2
"Shacho, are you all right?" The concern in Minako's eyes was palpable as she accepted a cup of espresso from one of his assistants. "You don't look well."
Saitou grumbled something incoherent and downed his own scalding cup of espresso in one shot. He didn't miss the muffled snort from beside him as he waved his hand for another.
The two of them were seated at the large table in the recording studio's sizeable conference room, complete with its incredible view of the Tokyo skyline, going over the itinerary for an upcoming planning meeting in Rome.
That had been the original plan, at any rate.
The morning had come entirely too early for Saitou, especially since he'd been forced to spend the night in a nearby love hotel on a rock hard mattress, being periodically woken up by sounds that only served to remind him why he was staying there in the first place. As a result, the second cup of espresso he had just inhaled was serving as his life's blood—and for the first time in he didn't know how long, Saitou was not doing the majority of the talking.
"Better get him a third cup," Minako murmured to Saitou's assistant. "Maybe put it in a regular-sized coffee mug, too."
"Bring the whole carafe," Saitou demanded, feeling the espresso begin to kick in. "Perhaps an intravenous needle as well."
"You don't put espresso in a carafe, Shacho," Minako said, taking a sip of her own drink.
"Well, they should," Shacho fired back. He stared enviously at the nearly full cup his top star still held. "Imagine the money we could make."
"Oh, the money I bring in isn't enough anymore?"
"No, but it's the perfect amount to help me get this espresso carafe idea off the ground. Hiroki-san! Why aren't you taking notes?" Saitou called to his assistant who was busily trying to make him a third espresso. He winced as the young man was promptly attacked by a spray of steamed milk.
"Oh my god, Hiroki-san!" Minako leapt to her feet and hurried over to help. "Are you okay?"
Hiroki nodded mutely, his face bright red as he tried to mop up his sodden face with his sodden sleeve. "I'm sorry, Aino-sama. I-I'll clean this up and—"
"No, you need to go and make sure that you haven't been seriously burned. Take the rest of the day off, and have the hospital send me your bill."
"A-Aino-sama, I'm okay, r-really—"
Minako's expression hardened. "Hiroki-san, are you quite certain that you want to argue with your boss?"
Hiroki stuttered for a moment before bowing quickly and hurrying out of the room, nearly stumbling as he did.
With a sigh, Minako grabbed a stack of the napkins usually saved for larger meetings, and knelt to mop up the mess that covered the conference room floor.
"You aren't really playing well with others these past couple of days, are you, Shacho?"
It was more a statement than a question. Saitou inhaled slowly, awaiting the attack he was certain was coming. He'd had a feeling he wouldn't need to wait long.
"You're barely doing more than smile and nod in this planning meeting, to prepare for yet another meeting that you yourself set up ages ago—which you have barely stopped talking about since, I might add, and now Hiroki-san might be seriously hurt—"
"Minako-chan, Hiroki-san walked out of here under his own power. I highly doubt he's on death's doorstep—" Saitou started to say, but the idol ignored him.
"—and yesterday you snubbed my—my best friend for no reason at all! My best friend, Shacho! I know I wasn't exactly on form yesterday, but you do not ever, ever take your frustrations with me out on Rei!"
Oh, how Saitou wished this conversation could have waited until he'd gotten a proper night's rest. Then perhaps he would be able to ignore the bubble of hurt and anger growing in his gut, and then, perhaps, he wouldn't be about to say something he would surely regret…
"Don't you mean 'Reiko,' Minako-chan?"
Several emotions flitted across Minako's face as her cheeks paled. Wordlessly she went over to the door Hiroki had exited through and locked it. She seemed to be bracing herself against it and was visibly trembling.
"How do you know that name, Shacho?" she asked, her back still to Saitou.
"Last night. In the recording booth, Minako-chan. I saw you two together, I heard everything—"
Minako whirled around, her expression livid. "You were spying on us?"
"It was purely accidental, uh, ish." Saitou cringed inwardly at his poor response. Really, though, there was hardly a cheerful, positive way to have this conversation. Unless liberal amounts of sake had preceded it, he thought ruefully.
"'Accidental'—how dare you—"
While his own actions had been far from noble, the sting of Minako's mistrust abruptly burst forth. "No, how dare you, Minako-chan!" Shacho got to his feet, knowing he could only incriminate himself further with every word, but still, he went on. "How dare you keep something like this from me? And how could you think for even a moment that I would betray you? Don't you know me at all?"
The idol's cheeks had regained their full colour. "Considering you were eavesdropping on a private conversation, I don't think I was too far wrong to think you might have done just that."
"Yet here we are hours later, and the press is still oblivious to this situation. But if you aren't more careful—"
Minako's eyes widened in shock before narrowing venomously. "You had better not be threatening me with blackmail, Shacho."
Saitou took a step back, completely stunned by the accusation. "Y-you really think I would do such a thing to you? Minako-chan?"
Minako crossed her arms, her eyelashes glimmering with unshed tears. "I don't know. Would you?"
Saitou felt his own eyes beginning to burn and he blinked furiously. "Do you really think so little of me, that I would sell you out? I would never—but someone else could have seen what I did—"
"It still doesn't excuse the fact that you were eavesdropping on us!" Minako hissed angrily.
She swiped at her cheeks, betraying just how upset she was. The idol was usually a master at concealing her true emotions. Saitou felt his heart tighten at being the cause of her distress.
"It-it doesn't, you're right. I'm ashamed of myself and my actions, Minako-chan." He sighed shakily. "But, anyone could have seen you in that booth!"
Minako scoffed and turned away. "So what?"
"'So what?' Minako-chan, you're the nation's top star and you were making out in a recording booth with another woman—"
"We were not making out, Shacho—"
"—who just happens to be the only daughter of one of Japan's highest ranking politicians—"
"I know who her father is—"
"—and who the press could utterly destroy with their constant scrutiny and surveillance given how much she abhors being the centre of attention! Did you think about that at all, Minako? Before kissing her in a room with windows for walls?"
He couldn't see the idol's face to read her expression, but the set of Minako's shoulders told Saitou he had her full attention.
"Once this gets out, there won't be any going back. Not for either of you." Saitou ran a hand over his face, his exhaustion returning ten-fold. "If you care about Rei-chan, you need to think about how your actions affect her as well."
His heart gave another twinge when he heard a faint sob. "Minako-chan—"
"I need to go."
Before Saitou could utter another word, the idol had flipped the lock, pushed open the door and vanished.
O~O~O
Amazingly, Saitou had the presence of mind to collect his keys before leaving the studio.
He reflected later, while reclining on the sizeable couch in his apartment that he had likely been in no fit state to drive, given that he barely recalled the journey home. The remains of the takeout he had halfheartedly consumed lay strewn across his coffee table, and his head was beginning to pound from his lack of sleep.
Although it was hardly the first time Saitou had had a disagreement with his top star, in this case, calling it 'a disagreement' was to put things mildly. In all the time he had known Aino Minako, Saitou had never seen her so angry.
He couldn't blame her, of course. His actions had been downright idiotic and no amount of hurt feelings on his part could change the fact that he'd knowingly and willingly betrayed her trust.
People had asked questions before he'd left the studio, most of which he managed to brush off easily enough. He'd turned the reins over to another of his assistants for the day after telling everyone to keep their mouths shut or they'd be seeing pink slips with their next pay stub.
Still, he had no doubt that people would be talking. After all, first Hiroki had fled from the conference room covered in steamed milk, then before long, muffled shouting could be heard emanating through the locked door. That alone had been surprising enough, but then Minako had emerged red-faced and clearly upset, followed shortly by Saitou himself, pale and shaking as he stumbled towards his office.
"I'm such a fool," Saitou growled, pinching the bridge of his nose. It seemed that his headache was turning into a full-blown migraine. He squeezed his eyes shut, hoping to dispel the odd flashes at the edge of his vision, to no avail.
Minako used to get headaches, he recalled suddenly, through the haze of pain. She'd had one the day they'd met. It had come from nowhere, as if she'd been struck. Saitou had been terrified when the cheerful, smiling twelve-year-old girl had suddenly clutched at her head and bent double before losing consciousness in the studio hallway.
He had stayed with Minako at the hospital that day, as she tossed and turned in a fitful sleep, her arms connected by wires and tubes to heart monitors and intravenous drips. He'd spent most of the time wondering where on earth her parents were, until the doctor eventually discharged her several hours later into the family housekeeper's care. It seemed the girl's parents were frequently away on business and could not be reached. Saitou had been quite disgusted by this revelation, but said nothing at the time, as it was hardly his place. After all, who was this Aino Minako to him, really? Just a student who had come to the studio for a class trip...
Saitou was busily trying to ignore the mountain of paperwork that covered his desk when the sound of a guitar caught his attention. Welcoming the distraction, he pushed his chair back and stepped into the corridor of the recording studio, and wondered where the music was coming from.
The studio was a maze of hallways, offices, and recording booths, which Saitou knew like the back of his hand, having practically grown up there. His mother had started the business when he was young, and her status allowed Saitou to receive his education alongside the young stars that made their music there. As a result, he had received a second education, as he also learned what sounds had the potential to become popular, what behaviour would not be tolerated from a famous idol, and most of all, that what many of these people wanted in their lives was a semblance of normalcy. Those who lost themselves in the lifestyle usually became lost as well.
Saitou was still fairly new to running the entire company on his own, having given up a promising journalism career to allow his mother to retire only a few years before. In order to keep her son from relying upon her for assistance, she had settled down at his uncle's property in Hawaii. Never one to stay idle for long, she had taken up work at a small seaside resort, and when she had last spoken with her son, she was in talks to buy it from the aging owners.
The young company president cocked his head, listening. A troop of laughing students scampered nearby, followed by the voice of their harried teacher. Saitou had forgotten that there was a class visiting the studio that day. He shut the sound out, still trying to find the source of the guitar. He recognized the tune as a popular American hit, and realized he must be getting closer as he heard a sweet young voice singing the lyrics in English.
Turning down another corridor, he spotted an open door and made his way towards it as the song concluded, to much applause.
His eyes widened at the sight of several idols sitting around a little schoolgirl—she couldn't have been more than twelve—who was smiling shyly and holding a guitar.
The applause stopped when one of the idols noticed Saitou standing in the doorway, and leapt to her feet with a bow.
"Shacho—I'm sorry, we were just—uh—"
He raised a hand and smiled, bowing back. "May I ask who our young visitor is?"
The young guitarist stood and bowed deeply, still holding the guitar. "My apologies, sir, if I've caused any trouble. My name is Aino Minako. My school is here for a visit today and I got separated from them—Yuichi-kun and Michiko-chan found me—" she gestured to the girl who had leapt to her feet earlier and to a young male idol who was still gazing at the girl with rapt attention. "They were kind enough to show me around the studio and then we came in here to watch the band rehearse—"
"Minako-chan, you should play another song," Yuichi interrupted in a dreamlike voice. He apparently still had no idea Saitou was standing behind him. There were a few snickers which immediately halted when Saitou narrowed his eyes. Yuichi snapped out of his trance and leapt to his feet, gazing meekly at the studio president before lowering his eyes.
"Sorry, Shacho," he murmured.
"You all need to return to work please. I'll escort Aino-san back to her class."
The musicians stood and hurried from the room, after saying farewell to the young girl. She bowed back, grinning from ear to ear. Her expression immediately cleared as she regarded Saitou, and blushed when she noticed the she was still clutching the guitar.
"You're very talented, Aino-san. There aren't many who can escape the sights of our studio tour guides undetected."
Minako nodded, trying to appear humbled, but he could see a glimmer of mischief in her gaze. Apparently the girl could act as well.
He stepped back, mentally appraising her. She exuded a feeling of maturity that was rare, even among some of his older stars, and she was already very beautiful—dark-haired, with lively eyes...
Saitou shook himself, faintly stunned by his sudden idea. How could he possibly even think of signing someone so young? After all, he had only heard a few moments of her performance—a performance that drawn him from several corridors away...
Minako hurriedly averted her gaze from Saitou, and held out the guitar, her cheeks glowing.
"Minako-chan—" the girl's eyes widened in surprise at the change in honorific. "Would you play something else for me?"
Saitou bolted awake, apparently having dozed off during his recollections. He could still hear strains of the guitar echoing in his subconscious, and wondered if the dull throb at the front of his skull was causing him to hallucinate—but then recognized it as his cell phone's ringtone.
The display told him it was an unknown number, so it was with some trepidation that he flipped the device open and answered.
"Sugao Saitou."
"Hi, uh, Sugao-san. It's Rei. Hino Rei. Can we talk?"
O~O~O
AN: Gawd, I hate writing drama and fights so hard. I always just want to crack out the jokes instead because I just want the stupid fight to ennnnnd. I hope it was believable and such.
