“We’ll be there in a bit,” Toru mumbled into the mouthpiece, stifling a burst of laughter as Hideki kissed and suckled the ticklish skin around his navel.
“We?” Jun teased.
“Shut up, Jun.”
Toru hung up, and after several long kisses, he and Hideki got ready to leave. They reached the hotel near the convention center in a few minutes and headed straight for the restaurant on the ground floor.
* * * * *
ChildsPrey was seated at one of the large tables with their backs to the beachfront view, but as Toru and Hideki approached, they realized the band wasn’t alone.
Ayumi Harada and those goons from Nippon Entertainment were there as well. Nippon head, Kutani, had a mean enough expression to frighten the devil, while the girl’s eyes were puffy and swollen, as though she’d been crying. Toru dropped his arm from Hideki’s shoulder, but refused to look away from Shinichi Kutani’s stare.
“What’s going on?”
Jun, no longer as happy as he’d been on the phone, sighed and turned to Toru. “Hideki-kun’s people just showed up and want a word with you two.”
“And his fiancée too!” Ayumi blurted out in a hiccupping voice that proved she had been crying.
“I tried calling you again ...” Jun mumbled apologetically. Toru kicked himself for having turned his cell phone off so as not to be interrupted while he and Hideki indulged in one last romp.
“Sorry.” Toru sighed and rubbed his temple.
“You have no right to be sorry!” Ayumi shouted. “Hideki -- I’ll forgive you if you come back to us right now!”
“I’m out of here!” Hideki whipped around, but Toru caught him by the back of his jacket.
“Hear them out.”
“What? Are you crazy? You know what they want.”
Toru sighed and looked at his band mates, who were also waiting to hear what was in store for Hideki. “Just listen to what they have to say.”
Chapter Fifteen
“It’s simple enough to get through even your thick head, Sakae.” Kutani took a sip from his tea and never once broke his stare with Toru. The snake didn’t even blink once.
“The stunt you pulled at last night’s performance is going to be explained to the press as follows --” Kutani paused to take another drink, then placed the cup on the table and steepled his fingers before him. “-- you were talking with these people before the show, and one of them slipped you a drink laced with drugs.”
“What the hell? We didn’t do that shit!” Imai shouted above the other band members as they all started to protest. “Go fuck yourself.”
Kutani ignored all their complaints. “You were encouraged to try out some ‘fanservice’ theatrics on stage, and since you were under the influence, you agreed. You’ll publicly announce this as one of your biggest regrets in your life, and Harada-san will show her wonderful qualities as your wife-to-be by being by your side during the press conference.”
“Bullshit.” Hideki shook his head in disbelief.
“And we’re getting married -- today,” Ayumi burst out. “In Las Vegas or wherever the hell it is Americans rush off to to get married. We can get a license, can’t we, Kutani-san? Right now?”
“You’re a selfish, immature bitch, Ayumi, and I’ll never marry you.”
She ran from the table, nearly bowling over ChildsPrey’s manager as he came into the dining room.
When Higuchi made it to the table, Imai stood and glared at him. “You get on the phone right now; you call our lawyer and have him sue these bastards. They’re trying to say we drugged the kid. Like he’s not old enough to decide if he wants to fuck Toru on his own.”
Toru felt the heat rush to his face. He’d known this was going to cause trouble for Hideki, and now it was for his band, as well. It didn’t help matters that Kyoru kept glancing his way, his face a blank, expressionless mask that clearly meant he was pissed or hurt ... or both.
Kutani pushed away from the table. “This discussion is over,” he said gruffly. “We’re not interested in getting involved with a long, protracted lawsuit with ChildsPrey. The best thing would be for Sakae-san to understand that he’s made a mistake and come with us. Now.”
The thought of Hideki walking out of his life right after they’d come to terms with their love was too much for Toru.
“You don’t fucking own him,” Toru snarled at Kutani. “And I sure as hell won’t let you try to intimidate him into leaving.”
“I don’t need you to stand up for me,” Hideki said. He turned to his manager and Kutani. “On the plane over you told me there were others lining up to take my place. Why not call one?”
Kutani moved his venomous stare from Toru to Hideki. “Remember, this is your choice. If your mother has to give up that big house you bought her, remember that this is your choice. Yours alone.” He signaled for Ikeda to follow him. Toru watched them go, then gave Hideki a little push. “Go. Work it out. Don’t do something you’ll regret as soon as you get home.”
“Do you want me to go?”
Toru swallowed hard. “I want what’s best for you. I don’t want you to have any regrets.”
“I won’t.”
“I hope not.”
Toru nodded, though part of him didn’t quite think his good fortune could continue once they got back to Tokyo and those huge signboards and train advertisements began to disappear. “When is your flight back?”
“Tonight, seven, but I don’t want to go back with them.”
“We leave in three hours,” Jun said over his shoulder as he finished his coffee. “We have to get going soon.”
Toru asked Higuchi to arrange a seat for Hideki on their flight if possible, and if not, to try and exchange his ticket so they could take another flight out together.
“Sure.” Higuchi nodded and adjusted his glasses. He mumbled something about “suing those bastards, anyway,” showing he was still ruffled after that meeting with Kutani.
Toru sighed and dropped into one of the seats evacuated by the Nippon pricks. As soon he sat down, Kyoru shoved away from the table and glared at Hideki. “This band has five members. Five. Remember that.”
Imai glared at Toru and then followed the drummer.
“Nothing is going to change with us,” Toru called. The drummer and vocalist ignored him. Toru sighed.
Koji finished his juice, then got up as well. “You know how those two get -- worse than women with PMS. They’ll get over it.”
Hideki took the seat next to Toru and soon slipped his arm around Toru’s waist. “Should I try to talk to them?”
Toru smiled and brushed his fingertips along Hideki’s cheek. “No, Koji’s right. They’ll get over it. They’re probably hung over from the party last night anyway, right, leader-sama?”
Jun shrugged, though he was trying to contain a grin. “So when Rumiko tells me later on that you two getting together was all her doing, would you remind her I had a hand in it?”
“Of course we’ll tell her, Jun-san.” Hideki laughed. “She can’t steal all the credit.”
“What do you mean?” Toru glanced from his lover to Jun.
Jun looked away and rubbed the back of his neck, obviously embarrassed. “I just mentioned a few things to Hideki ... that’s all.”
“What things?”
“Things that made me think about what’s really important,” Hideki said, reaching out to touch Toru’s hand.
Toru propped his elbow on the table and rested his chin on his hand. “But your management people are right. This may put a stop to everything you’ve just now gotten.”
Hideki shook his head. “I don’t believe that. I have a good agent. I’ll find something. I was asked to audition for a couple winter dramas. I can do that.”
“You hope you still can.”
Jun cleared his throat and stood. “I’ll be out in the lobby with the others. You two should grab something to eat before we go.”
Hideki’s brow was creased with worry. “Wha
t's wrong with you? If you’re having second thoughts, tell me now.”
“I’m not,” Toru said without hesitation. “I just want you to be very sure of what you might be giving up. I’ve been in the business for a long time; I’m getting tired, but you haven’t hit the ‘highest high’ yet, and if you don’t, you might regret it. You might think that you missed your chance because of me.”
“I told you that I know what I’m doing. I’m not a stupid kid. I know what I want.”
Toru nodded and smiled, then tugged the front of Hideki’s shirt to pull him in for a kiss.
The photo of that kiss was plastered all over the Internet before their plane crossed the Pacific Ocean.
Once they landed, the situation proved no better. Not even the fourteen hour time difference between America and Japan delayed the reaction to Hideki’s “scandal.”
“Wow ...” Hideki eyed the paparazzi hounding the airline’s gate warily. They snapped hundreds and hundreds of photos, the flashes on the cameras going on endlessly.
Toru scowled behind his dark glasses. “They didn’t miss a beat, did they?”
Thankfully, airport security didn’t allow the photographers to get through, and Hideki was able to sneak out through a side exit with the band. They all split up into different cabs, Hideki reluctantly agreeing that it was for the best he and Toru ride in separate cars.
“It’s only until this dies down.” Toru kissed him on the forehead. “I promise.”
Hideki nodded, but didn’t feel much better about it. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”
“We can have breakfast together at my place.” Toru gave him an encouraging smile.
Hideki stared as Toru’s cab drove away. “Breakfast tomorrow,” he muttered. He got into the cab feeling so odd he couldn’t put it into words. He felt like he was getting the brush off, though he knew that couldn’t be the case. He shook it off as his own imagination run wild and settled back, looking forward to just relaxing after the long plane trip.
Relaxing was clearly not on the menu, Hideki realized when he saw the reporters lingering near his apartment building. They swarmed the cab. “No comment! Direct your questions to Nippon Entertainment. Please leave me alone!”
He hurried inside, only to find his belongings all piled neatly in the building’s lobby, a uniformed security guard standing over them. “What the hell is this?”
The guard handed him a letter informing him that since a subsidiary of Nippon Entertainment owned the building, his lease was being revoked immediately and that he should take it up with a lawyer if he disagreed.
“I don’t fucking believe this!”
The guard could only offer a shrug. “Sakae-san, you must remove these things within four hours, or they will be hauled away as trash.”
Hideki crumpled the letter and threw it on the ground. He pulled out his cell and called his mother. She wouldn't take his call. Cursing under his breath, he stared at the phone. He could put his clothes and things at Sato’s, but he wouldn’t be home for a long time yet. He sure as hell wasn’t going to go running to Toru. Certainly not unless he had no other option. He began flipping through his phone address book.
Hideki called Yurei first. The two of them had been friends from the day they’d met at a performing arts camp outside Tokyo. The phone rang five times, and Hideki was just about to hang up when Yurei’s deep voice sounded on the other end.
“Hi.” He sounded different, a little strained maybe. Then again, it could just be Hideki’s imagination ... right? “I heard about what happened.”
So maybe it wasn’t Hideki’s imagination at all. “Uh, yeah.” He suppressed a frustrated sigh. “Things aren’t going too good.”
“The shit’s hitting the fan?”
“More or less.” Hideki turned away from the glass doors so he wouldn’t have to see the photographers outside. “Yurei-kun, I wouldn’t normally ask for this big a favor, but ... can I stay at your place tonight?”
There was a moment of dead air between them. Yurei cleared his throat. “Sure,” his voice crackled over the line.
“Great. I owe you one.” Hideki put the phone away, then looked at the neatly stacked and labeled boxes containing his things. He moved the ones containing some of his clothes, boxes of sheet music and the cases containing his acoustic and electric guitars. “I can take these with me now, but I can’t move the others till tomorrow morning.”
“I have orders Sakae-san --”
“I know you do, Tak-kun, but you’ve known me a long time.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out all the cash he had. “I’ll pay you to hold these for me. You have a pick-up, they’ll fit. It’s just until morning.”
“My boss ...”
“He doesn’t need to know,” Hideki said. “I won’t tell him.”
The security guard nodded and took the money. Hideki carried his most important belongings to his car then went to Yurei’s.
His friend’s telephone began ringing within an hour.
“That was another one.” Yurei tossed the phone onto the low-standing table and stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray next to the remote control for the TV. Hideki sat on the floor, his legs folded underneath him, and tried to pick at the bowl of rice crackers Yurei had out. He didn’t have much of an appetite at all, though.
“Shit,” Hideki cursed and rested his elbows on the table. “How do those reporters even know where I am?”
“They probably followed you.” Yurei crossed the cramped little excuse for a living room, stepping around the piles of unfinished screenplays he had stacked on the floor. He ripped the telephone cord out of the jack on the wall, cutting off another call in mid-ring.
“I’m so sorry about this.” Hideki rubbed his eyes and hoped the pressure would ease his rising headache. “I thought I was being careful on the way over.”
“It’s okay.” Yurei sounded anything but happy with the situation. “I just don’t want Nippon to get wind of this. I have a shot at working on a big budget drama they’re backing for Fuji.”
“And if they do?” Hideki raised his eyebrows at his friend.
Yurei shrugged. “It’s hard enough already for me to sell a script to NTV.”
“Maybe I should just go.”
“Nah, it’s okay.” Yurei ran his hands through his tousled hair. “I’m gonna try to get some sleep. I have a meeting tomorrow morning.”
“Thanks again.”
The doorbell began sounding shortly thereafter. When Hideki didn’t answer, the knocking began.
Yurei threw the sliding door open so hard it nearly broke loose from its frame as he barreled out of his bedroom. “I can’t take this shit! What the fuck do they want?”
“Me,” Hideki said. He slipped his shoes on and grabbed his jacket. “I’m really sorry.”
“Hide-kun. It’s okay. I’ll call the police on them.”
Hideki shook his head. “No. It’s better that I leave.”
Yurei simply nodded.
Hideki told the reporters to fuck off then got in his car and sped away. He drove around until dawn began to break on the horizon and his car was almost out of gas. He was tired. So damned tired, and all he wanted to do was sleep. Surely Toru wouldn’t be too mad if he showed up early. Even four hours early.
Toru had finally been able to fall asleep when the buzzing of his doorbell began again. Shit! This asshole must have snuck in while the security guard was making his rounds. He stalked out to his living room and began shouting even before he threw the door open. “I told you to leave me the fuck alone!” Hideki was on the other side, his face drawn, dark circles under his eyes, and looked like he was about to cry.
“Shit, I didn’t know it was you.” Toru grabbed his hand and pulled him inside, then bolted the door. He swept Hideki into a tight embrace. “What the fuck have they done to you?”
Hideki pressed the side his face to Toru’s shoulder and closed his eyes. “Nothing.” A lie. It was the first one Toru had ever heard from the yo
ung man.
“I’m just really tired,” Hideki murmured.
“What happened?” He tightened his embrace protectively. “Have those so-called reporters been harassing you?” Wasn’t that a damn obvious question to ask? Of course they’d been hounding him.
“Listen to me.” He cupped Hideki’s chin and tilted the boy’s face up to meet his gaze. “Those aren’t real members of the press -- they’re too unscrupulous. I think Kutani is paying them off to make things worse for you.”
“They didn’t have to go through the trouble.” Hideki pulled away. “Nippon was already doing a good enough job messing with my life.”
“What --?”
“They had me evicted from my apartment.” Hideki hung his head. “My mother won’t even answer my calls.”
Toru pulled away and punched at the door in frustration. “Fuck!” he shouted, rubbing his hand. At least he’d had sense enough not to use his playing hand.
Hideki dropped onto the sofa. “Why is this happening?”
“Because Nippon Entertainment is fronted by a bunch of assholes, that’s why.” He crouched down in front of Hideki and took the younger man’s hands in his. “This is what I was afraid of. I don’t want you to go through this. You can probably get them to stop this shit. I’ll step out of your life for as long as it takes to settle down and for you to get to a position where they can’t hurt your career.”
Hideki pulled his hands away and stepped around Toru to go stare out the window. A couple camera flashes went off down below, and he jerked the curtains shut and turned, slumping back against the windowsill. “I’m so damned tired.”
Toru went to him, enfolded him in his arms. “Let’s try to get some sleep. We’ll be able to think of something once we’ve gotten some decent rest.”
Hideki nodded and let himself be led to the bedroom then undressed. Toru was incredible, massaging his tense shoulders, tenderly kissing his neck, his back, easing his worries and making him forget the madness of the past few hours with skillful touches of his experienced hands and the probing sensual play of his lips and tongue. Toru asked nothing of him in return and was more than satisfied stroking himself to orgasm as he used his mouth to pleasure Hideki. Wiping Toru clean with his discarded shirt, Hideki gazed into his lover’s soulful eyes. “You didn’t need to do that.”
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