by VanillaMint

part 2

`I remember
 The times I sat alone in my bed
 In the middle of the night
 I remember wondering
 Are you human?
 Or just a puppet
 with strings attached to heaven?'
 

In deep slumber he was. His face a still porcelain mask with his lips
painted pale blue with darker shades at the edges. His long lashes
twitched as his lids fluttered but not opening. Still he lay on the
bed, his hands and legs bounded from freedom, Mana looked like a French
doll with his golden curls framing his face and upper torso. Gackt sat
at the writing desk with the wooden chair turned around so that he
could gaze at his beautiful sleeping princess. 

Outside, it was dark; the sun gone to rest for the night but the rays
were still visible, casting the dusk sky an eerie glow of purple. The
heavy curtains flapped a bit when the night breeze cooled the room.
Mana remained in his unconscious state.

" Isn't he beautiful?" Gackt whispered to the female apparition next to
him.

The ghost didn't reply but she smiled silently. Her long black flowing
hair almost touched her waist, the fringe cut just above the brows. She
was only a child; she didn't look more than fifteen but her face was
made-up like a typical geisha. Her lips were flowering red on her stark
white face with her cheeks blushing pink. Her kimono was soiled and was
no longer bright as it once were but the golden obi was still neatly
tied in a drum knot. 

 " He looks like an angel from heaven, doesn't he? I don't know. Have
you been to heaven, Chiyo? What does angels look like?" Gackt
continued, eyes still on Mana. 

`Chiyo' seemed to float across the room, her sleeves draped over her
arms to prevent it from sweeping the floor. Kneeling on the floor, she
raised a hand to Mana's face and gently flicked off a lock of hair from
his hair. Gackt watched in fascination as the fingers seemed to go
through the fine strands of hair.

" Yes, he is beautiful like an angel," she whispered as she tilted her
head upwards to look at Gackt who smiled back at her.

***
`Where am I? My head hurts so bad...I can't breath. It's so
dark...Where am I?'

He blinked at the carved plaster ceiling above him, carvings of
blooming pink roses caressing the otherwise plain surface. A groan of
unease escaped his lips as he tried to stretch his limbs. Trapped to
the mattress, he yanked at the rope that help him in place but they
refused to come free. He felt a headache tapping his skull. Dropping
back to the pillow, he squeezed his eyes shut. He remembered saying
goodbye to Kozi and Yuki, remember walking down the empty hall...then
Gackt was there, Gackt had kissed him and...

Mana could not help but choke at his recollections. Confusion ate at
him so much that he felt he could scream if not for the terrible raw
condition of his throat. It felt like it had been rubbed against
sandpaper. Coughing violently, he felt his eyes tear but could do
nothing to wipe the extra moisture in his eyes away.

Gackt seemed to materialize out of thin air. Sitting down on the
mattress, he held Mana's neck and brought the glass of water to his
cracked lips. Mana felt the cool liquid running down his throat,
soothing his thirst. Mana thought sarcastically that he would have been
grateful if not for the fact that it was Gackt who made him like this
in the first place.

After Gackt placed the empty glass down, Mana could not help but eye
the vocalist. He was still the same despite his new look with his
ridiculously bleached-blonde hair. It was that smile that exuded a kind
of warmth and kindness but also sad at the same time. 

" What do you think you're doing?" Mana sounded terribly hoarse and
angry. He pulled the rope that snaked around his left wrist to imply
his words, all the time glaring at the vocalist. 

" Are you hungry, Mana-chan?" He didn't seem to hear a word Mana had
said. 

Mana frowned as Gackt came back to the bed. He stroked Mana's forehead
and cheeks like a mother would do to her sick child.

" Camui..." 

" I'll fix you some food, okay?" he said in a casual manner.

Mana had to admit, he was scared at his ex-bandmate's odd behavior. But
he did not intend to let it show. After all, putting that mask on
wasn't that hard for him since he had worn it for so long to camouflage
his true feelings for Gackt. He would never tell Gackt that he took a
liking for him, would never admit that he had been heartbroken not only
for the band but also for his personal reasons after Gackt left. So why
let the mask crack now?

" Camui, what is wrong with you?" Gackt didn't hear the concern in his
voice; he had already left Mana's side. Mana could hear his calm
footsteps padding down the stairs before it faded to total silence.

---
hmm...comments/suggestions please???*grovel grovel*
 

VanillaMint

*** 
to be continued

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