Chapter II: We leave off with a very awkward situation for two-thirds of
our Nittle Grasper heroes... Ryuichi and Tohma have just been caught in the
recording studio by "Mister President"... what will happen next?
An hour later, Tohma sat in the President's office, looking at his feet as he waited for their boss to lecture him. Ryuichi had gone in first, and Tohma knew how serious the situation was as he gave Kumagoro to Noriko to hold. As the clock chimed yet another minute, Tohma buried his head in his hands. Noriko sighed and patted his shoulder from the seat next to him.
"I'm sure everything will be fine, Tohma."
"He's been in there for an hour... how can it be fine?" Tohma sighed. Sakano grabbed at his hair and began to spin back and forth across the room sobbing.
"It's not Fine! It's not Okay! We're Ruined! Nittle Grasper was on the way to the top and already we've Failed!" Sakano stopped spinning as he sobbed and made the sign of the cross in front of his chest. "Seguchi- san, I have failed you as a manager! Please forgive me! AHHHHHH!" Sakano ran full speed toward the open window, but before he could launch himself out, K blocked his path holding a large machine gun straight at Sakano's head.
"Don't think you can get out that easily; you're in for it with the rest of us," K growled, clicking the barrel of his gun. Immediately, Sakano's eyes rolled up as he fainted. "All too easy," K murmured as he kneeled down to fan Sakano back to life.
"I'm sorry. This is all my fault," Tohma whispered, shutting his eyes tightly to hold in the hot liquid from his eyes.
"Next time you get a brilliant idea to fuck around, do it outside of the studio, alright?" K reprimanded dully as the door to the President's office opened and Ryuichi walked stiffly out, shuffling his feet together. K rose to his feet and approached his charge warily.
"Ryuichi?"
"Don't touch me," he whispered hoarsely, not daring to look his manager in the eye.
"Ryu-chan? What happened?" Noriko asked, rising to her feet. "Don't you want to talk with Kumagoro and Pika-Pika-Noriko-chan about it?" Ryuichi pulled the pink bunny away from her and held it tightly, knowing on the right ear.
"Seguchi, my office, now," the low bass voice of the president boomed from the other side of the wooden door. Tohma rose to his feet unsurely and cast a glance up at Ryuichi before walking to his fate.
"Sit down," the president instructed once Tohma was inside. Tohma kept his eyes fixated on the green and gold carpeting rather than the president's face--he could picture it too clearly. The president was around forty-five years old, with graying wisps in his short, black hair. His moustache was oil black and trimmed a little too long. His eyes were triangular and beady with nearly no pigment, as if they belonged to a doll-- something dead. He was unusually tall for an Asian, towering even over Tohma who was mixed blood. But the most menacing thing about him was his mouth, with lips so thing that it showed every one of his canines as he spoke.
"Seguchi, I'm disappointed with what I discovered today in the studio."
"Yes, sir."
"Do you think I'm paying Nittle Grasper to fuck in my office rather than create songs?"
"No, sir."
"Then what would possess you to do such a thing?" he growled. "Look at me when I'm speaking to you, Seguchi." Tohma reluctantly lifted his eyes to meet the President's. "I'm not through with you two. First off, I don't ever want to see that ever again. You aren't to be seen with Sakuma- san outside of rehearsal or concerts. Second, I want you to know the validity of Sakuma's motives... you are aware that out of Nittle Grasper he's the sex icon?"
"Well, Noriko..." Tohma shut his mouth as soon as he opened it, seeing the president was no longer in a mood for debate.
"No. The item of lust is Sakuma-san. He's the fire, he's the backbone. Without him, there would be no Nittle Grasper. We need to keep him the object of lust, so he's not to get involved, especially with someone like you." The president drove each word harder and harder into Tohma's heart. "Apparently, he was confused by his motives with you, considering his affairs with Noriko-chan up until her recent engagement."
"Affairs?" Tohma asked, startled. For one of the first times in his life, he found himself off guard... Noriko and Ryuichi? It seemed to preposterous, but at the same time it made so much sense. But Ryuichi said...
"You didn't think it was love, did you?" the president chuckled sadistically. "Of course you did, naïve youth. You thought he meant every last word, you follow him blindly as does the rest of Japan."
"He's not a-" Tohma stopped himself. It couldn't be true... could it?
"A slut? Tohma, there's only one way to get to the top." The president looked at his watch and shuffled his papers. "I'm sorry you had to get in the middle of this confusion. To prevent rumors, you will stay clear of each other except when necessary. Be grateful I'm not putting a suspension on you." Tohma nodded his head and stood up out of the large chair, looking up at the framed picture of Nittle Grasper that was by the door before he walked back into the lobby.
"Well?! Well?!" Sakano asked neurotically, darting his eyes back to the door. Tohma shrugged his shoulder nonchalantly, gazing around the room where only Noriko and Sakano remained. A lingering doubt trailed in the back of his head, but he waived it off. The president was right--there was no way Ryuichi could have feelings for him... no one could ever love him Depressed, Tohma brushed past the two.
"Rehearsal's at 8:00 tomorrow morning. Don't be late. And Sakano, make sure to refill the coffee creamers." And with that, Tohma slipped out into the hallway and into the night.
"Tohma!" Ryuichi yelled from K's van as he spied the blonde walking to his car. Tohma looked up at the pink bunny being waived in the air but with a clenched fist ignored it, fumbling in his pocket for his keys. As he searched, Tohma closed his eyes hearing the distinct padding of footsteps getting louder and louder as they approached him. "Tohma!" Ryuichi yelled, jumping on Tohma's back and wrapping his arms and legs around him. Tohma fell forward into the side of the car, wincing at the impact.
"Hello Ryuichi."
"What's the deal?" Ryuichi asked seriously as he slid down from Tohma. Tohma sighed and leaned his forehead against the dark blue roof of his BMW. "You totally almost blew me off."
"I should be asking you the exact same question; you weren't exactly in the best of moods leaving the president's office," Tohma muttered darkly.
"I had my reasons," Ryuichi replied, glaring at the blonde. "Still no reason to be a dick."
"We're not supposed to be talking, let alone seen away from rehearsal." Tohma stood upright and put the key in the door lock but as he went to open the door Ryuichi spun him around and kissed him. Tohma closed his eyes, returning the savory feeling when the knowing pain hit him again. Ryuichi was the band's slut. The blonde pushed Ryuichi away and held him at arm's length.
"I don't want to be just one of the numbers."
"One of the numbers? Tohma, what the fuck are you talking about?"
"More like who the fuck. Ryu, why didn't tell me you were having an affair with Noriko?" Ryuichi took a step back then another until he was a few feet away from Tohma.
"I thought it wouldn't matter," Ryuichi said softly, his lower lip trembling. Tohma sighed and brought a hand to his eyes holding back the stinging moisture.
"Then it is true..."
"It was awhile ago, Tohma; she's engaged now... I wanted to tell you something before but you wouldn't understand."
"Of course I don't understand why you'd break my heart when I'm only just another added to the list!" Tohma yelled, yanking the door to his car open and jumping in, not bothering to buckle his seatbelt as he screeched through the empty parking lot. Ryuichi flipped Tohma's car off and walked back to K's van.
"Something tells me that didn't go so well," K said as soon as Ryuichi closed the passenger side door. Ryuichi rolled his eyes as he picked up Kumagoro and started knowing on its ear again.
"He knows about me and Noriko."
"So?"
"It's a big deal," Ryuichi sighed and rest his head against the window. "I dunno what to do, K. He said the president forbids us from seeing each other outside of practice, and I hurt him."
"He should understand bisexuality since he dated women before," K said as he started the van up. The soft hum of Metallica escaped from the American's speakers.
"Do you think what I'm doing is wrong?" Ryuichi asked urgently. "Fame... is it really worth it over love?" K put a hand to his chin and stroked the stuble.
"I'm assuming you didn't tell him what happened." Ryuichi's silence answered K's suspicions. Immediately, K swerved the van to the right, spinning the wheel around. Ryuichi clutched Kumagoro with all his strength as he braced his feet against the floor.
"NANI?!?! WHERE ARE WE GOING?!" K smiled wickedly and began to laugh sadistically.
"Oh, I'm bringing you to a good place. A place called heaven."
"This is the freeway! THIS IS TOWARD TOHMA'S HOUSE!!!" Ryuichi squealed and yanked at his locked door. "K! Why are you doing this to me?! Why?! Kumagoro says he hates you and to turn around immediately or he'll pay for someone to cut your dick off!" Without taking his eyes off of the road, K pulled out a large magnum from the glove box and pointed it at Ryuichi's head. "Okay, Kumagoro changed his mind about cutting your dick off! But K!!!"
"Ryuichi, we're going there and you're going to tell him exactly what happened," K ordered.
"B...but the president said..."
"I'll take care of the president," K said with a chuckle as he clicked the barrel of his gun. "Leave it all to Mistah K to bring you back to your lovah!"
"How could I go back?" Ryuichi looked down at Kumagoro who was sitting in his lap. He closed his dark blue eyes and let out a heart reatching sigh. "Do you think Tohma could possibly love me if he knew the reason why we have our record label is because I'm fucking the president?!"
To be Continued...
(Aw yeah, cliffhanger baby! Story's getting intense by this part but don't worry--Mistah K be here! Would love more feedback!!!)
An hour later, Tohma sat in the President's office, looking at his feet as he waited for their boss to lecture him. Ryuichi had gone in first, and Tohma knew how serious the situation was as he gave Kumagoro to Noriko to hold. As the clock chimed yet another minute, Tohma buried his head in his hands. Noriko sighed and patted his shoulder from the seat next to him.
"I'm sure everything will be fine, Tohma."
"He's been in there for an hour... how can it be fine?" Tohma sighed. Sakano grabbed at his hair and began to spin back and forth across the room sobbing.
"It's not Fine! It's not Okay! We're Ruined! Nittle Grasper was on the way to the top and already we've Failed!" Sakano stopped spinning as he sobbed and made the sign of the cross in front of his chest. "Seguchi- san, I have failed you as a manager! Please forgive me! AHHHHHH!" Sakano ran full speed toward the open window, but before he could launch himself out, K blocked his path holding a large machine gun straight at Sakano's head.
"Don't think you can get out that easily; you're in for it with the rest of us," K growled, clicking the barrel of his gun. Immediately, Sakano's eyes rolled up as he fainted. "All too easy," K murmured as he kneeled down to fan Sakano back to life.
"I'm sorry. This is all my fault," Tohma whispered, shutting his eyes tightly to hold in the hot liquid from his eyes.
"Next time you get a brilliant idea to fuck around, do it outside of the studio, alright?" K reprimanded dully as the door to the President's office opened and Ryuichi walked stiffly out, shuffling his feet together. K rose to his feet and approached his charge warily.
"Ryuichi?"
"Don't touch me," he whispered hoarsely, not daring to look his manager in the eye.
"Ryu-chan? What happened?" Noriko asked, rising to her feet. "Don't you want to talk with Kumagoro and Pika-Pika-Noriko-chan about it?" Ryuichi pulled the pink bunny away from her and held it tightly, knowing on the right ear.
"Seguchi, my office, now," the low bass voice of the president boomed from the other side of the wooden door. Tohma rose to his feet unsurely and cast a glance up at Ryuichi before walking to his fate.
"Sit down," the president instructed once Tohma was inside. Tohma kept his eyes fixated on the green and gold carpeting rather than the president's face--he could picture it too clearly. The president was around forty-five years old, with graying wisps in his short, black hair. His moustache was oil black and trimmed a little too long. His eyes were triangular and beady with nearly no pigment, as if they belonged to a doll-- something dead. He was unusually tall for an Asian, towering even over Tohma who was mixed blood. But the most menacing thing about him was his mouth, with lips so thing that it showed every one of his canines as he spoke.
"Seguchi, I'm disappointed with what I discovered today in the studio."
"Yes, sir."
"Do you think I'm paying Nittle Grasper to fuck in my office rather than create songs?"
"No, sir."
"Then what would possess you to do such a thing?" he growled. "Look at me when I'm speaking to you, Seguchi." Tohma reluctantly lifted his eyes to meet the President's. "I'm not through with you two. First off, I don't ever want to see that ever again. You aren't to be seen with Sakuma- san outside of rehearsal or concerts. Second, I want you to know the validity of Sakuma's motives... you are aware that out of Nittle Grasper he's the sex icon?"
"Well, Noriko..." Tohma shut his mouth as soon as he opened it, seeing the president was no longer in a mood for debate.
"No. The item of lust is Sakuma-san. He's the fire, he's the backbone. Without him, there would be no Nittle Grasper. We need to keep him the object of lust, so he's not to get involved, especially with someone like you." The president drove each word harder and harder into Tohma's heart. "Apparently, he was confused by his motives with you, considering his affairs with Noriko-chan up until her recent engagement."
"Affairs?" Tohma asked, startled. For one of the first times in his life, he found himself off guard... Noriko and Ryuichi? It seemed to preposterous, but at the same time it made so much sense. But Ryuichi said...
"You didn't think it was love, did you?" the president chuckled sadistically. "Of course you did, naïve youth. You thought he meant every last word, you follow him blindly as does the rest of Japan."
"He's not a-" Tohma stopped himself. It couldn't be true... could it?
"A slut? Tohma, there's only one way to get to the top." The president looked at his watch and shuffled his papers. "I'm sorry you had to get in the middle of this confusion. To prevent rumors, you will stay clear of each other except when necessary. Be grateful I'm not putting a suspension on you." Tohma nodded his head and stood up out of the large chair, looking up at the framed picture of Nittle Grasper that was by the door before he walked back into the lobby.
"Well?! Well?!" Sakano asked neurotically, darting his eyes back to the door. Tohma shrugged his shoulder nonchalantly, gazing around the room where only Noriko and Sakano remained. A lingering doubt trailed in the back of his head, but he waived it off. The president was right--there was no way Ryuichi could have feelings for him... no one could ever love him Depressed, Tohma brushed past the two.
"Rehearsal's at 8:00 tomorrow morning. Don't be late. And Sakano, make sure to refill the coffee creamers." And with that, Tohma slipped out into the hallway and into the night.
"Tohma!" Ryuichi yelled from K's van as he spied the blonde walking to his car. Tohma looked up at the pink bunny being waived in the air but with a clenched fist ignored it, fumbling in his pocket for his keys. As he searched, Tohma closed his eyes hearing the distinct padding of footsteps getting louder and louder as they approached him. "Tohma!" Ryuichi yelled, jumping on Tohma's back and wrapping his arms and legs around him. Tohma fell forward into the side of the car, wincing at the impact.
"Hello Ryuichi."
"What's the deal?" Ryuichi asked seriously as he slid down from Tohma. Tohma sighed and leaned his forehead against the dark blue roof of his BMW. "You totally almost blew me off."
"I should be asking you the exact same question; you weren't exactly in the best of moods leaving the president's office," Tohma muttered darkly.
"I had my reasons," Ryuichi replied, glaring at the blonde. "Still no reason to be a dick."
"We're not supposed to be talking, let alone seen away from rehearsal." Tohma stood upright and put the key in the door lock but as he went to open the door Ryuichi spun him around and kissed him. Tohma closed his eyes, returning the savory feeling when the knowing pain hit him again. Ryuichi was the band's slut. The blonde pushed Ryuichi away and held him at arm's length.
"I don't want to be just one of the numbers."
"One of the numbers? Tohma, what the fuck are you talking about?"
"More like who the fuck. Ryu, why didn't tell me you were having an affair with Noriko?" Ryuichi took a step back then another until he was a few feet away from Tohma.
"I thought it wouldn't matter," Ryuichi said softly, his lower lip trembling. Tohma sighed and brought a hand to his eyes holding back the stinging moisture.
"Then it is true..."
"It was awhile ago, Tohma; she's engaged now... I wanted to tell you something before but you wouldn't understand."
"Of course I don't understand why you'd break my heart when I'm only just another added to the list!" Tohma yelled, yanking the door to his car open and jumping in, not bothering to buckle his seatbelt as he screeched through the empty parking lot. Ryuichi flipped Tohma's car off and walked back to K's van.
"Something tells me that didn't go so well," K said as soon as Ryuichi closed the passenger side door. Ryuichi rolled his eyes as he picked up Kumagoro and started knowing on its ear again.
"He knows about me and Noriko."
"So?"
"It's a big deal," Ryuichi sighed and rest his head against the window. "I dunno what to do, K. He said the president forbids us from seeing each other outside of practice, and I hurt him."
"He should understand bisexuality since he dated women before," K said as he started the van up. The soft hum of Metallica escaped from the American's speakers.
"Do you think what I'm doing is wrong?" Ryuichi asked urgently. "Fame... is it really worth it over love?" K put a hand to his chin and stroked the stuble.
"I'm assuming you didn't tell him what happened." Ryuichi's silence answered K's suspicions. Immediately, K swerved the van to the right, spinning the wheel around. Ryuichi clutched Kumagoro with all his strength as he braced his feet against the floor.
"NANI?!?! WHERE ARE WE GOING?!" K smiled wickedly and began to laugh sadistically.
"Oh, I'm bringing you to a good place. A place called heaven."
"This is the freeway! THIS IS TOWARD TOHMA'S HOUSE!!!" Ryuichi squealed and yanked at his locked door. "K! Why are you doing this to me?! Why?! Kumagoro says he hates you and to turn around immediately or he'll pay for someone to cut your dick off!" Without taking his eyes off of the road, K pulled out a large magnum from the glove box and pointed it at Ryuichi's head. "Okay, Kumagoro changed his mind about cutting your dick off! But K!!!"
"Ryuichi, we're going there and you're going to tell him exactly what happened," K ordered.
"B...but the president said..."
"I'll take care of the president," K said with a chuckle as he clicked the barrel of his gun. "Leave it all to Mistah K to bring you back to your lovah!"
"How could I go back?" Ryuichi looked down at Kumagoro who was sitting in his lap. He closed his dark blue eyes and let out a heart reatching sigh. "Do you think Tohma could possibly love me if he knew the reason why we have our record label is because I'm fucking the president?!"
To be Continued...
(Aw yeah, cliffhanger baby! Story's getting intense by this part but don't worry--Mistah K be here! Would love more feedback!!!)