Chapter 4
Hiroki gathered all his belongings inside of his duffel bag and zipped it up. It contained his dirty clothes, apartment keys, cellphone, and bathroom products. His wallet resided in his front pocket. Double checking around his old room, he got up on his feet and hooked his bag over his shoulder. He tended to his bed and fluffed the pillows just right. His mother might chastise him over leaving this place in disarray. Despite the fact that her voice remained soft and demure, he felt reprimanded enough when she lectured him. He didn't want his mother to get upset at him for anything.
Most of the higher disciplinary measures went to his father. Of course, a father instilled fear in their children as the firmer parent of the two. Although, it wasn't to the level when the man handled his employees. He witnessed some of it during the few times he visited him in the office. Bored in his rolling chair while reading a book. The radio turned on a random station with light music. His father's voice traveled over to the main office. Booming and authoritative.
He laughed behind his book but remained in his seat. His father told him to stay in his office until he returned. He found the whole situation with his workers so amusing. After all, it wasn't him who got yelled at that time. He straightened up on his chair when his father re-entered his office.
Once he finished, he inspected the area for anything out of place. Everything was perfect. Satisfied, Hiroki patted down the bed and the pillows.
In the distance, Hiroki heard a loud honk. Snapping him out of his thoughts as he swore under his breath. He walked out of his room without a second thought. Closing the door behind him, he went down the hall. Hurrying his steps before Akihiko's patience went thin. He might go into a sequence of honks which invoked his father's wrath.
Hiroki grumbled as he gripped his overnight bag's strap. "I didn't think Akihiko would come this early. From what I remember, he doesn't enjoy waking up in the mornings. Lazy bastard."
Akihiko called him the day before when he asked advice on his newest novel. Possible editing. They ended in a long conversation. He mentioned he stayed over at his parents house for the weekend. Akihiko told him he was in the area. The author got forced into going home over some family business. Hiroki felt some sympathy. As a teenager, he walked into an Usami family dispute. Those arguments ventured into the ugly side due to the high animosity between everyone. In his luck, he never experienced such strong problems with his family.
The conversation ended when Hiroki's mother called him over for dinner. A delicious dinner combined with dessert. One of his favorites from childhood.
He bumped into Fuyumi on his way to the front door. She handed him a plastic bag full of leftover food from the day before. Breaded pork, marinated vegetables and steamed rice. His mouth salivated. He loved her home cooking. A tad biased but he grew up on her cooking and not the usual staff. He might hand half of it to Akihiko for compensating him for giving him a ride back home.
No money on him for gas. Akihiko had to settle with food.
"From the sounds of that honking, Akihiko has arrived to pick you up?"
"Yeah." Hiroki opened his bag and placed the food inside. "He said there was family reunion earlier this morning. It's a hard discussion over his career move as a full time author. From his foul mood, his father went against it and arguments ensued. You know how that family ends up arguing in the end. I don't think his mother came around this time."
Fuyumi tutted as she straightened up Hiroki's sweater. "Soshi told me that he heard their spats when he went on his usual walk."
This didn't surprise them. Each time Fuyuhiko collected their sons under one roof, the yelling resumed in that property. Callous words mixed with past resentments. Pushed into the others face while the staff stood idle. Watching everything unfold yet again before their eyes. Their whispers remained contained between the walls. Confidentially agreements were signed before their employment.
Their main source of information came through Akihiko. Hiroki knew details through having gone to Akihiko's home and overheard the staff. At times, Hiroki got into awkward conversations with Haruhiko who spared no expense to devalue his brother. Hiroki took his words with a grain of salt. Better to confirm with Akihiko before assuming anything.
Fuyuhiko's attempts at molding his family together ended in failure. His estranged wife made no effort in answering calls unless money turned into a topic. Their son didn't prompt any maternal instinct. Further driving a wedge between her and Akihiko. Not that they cared for one another in any way. The whole Usami family tolerated to put a guise to distract anyone outside their family to their truth.
Far too late.
Hiroki furrowed his brows. "That cannot be possible. Their home is too far inside their gates."
She shrugged her shoulders. "I think the meeting ended up in the garden. You know how our properties mesh up through the bushes." She patted down Hiroki's sweater. "Your father might end up calling me again to give an update. He hasn't returned."
"I didn't take him as a gossip."
"Not exactly." Fuyumi smiled. "It's more to warn me before I start taking my little stroll."
"Still a gossip." Hiroki flinched at the loud honking. "At that rate, he will get reprimanded. Not that I care."
Fuyumi smiled. "We should go save Akihiko from your father. I'm sure he heard the noise he made." Hiroki scowled. "Now, now," She patted his hand. "He already had a bad morning. We have to get going before he really gets a tongue lashing."
"Fine." Hiroki started. "I don't think you should go out the gate. You did just get out of the hospital." Her stern gaze made him swallow any more words which surfaced in his mind.
Fuyumi stated. "I'm doing perfectly fine." She grabbed a sweater from the coat rack and covered her shoulders. "If I wasn't feeling well, I would be inside of my room and in bed. Now, let's get going."
Hiroki nodded his head. He let her hold his hand while they walked out of the door. She hurried in her steps and Hiroki had some trouble keeping up with her. Hiroki gripped his strap of his overnight bag tighter.
They made it to the open gate and hid behind the open doors. Peeking around the corner, Akihiko's red car shined under the sun. Nothing out of the ordinary considering the area they lived in. They spotted Akihiko sitting in the driver's seat. Inching away, stiff as board, Soshi yelled at him as predicted. Another normal occurrence when they met each other. Soshi took it upon himself to lecture Akihiko on his unchecked behaviors.
"What is this display you are showing? If you want anyone in this house you call first!" Soshi's blaring brown eyes bore into Akihiko's averted pair. "How disrespectful!" His earlier irritation backed his anger but he lowered it down.
Once Akihiko got caught in Soshi's tirade, there was no escape. Having grown used to it, he listened to the man right beside him. He frequented Hiroki's home enough that he unknowingly entered into his family. An honorary Kamijou. This meant, he received his own share of lectures and punishments. Something, his family didn't do on their own. Tanaka punished him more than his own parents.
Through the same lines, he half-listened. He predicted the words and tried to seem that he continued on paying attention. After all, he thought he masked his disinterest with a simple mask of a face.
"I know you're not listening to me Usami!" Akihiko flinched, cursing inside of his mind. Soshi called him with his last name when he got into the irritable stage. The point where he grew close to exploding at him.
"I am. It's not to hard since you're yelling right in my face. I did call. Hiroki knows I'm coming to pick him up to take him home."
"Don't lie to me brat, Hiroki told me nothing of the sort."
Akihiko furrowed his brows. "You can check my phone if you—"
Soshi interrupted him, putting his hand forward. "Hand it over."
Hiroki bit the inside of his cheek. He trembled, trying to stop himself from laughing at the display in front of him. As a spectator, he enjoyed watching a lecture, not when he was on the receiving end of his father's wrath. He could take Akihiko's anger at his late entrance on rescuing him.
Fuyumi clutched the sweater tight around her body. "I think he's had enough yelling for today. Don't you think?"
"Akihiko can handle father. Let them duke it out for a bit."
The gate creaked as they leaned on it. Soshi sighed, turning his gaze toward the open doors. "I know you two are there. Stop hiding."
Akihiko glared at Hiroki when he appeared from behind those doors. Hiroki rolled his eyes at him. This aggravated him even more. After all, he expected some sort of penance from Hiroki. He left him on a lecture tirade from Soshi for an extended amount of time. He ceased his glare the moment Fuyumi appeared before his eyes. She offered him a smile and a wave. He returned the gesture. Albeit, with less charm than usual.
She stopped right beside his car, getting in between him and Soshi. This provided him some time to release a sigh of relief from the tension. He tried not to smirk at the harsh stare Soshi sent his way. He kept him his usual smile.
Fuyumi commented. "It's been such a long time since I last saw you. How are you Akihiko?"
He answered. "Just fine Mama Fuyumi. I finished a recent novel of mine and it's already at the printers. If you want, I can send you a free copy."
Soshi cooled down. Walking toward Hiroki, he muttered loud enough for him to hear. "Did he call you?"
No use lying, Hiroki admitted it. "Yes. He called me."
"Why didn't you tell me before I left on my walk?"
Hiroki shrugged his shoulders. "You were bound to yell at him for something. No use telling you about his arrival."
Fuyumi wagged her finger. "You shouldn't hand over your books for free Aki-chan. Your sales will drop from these sudden gifts."
Akihiko chuckled as he waved his hand. "It won't kill me Mama Fuyumi. My books sell well enough, I can spare a few copies to people I care about in my life. I insist. Once the book is printed, I will personally bring it to you."
"Alright then, I accept your gift." She giggled.
Hiroki hoped Akihiko held enough sense not to send his mother a BL novel. She knew nothing of the pen name he used when he released his sensual fantasies onto paper. He didn't want to explain to her why the characters seemed similar to Akihiko and a certain other friend in their circle of friends. Well, a circle of three friends in total.
He remembered the new book in Akihiko's lineup was harmless. This brought him relief.
Fuyumi kissed Akihiko's cheek and he held her through the open window. She waved good-bye as she back away. "Soshi, let's get going. We still have to go into the city and shop for new blankets." She wrapped her hand around Soshi's arm.
"Yes, dear." Soshi turned toward Hiroki. "Come around more often. Don't wait until I give you call."
"I know father. I'll try to visit more often." Soshi arched a brow. "I will!"
"Make sure to leave time off in your schedule. Once you make a habit of coming around, then we will see."
Hiroki went to his mother and kissed her cheek. She grinned. "I'll talk to you later."
Once they entered through the gates, the author snapped. "What took you so long Hiroki?! You left me alone to handle that demon father of yours! He lectures me whenever he talks to me."
Hiroki went around and opened the passenger door. "Father always takes his usual walk around in the morning. Besides, my mom told me a few minutes ago. What the hell did you guys use in your family squabbles? Amplifiers?"
Akihiko put the car on drive and snorted. "The debates escalated in the garden. Out in the open. There was no chance of us moving it inside of the manor." He steered the conversation away from him. "So...how's your mom doing? I made it a case not to smoke today since I knew I would encounter her. Is she doing better?"
"She's stable. Father told me that she's worse than she cares to admit. She doesn't want to worry us."
Akihiko noticed the stain of Hiroki's jaw clenching. He bit his bottom lip. His change of topic wasn't a good one. Instead, he moved onto another novel he planned out. Distracting Hiroki into thinking about tidbits of new information Akihiko needed to use for his work. Akihiko stored them in his memory.
He forgot the topic of Fuyumi's sickness bothered Hiroki. Of course, when he first met her, she seemed normal. A tad pale but nothing to indicate she had an illness. She treated him and Takahiro as her new sons. Tending to them whenever they wanted anything. He never used her heart condition against Hiroki.
Akihiko knew using this in an argument was a low blow.
They talked throughout the journey to Hiroki's apartment. He got more than enough information to write half of his novel with time to spare. He stopped right in front of the building. Thanking Hiroki for his new source of inspiration, he was surprised Hiroki handed him a container. The smell of food caused his stomach to grumble. Hiroki whacked his shoulder before he got out of the car.
His mood lifted. No ordering out for him.
Once Hiroki entered his apartment, he saw the scattered papers of Nowaki's homework on the floor. He set his overnight bag on top of his shoe box but he kept his plastic bag of food with him. Crouching down, he gathered the papers into a neat pile, organizing the subjects he wanted to correct first. Leaving the sciences toward the end. He never worried about Nowaki leaving his work uncompleted. The giant always turned his papers on time.
As he read the math paper, he calculated the perfect grade inside of his mind. He predicted one hundred percent scores on the rest of the homework. This made his work easier. His homework for the week piled up due to his visit to his parents home. Getting up on his feet, he kicked off his shoes from his feet and moved them aside. He closed the door before hopping onto the wooden floor.
Holding the papers in his free hand, he stretched his hands above his hand. Bones popped here and there, releasing the tension inside his body. A yawn escaped his lips.
When his stomach grumbled, he decided to eat his food. From the large amount his mother packed for him, he wouldn't have to cook until the morning. Maybe even another day without cooking. This left him free time to work on his own homework or read a novel he placed aside.
An odd feeling washed through him as he walked through his home. Everything looked normal at first glance. He inspected each room on his path to his bedroom. Through his calculations, he found nothing missing from his possessions. He thought back on everything he owned, all he cared about were his books. This didn't settle his speculations and it continued on gnawing at his mind.
He pushed the bedroom door open. Other than the random sock he missed, everything was how he left it. He checked through his drawers. His underwear and socks stayed in their right spots. He got on his knees and looked under his bed. Absolutely nothing.
Getting back onto his feet, he observed his surroundings. The feeling still nagged at him.
He opened his wardrobe. Shrugging his sweater, he placed it on a hanger. When he put it with the rest of his jackets, he saw everything in perfect order. His eyes wandered toward his scarves and he checked through each one. He grew distressed when he found a certain scarf missing from the bundle in his closet. He moved everything from the inside. Tossing them over his shoulder and making a mess of his floor.
He swore under his breath and almost climbed inside. Squinting his eyes through the dim lighting inside of the wardrobe. "Where is it? I know I left it in here before I left home. I double checked and everything! Fuck."
Getting out of the closet, he gripped the wooden doors. His hands quivered from the pressure. Staring at the bare insides he thought it would appear due to his faulty vision. Then again, the vibrant red color contrasted with his neutral colored clothing. It would be ridiculous for him to miss that specific scarf, even with his faulty eyesight.
After throwing away bags of trash during his cleaning spree, he made sure the contents were just trash. Throwing away such a cherished gift never crossed his mind. He kept it in one place. In his growing frustration, he slammed the doors closed.
The beloved scarf his mother gave him had vanished.
TBC