Heaven Far Away

Chapter Twelve - On the Cusp

“Come in please.”

It was that time of the day when the sun revitalized every living creature on earth. It was when its rays could penetrate through the pane of floor-length windows that lined the east side of Chitose’s room. Blankets could be disregarded when the sun’s warmth was enough to warm up his body. After the last outing, Chitose has been in bed resting and not putting the injured leg under stress. Today, he was just in the middle of a book he had brought back from the exclusive when a knocking came at his door.

If he was surprised at a visit, he was even more surprised by the person who showed up in his room.

“Yo.”

“Shoto Ren-kun.” Chitose blinked at the unfamiliar host before offering him a smile. “Please sit wherever you want. I apologize that I cannot be a good host right now.” This was rare, to what did he owe Ren’s visit?

“Just Ren is fine.” If Chitose felt awkward and surprised, Ren just felt all the more awkward and nervous. When he heard about what happened, he wondered whether he should even express his concern. No wait, concern was too strong of a word! It was more like… interest and curiosity! Yes, those two words were much better.

Much more his style.


“Ren-kun, then.” Chitose agreed good-naturedly. He took the time to study Ren as he’s never had the chance to speak with him privately. The man had an appeal that was undeniable. He was the epitome of masculinity, no matter if it was height wise, body wise, or the way he carried himself. He was different from most of the hosts here and offered this club an extra spice that was not previously found. “Thank you for visiting me. I hope this is a social visit and not a business one.”

“Nah, nothing like that, there is no business with me.” Ren grinned and pulled a chair up to Chitose’s bedside to sit down. It was his first time alone with the number one; it was the first time that he’s gotten such a close-up look at Chitose. “Here, fruits for you.” He then settled the fruit basket down on Chitose’s nightstand with haste. “You know, they’re supposed to be good for you.”

Chitose looked at the basket with amusement in his eyes. “Thank you, Ren-kun.” Just from the little things, Chitose wondered if he could deduce Ren’s personality. “It’s just unfortunate that our first meeting has to be in such a situation. Shall I offer you something to eat?” Chitose put down his book and made a move to reach for the fruit basket.

Half way there, Ren had already reached out to place hand over his.

“There is no need.” And Ren removed his hand as quickly as he had reached out. “I should be the one treating the injured.”

Settling back, Chitose looked at him for a long moment. “It’s nothing; it’s just a minor cut.”

“Where is it?”

My inner thigh. But he’s always believed that actions were worth more than words. So with a smile, Chitose gripped his blanket and flipped it open to show Ren the physical evidence. There was now a pale pink scar running along the inside of his thigh.

“Ah, I see.” Awkward was Ren when the number one flipped open his blanket so casually. And even more awkward was Ren when he didn’t know where to place his eyes. “You should rest well.”

“You’re right. So could you please get a mango for me?”

Ren’s eyes widened in surprise, his brain was not able to jump and follow Chitose’s train of thought. What does mango have anything to do with resting well? Yet, he found himself utilizing the training that he’s received to quickly respond with a grin. “Of course.” Standing up, he looked through the basket of fruits before actually locating a mango. Now, he didn’t even know it had mango in it!

“Please cut it open and peel it back for me.”

And Ren wondered if that twitch of his eyes was evident. God, what a number one! “I don’t have a knife.”

“I have one; it’s in one of those drawers.” Chitose pointed towards the outer room and watched as Ren obeyed his words and stalked towards the elusive knife. Sitting in bed, Chitose looked after Ren’s back with an amused grin. He did not miss Ren’s displeased look, but he couldn’t help wanting to push a little further, wanting to test where Ren’s snapping point was.

So after a few drawers, he’s finally located this so called knife and unfolded it before returning to Chitose’s bedroom. “Alright, let’s see.” Now he just wanted to hurry up and get out of here if Chitose was going to order him around like a slave. By the second attempt at peeling open the mango first, Ren just knew that this was going to take a while. He’s had no practice before!

And it was a fact that did not go undetected by Chitose’s eyes. So the number one watched as the number two frowned and battled with getting the meat out of its covering. Ren was frustrated and he was regretting he ever came here in the first place! Damn his curiosity! He had only wanted to see what Chitose was like in private, get to know him a little better.

This is what he gets!

“Ah ha! Here!” Finally, he held up a slice of mango flesh by the flat blade of the knife and presented it to Chitose with a grin. He had triumphed! Only, he was greeted by Chitose’s smiling face and the realization that perhaps he had been played entered his mind.

The number one reached over and closed his fingers around Ren’s wrist, catching the number two off guard. Chitose leaned forward and closed his mouth around the mango flesh that was offered to him, his teeth grasped onto one end of the piece before sucking it into his mouth. “Thank you, Ren-kun.”

When Chitose looked up at him from the distance of a knife’s length away, Ren suddenly realized that perhaps cutting mangos is a good place to be.


[Days Later – Sugimoto Residence]


“I apologize for the delay; did you have to wait for long?”

Konbayoshi and Chitose both rose from the sofa when the minister of justice entered the room. A total of five days since when Chitose’s obtained that scar, he was now capable of returning to his life prior to this interruption. And now that he was both physically and mentally well, it was time to get back at those punks who had marked his skin in the first place. Chitose did not know what Kazuya had told Konbayoshi about that entire ordeal, but the number one supposed it wasn’t too much.

“Not at all, Sugimoto-sama. Thank you for agreeing to meet with us.”

“Nonsense.” Sugimoto waved a hand to dismiss the polite small talk and sat down across the table from them. Both owner and host were able to sit down on par with the minister of justice afterwards. “I heard about what happened briefly, is the other host well?”

“He’s recovering well. Thankfully, they only received epidermal damages.”

Sugimoto shook his head and looked towards Chitose with concern. “And Chitose?”

“I’m well, Sugimoto-sama. The scar is at a rather discreet location.”

“These gangs, I wish there was a way to teach them a lesson!”

“I believe there is.”

“Oh”

“I’ve seen their faces after all.” Chitose offered with a smile, he watched as Sugimoto’s visage grew dim and deepened in a frown. He knew the minister of justice should have anticipated this move, but perhaps not this soon. “So all I would need to do is point them out and the police should have more than enough to raid their bases with.”

For the next several minutes, neither party spoke. On the surface, this was a ploy to use connections and pull off avenging the damages that’s occurred. Looking deeper, this was more about establishing relationships and securing pawns.

“Truthfully, there are many gangs in Japan.” Sugimoto started, he spoke in a business tone. Konbayoshi presumed that it was the same tone that he used with everyone who came to him for a favour. The owner glanced over at Chitose briefly before refocusing his attention back onto the minister of justice. They had gone through the scenario beforehand and Chitose had proposed something that he didn’t even think was plausible. “The justice system has always turned a blind eye to them as long as they didn’t do anything too horrendous.”

“It is Sugimoto-sama’s choice whether a blind eye should be turned or not. Surely if we could ask you to take but a couple of minutes of your time, this problem could be resolved easily.” Konbayoshi prodded gently.

“Don’t get me wrong, I am the least bit concerned about using my time for your sake. It’s a more global consequence that I am worried about.” The minister of justice sat back, a sign that he was ready to distance himself from this conversation. “If I give the order to crack down on this one gang alone, others will wonder about my motives. It will be hard on me.” To Sugimoto, this duo was not offering him anything valuable thus far; he wouldn’t want to disturb a long kept tradition for a couple of reluctant acquaintances when he was running for prime minister at the moment.

“Sugimoto-sama, how are your campaigns coming along?” Chitose interrupted, speaking as if asking about the weather outside.

“My campaigns? They are going well. Ah, I would still count on you all to vote for me when the election time comes.” Sugimoto did not bother to conceal the faked politeness of his laugh. Chitose gave it no mind either.

“It must be hard to be so tight on a campaign budget without a sponsor.”

The best thing about a conversation between people who are equally motivated and who are able to share the same wavelength on a topic is that silent understanding between them. Right now, that was the case. Sugimoto looked at Chitose before looking over towards Konbayoshi and back to Chitose again. He’s had a few years of relationship with this club and has familiarized himself with some members of Opiate. However, he’s never quite understood the relationship between Konbayoshi and Chitose. On the front, one was the owner and one was the number one host, the difference in rank between them was more than obvious. And yet, conversations like this one piqued his interest as to who really is what.

“Does Chitose have a solution that could possibly help out an old man?”

“I’m sure Suigmoto-sama understands that the Konbayoshi title is more than just a host club.” In fact, the host club was the least recognized property of the Konbayoshi title. It was a club that opened in secret for select members at the beginning. Its circle of inclusion only grew slowly with the passage of time. On the front, the Konbayoshi family specialized in purchasing other companies and selling them off for profit. Included side specialties are real estate agencies, restaurants and hotels. “There are more than enough other accomplishments to decorate the family title with. And the Konbayoshi title is always looking to affiliate itself with more prestigious titles to give and receive help at the same time. A symbiotic relationship, if you will.”

“Go on.”

“I’ve read somewhere that Sugimoto-sama wishes to expand his campaign resources in order to reach further up north and down south, especially to those places that are under privileged. From what I gather, it seems to need a substantial amount of fund for such wishes to come true.”

For a moment, Sugimoto merely looked at them. Chitose held his gaze but wondered if he had made a mistake somewhere. Inside his head, he went through his dialogues and internally critiqued every single syllable. Finally, Sugimoto sighed before chuckling with a shake of his head. “Ah, I almost feel sorry for this gang that had happened upon you.”

“Sugimoto-sama, shouldn’t you lament my skin that has been marked? You know how tough the host business is~!”

And done.

Not long after, the two of them successfully exited the Sugimoto residence with relaxed footsteps. The afternoon bathed them in sun to counter the cold weather of late October.

“I’m sorry.” Konbayoshi started.

“Oh?”

“I didn’t notice that you leg was injured.”

Chitose turned to look up at Konbayoshi; he had to narrow his eyes due to the blinding sun. The host didn’t know what to say, what could he say? So he could only swallow his own regrets and offer the owner a shrug. “Nothing for it, it’s no big deal.” Pause and he returned his gaze to the path ahead of them. “I’m sorry as well, for bringing up something that I should not have.”

“Nothing for it, we both know it’s the truth. I only regret that there is such a thing for us to be so careful about.” Like a bullet through his heart, Chitose wondered if anyone could hear the shattering pieces. “However, I’m very impressed that you managed to pull that off.”

“Oh?”

“For a moment, I did not think that Sugimoto would agree to it.” Konbayoshi admitted with a shrug. “Was it worth it? To go this far?”

“Of course it is.” Chitose replied without hesitation. “This way, we have the minister of justice at our beck and call. It is important since the club is not exactly the most virtuous place on earth. There are bound to be incidents that will happen there, who’s to say that there wouldn’t be a second Koki-san? This way, now that we’re sponsoring him, he will have to take care of our problems as well. After all, regardless of whether he becomes the prime minister or not, his political career cannot take the beating of a scandal. And what could be more scandalous than being connected to a host club?”

Sometimes, Konbayoshi could only look at Chitose with helpless eyes. With each passing year, he’s realized more and more that Chitose was capable of many heinous crimes. Between the two of them, Chitose was more suitable to be a business man. He was willing to do just about anything and use any sort of trap to secure his position.

Maybe, just maybe, this was why his uncle chose Chitose over him.

“I will be leaving for a week. I trust that you will be fine.” Konbayoshi changed the topic; he wanted to hear no more of how much Chitose’s calculated about this step. It was never about wanting revenge, in fact, if Konbayoshi could be so bold as to say, perhaps this incident had helped out Chitose’s calculations tremendously. “Haruno will be away with his wife as well, look in on their daughter if you have the time.”

“Both of you will be gone? Bakusui-san is leaving on an exclusive as well.”

“It’s a popular time to go on business trips, I suppose.”

“Will you be back in time for your birthday?”

“I will.”

“In that case, I will wait for you at home.”

“Of course. I will be back before midnight.”

“Like always.”

Konbayoshi smiled and nodded. Like always. “Do you think you can handle the club by yourself?”

Chitose gave him an once-over as if estimating his worth. “You have to ask?”

Konbayoshi chuckled and shook his head. This was the Chitose that he knew. With that playful tone and that warm smile. This was the Chitose that he preferred.


[Opiate]

It’s been almost two weeks since he was restricted. Kazuya’s wounds have healed considerably ‘till the point of perfection. In these days, he’s not seen Chitose once. Part of him wanted to go and apologize to Chitose properly, but a more primitive part of him still held onto the fact that Chitose had been so close to the owner. It was that part of him that held him back and did not allow himself to go forth. He had wanted to thank Konbayoshi for his kindness that night; he could still feel the warmth of the owner’s actions. However, ever since the beginning of this week, the owner has been missing. The manager was missing as well. And then, even Bakusui was missing! And yet when he asked around, he found out that he was the only one who did not know that the three of them were away on business. On separate business trips, but their times coincided.

So on such a night, Kazuya wandered the many hallways with boredom. Without the owner, he did not feel the need to go venture onto the fifty-fifth floor. Without Bakusui, even if he had wanted to train, he could not. In the end, he could only ride the elevator down to the lobby and see if there was more life down there.

Turning the corner, he could already hear voices from ahead. Oooh, entertainment! Kazuya quickened his pace but skidded to a stop at the top of the grand staircase. From his vantage point, everything in the lobby could be viewed properly. Below him, leading down was a marble coated grand staircase that consisted of fifty-something steps. It’s always been a pain to climb from the bottom up. Now that he was standing at the top, it gave him the feeling of being in control, of being powerful.

At the bottom of the staircase, Kazuya recognized Takumi almost immediately. The one in a heated conversation with him took Kazuya a moment to recognize. It was Akeno! He remembered meeting Akeno with Takumi at a party way back when. Thoughts of entertainment drowned away when he realized the serious intonation between their exchanges of words. Kazuya wondered about sneaking away, but Akeno had already caught sight of him.

“You! You! Up there!”

Kazuya cringed but could only offer a smile when Takumi turned to look at him as well. “Akeno-sama.” He bowed and took a couple of steps down. He told himself to be careful, if he slipped on these steps and fell, by the time he reached the bottom of the staircase, his head would be a messy pool of… yeah, let’s just not imagine! “Evening.”

“I want to see your owner!”

“He’s not in.”

“Then the manager!”

“He is not in either.”

“Then the trainer!”

“… he isn’t in either…”

Kazuya felt more and more awkward replying with the same sentence to all three demands. Evidently, Akeno was not impressed but he promptly turned back to Takumi again. This idol star was dressed as if he just came from a drama shooting. Tight jeans with a white button down shirt and tie around his neck.

“Since none of them are here, then it’s decided, you will enter into an exclusive with me!” Akeno declared and had already taken a step forward to latch onto Takumi’s arm. Kazuya wanted to flinch, but held back the urge. After all, Takumi hasn’t even done so yet, why should he have the right? However, Kazuya did wonder how long it would take for Akeno to die.

“I apologize, Akeno-san, I am no longer taking exclusives.”

That was a fact Kazuya’s not heard of.

“You’ve said that to me many times! It’s not going to work anymore!”

“Please understand it is not an excuse. I no longer take exclusives. I apologize.”

“But you’re a host! You are here to please us clients. So you should do as we wish! And I want you on exclusive!”

And I want you to die! Kazuya shouted inside his mind and took a few more steps down. He wondered how he could manage to help Takumi out of this; at the same time, he was in no position to help either.

“Please do not inconvenience the entire club, Akeno-san. There are things that cannot be helped either.”

“But why not?! Give me a real reason!”

Kazuya wanted to smack this kid as Takumi looked reluctant to reply, and Kazuya knew that he was too nice to say anything harsh. Maybe he should bring out back-ups. Ren? Gen? Both of them have tongues that could kill. Especially Gen!

“What is this noise? Have we let in a fly? Why is there a constant buzzing?”

But saviour did not appear in the form of Ren or Gen; instead, it appeared in the form of Chitose. The number one host stood at the top of the staircase and looked down at all of them. From his new vantage point, Kazuya had to admit that the position did give one power. The number one merely glanced them over before focusing on Akeno.

“The owner is not in right now, if you have any concerns, please address them to me.”

“Who are you?”

“I’m a host here.”

“Che, then you’re not worth the time.”

“And you are not worth the air as of this moment.”

Kazuya’s mouth dropped open. Even though he’s witnessed Chitose’s boldness, he didn’t think that it could be directed towards a client as well.

“What did you say?!” Incensed, Akeno pushed Takumi aside and charged up the stairs. One step became two; soon the idol was in front of Chitose with a pointing finger. Takumi had followed immediately afterwards with an exasperated expression on his face. “How dare you speak this way towards me?! I am a client!”

“Then we don’t need your business, scurry!”

“You little!”

Akeno had raised his hand but in mid-air it was caught by Takumi effectively, Akeno turned to look at Takumi with narrowed gaze. “You dare raise a hand at a client?!”

“Apologies.” Takumi let go only after he’s ascertained that Akeno will not strike out again. But he made no move to repent for that seemingly glaring mistake.

“Leave.” Chitose gave the command again. “Do you want to leave by yourself or do you want to be kicked out?”

He stood lower than the other three, but the tension could be felt from where Kazuya was standing. He was shocked to immobility; he did not think that Chitose would be so harsh towards a client. Or that Takumi really did lift his hand against a client. Or just the fact that this situation is happening in the first place.

“Hmph, don’t think I don’t know your secret, number one.” Akeno turned his gaze to Takumi and folded his arms with a mocking smile. “You think I don’t know why you are not taking exclusives anymore. What? Was that Sugimoto kid really that great? Or is it because his father is the minister of justice, huh?”

What? What? What? Kazuya’s head was clouded with question marks; he looked from one to another. Even though he knew nothing, he could see from their changed expressions that Akeno had hit a sore spot. Takumi moved as if ready to reply, but Chitose held up a hand and silenced him quickly.

“Takumi, go back to your room.”

“Sempai…”

“Go back to your room.” Chitose spared no eye for Takumi; he was focused on Akeno and Akeno on him. Kazuya watched as Takumi looked from Chitose to Akeno before turning and headed down the hallway. When they all heard the chime of the elevator in this deathly silent situation, Chitose slowly smiled and took a step forward. From where he stood, Kazuya could tell that it held no warmth what-so-ever.

“I see you’ve done your research.”

“Of course.”

“And you chose the perfect time to come because the owner is not in tonight.”

“I always get what I want.”

“Since you already know how Sugimoto-sama is involved with this club, then I suppose you should know what happens if I do this.” Chitose suddenly moved out an arm and shoved Akeno backwards. Caught off guard, the idol’s body jolted back and threatened to fall backwards. Kazuya gasped loudly and wondered if he should catch Akeno.

But that opportunity never came for Chitose had grabbed onto the tie that was around Akeno’s neck and held him in place. If “in place” could also mean teetering on the edge of falling.

“What are you doing?!” Akeno’s voice was abnormally pitched as he realized that he was literally on the edge of a cliff and Chitose was the one holding the ropes that held him on the right side of the cliff. “If you hurt me, there will be repercussions!”

“Hurt you?” Chitose snorted before his fingers slid an inch lower on Akeno’s tie causing Akeno’s body to fall back an inch further. “Even if I killed you, no one would say anything. You know it yourself. You did the research. You think the minister of justice will risk having this place exposed and have himself involved in a scandal when he’s running for the prime minister? Think again, kid.”

Kazuya watched the exchange; he forgot how to breathe for the time being. Who said you couldn’t survive without oxygen? He was doing so this very moment! He wasn’t sure whether he was positioned correctly to catch Akeno should Chitose have second thoughts about whether he should let go of the tie or not.

“You’re bluffing!” Akeno screeched out, his hands flailed trying to grab onto Chitose’s arm. Yet the number one host was at such a distance that the task became impossible. Kazuya couldn’t help but wonder if Chitose’s done this previously.

“Bluffing?” The number one spoke that word as if he did not understand its meaning. “Shall we find out?”

“Chitose-san!”
“Let me go! Stop it! Please!”

Kazuya and Akeno cried out their own incoherent protests when Chitose’s fingers slid further down the tie. For a moment the empty lobby was filled with a cacophony of voices that borderlined on croaks of despair.

“I’m sorry, what did you say? I couldn’t hear you.”

“Stop. Please. Please. Just… please…”

For a second there, Kazuya thought Chitose wasn’t going to listen to that plead. However, the number one pulled his arm back and tossed Akeno onto the carpeted landing as a by-product. Like a ragged doll –that would be putting it nicely, or unwanted garbage –which was more like the truth-, Akeno was cast aside –panting- for the time being while Chitose smoothed his kimono and took the time to compose himself and gather a smile once again. Kazuya was startled into a flag pole posture when Chitose looked over at him.

“Kazuya-chan, when able, please escort Akeno-san out of the club.”

“Yes, Chitose-san.”

“Have a good evening, Akeno-san.” And the number one even had the nerves to bow lightly before turning to depart. As if Akeno is going to have a good night after what had just taken place. In the silence of the lobby, and then out of the mess in his own head, Kazuya once again remembered Takumi’s words to him from so many weeks ago.

Try to get along with Chitose.

To be continued...