Heaven Far Away

@Midnightsscream: Thank you very much for the review. I agree that it is still in a somewhat introductory phase, and I hope the air will clear for you soon.

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Chapter Two - My Motivation

“Thank you very much, Shuzo-sama.” Kazuya bowed as Shuzo slipped a couple of bills into the breast pocket of his page boy uniform. Yes, this was part of training as well. Kazuya has been educated on the menu, the alcohol selection, how to tidy up a room and for this month, he was to work as a page boy to learn some patience and basic etiquette. Passing by the small restaurant, Shuzo glanced over to catch Gen’s eyes accidentally. The latter promptly turned his head away and sipped at his tea without a care in the world. Somewhere inside, Shuzo felt something snap. This insolent host! It’s unreasonable that he would behave this way towards a client, and yet, that was Gen’s selling point and Shuzo knew it too.

Between Shuzo and Gen, Kazuya glanced from one to the other until Shuzo had stepped out of the door. Sighing heavily, Kazuya headed to the table of hosts and sat down on the sofa arm while looking at Gen.

“Are you seriously going to do this?”

“What? Are you two fighting again?” Shoto Ren straightened up from his seat and looked Gen intently.

“It’s his fault!” Gen protested almost immediately.

“Yeah, but he’s a client.”

“So?!”

“So you’re supposed to please the client, Gen-chan.” That familiar low baritone voice interjected and Kazuya turned his head to see Bakusui standing close to their table. He was still dressed in the attire that he left in last night, it was a clear indication that Bakusui had just gotten back from his appointment.

To the other side of Kazuya, utensils and plate clattered against one another, Ren was already making his way away from the table. Kazuya felt his head expand. What is this situation here? Gen was clearly not happy, neither is Bakusui. And then, there’s Ren.

Shoto Ren is the number two host on the seme side. The man was practically the same height as Bakusui and just exuded testosterone everywhere he walked. Yet, the two of them have never mixed. It was from gossips that Kazuya learnt that Ren was trained by Bakusui –as is the tradition for most hosts-, but apparently Ren never liked Bakusui’s training sessions. The number two host hated having to follow someone else’s orders for no apparent reason, and Bakusui was known for his demands.

Though the trainer didn’t even give the parting host a second glance, he carried on.

“I heard from the owner that you threw something at Shuzo again? How many times must I tell you not to injure him? Especially his face.”

“So I am just to take his annoyance?”

Bakusui was silent for a brief moment, his eyes merely held Gen’s eyes. It was in such a silence that Kazuya reminded himself again and again that he must not anger Bakusui, this man’s wrath was worse than the owner’s. “Maybe the owner was right; it looks like you have forgotten all your training.” He breathed that out calmly, as if speaking of the passing weather. Yet it was a bomb that was just dropped on Gen’s head.

“You’re such an asshole!” From grey clouds to rain clouds, Kazuya could see that tears were already welling up inside Gen’s eyes. The host threw down his cup of tea and couldn’t care if the remaining liquid stained the white tablecloth. “You and the owner are just…” Kazuya’s body tensed, almost as if waiting for an insult to come. He couldn’t care less what Gen said about Bakusui, but he was going to defend the owner ‘till the very last breath. Thankfully, Gen didn’t carry on any further. Like Ren, he merely stood up and walked away.

Then, it was just the two of them.

Kazuya peeked up at Bakusui carefully, he wanted to see if there would be any reaction, but the man was a stone wall. It wasn’t hard to see that Gen was attached to Bakusui, the trainer had been the one who broke Gen in and worked with him ever since the host stepped into this club. In a world like this, attachment was taboo, and yet every host sought for some sort of attachment. It was the rope of sanity that all clung onto.

At length, Bakusui sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “God, why must everyone be so silly?” He dropped his hand and looked over at Kazuya, appraising his attire before turning his body. Kazuya had already risen from the sofa arm and was prepared to follow when Bakusui denied him. “Go see Takumi later in the afternoon and ask him to show you what a proper wardrobe for a host looks like.”

Then, he was gone.

Kazuya stood as the last one standing. What was supposed to have been a casual chat turned two hosts away and the trainer was apparently too tired to deal with anything else. Kazuya didn’t want to do any more work today, just as he thought about taking a day off –since Takumi was a lot lenient- he remembered his motivation.

Each time he has a session, he could use that as an excuse to go see the owner.

His God.

[Afternoon – Thirty-first Floor]

“You’re almost always required to be in a suit no matter when. If not a suit, you are required to dress in a semi-formal manner.”

Kazuya sat on the floor in front of Takumi’s closet and watched without retaining anything the host was speaking about. He saw the rows of suits that lined Takumi’s closet, ranging from material to color to cut. He also saw the sweaters, the dress shirts, the ties, the shoes; a wardrobe that would make any woman jealous.

Yet, he wasn’t sold. And it showed.

“Kazuya.”

The owner of that name was startled and looked up immediately, eyes wide with concentration, as if he had been listening all along. Takumi looked down at him and sighed heavily, leaning against the door frame.

“What is it?”

“But Takumi-san, it’s so boring.”

“Thank you, I’m glad you appreciate my wardrobe as well.”

“No, it’s not that.” Kazuya shook his head and crossed his legs. “Everything looks fabulous, but…”

“But you wish it was the owner showing you his wardrobe, right?”

Kazuya couldn’t help but flush, almost backing away with embarrassment. Did everyone know about his infatuation with God? Owner. Owner.

“I know it’s boring, but it’s necessary. Every host has to go through this.”

“Except for you, emperor.” Kazuya muttered.

“Stop calling me that. Bakusui-san is such a bad influence.”

Hisayuki Takumi, Opiate’s number one host on the seme side. Although he may not be the tallest, the most well-built, the most handsome, or the most stylish, but there was just something about him that attracted people left and right. When Kazuya was first introduced to Takumi, he thought that he could fall in love with his man if he didn’t have his God already.

Owner, damnit!

And that was precisely it about Takumi. Every person who’s met him could fall in love with him, head over heels, completely helpless. It also helps with Takumi’s personality, the great manners and that perfect over-all package. What’s more, Takumi was the only host who did not have to be trained. Apparently, his interview stage was that impressive. So he was saved the brutality that is known as Bakusui Eiji, but he was not saved from the presence of Bakusui Eiji. Hence the nickname “emperor”, which came from the trainer himself.

“Besides, I’m not the only one who wasn’t trained.” Takumi carried on, and finally the conversation held some fascination for Kazuya. The number one host had stepped back into his closet and was thumbing through suits, presumably looking for one to wear for tonight’s work order.

“Eh? Really? Who else?”

“The number one.” He said, and he meant the number one on the uke side. “Bakusui-san calls him princess.”

“Oh. How come I’ve never met him?” This elusive number one.

“He’s currently away right now.”

“Oh.”

Well then, it held no meaning for Kazuya. If this host was far away, the he posed no threat to Kazuya. He was mainly worried about getting to know everyone in this club to make sure that no one else is in love with his Go… owner, so there will be no competition. And if there was, Kazuya swore that he would do anything to come out the winner.

“Eventually, you will have to meet clients yourself. Then you can build up your own wardrobe. I hear that you’ve already gotten a couple of suits handy.” And Takumi went back to the lesson plan; Kazuya sighed and fell back on the floor. “The shade of grey has been popular in my opinion, and of course, there is the typical black, though that one seems to be going out of style. Blue is not too bad either, but it has to be a certain shade of blue.”

“What are you wearing tonight?”

There was a moment of silence before he answered. “Beige.”

“Then I’ll wear black.”

Takumi emerged from the closet and looked down at Kazuya with a crooked eyebrow. “I thought I just said that black is a bit over-rated now.”

“I know, but I don’t want to be stealing your light.”

Takumi laughed and nudged Kazuya’s leg lightly. “You keep on dreaming, kid. That’ll be the day.”

“Don’t call me a kid; you’re only five years older than me.”

Kazuya scrunched up his nose in distaste; he hated it when people called him a kid. It was bad enough that the owner called him kid at times, Bakusui always liked to rub his age in his face as well.

“If you don’t want to be a kid, then hurry up and make certain of your wardrobe tonight. I am not waiting for you.”

“Yes, master.”

Takumi was going out as a guest of some sort of house party; it was part of his duty as a host. Bakusui decided that Kazuya should at least be let out to see how hosts interact with clients in reality as to prepare him for when he does have to stand on his own two feet. So the trainer figured that Takumi would be the best person to dump Kazuya with, hence, the reason why Kazuya was practically dragging himself back to his room right now.

He just wants to finish this training already!

Kazuya spent the next couple of hours cruising around the hallways aimlessly; the building was mostly silent except for the lobby and the public areas. Up here, it was designed to provide the utmost privacy for clients and hosts alike. He sat in his room and fixed up his hair, took a shower and then fixed up his hair again. It was a sign of boredom. Couldn’t he go to owner’s room? Well, he really didn’t have an excuse and the owner did not like to be disturbed when he was working.

Kazuya wanted to be a sensible and sensitive partner for him.

[Night – House Party]

Takumi had told him that it was a house party, but when the two of them arrived at the scene, Kazuya had to pause on the steps and look at the supposed house. It was more like a palace than a house! What part of this looked like it was a house party?!

“Kazuya?”

At the top of the steps, Takumi turned to look down at him with lightly furrowed eyebrows. Emperor looked great tonight, as always. Dressed in his beige suit and dark tan dress shirt, he was an attraction by himself. Women and men turned to look at him as they entered the door; the murmurs were surely about his identity as well.

Kazuya felt his heart in his throat and could only stick close to Takumi. The host obviously knew what he was doing, having whisked a glass of champagne for Kazuya and himself, Takumi wandered through the crowds casually.

“Ah, Takumi-kun.”

From behind them, someone called out to stop Takumi, both of them turned to see an aging man heading towards them. Aging or not, there was no doubt that this man was a member of Opiate, and probably one of the elite ones as well. Takumi’s smile was automatic and infectious; he extended a hand for the man to shake immediately.

“Good evening sir, it’s been a long time. I do believe that Akira was just mentioning you the other day.” Akira, some second rate host no doubt. There were the popular ones in the club, the number ones and number twos and then there were almost nameless hosts who could be bought with an insignificant amount of money as opposed to those who have been ranked. For Kazuya, he aimed for that number one title. He couldn’t compete with Takumi as they were not in the same category, but the other elusive number one was going to be brought down by him!

“Ah, what can I say, I’ve been so busy with work that I couldn’t pull myself away.” The man said with a laugh before turning his gaze to Kazuya. “And this is…?”

“This is Kazuya; he’s new at the club.” Takumi brought a hand to Kazuya’s back and nudged him forward gently.

“Good evening, I’m Kazuya; it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Kazuya remembered every step of his training and bowed politely.

“There is no need for such formality; I am very familiar with the staff members of your club.” He stepped forward and patted Kazuya on the cheek, that hand lingered for longer than Kazuya would have liked, but he kept up that smile. “You have to let me know when you are officially on the market; I will certainly go to your initiation night.”

Initiation night is the night where a host is presented for the first time to the elite members of the club before added onto the menu for the rest of the members to peruse through.

After a brief moment of casual conversation, Takumi and Kazuya excused themselves away to meet the demands of other crowds. “Takumi-san, who was that? He didn’t even bother giving his name, how rude.” Kazuya tugged on Takumi’s sleeve and spoke quietly, he was well aware that almost anything he said could be over heard by someone else.

“That was the finance cabinet minister.” Takumi replied without missing a second in smiling and nodding at the couple who walked passed the two of them. “And that was the mayor’s sister and her lover.”

“Lover?”

“Yeah, you know, extramarital lover.”

Oooh. Kazuya looked after the two of them for a moment before heading on. This world was so new to him. In his old life, he wanted to avoid as much contact with government officials as possible. Yet here, it seemed like all the society’s elites were gathered and they looked at them with such glances. It was curiosity, it was desire and it was thoughts of claiming for their own. However, Kazuya was yet on the market, and Takumi apparently did not accept any more exclusives. For reasons that Kazuya could not gather from gossip.

“Takumi-kun!”

“Akeno-san.” Takumi’s smile was directed towards someone else and Kazuya could only keep up. His face was tired from smiling so much, he wondered how Takumi still could make it seem so natural. When Kazuya took a closer look at their company, his eyes grew wide and he couldn’t help but look at Takumi.

“How many times do I have to tell you that you should call me Masato instead?”

Akeno Masato, the rising idol in the country. Although Opiate did not deal with under aged clients, there were exceptions always. And no doubt, Akneo Masato was one of the exceptions.

“It would seem rather rude, Akeno-san.”

“I insist!” He waved a hand and looked over to see Kazuya, immediately there was a round of unabashed and thorough examination. “And who is this?”

“Ah, this is Kazuya.” For the nth time that night, Takumi had introduced him. “He is new at the club.”

“Oh.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Akeno-san.”

“Mmm, yeah.” Akeno wasted not another second on Kazuya, whom felt his eyes twitch but told himself that he must maintain a front. “Takumi, I haven’t seen you in so long!” The idol stepped forward and purposely shoved Kazuya aside to cling onto Takumi’s free arm. Kazuya stumbled a couple of paces before looking over at him in disbelief.

“I apologize; I have been quite busy with work.”

“So I’ve noticed! It’s hard to even book you these days!” There was that evident pout on Akeno’s lips and Kazuya felt like ripping those lips apart, he did not understand how Takumi could still smile and keep up such a civil conversation with him.

“Oh is that so? In that case, I will make sure to bring it up with the owner and let him know.”

“Why waste such time? You know you can just accept my exclusive at any time!”

“Thank you, Abeno-san, but at this time, I just simply do not have the means to settle for an exclusive. However, when the opportunity arises, I will certainly inform you of it.”

“You always say that!”

Which would mean that you should let go and die! Kazuya thought silently, watching the exchange with disgust. Of course, all of it would be directed at Akeno, since Takumi was considered to be a saint for dealing with this outrageous human being.

At the end of that night, Kazuya was slumped over and dragged his feet with each step. The cool night air cleared his head and he sighed one after another. Besides him, Takumi has already lit up a cigarette as they waited for their ride. He was as impeccable as the beginning of the evening, given that his tie may be a bit loose than previously.

“How do you do this, Takumi-san?”

“Practice.”

“I feel like I’m going to burst while pretending to be interested in what they’re talking about.”

“That skill also comes with practice. However, if you would just step back and listen to them, you’ll find that they’re actually quite lonely people who cannot find someone to talk to.”

“And as soon as they do find someone, they talk them to death. No wonder.”

Takumi laughed at that and Kazuya could only sigh again. This time, Takumi turned to look at him before stepped over and wrapped an arm around the younger boy. “Come on, cheer up, it was your first time. It can get overwhelming.” The scent of his Chanel Egoiste tickled Kazuya’s olfactory cells. “With more practice, you can do this too.”

Kazuya sniffed and nodded against Takumi’s shoulder. Ah, why couldn’t owner hug him like this too? What he would give for owner to comfort him so. This was the difference between Takumi and the owner, the latter was an acquired taste while Takumi was the generally agreed upon good taste.

[Owner’s Office]

Kazuya had quickly changed into a set of comfortable pajama before he headed over to the owner’s office. The suit and tie nearly suffocated him to death. Fixing up his hair in the elevator, he judged that he looked cute enough to the eyes. At the door, Kazuya took a keep breath and knocked.

“Come in.”

Smile was immediately present on his face when he heard the owner’s voice, it didn’t matter how tired he was. “Owner-sama.”

“Ah, Kazuya.”

Inside the room, the owner had just placed on his jacket and was fixing up his tie. Kazuya was transfixed and couldn’t move his eyes away from the owner.

“What is it?”

“Oh.” Startled out of his reverie, Kazuya blushed and quickly averted his gaze. “I had just wanted to report on my session today.”

“I need to head out for a meeting right now, I’ll be back. Wait for me here, you can tell me about it then.” The owner buttoned up his jacket and hurried past him to the door. His scent of Armani Code, and although Kazuya preferred Bakusui’s Dior Homme more, he couldn’t help but confirm –once again- that everything was wonderful when it comes to the owner.

Konbayoshi hurriedly stepped out of his office and out of the club to be driven to some restaurant. In reality, he couldn’t care less where he was whisked away to; it didn’t matter since he wouldn’t be eating much anyways. It was always the same people and the same conversation, he’d always have to force attention, force concentration and at the end of the night throw himself back into his car and wish he had died in there.

Tonight was no different.

When it was finally over, Konbayoshi thought about collapsing on the seat and pass out for the rest of his life, but he was too much of a responsible man for that to happen. Instead, he leaned back against the leather seat and titled his head back with his eyes closed. He was tired, physically and mentally drained after a long day. The meeting was with a few friends and partners of his late father’s.

Father.

Konbayoshi’s lip curled into a cynical smile as he contemplated that word and that person. Even after his father’s death, he still was bound to him in every way imaginable. He took over his father’s business, every single one, even when he disliked the idea of Opiate. He still had to entertain his father’s friends and partners from who knows where, just because he was his father’s son. And what more, that slave driver and beast of a human being would always be the hallmark of his nightmares.

It was yet another night; the traditional Japanese house was silent save for the occasional creaks of wood. Konbayoshi Takahiro had just finished his evening walk and was returning to the house when he heard a loud noise of someone falling against the wooden floor. It was all too distinct and his feet stopped almost immediately. He waited for the familiar gasp or the familiar whimper or cries before he would barge in and prevent possible murder.

But they never came.

Then somewhere in the house, a sliding door was shoved open as it ricochets off the wall and hastened footsteps were heard coming towards him. Takahiro stepped onto the wooden structure of the house and from around the corner he came running.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, stepping up to meet him.

Frantically, the other person looked up and his eyes were filled with tears and fear. “What’s wrong?” Takahiro pressed on, hands gripped around the other’s thin shoulders.

“… Hiro…”

“Owner-sama, we’re here.”

Konbayoshi snapped his eyes open and ascertained of his surrounding. He was not back in his family home and there was only his driver with him.

Hiro.

Yet that voice could not be erased from his head.

“Yes, thank you.” Konbayoshi opened the door and stepped out, they were in the underground parking lot of the club and he was in the elevator within no time. Konbayoshi starred at his reflection in the mirror and he recalled that piece of memory. He hasn’t had a dream about his father or that dreadful period of his life for so long.

Why now? Was it simply because of the phone call yesterday?

He inserted his card key into the lock and watched the light flash green before he entered. The room was dimly lit, just like how he had left it. However, his footsteps paused when he caught the figure on his sofa. Kazuya was curled up and deep asleep on his leather sofa, for a moment, Konbayoshi did not know what he was doing here. Then he remembered how he had told Kazuya to wait.

So he waited.

Konbayoshi dropped his key onto his desk, careful not to make a noise before stepping over to pick Kazuya up. The boy was young and small, light in his arms as he made his way to the attached bedroom. Ever since he picked Kazuya up from the streets not long ago, Kazuya has stuck to him. He was a cute little boy with large eyes that peered at him with such devotion. Haruno had joked that Kazuya was utterly in love with him, Konbayoshi had brushed that aside.

It was impossible.

But what’s more, Konbayoshi didn’t want to make it possible. There was the age gap between the two of them and the fact that he was going to be selling Kazuya’s flesh for money. Although Kazuya was more than willing when he found out about this place, it just didn’t sit well with him. Konbayoshi says from time to time to speed up the training, yet part of him didn’t really want to see the coming of that initiation evening. Yet perhaps another part of himself was still living in the past, wondering about the if’s and could’s.

He gently placed Kazuya on his bed and drew the covers over him. For now, he could only watch over the young one and hope there will be a better future waiting for him.

To be continued...