A/N Okay, so, I know I have Puppet to keep updating, but ugh I'm honestly a huge fan of Koisuru Dorei by Tetsuhiro Morinaga (bby), legit I even asked if I could freaking draw a manga for it.
And then while waiting anxiously for the next chapter to be uploaded (which I'm still waiting for wink wink) I got inspired to write this.
So, yeah. I really hope you like this! It'll be a lot less vulgar and violent than Puppet, and it will have a lot more sweetness to it. However, it will probably end up in the M rated section later on.
And I won't put a warning or anything in this chapter, but the next chapter and the following chapters I will. I hope you guys like it!
Well, this was it. The day that Tetsuhiro would leave his birth home in Fukuoka and move away to a desolate town somewhere else. He thought that it was a stupid idea; why would they need to leave the house they were in right now: People usually moved away when they weren't being given something that they really needed. He'd grown up in this house, and he was pretty sure that he had everything he needed. Fukuoka, besides being a close-minded town, was a good place for him to stay; it was where all his friends were, where all the trails of his curriculum were. He didn't need to move away; they just didn't need to.
He had friends here, even some relationships, and while some of them died off, he didn't want to leave his memories forever. God knows how far he would be from his best friend, Hiroto. He didn't want to be away from the many people that loved him and the baseball team he played on and the cheerleaders he hung out with and –
"Tetsuhiro, can you please snap out of your thoughts and help me pack these boxes?" came his father's gruff voice.
Sigh. Why should he have to help? It was his father's decision to leave, not his.
"Why?" Tetsuhiro groaned, not wanting to move from the counter he currently sat on top of. His fingers brushed over the pile of papers at his side; they were basically his dropout forms. They were leaving and he couldn't stay in school. His father poked his head out from behind the kitchen doorway.
"Because we need to leave by tonight! The landlords are coming back tomorrow and if we're still here by the time they get here, we get charged a fine. Okay? It was hard enough to afford the new house as is, don't make me shell out more than I need to."
His father, Hito, was a sophisticated but very selfish man. He insisted that he thought of others and did things for other people, when in reality they always benefited his wallet in the end. He made choices that he assumed other people would like when he was only thinking of himself. He was obsessed with his money and wasn't interested in marrying or dating or having a social life.
"I don't understand why we have to move when I'm going into my last year of high school. You couldn't just wait till I finished?"
"It's not that easy, Tetsuhiro. We needed to move. My job required it and there's a nice school by the house. You might like it."
"What if I hate it? What if people hate me because I'm gay?"
Hito almost choked on his saliva. "Stop mentioning that."
"Well, you gotta get used to it sometime." Tetsuhiro muttered while duct taping a box of his old childhood toys and setting it next to him on the counter. He was told that whatever he wanted to keep would be boxed up and put in the bath of the van, and whatever was useless would be thrown away. Of course, he didn't want to get rid of anything he owned; everything was as important to him as air. He never wanted to erase any of his memories, good or bad.
"And I will. When you move out of my house." Hito looked straight into his son's eyes, power and rue burning in them.
"Could you be any ruder?" Tetsuhiro glanced up, tossing his inky hair back. The gall that this man had to insult him to his face was unbelievable.
"Yes I actually could. I am the adult in this situation and I will say as I please." Hito placed a taped box in front of the front door, amongst the pile of everything else that had yet to go in the car.
"Dad, why can't you just accept who I am?" Tetsuhiro sighed, his shoulders slumping down. "I'm a good student, I work all day for us to have a lot of money, and then you just treat me like shit! All because you're too worried about your damn wallet."
"You watch your mouth, young man. You may be seventeen but you sure don't understand finances." Hito's eyes were sharp and firm, practically daring him to talk back.
"I understand finances well enough!" He used his hands to slide down off of the counter, immediately standing taller than his bulky father. "You couldn't just pay the damn fine? Who in their right mind would choose a five hundred thousand dollar house over a five hundred dollar fine?"
"First of all young man," The box in his hands came crashing to the floor, the sound of glass shattering along with his threatening voice echoing through the empty kitchen, "what authority do you think you have to speak to me this way? I am your father, Tetsuhiro! I say what goes on in this house and you do not."
"I'm taller than you." Tetsuhiro said nonchalantly, as if he were just saying hello to a friend he saw on a daily basis.
"What difference does that make? You definitely didn't get it from my genes, and you most certainly didn't get your attitude from my genes."
Tetsuhiro chuckled to himself but bit his tongue. He knew he could go on, but that would result in getting hit, and his father hit hard. Hito had a history of abuse with his wife, which he simply shrugged off as light playing. He was too crude to dare put himself in the position of the villain.
"Now pick this shit up." Hito grumbled while kicking the fallen box full of broken glass. Rude bastard, Tetsuhiro thought, he'd been this way ever since mom died. Ever since she left him and committed suicide.
He didn't speak but simply complied with his father's request, moving the box from the floor to the kitchen table. He sighed as he picked through the shards of glass, trying to make out what these memoirs had been before. He noticed an old gold watch, and his mom's tennis bracelet, and her favorite wine glasses, and her favorite bedside lamp…
"You broke them." He said in a barely audible voice.
His father turned and looked up, coal eyes peaking beneath mousy hair. "Pardon?"
"I said you broke them!" Tetsuhiro raised his voice, the pain visible in his eyes.
"What, the glass?" He asked, pointing casually to the box in his son's disdained hands. "Eh, no big deal, just toss it out in the back garbage if we can't bring it-"
"They were mom's memories!"
This time Hito didn't retaliate. He stood there, staring at the box as if it were full of dead kittens. The look on his face was unreadable, and Tetsuhiro couldn't tell if his father was regretting what he did or if he was impatient to slap his son.
"Well they weren't any good anyway, might as well throw them out now… I'm surprised I never got to doing it myself." Hito said just above a whisper. Rage flowed into Tetsuhiro's veins, and he had to dig his nails into his palms to calm it down. How he wanted to just beat the living daylights out of his father, but he couldn't. As much as he hated to admit it, Hito really was his father figure. He had to listen to him and respect him, and that was both the governmental rule and the Japanese way of life.
"I swear, you don't care about anyone but yourself…"
"What, son?"
Tetsuhiro knew his argument was going to be fruitless. His dad had never cared about him in any way, shape, or form. Whenever he had wanted to have a boy over, his dad immediately refused to let the other boy into the house. Whenever he had wanted to go out to a house party with some friends, his dad would apply to chaperone. He felt suffocated and never got time just to himself. He never got to hang out with anybody and just enjoy the close proximity of another person.
"Nothing. Just get this stuff in the car and let's go, dad."
The more that the drive stretched on, the worse Tetsuhiro's temper became. As they sped mile after mile to god knows where this house was, the more he wished that his father would just spontaneously combust in the driver seat. He had no idea how long they had been sitting in the god forsaken van. It could've been twenty minutes, but it felt like an hour. He really wasn't looking forward to it; the house could be a mansion for all he cared. He wanted to go back to Fukuoka. He missed his friends, he missed his school, he missed the people he dated, and he just missed everything. He had been planning on applying for the school's agriculture department, as he knew that earning a scholarship from it would be extremely beneficial. But once again, he was subject to doing what his father, and only his father, wanted.
He leaned his head against the cool glass of the window, wanting the pounding headache to disappear. The ride was deafeningly silent, but it wasn't like he wanted it to change.
Hito glanced to his right at his son curled up away from him.
"Tetsuhiro…"
"Don't talk."
"Son… please…"
"No."
"I can't even apologize?"
"Apologize for what?" Tetsuhiro shrugged and sighed, not having the energy to argue. He was honestly tired, both physically and emotionally. As much as he hated the thought of moving to a brand new house, he really couldn't wait to get inside and lay down on one of the soft beds and sleep his life away. It wasn't like it would go anywhere at this rate, anyway.
"For… making you stressed."
That was what he thought he'd say. "Why apologize? You'll do it again anyway." He closed his eyes, trying to drift off to sleep.
"Tetsuhiro, you know I didn't mean to. You're not the only that's worried about this move. Okay? I apologize for acting the way I did."
"It means a lot to me." He lied. "Wake me up when we get there."
"Son."
"No. Wake me up when we get there."
And that was exactly what he did, for the first time. Well, he had already awoken a bit when the van crawled along the bumpy cobblestones. When he awoke fully, Tetsuhiro was too shocked that his father did something he asked of him that he didn't get out of the van for a few seconds. It was colder than in Fukuoka; they must've been closer to the water. He sniffed the air curiously, smelling the salt in the moisture.
"Is there a bay nearby?"
"The realtor said there was… apparently it's just beyond those woods." Hito pointed to a thick stretch of trees interrupted by a sand path. It looked like it would be Tetsuhiro's favorite place, somewhere that he could have privacy and peace.
Tetsuhiro had managed to calm his temper and start to respect his surroundings a bit more. Or else, he would just have to deal with this fact of life. The house really was enormous; it loomed in front of the clouds like a great brick titan. He was right when he had called it a mansion; it really was exquisite. Steps led up to the stained glass front door which was framed by chestnut pillars. These pillars supported the fenced balcony outlining the second floor. It winded around the entire floor, stopping where it met two small globe lights that sat atop each of the fence poles. The story was littered with stained glass windows; he guessed it was some kind of greenhouse or else a sunroom. The bricks were dark brown and dry mahogany, making the house seem even more threatening. He suddenly wondered how in the world his father could afford something this grand and antique.
"It's huge…" He said dumbly, fingers tampering with the ends of his gray t-shirt. His knuckles brushed the hard, smooth skin of his abdomen and he made a mental note to search the house for a weight room.
"I told you it was. Beautiful, isn't she?" Hito chewed the tip of his pipe between his teeth, eyes flicking back and forth across the structure. They stood out on the cobblestones, admiring what he paid for.
"How old is this place?" Tetsuhiro bent down and picked up a few of the stones; they felt stale.
"Well, deciphering from the history report that the realtor gave me, it was built around 1964 and was used as an inn that housed wounded war soldiers." His words were punctuated with the crunching of sneakers on stones. "Nobody has died in the house so far, but it was quarantined in 1902 for an unexpected outbreak of measles, which they assumed came from a soldier. Since then the house had been empty, since people were simply too scared to go inside."
"Then who did you buy it from?" Tetsuhiro and his father really didn't look alike. If it wasn't for Tetsuhiro's mom linking them together, you would think that he and his dad were two completely unrelated people. Green lidded eyes versus typical Asian onyx ones, layered inky hair versus the thinning mousy-gray hair, and the tall, built stature versus the tall and out-of-shape stature. Tetsuhiro was actually glad that he had inherited some of his mother's Asian-American genes. The green eyes, the thinned lips, and the soft, squishy soul of his were all gifts from her. Hito looked like your typical Japanese businessman; thin, lidded eyes, a featureless face, thin, tight lips. Tetsuhiro knew that all of his kindness was from his mother and nowhere else, and he was very grateful.
"A man had lived here before, and he lived with three women. I think that two of them left or else were kicked out for being insubordinate. One of them did stay, though. I guess she must've been his favorite. The owner did let us basically buy the house, on the condition that he is allowed inside twice a year to check up on his experiments in the greenhouse. I really wasn't given much insight about the work that he did; something to do with observing the reactions of certain creatures to certain everyday events. Sounds strange, doesn't it?"
"He has creatures here? So he's an agriculturist?" Tetsuhiro's interest was suddenly sparked at the mention of biology.
Hito shrugged, blowing lightly into his pipe. "Must be just plants and insects. I would've been told if he kept anything major here."
"Maybe he can teach me some things the next time he comes over!" Tetsuhiro smiled widely and ran up the steps to the front door. He suddenly felt as if this house had been beckoning him since his birth. "I'd love to learn the real tricks of the trade from a trained professional! I wonder if the house has a library…"
"Well, let's not just stand out here and waste time and money. Get a move on."
Tetsuhiro turned the handle and pushed the door open, eyes widening at the sight of the large foyer. It was beautiful, an expansive marble foyer surrounded by chestnut pillars and one wide staircase in the middle. On either side of the staircase were doors along the wall, one on each side, which he presumed could be studies or bedrooms or bathrooms. To the left was an open arch, which he guessed lead to the kitchen. To the right was another open arc, but peering in from where he currently stood, he could notice carpeted floor, which meant it could be the dining room. There weren't many windows inside, mainly along the area that the stairs lead to. Looking upwards, he could see two more sets of stairs on the second floor on the left and right, both which would lead to the greenhouse. The house was warm, surprisingly clean, and smelled faintly of pine trees and lemon wax.
"Wow… it's a lot bigger inside…" Tetsuhiro couldn't help but bask.
"It was kept really clean… I wonder how much he paid his maids. Or how much they had to do for him to stay."
It was the first time that Tetsuhiro had laughed all day. The irony of it was that he remembered distinctly how much his father cheated on his mother with a coworker.
"Where are the bedrooms?" He tucked his hands in his jeans pocket, looking over to his father who was opening the doors beside the stairs. He could see that they were indeed studies and not bedrooms like he wanted. He was tired despite his cheerfulness, and wanted to lie down and relax. Their steps were also really loud on the polished floor; they echoed through the entire house.
A soft clacking came from one of the halls upstairs. "Are you the new Master and Young Master?"
Tetsuhiro and his father looked up to see a maid standing atop the staircase, black ruffled dress reaching to her knees. She didn't look much older than her early thirties, with gold-brown hair tucked into a long braid. The white ruffles on her head complimented her big eyes and small but long figure.
"Yes, we are." Hito said formally, as if he would be reaching for his wallet at a banquet auction. "You're the maid, I presume."
"Yes, my name is Jessica. I am in charge of keeping this place neat and tidy, so please abide by my cleanliness, if you will. That means no shoes on in the house." She cleared her throat and descended down the staircase, heels clicking on the ancient wood. Hito simply reached down to untie his shoes, while Tetsuhiro flushed pink and darted back to the door, untying his sneakers. "And you two are?"
"Hito Morinaga." Hito bowed a bit, and then motioned to his side. "And this is my seventeen year old son, Tetsuhiro."
"Nice to meet you both." She smiled and looked over at Tetsuhiro. "Are you okay, Young Master?"
"S-sorry." He said to her, giving her a small bow. She giggled a bit.
"No need. It's fine. So, I suppose the Master has gone over the rules of the house with you two?" She asked, clapping her hands together.
Hito nodded. "He gave us some insight but not much. We would also be very grateful if you would help but give us a tour of the house."
"Oh, certainly. Right this way." She grinned at them, Tetsuhiro running up to catch up with them. "And do not be hesitant to talk to me; I am a mother with two children of my own."
"Oh? Do they live here too?" Tetsuhiro leaned over to make eye contact with her.
"No. I come here at five in the morning each day and leave around midnight."
"Why do you work such late hours?" Hito questioned, eyebrows raising slightly, enhancing his beady eyes.
She seemed to not know what exactly to say. She stuttered a bit, but came up with something quickly enough. "Well, with two men in the house, it usually can get quite messy, so I like to stay." Her voice was thick with whatever Asian accent she had been born with. Tetsuhiro couldn't quite pinpoint her dialect, but it sounded slightly Chinese to him.
It seemed to him like she didn't want to tell them something. But as usual, Hito didn't care, and Tetsuhiro was the only one bothered by it. He shrugged it off as just her newly-greeted jitters and followed them up the stairs, her pointing out random rooms and paths that they crossed.
"These two big rooms on the bottom floor are the kitchen and the dining room-slash-pool room. The two smaller rooms beside the staircase are the studies, feel free to use them as you like. There are two rooms on the side walls, these are laundry rooms. One is for washing, the other for picking up cleaned clothing." She led them up the stairs and stopped, waving her hand around as she pointed out rooms. "These two hallways here lead to the bathrooms all the way at the end, a west one for men and an east one for women. On the sides of the hallways are two bedrooms per hallway, the minor bedrooms. They are not gender-based like the bathrooms; feel free to pick them as you wish. Between these two staircases here is the master bedroom, which I assume that you, sir, will be using." She motioned to Hito, who flashed her a very small, appreciative grin. "These staircases lead to the third floor, which houses the Master's very own greenhouse. He has advised me to inform you that he really does not want his work disturbed, so please do not use the third floor. Has this pleased the Master and Young Master?" She clapped her hands together and bowed slightly.
Tetsuhiro nodded and smiled at her, about to speak when Hito cut him off.
"Yes, it was very informative. As we are on this topic, what is your general work schedule?"
"Well, at five AM I report to the Master's study next-door to the greenhouse upstairs to check in. I tidy up a bit, flattening out the carpets, dusting the fans and the windows and the chandeliers. Around that time, I've spent about twenty five minutes cleaning, and for the remainder of the time I like to knit and sew, which is where all the clothes in this house come from. If you ever need clothes, Young Master," She motioned to Tetsuhiro, who seemed to be in a trance before she snapped him out of it, "You can come to me and ask, alright?" He nodded, flattered. She was a very nice person, very friendly and very kind. "Then once the Master would usually wake up around seven thirty, I would cater to him, making his bed and picking up any dirty clothing and sending them to the wash basins downstairs. After that I would prepare breakfast, and the Master would leave to go to work or else hide up in the greenhouse, and I would nap on the couches."
"You don't use a bed?" Tetsuhiro felt a pang of guilt. She, the one that was most important in terms of this house, didn't have anywhere to rest her eyes?
She laughed nervously. "The Master doesn't appreciate his staff using the bedrooms…"
"No, no, don't worry about that! We'll let you use them! Do you want the master bedroom upstairs?" His hands gently brushed her wrists, and something flashed across her face, perhaps a sense of longing for someone that she could call her son.
"Tetsuhiro…" Hito growled out as a warning for him to stop.
"Ah… I'm afraid I cannot do that. The Master would be very upset, and he has already fired two other of his maids! I don't want to be the third."
"Well, what days does he usually come here to check the house? We were told there were only two days. You can use the bedroom the days that he's not here!" Tetsuhiro insisted, refusing to listen to his father's warning. He felt bad for the maid; they weren't the most important people here. If anything, they were the guests.
"He usually comes the first of June and the first of December, but…"
"Then that's perfect! It's August now, right? You have months to yourself!"
"But, sir…"
"No buts. Take one of the bedrooms upstairs, okay?"
"Tetsuhiro, what do you think you're doing?" Hito raised his voice for the first time since they entered the house.
"Father, butt out of this!"
"I will not!" His face was painted with anger and disbelief. "Who do you think you are? Do you realize how much trouble you could potentially be putting me in? What if he decided to show up unexpectedly one day and saw his most trusted maid somewhere that she was told to never be? Huh?"
"Stop yelling at me, dammit!" Tetsuhiro swatted at his father, hands colliding with his upper chest and pushing him back. Jessica gasped, shocked at the sudden physical tangle. "It's not my fault that you don't give a damn about anybody but yourself! There are other people in this world than just you."
"This doesn't concern anyone else, Tetsuhiro. We bought this house, so this concerns only us. And don't you dare raise your voice to me, son. Who do you think you are? Some big shot? You most certainly did not act this way back when…"
"Back when what, dad?" He crossed his arms and cocked his hip, Jessica's hands upon his shoulders as she hid behind him.
"Master, please don't fight…"
Hito sighed. "Back when your mother was alive."
He didn't know why, but Tetsuhiro couldn't help but choke out in blunt disdain. "I can't believe this. Is that all she is? My mother? You don't even have the balls to call her by her first name anymore, do you?"
"Watch exactly who you are talking to! What do you want me to say? That I miss her?" At this point, Hito had been pressed flat against Tetsuhiro's chest, whiskey breath raining down on him. "Is that what you want, little boy? Fine, I miss her! I miss Elizabeth! Is that what you wanted to hear, you ungrateful brat?"
"Yes it is, actually." Tetsuhiro said as calmly as he could muster. The urge to shut his eyes to block out his father's breath was overwhelming.
Hito pinched the bridge of his nose, glancing over at Jessica who wore a fearful face and hid behind Tetsuhiro for extra protection.
"Tetsuhiro, go downstairs this instant."
"Why?"
"I said go, young man. We are done having this conversation." He looked straight into Tetsuhiro's eyes, promise written all over them.
"Fine." Tetsuhiro grumbled as he descended the stairs, leaving Hito and Jessica to continue discussing the matters of the house. He couldn't help himself back there; his blood pressure had unexpectedly skyrocketed, which it never had before. He had never been an angry person before, never. He couldn't believe he had raised his voice to his father, but it had felt so good that he couldn't resist. The empowering feeling that spread throughout his body was blinding, and it made him feel invincible. He was right; he definitely got the guts to talk back from his mother.
He was anxious. He really couldn't sit still, fingers twitching as he ached to do something, anything. It was boring here, and he wanted to do something. Find a weight room, find a library; this house was bound to have more than the maid had told them. A greenhouse taking up the entire third floor? There was no way. He wanted to hurry up and apply for the nearby school and meet people. He missed his friends just like how he missed his teachers and coaches. He wanted to make all new friends while keeping the important old ones. Taking out his phone, he scrolled through his contacts and pressed one, typing a message.
Hey Hiroto, are you doing anything right now?
He tapped the phone against his leg as he paced back and forth across the foyer. He was surprised; there were no couches out, no benches, no recliners, no anything. He made his way into the pool room, gazing around at the bookshelves that winded around all four walls. He noticed a couch in the far corner, and he didn't hesitate to plop down on it, sweet relief instantly filling his body. He was so busy soothing his tight muscles that he barely felt the vibration of his phone.
Not currently, why? Ya need something? And how did the move go? How's the house? We all miss ya.
That tugged on his heart even though he didn't want it to. We all miss you. It made him feel so guilty, so selfish that he left all of his friends for his father's job transfer.
I miss you all too. I wanted to know if you could pick me up and take me to the city. This house is pretty and all, but it's in the middle of nowhere.
His eyes wandered across the many shelves of books, reading some of the titles. He read that one, and oh, that one too, and that one Hiroto had lent him one time.
Gimme your address and I'll be over as fast as I can. I miss ya, Angel-kun.
Tetsuhiro smiled slightly at the mention of the pet name that Hiroto had given him. They had dated once or twice for small amounts of time and had spent most of their relationship battling it out in bed, but never exceeded more than that. It was just a fling, and it was a mutual decision to cut it off.
I miss you too, Hiroto-kun. I live down the street into the forest right outside the Osaka prefecture. I have no idea what block this is…
He wasn't even finished with the message when he glanced up, something catching his eye. At first, he didn't really understand what it was, and his body rose from the couch stealthily to investigate. Remembering to send the message, he slid his phone into his back pocket and quietly tiptoed out of the pool room, careful not to make noise on the foyer floor as he inched past the arc. Once there, his line of sight came across the item of his curiosity. A door.
He wondered why and how he hadn't seen it before. He wondered why Jessica hadn't mentioned why there was a door on the side of the staircase whilst giving her tour of the house. At first, he didn't know what it could be. Could it be a hall closet, perhaps? A utility closet? Where the coats and things were stored once dry cleaned from outside wear and tear? The suggestions rambled in his mind as he crept down and crossed the floor in one quick, quiet line, ducking under the staircase rail as to hide himself from view. He could distinctly hear his father speaking with the maid right above him, but couldn't make out the words they shared. Whilst pressed up against the wall, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, but ignored it as his hands felt along the wall as they pushed him closer.
His anxiety went up with each step he took. What would be in there if he opened it? Would something pop out at him? What if the previous owner kept human bodies in there for his experiments?
Removing his body from the wall, he knelt down in front of the door, hands twitching. Carefully he reached for the bronze handle, fingers brushing against the dusty metal as they began to close in-
"Young Master, don't touch that!"
His head snapped up as his body jolted back as if it were on fire. Jessica had seen him and she looked frightful, Hito beside her with a murderous look on his face.
"Dammit, Tetsuhiro, can't I trust you to not mess things up for ten minutes?"
"Wha…" He looked from one to the other, unsure of what he had done wrong. No, he knew what he did wrong; he had invaded another person's privacy by letting his mind run wild and traveling into forbidden territory. It must've been the owner's personal utility closet if it was this well protected. "Why? What did I do?"
"Oh nothing, sweetie," Jessica hurried down the stairs, quickly stopping by his side and sliding her body between him and the door. "That's just… it's the Master's property and I've been told to keep it locked up unless he said otherwise. You really cannot go in it, I beg of you."
"Oh. I apologize for causing a fuss. I just got curious." Tetsuhiro smiled and waved his hands, face flushed with embarrassment. His father huffed in ignorance, returning upstairs with Jessica to continue their conversation. Just then it dawned on him that he forgot to check his phone. Pulling it out, he read Hiroto's last message.
I'll find ya in no time.
He exhaled and sat back down on the couch, pulling a random book out from the shelf behind his head. He could care less what the book was about; he just felt the urge to read. He needed to get out of this house and interact with people. But more importantly, he needed to find out what exactly Jessica was hiding, and what exactly was inside that door in the staircase.