Visual Kei

“You’ve been pretty quiet lately, girlie. What’s in that noggin o’ yours?”

“Don’t worry about it, Father. I’m fine,” I said, watching him change the locks on the doors. Arvin stood beside the couch watching our father as well.

“Maybe I’ll stop worrying when you tell me what it is,” he pushed, standing stiffly after having finished the process of changing the locks. “Don’t blow any ‘a that hot air, neither. I best be hearin’ the truth, y’hear?”

“I’ve just been… thinking… that’s all.” I looked away from him, thinking about what I’d said that day when I turned my back on the only real friends I’d ever made. I’d turned my back on them and on the possibility of repaying them even a bit by rescuing them. I’d promised myself that I’d find a way to do it on my own, but as soon as I’d returned to my brother, I knew I’d have to go back to the United States right away. I’d abandoned them, just like… just like my mother had abandoned me. I wondered if it felt the same to them?

“No wonder it took so long, then,” Arvin said as he disappeared into the kitchen. “Don’t strain yourself, there.”

I glared at him for a bit, but rolled my eyes and let it go. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“I don’t care one whit; it’s about that scrawny girl-boy you were hanging around, isn’t it?” my father asked, a hint of real venom in his voice. “Him and his girly friends?”

You can be quite astute when I don’t want you to be, Father, I thought, annoyed. “I don’t want to talk about it. How much clearer can I get?”

“Fine,” he said, throwing his hands up in defeat. “You’ll come around eventually.” He disappeared into the kitchen with my brother.

“I’m going out for a bit. I’ll be back soon,” I called as I opened the front door. Closing it behind me, I hesitated. Did I really want to see their abandoned apartment? Did I really miss them that much?

My hand grazed the banister on my way up the stairs, feeling the chips in the paint from Shinji’s ring always scraping against it as he held it in the same fashion. When I reached the door, I paused. I heard voices coming from inside. My heart fluttered and, without thinking, I shoved the door open, expecting to the guys. What I saw, however…

“Looks like your mistake served its purpose,” a man with long blond hair said, his cold eyes scanning me with interest.

“My mistake? How is this my mistake, exactly?” the other snapped.

The first man looked Caucasian, although he dressed in Visual Kei fashion. His demeanor reminded me a bit of Kiiro, actually. He had a thick layer of long blond hair beneath several shorter layers that were spiked up. His face was long and thin, and his most prominent features were his thick, regal nose and disapproving eyes. A smile twisted his lips, although it was sarcastic at best.

The second was obviously Asian, although I couldn’t quite pinpoint where in Asia he might be from. He wore a black suit and had a somewhat plain face and ordinary hair. Where his friend might have turned heads, he looked ready to blend in.

I began to back away slowly, but the blond stopped me with his hand clamping across my arm.

The man with dark, less conspicuous hair stepped forward as well, to take a long look at my face. “Don’t run off on us, now. We’ve gone all around the world chasing your trail, you know.”

“I must be popular with creeps,” I said, wrenching my arm free of the blond. “What’s your particular fix?”

The blond laughed. “She’s got some balls on her; I think I like her already.” His cool eyes flashed with amusement and he brushed a long lock away from his eyes. The other man glared at him, but said nothing in response, instead looking to me.

“We know what you are, Alice, and we’ve come to take you into our master’s custody. Will you come without a fight, or do we have to get nasty?”

“That depends. Who is your master and what does he want from me?”

“Our master is someone you will recognize. He wants to assess your development and strike up a deal. If you do not accept the terms, you are free to go, but we were told to find you and bring you to him, even if it means hurting you a bit. I’m sure you’ve been through enough physical pain that what we would do is but a knock on the head.”

“What is this deal?”

“I do not know the details, but in short, he intends to offer you his protection for a price, of course.”

“I can assume you don’t mean monetary, as you know I am not wealthy.”

“You could assume that in confidence. Will you come with us willingly or not?”

“Where am I to go?”

“Fukuoka, Japan.”

“I don’t have anything with me right now, I don’t have any money, and I don’t have any connections in Japan. And what of my family? Isn’t that a problem?”

“Perhaps, but it is hardly our problem. We have prepared a trunk for you to take that will have necessities and a few articles of clothing which I can assume are to your taste. There is also enough money to get you a ticket back to the US, food for a month, and lodging for a month. Also, do not lie to us, we know that you have connections. In fact, we have met some.”

My heart grew heavy. “Recent events have changed the game a bit.” I looked away before they could see the pain in my eyes. “Take me to your master. I will come willingly.”

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

When I was dropped into the seat, it was cold and hard. It felt like a metal chair. The blindfold was lifted from my eyes and I nearly peed myself at the sight before me.

Gackt Camui was sitting before me in a pinstripe suit with official-looking sunglasses on. The way he wore them was stereotypically mysterious, just like Kiiro. The thought of him made me want to puke, but it was a good type of nausea… it was a… heartfelt nausea? Gackt wore a smug smile as well. “Hello Alice.”

“Uh… hi, Gackt. That is what I should call you, right?”

“Names are meaningless. By those who work for me, I am known as the Oni. I oversee the vast network of supernatural affairs.”

“Is that what you do? I assumed the snakeskin pants were just for show, but it seems like you can finally put them to good use.”

He laughed. “As you may have noticed, Alice, the world of Visual Kei is not as it seems to humans. Although the supernatural can more easily mask themselves in the flashiness of costume, it may surprise you how much is yet beyond that circle. For our protection and for the preservation of society, we must lead double lives even if it means being a bit… ostentatious. It is a strained existence at best, but we work to keep things orderly between the races.”

“What’s with the blindfold? I’m not too keen on bondage.”

“It is a security measure. Although it is imperfect, it can hinder you from creating an accurate image of the area we’re in now. In this room, your powers don’t exist, but beyond these walls, your mind can wander freely and your divinity can run rampant. The blindfold may cause the image of your surroundings to be flawed.”

“Okay. Now what about this ‘protection’ thing your guys told me about?”

“Ah, yes, the deal. It has come to my attention that your… friends have deserted you, and that means that there is nothing between you and the numerous parties that would like to claim you for their own.”

“Parties? Well, I see no problem with that.”

He grinned. “Not exactly what I meant. You may not know this, but even as we speak, there is a struggle for power amongst factions of the supernatural. It is a constant war that has been going on for centuries, but has escalated since you came into knowing about your power.” He leaned back in his chair, his fingers lacing together. “There are beings that would use you and your divinity to claim godhood, or they would use you as a tool to transform this world as they see fit. You are both a valuable asset and a dangerous investment.”

“People are warring over me. That makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.”

“It is more complex than you think,” he said, sighing, as he turned away from me. “Do you even take this seriously, Alice?”

“I take it very seriously, but that doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to season the tragedy with sarcasm, does it?”

He sighed. “Wonderful.”

“Yes, well, I’m still not hearing a deal in this.”

“I can offer you protection where your friends failed. I control a whole society of trained fighters, all non-humans. Although not all may be as seasoned as your friends, they number far more.”

“Protection is not what I need, exactly.”

“It is, in fact. With protection, you will buy yourself more time to develop and understand your power. It will give you time to look into all the unanswered questions you have. I will even lend you a few of my finest to accompany you if you wish to explore for yourself.”

“That seems generous.”

“It is not without its terms.”

“And those would be?”

“You must use your power to help us. That means, once your power manifests in a hostile form, I will expect you to use it to kill, threaten, or persuade. It also means that you are not allowed to see your friends again.”

I paused, feeling not quite certain. “What do you intend to do with them, should they come after me?”

“You don’t know? They are wanted by several preternatural agencies for getting involved in the world of mortals. Primarily, for getting involved with you.”

“Wait a moment,” I said, rubbing my forehead and scrunching my eyes closed. So many emotions slammed into me. “Are you saying that you will kill them just for helping a sister out?”

“That’s exactly what I am saying, Alice.”