Promise

Gackt stood on stage, staring out at the empty seats. Everyone had gone; the lights were out, except for the footlights, which were left to cast an eerie glow on the chairs that seemed to extend forever in front of him. It made him feel uneasy.

                 Without the fans, the audience seemed like a void; a black hole ready to suck the last notes out of him. It was all too quiet; he scanned the audience wanting to catch someone there; he didn't.

                 All of a sudden, he heard footsteps behind him; he didn't turn. The footsteps stopped; he felt warm arms wrap around him and hold him tightly.

                "We did it. Made it through another night; another concert. Congratulations." The grip around him gradually loosened and finally released. The footsteps started again. The figure stepped from behind him.

                "I don't know how much more of these we'll be able to take before our heads explode." The man standing in front of him stood with his hands clasped behind his back. Suddenly, the audience wasn't eerie; the light it gave off was calming. Gackt sighed and dropped his gaze to the floor. He heard the footsteps again; they echoed akwardly in the empty hall. Gackt lifted his head and was eye to eye with the figure. He started crying.

                "No, don't cry." Both he and his visitor made a move to wipe the tear from his cheek, their hands landing on top of each other. Gackt closed his eyes. He felt the man lean in towards him and lightly lay a kiss on his lips.

                "I will always love you. Promise me you'll never forget that." The man walked to the edge of the stage and sighed. Slowly, he turned toward Gackt. He smiled.

                 Gackt took step after step to reach him; now he stood at the edge of the stage. He raised his hands to the visitor's face and stroked his cheek gently. He pulled his hand back; the man was disappearing before his eyes.

                Moments passed; again he was alone on the stage. He looked again toward the empty seats that had regained their eerie glow; toward the ceiling. He stared straight through it toward the sky. He felt tears burning his face as he stood there with his hands laying gently over his heart.

               "I promise...




              Kami."

Author's note-

~Kami's line "until our heads explode" refers to how he died (brain hemmorhage).
~Gackt was admitted to a mental hospital when he was younger because he claimed he
saw ghosts.