CHAPTER 42: SPLIT UP.
(Isa's voice)
After two crazy days I was again woken up early this morning back in London. No, it's been not two days, it's three and I can remember nothing about yesterday from the point we went to that disco disguised as ordinary people.
I turn around to see Ren is by my side when Lillian woke me up.
"Ok, I'm going out to give you some privacy." She said smiling and looking to Ren.
As soon as she leaves I begin moving Ren to wake him up.
"Hum?" He finally said after me having to deal with a morning heat strike at his dreaming state. "Morning." He added smiling and keeping on hugging my waist.
"Ren, we have to get up." I told him. "Er... mind releasing me so as me to... put on better my night gown, please?"
It's true, while dealing with that waking up, my robes were down my breast on a side while I kept the other with the shoulder strap at it's right place.
"Why?" He said burying his face at my breast once again. "This is as heaven."
"Well, you have to work, I have to work... Doesn't it sound reason enough for you?" I added messing his hair to finally separate and sit at the bed edge to stand up.
"Oh, come here!" He said laughing and holding me by the hips height to make me fall down with him again.
That made me laugh again, and it took me about seven more minutes to make him leave with the robes I suppose he was wearing the previous day.
Two minutes later I was literally floating down the corridor at the ground floor to get to the reception to answer a call I got.
(Ren's voice)
It was certainly luck that yesterday, Isa was that weird. I don't know if she will remember much after having had such an amount of alcohol and the joint but I certainly can say it was a luck I found her before police found her swimming at that ducks pound at the public park. I nearly had to carry her to her bedroom when the nice maid that just got out of her work took me along weird and narrow corridors to the floor she had.
And then what a suit!! It looked as three times my Tokyo flat from the times Nana and I were to marry. Just her bedroom was about my whole home. I wonder if she has never got lost in her bed.
"Ren, stop daydreaming!" Takumi shouted at me while we were going at the car.
"Sorry." I said.
"It seems somebody has seen an angel today!" Reira said laughing and joking.
"What did I told you about going out at nights and meeting low girls?" Takumi told me off.
"I didn't go out at night and I didn't meet any low girls, happy?" I told him.
"You'd better not be lying because I'll end by finding out and then you are going to be a dead man." He threatened me.
(Nobu's voice)
"Can we rest a bit, please?" I nearly begged when we were made to play the same song for third time.
"My fingers are hurting!" Shin said moaning.
"Ok, rest." The producer said. "Everyone has a quarter of hour gap to rest."
"Wow, this is really funny!" Isa said.
She's been behaving a bit happy little child lately so I wonder if she is not taking drugs cause she works harder than ever and she keeps on having that cheerful face of hers.
"Isa, you must rest a bit." Yasu said handing her a bottle of water. "Remember your lungs are still a bit weak..."
"I'm just fine." She said smiling and taking the towel she was handed by her caretaker to dry her face and neck a bit. "Singing helps me feeling alive."
"I wonder what she is taking." I asked Shin.
"Nothing dangerous that you can think of." He told me. "She is purer than that. Thank god Ren arrived just on the best moment yesterday night and took her before she could jump in the pond."
"What pond? Who came?" I asked not remembering a thing from the previous day.
"She and you wanted to jump in a duck pond at a public park and Ren stopped you." Shin told me. "He literally had to hold her up to prevent her jumping in the water."
"Hey, where did you run away yesterday?" Gimpei asked us frowning. "We were to look for you at your bedroom but we didn't found you."
"Er... We were with some of Isa's friends here." Shin said.
"Oh, then I suppose that's just fine." He said. "Being with polite guys will do well on your image."
Polite is not how I would describe the chaps and friends she had. At least not all of them. Some were a bit hard to describe, but... how could you describe a bunch of three of the guys that pee on the street, drink to drunkenness and spit at streets? Luckily those were just three out of ten.
"Don't worry Gim, that will not happen again." I said. "We have not much free time now, do we?" I said.
"Well... you have some, but our lady..." Gimpei said on a sad doubting voice. "She has to record with us, then work for the company to pay part of the prize for the media paying us enough attention and also help giving us Gaia a hand on dealing with this people."
It was true; if I was her I would have also taken drugs for keeping up with that life-style she had to keep now.
"Gimpei, from the Teendencies, they want to book a day for us doing some clothe modelling." Isa said arriving and laying at his back holding a cell phone in front of his face.
"But they already have you tomorrow!" He said.
"Well, they say it's not going to be enough and they also want the whole band so... maybe you should speak with them and fix this up, please."
"But... humph!" Gimpei said taking the phone to leave.
"No more work, please." Shin said. "Why does everyone take just our faces and bodies?"
"Don't know, next time you could ask it yourself." She said taking a can from the chilled water. "So, what do you plan to do this afternoon?"
"We are free, remember?" I said.
"But you have to model, haven't you?" Yasu said.
"I'm going with her." Shin added. "If she is not there I don't want to go around a place I hardly know."
"Shin, you can't interfere on her work, remember?" Yasu said.
"It's ok." She said smiling. "I bet I can get allowance for you to be there."
(Isa's voice)
We finally were out of the record house. They got all they wanted from us for that day and after a long chat on the phone, I was allowed to take my band mates to see me at the photo session so I would also ask Ren if they had free afternoon so he could came.
However, when we arrived back the hotel...
"Hey, what's all that mess?" I asked when I saw the staff more nervous than before.
"Trapnest has been expelled from the hotel." Marion told me. "It seems Mr. Ichinoise brought somebody here and got caught doing it on public place in here and Mr. Honjo was caught with Marijuana at his room. He has been taken to police station to see what they do with him." She told me white as a sheet. "Mr. Okazaki Sr has just expelled them and their staff is packing things up. They will be kicked from the town too as they will not get a hotel now."
I suddenly felt how my knees went as rubber but I managed to stand still. If it was my dad's decision, there was nothing I could do. I knew my father's influence on the city and so I knew they would not find a hotel fond of putting them up because they were afraid on my family's anger.
I immediately called all the media, one by one expecting them not to do a first page out of this. When I had to model I tried to look my best, but all the smiles I wear were faked because I was nervous for what could happen to Ren.
When I got the call from the only media not having answering me first time I felt how my strengths left me and I fell on my knees.
First person coming to help me was Yasu followed by Shin.
"Yes..." I muttered on English trying to sound still. "Yes, I'll go and try to deal with it."
Then they hung down. This time it was not a trouble at another country where they didn't knew me, this time it was my home-country, where everyone knew who I was and where truth could hurt my image quite a lot.
Yasu held me around my back and it was at him where I buried my face to cry.
"It's ok..." He whispered at me while Gimpei tried to deal with the photographer and the rest of people there.
(Yasu's voice)
"Calm up, everything will be fine..." I told Isa while we sat down at the room where we had appointed to meet the journalist.
"No, everything is just upside down." She told me with her hands trembling slightly. "They know me; they know how I play... They have always treat to put dung on my life by blackmailing me cause they know they can't do a thing against my family or me so they do against my friends. So, everything is going to end badly, for Ren or for me."
I had never seen her as down and nervous as now. I didn't knew if it was cause she really loved him or cause she was really afraid of that people.
Anyway, I had the opportunity of checking it when they arrived; a female journalist and a boss looking man.
The meeting began and I saw how she was appearing to stand still over the whole matter but she was nervous inside.
Again they didn't want money, nor any kind of news.
"We already know everything about you that we are allowed to publish." The woman said. "There's nothing you can offer us."
"There must be something we can offer you." I then said.
"Nobody cares about the life of you, dear." The woman said. "The only one valuable here is the lady, but her family got an agreement with us not allowing anyone in press to publish anything about them without first asking, and of course no nudity, or drugs, or drunkenness... or anything lowering the family."
Ren was also my friend, but I could not do anything about him. Those men were tougher than Japanese ones. I now understand how she got that agreement so easily the previous time.
She was a great business woman but this time she seemed to being something interfering her from keeping her mind cold.
"Well... now you name it..." The boss said. "It seems there's something you can do for us."
(Shin's voice)
Nobu and I were waiting for Yasu and Isa to end the meeting for long. It seemed ages but after an hour in the meeting room they went out, our friends were serious as if they were going out of a burial and the journalists were smiling.
Then I ran to hug my cousin and she laid her head at my shoulder obviously trying to find some kind of comfort on it.
"Everything is ok now." I told her. "We are here."
"Miss Okanzaki!" Some of the maids said arriving running. "What's happened? We've seen the Torch going out of here!"
"Isa!" A dark haired man who she called Pedro said. "What's gone on?"
"It's ok." She said standing still and serious. "They came here to deal with something with us. You have nothing to worry about, it's ok now. No dirt over the name of the hotel or the family."
"And who cares about that?!" Robbie the security man of the building said. "We were worried about you!"
"Yeah, we don't care about the status, we would work here just the same if it was not that well know!" Another girl said.
That solidarity and friendship action was something moving, anyway, she kept on trying to stand still.
"I'm fine, so... now everyone to your post, at once." She said.
"Yes, mistress." They said before moving again.
"I am going to need a car." She said. "I'm going to the police office to see what I can do to put him out of there."
(Ren's voice)
I can't believe all that has happened in less than 24 hours. We were expelled from the hotel, police arrested me and now I'm on a prison waiting to be even judged.
I don't know for how long I have been here, I fell asleep and when they put Takumi out, he didn't even say something like "Don't worry, we will put you out of there" to me.
Suddenly I was waked up by a guard telling me to move in a foreign language I soon identify as English.
"Am I free?" I ask a bit surprised.
"You seem to have good positioned friends out of here." The man said. "Friends you don't deserve. Walk!" He roared at me.
"But... I can't understand... who...?" I began babbling.
Suddenly I saw a face behind the bars separating the prisoner's corridor from the public part. I ran to it.
"Isa!!" I said. "You've saved me?!"
However, she was not alone there. I then saw Yasu was back her, Shin on her other side and Nobu back them all looking at me at the corner of his eyes with a prey dog look of hate.
"Er... hello everyone." I muttered after kissing her hands that she quickly removed from me.
"I've managed to make this all to be forgotten." Isa began saying on a weird voice as if she was about crying but still and with a serious face trying to show no feelings. "However, Trapnest name has been endirt and there's nothing I can do about it."
"I'm more than happy that you have put me out of here." I said trying to kiss her but then she stepped back once. "What...?"
"I've managed to get it all ready for you all taking a safe flight out of here. Police will escort you to the airport and there you will meet your staff and mates." She said. "You must leave on an hour and if I were you I would take a long time before coming back here."
"But... when will I see you again?" I asked now worried about her cold behaviour now.
I saw Nobu and Shin were to answer me but Yasu covered their mouths. Isa was still silent and looking down.
"Isa...?" I asked.
"I'm afraid from now on the only contact we will have will be just on public places at events and interviews." She then said looking down.
"No... It can't be true!" I said. "Look at me!" I demanded while the guard held me to make me keep on walking to take me out. "Tell me looking at my eyes!!"
Then there was a silence while Yasu held Nobu and Shin tighter against him. It seemed hours the little seconds she took for looking up and looking straight to my eyes speak to me.
"It's over." She said trying to look still yet I must have felt the little trembling on her voice. "We split up. I can't keep on with this so please... don't even call me on some time."
It was last time I saw her cause I was held by three policemen and took to the car by force while I shouted her name once and again.
As soon as the police station was lost of sight I hit the contention pane and began crying. Why did I always have to ruin every love relationship I had? What was the problem with me?
(Shin's voice)
We are all back at the hotel now. Isa went up to her bedroom without having any food from breakfast to now. She didn't have anytime to have lunch today and she said she was not hungry for dinner.
All of us are really worried, but now her dad is at the hotel there's no chance of us visiting her at her bedroom.
Anyway...
"Pss... Pss..." the barmaid said when we were going next to the bar. "Kid, come for a bit of water..."
I then went to sit at the bar and asked for a glass of water so soon, Nobu came and Yasu sat down with us.
"I've heard about what's happened with Miss Isa." The lady told me on a whispering tone. "I know that what I'm going to tell you could cost me to be fired but... if you get to the second corridor on the left from the lobby and then you turn right on the end of that corridor Lillian could guide you to the room and the rest of staff will make sure you are not caught there."
"And why should you risk to be fired for helping us?" Nobu said.
"Cause we all like our mistress and we feel pain of seeing her so sad." The barman said going past back her to take a bottle to offer to a customer.
"Thanks for the water." I said smiling.
"Here, a tip." Yasu added putting some pounds at the counter. "For the help."
She then smiled and placed her hand over them to move them back towards him.
"This is for friendship." She said sadly. "We all owe lot to her, we all hate to see her so down. So, please, help her for us, you that can help her."
That made me feel something warm. My cousin had chosen to follow her dad's steps being a business woman and economisician for her business, but she was clearly not as cold as her father and brother. All the staff loved her over all the owners in the hotel chain; and she managed to gain our friendship too. How could anyone think we would not do anything on our hands to help her get over that all?
"We all love her." Nobu said. "As friends I mean. We will all help her the best we can."
I then smiled. Maybe that feeling he had for Yuri was not truly love but just another feeling; anyway, it was plain clear that he felt something for Isa. As me myself.
"Hey, kiddo, this way." The Rasta girl said poking me. "Ah, I see it's the entire band coming up." She added smiling. "Ok, try not to separate from me. We are going through the staff part."
"Staff part?" Nobu said. "In my family hotel we didn't have but for the staff rooms!"
"What kind of hotel is that then?" The girl said.
"Oh, Lillian!" A maid said. "You know no guests are allowed here!"
"Shut up blondy." The girl said. "This is a special deliver. Ok, from here on you will have to go with Jacqueline."
We were guided by three different girls till we arrived to the last floor.
"Hey, godfather." The Rasta girl said to the little speakerphone at her ear. "We need a bit of help, can you blind the eyes at the princess wing?... Thanks, you're the best… I'll tell her and see what she does, right?... Thanks for the hand." She said opening the door and making the guys to get out.
"You have five minutes, so try knocking on the door and wait till she opens." The lady said before closing the door behind her.
"I think this looks like that film…" Nobu said. "Alcatraz."
For a second I imagined all of us wearing as running away prisoners and then I shook my head while Yasu knocked on the door.
He did it again after a little while when we didn't heard any noise coming form inside.
"Try knocking harder, please." Nobu said hitting it harder.
Then we heard some steps on the other side of the door and when it was four minutes since the count down began when the door opened.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Isa asked blowing her nose at a Kleenex. Then we heard a noise and she pulled from us in the room and closed the door. "My father is a bit hard with safety and even the corridor to my room is controlled by cameras. What did you want?" She asked blowing her nose again and hiding back a paper wall to litter the paper handkerchief before coming back with us.
I then rubbed her shoulder sitting back her at the sofa back. Nobu and Yasu had sat on the sofa.
"We were worried because we didn't saw you down for dinner." Nobu said looking at her.
"Thanks for worrying about me but I'm fine." Isa said. "I'm just not hungry."
"We don't believe you." Yasu said. "At last I think I know the reason why you are not hungry and I think that's just silly. You have to eat something."
"If you are hungry you can take that." She said blowing her nose again and pointing to a table.
Since all the time together I just saw her like that or worse when Nobu and her broke up. Apparently, now, she felt a bit better.
"Ah!" I suddenly said. "I know what we are going to do. I have still not had dinner so if you don't mind I'm going to do something."
"Sure, there's a little kitchen hidden behind the door at the wall next to here." She said then pointing back and then to the left.
"You even have a kitchen in here?" Yasu asked a bit surprised.
"Mini-kitchen." She said. "A bathroom with jacucci and also a huge wardrobe and bedroom. This is just the living-room."
"And do you have any food around?" I asked. "Pasta? Meat powder? Tempura? Anything?"
"No." She answered. "But if you want ramen you can call Andreas and ask him to get you some. If you forgive me… I'm going bed."
"Hey!" Nobu said. "Don't leave so soon. We wanted… we wanted to discuss something."
"Yeah, about the new song." Yasu added. "We think it can be a bit… weird if you just sing it."
"Sing…" She muttered. "Wait a second, please."
She then went to her bedroom; I could see it while I asked the kitchen to bring us some food for me to cook it. Then she went out of it carrying a violin.
"It's long since I don't play but maybe this can help a bit." She said. "Just imagine this is a guitar..."
She then began doing some noises with it, moving the screws to adjust the sound and when she found it as she wanted she began playing a soft tune.
Soon her voice began filling the room and she didn't even mind when a girl hit the door bringing me the ingredients I asked for.
"Ah… she used to be so moving with her artistic skills and such a beautiful voice…" The girl said dreamily when she stood at the door. "Pity she just did it so well and fluidly just when she was worried or sad. Ah, I have to leave, say hello from me."
"Ok, ah; tell everyone I'm going to make her have some dinner up here." I said. "She has never said no to the meals I cook when I was little and we played kitchens." I added winking and nearly laughing.
(Nobu's voice)
"Dinner!" Shin said coming with a big dish when Yasu got to where he was cooking cause a bit of weird smell came to us. "C'mon Isa, come for dinner."
"I'm not hungry." She said from the sofa playing the violin again. "But you can have dinner down like normal people."
I was about telling her she needed to have dinner when Shin held her hand and pulled from her.
"C'mon dear." He said. "Chef Shin has cooked his speciality just for you." He added managing to make her follow to the table she had there after having put some paper sheets over it as if they were individual tablecloths with the table settled for four people according to what he got from kitchen, there, in the middle was a tray.
Then Shin removed the lid and then a mass of fried pasta with something green, white and brown over it making an unidentified mass.
"That looks… dreadful." I muttered to then nearly shout. "How do you think she is going to eat that?! It looks toxic!"
Anyway, suddenly Isa had poked the mass and moved it a bit to then begin holding her laugh and end up laughing softly at her hand.
"This is completely eatable!!" Shin said before realising she was holding her laugh. "Oh, she is important for me!! I would never try to intoxicate her!!"
Then she began laughing making us go confuse. She poked the pasta again with her fork and ate a forkful of it.
"Hummm… Shin, it's good as always." She said. "Spaghetti chez Shin?"
"No, this is Back of the fridge autumn Ramen." He answered.
"So… let's have dinner." Yasu said sitting down too.
Smiling both sat down and served them selves some ramen. I then decide to also sit and serve myself a bit of that.
"So…" He said serving some to everyone. "How is it?"
Yasu ate a bit and raised a thumb and I tried to eat a bit too.
I had to help shouting "Yuck!!" when I tested that pasta that was salty and weird tasting. However, none of us said a word, but when Shin left, Isa stood and took something from a drawer.
"I must have thought he would do that." She said softly to us smiling. "He never took the point with salt and meal mixes. Not even when we played."
"So, what is all this about?" I asked while Yasu spited a bit of the meal in a paper sheet.
"I remember we used to play kitchen's games when we were little." She began saying. "We used to cook meal with sand, water and everything we could find around saying what was it. And our favourite was Spaghetti chez Shin, what is formed by… spaghetti, cheese, onion, garlic, spinach…" She said trying to remember.
"Doesn't sound too bad." I said.
"Ice-cream, spicy meat, fried eggs, sausages, frenchfries… I think that was all." She said.
"And did your stomach stand that alien mix?" I asked about going sick.
"Of course." Isa said smiling. "I have eaten even fried insects for Shin when I went with him to Taiwan." She said whispering. "He has done it with all his heart, so even when it tasted awful I would eat a full dish, for him, for any of you."
Yasu then smiled and took another fork trying to swallow it without making a funny face of disgust.
"Ah, the trick is to think it's something you love." She whispered as Shin arrived from toilet. "Ah, Shin. I think I'll have a bit more, do you mind?"
Shin was happy when she asked him about it. I would have never thought those two could share such a bound. He knew how to deal with her and she would no doubt on doing whatever was needed for Shin, for all of us.
I thought that she was wonderful for that.
(Yasu's voice)
It was a bit late when I saw everyone seemed a bit sleepy and Isa was nearly slept. No, she was slept.
"Hey, I think it's time for us to leave." I said. "Let's take her to the bed and then we leave."
"Oh, I'm staying here." Shin said caressing her hair at his shoulder. "I think she needs me here more than in my room."
That made even me feel there was something between them not just cousins' relationship. Anyway, that loyalty and love was really admirable.
I held her up at my arms with her head against my chest.
"Love U..." She muttered so softly I think just me heard it going a bit red.
It was english, true, but I could understand her pretty well. Finally I managed to make her in the bed and I covered her while Shin got in the bed too.
"I'm sleeping here." He said passing his arm under her neck as if it was a pillow so she crawled against him laying her ear at his shoulder. "No, really, she needs human heat now she has..."
Nobu then laid back her being really red. Maybe on his little love brain he felt he was betaying Yuri or Ren or both or who knows what, but he laid there with an arm over her.
"Ok, ok." I said. "I catch the idea. I'll sit here to keep an eye on you."
They soon fell also asleep so I was the only one awakened. I then reviewed the day.
It was a long and messy day. Trapenest were now on troubles, Ren and Takumi were inprisoned for some hours... and Isa manged to take Ren out of the prison but she broke up with him.
Such a brave decision... I doubted if she did it cause of the profile she had to kept to take him out of there or maybe for the fact that he was discovered with marijuana on his bedroom. I'd had loved to ask her about it, but she was asleep and I was soon slept too.