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FIC: Going Steady, Part 3
Here's Part 3...I'm working on Part 4; there may or may not be a Part 5, depending on how long 4 turns out. And just a reminder to all you Youka Nitta fans--don't forget about the Embracing Spring Fest! Anyone can submit prompts, even if you don't plan to write or draw anything for the fest, and they may be submitted up until 7th February 11.59 pm, GMT, so there's still a little time left. And of course, I do encourage people to sign up and create some Youka Nitta fic or art! The minimum for fic is only 500 words, so it's not too intimidating, though you may of course write more if you wish to.
Title: Going Steady, Part 3
Rating: NC-17 overall
Fandom: Haru wo Daiteita (Embracing Love)
Pairing: Kikuchi/Onozuka
Word count: ~5,320
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Sequel to: Unexpected Opportunities, Comeback (Part 1 and Part 2), Forgiveness, Firsts, and First Date (Part 1 and Part 2).
Summary: Onozuka confronts his father's apprentice, and attempts to get back into Kikuchi's good graces.
Part 1
Part 2
***
Onozuka killed some time wandering around the castle grounds, then returned to the gate. A short time later, he saw his father's apprentice, Miura Takumi, approaching.
"Yuu-san," Takumi said, his voice and face carefully expressionless. He was a couple of years older than Onozuka, and taller, with black hair and a serious demeanor. Actually, he reminded Onozuka a bit of Iwaki--less pretty, of course, but with same air of responsibility and noble-mindedness. The similarity caused Onozuka to scowl for a moment, before he regained control of himself and smiled pleasantly.
"Hey, Takumi-san, it's been a long time."
"Six years," Takumi replied pointedly. "What do you want, Yuu-san? I'm not really comfortable meeting you behind the Master's back like this."
"Then I'll get right to the point," Onozuka said, allowing his smile to fade. "Toshi-chan heard from his mom about the arranged marriage. What the hell were you thinking? Shiori's just a kid! Of course I'd expect something like that from my father, but I always thought that you were a decent guy."
"Honestly, Yuu-san," Takumi sighed wearily, "do you really think that it was my idea? I tried to talk the Master out of it, but you know how he is when he has his mind made up."
"You could have said 'no'!" Onozuka snapped.
"It's not that easy," Takumi replied, a hint of impatience sharpening his voice. "Your father refused to hear any objections, and Shiori-san felt obligated to go along with it since there's no one else to succeed the family." He gave Onozuka another pointed look. "Your father wanted to have the betrothal as soon as Shiori-san graduated from high school. I convinced him that she should go to college first and earn a business degree, to better prepare her for taking over the company someday. I figured that would buy some time for Shiori-san to make up her mind about what she wants to do."
"And if she decides that she doesn't want to marry you?" Onozuka wanted to know.
"Then I'll decline the marriage," Takumi replied calmly. "I'll tell the Master that it's my idea, so Shiori-san won't be blamed. I'll say that I can only think of her as a sister and I can't marry a woman I don't love."
"And what if she decides that she can't go against our father?" Onozuka persisted.
"Then I will do my best to be a good husband to her," Takumi said quietly.
"I can't believe that you're actually considering going through with this!" Onozuka cried. "Do you want the business that badly?"
"I don't think that you're in a position to judge, Yuu-san," Takumi replied, his voice growing colder. "I would have been content to remain an employee and do my best to support whoever succeeds the business, whether that was you or Shiori-san. But I owe a lot to the Master. He took me in fresh out of school and taught me the trade and treated me like family. And of course Shiori-san loves her father and doesn't want to crush his dream of keeping the business within the family."
"I don't know why my father was so upset that I left, anyway," Onozuka said bitterly. "You're obviously a much better son to him than me." Takumi had visited their shop with his class on a middle-school field trip, and had returned after graduation a few months later, begging Onozuka's father to take him on as an apprentice. His father had negotiated with Takumi's parents, allowing him to work at the shop part-time while he attended high school, and then taking Takumi on as a full-time employee after he completed his education.
Takumi had started training much later than Onozuka, so he wasn't as skilled, at least at first, but Onozuka's father had been impressed by his passion, dedication, and hard work. He never complained when he was told that he'd made a mistake or that his work wasn't good enough, and would doggedly keep at it until he finally got it right. Takumi had always been polite and friendly towards Onozuka, but Onozuka had developed a secret resentment of the apprentice after being told one too many times by his father, "You should be more like Takumi-kun."
Takumi gave him a look that was both sympathetic and annoyed at the same time. "You're his flesh and blood, Yuu-san; I can never take your place no matter how well I do at my job. And if you're that worried about your sister, you ought to come home and talk to your father face-to-face."
"What would that accomplish?" Onozuka complained. "He's just going to yell at me and tell me what a disgrace I am, same as always."
"Does getting yelled at really scare you that much, Yuu-san?" Takumi said, giving Onozuka a disapproving look that really pissed him off. It reminded him of why he had left home--he had been sick of being judged (and usually coming up short in his father's eyes), and of having to live up to the responsibilities of the "young master" of the confectionery.
"Surely there must have been times when a director or another actor yelled at you because you made a mistake," Takumi continued. "Or maybe when it wasn't even your fault, just because they wanted to take out their frustration on you. But still, you persevered and became a successful actor. So why do you always take the easy way out when it comes to your family? For as long as I've known you, you've always avoided confrontation. Whenever you got into trouble, like skipping out on work or school to go to the movies, you would never argue with your father. You'd make up some excuse or just apologize meekly, and then you'd turn around and do it again later. You never told your parents that you wanted to be an actor. Instead, you snuck out of the house like a thief in the middle of the night."
"I left a note," Onozuka said defensively.
"A note saying, 'I'm going to Tokyo to become an actor,' and nothing else!" Takumi shouted in exasperation. "Do you have any idea how worried your family was? They had no idea where you were or whom you were staying with, or if you were just living out on the streets! Your mother stayed up all night crying the day after you left! I don't think your father got any sleep, either, and poor Shiori-san was hurt and confused that her brother left without saying goodbye."
"I had everything under control," Onozuka argued, still sounding defensive; he could hear the childish whine in his own voice and it grated on his nerves as much as it must have on Takumi's. This was why he never came home; he was always reduced to being the truant, disobedient child, never mind that he was now an adult and a successful actor.
"I had some money saved up, and there was a former sempai of mine living in Tokyo who agreed to let me crash at his place for awhile," Onozuka continued. "I never had to sleep on the streets."
"But your family didn't know that!" Takumi snapped.
"I called a couple days later to tell them that I was okay and staying with a friend," Onozuka replied, trying without much success to keep that defensive whine out of his voice.
"Yes, and then you hung up as soon as your father started shouting!" Takumi retorted. "Why are you so afraid of a little shouting? Yes, he lost his temper, but that was because he was worried about you!"
"I'm not afraid," Onozuka said coolly. "I just don't want to waste my time listening to him rant about what a worthless son I am. I suppose that you think I'm worthless, too, for running off to become an actor instead of taking over the business like a good son."
"Actually, I don't," Takumi replied, startling Onozuka. "The Master can't see it yet, but you would not have been a good successor." Onozuka must have looked taken aback, because Takumi hastily added, "Not because you're a bad son, but because you don't love wagashi as he does. You have good technical skills, but your heart was never really in it, and you can't make truly great wagashi worthy of the Nakata name if you don't put your whole heart into your craft. However, I do think that you put that sense of love and dedication into your acting."
"You do?" Onozuka asked faintly, feeling even more stunned. "You've seen me act?"
Takumi nodded. "I've seen some episodes of your TV shows--not when your father's around, of course. You're good at what you do, and I can tell that you really love acting. Maybe if you had tried to explain that to your father..."
"He wouldn't have listened," Onozuka insisted. "He'd never have accepted me becoming an actor."
"Maybe not," Takumi replied. "Then again, maybe he would have surprised you. My parents were really upset when I wanted to go work at the confectionery instead of going to high school. They wanted me to go to high school and college, then get a job at a good company, like my dad. But I tried to explain my feelings to them, and the Master helped me work out a compromise. They were afraid that I was throwing away my future on a whim, so your father suggested that I go to school and work part-time for him afterschool and on the weekends. I think my parents only agreed because they thought I'd get get tired of the job and then quit, but I stuck with it and eventually won them over."
"Yeah, that's all very touching, but there's no way in hell that my dad would ever be won over," Onozuka said impatiently.
"Maybe not right away, but at least you wouldn't have burned all your bridges behind you," Takumi pointed out. "You would have been honest with him and laid the groundwork for future understanding, so that even if he couldn't accept it right then, he might still have come around later. You would have let your parents know that you still love and respect them even if you disagree with them. You wouldn't have just disappeared and left your family feeling abandoned and betrayed. Your quarrel was with your father, but you hurt your mother and sister, too, when you left."
"I doubt that they miss me much," Onozuka said sullenly. "After I got a job and moved into a place of my own, I eventually sent them my address and phone number, once I was sure that my father wasn't going to send the police to try and drag me back home. But nobody ever called or even wrote to me."
Takumi sighed wearily. "Like I said, they felt hurt and betrayed, Yuu-san. Maybe your parents haven't handled it in the best possible way, but that doesn't mean that they don't care about you. Your mother has a scrapbook filled with magazine articles about you that she secretly collects. She hides it from your father, but Shiori-san saw it once and told me about it. And I'm pretty sure that she's snuck over to the Sasaki family's house a few times to watch one of your shows on TV."
Onozuka fell silent, and he felt tears sting his eyes for a moment, but he quickly blinked them away. "If she wants to know how I'm doing, she should just call me, instead of sneaking around cutting articles out of magazines," he said harshly. "She's afraid to go against my old man, so she sneaks around doing pointless stuff in secret."
"Isn't that sort of like the pot calling the kettle black?" Takumi asked dryly. "You never once directly confronted your father, either, Yuu-san."
Onozuka flushed and glared at Takumi, but he couldn't really contradict that accusation, so he remained silent.
Takumi waited, but when Onozuka made no reply, he continued, "I understand why you ran away, but you're not a child anymore, Yuu-san. If you want to stop the marriage, come home and make peace with your parents. Talk things over with them like an adult; I'll stand by you and give you my support. If you aren't willing to do that, then you have no right to interfere in my and Shiori-san's lives."
Onozuka laughed bitterly and said, "There is no way that my father will ever forgive me for not being the son that he wanted." Even if by some miracle, his father forgave him for becoming an actor, he'd never forgive him for being gay. His father was conservative and narrow-minded, but more than any moral objections, he'd be worried about how the scandal would reflect on the family if it became public knowledge, and most importantly, a male lover would mean that Onozuka would never produce any little Nakata heirs that could be brought back into the family fold even if their father was a good-for-nothing actor.
So Onozuka saw no point in reconciling with his family now, when he would only be disowned again in the future. Onozuka was a realist; he knew that he couldn't hide the knowledge that he was gay forever, with the eyes of the media constantly watching the top entertainers in the geinokai. He hoped to put off that moment of revelation until he was firmly established in his career, enough so that he would survive the scandal. But even if the public accepted him, his father never would, so Onozuka saw no point in attempting the impossible.
Takumi looked disappointed (again, an expression that Onozuka was used to seeing on his parents' faces), and he said curtly, "Then I guess we have nothing more to talk about. I have to get back to the shop." Then he turned and walked away.
"I knew it was a waste of time to come here," Onozuka muttered under his breath, and he hurried away as well. He should catch a flight back to Tokyo as soon as possible and try to salvage his date with Kikuchi, but he didn't want to see Kikuchi while his emotions were still in turmoil, when he still had that old childhood sense of feeling like a failure. Kikuchi was already too good at throwing him off balance when he was at his best; it would be dangerous to see Kikuchi until he was fully in control of himself again.
He didn't even feel like going out and getting drunk with Miyasaka and Katou, something he usually found comforting. He didn't really want to see anyone that he knew, right now, actually. So he couldn't go home to Miyasaka's apartment; he couldn't go to Kikuchi's place; and he didn't really want to go and get drunk alone in a bar full of strangers.
Instead, he decided to postpone the inevitable. He wandered around the castle site a little longer, then visited Kenrokuen, which used to be the outer garden of the castle. The sight of the tranquil ponds and beautiful trees and flowers ought to have inspired a sense of peace and relaxation in him. However, Onozuka's nostalgic pleasure had palled after his conversation with Takumi, and he began to worry that he might run into someone that he knew. There were several tea houses located in and nearby the garden, and he had paid visits to most of them with his father when he had still been the "young master" of the Nakata family. Surely some of those people by now must have realized that the former heir was now Onozuka Yuu the actor, but since the press had not picked up on the story, they must have kept quiet out of respect for Onozuka's father. Still, he didn't want word of his visit getting back to his father if he happened to bump into one of the tea house owners; he was pretty sure that Takumi and Shiori wouldn't say anything, if only to spare his parents' feelings.
So Onozuka returned to Tokyo, but instead of flying back, he took the train, which would take a few hours longer. He pulled his hat down to hide his face, slumped down in his seat, and tried to doze through the trip, but ended up spending most of it brooding instead.
It was dark by the time he arrived in Tokyo, but he still didn't feel like going home to face Miyasaka's questions. So he stopped by a roadside ramen stand to get some food and a drink to bolster his courage while he tried to compose himself enough to call Kikuchi and offer the long-delayed excuse for his absence today...
***
Kikuchi was back at his apartment, still wondering what to do about Onozuka, when his cell phone rang. He glanced at the screen and saw that the call was from his missing boyfriend. He deliberately let it ring a few more times, just so that he wouldn't seem too anxious by picking it up on the first ring.
"Hello?" he said coolly.
"Hey, Kikuchi-san," Onozuka replied sheepishly, with a hint of wheedling charm. "I'm sorry about today..."
"Hmm, this voice sounds familiar, like it's someone I ought to know," Kikuchi said sarcastically.
"Aw, don't be like that, Kikuchi-san," Onozuka coaxed. "I'm really sorry, and I promise that I'll make it up to you if you give me a chance."
"So what happened to you today?" Kikuchi asked, his voice still cool; he wasn't about to give in that easily.
"Fujimoto called at the last minute, saying that I had to do some promotion work for the series," Onozuka replied. "We left in such a rush that I didn't have time to call you, and then I had my phone off for most of the day because I was doing interviews."
"And you couldn't have found five minutes in-between all these interviews to call and tell me that you were busy?" Kikuchi snapped.
"I know, I know," Onozuka said placatingly. "It's my bad. It's just...by the time I finally had a free moment, it was kind of late, and I figured you'd be mad, so I was afraid to call, and I kept putting it off..."
Kikuchi was angry, but more because Onozuka was lying to him than because he'd broken their date or hadn't called. If he'd been honest and said that he'd gone to see his family, or even just that he'd had urgent personal business to attend to, Kikuchi would have forgiven him without expecting him to grovel...well, not too much, anyway.
It was probably foolish to feel so offended, because Toshi-chan had said that Onozuka was always "inventing elaborate excuses when none were needed". If he lied unnecessarily about trivial things even to his best friend, why should Kikuchi expect him to be honest about a sensitive personal matter with a lover that he'd been seeing for only a few weeks?
But no matter how illogical it was, Kikuchi was angry about being lied to, and moreover, insulted that Onozuka thought that he was stupid enough to buy such an obvious lie. "I hadn't realized that I was so terrifying," he said, his voice going from cool to positively icy. "We're both professionals. Of course if you'd told me that you had to work, I would have understood."
"Then I'm sorry for being so silly," Onozuka immediately apologized. "You're right; I should have called you as soon as possible. Please let me come over now and make it up to you. After all, we still have the rest of the condoms to use up, don't we?"
But the playful and seductive tones in Onozuka's voice rang a little hollow, and there was an underlying weariness to it, as if he were only going through the motions, and Kikuchi frowned, growing a little worried in spite of his anger. He wavered for a moment, but in the end, his pride won out.
"Not tonight," he said curtly. "It's late, and I'm tired. I'm going to bed...alone."
"Then how about tomorrow?" Onozuka cajoled. "I'll come over and cook lunch for you, to make up for our missed date."
"I have to work tomorrow," Kikuchi said coldly. "My manager has a game show appearance lined up."
"Then what about dinner?" Onozuka asked, beginning to sound a little desperate. "Please, Kikuchi-san...I know that you have a right to be mad, but I really am sorry."
He sounded so young and vulnerable then, such a far cry from his usual sly and confident self, that Kikuchi finally relented. Hearing Toshi's story had given him a new respect for Onozuka. He'd left home right out of high school and lived on his own without any support from his family, and he had still managed to make a success of himself. It was no wonder that he relied only on himself and didn't easily trust other people. It must have been hard for Onozuka to go back home after all this time, and from the desperation in his voice, things probably hadn't gone very well. Kikuchi's own parents had a way of making him feel like he was five years old at times, and he had a much better relationship with his family than Onozuka did.
"Can you even cook?" Kikuchi asked suspiciously.
"Of course I can," Onozuka said, with obvious relief in his voice. "Well, I'm not as good a cook as you," he added modestly. "But I've been living on my own for six years, so I've learned how to make an edible meal, purely out of self-defense."
"That's not very reassuring, Onozuka-kun," Kikuchi replied, allowing a hint of humor to creep into his voice. "Perhaps we should just order take-out."
"All right," Onozuka instantly agreed, without any protestations in defense of his cooking skills. "What would you like?"
Kikuchi was tempted to say, "Wagashi," but it would be a little too obvious that he'd managed to dig up info about Onozuka's past, and he might wind up with a second cancelled date. So instead he replied, "Sushi. Real traditional Japanese sushi, not the Americanized stuff people used to serve me back in the States."
"As you wish," Onozuka promised, regaining some of his usual charm and spirit.
"Kitamura's supposed to send me a copy of the script for his new movie, so maybe we can go over it while we eat," Kikuchi said.
"New movie?" Onozuka asked.
"Oh right, you don't know about that," Kikuchi said. "It's your own fault--if you had returned my call, I would have told you that Kitamura signed his contract with the studio. I'll be playing the lead, and there's a role open for a young man to play my lover."
"Really?!" Onozuka exclaimed. "Wow, that's great, Kikuchi-san!"
"Of course, if you aren't interested, maybe Miyasaka-kun will end up getting the role," Kikuchi couldn't resist teasing him. "And Kitamura says that there are a number of young actors who would potentially be good in the role."
"That role is mine!" Onozuka said determinedly. "And I don't expect any special treatment, either...which I guess is good, since I'm not likely to get any right now, am I?"
"Well, let's just say that you'll have to work at charming me," Kikuchi chuckled.
"I'll prove to you and Kitamura that I'm the best person for the role," Onozuka insisted.
"I look forward to it," Kikuchi said, relishing the thought. Someone as driven and ambitious as Onozuka would surely shine while competing against other actors. It would by no means be easy for him to win the role; Kikuchi could think of at least a half-dozen other able competitors off the top of his head, but he was sure that such a challenge would spur Onozuka on and bring out the best in him.
"I'll see you tomorrow night, then," he said, and ended the call.
***
Onozuka sighed and slipped his phone into his pocket with a hand that trembled slightly. He didn't know why the call had left him so shaken; he liked Kikuchi a lot, but it was only a casual affair, after all--nothing serious on either side. It shouldn't matter all that much if they broke up. But his meetings with Shiori and Takumi had unsettled him and temporarily thrown him back into his childhood, when he had always felt alone and unappreciated.
Even Toshi hadn't truly understood him, although he had been a good friend and supported Onozuka in everything he had done, even his most outrageous and harebrained schemes. But Toshi came from a happy, normal family, and he hadn't really understood Onozuka's desperate desire to get away from home and turn himself into someone new.
Onozuka had been too shaken to successfully employ his charm on Kikuchi, and he didn't like the moment of panic he'd felt when he thought that Kikuchi might really break up with him. He didn't like feeling weak and needy. Wasn't this why he had avoided romantic entanglements? It wasn't just the threat of a scandal, but the way that love, or even just infatuation, made people lose control of their senses and act like idiots--just look at Katou and Miyasaka, for god's sake.
He took a deep breath and tried to reassure himself. He was just feeling out of sorts because of this whole mess with his family. He'd dutifully gone to see his sister, and she didn't want his help, so he could go back to his real life with a clear conscience. (He firmly squelched any last, lingering objections that his conscience tried to raise, in a voice that sounded remarkably like Toshi's.)
Of course it wouldn't be the end of the world if he and Kikuchi broke up, but it would be a shame to break up when they hadn't even "gone all the way" yet, as Kikuchi quaintly liked to put it. At least let me get laid before I get dumped, Onozuka thought to himself with a wry smile.
And practically speaking, it would be foolish to antagonize Kikuchi now, when there was a prime role open in Kitamura's new movie. Even assuming that Kikuchi wouldn't hold a grudge against him and try to bar him from role, their chemistry at the audition was bound to be affected by any ill feelings in their personal life, and if there wasn't good chemistry between them, Onozuka wouldn't get the role.
Besides, he was fond of Kikuchi, and even though it was silly, he didn't want his former childhood hero to be angry with him. It would be okay to part on mutual terms, but he didn't want to end things on a hostile note.
But all was well; Kikuchi had decided to forgive him, and Onozuka would make sure to charm him properly tomorrow night. So Onozuka was able to head back home, feeling a good deal more cheerful than when he had left.
"There you are!" Miyasaka exclaimed when he entered the apartment. "Where have you been all day?"
"On business," Onozuka replied casually.
"Right, business," Miyasaka said, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.
Onozuka just shrugged; let the idiot think what he liked, as long as he didn't guess at the truth.
"Well, just to show you what a good friend I am, I'll share my information with you, even though you won't tell me what kind of 'business' you had in Komatsu," Miyasaka said magnanimously. "Kikuchi-san called to let us know about auditions for a role in his new movie."
"He did?!" Onozuka exclaimed, and a hint of doubt returned. Had Kikuchi been serious about giving the role to Miyasaka instead?
"Uh-huh," Miyasaka replied, oblivious to Onozuka's concerns. "It's a gay love story--well, sort of. Actually, the character we're trying out for gets possessed by the ghost of Kikuchi's wife."
"What?" Onozuka asked in confusion, and Miyasaka explained the rather convoluted plot about how the young man was possessed by the memories and sometimes the spirit of his heart transplant donor.
"Sounds like a cross between a thriller and a soap opera," Onozuka chuckled. "Still, it's a good role, and Kitamura's major studio debut is likely to attract a lot of attention." He grinned at his friend in a deliberately arrogant manner. "You'd better kiss that role goodbye, Miya-chan, because it's going to be mine!"
"Ha!" Miyasaka retorted good-naturedly; they enjoyed egging each other on this way whenever they were competing for the same role. "Don't be so sure of yourself--Kikuchi-san called me personally, so he must think that I'll be good in the role! I didn't even have to share this news with you, you know. You nearly missed out--I hope the girl you were seeing in Komatsu was worth it!"
"I told you, it was business," Onozuka said irritably.
"Yeah, right," Miyasaka said skeptically, rolling his eyes. "Come on, Onozuka, how dumb do you think I am? There's nothing to do with show business in Komatsu! Besides, I'm your best friend--I'm insulted that you haven't introduced your girlfriend to me yet!"
"There is no girlfriend!" Onozuka insisted, although he knew that Miyasaka wouldn't believe him, and then he frowned as a certain suspicion suddenly dawned on him. "Hey...you didn't happen to mention to Kikuchi that I went to Komatsu, did you?"
"I don't know," Miyasaka replied with a careless shrug. "Yeah, I guess I might have mentioned it in passing. Why, what does it matter?"
"It doesn't, I suppose," Onozuka said, silently cursing his friend. No wonder Kikuchi had been so angry, if he knew that Onozuka had not only broken their date, but lied to him about it. But Miyasaka was looking at him curiously now, so he quickly made up an excuse for his question: "I just don't want Kikuchi-san to think that I'm more interested in chasing after women than my work."
"Fat chance of that, Mr. Ice Prince," Miyasaka snickered. "So tell me, who's this babe who's melted your heart? She must really be something special, huh?"
"I keep telling you, there is no girlfriend," Onozuka sighed. "I'm much too busy working to have time for romance." Still, it might be convenient to let Miyasaka believe in this mythical girlfriend a little longer, so he denied it in a way that would make the idiot even more certain that he had hit upon the truth. "Besides, even if I did have a girlfriend, I wouldn't introduce her to a horndog like you, who tried to steal his other best friend's wife."
Miyasaka flushed in shame. "That was a low blow, Onozuka," he complained. "I know that what I did was stupid and wrong, but how long are you going to keep reminding me of it?"
"I'll keep reminding you of it every now and then, just to make sure that you don't backslide," Onozuka said sternly, giving his friend a light slap to the back of his head, just hard enough to sting and make Miyasaka whine, "Ow!"
"You nearly destroyed your friendship with Katou, and with me as well," Onozuka continued, giving him another slap just for the hell of it. "And don't think that I'll come to your rescue again if you screw up a second time!"
"Okay, okay!" Miyasaka said, rubbing the back of his head. "I promise that I've learned my lesson. Jeez!"
"And I'm still going to win the role," Onozuka added, flashing an insolent grin at Miyasaka as he headed to his room.
"Arrogant son of a bitch!" he heard Miyasaka shout after him, and Onozuka smiled as he closed the door behind him.
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
***
Afterword: In Japan, school is mandatory only through middle school--the equivalent of Grade 9 in the US. High school is optional, although the majority of children do move on to high school. However, a few immediately go into a trade, sometimes because they're entering a family-run business, or for various other reasons. I recall watching one TV drama where a fifteen-year-old boy decided not to go to high school, partly because he wanted to become an apprentice chef, and partly because his father couldn't afford the tuition--even public high schools in Japan charge fees, although the private schools are much more expensive. (I believe that entrance exams are required for both public and private schools as well.) So it would be unusual, though not unheard of, for Takumi to want to go to work directly after middle school.
And Onozuka was worried about his father trying to force him to come back home after he ran away because the legal age of majority in Japan is 20. Technically, until then, a person is considered a minor and their parents are still responsible for them, although I'm not sure how far the police would exert themselves to find an 18-year-old who left home of his free will. On the other hand, Nakata-san is probably wealthy and respected enough that they would have made an effort if he had filed a report, which he didn't.
!!
keep it a secret! but I like these two better than Iwaki and Katou (those two are too simple-too predictable-for my taste.I like a bit of roughness here and there)
Re: !!
I'll keep your secret. I'm sure that Iwaki wouldn't mind, but Katou might be offended! ^_^ I do have a soft spot for the slightly villainous-types myself--the Slytherin type of characters, if we can mix fandom metaphors.
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And Onozuka found out that Kikuchi knew the truth! i wonder what he'll do next..*is anticipating*
ivy
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As for what will happen next...I just posted the next chapter, so you'll see! ~_^
Thank you very much for your feedback!
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