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

Episode 3 ~ Hyde's story ~

Tetsu left the tiny bathroom wrapped in a soft and large towel. The steam had replenished his body with a warmth that seemed to have left him weeks ago.
He felt great... he hadn't felt like that in a long time.
He rubbed his head with a smaller towel and smiled to the image reflecting upon the large mirrors that took up the whole surface of the bathroom.
"Miracles do happen... Christmas is a time for miracles..." Tetsu thought beaming happily.
He walked out of the bathroom and found a pair of red and white striped socks and a folded gray brief lying on two cute furry slippers by the door. He put everything on. It fit perfectly.
The apartment was warm. He didn't see any type of heating device, so he assumed it had central heating.
"Don't forget to dry your hair, Tetsu-kun, or you might catch a cold. The hair-dryer is in the top drawer under the basin." Hyde's voice announced in an even tone.
"Un. Doumo!" Tetsu answered and did as directed.
"You like those slippers?" Hyde's voice topped the sound of the hair-dryer.
"They are very cute!" Tetsu replied smiling.
"A client gave them to me. I've never worn them. Do they fit?"
"Perfectly."
"Great. You can have them, if you want to."
"Thank you very much, Haido-kun!"
"No problem. It's better than throwing them at some noisy cat..."
Tetsu chuckled upon hearing that. Hyde was a kind boy... he was trying to hide that fact, but it was too evident. As evident as his bratyness... but Tetsu didn't feel like he could protest about that, and he kept enjoying the warm flow of air for a while.
"Hey, Tetsu! Stop being such a sissy with your hair! You are missing the first fireworks!" Hyde suddenly screamed.
"Oh! Oh, no! Coming!" Tetsu snapped out of his dream and hurried towards the large window at the bottom of the room.
He wanted to see the fireworks... but he couldn't prevent his eyes from catching sight of Hyde's naked self standing nonchalantly in front of the window.
"Wha-what are you doing?!"
"Huh? Watching the fireworks, baka..." Hyde answered and shrugged.
"You are naked! And the lights are on! People can see you!" Tetsu rattled waving his arms in despair.
"I'm positive I'm an even better view than fireworks..." Hyde shrugged. "...but people are sure looking at them."
"But... but... Haido-kun!"
"Hey! Morons!" Hyde started screaming and swayed his hips towards the glass pane, almost pressing his crotch against it. "Look at me! I'm better than fireworks!"
"Haido!!" Tetsu tried to pull Hyde away from the window.
"Hey! You wanna see a colorful exhibition? Look here, morons!" Hyde screamed and burst out laughing. "Wanna watch my butt too? OK. I'll moon you!" He added and turned to show his derriere to the imaginary audience.
"Haido!! Stop that!!" Tetsu screamed and tried to pull Hyde away from the window.
"You want it, guys?! There is a price on it, and let me tell you it's not cheap! So you better enjoy the view now! I'm your fucking Santa gift!"
"Haido! Are you insane? Or drunk? Or took something not quite legal? Or...?"
"No. I'm just enjoying myself. I feel the Christmas spirit overflowing me and I wanna give others a good look of what they can't have without paying." Hyde grinned cheekily.
"Jesus..." Tetsu sat aghast on the floor. He had forgotten about the fireworks.
Hyde laughed wholeheartedly looking at Tetsu, who was overcome by blush, sitting a few steps from him.
"Are you embarrassed, Tetsu?" Hyde asked chuckling.
"Well, yeah!" Tetsu protested matter of factly.
"Hehehe... OK. I can put on briefs..."
"Please do so..."
"You saw the fireworks?"
"I missed them..."
"I told you I'm a more enjoyable view than fireworks..." Hyde said wickedly.
"It's not that! You shocked me!"
"Ah... I'm a shocking boy. It's better than being shocked."
"Huh?"
"Shocking is better than being shocked! You, baka deaf-boy!"
"I heard you!"
"OK. Here's your ramen. And chopsticks. Let's eat." Hyde said after putting on his briefs.
"Why do you do such things? It was very embarrassing and uncalled for and..."
"For fun..." Hyde shrugged. "To amuse myself... because I'm not scared and I know a lot more than most people in this world... I know the true motor of this fucked up world..."
"Oh. And what is it? Wait... Your answer costs... what?"
"Costs nothing for today. The answer is money."
Tetsu rolled his eyes. "I thought you were gonna say sex."
"That's the second. You see... in this world, nothing comes for free, Tetsu. If you want something, you gotta be able to afford it. Any dream can be true, you just gotta have something to support it with... like money, for example.
When I ran away from home, I was being totally miserable. I tried to get myself a job... but nobody would hire me, cuz I was only 12... well, almost 12. But I knew I couldn't go back to my uncle's. I had just had it with him.
On those days, I had just waken up from my stupid childhood dream... I had just realized that my parents had left me alone, and wouldn't come back. For years I had been daydreaming that they weren't dead... that they would come back and rescue me. But that was unreal.
Actually, the whole situation was a bitch, Tetsu... a bitch, I tell you. I was five... we were going to the beach on vacation. I was so happy... it'd be the first time I would go to the sea. I was really happy. It was night, and dad was driving. I fell asleep... when I woke up, I was in hospital. All wired and I had this mask on my face. I didn't understand, I thought I was having a nightmare. My aunt came... she said dad and mom were dead. She said dad had fallen asleep while driving.
At the beginning, Tetsu, I thought my aunt and uncle had kidnapped me and were feeding me bullshit to part me from my dad and mom. I cried so much. I never saw mom or dad again... last thing I remember about them is seeing the backs of their heads while we were driving to the beach... hearing the mumble of their voices as I fell asleep."
"Shit, Haido... that's so... horrible..." Tetsu gasped.
"Yeah..." Hyde said and looked at the floor for a moment, then he went on. "So, one day, when I didn't need the mask or the wires anymore, my uncle came for me to the hospital. I thought he would take me to mom and dad, but he didn't. He repeated they were dead.
They took me to their home, and put me in this room with my cousin. He was a big boy. You know what I mean? He was six years older than me and he didn't want me there, but the house wasn't that big, so he had to bear with it. My uncle said that: 'Bear with it'.
My cousin was a son of a bitch. He kept doing these wicked things to make me cry... and both him and my uncle kept saying how my parents had been irresponsible and selfish, and that it was good that they were dead. Then... they started saying that I should have died too and spare them of the burden of raising me.
That was bad... I felt so guilty all the time... and so sad..."
"I bet! How cruel of them, Haido! That's why you ran away, ne?"
"No, of course not. I'm not one of those spoiled children who run away from home cuz daddy won't buy them a fucking pony. Uh... by the way... that's not the reason why you ran away from home, right, Tetsu?"
"No, it isn't..." Tetsu said rather upset at being considered so shallow.
"Good. Then, on with my story. One day, when I was about eight, I was playing in the bath... I guess I must have taken long, cuz I used to like playing with my ships on the water... well, and my cousin started yelling that he needed the bathroom. I ignored him... cuz he always did that. As soon as I was in the bathroom, he needed it. That's just the way he was all the time. No matter what I was doing, he had to use something or do something and spoil my fun.
So I ignored him. And he started banging on the door... and then he came in and took me by an arm and shook me and insulted me and I started to cry, so he slapped me.
He slapped me again and again until I didn't cry anymore cuz I was scared. Then he dragged me out of the bathroom and into the room. I was naked and dripping... I was so ashamed! Haha... nowadays I wouldn't be. But back then, I was just a child."
"Hey! Your cousin was real bastard!" Tetsu said frowning and nodding, looking pretty mad.
"Yeah, but that's not all he did..."
"He hit you?"
"Yeah, he was already slapping me..."
"Yeah, you said that."
"He pushed me down to his bed and he started---..."
"Wait, no! I don't wanna hear it..." Tetsu exclaimed closing his eyes tight and hugging his knees.
"You gotta hear it, Tetsu. It'll make you stronger. You wanna make a living on the streets, right? Then you gotta learn to be stronger.
He started molesting me. I cried and he hit me again. It felt bad then... I didn't know about these things. He said... lots of things to me... that I looked like a girl... that I was making him horny... he was about the age I am now then, I guess... Then he tried to do something that at that time I thought was weird. Now I know he tried to rape me..."
"Oh! No! How horrible!" Tetsu exclaimed on the brink of tears.
"But my uncle came to the room..."
"Thank goodness!"
"No... Don't hurry to thank anyone, Tetsu. My cousin didn't rape me... my uncle did it instead."
"Shit! That's why you ran away! I can't blame you, I'd have done the same--..."
"No, that's not why I ran away."
"Come on! Don't bullshit me! You couldn't have liked it!"
"I hated it. I was so young then... it felt so wrong when they touched me. I still shiver when I remember... sometimes I still dream of it. It's pretty bad..."
"How come you became a whore, then, Haido?"
"Wait... story is not finished yet."
Tetsu nodded.
"They kept doing it. Both of them. Right now I think my aunt knew it, but she didn't care. I mean... how could anyone living there not know? I was screaming like a dying pig every time. Yet she never said a word. And it kept happening, so one day... I tried to run away... that was the first time I tried to run away... I was nine... I went to my school teacher's and told her..."
"She helped?"
"Well, she tried. She went to the police, and the police called my uncle, and of course he denied everything and he said I was crazy. Doctors were going to check me, but my aunt had rights over me cuz I was a minor... well, still am... so she denied them the permission to check me and I was sent back home. A social worker came regularly and asked me questions... My uncle said he would bury me alive with my parents if I said anything, so... I shut up. I bore it in silence. Until the social worker said there was something wrong with me and my uncle and aunt said they were going to put me in an asylum. That's when I ran away for the second time.
That time, they didn't catch me.
They had gone to religious service... and I was at home with my cousin. My cousin had been partying... I was eleven, he was fifteen. He had a bad hangover and he was trying to get some sleep. I got a roll of money and stuck it in my pocket, I stuffed some underwear in my backpack, my favorite doll, my cap, a couple things plus a sandwich and I left.
Nobody saw me. I bought a train ticket and I came to Tokyo.
I had heard so many stories of people in Tokyo... the big city... I had devised a good plan. I was gonna work at someplace part time, and gather some money, then I'd rent an apartment, finish school and become a big tycoon.
But... well, things didn't go as I expected..."
"I guess..."
"Nobody would hire me. I was too young and I did look even younger... so... I was bound to a life of mendicancy..."
"Like me, ne?"
"Yeah, only I was luckier, and smarter... I found this guy... he said he would pay me if I blew him. I was starving and I had ran out of money, so I did it..."
"That's how you became a hooker?"
"Sorta. One thing led to another and I finally met my boss and mentor... he provided everything I needed in exchange of 50% of what I made. He even gets me clients and stuff. This apartment is his, for example. Most everyone on this floor is working for him. That's great cuz I have a warm home, food, and I make enough money to do whatever I fucking want."
"It's not that great... I mean... it's disgusting..."
"I don't care anymore. These guys don't treat me as bad as my uncle or cousin. In the beginning I was scared that they would come for me. They never did. They never cared. I wonder if they ever noticed that I was gone..."
"They probably did... maybe they are looking for you."
"It's been two years. I never showed up on the milk cartons, for example..."
"Well..." Tetsu said at a loss of words. The milk cartons thing was rather stupid.
"They got rid of me. They never wanted me there. They don't give a shit. I don't give a shit about them either."
"But... Haido..."
"My clients buy me presents... they buy me sweets... they take me to fun places sometimes, and of course, they give me money. That's a lot more than my uncle ever did..."
"Isn't it a high price to pay for presents and sweets?"
"I don't know... what should I compare it with? I barely remember my life with my parents... I was too young. The thing I remember most about them is that fateful drive to the beach. The only people that ever gave me anything nice are my boss and my clients."
"But... come on... they are not doing it out of goodness. Besides, there must be someone that..."
"Nope. Nobody else. My boss taught me my way around. But even he was sweet compared to my uncle. He taught me a lot about life... I really grew up under his wing. Sometimes he says I'm the smartest thing in the business... hehehe..."
"He's probably just flattering you..."
"Nah... he means it. I learned fast like this." Hyde said snapping his fingers. "I learned what to do, how to knack with clients, how to provide what they were looking for. It's all like role-playing, you know? They carry out their fantasies with me, and I really don't give a shit, as long as they pay."
"Why did you help me, Haido?"
"Well... I never really care about anyone except myself. It's not selfish, it's called survival. But there is this thing I cannot stand: brutality against children. If you had been an adult, I'd have probably shrugged it off. One less bum. Fuck it. But you are a kid. He couldn't treat you like that. Kicking you the way he did... like my uncle used to kick me after he fucked me... I hate those things. I knew I couldn't fuck with him after seeing him do that, so I thought, what the hell... I'll help this bum around while I'm at it.
My boss knows I don't dig violence. Some clients play really rough. They can play rough but no hitting me or kicking me or torturing me. Other people do that, not me. I'm the sweet and ecchi kid in the bunch, you know? He'll give me some hassle tomorrow, but... it's still OK, Tetsu."
"Haido... listen. I'm gonna be very honest with you."
"OK."
"You had a hard time, I understand, but it's time for you to give this thing up and move on. This is not good for you..."
"Hey! What do you know? I have a better time than you blacking out in the middle of the street from cold and hunger..."
"My butt's intact..."
"So what? You'd rather be dead than be fucked?"
"Yeah."
"You are a moron. There's nothing like being alive, Tetsu. I love being alive. My parents are dead... death is... it's nothing... nothing else anymore. They can't watch the fireworks... they can't go to the beach... They are there, in the cold ground, rotting away. They can't do anything anymore. The world just goes on, Tetsu. Nobody cares, and even if somebody did, there's nothing they can do about it. Trust me, I know. I can't stop working cuz what am I gonna do? I'm still underage and I never finished grade school. I gotta wait till I'm at least 16 to get a job and move on. Meanwhile, I'm saving money and fucking around."
"Haido... even if you try to make it sound like this is a normal job... well, you know... it isn't. These people are abusing you. You are a kid! They are perverts!"
"Yeah, they are... and they gotta pay for their perversion. Luckily. Unlike my uncle and cousin who never paid a dime."
"There is no way you can compare..."
"Yes, there is. So what do you suggest, Tetsu? You think your occupation is better? Freezing your butt to death and hungering for days?
"Well, it's not a fine occupation, but at least it's decent..."
"Decent?! Wait... I know I heard that word before... hmm... I think it was in one of those lectures my uncle and aunt used to listen to at religious service... yeah... one of those losers telling people what to do, and ignoring that their so-called sheep were doing whatever they pleased anyway, but pretended to be decent. Yeah... decent, now I remember. My uncle used to be called "a decent man" by his neighbors at the barbecues after religious service on Sundays... yeah. A decent man that had taken care of his orphan nephew... the poor kid that had miraculously been spared of death. So... you want me to be 'decent' Tetsu? Come on... I got better things to do than 'decent'."
"Your uncle wasn't a decent man! He just pretended to be!"
"I know. You don't get sarcasm, do you?"
"I do! Decent is something totally different from your uncle, Haido!"
"Decent is... you?"
"Well, I try to keep myself decent..."
"So decency leads you to starvation and death on the street cuz you black out from cold and lack of food... right? Sorry... This Haido doesn't need decent."
"Haido, that's not it!"
"So... tell me your story, Tetsu. How come you went down the path of decency?"
"You are impossible..."
"No... I'm actually quite possible... if you have the money for it..."
"Shit..."
"Come on, tell me."
"OK. OK, I'm gonna tell you. And I hope you can get some wisdom out of my story."
"Oohh...hoho... the dead boy will lecture me and teach me with his example..."
"Maybe." Tetsu replied visibly annoyed.
"OK. Try to make it exciting and I'll even jerk off, Tetsu..."
"If you attempt to do that, I'll kick you down there!"
"Ahh... bad guest. I open the doors of my humble abode to you, and that's how you repay me?"
"Uh... gomen..."
"Ne, I'm joking. And I won't jerk off. Besides, jerking off sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. Come on, tell me."
"Well... even if you expect to laugh at my story, the things I will tell you are no laughing stuff."
"Well... so much for the comedy..."

You can print this page!