The interview
2: Tatsuha.
T: By popular demand I bring you Tatsuha's end of this tale…again I stress that I have not read past volume 5 but I am aware of a few things that occur after that so they'll more than likely be included. I don't own the characters…though my 21st is fast approaching and I've made a request for Ryu so you never know! Warnings remain the same.
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He was not outwardly apprehensive but the constant twirling of his engagement ring shows clearly the truth of his feelings.
"We have all read or heard Sakuma-san's end of this tail Mr. Uesugi, but I wondered if you might give your account."
"You may call me Tatsuha and I'd be more than happy to tell you my end of things." He replies, his deep voice no longer hesitant even though he is speaking an alien tongue.
"Has Sakuma-san been teaching you English?"
"Actually I learned the language once Aniki…sorry…once my brother, came back from America. The reason that I was so hesitant with the American press the last we talked, was that I was a little out of practice.
"But I am rambling and I am sure that your readers will not appreciate such things…
"While she was alive my mother used to say that she often thought about what would have happened if she had not gone to the little park in Kyoto all those years ago.
"She had been ill the day before, you see, and she was little in the mood to go picking roses as was the family tradition at that time of the year.
"If she had not gone that day then she would never have met my father…never would have had Mika, Eri or myself…a thought that she used to say scared her beyond the word, something that I only really understand now.
"You see if I had not been brave and sent that first letter to Ryu I can guarantee that I would not be sat here talking to you now.
"That thought scares me beyond the word, because Ryu is everything to me…because he has made me who I am today.
"Still, saying that, I wish I could have had something else to write to him about…wish desperately that Eri had never had to go through any of what he did…but maybe if he had not then he would not have met Shuichi…
"I am rambling again and I would apologise but it seems that this is my way of coping with the odd sensation of watching someone write my words down…using lots of little, random, thoughts to join into some disorganised collective.
"I sent that first letter to Ryu because, at the time, he was as a god to me and I believed that he could solve anything given half the chance…that and I thought that what with his brother's suicide he might understand.
"It took me so long to respond to his reply because even if his advice did not help Eri it did help me and I wanted a way to say thank you.
"What the heck could a 15 year old monk get a rock star though? A question that I wracked my brains over for a whole week before I lied my way into a part time job in hopes that with a bigger budget I might find the ideal present.
"In the end a ring seemed the best idea, Ryu wore so many of them back then that it was clear he loved them.
"Having Toma around all the time came in useful then and I tricked him into telling me Ryu's ring size…
"As you know Ryu liked the letter I set him enough that he again responded and after that we became pen-pals.
"It was nice to learn about the man behind the mike…nice to realise that he trusted me enough to show me a side of himself that no one else had seen.
"The real Ryu is a little bit of an enigma to me even now…intelligent yet childlike, deadly serious yet playful…he was intoxicating and little by little I found myself falling for him.
"When he talked about meeting that first time I could not believe my luck and I am half sure that I would have spent the entirety of that first interaction just simply staring at him if he had not been hyper enough to put a stop to such things early on.
"Ryu told you that he found things a little stilted and I'd agree whole heartedly, mostly because it took me a fair while to actually get used to the way that he seemed to change moods almost instantaneously.
"He started coming to see me quite regularly after that first visit and though it was nice to be able to see him so regularly, I found it also frustrating and difficult.
"Frustrating because every time I would see him I would have to fight the temptation to simply kiss him and difficult because I had to keep finding reasons to go and visit Tokyo.
"Eventually I settled on the 'I am going to see Eri' excuse because father had no desire to phone my brother to check to see if I was really there.
"Ryu's invitation to join him at his hotel suite came while I was still in school and I all but rushed through my assignments in hopes of making the day go faster.
"The invite had specified that I bring lunch and something to keep us entertained, so I whipped together a simple hamper and dusted off my old Monopoly board before I made my excuses to father and headed out to Tokyo.
"I was halfway through the journey when I suddenly realised that I was still in one of my most casual outfits…though in the end, what with the food fight and all…it proved to be the most sensible choice.
"That night changed the relationship between Ryu and I…changed me a little, if the truth be known…
"Ryuichi Sakuma wanted to be my lover…wanted me as much as I had wanted him… things like that could easily give a man an ego and boy was it tempting to yell about this from the rooftops.
"Ryu wanted some time for 'us' before we went public, though so I bit my lip and resisted the all too frequent temptations to get one over my friends.
"Thankfully a distraction came in the form of Ayaka's disappearance and the subsequent hunt for her.
"I looked almost everywhere in Tokyo for her before I decided to see if my brother had any idea of where she had got to.
"He was not in so I used the spare key that one of Eri's flings had given me and let myself in…I had been there only two…maybe three minuets when the door bell went.
"Mika had told me that Eri's new boy toy looked like Ryu nut seeing him for the first time…
"I am ashamed to admit that I got just a little carried away with the fan persona thing and may have inadvertently ended out molesting Shuichi…something that got me into Ryu's bad books for about a week until I convinced him that it was all just part of the act…though I suppose he will be mad at me again when he reads this interview."
He sighs and running a hand through his hair he smiles again and says,
"I was surprised to see Ryu on my doorstep all of a week later, a bright smile clear on his lips.
'Tatsuha, guess what?' he enquired, a playful spark coming to his eyes.
'I knew that that spark could only mean trouble and leaning against the doorframe I enquire,
'What?'
'I am going to be staying in Tokyo for a while.'
'Why?'
'Because Noriko wants me to introduce myself to this 'bright new star' who is a little like me and I'll even get to do some singing…isn't that great?'
"Of course who else could this 'bright star' be but Shuichi? Thus I had to request,
'Ryu, be careful with him please.' He raised his fingers in the victory sign and sniggering replied,
'Always.'
"I roll my eyes and grabbing his chin I stair deep into his eyes and remark,
'Ryu…I know you far to well…try and keep yourself low key, otherwise I may have to do something rash.'
"He leaned into me for a kiss and once he was assured that I was breathless he pulled away and remarking,
'Trust me!' he hoped back onto the motorcycle he had rented for the day.
"As you know he created chaos at the concert and keeping my promise I skipped work and performed my 'angry fan' routine for Shuichi and my brother.
"Unfortunately that performance led to us being kicked out and me having to find a sneaky ally where I could quickly phone Ryu to warn him that I was going to be with Noriko when she arrived.
"It was kind of inevitable that we would not be able to keep the distance between us the whole night, our relationship having never escaped the 'we can't keep our hands away from one another' stage…but it was fun pretending to be strangers both then and on the day that Toma invited me to spend a day with Ryu at the zoo.
"Though I'd seen how fired up the whole 'hit stage' incident had gotten him I believed that he's do a few interviews, sing a little with Shuichi and then fly back to America. Thus when he told me he was staying…that he had decided to re-form Grasper…I am ashamed to admit that I cried a little.
"I got used to being able to touch him every day…got used to being able to see his face or hear his voice whenever I wished and so when things settled out between Eri and Shuichi and Ryu decided to go home…
"I reacted in a very immature fashion and instigated the very first fight that Ryu and I had ever had.
"He rang me from America to apologise and to tell me, for the first time, that he loved me.
"How could I not forgive him after that, especially when I felt the same way…especially because I had been angry only because I believed that he had gone back because he did not love me.
"The day that the press found out about my relationship with Ryu was, rather unfortunately a Wednesday.
"You see father had gotten into the habit of purchasing a weekly paper so that he might comment on how ashamed he was of Eri's 'depraved' lifestyle… He'd specifically chose the Wednesday paper as that was the only time in the week that the deliveries came anywhere near the temple.
"Instead of waking to the beep of my alarm clock, I was woken to my father storming into my room and demanding that I tell him if what the paper said was true.
"No matter my father's prejudice or his vein belief that I might be the one Uesugi to pass on the name, I refused to be ashamed of loving Ryu and thus I looked him square in the eyes and told him that yes, every word was true.
"I expected him to get angry or to kick me out…I did not expect him to sigh and remark,
'Then I will be the last.' Before he left me on my own.
"School was a nightmare, what with the girls wanting to know explicit details and the lads refusing to speak to me…though there were a few boys mixed in with the girls and visa versa.
"Then at break Shuichi phoned me to ask about double dating and to tell me off for lying to him about how close Ryu and I were…then my brother stole the phone and gave me lots of advice on how to deal with childlike lead singers.
"That put me in a enough of a good mood that though I was hounded again after break I remained with a smile on my face.
"I was at my brother's apartment the day the broadcast came on and as I watched the honesty in Ryu's eyes…the complete and utter truth behind his desire to be mine forever…
"My brother told me later that I fainted and that would easily explain why once moment I was sat watching the TV and the next I was in the back of my brother's car with a suitcase sprawled over my lap/
"Apparently while I had been out K had appeared and ordered that I was sent out to Ryu to give my answer to him face to face.
"And you know what happened next."
"Thank you, Tatsuha…if you would not mind one more question, when is the 'wedding?'"
He flushes only barely and after a moment of silence replies,
"Ryu decided to have it on the three year anniversary of the day we met, so that will be a month from today."
"Thank you, Tatsuha and I wish you all the best for the future."
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T: There we go…hopefully that's all the lose ends tied now…I'm sure more will crop up as I continue to read the series but we'll leave those be! R+R…you know you want to!