Title: Jellyfish Love [Chapter Four: Obsession, Round One] Author: Matrim Email: matrim _ no _ aijin @ yahoo . com (hotmail isn't working so use that one) Warnings: For Chapter Four, I'm going to warn you about rapid shifts in narration, strange people in bars, and Dada bitchiness. Comments: You're probably wondering where this is going and I can only say that right now it's headed somewhere unhappy and quite violent. SO DON'T GET ATTACHED TO ANYONE ANY TIME SOON. I'm warning you! It's unbetaed so excuse it all? ;_; I'm so so sorry that you have to put up with my typos. XD; ++ "War, Tatsurou?" Kyo asks in an amused sounding voice but Izam is not sure about Kyo finding the situation at all funny. "Yes, sir." "Why did you tell them that?" "I thought that it would be more interesting if they knew." Tatsurou confesses quietly. Izam lets his fingers trace the fabric patterns on the couch idly and doesn't even flinch when the sound of Kyo's fist connects with Tatsurou's face. To Tatsurou's credit, he doesn't fall down. Instead, he stumbles backward with his hand pressed to the right side of his face. Kyo has a powerful backhand that he's inherited from Atsushi. "That's for you thinking." Kyo sighs and glances around the room. Izam is the only assassin sitting. Aiji leans against the doorframe and Toshiya leans against the desk. Yukke stands in front of Kyo and is steadily not looking him in the eye. "I suppose that I do owe you something. The battle will be more interesting even if it won't go as I originally planned. And for messing with my plans, you're being relieved of your duties for the next few weeks." "But who will take my place?" Tatsurou manages to ask. "Kengo." "Kengo?!" If Tatsurou said it, Izam didn't hear him. He was up and off of the couch in disbelief. Kyo shoots him a glare. "Do you have a problem with my decision, Izam?" Other than the fact that Kengo's a bloody lunatic—yeah, I've got a problem!! Izam wants to scream it at Kyo but doesn't. He's not in the mood to be the second person hit by a short man. And Kengo wasn't exactly Mr. Subtle. "Where is he now?" "Doing something for me that Tatsurou would've done had he not decided to take matters into his own hands. And a little more." ++ Dada taps his fingers against the wall. Honestly, he's not eavesdropping--he was just being a mother hen about everyone and anyone who happened to occupy the same backstage area as himself. Except for Mana because Mana could handle his own affairs and he rarely ever invited anyone into the little world of Mana-ness. Dada tried to get in but Mana was locked tighter than an armored car. Everyone else was fair game especially Aya, who was staring out of the side exit with the most hopeless look on his face. And it probably had to do with Yura. Dada suppresses a sigh and walks down the hall, letting the vinyl dress he was wearing announce his presence. Aya doesn't pay attention but his shoulders slump. Dada doesn't think it has anything to do with him, however. "No amount of staring is going to bring him back through the door." He says and Aya's shoulders slump even further. "Why doesn't he like me?" Dada frowns. "Of course, he likes you." "No, he doesn't." Dada thinks for a moment about how close they were and mentally smacks himself in the head. Of course. He steers Aya away from the door and closes it. But just to be sure, he decides to drill Aya for answers, "In what way do you want him to like you? You two get along pretty well." Excepting the times that Aya teases Yura a bit too harshly but Dada feels that every person goes through that in life. Aya just hasn't grown out of it yet. Aya's quiet for a second and nibbles his lip. "We were always close. But�E hate that he runs off to be with Seek all the time. I'm his friend, I should be good to hang out with too but he never invites me along and when I am invited along I feel like I'm missing out on things." "You didn't answer my question." "I used to�Eike him," Aya says lamely and it's not something the boy talks about a lot obviously but that's not going to make Dada stop any time soon. "But he doesn't like me that way." "Why don't you find someone else?" "But I don't know anyone as well as I know Yura!" Aya protests and sighs. "And I feel like if I go out on my own or something, it'll be like betraying him." "By your logic, it's okay for him to go out with a friend after work but not okay for you? Are you a sucker for punishment?" Dada asks and Aya ducks his head shamefully. "We're all family here, Aya, and if you're so obviously unhappy, the rest of us are going to follow after you." Aya looks miserable for a brief second, entirely too young. "I guess you're right. But I'd rather go home now." "Do you need security to escort you out? You were popular tonight." Aya shakes his head and a flash of blue and white out of the corner of Dada's eye makes him look up. Mana's standing in the hallway and listening to every word. Funny how the man claims he doesn't care but pops up when something important might be happening. "I'll be fine." "Then at least, take the club's car and not the taxi? At least, it's free." "Okay, Dada." Aya shuffles off to get his things and in a few minutes, he's wandering out of the backstage area and out to the entrance. Dada turns to change and get his things as well and tries to ignore the look Mana gives him. Dada sits down in front of the mirror that they all use to get ready and rejoices the fact that Shinya said he'd be remodeling their dressing room. They'd each have their own place to sit soon and they'd actually have room to do more than just sit. He picks up his eyeliner pencil and is about to retouch his makeup but he can't take it anymore. He sighs and when he sighs, he lets his shoulders droop like a marionette whose strings have been relaxed rather than cut. "What?" "What?" "Don't 'what' me when I asked the question first." Dada replies, hotly. "What do you want? I can't stand it when you stare at me like some sort of creepy doll." Only Mana can look offended without changing a single muscle on his face. Dada resists laughing only because Mana's glaring at him and no amount of makeup on Mana's eyes could hide that. And Dada has a feeling that if he did laugh, Mana might explode. This is the disadvantage of having someone around you who was locked up tighter than a safety deposit box. "I was simply wondering if it were at all wise of you to give advice like that." "Advice like what?" "Mothering advice." "Shinya says we're all family. You don't believe him?" Mana, not for the first time, turns his head to the side and doesn't answer. ++ "War?" Shinya asks and picks up the newly poured tea that Kaoru's given to him. He sounds genuinely amused and when Kirito looks up from his place on the couch next to Luci'fer, Shinya's smiling. "A bit of a delayed reaction, don't you think?" "It had to happen sooner or later." Luci'fer says. "You didn't really think it would end after Nene, did you?" Kirito asks and doesn't touch his tea. He's not in the mood to drink anything and if he is going to drink something, he wants it to be alcohol. "Of course not, Kirito." Shinya tells him just as he waves off Die, who looks annoyed. Shinya sets his tea down and sets his full attention on Kirito. It doesn't scare him, but it does make him slightly uncomfortable. "I knew that even if you didn't remind me every few months." Die is smug and Kirito doesn't even have to look at him to know that he's grinning. "The fact remains that you nearly got yourselves killed." Shinya sips his tea while Kaoru, Die, and Kirito exchange a look. Where does the blame belong? Shinya didn't hit people because he is stronger than he looks. When Shinya punishes someone, they often end up wishing they'd been hit. "But we didn't," Die says after losing a staring match with Kirito. Shinya sets his tea down and glares at Die. "Thank God for small miracles." Shinya stands up and everyone else moves to do the same but with another glare, everyone stays where they are. "We are now at war and while you four were sleeping peacefully, I've taken things into my own hands and made my own arrangements." Kirito meets Shinya's glare and it takes five seconds for him to look away. Shinya never made big decisions without consulting him first and that rubbed Kirito very wrong. "Kaoru and Die, you're to guard this club. And Luci'fer will be my weapon." "Guard the club?!" "Do you have a problem with my decision, Die?" Kirito smirks, openly, and doesn't care if anyone sees. Other than the fact that it feels as if Die and Kaoru have been demoted, they have to stay in one place. They liked to move around, it gave them a chance to work off energy and they always followed Shinya. But not this time. "Where do you want us to be?" Kaoru asks and Kirito thinks Kaoru's too good for Die but to say so would suggest that he's interested in the other man, when he wasn't. "What's Luci going to do?" "I don't tell other people what you do when it's especially important and so I won't tell you." "What about me?" Kirito asks. Shinya smiles, suddenly. "Oh, I have something perfect for you." ++ As soon as Aya steps out of the car, he waves goodbye to the driver and thanks him for dropping him off in front of his small little house. It was paid for by Shinya for Yura and himself in exchange for them working at his club. However, they wouldn't be paid as much as Dada and Mana until they were regularly performing and that wouldn't be for a month or so. But Aya doesn't want to be home. He wants to be somewhere else. Anywhere else. Dada was right. Dada usually is right. Maybe he should make some new friends. Aya thinks he might be getting along with Katsura, the bartender, but he never gets to talk to him much anymore. He's always busy and he's older than Aya so Aya thinks he might be getting in the way a little. Aya goes into the house and when the car has pulled away from the curb and has driven off into the night, he drops his things off in his room. He takes his small messenger bag with him so he has somewhere safe to keep his wallet and calls for a cab on his cell phone. He doesn't want to be home because he has a strange feeling creeping up on him and if Yura saw him like this-- --Aya closes his eyes and only opens them when the taxi arrives. He gives the driver directions to a bar that's still on Shinya's territory but somewhere that Dada or the others don't know about. It's a tiny thing that smells like smoke all the time even if no one's smoking. When he slips in, the bartender smiles at him and Aya takes a small corner booth by himself. People in here—they don't bother each other unless they're friends and no one recognizes Aya. They don't go to Shinya's high class clubs. Aya thinks they're probably too old for clubs at this age. He orders a double and decides to stew in his misery. Maybe it was his fault. But Yura was asking for it whenever he went on about how beautiful he was. And Aya thought as a good friend, trying to deflate his bubble—well, he was doing his friend and everyone else a favor. And Yura took it all in stride and they were friends for a long time. And Aya had a crush on him once and he wasn't sure if it really had gone away. This is so stupid, Aya thought to himself. He had to look at this sensibly. Why would he be mad at Seek? Seek was a fun person to be around and he always said that Yura should take him out with them more. Then why doesn't he call me instead of going through Yura? Maybe Yura doesn't give out his phone number as revenge. Aya lets his head fall down onto the tabletop, but gently since he doesn't want to hurt himself too much. Dada says he was popular tonight. It took him months to practice that bathtub routine and ages more to even get himself onstage. People liked him so why won't Yura like him—more?! He gives up on that train of thought until a voice interrupts his wallowing. "And here I wonder �Ewhat possible catastrophe came crashing down from heaven and brought this dashing stranger...to tears?" Aya lifts his head to glare at the weirdo quoting that weird American show that Dada likes to watch and blinks as he sees a stranger dressed completely in black. "I'm not crying." "Oh, I see...I see." "What do you want?" Aya asks. Like all people, Aya's been taught not to talk to strangers but with the new job he has, he has to be doubly careful. He just wants to chase the person away. He tries to eye the bartender but the man is busy. "Some place nice...to sit and chat." The man, for surely, he was a man despite the curls and makeup on his face, has a strange way of dragging out his s's and sometimes, he pauses in the middle of his words. And he sits down across from Aya in the booth, without even asking him if it were okay or not. Black eyes gleam at him and the corner of his red lips curves upward in a smile. "I've seen you before." Aya's back stiffens and he remembers Dada's advice on how to deal with strangers who don't know when to leave performers alone. The first option was to be nasty to them so they'd slink away in shame, the second option was to physically fight them and the third option was to look for help. Aya thinks he can get away with the words part and tries to pretend he's Dada. "What's onstage is different from offstage so don't think you can get anywhere near me in any perverted manner." And he fails miserably at pretending to be someone else. The weirdo across from him goes on as if Aya hadn't spoken. "Oh, yes, I've seen you. Plucked out of the populace and nurtured like a flower and when you bloomed, they put you out on stage. But no one appreciates you, do they?" Aya stares at him then stands abruptly from the table and hits his knee. He hisses and falls back down and when he looks up again, the man has waved off the bartender's concern for him. "You see that?" The other man smiles. He's not stupid. He's not so desperate that he'll just make a friend at a bar. But he knows that he's on Shinya's land and certain people will know what he's up to. Aya doesn't want to take a chance. But he has to be polite. And Yura won't care. And Dada's going to kill him. He stands again, this time more cautious. Before he leaves, he has to know. "What's your name?" A black gloved hand tangles in perfect curls and his smile widens. "Ken�Eo." ++ "You don't think he'll be able to do his job?" Izam refuses to answer, even if he's the only one left in the room with Kyo. He thinks he refuses to answer because of that fact. He knows he'll have to answer eventually or Kyo would kick it out of him. "I think he will." "But?" "He always..." Izam searches for the words that won't earn him any words of rebuke or strikes against his body. He gives up and decides to be as blunt as possible. Maybe Kyo will take mercy. "...Becomes a little distracted." Kyo tilts his head to the side. "You think it's a weakness." "Just slightly." Izam replies, perhaps a little too quickly. He barely manages not to twitch when Kyo ghoulishly laughs. "He's dedicated." "Fanatical." "But expendable." Kyo adds, smoothly, with that creepy ass grin on his face. Izam frowns. "Oh, don't mistake me. Tatsurou is being punished for what he said. He's always so thorough in missions and has so much fun doing it." "You're not expecting Kengo to come back." Izam drags the topic back to Kengo before they end up talking about Tatsurou all night. "Oh, we're both planning on it." ++ To Chapter Five Jelly Home Fics Home