Chapter Text
Toya took a deep breath, as he finally knocked on the door to his father’s office. This had taken him so long to do, so long to finally force himself to admit. But he knocked, the sound of force on linoleum echoing through the basically silent house.
“Father. I have to talk to you.” He said quietly, the words muffled as they came through to the other side of the door, where Harumichi sat, in the middle of writing down an impromptu piece, who set down his pen before turning.
"What is it, Toya?" He inquired, eyes narrowing. "This better be important: you know I have to finish this tonight."
Toya nodded, sitting on the chair in the corner of the office. The one he always had to sit at any time he entered. After all, he couldn’t touch any of what Harumichi had so meticulously arranged.
“Right. I’ll get to the point. I’m… dating someone.” His voice seemed hesitant. But so brave.
"...You're what?" Harumichi's eyebrows rose, and he leaned back in his chair. "You're seeing someone?"
"And you didn't even think to consult me about this?" Or, more importantly, how it would reflect on him and his own reputation? Harumichi couldn’t care less about his street music anymore, but this.. this could be detrimental.
Toya bowed his head, looking to the floor. It was frustrating. How he seemed so avoidant of his own father. But that was Toya’s own fault in the first place, wasn’t it?
“I didn’t think you’d want me to.” He replied. “We’re keeping it quiet. No one will know. So it won’t affect you in any way.”
Harumichi was obviously not impressed. "I know your generation these days, you all don't respect your elders."
"So, who is this person, then? Tell me about her." He commanded, his tone firm and authoritative.
“…it’s not a ‘her’.” Toya said quietly.
What.
Harumichi was momentarily shocked, but kept his expression stoic. "...A boy, then. Tell me." He said simply.
There was a hint of disappointment in his voice: something he wished to deny was there. For this was his son’s life. As long as the boy with him wasn’t dragging him down.
Toya glanced up at him, potentially a little surprised that Harumichi hadn’t killed him for that one itself, before looking at the floor again. “You know how I’m in Vivid BAD SQUAD. With my friends.”
"The four of you, yes, yes, I know," Harumichi said, waving off Toya’s statement. "Don't beat around the bush, Toya. Who."
The disappointment in his voice grew, the hope that this boy was just a 'friend' in his mind diminishing. Perhaps it was just a phase. He’d grow out of it. Just like Harumichi himself did.
“Akito. I’m dating Akito. We have been. For the last few months.” Toya finally said, after a few beats of silence.
…Akito Shinonome. The one who had gotten Toya into this godforsaken street music thing in the first place. That terrible influence of a boy. Terrible with his studies, terrible attitude too.
And Harumichi thought this day couldn't get any worse.
Akito. Of course it was Akito, he should've seen it coming somehow. But it still made him feel sick. Akito Shinonome, the very reason why Toya was wasting his talents on this 'street music' thing. The boy who ruined his son's life.
For a brief moment, the room was dead silent. And then Harumichi spoke.
"You're lying."
Toya sighed. He was prepared for this exact scenario. “No, I’m not. It’s my life, father. I get to choose who is and isn’t in it. And I know he’s the best partner I could have ever asked for.” The love in his voice was very evident, and the boy wasn’t very expressive in the first place.
And it annoyed Harumichi, in an inexplicable way. How dare Toya find someone to.. love? A ridiculous notion of an emotion that didn’t even exist. He knew it didn’t. It sounded too good to be true, and in this cynical world, it probably was the case. The love in his voice just made Harumichi's head spin.
"Him?! Out of all the people you could have chosen, you pick him?!" He asked in disbelief, as if it were some ridiculous joke. "Do you know what you're doing, Toya? Do you have any idea what kind of person that boy is?"
Toya took a deep breath, eyes fixed on the ground as he spoke. “Alright. We’ll see how things work out. If it does go the way you expect, maybe you’ll finally be happy.”
It frustrated Harumichi. How indifferent Toya was to his sage advice. How Toya seemed to believe that Toya’s suffering was what he wanted. It wasn’t the case, not at all. Why couldn’t this boy see what was best for him? Harumichi was still seething. That boy, that damn boy, he ruined everything. How could Toya of all people think that that street music good-for-nothing boy was his perfect partner?
It only fueled his own disappointment (in himself? in his son?), in the fact that he would abandon everything he worked so hard for such a meaningless pursuit. He exhaled through his nose, before speaking.
"...You can leave now."
Toya nodded, walking out as far as he could. But not before bowing politely as a goodbye, shutting the door quietly behind him.
Once the door was shut, Harumichi let out a weary sigh. This was not how he expected things to go at all. His son, the son he worked his hardest with to become a professional musician, wanted to spend his life with some good-for-nothing boy who only had 'street music' in his mind.
He'd have to have a talk with that Shinonome boy. And not in a friendly way.
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