The Great Manipulator

by Lady7 ( runaluna )

Synopsis: Sequel to Sextape/Home Video. So Shinya had everything all planned and well, but what if something went wrong? Could he handle everything that’s thrown at him? Could he do something against his heart?
Disclaimer: I own no one but the fic is mine
Comments: Thank you so much for reading! I apologize for the late update ^^ I was kinda stuck >.> and it’s gonna be longer than I thought. Please don’t get bored ^^;

Chapter 4


“That’s right!” Die exclaimed with a dazzling smiled, “I can do that. I can totally hang out with Kyo, cheer him up and stuff. And I can hang out with Kaoru too! And pretend like nothing happened!”


Shinya turned his head to a side, as his eyes blinked slowly. Then he opened them and was greeted with darkness. His arm reached out to his left, and felt the cold, empty space of the bed. Turning to his left, Shinya realized he was alone. Didn’t he hear the phone ringing? Why did he wake up to silence then? The drummer sighed and laid his head on the pillow. That’s right. Die had gone to Kyo’s house that morning, and he hadn’t been back for three days. Suddenly he and Kyo became BFF.

*ringring*

Hah! So it WAS the phone that woke him up. Glancing at the clock that said 4.58 am, he picked the phone up and answered carelessly, “Yes?” Whoever the person was, calling him at such hour didn’t deserve proper reply. But there’s no one on the other side. Shinya joined his eyebrows. “Hello?” he said. There’s still no reply. He looked at the caller ID that’s on the phone and narrowed his eyes. “What’s going on Kyo kun??”

“Heh?!!!! You knew it’s me!!!” came a shocked reply from the other side, followed by a giggle.

Shinya closed his eyes and rubbed his head. He was about to answer when suddenly, also from the other side, someone yelled, “Shinya’s a shaman!!!”

“Die?!!” the drummer exclaimed, “What the hell are you guys doing?!!”

Kyo : “Shinya’s a genius man!”
Die : “No, he’s a shaman. He can read minds”

Shinya bit his lip hard and decided to be civil, “Kyo kun, what are you doing right now if I may ask?” he said calmly.

Kyo : “Well … first of all, it wasn’t really my idea to go drinking”
Die : “Not mine either”
Kyo : *cackles*

Shinya sighed, “Are you drunk??” he asked tiredly.

Kyo : “No!”
Die : “Yes!”

He’s sooo gonna kill Die for this!

Kyo : “Basically we came back at about two … was it two? Die?? Eh? Oh shit Shinya, he passed out”

Shinya covered his face with a pillow and shook his head, “I guess you’re sober enough to take care of him?” he asked, hopefully.

Kyo : “Well … not really. We’re outside, trying at the door for nearly three hours now but this damn thing just won’t open!!”

Shinya sat up and asked, “Why won’t it open?”

Kyo : “Ehh maybe .. bcuz whenever I tried to insert the key, there were like … three key holes, and now I can’t really feel my legs so can you please come here and help us?”

Shinya hang up and looked at the ceiling. Why? Why did he even offer to help?!! What had he got himself into?!! Cursing loudly, he dragged himself out the bed and went inside the bathroom. Twenty minutes later he hopped on a cab that’s waiting for him outside.

As the vehicle made its way to Kyo’s house, Shinya started to wonder. What made Kyo ‘accepted’ Die so fast and so willingly? Shinya had spent almost a week with Kyo but the distance between them was becoming more obvious each day. Die took THREE DAYS and they’re now dead drunk! Shinya bit his lip, trying to come up with an argument. OF COURSE his lover would use alcohol in his ‘scheme’. Could he imagine himself, saying hey Kyo let’s go out and pissed ourselves silly? NO. Not at all. He preferred a more mature way to deal with a problem.

But really, Kyo was crushed the last time Shinya saw him. He wouldn’t even get off the bed. Oh he really wanted to know. And the cab reached the vocalist’s house right on time. He paid the fare and with a determined look on his face, Shinya walked into the building. And that determined look soon replaced by tiredness as he saw two figures lying on the tiled floor, right in front of Kyo’s door.

Sighing, Shinya picked up the keys and opened the door. Then he picked Kyo up, at ease since he was stronger, into the house and lie him down on the couch. When it came to his lover tho, Shinya pulled on Die’s arms and dragged him into the house and just left him on the floor. He locked the door and tried to wake Kyo up. The blond merely groaned without opening his eyes. He moved on to Die, who didn’t even twitch.

“This is stupid!” he muttered aloud, casting his eyes at the two grown up men before him. Realizing there’s nothing he could do, Shinya sat next to Kyo and dozed off to sleep.

…

“Shinya?”

He twitched

“Are you awake?”

No. He wasn’t. He wanted to sleep a little longer. But who was that poking his left cheek? And what was that blinding lights? he opened his eyes and winced. Oh it was the sun rays shining thru the window, right on his face. He turned to his left and gasped, jumping a little.

Kyo’s eyes were staring at him, the older man’s index finger was on his nose. So that was Kyo who poked him. Shinya moaned as he sat up and he looked around. Where was Die? Kyo smiled tiredly and answered the question, “Die’s in the shower, I asked him to go first … I need to talk to you”

Shinya raised an eyebrow and rubbed his eyes carefully. It sounded serious so he wanted to make sure he’s fully awake. Sitting up, Shinya smiled to Kyo and said, “I’m all ears. Are you okay?”

Kyo slowly shook his head

Shinya’s face fell.

“Well” Kyo quickly replied, seeing his disappointed face, “If you meant if I was okay from last night, in general, yeah. I’m fine. I had a blast with Die!” he gushed, to Shinya’s surprise. “I mean, that guy knew NOTHING about this whole thing, and he just came over and … well…”

Shinya was never this amazed at Kyo’s smile. Sure Kyo’s smile was cute endearing but it never got him, the way Die’s smile would make him weak on the knees. But hey, KYO’S SMILING!!!! Something must had happened!!!! Shinya held his breath as Kyo continued.

“I realized … you know …”

Was it bad that Kyo suddenly looked so sad?

“People out there” the older man pointed at the door as he continued, “Are dying. They have REAL problems”

Huh? Shinya was lost. What exactly did Die do to Kyo?!!!!

“I mean, I was shocked. But seriously. I really should have expected this from Kaoru and Toshiya. They fan serviced their way out of VK! Those friendly hugs, knowing looks” Kyo shook his head, “Hey Kaoru san, put your arms around him, yes. Great pose. Staged affection, OF COURSE things were bound to happened between them. I can imagine Toshiya’s fascination. He was young, pure I dare say. And Kaoru kinda took care of him …”

Shinya nodded and smiled a little at Kyo.

“They probably think I’m such a homophobe, but I’m not!” Kyo stated, with a palm on his chest, “I’m just hurt, because they didn’t even tell me about it. I was very close to Toshiya at the time, with us staying together … I was shocked, and am still shocked”

The drummer put a palm on Kyo’s shoulder and gave it an assuring squeeze.

Kyo continued, “But Die … hanging out with him, told me what happened to him … I’m soo touched that he came to me!”

Shinya blinked

Kyo looked at him knowingly, and he just looked back blankly.

“Oh come one Shinya!” Kyo laughed, “You knew what I’m talking about!”

Okay, now he’s scared. WTF did Die tell him? Came to him what? For what? Did Die come out on Kyo?!! What did Die tell Kyo?!!!! There were so many possibilities. Did Die CONFESS?!!! Or did he tell Kyo he’s gay? What?!! With all those swirling around in his mind, Shinya’s calm expression deserve an Oscar. He just sat there, with lips curled up a little, waiting for Kyo to continue.

“That’s why I always see you guys together! More than ever!”

Shinya had butterflies in his stomach

“I know about the break up” Kyo whispered knowingly.

…

What?

“What break up?” Shinya blurt out.

Kyo laughed, “Come on! Die said he went to you first!” he poked on Shinya arm and added, “We know how the girl’s like. She’s kind of a bitch. He deserves someone so much better!”

Shinya opened his mouth to say something … but … what??? And Kyo kept talking, “I’m not saying breaking up with her is good, because Die’s obviously CRUSHED. I mean, he even mentioned the M word” Kyo whispered carefully. It was amazing that he mistaken Shinya’s confused look with shock. “Yeah, we’re talking about possible marriage here. But sadly, it’s either her way or highway, so Die did the right thing!” Kyo nodded strongly.

Did Die tell Kyo that he dumped his non existent girlfriend just to get Kyo’s sympathy?!!!!

Finally realized what happened, Shinya regretted the way he’d spent so much effort wondering what kind of spell Die casted on Kyo. It wasn’t a spell, or magic, or anything. It’s just sympathy. And he had to give it to Die, to be honest. So Kyo felt like shit. So fucking what? Die broke up with his long time girlfriend. Heck threw in the M word and you had something worse than Jrock Wall Sex.

“You’re right” Shinya tried to calm down. He had to stir Kyo to the direction Die’s heading, “It IS real. Real problem. I feel sorry for him, but he did right thing” the drummer agreed, and wondered how many more lies he had to say. Was it even called lying, he didn’t know anymore. One could only lie about a fact. This whole thing was completely MADE UP.

Kyo curled up and hugged his knees as he said, “What happened to me, is nothing compared to Die. I feel like an ass, making things awkward for the band. You said Toshiya’s very upset. And Kaoru’s very guilty. Well, Now I feel guilty” he smiled sadly, “That tape was made ages ago, and here I am, sulking over something that probably doesn’t even exist anymore”

Maybe it was being a Pieces that he could be sensitive sometimes, but Shinya really felt the urge to tell Kyo EVERYTHING. Kyo’s caught up in their scheme, their manipulative ways, not just Die and him but also, Kaoru and Toshiya. All of them. They’re bad people, with dark secrets, with things they hid from each other. But Kyo … Kyo was so innocent. He had a good heart, he’s a perfectly nice and a normal person, he didn’t deserve to be treated this way. He deserved to hang out with better people.

“I have decided … in a couple of days time .. I’ll talk to them” Kyo suddenly said.

And the previous thoughts of confessing to Kyo disappeared.

“Really?” Shinya beamed

Kyo widened his eyes at Shinya’s reaction but then he smiled and nodded.

Shinya took out his cell phone and Kyo held his hand, “Wait, what are you doing?” he quickly asked. Shinya blinked confusedly as he replied, “I’m calling Kaoru! You’re ready to talk to him right?”

Kyo shook his head and took the phone from Shinya’s hand, “Well … I said in a couple of days”

“Oh” Shinya could only utter.

The vocalist put the phone down on the table and shrugged, “Shinya, it’s not like I’m not pissed you know…”

Shinya joined his eyebrows.

“Aren’t you angry that they kept this secret for such a long time and we had to find out this way?!!” Kyo asked, with a tone higher. Shinya nodded furiously, “Of course. But … like you said, it’s expected. So I didn’t hold that anger for long”

To his shock, Kyo gave him a sly look, “I’m still pissed. So you know … I’ll make them wait …” the blond guy narrowed his eyes, “And suffer … and … worry … a little more”

The bedroom door was opened and Die walked out, with a wet towel draped on one shoulder, looking so fresh and handsome, “Ahhh great shower! Hey Shinchan” he greeted the drummer. Kyo leaned forward and whispered, “He’s pretending to be cool with it. We know how crushed he is”

Shinya threw a look at Die and the red head sensed that he was interrupting a conversation. So he walked into the kitchen. Then Shinya stood up and looked at Kyo, “Is it about winning now?”

“Huh?”

Shinya shook his head and continued, “I thought you took so long bcuz you found it hard to accept Kaoru and Toshiya’s past relationship. But now, it’s about making them suffer and wait for you to talk to them! Kyo kun, you should know they’re actually victims” he wondered why he’s now siding them, but maybe … bcuz he started the whole thing. And he got a secret relationship going on too. He wouldn’t want Kyo to treat him this way.

Kyo stood up and looked at him, “They played a little game on me. I’m only doing the same thing!” he retorted stubbornly and continued, “I’ll wait and play my part, let them worry, let them pay for this!”

And Shinya wanted to scream BUT IT WASN’T THEIR FAULT! IT’S MINE! MINE AND DIE’S!!

The vocalist huffed and disappeared into the bedroom.

“Is he okay?”

Shinya looked up and saw Die peered from the kitchen.

“Come out here” Shinya gestured with a hand. Die walked across the apartment nonchalantly but Shinya was ready to bark, “You told Kyo one more lie!”

Die rolled his eyes, “It’s a smart move!” he defended himself, “I can see him accepting this slowly”

“Oh he accepts it too well. Now he’s decided to wait til they get on the knees and beg for forgiveness!” Shinya hissed and then looked at Die in disbelief, “Why did you say you broke up with your non existent girlfriend? That’s totally made up! And we’re dragging ourselves even deeper into this whole thing!”

The red head looked at Shinya quietly, “Shinya, why are you mad? I thought you’d do anything to make Kyo talk to them”

Shinya didn’t answer and merely crossed his arms over his chest. Die slowly smiled and wrapped his arms around Shinya.

“Don’t worry. I won’t go to pubs and will reject Kyo’s offers to introduce me to his friends or do things that will upset you” Die whispered with a smile, hugging him tighter, “I’ll act very deeply hurt, that no one will even dare to mention it to my face”. Shinya said nothing and looked at him into the eyes. Die looked back at him quietly. And realized, for the first time, EVER, they were about to share a kiss in Kyo’s apartment.

***

Toshiya opened the door and there stood Kaoru. He put a hand on his hip and looked at the guitarist grimly.

“What do you want?” he inquired.

Kaoru scratched his head and asked, “Aren’t you letting me in?”

Toshiya looked away, “I’m not gonna if you’re here to pick up fights” he muttered coldly. Kaoru nodded and replied, “I’m not picking up fights. I’m here to apologize”. And Toshiya was surprised. He laughed at first, not believing it, “What?”

Kaoru said nothing and just stood there quietly.

The words kept rewinding in Toshiya’s mind, and then he took a good look at Kaoru. There was no pride and the usual stern look on his face. Soon after realizing that, the younger man burst into tears.

Kaoru sighed, bit his lower lip and hugged the younger man.

“I’m sorry”

Toshiya shook his head and wiped his tears.

Kaoru closed the door and looked at him intently, “Are you okay?” he asked carefully.

The bassist chuckled, wiping his tears away, “It’s been bad, this few days …” he trailed off and walked to the living room. When Toshiya sat on the couch, Kaoru sat next to him and waited.

“It’s not like … I wasn’t sorry or anything. But shouldn’t he be forgiving me already?” Toshiya asked, “I rarely cry now, you know. I don’t do tears anymore. But trying to imagine Kyo hating me for the rest of my life …” he paused, “Kyo … he’s very special to me. We were very close … and …” and Toshiya wasn’t able to go on.

Kaoru nodded in silence and ran his fingers thru Toshiya’s hair, trying his best to console the younger man.

“This is why I didn’t want to tell him in the first place. He probably hates me now!” Toshiya stated loudly.

Kaoru patted his back, “He probably hates me too”

Toshiya leaned on Kaoru’s shoulder, “He hates us”

“And you hate me” Kaoru suddenly added.

“Eh?” the younger man looked at him.

“I have acted like an ass”

Toshiya tried not to smile, “But you ARE an ass”

Kaoru gasped and looked hurt, poking Toshiya on the arm, “I’m NOT an ass!” he huffed but laughed anyway. Toshiya looked at that and smiled. It was so rare to find them talking like this. Most of the time, there was the awkwardness between them. And it was such a secret that they didn’t want to be seen together. It was like having an ex around. They could only chat about certain things, with masked expression on their faces. If the conversation strayed it was hard not to remember the kind of things happened in the past.

But today, it’s different.

“I’m sorry for trying to shun you away from this. I should have said, we’re in this together. I should have appreciated you more” the older man said apologetically. Toshiya was surprised, but he said nothing. He just smiled and casually placed an arm around Kaoru’s waist. “We ARE in this together. And I should have asked for your opinion”

Toshiya laughed, “It’s not like I’m gonna ruin everything I touch” he said.

Kaoru raised an eyebrow, “The tape?”

Toshiya pouted and the older man laughed, pinching his cheek.

So today’s really, really different. Toshiya wondered what happened that didn’t work out between them. It was so long ago, and so forcefully forgotten, that the tape was the only thing that’s left between them.

“Well, I’m sorry for everything. And we should go see Kyo ourselves, instead of asking Shinya to help us. That’s not very wise don’t you think? Dragging him into this?” Kaoru asked, looking at Toshiya. And that’s when he saw the disgruntled look on Toshiya’s face. Kaoru sighed and bit his lip. Then he pulled away and studied the younger man’s expression.

“Why is it … that everytime I mention Shinya, you look like this?” he asked, gesturing at Toshiya’s face.

The bassist crossed his legs and played with his hair, “Well … you’re treating him like an angel!”

Kaoru insisted, “Because he is”

Toshiya threw his head back and laughed, “You know what … okay” he put his hands up, “Whatever”

“Look at you. You still believe in that theory right…?” the guitarist asked, a little louder. Toshiya gasped and shook his head, “I said nothing about the theory!”

“But you’re still believing it!” Kaoru stood up, “There is no proof whatsoever! Toshiya, will ya please just admit it, you misplaced the tape, you accidentally put it into Kyo’s box! That’s what happened!” he started to yell.

Toshiya looked up in disbelief.

“I’m not blaming you in this!” Kaoru went on, “But at least, stop blaming other people!”

Not being able to stay calm any longer, Toshiya stood up too and yelled back, “I was the one who sorted the boxes! I was the one who put all the things inside! I KNEW the tape was nowhere near any of those boxes!!!” he spat out furiously.

Kaoru was taken aback at the sudden outburst, but he was not about to be outtalk. After taking a deep breath, he spoke calmly, “Fine. Be that way. Now I wanna know exactly what makes you think it’s Shinya?”

Toshiya sat down and crossed his legs, pouting.

The guitarist remained standing.

After a while, Toshiya opened his mouth, “Shinya’s not that innocent you know”

Kaoru said nothing.

“Try to remember Kaoru, what was Kyo’s reaction when he saw the tape?”

“I will never ever forget. It gets to the list of things I’ll remember for the rest of my life!” Kaoru exclaimed, then sat on the table in front of Toshiya.

“Okay” the younger man nodded, “What was Shinya’s reaction?” he asked.

…

Kaoru shrugged, “I … was too shocked”

“Me too!” Toshiya said, “But really Kaoru, I knew you were there, I knew you weren’t as shocked. Try to recall”

…

“Shinya ….” Kaoru paused, and then widened his eyes, “When I finally snapped back to reality, the TV was off”

Toshiya nodded, “Who do you think turned it off?”

Kaoru shook his head, “You know what …” feeling his patience thinning, he stood up and threw his hands in the air, “I knew it’s useless to come here!” the older man blurted out. Toshiya’s jaw dropped as Kaoru continued, “I should’ve known you’d be like this! STILL like this! Can’t you just for once ACCEPT what others say?”

Toshiya rose to his feet and exclaimed, “Can’t YOU just for once accept what I have to say about Shinya?!”

The older man walked to the door, “It doesn’t prove anything!” he exclaimed back, and started to put on his shoes. “Shinya was so wrong, what fucking mess, angry at yourself my ass” he muttered under his breath. But unfortunately, it was loud enough for Toshiya to hear.

“What’s that?”

Kaoru stood up and looked at Toshiya, “NOTHING!” he berated. But he saw Toshiya’s face, and he was sick of the expression. He was sick of the denial. Then he laughed, humorlessly, “I might as well just tell you everything! Shinya TOLD me to come here because he said you didn’t deserve to be shunned away from this” he stated coldly.

Toshiya looked stunned.

“I was apologetic, I left the pride, the ego at home!” Kaoru pointed at the door. “I came here with an intention to say sorry and wanted to talk about it. But what did you do?” he asked.

Toshiya said nothing.

“Not only you’re denying the mistake you’ve done! You’re accusing Shinya at the same time! Without a proof!!” Kaoru exclaimed angrily.

“Oh you need a proof?” Toshiya asked.

“Of course! That guy you’re accusing, he’s actually on YOUR side!” Kaoru pointed at the younger man, “He even said he believed you!”

Toshiya snorted and shook his head, “He’s acting it!”

Kaoru opened the door and walked out. But then he paused and turned around to look at Toshiya. “You want me to believe you?” he asked the younger man.

Toshiya gave no reply at first. But then he reluctantly nodded.

“Give me proof”

Then the door was closed.

Toshiya stood there for a while, trying to comprehend what had happened. He recalled what Kaoru had said, word by word. The anxiety of losing the tape, the stress from searching for it, the shock, and the image of Kyo not talking to him ever again, the thought of possible conspiracy … they all rolled into one and hit him hard. Toshiya crouched down and covered his face.

It felt so lonely… like he was all alone in this world. But then he averted his eyes toward the door. And Kaoru’s face appeared in his mind. Kaoru’s face when he said Toshiya needed a proof to convince him.

Oh, He would show Kaoru …. that Shinya was involved. Shinya had something to do with it. Shinya framed him.

And suddenly, Toshiya remembered.

What was it that didn’t work out between them?

He felt the wetness in his eyes, and his nose stung.

It would always end up like this.

They could never agree on something.

Not in the past, and certainly … not now.

************