Fic: Dragon's Teeth, Jrock RPS, NC17/18, Part 1of2
Title: Dragon's Teeth (Part 1 of 2)
Series: Dragon Saga 01
Link: To the rest of the Dragon Saga
Author: Beren
Fandom: Jrock
Pairing: Gackt/Hyde, Hyde/OMC, Hyde/Megumi
Rating: NC17/18
Disclaimer: Hyde and Gackt and any other people you may recognise are real, this story isn't and I definitely don't own them or have any copyright to any part of any of them. I do not believe any of this happened, is likely to happen or should happen it is simply a story created around known facts about those involved.
Warnings: non-con (not Gackt/Hyde), vampires
Summary: While filming Moon Child Hyde finds out that not everything the papers say about Gackt is hype and his life changes far more than just adding acting to his repertoire.
Author's Notes: Well I was trying to write part two of "You want to what?", but this happened instead. Be warned, this definitely isn't humour, and I have most of three sequels written too, so you could say this ate my brain :). Thanks, as ever, to Soph for the beta. Oh and for those who read my LJ, no, this isn't the fic I was ranting about the other day; this one rather took over from it.
Word count: 16,728
Link: to other fic
Hyde knocked on Gackt's hotel room door with his schedule in his hand; they weren't filming until the next evening, having just flown in, but he wanted to clear up a few details. He did not mind admitting that he was nervous about the whole acting thing and he hoped his friend wouldn't mind going over a couple of things. The arrival in the city had not been without incident which had not done a lot to settle his nerves; half the crew had been delayed and wouldn't be in until the next lunch time at the earliest and he'd seen Gackt going mental at more than one official.
Gackt had been irritable ever since he'd found out about the crew delay and Hyde hoped his friend had calmed down since he'd last seen him. The last thing he needed was for Gackt to go off on one. When the door opened, however, all thoughts of Gackt being temperamental fled as he took in the state of his friend. Gackt was incredibly pale and the other singer was wearing dark glasses that were barely hiding grey around his eyes, so much so that Hyde was instantly worried.
"Hyde-kun," Gackt greeted, sounding surprised, "what can I do for you?"
"I just wanted to speak to you about tomorrow," Hyde replied automatically, but his anxiety did not go away even though Gackt sounded perfectly normal.
"Come in," Gackt said as if there was nothing wrong, walking back from the door to let Hyde through, "what did you wish to discus?"
There was something tired about Gackt's stance that niggled at Hyde as he kept a careful eye on his friend while he closed the door. Usually Gackt had more energy than anyone else Hyde knew, but this evening his friend seemed almost slow.
"Gatchan, are you feeling all right?" he could not help himself, he had to ask.
Gackt turned back, expression unreadable behind the dark glasses that were worrying Hyde.
"I'm fine," the taller man replied, tone completely calm. "Was there something specific you wished to know about tomorrow's shoot?"
Hyde knew that was his cue to set the conversation back on its original course, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. No matter what Gackt said, everything could simply not be perfect.
"Forgive me, Gatchan," he said, knowing he was possibly pushing too hard, "but you don't look fine."
Gackt turned away then and Hyde could not help wondering if he had offended his friend. Challenging Gackt was not a way to get on the singer's good side.
"I am a little tired from all the travelling today," Gackt said after a moment, tone so pleasant that Hyde almost gave a sigh of relief, "it's nothing more, honestly."
It looked like more to Hyde, but he was relieved to see Gackt reach up and take off the dark glasses he was wearing. When his friend turned back he was surprised to see that Gackt did not look as bad as he had feared. The grey around Gackt's eyes must have been a reflection from the dark lenses because without the glasses Gackt looked surprisingly healthy.
Hyde found himself checking carefully, as if he might be able to pick out something that was wrong and it wasn't until he reached Gackt's eyes that he realised his friend was not wearing his habitual blue lenses. It was strange but he felt his pulse speed up as he looked into dark eyes that seemed almost black in the low light in the room. The stab of attraction he felt shocked him out of the moment as he realised he was staring and he could not quite fathom where the feeling had come from. He'd always known his friend was a handsome man, but the momentary feeling rather took him by surprise since he had never experienced it before.
It wasn't that he'd never been attracted to a man before, since before Megumi he'd been quite willing to experiment, but since he'd been with his wife he hadn't so much as looked at anyone else. The fact that it had happened just then was odd as well since only a moment before he had been more worried than anything else.
He was confused and something felt off about the entire situation, so much so that he took a step towards Gackt. Gackt's expression was startled and Hyde was positive his friend would have stepped back had Gackt not been standing just in front of one of the chairs in the room. The moment Hyde moved within three feet of Gackt he felt as if a pleasant fog had come down over his senses and the only thing that wasn't obscured by it was Gackt. A small voice at the back of his mind tried to call the rest of his thoughts' attention to the fact that this was not right, but most of his focus was on Gackt.
For a moment his friend looked as if he was fighting with himself and Hyde felt the fog recede a little, but his eyes locked with the dark ones looking at him and the battle in Gackt's features faded. Hyde felt almost drunk as he stared into Gackt's eyes and this time the stab of arousal lanced through his whole body and made him feel weak at the knees. The paleness that had made him comment in the first place, but that seemed to have been his imagination after Gackt took off his glasses, faded back into his friend's features, but it did nothing to break the fascination Gackt seemed to hold for him.
The dark eyes he was gazing into changed even as he watched them, going from almost black, fading to brown and continuing until they were a golden yellow. Hyde felt as if he was being swallowed by those eyes and his reality narrowed down to that glowing colour. His mind seemed to be slowing down second by second and his eyes felt incredibly heavy, fluttering shut once and then twice until his senses were swamped in warm blackness and all he could see in his mind's eye were those yellow eyes.
When a hand touched his shoulder he could not stop the small moan that escaped his mouth as he literally shivered at the contact. It was as if every nerve was waiting for any touch and his body was ready to respond, in the extreme, to anything. His reactions were completely out of his control and only a tiny part of his mind was even remotely alarmed by this.
Arms snaked around him from behind and he leaned back into the embrace without even thinking about it. Nothing impinged on his mind except the presence behind him that he could literally feel with every fibre of his being. It did not matter that the arms around him belonged to a man who was not more than his friend; it did not matter why those arms had pulled him close; all that counted was that they had and at that moment he never wanted them to let go.
His whole nervous system was poised for whatever would happen next and he was shaking so hard that he was sure he would have fallen if Gackt had not been holding him. When breath ghosted against his neck he moved his head to the side instinctively and the tiniest of sighs fell from his lips. Everything was poised at that moment; nothing else existed and it was as if the whole universe was waiting.
Hyde felt lips touch his neck first and a shudder ran from his head to his feet, but he knew instinctively that something else was coming. When two sharp points lanced into his flesh he whimpered in pain as his hypersensitive nerves relayed every moment in excruciating detail, but the waves of arousal, due to the intimacy of the act, flooding through him dwarfed any discomfort into insignificance in little more than a second.
He could hear his heartbeat thudding in his chest and his blood rushing in his veins as the mouth at his neck latched on with bruising force. His whole body surrendered as he literally felt his life being drawn from him and it was one of the most intoxicating feelings of his entire life. Every nerve and fibre of his being was alive and with every draw of his blood he felt his arousal build. It was incredible and mind blowing and so intense that even as it was happening he knew it could not last. There was only so much stimulation the human body could take and Hyde could feel himself being pushed past what he would have thought was his limit.
It felt as if his heart might explode in his chest as that mouth sucked and sucked on his neck. He could feel his erection straining against the confines of his jeans, the sensation competing with the lips on his flesh for his attention and he was desperate for release. It was too much and he strained away from the arms holding him, wanting to escape and wanting to stay exactly where he was with almost equal fervour. The grip that held him was firm and he could not get away as the sensations in his body continued to rise.
What happened then was inevitable, but when it finally occurred, it still took him by surprise. His orgasm hit with such force that it literally took away his mind and he heard himself scream as his whole body reacted with uncontrollable shudders. There was a moment of complete and total ecstasy and then everything vanished in the searing heat of release and faded to blackness.
====
Hyde opened his eyes slowly and blinked up at the pink light dappling the ceiling as it came through the curtains. His mind felt foggy and for a while he just gazed upwards as the signs of dawn entertained his bemused mind. Only when he moved his head to the side and his neck twinged did his thoughts wake up enough to feed him the memory of the previous evening. As the recollection of glowing yellow eyes entered his head, he sat up rapidly and then flopped back down again almost as quickly as the room span madly.
His head started thudding and he threw his hands over his eyes as all thoughts vanished in the pain of what felt like a hangover from hell. It took him long minutes to bring the jack hammer in his brain and the crazy tendency of the room to do the loop the loop under control and by then the panic at what he remembered had passed. He was still nervous and very much confused, but the momentary fear had faded, after all he was alive, whole and in his own room.
That brought up the question of how he had been returned to his room, undressed and placed in bed, since he was naked and clean and if there was one thing he remembered very clearly it was coming in his pants. It had to have been Gackt, which just threw up a whole host of questions that Hyde simply didn't have the answers to. He sat up again, slowly this time, and that was when he noticed the paper sitting on the table next to the bed.
Reaching over carefully he picked it up and unfolded what turned out to be a note; he recognised Gackt's handwriting immediately, but it took him longer to decipher what it said.
"I'm sorry, I'm so very sorry," he read slowly. "Stay in bed, drink plenty of fluids and eat as much as you can and you will be fine. Room service have instructions to bring you supplies once an hour and the filming is cancelled for today."
There was nothing else, no explanation and no signature and Hyde found himself irritated. The note said everything and nothing and that annoyed him just enough to push him into motion. This time he moved very carefully, well aware that if he pushed himself too fast he was liable to end up on the floor, and he climbed off the bed slowly. He had to hold himself up with one hand on the table as he stood up for the first time, but the room only span for a moment and with a few deep breaths he had it under control.
Walking to the bathroom was a bit like trying to put one foot in front of another after having been on a merry-go-round, but he made it without too much incident and splashing cold water on his face helped take away the flip flops his stomach was doing. Only once he had this under control did he have the nerve to look at himself in the mirror and he was quite pleased that he didn't look as awful as he felt. He was pale and he looked as tired as he felt, but there was nothing terrible.
The slightly aching bite on his neck was visible against his almost white skin, but it was not quite what he'd been expecting. He knew he'd been bitten, he remembered it with vivid detail, but what he could see on his neck looked more like a mutant hickey than a bite. There were two dark spots and a vaguely circular bruise, but no wound to speak of and it looked days rather than hours old. Touching it gingerly he found that it was still tender and the sensation sent weird impulses flowing through him so he decided to leave well enough alone.
It took him a long time to go through his usual routine, but when he walked back into the bedroom he felt a little better, although not particularly steady on his feet. Climbing into his clothes was an interesting affair and when it came to trying to pull on shoes and socks he just gave it up as a bad lot and decided that he could do without since he had no intention of going outside. Pulling up his hoody to hide the large bruise on his neck he checked himself in the mirror just to make sure he hadn't done anything stupid like put his t-shirt on backwards and then he squared himself for his mission: Gackt was going to talk to him if he had to bash his friend's door in.
On the way to Gackt's room he had to spend a good five minutes leaning against a wall as he set off too fast, and he was beginning to feel like he'd run a marathon by the time he finally reached his destination, but he did make it. It only took him another minute or two to work up the courage to actually knock on the door and then he waited, chewing nervously on the edge of his finger as he worried that this was the wrong thing to do.
It wasn't even six yet, but he did not think Gackt would be asleep since his friend was famous for how few hours a night he needed. Hyde had never expected the reason for that to be that Gackt really was a vampire, but he was having surprisingly little trouble accepting that fact. When the door finally opened he stood up quickly from where he had started to lean against the frame.
"Good morning," he said, politeness making it to the forefront of his brain first, "I think you..."
But that was as far as he managed as the world decided that silver and white were really good colours and everything should be various shades of them before flicking to complete black. When reality reasserted itself again he found that there was a strong arm around his waist, one of his arms had been pulled over Gackt's shoulders and he was being half walked, half carried across the room. Since walking was more effort than he cared to admit he let Gackt keep all of the control although he did manage to get his feet under him properly.
"Idoit," was Gackt's succinct opinion as the taller singer helped him sit down and Hyde did not resist as he was urged into a position with his head between his knees. "You were supposed to stay in bed."
That irritated Hyde, but he only tried to look up for a moment before he decided it was a bad idea.
"You owe me an explanation," he half said, half mumbled as he kept his head low and hoped the pounding and nauseating swaying would stop soon.
"And I would have given you one," Gackt said, and it was more annoying not to be able to see his friend's face, "but after you recovered."
That mollified Hyde a little, but not completely.
"I find out you really are a vampire in the most direct way and you expected me to wait?" he replied, daring a slow look up before letting his head drop again. "I need to know what happened, Gatchan; I couldn't just lie there."
There was silence for a while, but Hyde did not dare try and sit up yet and he was secretly glad that he had an excuse not to be looking at Gackt for a while. He was not sure what he would see and he did not want to destroy their friendship over something stupid. Gackt had not changed in all the time he had known him, so he could only assume this was not a new thing.
"I'm sorry," were the words that did make him finally try and sit up properly, "I lost control."
Gackt was standing a few feet away, looking down at him in a worried and very apologetic manner.
"If you tell me why I'll probably forgive you," Hyde replied, blinking rapidly to clear the spots dancing in front of his eyes; he really hated not being at full speed.
His friend looked quite surprised at his statement and he watched Gackt carefully.
"I take it you don't normally bite random people," he said, unsettled by Gackt's reticence.
"No," Gackt replied after a moment, "I have regular donors, but both of them happen to be with the delayed party. I've been so busy preparing for this trip that I have had no chance to feed in the last week and you found me right on my limit."
"You were using some sort of power to look healthy when I started asking questions weren't you?" Hyde voiced his suppositions as he replayed the events of the previous evening over in his head.
Gackt nodded.
"You are far too perceptive, most people would not have noticed anything in the first place," Gackt replied, obviously very tense. "I was about to go out and meet with a representative from one of the local vampire clans to negotiate for a temporary donor when you knocked on my door. No offence, Hyde-kun, but I was trying to get rid of you as fast as possible, but when you stepped towards me we started interacting. You're quite fascinating on a psychic level."
It was Hyde's turn to be surprised.
"Me?" he asked, not sure what Gackt could be talking about.
"Yes," Gackt said, appearing completely sincere, "it was one of the things that drew me to you in the first place. I'm not sure what it is, but you are much more there than most mortals."
"And this 'interaction' is why you bit me?" Hyde asked, wanting to understand what had happened.
He was not sure what motivated vampires, but he was pretty sure that if this hadn't been a complete accident he would have noticed something about Gackt before.
"Your uniqueness coupled with my hunger combined in a way that caused me to lose control," Gackt said, voice full of remorse, "I am so very sorry."
"You said that already," Hyde replied, not really enjoying the guilt he could see in his friend, "I forgive you, just please help me to understand. Is the hangover from hell a normal side effect?"
Gackt looked even guiltier.
"No," was the quiet response, "I took too much. I became intoxicated, I'm sorry."
"Stop apologising," Hyde said, letting his head drop down again as he felt faint, "it sounds like it's partially my fault anyway. If I'd been able to take a hint nothing would have happened."
"There is no excuse," Gackt began to say.
Hyde brought his head up rapidly, regretting it even as he did so, but needing to make sure Gackt could see his face.
"Just stop," he said, refusing to allow his friend to wallow in guilt for something that he had already forgiven him for, "it's done and we'll deal with it. You lost control, I get it, apology accepted."
Gackt just looked at him for a while, eyes eerily blue thanks to the lenses and Hyde took the time to bring the room back to stillness in his vision. When his friend finally gave an almost imperceptible nod Hyde breathed a sigh of relief. He could not help blushing as he played events over in his head again and the ending to his evening ran through his thoughts. It was awkward and embarrassing, but he had to know why he had reacted that way.
"And," he tried to find the right words, "my ... um ... reaction, was that normal or different too?"
"Normal, under the circumstances," Gackt replied, a little too fast for Hyde's peace of mind.
"What circumstances?" he asked, biting his lip and not really sure he was ready for the answer.
Gackt's expression was about as awkward as he felt which at least made it a bit easier; if he had been the only one feeling this way he might have fled the room, or at least tried to, and probably fallen on his face.
"Mutual attraction," Gackt eventually said in a short clipped tone.
Hyde opened his mouth to deny that and then shut it again; it would have been a lie. He was attracted to Gackt, not that he would have acted on it, but it was a fact that he could no longer deny. The fact that Gackt seemed to be equally drawn to him made him feel a little hot under the collar, but they were adults, they could deal with this without having to give in to hormonal instincts.
"You do realise that I would never..." he said hesitantly.
"Completely," Gackt replied with a nod before he could finish, "and I never would have mentioned it, but..."
"Yes," he finished without making his friend go into detail; it seemed they understood each other at least.
The silence that followed was even more awkward than the one before until Hyde was desperate for any kind of conversation since he couldn't just escape.
"So were you really born in 1540 or is that just hype?" he asked, willing to pick the first question that came into his head.
"Hype," Gackt admitted, seemingly as keen to leap on the conversation as Hyde was to begin it, "it was more like 1450, but I didn't want anyone looking to be able to find anything."
Hyde had to take a deep breath to steady himself before he said something stupid at that revelation; knowing something and then having it confirmed with such stark honesty were two different things it seemed and his mind rebelled. It took him a second to accept what he had heard.
"So you're over five hundred years old?" Hyde was having trouble with the concept.
Gackt nodded, moving over to the chair and slowly sinking into it. Feeling as if he had just about sorted out his equilibrium Hyde took the opportunity to sit up properly, being very careful not to move too fast. He winced as his head thudded at the movement and began to wish that he had done as the note said. Closing his eyes for a moment he did his best to push the headache away and then looked back at Gackt; his friend was looking at the clock on the bedside table.
"Room service wasn't going to start until six thirty," Gackt said turning back, "you didn't even eat anything before you came here, did you?"
Gackt sounded a little exasperated and Hyde had to nod; he had come straight here without stopping for anything else.
"Don't move," Gackt said in a tone that begged no argument, "I'm going to have the room service diverted here. Once you have a meal inside of you I'll answer any questions you have."
Hyde chose not to argue.
====
Waking up Hyde found that he felt much better than he had before, and then it occurred to him that he didn't remember going back to his room or, for that matter, going to sleep. It was shortly after this he realised that he was not in fact in his own room and that he was lying on Gackt's bed. Rather embarrassed he looked around the room and found that his friend was sitting at the desk on the other side of the bed, writing something.
"Feeling better?" Gackt asked, looking up before Hyde even had a chance to sit up.
"Yes, thank you," he said without having to think too hard about it; the headache he remembered very clearly was little more than a dull ache now and, as he slowly levered himself up, the room did not spin at all; he was rather pleased. "Sorry for falling asleep on you."
That earned him a smile.
"No problem," Gackt replied, putting whatever he was working on aside, "it was the best thing for you. You've been sleeping for about an hour and a half. Do you think you can eat again?"
Hyde might have been small but he had a metabolism from hell that demanded food as often as he could find it, so he nodded as he carefully swung his legs off the bed. He felt a lot more with it now than he had first thing that morning and he found his curiosity piqued much more now that his mind was working again. He found himself watching carefully as Gackt picked up the internal phone and rang down to room service. He had always thought that the way Gackt moved was graceful, but now that he wasn't ignoring it he could see there was something otherworldly as well. As Gackt put the phone down and turned back towards him, it occurred to Hyde that maybe his friend had just stopped hiding.
"You act all the time, don't you," he said in a moment of clarity and then wondered if he should have been less direct.
"With most people, yes," Gackt replied, seemingly quite happy to talk about it, "but you play a role most of the time as well, mine is just a little more complete."
"And practiced," Hyde replied with a smile, "half the time I forget who I'm supposed to be."
Gackt acknowledged that with a tilt of his head, he seemed to find it amusing as well.
"So do you mind if we have that conversation now?" Hyde asked since he seemed to have fallen asleep before they had had a chance to talk before.
"Not at all," his friend said, turning around properly so that they were face to face, "what would you like to know?"
That was a question and a half and Hyde took a moment to think about what he wanted to ask first. He found himself fascinated by the whole idea of vampires and what little information he had gleaned from their previous discourse made him all the more interested.
"Are there many vampires out there?" he asked eventually. "You made it sound very organised when you spoke about clans."
"A fair number," Gackt replied after a moment's thought, "I suppose you could think of us as a very small minority group. Certain areas of the world have higher populations than others and we keep our numbers in check. Killing mortals has been outlawed in most places for centuries and most cities with populations are controlled by clans or families. I belong to the Kyoto Dragon clan. No vampire can change clan affiliation, it is settled by who created him or her, but the clans rarely call on their members."
It sounded to Hyde almost like Yakuza which rather explained Gackt's fascination with gangsters.
"Sounds complicated," he commented, wondering what happened if the clans did call on their people.
"Not really," his friend replied with a shrug, "mostly we just continue with our lives. In Japan there are five large clans and each has a leader, mostly a figure head who is only there as the final settlement to any situation that cannot be solved by other means. Then there are the law givers; they run the clan making sure that no members are running wild. All new vampires have to be approved by them; being an island nation we have always kept our numbers carefully under control."
"Didn't your clan mind you telling everyone you're a vampire?" Hyde asked, not clear on how an organisation like the one Gackt had described would see such things.
Gackt smiled at that, clearly amused again.
"I think they would have been worried if I had begun telling our secrets to the world," Gackt said and Hyde was sure his friend was remembering something, "but it's more a matter of disinformation. There are so many legends out there and I have picked bits from my favourite ones to create an image so most of my clan find it more amusing than anything. One day I will have to bow out gracefully, but until then I'm rather enjoying myself."
"So you're not a law giver or anything grand like that?" Hyde asked, intrigued by the whole idea.
He never would have expected that there was a subculture of vampires living in the world under the noses of mortals, but now that he knew he wanted details.
"Not a law giver, no," Gackt replied and just for a second looked away.
If Hyde had not been paying attention quite so closely he would have missed the significance of the movement, but his mind was moving very fast at that moment and he saw.
"But you are something else," he said and found himself the focus of Gackt's blue-eyed stare.
"Far too perceptive," Gackt said with a shake of his head, but there was a small smile playing at his friend's face that made Hyde glad. "Yes I am something."
Hyde wanted to ask what, but the enigmatic answer had him wondering if Gackt wanted to keep this to himself. Feeling that maybe he was being nosy he pushed himself off the bed, working the kinks out of his body with a slow stretch and tried to think of something else to ask.
"I am head of the Dragon clan."
Gackt's words took him by surprise and he almost had to sit down again rather rapidly as he turned his head too fast to look at his friend.
"Vampires are immortal in the sense that we do not age, but it is the will to live that keeps us alive," Gackt said and Hyde just listened rather than voiced any of the questions that piled up in his head. "There can come a time when that will is gone. My creator was the head of our clan, but he became tired of living after three thousand years and he passed the mantel to me nearly a century ago. I keep in close contact with our law givers, but I am only ever needed if disputes require life and death decisions."
Hyde wasn't quite sure how to react.
"Is that why you had to be so careful about a donor?" he finally asked, wondering why someone so powerful in another clan would have to worry about something so fundamental in another city.
"No," Gackt replied openly, "I have not revealed who I am, but when entering another clan or family's territory all vampires will make themselves known. Donors can be acquired, but not without going through the correct channels. The local clan is the Serpent clan and they are aware that I am a master vampire from the Dragon clan, but I do not advertise my status."
"Too much baggage?" Hyde asked, realising that Gackt was putting a lot of faith in him by telling him all this.
"Exactly," was the short response.
It was rapidly becoming clear to Hyde that there was a huge amount he didn't know and the world was more complicated than he had ever given it credit for. His view on the universe had changed, but he found that he was excited in a way he hadn't been since he'd started in the music business.
He was about to launch into another question when there was a knock on the door.
"Don't over exert yourself," Gackt said as Hyde found himself wobbling again when he turned to look at the entrance too fast, "that will be room service."
Since his stomach growled in anticipation Hyde did not argue and as Gackt headed for the door he sat down and waited like a good little musician.
====
They talked for what had to have been hours, interspersed by Gackt forcing Hyde to consume more food than should have been humanly possible, but by about lunch time he was feeling a lot better. There had been some explanation about how vampire feeding caused a reaction in the human body and blood was replaced very quickly, but that it required lots of fuel. Hyde had not taken in all the details, but it made a weird kind of sense, so he had behaved and not balked every time Gackt had placed another bowl of noodles or rice in front of him. At least the last time Gackt had had some as well.
Hyde was beginning to think that it might be time to return to his own room when there was another knock at the door, and it couldn't have been room service because they had just sent the last lot of empty dishes back. He watched Gackt walk towards the door and saw his friend stiffen just before he got there and the tension in the room went up a notch. Whoever was at the door they didn't stay long and when Gackt spoke he spoke in a language Hyde did not understand, so by the time his friend walked back into the room carrying a letter, Hyde was completely confused and more than a little worried.
He sat still and just waited, since he was sure Gackt would tell him if this concerned him, but he prepared to leave if Gackt needed time to himself. The last thing he wanted to do was cause problems now that he and Gackt seemed to be almost back to normal.
"Fuck," was Gackt's heartfelt reaction as Hyde watched him finish reading the letter before balling it up and throwing it into a corner.
"Something wrong?" he asked, not wanting to pry, but feeling the need to express his concern for his friend.
"A complication," Gackt said shortly, clearly annoyed, "nothing for you to worry about."
That sounded like his out of the problem, but Hyde could see that Gackt was suddenly very tense and that was not good.
"Something from the local vampires?" he asked, hoping that he was not stepping over a line.
For a moment Hyde thought Gackt might not tell him, but then he saw his friend's expression change.
"I was negotiating for a donor when our encounter occurred," Gackt reiterated what Hyde already knew, "and I did not hide my immediate need. Since I did not contact them again they wish to know how I satisfied that need and their law givers have requested my presence this evening to explain."
"And if you tell them about me they'll just believe you?" Hyde asked, not sure what was making Gackt so on edge.
"Possibly," Gackt said, clearly reluctant about his answer.
It dawned on Hyde why his friend was tense.
"They'll want you to prove who your donor was won't they," he said slowly, "and that means meeting me."
"Not necessarily," Gackt replied, but his tone was not convincing.
The idea of meeting other vampires filled Hyde with anxiety that finding out about Gackt never really had, but he was not about to abandon his friend.
"I could come with you," he said, gathering up all his courage before voicing his solution, "and that would settle everything wouldn't it?"
Gackt was frowning.
"I don't want to drag you into this," his friend said, clearly uncomfortable, "not unless I have to. Vampire politics can be bothersome."
"Then wouldn't it be better to sort this out straight away so we can get on with making the movie?" Hyde asked, wondering what details Gackt was not telling him. "If you turn up alone won't you just have to go back with me anyway? I honestly don't mind going with you if it will help get us back on track."
Gackt looked pensive for a few minutes until finally he nodded, tension easing a little bit, but not disappearing. Hyde knew there was something he wasn't being told, but he trusted Gackt enough to let his friend handle it.
"Okay," Gackt said without a trace of emotion in his voice, "our appointment is at ten."
Hyde just accepted the information with a nod and all thoughts of returning to his room fled; now he had a hundred new questions. One thing he definitely didn't want to do was insult anyone.
====
Climbing out of the car behind Gackt, Hyde smoothed down the smart jacket he had decided to wear, and hoped that his nervousness was not too obvious. His instructions were basically to stay with Gackt and keep his mouth shut unless asked direct questions, which niggled a little, but made sense since he was dealing with an environment with which he had no experience. He could be shy at the best of times so this was probably the better course of action anyway; he really didn't want to come over as an idiot.
There were two large looking men on the door of what was an impressive, modern building and the way they were looking at him made Hyde feel even more nervous. Gackt didn't seem to like it either if the set of his shoulders was anything to go by and Hyde had to wonder what was going on.
"If I flirt," Gackt whispered, turning back to him and leaning in close, "flirt back. I fear we may have to give the impression we are closer than friends."
"Why?" Hyde asked, wanting to understand even though he trusted Gackt's judgement.
"I believe I may have underestimated your impact," Gackt replied, straightening his collar for him even though it was quite straight to begin with. "I do not wish any of those here to get ideas about pursuing you, and a deeper connection between us will prevent that. I apologise in advance for anything inappropriate I may do or say."
"I'm a big boy," Hyde replied, "I can cope. Let's just pretend we're on stage at one of your concerts."
That made Gackt crack the tiniest of smiles, but it was gone as soon as his friend turned back towards the building. As soon as Gackt began to walk, Hyde followed and they entered the building with him only slightly behind his friend. In the hotel Hyde had kept the residual marks of Gackt's feeding well hidden, but now they were on display, almost as if they were a badge of honour. They were almost gone, but Hyde saw several pair of eyes flick to them and away again; he hoped this would not take long.
They spoke to a receptionist who directed them to an elevator and, once they were inside, Gackt reached up to remove the coloured glasses he was wearing. It didn't really surprise Hyde to see that his companion was not wearing his blue lenses to this meeting and it did explain why Gackt had been wearing sunglasses after dark, which was eccentric even for him.
They were met on the ninth floor by a woman in a long black dress who looked to Hyde like she'd been sewn into the garment. How she moved was a mystery to him, but at the same time she had an air about her that told him she could rip his head off and suck out the insides without so much as breaking a nail. He was not embarrassed to admit that she intimidated him even as she greeted them politely and led them towards another room.
She threw open a set of oak double doors and revealed a plush, modern office that was arranged around a very large, impressive wooden desk, behind which was sat a man who barely looked thirty. He was flanked on one side by an older looking man who, as far as Hyde was concerned, was the size of a house, and as he followed Gackt into the room he spotted another man lounging against the wall to the right.
"Ah, good evening," the man behind the desk greeted as if he hadn't known who was about the walk in, "thank you for being so punctual."
"It was the least I could do," Gackt said, turning on the charm and sounding anything but annoyed to have answered what was basically a summons, "I must apologise for the confusion."
"It was unfortunate that we had to request your presence, Gackt-san, but we have had a little trouble with some of our younger residents and visitors and we felt it better to be safe than sorry," the man behind the desk said and it was clear to Hyde that Gackt and the other vampire had met before. "I do hope you understand."
"Of course, Sato-san," Gackt replied with a polite bow of his head. "it is my fault for not contacting you today to explain, but I must admit that last night's events were rather surprising and took my entire attention. This is Hyde, he has become the solution to my problem and unfortunately my distraction as well."
Hyde stepped up beside Gackt when he was mentioned and did not resist as Gackt reach out, snaking an arm around his shoulders to pull him close. He stayed put as Gackt's fingers ran leisurely down his neck and danced lightly over what was left of the bite mark. The shiver that ran through him was completely unintentional, but he couldn't help it.
"Isn't it rather a dangerous game to reveal your nature to such a high profile acquaintance?" it was the vampire lounging against the wall who had spoken and something about the man's tone annoyed Hyde.
It was clear the others in the room knew who he was, but he still had the feeling that most of them were looking down their noses at him.
"I am a little more than an acquaintance," he said, unable to stop his annoyance showing through.
He was quite surprised to see the vampire he had challenged grin at that.
"And fiery too," was the offhand comment that came back and made Hyde bristle even more, but Gackt's hand on his shoulder tightened just slightly and kept him silent.
"I must apologise for Lee Seung-Jin," Sato said and looked at the still lounging vampire sharply, "he is visiting from Korea and their methods are less civilised than ours."
That made the aforementioned Lee Seung-Jin laugh and Hyde decided that he definitely didn't like the man.
"I'm sure you will civilise me in the end, Sato-san," the vampire said without even bothering to stand up. "I still think it was a valid question."
"It was not a conscious decision," Gackt said, fingers gently running up and down Hyde's neck again; "I'm sure you have noticed that there is something unique about Hyde. We have been dancing around each other for some time and last night we intersected at the wrong moment, or right one, depending on how you look at it."
"Are you psychic, Hyde-san," Sato asked politely.
"Not that I know of," Hyde replied with complete honesty; he had no idea why he seemed to be so attractive to vampires and he never would have known if it hadn't been for the previous evening.
It was a rather uncomfortable few seconds as he realised that he was the centre of attention in the room and he found Gackt's touch very comforting as four vampires studied him.
"Don't suppose you feel like sharing?" it was Lee who spoke again and just proved to Hyde that his opinion of the vampire was correct.
What surprised him was the growl that came from Gackt and the way the arm holding him close tightened so that he couldn't have stepped away if he wanted to.
"If you cannot be polite you will leave," Sato said with a crack of authority in his voice that made Hyde glad that he was not the focus of the vampire's attention.
When he glanced over at Lee the Korean simply appeared bored, but it was telling that there was no retort. Hyde suddenly wanted to be out of the building as soon as possible; he did not like the atmosphere in the room.
"With respect, Sato-san," Gackt brought the attention back to himself and Hyde just did his best to be as inconspicuous as possible, "I became somewhat carried away last night and Hyde came this evening against my better judgement because he wished to make sure this situation was resolved. If you are satisfied I would like to take him back to our hotel so that he may rest."
For once Hyde did not mind being the weak little human and he gave Sato a small smile when the law giver looked at him again. He could do innocent and vulnerable with the best of them and he employed the fact that he could look feminine and helpless to its utmost. Sometimes it was a pain in the arse, but just about then it was very useful.
"Thank you, Gackt-san, Hyde-san," Sato said after a moment, "I believe we have all the information we require. If you wish for any assistance during your stay, please do not hesitate to contact us, Gackt-san."
"Thank you for your hospitality, Sato-san," Gackt replied, "perhaps you or yours will visit Kyoto one day and I will be able to return it."
Hyde bowed his head in respect and then was very glad as Gackt took him by the hand and led him to the door. If he never saw another vampire it would be too soon.
====
Everything was going well on the film and Hyde was in a good mood as he left his room to take a cab to their current shooting site. It had been three weeks since they had arrived and not a sign of the supernatural, which made Hyde all the happier. Some of the others had been at the current location for a couple of hours shooting scenes that he was not required for, but they only had this site for a short time so they were fitting everything in and hence he was required for later scenes. It was going to be a busy evening, but he was enjoying the whole acting thing so he was looking forward to it.
Hyde was walking down one of the corridors towards the elevator when he had the strangest feeling that something was wrong and then he saw Lee Seung-Jin step out from the shadows in the hallway and he immediately stopped walking. The Korean vampire had given him the creeps when they had met in the law giver's office and Hyde wanted absolutely nothing to do with him. He'd just about managed to forget about the vampire population and Lee was not really the reminder he wanted.
"Good evening," Lee said politely, but with a smile that set off every alarm in Hyde's head, "I have a message for Gackt; would you happen to know where he is?"
"Filming," Hyde replied, wanting to back away as the vampire calmly walked towards him, but also not wishing to be openly rude and giving Lee an excuse to become annoyed, "he'll be on shoot until early tomorrow morning."
He did not add that he was going to join the shoot as well, but he had a nasty suspicion Lee probably already knew that. Something about the way the vampire was carrying himself set Hyde completely on edge, but he didn't know what to do about it. He began praying that someone would come round the corner or Gackt's influence with the local vampires would mean that Lee was just messing with him.
"Are you going to see him this evening?" Lee asked conversationally. "I would consider it a great favour if you would deliver this for me. My hosts have requested that I deliver it and I would not like to cause any disruption to the filming with my presence."
Everything in Hyde said not to let the vampire close, but what was he supposed to do? Without being extremely rude he could not exactly refuse to deliver a simple letter. It was possible that Lee really was here on an errand and it was just the vampire's overall demeanour that made him nervous, but he couldn't be sure one way or another.
"Yes," he finally said, his polite upbringing overcoming his instincts for while, "I'll give it to him later."
Lee smiled broadly then and came forward faster which meant Hyde had to force himself not to step back. The smile did not reach the vampire's eyes and even as he held out his hand for the letter Hyde felt something. It was as if a force was pressing against his thoughts and he made the mistake of looking into Lee's eyes. The vampire's eyes were glowing a soft green and it was like a knife in his brain as Hyde felt his will being completely disconnected from his body. He felt his body beginning to slump and there was nothing he could do about it as he fell into Lee's waiting arms.
"Come, My Little Angel," Lee whispered as his mind began to shut down, "I have plans for you."
End of Part 1
On to Part 2
Series: Dragon Saga 01
Link: To the rest of the Dragon Saga
Author: Beren
Fandom: Jrock
Pairing: Gackt/Hyde, Hyde/OMC, Hyde/Megumi
Rating: NC17/18
Disclaimer: Hyde and Gackt and any other people you may recognise are real, this story isn't and I definitely don't own them or have any copyright to any part of any of them. I do not believe any of this happened, is likely to happen or should happen it is simply a story created around known facts about those involved.
Warnings: non-con (not Gackt/Hyde), vampires
Summary: While filming Moon Child Hyde finds out that not everything the papers say about Gackt is hype and his life changes far more than just adding acting to his repertoire.
Author's Notes: Well I was trying to write part two of "You want to what?", but this happened instead. Be warned, this definitely isn't humour, and I have most of three sequels written too, so you could say this ate my brain :). Thanks, as ever, to Soph for the beta. Oh and for those who read my LJ, no, this isn't the fic I was ranting about the other day; this one rather took over from it.
Word count: 16,728
Link: to other fic
Hyde knocked on Gackt's hotel room door with his schedule in his hand; they weren't filming until the next evening, having just flown in, but he wanted to clear up a few details. He did not mind admitting that he was nervous about the whole acting thing and he hoped his friend wouldn't mind going over a couple of things. The arrival in the city had not been without incident which had not done a lot to settle his nerves; half the crew had been delayed and wouldn't be in until the next lunch time at the earliest and he'd seen Gackt going mental at more than one official.
Gackt had been irritable ever since he'd found out about the crew delay and Hyde hoped his friend had calmed down since he'd last seen him. The last thing he needed was for Gackt to go off on one. When the door opened, however, all thoughts of Gackt being temperamental fled as he took in the state of his friend. Gackt was incredibly pale and the other singer was wearing dark glasses that were barely hiding grey around his eyes, so much so that Hyde was instantly worried.
"Hyde-kun," Gackt greeted, sounding surprised, "what can I do for you?"
"I just wanted to speak to you about tomorrow," Hyde replied automatically, but his anxiety did not go away even though Gackt sounded perfectly normal.
"Come in," Gackt said as if there was nothing wrong, walking back from the door to let Hyde through, "what did you wish to discus?"
There was something tired about Gackt's stance that niggled at Hyde as he kept a careful eye on his friend while he closed the door. Usually Gackt had more energy than anyone else Hyde knew, but this evening his friend seemed almost slow.
"Gatchan, are you feeling all right?" he could not help himself, he had to ask.
Gackt turned back, expression unreadable behind the dark glasses that were worrying Hyde.
"I'm fine," the taller man replied, tone completely calm. "Was there something specific you wished to know about tomorrow's shoot?"
Hyde knew that was his cue to set the conversation back on its original course, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. No matter what Gackt said, everything could simply not be perfect.
"Forgive me, Gatchan," he said, knowing he was possibly pushing too hard, "but you don't look fine."
Gackt turned away then and Hyde could not help wondering if he had offended his friend. Challenging Gackt was not a way to get on the singer's good side.
"I am a little tired from all the travelling today," Gackt said after a moment, tone so pleasant that Hyde almost gave a sigh of relief, "it's nothing more, honestly."
It looked like more to Hyde, but he was relieved to see Gackt reach up and take off the dark glasses he was wearing. When his friend turned back he was surprised to see that Gackt did not look as bad as he had feared. The grey around Gackt's eyes must have been a reflection from the dark lenses because without the glasses Gackt looked surprisingly healthy.
Hyde found himself checking carefully, as if he might be able to pick out something that was wrong and it wasn't until he reached Gackt's eyes that he realised his friend was not wearing his habitual blue lenses. It was strange but he felt his pulse speed up as he looked into dark eyes that seemed almost black in the low light in the room. The stab of attraction he felt shocked him out of the moment as he realised he was staring and he could not quite fathom where the feeling had come from. He'd always known his friend was a handsome man, but the momentary feeling rather took him by surprise since he had never experienced it before.
It wasn't that he'd never been attracted to a man before, since before Megumi he'd been quite willing to experiment, but since he'd been with his wife he hadn't so much as looked at anyone else. The fact that it had happened just then was odd as well since only a moment before he had been more worried than anything else.
He was confused and something felt off about the entire situation, so much so that he took a step towards Gackt. Gackt's expression was startled and Hyde was positive his friend would have stepped back had Gackt not been standing just in front of one of the chairs in the room. The moment Hyde moved within three feet of Gackt he felt as if a pleasant fog had come down over his senses and the only thing that wasn't obscured by it was Gackt. A small voice at the back of his mind tried to call the rest of his thoughts' attention to the fact that this was not right, but most of his focus was on Gackt.
For a moment his friend looked as if he was fighting with himself and Hyde felt the fog recede a little, but his eyes locked with the dark ones looking at him and the battle in Gackt's features faded. Hyde felt almost drunk as he stared into Gackt's eyes and this time the stab of arousal lanced through his whole body and made him feel weak at the knees. The paleness that had made him comment in the first place, but that seemed to have been his imagination after Gackt took off his glasses, faded back into his friend's features, but it did nothing to break the fascination Gackt seemed to hold for him.
The dark eyes he was gazing into changed even as he watched them, going from almost black, fading to brown and continuing until they were a golden yellow. Hyde felt as if he was being swallowed by those eyes and his reality narrowed down to that glowing colour. His mind seemed to be slowing down second by second and his eyes felt incredibly heavy, fluttering shut once and then twice until his senses were swamped in warm blackness and all he could see in his mind's eye were those yellow eyes.
When a hand touched his shoulder he could not stop the small moan that escaped his mouth as he literally shivered at the contact. It was as if every nerve was waiting for any touch and his body was ready to respond, in the extreme, to anything. His reactions were completely out of his control and only a tiny part of his mind was even remotely alarmed by this.
Arms snaked around him from behind and he leaned back into the embrace without even thinking about it. Nothing impinged on his mind except the presence behind him that he could literally feel with every fibre of his being. It did not matter that the arms around him belonged to a man who was not more than his friend; it did not matter why those arms had pulled him close; all that counted was that they had and at that moment he never wanted them to let go.
His whole nervous system was poised for whatever would happen next and he was shaking so hard that he was sure he would have fallen if Gackt had not been holding him. When breath ghosted against his neck he moved his head to the side instinctively and the tiniest of sighs fell from his lips. Everything was poised at that moment; nothing else existed and it was as if the whole universe was waiting.
Hyde felt lips touch his neck first and a shudder ran from his head to his feet, but he knew instinctively that something else was coming. When two sharp points lanced into his flesh he whimpered in pain as his hypersensitive nerves relayed every moment in excruciating detail, but the waves of arousal, due to the intimacy of the act, flooding through him dwarfed any discomfort into insignificance in little more than a second.
He could hear his heartbeat thudding in his chest and his blood rushing in his veins as the mouth at his neck latched on with bruising force. His whole body surrendered as he literally felt his life being drawn from him and it was one of the most intoxicating feelings of his entire life. Every nerve and fibre of his being was alive and with every draw of his blood he felt his arousal build. It was incredible and mind blowing and so intense that even as it was happening he knew it could not last. There was only so much stimulation the human body could take and Hyde could feel himself being pushed past what he would have thought was his limit.
It felt as if his heart might explode in his chest as that mouth sucked and sucked on his neck. He could feel his erection straining against the confines of his jeans, the sensation competing with the lips on his flesh for his attention and he was desperate for release. It was too much and he strained away from the arms holding him, wanting to escape and wanting to stay exactly where he was with almost equal fervour. The grip that held him was firm and he could not get away as the sensations in his body continued to rise.
What happened then was inevitable, but when it finally occurred, it still took him by surprise. His orgasm hit with such force that it literally took away his mind and he heard himself scream as his whole body reacted with uncontrollable shudders. There was a moment of complete and total ecstasy and then everything vanished in the searing heat of release and faded to blackness.
====
Hyde opened his eyes slowly and blinked up at the pink light dappling the ceiling as it came through the curtains. His mind felt foggy and for a while he just gazed upwards as the signs of dawn entertained his bemused mind. Only when he moved his head to the side and his neck twinged did his thoughts wake up enough to feed him the memory of the previous evening. As the recollection of glowing yellow eyes entered his head, he sat up rapidly and then flopped back down again almost as quickly as the room span madly.
His head started thudding and he threw his hands over his eyes as all thoughts vanished in the pain of what felt like a hangover from hell. It took him long minutes to bring the jack hammer in his brain and the crazy tendency of the room to do the loop the loop under control and by then the panic at what he remembered had passed. He was still nervous and very much confused, but the momentary fear had faded, after all he was alive, whole and in his own room.
That brought up the question of how he had been returned to his room, undressed and placed in bed, since he was naked and clean and if there was one thing he remembered very clearly it was coming in his pants. It had to have been Gackt, which just threw up a whole host of questions that Hyde simply didn't have the answers to. He sat up again, slowly this time, and that was when he noticed the paper sitting on the table next to the bed.
Reaching over carefully he picked it up and unfolded what turned out to be a note; he recognised Gackt's handwriting immediately, but it took him longer to decipher what it said.
"I'm sorry, I'm so very sorry," he read slowly. "Stay in bed, drink plenty of fluids and eat as much as you can and you will be fine. Room service have instructions to bring you supplies once an hour and the filming is cancelled for today."
There was nothing else, no explanation and no signature and Hyde found himself irritated. The note said everything and nothing and that annoyed him just enough to push him into motion. This time he moved very carefully, well aware that if he pushed himself too fast he was liable to end up on the floor, and he climbed off the bed slowly. He had to hold himself up with one hand on the table as he stood up for the first time, but the room only span for a moment and with a few deep breaths he had it under control.
Walking to the bathroom was a bit like trying to put one foot in front of another after having been on a merry-go-round, but he made it without too much incident and splashing cold water on his face helped take away the flip flops his stomach was doing. Only once he had this under control did he have the nerve to look at himself in the mirror and he was quite pleased that he didn't look as awful as he felt. He was pale and he looked as tired as he felt, but there was nothing terrible.
The slightly aching bite on his neck was visible against his almost white skin, but it was not quite what he'd been expecting. He knew he'd been bitten, he remembered it with vivid detail, but what he could see on his neck looked more like a mutant hickey than a bite. There were two dark spots and a vaguely circular bruise, but no wound to speak of and it looked days rather than hours old. Touching it gingerly he found that it was still tender and the sensation sent weird impulses flowing through him so he decided to leave well enough alone.
It took him a long time to go through his usual routine, but when he walked back into the bedroom he felt a little better, although not particularly steady on his feet. Climbing into his clothes was an interesting affair and when it came to trying to pull on shoes and socks he just gave it up as a bad lot and decided that he could do without since he had no intention of going outside. Pulling up his hoody to hide the large bruise on his neck he checked himself in the mirror just to make sure he hadn't done anything stupid like put his t-shirt on backwards and then he squared himself for his mission: Gackt was going to talk to him if he had to bash his friend's door in.
On the way to Gackt's room he had to spend a good five minutes leaning against a wall as he set off too fast, and he was beginning to feel like he'd run a marathon by the time he finally reached his destination, but he did make it. It only took him another minute or two to work up the courage to actually knock on the door and then he waited, chewing nervously on the edge of his finger as he worried that this was the wrong thing to do.
It wasn't even six yet, but he did not think Gackt would be asleep since his friend was famous for how few hours a night he needed. Hyde had never expected the reason for that to be that Gackt really was a vampire, but he was having surprisingly little trouble accepting that fact. When the door finally opened he stood up quickly from where he had started to lean against the frame.
"Good morning," he said, politeness making it to the forefront of his brain first, "I think you..."
But that was as far as he managed as the world decided that silver and white were really good colours and everything should be various shades of them before flicking to complete black. When reality reasserted itself again he found that there was a strong arm around his waist, one of his arms had been pulled over Gackt's shoulders and he was being half walked, half carried across the room. Since walking was more effort than he cared to admit he let Gackt keep all of the control although he did manage to get his feet under him properly.
"Idoit," was Gackt's succinct opinion as the taller singer helped him sit down and Hyde did not resist as he was urged into a position with his head between his knees. "You were supposed to stay in bed."
That irritated Hyde, but he only tried to look up for a moment before he decided it was a bad idea.
"You owe me an explanation," he half said, half mumbled as he kept his head low and hoped the pounding and nauseating swaying would stop soon.
"And I would have given you one," Gackt said, and it was more annoying not to be able to see his friend's face, "but after you recovered."
That mollified Hyde a little, but not completely.
"I find out you really are a vampire in the most direct way and you expected me to wait?" he replied, daring a slow look up before letting his head drop again. "I need to know what happened, Gatchan; I couldn't just lie there."
There was silence for a while, but Hyde did not dare try and sit up yet and he was secretly glad that he had an excuse not to be looking at Gackt for a while. He was not sure what he would see and he did not want to destroy their friendship over something stupid. Gackt had not changed in all the time he had known him, so he could only assume this was not a new thing.
"I'm sorry," were the words that did make him finally try and sit up properly, "I lost control."
Gackt was standing a few feet away, looking down at him in a worried and very apologetic manner.
"If you tell me why I'll probably forgive you," Hyde replied, blinking rapidly to clear the spots dancing in front of his eyes; he really hated not being at full speed.
His friend looked quite surprised at his statement and he watched Gackt carefully.
"I take it you don't normally bite random people," he said, unsettled by Gackt's reticence.
"No," Gackt replied after a moment, "I have regular donors, but both of them happen to be with the delayed party. I've been so busy preparing for this trip that I have had no chance to feed in the last week and you found me right on my limit."
"You were using some sort of power to look healthy when I started asking questions weren't you?" Hyde voiced his suppositions as he replayed the events of the previous evening over in his head.
Gackt nodded.
"You are far too perceptive, most people would not have noticed anything in the first place," Gackt replied, obviously very tense. "I was about to go out and meet with a representative from one of the local vampire clans to negotiate for a temporary donor when you knocked on my door. No offence, Hyde-kun, but I was trying to get rid of you as fast as possible, but when you stepped towards me we started interacting. You're quite fascinating on a psychic level."
It was Hyde's turn to be surprised.
"Me?" he asked, not sure what Gackt could be talking about.
"Yes," Gackt said, appearing completely sincere, "it was one of the things that drew me to you in the first place. I'm not sure what it is, but you are much more there than most mortals."
"And this 'interaction' is why you bit me?" Hyde asked, wanting to understand what had happened.
He was not sure what motivated vampires, but he was pretty sure that if this hadn't been a complete accident he would have noticed something about Gackt before.
"Your uniqueness coupled with my hunger combined in a way that caused me to lose control," Gackt said, voice full of remorse, "I am so very sorry."
"You said that already," Hyde replied, not really enjoying the guilt he could see in his friend, "I forgive you, just please help me to understand. Is the hangover from hell a normal side effect?"
Gackt looked even guiltier.
"No," was the quiet response, "I took too much. I became intoxicated, I'm sorry."
"Stop apologising," Hyde said, letting his head drop down again as he felt faint, "it sounds like it's partially my fault anyway. If I'd been able to take a hint nothing would have happened."
"There is no excuse," Gackt began to say.
Hyde brought his head up rapidly, regretting it even as he did so, but needing to make sure Gackt could see his face.
"Just stop," he said, refusing to allow his friend to wallow in guilt for something that he had already forgiven him for, "it's done and we'll deal with it. You lost control, I get it, apology accepted."
Gackt just looked at him for a while, eyes eerily blue thanks to the lenses and Hyde took the time to bring the room back to stillness in his vision. When his friend finally gave an almost imperceptible nod Hyde breathed a sigh of relief. He could not help blushing as he played events over in his head again and the ending to his evening ran through his thoughts. It was awkward and embarrassing, but he had to know why he had reacted that way.
"And," he tried to find the right words, "my ... um ... reaction, was that normal or different too?"
"Normal, under the circumstances," Gackt replied, a little too fast for Hyde's peace of mind.
"What circumstances?" he asked, biting his lip and not really sure he was ready for the answer.
Gackt's expression was about as awkward as he felt which at least made it a bit easier; if he had been the only one feeling this way he might have fled the room, or at least tried to, and probably fallen on his face.
"Mutual attraction," Gackt eventually said in a short clipped tone.
Hyde opened his mouth to deny that and then shut it again; it would have been a lie. He was attracted to Gackt, not that he would have acted on it, but it was a fact that he could no longer deny. The fact that Gackt seemed to be equally drawn to him made him feel a little hot under the collar, but they were adults, they could deal with this without having to give in to hormonal instincts.
"You do realise that I would never..." he said hesitantly.
"Completely," Gackt replied with a nod before he could finish, "and I never would have mentioned it, but..."
"Yes," he finished without making his friend go into detail; it seemed they understood each other at least.
The silence that followed was even more awkward than the one before until Hyde was desperate for any kind of conversation since he couldn't just escape.
"So were you really born in 1540 or is that just hype?" he asked, willing to pick the first question that came into his head.
"Hype," Gackt admitted, seemingly as keen to leap on the conversation as Hyde was to begin it, "it was more like 1450, but I didn't want anyone looking to be able to find anything."
Hyde had to take a deep breath to steady himself before he said something stupid at that revelation; knowing something and then having it confirmed with such stark honesty were two different things it seemed and his mind rebelled. It took him a second to accept what he had heard.
"So you're over five hundred years old?" Hyde was having trouble with the concept.
Gackt nodded, moving over to the chair and slowly sinking into it. Feeling as if he had just about sorted out his equilibrium Hyde took the opportunity to sit up properly, being very careful not to move too fast. He winced as his head thudded at the movement and began to wish that he had done as the note said. Closing his eyes for a moment he did his best to push the headache away and then looked back at Gackt; his friend was looking at the clock on the bedside table.
"Room service wasn't going to start until six thirty," Gackt said turning back, "you didn't even eat anything before you came here, did you?"
Gackt sounded a little exasperated and Hyde had to nod; he had come straight here without stopping for anything else.
"Don't move," Gackt said in a tone that begged no argument, "I'm going to have the room service diverted here. Once you have a meal inside of you I'll answer any questions you have."
Hyde chose not to argue.
====
Waking up Hyde found that he felt much better than he had before, and then it occurred to him that he didn't remember going back to his room or, for that matter, going to sleep. It was shortly after this he realised that he was not in fact in his own room and that he was lying on Gackt's bed. Rather embarrassed he looked around the room and found that his friend was sitting at the desk on the other side of the bed, writing something.
"Feeling better?" Gackt asked, looking up before Hyde even had a chance to sit up.
"Yes, thank you," he said without having to think too hard about it; the headache he remembered very clearly was little more than a dull ache now and, as he slowly levered himself up, the room did not spin at all; he was rather pleased. "Sorry for falling asleep on you."
That earned him a smile.
"No problem," Gackt replied, putting whatever he was working on aside, "it was the best thing for you. You've been sleeping for about an hour and a half. Do you think you can eat again?"
Hyde might have been small but he had a metabolism from hell that demanded food as often as he could find it, so he nodded as he carefully swung his legs off the bed. He felt a lot more with it now than he had first thing that morning and he found his curiosity piqued much more now that his mind was working again. He found himself watching carefully as Gackt picked up the internal phone and rang down to room service. He had always thought that the way Gackt moved was graceful, but now that he wasn't ignoring it he could see there was something otherworldly as well. As Gackt put the phone down and turned back towards him, it occurred to Hyde that maybe his friend had just stopped hiding.
"You act all the time, don't you," he said in a moment of clarity and then wondered if he should have been less direct.
"With most people, yes," Gackt replied, seemingly quite happy to talk about it, "but you play a role most of the time as well, mine is just a little more complete."
"And practiced," Hyde replied with a smile, "half the time I forget who I'm supposed to be."
Gackt acknowledged that with a tilt of his head, he seemed to find it amusing as well.
"So do you mind if we have that conversation now?" Hyde asked since he seemed to have fallen asleep before they had had a chance to talk before.
"Not at all," his friend said, turning around properly so that they were face to face, "what would you like to know?"
That was a question and a half and Hyde took a moment to think about what he wanted to ask first. He found himself fascinated by the whole idea of vampires and what little information he had gleaned from their previous discourse made him all the more interested.
"Are there many vampires out there?" he asked eventually. "You made it sound very organised when you spoke about clans."
"A fair number," Gackt replied after a moment's thought, "I suppose you could think of us as a very small minority group. Certain areas of the world have higher populations than others and we keep our numbers in check. Killing mortals has been outlawed in most places for centuries and most cities with populations are controlled by clans or families. I belong to the Kyoto Dragon clan. No vampire can change clan affiliation, it is settled by who created him or her, but the clans rarely call on their members."
It sounded to Hyde almost like Yakuza which rather explained Gackt's fascination with gangsters.
"Sounds complicated," he commented, wondering what happened if the clans did call on their people.
"Not really," his friend replied with a shrug, "mostly we just continue with our lives. In Japan there are five large clans and each has a leader, mostly a figure head who is only there as the final settlement to any situation that cannot be solved by other means. Then there are the law givers; they run the clan making sure that no members are running wild. All new vampires have to be approved by them; being an island nation we have always kept our numbers carefully under control."
"Didn't your clan mind you telling everyone you're a vampire?" Hyde asked, not clear on how an organisation like the one Gackt had described would see such things.
Gackt smiled at that, clearly amused again.
"I think they would have been worried if I had begun telling our secrets to the world," Gackt said and Hyde was sure his friend was remembering something, "but it's more a matter of disinformation. There are so many legends out there and I have picked bits from my favourite ones to create an image so most of my clan find it more amusing than anything. One day I will have to bow out gracefully, but until then I'm rather enjoying myself."
"So you're not a law giver or anything grand like that?" Hyde asked, intrigued by the whole idea.
He never would have expected that there was a subculture of vampires living in the world under the noses of mortals, but now that he knew he wanted details.
"Not a law giver, no," Gackt replied and just for a second looked away.
If Hyde had not been paying attention quite so closely he would have missed the significance of the movement, but his mind was moving very fast at that moment and he saw.
"But you are something else," he said and found himself the focus of Gackt's blue-eyed stare.
"Far too perceptive," Gackt said with a shake of his head, but there was a small smile playing at his friend's face that made Hyde glad. "Yes I am something."
Hyde wanted to ask what, but the enigmatic answer had him wondering if Gackt wanted to keep this to himself. Feeling that maybe he was being nosy he pushed himself off the bed, working the kinks out of his body with a slow stretch and tried to think of something else to ask.
"I am head of the Dragon clan."
Gackt's words took him by surprise and he almost had to sit down again rather rapidly as he turned his head too fast to look at his friend.
"Vampires are immortal in the sense that we do not age, but it is the will to live that keeps us alive," Gackt said and Hyde just listened rather than voiced any of the questions that piled up in his head. "There can come a time when that will is gone. My creator was the head of our clan, but he became tired of living after three thousand years and he passed the mantel to me nearly a century ago. I keep in close contact with our law givers, but I am only ever needed if disputes require life and death decisions."
Hyde wasn't quite sure how to react.
"Is that why you had to be so careful about a donor?" he finally asked, wondering why someone so powerful in another clan would have to worry about something so fundamental in another city.
"No," Gackt replied openly, "I have not revealed who I am, but when entering another clan or family's territory all vampires will make themselves known. Donors can be acquired, but not without going through the correct channels. The local clan is the Serpent clan and they are aware that I am a master vampire from the Dragon clan, but I do not advertise my status."
"Too much baggage?" Hyde asked, realising that Gackt was putting a lot of faith in him by telling him all this.
"Exactly," was the short response.
It was rapidly becoming clear to Hyde that there was a huge amount he didn't know and the world was more complicated than he had ever given it credit for. His view on the universe had changed, but he found that he was excited in a way he hadn't been since he'd started in the music business.
He was about to launch into another question when there was a knock on the door.
"Don't over exert yourself," Gackt said as Hyde found himself wobbling again when he turned to look at the entrance too fast, "that will be room service."
Since his stomach growled in anticipation Hyde did not argue and as Gackt headed for the door he sat down and waited like a good little musician.
====
They talked for what had to have been hours, interspersed by Gackt forcing Hyde to consume more food than should have been humanly possible, but by about lunch time he was feeling a lot better. There had been some explanation about how vampire feeding caused a reaction in the human body and blood was replaced very quickly, but that it required lots of fuel. Hyde had not taken in all the details, but it made a weird kind of sense, so he had behaved and not balked every time Gackt had placed another bowl of noodles or rice in front of him. At least the last time Gackt had had some as well.
Hyde was beginning to think that it might be time to return to his own room when there was another knock at the door, and it couldn't have been room service because they had just sent the last lot of empty dishes back. He watched Gackt walk towards the door and saw his friend stiffen just before he got there and the tension in the room went up a notch. Whoever was at the door they didn't stay long and when Gackt spoke he spoke in a language Hyde did not understand, so by the time his friend walked back into the room carrying a letter, Hyde was completely confused and more than a little worried.
He sat still and just waited, since he was sure Gackt would tell him if this concerned him, but he prepared to leave if Gackt needed time to himself. The last thing he wanted to do was cause problems now that he and Gackt seemed to be almost back to normal.
"Fuck," was Gackt's heartfelt reaction as Hyde watched him finish reading the letter before balling it up and throwing it into a corner.
"Something wrong?" he asked, not wanting to pry, but feeling the need to express his concern for his friend.
"A complication," Gackt said shortly, clearly annoyed, "nothing for you to worry about."
That sounded like his out of the problem, but Hyde could see that Gackt was suddenly very tense and that was not good.
"Something from the local vampires?" he asked, hoping that he was not stepping over a line.
For a moment Hyde thought Gackt might not tell him, but then he saw his friend's expression change.
"I was negotiating for a donor when our encounter occurred," Gackt reiterated what Hyde already knew, "and I did not hide my immediate need. Since I did not contact them again they wish to know how I satisfied that need and their law givers have requested my presence this evening to explain."
"And if you tell them about me they'll just believe you?" Hyde asked, not sure what was making Gackt so on edge.
"Possibly," Gackt said, clearly reluctant about his answer.
It dawned on Hyde why his friend was tense.
"They'll want you to prove who your donor was won't they," he said slowly, "and that means meeting me."
"Not necessarily," Gackt replied, but his tone was not convincing.
The idea of meeting other vampires filled Hyde with anxiety that finding out about Gackt never really had, but he was not about to abandon his friend.
"I could come with you," he said, gathering up all his courage before voicing his solution, "and that would settle everything wouldn't it?"
Gackt was frowning.
"I don't want to drag you into this," his friend said, clearly uncomfortable, "not unless I have to. Vampire politics can be bothersome."
"Then wouldn't it be better to sort this out straight away so we can get on with making the movie?" Hyde asked, wondering what details Gackt was not telling him. "If you turn up alone won't you just have to go back with me anyway? I honestly don't mind going with you if it will help get us back on track."
Gackt looked pensive for a few minutes until finally he nodded, tension easing a little bit, but not disappearing. Hyde knew there was something he wasn't being told, but he trusted Gackt enough to let his friend handle it.
"Okay," Gackt said without a trace of emotion in his voice, "our appointment is at ten."
Hyde just accepted the information with a nod and all thoughts of returning to his room fled; now he had a hundred new questions. One thing he definitely didn't want to do was insult anyone.
====
Climbing out of the car behind Gackt, Hyde smoothed down the smart jacket he had decided to wear, and hoped that his nervousness was not too obvious. His instructions were basically to stay with Gackt and keep his mouth shut unless asked direct questions, which niggled a little, but made sense since he was dealing with an environment with which he had no experience. He could be shy at the best of times so this was probably the better course of action anyway; he really didn't want to come over as an idiot.
There were two large looking men on the door of what was an impressive, modern building and the way they were looking at him made Hyde feel even more nervous. Gackt didn't seem to like it either if the set of his shoulders was anything to go by and Hyde had to wonder what was going on.
"If I flirt," Gackt whispered, turning back to him and leaning in close, "flirt back. I fear we may have to give the impression we are closer than friends."
"Why?" Hyde asked, wanting to understand even though he trusted Gackt's judgement.
"I believe I may have underestimated your impact," Gackt replied, straightening his collar for him even though it was quite straight to begin with. "I do not wish any of those here to get ideas about pursuing you, and a deeper connection between us will prevent that. I apologise in advance for anything inappropriate I may do or say."
"I'm a big boy," Hyde replied, "I can cope. Let's just pretend we're on stage at one of your concerts."
That made Gackt crack the tiniest of smiles, but it was gone as soon as his friend turned back towards the building. As soon as Gackt began to walk, Hyde followed and they entered the building with him only slightly behind his friend. In the hotel Hyde had kept the residual marks of Gackt's feeding well hidden, but now they were on display, almost as if they were a badge of honour. They were almost gone, but Hyde saw several pair of eyes flick to them and away again; he hoped this would not take long.
They spoke to a receptionist who directed them to an elevator and, once they were inside, Gackt reached up to remove the coloured glasses he was wearing. It didn't really surprise Hyde to see that his companion was not wearing his blue lenses to this meeting and it did explain why Gackt had been wearing sunglasses after dark, which was eccentric even for him.
They were met on the ninth floor by a woman in a long black dress who looked to Hyde like she'd been sewn into the garment. How she moved was a mystery to him, but at the same time she had an air about her that told him she could rip his head off and suck out the insides without so much as breaking a nail. He was not embarrassed to admit that she intimidated him even as she greeted them politely and led them towards another room.
She threw open a set of oak double doors and revealed a plush, modern office that was arranged around a very large, impressive wooden desk, behind which was sat a man who barely looked thirty. He was flanked on one side by an older looking man who, as far as Hyde was concerned, was the size of a house, and as he followed Gackt into the room he spotted another man lounging against the wall to the right.
"Ah, good evening," the man behind the desk greeted as if he hadn't known who was about the walk in, "thank you for being so punctual."
"It was the least I could do," Gackt said, turning on the charm and sounding anything but annoyed to have answered what was basically a summons, "I must apologise for the confusion."
"It was unfortunate that we had to request your presence, Gackt-san, but we have had a little trouble with some of our younger residents and visitors and we felt it better to be safe than sorry," the man behind the desk said and it was clear to Hyde that Gackt and the other vampire had met before. "I do hope you understand."
"Of course, Sato-san," Gackt replied with a polite bow of his head. "it is my fault for not contacting you today to explain, but I must admit that last night's events were rather surprising and took my entire attention. This is Hyde, he has become the solution to my problem and unfortunately my distraction as well."
Hyde stepped up beside Gackt when he was mentioned and did not resist as Gackt reach out, snaking an arm around his shoulders to pull him close. He stayed put as Gackt's fingers ran leisurely down his neck and danced lightly over what was left of the bite mark. The shiver that ran through him was completely unintentional, but he couldn't help it.
"Isn't it rather a dangerous game to reveal your nature to such a high profile acquaintance?" it was the vampire lounging against the wall who had spoken and something about the man's tone annoyed Hyde.
It was clear the others in the room knew who he was, but he still had the feeling that most of them were looking down their noses at him.
"I am a little more than an acquaintance," he said, unable to stop his annoyance showing through.
He was quite surprised to see the vampire he had challenged grin at that.
"And fiery too," was the offhand comment that came back and made Hyde bristle even more, but Gackt's hand on his shoulder tightened just slightly and kept him silent.
"I must apologise for Lee Seung-Jin," Sato said and looked at the still lounging vampire sharply, "he is visiting from Korea and their methods are less civilised than ours."
That made the aforementioned Lee Seung-Jin laugh and Hyde decided that he definitely didn't like the man.
"I'm sure you will civilise me in the end, Sato-san," the vampire said without even bothering to stand up. "I still think it was a valid question."
"It was not a conscious decision," Gackt said, fingers gently running up and down Hyde's neck again; "I'm sure you have noticed that there is something unique about Hyde. We have been dancing around each other for some time and last night we intersected at the wrong moment, or right one, depending on how you look at it."
"Are you psychic, Hyde-san," Sato asked politely.
"Not that I know of," Hyde replied with complete honesty; he had no idea why he seemed to be so attractive to vampires and he never would have known if it hadn't been for the previous evening.
It was a rather uncomfortable few seconds as he realised that he was the centre of attention in the room and he found Gackt's touch very comforting as four vampires studied him.
"Don't suppose you feel like sharing?" it was Lee who spoke again and just proved to Hyde that his opinion of the vampire was correct.
What surprised him was the growl that came from Gackt and the way the arm holding him close tightened so that he couldn't have stepped away if he wanted to.
"If you cannot be polite you will leave," Sato said with a crack of authority in his voice that made Hyde glad that he was not the focus of the vampire's attention.
When he glanced over at Lee the Korean simply appeared bored, but it was telling that there was no retort. Hyde suddenly wanted to be out of the building as soon as possible; he did not like the atmosphere in the room.
"With respect, Sato-san," Gackt brought the attention back to himself and Hyde just did his best to be as inconspicuous as possible, "I became somewhat carried away last night and Hyde came this evening against my better judgement because he wished to make sure this situation was resolved. If you are satisfied I would like to take him back to our hotel so that he may rest."
For once Hyde did not mind being the weak little human and he gave Sato a small smile when the law giver looked at him again. He could do innocent and vulnerable with the best of them and he employed the fact that he could look feminine and helpless to its utmost. Sometimes it was a pain in the arse, but just about then it was very useful.
"Thank you, Gackt-san, Hyde-san," Sato said after a moment, "I believe we have all the information we require. If you wish for any assistance during your stay, please do not hesitate to contact us, Gackt-san."
"Thank you for your hospitality, Sato-san," Gackt replied, "perhaps you or yours will visit Kyoto one day and I will be able to return it."
Hyde bowed his head in respect and then was very glad as Gackt took him by the hand and led him to the door. If he never saw another vampire it would be too soon.
====
Everything was going well on the film and Hyde was in a good mood as he left his room to take a cab to their current shooting site. It had been three weeks since they had arrived and not a sign of the supernatural, which made Hyde all the happier. Some of the others had been at the current location for a couple of hours shooting scenes that he was not required for, but they only had this site for a short time so they were fitting everything in and hence he was required for later scenes. It was going to be a busy evening, but he was enjoying the whole acting thing so he was looking forward to it.
Hyde was walking down one of the corridors towards the elevator when he had the strangest feeling that something was wrong and then he saw Lee Seung-Jin step out from the shadows in the hallway and he immediately stopped walking. The Korean vampire had given him the creeps when they had met in the law giver's office and Hyde wanted absolutely nothing to do with him. He'd just about managed to forget about the vampire population and Lee was not really the reminder he wanted.
"Good evening," Lee said politely, but with a smile that set off every alarm in Hyde's head, "I have a message for Gackt; would you happen to know where he is?"
"Filming," Hyde replied, wanting to back away as the vampire calmly walked towards him, but also not wishing to be openly rude and giving Lee an excuse to become annoyed, "he'll be on shoot until early tomorrow morning."
He did not add that he was going to join the shoot as well, but he had a nasty suspicion Lee probably already knew that. Something about the way the vampire was carrying himself set Hyde completely on edge, but he didn't know what to do about it. He began praying that someone would come round the corner or Gackt's influence with the local vampires would mean that Lee was just messing with him.
"Are you going to see him this evening?" Lee asked conversationally. "I would consider it a great favour if you would deliver this for me. My hosts have requested that I deliver it and I would not like to cause any disruption to the filming with my presence."
Everything in Hyde said not to let the vampire close, but what was he supposed to do? Without being extremely rude he could not exactly refuse to deliver a simple letter. It was possible that Lee really was here on an errand and it was just the vampire's overall demeanour that made him nervous, but he couldn't be sure one way or another.
"Yes," he finally said, his polite upbringing overcoming his instincts for while, "I'll give it to him later."
Lee smiled broadly then and came forward faster which meant Hyde had to force himself not to step back. The smile did not reach the vampire's eyes and even as he held out his hand for the letter Hyde felt something. It was as if a force was pressing against his thoughts and he made the mistake of looking into Lee's eyes. The vampire's eyes were glowing a soft green and it was like a knife in his brain as Hyde felt his will being completely disconnected from his body. He felt his body beginning to slump and there was nothing he could do about it as he fell into Lee's waiting arms.
"Come, My Little Angel," Lee whispered as his mind began to shut down, "I have plans for you."
End of Part 1
On to Part 2