The Roses of Pain

Chapter 8: Stab Me in the Back

     Gackt Camui stretched an arm as he descended the stairs from the recording studio in up-town Tokyo. He had just finished recording a new song for his new album and wanted nothing more than to enjoy a nice quiet day at home. For the past few days he had been furiously perfecting the sound and vocals on his latest hit. And still, he wasn't all together happy with the final take.
      Putting on his sunglasses to hide his eyes from the outside sun, he pushed his way out of the studio's revolving doors to an awaiting limo. Without so much as a glance, he opened the door himself, got in and closed it tightly behind him. Relax… that's all he wanted to do.
      His limo had always done, it pulled away carefully from the curb. "Home, please," he sighed, reaching a finger up to rub his eye. He could feel the puffiness setting into his eyes from lack of sleep. Last night was spent mainly coaching himself and his piano on exactly how everything was supposed to sound and flow together.
      But it was not the practice that suddenly distracted Camui, nor was it the lack of sleep. Something was different. His limo smelled of another man's cologne: a bulky, husky smell. He sniffed the air and sat up.
      "Gackt Camui, I presume?"
      "Shit!" Camui breathed, feeling his heart skip more than a beat. He thought he was alone. He was SUPPOSED to be alone in his limo. He made a mental note to fire the chauffeur and sat up.. "Who are you, how did you get in my limo."
      "Oh, no no, my dear. YOU'RE in MY limo." The other smiled widely.
      Camui reached for the door handle…
      Locked.
      "Child protection locks. You can only open them from the outside. Don't you just love all those whining parents who can't keep track of their own kids?"
      Camui went for the window controls…
      "… and locks on the windows too. You can't get out. The windows are plate glass; you'd break every bone in your body before you broke the window."
      Camui quickly surveyed his environments. He was never prepared by anyone for an occasion such as this. He had no idea what to do in a hostage/kidnapping situation. Okay Camui, don't panic. What does he want?
      "What do you want?"
      "Just you." The other smiled.
      "Who are you?"
      "The name's Raven..."

      Hide and Twiggy sat side by side in the limo, Sugizo sitting beside Hide, Toshi beside Twiggy. Across from them on the other limo bench sat Yoshiki and Marilyn. The bleeding had stopped in Marilyn's side, but his chest still ached painfully with every breath he took.
      Hide took a deep breath and glanced around the car. "This is nuts. What's going on, Sugi?"
      Sugizo chuckled and shrugged, throwing an arm up on the back of the seat to play with Hide's hair. "Never you mind. The less you know, the less hurt you'll be."
      Hide turned to face Sugizo. "You don't know, do you? You don't know what the fuck is going on, do you?"
      Sugizo pursed his lips in a very fatherly glare and tapped a finger on Hide's nose. "You better watch yourself, Spider. Toshi-san has an itchy trigger finger," he nodded with his head over to Toshi. "I would hate to see something happen to you, you know. It's not exactly easy for me seeing you alive again… I'm used to everything being dead." The corners of his mouth turned up slightly in his trademark Lucifer grin, chuckling darkly to himself.
      Gently, Sugizo rubbed a thumb over Hide's cheek and smiled again, this time more brightly, hiding any and all evidence of the demon that had possessed his features earlier on. He looked deep into Hide's impossibly brown eyes, so deep that he could pick out the several different shades of brown and the few wild streaks of red that highlighted them. "I missed you," he whispered, almost too quietly as Hide had to read the other's lips to make out the words.
      The limo pulled into a warehouse, the summer sun replaced with a dull yellow light from overhead track lighting. Like a sleek black shadow, the limo maneuvered through the warehouse and parked in a corner by packing crates, the chauffeur almost immediately rounding to open the door.
      "Show time," Sugizo smiled, sliding down the leather seats toward the open door, gently tugging Hide behind him. "Everyone out."
      As Hide and Sugizo exited, another limo pulled in and parked silently beside them, the chauffeur quickly rounding to reveal Raven with a young man in custody.
      Raven snarled lightly at Hide's presence and turned his back to the pink-haired man, waiting patiently until a flourish of satin blue marked his vision, signaling Mana's presence. "Mana," he nodded once. "You wanted Camui…" he shoved the man whom he had taken as a prize across the warehouse as Mana rounded the limo and approached.
      Mana nodded his head once. "Camui-san. Hisashiburi, ne?"
      "Mana…" Camui bowed once briefly to his old band leader and looked away, scanning the warehouse. "What's going on?"
      Mana shrugged, a graceful and subtle movement of his shoulders. "You'll find out," he took Camui's arm in his gently and smiled. "Come, Camui, I have something to show you."
      Camui frowned and looked to each of the people in the warehouse individually, eyes falling on Marilyn who was being helped carefully from the limo, a large red stain on his shirt. He could only guess at what had caused the sickening color… and he would rather not think about just how the injury happened "Wha… what's going on here!" he asked again, panic in his voice.
      "Come, I'll explain," Mana said, forcefully tugging on Camui's arm.
      "No. Not until I get some answers."
      Kozi came up behind him and gave Camui a hard shove in the back. "He said move your sorry ass, Camui-chan."
      Camui threw the man a rather displeased look, but allowed himself to be lead through the warehouse. He passed Hide and Sugizo, vaguely blue eyes fixing their icy glance on Hide in disbelief as he passed.
      Sugizo chuckled and tugged on Hide's arm, watching Camui, Mana and Kozi disappear back in the labyrinth of corridors in the back section of the warehouse. "Come on, you."
      "Where are we going?"
      "It's a surprise."
      "I don't like surprises," Hide pouted as Sugizo led him into a back hall of the warehouse, through a few connecting corridors and finally into a dimly lit room. Sugizo pushed Hide inside as he locked the door behind him, placing the key in his pants pockets. "Surprise!" he threw his arms in gestures about the room.
      Hide frowned and looked about the room. It looked like a makeshift bunk house room. There was an old dirty sink and toilet adorning one wall, and a bed that folded out from the wall. "I… I don't get it."
      Again, Sugizo shrugged and ran a hand through his pink hair. He crossed the room nearly nose to nose with Hide. Slowly, he rubbed his hands up and down the ugly orange colored shirt Hide was wearing, staring deeply into the wild brown eyes.
      "Sugizo… you're starting to worry me a bit here…" Hide tried to pull away.
      With the force of the wind, Sugizo gave Hide a shove that sent him toppling across the room and onto the old. dustly bed. Before reality could tell Hide to get up, Sugizo's weight was on top of him, pinning him effortlessly to the bed.
      "Shit, Sugihara! This isn't funny anymore. Get the fuck offa me!"
      "Nope," the other smiled and shook his head. He bent down and nudged Hide's ear, running his tongue over the platinum skull earring Hide wore in his ear.
      Hide gave a startled squeak and fought against Sugizo to no avail, tossing and turning.
      "Hold still you little…" Sugizo lay completely on top of Hide, opened his mouth wide and sunk his teeth into the side of Hide's throat. Hide screamed, more against the shock of the feeling then from the pain, the sound barely getting from his mouth before Sugizo's mouth covered his own.
      He felt Sugizo kissing him, felt the other man's tongue force his mouth open ferociously. Hide panicked and did the only thing he could think of at the moment; he bit Sugizo's lip.
      With a squeal, Sugizo reeled back and backhanded Hide roughly across the face. "Don't you EVER do that again, bastard!" A thin trail of blood wound its way down Sugizo's cheek. "Fuck, that hurt!" Sugizo let his hand fly again.
      "STOP IT!" Hide screamed in protest, his bottom lip beginning to bleed from the impact. "Christ Sugizo, what's wrong with you! Wake up!"
      Sugizo reached down and took a handful of Hide's shirt, jerking on it until the fabric ripped. With both hands, Sugizo dug at the fabric covering Hide's thin chest, ripping it clean off the other's body in less than a few seconds. Again, he let his weight fall on Hide and kissed him again, tasting the salty-sweet taste of Hide's blood. He sucked at the wound a bit before Hide ripped his head away violently, only earning him another backhand from Sugizo.
      Again, Sugizo forced himself on Hide, a stray hand leaving Hide's wrists to wind down the man's stomach to the button of his pants.
      Hide squirmed again, managing to break his mouth free. "God, Sugi… don't…"
      "Shut up."
      Tears cascaded out of Hide's eyes as he felt Sugizo unzip his pants. He felt Sugizo pull the fabric aside and run a finger along the waistband of his boxer short. He felt Sugizo's hand slip under the fabric to his flesh.
      Hide snarled and wrenched his body up, kneeing Sugizo dangerously close to his groin. Sugizo pulled his hand up and slapped Hide again.
      A fingernail found its way to Hide's nose. "I suggest you calm your ass down or get beaten, kiddo. Got that?"
      Hide calmed a bit and ended his struggle. He was no match for Sugizo's weight and strength. As Sugizo further reprimanded him, Hide managed to get a few stray thoughts together. Okay, he can't get your pants off without both hands… he'll have to let go of you sometime. You can get loose then…
      Again, Sugizo's hand slid down Hide's chest. He watched as Hide's stomach muscles tensed and he closed his eyes. But Hide didn't fight, as instructed.
      Sugizo smiled feraly and tugged at the corners of Hide's pants before releasing his grip on the other's hands and sliding down Hide's body to lick his belly button. "That's better," Sugizo chuckled, raising up to slide down to Hide's pants, beginning to tug on the fabric.
      Gathering all the courage he could, Hide threw a kick that impacted Sugizo square in the nose, nearly sending the larger man sailing across the room.
      As Sugizo hit the floor, Hide made a break for it, leaping off the bed and made a bee-line for the iron door like a runaway freight train. He impacted the door and instantly reached down to the door handle… but had forgotten that Sugizo locked it behind him.
      Panic once again ran over Hide. "NO! he screamed. He raised his fists and pounded on the iron doors. "Someone help me!!!".
      "Hide…" Sugizo's deep, sultry voice spoke behind him.
      Hide turned and flattened himself against the door. Sugizo's nose bled furiously, the blood trickling down his cheek and neck to loose itself in the mesh of his black shirt. "You'll pay for that."
      Hide nearly broke down as Sugizo picked up a loose board that was lying beside the toilet and slowly stalked across the room towards him. Scared brown eyes watched the other stalk him like a predator would his prey, Hide's legs giving out underneath him, bringing him to a crashing pile below the door. He shook in uncontrolled sobs, raising a hand to his defense. "Sugi… don't… please…" he whispered.
      Sugizo lunged and swung, Hide ducking just as the board impacted the wall. The blow took Sugizo off his balance for a moment as the board cracked and split under the force. Quickly he countered and got to his feet, facing the room…
      Hide was gone.
      "What the fuck…"
      Quick eyes scanned the room. The bed, the sink, the toilet… no Hide. "Where are you, you little bastard," he snarled a rhetorical question to himself as a few stray black feathers floated gently down through the air.
      The deadly Lucifer grin found its way to Sugizo's features once again as he raised eyes to the rafters above him. Hide sat nestled between a few of the rafters, his black wings tucked tight and trembling around his body. "Well well," the other laughed. "Up with the birds and angles where you belong, ne? Come down from there now, Hide," Sugizo instructed, pointing to the concrete floor with what was left of the board.
      Hide shook his head negative.
      "Hide…" Sugizo warned, shaking the splintered board at him. "Don't make me upset with you. You know how I get when I get upset."
      "You remember yourself, then?" Hide snarled. "Remember your band? Remember Luna Sea?"
      Sugizo snorted and waved a hand as if waving off the comment. "Don't be stupid, of course I do. Now, I'm gonna count to three. If you don't get your ass back down here, I'm coming after you. And I won't be happy. Wakarimasu ka? One…"
      "Sugizo! You're being brainwashed by Toshi and his lackey! Don't you see that?"
      "Two…"
      "Damnit Suzigo, listen to me!!"
      "Two and a half…" Sugizo growled between clenched teeth. The air within the room began to take on a sickly hot and humid feeling.
      "Two and three-quarters…"
      "Sugizo, please listen to me. This isn't you… you're being used…"
      "Three…" Sugizo's voice was not his own as he finished his cound. Instead, it seemed to be replaced by an almost demonic voice, taking over his entire body. His hair bled out in sticky black locks, his thin eyes sunk into his face and his skin turned a sickly pale grey. Sugizo looked like the dead from which he got his powers.
      The reincarnated Lucifer that had overtaken Sugizo's form growled under the carnage that had taken over his features, a sticky blackened aura falling over his body to explode and consume the entire room. The board toppled from his hand to ignite in a flaming pile on the floor. "Hide…" he growled, his demonic voice shaking the rafters of the room. "GET DOWN HERE!!!"
      The whole room shook; the walls and rafters quivering around Hide.
      The wall exploded beside Hide… a rotting hand broke out and grabbed a handful of Hide's black wings.
      Hide made a startled yelp and pulled away from the hand, gliding from one rafter to the other. There was very little room for him to maneuver in the tight rafters. The walls seemed to be coming alive with half-rotting corpses, bursting up through the cement and out of the stone masonry. They were crawling across the rafters toward him, coming at him from all sides.
      Hide leapt down from the rafters and glided to the floor, quickly hopping up on the sink as a housewife would do when trying to escape a mouse. It was no use. They broke out of the wall behind him and wrestled him to the floor.
      He tried to fight against them. About 5 had grabbed him and were dragging him to a corner of the room. Hide was on the verge of a stroke as he fought and screamed against the masses of rotting corpses that were piling on top of him. "SUGIZO!! HELP ME!!"
      Hide looked up long enough to see the demonic Sugizo come into view between the rotting faces of the dead… hr saw his hand snake through the zombies and to his shoulder…
      In an instant, the corpses were gone, like Hide had been suddenly awakened from a horrible nightmare. The room was suddenly back to the way it should have been…
      And there was Sugizo… normal familiar Sugizo chuckling down at him. "Don't fuck with me, Hide," he smiled, cocking his head to the side. He reached to Hide's pants and gave them a good tug… only succeeding in bringing Hide sliding out from against the wall.

      Toshi had lead Yoshiki to a small room, along with Kozi, Raven, Marilyn and Twiggy and sat him down at a table. Yoshiki shivered and hugged his arms. "Something's wrong. Where's Hide?"
      "Shut up," Toshi snarled. "Sugizo's dealing with him.
      Yoshiki's eyes grew worried.

The next part is not finished

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