Sukiyaki
Sukiyaki
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Disclaimer:
characters belong to Tokyopop and Saname
Matoh. This story
is written for entertainment purposes and I make no profit from it.
The song “Sukiyaki” belongs to
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sukiyaki
By:
The front door to their apartment
burst open and
disheveled, his face flushed from the cold, and his arms laden with plastic
shopping bags. Some of the bags fell
from his grasp as he raced through the living room and into the kitchen where
Ryo was kneeling in front of the oven, checking his lasagne.
and grinned, “I take it it’s going well?”
“Are you
kidding? It couldn’t be worse!
ahead by two, there’s two minutes left in the game and Baker just pulled a
hamstring!”
shedding bags to the floor as carefully as he could and threw his coat into an
empty corner, when he was done he headed for the small radio Ryo kept on top of
the refrigerator. Pulling it down he hit
the power button and began fiddling with the dials, Ryo shook his head, closed
the oven door and stood as Dee landed the tuner on the correct station and
jacked the volume up so high the sports commentator was screaming in the
kitchen. “This is the most intense
moment I’ve seen all year ladies and gentlemen!
The Knicks with a two point lead against the
Bulls two minuleftleft in the game, and the Knicks
have the ball, can they win the most important game all year?
out called when Baker injured himself on that awesome basket, and if the
player!”
“Shut up you ass hole!”
intently at the speakers.
“It’s not like he can hear
you.” Ryo said chuckling at how
always got worked up over a Knicks game and began
picking up the shopping bags
He pulled out the multiple flavored
bags of potato chips and set them on the counter as
ignored him and continued to express his anger over the commentator talking
about the intensity of the moment and what-not, rather than just relaying what
was happening on the basketball court.
Ryo set the milk and butter in the fridge and put the ice cream in the
refrigerator. Then began searching the
remaining plastic for the items he’d made clear to
he needed for the spaghetti sauce, he looked to his agitated partner and dared
to ask, “Did you remember the olive oil?”
“Yeah
though it was the least important thing in the world, “I think it may be in the
living room where I dropped some and- a foul?!
What the hell do you mean a FOUL!”
Ryo sighed as
forgot the older mans existence for the second time in the space of a few
minutes. He headed into the kitchen and saw
a trail of four more bags that leading from the door and picked them up,
discovering the olive oil in the third bag he checked and closing his eyes
thankfully that it hadn’t been broken.
He jumped as he heard
son of a bitch! I got fifty bucks on
your candy ass!!”
Ryo was suddenly glad that he had
sent Bikky to Carofor for the day while they had a
‘cops only’ movie night, the platinum haired child kid was bad enough about
sports games without this kind of behavior from Dee to encourage him.
stove to begin making the spagh sau sauce when the announcer hollered,
“Greenlee has the ball, passes it to Hawkins, it’s
intercepted by
“NO!”
flying to his head and raking his fingers through the raven wing strands in
frustration.
“15 seconds left in the game,
dribbling down the court, he’s got an open shot, he
shoots from the three point line and… Oh
my GOD!! It hits the backboard!
the buzzer, this game is over ladies and gentlemen
this game is over! The
“YES!!!”
up both arms and punching the air with his fists, “Woo hoo!
Ha ha!!”
Ryo entered the kitchen to see his
partner pull his cell phone from his pocket and hit a couple of buttons before
holding it to his ear, the kitchen was silent for a few moments save for the
radio commentator still blaring the score and relaying the general mood of the
crowd at the sports arena until the person Dee was trying to reach answered
their end of the line.
“Ted?
Ryo opened a cabinet and removed a
large saucepan that he poured a generous amount of olive oil into as
continued talking animatedly. “Two
points, two hundred, it doesn’t matter dude, your team lost, mine won, you owe
me fifty big ones…
or I’m kicking your ass!”
Ryo was in the process of adding
ground beef and other spices into the pan when
finally finished his conversation with, “Yeah, see you in an hour,” and cut the
connection. The younger man looked at
his companion with a cocky grin, “Got a kiss for the big winner?”
Looking at
a smile turning up one corner of his mouth, the lighter haired man asked, “So
if you had lost, did you have fifty?”
at that and waved him off again, “That’s not the point.”
Ryo let out a smug chuckle, “I
didn’t think so.”
“So what do I need to do in
here?”
changed the subject by clapping his hands together and rubbing them
dramatically.
“Dump the chips into those big
bowls and set them on the card table in the living room.”
sitting on the counter and raising his voice over the still blaring radio.
“Sure thing,”
swept the bags into one arms and grabbed the stacked party bowls with his free
hand and sauntered into the living room.
A few seconds later he heard the shrieking sound of plastic seals being
torn through and the bowls being filled then the younger man returned.
“You can cut up the lettuce for the
salad, but first turn that noise down and put it back on my station.”
“Awww
Ryo,” Said Dee
and he reached for the radio, “You’ve got to appreciate good sports more.”
“I like tennis!”
as he crooked the tuner, “I said good
sports.”
Ryo was about to lay a smarting comeback
os pas partner when he heard a snippet of song playing on one of the stations
Dee was sorting through filled the room and was followed by the static of the
airwaves as he continued searching for the rock station his lover usually
listened to.
“Wait!”
“Huh?”
“That station you just flipped
through, turn it back.”
“Okay.”
the song again.
frowned at the strange lyrics that filled the room.
“
“What is
this?” Confused,
looked up at his partner who had resumed stirring the contents of the sauce pan
with a smile, his chestnut brown head bobbing to the tune and singing along
softly.
“What is
it?”
setting the radio down and heading to the refrigerator to pull out the lettuce
he’d bought.
“It’s an
oldies song from back in the forties.”
“I could
tell that!”
shot back, “I meant the language.”
“It’s Japanese.”
with the next line of the song.
“
looked at him amazed as the strange sounds flowed from Ryo’s smooth tenor, “I
thought you didn’t speak Japanese!”
“I don’t.”
“Then how
come you know this?”
“My mother
loved this song.” Ryo said, pulli
ca
can opener from a drawer and began cutting through the metal seals of tomato
paste and mushrooms.
opened the lettuce and pulled off the outer leaves, discarding them in the
trash and looking at Ryo curiously. They
had been partners now for four years and lovers for half that time and while he
knew a lot about his partner and his past concerning his family, the dark eyed
man had never spoken much about what they had been like, other than very
general terms. He was overjoyed to
finally hear some more details of what Ryo’s family had been like.
chopping knife and asked casually, “So she taught it to you?”
“Yeah,” Ryo
smiled happy memories coming back to him.
“She had one of the original LP’s and would put it on the record player
all the time when I was growing up. She
used to pick me up and dance around the house with me.
kid.”
“So what’s
he singing about?”
asked.
“Haven’t a
clue!” Ryo said grinning widely as he
filled a stock pot with water and set it on the back burner to boil.
“I thought
you said she taught it to you!”
“She did,
but only the words, she never told me what they translated as.”
“Well
that’s silly.”
said dryly and dumping the lettuce into an oversized wooden serving bowl,
“Nah, I
asked her to tell me but she never would, her Japanese wasn’t the greatest
either plus she said the song was really said if you knew what it meant.”
“How could
she not know the language? I thought she
was second generation.”
lid on the stockpot and leaned against the counter.
“My grandfather was stationed in
when it was still occupied after the war.
she was raised as a traditional Japanese girl but her father was an Englishman,
that’s how she met my Granddad, she could speak fluent English and was a
civilian employee is bis base. He
married her and brought her to
in ’46, and they had my mother a little after that.
language but she died giving birth to my uncle when mom was six, so she never
really did have an extensive vocabulary and she forgot most of it as she grew
up. I think the only reason she
remembered this song was because she learned it when she was so young and it
was just one of those things that gets hardwired into a kids mind, kind of like
your first phone number or address.”
at the charming picture his partner made, he was wearing an oatmeal colored
cable knit sweater and loose jeans, he feet encased in running shoes. Ryo’s
arms were crossed over his chest, one leg bent so his
foot rested on the door of a lower cabinet and his chocolate eyes were staring
dreamily into space, his expression was of a man lost in thought.
with a few steps. He startled Ryo from
his reverie when he put two fingers on his chin and gently turned the shorter
mans head up to his face. “That’s the
first time you’ve ever really told me about your parents.”
“I- I
didn’t know how you’d react.” Ryo
stammered and blushed.
It was true
too. The few times he’d offered Dee, any
information about the man and woman who had been the most important people in
the world to him, the younger man had listened but had sometimes seemed
depressed at what he’d never known. Ryo
had decided that maybe it was better for the relationship he shared with
to let that part of his past go unmentioned.
After all, it was the past, and
future.
merely looked down at his partner, his smile growing wider as he took in the
color that stained his cheeks, then dipped his head low, his lips brushing
Ryo’s lips lightly then gliding his tongue over the older mans trembling lower
lip as the song neared its end. Ryo
moaned softly and his lips parted under
younger mans tongue sng ing into his mouth and running masterfully over white
teeth. Ryo’s hand moved of their own
accord and gripped
man closer to him.
obliged and responded by putting his arms around Ryo and running his hand over
his back, making his partner shiver even through the thick sweater he
wore. Ryo responded to Dee’s kiss
eagerly, his own tongue playfully dueling with Dee’s and running his hands
through his lovers ebony locks, he chuckled into the kiss as he felt Dee’s own
response through the jeans he wore.
Ryo was
trying to decide between, leaving the kitchen unattended for the brief amount
of time it would take to drag Dee into their bedroom for a few minutes and hope
to god that the food he was preparing for half a dozen people wouldn’t be
ruined, or rip Dee’s pants off right there in the kitchen.
wouldn’t be the first time…” Ryo
thought with a grin, expertlyoingoing the belt and fumbled for the button.
His amorous
intentions were cut short by the sound of the front door opening and a deep
voice booming through the apartment, “Anyone home?!”
“Shit!”
away from Ryo, working furiously to adjust his clothing.
Ryo laughed
feeling giddy and raked a hand through his disheveled hair, then turned back to
the stove to check the water. He hoped
he could blame the blame the heat rising from it for the redness that so filled
his face now he resembled the tomatoes he’d added to the sauce earlier.
“Hello?”
out.
“Ugh…”
recognizing it and shooting a dirty look at Ryo’s back as he smoothed his
shirtfront, “You invited him?”
“Of course,
it would have been rude not to!” Ryo
shot over his shoulder.
was about to respond when a dark face appeared in the doorway, “Hey guys!
hand.”
“Great!”
voice sounded normal though all he wanted to do was throttle his fellow
detective for showing up forty five minutes early and, as far as he was
concerned was directly responsible for the discomfort he was now having to
endure from the erection that had been hastily stuffed back into his jeans.
“Wow!
pack of Zima in one arm and a baking dish in another.
Baklava.”
“Thanks.”
by six.”
“Why did
you bring Greek food to a Mobster Movie Madness marathon?”
the radio down to its lowest volume then winced when Ryo “accidentally” stepped
on his foot.
“It sounds
great J.J., just set it on the table with the other snack foods, and we’ve got
the cooler set up in the living room for the drinks.”
turned and flounced off to the living room, Marty following behind.
himself to an evening of J.J.’s company as graciously
as he could and waited for the rest of the crowd to show up.
later cheeks pink from the chill and fingers numb from carrying a thirty pack
of Miller four blocks from the corner store to Dee and Ryo’s apartment, and a
quarter of an hour afterwards Ted appeared.
face as the flame haired man pulled his wallet from his back pocket and removed
a few bills. He held them out to
then snatched them back when the green eyed man reached for them.
“If your
team had lost, did you have the cash to pay me?”
scowled, “That’s not the point.”
Ted smirked and handed the bills to
Ryo announced that the food was
ready and the crowd helped themselves to the various dishes Ryo had prepared in
keeping with the theme for the evening movies, as Marty switched on the TV and
hit the remote for the cable box to set it to HBO just as the notes from “The
Godfather,” began playing.
By the time the last notes faded away from the final movie of the
trilogy, the only people left still sober were Marty and surprisingly enough,
Dee; who was really wishing he wasn’t as J.J. hung all over him in a Zima
induced state of intoxication.
at Marty and together they hoisted Drake and Ted, who had for some crazy reason
had decided to play a game of taking a drink every time Marlon
hoisted the unconscious man up and over his shoulder and headed for the door
muttering something about crazy Irishmen who couldn’t hold their liquor and Dee
helped Drake to his feet and half carried the blonde detective to the elevator
with J.J. in tow. The five men managed
to get down to the street curb and hail a pair of taxi cabs, Marty promising to
get Ted home to his wife, and J.J. swearing he was sober enough to get Drake to
his apartment and, “in bed,” he said with a wink.
shook his head and hollered at J.J. that he didn’t want any details come Monday
as the yellow cab pulled away from the curb.
He waved at the retreating taillights and headed back into the apartment
building. He opened the door to the
apartment and found Ryo placing dishes in the sink and the phone pressed to his
ear,
“…right, yeah no hurry, okay thanks!”
“Who was that?”
his watch and wondering who in the world Ryo would have been talking to at
Ryo walked over to the counter to
the radio that was still playing quietly and turned the volume up, “I called
the station and made a request.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, I wanted to hear that song
again.” Ryo smiled at him and its
contagion spread to
He took in his partners appearance,
the mans hair was tousled from the wrestling match he’d gotten into with Drake,
when he’d insulted Al Pacs acting ability, there
was a small red stain on the pristine sweater when J.J. had stood up suddenly
and hit the arm that had been carefully balancing a forkful of
alcohol he’d consumed earlier.
chuckled and moved closer to his partner, running a finger along his cheek,
“You’re drunk.”
“Mmmm…”
“Only on you…”
Dee laughed and put his arms around
Ryo and held him for a moment as the song that was playing on the radio ended
and thehttihttime dee jay announced the time and
temperature then went back into the radio spiel, “Last we heard, ‘City of New
Orleans’ by Arlo Guthrie and now we have a special
request that goes out to a person in the heart of the Big Apple.
the person who says he loves you more than anything else in the world, it’s
“Sukiyaki” by Kyu Sakamoto from way back in ’46.”
down at Ryo as the opening notes with their distinctly Oriental melody filled
the kitchen. He was surprised at what
Ryo had done, true, the older man had only told the dee
jay his first name, and the name
mistaken for being a woman but he was still touched by his lovers
gesture, still knowing how difficult it was for Ryo to express his emotions
sometimes.
Ryo simply stared back at him
dreamily and said, “I want to make some new memories for this song.”
Ryo pulled
head down and brushed his lips across the younger mans, “Dance with me.”
Still grinning
tugged at Ryo’s hand and guided him into the living room to the open space
between the coffee table and the television, then left him standing alone for a
moment as he fumbled in his pocket for his lighter.
few scented jar candles and flicked the lighter, touching the flame to the wicks
and then hitting the light switch by the door so that the rooms
only illumination was the warm, romantic glow from the candles.
and put his arms around him as the first line of the song played and
whispered softly, “Think you’re up to singing along again?”
Ryo sighed and leaned against his
lover as they both swayed to the strange music, his slightly fuzzy mind
recalling the lyrics and he sang along with the silken performer.
ga kobore
his chin on top of Ryo’s head and listened contentedly as the strange and
beautiful lyrics flowed from his lovers silken
voice. He recalled how Ryo had told him
that song was supposed to be a sad one yet he didn’t see how it could be, not
as happy as he felt right now.
Ryo continued to sing with the
radio and
next verse, “Hitoribotchi no yoru,
Ue o muite
Ryo’s voice trailed off somewhere
around the next few lines and he hugged Dee closer and they continued moving in
a slow circle in the living room, the dancing flames of the candles making
their combined shadows into eerie shapes on the walls.
the singer spent a few bars whistling that Ryo tilted his head up, his eyes
shining chocolate puddles that he said to
me.”
eagerly and claimed the shorter mans lips in a kiss which soon deepened into
one of fire and passion that lasted to the very last line of the song and only
broke when the dee jay came back on the air.
reenter the kitchen and switch the radio off, returning to where he had left
his partner standing and putting his arms back around the man, “I think you and
I have some unfinished business from earlier.”
and guided Ryo over to the sofa, tugging the sweater over the dark eyed mans
head and tossing it to the floor, “So when did you plan this out?”
“Right after Drake showed up.”
“We’re going to have to
Ryo’s mirth with a soul drugging kiss.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AN-I wrote this for my friend Lilah,
and it was an idea I had a long time ago, to write a fic
on whether or not Ryo could speak Japanese since so many people write him both
ways in fanfiction.
The opinion I’ve written here is mine and mine alone and is not intended
to offend anyone, therefore, flames will be returned with love.
The Full song and translation is as follows, I don’t speak
Japanese and got it off a Translation site, if it’s wrong oh well.
Ue o
I look up when I walk
Namida ga
ni
So the tears won't fall
Omoidasu haru no hi
Remembering those happy spring days
Hitoribotchi no yoru
But tonight I'm all alone
Ue o muite
I look up when I walk
Nijinda hoshi o
Counting the stars with tearful eyes
Omoidasu natsu no hi
Remembering those happy summer days
Hitoribotchi no yoru
But tonight I'm all alone
Shiawase wa
Happiness lies beyond the clouds
Shiawase wa
Happiness lies above the sky
Ue o muite
I look up when I walk
Namida ga
ni
So the tears won't fall
Nakinagara aruku
Though my heart is filled with sorrow
Hitoribotchi no yoru
For tonight I'm all alone
(whistling) (whistling)
Omoidasu aki no hi
Remembering those happy autumn days
Hitoribotchi no yoru
But tonight I'm all alone
Kanashimi wa
Sadness hides in the shadow of the stars
Kanashimi wa
Sadness lurks in the shadow of the moon
Ue o muite
I look up when I walk
Namida ga
ni
So the tears won't fall
Nakinagara aruku
Though my heart is filled with sorrow
Hitoribotchi no yoru
For tonight I'm all alone