Chapter 3
"So I heard that you met the new girl." Yuuto poured a cup of sake.
"Mm-hm."
"Cute isn't she?"
Seishirou accepted the cup with a small nod. "She's adorable." He threw back the sake[1]. "But Yuuto?"
"Yes?" He refilled both of their glasses.
"What the hell were you thinking?"
Yuuto chuckled into his sake. "No, it's perfect see? We can just keep her in the dark. That way if this one gets hauled in, she won't even have any information to hand over."
"And if she does find out?"
"Come now. What are the odds of that? I hired her for her looks, not for her brains."
Seishirou ignored the statement so Yuuto sighed in defeat and decided to simply change the subject.
"So there's some interesting gossip on the streets these days." He began, hoping to spark a little intrigue. He wasn't too surprised when Seishirou merely gave a mild "Hm." and continued devoting his attention to the cup, his eyes closed as he savored the sake.
"They say that Tatsuya[2] Sumeragi has taken ill."
Seishirou didn't glance his way but he did open his eyes and Yuuto knew that he had hit the right spot. He also knew better than to keep the man waiting or try to bait him into asking for more. He had witnessed enough to know not to deny Seishirou something that he wanted.
"From what I hear, he has consumption [3] and has been confined to his bed for nearly two weeks so far."
Seishirou set down the glass and Yuuto felt foolishly giddy that he had indeed struck gold with this tidbit.
"Who is running the company right now?"
"Apparently his son, Subaru, has been starting to take over more lately anyway but I would assume that someone else is helping support him. He's still just a teenager."
"Just a teenager?" Seishirou raised an eyebrow.
"Well it was one thing for you to take over as a teenager." Yuuto backtracked slightly. "But you were a lot more mature. This kid seems to be floundering a little more."
Seishirou considered this carefully, staring at the empty stage across the room. "When was the last time we had a band in here?"
Yuuto shrugged. "I don't know. It's been a while. Why?"
Seishirou gave him a cold grin. "Well we should keep up with the times shouldn't we? Maybe bring a little Jazz to Benisakura[4]?"
"Keep up with the times?" Yuuto laughed. "What's this? Are you having a midlife crisis a few decades early?"
"Well I suppose it would be beneficial to know what's popular right now is all."
Yuuto raised an eyebrow "You never showed any interest before."
"I know and I should probably get to rectifying that now then before I'm too old to be cool, don't you think?"
"Oh come on, what do you really have up your sleeve?"
Seishirou grinned. "Well the sooner you find us a band, the sooner you'll find out."
Yuuto poured himself another cup of sake. "Fair enough. And by that of course I mean not fair at all."
"Ah but Yuuto, old son, when have you ever played fair yourself?"
He chuckled. "Well I didn't become head of the gambling rings[5] by grace of Lady Luck."
"Are you sure? I'd have thought you might have persuaded her to… grant you favor as it were."
Yuuto laughed again. "Perhaps I did."
Seishirou raised his glass. "But be careful Yuuto. Lady Luck is almost as fickle as yourself."
"Almost." Yuuto raised his glass.
"Almost."
They drank.
.
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"And then after this?"
"There's these papers to read and sign regarding the changes in shipping fees to the U.K."
Subaru nodded and tried his best not to look as bewildered as he felt. "Okay."
"Then you know the visit to the main factory is coming up next week right?"
"Oh, I had forgotten all about that… what day is it?"
"That's on Wednesday. Then on Thursday is the meeting with the Russians."
"Russians?"
"Shareholders."
"Oh, right."
Kakyou watched them both from the doorway, wincing. Subaru was far from incompetent; in fact he usually remembered even better than his father what meetings were when. To see him floundering like this was a reminder of how disoriented his father's incapacitation had left him.
"So I'll leave you these for now and we'll work on the rest in the morning, okay?"
Subaru nodded. "Thank you so much for all of your help Aoki-san."
Aoki gave him a pitying look. "Hey, it's what I'm here for right? At any rate, it's easier than trying to chaperone your sister." He grumbled slightly.
"Well at least she only got you pulled on-stage for a magic show." Kakyou pointed out as he walked in. "If you had still been with them she probably would have locked you in the ostrich cage with what's his face too."
Aoki sighed in defeat. "Well in any case, I've got to go. She's going out tonight again."
"Huh?" Subaru and Kakyou both raised their heads.
"Yes, some new young man who apparently spoke to your father recently. He owns a medical supply company or something."
"What? Hokuto didn't mention this…"
Aoki winced. "That's because she didn't know until a few hours ago."
"He sprung this one on her?" Kakyou tried to hide his annoyance on both Hokuto's behalf and on his own.
"Why?" Subaru added with more genuine curiosity.
"He thinks that if she has less time to plan that she won't be able to pull any pranks."
"But Hokuto comes up with stuff on the spot."
"Exactly."
It was Subaru's turn to give Aoki a pitying look.
.
.
Hokuto was angry.
No, she was furious.
No, she was seething with rage.
What the hell had her father been thinking? Who did he think he was?
How dare he not give her time to find a new outfit before a date!
She huffed and glared at the mess before her. Her bed looked as though a rainbow had been violently ill all over it. She had pink silk kimonos, green cotton peasant skirts, silver satin European evening gowns, some designer, some street market bargains and even a few personal creations of which she was particularly proud. Yet none of it seemed appropriate at all.
Then an idea struck her. She found an old costume from a French-style masquerade ball that they had held last year in honor of a new company merger, praying that the dress would still fit.
"Success!" She cried in triumph as the material settled neatly on her hips. She examined herself in the mirror, happily spinning around.
So some new joker wanted to barge into her life did he? Well they'd just see how much he remained interested in having her on his arm once he got a look at this.
She heard voices downstairs and walked out to the banister to see Aoki greeting a young man in the foyer. Hokuto paused. Was that really the date? He wasn't old or ugly so surely not.
Then Aoki turned around with his huge goofy grin which dissipated almost immediately once he caught sight of her up on the banister. Her outfit, she presumed, had indeed rendered him speechless.
"Oh no…" He choked.
"Hello there!" Hokuto called loudly, her voice ringing through the foyer. She began to take a step toward the staircase, but thought of a much better idea and before anyone could stop her, she swung her legs up over the side of the railing and slid down it, hopping off just in time to make a perfect landing before the two men, one of whom appeared to be doing his best to bury his face in his hands.
"Hoku-" His voice was muffled and easy to cut off.
"Hi there." She pushed past him to plant her feet firmly before their guessed. "I'm Hokuto, and you are?"
The man chuckled and she was pleased to find that his laugh was nearly as attractive as his face. He certainly couldn't be her date; he was not nearly repulsive enough to be up to her father's standards, even up close.
"Seishirou Sakurazuka." The man bowed politely. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Hokuto."
"She's just-" Aoki tried desperately to find an explanation. "I mean her clothes are only-"
"Delightful." Sakurazuka finished for him, ignoring Aoki's jaw drop. "And as graceful as that descent was, I daresay a swan costume suits you well, wings and all, given your propensity to 'fly' as it were." His eyes glittered with cool amusement.
"Ohoho! You are a flirt, aren't you Mr. Sakurazuka." Hokuto laughed then spun around to face the utterly speechless Aoki. "Better not let my date hear him, eh? When does the old knob-gozzler get here anyway?"
"Hokuto-sama!" Aoki choked.
"Knob-gozzler?" She ignored Seishirou's baffled head tilt.
"He is your date." Aoki hastened to explain.
"Nonsense." Hokuto waved a hand.
Seishirou laughed. "Am I not up to your standards?"
Hokuto turned with slow deliberation and gave him a thorough look-over that neither man could miss. "Are you really my consort for the evening?" She gave him a suspicious look, ignoring Aoki's frantic sputtering.
"Well I had hoped that you would accompany to the theater tonight." He replied without missing a beat.
"I see." She sniffed. "Well. You'll do then I guess. Shall we Mr. Sakurazuka?"
"Of course." He offered his arm and she took it, delighted by the occidental display. "You'd better hurry up Aoki-san or we're leaving you behind." She called over her shoulder as they strode through the door.
The poor accountant couldn't do much else but straight his glasses and tie and follow them with a resigned and slightly terrified expression.
.
.
Unfortunately for this Seishirou Sakurazuka person, Hokuto did not care how attractive he was. All that meant as far as she was concerned was that she had some nice eye candy to enjoy while she plotted out how to run him off.
Of course, first she had to get rid of Aoki. Not that that was ever much of a challenge. A gentle suggestion that she "knew a shortcut" to the theater that led them through the twists and turns of an alleyway and a quickened tug at Mr. Sakurazuka's sleeve lost the poor accountant in no time. Sakurazuka, in turn, said nothing and she assumed that he either had not yet noticed the loss of the chaperone, or was pleased, thinking that the alone time with her would be to his benefit tonight.
Ha. Hokuto thought triumphantly. If only he knew how wrong he is.
Upon reaching the theater, she patiently allowed him to introduce her to a few business partners who were of course conveniently also attending the play that evening. She played the part of the charming little decoration she was clearly meant to be for a short time, until someone commented on her outfit, comparing her to a goose, at which point she promptly clobbered the fool on the head, announcing that she would therefore give him a "goose egg".
She was unsurprised that Seishirou quickly took her elbow leading her away from the group of businessmen too astonished to even be offended just yet. Now was time for him to either snap and be angry with her for making him look bad, or awkwardly pretend that nothing had happened and shy away from her for fear of yet another attack. Once they were a safe distance away and in a quieter corner, Hokuto put her hands on her hips, ready for any reaction.
Any reaction but the one she got.
She had been able to feel Sakurazuka-san shaking as he'd pulled her away and she had assumed that it was either in anger or terror. Only now that they were face to face could she see that it was in barely suppressed laughter.
"Marvelous." He remarked at last when he was able to catch his breath. "Simply marvelous."
.
.
"Subaru?" Kakyou knocked once more on the door before letting himself into the office. With a sigh, he gently shook the young man's shoulders, rousing him from his sleep.
"Huh?" came the drowsy reply.
"You left the lantern on again. It's like you want to catch something on fire." Kakyou teased softly. "Also I think you drooled a bit on the papers for the Russians."
Subaru's head snapped up. "No I did- oh wait, you're right." He sighed and pushed the papers aside, arranging them in some semblance of a stack.
"You're running yourself ragged."
"I've got to catch up."
"You don't have to be as obsessed with being on top as your father though."
Subaru sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "It's not really about making a lot of money. Not for myself."
Kakyou extinguished the lamp as they left the room. "Then what is it?"
"The economy is terrible right now and our company means jobs for so many people… If I screw up, they end up being the ones who suffer for it."
By the moonlight peering in from the window, Subaru looked much older than he was, the silver light casting a gray tint to his hair and skin, painting dark shadows beneath his eyes. Kakyou didn't know what to say, aware that Subaru was right. Would he behave any differently in his position?
The train of thought was abruptly derailed by the front door creaking open and Hokuto slipping inside, uncharacteristically quiet and looking lost in her own thoughts as well.
Subaru and Kakyou glanced at one another.
"Hokuto-chan?" Subaru called and she at last noticed the two of them. "Back from the date?" Then wearily, he added "I see Aoki-san isn't with you…"
"What pranks did you play on him and the new little scumbag?" Kakyou inquired. If he were honest with himself, he adored hearing about her dates. Her pranks and mistreatment of every suitor that crossed her path eased the jealousy like nothing else.
"Hm." Hokuto shrugged. "Didn't really."
Subaru and Kakyou shared another glance, this time in shock.
"Why not?" Kakyou was dismayed.
She tilted her head slightly, giving the matter serious consideration. "Because he's interesting." She at last concluded then gave a brilliant smile as though she herself had only just realized this and for once, she was pleased.
With that she bounded forward and kissed each of them on the cheek and bid them both good night before dashing away to bed.
"Well… huh." Subaru commented lamely and Kakyou tried to ignore the twisting in his heart as they too parted.
He thought he had known jealousy until this point but he had a feeling that the stirrings of envy were only just beginning.
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Notes:
1. Sake is traditionally supposed to be drunk as a shot with the first cup and then sipped.
2. Tatsuya means "Accomplished one" in Japanese according to what I found. I thought that would be appropriate considering Mr. Sumeragi's ample success in the business world so far. XD
3. I had a bit of a chat with my best friend about this actually as she loves and knows all about medical history. What we concluded was that Tatsuya actually has lung cancer, probably as a result of smoking as cigarettes were apparently popular at this time and no one had any idea that they could be dangerous yet. Unfortunately for Mr. Sumeragi, they also didn't know what cancer was yet either. So there was nothing that they could have done for him and as he would be wasting away, they would have labeled his illness "consumption" and it would have been clear that he was not going to recover. (I know, cheerful righ)
4. I meant to mention in the previous chapter when the café was first introduced that "Benisakura" means "red cherry blossom". It's both a play on the restaurant "Benihana" (which means red flower) and a reference of course to Seishirou's bloody little sakura tree in Tokyo Babylon and X.
5. I should mention right now that gambling was illegal in Japan in the 1920's (it still is actually) and so underground gambling rings were often run by the yakuza.
