasn’t going to take any chances.
As he continued to explain more about his world, he could see Gackt starting to become more and more upset. By the end of the two and a half hours he had spent with Gackt on the couch, watching television, Gackt’s eyes had gone from shocked to simply sad. He reminded Hideto of this mother dog he had visited at the animal shelter once. Her eyes had been so dull and dead and he had learned that the mother’s puppies had all been adopted. Hideto swore Gackt looked exactly like that. Like he had lost everything.
“So how did I get here?” Gackt asked, turning to Hideto while the television continued to run its programs and channels.
Hideto bit his lip and then shrugged. He wished he could help, he really did. After all, he didn’t want Gackt living with him here as well. The video game character had only been here for a few hours and already Hideto’s life had turned upside down. At home at least. Hideto didn’t even want to think about the damage Gackt would do if Hideto had brought him to work. “I don’t know, Gackt. All I can do is be here to help you settle in, if you’re gonna be here for long.”
Gackt’s eyes dulled even further. Hideto felt as if he had just kicked a dying bird.
Sighing, the model reached out and patted Gackt’s shoulder. “Hey, things will be alright. We’ll figure something out.” Hideto then got up from where he sat, hand still on Gackt’s shoulder. “Just stay here for a while. I’ll go get something for you to drink.”
Gackt nodded numbly before he turned to look up at Hideto, gratitude in his eyes. “Thank you for your kindness.”
Hideto said nothing in return, turning away and then making his way to the kitchen, getting a bottle of red wine from his wine cooler and then taking two glasses. From the kitchen, he watched as Gackt flicked through the channels at a speed he didn’t believe was possible. Gackt wasn’t even watching anything, he was simply fooling around with this new piece of machinery he had learned about.
With this short amount of time to himself, he began to think. He tried to go back to last night, trying to figure out what had happened. He had simply fallen asleep while playing the game. Funny thing was, when he woke up the next time, his television wasn’t on. Perhaps there had been a blackout again? Was that what caused Gackt to come to their world? Hideto didn’t know, of course. But his mind still came up with plenty of questions that he believed no one had answers to. He was slowly getting over the initial shock, though. As he spent more time with the supposedly fictional character, Hideto was beginning to view him less of a video game character and more of a simply lost man. A man who had lost everything he had ever known.
Then suddenly, Gackt’s eyes popped into his mind. For no reason at all, the eyes that had been staring at him with such thankfulness just moments ago appeared before him. Something struck in Hideto then as he thought about it more and more.
In his line of business, Hideto often met with many phonies and frauds, asskissers and pretenders. Having felt the need to protect himself from such people and know what was real and what wasn’t, Hideto had become very skilled in reading people. It had been a long time since someone just complimented him just because they felt he deserved it and not because they were trying to get him in bed. It had been a long time since someone had said something nice about his work because it really was nice and not just because they were trying to get on his good side and hire him for another job. Hideto couldn’t even remember the last time someone had been completely honest about him with his work anymore.
But what he had seen just now… Emotion, so raw and so honest. It had been so long since he had seen such genuinity, such sincerity that seeing it in Gackt’s eyes had just jumped out at him. Hideto couldn’t find hidden intentions or ulterior motives. No, what he saw in Gackt’s eyes matched Gackt’s words. It wasn’t the same as someone saying, “I’m very impressed with your work,” but their eyes shining, “I’m a better model than you.” It was real. And Hideto couldn’t believe that he found something so real in something that was supposed to be fake. The irony was mind-boggling.
And Hideto hadn’t realised just how much he had missed that security, the security of knowing you were with someone who wasn’t lying, until now.
He was curious, suddenly. He wondered if Gackt ever lied. He wondered if Gackt ever had to pretend to be something he wasn’t just to gain something for himself.
Hideto suddenly didn’t want Gackt to leave until he found an answer for that question - perhaps he could find some bit of humanity, humanity that humans didn’t have, in a video game character.
Notes: Thoughts?
[1] Stole this idea from Battleon. You can either find treasure or get injured by spells in treasure boxes.
[2] I hope there aren't any more killings or injuries... Crossing my fingers and hoping for the best.