The Time: (Monday) 28.03.05
06:15 PST

      Yes, back again already. Because the crack has eaten my brain. That and I'm trying to be a good monkey. "Trying" being the opportive word there.

      So because I'm a curious monkey...if you're reading this, leave me a note so I can know who you are! [That'd be the Fallen Blossoms button, btw] There are apparently still a couple of you and you know what they say about feline curiousity. ~_^

Title: Like Water for Fire (Innocent Innuendo #n+x)
Series: Furuba/Jrock crossover
Genre: AU Drama
Rating: Teen
Pairing: Gackt/Kyou, with unresolved possible others
Disclaimer: Despite the involvement of Real People, this is a complete work of fiction (duh - it's a crossover with cracked shoujo magical manga). I own nothing and got permission from no one, so please don't shoot me? o.o
Notes: I know, I know, I'm picking up in the middle of a scene. Hopefully, this won't be a problem in the future as I'm going to be aiming for clean scene break cuts for all projects before sleeping/stopping/whatever. So we have the rest of Kyou's scene and then a short segment from Gackt.

      The bet. He still hadn't beaten Yuki and with only a week before gradutation, it didn't look like it was going to happen. Not that he honestly believed Akito would have kept up his side of the agreement anyway. He shivered at the thought of what was going to happen to him when they got back to Japan.

      He had never thought of himself as the sort to run away from a fight, but the idea was beginning to sound better and better all the time. Gackt had security everywhere, kept himself carefully protected at nearly all times. The pop idol's life was a world apart from the Sohma lands. When he was even in Japan; he'd spent most of the past year on location, filming one thing or another. And for some reason, the man actually wanted him around. He wasn't even freaking out about the transformation thing, which was more than Tohru had done.

      He doesn't know the whole truth, but dammit, there's no reason he'd have to know. If I did the things he wanted, if I made him want to keep me around even more, I could be free. It . . . it can't be that hard, can it?

      “You still haven't explained yourself, neko-chan.”

      “Huh? Oh, well, um, normally it's just when I hug a girl, but if my body gets weak, then that'll trigger it, too. And actually, you should probably put me dow-.”

      He didn't get to finish his warning before the transformation took him again and he found himself thudding against the floor, once again human, albeit completely naked. He scrambled to grab his clothes from the couch, hurriedly shrugging into the loose pants even as he glared at his chuckling companion.

      “It's not funny,” he grumbled. “I don't have any control over how long I'm a cat and being sick like this just makes it worse. That's why I was telling you to knock it off.”

      “Is that why you were being so rude to Haido-kun? Trying to chase him off to protect your secret?”

      “It has nothing to do with him!” he growled, yanking his shirt on over his head. “When Akito finds out about this.... You'll just forget everything about me. I'll be the one stuck in a goddamned cage!”

      Kyou hadn't meant to mention that, but he didn't have much control of his mouth once he got angry. And he'd rather feel the burn of anger than the creeping fingers of terror that clawed at him. He couldn't live in a cage, he'd die if Akito got his wish.

      And it was going to happen, he'd already fucked up by letting himself get sick enough to change at all. Even if he never went back - and he couldn't exactly do that anyway - sooner or later that sadistic bastard would find out and it would all be over. His fairytale life would be finished. Gackt would forget all about the strange redhead and Kyou would rot away in a stinking cage. And no one would ever talk to him or laugh with him or do anything with him ever again.

      Gackt watched as his striking companion tried to bury fear with anger, watched the terror sweep over him anyway. Watched as terror became panic, stealing away Kyou's sense as well as his breath. Clearly, he was going to have to do something about this person who so terrorized his otherwise fearless young friend. This Akito.

      But first he needed to bring his Kyou-kun back to himself. Closing the distance between them, he pulled the teen close and pressed a gentle kiss into tousled orange hair.

      “Shh,” he soothed, gently kneading the teen's neck, “I won't let him hurt you anymore, Kyou-kun, I promise.”

      “Honto ni?” Kyou asked, pulling back to look up at him with startlingly vulnerable red eyes. The raw wounds exposed in that gaze were heartbreaking. What had been done to the poor boy that he was so broken inside? A lifetime of hurting, surely.

      “Honto ni. I promise,” he replied, smiling softly before pressing another brief kiss to the teen's forehead, then tucking orange hair under his chin once more. Kyou's breathing hitched and caught as he fought to bring himself back under control. Almost as if he'd been crying. Perhaps he had.

      “Come, let's put you to bed. If you're that sick, you should be resting,” he scolded with gentle affection. Picking up the teen was far too easy, Kyou too readily going limp in his arms. After so many protestations and verbal battles . . . his nekochan had to be quite sick indeed. Tsking to himself, he studiously ignored the pounding on his door and with some difficulty managed to carry Kyou into the rear bedroom. The teen appeared to be quite thoroughly asleep and Gackt was content to fetch the clothes he should have changed into some time ago and take them forward; he'd ruffled the teen's sensibilities enough for one day.

      Gackt could only a manage a slightly rueful smile at the sight of Yuu waiting for him. The man did not look particularly pleased. Well, he had already taken twice as long as normal and still wasn't changed.

      “Yes, yes, I know. See? I'm getting dressed now, niisama.”

      “Don't. Even. Start. Haido-san is muttering about some flea-bitten beast, ChaCha is still trying to figure out how Kyou-kun could fit under the couch, and then there's you. You aren't even dressed yet. What is going on? This isn't like you, Gaku-chan....”

      “It's a long story and I can't explain it all right now.”

      “Gaku-chan....”

      “But,” Gackt continued, plowing over whatever the other man had been about to say, “I will say that Kyou-kun is sicker than he lead me to believe - he collapsed just a moment ago. And, as you can see, I'm making my costume change.”

      Yuu snorted, obviously not satisfied. Gackt wasn't terribly happy to be holding back the truth of things from the man, but he couldn't share Kyou's secret without telling the teen first. And if he tried offering the story right then, Yuu would never believe it anyway.

      “The whole of it later, as much as he'll allow anyway,” Gackt said quietly, fingertips fluttering against leather. “When he can explain it so you don't think I'm making up all of it.”

      It was the best he could do. Fortunately, Yuu seemed aware of that as well and, nodding in acknowledgement, silently agreed to let the matter drop.

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