Chapter 3: Deadlock
"Yes, Ishikawa-Senpai?" Misaki replied.
Misaki gave a blink of his eyes and let them settle on Takehiko Ishikawa. What Takehiko wanted from Misaki he didn't know, but the way he was being looked at didn't exactly make him feel the most comfortable. However, Misaki gave him the benefit of the doubt and quirked his lips into the best smile he could manage.
"You know Usami Akihiko, the writer, don't you?"
"Yes..."
"I'm one of his biggest fans. I was wondering... could you get his autograph for me?"
Misaki nearly fell to the floor with the sudden request. So Takehiko was just another fan of Usami's who wanted an autograph. Misaki wanted to scream in Takehiko's face and tell him no. It wasn't jealousy moreover for the fact he didn't really like being used. Despite his distaste at being used to get Usami's autograph, Misaki relented and mumbled out a single, "Sure, I'll see what I can do..." instead.
"Ah! That's great! Oh, but my book is at my apartment. Will you swing by with me to pick it up? It's not far from here and I can bring you home afterwards."
Misaki thought on the proposal for a minute and while he wasn't the type to just randomly accept proposals of Takehiko's nature, he was still angry with Usami for their argument earlier. Ultimately it was Misaki's stubborn nature that caused him to rule in favour of going with Takehiko to his apartment.
"Sure, just let me call my ride and let him know he wont be needing to pick me up today."
"I'll meet you outside." Takehiko said and exited the classroom. Misaki wondered if he might've jumped the gun in judging Takehiko. He seemed like an alright guy. Misaki doubted that Usami would agree with him being Takehiko's friend, but since when had Usami dictated Misaki could associate with or not? Letting the issue drop from his mind, Misaki flipped open his cell phone and Usami's number.
"Usagi-san? I'm going out to a friend's house. I don't need a ride home today. I'll see you later." He clicked the phone off without another word and stuffed it into his bag figuring he too could be just as curt as Usami. Turning his phone off, Misaki exited the classroom to look for Takehiko.
"Ready?" Takehiko asked once he saw Misaki.
"Yep! Thanks for taking me home, Ishikawa-Senpai."
"There's no need for that. Please, call me Takehiko."
"O-okay... Takehiko-san..." It was weird for Misaki to refer to Takehiko so informally, but he figured he could at least oblige the guy. After all, Takehiko was saving him from having to drive in the car with Usami. It wasn't always bad, but sometimes he wished Usami would take it a little easier behind the wheel.
Although it took some time for Misaki to get used to sitting on the left side as opposed to the right, the drive to Takehiko's apartment was rather pleasant. Before too long they arrived at a normal, mid-class looking apartment complex. Misaki was more used to this than he was the five bedroom penthouse he shared with Usami. He liked the penthouse, but he still hadn't gotten quite used to having so much space around him.
'Alright, this is it." Misaki heard Takehiko say. They stepped out of the vehicle and Misaki was led up a flight of stairs and around the corner. It felt normal for a change and with his cold, Misaki was thankful for not having to deal with so many stairs or elevators.
"Pardon the intrusion..." Misaki whispered and tugged his shoes off once inside. The apartment wasn't as tidy as the penthouse, but it looked rather comfortable. "You have a very nice apartment. Do you live alone?" Misaki wasn't sure what else to talk about.
"Yeah. I like being on my own... my parents worry too much about me. Would you like some tea?"
"Yes, please." Tea sounded heavenly.
"Go ahead and have a seat. The tea will be ready in just a minute."
"Thanks." Misaki mumbled and took it upon himself to sit down at the table. He was used to sitting in a chair and eating higher off the ground, but being so close to the floor and sitting on a soft, fluffy pillow was kind of cool.
"So how long have you know Usami-Sensei?" Takehiko asked.
"For a while now, but I don't remember exactly how long. He and my brother have been friends for years." Usami and Takahiro had know each other for at least eleven years, if not longer.
"Must be nice; here you go." Takehiko said after joining Misaki at the table. He offered a cup of tea to Misaki and grabbed the other for himself. "So what's he like? Judging from his stories he strikes me as the sensitive type."
"Usami-san? I wouldn't say sensitive, really. He's more stubborn and a little bit bossy when he doesn't get his own way." There was more to it, but Misaki didn't feel like telling Takehiko everything about Usami.
"Really? I never would have thought he was like that. I guess there's always another side to someone. You can never be sure how someone is really like I guess."
"Yeah, I guess." Misaki felt a little guilty about his initial impression of Takehiko. He'd been nothing but to Misaki and all he'd wanted was Usami's autograph.
"So, Kamijou-Sensei seems a little less violent the days. Maybe he finally found somebody to tame that... passionate side of his." Takehiko said with a smirk to his tone.
"He's still pretty good with a piece of chalk though." Misaki grumbled.
"That's true. So, have you read any of Usami-Sensei's books?"
"Just a couple. You've probably read them all though, right?" Misaki wondered if Takehiko knew about Usami's BL novels. Misaki suddenly remembered Usami having used him in one of his series and his cheeks flushed just thinking about it.
"There's a couple of them I haven't read. Which book is your favourite?" Takehiko asked.
"To be honest, I don't have on yet. I should read a few more first. What about you? Do you have a favourite book of Usami-san's?"
"Yes, actually I do." Takehiko spoke and refilled Misaki's teacup. "However, it's written under a different pen name of his."
The only other pen name that Misaki knew about was the one he used for his BL novels. Misaki wanted to panic, but he instead kept calm in hopes there was a third pen name he didn't know about.. "W-what book is that?" He asked cautiously.
"The one where Akihiko bends Misaki over the banister on the balcony of their penthouse at night, thinking nobody's going to see it. It's a very good story, have you read it?"
Misaki's faced drained of all colour. He managed to dump his tea all over the table on accident and jolt to his feet in shock. Even if Misaki had been written into Usami's BL novels, he knew better than to think Takehiko was talking about a novel. Instead Misaki knew he was talking about what he had Usami had done two nights ago.
"Oh don't worry, Misaki-kun. Your secret is safe with me. However..." Misaki watched as Takehiko pulled out a stack of pictures and tossed the on the table. Daring to glance, Misaki saw the hard evidence that Takehiko had been spying on he and Usami.
"You bastard!" Misaki shouted. So Takehiko had been playing Misaki all along.
"Not so fast..." Takehiko countered and scratched at his jaw. "I wonder what would happen to your poor Usagi-san's career if they were to get their hands on these pictures..."
"You wouldn't..." However, Misaki had a validated suspicion that was just what Takehiko was going to do.
"Of course, I'm willing to strike a deal with you in exchange for my silence." Takehiko said with a smirk.
"You're sick." Misaki retorted. There was no way that he was going to let those photos get published. Not only would Usami's reputation be ruined, but his as well. His brother would read the paper and then what would he think? He couldn't let his brother see them. He knew he had to find some way to destroy the photos.
When finally an idea hit, Misaki lunged at the photos. He snatched them into his hands and began to tear them into tiny pieces and swallow them. If he ate the photos, there was absolutely no way to publish them.
"You didn't think those were the only copies now did you? I've also got these other photos. You see, these are of our lovely Kamijou-Sensei. Quite the erotic pose, don't you think?" Takehiko withdrew more picture and tossed them at Misaki's feet to see. Misaki dared to look and his face turned a tint of green; he was sure he was going to get sick. The images were definitely of Kamijou-Sensei in the school's library. "We wouldn't want Kamijou-Sensei to lose his job either; that would be tragic."
"What the hell do you want from me, Ishikawa?" Misaki spat out.
"You see, Misaki-kun.. if you don't do what I tell you to do, I will publish the photos." There was no way for Misaki to get out of this and he wasn't going to let Takehiko publish the photos.
"What do you want me to do?" Misaki said in a shaky tone. Moments later he was crushed against the wall by Takehiko and before Misaki could react, Takehiko crushed his lips down atop Misaki's. Takehiko's kisses weren't soft and inviting like Usami's but rather cold and brutal. Immediately Misaki shoved Takehiko away from him with all his strength.
"No, no, Misaki-kun. When I want you to do something; you do it. If you don't, you're going to make me angry and we don't want that, do we?" Almost on cue with his words, Takehiko balled up his fist and hit Misaki in the stomach. Misaki fell to his knees and tried to gasp for air but was hit in the side of the face by the back of Takehiko's hand.
"Now where were we? " Takehiko murmured and reached reached down to grab a fist full of Misaki's hair. "Now, my pet. Take your clothes off. We're going to have some fun tonight. Oh, but don't worry... I'll have you home in time for dinner. We wouldn't want to worry Usagi-san now would we...?"
Whew, that came out a bit longer than I expected. Poor Misaki. Chapter 4 coming soon!
