by Guy Willard
Tatsuya lived in a rather fancy condominium in the Shibuya district, a 1LDK apartment on the ninth floor of a ten-story building near Yoyogi Park. The living room was quite large, with a sofa and a television set, and not much else. A recessed area next to the bathroom led into a huge walk-in closet containing Tatsuya’s many suits. The bedroom had a large window overlooking the park, but its only furnishings were a single king-sized bed flanked by a night table and a dresser.
Fumio had arrived with only three cardboard boxes containing mostly clothes. He’d thrown away everything in his old apartment which he no longer needed, and sold all the rest to a secondhand store.
Tatsuya helped him carry the boxes into the bedroom. The dresser was completely empty—apparently it had been used by the woman who’d lived here previously—and Fumio put all his clothes into it. He’d noticed right away that there was only one bed in the whole apartment, but had refrained from commenting on it.
After he’d finished unpacking, Tatsuya suggested that they have a little celebration. He’d bought a bottle of champagne for the occasion.
“I really appreciate your moving in with me,” he said, as they clinked glasses.
“It’ll be fun,” said Fumio. “Just like living in a dorm.”
As he looked around, he could tell that a lot of furniture had been removed, probably when Tatsuya’s patroness had moved out. The color of the rugs and wallpaper suggested a woman’s taste, and Tatsuya hadn’t changed any of it yet. When Fumio went to use the toilet, he saw further traces of the previous occupant—women’s lotions and creams behind the mirror of the lavatory sink.
When he went back out to the living room, Tatsuya was watching the news on TV. Fumio refilled their glasses and sat down on the floor to watch with him. Apparently there’d been an accident in the Philippines. A small twin-engine plane carrying twelve tourists to an outlying resort island had crash-landed into the sea. All the passengers had been killed, including three Japanese.
“That’s terrible,” said Fumio.
“I don’t know,” mused Tatsuya. “If I was to die, that’s the way I’d want to go: quick and painless.”
Fumio was shocked. He himself had just been thinking how wonderful life was: the deaths of these strangers had incongruously infused him with the happiness of being alive. “You can’t be serious, Tatsuya.”
“Oh, but I am.” When Tatsuya glanced at Fumio, there was a deep sadness in his eyes. After a hesitant pause, he went on: “You want to know the real reason why I broke up with Midori? I caught her having an affair with another boy. Can you imagine that?”
“Why would any woman cheat on a good-looking boy like you?”
“Merely from a desire to try different-tasting meat, I suppose. I was surprised myself at how jealous I got. And here I thought I was just toying around with this fat, middle-aged woman.”
Fumio felt crushed. His image of Tatsuya had just been shattered, for the cruel and heartless boy who’d slept with numerous girls as a sort of game had been like a god to him. And now that beautiful idol had turned out to be human after all, capable of being hurt by a woman he cared nothing for...of actually being jealous of the boy who’d stolen his patroness away from him.
“Who was the other boy?” he asked.
“Oh, just some host at a different club. Maybe he has a bigger dick than me, I don’t know. But let’s talk about something else. I feel so sick of it all.” He drank down his champagne and poured out some more for both of them.
“With your looks, Tatsuya, you should have no problem finding another woman who’ll look after you. Or better yet, why don’t you find a girl you like and settle down with her?”
“Listen, Fumio, you’re probably going to hate me for saying this, but sometimes I feel that it might be a curse to be born with good looks. When it’s so easy to get girls, you just keep going from one to another, and are never satisfied…you’re always thinking there must be a better girl out there somewhere, someone who’s much closer to the ideal lover you have in mind. But the more girls you fuck, the more alike they all become. Let’s face it, when you’ve fucked one girl, you’ve fucked them all, because every woman is basically the same when it comes down to her plumbing.”
Fumio laughed. “Spoken like a true stud.”
“But you know,” said Tatsuya in a quieter voice, “I’ve seen couples walking down the street, and maybe the boy and girl are both plain-looking, or even fat and ugly, but there’s a certain glow in their eyes. You can tell they’re deeply in love with each other. And they were probably both virgins when they first met. It makes you wonder….”
“Listen, Tatsuya. If you were to ask a hundred boys which one they would rather be: that happily-in-love ugly boy, or you—sexually attractive but unsatisfied; ninety-nine percent would choose you.”
“Even if they no longer got any pleasure out of fucking a girl?”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. In fact, I don’t even want to have anything to do with them for a while. That’s why I asked you to move in with me.”
Before Fumio could reply, the telephone rang. Tatsuya answered it, then turned to Fumio in surprise. “It’s for you.”
Fumio knew even before accepting the receiver that it was the professor. Akiyoshi had begged him for the phone number of his new apartment, and though Fumio had asked him not to call until he was settled in, the older man had apparently been unable to wait that long.
“Hello? Is that you, Fumio?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Was that your new roommate who answered the phone just now?”
“Yes. His name is Tatsuya.” Fumio noticed his friend discreetly going off into the bedroom so as not to overhear the conversation.
“Is this Tatsuya very handsome?”
“Yes. Very much so.”
“I see.”
Fumio could hear the dismay in the professor’s voice. If the older man was jealous, so much the better. It would make his feelings for Fumio that much stronger…and make him less likely to find a new boy as his protégé.
“Fumio, let me know the address of your new apartment, so I can send you a housewarming gift.”
“I will. Sir, is it all right if I call you back when I have a little more time?”
“Of course. You’re probably very busy now. Sorry to have bothered you.”
“No problem, sir.”
As soon as he’d hung up, Tatsuya returned. “Who was it?”
“Just a customer at the bar where I work. He keeps pestering me.”
“Is he a homo or something?”
“I don’t know. Could be.”
“You should try to find out by dropping a few hints.”
“Why?”
“Well, you might be able to milk him for cash. Is he rich?”
“Yes. He’s a professor at a prestigious university, in addition to which he owns a couple of jukus.”
“Sounds like a prime catch. If I were you, I’d dangle myself before him like bait, giving off a hint of availability, and let him fall in love with me.”
“And then what? Eventually I might have to sleep with him.”
“What’s wrong with that? You’re sure to get something out of it.”
“That’s easy enough to say, but have you ever slept with a man, Tatsuya?”
“Sure. There’s nothing to it.”
“You have?” Fumio felt his mouth go dry. “When did it happen?”
“I was at a disco once, and was approached by a man who said he was a television producer. After a few drinks, he hinted around that he might be able to get me a job in an upcoming TV drama—a small part, of course—if I would just be ‘nice’ to him.”
“And did you take him up on the offer?”
“Of course. We ended up going to his place where he sucked me off, and then I had to fuck him in the ass. But to make a long story short, he came up with all sorts of excuses, and in the end I never got the job. But I did manage to blackmail him for half a mi
llion yen.”
“Wow. I don’t think I could ever do something like that.”
“Sure you can. You just lie there in bed and let him do all the work. If he’s a rich as you say he is, I’d say you could easily get a million yen out of him. Girls do it all the time with men, so why can’t we?”
Tatsuya drained his glass, but as Fumio picked up the bottle to pour him some more wine, he shook his head. “No thanks. I’ve had enough for tonight. I think I’ll hit the shower.”
“All right.” Fumio filled his own glass and drank the rest of it while his friend went into the bathroom. He was feeling quite drunk already, but the idea that Tatsuya had actually had sex with another man was getting him so befuddled that he hardly knew what to think.
Just to keep himself occupied, he cleaned up the living room while Tatsuya was taking the shower. After a while Tatsuya came out wearing a white flannel bathrobe. Fumio could tell he was naked underneath it.
“Go ahead, Fumio, you take a shower, too.”
“All right.”
The inside of the bathroom was still damp from Tatsuya’s shower. As Fumio washed himself off, he began to get more and more excited about what might happen tonight, especially after all of Tatsuya’s talk about being tired of women, and his confession about that television producer. There was only one bed in the bedroom, after all. Could it be that Tatsuya was feeling in the mood to try something new tonight?
No, that was impossible.
When he finished taking his shower and stepped out wearing his pajamas, he saw that Tatsuya was already in bed. The light in the bedroom was still on. Stepping to the doorway he saw his friend lying face up in the middle of the bed, wearing only a skimpy pair of black briefs. They were so tight on him that the bulge of his genitals stretched the thin fabric to the limit.
“I usually sleep in the nude,” said Tatsuya, “but I thought it might be a little too impolite under the circumstances.”
“Yeah,” laughed Fumio. “And besides, people might get the wrong idea, you know.” He had to steel himself not to look at Tatsuya’s firm young flesh—for he might not be able to pull his eyes away. Pretending an interest in the wallpaper, he murmured, “I think I’ll go watch some more TV before turning in.”
“Suit yourself. But I’m gonna turn off this light, if it’s okay with you.”
“No problem.”
“Don’t hesitate to push me aside if I’m hogging up the middle of the bed.”
“All right.”
Fumio closed the bedroom door and went over to the sofa. His mind was in a whirl. There was no way he would be able to get a wink of sleep tonight with Tatsuya lying next to him in bed. And what if their limbs and bodies were to overlap sometime during the night? Just the thought of it was enough to give Fumio an erection.
After watching TV for about thirty minutes, he went to the bedroom door and opened it a crack. He could see Tatsuya in the dark, asleep in the middle of the bed, turned onto his side with his buttocks tilted up at a sexy angle. Fumio quietly closed the door again and went straight to the toilet. It took him only five or six strokes to reach climax. Feeling much relieved, he returned to the living room.
With the room heater on, it was warm enough to sleep out here. Turning off the light, he lay down on the sofa and was soon fast asleep.
In the morning he was shaken awake by Tatsuya. “Why did you sleep out here, Fumio?”
“Oh. I must have fallen asleep watching TV.”
“I hope you weren’t scared off by what I told you last night. I mean, about me going to bed with that producer.”
“Oh, no. It wasn’t that at all.”
“Good. Because I’m not queer, you know. Don’t worry: I’ll never attack you in your sleep.”
Fumio laughed weakly. “Well, that certainly takes a big load off my mind.”
“Do you want some coffee?”
“Yes, thanks.”
Tatsuya walked off toward the kitchen in his briefs, his buttocks clearly delineated under the thin fabric. And then, as he stood at the sink filling the kettle with water, he unconsciously scratched his balls.
Fumio inwardly groaned. What he’d thought would be heaven was turning out to be nothing but hell. He got up off the sofa and headed straight to the bedroom to change out of his pajamas before Tatsuya could notice the huge bulge of his morning erection.
17
Professor Akiyoshi said there would be nothing formal about it. His daughter Seiko had agreed to meet Fumio, and if she found him likeable, would continue seeing him with the idea of marriage in mind. If all went well, Fumio would gradually become a part of the professor’s family, and when enough time had passed, an official announcement would be made and the wedding ceremony held. Until then, everything would be as low-key as possible. At this point, not even the professor’s wife was aware of this arrangement.
The professor promised Fumio that, as the ultimate show of his love, he would leave everything to him upon his death: his house and land in Kokubunji, a summer villa in Kamakura, and of course complete ownership of the jukus. Because Seiko was his only daughter, having Fumio marry her would be the best way to make it legally and socially acceptable.
Fumio felt as if he were a penniless beggar boy in an Arabian Nights tale suddenly coming upon fabulous wealth.
The meeting place the professor had chosen turned out to be a small French restaurant in Kunitachi. As Fumio stepped inside, he immediately spotted Akiyoshi sitting at a corner table with a young woman. She was rather stylishly dressed, but when she looked up at his approach, Fumio saw that her face was somewhat plain.
The professor smiled happily at him. “Please sit down, Fumio-kun. We were only drinking coffee until you came.”
“I’m sorry I was late. The train was delayed.”
“No problem.”
When Fumio was seated, the professor introduced the two young people.
“Fumio-kun, this is my daughter Seiko.”
“How do you do?” said Fumio.
Seiko bowed her head meekly in reply.
“I hope the two of you will become good friends,” said the professor. “You’re close to each other in age, and you…well, look good together, if you don’t mind my saying so.”
He smiled awkwardly; Fumio had never seen him at such a loss for words. Perhaps to cover up for his uneasiness, he quickly signaled for the waitress, and they ordered their meal. It was quite good, and with the help of the wine, the three were able to relax a little, though not to the point of true comfort. They spoke of conventional things, Fumio’s studies in school, a vacation Seiko had taken, movies they liked.
Shortly after finishing his meal, Akiyoshi rather obviously excused himself, saying he would pay for everything on his way out, and that if they wanted anything else, they should just mention it to the waitress.
After he’d gone, Seiko giggled. “I’ve never seen Father look so nervous before. He was practically choking down his meal.”
“I confess I’m somewhat nervous myself. I know this isn’t a formal miai or anything, but this is the first time I’ve ever been in this kind of situation.”
“The same for me.” She looked around at the other tables. “You know, as cozy as this restaurant is, I think I would prefer a livelier place where we can talk more freely.”
“That’s fine with me. I think I saw an izakaya on the corner back there.”
“That would be perfect.”
They left the restaurant and made straight for the rather more informal drinking place just down the street. It was filled with students from the nearby university, and Fumio immediately felt much more at ease.
After they were shown to a table and had ordered beers and some light snacks, they clinked glasses and drank.
“So,” said Fumio, “what has your father told you about me?”
“Well, that you’re a hardworking, serious student from a different university, and when the two of you met at an inter-college function, he took an immediate
liking to you.”
“That’s more or less true. He’s asked me to work part-time as a teacher at one of his jukus during my last year of school. I think he likes me because I’m a simple country boy from Yamagata who knows nothing about the world. Maybe he wants to polish me up into a sophisticated city man.”
She laughed. “He fancies himself a man of the world these days. Please tell me a little more about yourself, Fumio-san.”
“Well, there’s not much to tell. My family owns a bicycle shop in Yonezawa, in the southernmost part of Yamagata prefecture. I have an older brother who more or less runs the shop now that my father is dead. I came here to Tokyo to study to become a public official, but when I met your father, he made me a job offer which sounded so good that….”
“The job offer sounded good, or the other offer…?”
Fumio felt his face grow hot.
She giggled at his reaction. “I’m sorry. People always tell me I’m too blunt for polite company. But I like to get straight to the point. Or would you rather I behave in a more modest fashion?”
“No, please feel free to speak your mind. I think it’s best if we be honest with each other from the start.”
“Thank you. Well then, since you’re so kindly allowing me to be open with you, I think you should be told the real reason why my father is in such a rush to get me married off.”
“The real reason?”
“Yes. You might say there’s a bit of a dark cloud hanging over me. Let me start at the beginning. I graduated last year from Seijo University which, as you probably know, is something like a finishing school for young ladies from good families. And…”
She paused and took a long drink from her glass before continuing.
“I was seeing a man while I was still a student there. He was an assistant professor, married and with two children. But I didn’t care.”
Fumio felt his heart sink, but said, “Go on.”
“I know I was acting foolishly. To make a long story short, I got pregnant with his child, and had to have an abortion. Mother guessed that something was up—I wasn’t myself for weeks—and she eventually wormed the truth out of me. When Father found out about it, he forced me to break up with the man. He told me I should be married off as quickly as possible before I got into any more trouble—as if I was a promiscuous slut or something, after that one little mistake.”