The Circle of Darkness
by
Jennifier D.




II:


The remaining four members of Dir en grey looked up the moment Kaoru 
teleported into the room in a burst of purple flames, and all of them 
wisely kept quiet when they saw the harassed look on their leader's face. 
Kyo ignored Kaoru and continued flipping the channels on the television 
set. The vocalist suddenly froze. He then started to shake violently, 
and only after about half a minute later, he relaxed and collapsed onto 
the couch tiredly.

"What did you See, Kyo?" Kaoru's voice was soft, yet it sounded loud at 
the same time in his own living room. He had given instructions to the 
rest of Dir en grey, wanting them to wait for his return from the 
monthly meeting with Mana.

"There is a betrayer amidst us."

Silence.

"Can you repeat that again, Kyo? I think I've heard wrongly."

"I SAID, there is a traitor among us." The group's Oracle gave Kaoru a 
look that indicated that if he had to repeat himself _one more time_, 
the band leader was going to get it from him.

Oracles were also known as Seers, or people who had the ability to see 
fragments of the future. But Oracles were rare, and most of them 
usually died when they were young in very violent manners, due to their 
knowledge of the future. Currently, among the Dark faction, there were only 
a few known Oracles who were powerful enough to see entire sequences 
and not just a scene. Kyo had been one of the stronger ones, but even 
then, the strongest within their era had been Kami, the Malice Mizer 
drummer. He had died as predicted, in a very violent manner, and it was 
actually Mana who killed him. Nobody ever figured out the reason why Mana 
wanted to kill Kami, since he was known to be an intensely loyal man to 
the former. That was one secret which Mana would never divulge, and 
therefore, Kami had carried his last prophecy with him to his grave. An 
Oracle's last prophecy was known to be very potent, and therefore, it was 
always important to be by the side of a dying Oracle. Yet, Kami had no 
one other than Mana with him when he died. Therefore, only Mana would 
know what the Oracle’s dying words were. Even then, Mana might not 
understand what Kami was saying, since another distinct characteristic of 
the Oracles was the fact that they loved to talk in very ambiguous 
manners. Kyo was an exception, yet even he could be annoyingly vague at times 
like this.

"You're not going to shed more light on what you said, Kyo?" Kaoru 
glanced around the room.

"No. Now go away." The vocalist was sulky, sinking deeper into the 
couch so that he was temporarily hidden from Kaoru's view.

Shinya was reading the newspapers, an annoyed look filling his face. 
Kaoru knew that the drummer was not a person with the best of tempers 
among all of them, yet his silence usually indicate that he didn't want to 
make any comments on the matter. Die was watching Kaoru slowly, his 
beautiful eyes trained on Kaoru's every move. Die was one of Kaoru's 
closest friends, and the two of them knew what each other were thinking at 
times. Especially at a time like this, there were no more comments 
needed for the rhythm guitarist to know that Kaoru was uncomfortable with 
what Kyo said. Toshiya, on the other hand, was stretched out along one 
couch, his eyes closed as if in slumber.

The order of mages in Dir en grey was as follow: Kaoru- Level One Earth 
mage. Die- Level One Fire mage. Toshiya- Level One Water mage. Shinya- 
Level One Air Mage. Finally, there was Kyo- Oracle.

Some other members of the council had warned Mana, telling him that 
letting so many Level One mages of different principles stay together 
would be like baiting for danger. Each of the members of Dir en grey, as 
individuals, was already undoubtedly powerful, and when they combined 
their powers together, they were a formidable team that could possibly 
take down a Level One Dream or Illusion mage easily.

"What did Mana say?" Die spoke up softly. Toshiya opened his eyes then, 
sliding off the couch to join Die on the floor. Even Shinya had put 
down his papers, turning to watch Kaoru quietly. Only Kyo remained where 
he was, since the council for mages didn't affect him in the least bit. 
The channels on the television continued jumping.

"He said our progress lately has been slow, and although the number of 
fans didn't dwindle, there was a distinct feeling of unhappiness from 
them."

"Isn't that what he wanted?" Toshiya replied, an eerily calm look on 
his face. He then proceeded to slide his arms around Die's torso, 
bringing his boyfriend close. 

The various members of Dir en grey had a rather strange relationship 
with one another, as the distinctions between who was going out with who 
had never been very clear. Take, for example, that Toshiya was 
currently dating Die. Yet, the bassist could also sleep with Kaoru, Shinya or 
even Kyo. Die didn't seem to feel that there was anything wrong with his 
own boyfriend sleeping with his friends, because he himself was doing 
the same. After Toshiya, the next most popular person to warm Die's bed 
had probably been Kaoru, then Kyo. Shinya was, strangely, a person who 
didn't like being touched much, which might explain why he was often 
the most passive member among all of them when it came to asking for sex. 
Die suspected that he was actually asexual, but he didn't dare to ask 
the drummer, cease the other was enraged enough by his comments to 
attempt to take his head off. Although the band members had no problems 
whatsoever in sleeping with one another, all of them had a distinctive 
dislike for orgies. Should that ever happen, it would be difficult to 
distinguish one's arm from another's leg. And then mass chaos would ensue. 
Kyo would get pissed and bite someone at somewhere it would hurt a lot, 
Kaoru would get turned off immediately, and the only person who 
probably wouldn't be tangled up in the mess would be Shinya.

"No, apparently. Because he wants us to achieve the same type of 
responses we had back then when we released Gauze." Kaoru sounded highly 
unhappy at the prospects of doing that again. Making Gauze had required a 
lot of effort. And furthermore, he didn't have very fond memories of 
that period because he was having problems trying to deal with Yoshiki. 
Yoshiki might be a great man, but if he was your producer, you would 
count yourself lucky if you weren't slaughtered by the end of the first 
day.

"He's mad." Die murmured mildly in reply.

"Not really. Because what he said is all true." Kaoru proceeded to sit 
down beside Kyo, who continued to ignore him.

"I'm not going to bother." Kyo muttered. "If he wants to produce 
something like Gauze, he can do it himself."

Toshiya reached over and patted Kyo on his arm, but the latter swatted 
his hand away, irritated. "Kyo..."

"Go away."

Shinya picked up his papers again, ignoring the rest of Dir en grey. It 
was his own way to indicate that he had nothing to say on this matter, 
and if it was anyone's problem, it was solely Kaoru's. Kaoru sighed. 
Meanwhile, Toshiya had fallen asleep again on Die, and the latter was 
watching Kaoru intently. Kyo closed his eyes for a moment, then finally 
turned to regard Kaoru, irritated.

"Can I go home now?"


-----


Gackt sat staring at the wall in his room blankly, several thoughts 
running through his mind simultaneously. Yet, the vocalist's face was 
empty, like the wall before him.

"Gaku?" Masa pounced on Gackt from behind, peering over his shoulder to 
glance at his face. Gackt broke into a smile at the sight of the 
guitarist. "What's the matter?"

"I'm thinking..."

"Ah..." The guitarist sighed, then wrinkled his nose cutely. "The rest 
are coming soon. You better get prepared."

Gackt nodded his head, then got up from his seat. Although it was 
accurate to say that Masa was Gackt's current lover, the relationship wasn't 
as clear-cut as everyone had thought. Throughout the relationship, 
Gackt was a passive partner. Sometimes, his aloofness towards their 
relationship made Masa sad, but the latter knew that this was the sacrifice he 
had to give.

Masa was actually a correspondent the magical faction in America sent. 
This was a fact which very little people discovered, as many only knew 
that he was formerly living in New York. He was a Level One Dream mage, 
and due to the fact that he was not a native, his unorthodox magic 
working methods sometimes only served to confuse the other mages further. 
Likewise, his attachment to Gackt had been something of a surprise to 
the others as well. After all, the Dark Prince had a formidable 
reputation, and the only man whom he had ever shared part of his life with, 
however briefly, was Mana. Many thought that he was a cold and emotionless 
bastard, and even more were suspicious of his reason for turning to the 
White faction. It was just as well that he had Masa's trust, because 
many of the other mages dared not refute Masa. He was something of an 
authority on his own. Actually, after hide's death, many thought that it 
would be impossible for them to somehow link themselves up to the 
American Magi Association again. Yet, Masa's appearance had probably been a 
blessing in disguise. And since Gackt could keep Masa by their side in 
Japan, they were all willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

The White faction in Japan was small, though powerful. Their quantity 
was what which worried them, as they all knew that should the Dark side 
launch a full-blown assault, they would never be able to survive it. 
Several lower level mages can just as easily take down a high level mage 
if they are careful and thorough in their workings. Therefore, they 
needed all the help they could get, and Masa was their key to it.

"Are you okay?" Masa watched Gackt worriedly, and the vocalist only 
smiled and shook his head in reply. Masa closed his eyes and let Gackt 
hold him in his arms, feeling assured by the security the latter offered, 
however brief.

"Masa, Gaku-chan..." You stood at the doorway to Gackt's room, watching 
the two with raised eyebrows. Gackt gave You an apologetic look, and 
the violinist only sighed in a rather exaggerated manner. "Takuro is here 
already."

"Oh shit." Masa quickly wriggled out of Gackt's arms and nearly ran out 
of the room in his haste. You blinked.

"So, what did you do to make him feel insecure again?" You teased the 
vocalist with a grin.

"Me?" Gackt gave his old friend an innocent look. "I didn't do 
anything..."

"Hmmn. You seem to say that every time."

"You-chan."

"Okay, okay..." You surrendered with a laugh. "Come on, you better go 
out soon. Takuro is not a patient man."

Gackt rolled his eyes. "I know. Anybody who has worked with him long 
enough would know that. It would take an idiot to be oblivious to that 
fact. I'm surprised that the rest of GLAY can put up with him for so many 
years..."

"Ah," You grinned again, and this time, Gackt attempted to swat the 
violinist. "Well, they probably put up with Takuro in the same way Gackt 
Job puts up with _you_. Just like how La'Cryma Christi puts up with 
Taka, and you know the rest. Hiro was just telling me the other day that 
you are bad influence on their vocalist."

At that, Gackt started laughing. "Mou! Who said I'm bad influence on 
him? You guys should worry that he's bad influence on me!"

"We better get going. The earth is beginning to tremor from Takuro's 
wrath." You was a Level One Earth mage, and surprisingly so, extremely 
attached to Gackt. It probably had something to do with the fact that the 
both of them knew each other long before Gackt was given the title of 
the Dark Prince. Nobody could guess how relieved the violinist was when 
Gackt decided to join the White faction eventually. After the band 
Gackt and You formed failed, You decided to take a break and tour in 
Europe, traveling with several orchestras before finally returning to Japan. 
Imagine the bad shock You received when he found out while he was out 
of the country, that his best friend had joined the Dark faction and was 
the current Shadow Mage's right-hand man.

"Gaku! You!" Masa's voice traveled into the room, and the two men 
within the room grinned at each other guiltily.

"I'm coming!" Gackt shouted in reply before getting up from his seat.

When he finally reached his own living room, he was greeted with the 
familiar sight of the council of the White faction. Currently, Takuro was 
the head of the White faction, but rumours said that he was going to 
pass the title on to someone new. Izam had been eyeing that title for 
sometime, but everyone knew that there was no way the flighty mage could 
manage to handle the position. Sitting beside Takuro was Makoto, the 
vocalist of Aucifer. He had only joined the faction recently, and although 
he looked like he was a rather capable young man, many suspected that 
he had an overly ambitious drive. On the other side of Takuro was Kirito 
from Pierrot. Many believed the man to be not human, since he had no 
sense of humour whatsoever and he never smiled. It was sometimes really 
creepy to even look at him. Yet nobody had ever objected his presence 
the same way they objected Gackt's and this had often left the latter 
baffled.

Gackt glanced across the room and caught sight of someone who was 
staring at him rather intently. He smiled, then bowed slightly. The other 
snorted and turned away. That person was none other than the vocalist of 
L'Arc~en~Ciel, Hyde. Gackt knew that the other man didn't trust him at 
all and strangely, he was glad about that. Just as Gackt settled down 
next to Masa, Takuro spoke.

"I've called all of you down today because Ryuichi had just Seen 
something yesterday morning." Ryuichi, formerly from Luna Sea, had decided to 
join the White faction after the band disbanded. Gackt was not sure if 
he was one of the spies Mana sent, but he knew that the other was a 
rather powerful Oracle, albeit the fact that he could turn incredibly 
sappy at times. "Teru also glimpsed something similar, though what he saw 
was a lot more brief than Ryuichi's, due to his limited ability." At 
this, Takuro turned to grin at Teru, who scowled at him, annoyed.

"Now, Ryuichi said that Mana has a far much darker and sinister plan 
than the usual 'Take over the World' plans most Shadow Mages adopt. The 
definitions of what exactly he wanted to do were still not clear, since 
his intentions are dubious at best. But I'll like to warn all of you to 
watch out for any unusual events happening at the Dark faction."

"And then, the next issue I'll like to bring up today, is who I'm going 
to hand my baton to." At that, Takuro gave all of them a pleasant 
smile. Some of them cringed inwardly. Whenever Takuro smiled like that, it 
usually meant that nothing good would happen. "So, fellow mages, I'll be 
glad to hand the title of the leader of the White faction to You, from 
Gackt Job."

Everyone gapped at Takuro, You included.

"Takuro!" Teru began, grabbing the guitarist's arm. "What the hell are 
you talking about? You is-"

"Perfectly able to take on my role, Teru." Takuro was still giving the 
smile that gave the rest of them the creeps.

"But Takuro-san, I'm only a-" You began, but Takuro interjected 
happily.

"Level One Earth mage. So you are perfectly equipped for the role." The 
guitarist sighed in satisfaction. "Now I can enjoy my long deserved 
holiday for the rest of my life without wondering twenty-four hours a day 
whether any of you idiots will attempt to do something stupid while I'm 
away."

Hisashi only snorted and Jiro gave him an insufferable look. Kirito 
didn't seem to be very shocked by the news, sitting there beside Takuro as 
though nothing catastrophic had just happened. Makoto had a thoughtful 
look on his face, which could be both good and bad. Hyde threw his 
hands up into the air, exasperated. It seemed to him that everyone was 
pretty intent on playing the game of silly buggers today. The rest of the 
council all gave looks that suggested the only thing they really wanted 
to do now was be somewhere else.

"Okay, meeting's over!" Takuro declared happily. "Anybody wants to go 
out for dinner?"

You was still sitting on the couch with a dazed look on his face. Ren 
was patting the violinist's back gently, whispering something into his 
ear. Masa only grinned at Gackt, who was still wondering what the hell 
was going on. Several of the council members teleported out of the 
place, and Jiro muttered something which sounded like 'Stupid idiot' before 
vanishing with Hisashi in a shower of blue and yellow sparkles.

"Gaku?" Gackt looked up when he saw Masa peering at him. "Dinner?"

"Hm... okay."

The vocalist couldn't help wondering, for the briefest of moments, 
whether it was a right choice to continue spying for Mana.


-----


Reality seemed to ripple for a moment, then a petite man stepped out 
from a gap made in reality, a nonchalant look on his face. The void 
behind him filled up immediately after he left it, and he raked his hand 
through the long, wavy, blond locks before he started walking in the 
direction of the lake. When he finally came to a stop at the edge of the 
water, a ripple started out from the centre of the lake, spreading out so 
rapidly that a small current was formed. This current soon turned into 
a small torpedo as water was whirled around furiously. But just as 
quickly as the tiny squall had started, it ended, the water falling back 
onto the lake to spread out like the smooth surface of a mirror again.

Right at the spot where the commotion had occurred just now was a young 
man, who was hovering above the surface of the water. The newcomer 
smiled.

"Konichiwa, Kiyoharu-san."

Kiyoharu snorted, then lifted his shades to look at the other person 
more clearly. He was definitely very pretty, even though he was a male. 
"Who are you and why do you ask for me?"

The other laughed.

"I'm Toshiya from Dir en grey. I'm here under the instructions of 
Yoshiki-sama."

"Oh. Him." Kiyoharu sighed. Ever since the disbanding of Kuroyume, he 
had decided not to side with either faction anymore. The warfare that 
was going on between the two factions could make whatever warring states 
in the world look like they were simply playing a larger version of 
Conquer and Conquest. "What does he want?"

"Yoshiki-sama will like to meet you tomorrow afternoon."

"And what is that for?"

"To discuss about what to do with Mana."

"Not again?" Kiyoharu rolled his eyes. "I have enough of discussing 
about Mana with Yoshiki! I told you guys that I've already washed my hands 
of all these, right?"

"Ah, but Mana now is only one step away from achieving what he wants."

"Which is?"

"The control of the White faction." Toshiya tilted his head to one 
side, observing the vocalist carefully.

"Why the hell does he want the White faction? I mean, other than the 
fact that most of them seem to be former Dark mages, what can he do to 
them? He can't make them return to his side!"

"We do not know, which is why we will like you to help."

"I'm not bothering." Kiyoharu muttered. "It has absolutely nothing to 
do with me. I'm definitely NOT Mana and I don't think in the same manner 
as that psychopath. I can't help you guys. Go look for Gakuto or 
Kirito. They probably know that blue-haired demon better than you and me 
_and_ Yoshiki added up together."

With that, the vocalist stepped back into the portal he had created, 
vanishing together with the ripples it caused on reality.

"He's not going to help Yoshiki?" A familiar voice behind Toshiya 
startled the younger man, and he beamed when he saw that it was only his 
boyfriend.

"Die! Why are you here?"

"Yoshiki is afraid that Kiyoharu may cause trouble for you."

"Oh please-"

"Toshiya, Kiyoharu may be an old mage, but he is extremely powerful. Do 
not underestimate him."

"Hai-hai..." The bassist snuggled into Die's arms with a contented 
sigh. Die glanced at him for a moment before teleporting both Toshiya and 
himself home in a burst of magnificent looking flames.


-----


Mana didn't even flinch when Gackt teleported into sight before him, 
and if one was watching carefully, they could see black feathers hover 
around him for a moment before they vanished. Gackt got down to one knee 
before Mana, his head bowed low. "Mana-sama."

"Yes, Gakuto?" Mana's voice was velvety soft, and he smiled at the 
vocalist.

Gackt remained in the position he was in, then spoke in a flat, 
emotionless tone. "Takuro has already decided who shall be the new leader for 
the White faction. His name is You, and he's part of my band."

"Ah." At that Mana's smile widened. "You do know what you should do 
right, Gakuto?"

"Hai."

"This is so easy for me, I ought to thank Takuro." Mana had an 
incredibly amused look on his face. "Now, gaining control over the White 
faction is such an easy task, I feel like laughing at the simplicity of that 
action."

Right then, Kirito appeared, shards of glass swirling gently around him 
before they disappeared totally. He too, got down onto one knee. 
"Mana-sama."

"What's the matter, Kirito?" Mana sat up in his seat, the smile he 
donned disappearing in a flash. Normally, Kirito would never appear unless 
there was something urgent.

"Aiji just had a Vision."

"Ah." Mana watched the vocalist of Pierrot carefully, and the other man 
spoke again, his voice so soft, it was barely audible in the dark room.

"Traitors will appear amidst us."

Silence.

Finally, Mana spoke, a tiny frown etched between his eyebrows. "I see. 
Does he have any idea who they will be?"

"No. The images flashed by too quickly for him to catch the faces."

Mana nodded his head, then dismissed Kirito with a wave of his hand. 
Without even glancing at Gackt, the sullen vocalist from Pierrot 
disappeared in a shower of glass shards.

"Come here, Gakuto." Gackt stood up from where he was kneeling on the 
floor, then moved over so that he was standing before Mana, his head 
bowed. Mana took hold of his chin and lifted it gently. The blue-haired 
guitarist leaned forward to kiss the vocalist on his lips, but he scented 
the smell of another individual on Gackt, and therefore paused, eyes 
narrowing. "Who's he?"

There was a hesitant pause.

"He is Masa, their correspondent from the American Magi Association."

"Explain why... his smell is on you, Gakuto."

Gackt became extremely still, his features frozen. "He's... my current 
bed companion."

"Ah." Mana leaned back into his seat again, releasing his hold on 
Gackt's chin. The cold mask had slipped over the former's face again, and he 
scrutinised Gackt through narrowed eyes. "I don't want you to come to 
me smelling like another man again, Gakuto."

"Hai, Mana-sama."

"You may now go." The guitarist's eyes were like chips of ice, boring 
into the vocalist mercilessly. Mana leaned back into his own seat, 
closing his eyes so he never noticed the black feathers which slowly drifted 
to the floor with Gackt's disappearance. His hand, which had been 
resting on the armrest of the chair, clenched itself hard, as though there 
was something he was highly unhappy with.

"Masa...? Humph."

Mana sat in his seat gazing into emptiness for a moment longer before 
he called out softly. "Kozi..."

There was a miniature explosion as Kozi materialised before Mana, then 
got onto one knee respectfully. Kozi used to be on par with Mana before 
Mana became the new leader of the Dark faction. After Mana's ascension, 
he decided to follow the blue-haired man, since the both of them were 
such old friends and Kozi himself knew that he really had no other 
alternative.

"Yes, Mana?"

"Get up. How many times did I tell you that you don't have to kneel 
before me, Kozi?" Mana sighed.

"It is only proper for an underling to kneel before his superior." Kozi 
murmured in reply, keeping his head bowed.

"I did say get up, right? Stop acting foolish." Mana muttered, then 
crossed his arms. It took him three months to get Kozi to stop calling him 
'Mana-sama' instead of Mana. Now, he was attempting to get the other 
man to stop kneeling every time he met him. They were friends! Even 
though Mana was superior to Kozi in terms of rank and such, there was still 
no need for such formality between the two of them... 

Kozi got up from the floor, then lifted his head, gazing at Mana 
quietly. His gaze was piercing and it felt as though nothing would escape his 
gaze. Mana closed his eyes and sighed again.

"What is it that you require me to do, Mana?" Kozi's face was calm like 
water on a still lake; his eyes were two burning orbs in his face, one 
red, the other yellow.

"I need you to help me check out this person." Mana opened his eyes 
again, then narrowed them, the eyes taking on a faraway look as though he 
was thinking about something. "His name is Masa, he's in Gakuto's band. 
Gakuto said that he's the representative from the American Magi 
Association."

"Hai."

This time, Mana scowled, annoyed. "I thought that after I had hide 
killed, there will be no more of this nonsense... the White faction 
actually thought that hide was helping them?"

The blue-haired man snorted. "I wanted him there to help me spy on that 
Association! The stupid fellow went and told Takuro what he was going 
to do! Foreign liaisons! He's dreaming if he thinks that I actually 
needed their help or wanted to help them. All I want to do is gain control 
of the AMA..."

Kozi kept quiet, waiting for Mana to dismiss him. Nowadays, Mana was 
beginning to get more and more disorientated, with all the different 
Oracles, both powerful and weak foretelling his own faction's doom. He 
wasn't too sure as to how long Mana would hold out, but it was anyone's 
guess.

Mana seemed to realise that he was blabbering, and the torrent of words 
from his mouth ceased immediately. The blue-haired man closed his eyes 
with a pained frown. "You may go, Kozi..."

Kozi bowed, then disappeared in an on site explosion again, his 
mismatched eyes glowing. Mana relaxed into his own seat with the frown still 
etched on his forehead. The predictions of several Oracles echoed 
endlessly within his mind hauntingly. The one that burned so painfully in his 
memories were Kami's last words...

["There is a traitor amidst us..."]

But who was he? Regardless of what Mana had done, he couldn't find any 
traces of that traitor. Did the Oracles meant _one_ traitor, or 
multiple? They were always so ambiguous when they wanted to be. Thankfully, 
they didn't talk in riddles, or else some people would get their heads 
broken. Worry gnawed away at Mana's heart and he knew that he had to 
strengthen his control on his mages. If he didn't...

...he knew, with a sinking feeling in his heart, the faction would fall 
apart.

He would be ruined.

Ah, but he had such great plans for the world! He couldn't fail... not 
now. Especially not now, when the White faction was already beneath his 
fingertips. He just had to reach out and grasp...

With a ghost of a smile on his lips, Mana drifted off to the land of 
those who dream.


End: II

Date completed: 301201
Last revised: 030102

to be continued

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