radhaj | The Game, Chapter 4

Title: The Game
Pairings: Tetsu x Hyde x Tetsu
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: I do not claim to have any j-rockers in my possession
Warnings: Male x Male stuff. Slight OOC and AU, because this is just not how it really was. But hey, that's why this is fan fiction, right?
Summary: When Tetsu approaches Hyde to join his band, the vocalist turns out to be everything he's been made out to be and more. But is that more than the new band leader can handle?

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

It was obvious that Tetsu was trying to do his best leader impression. Hyde smirked. It always made him feel superior instead of intimidated when the bassist did that, especially since he knew that Tetsu only did it when Hyde had the upper hand in a situation.

"There was nothing in our agreement about me staying away from other members of L'Arc~en~Ciel and you know it," the singer said in response to what the bassist said just a second ago, "I will make no such promise."

Hearing this, the leader visibly bristled and let his discontentment seep through in his look at the vocalist.

"I just thought I could appeal to your common sense. Seems like I was wrong," Tetsu said in a way that was probably supposed to make Hyde feel ashamed of himself, but just went right over the singer's head. "I expect you to be on time for tomorrow's practice. The new guitarist will be there."

Having said that part, Tetsu did not linger in the singer's apartment for even a second more. It seemed the sole real purpose for his visit had been to ask Hyde to at least not screw around with the members of their band. But as the older man just said, Tetsu had never specified anything about it when they made the agreement for Hyde to join the band, and that was why the singer could get away with doing what he did to Hiro. And though initially Hyde did feel a tiny bit bad about how he had treated the guitarist, he was now more than ever convinced it had been worth it to see Tetsu's reaction.

Moreover, at this moment Hyde was sure Tetsu made an even bigger miscalculation. After all, by coming to visit him and showing how much he cared about the issue, the bassist just made sure that Hyde would be set on pursuing the other members, just to see Tetsu squirm.

Really, the only thing left to decide was who will be first: Pero or the new guy, whoever that was?

Suddenly, Hyde was looking forward to tomorrow's practice much more sincerely than before and proceeded to go through the relationship he had with Pero in his head to decide just how much damage his earlier attitude towards the man had done for his prospects of seducing him.

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

His first thought was: 'A dork'

His second thought was: ''Obviously straight. Looks like a hopeless womanizer and one of those "soul of a party" people. Judging from the look he's giving me, he's probably thinking that I'm a girl. Won't be thrilled after finding out otherwise. Doesn't have a big tolerance to alcohol, easy to get drunk, can use that. Not half bad looking, but could do with longer hair.'

His third thought was: 'This will be easier than I thought.'

He went through that sort of analysis in his mind with almost every person that he met, sometimes taking longer to read them, other times managing to do it faster. Sometimes he did it in more depth, other times he just got through the important stuff out of habit.

With Ken - the guitarist Tetsu recruited for them who was also, it turns out, the bassist's childhood friend - the singer simply did not bother. The tall man seemed like an open book to read and the singer was sure he had him figured out already. And he did it even before the introductions were over.

"....and Ken, this is Pero, our drummer," Tetsu continued in the meantime, waiting for a second as the two men went through obligatory bows. "And this here is Hyde, the man responsible for the vocals."

The singer was waiting for the guitarist to guffaw or do something equally as ungraceful at finding out his gender and was just a second away from donning his most forgiving smile (quite necessary, if he was to make the dork relax around him) when he got his first surprise for the evening.

"Ohh, such a pity I'm straight, with a pretty guy like you around," the tall man laughed off his surprise immediately, instead of letting his jaw drop as Hyde expected him to. "You wouldn't happen to have any sisters, would you, Hyde?"

"N-no," the singer answered in his own surprise. Half a second later, however, he controlled himself and took up a far more appropriate for his purposes expression (he simply could not believe he had just stuttered!), but just as he was about to continue with a more intelligent answer, Ken was talking again.

"Pity that, real pity. But I suppose you wouldn't introduce us even if you did have a sister, eh?" the guitarist said grinning, slapping the singer on the shoulder.

'Does this idiot know the concept of personal space?' was Hyde's next thought, but there were things that bothered him far more than the casual way the other man treated him at that moment.

He comforted himself with the fact that at least he had guessed right that the man was an obvious womanizer. But otherwise, Ken managed to completely lose Hyde by continuing to behave in ways the singer could never pre-empt through the whole evening.

At some point, flabbergasted, Hyde cast a look in Tetsu's direction, trying to gauge what the hell was up with this weirdo Tetsu introduced as an old friend. But the bassist was otherwise occupied and seemed to not even notice Hyde looking at him, so the singer was left just as confused as before.

He disliked not being in control of the situation, and he absolutely hated losing control over himself. The new guitarist made him do that more than once that evening alone.

Maybe dealing with Pero first was a better idea after all.

However, even that soon turned out to be easier said than done. If there was one thing that Ken did even better than making Hyde confused, it was sucking everyone around him into his own pace. A couple of days after the tall man officially joined the band, the singer found his normally quite calm and lonely evening excursions to bars filled with annoyingly high-pitched and loud laughter as well as outrageously obscene jokes. And while he still managed to "fish around" for other people to "walk him home", Hyde found himself completely lacking any private time with Pero, despite the fact that Ken somehow managed to get both other members of Laruku to join them in clubs most of the time.

After a couple of futile months of trying and getting completely frustrated, Hyde changed his plans again and refocused his efforts towards puzzling out Ken himself instead of pursuing Pero. Unfortunately for him, that turned out to be even more fruitless a pass-time. Even while his proficiency with guitar and song-writing was trying to suggest otherwise, Hyde was starting to honestly believe that Ken might be a complete retard.

The guitarist managed to remain oblivious to even the most obvious of Hyde's suggestions and called the singer's direct prepositions "the best jokes he'd ever heard". On the contrary, other times he would flirt back (especially when drunk, which, as Hyde had correctly guessed, he'd become very quickly), but even when he was barely able to form sentences, the guitarist still managed to somehow evade all of Hyde's traps without batting an eye even once. It was infuriating.

Probably the most incomprehensible for Hyde was the fact that Ken so successfully continued to slip out of his grasp despite the fact that he was probably the most open minded heterosexual man he had ever met. Every once in a while, the guitarist would again bemoan just how unfortunate it was that Hyde was a man and on a couple separate occasions he even indirectly confessed to being slightly curious about "the other side" sometimes, all the while looking at Hyde. And yet...

And yet...

In his anger, Hyde punched a couch cushion and then kicked another one into the wall of his one-room apartment. At this point of time, a paranoid part of his mind was getting suspicious if this was not exactly what Tetsu expected to happen. Maybe he had counted on Hyde to become obsessed with other members of Laruku. Perhaps, that day he came to talk with him, because he knew Ken would make it so impossible a goal? Maybe that was the leader's way of distracting him from his usual adventures? He had, after all, been reducing his other escapades to a bare minimum lately, as he was otherwise preoccupied. Tetsu and Ken were childhood friends - they knew each other really well. Could it really be that the bassist had cleverly planned this out from the beginning?

Impossible. He was just letting frustration get to him, the idea was just too far-fetched to be true. Sure, never before did he have so much trouble getting anyone give him what he wanted (most of his conquests commenced in one night after all), but that was no reason to give up or think up excuses for himself. Maybe he should try with Pero one more time?

He locked the part of his mind that whispered it was not good if he started toss his efforts from one man to another in the same, deep and dark corner of his mind as he did his paranoia.

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

The last nail in the coffin of his plan to bed his bandmates came two months later, completely unexpectedly, in the form of an announcement from Pero.

"I'm quitting the band."

The other people in the room paused their after-live clean up and looked at the muscular man with identically widened eyes.

"What?" Hyde finally croaked out, his mind racing, "You can't just leave now!"

'Not when I can't take credit for it yet' was supposed to be the finish of the sentence, however he wisely kept that to himself. If he read correctly, however, it seemed that Tetsu knew what he meant by saying that as well as he did and a smile, that had no place on the bassist's face after the news they were just dealt with, flashed on it in a way that only the singer caught it.

"I can, and I am," the drummer shot back calmly, completely unperturbed. "I got an invitation to join the band Hiro is playing in right now. I think it will suit me better."

Tetsu finally spoke then and Hyde caught himself almost sighing in relief - surely the leader would stop Pero from leaving? He almost choked when he heard the bassist's actual words however.

"If you're sure about it?" Tetsu asked in a slightly sad voice, but with no sign of trying to talk the other out of it.

"I am. I had time to think it through very well," the drummer answered and Hyde distractedly noted his tone was much nicer when he was talking with the bassist than when he was talking to him.

"This will bring a lot of problems..." Tetsu continued, finally showing some concern at the news, but still no sign of panicking. Was this really the man that was normally so passionate about his band? Besides the moment of Pero's initial announcement, Tetsu showed no surprise at all. Had he been expecting this? Hyde felt a little surreal.

"I'm sorry," Pero apologized sincerely and Hyde wondered if he was, maybe, just dreaming that this was happening. If only because Ken - their guitarist, who dropped out of is studies in a university and completely ruined his relationship with his family just to join this band - seemed to be taking the news without any protests of his own as well.

"I'll deal with it somehow," the bassist answered and Ken nodded on the side.

"Want to get a drink together one more time?" Hyde finally woke from his stupor and suggested with his most good-wishing and innocent smile, even as he felt a little faint. If he got just one more chance, surely he could...

"No, sorry, I should just go home tonight," the drummer answered, gathering the last of his stuff and with a few rounds of final good-wishes and see-yous, he was gone.

"Well those were really unwanted news," Ken muttered after a few minutes of dead silence passed. "But judging by your reaction, you're not too worried, so I trust you really will deal with this without trouble?"

The question was very obviously directed at Tetsu and the bassist rather unconcernedly muttered something in affirmative. The leader wasted no time and was now finishing his own cleaning up.

"Are you okay, Hyde? You seem really shocked," Ken turned to the singer then, and Hyde blinked himself out of his stillness. There was genuine concern in the guitarist's eyes, and out of now completely ingrained habit, Hyde latched on to it.

"It's just... This is such a bad time to lose a drummer, and I don't know how you all can be so calm about it," his voice automatically gained an insecure and overly concerned tone. For an even better effect, he sank further into his seat and looked down.

"Don't worry, if Tetsu says he'll figure it out, then he will," the guitarist answered soothingly. He got close enough to give Hyde a couple of pats on the head, but stepped away again too soon for Hyde to make any other possible move.

"Go home and sleep your concern away. Always works for me," the tall man continued, as he hauled his guitar case on his back and then straightened out again, "If it doesn't, we can go out tomorrow and have some fun?"

"Sounds great," the singer answered with his most bedazzling smile. Even his best effort, however, did not make Ken hesitate for even one moment before bidding goodnight and leaving as well. Feeling absolutely disheartened, Hyde now curled in on himself on his chair in real concern.

"Does everything you ever do has to have sexual innuendos tied to it?" Hyde suddenly heard Tetsu's voice from behind him and he startled, because he had for some reason thought that the leader already left and he was alone. It took him a moment to figure out the man meant his way of talking with the two other members before they left, and he immediately put up is guard again before Tetsu's next words. "Because here's a flash for you - you're starting to become really boring."

The singer frowned at the words and absentmindedly straightened out the concert gown he was still wearing, stalling for time without even knowing why. It wasn't like the bassist's opinion really meant anything to him, right?

In the end, his answer was driven by the need to prove that unreasonably important truth to himself more than anything:

"Then why do you not just kick me out of the band?" He made sure that the sentence was dripping with indifference.

"Is that what you're waiting for?" the bassist asked as he came to stand in front of him, his tone becoming much more gentle and Hyde could now sense his most hated emotion - pity - in it. "Because unlike you, Hyde, all I do has something to do with my band. And I won't ever kick you out because you are good for it. Admit it to yourself for once, Hyde. You are a part of L'Arc~en~Ciel. It's your band as well now. It's no longer just a... phase in your life that will be over any time - it is your life."

For once in his life, Hyde could not find the words to deny that with.

"And for the record, since we're talking about this already... that "real" persona that you're trying to pull, this person that you become after the innocent-but-seductive you disappears, the cold and domineering one..."

"The slut," the singer supplied, with a certain feeling of pride in the title, but Tetsu brushed it off.

"Yes, yes, the slut, the man-whore, the cold bastard, whatever you like to be called most... And yet, you still worry about the people you use feeling bad after you're done with them and offer water for them to dull their hangovers..."

Tetsu trailed off and Hyde was taken aback by the sudden reminder of their own first meeting. It seemed so long ago now and they've never really spoken about it after the night itself. But as unexpected as that was, he still found a fitting response.

"I'm just worried they might puke by my bed should they stay for the night."

"Whatever, Hyde. The thing is, I really don't believe that's the real you," Tetsu was beginning to really confuse Hyde by where he was going with this. But the bassist met his eyes even more insistently and continued. "I hurt you Hyde. I know that. I'm sorry if that helps. But move on already. You're not behaving rationally anymore. You haven't been doing that for two years already."

Tetsu's words were blunt and to the point, and his tone was in no way coddling either. Hyde found himself speechless for the second time and even as his mind remained blank for what to say, it still tried to excuse himself that he was just caught unawares.

But Tetsu did not wait for him to recover before finally turning to leave as well.

"Oh, and by the way," the bassist looked back just as he was about to exit through the door. "Ken-chan is not an idiot. Just in case you were wondering."

Hyde's heart almost stopped as he was forced to face yet another unpleasant bit of information. Tetsu was obviously implying that Ken had seen through him and knew exactly what he was up to, dealing with it in his own, unique way and with surprising ease. Tetsu probably brought Ken in because he knew the guitarist would know what to do.

Hyde had been played by the bassist once again.

"You just lost a drummer," was his last feeble attempt to stump the younger man at least a little bit down, but the leader just smiled.

"So?" he asked, shrugging, "I'll just find another one."

And then, Tetsu left, closing the door gently behind him. And Hyde was left there considering his words, but possibly not in the way Tetsu thought he'd be...

For some reason, among all the shocks of the evening, Hyde's mind decided to zoom in on the fact that he had been a part of this band for close to two years already. He had been a vocalist for almost three. What the hell did that mean? Why did Tetsu's little dream-band had swallowed him in so completely that he had not even realized how much time had passed while he continued to stay in it?

Was Tetsu right and L'arc~en~Ciel, perhaps, had become his band as well?...

Could he possibly... continue singing?

Hyde | Tetsu
2 | 2

Chapter 5