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Secret Identity
by Black Rainbow

Disclaimer: SD characters belong to Takehiko Inoue. Story idea, band name & songs belong to Jahnna N. Malcolm. Other characters and some story changes are mine.

Chapter 10

After the photo shoot, all of them (Sendoh included) went to Shohoku to eat at Danny’s – Sendoh’s treat. They sat at a corner booth. Hana tried not to look at Sendoh at all, whistling ‘Fooled You’ and getting looks from Mitsui. When the waitress came, they made their orders and fell into an awkward silence.

“I have more offers for you guys,” Sendoh suddenly said.

All of them looked at Sendoh, interested. Mitsui looked a bit shrewd as Fujima said, “tell us!”

“I think you guys need a manager. You know, someone to help you in your way to fame. Someone who – for a small percentage, of course – keep track of all your bookings and tours.” He grinned.

“Do you really think we need a manager?” Rukawa asked, looking out the window, sounding like he didn’t really care if Sendoh became their manager or not.

“Hai. Especially after tomorrow.”

“Hmm? What do you mean? What happens tomorrow?” Mitsui asked.

Putting on a façade of innocence, Sendoh answered lightly, “the Battle of the Bands, of course. I entered you in it.”

Fujima choked on his teriyaki burger, and Hana gasped loudly, “you WHAT???” Mitsui poked him at the sides and he coughed. “I mean, you what?” he asked more quietly.

“Every year there’s a battle of the bands, right?” Sendoh explained. “It’s tomorrow night; all the good bands in Kanagawa are entering. Actually, the schedule have been booked solid, but a band pulled out yesterday so I wrote in Androgynous Zone and paid the entry fee and all.”

Hana couldn’t think. It was like there were two different parts of him fighting – one was saying that this was the chance to prove to everyone that he was the tensai and his band was the best in Kanagawa… and the other part of him was thinking that maybe his band wasn’t ready for something like this just yet.

“The amazing thing is that, this year, the winner gets a recording contract. And you have the most incredible lead singer. With Hana-chan here, your band is going to win. No problem,” Sendoh said.

Hana turned red at the compliment, for once not knowing what to say. Fujima asked tentatively, “are you sure we’re ready for this?”

“Of course I’m sure!” Sendoh said, nodding. “The way you sing Illusion Lightning is phenomenal – it gives the audience the most incredible sensation. And your guitars – how long have you been playing, anyway?”

“Most of us started young – except for Hana. She started playing about two, three years ago…”

Hana nodded. “It started out as a joke for my school talentime, then I started to really get into it,” he said.

“And you play so good now… you must be a really fast learner!”

“I told you – I’m a tensai!” He was about to laugh his usual booming laugh when Mitsui accidentally squirted some ketchup. Hana tried to dodge it, but some fell on the jacket that he wore over his dress. “Hey!” he exclaimed, jumping up. “You did that on purpose!”

“No, I didn’t!” Mitsui got up. “I swear, I didn’t do it on purpose. I’m sorry.. I’ll help you get it cleaned, okay?” With that, he pulled Hana away by the arms. “There’s a toilet over there…”

Outside the toilet, Mitsui took Hana’s jacket and told Hana to wait outside while he went to wash it. While Hana waited, he still thought that Mitsui squirted the ketchup on him on purpose. He frowned, wondering why Mitsui did it. /Maybe he’s jealous of all the attention I’m getting…/

“Hanamichi.”

Hearing someone call his /real/ name, Hana turned quickly to see Tetsuo, one of Mitsui’s old friends and (to Hana anyway) one of the lowest life- forms to live in Shohoku. “How did you know who I am?” he asked warily.

“Oh, your brother told me. Speaking of, where is Kiminobu?”

“I want to know what’s going on between you and my brother,” Hana said threateningly. He knew that during the times Kiminobu disappeared, his brother had been seeing Tetsuo. He also knew that anything to do with Tetsuo has to be something bad – Mitsui and Tetsuo used to be two of the most feared gangsters around, before Mitsui decided to start afresh with his music.

Tetsuo grabbed Hana’s arm. “Look, I just want to know where Kiminobu is. I have to see him now.”

Jerking his arms away, Hana snapped, “I don’t know where he is. Now tell me why you want to see him.”

Tetsuo was about to grab Hana’s arms again, when the toilet door opened, and Mitsui came out. “Tetsuo. What are you doing here?”

“He’s looking for ‘niichan.”

Mitsui’s eyes narrowed. “I told you to stay away from him, Tetsuo.”

Tetsuo just smiled tightly and said, “it’s none of your business now, is it?” He turned to leave.

“Stay away from him.”

Tetsuo just shrugged and continued to walk out of Danny’s, not even looking back. Hana turned to Mitsui. “Now what’s that all about?”

“None of your business.”

“What do you mean?” Hana gave Mitsui a rough shove. “My brother is my business! I want to know what happened between you and ‘niichan! I think you really - ”

“Look, it’s better this way, okay?” Mitsui said, looking down. “I never deserved him anyway.” He handed over Hana’s now clean (but soaked) jacket, and turned back to the table.

“Wait.”

“What?” He looked at Hana exasperatedly.

“Why the ketchup? I /know/ you spilled it on purpose.”

“I wanted to tell you to be careful with Sendoh.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Just – make sure he doesn’t find out who you are, okay? I really want this whole thing to work out.”

Hana scowled. “I /said/ I won’t screw it up. And I meant it. Who got you guys here? Why are we getting this break? Why did we even get to play at /Lost Souls?/ Because of me, the tensai!”

Mitsui rolled his eyes. “And we’re going to hear about it for the rest of our lives, I know.” He paused for awhile before saying hesitatingly, “you know that a relationship with Sendoh won’t work, right?”

Hana looked down. “Yeah,” he muttered. “Because he can’t know who I am.” He waited for a few seconds to pass before continuing. “But the most important reason is, because I am not a girl.” He looked up at Mitsui. “You guys get all the fun while I have to sit back and watch. It’s not fair.”

“You made the choice to do this,” Mitsui said harshly. “Now you have to stick to it, because we’re finally going somewhere.”

“But – that doesn’t make it any more easier.”

Mitsui shrugged. “Get used to it. If we continue the way we are, we’re going to end up on the cover of MOSH!. Isn’t that what you want?” With those words, he turned and hurried back to the table. Hana looked dejectedly at the table, where his friends and Sendoh were still digging into their food. He walked slowly to the table and decided to leave. He grabbed his small bag and turned to the door.

“Hey – where’re you going?” Sendoh asked.

“I’ve-” Hana racked his brains for an excuse plausible enough. “I have some equipment I have to pick up. I have to go.” Fujima was staring at him like he’d grown a second head. He shrugged. “Look, I got to go, okay? See you tomorrow at practice.”

He walked to the door, but stopped when a hand fell on his shoulder. He looked behind him to see Sendoh. “I’ll go with you,” he said.

“But – I have to run, ‘cause I have to catch the bus and all.”

“I can move pretty fast,” Sendoh said, smiling. Hana felt warm inside, and tried to shake the feeling off. Sendoh handed some money to Fujima. “Here, this should cover the lunch. See you guys.”

Sendoh followed Hana as they walked towards the bus stop in silence. Hana stared at the ground the whole time. What he felt like doing was to tell Sendoh the truth, then quit the band and go home and crawl under his blankets and never come out again. He didn’t think he could face Sendoh hating him.

When they reached the bus stop, Sendoh’s hands suddenly found Hana’s and tugged gently, asking the younger boy to stop walking. Hana turned and looked into Sendoh’s eyes. /I’m a guy. I’m a guy. I’m a guy/, he reminded himself.

“Look, I think I know what’s going on,” Sendoh said seriously.

Hana felt his heart beat faster. /Does he know the truth?/ he wondered. Does he care? He took a deep breath. “You do?”

Sendoh grinned. “Yeah. The success you’re working for is finally coming, but it’s scaring you, isn’t it? You feel like everything is happening too fast – you’re skyrocketing your way into fame, and you’re not sure how to handle that. A couple of companies have already asked me about you, you know… the word is out that Androgynous Zone is going to be big.”

Hana kicked himself mentally for being so disappointed. /What, you want him to know about you?/ he asked himself. “Yeah, that’s exactly it,” he muttered.

“Well, don’t worry about it much.” Sendoh’s hands touched Hana’s cheeks gently, and the redhead’s lips parted slightly at the shock he felt when their skin touched. “Your band’s future is in good hands.” He let his hands fall and smiled at Hana. “You look so cute when you blush like that, do you know?”

Hana’s face turned a brighter red as he quickly looked away. “The bus’s not here yet,” he said softly. “You don’t have to wait.”

“It’s okay, I like waiting.” Sendoh grinned. “I like to sit at the bus stop and observe people, and how they act. I can know a fake from a mile away.”

Hana gulped. “You can?”

“Absolutely.”

Hana turned his attention to a couple of kids in-line skating past. He didn’t notice a boy running from behind him. The boy accidentally bumped into him, and continued running as if he was being chased. No one even looked at him. Hana glared after him; when the boy bumped into him his bag fell. He leaned over to pick the bag up, but Sendoh have already got it.

“Here.”

“Thanks,” Hana said, taking the bag. Their eyes locked for an instant, and Sendoh held his gaze as Hana’s brain stuttered about for an excuse to run away.

He felt a jolt through his body as Sendoh’s lips touched his own briefly. He felt the need to return the kiss, but one thought made him take a step back. /I’m a guy. I’m a guy./

“I - ” he started to say. Sendoh was tilting his head to one side, staring at him. /Can he tell I’m a guy?/ Hana wondered.

A loud horn jerked him out of his thoughts. He turned quickly to the bus. “That’s my bus,” he said breathlessly. “See you tomorrow – thanks for entering us in the contest and all!” He gave Sendoh a strained grin and rushed off to get on the bus, not even caring where it went.

-TBC-

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