Birthday Surprise

As his family was leaving the room to go down for a cigarette break then brunch, Tatsuha and Ryuichi were once again alone.

“Ryuichi?” Tatsuha started.

“Yes, Tatsuha-kun?” Ryuichi answered as the younger man looked down at his hands.

“I would like to try and find Michi…that kid. To make sure that he’s doing okay. And maybe I could pray for him. He’s kinda young and what’s going on with his dad is some pretty heavy shit, being in a coma and all,” Tatsuha said, as he looked at Ryuichi and sighed.

“Besides, I…I was kind of a pain to him, and I’d like to apologize,” he finally confessed.

“Uh, sure Tatsuha-kun. Want me to find out for you? What’s his name? I could tell the nurses that I’m here on a cheer-up tour and find out what room he’s in. People send me letters all the time to come visit them while they’re in the hospital. I try to do it when my schedule allows it.”

Tatsuha looked over at Ryuichi, a huge smile on his face. “That would be really cool of you, Ryu! I’d appreciate it! The kid’s name is Honami Michihiro, and his dad’s probably in intensive care.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back!” the vocalist said as he unbuttoned his shirt three buttons to show off his toned chest and sauntered out of the room.

‘I can’t believe that this sex god wants to be with ME!’ Tatsuha thought once more to himself as he watched Ryuichi leave before he turned on the TV and began channel flipping. He stopped on a music channel that was playing a Bad Luck song and leaned back, his hands behind his head as after a while he began to nod off, only waking when the male nurse came in to remove his IV.

A short time later, the door opened, waking Tatsuha as the mossy-haired singer returned, wearing a pleased smile and two bright red lipstick prints, one on each cheek. “The nurse said that they were three floors up, room 621.”

Tatsuha watched quietly as Ryuichi sat down on the bed facing him once more. “Ryu, you have lipstick on your…on your cheeks,” the ebony-haired man pointed out as he examined Ryuichi’s face.

“Oh. Hazards of the job,” Ryuichi explained as he went into the restroom and gazed at himself in the mirror. Turning on the water and adjusting it to warm, he rubbed off the lipstick with a soapy facecloth as he asked, “So what do you want to do next? Just go up there and knock on the door? Or meet Michi somewhere and talk to him first?”

“I don’t really know. I hadn’t thought that far in advance yet,” the younger man told him as Ryuichi came out of the restroom to take his seat on the bed.

“Well, I could go with you and offer to sing to him…if you want,” the diminutive vocalist suggested.

“That could be do-able…and I have spare prayer beads in my backpack. I keep them there just in case of emergency, like when I have to prove to the cops I’m a monk,” he admitted, blushing slightly.

“I suppose that could be useful at times,” Ryuichi stated thoughtfully.

Tatsuha got up out of bed and hung the backpack on the now unused IV pole that stood in the corner, retrieving the beads as the singer emerged from the restroom, drying his face with a towel.

“Either way we do it, it won’t happen if I’m forced to lie around in bed all day like the doctor wants. Besides, my headache is long gone, and I’m bored.” He pushed the IV pole further back into the corner, then walked over to Ryuichi and bent down for a kiss. Ryuichi tossed the towel on a nearby chair and reached up for his lover, a huge smile on his face as their lips met. Leaning back, Tatsuha saw a mischievous glint in Ryuichi’s eyes and blinked.

“What?” he asked as Ryuichi took his free hand.

Some time later, Tatsuha’s family returned to an empty room.

*~*~*~*~*
As Tatsuha hurried up the stairs after Ryuichi, he pulled at the too small lab coat he was wearing and grumbled about the bright red lipstick his boyfriend was now wearing on his lips as well as on one of his cheeks.

“Ryu, I still don’t see why you had to kiss her like that…you’re supposed to be my boyfriend!” the raven-haired man fussed as he hurried after the vocalist.

“I HAD to Tatsuha! It was the only way she’d agree to loan us these doctors’ coats! And, like I said before, hazards of the job,” Ryuichi explained once again as he rubbed at the makeup with a tissue.

“I guess I’ll just have to get used to sharing you with the world,” Tatsuha muttered to himself as he followed a bit more slowly.

As his sharp musician’s ears overheard what his young lover had said, Ryuichi stopped dead a step above him and turned around, nearly causing Tatsuha to run into him. The serious look on his face as they came nearly eye to eye caused Tatsuha to pale as he halted and waited to see what would happen.

“Look Tatsuha. In my profession, there are certain things that I have to do for the public, things that are expected. Kissing pretty girls and even ugly ones sometimes is one of them. I’ve even had to kiss men, though not as often. I must admit that I usually don’t mind it-fuck, I admit that it’s cool being thought of by others as a sex god. But none and I repeat NONE of them give me the thrill that you do. None of them cause me to get as hard as you do when we kiss. There’s no comparison, at all. So you have nothing to worry about. I love you, not them. Now let’s do this with no more arguing, okay?”

Ryuichi took the hand of his now dazed boyfriend and began to climb rapidly again.

‘He said…he loves me…he LOVES me!’ Tatsuha thought as he allowed the smaller man to lead him to the door to the sixth floor.

As Ryuichi peeked out of the door, Tatsuha, who still wasn’t paying attention because of the confession of love the vocalist had just given him, walked right into the back of Ryuichi, knocking them both through the door and into the cleaning cart that stood on the other side. As rolls of toilet paper and paper towels flew everywhere, the same elderly cleaning woman who had caught them kissing on the elevator the previous night came from the room she had been cleaning and stared in disbelief at the mess.

“Sorry Ma’am, we’ll clean it up!” Tatsuha said as both he and Ryuichi scrambled after the items, nearly bumping into each other in their haste as the cleaning woman stood and tapped her foot, her arms folded across her chest. As they rushed to put the items back on the cart, two nurses and a doctor managed to dodge the pair.

Ryuichi meticulously balanced the last package of paper towels on top of the formerly organized cart as Tatsuha leaned against the wall, panting heavily. As the diminutive man bowed low in apology, the even smaller cleaning lady huffed and pushed the cart into the room and closed the door behind her. A crash was heard as the haphazardly balanced items once again hit the floor.

Tatsuha took hold of Ryuichi’s hand and led the giggling rock star hurriedly down the hall just as a stream of not very nice words was heard behind the closed door.

“Good thing she had the door closed, hunh Tatsuha-kun?” Ryuichi quipped as the younger man dared to glance behind them, just in time to see her come out of the room and shake her fist at the pair.

Not paying attention to where they were going as they rounded the corner, Tatsuha ran right into someone coming from the opposite direction, bowling them over and knocking the wind out of them with an audible “OOF!” As he bent down to help the person off the floor, he realized just whom it was he had hit.

“Whoa! Michi! We were just coming to see you! Are you okay?” he asked as the teen lay on the floor, momentarily stunned and his hat now over his eyes as he gasped in an attempt to catch his breath.

“I’m fine! Now just...leave me alone!” Michi managed to wheeze as he pushed his large, shapeless hat back into place and brushed away help. The boy managed to stand unassisted and leaned against the wall on shaky legs.

Finally noticing that Ryuichi stood just behind Tatsuha with concern on his face, Michi’s eyes widened as he pointed at the vocalist. “Why…why does Sakuma-sama want to see me?” He inquired, then noticing that the duo was wearing white lab coats, he came out and asked, “And why do the two of you have doctors’ coats on?” He glared at them, suspicion plainly seen on his face.

Tatsuha turned to look at Ryuichi before turning back and looking Michi in the eye. “You see, I’m a monk….”

“You’re a monk? Riiiight,” Michi interrupted, skepticism on his face as he stared up at Tatsuha.

“I am. I’m also a theology student in college,” he said as he pulled out his spare beads from the pocket of his doctor coat and set them around his neck. Michi’s eyes once again went wide as he watched, then narrowed as he gazed suspiciously at the pair.

“Again, why does Sakuma-sama want to see me? And why do you, for that matter, Uesugi-san? Whose stupid plan was this anyway? ” the teen asked as he folded his arms and glared at the raven-haired man.

“I thought that I could pray for your dad, and Ryuichi thought that he could sing for him. Well, uh…Ryu, why ARE we wearing these coats anyway?” Tatsuha asked as he turned to look at the singer.

“Because you need the family’s permission as well as the hospital’s and a visitor’s pass to come to this floor to visit someone,” Ryuichi replied simply as he pointed out Michi’s bright orange visitor’s pass clipped to the dark green hoodie he was wearing. “Besides, the nurse also told me that doctors sometimes take the stairs as exercise so the doors aren’t alarmed.”

“Oh,” Tatsuha said simply as Michi stared at the pair in disbelief.

“It couldn’t hurt, I guess. Dad needs all the help he can get,” the boy finally said as his shoulders slumped in defeat. “Come on, he’s this way,” he said as he gestured and began to lead them back the way he had just come from.

As the trio walked down the hallway, Tatsuha asked, “So why were you leaving the room this time?” Michi shrugged as he put his hands inside his hoodie’s pockets and kept walking. “I don’t like hospitals. My mom died in one. So I go outside every now and then for fresh air.”

“Oh. I understand. My mom died in one too, when I was three. I don’t remember her much, just how she smelled. She always smelled like flowers. My aniki once told me that there was a perfume she loved that she always used to wear, I guess that’s what I remember.”

“Yeah.” Michi grunted as they stopped in front of room 621’s door. The teen pushed it open and walked inside, followed by Tatsuha and Ryuichi. There, a tanned, muscular, red-headed man in his thirties lay motionless on the hospital bed. He seemed to be sleeping, but the array of machines and IV lines told otherwise. Yuki Eiri’s latest book, ‘Ocean’ lay on top of another book, the bookmark in both books now nearly a third of the way through.

“Dad, this is Sakuma Ryuichi-sama and Uesugi Tatsuha-san. Sakuma-sama and Uesugi-san, this is my dad, Honami Junpei-san. I’m sure he’d greet you both properly…if he could,” Michi said as he went over to the chair, picked up the books and stared down at the floor. Tatsuha and Ryuichi both chose to ignore the sounds of quiet sobbing.

Taking out his prayer beads from around his neck, Tatsuha began to pray aloud quietly as Ryuichi stood with his eyes closed and his hands together praying silently. As the monk finished his prayers and replaced the beads around his neck, Ryuichi quietly began to sing as he respectfully kept his eyes down. Michi wiped his nose on his sleeve, took a deep breath and joined in, his high voice clear, sweet and pitch-perfect.

As Michi sang, Ryuichi began to sing harmony, their combined voices weaving a tapestry of sound that drew nearby nurses, doctors and even the elderly cleaning lady to stand outside of the open door of the room to listen to the duet.

Toumei ga yozora somete*
hitori aruku itsumo no kaerimichi
(Transparency dyes the night sky, and)
(I walk alone on the road that always leads home.)

Kuchizusamu konna kimochi
nemuru kimi ni todoketai na OH...UM...
(Singing to myself, I want to send these kinds of feelings)
(to you in your sleep, oh…um... )

Nanika ni obieteru jibun ga chotto iya ni naru
tsugeru omoi torinokoshita hibi ni...oh oohh
dokoka ni wasureteru kokoro ga chotto itakunaru
toki wo tsunagu hoshi no yoru ni kimi wo sagashiteru
(I'm tangled up in something; I'm getting a little sick of myself --)
(tangled up in the feelings to convey to those days that have been left behind... oh ohh)
(The heart I've forgotten somewhere is starting to hurt a little.)
(I keep searching for you in a night lit by the stars that are bound to that time.)

Toozakaru kumo ni nosete
boku no kimochi tachidomaru kaerimichi
(I place my feelings on the receding clouds)
(on the road home, where I pause to stand.)

Kimi wa mou yume no tsuzuki
todoku hazu mo nai koto da to wakatteiru
(You are already a part of my continuing dreams;)
(I know that (those feelings) can't possibly reach you from here.)

Namida ga koboreteru egao ga chotto hoshikunaru
kimi no soba ni ireru dake de boku wa...oh ohh
Dareka ga toikakeru rikutsu ga motto hoshikunaru
kieru kage ni mabushisugita hibi wo utsushiteru
(The tears keep falling; just by being able to be close to you,)
(I'm starting to want a smile, just a little... oh ohh)
(Someone asks questions; I'm starting to want this to make more sense.)
(You cast those too-brilliant days into a fading shadow.)

Nanika ni obieteru jibun ga chotto iya ni naru
tsugeru omoi torinokoshita hibi ni...oh ohh
dokoka ni wasureteru kokoro ga chotto itakunaru
toki wo tsunagu hoshi no yoru ni kimi wo sagashiteru
(I'm tangled up in something; I'm getting a little sick of myself --)
(tangled up in the feelings to convey to those days that have been left behind... oh ohh)
(The heart I've forgotten somewhere is starting to hurt a little.)
(I keep searching for you in a night lit by the stars that are bound to that time.)


As the song finished, the group of listeners that stood outside the room applauded, before most slowly scattered to return back to work, a few standing and talking in low tones about the song. Even the cleaning lady nodded as she walked off, a smile on her face as she pushed her cleaning cart.

“Wow! You’ve got some voice, Michi!” Ryuichi gushed as Tatsuha nodded and smiled in agreement.

The figure in the bed rolled over onto his side and grumbled.

“Damn it girl, didn’t I teach you that singing’s not a real profession? You need to go to school for something more practical, like business or law,” he remarked in a deep voice as Tatsuha, Ryuichi and Michi all turned to look surprised towards the figure in the bed as he rolled back over and sat up.

Tatsuha and Ryuichi both turned towards each other and simultaneously exclaimed, “Girl?” as Michi practically flew over the chair in an attempt to hug her now awake and thoroughly confused father. Landing in his arms, Michi covered his face in kisses as he smiled lopsidedly.

“Girl,” Michi stated.

Ryuichi and Tatsuha both turned back toward the bed as she took off the shapeless black hat and brilliant crimson hair tumbled out and fell nearly to her waist.

Hearing a low cough near the door, both Ryuichi and Tatsuha turned toward it as a doctor and two nurses, who were all part of the audience and who also witnessed the scene inside the room entered. While the doctor, assisted by the two nurses examined Junpei, Michi got out of the way and stood by the bed and watched carefully as her father was poked and prodded.

“Well, Honami-san,” the doctor began as he picked up the chart that lay on a nearby counter. “You seem to have had no ill effects from your week-long rest, but I would like to still run more thorough tests on you to make sure you’re at one hundred percent. But for now, you are to stay in bed,” he instructed as he began to write in the chart.

“Yeah Dad, for once take a break, you work too hard!” Michi fussed at her father as she sat on the bed next to him and hugged him tight around the chest. He smiled and returned the hug as he patted her on the back.

“If I don’t work, then who will feed you, Michi? Who will pay the bills, pay for your schooling and make sure that you have everything you need? It’s not like your dearly departed Mom could do it for me.”

Michi tilted her head and smiled at her father as he talked, her light brown eyes happy for the first time as Tatsuha coughed politely, interrupting what seemed like an old argument between father and daughter.

Ceasing their discussion for the moment, both Michi and Junpei turned towards the forgotten pair as they stood near the door. Michi held out her hand and gestured first to Tatsuha.

“Oh! I forgot! Dad, this is Uesugi Tatsuha-san. He’s a monk and not so bad a person…when he’s not being a smartass.”

The raven-haired man smirked slightly at the remark as he bowed in greeting. A huge smile on her face, she gestured next to Ryuichi.

“And this, Dad, is someone that DID manage to make a living singing. This is Sakuma Ryuichi-sama!” she explained as she reached over to the chair, moved Yuki’s book and held up the autobiography, titled, ‘Sakuma Ryuichi: an Unofficial Biography of an Extraordinary Talent’ by Ryugasaki Anzu. On the cover was a picture of Ryuichi as he stood grinning in a field of flowers with Kumagoro on his head, both arms raised towards the cloudless blue sky.

“I remember taking that picture! Some nice lady in the park asked if I’d pose for her while she took my picture last summer. I didn’t know she was a writer…” the singer remarked to Tatsuha as Junpei stared at the rock god.

“That’s…that’s you? The guys at work and I have heard you on the radio…” Junpei whispered hoarsely as he looked from the book Michi held in her hands to the man grinning up at the smiling monk. Ryuichi turned and mirrored the same smile that was on the cover of the book.

“Yeah, that’s me! But Kuma’s at home…oh! He’s still waiting for us to show! I didn’t expect to be gone so long!” the vocalist cried as he grabbed Tatsuha’s arm.

“I’m sure he’s fine Ryu, probably just mad at you for not calling, that’s all,” the ebony-haired man replied.

“You’re probably right. Besides, I’m sure my PA made sure he was fed and everything. He usually does really good with a grumpy bunny like Kuma can be sometimes,” Ryuichi said thoughtfully as father and daughter watched the exchange, Michi with a puzzled look on her face and Junpei with a lost one.

“Oh, Sakuma-sama! Could you…would you autograph my book?” Michi asked shyly as she blinked and held it out.

“Sure!” he chirped as he walked over to the bed and took the book. He pulled out a pen from the breast pocket of the doctor’s coat he was wearing and began to write quickly in shaky kanji as well as perfect English, then handed it back to the smiling girl.

“Um, Michi? I want to ask you a question. Or maybe I should ask your father,” Ryuichi said shyly as he gazed at the red-headed man. Ryuichi bowed low, and then stood back up, a serious look suddenly on his face as he continued.

“Honami-san, your daughter has a wonderful singing voice. N-G Production, my company, has a music scholarship in many schools across Japan as well as its own music school here in Tokyo. I would love Michi to be allowed to join the program at her scholastic level. She will get the best education as well as hone her natural ability. If she can keep up her grades, and improve her voice as well, she will become an intern with a chance for employment at N-G when she graduates high school, and they will pay for her to go to college. She can major in music and minor in business. But again, she has to work hard and will have to keep her grades up.”

Both father and daughter stared at the rock star as he finished, then Michi asked, “But don’t I have to audition for something like that? And I don’t even live in Tokyo-I stay in Kyoto while Dad works here.” Her face fell as reality hit, once again becoming the serious teen Tatsuha and Ryuichi were both used to seeing.

Ryuichi smiled gently at the girl as he told her, “Number one, you’ve already auditioned. I’m the chairman of the school committee here in Tokyo, and I have the final say. Although I usually do it by video, since I’m usually too busy to attend. And second, the music school here in Tokyo has dorms, which are paid for by tuition. Since you now have a scholarship sponsored personally by me, I don’t see why that would be a problem…that is, if your Dad doesn’t mind having you here in Tokyo instead of Kyoto. And third, he still hasn’t agreed to let you attend the school yet.”

All three pairs of eyes turned to look at Junpei as he sat on the bed, a thoughtful expression on his face. He sighed and turned to Michi.

“You WILL keep your straight-A grades if I let you go to this school, right?” he asked sternly as his light brown eyes gazed into hers.

“Oh YES, Dad, I promise!” she replied enthusiastically.

“And you will also take business or something more practical as well, right? In case this music-thing doesn’t work out, right?” he added.

“Of course, Dad, but I won’t let that happen! I’ll work super hard and I’ll become a singer as well as a businesswoman, just you wait and see!” She solemnly vowed. “Besides, I’ll be able to manage my own career that way!”

“Then how could I say no?” Junpei casually remarked before being smothered by his daughter as she once again launched herself at him.

“Oh thanks so much Dad, I’ll show you that I can do both, just you wait and see!” the teen gushed ecstatically.

Remembering that they still had company, Michi stood up and bowed low to Ryuichi, who returned the bow.

“Thank you so very much for this opportunity, Sakuma-sama. I will make you proud, I’ll make everyone proud, I promise!” She beamed at him as he returned the smile.

“I hope so, otherwise Tohma will get mad at me for bypassing the usual application process!” Ryuichi pointed out as he bowed to Junpei and turned back towards Tatsuha as Michi began to verbally plan the move to Tokyo with her father.

“We should go, Tatsuha-kun. I’m sure they both have a lot of planning to do,” he told the younger man in a stage whisper. Tatsuha smiled down and nodded at the vocalist as they moved towards the door and quietly opened it before walking through.

As he was about to go through the doorway and into the hall after Tatsuha, Ryuichi stopped and turned one more time, just in time to catch Michi place a kiss on the cheek of her grinning father.

“Oh, Michi, just in case there’s any trouble with that, I also gave you have my PA’s personal phone number…it’s really my phone, but he answers it. And if anyone doubts your story, just show them the inside cover of the book, okay?” he mischievously told her as pointed to his autobiography right before he walked out and closed the door behind him.

Curious at Ryuichi’s last statement, Michi picked up the book and inspected the inside front cover.
‘Welcome to N-G Pro’s School of Music, new student Michihiro! Kuma and I can’t wait to see you there!’

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Tsuzuku
(To Be Continued)

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: * Anti–Nostalgic (Gravitation Track 3 Insert Song) by Kinya Kotani