L'Arc en Ciel fanfiction .::. Working the Streets

Episode 10 ~I’m too sexy for my stone~

Hyde and Tetsu walked along the paths of Yoyogi park. Tetsu was talking eagerly about the trifle things he had done or seen on those days. He emphasized his ability at making huge ripples with little pebbles and Hyde nodded smiling and playing with the supposedly magic stone.
“I bet this stone would make a huge ripple.” Hyde said.
“You don’t dare to! That stone is magic! If you throw it to the lake you won’t be able to recover it!” Tetsu protested.
“Uh... yer right. Maybe we should have a match and see who can make the biggest ripples, Tetsu. The winner chooses what the loser has to do that day.” Hyde said and grinned.
“That’s interesting. I’d win most likely cuz I’ve been practicing a lot. And I’d choose that you don’t prostitute yourself for today.”
“Hehehe... I know I’d win. I always win at everything. I’m a natural-born winner.” Hyde answered self-confidently.
“Yeah, right... Oh! There she is!” Tetsu stopped suddenly and looked ahead, blushing rapidly.
“Eh? Who?”
“My girl.”
“Your girl?? You, bummer, have a girl? Who? Another bum?”
“Shut the hell up, Haido.”
“Some way to treat a friend...” Hyde protested and crossed his arms over his chest in annoyance.
“Let’s hide behind that tree.” Tetsu ordered and before Hyde cound even nod, he dragged the smaller boy behind him.
“Why? If she’s your girl, shouldn’t you go say hi to her?” Hyde protested again holding on to... his magic stone.
“No. I can’t. She’d be scared.” Tetsu explained matter-of-factly.
“Nani yo?”
“Hush! Or she will notice us!” Tetsu ordered again and tried to cover Hyde’s mouth with his hand while the latter menaced to hit him with his supposedly-magic stone.
“But... but... Tetsu... Hunger has killed too many brain cells in you...”
“No... hush. I’ll explain to you later. Isn’t she pretty?”
“Yeah, she’s cute. But... That’s YOUR girl??”
“Yeah. She’s all mine. Don’t try to steal her or I’ll seriously beat you up.” Tetsu warned frowning.
“Ohhh... some friend you are. I’m not interested in her.” Hyde blurted and stuck his tongue out.
“Good.”
“Why can’t you go talk to her? Because you are with me?” Hyde asked tentatively.
“No.”
“Then why?”
“Because she doesn’t know she’s my girl.” Tetsu answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Oh... for fuck’s sake...” Hyde said and rolled his eyes. “Just some stupid crush. She’s your crush, not your girl, asshole.”
“Whatever. Call it whatever you like. If you wish, say she’s my watermelon. I think she’s my girl. I’m gonna get a job, a lot of money and I’ll ask her out.” Tetsu rattled rather annoyed at Hyde’s despising comments.
“Oohh... Skip that to the part when you wake up and you realize you are a poor beggar sleeping near a sleazy sewer. I’ll have a lot of fun listening to that.” Hyde said and chuckled.
“Shut up! Be more supportive, dammit!”
“She’s not the right type for you.” Hyde sentenced gravely.
“Huh? What do you know?!”
“I know. I know a lot about the love thingie, and I tell you... Not the type for you.”
“You know nothing, Haido. She’ll fall in love with me, eventually. When I’m rich and I can buy fine clothes and...”
“Then that’s not love. She’d be falling for your money, not for you.” Hyde retorted.
“Oh... you always have to stomp on my sunshine.” Tetsu sighed throwing his arms to the air in annoyance.
“Well... you always live in denial.” Hyde observed. “You are so naive...”
“Ne... Haido. How should I approach her?”
“Uh... It’d be less complicated if you stopped sleeping near the sewer...”
“I’m asking seriously!”
“And I’m answering seriously, man!”
“I’ve never asked anyone out...” Tetsu observed and bit his lower lip in preoccupation while staring at Hyde.
“Well... You should practice with someone close to you, someone you can trust and someone with a little more experience than you who can tell you what’s right and what isn’t.”
“You?”
“In other words...” Hyde nodded with an air of authority in those matters.
“I’m not gonna ask you out!” Tetsu protested and pounced him.
“OK.” Hyde shrugged. “Don’t say I didn’t offer help.”
“I don’t know what to do... Should I get her a pretty flower?”
“What for?”
“Girls like flowers...”
“Ah.” Hyde answered a little puzzled and scratched his head for a second. “They do?”
“Yeah.”
“I prefer chocolates.” Hyde added smiling.
“You are not a girl. And I’m not gonna ask you out.” Tetsu reminded him.
“I know, I know... hmm... How about getting her chocolates?” Hyde insisted smiling.
“No. A flower.”
“Flowers are stupid... Get her pocky.”
“No. A flower.”
“Oh, well... you are so stubborn.” Hyde shrugged and sighed in annoyance. “Let’s suppose I’m the girl... you come and give me a flower. Let’s see how you do it.”
“Haido! I told you I’m not gonna ask you out!”
“It’s for the sake of practice, you moron! I told you you can’t ask me out without money!”
“Er...” Tetsu blinked in astonishment.
“Well? Go pick a flower. I’ll pretend to be that chick.”
“Later. I wanna keep looking at her now.”
“Freak... Stalker.” Hyde pouted and sulked.
“I’m only watching! OK?”
“Stupid stalker. You could very well jerk off...”
“Oh, God...” Tetsu rolled his eyes.
They both stayed sitting down behind the tree and spent a while there. Tetsu looked at the girl and drooled while Hyde played with the stone and got bored.
Suddenly two firm arms lifted Hyde from behind.
“Eh??” Hyde shrieked, which caught Tetsu’s attention.
“What the hell?! What are you doing?!” Tetsu stood up right away and screamed.
“What is this little boy doing here?” The young man dressed in black leather clothes who was holding Hyde asked whispering on the small boy’s ear.
“Saku-chan!” Hyde exclaimed and laughed.
“You know this dude?” Tetsu asked backing a little and feeling rather puzzled.
“Yeah, he’s Sakura-chan.” Hyde answered laughing as the young man put him down. “He’s a pal.”
“Nice to meet you, Sakura-san...” Tetsu started politely.
“Sakura, Tetsu. Tetsu, Sakura.” Hyde introduced them. “Sakura, dealer. Tetsu, bum. Me, hooker. All introductions have been made, right?”
Tetsu recoiled in amazement.
“Dealer? What do you mean?”
“You in need of good stuff, boy?” Sakura asked and winked at Tetsu.
“Eh?”
“Pot, E, Horse, acid, c-jam... you name it, he’s got it.” Hyde answered rapidly, collecting his stone from the ground. (marijuana, ecstasy, heroin, lsd, cocaine)
“I... I’m still not sure I understand.” Tetsu stammered feeling nervous.
“Drugs.” Sakura snapped.
“Kyaahhh!!!” Tetsu screamed and jumped a little backwards.
“You’re getting me a new client, Hai-chan? I’m not sure this one can pay...” Sakura said jokingly and grinned.
“No. Actually, he’s just a friend of mine and he doesn’t do it. He’s just drooling over his crush and getting a hard-on in silence. Hehehe... What are you doing here, Saku-chan?”
“Just met a client.” Sakura said and shrugged.
“You...! You...! You sell drugs!” Tetsu said in a gasp.
“You see... my friend is a little slow. Hunger killed most of his brain cells...” Hyde explained nonchalantly.
“I’m nothing like that!” Tetsu protested.
“Oh... I see. Where did you find your friend?” Sakura asked smirking.
“Under a car.” Hyde answered and shrugged.
“Oe!” Tetsu protested.
“Under a car, huh? Lucky boy. I only find dirt under cars.”
“Oh... I had thought Tet-chan had caught all the dirt in the city and plastered it on his clothes... So you mean there’s still some dirt left out there?”
“Oe!!” Tetsu protested again.
“There must still be some left. What is that thing?” Sakura asked staring at the stone in Hyde’s hands and lighting up a cigarette. He offered one to Hyde, who accepted it, and one to Tetsu who refused it.
“It’s a magic stone.” Hyde answered. “Tetsu gave it to me.”
“Oh... I see. You sure you guys are not buying stuff from someone else?” Sakura asked getting suspicious.
“Of course not. You are my only provider!” Hyde protested.
“Hyde... Are you taking drugs?” Tetsu asked hesitantly.
“No, Tet-chan. Sometimes I buy some for my clients. A few of them like to get high before they fuck. But I gotta keep my head clear. It’s fun for them, but it’s business for me.”
Tetsu sat down on the ground gaping. Suddenly all of this was too much for him.
“OK... Now that you got your magic stone... How about some magic pills, Harry Potter?” Sakura offered and winked.
“Hehehe. I still got plenty.” Hyde answered smiling in a half pout.
“You know where to call me when you run out of them, right?” Sakura made sure.
“I got you on fast-dial, Saku-chan.” Hyde answered and smiled broadly.
“Good boy.” Sakura grinned satisfied. “So... apart from playing with your magic stone, what were you guys up to?”
“Just watching a girl... Tetsu wants to hit on her, but he doesn’t know how to.”
“Oh... I’d think you could give him some advice...” Sakura said and chuckled.
“No... well, I might try. But I rarely hit on clients. They come of their own free will.”
“I absolutely can do without his pick-up techniques.” Tetsu interrupted.
“You know what, Tet-chan? I soooo hate it when you belittle me like that. I’m gonna show you how a real man gets a date.” Hyde answered rather scornfully.
“No!” Tetsu screamed.
“Yes, I will. Look at that guy over there. The middle-aged one, staring at us. See him?”
“Un.” Both Sakura and Tetsu nodded.
“He’s a perv.” Hyde sentenced.
“Come on!” Tetsu protested.
“I’d trust him. He has a knack for these things...” Sakura suggested nodding at Tetsu.
“He’s just a guy doing time at the park.” Tetsu argumented.
“Nope, nope.” Hyde insisted. “He’s a perv. He’s been watching us for too long.”
“Haido...” Tetsu sighed wearily.
“Come on, Tetsu! You can’t not notice it! It’s midwinter and his face is all red... like he’s sweating. I bet he is. He’s picturing us both in bed.”
“No!” Tetsu screamed and closed his eyes tightly after clenching his fist in unison.
“Yup, he is. And I’m gonna use him to teach you how a good-looking boy like me gets himself a short date and plenty of money in one strike.” Hyde replied proudly.
“OK. I’m gonna be watching. If you don’t make it, I’m gonna keep your magic stone.” Sakura observed laughing.
“No way!” Tetsu protested.
“Sure thing, Saku-chan. But if I make it, you treat us both to pachinko and... purikura.” Hyde replied.
“No way! Haido!” Tetsu protested fervently.
“Deal.” Sakura answered.
“Hehehe... Tetsu, you will hold the stone while I go at that pervert.” Hyde said and put the stone in Tetsu’s hands.
“Haido! Wait! No! Don’t!”
“I gotta do it, Tet-chan... or we’re gonna lose the stone...” Hyde said and shrugged self-securely. “Don’t worry, Tet-chan. You’ll get to see me in action. I’m quite proud of my expertise...” He added and started his slinky walk towards the man sitting a few feet away from them.

“Hallo!” Hyde stood before the middle-aged man smiling.
“Hello...” The man answered grinning.
“You remind me of daddy...” Hyde went on smiling and tilted his head to one side.
“Oh... really?”
“Yeah. May I sit by you, sir?”
“Of course.”
“Do you think I’m a good looking kid?”
“Yeah, you are.”
“My friend there says I’m cute and small and cuddly.”
“Well... your friend really knows you.”
“Would you play with me?”
“I’d love to.” The man answered, his mouth watering.
“$100.- and I’m your toy for an hour.” Hyde answered grinning.

“So...” Sakura started. “How did you get to know Haido? Are you going into the business?”
“No! Of course not! Wait... What do you mean?” Tetsu replied trying to decide whether to pay attention to Hyde or to Sakura.
“Child services...” Sakura explained and tossed the end of his cigarette away.
“Prostitution?”
“Uh-huh.” Sakura nodded.
“Of course not!” Tetsu replied rather offended.
“Oh. Well... How did you meet him? I don’t buy the car thing...”
“He saved my life.” Tetsu snapped.
“Haido saved your life?! Come on...” Sakura said and chuckled.
“Yup. He did. His client’s car knocked me down while I was crossing the street and...”
“Oh, I get it. He used you to get out of a sticky situation in case the police showed up. I must give it to him... he’s smart for his age.”
“Er...” Tetsu was speechless.
“Haido is not a benefactor, you know...” Sakura added and smirked patting on Tetsu’s head.
“I... I think... he... he just felt sorry for...”
“For you? Not likely. He’s not sorry for anyone. Unless you pay him to be sorry. You don’t know him well enough.” Sakura chuckled.
“No... I mean... he invited me for ramen and we watched the fireworks...”
“Oh. He also used your company. Well, I guess that’s good for Haido. He should be around people his age sometimes.”
“Uh... yeah...” Tetsu sighed and lowered his head. He always seemed to lose the case when it came to defending Hyde.
“So... you plan to keep being a beggar?” Sakura asked smiling naturally.
“Yeah, well... until I can find a job.”
“I can give you a job...”
“Hontou?” Tetsu asked opening his eyes wide in excitement.
“As my assistant.”
“Er... No, thanks.”
“Well. Can’t blame me for trying. I could really do with an assistant.” Sakura said and sighed with an air of preocuppation. “Business is getting heavy...”
“Er... I don’t wanna get involved into illegal stuff.”
“Oh, I see. Funny that such a “legal” guy like you gets to be friends with Haido.” Sakura observed giving Tetsu a stern look.
“Uh... Haido is a good boy... uhm... deep inside...” Tetsu tried his case again.
“Well... must be very deep inside.” Sakura answered and chuckled.
“Uh... I have fun being around him...”
“Well everyone has fun being around Haido. That’s what he excells at. Giving others their share of fun.”
“Uh... well... yeah...” Tetsu answered rather uncomfortably. “But that’s not what I mean...”
“I know what you mean. You are too naive to mean anything else. Well... Look at him...” Sakura said and pointed into Hyde’s direction. “He’s already leaving with that guy. I guess I’ve lost.” Sakura chuckled.
“I dunno if I should be happy or sad about it...” Tetsu said staring at the stone. How come even the most innocent things end up getting so twisted with Hyde?
“Well, be happy... you’ll get to purikura and pachinko.” Sakura said nonchalantly.
“Hmph...” Tetsu answered. He had completely forgotten about ‘his girl’.
“Let’s sit over there, Tetsu, and wait for Haido.” Sakura suggested. “You can tell me about your life as a beggar... I bet it’s interesting.”
“Not very interesting... Why did Haido go to the public restrooms?” Tetsu answered and asked, getting very anxious.
“To make out. He can’t do it in public.” Sakura answered shrugging.
“Jesus!” Tetsu exclaimed and wailed a little. “I don’t want him to do that! Just hitting on him was enough to make a point!”
“Well... he’ll go all the way, it seems...” Sakura said and shrugged, then he pulled out another cigarette and lit it.
“You won’t stop him?! You are his friend!” Tetsu protested pulling from Sakura’s arm while the latter tried to put the cigarette to his mouth again.
“Uh. No. It’s his job. And I’m just an acquaintance. YOU are his friend.”
“Then, I’ll stop him!” Tetsu said with determination and stood up.
“Don’t.” Sakura snapped and pulled from Tetsu’s clothes forcing him to sit back down. “He’s working and he gets to keep the full pay this time. He has high duties to pay and this is convenient for him.”
“What?! Convenient?! What the hell are you talking about?!!” Tetsu screamed in exasperation.
“You won’t change Haido with that patronizing attitude...” Sakura observed, which paralized Tetsu for a short moment.
“What do you mean? I can’t let him do it!” Tetsu swallowed and answered in despair.
“Well, he’s already doing it, I assume.” Sakura shrugged. “By the way... What about your crush?”
“Dammit!” Tetsu suddenly remembered. “Lost her.”
“Your feelings for Haido are stronger than those for your crush, huh?”
“He’s my friend!”
“I see. Well... I’ll give you some tips for your crush while we kill time waiting for Haido.”
“How long will he take?”
“Depends on the client...”
“Why do you know?”
“Well... for once, because it’s obvious. In the second place, because Haido has paid me in kind sometimes...”
“Huh?”
“With sex, instead of money.”
“You had sex with Haido?!”
“Yeah... a couple times... well... maybe around five times...”
“Kyahh!!” Tetsu screamed horrified.
“It was good. He’s really good. He was worth the chunk of merchandise.”
“Kyahhhhhh!!” Tetsu screamed again about to cry.
“Well... back to the tips thing... If you want her to reciprocate... or at least give you a fucking chance, you have to do something about your looks.”
“You slept with Haido!” Tetsu cried pointing an accusing finger at Sakura.
“Yeah, I did. Now... stay in focus. The girl... hints.”
“But... but... but... Haido is a kid!”
“A kid more twisted than the devil himself. The girl... Hints?”
“OK...” Tetsu sobbed in resignation.
“Your looks.”
“I know. She doesn’t come near me because I scare her off...”
“Exactly. You are a good looking boy. You have nice features, a pretty face, warm smile... but your scruffy looks are hiding that. You need knock-over appearance, a new hairdo, fashionably clothes, designer perfume...”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah... I’m a beggar, remember?”
“Well, that’s an obstacle. You should get yourself a good job that pays high enough to enhance your naturally good looks. All girls would be at your feet!”
“And that job would be...?” Tetsu squinted his eyes and asked suspiciously.
“Well... assistant to a powerful, self-made man, who has a flourishing business in his hands that...”
“You?”
“In other words...”
“You and Haido are two of a kind! Dammit!” Tetsu protested and crossed his arms over his chest.
“It’s a good job! You will only be delivering merchandise, which-...”
“No! No means No! What part of NO you don’t understand?! NO! NO! NO!”
“Uh...Let me get this straight. You mean you don’t want to?”
“Shit!” Tetsu protested turning his head and sulking in annoyance.
“Well... I’ll take that as an ‘I’ll consider it, Sakura-san.’” Sakura said smiling.
“Forget it. I’m gonna get a decent job.” Tetsu snapped rather annoyed.
“This is decent! You won’t be doing anything indecent like your friend Haido-kun, selling his butt to just anyone!” Sakura protested.
“Decent?! Selling drugs! Where is it decent?!”
“No. You are not selling. Just delivering. It’s not your fault if I choose to sell, and my clients choose to buy.” Sakura corrected him.
“I’m being part of it, and that’s bad enough! I don’t wanna!”
“OK. So... consider it.” Sakura said and shrugged.
“How did you meet Haido?” Tetsu asked, his voice still tinted of anger.
“His boss introduced him to me. He needed some stuff for a client.”
“Oh.”
“We knocked off right away. He’s a smart kid, as I told you.”
“Yeah... sometimes he doesn’t speak like a child...”
“Well... I suppose life makes some of us grow faster than others...”
“It’s scary sometimes.”
“Yeah. Like an old man trapped inside a child’s body...” Sakura agreed.
“Exactly. And then... then he gets childish and immature and bratty...”
“Hahaha! Well, yes. That’s Haido-kun.” Sakura laughed and agreed.
“I wonder about him sometimes... about how he manages to pull everything together.”
“I guess it’s not easy. I mean... I was just starting in the business by the time I was his age. Look at him. He’s quite an expert. And I tell you, his job is more complicated... and well, more physical too.”
“Uh... I don’t know why I’m holding this conversation... but yeah.”
“He’s quite reluctant to show his feelings. I’ve never seen him cry or act desperate...”
“I’ve seen him cry... earlier today... when I said I wanted to be real friends with him.”
“Oh!” Sakura opened his eyes wide. “You must have really gotten to the heart of that detached demon...”
“Maybe he needs a real friend...” Tetsu observed watching the stone in his hands.
“Well, yes. He does. People around him are not really friends...”
“You?” Tetsu asked raising his eyes.
“Ah... you see... the nature of my job, as well as the nature of his job, keeps us together... but that’s just it.” Sakura said and shrugged. “I can’t afford to make ‘friends’. It’d be dangerous in my position.”
“Oh... that’s sad. I can be your friend too...” Tetsu offered smiling timidly.
“Haha! What? Are you on friendship-crazy mode?”
“Sucker.”
“There comes the Haido...” Sakura pointed. “Didn’t take too long.”

“Yo! Dudes! I’m back. Let’s go to pachinko!” Hyde exclaimed rather happily.
“I should know better than betting against you...” Sakura said chuckling and got up.
Tetsu sulked and stayed sitting.
“Come on, Tet-chan. It’s not my money! It’s his!” Hyde called and pointed at Sakura.
“His money is illegal. Your money is indecent. The way this bet was won is nothing I approve of.”
“We’ll have a talk about it later. Now let’s go to pachinko!” Hyde answered and dragged a protesting Tetsu along.
“But... but...”
“Pachinko! Pachinko!” Hyde chanted and bounced happily pulling from Tetsu while Sakura followed them chuckling.

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