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FIC: Unmasked, Part 3 of 25
Title: Unmasked, Part 3 of 25
Rating: NC-17 overall
Fandom: Haru wo Daiteita (Embracing Love)
Pairing: Kikuchi/Onozuka
Characters: Kikuchi, Onozuka, Asano, Yoshizumi
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Word count: ~7,930
Sequel to: Unexpected Opportunities, Comeback (Part 1 and Part 2), Forgiveness, Firsts, First Date (Part 1 and Part 2), Going Steady (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6), Audition (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), Cookout (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), Press Conference (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), Sanctuary, The Prince vs. the Groupie (Part 1, Part 2), Family Visit: Tokyo (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5), Gigolo (Part 1, Part 2), Yoshizumi's Night Out (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), Family Visit: Okinawa (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5), and Interlude. The series also includes two side-stories that are outside of the main timeline: Valentine's Day Surprise and Strictly Business.
Summary: Onozuka runs into an old acquaintance at the tea ceremony, providing Asano with an opportunity to finally gain an advantage over his rival.
Author's note: This chapter makes references to characters from the Tea for Two manga, but isn't exactly a crossover since they don't appear directly in the story. See afterword for more details.
Part 1, Part 2
***
Onozuka met Kikuchi and the others at the teahouse, having caught a cab on his own, since it would cause too much gossip if he arrived with Kikuchi. Mizutani was wearing a kimono, but the others were dressed in formal Western attire, like himself. Onozuka thought that Kikuchi looked quite dashing in his suit, but Kikuchi gave him a wry, regretful smile that seemed to say, "I really wanted to see you in a kimono."
Keep your pervy thoughts to yourself, Onozuka admonished him silently with a stern glare, and Kikuchi grinned. Asano looked at both of them suspiciously, as if sensing their unspoken communication, and Yoshizumi looked amused.
Kitamura ignored them, looking uncomfortable with the formal atmosphere--he reminded Onozuka of a child who had been dressed up and dragged along to a formal party by his parents when he would rather be at home playing with his toys, but he attempted to smile graciously when Mizutani introduced them to the owner of the teahouse.
"Ishikawa-sensei studied under the late head of the Hasune school of tea ceremony," Mizutani said.
"It was a great honor to do so," Ishikawa acknowledged, inclining her head modestly.
"Oh, I've seen the young heir in magazine articles and on TV!" Asami squealed. "He's still in high school, but he's very handsome and composed--I was impressed by his maturity." She grinned mischievously at Onozuka and added, "He's almost as princely as Onozuka-kun, in fact!"
"He's much more princely than me, I'm sure," Onozuka laughed, and Asano let out a quiet snort of disbelief. Onozuka just smiled at him with a look of sweet humility, taking pleasure in the look of disgust that Asano shot him in return. Kikuchi snickered, and Kitamura relaxed slightly, looking amused by their ongoing rivalry.
"Kazuma-kun is a very fine heir indeed," Ishikawa said graciously, politely pretending not to notice either the snickering or the silent bickering.
Actually, Onozuka had seen the TV show that Asami had mentioned, and the young Hasune heir reminded him a lot of himself at that age. Fortunately, he hadn't attracted the attention of the media back then, but the locals in Kanazawa had always praised him for being so mature, composed, and dutiful--the perfect heir, or so everyone had thought until he had abandoned his duties and run off to Tokyo. The TV show had reminded Onozuka of the stifling life that he had escaped, and he wondered if the Hasune heir also chafed against the restrictions that were forced on him. Or maybe Onozuka was just projecting his own feelings onto the boy, and Hasune was perfectly happy to carry on the family tradition. Still, he knew from experience that just because someone appeared to be content with their place in life didn't mean that they really were content.
Ishikawa, Mizutani, and Yoshizumi seated themselves seiza-style on the tatami floor with the grace and ease of long practice. In hindsight, Onozuka wasn't surprised that Yoshizumi could sit seiza, given his long history in period dramas. What did surprise him was that Kikuchi was able to kneel on the floor in a smooth, fluid movement with only slightly less grace. On the other hand, Kikuchi was often full of surprises.
Asano and Asami seated themselves a bit more awkwardly, and Kitamura with obvious discomfort. Onozuka didn't want to give himself away by assuming the seiza position too easily, but at the same time he couldn't resist wanting to show up Asano. In the end, he took the seat next to Kikuchi and folded his legs under him gracefully, but with a little more deliberation than was really necessary. Asano shot a quick, accusing glare at him, and Onozuka could almost hear him thinking, Show-off!
Ishikawa must have noticed Kitamura's tenseness, although she didn't single him out and addressed all of them when she smiled and said kindly, "Please relax. This is merely a demonstration, so please do not worry about performing every detail perfectly. Miwako-san brought you here to enjoy yourselves, after all, in order to thank you for your hard work."
"Of course," Kitamura said sheepishly. He still didn't look entirely comfortable, but he smiled at Mizutani reassuringly when she gave him an anxious look.
A young assistant brought out a tray of sweets: maple leaf-shaped manju. Mizutani reached into the breast of her kimono, pulling out a pretty cloth wallet that held a sheaf of kaishi papers, which were used as a napkin to eat the sweets and to wipe the edge of the tea bowls during tea ceremonies. Each guest was supposed to bring his or her own kaishi, but Mizutani had brought enough for everyone, since the others might not be familiar with tea ceremony rituals. Onozuka had come empty-handed to feign ignorance, but Yoshizumi and Kikuchi had both brought their own kaishi.
"Kikuchi-san, do you practice tea ceremony?" Mizutani asked curiously.
"No, but my mother does," Kikuchi replied with a smile. "I've managed to pick up a few things from her."
"Well, aren't you full of surprises, Kikuchi-san!" Asami laughed. "And what about you, Yoshizumi-san? Did you learn about tea ceremony from your historical dramas?"
"A bit, here and there, although obviously it was different in the samurai era," Yoshizumi said pleasantly. "I've also attended several tea ceremonies in my spare time while working in Kyoto over the years."
Onozuka accepted a kaishi from Kikuchi, and the tray was passed down from one guest to the next, starting with Mizutani. When it reached him, he used one of the kuromoji, the small wooden picks that had been provided with the sweets, to pick up one of the manju and transfer it to the kaishi. He then used the pick to cut off a bite-sized piece of the small cake, then neatly speared that piece with the pick and ate it. As he chewed, he could tell by the taste that it wasn't from one of his family's shops, and he breathed a silent sigh of relief.
The subtle difference in taste--which the average layperson probably wouldn't even notice--didn't mean that the manju was of inferior quality, though. It was as good as most of the sweets that the Nakata stores sold, although not quite as good as sweets that had been personally made by Onozuka's father. But it was certainly up to the standards of the Master's top apprentices, and most definitely better than anything Onozuka could have made, even while he had still been actively training and playing the role of the dutiful heir. Enough of his training remained with him that he could tell that it had been freshly made with high quality ingredients, and the taste, texture, and appearance all showed a high level of craftsmanship. Takumi would probably say that it had been made with "heart," something that Onozuka had never put into his own work at the confectionery.
That thought suddenly reminded him of something Takumi had told him at their last meeting: "You have good technical skills, but your heart was never really in it, and you can't make truly great wagashi worthy of the Nakata name if you don't put your whole heart into your craft. However, I do think that you put that sense of love and dedication into your acting."
How ironic, that the person who had usurped his role as the ideal son understood him better than his own family. Not that it really mattered, he supposed, since it was a role that Onozuka had never really wanted. But still, it annoyed him that Takumi managed to be everything that he could never be, and sometimes he wished that Takumi was a little less noble, a little less understanding, so that he could hate Takumi wholeheartedly.
It's no wonder he gets on my nerves--he's like another Iwaki, Onozuka thought disgustedly.
But he was an actor, so he kept his sour thoughts from showing on his face, and smiled pleasantly as he ate the manju with every visible sign of enjoyment. No one, not even Asano, seemed to notice anything amiss, and that made Onozuka feel a little better: at least he could take some pride and comfort in his acting skills, even if the ceremony itself was torturous.
"This is delicious," Kikuchi said to Ishikawa. "May I ask what shop the sweets came from?"
"I'm so glad that you like them," Ishikawa replied. "They're from a local shop called 'Mitsukiya.' We order all our sweets from them."
"I'll have to stop by there someday," Kikuchi said. "My mother loves wagashi, and I usually buy the Nakata brand for her, but I think she would like these as well."
Onozuka nearly choked on his manju, but managed to recover quickly. For a moment, he almost suspected Kikuchi of baiting him, but he didn't wink mischievously or grin wickedly, the way he usually did when he was teasing Onozuka. In fact, he wasn't even looking at Onozuka and was still conversing politely with the tea house owner.
There's no way he could know, Onozuka reassured himself. No doubt Kikuchi had tried to weasel some gossip out of Onozuka's family in Okinawa, but even Uncle Kaoru knew better than to give away such sensitive information to a stranger, favorite movie star or not. Kikuchi shouldn't have been able to make the connection between Onozuka and the Nakata family unless he'd hired a private detective--which Onozuka wouldn't put past his scheming lover, but in that case, Kikuchi wouldn't have been able to resist teasing Onozuka with that knowledge, so Onozuka figured that he was safe.
He watched as Ishikawa ritually cleansed the tea utensils with a silk cloth, then prepared the tea, again with very precise ritual motions. Personally, having sat through tea ceremonies many times before, he found the whole thing excruciatingly boring, but he smiled politely and feigned a look of attentive interest. Mizutani and Yoshizumi watched serenely, and Asami and Kikuchi appeared to be genuinely interested--or perhaps they were simply covering up boredom with their acting skills as he was. Kitamura looked a bit uncomfortable, although it was hard to tell whether it was because he was bored with the ceremony or because his legs were numb from sitting in the seiza position for so long. As for Asano, he was watching their hostess attentively, but every now and then he'd glance at Onozuka with a slightly suspicious look on his face. Onozuka smiled sweetly at him, and Asano scowled and looked away.
Ishikawa served the first bowl of tea to Mizutani, and the first assistant returned with a second, carrying trays with bowls of tea for the rest of them. As one of the girls set a bowl down in front of Onozuka, she exclaimed, "Yuu-san! It is you, isn't it?"
Despite a sudden feeling of foreboding, Onozuka smiled at the girl in his usual princely manner and replied, "I am Onozuka Yuu, yes."
The girl babbled cheerfully, "Oh, but it used to be Nakata Yuu, right? Don't you remember me? Well, I guess it has been a long time! I'm Morimoto Chiaki--my mother worked at the Shiguretei tea house in Kenrokuen. We used to play together sometimes when your father was on business there."
Onozuka silently cursed, although he kept smiling pleasantly at Chiaki. He remembered her now, and they had indeed played together as children in the castle garden of Kenrokuen back in his hometown of Kanazawa. Chiaki was a few years younger than him--a little too young to be a real friend, but as was expected of a proper heir, he had dutifully been polite to the younger girl, and she had adored him worshipfully. He hadn't really minded having to entertain her, since she had reminded him a bit of his little sister, and the tea house employees used to joke that Young Master Yuu was already charming the girls and that he'd be a real heartbreaker when he grew up.
He hadn't expected to run into an old childhood playmate here in Tokyo, and damn it, didn't she have any discretion? He thought everyone in the tea and wagashi industry in Kanazawa knew the scandalous story of the Nakata heir.
"I'm sorry, but you must have mistaken me for someone else," Onozuka said sweetly. "I'm sure I would never forget the face of such a beautiful young woman."
He had hoped to disarm her with the compliment, but instead she frowned, looking puzzled and hurt. "I guess it's common for actors to use stage names, but why are you pretending you don't know me?" she asked. "I've seen you on TV a few times and thought it was you, and now that I've seen you in person, I'm sure of it!"
"As I said, you are mistaken, Morimoto-san," Onozuka said, still smiling, in a considerably cooler voice. "Though I'm delighted to make your acquaintance now, of course."
"But--" Chiaki protested, beginning to look a little angry.
"Chiaki-chan!" Ishikawa interrupted sharply. "You are being rude to our guests. Serve the tea and return to the kitchen."
Chiaki looked as if she wanted to argue further, but the stern look in Ishikawa's eyes stopped her. She served the remaining bowls of tea and stalked out of the room as fast as her confining kimono would allow. The other assistant smiled at them apologetically, looking embarrassed by her colleague's behavior, then bowed and left the room as well.
"I must apologize for Chiaki's behavior," Ishikawa said, bowing deeply. "Obviously I have not trained her well enough, and I assure you that she will be severely reprimanded."
"Oh, it's all right," Onozuka assured her. "Please don't be too hard on Morimoto-san. It seems that I hurt her feelings, although that wasn't my intention, and I also apologize for that."
"The fault is all Chiaki's," Ishikawa insisted. "Even if you had been the person she mistook you for, it is unforgivably rude to treat a guest in such a manner."
Asano was staring at Onozuka with a look of avid interest now, and the others only slightly less so. "I am not at all offended," Onozuka said, fighting to keep his smile pleasant and his voice unconcerned. "Please, let us just forget about this little misunderstanding."
"You are most gracious, Onozuka-san," Ishikawa said, bowing once more, and resumed the tea ceremony. However, although everyone tried to carry on politely as if nothing had happened, it was obvious that the tranquil mood that the ceremony was supposed to create had been broken.
Once the ceremony was over, the guests got to their feet--well, sort of. Onozuka, Mizutani, and Yoshizumi all rose from their seats gracefully, while Asano and Kikuchi did so just a bit stiffly, and poor Kitamura stumbled and fell over as he tried to rise.
"I'm not used to sitting seiza," he apologized sheepishly as Kikuchi helped him to his feet.
"I'm a bit stiff, too," Asami confessed cheerfully, massaging her legs to get the circulation going before she stood up.
"I apologize again for the disturbance," Ishikawa said, bowing. "Miwako-san, please bring your friends back again sometime, and I will perform a proper ceremony to make up for today."
"I will," Mizutani replied, bowing in return. Had Onozuka not been angry and worried about Chiaki's slip of the tongue, he would have been amused by Kitamura's reaction: the director had an expression of dismay on his face that seemed to say, "You mean I have to go through this again?"
As they left the tea house, Kikuchi offered Onozuka a ride home, then added with a grin, "And you, too, Yoshizumi-kun, if you need one--you can play chaperone and protect the Prince's virtue."
"That's very kind of you, Kikuchi-san," Yoshizumi chuckled. "I'll take you up on your offer, thank you."
Onozuka was less pleased about having a third wheel along, but he knew that there was already a lot of gossip and speculation about himself and Kikuchi in the media, so it was probably a good idea to at least put up an appearance of propriety, especially in front of a snake like Asano. And besides, maybe they could drop off Yoshizumi first, so that Onozuka could go home alone with Kikuchi.
"What about you, Asano-kun?" Kikuchi asked. "Do you need a ride?"
To Onozuka's relief, Asano replied, "Thank you, but no. I have a meeting at Interpro this afternoon, so my manager will be picking me up."
Onozuka was worried that Asano might be planning to go back into the tea house in order to try and worm some information out of Chiaki. However, as he climbed into Kikuchi's car, he saw Asano take out his cell phone and heard him say, "Nishida-san? We just got out of the tea house; can you come pick me up now?"
It sounded like Asano really was expecting his manager to come by, and Onozuka relaxed. Besides, Ishikawa seemed like a good proprietress who was discreet and protective of her clientele. Even if Asano did go back into the tea house on some pretense, she wouldn't allow him to gossip with an employee, although she would no doubt turn him away in the most polite way possible. So let him go ahead with his scheming--he would meet with nothing but frustration.
Onozuka grinned smugly, causing Kikuchi to give him a suspicious look, and Yoshizumi an amused one.
***
Asano noticed Onozuka's smug grin as the car drove away, and he smirked as he slipped his phone back into his jacket pocket; the Prince wasn't nearly as smart as he thought he was. Asano had not been talking to his manager--he had dialed his own home number and had been speaking to the answering machine. Since he lived alone, there would be no one to question the odd message he'd left. When he got home, he could delete it and no one would be the wiser, least of all Onozuka.
It was a little annoying to see Yoshizumi going off so cheerfully with Kikuchi and Onozuka, though. Yoshizumi was the one person in the cast that he genuinely liked and respected, so it always irritated him to see Yoshizumi being friendly with the Prince. But Asano shrugged it off and told himself it was just as well that Yoshizumi had left and would not be around to interfere with his plan.
He briefly considered making up an excuse to go back into the tea house--claiming to have lost his keys or phone, for example, and wanting to check to see if he had dropped them inside. But he knew that his chances of speaking with Chiaki under the mistress's watchful eye were slim to nil, so instead he lingered in the near vicinity, hoping to catch Chiaki after she left work. Of course, that could be hours from now, but he was hoping that after the scene she'd made earlier, she would be sent home in disgrace by her angry employer.
His gamble paid off. About half an hour later, he saw Chiaki leaving the tea house, having changed out of her kimono into more typical and modern street clothes. As she drew closer to him, he could see that her mouth was set in a sullen pout and her eyes were red from crying.
"Excuse me," he said pleasantly. "You're Chiaki-san from the the tea house, right?"
"Oh, Asano-san!" Chiaki exclaimed, looking startled. "Yes, I--I just got off work." Her face flushed, confirming Asano's suspicions that she'd been dismissed from work early, no doubt after receiving a sharp scolding from her mistress.
"I was running some errands in the area," Asano said to explain his presence, and he had indeed visited a few nearby shops and was carrying a couple of shopping bags to verify his excuse, though Chiaki didn't seem to question it. "I'm glad I ran into you," he continued. "I feel very bad that you got scolded because of us, and if you don't mind, I'd like to buy you a cup of coffee or something to make it up to you."
Chiaki's face flushed again, with pleasure this time, and she politely protested, "Oh, it wasn't your fault, Asano-san! I wouldn't want to impose."
Her expression clearly indicated that she was thrilled to be invited out by a celebrity and that her protests were merely a token politeness. He was also encouraged by the slight emphasis on "your," which implied that she did blame Onozuka, and might therefore be willing to dish a little malicious gossip about him. So Asano smiled and said gently but firmly, "Please, I insist."
"Thank you, Asano-san," Chiaki immediately gave in. She glanced around a bit nervously and added, "Ishikawa-sensei will probably get angry and accuse me of gossiping if she sees us together. There's a nice little café a few blocks away, if that's all right with you."
"That sounds fine," Asano said. He bowed with an air of courtly grace--imitating Onozuka, ironically enough--and said, "Please lead the way, milady."
Chiaki giggled, her mood improving further, and they headed to the café. They both ordered iced coffees, and at Asano's encouragement, Chiaki also ordered a piece of cake--a fluffy confection covered with whipped cream.
"I'm really sorry about what happened," Asano apologized again. "I hope that we didn't get you into too much trouble."
"Well, it wasn't your fault, Asano-san," Chiaki said, taking a bite of her cake. She pouted and continued sulkily, "Ishikawa-sensei did scold me, though, and I've been demoted to cleaning and washing dishes until I can 'learn to behave properly in front of our guests.' I guess I did make a bit of a commotion, but Yuu-san didn't have to be so mean, acting like we were total strangers--like he's too good to know me now that he's a movie star."
Asano thought that Onozuka had been motivated more by a desire to keep his identity a secret from his colleagues rather than snobbery, but he saw no reason to defend the Prince's honor. "You said you knew Onozuka-kun from a tea house in Kenrokuen?" he asked casually. "That's in Kanazawa, right?"
"Yes," Chiaki replied, delicately licking a bit of cream off her fork. "We both grew up there. My mother worked at Shiguretei, and Yuu-san's father is the head of the Nakata family."
"The Nakata family?" Asano echoed, trying to remember why that name sounded familiar.
"Yes, you know, the Nakata confectionery?" Chiaki replied. "Their main branch is in Kanazawa, and they have contracts with many of the tea houses there, including the one where my mother worked. And they have many other branches throughout the country, including here in Tokyo."
"Oh, I see," Asano said. He didn't really care that much for wagashi, but he remembered now that when Kikuchi had been discussing sweets with Ishikawa, he had mentioned the Nakata brand in passing. So did he know that Onozuka was from the Nakata family? That would make sense if they were lovers, but then why was he dropping hints about his lover's real identity, when Onozuka clearly preferred to keep it hidden?
"So Onozuka-kun is really a Nakata?" Asano asked, and Chiaki nodded.
"He was supposed to be the heir and take over the business someday when his father retired."
"Really?" Asano asked. Maybe now he would finally get some dirt on his rival! He tried to hide his eagerness, forcing himself to take a sip of his coffee and then say calmly, "Obviously his plans have changed since then. What happened?"
"I don't know," Chiaki said, frowning in confusion. "When I was about ten, my family had to move to Tokyo when my father got transferred for work. Everything was fine back then, as far as I know." She smiled wistfully. "I remember that I was so sad to be moving and leaving all my friends behind, and Yuu-san came to say goodbye and give me a going away present. Two presents, actually--a little stuffed teddy bear and some pretty flower-shaped higashi that he made himself. It was a real comfort to me, and I was touched that he'd thought of me."
It was clear that the reason why the girl had been hurt so badly by Onozuka's snub was because she'd had a childhood crush on him. Asano had to fight back a scowl of disgust--was there anyone out there who wasn't completely enamored of the Golden Prince?
"We didn't really keep in touch after that," Chiaki continued. "Every now and then we heard from friends back in Kanazawa that Yuu-san and his family were doing well. But several years after we left, people suddenly stopped talking about him, and it seemed like he wasn't the heir anymore but no one would say why. I thought he must've had a falling out with his family, and recently I noticed an Onozuka Yuu appearing on TV shows, and I wondered if it was the same Yuu-san that I knew back home. I suppose he must have decided to become an actor, and that's why he's not the heir anymore." She paused to eat another bite of cake, then said in a puzzled voice, "I had no idea that he wanted to be an actor; he seemed perfectly happy as the Nakata heir. But I was just a kid then, so maybe there were things going on behind the scenes that I didn't notice."
"If no one in your hometown will talk about him, that must mean his family was upset about him becoming an actor?" Asano wondered out loud.
"I don't really know, but probably," Chiaki replied with a shrug. "Master Kouhei--Yuu-san's father--was very strict and very big on family tradition. I'm sure he wasn't happy when Yuu-san decided to become an actor. Hmm, I wonder if that's why Yuu-san is going by a different name now--maybe his father disowned him?" She pouted, then added, "But he still didn't have to pretend that he didn't know me and make me look like a fool in front of everyone!"
With a great deal of effort, Asano hid his impatience. She might be a silly, shallow girl, but she was also a valuable source of information. "It was inconsiderate of him," Asano agreed sympathetically. "I'm sure it was a shock to him, seeing you again out of the blue, and maybe he didn't know how to react, but he could have been more tactful."
"I guess I kind of put him on the spot," Chiaki admitted reluctantly. "Maybe I should have tried to talk to him in private after the ceremony was over, but I was so shocked and excited to see him there that I didn't stop to think." She said wistfully, "You've been working with him, Asano-san...I only knew him as a child; what is he like now?"
Asano hesitated; he had to tread a careful line here. She was hurt and angry, but a bit of her childhood infatuation obviously still remained, and her sympathies might shift back over to Onozuka's side if Asano bad-mouthed him too strongly.
"He's a good actor and a hard worker," Asano finally replied. "As for what he's like as a person...I don't really know him that well outside of work. I get the impression that he's pretty careful about protecting his image."
"Hmm," was all Chiaki said, looking thoughtful as she concentrated on her cake.
They sat in silence for awhile, then Asano asked casually, as if merely out of idle curiosity, "So it seems like Onozuka-kun is using his mother's maiden name as his stage name? When we were filming in Okinawa, I heard that he had family there by that name."
"I don't know his mother's maiden name, but I know that she's from Okinawa," Chiaki replied. "They used to go there every summer to visit Yuu-san's grandparents." She lowered her voice and leaned forward slightly, as if passing on a secret. "But there was a bit of a scandal involving his mother. Of course I wasn't supposed to know, but I overheard my parents talking once about how Master Kouhei's parents objected to the marriage at first because Mistress Fumiko isn't pure Japanese."
"Really?" Asano asked in a conspiratorial whisper, which served the intended purpose of creating a bond between them. Chiaki leaned closer, with the eager smile of someone pleased to be sharing a bit of juicy gossip.
"Yes," Chiaki confirmed in a hushed voice. "She's very beautiful, but you can tell by looking at her that she's not full Japanese--her hair's very fair, almost blonde, and her eyes look sort of Western. I heard that her real father was American, and her mother remarried Yuu-san's grandfather, or maybe she was never married to the American guy to begin with--I'm not really sure. No one in Kanazawa talked about it openly, because Master Kouhei wouldn't allow any disrespect of his wife. But it is a bit odd, a very traditional man like him, from an old and respected family, marrying a half-gaijin woman."
"I suppose he must really have loved her," Asano said lightly, but inwardly he was gloating about all the dirt that he'd managed to gather on Onozuka.
"Yes, I always thought it was quite romantic myself," Chiaki laughed.
They chatted for a bit more, but Chiaki didn't seem to have any more information of substance about Onozuka and his family, so Asano changed the subject, entertaining her with stories about show business. A few anecdotes about Iwaki and Katou soon had her listening with rapt attention, distracting her from their gossip session about Onozuka.
About twenty minutes later, they left the café, with Chiaki a good deal more cheerful than when they had entered it. Asano was feeling pretty cheerful himself--although perhaps smug would be a more appropriate word. Chiaki thanked him profusely for the coffee and cake, and Asano modestly said that the pleasure was all his. He saw her off in a cab, paying the driver in advance and further impressing her with his chivalry. However, the cab fare and the overpriced coffee and cake were a small price to pay for all the information he'd gathered today, and he intended to put it to good use.
He found a public phone booth (it wouldn't do to have a tabloid rumor traced back to his personal cell) and dialed the number belonging to one of the most notorious tabloids in Tokyo and said, "I have a story for you about the Golden Prince..."
***
Onozuka was getting ready for work on Monday when his cell phone rang with his manager's ringtone.
"Yes?" Onozuka asked, expecting that Fujimoto was calling to report a change in his filming schedule, or perhaps to tell him that the agency had arranged an interview for him. But the grim tone of his manager's voice instantly let him know that this was a far more serious matter.
"Have you seen this morning's edition of Jitsuwa Weekly?" Fujimoto asked, naming one of the trashiest tabloids in the industry--in fact, they were the ones who had first broken the story about Katou's alleged infidelity, which had led to his brief estrangement from Iwaki and their dramatic on-screen reunion.
"No, you know I don't subscribe to that piece of garbage," Onozuka replied, although he did occasionally check it out to see what scandals his colleagues had gotten embroiled in.
"Well, I think you'd better take a look at this issue," Fujimoto said grimly.
"Hang on, let me check out their website," Onozuka said, turning on his computer. When the tabloid's homepage came up, he swore, "Oh, fuck!"
The headline for the lead story ran in bold letters across the screen: "ONOZUKA YUU IS A PRINCE IN TRUTH? THE GEINOKAI'S RISING STAR IS HEIR TO THE NAKATA WAGASHI EMPIRE! WAS THE CANDY PRINCE DISOWNED FOR THROWING OVER THE FAMILY BUSINESS FOR SHOW BUSINESS?"
"Candy Prince?" Onozuka muttered incredulously.
The article was mostly filled with speculation, since Onozuka's father's colleagues had remained loyal to him and had declined to be interviewed. However, the reporter even managed to turn that into something sensational, writing about "the mysterious wall of silence surrounding the Golden Prince."
The article stated that Onozuka had not been seen in Kanazawa since he had left high school (which was true, except for his brief visit to Shiori and Takumi not long after he'd started dating Kikuchi). It also insinuated that his father had disowned him for becoming an actor (which was pretty much true as well, although it was more like Onozuka had disowned himself). The reporter played up the idea of a family feud, dramatically stating that "this intrepid reporter was met with stony silence when I attempted to confront Nakata Kouhei about his famous son." Apparently the reporter had been given a curt "no comment" to his questions and had been escorted off the premises, politely but forcefully, by two of the brawnier apprentices. And despite their long estrangement, Onozuka silently applauded his father.
There was more speculation about his relationship with Kikuchi and whether that might have widened the rift between himself and his family, but what really got Onozuka's blood boiling was the fact that the reporter had managed to dig up his grandmother's old scandal. With salacious glee, the article reported that Onozuka's mother was the bastard child of an American serviceman, and strongly hinted that Chiyo had used her feminine wiles to seduce the owner of the Onozuka Ryokan and ensnare a husband for herself and a father for her child.
At the time of the marriage, quite a few such nasty rumors had been spoken behind Chiyo's back and occasionally to her face, or so Onozuka's grandmother had told him. Some of the inn's employees at the time had not been pleased to have the young new maid elevated above them as their Mistress. However, Chiyo had endured the gossip and insults stoically, and had worked hard as the inn's new Mistress. In time, the gossipers had relented when they saw how devoted Chiyo was to both the inn and her husband, and how happy the Master was with his new family. Eventually she had given birth to Kaoru, providing the Onozuka family with a legitimate heir by blood, and Chiyo's scandalous past had been all but forgotten...until now.
"I'm going to kill him," Onozuka said through gritted teeth. The information had probably come from Chiaki, but there was no doubt in Onozuka's mind that Asano was the one who had tipped off the reporter. He didn't know how Asano had done it, but that slimy bastard must have found a way to go back to the tea house and talk to Chiaki, after all.
"Kill whom?" Fujimoto asked sharply.
"Asano," Onozuka replied. "I told you earlier that Mizutani-sensei had invited us all to a tea house, right? An old acquaintance from Kanazawa happened to be working there, and she accidentally let some information about my past slip. Asano was all ears, and he'd been nosing around my family's inn in Okinawa, so I'm sure that he's the one who leaked the story to the media."
"Can you prove it?" Fujimoto asked.
"No," Onozuka reluctantly replied. "At least, not yet. But none of the others would have done something like this."
"If you accuse him without proof, you could be the one who ends up looking like the bad guy," Fujimoto cautioned. "He managed to portray himself as an innocent victim of the media in that Iwaki scandal, and he has an earnest, upstanding image with his fans." Onozuka snorted in derision, and Fujimoto added, "You and I may know better, but you also know all that matters is how the public perceives him. I'm warning you, Onozuka-kun, you will damage your princely image if you're perceived as attacking him unfairly."
"I know that," Onozuka said impatiently. "I know better than to accuse him to the media." That didn't mean that he would let Asano's offense pass unpunished, and he resolved to inflict a more private and personal type of revenge. However, he knew that Fujimoto wouldn't approve, so he considerately didn't mention it to his manager, so as not to disturb his peace of mind.
Fujimoto knew him well enough to say suspiciously, "Don't do anything stupid, Onozuka-kun."
"Of course not, Fujimoto-san," Onozuka replied in a wounded voice. "Do you really think that I would do anything to jeopardize my career?"
"Of course not," Fujimoto replied, a bit skeptically. He knew better than to think that Onozuka would just let the matter drop, but either trusted him not to implicate himself, or just thought that arguing with him would be pointless. "Let's discuss something else, then. Why didn't you tell me about your connection to the Nakata family or your grandmother's past?"
"It wasn't relevant, Fujimoto-san," Onozuka replied coolly.
"Don't give me that, Onozuka-kun!" Fujimoto barked. "I'm your manager; it's my job to stay on top of things and prevent scandals, or at the very least, to do damage control. But I can't do that if I have to hear about these things in the press before I hear it from you! If you want to protect your family's privacy, fine, but I need to know the entire truth so that I can help you keep the media at bay. I don't like being caught with my pants down in a situation like this!"
The mental image that conjured up lightened Onozuka's black mood slightly, and he had to repress a snicker--there was no sense in making his manager even angrier at him. "I'm sorry, Fujimoto-san," he said in a meek and contrite voice. "I was trying to protect my family, but I should have confided in you. I never thought that it would blow up in the press like this."
He had learned as a child that when confronted with evidence of wrong-doing (or perceived wrong-doing), it was usually better to admit guilt and offer an immediate apology, rather than trying to argue with his parents or teachers. Punishment was inevitable either way, but it had usually been less severe when he'd made a show of contrition, and more severe when the adults thought that he was trying to evade responsibility.
"That's why the agency pays me to do the thinking," Fujimoto said sternly, but he seemed mollified by Onozuka's apology. "All right," he sighed. "What's done is done; there's no point in harping about it further. Now tell me the whole story, and I'll see what we can do to fix this mess."
So having no choice, Onozuka gave him a truthful, though slightly abbreviated version of how he had run away from home to become an actor, and of his estranged relationship with his family.
"So you really were disowned?" Fujimoto asked when he was done.
"Well, it was more like I disowned myself," Onozuka replied dryly. "But my father definitely did not approve of my career choice. I send them postcards and letters occasionally, but other than that, we've barely spoken in the past six years."
"That's not good," Fujimoto said disapprovingly. "You have an image as a noble prince, and that will suffer if you're seen as a selfish son who let down his family, and even more if your own family criticizes you in the press."
"That won't happen," Onozuka said with certainty. "My father might think I'm a selfish, useless son, but he would never air the family's dirty laundry in public. He has too much dignity, and besides, it would besmirch the Nakata family's reputation."
"Well, that will help," Fujimoto conceded. "But it would be even better if you could publicly reconcile with your family."
"Not...going...to happen," Onozuka said in a clipped voice, pausing between words for emphasis. "The only way my father would ever forgive me is if I gave up acting and went back to the confectionery, in which case, you'd need to find another client."
"Very well," Fujimoto sighed. "It's not ideal, but silence will have to pass for assent, or at least a lack of disapproval. Who's going to inherit the business now that you've given it up?"
"My father has a very talented and dedicated young apprentice that he's chosen as his successor," Onozuka replied. "He's been with us since he was a teenager, and he's practically a second son to my father." A much better son than I could ever be, Onozuka thought bitterly, before he continued aloud, "He'll most likely marry my younger sister after she graduates from college, and officially be adopted as a son-in-law."
"So you're not completely leaving the family business in the lurch," Fujimoto said, sounding relieved. "There is an able successor."
"Takumi-san is a much better confectioner than I could ever be," Onozuka assured him. He remembered his talk with Takumi and elaborated, "He truly loves his craft--he puts his whole heart into his work. I feel bad that I let my father down, but I could not have made wagashi worthy of the Nakata name because acting has always been my first and truest love."
"That's exactly the stance to take!" Fujimoto exclaimed. "You weren't being selfish--instead, you nobly stepped down for the good of the family business because you knew that this Takumi-san would be a more capable heir."
"Well, not exactly, but..." Onozuka muttered.
"But that's the spin we'll put on it, and that's something that the public can accept from their Prince: modesty, filial duty, and self-sacrifice," Fujimoto finished, with an air of satisfaction. "As long as you're sure that your family won't contradict your statement."
"My father may think I'm a hypocrite, but he won't speak out against me in public as long as I'm not disparaging the family name or business," Onozuka replied. "I told you, it's beneath his dignity to carry out a family feud in public, and he'll want this mess to blow over as quickly as possible, not to prolong it. If you're talking about putting a spin on things, I assume you want me to do a rebuttal interview?"
"Several reporters have already called the agency, and I'm sure there will be more as the news spreads," Fujimoto told him. "You're a much more public figure now that you're starring in a major film alongside Kikuchi Katsuya, especially with all the rumors about you two. You're going to have to give a press conference, I think. We'll keep it small and limit it to a few select reporters who have a good relationship with the agency."
That meant reporters who would portray Onozuka in a sympathetic light, in exchange for close access to the agency's clients--a typical "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" type of arrangement.
"Fine," Onozuka agreed with a sigh of resignation. He wasn't looking forward to this at all, but he knew that it was necessary. "But make sure that it doesn't interfere with my filming schedule--I don't need the director mad at me as well."
"Of course I'll work it around your schedule," Fujimoto promised, sounding a little insulted. "I've been doing this job a lot longer than you've been doing yours, Onozuka-kun!"
"Forgive me, Fujimoto-san," Onozuka apologized. "I'll leave everything in your capable hands, and I'm sorry that I put you in this position to begin with." Fujimoto wasn't always the most pleasant person to work with, but he was a very efficient and capable manager, and Onozuka wanted to keep on his good side.
"Save your flattery for the press instead of me," Fujimoto replied tartly, but he sounded amused. "I'll work on setting up the press conference--it'll probably be after you're done filming for the day, and I'll clear it with the director. In the meantime, think about what you're going to say."
"I will," Onozuka said obediently, and Fujimoto hung up.
***
Miyasaka had been sleeping, but the ringing phone had woken him, and then Onozuka's angry exclamation had kept him from falling back into slumber. He got out of bed, although Onozuka didn't seem to notice his presence, and managed to gather the gist of the situation from Onozuka's side of the conversation. After Onozuka flipped his cell phone shut, Miyasaka stepped forward and hesitantly said, "Onozuka...?"
His friend whirled around to face him with a look of cold fury in his eyes that caused Miyasaka to flinch and take a hasty step backwards. Onozuka's expression thawed slightly then--just enough to show that Miyasaka wasn't the one he was angry at, although he was obviously still furious.
"I couldn't help but overhear some of that," Miyasaka said apologetically, still treading carefully. "I'm sorry; it really sucks when the media decides to create a scandal. Is there anything I can do?"
Onozuka's expression softened further, and he actually smiled a little at Miyasaka. "Thanks, Miya-chan," he replied gratefully. "There's nothing right now, but I appreciate the offer."
"Are you sure?" Miyasaka asked. "Not even punch that Asano creep in the nose?"
"Oh, don't worry," Onozuka purred. "I'm going to make Asano rue the day that he decided to mess with me." And then he smiled, in such an utterly evil and ruthless manner that Miyasaka found himself breaking out into a cold sweat.
He merely nodded, and silently reminded himself to never, ever make an enemy out of Onozuka. Oh sure, Onozuka had gotten mad at him before, and Miyasaka had to admit that he usually deserved it, but those had been mainly small, trivial arguments. The only time that he'd ever come truly close to incurring Onozuka's wrath was the incident with Iwaki, but that was nothing compared to this. Onozuka had justifiably been angry with Miyasaka, but it had been a normal, heat of the moment type of anger--Onozuka had lost his temper and smacked him on the head, and then set about showing him the error of his ways.
No, Onozuka was at his most dangerous when his anger went past the point of heat and turned into an icy coldness--which made his mocking nickname of the Ice Prince ironically appropriate. There was a saying about revenge being a dish that was best served cold, and that was a belief that Onozuka Yuu subscribed to.
Onozuka patted Miyasaka on the shoulder fondly, seeming in a better mood now, then brushed past him and went into the bathroom. He could hear Onozuka rummaging through the medicine cabinet, and somehow he didn't think that his friend was just looking for an aspirin or a spare toothbrush. He profoundly hoped that Onozuka wasn't going to poison Asano, and tried to reassure himself that they didn't have anything stronger than over-the-counter cold medicine on hand...as far as he knew, and that afterthought was slightly less reassuring. Then he wondered nervously if it was possible to overdose on cold medicine.
Onozuka emerged from the bathroom, threw on his jacket, and hurried out the door with a wave and a "See you later, Miya-chan!"
"See you," Miyasaka replied weakly, and thanked his lucky stars that he wasn't Asano Nobuyuki.
Part 4
***
Afterword: The tea ceremony scene was inspired by a demonstration I attended at a cultural fair a few years ago. It was a much more casual and informal atmosphere than the one in the fic, and the woman conducting the ceremony didn't make the participants go through all the precise ritual steps--out of consideration for an unfamiliar audience, I think, but I actually would have liked to learn more about the "proper" way to perform a tea ceremony. We didn't have to sit seiza, either, for which I was grateful. I do recall that the guest of honor (in this case, a volunteer from the audience) was served a bowl prepared by the Mistress (not sure of the proper title for a tea ceremony expert--probably "sensei"?), and additional bowls were brought out for the rest of us by her assistants. The sweet in this case was not wagashi, but cookies baked by the Mistress, which were quite tasty. She was Japanese (from Japan, as opposed to Japanese-American), and talked a bit about the history of tea ceremony through an interpreter. If I recall correctly, she said that it was originally male-dominated and nearly died out during WWII, but was revived when women began practicing it, and I got the impression that many more women than men practice tea ceremony in the present day. If I'd known that I was going to write a story about a tea ceremony in the future, I would have paid better attention to the lecture! Still, it was a fun and interesting experience. ^_^
As mentioned in the author's note, this story is a semi-crossover with Tea for Two, although none of the characters from that manga appear directly. But since the story involved a tea ceremony, I thought it would be fun to make references to the Hasune family and the Mitsukiya sweet shop. And Hasune's ambivalence about being the heir, which plays out in the second volume of the manga, once again reminded me a bit of Onozuka's family conflicts. And after I thought about that, I realized that the "perfect heir" role that Onozuka put on as a child and teenager was probably a lot like Hasune's public personality. (Like Onozuka, Hasune is much more mischievous in private, but he's not as devious or conniving as our Prince.)
If you haven't read it before, Tea for Two is an awesome yaoi manga series published in the US by Blu. The sister of brash and klutzy high school student Tokumaru Madoka sends him to the school's tea ceremony club to learn some grace. The club's president is the very cool, composed, and graceful Hasune Kazuma, and this being a yaoi manga, it's a case of sparks flying as opposites attract. As I mentioned in the Love Control review, I really like this series because it's a case where both characters are equals in their relationship and neither holds more power than the other. The cool, collected Hasune appears to have the upper hand at first, but he has moments of jealousy and insecurity like a normal teenage boy. (He's especially adorable when he gets jealous--something about seeing such a composed character losing his cool is really cute.) They admire each other's unique qualities, and they support and encourage each other, as when Hasune tries to run away from his duties as the Hasune family heir, and it's Tokumaru who makes him face up to his responsibilities and realize how much he cares about tea ceremony. There's also a sub-plot about Hasune's older (and gay) friend Keigo, who works at the Mitsukiya sweet shop, and the artist friend that he's in love with.
As long as I'm on a crossover kick, it might be interesting to have Onozuka meet up with the Hasune family one day. (The Hasune that Ishikawa-sensei studied under would be Kazuma's late grandfather, incidentally.)
As mentioned in the afterword of Going Steady (Part 2), Kenrokuen is the garden built by the Maeda clan in the feudal days (more specifically, in the Edo period, when the Tokugawa shoguns ruled Japan). It sounds like there are several tea houses in or near the garden, so I did a little research and picked the name of a real tea house, Shiguretei, for the place where Chiaki's mother worked.
Asano's manager appears in Book 14, in the final chapter "Life Line," but his name is never given, so I chose the name "Nishida" for him.
I was trying to think of a name for the tabloid that printed the story about Onozuka, and found this article on Japanese tabloids. It says that "jitsuwa," meaning "true story," is a popular though ironic title for trashy magazines that report on stories of dubious validity. "True Story Weekly" sounded kind of lame in English, so I stuck with the Japanese term "Jitsuwa" for my tabloid.
And thanks to
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small}
mitsu_syusuke who came up with the nickname of "candy prince" for Onozuka! I love it, and I've been waiting for the chance to use it in a fic! ^_^
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funny how otaku Kitamura feels uneasy XD.
what a splendid idea to have the girl blurt out Onozuka's secret! makes it lots more interesting than a private detective. Asano was quite refined to wait for her, defeating Onozuka's certitude the mistress would make sure Chiako doesn't talk to the guests. i liked the bit when Onozuka reacts and talks to his manager, seems they've found a way to limit damage with the media.. and i'm eager to read about the payback to Asano XD
thx for the side infos too ^^
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Asano's payback is coming in the next chapter, and I hope you'll enjoy it. ^_^
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there is something in unapologetic excellence that strikes the just-about-right cord with me. Humility and modesty are overrated: the sick society's acceptable and foolish pleasantries to "politely" nourish the overblown ego of the narcissistic-in-disguise more effectively! When you are justifiably confident then why-the-fuck not show it!
anyhow, I am happy that you're back writing. I am waiting for more.
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Loving this!!
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But what's all the fuss about sitting in seiza position? Nothing easier in the world! I studied shiatsu for two years, and in all the classes we had to sit in seiza - the desks were these wonderful, low oblong-shaped tables, where you had to sit in seiza positiojn to take notes. I remember in the beginning some people groaned about seiza, but it's very easy, really. I guess people are flexible to different degrees and in different ways, and I'm lucky like that.
And to be honest, I hadn't realized that few contemporary Japanese people would be familiar with the position.
I love the research you do for your stories, Geri. Fascinating reading about the tea ceremony.
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I've never really had to sit seiza, but I guess it's easier for some than others. I'm glad you like the research--I enjoy picking up random bits of information from manga and tv shows, and they often come in handy for my fics! ^_^
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