Alice Nine Saga
Title: Ali's tale - part 1
Rating: PG13
Pairing: Alice Nine, OC
Genre: fluff, dark
Beta: Dani
Summary: read to find out
Word Count: 3714
Author: hannah_arashi
A/N: Hope you all like it, this is my first Alice Nine fic so comments are loved
She looked up at the large building with a sigh. Just a few months ago she was saying how she would never work in the music industry if her life depended on it. Yet here she stood showing up for an interview she never asked for and with a company she didn’t want to work for no less. As she walked up to the building she put on a professional face and made her way across the lobby towards the secretary. She stopped in front of the woman who was clearly ignoring all those around her; focusing on whoever was on the other line. She waited for about two minutes before letting out an exasperated sigh and slamming her hand down on the desk in front of the woman, getting her attention. Smiling viciously at the now shocked secretary and asked very coolly where she could find her interview. The woman gave her a floor and room number, but before she could say anything else she had already turned and made her way towards the elevator. Jogging up right as the doors were closing and she hung her head in defeat when suddenly they opened to reveal a group of men holding the door for her. She inclined her head in thanks and stepped inside the elevator. Turning to face the doors she pressed the floor number. Without looking around she thanked the men. She got varying responses, all of which were positive. When the elevator stopped she stepped out and gave a little bow before walking towards the director’s office.
They watched the young woman head in the direction of the director’s office and wondered if perhaps she was the supposed new staff that was joining PS. Her features were striking and stood out. From her sharp green eyes to her lightly tanned skin that contrasted well with her curly reddish hair. Her appearance screamed ‘foreigner’ but yet she ‘felt’ strangely at home. Deciding not to dwell on the matter the five members of Alice Nine made their way to their green room to wait for their meeting with the President and their manager. They had been waiting for ten minutes when the door opened grabbing their attention. The President and the young woman they had been on the elevator with entered after their manager. She bowed when she saw the five men but otherwise said nothing. The President shook his head and looked at the five men sternly.
“Treat her well and with respect. She’ll be working with you five from now on so I don’t want to hear any bad reports. She’ll be shadowing you all for the next month or so, so she’ll be at the Nico Nico Douga recording and the lives as well. So let me introduce her, this is Ali-san”
She bowed again as she was introduced and looked at each of the men in turn.
“Yoroshiku onegaishimasu~”
The others all greeted her properly but only Saga remained silent. She seemed to notice it and gave him a slightly longer glance than the others. No one else noticed anything amiss so she was left in the care of the five men and their manager. She sat through the meeting and then when he went to leave she asked if she might spend some time getting to know the men. The manager readily agreed, impressed by her supposed enthusiasm. After he left she let out the breath she was holding. Now truly looking at the men, particularly the bassist she made some mental notes. They were all attractive but didn’t quite have the look she expected. But that was to be expected since she was meeting them ‘out of character’. She continued to look around at them but stayed silent.
Meanwhile the president and manager were in the middle of meeting in his office. The manager was praising the young woman’s enthusiasm while the president simply listened to the man. After a while he held up a hand to interrupt.
“You do realize she doesn’t even want to be here? This was essentially forced upon her as a way to try to make her interact more. Her manager sent me the contract asking for help, and I wasn’t going to but after hearing her story I decided maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea. But I guarantee you she is going to say something that will seriously piss one of the off before the day is over. It won’t even be intentional, it would just happen but we simply have to let it be for now…”
He glanced apprehensively at the door and sighed. They were in for a difficult next couple of months but hopefully something good would come of it.
The silence in the room was oppressive but before anyone could break the silence the young woman’s phone began playing Gackt’s ‘Vanilla’ loudly. She answered without looking but it was obvious that whoever was on the line was not who she was expecting. She sat rigidly listening to the other person, the only clue that she was present to the other was the barely audible ‘hai’ she uttered occasionally. After what was apparently a difficult question she looked around the room when her eyes settled on Tora. She held the phone out to the man with a look that insisted he take the phone. He took it and was surprised to find Hyde on the other line. The man greeted him warmly and explained the situation in full. He was shocked to hear the trouble that the young girl had been in but listened intently. He promised to do what he could before he was asked to pass the phone back. She accepted it without words but when she held it to her ear her expression changed dramatically.
“Nii-san? Hontou? ‘miss you… un~ wakarimasu yo~ *sigh* hai~ I’ll do my best…”
Saga watched her expressions change as she held the phone. He also saw the tears in her eyes, and watched as she hung up, a few tears fell down. Feeling responsible he stood up and walked over until he was directly in front of her. She looked shocked at him as he carefully captured the tears on his thumb and smiled gently at her.
“Daijoubu na~ We aren’t all that bad~”
She couldn’t help but smile a little as the man grinned at her. He was kind to her, even though she didn’t even know them. Glancing around at the others tentatively she noticed a similar feeling. Letting out the breath she was unintentionally holding she lowered her head.
“Ano~ I apologize for my behavior but I am… uncomfortable… around people I do not know. Please also do not take offense to me~ I do not mean anything however I tend to answer questions exactly as they are asked of me…”
She was silent, waiting for some sort of response out of the men but the response she received was not the one expected. Tora merely nodded and smiled, as did Shou. Nao and Hiroto proceeded to attempt to pelt her with questions, but she simply paid attention to Saga who was currently looking her directly in the eyes. Swallowing a lump in her throat she carefully met the man’s gaze.
“Nani?”
She looked at him with such big round eyes Saga could barely restrain himself from leaning forward and capturing the young woman’s lips. Instead he settled for putting his hand on her head with a grin.
“You’re cute~ I look forward to getting to know you better~”
She felt her cheeks flame up as the other men in the room simply chuckled at the bassist’s straight forward nature. She tried to look away but he had somehow managed to situate himself so that anyway she turned she would be inches from him. Frowning at the man she was about to say something when he leaned forward and stole the words off her lips with a light kiss. She was in too much shock to do anything besides stare at the man wide eyed. He chuckled and apologized, before sauntering over to the other side of the room. Right at that moment the president and manager decided to make an appearance. They walked inside to find four of the men simply shaking their heads, Saga looking pleased with himself and the little girl looking quite perplexed. Happy that things seemed to be working out the president sighed and made his presence known.
“ You five take care of her today ok? Why not go out for a drink or something?”
A chorus of positive responses came to him, and the girl’s perplexed state only seemed to grow deeper. Satisfied the man dragged the manager out with him telling the men to ‘get the hell out now’ and shut the door. Saga chuckled when the man left and was back over in front of the girl in seconds. He stood in front of her and offered his hand. She looked at him skeptically which only earned her a laugh and him grabbing her hand and dragging her up out of her chair. With a shout to the others, Saga led the way to the parking garage connected to the building and stopped when they arrived at their parking spots.
“So janken for where we go? Or does ‘Aqua Blue’ sound good to everyone?”
The others simply agreed, knowing that Saga would probably drag the girl to the bar either way, since he had already made up his mind. He proceeded to pull her to his car and opened the passenger door for her but left the choice open to her whether or not to trust him. Normally she wouldn’t trust anyone, particularly someone she had just met, but there was something about these men, but particularly the bassist, which reminded her of the one she called ‘Nii-san’ or ‘Aniki’ so she felt strangely calm and decided to take her chances. She sat in the seat of the car and watched as he grinned brightly before shutting the door for her. She sat for a few minutes in the silence of the car as he spoke to the others. She watched him come to the driver side and get in. He started the car in silence and after adjusting the music to a comfortable volume they were on their way.
She stayed silent surveying the atmosphere for any sense that she wasn’t safe. But Saga wasn’t one to let things go quietly for long. While keeping his eyes on the road he carefully started asking questions.
“So… How old are you?”
“I’m three years young than you…”
“… three years younger… so 22 right?”
“… if that’s three years younger, then I suppose you’d be correct.”
“…. You are something else you know that…”
She felt her face flush and muttered an apology before staring out the window. She watched as the building of the city passed by and before long they were on the highway. The car was silent when suddenly she heard a slight chuckle which made her glance curiously over at the man driving. He was looking at her incredulously and shaking his head.
“I meant that as a compliment babe…”
“Babe?!” she knew she wore a look of shock at the sudden nickname.
“Yea~ Like it? Cause it’s gonna stick…”
She couldn’t help the smile that came forth and simply shook her head. Chuckling she pushed her hair out of her face and turned so that she could look at the man properly. He was handsome, with a sort of roguish charm that sent shivers down her spine. The rest of the ride was spent in comfortable silence. They arrived at a dark looking building that had a strangely familiar atmosphere to it. A valet took the car and they waited a few minutes for the others to arrive. As soon as everyone was there Saga took her wrist and gently led her into the building. As soon as she stepped inside she recognized her surrounding immediately and relaxed slightly. The men took notice and smiled to themselves. They made their way to a reserved table and sat. Tora and Saga went to buy the first round of drinks while the others decided to play twenty questions with her. She sat there and answered mostly in good humor. The questions had been going on for a few minutes when suddenly a voice from behind caused her to whip around. Standing a few feet away from their table was the man she called “Aniki”. Without hesitation she jumped off the ledge and into his arms knowing he would catch her.
The three men were each asking questions of her which she answered readily until someone interrupted them. Shou turned to tell the man off when he saw Gackt standing a few feet away from the table. They watched as she whipped around and her features changed immediately. She went from almost a nervous calm to joy in seconds. They watched as she leapt over the railing and right into the man’s arms for a hug. Meanwhile Tora and Saga were coming back with drinks and watched the whole thing from afar. Saga felt his heart twinge seeing the young woman act so differently. Tora noticed his dilemma and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“The phone call earlier was from Hyde-san… Gackt is like a brother to her, so don’t let her behavior throw you. You definitely have a chance…”
“You know… it’d be nice if you could keep out of my head once in a while Tora-shi~”
He just grinned and the two finished closing the distance to the table. She noticed Saga’s distracted look and realized that perhaps he had the wrong idea. Sighing she gave her brother one last hug before scrambling back to her seat. She caught Saga’s sleeve as he was turning to leave. He looked back at her and met her large round doe-like eyes.
“Don’t go…”
Saga was absolutely perplexed by her behavior. But he couldn’t bring himself to look away from her. With a nod he sat back down and she tried to remove her hand but Saga caught it in his own and simply intertwined their fingers. While looking around at no one he spoke to her.
“Why not tell me your story?”
She was surprised when he captured her hand and could only watch in confusion. She looked around at the others who merely shrugged and waited for an answer. She glanced back at Gackt who was stifling a chuckle at the other man’s overprotective stance about the girl when he hardly knew her. Sighing she turned back to face the five men.
“I came to Japan a few years ago as an English teacher. I worked mainly with businesses that wanted their employees to learn conversational English. One day, as a reward I was given concert tickets to see Gackt-san. I went and somehow managed to get backstage passes to meet him. We hit it off and he decided that I needed an older brother to take care of me while I was in a foreign place, so we became close. A few months after that I was leaving work when some of the employees invited me out to eat. I figured they were just being nice. Turns out someone had been spreading rumors about how ‘easy’ the little English teacher was. So they all ended up getting drunk and violent when I wouldn’t agree to do what they wanted. I managed to escape and Gackt took me in. After that he suggested that I work in his industry as a manager. So I started working with some groups. Everything was going well until recently. I was fixing up the schedule of one of my others groups when out of the blue someone started pounding on my door. They shouted profanities of all kinds and left a nasty surprise for me to find. Turns out they were fans of a group I was managing that thought I should ‘Go the fuck back where I came from…’ After everything that happened I was about to give up when Aniki told me to at least come for this interview. He swore to me that you guys would be kind and wouldn’t let anything happen to me, much like he does…”
She finally stopped speaking and realized it was probably the most she had spoken to the men ever. She looked up expecting harsh looks or worse rejection but all she found was understanding and acceptance. She felt her eyes grow misty but instead of pulling away from the men, Saga used his grip on her hand to propel her forward into his chest. At first she stiffened but then relaxed into the embrace. She shook with silent tears as the men promised to take care of her but it was the man holding her words that made her glance up finally. He grinned gently at her showing off his braces.
“If anyone so much as tries to harm you, physically or mentally I will personally beat their ass. Alice Nine will protect you Babe~ whether you like it or not~”
“Are you really gonna keep calling me that?”
He simply grinned and closed the gap between them quickly to give her a quick peck on the lips followed by a lingering kiss on top of her head. He looked over her head at the man she called Aniki. He was watching their interaction closely but showed no surprise at Saga’s rash actions. Instead he seemed to relax even more, if that was possible. Meanwhile she was struggling to pull away so Saga allowed her. He was greeted by her fully flushed face and her partially open mouth. He couldn’t help the giggle that escaped as he patted her head on the head and grinned.
“I told you before I thought you were fucking cute right? I was wrong… You are adorable~”
She let out an exasperated sigh and turned away from the man only to discover that the others were all holding back laughter as well. She scowled and left the table, quickly avoiding anyone who might try to hold her back and walked up to the bar. She could hear a chorus of laughter as she walked up and ordered a shot of tequila. She knew Gackt would be watching her very cautiously, because she only took shots when she was scared. Without wanting to think about it she threw the shot back and barely repressed the shudder that ran threw her at the familiar burn. She absolutely hated tequila but if she really wanted something that would mess her up it was either tequila or whiskey. But she only drank whiskey if she was home, because it took so little to make her pass out. While she was debating taking another shot someone came up behind her and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. She glanced up and let out a breath when she realized who it was. She reached for the shot and the man simply placed his other hand over the drink and looked at her from the corner of his eye. She smirked up at him and shook her head.
“Aniki~ I am not going to do anything stupid… Just let me deal with my issues the way I need to…”
Gackt laughed at her straightforward speech and simply placed a hand on top of her head.
“Darling, you are already in trouble… You came to a bar with five men you hardly know. And one of them is EXTERMELY interested in you… You don’t have to be scared of them you know.”
“(sigh) I’m not scared of them… I am scared of… I guess myself. I don’t want to give them the impression that I am some… stupid, crazy…”
She was interrupted when he leaned forward and rested his forehead against her. She sniffed back the tears that were threatening to fall. He chuckled and hugged her gently, whispering to her that nothing she could do would make those men act like the others. She nodded but couldn’t mask the fear that was prevalent in her mind. Gackt simply kissed the top of her head and let her continue to stand up at the bar. He gave a motion towards the back that she didn’t see before disappearing into the crowd. Saga made his way over carefully, watching her body language as he approached. He watched her shoot back the second shot of tequila and chuckled a little at the disgusted face she gave. She was obviously not a fan of the stuff. He sidled up to the bar and silently set his pack of cigarettes facing her.
She shuddered as she finished the shot and waved away any more. Noticing the man next to her she couldn’t help but chuckle. She took one of the proffered cigarettes and waited against the bar for a light. He was quick about it and cautiously threw his arm around her shoulders. When she didn’t tense up he drew her closer and soon she was resting comfortably against his chest, smoking and looking out into the crowd. After a few minutes of silent observations she took a deep breath and glanced up at her current rest and smiled tentatively. His returning smile was full out gorgeous and shone brightly. She relaxed even more against the man and sighed.
“Hmmm… I think I could get used to feeling this relaxed without needing to drink myself into oblivion... It certainly does help with the whole responsible adult image.”
“Babe~ You can do whatever you want as long as you make me one promise…”
“P-promise?” she couldn’t help her voice shaking and Saga noticed because suddenly his arms wrapped gently around her and he spoke softly into her ear.
“Yea~ just promise me to not leave my side from now on… And I’ll take care of everything for you…”
She felt her cheeks burn red but she turned so that she was face to face with the man, his arms never loosening their grip on her. She leaned forward and gave him the slightest kiss before pulling away.
“I’ll do my best…”
Rating: PG13
Pairing: Alice Nine, OC
Genre: fluff, dark
Beta: Dani
Summary: read to find out
Word Count: 3714
Author: hannah_arashi
A/N: Hope you all like it, this is my first Alice Nine fic so comments are loved
She looked up at the large building with a sigh. Just a few months ago she was saying how she would never work in the music industry if her life depended on it. Yet here she stood showing up for an interview she never asked for and with a company she didn’t want to work for no less. As she walked up to the building she put on a professional face and made her way across the lobby towards the secretary. She stopped in front of the woman who was clearly ignoring all those around her; focusing on whoever was on the other line. She waited for about two minutes before letting out an exasperated sigh and slamming her hand down on the desk in front of the woman, getting her attention. Smiling viciously at the now shocked secretary and asked very coolly where she could find her interview. The woman gave her a floor and room number, but before she could say anything else she had already turned and made her way towards the elevator. Jogging up right as the doors were closing and she hung her head in defeat when suddenly they opened to reveal a group of men holding the door for her. She inclined her head in thanks and stepped inside the elevator. Turning to face the doors she pressed the floor number. Without looking around she thanked the men. She got varying responses, all of which were positive. When the elevator stopped she stepped out and gave a little bow before walking towards the director’s office.
They watched the young woman head in the direction of the director’s office and wondered if perhaps she was the supposed new staff that was joining PS. Her features were striking and stood out. From her sharp green eyes to her lightly tanned skin that contrasted well with her curly reddish hair. Her appearance screamed ‘foreigner’ but yet she ‘felt’ strangely at home. Deciding not to dwell on the matter the five members of Alice Nine made their way to their green room to wait for their meeting with the President and their manager. They had been waiting for ten minutes when the door opened grabbing their attention. The President and the young woman they had been on the elevator with entered after their manager. She bowed when she saw the five men but otherwise said nothing. The President shook his head and looked at the five men sternly.
“Treat her well and with respect. She’ll be working with you five from now on so I don’t want to hear any bad reports. She’ll be shadowing you all for the next month or so, so she’ll be at the Nico Nico Douga recording and the lives as well. So let me introduce her, this is Ali-san”
She bowed again as she was introduced and looked at each of the men in turn.
“Yoroshiku onegaishimasu~”
The others all greeted her properly but only Saga remained silent. She seemed to notice it and gave him a slightly longer glance than the others. No one else noticed anything amiss so she was left in the care of the five men and their manager. She sat through the meeting and then when he went to leave she asked if she might spend some time getting to know the men. The manager readily agreed, impressed by her supposed enthusiasm. After he left she let out the breath she was holding. Now truly looking at the men, particularly the bassist she made some mental notes. They were all attractive but didn’t quite have the look she expected. But that was to be expected since she was meeting them ‘out of character’. She continued to look around at them but stayed silent.
Meanwhile the president and manager were in the middle of meeting in his office. The manager was praising the young woman’s enthusiasm while the president simply listened to the man. After a while he held up a hand to interrupt.
“You do realize she doesn’t even want to be here? This was essentially forced upon her as a way to try to make her interact more. Her manager sent me the contract asking for help, and I wasn’t going to but after hearing her story I decided maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea. But I guarantee you she is going to say something that will seriously piss one of the off before the day is over. It won’t even be intentional, it would just happen but we simply have to let it be for now…”
He glanced apprehensively at the door and sighed. They were in for a difficult next couple of months but hopefully something good would come of it.
The silence in the room was oppressive but before anyone could break the silence the young woman’s phone began playing Gackt’s ‘Vanilla’ loudly. She answered without looking but it was obvious that whoever was on the line was not who she was expecting. She sat rigidly listening to the other person, the only clue that she was present to the other was the barely audible ‘hai’ she uttered occasionally. After what was apparently a difficult question she looked around the room when her eyes settled on Tora. She held the phone out to the man with a look that insisted he take the phone. He took it and was surprised to find Hyde on the other line. The man greeted him warmly and explained the situation in full. He was shocked to hear the trouble that the young girl had been in but listened intently. He promised to do what he could before he was asked to pass the phone back. She accepted it without words but when she held it to her ear her expression changed dramatically.
“Nii-san? Hontou? ‘miss you… un~ wakarimasu yo~ *sigh* hai~ I’ll do my best…”
Saga watched her expressions change as she held the phone. He also saw the tears in her eyes, and watched as she hung up, a few tears fell down. Feeling responsible he stood up and walked over until he was directly in front of her. She looked shocked at him as he carefully captured the tears on his thumb and smiled gently at her.
“Daijoubu na~ We aren’t all that bad~”
She couldn’t help but smile a little as the man grinned at her. He was kind to her, even though she didn’t even know them. Glancing around at the others tentatively she noticed a similar feeling. Letting out the breath she was unintentionally holding she lowered her head.
“Ano~ I apologize for my behavior but I am… uncomfortable… around people I do not know. Please also do not take offense to me~ I do not mean anything however I tend to answer questions exactly as they are asked of me…”
She was silent, waiting for some sort of response out of the men but the response she received was not the one expected. Tora merely nodded and smiled, as did Shou. Nao and Hiroto proceeded to attempt to pelt her with questions, but she simply paid attention to Saga who was currently looking her directly in the eyes. Swallowing a lump in her throat she carefully met the man’s gaze.
“Nani?”
She looked at him with such big round eyes Saga could barely restrain himself from leaning forward and capturing the young woman’s lips. Instead he settled for putting his hand on her head with a grin.
“You’re cute~ I look forward to getting to know you better~”
She felt her cheeks flame up as the other men in the room simply chuckled at the bassist’s straight forward nature. She tried to look away but he had somehow managed to situate himself so that anyway she turned she would be inches from him. Frowning at the man she was about to say something when he leaned forward and stole the words off her lips with a light kiss. She was in too much shock to do anything besides stare at the man wide eyed. He chuckled and apologized, before sauntering over to the other side of the room. Right at that moment the president and manager decided to make an appearance. They walked inside to find four of the men simply shaking their heads, Saga looking pleased with himself and the little girl looking quite perplexed. Happy that things seemed to be working out the president sighed and made his presence known.
“ You five take care of her today ok? Why not go out for a drink or something?”
A chorus of positive responses came to him, and the girl’s perplexed state only seemed to grow deeper. Satisfied the man dragged the manager out with him telling the men to ‘get the hell out now’ and shut the door. Saga chuckled when the man left and was back over in front of the girl in seconds. He stood in front of her and offered his hand. She looked at him skeptically which only earned her a laugh and him grabbing her hand and dragging her up out of her chair. With a shout to the others, Saga led the way to the parking garage connected to the building and stopped when they arrived at their parking spots.
“So janken for where we go? Or does ‘Aqua Blue’ sound good to everyone?”
The others simply agreed, knowing that Saga would probably drag the girl to the bar either way, since he had already made up his mind. He proceeded to pull her to his car and opened the passenger door for her but left the choice open to her whether or not to trust him. Normally she wouldn’t trust anyone, particularly someone she had just met, but there was something about these men, but particularly the bassist, which reminded her of the one she called ‘Nii-san’ or ‘Aniki’ so she felt strangely calm and decided to take her chances. She sat in the seat of the car and watched as he grinned brightly before shutting the door for her. She sat for a few minutes in the silence of the car as he spoke to the others. She watched him come to the driver side and get in. He started the car in silence and after adjusting the music to a comfortable volume they were on their way.
She stayed silent surveying the atmosphere for any sense that she wasn’t safe. But Saga wasn’t one to let things go quietly for long. While keeping his eyes on the road he carefully started asking questions.
“So… How old are you?”
“I’m three years young than you…”
“… three years younger… so 22 right?”
“… if that’s three years younger, then I suppose you’d be correct.”
“…. You are something else you know that…”
She felt her face flush and muttered an apology before staring out the window. She watched as the building of the city passed by and before long they were on the highway. The car was silent when suddenly she heard a slight chuckle which made her glance curiously over at the man driving. He was looking at her incredulously and shaking his head.
“I meant that as a compliment babe…”
“Babe?!” she knew she wore a look of shock at the sudden nickname.
“Yea~ Like it? Cause it’s gonna stick…”
She couldn’t help the smile that came forth and simply shook her head. Chuckling she pushed her hair out of her face and turned so that she could look at the man properly. He was handsome, with a sort of roguish charm that sent shivers down her spine. The rest of the ride was spent in comfortable silence. They arrived at a dark looking building that had a strangely familiar atmosphere to it. A valet took the car and they waited a few minutes for the others to arrive. As soon as everyone was there Saga took her wrist and gently led her into the building. As soon as she stepped inside she recognized her surrounding immediately and relaxed slightly. The men took notice and smiled to themselves. They made their way to a reserved table and sat. Tora and Saga went to buy the first round of drinks while the others decided to play twenty questions with her. She sat there and answered mostly in good humor. The questions had been going on for a few minutes when suddenly a voice from behind caused her to whip around. Standing a few feet away from their table was the man she called “Aniki”. Without hesitation she jumped off the ledge and into his arms knowing he would catch her.
The three men were each asking questions of her which she answered readily until someone interrupted them. Shou turned to tell the man off when he saw Gackt standing a few feet away from the table. They watched as she whipped around and her features changed immediately. She went from almost a nervous calm to joy in seconds. They watched as she leapt over the railing and right into the man’s arms for a hug. Meanwhile Tora and Saga were coming back with drinks and watched the whole thing from afar. Saga felt his heart twinge seeing the young woman act so differently. Tora noticed his dilemma and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“The phone call earlier was from Hyde-san… Gackt is like a brother to her, so don’t let her behavior throw you. You definitely have a chance…”
“You know… it’d be nice if you could keep out of my head once in a while Tora-shi~”
He just grinned and the two finished closing the distance to the table. She noticed Saga’s distracted look and realized that perhaps he had the wrong idea. Sighing she gave her brother one last hug before scrambling back to her seat. She caught Saga’s sleeve as he was turning to leave. He looked back at her and met her large round doe-like eyes.
“Don’t go…”
Saga was absolutely perplexed by her behavior. But he couldn’t bring himself to look away from her. With a nod he sat back down and she tried to remove her hand but Saga caught it in his own and simply intertwined their fingers. While looking around at no one he spoke to her.
“Why not tell me your story?”
She was surprised when he captured her hand and could only watch in confusion. She looked around at the others who merely shrugged and waited for an answer. She glanced back at Gackt who was stifling a chuckle at the other man’s overprotective stance about the girl when he hardly knew her. Sighing she turned back to face the five men.
“I came to Japan a few years ago as an English teacher. I worked mainly with businesses that wanted their employees to learn conversational English. One day, as a reward I was given concert tickets to see Gackt-san. I went and somehow managed to get backstage passes to meet him. We hit it off and he decided that I needed an older brother to take care of me while I was in a foreign place, so we became close. A few months after that I was leaving work when some of the employees invited me out to eat. I figured they were just being nice. Turns out someone had been spreading rumors about how ‘easy’ the little English teacher was. So they all ended up getting drunk and violent when I wouldn’t agree to do what they wanted. I managed to escape and Gackt took me in. After that he suggested that I work in his industry as a manager. So I started working with some groups. Everything was going well until recently. I was fixing up the schedule of one of my others groups when out of the blue someone started pounding on my door. They shouted profanities of all kinds and left a nasty surprise for me to find. Turns out they were fans of a group I was managing that thought I should ‘Go the fuck back where I came from…’ After everything that happened I was about to give up when Aniki told me to at least come for this interview. He swore to me that you guys would be kind and wouldn’t let anything happen to me, much like he does…”
She finally stopped speaking and realized it was probably the most she had spoken to the men ever. She looked up expecting harsh looks or worse rejection but all she found was understanding and acceptance. She felt her eyes grow misty but instead of pulling away from the men, Saga used his grip on her hand to propel her forward into his chest. At first she stiffened but then relaxed into the embrace. She shook with silent tears as the men promised to take care of her but it was the man holding her words that made her glance up finally. He grinned gently at her showing off his braces.
“If anyone so much as tries to harm you, physically or mentally I will personally beat their ass. Alice Nine will protect you Babe~ whether you like it or not~”
“Are you really gonna keep calling me that?”
He simply grinned and closed the gap between them quickly to give her a quick peck on the lips followed by a lingering kiss on top of her head. He looked over her head at the man she called Aniki. He was watching their interaction closely but showed no surprise at Saga’s rash actions. Instead he seemed to relax even more, if that was possible. Meanwhile she was struggling to pull away so Saga allowed her. He was greeted by her fully flushed face and her partially open mouth. He couldn’t help the giggle that escaped as he patted her head on the head and grinned.
“I told you before I thought you were fucking cute right? I was wrong… You are adorable~”
She let out an exasperated sigh and turned away from the man only to discover that the others were all holding back laughter as well. She scowled and left the table, quickly avoiding anyone who might try to hold her back and walked up to the bar. She could hear a chorus of laughter as she walked up and ordered a shot of tequila. She knew Gackt would be watching her very cautiously, because she only took shots when she was scared. Without wanting to think about it she threw the shot back and barely repressed the shudder that ran threw her at the familiar burn. She absolutely hated tequila but if she really wanted something that would mess her up it was either tequila or whiskey. But she only drank whiskey if she was home, because it took so little to make her pass out. While she was debating taking another shot someone came up behind her and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. She glanced up and let out a breath when she realized who it was. She reached for the shot and the man simply placed his other hand over the drink and looked at her from the corner of his eye. She smirked up at him and shook her head.
“Aniki~ I am not going to do anything stupid… Just let me deal with my issues the way I need to…”
Gackt laughed at her straightforward speech and simply placed a hand on top of her head.
“Darling, you are already in trouble… You came to a bar with five men you hardly know. And one of them is EXTERMELY interested in you… You don’t have to be scared of them you know.”
“(sigh) I’m not scared of them… I am scared of… I guess myself. I don’t want to give them the impression that I am some… stupid, crazy…”
She was interrupted when he leaned forward and rested his forehead against her. She sniffed back the tears that were threatening to fall. He chuckled and hugged her gently, whispering to her that nothing she could do would make those men act like the others. She nodded but couldn’t mask the fear that was prevalent in her mind. Gackt simply kissed the top of her head and let her continue to stand up at the bar. He gave a motion towards the back that she didn’t see before disappearing into the crowd. Saga made his way over carefully, watching her body language as he approached. He watched her shoot back the second shot of tequila and chuckled a little at the disgusted face she gave. She was obviously not a fan of the stuff. He sidled up to the bar and silently set his pack of cigarettes facing her.
She shuddered as she finished the shot and waved away any more. Noticing the man next to her she couldn’t help but chuckle. She took one of the proffered cigarettes and waited against the bar for a light. He was quick about it and cautiously threw his arm around her shoulders. When she didn’t tense up he drew her closer and soon she was resting comfortably against his chest, smoking and looking out into the crowd. After a few minutes of silent observations she took a deep breath and glanced up at her current rest and smiled tentatively. His returning smile was full out gorgeous and shone brightly. She relaxed even more against the man and sighed.
“Hmmm… I think I could get used to feeling this relaxed without needing to drink myself into oblivion... It certainly does help with the whole responsible adult image.”
“Babe~ You can do whatever you want as long as you make me one promise…”
“P-promise?” she couldn’t help her voice shaking and Saga noticed because suddenly his arms wrapped gently around her and he spoke softly into her ear.
“Yea~ just promise me to not leave my side from now on… And I’ll take care of everything for you…”
She felt her cheeks burn red but she turned so that she was face to face with the man, his arms never loosening their grip on her. She leaned forward and gave him the slightest kiss before pulling away.
“I’ll do my best…”