Birthday Bash Prompt 3: Role Reversal
This was it. His final destination. Baron should have felt an overwhelming sense of foreboding, since this would be the last trip of his life, but all he could muster was a tired resignation.
'Come now. You have wanted this ever since childhood,' the blonde man reminded himself as he carried a leather briefcase to the waiting airplane. 'It can't be any worse than what I'm leaving behind.'
He was a young man that looked like he should have had the world at his feet. He was tall without towering, broad without the bulk, and cursed with a face that had brought him more pain than joy over the lonely years.
There was no shame to male modeling, he had been told many times over the years. The career, starting from his childhood and only ending five years ago, had been enough to keep him fed and out of rags while he desperately fought for the top places in his classes.
His green eyes narrowed angrily as he tried not to stomp his feet on the small set of stairs leading into the airplane. 'One would think that society would have more use for a man with a brain than one with a body that looks good in whatever atrocity my agent used to force on me.' He found his seat near the middle of the rows, and made himself comfortable, setting his briefcase on his lap instead of the overhang in case he felt the urge to read one of the books or scribble an insight into his notes.
But the world seemed to care nothing for his branch of technology. He had been less than entranced when that talent scout so long ago had talked him into that clothing ad, but the young man had not anticipated how hard it would be for him to break into another line of work. He lost count of how many times he had tried to explain to a prospective boss that he was an orphan, modeling had made better money than a paper route, and he was ready to leave that world behind to find a niche that felt a little less forced on him.
'But now I'm gaining my wish, aren't I?' he asked himself sadly, doing his best to wait for the handful of other new recruits to find their seats. 'Mr. Moon made a point that if you make it past the first six months on Yoshioka Island, you could easily be stuck there for life with little chance for romance.'
He flinched at merely thinking the word. Before he saw the internet ad that led to his interview with Mr. Moon, he would sometimes daily wish that he could pluck a girl out of one of his favorite books and not have to worry 'when' instead of 'if' the current girl he was giving attention to was undressing him with her eyes or trying to talk him into going to her place or his.
No. If all a real courtship had to offer him were harpies clawing for a meal ticket or a bit of 'fun', he was better off projecting himself into one of his science fiction novels. It seemed to be the only way he could believe that there could somewhere be a selfless, fearless, proud young lady that would look on her beloved as a partner. He was beyond tired of fighting back unspoken titles of 'servant' or 'master'.
Mr. Moon was impossible to miss at the front of the plane, thanks to his bulk as he made sure that everyone was in a seat and safely buckled in. With a small smirk of satisfaction, he reached for the microphone.
"All right, then. Everyone is accounted for, and I'm not interested in repeating airline procedures that most of you either already know or can make a good guess about." He held up a specially locked briefcase with one beefy hand. "But at least I don't have to worry about anyone trying to use their phone while we're in the air. After takeoff, there will be a special video along the route explaining a few things about the island that you'll need to know in order to not be shipped back to the mainland."
The intimidating man leaned forward slightly, making sure to make eye contact with each of the five occupants with a dark growl. "If you know what's good for you, you will not forget any of the rules stated in the film. Because I very literally had to be chained up to keep the last rule-breaker from getting sent home; assembly required. There will be no second chances once we get there."
Mr. Moon's angry eyes seemed to linger on Baron as he emphasized each word, making the tawny-haired man fight back a groan.
It had only been the fast-talking skills he had cultivated after earning his master's that had enabled him to be on this plane. Mr. Moon had almost decided that Baron wouldn't make the cut as soon as he had laid eyes on him, but either pickings were slim or Mr. Yoshioka had overruled the recruiter when presented with the other choices.
Baron couldn't shake off the feeling that the rule-breaker had held the job that he had taken, which almost certainly meant that he would have to be better than his best in order to prove to his new superiors that he deserved his new position. If it meant wiping the sneer off of Mr. Moon's face, he'd scale a volcano if one happened to be available.
He felt no wrench of parting as he saw the gravel start passing under his window, or when the sudden surge of speed and angle slammed him against the back of his seat as the plane took off. He could only close his eyes and deliver a handful of parting insults in his mind alone.
'I hope that orphanage burns to the ground. I hope every catwalk collapses on itself. I hope every self-absorbed, self-important, selfish brat develops giant boils on the nose and backside.' A less than gentlemanly smirk crossed his lips at how many models would suddenly be unable to strut around in underwear or swimwear. His luck wasn't good enough to hope for designers that would make an adjustment in trends to keep the blight out of sight.
But it was a private fantasy for a reason.
After ten minutes, Mr. Moon instructed all of them to close off their windows so that they would be able to see the screen imbedded on the seat in front of them.
Baron didn't really care as he adjusted his headphones and set his briefcase on the empty seat beside him. 'Doubtless it's going to be full of 'don't wander into the jungle by yourself' or 'don't go into the room that's marked as Dangerous and has a triple lock on it.'
The company logo at the beginning of the film amused him. It may have been green and had the letters in a different font, but that didn't change the blatant nod to the traditional Disney opening that he remembered from old video cassettes.
"Once upon a time, not that long ago," the narrator began in a soothing tone as the screen faded from black to a scene at the beach. There was a couple walking along the sand, holding hands and smiling foolishly at each other.
'Oh, for certain! Don't forget the lemon juice when you're done rubbing in the salt!' Baron tried not to growl out loud.
"There was a couple in love. Despite the trials and differences that had doomed them to separate lives, they fought through every scandal, every hateful rumor, and somehow managed to carve out a new life for themselves after the desperate struggle to say their vows."
What followed that narration came straight out of Baron's nightmares, and unfortunately, his memories.
The man was clearly wealthy, and in every picture that flashed across the screen, there was a new woman he was trying to pry off his arm, and the first few that had the red head from the beginning involved her slightly cowering behind him in plain but nice clothing as he gripped her with one arm and had the other one extended as a fist toward the camera.
'Ah, yes. Once the paparazzi have a story to follow, you can't even keep your toothpaste brand private,' Baron concluded sadly, even as his right fist started rolling around in a rooting gesture. The ending result was predictable, but it was nonetheless satisfying when a newspaper clip finally announced that the two had eloped.
Baron's eyes widened at the man's name. 'Hasho Yoshioka? Why is he making his love story so mandatory for mere underlings? This isn't an attempt to rub in our faces that there won't be that many women on the island, is it?'
"Yes, everything was perfect for a time," the man seemed to reminisce as the photos became separated with short clips of the pair dancing in the starlight, enjoying romantic dinners, or just cuddling on a large couch and saying nothing at all.
"The happiness only seemed to double when the beautiful young bride shared the sacred news that their firstborn was on her way."
This one was a longer video, and now that Baron was paying closer attention, he could see that the footage of the couple was a good maybe two decades old.
"Happy birthday, my love," the red-haired woman- Naoko- crooned from inside a gazebo, over the remains of what looked like what had been a pleasant breakfast for two. Her warm brown eyes were full of love as she set down the napkin and cutely began rummaging through one of her pockets.
The man laughed as he stood up from his side of the small table, deliberately walking around it enough to sweep the woman sideways off the chair in a dipping motion as if they were dancing. "You didn't get me anything, did you, dear? I thought I told you the only gift I care about is getting to call you my beloved wife." He gave her a rather serious kiss to seal the declaration of love.
'I was kidding about the lemon juice!' Baron inwardly griped, closing his eyes to help collect his nerves before he embarrassed himself with a scene.
Naoko let herself get swept away by his adoration, clinging with both arms around his neck to make sure that she didn't accidentally fall. But when the kiss threatened to turn more serious, she carefully eased her legs off the chair and forcing her beloved husband to sit on the stone floor of the gazebo.
"I think you'll change your mind when you see what I've got for you," she asserted confidently, placing a small yellow box wrapped with a red ribbon in his hand.
His answering smile of adoration was a shade tolerant, stealing one more little kiss before turning his attention to the tiny present. A forefinger and thumb were all it took to pull the bow apart, and the top of the box fell open as a result.
Hasho stared into it, the first true time he had taken his eyes off Naoko for longer than a snapped picture. As if only seeing the object wasn't enough, he turned the box enough to let his present fall into his waiting hand.
It was a baby pacifier.
Baron had seen much more creative ways to break the big news, thanks to the internet, but deep down, he couldn't help appreciating that this woman had to have full access to her husband's accounts, if not a generous allowance by then. Yet she still went for a simple approach that managed to be more poignant than just blurting out the news.
"… Baby?" Hasho begged once he was finally able to speak, looking up from the binky and begging her with his eyes.
Naoko began crying, but she also laughing as she wrapped her arms around his neck, raining kisses on his face and neck as she tried to nod at the same time. "Baby! Our baby!"
'I wonder if my parents reacted like that,' Baron couldn't help thinking sadly. Management of the orphanage had changed many times just in the ten years he spent there, and enough of them had been bad enough to lose more files than just his. Without any history connected to his name, it took no effort at all for his agent to convince him that 'Baron' made a much better name for him than 'Humbert'.
"Yes, all was bliss for the first trimester. But… in the second trimester… the wife was diagnosed with a particularly deadly form of cancer."
The pictures that flashed before the screen were now tinged with a desperate hope. Naoko was in bed almost constantly now, becoming paler and thinner as only her belly retained some weight to it.
Baron had no trouble predicting the poor woman's fate. Before he realized what he was doing, his thumb had wandered to his mouth and he was nervously chewing on his thumbnail and praying for the unborn babe.
"Because of the wife's selfless nature, her cancer was too advanced for the technology at the time to help her by the time her husband finally caught the hints that she wasn't at the peak of health. Since she and her husband refused any treatment that might jeopardize their child, they started looking farther afield until they met a certain doctor with a revolutionary idea."
A younger man in a long white coat was seen shaking hands with Hasho, although his concerned eyes were on the now deathly pale wife, trying to sleep peacefully as the surrounding machinery measured her heartbeat and breath.
"It was simply too late to save the wife, and further testing proved that the unborn child had the same cancer. The possibility of carrying the child to term, never mind how long the child would live afterward, was simply not there."
The next photo was the most heartbreaking yet. The woman was clearly near death now, her eyes weak and desperately attempting to stay open as she and her husband shared a final kiss as the same doctor as before was putting a surgical cap over his spiky black hair. The surrounding area around the bed, covered with sterile sheets and equipment, made it clear that the man was going to operate.
"But the young doctor had a slim chance to save the child. Now, at the moment of conception, a baby's entire DNA structure is already decided. He had already done extensive research on possible cures for cancer, and was permitted to try blending cat DNA into the unborn babe's genetic makeup due to a cat's unusually fast ability to heal."
Baron blinked, not entirely sure that he heard correctly. "Surely not," he muttered under his breath, distantly hearing similar sounds of disbelief from the other passengers.
"As this was the only way to give the child a chance, the remainder of the pregnancy had to be carried out in a special incubator. The mother did not live to see the end of the third trimester, but the experimental procedure erased all traces of cancer from the baby when the time for her birth finally came. However… There were unforeseen side effects."
Baron gaped at the next photo. If he had seen the photo by itself at another time, he would have assumed some young girl had seen fit to dress up a pet cat in baby clothes as she slept in Hasho's protective embrace.
It was an adorable kitten, with brown fur patterned like the man's hair, but another photo when she was awake revealed that she still had the human eyes of her mother.
Baron had no choice but to admit that the contrast was surprisingly charming.
"The man loved his newborn daughter so much, that he barely noticed how different his she was from any other on the planet. But since he knew that would be all the world would see, he retreated to his private island, and turned it into a fortress to protect his most precious treasure."
But the following photos and clips had nothing to do with fortifications. Instead, they were treated to the kitten baby trying to learn how to stuff handfuls of food in her mouth, taking her first steps as her father's hands held onto hers.
One particularly moving clip had the child holding her arms out to Hasho with a smile full of love. "Da Da!"
Baron found that he couldn't take his eyes off of her. Although she had almost toffee-colored fur where skin would be visible on anyone else, her dark brown hair grew longer, although the length hadn't a prayer of hiding her adorably triangular ears that twitched every time her father offered her encouragement. Her large brown eyes overflowed with love and trust when she looked at him, and more than one of the photos had the pair enjoying a nap together at whatever spot was convenient.
'I wonder if she purrs,' Baron mused, but the question could hold for later.
When the kitten-girl photos reached the age of ten, the charmingly cute snippets of her learning how to ride a bike became slowly replaced with more challenging sports. Her cat genes were clearly a boon as the photos became almost entirely replaced with clips as she conquered gymnastics, fencing, acrobatics, and- oh dear!
Baron couldn't resist leaning forward and pressing his hands on either side of the screen as his insides froze in fear for the dear girl.
As she became a preteen, the kitten began using what he could only call 'X Game' methods to move about her island castle and in the jungle around it.
"Haru, slow down! You're going to hurt yourself!" Renaldo screamed as he tried to reach the girl before she could slide down the banister of a long staircase, finishing the end of it with a perfect back flip. Her landing nearly landed her on her backside, but she was able to just keep herself from falling with a breathy laugh.
"Oh, come on! Can't I have even a little bit of fun?"
Then the clips gained a hard guitar solo as she kept experimenting, kept pushing herself even as her father and other concerned people tried desperately to keep up. But after a time, Hasho could be seen calmly sipping tea with one hand and awkwardly offering a biscuit over the railing with a resigned expression. A now teenaged Haru soon climbed past the balcony using the thick jungle vines, leaned over enough to catch the biscuit in her mouth and offer a muffled thanks as she continued her climb upwards.
Baron suddenly noticed that the better she became at such risky stunts, the more she moved away from the frilly dresses of her girlhood and more into leggings covered with a mini skirt or a belted longer shirt. The adjustment was probably to give her more freedom of movement while not worrying too much about how her tail would be able to accommodate this stunt or that.
He barely had time to wonder why simple pants weren't enough for her when the music abruptly changed from a hard on guitar solo and to Vivaldi's Spring.
With the music change, Haru could be seen demurely stepping down a hallway in a lovely purple dress and her longer head fur in a fancy bun instead of her customary pony tail. Instead of a wild grin that seemed to always be there, her expression was as composed as a queen's.
If not for her feline appearance, she could have easily been mistaken for a nobleman's daughter.
Baron suddenly started at his own thoughts. He had very literally watched Haru grow up in front of him, and her charm as a child could never be denied. But the young man had just had an impulse he had never experienced before.
For the first time in his life… he actually wanted to talk to a young lady! Not as a nuisance, but as a person he wanted to see more than once!
An elderly woman carrying laundry entered the same hallway, giving the young woman a single glance. "Is it your father's birthday already, Sweetheart?"
"Some year he'll ask for a different present from me," Haru answered, letting her mask slip enough to send the woman a warm smile and veer towards her. "Is your knee feeling any better today? I can help if you need it."
"It's much better today, but thank you all the same," the woman assured her, taking the time to press an affectionate kiss against that furry cheek.
Baron couldn't help feeling jealous of that old woman. What did that fur feel like?
Haru was now finishing making herself comfortable behind a desk and facing to the left of the camera, once again in her preferred style of tunic. "Is this my punishment for laughing at you?" she asked through a small wince.
She looked a little younger than the last few clips, which meant that this part had been filmed a few years ago.
"You should have known better than to test me where a camera was involved," the narrator answered shortly, as good as revealing himself to be Hasho Yoshioka.
Haru gave a small laugh as she eyed the camera a little nervously. "It's a lot easier to talk to these things when I know who's on shift for surveillance."
"Just pretend it's me, Sweetheart. See? I'm standing behind the camera. You know the rules, now make sure I do," Hasho nearly crooned as his frustration seemed to melt away.
The cat woman took in a deep breath for personal encouragement and laced her strange fingers together. Resting her chin between them, she attempted a warm smile. "Dad was originally supposed to lay down the rules, but he-um, kept getting overenthusiastic and I couldn't hold in my giggles. We'll see if I'm any better at this than he is."
Sweet heavens, how could she be this adorable and not realize it?!
"I don't know all of the clips he's using for this video, but I'm pretty certain that the point he was trying to beat into your heads is that I am surprisingly normal, all things considered. I am not an unthinking animal. I'm not Frankenstein's Creation. My completely awesome daddy is not named Moreau. I am just a teenager that can speak to cats-"
'She can do that, too?!' Baron thought out of pure jealousy.
"- and is a bit of an adrenaline junkie. Also, I have my daddy so wrapped around my finger, I'm this close to being the actual ruler of the island." She held up a thumb and forefinger to illustrate the width of a common coin.
"The reason that you were forced to renounce all contact with the outside world once you stepped into the plane is because Dad is dead convinced that my happiness will be flushed down the toilet if the world in general finds out about me. I have no ill intentions to anyone, so my appearance isn't really the world's business, anyway."
Baron couldn't help but think differently. Certainly, there would be many to brand her a monster, but he also knew for a fact that she could easily gain more fans than he ever dreamed of for being a living 'cute monster girl'.
He didn't think that he had any preferences in that direction, but the sincere sweetheart was rapidly changing his mind!
"If any of you had looked carefully through the contracts you signed, you'll see in the fifth paragraph, fourth sentence, that there is a clause to any action that endangers me or my privacy. It doesn't just mean that you won't be paid for your time on the island if you're needlessly rude to me; your mind will also be wiped of everything from the moment you stepped out of the airport," Haru explained, using as gentle of a tone as she could manage with an apologetic smile that showed off her cute little fangs.
"Uncle Toto- I mean, Dr. Biggens, has been doing more work than just genetics, so don't bother questioning if a memory wipe is possible for the people that can't handle how I look or sometimes act. If you are polite about wanting off the island when your first contract is up, you still lose your memory, but at least you'll keep what you earn." Then she took in a deep, steadying breath while leaning back on the swivel chair as she tried to put her thoughts into words.
"That's really what this whole video is about. I've grown pretty okay with how I look, and Dad doesn't anyone to mess with that. You treat me with respect, I treat you with respect, and we'll all be one big happy family."
She nearly bolted upright in her chair as a new thought occurred to her. "Also, please pardon me for being socially awkward if we talk in person. I'm not that good with strangers for the first few months, and I'm even worse with people around my own age. But I really hope you like it here!" she wished them, giving one more almost frantic smile while waving at the camera.
After a moment she stopped and looked slightly upward. "How was that, Dad?"
"… Perfect. Just perfect," he swore, stepping around the camera and the desk in order to tackle his feline daughter with a fierce embrace as the screen slowly faded to black.
Mr. Moon stood up as the lights brightened, crossing his arms and giving everyone a death glare. "Are there any questions anyone would like to get out of the way?" he snarled in a challenge.
Baron's hand shot up like a lightning bolt, only his safety belt preventing him from standing up as well. Even if he got pummeled for asking such a thing, he had to know!
"Is she single?"