The Uke Flu

Chapter Forty-eight: Ever

The sputtering Dean gasped as he tried to regain his breath. He looked at Miyagi with watery eyes.

"Such a jokester you are, Miyagi. But I must say, in this case you have overstepped a bit. Your jest is far from humorous."

Shinobu held his breath. He expected Miyagi to shift nervously and like so many times before back out, finding some clever words to deny their relationship. What he saw, however, was a man standing firm: Miyagi remained completely composed. Shinobu felt tears rise to his eyes at his lover's next words.

"Dean Takatsuki, this is no joke, in fact, I have never been more serious. Even more than the works of Matsuo Basho… more than anything… I love your son.

"I have proposed to Shinobu and he has accepted. I've come humbly to you now to ask for your blessing."

The Dean looked seriously between the two men before him and said nothing. The packet of bride proposals fell from his fingers. The sheaf of photographs hit the floor and scattered, their pages rasping like dry leaves on the polished hardwood surface. The senior Takatsuki moved over to the nearest chair and sat down. He set his wineglass on a small adjacent table.

"And just how is it you plan to marry my son, Miyagi? You're both men and such unions are not legal," the Dean said softly. His face was now arranged into an unreadable expression, his voice low and minus its usual hale and hearty quality. He continued looking back and forth between his son and his star literature professor.

"Shinobu and I will fly to New York during the summer break and get married. It's legal there; if the ceremony is performed correctly and legitimized it will be recognized when we return to Japan."

"I see... You have put some thought into this then, and it doesn't seem to be just a whim." The Dean's voice was composed as he said this. He looked at Shinobu, but his next question was directed at Miyagi. "This... 'relationship'... with my son has been going on for a while then, I take it?"

"Yes, sir," Miyagi answered truthfully.

"May I ask who was the instigator?"

"Sir?"

"Which of you first proposed this arrangement?" The Dean shifted his eyes from his son back to Miyagi.

Miyagi saw Shinobu visibly shrink at this question, though the young man drew himself up immediately when he glanced over and caught Miyagi looking at him. Shinobu opened his mouth as if to answer, but Miyagi cut him off before he could utter a word.

"It doesn't matter, Dean Takatsuki. I am the elder and as such I take full responsibility for the situation." The Dean's brow rose at this. He clasped his hands and steepled his fingers together before his lips.

"Dean Takatsuki," Miyagi stepped forward and bowed low; Shinobu followed suit. Miyagi spoke without straightening. "You have often told me what a good effect I have had on Shinobu. You have also said on more than one occasion that you regret that I am no longer part of your family. Even tonight you expressed this just minutes ago.

"I care very deeply for your son. I know we are both men and there's a huge difference in our ages, still… I love Shinobu. You're a reasonable man; surely you must acknowledge then that having said these things, in a certain light, it would seem that this was not such a bad outcome."

The Dean remained silent for a moment, then he sighed heavily. "I have always considered you a good man, Miyagi-kun, and honorable."

Miyagi looked up surprised and at the Dean's nod straightened. Shinobu, however, stayed bowed.

"You must understand this is a lot to process." the Dean smiled weakly. "Miyagi-kun, if you would please forgive me; I would like to have a few words in private with my son before I make my decision."

Miyagi glanced over at Shinobu's bowed form. He looked back at the Dean. "As I said before I take full responsibility, Dean Takatsuki."

"Ummmm, yes I understand that Miyagi-kun." The Dean nodded. "You may wait outside." Shinobu's father spoke with an authority that came from years of battling with higher administrative officials and unruly faculty.

Miyagi wanted to look to Shinobu, but knew he daren't. Instead he bowed again. "I will wait outside then."

"Thank you, Miyagi-kun," the Dean said graciously. He watched the professor quietly leave and noted that the man hesitated at the door before exiting and cast a worried glance back. The Dean widened his smile. Seeing this, Miyagi bowed again before stepping out and closing the door quietly behind him.

The moment the door closed, the smile fell from the Dean's lips and his eyes narrowed as he stared at his only son.

"How long?"

Shinobu started at the sharpness in his father's voice, despite its low tone.

"Father?"

"How long has this loathsome affair been going on?"

The tears of gratitude that had filled Shinobu's eyes at Miyagi's declarations were washed out by new ones of a much more tormented origin at the harshness of his father's voice.

"Three years," Shinobu answered truthfully.

"You started this immediately after you returned from Australia, then? And I am not posing my question as I have randomly, Shinobu.

"You were the one to start this weren't you?"

"Yes, Father," Shinobu's breath caught in his throat as he whispered this. The Dean was silent for a moment.

"You said when you returned you were better, that there would be no more of those unhealthy fixations, Shinobu! That was the whole reason for your exile to begin with… that boy at your school you were bothering…"

Shinobu swallowed hard at this. The "boy" had meant nothing to him. He was just a distraction; a cover for what he'd felt for Miyagi and it had worked. It had gotten his parents to send him away from a situation he knew he couldn't have continued to endure in.

"Wait…" the Dean's face grew thoughtful and then a dark cloud of anger rolled in. It was as if he had read Shinobu's mind. He stood and grasped his son by the chin raising Shinobu's head.

"It wasn't the other boy… Ever... Was it? It was always Miyagi." Shinobu raised his eyes to his father's. Despite the fury there, he answered.

"Yes. I have always loved Miyagi, Father. I won't deny that again… Ever." His father's grip on his jaw tightened and Shinobu winced but didn't pull away.

"You know nothing of love, boy, only sickness! You and your sister both… How could you be so selfish! Here I thought Miyagi was influencing you for the better at last, only to have it revealed today that instead, you have corrupted a good man with your insidious illness!"

At this Shinobu did pull back. His father surprisingly, released him easily. Shinobu stood and the steel gray of his eyes became molten for a moment.

"I'm not selfish… Well, maybe I was… but I'm better now and Miyagi does love me! You heard him say it. It's fate that we're together!" Despite the conviction in his voice, his father's words had his tender confidence teetering.

"Ha! I highly doubt 'love' has anything to do with this!… I know what a keen manipulator you are, Shinobu!… I know too when you came back to Japan, Miyagi was vulnerable after losing both his parents and suffering from Risako's betrayal so closely together.

"He was distraught no doubt… And you with your twists!… I should have done what Dr. Kobayashi recommended and had you hospitalized long ago!

"You do realize don't you, Shinobu, you have just signed this man's death warrant in academia! I am going to have to let him go! Let's see how long this 'fated' love of yours endures once his true passion is cut off from him!"

Shinobu looked at his father with horror.

"You can't do that! It was consensual! We're hurting no one with our relationship! We're not going to conduct ourselves any differently than we have… Who's going to know outside of us? It's not that unlike Kamijou-san's situation."

The Dean looked startled for a moment, "Kamijou is…" Then his expression darkened again. "More with your diversions! That's enough, Shinobu! You are going to leave Miyagi and that's final!"

"No, I won't." Shinobu said quietly. When he was younger he might have shouted, but Miyagi had shown him over time that sometimes a low tone could be far louder than a yell. He looked at his father.

"Father, why can't you accept this? Look with the Flu now, it's still possible that I could provide you with a grandson someday." At this the Dean drew back.

A sharp crack filled the room as the man's broad palm connected with his son's cheek. Though he had been anticipating one earlier, he blow caught Shinobu off guard. The force of it sent him reeling and Shinobu fell, colliding with the table next to the chair his father had been sitting in. His opposite cheek hit the edge of it, near the corner of his eye. The table crashed to the floor, the Dean's half-filled wine glass shattered.

"I wanted an heir, not an abomination!" Dean Takatsuki shouted. "You are a disgrace!"

Out in the hall Miyagi had been listening to the rising voices. He had nodded at Risako who was coming to call them to dinner.

"What's going on, Yoh?"

Miyagi drew a deep breath. "I am in love with your brother and have asked your father's blessing to marry him."

Miyagi watched Risako closely for her response. He was shocked to see that after the initial look of astonishment her face took on an amused grin. Hearing a loud voice, muffled behind the thick door she snorted. "So father's troublesome golden boy, isn't going to be so golden anymore… Eh?"

Now it was Miyagi's turn to look shocked.

Risako shook her head at this. "I suppose I should be angry with you… but having lived with Shinobu, I find myself more inclined to pity… You are so naïve, Yoh and you always have been. You have no idea what living in this house was like. No idea what being the Takatsuki daughter has meant… "

Risako's words were cut off with a crash. Miyagi whirled at the noise and dashed into the room. He saw Shinobu's crumpled form, his father standing over him, close-fisted this time, ready to strike again.

Miyagi lunged forward and grabbed the senior Takatsuki. The Dean turned and lashed out at him instead. The blow caught Miyagi high on the cheek but he didn't fall.

"I told you, I take responsibility! Rain your blows on me all you wish, but you will not touch Shinobu again!"

"You will not tell me how to handle my family!" the Dean raged. "If you value your career at all you will leave this instant!" Shinobu's father now had a hold on Miyagi's shirt. His other arm was drawn back as if to deal another blow.

Just then a flash popped. The two men looked over, where a teary and still slightly dazed Shinobu was shakily climbing to his feet. He held his cell phone in his hand like a talisman.

"I have a picture of you now assaulting one of your faculty!" Shinobu gasped through his tears. At these words his father's hands immediately fell. As soon as he was released, Miyagi moved to Shinobu and placed his arm around the trembling young man's shoulders, gathering him in.

"Shinobu, are you okay?" Miyagi asked worriedly, given his boy's possible condition. Shinobu ignored the question and stared at his father.

"If you so much as look at Miyagi wrong, I will post this on every social media sight available and Miyagi won't be the only one out of a job! What's more I'll tell everyone that he was defending me from your abuse… One that was far more than merely physical!"

The Dean's brow rose at this. Though it was obvious he was still seething, his face had become composed again.

"Blackmail... Lies... Shinobu, that's a bit much don't you think? Or is that how you drew Miyagi into this whole warped situation?" A blush colored his son's face darkening the bruise already blossoming on his cheek.

"Give me the phone, Shinobu!" the Dean demanded. "Or, as of this moment you are dead to me!"

The lady Takatsuki had just appeared in the doorway, wondering why no one had yet come to the table. She was about to scold her grinning daughter when her eyes caught the scene before her. The Dean looked at his wife, then back over to his son.

"Do you want to break your mother's heart, Shinobu… Again?"

"What's going on here?" the lady Takatsuki asked as she rushed to her son. "Bu-chin!" She took Shinobu's face in her hands, looking from Miyagi to her husband.

"What's the meaning of this?" she suddenly demanded, all her bright polish evaporated.

"Your son has been carrying on a disgusting affair with your ex-son-in-law and now they want to further disgrace us by getting married! I have told Shinobu he must desist in such monstrous antics or else he will cease to exist as a Takatsuki," the Dean said coldly.

"What have you done to my son?"

The lady Takatsuki released Shinobu and pushed Miyagi away. She beat against his chest with her small fists until Shinobu grabbed her and pulled her off. Shinobu's mother then collapsed in his arms, pulling him down to the floor with her. She looked up through tear-filled eyes as Miyagi bowed.

"I am so sorry, Takatsuki-san, but I love your son." At these words the lady Takatsuki paled and tears filled her eyes. She shook her head and clasped Shinobu to her breast.

"Oh, dear Kami-sama, say it isn't so," she sobbed.

"See what you have done, Shinobu, causing your refined mother to crumble! Are you truly intent on breaking her heart further?" The Dean took his wife's shoulders and pulled her out of Shinobu's arms as he said this.

"Shinobu-chin!" the lady Takatsuki gasped, looking brokenly at her son.

"Your name will be but a ghost in this house if you don't cease in this madness!" the Dean seethed. These words caused Shinobu's mother to turn into her husband's chest sobbing harder.

Shinobu rose from the floor for a second time that evening. He looked hoplessly at his parents and then over to Miyagi.

"Miyagi?"

The question in Shinobu's voice broke Miyagi's heart. He knew Shinobu's choice already but was aware the youth was offering him a chance to back out, before they both committed themselves completely to their fate.

For once Miyagi didn't hesitate.

"Come here Shinobu," he said softly, opening his arms to his boy. Shinobu's face dissolved into tears and he rushed into Miyagi's embrace. As he did this, his mother began wailing in earnest.

"I think Shinobu and I will be taking our meal elsewhere this evening." Miyagi quietly his hosts in between one of the lady Takatsuki's broken sobs.

"I am so sorry to have so disrupted your home."

"I think that is best." The Dean flatly ignored Miyagi's apology. "I will speak to you later at the University."

"I meant what I said, Father," Shinobu choked.

"Did you hear something, Dear?" Dean Takatsuki drew his wife in a bit closer. "Hmmmm… Perhaps it was a whisper of your dead son's spirit? More likely just my imagination though." This brought renewed cries from the woman in his arms.

Seeing the expression on Shinobu's face shattered Miyagi, but he remained stoic now.

"Come on Shu." He pulled his broken boy along with him. He nodded at a now grim-faced Risako as they passed by.

Once Miyagi and Shinobu had left the room the Dean stood quietly with his wife a moment. Then he pushed her away.

"Gather yourself and call a servant in to get this mess cleaned up. I want every trace of that boy banished from this house before I return home from the University on Monday after work."

"Noburo, please," the lady Takatsuki entreated in a grief-stricken whisper.

"You and your poison womb... Better to let the line die out than carry on with such disgraceful creatures."

This started Shinobu's mother again but she stood where her husband had pushed her and this time her gasps were much quieter. It was a skill she'd had the chance to well hone over the years. Dean Takatsuki looked up and saw Risako in the door way.

"Come take care of your mother, you useless girl!" His eyes narrowed seeing the bitter smile his daughter had regained.

"What on earth could cause you to make such a face at a time like this?" he growled, as Risako took her mother's hand and began to lead her out of the room.

"I'm smiling because Shinobu was not the only one who had some news to relate to you this evening, Father," Risako used her now forbidden brother's name, not caring.

"This useless, disgraceful, girl of yours only accepted the invitation to dinner to tell you I eloped with Usami Haruhiko last weekend and I am carrying his child."

Risako turned and helped her mother out of the room, leaving her father in stunned silence behind her.

Out in the drive, Miyagi opened the back door to the car. He was very proud of Shinobu. The young man had walked out of the room and out of the house, but it was clear to him that this effort had been at a great cost and Shinobu was now all but collapsing.

"Get in and lay down, I'm taking you to the hospital."

"I'm fine Miyagi," Shinobu whispered, but he slipped into the back of the car and lay down with none of his usual fight.

"Like hell you are!" Miyagi grumbled before closing the door. He slipped into the driver's seat and started the car. "I want your head checked where you were hit and we're finding out if you're caught or not. If you are pregnant don't want anything happening to our baby!"

At these words, in the back of the car, Shinobu began sobbing violently. Miyagi drove on, concerned about his boy's health but wishing he was back there holding him. After a while, Shinobu stopped crying and the rest of the ride was completed in silence.

Arriving at the hospital, Miyagi parked the car. He opened the back door. "Sit up," he muttered and slid in as Shinobu complied. Miyagi moved next to his lover. He put an arm around Shinobu's pleasantly broad shoulders and gathered the younger man's legs up, draping them over his own lean thighs. They sat there together a minute in silence, then Shinobu choked on a new sob.

"My father says I'm sick. That my obsession with you is a sign of mental illness."

Miyagi looked at Shinobu kindly, "Your father is dead now Shinobu, and you and I both know the damage that comes from a life spent listening to the whispers of ghosts." He took Shinobu's tear-stained face in his hand and kissed him gently.

"So maybe you're crazy, but I can't imagine my life without your brilliant madness in it."

Shinobu looked down, his lithe frame was wracked with a new wave of tears at these words. He felt Miyagi shift a bit.

"Oi, Brat!

Shinobu looked up. He saw Miyagi had drawn the ring he'd asked him to relinquish from his pocket. He blinked as he watched his beloved professor slip it back on his finger. Miyagi lifted the ringed hand to his lips and kissed it.

"I promise you, Shinobu, I will never ask you to take this off again… Ever."

Hearing this, Shinobu wrapped his arms around Miyagi's neck and pulled the man into a desperate kiss. When he broke it he dropped his head and blushed.

"Miyagi…"

"I know, Shu. Me too."

Shinobu had never seen Miyagi look at him so earnestly. Then the veil dropped back down over the older man's face.

"Come on, Brat. We have a family to attend to."

Janice P, thank you for coming out of lurkerdom. I love my readers too, even when they are quiet (though sometimes their silence makes me sad). And once I get some of my stories completed, I do plan to start the Uke Flu, Trifecta. Tri-dog promise.

Now back to Egoist drama! Hooray!