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

Episode 14 ~Crushed~

“And that is it.” Hyde said in a nasal voice while letting the smoke out of his nostrils and crushed the butt of his cigarette against the stone ashtray.
“I see.” Christina snapped looking at him pensively.
“The burning process was really... disgusting, you know... But they used this laser thing... All in all it felt like Darth Vader was messing with my butt.”
“Yes, I know how it feels. I’ve had those too.” Christina granted in a dull voice and strayed her eyes towards the rays of daylight permeating the voile curtain of her apartment.
“Ah... sou ka. Ja... all in all, I was lucky the results were negative again. Anyway, I won’t be at ease until the re-check in five months.”
“How are you going to survive these five months, Hai-chan? You have reserves? I hope you are not coming here for a loan...”
“Yeah, yeah... I have reserves. I was saving those for the time when I leave child services, but I suppose I’ll have to use them now... such a drag.”
“Well, it’s necessary.” Christina said and shrugged.
“Yeah. Lucky I’ve been foresighted.”
“Indeed. Or you’d be on your ass begging along with your bum friend.”
“Uh... yeah... that’d be bad.” Hyde replied in a grave tone.
“By the way, have you seen him lately?”
“Uh... no. Actually, I haven’t seen him ever since that day he came here bugging.”
“Woo-hoo... I told you not to trust would-be friends... Nobody is your friend when you’re in this business, Hai-chan.”
“In fact, it’s not his fault... I asked him not to come see me...” Hyde hurried to reply.
“Oh?” Christina said distractedly.
“Well... because... I could feel his pity for me. I can’t stand that. I don’t like being pitied.”
“Proud boy... tough you are for such a young age.”
“Well... streets make you wiser and tougher, I suppose.”
“I suppose...” Christina consented and looked away. “You miss him?”
“Hmm... well... kinda... not much, actually.”
“Sonny is lying to mommy again?”
The sly grin on Christina’s doll face was impossible to ignore.
“Ah...” Hyde smiled nervously and sighed. “Well, mommy... you are right. Yes, I do miss him. I’ve been all by myself since the...er... incident.”
“You know it’s happened because of Tetsu...”
“No, actually... it’s not fair to blame him. It was my own fault and bad timing. Bad luck and bad timing and my own idiocy. Tetsu is innocent.”
“If he hadn’t been there...”
“If the client was in a mood for violence, anything could have triggered it...” Hyde interrupted and sighed.
“Yeah... maybe you are right. By the way, is this guy still on the customer list?”
“Kachou said the guy hasn’t called again. He probably lost the client.”
“I suppose he did. He must be sore about that.”
“Oh, he is... you know how he caters for the clients.”
“Yeah... So... right now it’s sorta vacation for you, right Hai-chan?”
“Hmm... well, for vacation it really sucks.” Hyde answered, his voice tinted of discomfort.
“Maybe you should go and meet your friend, the beggar, since you have nothing productive to do...” Christina suggested and winked at Hyde.
“Yeah... well, I don’t know... I mean, I asked him not to meet me, but... fuck, I never thought he’d be so obedient about it...”
“And your pride prevents you from going to see him, right?”
“It’s not pride... Maybe he’s mad at me... maybe he doesn’t want to see me... or maybe he’s afraid of me now... I don’t know.”
“Why don’t you try to find out?”
“Uh... hmm... how should I...?”
“Go look for him. You sure know his usual hang-abouts. Ask him to join you for coffee or something... give him a present thanking him for his support... Be a friend, boy!”
“Uh... yeah... sounds like good advice...” Hyde muttered scratching his head.
“It is.” Christina said and smiled condescendingly.
“I’m gonna get him a present... but... that isn’t as easy as you think it is... He doesn’t want anything I’ve bought with my so-called indecent money.”
“I’m sure there is something you can give him.” Christina said. Her cell phone had started ringing, and Hyde knew the cue.
“Should I get going, Kuri-chan?” He asked in a low voice.
“OK, kachou. Half an hour...” Christina answered over the phone and then turned to Hyde and nodded.
“Well, see you at some other time, then.” Hyde said smiling and got up from his chair.
“Gambatte ne, Hai-chan.” Christina greeted him with a sad smile.
“Kuri-chan mo, gambatte.” Hyde nodded from the door and left.

The atmosphere surrounding Shibuya station invited to stay there and enjoy the last weeks of spring. Temperature was slowly rising, day after day, and people were cheerfully coming and going from one shop to another.
Hyde walked in a strained slow march, his fashionable backpack hanging from his left shoulder and his eyes hidden by stylish sunglasses. He carried his head high, defiant to the world that was, by all means, too hard on him. Surely harder than he was ready to admit.
He crossed the street with the rest of the crowd without losing the rhythm of his overconfident strut, and took a look around from behind his dark shades. Children running and screaming louder than crows... girls carrying assorted bags of gaudy colors and dubious taste in design. Shibuya sang the melody of life... and Hyde tried not to think about it, not to consider how he was cut out from the music the city and its inhabitants played together like the most perfectly synchronized orchestra.
He knew where he was going to.
He was determined even if the notion of success was precarious. He pulled his backpack a little forward and taunted it from the outside. Everything was in its place... yes... he could proceed.

The stroll led him to the well-known building he was aiming to. The train station was there, but he had seen no signs of any acquaintance so far.
He had walked past the restaurants in vogue in Shibuya, the large temple gate... all the usual places... and he had found no sign of the person he was looking for: Tetsu. His only option now was resorting to the beggar’s very lair... his friend’s so-called home... the abode of the homeless. The idea sent shivers down his spine... Indigence was something he had always despised. But there he was, but a few meters from the station entrance. The gray, tiled-floor and the people coming and going told him there was no mistake. He was at the right place. Hyde looked around trying to control a rising feeling of anxiety... A child crying under his mother’s scolding... a couple bookstands, people coming and going and someone sitting on a stone bench reading manga... The livelihood of places where everyone is in constant motion, in a continuous migratory wave... and the characteristic smell of train stations. He didn’t even have an idea of where exactly Tetsu could be inside the guts of the iron monster’s cave. But he could ask around, he figured... He was sure he would come up with some good idea.
He took a deep breath, taunted his backpack hanging under his left armpit again, and got going. Determined he was, indeed. Scared also.
“To the bums’ hangout?” Hyde asked a guard nonchalantly.
“I beg your pardon?”
“You know... smelly guys with an awful sense of fashion.” Hyde explained rapidly and pulled out a box of cigarettes.
“Young man, you shouldn’t smoke here.” The guard warned.
“Oh... well, OK. The bum’s hangout, please?”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand, young man...”
“Aw, come on! The beggars... where do they hang out?”
“Er...” The guard stared at Hyde incredulous of what he was hearing.
Suddenly a strong arm pulled from Hyde and dragged him along.
“Sa... I think I’ve found them, or I’m gonna get fucked... either way is just fine. Thank you!” Hyde added screaming to the guard who observed how a poorly dressed man pulled from the boy into another section of the station.
“Who the hell are you? Another high-school journalist wanna-be? Another one of those self-proclaimed benefactors from charity organizations?”
“What?!” Hyde asked almost laughing. “Hell, no. I don’t do charities.”
“Then who are you and what do you want?”
“I’m nobody special, and I want Tetsu.”
“Tetsu?”
“Yeah... small guy, skinny, smiles a lot, hangs around sewers and has a thing for passing out on the street.”
“I know who Tetsu is, moron. Why are you looking for him?”
“Oh. I’m his friend. Came for a visit and maybe a cup of tea.” Hyde answered scornfully.
“Are you fucking with me?”
“You wish...”
“Tetsu is not here, what do you want from him?”
“What is it?! I’m gone for a month and suddenly Tet-chan has become some sort of Godfather? Does he make you kiss his ring or something?”
“Listen to me boy!” The older man screamed shaking Hyde by the shoulders. “I know who you are...”
“Then why did you fucking ask?”
“Uruse!” The man screamed and Hyde was unable to answer back to that menacing tone. “You are the hooker boy... the one that wants to drag Tetsu into the world of prostitution and...”
“No, I don’t wanna do anything like that.” Hyde interrupted.
“Shut up, I said!” The man screamed again and shook Hyde harder. “You better get the hell out of here and you better stop stalking Tetsu! Did’ya hear me?!”
“I should be deaf not to hear you, man. However, I beg to differ. I’m not stalking Tetsu! He’s my friend and I have a present for him and...”
“Your presents won’t buy a clean, decent boy like Tetsu!”
“Decent, maybe... clean... I doubt...” Hyde answered and chuckled.
“Get the hell out of here before I get you beaten up.” The man hissed between his teeth.
“No. I wanna find Tetsu and I’m not leaving until you take me to him. If you are gonna beat me up, so be it. It wouldn’t be the first beating up of my life.”
“It’s probably gonna be the toughest...”
“Ha! And what do you know about tough, man? I can give you a lecture about tough, you poor jerk! You just think you are a lot more than me because of your sacred decency... please... give me a break. You are probably just a lazy dude that was too stupid to give himself a normal life and...”
Before Hyde could finish his argument, a strong slap shook his face violently.
“Ah... good... we are beginning to warm things up...” Hyde hissed squinting his eyes and painfully turning his head back to its former position. “You need training, bum... my old man used to hit harder than that...”
“I can train with you.”
“I doubt it.” Hyde said and yanking his knee up he delivered a dry blow to the older man’s testicles, causing him to bend down to the floor.
“Now are you gonna tell me where my friend is, or I’ll have to keep beating you up and wipe the dirty station floor with your butt?”
“Son of a...”
Before the older man could finish the expletive, Hyde delivered a sure kick to his jaw, causing the man to fall backward spitting blood.
“Oops... I hope you have dental insurance... Nah... you are a bum... you probably don’t.” Hyde said and shrugged. “Tetsu? Where is he? Are you gonna die to hide the godfather’s whereabouts? How stupid. He’s not Marlon Brando, you know...”
The older man entangled Hyde’s legs in his and caused him to fall down. In no time he was over the boy trying to strangle him and hitting his head against the floor.
“Who’s the idiot, now, slut?! Huh? Tell me! Who’s got the upper hand now?! You think you are Bruce Lee, eh?”
Hyde gasped holding on to the big, callused hands constraining his neck. He kicked and tried to set himself free uselessly. Trying to breathe was almost impossible.
“I’m gonna kill you! I’m gonna kill you cuz after all, nobody is gonna give a damn about you, and erasing you from the face of this world will do so much good to everyone... especially to Tetsu.” The man hissed in uncontrollable frenzy while hitting Hyde’s head against the floor and tightening his grip on the boy’s neck. “I’ll break your neck!”
Hyde tried to kick his assailant to set himself free, and he felt everything around the spot where he was getting choked along with him. Sounds became fendered, distantly near, oppressive, almost as if in a closed chamber. Lights began to fade like the diaphragm of a slow photo camera and tears welled up in his eyes as darkness and silence loomed... He couldn’t die... not now... He had to keep fighting... he couldn’t let this beggar kill him... not before seeing Tetsu... not before accomplishing his mission... not before giving his beloved friend the present he had brought. Definitely not in this way...
Lights out.
Like an old cine noir movie the scene gradually faded to black before his wet eyes.

Black... Like the night sky. All black. A starless sky. A complete void.

Hyde opened his eyes to the blurry scene developing in slow motion before his eyes. Everything was hectic around him. The first thing he could register was the stinging pain in his throat, and the buzz in his ears together with the hammering throb in his head. Understanding was elusive to him, and he felt it would strain him too much to even try to speak.
He looked to recognize any face with his unfocused eyes, searching for some sort of reassurance and protection from a kind gaze. He felt like the child he was... a feeling that had been a stranger to him for such a long time.
The first words he could recognize came from an unknown voice.
“Make room! Make room! Let him breathe!”
“He’s not dead, is he?” an old lady asked anyone.
“No, he’s waking up... he’s gonna be all right. Medical assistance is on the way.”
Hyde managed to focus his eyes on the low voice’s owner speaking near him. It seemed to be a guard. Hyde moved his head slowly to one side and caught sight of his assailant.
“Mo---mother---fucker...”
“Calm down, boy, calm down.” The guard said and caressed his forehead sweeping Hyde’s hair from it. “Everything’s gonna be all right. We’re gonna contact your parents...”
“I almost did that, man...”
“It’s OK. He’s being delirious from lack of oxygen.”
Hyde tried to get up with a lot of effort.
“No, no! Stay down, boy.” The guard carefully tried to push Hyde back to the floor.
“No.” Hyde muttered.
“Please stay down. Medical assistance is on the way.”
“I don’t need medical assistance. I need Tetsu. Where is he?”
“I don’t know who you are talking about. This man here has tried to mug you in a very violent way and...”
“No, he didn’t. He just didn’t like it when I kicked his nuts.”
“Erhmm... Well... anyway, as soon as your parents are here they can present charges against him at the police station.”
“No. I’m not gonna present charges.”
“Listen, boy. You are too young to...”
“I am an orphan, OK? No parents will be contacted and stop it already. I just wanna leave and find Tetsu.”
“What do you want Tetsu for?” The beggar, being held against the wall by another guard, asked.
“Because I have something to give him, OK? If he doesn’t want to see me I’d rather have him tell me so. Not you. You aren’t his bodyguard.” Hyde snapped rubbing the back of his neck while still sitting on the floor.
“Medical assistance is here.” The young guard kneeling by Hyde’s side said.
“Tell them to get lost.”
“But... but...”
“I’m all right. I’ve gone through rougher times. I tell you I’m OK. Just let me go and make this bum take me to Tetsu.”
“Er... but... but...”
“Tetsu. Unless you want me to change my mind and do present charges.”
“Tetsu has a job. He’s working now.” The beggar said in a defeated voice. “You don’t dare mess with his life.”
“I’m not gonna do such thing, man. I just wanna see him and give him a present. Moron!”
“All right... Will somebody please explain the situation to me?” A policeman just arriving to the scene asked trying to be nice in middle of the commotion.
“Tetsu is my friend and this asshole thinks I’m gonna do something to him so we fought. That’s it. Now situation cleared, I wanna see Tetsu. I’m not gonna do anything to him. I just wanna see him and, you know? It’s kinda hard for me to strain my throat to explain all this, so please, don’t make me repeat it.” Hyde blurted out without much feeling.
“Who is this Tetsu?” The policeman asked, trying to understand the fast course of events. He had thought he was to take some mugger to the police station...
“Tetsu is working at a photography shop in Shinjuku. I’ll write down the address for you, but I’ll be watching you, little slut.”
“OK. Voyeurism pays high. You got the money for it?”
“You want the address or not?”
“Yeah... well, for now you’ll get to watch for free.” Hyde said smirking and getting up. He dusted his clothes and walked towards the beggar.
The beggar gave him a stern look of disapproval, and Hyde answered with a cocky smile, then handed him a piece of paper and a ballpoint pen.

Hyde walked a sore march towards the photography shop. It was about six in the afternoon and he wasn’t sure he’d catch Tetsu before he left his workplace. So, he tried to make haste beyond the pain all over his body.
He would smoke a cigarette, but the sting in his throat advised him to probably avoid the idea.
He took a glance at the jotted down map and address and raised his eyes to the traffic lights. Two more blocks and he’d be there. He cursed Tokyo streets for being so complicated.

After a few seconds he picked up his march together with the mass of anonymous passer-bys crossing the street around him. He pulled his backpack a little closer to his ribs and taunted it softly for reassurance. Everything seemed to be in its place. That was good.

He turned the corner and walked rapidly. His heart was beating faster... he was feeling nervous. He raised his eyes to the multiple notices above the store entrances, until he spotted the one where supposedly Tetsu was working at. His heart missed a beat, and he swallowed yanking his head up proudly. He nodded, like giving himself permission to proceed, and started running towards the shop.

“Irasshaimase...” A sweet feminine voice greeted him from the left, and Hyde looked up to nod to the speaker. He was surprised. He knew this girl. And he gaped speechless before being able to take a second breath. Kaori... Tetsu’s girl.
Tetsu had obviously been up to a lot during that month...

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