~On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night

The redhead didn't know where he was going and why. All he knew was that he was all alone in the desert, cold, tired and very, very thirsty. Other than leafless trees and tall cacti nothing else was living. Then he saw something flickering in the distance and as he came closer, it was, to his relief, the lights of a lone building in the middle of the sandy wastelend. That in itself was odd but he was too desperate to care. Staggering quickly forward, he made his way to what he hoped would be able a haven to his weary body.

~There she stood in the doorway;
I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself,
'This could be Heaven or this could be Hell'
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way

Not finding a knocker or a bell in which he could summon the people inside, he gathered his remaining strength and started pounding on the heavy oaken door. In less than a minute the door opened and there stood a young girl with curly hair and full pouty lips greeting him with a smile.

"I... I need a place to stay for the night please... and some food," croaked the redhead trying to look not too uncool in the presence of such a sophisticated lady. She was a beauty with her red wine dress complimenting her figure and her luxurious hair was clasped from the top of her head so that the curly ends fell past her slender neck before sweeping against the bare shoulder.

The girl nodded, "Of course, stranger. Do come in. We are having a party tonight and we welcome everyone. If you aren't too weary to join us for dinner we would be pleased to have you once you freshen up and have a change of clothes."

Before the redhead could politely decline on her gracious offer, the redhead was suddenly pulled inside and forced to follow the girl up a flight of stairs and along a corridor. Too throat-parched to talk he contented himself by looking at his surroudings. Passing by an antique-looking reception desk and bronze numbers on the door along the corridor he realised that they were in a hotel. It was of course dark due to nightfall but the girl has in her hand a lit candle in a silver stand which chased the gloom away with its eery yellow glow.

~There were voices down the corridor,
I thought I heard them say...

Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place
Such a lovely face
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year, you can find it here~

A sudden whispering sound made him turn around to see who it was that has followed them but squinting his eyes against the darkness he saw no one. Feeling very uneasy he neverthelss resumed following the light steps of his host until they came upon a room with the number 10.

"There is a tub of warm water for you to wash up a some clean clothes that might fit you. I will send someone to fetch you later," the girl said and before the redhead could utter a word, she walked out after giving him a bow.

True enough there was a porcelain tub of warm water at the side of the room and as he washed himself from the dust covering his body he wondered how the girl was able to get all this together just seconds after he arrived. The bed was laid out neatly, warm water and clothes readied for him once he came here and she even managed to invite him for dinner in what he knew was an elegant affair by the looks of her attire. He was afraid that he wouldn't be able to pay back her hospitality and already checking his pockets he knew that he has no money to speak of.
After bathing himself clean until the water in the tub turned muddy, the redhead surged out of the water and wrapped a towel around his waist before making his way towards the bed where his borrowed clothes were laid out.

(Noor: Ooh.... *drool* niiiice....

Ru: Aa.....*drool*

Sendoh: Mmmmm....*drool*

Noor & Ru: Oi!)

Running his fingers along the expensive fabric and inspecting the elegant cut, he knew that it would be impossible for him to pay the girl back. Still, since she took the trouble to lay it out for him he might as well try it on. Slipping into the suit with ease he was pleased to find that it fit him perfectly and placing himself in front of a mirror which was beside the bed he was amazed at how he looked.

"Damn, I look good!" the redhead breathed in surprise.

(Noor: Damn right!

Ru: *nods*

Mitsui: Enough with the self-insert already!)

As he ran his hands along his chest to smooth out the not so visible wrinkles of the suit...

(Noor: Oooh.. this reminds me of that scene in that new series "Now and Again" where this gorgeous guy was running his fingers over his new gorgeous body.... *drool*

Mitsui: .....

Noor: Eheh... . Right. Enough self-insert.)

...a knock came from the door and upon opening it he was greeted by the sight of a young boy dressed in a butler-like suit, with big ears and grinning widely to show his small fangs.

"Good evening there, sir," said the boy bowing to the redhead, "I'm here to escort you to the party if you wish."

"Uh yeah..." said the redhead, puzzled that although he was dead tired a moment ago, he was amazingly refreshed after just a short bath. But he was still hungry enough to eat a horse... no, two... okay maybe three... hell, why not a stable-full.

As he was following the shorter boy along the corridor, the redhead realised that he could at least get some answers to satisfy his curiosity before he came face to face with his hosts and hostesses.

"Is this a hotel?" asked the redhead to the boy.

Without turning around the boy answered, "Yes, it's called Hotel California. It's very popular among the elite classes and it's open every year and never is there not enough room for our guests."

The redhead began to feel awkward, "Uh... elite? As in rich?"

The redhead thought he saw the boy give a careless shrug of the shoulders, "Rich, smart... who cares. Only the special people can find this place."

Down the flights of stairs he followed and through a hall until they came upon a a set of glass door which was open to let in the warm breeze of the desert.

Outside, he saw people eating, talking and drinking in the courtyard, the place itself lit with candles in paper lanterns and coloured with red and purple flowers arranged artfully against the walls enclosing the area or hanging over the posts beside the food table. There was the curly-haired girl in front of the table laid with delicious food and when she beckoned him, he complied. Although he admit to himself that he is one of the elite - a tensai - he needed to tell her that he has no money to pay her back for the clothes and lodging. The young woman laughed in a rich tone, "You don't need any money to be here. Your presence and your enjoyment is all that we hope for."

The redhead was immedietly consoled and he therefore attacked the feast with vigour. After he stuffed himself with enough food to last him the night he drank some clear maroon liquid from a glass thrust in his hand and watched the other guests around him.

~Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes bends
She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys, that she calls friends
How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat.
Some dance to remember, some dance to forget~

His eyes instantly widened when he saw an angel reincarnate dancing to the fast beat of the music from the band posted under a gandola. He couldn't tear his eyes away from her. Her graceful movement, her soft brown hair, her dark blue eyes, her pink sweet lips...

When a dark-haired young man pulled her towards him with an arm around her hips, the redhead's dream shattered. If she was an angel reincarnate, her partner was a devil. The handsome face was cold and expressionless and although the redhead admired the deep blue colour of the young man's eyes framed by sooty lashes which enhanced the slanted look of the eyes, he felt chilled when the man looked at him for an instant when the dancing duo did a quick turn of the steps which seemed to look like a sexy tango in his opinion.

~So I called up the Captain,
'Please bring me my wine'
He said, 'We haven't had that spirit here since nineteen sixty nine'
And still those voices are calling from far away,
Wake you up in the middle of the night
Just to hear them say...~

When the dance ended, the redhead hoped to be able to talk to the beauty from the dance floor but first he needed to find a reason to speak to her...
He looked at her to somehow find an inspiration for a topic of conversation, when the brown-haired girl lifted her beautiful blue eyes to look straight at him and give him a smile that made his heart skip a beat. When she turned away, the redhead began to breathe normally again but his breath hitched when his eyes then met the girl's partner's gaze. When the raven-haired boy walked up to him, the redhead quelled the desire to flee.

"And you are...?" asked the boy in his soft voice that was not too low and definitely not feminine either.

"I... I'm...." the redhead stammared. Never before had he felt affected by a person's simple gaze that he couldn't even remember his name.

The boy's lips quirked for a moment before he lifted a callous finger to press the redhead's lips closed, "Never mind. Names are not important."
And then that finger dropped to be joined by four more to run across the redhead's shoulder and chest in a show of appreciation, "Mmm... this suit does you justice."

"Uh, yeah... I ... I like it..." gulped the redhead as the boy continued to caress his chest before tugging at his jacket's collar as if all he was doing was checking out the suit's reliability.

"Are you up for some fun?" murmured the raven-haired boy, looking at the redhead with his piercing blue eyes.

"W-what?" the redhead stammered.

"I'll meet you in your room after you're done here," said the blue-eyed boy, stepping away so that the redhead can breath easily again, "With a few friends of mine including the girl I was dancing with. You do want to meet her, don't you?"

"Well, yeah-"

"We'll meet you there then," said the boy again before he walked away to disappear among the crowd of party goers.

When a large man passed by him with a bottle of liquor the redhead recognised as the drink he has been drinking, the redhead stopped the tall man with a grip on the arm, "Can you give me some more of this stuff?"

The man looked at the remaining red liquid from the redhead's glass and queried in gruff voice, "Wine you mean?"

"Wine? No shit? Ok, give me some more of that wine. I think I'm gonna need it tonight," the redhead said heavily.

To his surprise the large man grinned, "Although your attitude borders on impudence, I haven't met a man with that kind of spirit here since 1969. I'm a captain of the seven seas and I would be glad to share with you my bottle of wine."

Ignoring the ridiculous fact that a seaman could be found hanging out in the middle of the desert with a group of sophisticated people, the redhead was very pleased that he could get some more of that nice wine.

~Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place
Such a lovely face
They livin' it up at the Hotel California
What a nice surprise, bring your alibis~

When the redhead felt that he was adequetely buzzed, he made his way slowly and nervously to his chambers. Reaching at the front of the door he heard four or five people talking softly inside. After taking a deep breath he turned the knob and opened the door. When he saw what was going on inside he was speechless with shock. It was horrifying! It was mad! He wanted to scream but his voice was logged in his throat.
Before he knew it he was running away from the room, from the people and intending to run away from the whole place which has gotten too weird for his sanity.

~Mirrors on the ceiling,
The pink champagne on ice
And she said 'We are all just prisoners here, of our own device'
And in the master's chambers,
They gathered for the feast
The stab it with their steely knives,
But they just can't kill the beast~

The redhead ran and ran and ran but the faster he went the further it seemed to the end of the corridor in his eyes. The numbers of the room passed by quickly - 7, 6, 5, 4, 21, 20, 19...35?! 34?! 33?! Wait! What is going on here?

15...

14...

13...

12...

11...

10?! I'm back where I started! the redhead realised in panic.
Suddenly he saw a person in the distance and ran towards the short guy with a pierced ear and demanded, "How do I get outta here?!"

"Relax," soothed the boy, "If you have any problems with what the hotel offer..."

"I just wanna get outta here!" yelled the redhead, grabbing the boy by the collar.

Instead of seeing fear, he saw malicious glee on the boy's face, "You can check out any time you like but you can never leave."

Enraged and afraid the redhead shoved the shorter boy away and continued his search for a way out.

43...

42...

41...

41...

No, no...

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

Please no, please no...

60...

59...

58...

57...

Shit! Shit! Shit!

~Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before
'Relax,' said the night man,
We are programmed to receive.
You can checkout any time you like,
but you can never leave!~

How do I get out of this freakin' place?!!!

Hanamichi suddenly woke up from his dream with a start. He was breathing heavily and his heart was beating in an erratic manner.

Just a nightmare...just a nightmare... he told himself as he waited for his heartbeat to slow down. When he was calm enough, he looked out of windows to see the sun just peeking over the horizon of the rooftops of the houses opposite to his.

With a heavy sigh the redhead jumped out of bed and began to stretch. Although he couldn't remember the exact picture from his dream, he could still remember the erotic and evil feeling that has affected him so much to make him break out in cold sweat just a few seconds ago in bed.

Must've been something I ate..., thought the redhead as he made his way to the bathroom. With a shrug, he got himself ready for another day of school, basketball and some plain teenage fun.

~The end

P/S: The lyrics are taken from The Eagles' song "Hotel California"
P/SS: Hum... in my culture, the elders said that having a nightmare was resulted from not cleaning your feet properly before you sleep. What is it for the japanese culture?
And if you're curious what it was that Hanamichi saw that horrified him so much, delve into your memories and remember the most terrible ones you've had yourselves... *shriek!*