write_my_dreams: (Acchan: Princess)
[personal profile] write_my_dreams
Title: The Art of Denial
Author: [livejournal.com profile] write_my_dreams
Pairing: None
Bands: BUCK-TICK, Acid Black Cherry (Yasu), Solo (Kiyoharu). Others later.
Genre: AU, paranormal
Warning/Disclaimer: Nothing to warn about. The characters don't belong to me but the idea and the way I've chosen to portray them do.
Rating: PG
Chapters: 1/14
Summary: After a girl commits suicide in his apartment, Atsushi starts getting headaches and having nightmares on an almost daily basis. Doctors can't figure out why he's having so many headaches and as time goes on Atsushi starts to realize there may be no logical explanation to his problem... but he's unwilling to accept there might be supernatural causes even though all the evidence points to it.
Author's Comment: This is a prequel to a fic I'm currently writing with [livejournal.com profile] lunafair. I liked this version of Atsushi so much I wanted to write something more with him but didn't have any ideas for a while. Once I had this idea though I just had to write it!

Friday’s party was one that Atsushi had been looking forward to all month. The record label he worked at was extremely proud of its bands and threw parties every few months, especially when a new release topped the charts. Atsushi had been mostly excited for the free food and endless supply of alcohol. He wasn’t always the most social person but he had been looking forward to celebrating with friends and co-workers. He’d been here for an hour though and the party, which should have been enjoyable, was more of a chore. Atsushi blamed his headache for that. He’d woken up with a headache that refused to go away.

Shifting his wine glass to his left hand, Atsushi rubbed his temples with his right. This was his third headache this week. Why so many? His almost waist-length hair could be part of the reason. That hair did get heavy, especially when wet. Atsushi had put it up earlier to relieve some of the pressure on his head. Although it helped, the style looked absolutely ridiculous so he had to leave his hair down for the party.

“Headache?” Hide asked. The sudden question startled Atsushi so badly he almost dropped his wine glass. Hide, dressed in a nondescript black suit and Imai being well… Imai in his black and red pinstriped suit with odd, gold-colored boots, were standing nearby. Imai’s outfit clashed horribly with his—for now—blue hair. Typical Imai. And yet he teased Atsushi for always wearing black… he had no right to judge someone else’s fashion when he usually looked like a colorblind clown chose his clothes for him.

Atsushi sighed. “Yeah, another one.” Maybe he should cut his hair. Sometimes it drove him insane but he was so used to his long hair that he wasn’t ready to cut it.

Hide looked concerned. Imai frowned then glanced at the wine glass clasped in the longhaired man’s hand. “Did you have too much to drink already?”

“No,” Atsushi said. This was only his second glass of alcohol so the drink shouldn’t be the problem. He scowled as Imai looked skeptical. “This is my second drink,” he complained. Sometimes his love of alcohol bit him in the ass. But Imai loved alcohol just as much. The two of them being drunk together could easily be a dangerous combination though. Dangerous as in Atsushi tended to find himself in bed with the other man. Somehow he managed not to recall what had happened the last time they’d drunk too much together. Although details threatened to slip through that mental filter.

“Acchan?”

Atsushi started again. Shit… he’d completely spaced out. “Sorry.” He glanced at his wine. He hadn’t been drinking as much as he usually did this week due to the headaches so alcohol couldn’t be the cause. Sighing, he finished his drink then set it down on one of the empty tables conveniently scattered throughout the room for that purpose. “It’s just… this headache. I’ve had it since I woke up this morning and I can’t get rid of it.” Aspirin hadn’t helped. Neither had napping in between work and the party. The headache was part of the reason he’d decided to lurk at the back of the room and near a corner. It provided peace and quiet. Also… shelter from his various admirers. There were too many for Atsushi’s liking. Having so many “fans” made him uncomfortable, unworthy of their attention.

“What about yesterday? Did you drink a lot then?” Hide asked, pulling Atsushi out of his thoughts. He was frowning as he as he studied the other man. The scrutiny made him uncomfortable since he’d never liked being at the center of everyone's attention. Especially from his childhood friends as they could always tell when something was wrong.

"No. I don't have a headache because of alcohol," Atsushi said, letting out a soft sigh of exasperation. He only had two beers yesterday. There was no reason for alcohol to be the source of this headache. “It’s just… I don't know. This is the third time this week that I’ve woken up with a headache. Usually they fade throughout the day but this one won’t go away.” Atsushi rubbed his temples again. It’d been a nightmare to concentrate on consultation meetings and drawing for the two bands he designed for. Then U-ta wanted him to come to his store after lunch to show him the new bass he’d developed… then Imai insisted on having him try one of the guitars… no wonder he couldn’t get rid of his headache.

Imai frowned again then smirked. "Your head must be fucked up then."

"Imai," Hide said, giving him an annoyed look. "Acchan’s in pain. Try to be civil."

"I am civil!"

Atsushi chuckled softly at Imai's insistence. Imai and civil weren't usually put in the same sentence together. Imai was hotheaded, stubborn, and freely spoke his mind. The art of censoring himself was a foreign concept... Unless he absolutely had to be polite.

He jumped as Imai suddenly cupped his face, turning his head so he could look at him. Atsushi felt himself blushing from the sudden action, feeling flustered as Imai basically manhandled him. "Um... Imai..." He said awkwardly, blinking as the other man tilted his head down. Then he was parting Atsushi's hair and feeling his head. Atsushi's face was probably beet red from how awkward he felt right now. "Imai! What are you doing?"

"Besides groping your head," Hide said dryly.

"I'm checking for bumps! If you didn't have all this hair it'd be easier to see." Finally Imai pulled back. "You don't have any bumps on your head."

Atsushi sighed then finger combed his hair so he could get it to lay flat again. He was extremely low maintenance when it came to his appearance (unless he was going out) but didn't want his hair to look like a rat's nest at this party. Especially since he had made an effort to dress up. "You could have just asked me if there were bumps on my head. I would have told you there are none." The very... physical examination hadn't been necessary. But it was something that Imai would do.

Hide was starting to look concerned again. Hopefully no one would mention this to U-ta... He'd fuss and try to guilt Atsushi into going to a hospital. "Have you thought about seeing the doctor? Having so many headaches doesn't seem natural or healthy..." He trailed off. Neither of them wanted to voice potential reasons for the source of the headaches.

Atsushi shook his head then hissed and clutched his temples again. He shouldn’t do that again, he felt like he’d just banged his head against a wall. "I'm fine. I'll just take some aspirin when I get home."

Imai scowled. "Go see the doctor, idiot. There's probably something wrong with your head."

"What's going on? You still have that headache?" Yasu asked, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. He was giving Atsushi an extremely worried look. Yasu was one of his assistants. He liked Yasu but sometimes the other made him uneasy since Yasu was so in love with him. Atsushi hated himself when he had to reject Yasu’s confession since his assistant had been devastated, but he’d learned the hard way that dating co-workers only led to disaster. His divorce was proof of that. Yasu’s adoration also made him uneasy. If he did let Yasu date him he would feel like he was taking advantage of the younger man. Why did Yasu like him so much anyway... He wasn't special or worth loving.

Atsushi forced himself to smile. “I do, but I’ll manage.” He’d been working with a headache all day. While it made drawing difficult it wasn’t anything he couldn’t bear. Besides, he’d had worse headaches after a night of heavy drinking.

Yasu frowned. “Have you called the doctor?”

“No and I don't plan to. It’s just a headache.” Atsushi was starting to regret mentioning the headache at all now that three of his friends were clustered around him. At least U-ta wasn’t here to start fussing too. Having Yasu and U-ta fussing over him was a nightmare he wasn’t keen on repeating.

“But if you’re not feeling well…” Yasu trailed off.

Atsushi sighed. “I’m fine. I’ll go to sleep early tonight.” He stepped away from his once protective wall. Now that his solitude had been ruined he might as well go and have some more food.

*   *   *

The headache persisted throughout the party. Normally, Atsushi would stay through the end and then go to a smaller after party at one of his favorite bars with his friends, but this time he couldn’t. His headache had gotten worse when he had his fourth drink. Imai had noticed him wincing so had taken his beer away and replaced it with a glass of water. Atsushi hadn’t been happy about that, although the water had felt better than the alcohol.

He must have looked awful since Imai had pushed him towards the door. “Go home and go to bed, Acchan. You look so miserable.”

Imai was right; so Atsushi had said his goodbyes and gone home. He locked the door behind him then kicked off his shoes. Leaning down to untie them would probably make his head hurt more. Atsushi shrugged off his jacket then glanced down as he heard soft meowing. His face lit up as Bandit, his black and grey striped cat with soft white paws and a little black mask of fur, came up to him and rubbed against his legs. “Did you miss me?” Atsushi murmured, leaning down to pick up the cat. Bending made his head hurt more but he tried to ignore the headache as he nuzzled Bandit’s head. He winced as she bumped her cheek against his jaw, meowing again. Someone was probably hungry.

“Did you and Sphinx eat your food already?” he carried her into the kitchen and narrowly avoided tripping over his second cat. Sphinx, whose hobbies were sleeping and trying to trip Atsushi when it was food time, shot into the kitchen and sat by the empty food bowl. He started meowing loudly, which made Bandit start meowing too. Atsushi laughed softly then set the cat down. “All right, all right. Be patient.” He took the cat food bag out of the cupboard and poured it into their bowls. Sphinx immediately lunged for his bowl and started eating. Someone had been hungry. Atsushi gently stroked both cats then put the food away and headed to the bathroom. Sometimes taking a bath helped get rid of his headaches. He didn’t feel tired yet anyway so the hot water would also help him relax.

*   *   *

Toweling off his damp hair, Atsushi entered his bedroom. He immediately scowled as he caught Bandit chewing on his brand new eraser. “Bandit,” he said sharply. Her habit of snatching his pencils and erasers (along with her mask) had earned her the name. Sphinx’s name was due to his love of stretching out on the couch with his paws in front of him just like his namesake. “Don't chew on that!” He dropped the towel and crouched down so he could attempt to wrestle the eraser away from her. For a little cat she was strong when it came to relinquishing her prey. Bandit meowed in protest as he pulled the eraser away then jumped on the bed. Atsushi made a face at the cat spit and tooth marks on the eraser. His pencils were like that too… she must have gotten into his pencil bag. He decided he didn’t want to check his office to see if the bag was in shreds or not.

Atsushi set the eraser on his dresser then frowned as he heard Bandit letting out a strange sounding meow. She sometimes made that sound when she and Sphinx were fighting but Sphinx wasn’t in his room. Atsushi turned around to see Bandit sitting on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. She meowed again. Atsushi looked up but couldn’t see anything suspicious. What was she looking at? Maybe there was a cobweb up there.

“What’s wrong?” Atsushi went to his bed and sat down. She immediately climbed into his lap. Confused, Atsushi looked up again. That was… eerie. This was the first time she’d done this. Deciding she must be hearing something upstairs that he couldn’t, he gently moved her so he could lay down. Atsushi turned on his side then started petting the cat. She seemed to calm down as she curled up next to him. Sphinx jumping on the pillow distracted him and he glanced up. Bandit was usually the one who slept on his head but sometimes Sphinx would curl up on the pillow. Then he’d migrate to Atsushi’s chest or somewhere next to him. They never stayed for the whole night but were usually there when he went to sleep and when he woke up in the morning. Especially if he tried oversleeping—their demanding meowing for breakfast made that impossible.

Atsushi closed his eyes and shifted into a more comfortable position. Whatever had bothered Bandit before didn’t seem to be a problem now as Sphinx hadn’t reacted to it and Bandit was now purring in contentment. Must have ben his upstairs neighbor…

Notes
1) I'm still writing Tatsurou in Wonderland, Atsushi's just a rude muse and demanded my attention
2) I can't promise fast updates. I have less than a month of class left and I'm going to be studying for finals in April. Terrifying thought... finals in Japan...
3) My outline is still being developed and I wasn't sure about posting Chapter 1 now as I feel guilty making people wait for chapters but I will do my best to get chapters out on a timely basis. I'm going to be spending a lot of time on night buses this weekend so I might be able to get chapter 2 started while I'm travelling

Date: 2013-03-25 10:30 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kaiser1103.livejournal.com
Oh I love the actions between Imai and Acchan XD
Don't cut your hair, Acchan!!!

Date: 2013-03-25 02:07 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kaiser1103.livejournal.com
A dirty dream about those two 0.0 Wow, I wanna know now XD
Hahaha I like your icon XD

Date: 2013-03-25 03:45 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kaiser1103.livejournal.com
OMG Acchan's hair was in the way XD
You actually remember so much details of your dreams?

I hope Acchan would come to you in your dreams and take away your headache! Sweet Dreams ^^

Yes, it's lovely ^^

Date: 2013-03-26 04:21 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kaiser1103.livejournal.com
You remember everything except who Acchan was with haha !
Oh poor you, Acchan didn't visit you last night ! I always dream about being late too, that sucks =.=

Date: 2013-03-26 01:52 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kaiser1103.livejournal.com
Acchan better visits you with both of them haha!

Date: 2013-03-27 09:43 am (UTC)

Date: 2013-04-15 09:21 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] senshi-of-ruin.livejournal.com
I really enjoyed reading this! Though I'm not familiar with the bands (I know the names but that's about it lol!) you write it in such a way that I don't really have to be to really get into the story.

It made me smile when Atsushi was thinking about the party and being mostly excited about the free booze and food lol! I think like that too lol! I can't wait to read the next chapter :D

Date: 2013-04-16 10:14 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] senshi-of-ruin.livejournal.com
That would be great thanks!

lol yeah I feel his pain! I was banned from it by a doc for a while too!

Yay cool!

Date: 2013-04-17 09:57 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] senshi-of-ruin.livejournal.com
Yay! Thanks so much :D

Yeah?! I haven't tried much Japanese alcohol. I had some pear wine once and that is such strong stuff lol! I drank a whole bottle and was practically in a coma for the rest of the day!

Date: 2013-04-20 09:55 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] senshi-of-ruin.livejournal.com
Yeah I prefer mild drinks usually too. Ugh beers horrible isn't it! I thought Japanese beer might be nicer but its not lol! I got some sake from Sainsburys on Friday I'm going to have that tomorrow :D

Yeah it was a horrible experience. I got kinda worried after a few hours and I still felt awful :( I'm never touching that again lol!

Date: 2013-04-22 11:00 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] senshi-of-ruin.livejournal.com
Yeah it is isn't it. Sake is strong too lol! I had a glass (okays it was kind of a BIG glass lol!) and felt spaced out for the rest of the evening!

I know ^^;; I just didn't realise how strong it was until I'd drunk most of it. Gonna totally avoid it in future though!

Date: 2013-04-27 09:44 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] senshi-of-ruin.livejournal.com
Yeah it is - I'm not sure when I'm going to be able to finish it lol I write most evenings so I need to be sensible for that lol!

Yeah definetly! I don't drink too often but get silly very easily when I do so I drink more than I should ^^;;

Date: 2013-06-09 07:22 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] pinpun.livejournal.com
Nice fic, need to read those other chapters too what you have wrote of this~ :3

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