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Secret Identity
by Black Rainbow

Disclaimer: The SD boys belong to Takehiko Inoue. This story is based on a book by Jahnna N. Malcolm, so most of the plot and songs belong to her. “You’re No Rock and Roll Fun” is a song by Sleater-Kinney, one of the coolest bands ever! Some band names are made up, and some are real. All non- SD characters are original. *whew! What a long disclaimer!*

Chapter 7

The crowd was wild as Hana played the last strains of Sleater-Kinney’s “You’re No Rock and Roll Fun.” He flashed a grin at the audience as their claps and shouts subdued a little. “The last song we’re playing tonight will be an original piece,” he said. Sweat ran down his body as he laughed. The crowd loved Androgynous Zone. “We might be playing here again soon,” he said, before announcing “Fooled You.”

They came in on a new bass lick that Hana wrote, and Rukawa improvised. As they winded down the set, everyone was screaming for more. The group took their bows and leapt offstage.

Backstage, the four of them were exhilarated. They never thought that their band would be this much of a hit. While exchanging grins with one another, a knock came on the door. Hana opened the door a crack and took a peek at the person on the other side of the door. It was Sendoh. Hana closed the door quickly, muttering, “oh, no.” He still wasn’t sure what it was about Sendoh that made him so nervous.

“Who is it?” Fujima asked, looking at Rukawa who had fallen asleep on his jacket. He wondered if he should poke the sleeping boy or just wait for him to wake up to get the jacket back.

“It’s Sendoh.”

Mitsui raised an eyebrow. “So?”

Hana squirmed, not knowing what to say to his friends. “He’s been kind of strange, you know. And he smiles so much, he makes me nervous,” he said, hoping that it sounded good enough.

Fujima grinned. Mitsui laughed. “Well, he obviously thinks you’re cute,” he said, tickling Hana under the chin.

WHAM! Hana gave the scarred-face boy a headbutt and sent him sprawling on the floor. Fujima sweat-dropped. The knock on the door came again. “Everything okay in there?” Sendoh’s voice called out.

“Better be nice to him,” Mitsui muttered as he gingerly picked himself up. “I think he’s important to the band’s future.”

Deep down, Hana knew what Mitsui said was probably true. But what if Sendoh really was interested in him? Flirting with guys would be too weird for him. He opened the door. Sendoh was still there, smiling. *Is that how I look like when I’m around a cute girl?* he wondered.

“Hello. I’m the bearer of good news,” Sendoh told them, grinning. “Actually, make that incredible news.” He caught Hana’s eyes. “The owners love you. We want to book you for a limited engagement.”

Hana looked happily at Mitsui and Fujima - who had finally decided to poke Rukawa, but in vain. The raven-haired boy just kept on sleeping.

Sendoh continued, “I need you guys to agree that your band won’t play anywhere else during this engagement.”

Hana smiled. “Sure. No problem.” *As if we’d need to,* he thought. *What place would be better than Lost Souls?*

Sendoh was bobbing his head happily. “Cool. We’ll get a contract drawn tomorrow. And I think we should arrange a photo shoot, you know, for posters, press releases, and stuff.”

“Are you serious?” Mitsui asked. He could hardly believe it. Their band was actually on its way to success. He gave Hana a look that said, ‘you’d better not screw this up.’ Hana glared at him.

“I’m serious. By the way, Taoka was asking me about your background. He says that there’s something fishy about you guys.” Sendoh laughed, amused. “That guy’s turning into a psycho.”

Hana laughed weakly, ignoring the pointed looks Mitsui and Fujima were giving him.

“Say, Sendoh, do you want to join us after this? We’re going to the diner next door,” Mitsui said. Hana shot him another glare.

“Sure! I’ll see you at the entrance, okay?” Sendoh answered. He left, waving shortly at the four of them.

Once he was gone, Hana hissed, “Why did you do that?”

Mitsui shrugged. “The guy did us a favor by giving us a chance to play here. I think we should be nice to him.” He grinned. “Besides, he obviously likes you.”

“He does not.” Hana turned red.

“Ahou.” Rukawa, apparently, have not only woken up, but have used up his entire vocabulary for that night. He walked over the other side of the backstage to pack up his guitar.

“Teme! I’m –“

“Hana, I think Mitsui is right,” Fujima interrupted, grabbing his jacket. “We have come this far, and I think it’s silly if we back out just because some guy, erm. . . ‘unsettles’ you.”

Mitsui gave a teasing look at Fujima. “Does this mean you’re going to give him a chance?”

Hana looked at Fujima closely. Was the boy actually turning red? He thought so…

“We’re not talking about me!” Fujima snapped.

Hana looked from one of them to the other, not quite sure what was going on.

Later, Hana left Rukawa, Mitsui and Fujima, carrying his guitar case. As he reached the entrance, he saw Sendoh waiting. Hana joined him.

“Hey,” he greeted Sendoh. “Mitsui and Fujima said we’re to meet them at the diner. Rukawa said he wants to go back home.” He said under his breath, “the kitsune probably wants to catch up with his sleep.”

“Sure. Umm, you want me to carry that for you?” Sendoh asked, pointing towards the guitar case. Hana scowled.

“I can carry it myself.”

The other boy shrugged and smiled. They walked out of the club in silence. When they entered the diner, they put their stuff at a table, and decided not to order until the others came. Hana saw a pool table nearby and grinned.

“I haven’t played pool for so long!” he said. Sendoh was already chalking a pool cue.

“This is where I spend my breaks from work,” he told Hana. He grabbed the triangular frame and positioned the balls inside it before sliding it across the table. He smiled at Hana. “Let’s play. I’ll let you break.”

Hana took a cue from the wall-rack, felt its weight, and put it back to grab another one. He set it on the tabletop and rolled it slightly to check how straight it was. Sendoh watched closely. Hana leant over the end of the table and shot her break. The balls scattered, and the 3-ball dropped into the right corner pocket. Sendoh looked surprise, which made Hana laugh.

At the moment, Mitsui and Fujima came in, with Anika, Himiko, and a couple of the other girls from Pristine Smut. They sat at the table where Hana and Sendoh had laid their stuff, and Mitsui called out to Sendoh, “Look out!” He grinned. “You’re playing with a ringer.”

Himiko and Anika gave both of them a smile. As Hana smiled back, he realized he wasn’t jealous at all that Fujima and Mitsui were hanging out with Pristine Smut. He looked back to the table and saw that Sendoh missed a shot. Hana shrugged, and called his next shot. His backspin misfired and the cue ball went rolling backwards right into the side pocket.

“Too bad,” Sendoh said, as he contemplated his next move.

“If we were playing basketball you would be at my mercy,” Hana muttered. Sendoh looked at him in surprise.

“You play basketball?”

Hana nodded. “I was in my school team,” he said proudly.

“Your school had a girl’s basketball team?”

*Ooops*, Hana thought. As he didn’t know how else to cover what he said, he just nodded his head.

Sendoh positioned himself to try a tricky bank shot off the right rail, as he commented, “you’re lucky. When I was in school we only had a boy’s team.” He made his shot easily, and Hana realized that he was good. He started to feel the excitement of a good game thrum within him.

“I’m glad Androgynous Zone made their way to Ryonan,” Sendoh continued. “Where did you say you used to play? Osaka?” He lined up a difficult shot – two of their balls were side by side in the front of the left side pocket. Sendoh would have to bump his in while making sure Hana’s stayed out.

“Hai,” Hana replied, as he watched Sendoh aim. Sendoh’s ball disappeared inside the pocket, while Hana’s ball was knocked into an impossible position. Hana grinned, impressed. He wasn’t really used to playing with anyone other than Youhei, his childhood friend. Now that Youhei was working in Osaka (he had decided to stay there when the band decided to go back to Kanagawa), Hana rarely sees his friend.

Putting his mind back to the game, Hana saw that he had two balls left on the table, while Sendoh had one. If he came at his shot from the end of the table, he’d have to bend over the rail. He tried out the position, and noticed Sendoh checking him out. Hana backed off the table, his face turning bright red. He took a deep breath. *This is too weird*, he thought to himself.

Telling himself to concentrate on the game, he took his shot. The cue ball bumped the 7-ball to the end rail, sending it caroming back. It tapped the 1 into the bottom left corner and landed in the side pocket.

“That was good!” Sendoh exclaimer, letting out his breath. He stared at Hana seriously. “You’re really incredible, you know that?” Hana began to feel the flicker of electricity between them again. He backed up. *I should get out of here before I do something stupid*, he thought.

“One more game?” Sendoh asked. Hana poked his cue back into the wall-rack, shaking his head.

“No… I think I should go,” he muttered. “I’m really tired.”

“Well, okay,” Sendoh said, sounding really disappointed. Hana felt guilty and miserable as he looked away. *He only likes me because he thinks I’m a girl*, he told himself. *But I’m not. I’m a guy. I’m a guy.*

Suddenly Sendoh spoke again, sounding all businesslike. “I’ll call you. We’ll go over the contract.”

“Sure.” Hana nodded. He said, “see you.”

“Sure.”

Hana grabbed her stuff from the table. Mitsui gave him a strange look. Himiko raised her eyebrows, while Anika looked oblivious to everything. The other two Pristine Smut girls have gone. “See you later,” he told them. They nodded.

As he hurried to catch the next train to Shohoku, Hana hummed to his song, “Fooled You.” The lyrics kept repeating itself inside his head.

“Fooled you.
Didn’t I tell you not to trust me?
Fooled you.
Didn’t I tell you not to try?
The game is more important,
The game is worth the lie.
So I fooled you without blinking.
Now it’s time to say goodbye.”

-TBC-

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