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“So, what do you say?”
It was a cold Monday morning when my father called, and the reason why he did left me to stare dumbly at the phone as he continued without even waiting for a reply.
“Believe me I obviously know how busy this industry can get but it’s nice to get your head out of the ocean every now and then, you know what I mean? All those interviews, those schedules, it gets to you eventually.”
He always did have something to say, but it’s not like I’d ever entertain it considering the nature of our relationship. But even then he had a point.
“And besides, you can’t hog your cute little wife forever. This is a great chance for us to get to know her even better.”
“We’re not yet— “I only cut myself off and sighed, we called off the engagement eight months ago but to my parents sharing a house together is as good as getting married.
I contemplated for a few minutes before replying.
“I’ll think about it.”
I heard a pleased grunt at the other end of the line. “I’m sure your mom would appreciate it if you did.” My father said before the line went dead. It always annoyed me that he could always tell what my answer would be.
I turned to see Mikazuki staring at me intently. Was she just standing there the whole time?
“What was that all about?” She asked while chewing idly on a pancake, a trail of syrup down her left cheek but she didn’t seem to mind.
I stared blankly at the odd sight, and pointed to my chin. “You’ve got some syrup in there.”
Mikazuki huffed with a blush. She downed her breakfast in one large gulp and licked the trail of condiment off her face. “You didn’t answer the question.”
Maybe I should’ve, but teasing her like this is always fun. I wrapped my arms around her waist and held her close. She squeaked at the sudden contact with my bare chest but voiced no protest, save for a glare.
“You missed a spot.” I said and licked the remaining syrup off her face. Her face went redder.
“Kei, I just got dressed.”
Only she would consider her underwear and my shirt to be dressed enough. But she didn’t resist when I carried her back to our bed.
“So, what was that all about?” That was the first thing she said, as she laid bare on my chest after half an hour of lovemaking. She was nothing if not committed when she sure sets her sights on something.
She matched my stare evenly. Her pale hair cascaded down her face framing her pale blue eyes as she rested her arms against my chest, giving the impression of a snow furred cat that had finally trapped her prey. Fitting, the tone of her voice left no room for excuse.
“My dad called.”
“Toothpaste man?” Mikazuki asked with an inquisitive tilt of her head.
She giggled when I couldn’t hold back a cringe, it was bad enough that my father would take on a role so ridiculous on television and now I have my girlfriend uttering that dumb name after sex.
“He’s inviting us for dinner at their place this Friday, but...”
“Sure!”
I stared at her eager face. “Don’t you have an interview on Gijibou this Friday?”
She chuckled nervously and laid her cheek against the crook of my neck. “I could always say no, and besides Mizuno is there too and I don’t feel like I’m in the mood to deal with her nonsense.”
That never stopped you before, but I refrained myself from saying. Despite their contentious relationship mostly from Kisa’s side the two had a surprisingly prolific history of collaborations on television ever since Dr. Flower debuted, from song duos to game shows all of them were massive successes. Not that both of them would admit it but they were professional enough to just go through with it.
Lying was never Mikazuki’s strongest suit, not that she’d ever will and it’s part of her charm, but to use a reason as weak such as that to excuse herself from an interview just to meet my parents, until it hit me.
“You just want to try Mom’s Beef Stew again don’t you?”
Mikazuki’s silence was loud and told me enough, and she buried her face in the crook of my neck deeper. Ever since I found out that Hanai-san had literally fished her out of Hokkaido at the promise of ramen, it was only a matter of time before she would get hooked on my mom’s cooking as well. Food was always her biggest weakness, no matter what her mood was.
The sudden cold at my neck made me flinch.
“Are you drooling right now?”
Despite being the first week of November there wasn’t that much on our schedules that came close to being hectic as it did last summer. Our manager explained that the company had a collaboration going on producing Christmas specials that didn't involve us, which freed up a lot of time but it wasn’t exactly a free week for fooling around.
Akihako Monogatari was slated for a second season and they were confident enough to grant us full creative freedom to produce its second opening, surprising, considering how much they fussed over Sawamura during his tenure here. It was a welcome surprise when he announced that he’d be finally leaving to start his own career as a solo musician. Being tied to a major recording company such as this might be a dream come true to a band such as ours but Rin had always taken his different roots to grow, in a controlled environment being told to do this and that hindered so much on his growth.
Fuga and surprisingly Kaneda took this project with a lot more vigor than I expected; apparently both were massive fans of the show and they couldn’t be any happier that our band was commissioned for its second opening. It was bizarre to see the two of them sharing an interest, knowing how they get along as well as burning oil and rubber. But the creative process wasn’t as disruptive as I thought it would be, considering those two.
Kaneda apparently already had free styled a tune weeks ago, it was a quick funk with the usual Kaneda brand but we could tell he poured his heart out on this one for an anime he loved so much. Much to everyone’s surprise, especially Kaneda himself, Fuga voiced a strangled approval and was on board with the beat, even Kosaka.
The pieces smoothly slid together. When Friday came we already had an initial version ready to be presented to the big wigs.
It went surprisingly well, save for a few nitpicks. It was overall satisfactory.
Afternoon came and we stood outside at the main entrance waiting in the dead of winter. Mikazuki stayed for a bit, a longtime fan requested a tour inside our recording studio and the company was lenient enough to allow it.
“You seem a little disappointed.” Kosaka stated.
“Am I?” I replied with a frown.
The bassist gave her usual aloof smile and gestured towards Kaneda and Fuga, who are engaged in their usual banter, but it lacked the animosity they always have courtesy of the successful project we just finished. “You should know by now that by being around those two, your mood sticks out like a sore thumb.”
I sighed and looked away, despite knowing how pointless it is. Meguru’s observant nature would always come out of that lackadaisical attitude every now and then. “They liked it sure, but just hearing them scrutinizing it like some product just… didn’t feel right at all.” I voiced the thoughts I’ve been having through the whole thing; it was pointless to even bother hiding it on someone like Kosaka who only grinned wider. We’ve been in Canopus for nearly a year now, being in a corporate environment like that for so long. Maybe our musical senses have been indirectly tailored now to their taste. It was everything I stood for and feared ever since agreeing to sign that label, so what the hell is the point of all of this?
Fuga groaned. “Mika-chan was right, you do overthink a lot.”
“Of course not, I just think that it’s–”
“Tsushima,” Kaneda began and slung his arm around my shoulders, giving me a grin. “We finally got that recognition we’ve always wanted and that is all you could think about? We did it man, at least try to fit the mood!”
“For once I think the idiot is right.” Fuga nodded with his arms crossed before continuing, ignoring Kaneda’s protest. “The kid gloves are off and we are finally free to set loose. Playing other people’s songs worked out but for the most part we’d risk losing our identity and would fade away from the spotlight. Dr. Flower was good enough to dodge that trap after being placed in this fixed loop.”
“It’s honestly crazy.” Even Kosaka teased with a laugh. “You were so fixated on comparing yourself to Sawamura-san that you don’t even recognize yourself anymore.”
“You know it was never like that.”
“You weren’t being fair to yourself this whole time Kei, and I don’t think you even realize it.” Fuga stated.
All I could do was to look at the ground in quiet contemplation.
Mikazuki came barreling towards up, the stomp she made and the annoyed look she sported had Kaneda wisely backing away.
“Keys, now.” She huffed, I reached into my jacket and gave it to her right away and she wordlessly stomped her way to our car.
“Sheesh, what’s gotten into her?” Kaneda wondered out loud.
I quickly bid farewell to our bandmates and made my way to our car. Mikazuki sat inside and glared at her phone. It was her usual bouts of tantrums that all of us are already used to; only I don’t even know what the hell could even put her in a worse mood than I am at the moment. I figured asking about it would drag our time on if we weren’t on the road already. Fridays are a time of traffic and we’ve got dinner at my parent’s place to catch up.
Thankfully it wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be, and we made it in less than half an hour.
“Sorry.” Mikazuki finally broke her self imposed silence.
“It’s fine, do you want to talk about it?” I replied as I slowly parked the car.
MIkazuki sighed, “It's not worth getting worked over.”
They must’ve seen us already as the door opened before we reached the gates. My mother greeted us, looking as happy as ever.
“I didn’t expect you two to be so early!” She laughed and quickly received my girlfriend in a tight hug. “Oh, it’s so good to see you again.”
Mikazuki grinned and eagerly leaned into her embrace. It was amazing how naturally they became acquainted with each other, my mother of course was an easy person to get along with but even without our relationship Mikazuki had instantly taken a liking to her from the moment they met.
“Traffic wasn’t as bad as I thought.” I explained and leaned into mom’s embrace when she extended it.
“Oh, they’re here already?”
I heard my father call out from the inside.
He peeked through the doorway, wearing an apron?
I stared at him, and then to mom who only giggled. “Sorry Kei, I could’ve told you right away, but he was insistent. If you knew he’d be the one cooking, you wouldn’t have come at all.” She explained, smiling apologetically.
“Y-you, could’ve said that a lot better dear.” My Father muttered dryly.
“You cook?”
“Save your skepticisms until after you’ve tried the food.” My old man huffed.
“Oh it can’t be that bad.” My mother assured me but I remained unconvinced that this man could even make something as edible as crackers.
“Oooooh, this smells amazing!”
Mikazuki was already in the kitchen before any of us could even notice.
“Well, at least someone appreciates my efforts.” My father grinned and confidently went inside to entertain my drooling girlfriend.
“They do get along well don’t they?”
I groaned and followed soon after; something told me this is going to be a long night.
It was the first time in a long while I felt bad for my old man. I take it back, this is a good stew. And I don’t judge that alone, not just on how my albino partner beside me is absolutely gorging her plate, because it is actually just a well-made dish. Not that I’d ever say that out loud, although knowing him I might as well not have to.
“Told you.” I heard him say, his grin could be felt without even glancing at him.
“Here you go dear.” My mother returned to the table, bringing second servings unsurprisingly for Mikazuki who was already on her third.
“T-thank you Mrs. Tsushima.” Mikazuki nervously replied and I gave her a look, for someone who was unabashedly wolfing down her food she sure takes the generosity about as well as an apprehensive cat.
“Oh, Mom would do just fine; it’ll be confusing for both of us if you keep calling me that in the future.” My mother teased and I couldn’t help but cough.
Mikazuki’s eyes widened, and in an impressive display of her appetite she downed her soup with one gulp and regarded my mother eagerly. “I would love to be related to you, but I also think Kei Hanai sounds better.” She replied completely unfazed at the look I gave her upon hearing that.
Mikazuki only shot me a determined grin.
“Face it Kei, apart from my jerk of a brother there’s not a lot of males in my family to be proud of.”
And there’s anything remotely remarkable in mine? I thought to myself as I glanced at my father who looked amused at Mikazuki’s claim.
I was tempted to mention her father, but then I realized that by doing so I would have to then explain how she threatened to stab him the last time we went together at Hokkaido. And no way would I try to escalate the growing strangeness even further.
Mikazuki huffed. “Fine, if you’re not on board with it then just help me make one.” She answered like it was the most casual thing in the world and resumed eating.
I took a long and deep breath, and leaned back in my chair. My appetite disappeared.
My father cleared his throat and chuckled nervously. “Anyway, I’ve heard the two of you are doing a shooting in Osaka next week.”
“That’s too good of a guess.” I looked at him suspiciously.
“I honestly thought Yoshikawa-san could keep it under wraps.” Mikazuki said with a frown, my father simply grinned.
"That's the thing with managers Mika-chan, the good ones really go out of their way to keep a track on projects from other record labels. No matter how good you think of this Yoshikawa fellow is, even he can't hide anything from everyone.” My father said, and took a sip of his tea.
“That still doesn’t explain the sudden interest in us.” I replied dryly. It was originally supposed to be a premier concert for our third album, but there were too many constraints that we had to move it to December. Fuga and Kosaka were hired for their time to help a budding girl band under the same label as ours, and Kaneda had his own schedule cramped up on a soap commercial, of all things. Yoshikawa-san couldn’t let an opportunity go to waste however, and when he caught wind of a rival recording company making a holiday music video he knew exactly who to take on the project.
“Let’s just say my talent agency had expressed interest in grabbing the two most marketable talents’ in Canopus in one way or the other.” My father explained with a shrug but arched a brow upon seeing the confused look I gave him. “Kei, you’re given a starring role with Mika-chan, are you telling me you aren’t even aware of what that meant?”
I snorted derisively, there’s a difference between the occasional fan-mails that popup and the level of devotion Mikazuki inspires to her fans. She had everything, the looks, the talent and presence, next to a plain guy like me it’s not hard to tell we are on a different level of infamy.
Mikazuki seemed to have thought otherwise with the glare she gave me. “That’s Kei for you; if Yagihara-san needed help on stuff like money and business then Kei’s the one he asks for help. But when it comes to sensing other people’s feelings he’s a bigger idiot than my dad and brother combined.”
“W-what the hell does that even mean?” I’ve learned a long time ago to never take Mikazuki’s insults too seriously, but being held in the same light as the two males of her family, knowing the level of respect she had for them made me feel extra conscious.
“Three years, five months and thirteen days, that’s how long it took me to get into your pants.” Mikazuki stated flatly, pointing a fork towards me with a deadpan look. I could only stare. “Face it Kei, you’re hot in everything you do.” She then huffed. “I did a stream earlier because an old time fan requested it, but when they saw Kei’s shirt lying around his recording booth, they were asking to buy it!”
“What shirt?”
I felt like I'd regret ever asking that question.
Mikazuki frowned and opened her vest revealing my favorite striped shirt underneath. “T-they promised to frame it somewhere in their room. Hah! Liars, they just want to use it every night like the perverts that they really are!” She declared. Maybe if I hadn’t hid my face with my hands I would’ve seen how scandalized she must’ve looked.
“Like what you’re planning to do.” I muttered.
“Shut up, maybe if you actually clean up after yourself I wouldn’t have to deal with your horny fangirls! The things you make me do Kei, the things that you make me do!”
“Oh that’s just how it is with Tsushima males dear, they just play on women’s heart strings without even knowing it.” My mother said with a wistful sigh, I shot her an odd look for a remark such as that but I cringed and looked away upon seeing my father do the same.
Mikazuki sighed with a pout. “Good thing Kei doesn’t seem to be the type to fool around and have affairs on television.”
It took about half a minute until my father could stop himself from choking in his spit. “N-now that is oddly specific and completely untrue. Naomi is the only woman for me!”
My mother glanced at him with an unfazed smile. “Oh, and what about Hisato?”
“Hisa-chan and I only starred at Eden’s Garden together, that's all!”
“And Nozomi? Makinami? Kotone?”
“W-well, it’s…”
“Exactly."
Thankfully the rest of the dinner went as peacefully as it could’ve. I don’t think I could ever handle any more of Mikazuki’s spontaneous tendency to steer towards topics that wouldn’t feel right in a family dinner, let alone seeing my parent’s just play along with it. I volunteered to help my mother do the dishes but she was insistent, and if there’s one thing my father and I learned the hard way is that as seldom as it happened you would always comply when Tsushima Naomi is insistent.
I excused ourselves for the night, the discussion we had during dinner went on a little longer than we thought and our parents are more than eager to allow us to stay at my old room for tonight.
A warm blanket of nostalgia washed over me as I entered it; a piece of me I never knew I even left behind seemed to have stayed as I sat in my chair and remembered the memories I’ve made in this room. It was surreal, to be back in this place where I spent all my earlier years before all of this, thinking of the person I was before compared to who I am now it couldn’t be more exemplified by Mikazuki admiring everything, her beautiful form stood in stark contrast to the rather unremarkable room.
This was before I met Yagihara-san, before entering into a new world and being introduced to Hanai-san, the man who changed my life and Mikazuki, the woman whom I’ll spend the rest of it with.
I thought it was strange to see her looking so amazed, as she was taking everything in sight.
“You know, I’ve always wondered who you were before Nee-san introduced us to each other.”
“What made you think of that?”
“People are defined with everything tied to them, or at least with the pieces of them they leave behind. This room was you Kei, a side of you I haven’t met before. The piece of you here felt like a stranger, it’s weird.” She crossed her arms. “Have you ever thought how things could’ve been if they went a little differently?”
I seldom do, reserved only in the moments where I found myself asking if all of this is worth it. But as I asked the same question now, and thinking of everything we’ve been through. When I looked at her, I think I may have already known the answer all along.
I reached for her hand, and slowly guided her into my lap without protest. She never spoke a word, only an understanding look on her face leveled right at me. “No, because...” I sighed deeply. “Have I ever told you about my grandfather?”
I saw her eyes widen and she nodded eagerly, it occurred to me that I would have never talked about my family if I had a choice, my father being an obvious exception. It’s been years since I’ve last thought about my grandfather, the ache that came with his memory is as fresh as his words that have left a lasting mark on me.
“My grandfather was a doctor, a line that goes way back to his side of my family. They were very successful, and I understood back then that they wanted the same for me.”
Mikazuki giggled. “I imagined Dr. Kei Tsushima being as much of an oddball as his dad and would be on TV.”
“Not the best choice of role model by a mile.” I replied dryly but couldn’t help but chuckle. “I was so fixated with what he wanted, or maybe I just tried without ever asking myself if it would make me happy. But I couldn’t lie to myself any longer, and the constant negativity from my family was too much. So I came clean to him one afternoon, and told him everything I felt. But you know what he told me?”
I took a long deep breath to steady myself, and continued when Mikazuki nodded. “Don’t worry about school. It’s a headache. This is a good opportunity for you to reexamine your life. If there’s something you want to do, gambling on it is part of life.” I felt my breath hitch after saying that, and much like the first time hearing it I tried so hard to hold myself from breaking down. My grandfather’s words carried so much weight that anchored me through so much, and he passed away before I could’ve thanked him enough.
“I don’t even know what I wanted at that but, but I knew what he said was just exactly what I needed, Sure, I may have found a far stable path where I wouldn’t have to worry about finding a foothold in an industry such as music, but I took my chances and gambled.”
I thought about Yako, Satou and Ryuu-san. They were special, and if things might have turned differently, I would still have them on the other side of the spectrum. But in the grand scheme of things, like pieces finding their place, Dr. Flower is where I belonged. “The band, the live shows, the magic of making songs and to just play them however you want, I would never trade it for anything. I don’t know when or where this’ll take me, but perhaps it is for the best that I just put my head down and keep playing, and never stop searching for it, and besides.” I wrapped my hands around Mikazuki’s waist and the words just flowed out of my mouth before I could help myself. “I don’t care how long that would take, or maybe I never will. As long as I get to do it with you, I'm fine with that.”
“Flatterer.” Mikazuki huffed and reached into her vest pulling out the small Buddha figure she always carried. “But… if you ask me the same thing then my answer wouldn’t be any different. I was cleaning the other day when I saw him lying around the corner, and then it came to me… ever since we’ve gotten together Kei, I barely talked to him anymore. I only do so when a sometimes thing just doesn’t make any sense but I found something even better than that.”
“And that is?”
Mikazuki grinned. Placing the tiny Buddha in the desk she leaned and kissed me chastely. It was an odd sort of sentimentality, but as I sat there and reciprocated her affections it brought me back to a time where my feelings for her were muddled at best; when we first met in that fateful summer at Hanai-san’s apartment. That chance meeting and what followed afterwards, all led to this moment.
“Kei.” Mikazuki uttered as she pulled back, a trail of spit linking our lips as noticeable as her ragged breathing and flushed face. "I want you." She breathed, it was then that I realized my hand had subconsciously run up the sides under her shirt, not that hers running through my chest were any innocent either.
It was a good thing the switches were right beside me, Mikazuki’s taste and scent had already overtaken my sense that I couldn’t muster the strength to do anything other than to bask in her sight. To gratify myself, in admiration, to this beautiful woman before me. As the lights went off the moon illuminated her full glory. Her pale hair glowed an ethereal hue, I found myself scrambling for the second time this evening for my breath.
I wondered how undone I must’ve looked before her breathtaking form, clothed yet ragged and sweating all over. Mikazuki herself seemed to have drunk at the sight with a grin, the look on her face and the exchange of understanding between us promised a kind of peace and happiness only either of us can give to each other.
She leaned, closing the gap between us; the hazy pleasure that followed was the only thing we remembered of that very night.