Exposure
Chapter 2
Shuichi threw himself on the bed while Hiro sat backwards in the chair facing Shuichi. "So what happened?" Hiro asked.
Shuichi looked down at the bed as if he were examining something truly fascinating in the pattern of the bedspread. "Tohma knew that the underlying image was me. I don't know how. Yuki wouldn't show him the picture, would he?"
Shuichi continued without taking a breath or pausing for a response. "Anyway, I told him I'd sent Yuki the photo. At least he didn't yell at me. But I feel like shit. I don't want to perform tonight, not without seeing Yuki."
"Isn't he just a few days away from finishing his book?"
"Yeah, I know, it's not practical, but I really really want to see him, even if it's just for one night."
Hiro sighed. He knew that Eiri was not the most supportive person in the world. He'd gotten better about it but still tended to be aloof and remote. However, he and Shuichi had an undeniable physical connection. Hiro knew of no other couple for whom sex played such a vital role in how they communicated with each other, but he supposed that communicating through sex wasn't such a bad thing. He was nevertheless unsure how much Eiri's presence would help and concerned that it might make things worse.
Shuichi was still upset and emotionally fragile. Hiro decided it might help to contact Eiri's editor to see if the deadline could be pushed back so Eiri could visit as soon as possible. Under the circumstances, 'as soon as possible' was probably sometime tomorrow.
At any rate, Hiro thought it made more sense to talk to his editor than to Eiri, who'd probably reject the idea of asking for a delay out of hand, potentially sending Shuichi into a tailspin. He'd be easier to convince if presented with a fait accompli.
"Shuichi," he said, "I'm going to call Mizuki-san and ask her if she can push back Yuki-san's deadline so he can spend some time with you. Is that okay?"
Shuichi looked up, unshed tears in his eyes, and nodded.
Hiro took Shuichi's cell phone and scrolled down until he found Mizuki's phone number. He'd met her a few times at social functions. Despite Eiri's anti-social personality, he and Shuichi occasionally held get-togethers for their mutual friends and acquaintances. Besides, she'd know who he was even if they had never met. She'd always supported, even encouraged, Eiri and Shuichi's relationship, so he hoped to find a sympathetic ear.
Mizuki picked up on the third ring. "Shindou-san?" she asked.
"Uh, I'm sorry, this is his friend Hiroshi Nakano. You know, the band's guitarist. I borrowed Shuichi's phone to call you."
"Oh yes, Nakano-san. What can I do for you?"
"Well, it's more what you can do for Shuichi. You know about the pictures of him that are circulating on the web, right?"
She sighed. "They're the reason my staff and I are in the office today."
"As you can guess, Shuichi is devastated. He's desperate to have Yuki-san join him. Can you push his deadline back a few days so he can fly here to meet us?"
"Look," she said in a tired voice, "your shacho Seguchi-san is talking to my boss this very minute about a coordinated PR campaign that includes some sort of photo shoot to produce a wholesome image of the two of them to replace that awful photo. The best I can do is to offer to contact Yuki-san and find out where he stands with the manuscript. If he tells me that pushing the deadline back a few days to allow him to visit Shindou-san would help, especially if the uproar is interfering with his concentration, I can probably delay it a couple of days, but if he tells me he's close to finishing and is able to focus, I'd rather get the manuscript first."
Hiro sighed. "I guess that's reasonable. It seems to be the best we can do anyway."
"Nakano-san, can you put Shindou-san on the phone? I'd like to talk to him before I call Yuki-san."
"Okay," Hiro said, wondering at her use of the term "that awful photo". Did that mean she'd seen it? How embarrassing! Then again, he reminded himself, the private parts she'd seen weren't Shuichi's anyway. "Just…be careful what you say. He's still pretty upset."
"Of course," she said. "It's a trying time for all of us, but I'm sure he's the one who's most distressed about it."
Hiro poked Shuichi in the back and said, "She wants to talk to you before she calls Yuki."
Shuichi sat up and took the phone. "Hello?"
"Hello, Shindou-san. I won't ask how you are because I'm sure you're feeling lousy, but how are you holding up?"
He sniffled a little. "I'm okay, I guess, now that Tohma has come up with a strategy for dealing with this thing, but it's awful thinking that everyone is looking at that picture. I really miss Yuki a lot, you know. I wish he was here."
"That's what Nakano-san called me about. Yuki-san hasn't said anything to me about delaying the completion of his manuscript, but according to our last conversation about it, he hopes to have it done soon. Will you be able to perform if he can't meet you for a few more days? I want to help you, but this is keeping us busy too."
Shuichi sniffled some more. "I'm sorry for making so much work for everybody!" he wailed.
"I wasn't being critical-" Mizuki began, but Shuichi cut her off.
"I really want him to come here! It'd make me feel so much better. But..." He took a deep breath. "I've been thinking about it since Hiro's been on the phone with you and realized that even if he left now, he wouldn't be here until after tonight's performance. While that'd be nice, it means I need to suck it up and perform tonight anyway without seeing him. He's got his own career to think about. It wouldn't be fair of me to ask him to blow it off. So it's okay if he can't get away until the book's finished as long as I get to see him soon."
Mizuki, who didn't know that Eiri had once asked Shuichi to give up singing for his sake, thought that Shuichi was being gracious, considering his tendency to over-dramatization, but she also figured he was trying to put a good face on things.
"Look, I'll do what I can to get him there as soon as possible, but as I told Nakano-san, if he's close to being finished and says he can concentrate enough to get it done soon, I'd rather let him finish first. If his concentration's shot, though, or he's not as close to finishing as he led me to believe, we'll push the deadline back and let him leave for a few days. Okay? We have a schedule to keep but it's not like the world would end if we lengthen it by a few days."
"Okay. Thank you, Mizuki-san. I don't know what to say."
"You just said it," she said warmly. "I'll get in touch with Yuki-san. One of us will get back to you. I'll suggest that he be the one who calls you, okay? I know he doesn't think of such things when he gets wrapped up in what he's doing."
Shuichi blurted, "He doesn't need to be 'wrapped up' to forget to call me." Mizuki had not heard him sound so bitter before. So her assumption that he was trying to hide his real feelings was accurate.
"Okay, Shindou-san," she said, "I'll do my best. Feel better. It'll all blow over. It always does."
Shuichi closed the phone and gave it back to Hiro to put on the table where Hiro could reach it. Shuichi stretched out on the bed again and tried to calm down.
Concerned for his friend's state of mind if left to fend for himself, Hiro stayed in the room, entertaining himself by surfing the Web and reading his e-mails. The room phone rang and Hiro picked up the extension on the table.
"It's K," he told Shuichi. "He's coming here with Suguru and the head of security to discuss security arrangements and how to handle publicity until their plans are finalized."
Shuichi sat up. K burst into the room without knocking, followed by Suguru and a bulky man in a dark suit and shades with his hair pulled back in a ponytail who trailed behind the two of them. Hiro wondered how K got in without a keycard but decided it wasn't worth thinking about.
"Listen up," K said, gesturing with his submachine gun, "everyone is staying put until we take you to the concert hall. If you need anything to eat, order it off the room service menu. The bus will be leaving for sound check promptly at five and dinner will be delivered to the concert hall as usual. Remember, the show starts at eight o'clock sharp. Seguchi is flying in for the concert and will stay with the tour until further notice, so you'll see him at the concert hall.
"About publicity. Until we have everything worked out, no one is to make any comment to the press. If someone shoves a microphone in your face, smile and say 'no comment' and that you're concentrating on the concert and your music. Seguchi is working on a press release but in order to put the finishing touches on it, he has to get Yuki-san's agreement to a photo shoot with Shuichi. He's also trying to coordinate Yuki-san's schedule with his publisher, who has an obvious interest in all this also because some of the – uh – accessories worn by the fake Shuichi and the captions implicate their top author.
"You know how I feel. There's no such thing as bad publicity. So I'm sure we'll be able to turn this around to our benefit. In the meantime, though, let's all give Shuichi our support and let's give our fans the concert they deserve. Okay?"
He paused, as if expecting cheers or applause after that pep talk.
Suguru piped up, "So what you're saying is that we're virtual prisoners until we leave for sound check, is that right?"
He flinched in alarm when K swung his submachine gun in his direction but eased up when K laughed, making the gesture playful rather than alarming. "Pretty much," K admitted, "but we'll get you whatever you need, so no worries."
"So you'll make sure our drug connections get through?" Suguru said with a smile.
K shook his head and chuckled. "Within reason," he said. "We'll get you what you need within reason but we're not feeding your drug habit." Everyone laughed, even Shuichi.
"It's four hours until you need to leave. The bus will pull up by the restaurant kitchen door. We'll direct you through the restaurant when the time comes as we want to minimize the press scrum as you're leaving. In the meantime, my right-hand man Ryonosuke here will be guarding the hallway. Report any unusual activity to him. Understood?"
The three musicians nodded to indicate they understood. Before K left, he gave Shuichi a quick hug which would have been both more comforting and comfortable if he didn't have weapons slung over his shoulders and holstered all over his body. As K was on his way out, Shuichi squeaked out, "Could you get me some magazines please? I don't have anything to do."
"Sure," K said. "I'll send someone to the gift shop to buy some magazines. What do you want?"
"Uh, well, Gamerz World would be good. And Bop Peat."
"Okay. I'll send someone up with them."
"Great! Thanks, K-san."
"Sure thing."
After he shut the door, the three musicians spoke briefly. Hiro and Suguru were unsure whether it would be wise to leave Shuichi by himself, unless he received a phone call for which privacy was required, like a phone call from Eiri. Hiro and Suguru decided Hiro would stay for the first two hours and Suguru would take over from him for the last two. Suguru thought morosely that it was like negotiating an overnight guard schedule.
While the situation was not so dire that they thought Shuichi would harm himself if left alone, they wanted to make sure Shuichi was in a frame of mind conducive to at least a competent performance that night. His emotions were so raw and open that they sometimes affected his performance and work ethic.
Suguru went back to his room while Hiro checked his e-mail. Shuichi flung himself on the bed again, swinging one leg in boredom. He was so desperate for something to do he began flipping through the phone book.
Hiro stood up and opened the door when he heard a knock. A member of the security detail handed him two magazines, which he gave to Shuichi. Silence reigned while Shuichi idly flipped the pages, barely registering what he was reading, and Hiro responded to some e-mails.
A tinny version of "Welcome to My Romance" began playing, startling Hiro. Shuichi sat bolt upright, scrabbling around for his cell phone.
Shuichi flipped the phone open with sweaty hands and Hiro, correctly guessing who was calling, gave Shuichi a thumbs up and left the room.
"Hello?" Shuichi said.
"Hi." Eiri didn't bother to identify himself; he knew his calls had their own ringtone because Shuichi had told him about it often enough that the information penetrated the fog that often saturated his brain when Shuichi prattled on. Besides, Shuichi would recognize his voice anyway.
Eiri continued, "This is quite a mess we've landed in." Shuichi drew his breath in and then realized his lover called it 'their' mess, not just 'his' mess. "Mizuki and Tohma spoke to me. I've agreed to do the photo shoot as long as it's not exploitative and Tohma promised me he'd send a photographer who does author's photos for book jackets and the like, not a celebrity or fashion photographer. The freaking stylist is already at the apartment. She's chosen everyday casual clothes – jeans and a Go Green t-shirt for you and jeans, a tee and a shirt for me."
Shuichi started crying. Damn. He cried when he was sad and he cried when he was happy. No wonder he got on Eiri's nerves so much. When wasn't he a blubbering emotional mess?
Eiri stopped. "I can tell you're crying. Why? You have nothing to cry about."
"I don't?" Shuichi wailed. "I'm such a fuckup. I've made us both the laughingstocks of Japan. And you're being so nice to me! I'm crying from happiness, you big jerk!"
Eiri suppressed a chuckle. "Look, I've had worse written about me. Remember when I was the Casanova of the Japanese literary scene? The sleazier magazines insinuated that I had multiple partners and frequented S&M clubs and strip joints." Eiri didn't bother to mention that at least some of those insinuations were true. He'd learned to leave inconvenient truths out of his conversations with Shuichi. In addition to avoiding meltdowns on Shuichi's part, such discretion also prevented them from wasting time on recriminations.
Shuichi sniffled. "Yuki, didn't you notice that the outfits they gave me to wear look a lot like bondage wear? Why didn't you tell me? I may have unknowingly been giving my fans the wrong impression about us and our relationship! You know how most people misunderstand it anyway."
Eiri sighed. "My arguments over your stage wardrobe have always been losing propositions. My opinion gets discounted because everyone iexpects/i me to object no matter what the outfit is like. I didn't think they'd listen to you any more than they'd listen to me because let's face it, sex sells. My books probably wouldn't sell as well if I were years older or less, um, photogenic."
Shuichi wiped his eyes with his free hand and asked, "So when will you be arriving? Tonight?"
"No, I'm going to get there tomorrow before your next concert. I'm almost finished with the damn book. I'm going to drop it off at the publisher's tomorrow on my way to the airport."
"What airline are you taking?"
"Seguchi's arranged a private plane for the two of us. We'll be landing at the general aviation section of the airport to avoid the media."
"When does the flight get in?"
"Right now, the plan is to leave at three and get there by four, but the schedule's pretty flexible. As long as we take off by four, we should be able to get there in time for the sound check."
"What about the photo shoot?"
"That's supposed to take place as soon as we get there. The photographer's meeting us at the concert hall."
"Isn't that kind of rushing things? We won't have much time!"
Eiri wondered how to explain the prevailing wisdom to Shuichi. While the photos needed to be ready quickly to induce the one site to take the offending photo down, the real reason for rushing the photo shoot was to make sure the photos were taken first in case Eiri went overboard with Shuichi after the concert. When they'd been separated for awhile, or were feeling particularly needy, their desire for each other knew no bounds. Sometimes that meant rougher than usual sex. Dispelling the image left by the doctored leaked photo would be more difficult if it looked like some sex maniac had fucked Shuichi senseless.
The silence was oppressive. Shuichi had an inkling that he knew what the reasons were and that Eiri was reluctant to explain them. "Is it because they're afraid we'll leave marks on each other if they wait?"
Eiri thought that was a generous way to put it. Shuichi hardly ever left visible evidence of their activities. It was Eiri who liked to leave visible marks on his territory. Shuichi's lust for Eiri was displayed in other ways. While it wouldn't be accurate to say that he was capable of multiple simultaneous orgasms, he was capable of more orgasms per encounter than the average male, from what Eiri had read on the internet. Not that he necessarily trusted what was on the internet, as this entire experience proved.
"Something like that, brat."
Shuichi sighed again. He knew it wasn't an idle concern.
"I'd like it better if you could be here tonight, but at least I'm talking to you now and I'll see you tomorrow. I'm glad the book's going well. I was afraid this would distract you."
"To be honest, it has, but it's been useful to focus on the book instead of on the distraction. Do you need to talk about anything else? I should be getting back to writing."
"Just…Yuki, I'm not into BDMS or whatever it's called, but you know I'm yours, right? I don't need a stinking collar to tell me that."
"I know."
"Okay. I can't wait to see you, Yuki! I love you!"
"I—" Eiri hesitated - "do too. I'll see you tomorrow-" After a pause he added, "Shuichi."
Tears threatened to spill from the singer's eyes again but he held them back long enough to say good-bye. Once he hung up, though, the dam broke.
It took him a couple of minutes to remember that he needed to let Hiro know he'd finished his phone call. "Moshi moshi," Hiro said, answering his phone. "What's wrong?" he asked, hearing the sobs emanating from the other end of the line.
"Nu-nu-nothing," Shuichi sobbed. "You-you can come back in."
Hiro rushed to Shuichi's room. "What's wrong?" he asked as he burst in and wrapped his arms around his friend in a bear hug.
"I told you, nothing's wrong!" Shuichi blubbered, and shrugged Hiro's arms off. "I'm happy, not sad."
Hiro looked at him, bemused. "So what did Yuki say?"
"He's coming here tomorrow with Tohma. And with outfits for a photo shoot. They're going to do it before the concert."
"So soon?"
Shuichi had a pleading look on his face that begged Hiro not to ask why.
Hiro settled in again and they read and surfed the 'net in relative silence until Suguru came by to replace Hiro. The changing of the guard might no longer be necessary now that Yuki had called and put Shuichi's mind somewhat at ease, but Hiro figured there was no harm in sticking to the plan. After filling Suguru in on the latest developments, Hiro went back to his room, leaving his laptop behind in case something else popped up on the internet they needed to look at.
Just before five, K escorted them down the stairs, through a back entrance to the restaurant that normally was locked, and out the back door to the tour bus. A few of the members of the media had been camped out far enough away from the front door to see the tour bus enter the back way and pull up next to the restaurant loading dock but the bus arrived with so little time to spare that the media didn't have time to set up and harass the musicians.
K made a mental note to himself to look into getting a van that was disguised as a delivery truck. It wouldn't be much fun for the people inside not to be able to see outside but it might come in handy in these situations. The lack of windows meant they could use it for sleeping quarters as well. They could always transfer to the tour bus later.
The sound check and other preparations for the concert went well. Shuichi was feeling upbeat knowing that Eiri would be there this time tomorrow. They wouldn't be able to get together until after the concert – okay, they might have time to get together in a secluded corner somewhere after the photo shoot – but at least he'd see him.
Once he'd realized the earliest he'd see Eiri alone was after the show tomorrow, he realized he had to put his game face on for this performance. These fans deserved the best he could give them. After all, it wasn't their fault that they were attending a concert the day that atrocity of a picture was released on the internet. He'd been photographed and seen in compromising and suggestive poses before; this just happened to be the worst of them.
Shuichi got dressed fervently hoping that only fans were attending the concert, and not people wishing to use the concert to embarrass them.
Someone knocked at the door. It was K holding a T-shirt and pants. "Here," he said and thrust them at Shuichi. "Tohma thinks it would be better for you to wear these."
Shuichi looked at them. They resembled the clothes Eiri told him had been picked for him to wear at the photo shoot. But wouldn't the fans feel cheated if his clothes were so different from what he normally wore onstage? Wouldn't it look like the publicity had scared them?
"Is it really such a good idea for me to change my image so drastically?" Shuichi asked. "It looks like we're admitting there's something wrong with what I wear."
"You can't wear the collar. Too much like that picture. We don't want everyone thinking about your being Eiri Yuki's sex slave while you're singing."
"I know! I agree that I shouldn't wear the usual outfit tonight, but not something so totally different as well."
"Don't you want to change your image? Isn't that what you and Yuki-san have been bitching about anyway?"
"Well, yeah, but we can't go so far to the other extreme. Don't we have backup outfits? Like a sexy shirt and my leather pants?"
They rifled through the hangers of clothes on the portable clothes rack that had been wheeled in from the bus and found a midriff-baring T-shirt, black leather pants, and a matching coat. K left and Shuichi quickly got dressed.
Hiro whistled and gave him a thumbs up when he saw him. Shuichi knew he was doing it to cheer him up, but it made him feel better anyway.
They talked quietly among themselves while eating dinner. Mostly they wondered whether there'd be any hecklers. K advised Shuichi to ignore them and let security handle them.
The concert hall was abuzz and three-quarters full half an hour before the performance was scheduled to start. Theaters were never this full nor this noisy this early. Everyone agreed the photo must be responsible for it.
The members of the band opening for Bad Luck peered out nervously into the audience from the wings. They hadn't expected such a big turnout. It could be their big break or it could be a total disaster with an audience primed to see how Shuichi and Bad Luck handled themselves.
K gave Bad Luck a several gun salute and thumbs-up as the opening act exited and Bad Luck took the stage. The audience had been polite but cool toward the opening act, apparently wishing to hurry them along so they could see the main attraction.
The crowd jumped to its feet when it heard the first notes of "Rage Beat". They were solidly behind the band from the beginning until they finished the fourth song. Then some guy in the back of the room yelled, "Shindou, you're a pervert!"
It would take more than that to rattle him. He'd heard those words plenty of times before, including from his lover's father. Security came along and dragged the guy away, still shouting, "Pervert!"
Everything returned to normal, or at least as normal as a Bad Luck concert got, until they returned to the stage for the encore. As the noise of the crowd dwindled in anticipation of the opening bars of the encore, a girl could be heard shrieking, "Shindou has become Yuki-san's whore!" A variety of sex toys were tossed onstage from disparate parts of the auditorium in a seemingly coordinated attack and women and girls scattered all over the auditorium held up handmade signs reading "Say No to Sexual Slavery".
As K shouted instructions into his headset and security personnel and the police gathered to drag the protestors out, Shuichi looked around, confused and pained. Despite the instructions he'd received, he couldn't remain quiet. "Hey, everybody," he said loudly enough to cause feedback requiring the technicians in the sound booth to turn down the volume so as not to overdrive the speakers, "I am nobody's whore and who I choose to be with is my private business, not anyone else's."
Someone shouted, "So how did a stroke-book photo of you get on the internet?"
"You ever hear of Photoshop?" Shuichi yelled. Most of the crowd chuckled. "That image of me is phony."
K shouted into his headset, "Shut up! We're going to hold a news conference tomorrow after Seguchi and Yuki arrive. You're going off message!"
"But we can't just let things go," Shuichi insisted speaking in a low voice to the amplifier for the internal sound system.
"Yes, you can," K insisted.
Shuichi turned to look at the crowd. "You wanna hear more about this, or do you want more music?" he asked.
"More music!" the crowd roared.
"Then help us out. Point out anybody causing a ruckus so security and the police can deal with them, and we'll go back to what we do best: making music."
A roar went up from the crowd, Hiro counted off the beats, and they launched into their planned encore. K breathed more easily.
As the encore ended and the curtain came down again, slave collars, cock rings, and packages of condoms were tossed on the stage along with the usual roses, good luck charms, and panties. K directed the custodial staff to pick up the larger than normal haul of debris. They'd been asked to put all of it in special trash bags to be turned over to the police as a precaution in case there were any threatening notes or clues to who was behind this.
At about this time, an author taking a coffee break to fortify himself for a night of writing left a message on his lover's cell phone and then resumed typing.
~TBC~