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FIC: Unmasked, Part 4 of 25
Title: Unmasked, Part 4 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: ~9,210
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 exacts his revenge on Asano and gets into a fight with Kikuchi; Yoshizumi confronts Asano about the tabloid story.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
***
Even at this early hour, there were several reporters waiting outside the studio, and they rushed forward, shouting questions at Onozuka. It wasn't quite at the level of the horde of paparazzi that followed Katou and Iwaki around, but he was beginning to get a glimpse of the unpleasant side of fame. He didn't really mind their speculations about himself and Kikuchi, or their attempts to catch the two of them in a compromising position--it was good publicity for the movie, and he considered it an amusing game of sorts, to stay one step ahead of them.
But he did mind that his family was involved this time, after the lengths he'd gone through in order to protect them. It wouldn't have been so bad if a reporter had stumbled across his secret by accident--Onozuka would still have been upset, but he wouldn't have blamed anyone for it. However, the idea of Asano deliberately leaking the story to the press out of petty spite, not caring if it hurt Onozuka's family as well as Onozuka himself, filled him with a cold rage, and he intended to exact revenge on his enemy.
Onozuka smiled at the reporters, being careful not to let any of that rage show on his face, and said politely, "I have no comment at this time, but my agency is setting up a press conference for later today, and I promise that I'll answer all of your questions then." Then he bowed and hurried into the studio, ignoring their cries of protest and disappointment; security was on hand to keep them from following.
Several crew members were staring at him curiously, obviously having heard the news. A few of them came up to him to express their sympathy, and Onozuka thanked them graciously, then continued in search of his prey. A few minutes later, he found Asano in the cafeteria, calmly drinking a cup of coffee and reading the latest edition of the Jitsuwa Weekly.
***
Asano smirked as Onozuka leaned over him in what was obviously supposed to be a threatening manner, although he smiled pleasantly for the sake of the witnesses in the room--mainly the cafeteria employees and a handful of crew members.
"Good morning, Asano-kun," Onozuka said in a friendly voice, but with a cold glint in his eyes. Asano knew that only he was close enough to see it, and that the other people in the room would only see the Prince being courteous as always. However, he wasn't bothered by Onozuka's act because Asano knew that he held the upper hand for once.
"Good morning, Onozuka-kun," Asano replied in an equally friendly voice. He held up the magazine and added, "This article was quite a shock--it turns out that you really are a 'young master' after all!"
"Not at all," Onozuka said sweetly. "I stepped down as heir in order to become an actor, so my father's chief apprentice will inherit the position."
"It's really terrible, how the press has made a scandal out of a private matter," Asano said with false sympathy, thoroughly enjoying himself. "I can certainly relate, having been through something similar myself."
Onozuka leaned in a little closer, his smile not wavering the slightest bit. "Cut the crap, you two-faced son of a bitch," he whispered in a voice that only carried to Asano's ears. "I know you were the one who gave that story to press, and I'm warning you: if you want to attack me, bring it on, but if you ever involve my family again, I swear I'll make you wish that you'd never been born."
"Ooh, I'm so scared," Asano sneered. "Don't go throwing around false accusations, Onozuka-kun, or you might ruin your princely reputation."
Onozuka loomed over him a little longer, giving him a glare of frustration that Asano savored. Despite his threats, there was nothing Onozuka could really do to him. Oh sure, it would probably be wise not to eat or drink anything that Onozuka offered him in the future, or to be caught alone in a dark alley with him, although Asano couldn't picture the Prince getting into a brawl and possibly bruising his pretty face. But Onozuka couldn't risk fighting with Asano publicly, or even offering malicious gossip about him to the press, because it would damage his image as a sweet and noble prince. Sometimes being too good to be true could put one at a disadvantage, Asano thought smugly.
"Onozuka-kun?" Asami said in a concerned voice, and Onozuka straightened up, smiling at Asano innocently once again.
"Thanks for the advice, Asano-kun," Onozuka said in a voice pitched loud enough for the others to hear this time. "I guess that's all I can do--wait for this all to blow over."
Asami, Yoshizumi, and Kikuchi had just entered the room and were walking up to Onozuka. "I'm really sorry to hear about this tabloid story," Asami said earnestly, without her usual mischievous humor. "It's bad enough that the paparazzi are always trying to invent scandals, but..."
"But it's even worse when they go after your family and friends," Kikuchi finished, grimacing as he no doubt recalled his own scandal from ten years ago.
"I know," Onozuka agreed gravely. "I mean, I kind of signed up for all this when I became an actor, but my family didn't. That's why I took a stage name, to try and shield them from the press."
"I'm sure it will blow over soon," Asami said hopefully. "I mean, as scandals go, this one isn't particularly scandalous--it's not like you were doing drugs or sleeping with a married woman, after all. Your family seems really nice--at least, your Okinawan relatives do. They're not really mad at you for becoming an actor, are they?" Before Onozuka could reply, she hastily added, "Never mind; I shouldn't pry. You don't need to answer that if you don't want to, Onozuka-kun."
Onozuka smiled at her and said gently, "It's all right, Asami-chan; thank you for your concern. My parents were a little disappointed that I decided not to carry on the family business, but my father has chosen a successor from one of his apprentices. Takumi-san is a very capable and talented confectioner, much better than I ever was, and he's been with us so long that he's like part of the family--he was like an older brother to me when I was growing up. The Nakata confectionery will be able to carry on, and that's what really matters."
"I'm relieved to hear that," Asami said. "I'm sure that your family must be proud of you now that you're a success."
Onozuka just smiled politely in response, his eyes giving away nothing of his true feelings, which made Asano suspect that his parents weren't proud of him at all. He sipped his coffee and tried to hide the malicious pleasure he felt at the Prince finally getting his comeuppance.
Kikuchi patted Onozuka on the shoulder sympathetically and said, "The press will move on quickly, I'm sure, as soon as the next scandal comes along. Maybe you can get your friends Iwaki and Katou to help things along by staging another exhibitionist tryst?"
Onozuka let out what sounded like a sincere laugh, and Asami giggled at that reminder of the time that pictures of Iwaki and Katou (almost) having sex out on their patio had been spread across the tabloids. Even though the two were a known and established couple, the provocative photos had caused quite a sensation, adding to their popularity rather than detracting from it.
Maybe I just need to get laid in order to increase my popularity? Asano thought dryly. It certainly seems to have worked for Iwaki and Katou, and for Kikuchi and Onozuka!
"Tabloid scandals may be a risk of our profession, but that doesn't make it any more pleasant when they occur," Yoshizumi said quietly. "Please let me know if there's anything I can do for you, Onozuka-kun."
"Thank you, Yoshizumi-san," Onozuka replied. "It helps just knowing that my friends are supporting me."
Asano took another sip of coffee to disguise his scowl of disgust. Only Onozuka could say such a corny thing and manage to sound perfectly sincere!
"Would you like to have some breakfast with us, Onozuka-kun?" Asami asked.
"Thank you, but no," Onozuka said. "I think that I should contact my family before work starts and make sure they're okay."
He left the room, and the others got some food and coffee, then joined Asano at the table, although Kikuchi paused to gaze after Onozuka a little longer, looking worried. Could it be that Kikuchi really was in love with the Prince, and not just in lust?
Possibly, because he kept giving Asano suspicious and hostile glances throughout breakfast. Asami carried on most of the conversation, fretting sincerely over Onozuka, while the rest of them chimed in with sympathetic agreement from time to time. Asano noticed, however, that she couldn't resist taking a peek at his magazine.
"Here's an old picture of Onozuka-kun attending a tea ceremony with his father! Doesn't he look cute in a kimono, Kikuchi-san?"
"Very cute," Kikuchi agreed, although without his usual roguish grin.
"Although I guess we shouldn't be reading this," Asami said guiltily. "It sort of feels like siding with the enemy."
"Well, you didn't buy it, so at least you aren't putting money in their pockets," Kikuchi replied, shooting a pointed glance at Asano.
Asano smiled sweetly back at him and said, "Perhaps I shouldn't be lining their pockets, but I wanted to see what they were saying about Onozuka-kun, so that I could help defend him, if necessary."
"You're a prince, Asano-kun," Kikuchi said sarcastically.
"No, that's Onozuka-kun's department, I think," Asano laughed.
Asami watched their exchange with interest, her head turning back and forth from himself to Kikuchi, as if she were watching a tennis match. Yoshizumi smiled and remained silent, his expression as bland as Onozuka's had been when Asami had mentioned his family.
They finished their breakfast, and Kikuchi and Asami headed to their dressing rooms, but Yoshizumi lingered behind.
"Asano-kun," he said quietly. "I certainly hope that you had nothing to do with this." He tapped a finger on the magazine in an almost accusing manner.
"I'm hurt that you'd think I could do such a thing," Asano said, feigning wounded shock.
"I can't help but think that it's a strange coincidence that a woman from Onozuka-kun's past turns up at our tea ceremony, and a couple of days later, his past turns into a big story in the tabloids," Yoshizumi replied, his voice still quiet and carefully emotionless.
Asano shrugged and said, "Maybe that girl or someone from the tea house talked to a reporter. She did seem to be a bit miffed that Onozuka-kun didn't recognize her."
Yoshizumi gave him a long, penetrating stare, and Asano tried to meet it without squirming or looking away. Either of those things would be a dead giveaway as to his guilt, so he reminded himself that he was an actor and it should be easy enough to pretend that he was innocent, right? After all, Onozuka did it all the time.
Finally, Yoshizumi rose to his feet, breaking off the staring contest, much to Asano's relief. "I just hope this scandal doesn't affect the movie," he said, in a voice that seemed to hold just a hint of accusation--or was that merely Asano's guilty conscience at work?
As Yoshizumi walked off, Asano found himself wondering uneasily if he might have taken his revenge against Onozuka just a little too far...
***
Although Onozuka was sure, as he had told Fujimoto, that his father would not speak out against him in the press, he still wanted to gauge his father's mood, and he felt a halfhearted desire to apologize for the paparazzi that were no doubt going to descend upon Kanazawa--although really, it wasn't his fault, and his father would never accept his apology anyway.
Well, maybe it was partly his fault. If he'd acknowledged Chiaki, or at least gone back to apologize and charm her out of her pique, she might not have spilled out her story to Asano. Because he was certain that it was Asano and not Chiaki who had spoken to the press, and that suspicion had been confirmed by the smugness hidden beneath Asano's fake innocent concern this morning. It was nothing that would hold up in court, but he knew, as surely as he knew that Katou was hopelessly besotted with Iwaki, that Asano was the guilty party.
Onozuka smiled nastily; Asano would get what was coming to him soon enough. In the meantime, he took out his cell phone and dialed a number--not his father's, because he didn't have quite enough courage to speak to his father directly.
The phone on the other end rang several times, and Onozuka was expecting the call to go to voicemail when Takumi picked up and asked in hushed voice, "Yuu-san?"
"I take it you've seen the tabloids this morning?" Onozuka asked, although it was mostly a rhetorical question.
"Yes, actually the Master is fielding some reporters who just showed up outside the shop," Takumi replied.
"How angry is he?" Onozuka asked nervously.
"Pretty angry," Takumi replied matter of factly. "More at the reporters than you, although of course he blames your acting career for inflicting the reporters on us in the first place. What's really made him angry is the gossip about your mother's past--all the stuff about you and the inheritance is more of an annoyance, compared to that."
Onozuka grudgingly had to admit that was one of his father's good points: he had never let anyone speak ill of his wife, not even his own parents, who had not been initially thrilled about the marriage, although they had softened a bit after she'd given birth to the heir, or so he had gleaned from the gossip he'd managed to overhear as a child. From Onozuka's own observations, his paternal grandparents had always treated his mother courteously but a little coolly, though with no overt hostility. They had died of illness, first his grandmother and then his grandfather, when he was in middle and high school, or no doubt they would have been as disappointed in him as his father was when he'd left home to become an actor.
"I don't know if you remember the Morimoto family," Onozuka said. "The mother used to work at Shiguretei..."
"Sure, their little girl used to have a crush on you," Takumi replied, sounding amused. "What was her name...Chihiro...Chiemi...?"
"Chiaki," Onozuka supplied. "Mizutani-sensei took the cast out to a tea house here in Tokyo, and Chiaki happened to be working there. I think she spoke to one of my coworkers later and that he leaked the story to the press."
"Well, I suppose it was inevitable," Takumi said philosophically, sounding surprisingly calm. "You're getting more and more famous, so it was only a matter of time before reporters started digging into your past. It could turn out to be a good thing in the long run."
"How can you say that?" Onozuka asked incredulously.
"There's no longer any need for you to hide your connection to the Nakata family, and therefore no need to stay away from home any longer," Takumi replied.
"Nothing except for the fact that my father still thinks I'm an ungrateful, worthless son!" Onozuka protested. "I wasn't staying away just because of the media, you know."
"I know," Takumi said wearily. "But now the Master can't pretend that you don't exist anymore, with all this media uproar. And he has to give up any secret hopes he might have of you coming back to run the business. It's the perfect time for a reconciliation, Yuu-san."
"Perfect," Onozuka echoed skeptically. "Except that he's still furious at me--"
"He's been angry for the past six years," Takumi interrupted. "You're going to have to face him sometime, Yuu-san. Why not now?"
"If you think it's such a great idea, why are you talking so quietly?" Onozuka accused. "You're hiding, right, because you don't want my father or any of the other workers to overhear you."
"I'm hiding in the storeroom," Takumi admitted sheepishly. "I just don't want to get him all worked up before we have a definite plan in place." Onozuka snorted derisively and Takumi continued, "And yes, your father is a very intimidating man and I'm not eager to incur his anger, either. But I can face him for your sake, Yuu-san--and for the rest of your family. I've been with the confectionery since I was a kid, and I consider all of you to be my family, whether I ever marry Shiori-chan or not." His voice took on a pleading note as he said, "I want all of you to be happy, Yuu. You know you can't ignore your family forever."
"Just watch me," Onozuka muttered under his breath, but before Takumi could reply, there was a knocking sound in the background.
"Takumi-kun!" a voice called out impatiently. "What are you doing in there? The Master is calling for you!"
"I have to go," Takumi whispered. "But think about what I said, Yuu-san. I'll talk to you later." And then he hung up before Onozuka could tell him that a reconciliation was definitely not happening.
Another knock sounded--at his dressing room door this time. "Yes?" he called out.
"It's me," Kikuchi replied. "Can I come in?"
Onozuka hesitated for a moment before replying, "Sure." Part of him wanted to be comforted by Kikuchi, while part of him dreaded the questions Kikuchi might ask about his family now that his secret had finally been brought out into the open. Although it was difficult to predict how Kikuchi would react: there were times when he was sneaky and pushy, as when he'd tricked Onozuka into meeting his family, but he'd been surprisingly understanding about not pressing Onozuka to talk about his own family. That unpredictability could be annoying at times, but Onozuka supposed that was also part of what attracted him to Kikuchi.
Kikuchi entered the room, closing the door behind him, which would no doubt continue to cause speculative gossip among the crew, but that was the least of Onozuka's worries at the moment.
"Are you okay?" Kikuchi asked, looking concerned.
"Not really, but I'll survive," Onozuka sighed, running a hand through his hair distractedly.
"It's always hard when the media goes after your family," Kikuchi said quietly. He moved behind Onozuka and began massaging his shoulders, strong fingers loosening muscles knotted with tension.
"Mmm, that feels good," Onozuka murmured, leaning back into his lover's touch.
"I know it's not much comfort to you now, but as Asami-chan said, this one isn't too bad as scandals go," Kikuchi said, his hands continuing with their massage as Onozuka's eyes half-closed with pleasure. "The worst that you can be accused of is being a less than dutiful son, but you've said that there's a new successor, and I'm sure that you can manage to convince the public that you're a loving and devoted son."
"The public might believe it, but my parents won't," Onozuka muttered, with a touch of bitterness.
"But it's true, isn't it?" Kikuchi asked gently. "Maybe you don't get along with them, but you do love them, don't you? I saw how close you were to your Onozuka relatives, and I'm sure you care about your parents as well. There were times in my youth when my father and I fought like cats and dogs, but I always knew that if I ever really needed him, he would be there for me." He was silent for a moment, then added, "Well, maybe I forgot that when the scandal broke." A hint of fond amusement lightened the serious tone of Kikuchi's voice as he continued, "I was so worried about what Dad's reaction would be, but he reminded me right away that he loved me and would always stand by me."
"I remember you told me that your father was angry that you didn't tell him you were gay earlier," Onozuka said.
"Yes, he had a few choice words for me," Kikuchi chuckled. "It's lucky that we were speaking over the phone at the time and not in person, because he'd probably have smacked me upside the head! By the time I actually did go home about a week later, he had calmed down a little."
"I wish..." Onozuka said without thinking, before he managed to cut himself off. There was little point in wishing that his family was more like Kikuchi's, other than making himself sound pathetic. No doubt his father had often wished, with equal ineffectiveness, that Onozuka was more like Takumi.
Kikuchi's hands moved on him a little more gently now, as if trying to comfort him. "I don't think that this 'scandal' will affect your family's business," he said reassuringly. "If anything, it will probably increase business."
"My father won't thank me for it," Onozuka replied sourly. "He won't appreciate the notoriety even if it brings in more sales. He takes great pride in his work, and he won't appreciate customers who are only buying our sweets out of curiosity about me, and not because of their quality."
"You said 'our' sweets," Kikuchi pointed out. "You may be estranged from your family, but you still take pride in the business, too, don't you?"
"It's just force of habit," Onozuka mumbled, irritated by his slip of the tongue.
"Anyway," Kikuchi continued, "even if your fans start off shopping there out of curiosity, they might come to appreciate the sweets for themselves and become true customers. It might be a good way to get young people interested in the tradition of wagashi."
"I doubt that my father will see it that way," Onozuka said dubiously.
"Your family's sweets are so delicious that I'm sure your fans are bound to be won over by them," Kikuchi chuckled.
Onozuka smiled a little, in spite of his bad mood. "It's funny that your mother turned out to be a fan of my family's sweets. I guess you must have been surprised when you found out that I was really a Nakata!"
Kikuchi's hands suddenly went still for a moment, then resumed their massage as Kikuchi replied just a little too smoothly, "Oh yes, it was a big shock!"
Those subtle hints would probably have passed unnoticed by most people--but not by an expert liar like Onozuka, who had been acting the role of the perfect heir long before he had ever started his professional acting career. He jerked out of Kikuchi's grasp, then spun around and shouted, "You already knew, you bastard!"
"Please keep your voice down, Yuu," Kikuchi urged. "You don't want to start more rumors among the crew on top of everything else."
Onozuka knew that he was right, although that made him even more angry rather than less. He glared at his lover and hissed in a much quieter voice, "You son of a bitch, you knew!"
Kikuchi mustered up a charming smile that was a little too desperate to have the desired effect. "I didn't--" he started to protest in a placating voice.
"Don't lie to me!" Onozuka snapped. "It's obvious from your reaction! How the hell did you--?" He broke off his question and slapped his forehead in disgust as the obvious answer occurred to him. "It was Toshi-chan, wasn't it? I swear I'm going to kill him!"
"Please don't blame Toshi-chan," Kikuchi said, sounding humble and contrite, and not at all like his usual arrogant self. "It wasn't his fault; he was only trying to help. It was the day after I met him at the clinic--when you broke our date, remember? I couldn't get in touch with you and I was worried, so I called him to see if he knew where you were."
Onozuka scowled; he should never have introduced his naive friend to his scheming lover. And he should have realized that Kikuchi wouldn't have been satisfied to let things drop, despite his pledge not to ask about Onozuka's family. Strictly speaking, he hadn't actually broken his promise--he had just gotten the information from someone else. It was sort of devious stunt that Onozuka would have pulled, which made him all the more furious that he hadn't seen through Kikuchi's act earlier.
"You know, if you hadn't stood me up, I wouldn't have called Toshi-chan, and he wouldn't have told me about your family, so you're partly to blame, too, Yuu," Kikuchi pointed out.
"Oh, so now it's my fault?" Onozuka snarled. "You're the one who went behind my back, after all that noble talk about how my family was none of your business unless I decided to talk to you about them--which I didn't! You must have had a good laugh at my expense--taking me to the Meguro branch of my own family's store and pretending you didn't know that I was a Nakata, not to mention the time that Akiha brought in Nakata wagashi!"
"First of all, I started going to that store long before I met you!" Kikuchi retorted. "My mother really does love wagashi, the Nakata brand in particular--you can ask her if you don't believe me. And at the photo shoot, Akiha ordered the sweets on his own--I had nothing to do with it!"
Onozuka often teased Kikuchi about his acting skills--or lack thereof--and Kikuchi enjoyed hamming it up to get a laugh, but now Onozuka realized just how good an actor he was. When they'd pulled into the parking lot of the confectionery on the day that they'd visited Kikuchi's parents, Onozuka had panicked, and Kikuchi had looked him right in the eye, showing nothing but confusion and concern. Onozuka was a cynic by nature, and yet even he had been fooled by Kikuchi's performance.
And now he couldn't help but wonder: if Kikuchi had lied about that, what else might he have lied about?
"Was it all just a big joke to you?" Onozuka demanded. "Have you been secretly laughing at me this whole time?"
"No!" Kikuchi protested. "Please listen to me, Yuu--" He reached out to lay his hand on Onozuka's arm in a soothing gesture, but Onozuka angrily pulled away from him. "I wasn't mocking you," Kikuchi insisted. "Honestly, I really did talk to Toshi-chan because I was worried, not to get some dirt on you!" When Onozuka gave him a doubtful look, Kikuchi added, "Okay, I won't deny that I got a little amusement out of your reaction at the shop, but I didn't set the whole thing up as a joke."
"Then what were you doing?" Onozuka asked, crossing his arms across his chest and glaring at his lover. "I can't help but feel like that day was one big practical joke--not just the trip to confectionery, but your surprise family visit! If it wasn't a joke, then why take me to meet them?"
"Because I..." Kikuchi's voice faltered, and he looked panicked for a moment, which disturbed Onozuka almost as much as finding out that Kikuchi knew his secret. Kikuchi ought to be trying to charm and wheedle his way back into Onozuka's good graces, not standing there looking like a frightened kid in over his head. It also suddenly occurred to Onozuka--perhaps a little too late--that maybe he didn't really want to know the answer to the question he'd just asked.
"Because I felt guilty about prying into your personal business," Kikuchi finally finished, although Onozuka suspected that wasn't what he had originally intended to say. "To even the score, I decided to introduce you to my family--now you know as much about me as I do about you." He smiled slightly, although he still looked tense and worried, then said with wry humor, "Actually, I think that the scales have tipped in your favor--my mother and brother told you a lot more about my past lovers than I had planned."
"It serves you right, for springing that surprise on me!" Onozuka retorted. "And if you really wanted to make it up to me, you could have given me some warning--don't think that I'll forgive you that easily!"
"I'm sorry," Kikuchi said, his voice taking on the wheedling note that Onozuka had expected earlier. He leaned closer, his mouth stopping just short of brushing against Onozuka's ear, and whispered seductively, "Let me make it up to you, your Highness. Maybe I can cook dinner for you tonight?"
Onozuka shivered in an automatic response to the warmth of Kikuchi's breath against his ear, like a teasing caress, and to the sound of his voice. He wanted the comfort and distraction of Kikuchi's body to take his mind off his current troubles, but now his pride wouldn't allow him to forgive his lover that easily.
"I'll think about it," Onozuka said coolly, pushing Kikuchi away from him.
"Aw, don't be like that, Yuu," Kikuchi cajoled, but there was a knock at the door and a voice called out, "Onozuka-san, are you ready for your make-up?"
The question was phrased politely, but it wasn't really a request. Time was money, and the actors were expected to adhere to the carefully planned schedule. Oh sure, there were some big stars who liked to throw their weight around just to prove how important they were, but Onozuka didn't have that much clout yet, and even if he did, he wouldn't waste it on some pointless exercise in ego-stroking.
Kikuchi looked displeased at the interruption, though, which gave Onozuka a bit of spiteful satisfaction. It serves you right, you sneaky bastard, he thought.
"Yes, please come in," Onozuka said sweetly, and the make-up artist walked in, looking surprised to find Kikuchi there.
"I'm sorry," she apologized, blushing slightly. "I hope I'm not, er, interrupting anything."
"Not at all," Kikuchi replied, but he couldn't quite suppress a growl of irritation in his voice that caused the woman to flinch as he walked past her.
"Oh, don't worry," Onozuka assured the make-up artist. "Kikuchi-san is just upset about the tabloid article, not you. It's really quite sweet that he's so concerned about me, actually."
***
Kikuchi heard the girl giggle at Onozuka's remark as he closed the dressing room door behind him, being careful not to slam it--he had already exposed more of himself than he should have by growling at the make-up artist. He was usually better at controlling his emotions than that, but his conversation with Onozuka had seriously shaken him.
"If it wasn't a joke, then why take me to meet your family?" Onozuka had asked, and Kikuchi had almost unthinkingly replied, "Because I love you." He had been wanting their relationship to grow more serious for some time, of course, but that was the first time that he had ever used the word "love" to describe his feelings for Onozuka, even in the privacy of his own thoughts.
All this time, he had been plotting to make Onozuka fall in love with him--treating it like a game of reeling in his "fish," smugly assured that he had the upper hand. Only now did Kikuchi realize that the tables had been turned and he was the one who was hooked--it probably served him right for being such an arrogant, conceited bastard.
And now Kikuchi was worried that he might lose his Prince over this incident. Onozuka was very guarded and didn't give his trust easily, which meant that he wouldn't forgive a betrayal easily, either--not that Kikuchi felt that he'd betrayed Onozuka by poking around into his past, but what really mattered was how Onozuka saw it.
He felt a fresh surge of panic at the thought that Onozuka might really break up with him over this, and a passing crew member paused to give him a look of concern and ask, "Are you all right, Kikuchi-san?"
"I'm fine," Kikuchi replied, forcing himself to smile pleasantly, then retreated to the safety of his own dressing room. He leaned against the wall and took a deep breath; he really needed to get a hold of himself. He was forty years old, for God's sake--too old to be panicking like a frantic teenager whose first love affair had hit a few snags. Onozuka was a clever and stubborn young man, but Kikuchi was older and wilier and just as stubborn. It might take awhile to soothe Onozuka's hurt feelings, but he would find a way to win his prince back.
He smiled when he remembered the way Onozuka had shivered when he'd whispered into his young lover's ear--maybe it wouldn't take that long, after all. He knew Onozuka's body intimately, knew exactly what excited him most and how to make his beautiful prince respond to his touch. Maybe he was being arrogant again, but he knew that Onozuka was as addicted to his body as he was to Onozuka's, and that it wouldn't be easy for Onozuka to return to the nearly celibate life he'd led before they'd met.
Kikuchi frowned. But he wanted to be more than just Onozuka's bed partner, no matter how amazing the sex was. He wanted to be as close to Onozuka as Miyasaka and Katou were--no, closer. Onozuka's secret was out in the open now, and maybe in the long run that was a good thing: it had removed one of the walls between them, increasing the potential for more emotional intimacy in addition to the physical. Because Kikuchi might be hooked, but he had his hooks firmly sunk in Onozuka as well, and he didn't intend to let his prize just swim away.
He smiled, not with the usual mischievous pleasure he took in his long-term seduction of Onozuka, but with a zealous and almost grim determination that would have sent the production assistants fleeing in terror if they had seen it, and it would probably have given even the Prince himself some pause.
***
The bulk of the film, including the major climatic scenes, had already been shot, but there were still some smaller in-between scenes that needed to be shot before they could wrap up filming. One of these was a scene in which Asano's character discovered that Midori had been an organ donor and became enraged that, in a sense, part of her was still alive and beyond his control.
That scene was the first one they would be shooting today, and Asano walked onto the set still feeling quite smug. The setting was Akio's bedroom, and the walls were covered with photos of Midori that he had secretly taken without her knowledge, and scattered here and there were vases of flowers of dead, dried flowers which had originally been purchased at the shop where she had worked.
But as the cameras were being moved into place, Asano's stomach began to feel a little unsettled, as if he had eaten something that disagreed with him. But all he'd had for breakfast this morning was a piece of toast and some coffee, so that couldn't be it. He tried to shrug it off, telling himself that it was just nerves, though he hadn't felt nervous about this scene up until now. A moment later, his stomach gurgled audibly, as if to contradict him. Flushing with embarrassment, he quickly glanced around to see if anyone else had heard.
Fortunately, Kitamura was busy talking with Mizutani-sensei and the cameramen, and no one seemed to have noticed anything out of the ordinary. When he finished his conversation, the director looked up and asked, "Are you ready, Asano-kun?"
"Yes, Kantoku-san," Asano replied, trying to regain his composure.
"Good," Kitamura said. "Just do it the way we rehearsed it earlier."
"Yes, sir," Asano said obediently, and they began filming.
He walked into Akio's shrine to his dead love with a look of satisfaction on his face, pausing to caress one of the photos while he crooned, "You belong to me now, my love." Although he didn't possess Midori physically, Akio was satisfied that by killing her, he had in a way stolen her from her husband, and in the depths of his twisted mind, he was content.
He rearranged the flowers, humming cheerfully to himself, then settled down in a chair to read a newspaper, flipping through the pages idly. Asano tried to keep a smug, complacent smile on his face, although it required a great deal of effort, as the churning in his stomach was steadily increasing. Then the camera zoomed in over his shoulder to focus on a headline buried in the middle of the paper, no longer newsworthy enough for the front page: "NO NEW LEADS IN THE MURDER OF A POLICE DETECTIVE'S WIFE."
Asano laughed triumphantly as the camera panned down the article, which explained that the brutal murder of Takahashi Midori, the wife of Metropolitan Police Detective Takahashi Ryotaro, was still unsolved and the police were asking anyone with information regarding the case to come forward. The article went on to say that Detective Takahashi had found some comfort in donating his wife's organs, which had been used to save the lives of other people.
"Japan has a severe shortage of organ donors, and many people die every day who could have been saved by an organ transplant," a Doctor Watanabe was quoted as saying. He went on to say that in particular, a young man in need of a heart transplant had been saved by the Takahashis' gift, although due to hospital policy and privacy concerns, the identities of transplant recipients remained confidential.
"What?!" Asano shouted, jumping to his feet, his face contorting in rage and his fingers closing into fists, crumpling and tearing the newspaper. "Midori-san belongs to me! No one else can ha...have her!" He stumbled over his lines as a cramp gripped his belly, and his hands clutched at the newspaper a little more tightly in reflex.
"Cut!" Kitamura shouted, frowning in disapproval. "Asano-kun, you should know your lines by now--you performed them perfectly in rehearsal."
"He looks a little pale," Mizutani whispered to the director, looking concerned. "I think he might be sick."
"Are you all right, Asano-kun?" Kitamura asked with more sympathy, though he still sounded a little impatient.
"I'm sorry for the interruption," Asano apologized through gritted teeth as the roiling in his belly continued. "I seem to have a bit of a stomachache."
"Do you need to take a break?" the director asked, but Asano knew that they were on a tight filming schedule, and he didn't want to be the one responsible for any delays. It was a short scene, and he thought--hoped--that he would be able to get through it.
"No, I can finish the scene," Asano promised, more confidently than he felt.
"Good," Kitamura said. "Let's start over from where you jump up." He motioned for the prop assistant to give Asano a new, uncrumpled newspaper--a few extras had been prepared ahead of time in case of possible re-takes--and they resumed filming.
Asano managed to get through the scene, in which he swore to track down and kill anyone who had received an organ transplant from Midori, although by the time he was done, his stomach ached and he was sweating profusely from the effort it took to keep his bowels from loosening on the set. All that got him through the scene was sheer determination and a desperate desire not to be humiliated by soiling himself in front of the director and camera crew--and his hatred for Onozuka. Because he was certain by now that this "stomachache" was not natural; he hadn't eaten anything last night or this morning that would have made him sick, and he suddenly recalled the way that Onozuka had loomed over him this morning in the cafeteria. The Prince was usually more subtle than that, so it must have been a cover in order to slip something into Asano's coffee.
I knew he was a devious bastard, but I never thought he'd actually poison me! Asano thought to himself.
Fortunately, his intensity and anger were in character for Akio, and the director seemed pleased with his performance. "Cut!" Kitamura said. "Good work, Asano-kun. Let's stop here."
"Thank you," Asano gasped, then bolted for the restroom. As he ran down the hall, he passed by Yoshizumi, who looked startled, and Onozuka, who distinctly smirked at him. At that moment, Asano would cheerfully have throttled the Golden Prince despite the damage it would do to his career, but he didn't dare stop for even an extra second.
Why can't I ever get the best of that son of a bitch? Asano thought in frustration as he made it to the bathroom just in the nick of time.
***
Yoshizumi noticed the smirk on Onozuka's face, although he quickly covered it up with a concerned look as a young production assistant approached them.
"Hikari-chan, is something wrong with Asano-kun?" Onozuka asked anxiously, and if Yoshizumi hadn't seen that smirk and been aware of the rivalry between the two men, he would easily have believed that Onozuka was actually worried about Asano.
"He said he had a stomachache," the girl replied. "He started feeling sick during filming, but insisted on finishing the scene." She frowned worriedly. "He really looked awful--he was pale and sweating, and I was afraid he might collapse before the scene was done."
"Oh, dear, I hope he'll be all right," Onozuka said.
A suspicion was forming in Yoshizumi's mind, but now was not the time and place to confront Onozuka about it. "I'll go check on Asano-kun," he said.
"Should I go with you?" Onozuka asked sweetly.
Yoshizumi gave the younger actor a brief, hard stare before replying pleasantly, "No, you've done more than enough, Onozuka-kun. Your scene is coming up next, and you ought to prepare for it."
Onozuka bowed and said, "All right, but please let us know how Asano-kun is doing," and Hikari looked impressed by his concern and his princely graciousness.
"Of course," Yoshizumi replied, then set off in search of Asano, muttering under his breath, "I swear, I'm going to knock both their heads together!"
***
Asano stumbled out of the bathroom stall, feeling weak and drained. He hoped that he'd gotten everything out of his system--it literally felt as if he had--because he certainly didn't want to repeat the experience. His gut still ached, and Asano wasn't quite sure if that was because whatever Onozuka had dosed him with had yet to wear off, or if it was simply the strain of keeping his abdominal muscles tense throughout the entire scene in order to avoid having an "accident" on the set.
He washed his hands and splashed some water on his face, muttering, "I swear I'm going to kill Onozuka."
"Don't you think that your little feud has gone far enough?" a voice asked coldly, and Asano jumped, only just now noticing that Yoshizumi was standing beside the wash basins.
"Yoshizumi-san!" Asano exclaimed. "How long have you been standing there?" He had been relieved to find the restroom empty when he'd entered it, and his face burned with humiliation at the thought of Yoshizumi standing outside the stall listening to the sound of his body very noisily and embarrassingly emptying itself out.
"You're not sick," Yoshizumi said curtly, ignoring his question. "At least, not from stomach flu or food poisoning."
"'Poisoning' might be accurate," Asano muttered, still blushing with shame.
"Not poison, precisely," Yoshizumi said coolly. "Judging by your reaction, I'd say probably a laxative. It would be easy enough to grind up some pills or pop open a capsule and drop the powder into someone's coffee at breakfast."
"Like I said, I'm going to kill that princely little bastard," Asano growled.
"Of course," Yoshizumi continued in that cool voice, "the next logical question would be: why would Onozuka-kun want to poison you, Asano-kun?"
Asano's flushed face turned pale as it slowly dawned on him that he might have made a serious mistake in crossing Onozuka--and not just because he'd underestimated Onozuka's capacity for revenge. He tried to bluster it out by playing dumb and saying, "I don't know; he's never liked me. He probably holds a grudge against me because Katou blames me for that scandal with Iwaki-san."
"No," Yoshizumi said implacably, shaking his head. "Onozuka-kun is always very careful to guard his image. He wouldn't do anything this reckless unless you'd provoked him personally--say, by attacking his family." Asano's face flushed again, and Yoshizumi accused, "It was you who leaked that story to the press, wasn't it, Asano-kun?"
"You can't prove that," Asano said defiantly.
"We aren't in a court of law!" Yoshizumi snapped impatiently. "We both know that it was you, and obviously Onozuka-kun knows it, too. Your rivalry with him is none of my business as long as you keep it private, but I warned you before that I wouldn't tolerate you doing anything that would affect the movie!"
"But it was Onozuka who nearly ruined the scene by dosing my coffee!" Asano argued.
"Onozuka-kun went a little too far and I'll be talking to him, too, but I can't blame him for being angry that his family got dragged into this scandal," Yoshizumi replied, his voice growing cold again. "It would be bad enough if you were leaking rumors about Onozuka-kun and Kikuchi-san to the press, but at least it would be a direct battle between you and him, and we actors accept that the paparazzi are a risk of our profession. But to drag civilians into your feud, just because they have the bad luck to be related to your rival? That's the mark of a coward, Asano-kun."
He stared at Asano with a look of contempt that unsettled Asano much more than he wanted to admit. He belatedly remembered how relieved he'd been that Yoshizumi had forgiven him for his earlier blackmail attempt, and how Yoshizumi had said that he wouldn't be so forgiving a second time. He had considered his feud with Onozuka separate from his sort-of friendship with Yoshizumi, but he should have realized that Yoshizumi, with his passionate and idealistic love for filmmaking, would be concerned with anything that affected the film, however remotely.
In his own defense, Asano hadn't predicted that Onozuka would take such a direct and drastic form of revenge, damn him!
"Moreover," Yoshizumi continued, "your reason for attacking Onozuka in the first place is mere petty jealousy. If you're upset that he got the co-lead role instead of you, the best way to show him up is to improve your acting skills and win your next audition in the future. Pulling a stunt like this just shows that you don't have the confidence to compete against him fairly."
Asano was torn between anger and shame, but mostly shame--right now, he felt lower than a worm. And what was even worse than having his childish, petty jealousy exposed was the fact that Yoshizumi was the one doing it--one of the few people that Asano respected, and whose respect Asano wanted in turn.
"What are you going to do?" Asano whispered, remembering Yoshizumi's threat to expose his part in Iwaki's scandal.
"I ought to tell the director what you've done," Yoshizumi said sternly. "But that would only cause more commotion on the set, which wouldn't be good for the movie. You and Onozuka are even now, so just leave it at that and I won't take things any further. However, if you continue your feud, I'll have to tell Kitamura-kantoku everything that I know. I may not have hard evidence, but he's a smart man, and I'm sure he'll be able to figure out the truth for himself."
Asano paled further. Yoshizumi had no proof that he was the one who had leaked the story, but proof wasn't always necessary in order to ruin a career. Look at Kikuchi, for example: even though no one (other than the people directly involved) knew what had happened between him and Katou, he had been branded a troublemaker and blacklisted by the industry until Kitamura had decided to take a chance on him. And Kikuchi was a star with a proven track record; directors and producers would be much less likely to give a second chance to a troublesome up-and-coming young actor who'd never even had a starring role.
"Yoshizumi-san, please don't," he pleaded.
"Are you scared?" Yoshizumi asked, with a look of grim satisfaction. "Because you should be. I want you to remember that feeling. If tabloid rumors generate bad publicity for the movie, or if filming is delayed and runs over budget because one of the actors suffers a not-so-natural illness, it's not just your career or Onozuka's that will be affected. The livelihoods of many people are depending on this film, from the director and producers, to the actors, down to the crew and assistants. Think about how they'll feel if they lose their jobs or can't get work because the movie flops due to your actions. And think about the movie itself, the beautiful story that Mizutani-sensei crafted, and how it might get overshadowed by tabloid gossip!" Yoshizumi sighed wearily, and before Asano could respond, he added, "Actually, the problem with you, Asano-kun, is that you don't think before you act. If you had, you would have realized that your real enemy is yourself, not Onozuka-kun."
"What are you talking about?" Asano demanded indignantly.
"I don't know what Onozuka-kun's motivations are, but he's able to become his character, to the point where you forget that you're watching Onozuka Yuu the actor, and only see Eisuke. He isn't at the level of Katou-kun or Iwaki-kun yet, but he's a promising young actor who obviously cares about his craft."
Asano glared at Yoshizumi, burning with jealousy at hearing the older actor praise his rival, and he wondered if Yoshizumi was doing it on purpose to punish him.
"As for you, Asano-kun," Yoshizumi continued coolly, "you are a talented actor, but you're too impatient and too self-aware. It's obvious that you see each role as a step up or down the career ladder, and that you're calculating how much recognition it will bring you."
"So what?" Asano retorted defiantly. "I never denied that I'm ambitious; not everyone can be an idealist like you, with a pure love of acting. You think that Onozuka and Kikuchi don't care about fame and fortune, too?"
"I'm sure that they do," Yoshizumi replied levelly. "But they don't let it come across in their performances. I think you need to ask yourself why you became an actor, Asano-kun. If it's only to get rich and famous, there are easier ways to go about it, as Kikuchi-san said before. Regardless, you will never become a truly great actor if you can't put the welfare of the film above your petty rivalries. I thought you had potential, but maybe I was wrong. I'm very disappointed in you, Asano-kun."
Yoshizumi no longer sounded angry, but rather, cool and remote--almost indifferent, which was somehow even worse than facing his anger. It was as if Asano had become nothing more than a distant stranger, not even worthy of his contempt.
Asano was struck by the sudden, despairing realization that he had just ruined his chances of...what exactly, Asano wasn't sure. A tentative friendship for starters...and only now, when it was too late, Asano was beginning to realize that he might have wanted something more than friendship with Yoshizumi, that his impulse to follow Yoshizumi to the host club might have been motivated by more than a desire to gather some dirt on a coworker. That he should have been happy to see Yoshizumi go to the love hotel with the Rusty Nail host because it provided him with good blackmail material, but instead he'd been irritated...and jealous. And that maybe part of the reason that he hated Onozuka so much was because Yoshizumi always praised his acting abilities--although he had plenty of other reasons as well.
"I'm sorry, Yoshizumi-san," Asano whispered, sincere for once. Even more than some potential romance, he didn't want to lose Yoshizumi's friendship, however tentative and casual it might be. Iwaki had always--well, almost always--been kind to Asano, but that was because he didn't know the real Asano. Yoshizumi, on the other hand, had been aware of his ambition and scheming and jealousy, and for some reason, had liked him anyway. Sometimes Yoshizumi had teased him, or lectured him sternly when he thought Asano was out of line, but he had also treated Asano with respect and hadn't looked down on him for being a green young actor. And now he was very afraid that he had lost that respect--perhaps for good.
"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to," Yoshizumi said sternly. "And there are some things that cannot be mended by words. You need to understand that your actions have consequences, Asano-kun--aside from any harm that might be done to the film, you've caused major inconvenience to Onozuka-kun's family, and have possibly damaged an already troubled relationship between him and them. Think about how you'd feel if he attacked your family in the press!"
Asano wasn't estranged from his family as Onozuka apparently was, but neither was he particularly close to them. At the moment, he was more concerned about Yoshizumi's opinion of him than he was about his family.
"I'm sorry," he repeated helplessly. "I...I'll apologize to Onozuka-kun as well, if you think that will help." The idea of apologizing to the Prince stuck in his craw, but Asano was willing to endure the humiliation if it would help to win back Yoshizumi's regard.
"I think you do owe him an apology, although I doubt that he'll accept it or believe in it," Yoshizumi said with a shrug. "Forgiveness has to be earned: you'll need to prove through your actions as well as your words that you're sincerely sorry and that you can be trusted. Even so, filming will be wrapping up soon, and there might not be enough time to earn Onozuka-kun's forgiveness--especially since I have the feeling that he's not the forgiving type. You may just have to live with what you've done, Asano-kun."
He turned and walked out the door, and Asano whispered to the empty room, "But it's not Onozuka's forgiveness that I want, Yoshizumi-san--it's yours."
***
Part 5
***
Afterword: The idea for Onozuka's revenge on Asano comes from one of my other stories, Realism (Hamlet Done Haru-style) (which is not part of this series), in which Onozuka threatens to poison Katou for harming Kikuchi, saying that he's giving Katou a warning because they're friends and "If it had been Asano, I'd have just gone ahead and poisoned him already." So when I was trying to think of what Onozuka might do to Asano, I thought it might be fun if he really did poison him--sort of. Actually murdering Asano would be going a bit too far even for Onozuka, but I figured he wouldn't mind making Asano a little sick. ^_^
Even at this early hour, there were several reporters waiting outside the studio, and they rushed forward, shouting questions at Onozuka. It wasn't quite at the level of the horde of paparazzi that followed Katou and Iwaki around, but he was beginning to get a glimpse of the unpleasant side of fame. He didn't really mind their speculations about himself and Kikuchi, or their attempts to catch the two of them in a compromising position--it was good publicity for the movie, and he considered it an amusing game of sorts, to stay one step ahead of them.
But he did mind that his family was involved this time, after the lengths he'd gone through in order to protect them. It wouldn't have been so bad if a reporter had stumbled across his secret by accident--Onozuka would still have been upset, but he wouldn't have blamed anyone for it. However, the idea of Asano deliberately leaking the story to the press out of petty spite, not caring if it hurt Onozuka's family as well as Onozuka himself, filled him with a cold rage, and he intended to exact revenge on his enemy.
Onozuka smiled at the reporters, being careful not to let any of that rage show on his face, and said politely, "I have no comment at this time, but my agency is setting up a press conference for later today, and I promise that I'll answer all of your questions then." Then he bowed and hurried into the studio, ignoring their cries of protest and disappointment; security was on hand to keep them from following.
Several crew members were staring at him curiously, obviously having heard the news. A few of them came up to him to express their sympathy, and Onozuka thanked them graciously, then continued in search of his prey. A few minutes later, he found Asano in the cafeteria, calmly drinking a cup of coffee and reading the latest edition of the Jitsuwa Weekly.
***
Asano smirked as Onozuka leaned over him in what was obviously supposed to be a threatening manner, although he smiled pleasantly for the sake of the witnesses in the room--mainly the cafeteria employees and a handful of crew members.
"Good morning, Asano-kun," Onozuka said in a friendly voice, but with a cold glint in his eyes. Asano knew that only he was close enough to see it, and that the other people in the room would only see the Prince being courteous as always. However, he wasn't bothered by Onozuka's act because Asano knew that he held the upper hand for once.
"Good morning, Onozuka-kun," Asano replied in an equally friendly voice. He held up the magazine and added, "This article was quite a shock--it turns out that you really are a 'young master' after all!"
"Not at all," Onozuka said sweetly. "I stepped down as heir in order to become an actor, so my father's chief apprentice will inherit the position."
"It's really terrible, how the press has made a scandal out of a private matter," Asano said with false sympathy, thoroughly enjoying himself. "I can certainly relate, having been through something similar myself."
Onozuka leaned in a little closer, his smile not wavering the slightest bit. "Cut the crap, you two-faced son of a bitch," he whispered in a voice that only carried to Asano's ears. "I know you were the one who gave that story to press, and I'm warning you: if you want to attack me, bring it on, but if you ever involve my family again, I swear I'll make you wish that you'd never been born."
"Ooh, I'm so scared," Asano sneered. "Don't go throwing around false accusations, Onozuka-kun, or you might ruin your princely reputation."
Onozuka loomed over him a little longer, giving him a glare of frustration that Asano savored. Despite his threats, there was nothing Onozuka could really do to him. Oh sure, it would probably be wise not to eat or drink anything that Onozuka offered him in the future, or to be caught alone in a dark alley with him, although Asano couldn't picture the Prince getting into a brawl and possibly bruising his pretty face. But Onozuka couldn't risk fighting with Asano publicly, or even offering malicious gossip about him to the press, because it would damage his image as a sweet and noble prince. Sometimes being too good to be true could put one at a disadvantage, Asano thought smugly.
"Onozuka-kun?" Asami said in a concerned voice, and Onozuka straightened up, smiling at Asano innocently once again.
"Thanks for the advice, Asano-kun," Onozuka said in a voice pitched loud enough for the others to hear this time. "I guess that's all I can do--wait for this all to blow over."
Asami, Yoshizumi, and Kikuchi had just entered the room and were walking up to Onozuka. "I'm really sorry to hear about this tabloid story," Asami said earnestly, without her usual mischievous humor. "It's bad enough that the paparazzi are always trying to invent scandals, but..."
"But it's even worse when they go after your family and friends," Kikuchi finished, grimacing as he no doubt recalled his own scandal from ten years ago.
"I know," Onozuka agreed gravely. "I mean, I kind of signed up for all this when I became an actor, but my family didn't. That's why I took a stage name, to try and shield them from the press."
"I'm sure it will blow over soon," Asami said hopefully. "I mean, as scandals go, this one isn't particularly scandalous--it's not like you were doing drugs or sleeping with a married woman, after all. Your family seems really nice--at least, your Okinawan relatives do. They're not really mad at you for becoming an actor, are they?" Before Onozuka could reply, she hastily added, "Never mind; I shouldn't pry. You don't need to answer that if you don't want to, Onozuka-kun."
Onozuka smiled at her and said gently, "It's all right, Asami-chan; thank you for your concern. My parents were a little disappointed that I decided not to carry on the family business, but my father has chosen a successor from one of his apprentices. Takumi-san is a very capable and talented confectioner, much better than I ever was, and he's been with us so long that he's like part of the family--he was like an older brother to me when I was growing up. The Nakata confectionery will be able to carry on, and that's what really matters."
"I'm relieved to hear that," Asami said. "I'm sure that your family must be proud of you now that you're a success."
Onozuka just smiled politely in response, his eyes giving away nothing of his true feelings, which made Asano suspect that his parents weren't proud of him at all. He sipped his coffee and tried to hide the malicious pleasure he felt at the Prince finally getting his comeuppance.
Kikuchi patted Onozuka on the shoulder sympathetically and said, "The press will move on quickly, I'm sure, as soon as the next scandal comes along. Maybe you can get your friends Iwaki and Katou to help things along by staging another exhibitionist tryst?"
Onozuka let out what sounded like a sincere laugh, and Asami giggled at that reminder of the time that pictures of Iwaki and Katou (almost) having sex out on their patio had been spread across the tabloids. Even though the two were a known and established couple, the provocative photos had caused quite a sensation, adding to their popularity rather than detracting from it.
Maybe I just need to get laid in order to increase my popularity? Asano thought dryly. It certainly seems to have worked for Iwaki and Katou, and for Kikuchi and Onozuka!
"Tabloid scandals may be a risk of our profession, but that doesn't make it any more pleasant when they occur," Yoshizumi said quietly. "Please let me know if there's anything I can do for you, Onozuka-kun."
"Thank you, Yoshizumi-san," Onozuka replied. "It helps just knowing that my friends are supporting me."
Asano took another sip of coffee to disguise his scowl of disgust. Only Onozuka could say such a corny thing and manage to sound perfectly sincere!
"Would you like to have some breakfast with us, Onozuka-kun?" Asami asked.
"Thank you, but no," Onozuka said. "I think that I should contact my family before work starts and make sure they're okay."
He left the room, and the others got some food and coffee, then joined Asano at the table, although Kikuchi paused to gaze after Onozuka a little longer, looking worried. Could it be that Kikuchi really was in love with the Prince, and not just in lust?
Possibly, because he kept giving Asano suspicious and hostile glances throughout breakfast. Asami carried on most of the conversation, fretting sincerely over Onozuka, while the rest of them chimed in with sympathetic agreement from time to time. Asano noticed, however, that she couldn't resist taking a peek at his magazine.
"Here's an old picture of Onozuka-kun attending a tea ceremony with his father! Doesn't he look cute in a kimono, Kikuchi-san?"
"Very cute," Kikuchi agreed, although without his usual roguish grin.
"Although I guess we shouldn't be reading this," Asami said guiltily. "It sort of feels like siding with the enemy."
"Well, you didn't buy it, so at least you aren't putting money in their pockets," Kikuchi replied, shooting a pointed glance at Asano.
Asano smiled sweetly back at him and said, "Perhaps I shouldn't be lining their pockets, but I wanted to see what they were saying about Onozuka-kun, so that I could help defend him, if necessary."
"You're a prince, Asano-kun," Kikuchi said sarcastically.
"No, that's Onozuka-kun's department, I think," Asano laughed.
Asami watched their exchange with interest, her head turning back and forth from himself to Kikuchi, as if she were watching a tennis match. Yoshizumi smiled and remained silent, his expression as bland as Onozuka's had been when Asami had mentioned his family.
They finished their breakfast, and Kikuchi and Asami headed to their dressing rooms, but Yoshizumi lingered behind.
"Asano-kun," he said quietly. "I certainly hope that you had nothing to do with this." He tapped a finger on the magazine in an almost accusing manner.
"I'm hurt that you'd think I could do such a thing," Asano said, feigning wounded shock.
"I can't help but think that it's a strange coincidence that a woman from Onozuka-kun's past turns up at our tea ceremony, and a couple of days later, his past turns into a big story in the tabloids," Yoshizumi replied, his voice still quiet and carefully emotionless.
Asano shrugged and said, "Maybe that girl or someone from the tea house talked to a reporter. She did seem to be a bit miffed that Onozuka-kun didn't recognize her."
Yoshizumi gave him a long, penetrating stare, and Asano tried to meet it without squirming or looking away. Either of those things would be a dead giveaway as to his guilt, so he reminded himself that he was an actor and it should be easy enough to pretend that he was innocent, right? After all, Onozuka did it all the time.
Finally, Yoshizumi rose to his feet, breaking off the staring contest, much to Asano's relief. "I just hope this scandal doesn't affect the movie," he said, in a voice that seemed to hold just a hint of accusation--or was that merely Asano's guilty conscience at work?
As Yoshizumi walked off, Asano found himself wondering uneasily if he might have taken his revenge against Onozuka just a little too far...
***
Although Onozuka was sure, as he had told Fujimoto, that his father would not speak out against him in the press, he still wanted to gauge his father's mood, and he felt a halfhearted desire to apologize for the paparazzi that were no doubt going to descend upon Kanazawa--although really, it wasn't his fault, and his father would never accept his apology anyway.
Well, maybe it was partly his fault. If he'd acknowledged Chiaki, or at least gone back to apologize and charm her out of her pique, she might not have spilled out her story to Asano. Because he was certain that it was Asano and not Chiaki who had spoken to the press, and that suspicion had been confirmed by the smugness hidden beneath Asano's fake innocent concern this morning. It was nothing that would hold up in court, but he knew, as surely as he knew that Katou was hopelessly besotted with Iwaki, that Asano was the guilty party.
Onozuka smiled nastily; Asano would get what was coming to him soon enough. In the meantime, he took out his cell phone and dialed a number--not his father's, because he didn't have quite enough courage to speak to his father directly.
The phone on the other end rang several times, and Onozuka was expecting the call to go to voicemail when Takumi picked up and asked in hushed voice, "Yuu-san?"
"I take it you've seen the tabloids this morning?" Onozuka asked, although it was mostly a rhetorical question.
"Yes, actually the Master is fielding some reporters who just showed up outside the shop," Takumi replied.
"How angry is he?" Onozuka asked nervously.
"Pretty angry," Takumi replied matter of factly. "More at the reporters than you, although of course he blames your acting career for inflicting the reporters on us in the first place. What's really made him angry is the gossip about your mother's past--all the stuff about you and the inheritance is more of an annoyance, compared to that."
Onozuka grudgingly had to admit that was one of his father's good points: he had never let anyone speak ill of his wife, not even his own parents, who had not been initially thrilled about the marriage, although they had softened a bit after she'd given birth to the heir, or so he had gleaned from the gossip he'd managed to overhear as a child. From Onozuka's own observations, his paternal grandparents had always treated his mother courteously but a little coolly, though with no overt hostility. They had died of illness, first his grandmother and then his grandfather, when he was in middle and high school, or no doubt they would have been as disappointed in him as his father was when he'd left home to become an actor.
"I don't know if you remember the Morimoto family," Onozuka said. "The mother used to work at Shiguretei..."
"Sure, their little girl used to have a crush on you," Takumi replied, sounding amused. "What was her name...Chihiro...Chiemi...?"
"Chiaki," Onozuka supplied. "Mizutani-sensei took the cast out to a tea house here in Tokyo, and Chiaki happened to be working there. I think she spoke to one of my coworkers later and that he leaked the story to the press."
"Well, I suppose it was inevitable," Takumi said philosophically, sounding surprisingly calm. "You're getting more and more famous, so it was only a matter of time before reporters started digging into your past. It could turn out to be a good thing in the long run."
"How can you say that?" Onozuka asked incredulously.
"There's no longer any need for you to hide your connection to the Nakata family, and therefore no need to stay away from home any longer," Takumi replied.
"Nothing except for the fact that my father still thinks I'm an ungrateful, worthless son!" Onozuka protested. "I wasn't staying away just because of the media, you know."
"I know," Takumi said wearily. "But now the Master can't pretend that you don't exist anymore, with all this media uproar. And he has to give up any secret hopes he might have of you coming back to run the business. It's the perfect time for a reconciliation, Yuu-san."
"Perfect," Onozuka echoed skeptically. "Except that he's still furious at me--"
"He's been angry for the past six years," Takumi interrupted. "You're going to have to face him sometime, Yuu-san. Why not now?"
"If you think it's such a great idea, why are you talking so quietly?" Onozuka accused. "You're hiding, right, because you don't want my father or any of the other workers to overhear you."
"I'm hiding in the storeroom," Takumi admitted sheepishly. "I just don't want to get him all worked up before we have a definite plan in place." Onozuka snorted derisively and Takumi continued, "And yes, your father is a very intimidating man and I'm not eager to incur his anger, either. But I can face him for your sake, Yuu-san--and for the rest of your family. I've been with the confectionery since I was a kid, and I consider all of you to be my family, whether I ever marry Shiori-chan or not." His voice took on a pleading note as he said, "I want all of you to be happy, Yuu. You know you can't ignore your family forever."
"Just watch me," Onozuka muttered under his breath, but before Takumi could reply, there was a knocking sound in the background.
"Takumi-kun!" a voice called out impatiently. "What are you doing in there? The Master is calling for you!"
"I have to go," Takumi whispered. "But think about what I said, Yuu-san. I'll talk to you later." And then he hung up before Onozuka could tell him that a reconciliation was definitely not happening.
Another knock sounded--at his dressing room door this time. "Yes?" he called out.
"It's me," Kikuchi replied. "Can I come in?"
Onozuka hesitated for a moment before replying, "Sure." Part of him wanted to be comforted by Kikuchi, while part of him dreaded the questions Kikuchi might ask about his family now that his secret had finally been brought out into the open. Although it was difficult to predict how Kikuchi would react: there were times when he was sneaky and pushy, as when he'd tricked Onozuka into meeting his family, but he'd been surprisingly understanding about not pressing Onozuka to talk about his own family. That unpredictability could be annoying at times, but Onozuka supposed that was also part of what attracted him to Kikuchi.
Kikuchi entered the room, closing the door behind him, which would no doubt continue to cause speculative gossip among the crew, but that was the least of Onozuka's worries at the moment.
"Are you okay?" Kikuchi asked, looking concerned.
"Not really, but I'll survive," Onozuka sighed, running a hand through his hair distractedly.
"It's always hard when the media goes after your family," Kikuchi said quietly. He moved behind Onozuka and began massaging his shoulders, strong fingers loosening muscles knotted with tension.
"Mmm, that feels good," Onozuka murmured, leaning back into his lover's touch.
"I know it's not much comfort to you now, but as Asami-chan said, this one isn't too bad as scandals go," Kikuchi said, his hands continuing with their massage as Onozuka's eyes half-closed with pleasure. "The worst that you can be accused of is being a less than dutiful son, but you've said that there's a new successor, and I'm sure that you can manage to convince the public that you're a loving and devoted son."
"The public might believe it, but my parents won't," Onozuka muttered, with a touch of bitterness.
"But it's true, isn't it?" Kikuchi asked gently. "Maybe you don't get along with them, but you do love them, don't you? I saw how close you were to your Onozuka relatives, and I'm sure you care about your parents as well. There were times in my youth when my father and I fought like cats and dogs, but I always knew that if I ever really needed him, he would be there for me." He was silent for a moment, then added, "Well, maybe I forgot that when the scandal broke." A hint of fond amusement lightened the serious tone of Kikuchi's voice as he continued, "I was so worried about what Dad's reaction would be, but he reminded me right away that he loved me and would always stand by me."
"I remember you told me that your father was angry that you didn't tell him you were gay earlier," Onozuka said.
"Yes, he had a few choice words for me," Kikuchi chuckled. "It's lucky that we were speaking over the phone at the time and not in person, because he'd probably have smacked me upside the head! By the time I actually did go home about a week later, he had calmed down a little."
"I wish..." Onozuka said without thinking, before he managed to cut himself off. There was little point in wishing that his family was more like Kikuchi's, other than making himself sound pathetic. No doubt his father had often wished, with equal ineffectiveness, that Onozuka was more like Takumi.
Kikuchi's hands moved on him a little more gently now, as if trying to comfort him. "I don't think that this 'scandal' will affect your family's business," he said reassuringly. "If anything, it will probably increase business."
"My father won't thank me for it," Onozuka replied sourly. "He won't appreciate the notoriety even if it brings in more sales. He takes great pride in his work, and he won't appreciate customers who are only buying our sweets out of curiosity about me, and not because of their quality."
"You said 'our' sweets," Kikuchi pointed out. "You may be estranged from your family, but you still take pride in the business, too, don't you?"
"It's just force of habit," Onozuka mumbled, irritated by his slip of the tongue.
"Anyway," Kikuchi continued, "even if your fans start off shopping there out of curiosity, they might come to appreciate the sweets for themselves and become true customers. It might be a good way to get young people interested in the tradition of wagashi."
"I doubt that my father will see it that way," Onozuka said dubiously.
"Your family's sweets are so delicious that I'm sure your fans are bound to be won over by them," Kikuchi chuckled.
Onozuka smiled a little, in spite of his bad mood. "It's funny that your mother turned out to be a fan of my family's sweets. I guess you must have been surprised when you found out that I was really a Nakata!"
Kikuchi's hands suddenly went still for a moment, then resumed their massage as Kikuchi replied just a little too smoothly, "Oh yes, it was a big shock!"
Those subtle hints would probably have passed unnoticed by most people--but not by an expert liar like Onozuka, who had been acting the role of the perfect heir long before he had ever started his professional acting career. He jerked out of Kikuchi's grasp, then spun around and shouted, "You already knew, you bastard!"
"Please keep your voice down, Yuu," Kikuchi urged. "You don't want to start more rumors among the crew on top of everything else."
Onozuka knew that he was right, although that made him even more angry rather than less. He glared at his lover and hissed in a much quieter voice, "You son of a bitch, you knew!"
Kikuchi mustered up a charming smile that was a little too desperate to have the desired effect. "I didn't--" he started to protest in a placating voice.
"Don't lie to me!" Onozuka snapped. "It's obvious from your reaction! How the hell did you--?" He broke off his question and slapped his forehead in disgust as the obvious answer occurred to him. "It was Toshi-chan, wasn't it? I swear I'm going to kill him!"
"Please don't blame Toshi-chan," Kikuchi said, sounding humble and contrite, and not at all like his usual arrogant self. "It wasn't his fault; he was only trying to help. It was the day after I met him at the clinic--when you broke our date, remember? I couldn't get in touch with you and I was worried, so I called him to see if he knew where you were."
Onozuka scowled; he should never have introduced his naive friend to his scheming lover. And he should have realized that Kikuchi wouldn't have been satisfied to let things drop, despite his pledge not to ask about Onozuka's family. Strictly speaking, he hadn't actually broken his promise--he had just gotten the information from someone else. It was sort of devious stunt that Onozuka would have pulled, which made him all the more furious that he hadn't seen through Kikuchi's act earlier.
"You know, if you hadn't stood me up, I wouldn't have called Toshi-chan, and he wouldn't have told me about your family, so you're partly to blame, too, Yuu," Kikuchi pointed out.
"Oh, so now it's my fault?" Onozuka snarled. "You're the one who went behind my back, after all that noble talk about how my family was none of your business unless I decided to talk to you about them--which I didn't! You must have had a good laugh at my expense--taking me to the Meguro branch of my own family's store and pretending you didn't know that I was a Nakata, not to mention the time that Akiha brought in Nakata wagashi!"
"First of all, I started going to that store long before I met you!" Kikuchi retorted. "My mother really does love wagashi, the Nakata brand in particular--you can ask her if you don't believe me. And at the photo shoot, Akiha ordered the sweets on his own--I had nothing to do with it!"
Onozuka often teased Kikuchi about his acting skills--or lack thereof--and Kikuchi enjoyed hamming it up to get a laugh, but now Onozuka realized just how good an actor he was. When they'd pulled into the parking lot of the confectionery on the day that they'd visited Kikuchi's parents, Onozuka had panicked, and Kikuchi had looked him right in the eye, showing nothing but confusion and concern. Onozuka was a cynic by nature, and yet even he had been fooled by Kikuchi's performance.
And now he couldn't help but wonder: if Kikuchi had lied about that, what else might he have lied about?
"Was it all just a big joke to you?" Onozuka demanded. "Have you been secretly laughing at me this whole time?"
"No!" Kikuchi protested. "Please listen to me, Yuu--" He reached out to lay his hand on Onozuka's arm in a soothing gesture, but Onozuka angrily pulled away from him. "I wasn't mocking you," Kikuchi insisted. "Honestly, I really did talk to Toshi-chan because I was worried, not to get some dirt on you!" When Onozuka gave him a doubtful look, Kikuchi added, "Okay, I won't deny that I got a little amusement out of your reaction at the shop, but I didn't set the whole thing up as a joke."
"Then what were you doing?" Onozuka asked, crossing his arms across his chest and glaring at his lover. "I can't help but feel like that day was one big practical joke--not just the trip to confectionery, but your surprise family visit! If it wasn't a joke, then why take me to meet them?"
"Because I..." Kikuchi's voice faltered, and he looked panicked for a moment, which disturbed Onozuka almost as much as finding out that Kikuchi knew his secret. Kikuchi ought to be trying to charm and wheedle his way back into Onozuka's good graces, not standing there looking like a frightened kid in over his head. It also suddenly occurred to Onozuka--perhaps a little too late--that maybe he didn't really want to know the answer to the question he'd just asked.
"Because I felt guilty about prying into your personal business," Kikuchi finally finished, although Onozuka suspected that wasn't what he had originally intended to say. "To even the score, I decided to introduce you to my family--now you know as much about me as I do about you." He smiled slightly, although he still looked tense and worried, then said with wry humor, "Actually, I think that the scales have tipped in your favor--my mother and brother told you a lot more about my past lovers than I had planned."
"It serves you right, for springing that surprise on me!" Onozuka retorted. "And if you really wanted to make it up to me, you could have given me some warning--don't think that I'll forgive you that easily!"
"I'm sorry," Kikuchi said, his voice taking on the wheedling note that Onozuka had expected earlier. He leaned closer, his mouth stopping just short of brushing against Onozuka's ear, and whispered seductively, "Let me make it up to you, your Highness. Maybe I can cook dinner for you tonight?"
Onozuka shivered in an automatic response to the warmth of Kikuchi's breath against his ear, like a teasing caress, and to the sound of his voice. He wanted the comfort and distraction of Kikuchi's body to take his mind off his current troubles, but now his pride wouldn't allow him to forgive his lover that easily.
"I'll think about it," Onozuka said coolly, pushing Kikuchi away from him.
"Aw, don't be like that, Yuu," Kikuchi cajoled, but there was a knock at the door and a voice called out, "Onozuka-san, are you ready for your make-up?"
The question was phrased politely, but it wasn't really a request. Time was money, and the actors were expected to adhere to the carefully planned schedule. Oh sure, there were some big stars who liked to throw their weight around just to prove how important they were, but Onozuka didn't have that much clout yet, and even if he did, he wouldn't waste it on some pointless exercise in ego-stroking.
Kikuchi looked displeased at the interruption, though, which gave Onozuka a bit of spiteful satisfaction. It serves you right, you sneaky bastard, he thought.
"Yes, please come in," Onozuka said sweetly, and the make-up artist walked in, looking surprised to find Kikuchi there.
"I'm sorry," she apologized, blushing slightly. "I hope I'm not, er, interrupting anything."
"Not at all," Kikuchi replied, but he couldn't quite suppress a growl of irritation in his voice that caused the woman to flinch as he walked past her.
"Oh, don't worry," Onozuka assured the make-up artist. "Kikuchi-san is just upset about the tabloid article, not you. It's really quite sweet that he's so concerned about me, actually."
***
Kikuchi heard the girl giggle at Onozuka's remark as he closed the dressing room door behind him, being careful not to slam it--he had already exposed more of himself than he should have by growling at the make-up artist. He was usually better at controlling his emotions than that, but his conversation with Onozuka had seriously shaken him.
"If it wasn't a joke, then why take me to meet your family?" Onozuka had asked, and Kikuchi had almost unthinkingly replied, "Because I love you." He had been wanting their relationship to grow more serious for some time, of course, but that was the first time that he had ever used the word "love" to describe his feelings for Onozuka, even in the privacy of his own thoughts.
All this time, he had been plotting to make Onozuka fall in love with him--treating it like a game of reeling in his "fish," smugly assured that he had the upper hand. Only now did Kikuchi realize that the tables had been turned and he was the one who was hooked--it probably served him right for being such an arrogant, conceited bastard.
And now Kikuchi was worried that he might lose his Prince over this incident. Onozuka was very guarded and didn't give his trust easily, which meant that he wouldn't forgive a betrayal easily, either--not that Kikuchi felt that he'd betrayed Onozuka by poking around into his past, but what really mattered was how Onozuka saw it.
He felt a fresh surge of panic at the thought that Onozuka might really break up with him over this, and a passing crew member paused to give him a look of concern and ask, "Are you all right, Kikuchi-san?"
"I'm fine," Kikuchi replied, forcing himself to smile pleasantly, then retreated to the safety of his own dressing room. He leaned against the wall and took a deep breath; he really needed to get a hold of himself. He was forty years old, for God's sake--too old to be panicking like a frantic teenager whose first love affair had hit a few snags. Onozuka was a clever and stubborn young man, but Kikuchi was older and wilier and just as stubborn. It might take awhile to soothe Onozuka's hurt feelings, but he would find a way to win his prince back.
He smiled when he remembered the way Onozuka had shivered when he'd whispered into his young lover's ear--maybe it wouldn't take that long, after all. He knew Onozuka's body intimately, knew exactly what excited him most and how to make his beautiful prince respond to his touch. Maybe he was being arrogant again, but he knew that Onozuka was as addicted to his body as he was to Onozuka's, and that it wouldn't be easy for Onozuka to return to the nearly celibate life he'd led before they'd met.
Kikuchi frowned. But he wanted to be more than just Onozuka's bed partner, no matter how amazing the sex was. He wanted to be as close to Onozuka as Miyasaka and Katou were--no, closer. Onozuka's secret was out in the open now, and maybe in the long run that was a good thing: it had removed one of the walls between them, increasing the potential for more emotional intimacy in addition to the physical. Because Kikuchi might be hooked, but he had his hooks firmly sunk in Onozuka as well, and he didn't intend to let his prize just swim away.
He smiled, not with the usual mischievous pleasure he took in his long-term seduction of Onozuka, but with a zealous and almost grim determination that would have sent the production assistants fleeing in terror if they had seen it, and it would probably have given even the Prince himself some pause.
***
The bulk of the film, including the major climatic scenes, had already been shot, but there were still some smaller in-between scenes that needed to be shot before they could wrap up filming. One of these was a scene in which Asano's character discovered that Midori had been an organ donor and became enraged that, in a sense, part of her was still alive and beyond his control.
That scene was the first one they would be shooting today, and Asano walked onto the set still feeling quite smug. The setting was Akio's bedroom, and the walls were covered with photos of Midori that he had secretly taken without her knowledge, and scattered here and there were vases of flowers of dead, dried flowers which had originally been purchased at the shop where she had worked.
But as the cameras were being moved into place, Asano's stomach began to feel a little unsettled, as if he had eaten something that disagreed with him. But all he'd had for breakfast this morning was a piece of toast and some coffee, so that couldn't be it. He tried to shrug it off, telling himself that it was just nerves, though he hadn't felt nervous about this scene up until now. A moment later, his stomach gurgled audibly, as if to contradict him. Flushing with embarrassment, he quickly glanced around to see if anyone else had heard.
Fortunately, Kitamura was busy talking with Mizutani-sensei and the cameramen, and no one seemed to have noticed anything out of the ordinary. When he finished his conversation, the director looked up and asked, "Are you ready, Asano-kun?"
"Yes, Kantoku-san," Asano replied, trying to regain his composure.
"Good," Kitamura said. "Just do it the way we rehearsed it earlier."
"Yes, sir," Asano said obediently, and they began filming.
He walked into Akio's shrine to his dead love with a look of satisfaction on his face, pausing to caress one of the photos while he crooned, "You belong to me now, my love." Although he didn't possess Midori physically, Akio was satisfied that by killing her, he had in a way stolen her from her husband, and in the depths of his twisted mind, he was content.
He rearranged the flowers, humming cheerfully to himself, then settled down in a chair to read a newspaper, flipping through the pages idly. Asano tried to keep a smug, complacent smile on his face, although it required a great deal of effort, as the churning in his stomach was steadily increasing. Then the camera zoomed in over his shoulder to focus on a headline buried in the middle of the paper, no longer newsworthy enough for the front page: "NO NEW LEADS IN THE MURDER OF A POLICE DETECTIVE'S WIFE."
Asano laughed triumphantly as the camera panned down the article, which explained that the brutal murder of Takahashi Midori, the wife of Metropolitan Police Detective Takahashi Ryotaro, was still unsolved and the police were asking anyone with information regarding the case to come forward. The article went on to say that Detective Takahashi had found some comfort in donating his wife's organs, which had been used to save the lives of other people.
"Japan has a severe shortage of organ donors, and many people die every day who could have been saved by an organ transplant," a Doctor Watanabe was quoted as saying. He went on to say that in particular, a young man in need of a heart transplant had been saved by the Takahashis' gift, although due to hospital policy and privacy concerns, the identities of transplant recipients remained confidential.
"What?!" Asano shouted, jumping to his feet, his face contorting in rage and his fingers closing into fists, crumpling and tearing the newspaper. "Midori-san belongs to me! No one else can ha...have her!" He stumbled over his lines as a cramp gripped his belly, and his hands clutched at the newspaper a little more tightly in reflex.
"Cut!" Kitamura shouted, frowning in disapproval. "Asano-kun, you should know your lines by now--you performed them perfectly in rehearsal."
"He looks a little pale," Mizutani whispered to the director, looking concerned. "I think he might be sick."
"Are you all right, Asano-kun?" Kitamura asked with more sympathy, though he still sounded a little impatient.
"I'm sorry for the interruption," Asano apologized through gritted teeth as the roiling in his belly continued. "I seem to have a bit of a stomachache."
"Do you need to take a break?" the director asked, but Asano knew that they were on a tight filming schedule, and he didn't want to be the one responsible for any delays. It was a short scene, and he thought--hoped--that he would be able to get through it.
"No, I can finish the scene," Asano promised, more confidently than he felt.
"Good," Kitamura said. "Let's start over from where you jump up." He motioned for the prop assistant to give Asano a new, uncrumpled newspaper--a few extras had been prepared ahead of time in case of possible re-takes--and they resumed filming.
Asano managed to get through the scene, in which he swore to track down and kill anyone who had received an organ transplant from Midori, although by the time he was done, his stomach ached and he was sweating profusely from the effort it took to keep his bowels from loosening on the set. All that got him through the scene was sheer determination and a desperate desire not to be humiliated by soiling himself in front of the director and camera crew--and his hatred for Onozuka. Because he was certain by now that this "stomachache" was not natural; he hadn't eaten anything last night or this morning that would have made him sick, and he suddenly recalled the way that Onozuka had loomed over him this morning in the cafeteria. The Prince was usually more subtle than that, so it must have been a cover in order to slip something into Asano's coffee.
I knew he was a devious bastard, but I never thought he'd actually poison me! Asano thought to himself.
Fortunately, his intensity and anger were in character for Akio, and the director seemed pleased with his performance. "Cut!" Kitamura said. "Good work, Asano-kun. Let's stop here."
"Thank you," Asano gasped, then bolted for the restroom. As he ran down the hall, he passed by Yoshizumi, who looked startled, and Onozuka, who distinctly smirked at him. At that moment, Asano would cheerfully have throttled the Golden Prince despite the damage it would do to his career, but he didn't dare stop for even an extra second.
Why can't I ever get the best of that son of a bitch? Asano thought in frustration as he made it to the bathroom just in the nick of time.
***
Yoshizumi noticed the smirk on Onozuka's face, although he quickly covered it up with a concerned look as a young production assistant approached them.
"Hikari-chan, is something wrong with Asano-kun?" Onozuka asked anxiously, and if Yoshizumi hadn't seen that smirk and been aware of the rivalry between the two men, he would easily have believed that Onozuka was actually worried about Asano.
"He said he had a stomachache," the girl replied. "He started feeling sick during filming, but insisted on finishing the scene." She frowned worriedly. "He really looked awful--he was pale and sweating, and I was afraid he might collapse before the scene was done."
"Oh, dear, I hope he'll be all right," Onozuka said.
A suspicion was forming in Yoshizumi's mind, but now was not the time and place to confront Onozuka about it. "I'll go check on Asano-kun," he said.
"Should I go with you?" Onozuka asked sweetly.
Yoshizumi gave the younger actor a brief, hard stare before replying pleasantly, "No, you've done more than enough, Onozuka-kun. Your scene is coming up next, and you ought to prepare for it."
Onozuka bowed and said, "All right, but please let us know how Asano-kun is doing," and Hikari looked impressed by his concern and his princely graciousness.
"Of course," Yoshizumi replied, then set off in search of Asano, muttering under his breath, "I swear, I'm going to knock both their heads together!"
***
Asano stumbled out of the bathroom stall, feeling weak and drained. He hoped that he'd gotten everything out of his system--it literally felt as if he had--because he certainly didn't want to repeat the experience. His gut still ached, and Asano wasn't quite sure if that was because whatever Onozuka had dosed him with had yet to wear off, or if it was simply the strain of keeping his abdominal muscles tense throughout the entire scene in order to avoid having an "accident" on the set.
He washed his hands and splashed some water on his face, muttering, "I swear I'm going to kill Onozuka."
"Don't you think that your little feud has gone far enough?" a voice asked coldly, and Asano jumped, only just now noticing that Yoshizumi was standing beside the wash basins.
"Yoshizumi-san!" Asano exclaimed. "How long have you been standing there?" He had been relieved to find the restroom empty when he'd entered it, and his face burned with humiliation at the thought of Yoshizumi standing outside the stall listening to the sound of his body very noisily and embarrassingly emptying itself out.
"You're not sick," Yoshizumi said curtly, ignoring his question. "At least, not from stomach flu or food poisoning."
"'Poisoning' might be accurate," Asano muttered, still blushing with shame.
"Not poison, precisely," Yoshizumi said coolly. "Judging by your reaction, I'd say probably a laxative. It would be easy enough to grind up some pills or pop open a capsule and drop the powder into someone's coffee at breakfast."
"Like I said, I'm going to kill that princely little bastard," Asano growled.
"Of course," Yoshizumi continued in that cool voice, "the next logical question would be: why would Onozuka-kun want to poison you, Asano-kun?"
Asano's flushed face turned pale as it slowly dawned on him that he might have made a serious mistake in crossing Onozuka--and not just because he'd underestimated Onozuka's capacity for revenge. He tried to bluster it out by playing dumb and saying, "I don't know; he's never liked me. He probably holds a grudge against me because Katou blames me for that scandal with Iwaki-san."
"No," Yoshizumi said implacably, shaking his head. "Onozuka-kun is always very careful to guard his image. He wouldn't do anything this reckless unless you'd provoked him personally--say, by attacking his family." Asano's face flushed again, and Yoshizumi accused, "It was you who leaked that story to the press, wasn't it, Asano-kun?"
"You can't prove that," Asano said defiantly.
"We aren't in a court of law!" Yoshizumi snapped impatiently. "We both know that it was you, and obviously Onozuka-kun knows it, too. Your rivalry with him is none of my business as long as you keep it private, but I warned you before that I wouldn't tolerate you doing anything that would affect the movie!"
"But it was Onozuka who nearly ruined the scene by dosing my coffee!" Asano argued.
"Onozuka-kun went a little too far and I'll be talking to him, too, but I can't blame him for being angry that his family got dragged into this scandal," Yoshizumi replied, his voice growing cold again. "It would be bad enough if you were leaking rumors about Onozuka-kun and Kikuchi-san to the press, but at least it would be a direct battle between you and him, and we actors accept that the paparazzi are a risk of our profession. But to drag civilians into your feud, just because they have the bad luck to be related to your rival? That's the mark of a coward, Asano-kun."
He stared at Asano with a look of contempt that unsettled Asano much more than he wanted to admit. He belatedly remembered how relieved he'd been that Yoshizumi had forgiven him for his earlier blackmail attempt, and how Yoshizumi had said that he wouldn't be so forgiving a second time. He had considered his feud with Onozuka separate from his sort-of friendship with Yoshizumi, but he should have realized that Yoshizumi, with his passionate and idealistic love for filmmaking, would be concerned with anything that affected the film, however remotely.
In his own defense, Asano hadn't predicted that Onozuka would take such a direct and drastic form of revenge, damn him!
"Moreover," Yoshizumi continued, "your reason for attacking Onozuka in the first place is mere petty jealousy. If you're upset that he got the co-lead role instead of you, the best way to show him up is to improve your acting skills and win your next audition in the future. Pulling a stunt like this just shows that you don't have the confidence to compete against him fairly."
Asano was torn between anger and shame, but mostly shame--right now, he felt lower than a worm. And what was even worse than having his childish, petty jealousy exposed was the fact that Yoshizumi was the one doing it--one of the few people that Asano respected, and whose respect Asano wanted in turn.
"What are you going to do?" Asano whispered, remembering Yoshizumi's threat to expose his part in Iwaki's scandal.
"I ought to tell the director what you've done," Yoshizumi said sternly. "But that would only cause more commotion on the set, which wouldn't be good for the movie. You and Onozuka are even now, so just leave it at that and I won't take things any further. However, if you continue your feud, I'll have to tell Kitamura-kantoku everything that I know. I may not have hard evidence, but he's a smart man, and I'm sure he'll be able to figure out the truth for himself."
Asano paled further. Yoshizumi had no proof that he was the one who had leaked the story, but proof wasn't always necessary in order to ruin a career. Look at Kikuchi, for example: even though no one (other than the people directly involved) knew what had happened between him and Katou, he had been branded a troublemaker and blacklisted by the industry until Kitamura had decided to take a chance on him. And Kikuchi was a star with a proven track record; directors and producers would be much less likely to give a second chance to a troublesome up-and-coming young actor who'd never even had a starring role.
"Yoshizumi-san, please don't," he pleaded.
"Are you scared?" Yoshizumi asked, with a look of grim satisfaction. "Because you should be. I want you to remember that feeling. If tabloid rumors generate bad publicity for the movie, or if filming is delayed and runs over budget because one of the actors suffers a not-so-natural illness, it's not just your career or Onozuka's that will be affected. The livelihoods of many people are depending on this film, from the director and producers, to the actors, down to the crew and assistants. Think about how they'll feel if they lose their jobs or can't get work because the movie flops due to your actions. And think about the movie itself, the beautiful story that Mizutani-sensei crafted, and how it might get overshadowed by tabloid gossip!" Yoshizumi sighed wearily, and before Asano could respond, he added, "Actually, the problem with you, Asano-kun, is that you don't think before you act. If you had, you would have realized that your real enemy is yourself, not Onozuka-kun."
"What are you talking about?" Asano demanded indignantly.
"I don't know what Onozuka-kun's motivations are, but he's able to become his character, to the point where you forget that you're watching Onozuka Yuu the actor, and only see Eisuke. He isn't at the level of Katou-kun or Iwaki-kun yet, but he's a promising young actor who obviously cares about his craft."
Asano glared at Yoshizumi, burning with jealousy at hearing the older actor praise his rival, and he wondered if Yoshizumi was doing it on purpose to punish him.
"As for you, Asano-kun," Yoshizumi continued coolly, "you are a talented actor, but you're too impatient and too self-aware. It's obvious that you see each role as a step up or down the career ladder, and that you're calculating how much recognition it will bring you."
"So what?" Asano retorted defiantly. "I never denied that I'm ambitious; not everyone can be an idealist like you, with a pure love of acting. You think that Onozuka and Kikuchi don't care about fame and fortune, too?"
"I'm sure that they do," Yoshizumi replied levelly. "But they don't let it come across in their performances. I think you need to ask yourself why you became an actor, Asano-kun. If it's only to get rich and famous, there are easier ways to go about it, as Kikuchi-san said before. Regardless, you will never become a truly great actor if you can't put the welfare of the film above your petty rivalries. I thought you had potential, but maybe I was wrong. I'm very disappointed in you, Asano-kun."
Yoshizumi no longer sounded angry, but rather, cool and remote--almost indifferent, which was somehow even worse than facing his anger. It was as if Asano had become nothing more than a distant stranger, not even worthy of his contempt.
Asano was struck by the sudden, despairing realization that he had just ruined his chances of...what exactly, Asano wasn't sure. A tentative friendship for starters...and only now, when it was too late, Asano was beginning to realize that he might have wanted something more than friendship with Yoshizumi, that his impulse to follow Yoshizumi to the host club might have been motivated by more than a desire to gather some dirt on a coworker. That he should have been happy to see Yoshizumi go to the love hotel with the Rusty Nail host because it provided him with good blackmail material, but instead he'd been irritated...and jealous. And that maybe part of the reason that he hated Onozuka so much was because Yoshizumi always praised his acting abilities--although he had plenty of other reasons as well.
"I'm sorry, Yoshizumi-san," Asano whispered, sincere for once. Even more than some potential romance, he didn't want to lose Yoshizumi's friendship, however tentative and casual it might be. Iwaki had always--well, almost always--been kind to Asano, but that was because he didn't know the real Asano. Yoshizumi, on the other hand, had been aware of his ambition and scheming and jealousy, and for some reason, had liked him anyway. Sometimes Yoshizumi had teased him, or lectured him sternly when he thought Asano was out of line, but he had also treated Asano with respect and hadn't looked down on him for being a green young actor. And now he was very afraid that he had lost that respect--perhaps for good.
"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to," Yoshizumi said sternly. "And there are some things that cannot be mended by words. You need to understand that your actions have consequences, Asano-kun--aside from any harm that might be done to the film, you've caused major inconvenience to Onozuka-kun's family, and have possibly damaged an already troubled relationship between him and them. Think about how you'd feel if he attacked your family in the press!"
Asano wasn't estranged from his family as Onozuka apparently was, but neither was he particularly close to them. At the moment, he was more concerned about Yoshizumi's opinion of him than he was about his family.
"I'm sorry," he repeated helplessly. "I...I'll apologize to Onozuka-kun as well, if you think that will help." The idea of apologizing to the Prince stuck in his craw, but Asano was willing to endure the humiliation if it would help to win back Yoshizumi's regard.
"I think you do owe him an apology, although I doubt that he'll accept it or believe in it," Yoshizumi said with a shrug. "Forgiveness has to be earned: you'll need to prove through your actions as well as your words that you're sincerely sorry and that you can be trusted. Even so, filming will be wrapping up soon, and there might not be enough time to earn Onozuka-kun's forgiveness--especially since I have the feeling that he's not the forgiving type. You may just have to live with what you've done, Asano-kun."
He turned and walked out the door, and Asano whispered to the empty room, "But it's not Onozuka's forgiveness that I want, Yoshizumi-san--it's yours."
***
Part 5
***
Afterword: The idea for Onozuka's revenge on Asano comes from one of my other stories, Realism (Hamlet Done Haru-style) (which is not part of this series), in which Onozuka threatens to poison Katou for harming Kikuchi, saying that he's giving Katou a warning because they're friends and "If it had been Asano, I'd have just gone ahead and poisoned him already." So when I was trying to think of what Onozuka might do to Asano, I thought it might be fun if he really did poison him--sort of. Actually murdering Asano would be going a bit too far even for Onozuka, but I figured he wouldn't mind making Asano a little sick. ^_^
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at least, Yoshizumi scolded him and showed him the cold shoulder, that's a good punishment. i mean, compared to what he did to Onozuka an the consequences, it's peanuts. but the last sentence makes me think even this embarrassing event will lead to his luck - you really like him, do you? XD
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I do think that losing Yoshizumi's friendship is probably a worse punishment than anything Onozuka could do to him, although Onozuka might disagree.
It's funny, because I hated Asano when I first read the manga, but I've gradually softened up towards him. Part of it is when I read the chapter where he was working on the Winter Cicadas movie and Iwaki was so harsh to him--in a way, he deserved it for his past behavior, but not for what he was actually doing, which was trying to play Aizawa the best that he could. The other part is that I start to grow at least a little fond of just about any character that I write, even the worst villains.
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i'm myself very fond of villains actually. just that their absolute arrogance, their vindictive traits aren't born of pettiness.. my fav *beloved* charas are all at least arrogant, beautiful, most of them powerful, some of them very cruel and manipulative, but in a classy and sometimes frightening way: Liu Fei Long, Orochimaru, Halvir Hroptr, Kuki Naoki, Max Galactica (he's not a villain, just a pain in the neck)..
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I know most of my comments are about as faceitious as this, but I do love your writing and stories, especially the detail, and I hope you know that I feel that way, even though my usual comments are less...subtle;)
look! Shiny new Aizawa icon!
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And wow, that's a nice Aizawa icon!