Fanfic: When contempt and disdain collide (Chap 1/3: Ryokan & Renowned International Hotel Chain)
Characters: Tsubasa, Kame, Ryo, Pi, Takki (in order of appearance)
Pairings: Takkipi, Takkitsuba, Kamepi
Genre: Boys' love, fluff
Rating: G
Disclaimer: I don’t own the characters, even the plot is loosely based from an all-time international favourite. Make a guess.
It is truth universally accepted that a successful man in possession of a large business must be in want of a Personal Assistant (PA).
It is another universal truth that behind every successful man is a woman, or at least a dedicated PA.
Imai Tsubasa, having just lost his right-hand woman to a pesky little business called marriage, was in a rather foul mood. To make matters worse, he was inundated with offers of recommendation from his business associates. All who claim that their daughters, granddaughters, cousins, nieces and even nephews were perfect for the job. And he thought arranged dates by his mother were bad enough.
To escape it all, he decided on a weekend retreat in Okinawa. His good friend, Kamenashi Kazuya had a holiday villa there. Nishikido Ryo, Kame’s cousin would also be joining them.
While the three gentlemen all hail from illustrious families, they could not be more different in temperaments. Tsubasa was distant and aloof, Kame was generous and affable, and Ryo was acidic and poison-tongued. Despite their difference, Tsubasa and Kame through love for baseball had formed a fast friendship. More than friends, Tsubasa was like an elder brother that he didn’t have and Kame held him in high esteem.
Just as the gentlemen were making their long journey to Okinawa. Someone was already pacing around waiting for their arrival.
Mrs Takiwaza had been restless since she received word from Kame that he and his friends would be dropping by for the weekend.
By nature an anxious woman and easily excitable, she went to the shrine to thank the deities that her scheme was finally paying off. She didn’t work so hard at pestering her husband to get her this part-time caretaker position for nothing. She had hoped that she could pull some strings to get her favourite son, Pi, off this god-forsaken island. Here nothing ever happens, except unless the heir of some big-time Japan-wide hotel chain, like Kame of the Kamenashi Hotels decided to employ her very talented son.
Although she would not quite be able to pinpoint what Pi’s talent might be. He was such a sweet and pretty doll-face that everything he did pleased her, and that to her was talent enough. Besides, how different could running a countrywide hotel chain be from managing a family-run ryokan like theirs.
While Mrs Takizawa was anticipating the good fortune of the apple of her eye, the apple of Pi’s eyes was, on the other hand, his doting elder brother, Takki. In spite of always pretending to be embarrassed by his brother’s very public display of affection, whether it was a sneaky kiss or a unexpected hug from the back, he secretly enjoyed them. And he was more than contended with life on the small, uneventful island with his family of resigned father, whiney mother, pervy elder brother Takki and adorable younger brother, Yabu.
………..
When she finally saw Kame up close, she was still caught off guard. Nothing in her inch-thick file of research could prepare her for Kame’s dashing good looks in person.
‘Are you Kamenashi-san?’ she gushed unbashingly.
‘Yes. And you are Takizawa-san, the caretaker I presume. Yoroshiku. We are sorry to have to trouble you during our stay here.’
‘My, my… so handsome and so nice too,’ Mrs Takizawa praised, and unable to resist, gave him a motherly pinch on his cheek; much to the alarm of his companions.
‘Ka-ching’ the cash register in her mind rang out loud.
‘And you sir are?’ she asked turning to Tsubasa.
Thinking that there was no need to reward unbecoming behaviour, Tsubasa remained silent.
‘He is Imai-san, my friend,’ Kame politely replied on his behalf.
‘From the international Capel Hotel Group?’ Mrs Takizawa wheezed, unable to catch her breath.
‘Ka-ching, ka-ching,’ the mental cash register rang more resoundly
‘Yes. You’re very well-informed, Madam,’ Kame appeared genuinely impressed.
‘MNC! Opportunities abound!’ She congratulated herself.
There just might be enough for her other two sons, she gleefully thought.
Ryo has not formally introduced as Mrs Takizawa had to hurriedly leave the room to pump some air and water back into her hyper-ventilating system. But he was not the least offended.
‘An obvious gold-digger of a mother if I ever saw one. And the worst kind, crude, coarse and very poor,’ Ryo concluded.
Kame hastily jumped to her defence and Tsubasa looked for some solace.
But before he could escape, she made them promise to visit her home that night for a welcome party.
Kame nodded, Ryo paled and Tsubasa frowned.
………
Ryo was taken aback when he saw the rest of her family. But he couldn’t decide whether it was because there were no prospective brides to ambush them or that all her family members were sporting Hawaiian shirts and matching bermudas. Mrs Takizawa had insisted on the theme to create a welcoming feel for the VVIPs, much to her family’s collective mortification. But resistance was futile.
To majority of the visitors, the dinner was a torture. Awkward silence, peppered with bare minimum polite conversation and obviously forced smiles. But Kame thought very differently.
‘Have you ever been in more amiable company? And have you ever beheld a more handsome creature?’ Kame eagerly enquired when they were alone outside the veranda.
‘Yes, Yamashita-san is rather fetching,’ Tsubasa replied with little emotion.
‘Tolerable only, I’d say. But still the only bearable thing of this family. And did you notice that their living room is smaller than the size of your toilet?’ Ryo added.
Chiding Ryo with a disapproving look, Kame continued, ‘What about his elder brother, Hideaki-san? He’s very charming too. Full of life and very amusing.’
‘He has fine eyes,’ Tsubasa matter-of-factly answered, still devoid of emotion.
‘Coming from you... that’s a rare compliment indeed. Do I hear wedding bells?’ Ryo sniggered.
Arching his brow, Tsubasa cut him short, ‘It is presumptious of you to jump from admiration to love and love to marriage.’
Kame, however, was totally smittened; and occupied himself with Pi throughout the rest of evening. Not even Mrs Takizawa’s after dinner entertainment, a hilarious rendition of her all-time favourite hit, Venus, accompanied with the para para dance sequence, was able to distract him.
Unfortunately, his companions had no distraction to seek refuge from. And so they had to endure the full blow and suffer ramifications ranging from nauseas to temporary loss of good taste, coherent thinking and general sanity.
Thankfully for the visitors, Takki was quick enough to stop her, before she plunged into her next song, Samurai.
‘Okan, thank you! You have delighted us enough for the evening.’
Equally quickly, Mrs Takizawa then seized this opportunity to get Kame and Pi to do a karaoke duet of yet another of her favourite, Seishun Amigo.
Tsubasa and Ryo could hardly bear for their friend to suffer but they were still too traumatized to launch an effective rescue. On the contrary, Kame was having the time of his life. It was loads of fun dancing and singing with Pi. And it didn’t take them long to synchronise flawlessly to the music, steps and each other.
Seeing them, Mrs Takizawa almost cried tears of joy. Ryo, too, almost cried, but for reasons completely opposite. As much as Mrs Takizawa wished the same fate on her other sons, she had decided that Mr Imai was just too cold and callous to be a decent human being, much less a potential employer.
……….
On their way home, Kame didn’t know if they drove home or flew home but he was on cloud nine.
Sharing his sentiments, Pi exclaimed to Takki, ‘Have you ever seen happier manners? Kamenashi-san’s wonderful, isn’t he?’
‘Yes, he’s very agreeable. And very handsome too,’ Takki playfully nudged his younger brother.
‘But I can’t say the same for his companion. That Mr Imai-san. Haughty, arrogant and too handsome.’
‘Since when is looking good a crime?’ Pi innocently asked.
‘When I feel threatened,’ Takki jokingly answered.
‘Baka, Ni-chan! You are and will always be the most beautiful in my eyes,’ Pi declared as he pulled his brother into bed and hugged him snuggly to sleep.
……..
Oblivious to his friends’ protest, Kame decided to take up Pi’s offer to show them around the island the next day. Reluctantly, his friends tagged along. Although the Kame and Pi set off all bright and cheery, they had to cut their trip short as Pi was suddenly taken ill probably due to the scorching heat.
While Mrs Takizawa feigned concern over the phone, she was actually celebrating that Kame and Pi were spending quality time. But for Takki, upon hearing that his precious baby brother was ill, he immediately left for Kame’s villa where Pi was currently resting. Although it meant miles on foot, since their creeky old van had another relapse, Takki forged ahead.
……..
By the time he had arrived, he looked understandably less for wear, safe for his glowing complexion.
Softly commenting on Takki, ‘Surely his disheveled appearance has affected your good opinion of his fine eyes?’
Slightly moved by Takki’s display of brotherly affection, Tsubasa replied, ‘Not the least bit. They were brightened by the exercise.’
Tearing himself from Pi, Kame warmly welcomed Takki and hurriedly ushered him to his brother. Although Kame was faultless in his attention to Pi, the latter failed to get any better.
……..
When Takki didn’t join them for dinner, a mildly worrried Tsubasa thought he might pay them a visit.
But his good intention was lost when Takki opened the door, half-naked.
Apologising for his appearance, Takki explained that he had always preferred to go au naturel, insisting that nude is good. This time, uncharacteristically, Tsubasa couldn't agree more.
‘Are you leaving?’ Pi asked weakly, still groggy and half-asleep.
‘Don’t leave.’
‘I won’t.’
‘Stay with me.’
Takki climbed back into the king-sized bed. Running his fingers absentmindedly through Pi’s curls, he planted a soft peck on his forehead, saying ‘I’m right here.'
Further loosing himself in Pi's vulnerability, Takki planted yet another kiss, on Pi's pale lips.
'I love you.'
‘Let's sleep, yah,’ Pi whimpered, pulling him in.
As Takki made himself comfortable next to his needy baby brother, he signaled his apologies to Tsubasa.
As Tsubasa left the room, he was disturbed. Granted the display of brotherly love bordered on incest, he was however unsure if that was really what was bothering him.
In any case, he decided, 'It is dangerous to pay too much attention to Takizawa-kun'
……..
Probably due to the healing powers of brotherly love, Pi was well enough to return home the very next day.
After Kame dropped Pi and Takki at their doorstep, he walked over to Pi and hugged him.
‘I’m so glad you’re all right. I wouldn’t know what to do if you weren’t.’
Pi only shyly smiled.
‘I’ll get back to your mother and you soon on the position in my company. I’m so happy that you’re on board,’ Kame beamed and flashed a mega-watt smile.
Seeing the two happy figures before him, Takki felt torn. Elated with the bigger and brighter future that awaits his precious brother and yet knowing that it would almost kill him to let him go.
Perhaps for pity of his poor heart, the good news Mrs Takizawa and Pi were waiting for never came……
Note:
1. For added amusement:
Venus music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEzNtYVUums.
Seishun Amigo music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDM8bWHBxck.
2. Tsubasa played the role of Arthur Capel in his latest play, Gabriella Chanel. Hence, the name Capel Hotel Group.
3. Chapter 2 will be out next Monday. I’ll be delighted to receive any comments or your guesses on which novel the plot was loosely borrowed from.
Comments make me
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