Orange Moon

by Barbara Sheridan

  Hideki put his empty glass down. “I don’t think the other band members are going to like the idea of a ‘groupie’ tagging along, Toru.”

  “That’s not true. They don't think you're a groupie.” Toru finished his drink.

  “I was at your meeting today, remember?” Hideki said with just enough of a hint of bitterness in his voice for Toru to pick out. “Are you going to tell me Kyoru and Imai are really members of my fan club?”

  Focusing his attention on clearing the plates, Toru said nothing.

  Hideki sighed. “While you’re gone, I’ll look for work here.”

  “You’ll find a gig way better than you had with Nippon. One that showcases you and your talent.”

  “Of course I will.”

  Toru sipped his wine, trying not to see how the confidence of Hideki’s voice never quite made it to his eyes. While Hideki made a pretense of trying to eat his dinner, Toru went and got a shower.

  When he returned to the living room Hideki was lying on the sofa watching a DVD. It was the concert DVD Toru had purchased when he’d taken his cousin to see SundayEveryday. Hideki switched it off. “Leave it on,” Toru said, picking up the remote and replaying the DVD. He sat beside Hideki and gathered him close.

  “I remember that concert.” Hideki sounded drowsy, his eyes half-closed, though it was only late afternoon. “Sato was so sick backstage because that was going to be his first solo dance.” He pointed at the plasma screen where his friend had taken center stage and was moving his body to match the song. The solo ended, and Sato stepped back as the spotlight shifted to Hideki.

  “It was my first time in front of that big a crowd, too.”

  The first half a minute or so of Hideki’s dance followed the same choreography as Sato’s, and then the rhythm steadily dropped to a slow, throbbing pulse. Hideki gyrated his hips in time with the hypnotic beat, his body language gracefully articulate. The dance was provocative and sensual, but not overly so.

  “You have so much talent.” Toru’s gaze shifted from the screen to the young man in his arms.

  “Had,” Hideki said dully.

  Toru traced his fingers through the boy’s hair, the reddish-brown strands shimmering in the golden afternoon light. “Why, Nippon Entertainment had a lease on it, too?” He tugged on a clump of the soft hair for emphasis. “Baka, they didn’t repossess your talent when they took your car. That’s something no one will ever take away from you.”

  He dropped his hand and placed it over Hideki’s heart. “That’s in here,” Toru whispered.

  Hideki nodded and turned his head to watch the end of the concert. He bit his lower lip and exhaled a long sigh when the disc ended and the fans chanted his name. He took hold of Toru’s hand, squeezing it tightly.

  “I know I did the right thing,” he said softly, and Toru wondered if Hideki was making a statement or trying to convince himself.

  * * * * *

  Toru took one last puff on his cigarette and stubbed it out on his way through the kitchen, instantly regretting it. Staring at the smoldering remnants in the ashtray on the countertop, he still wanted a smoke. But with the plane set to take off in about forty-five minutes, there was no time to get to the store for another pack. As it was, Toru was pushing it being this late to get to the airport.

  “Don’t forget your carry-on.” Hideki came out of the bedroom and caught Toru just as he was stepping out the door.

  “Shit.” Toru looked down, realizing only now that he’d grabbed his bass and suitcase, but left his messenger bag full of sheet music and business papers. “Thanks, Hide-chan.”

  Slinging the bag over his shoulder, he kissed Hideki on the cheek. The moment his lips touched his lover’s soft, warm skin, Toru felt a swell of loneliness in his heart at the thought of being separated, even for only a week.

  “Come with me,” he blurted out on impulse. “If we can’t buy you a seat on this flight, I’ll wait on standby with you for the next one.”

  Hideki looked as though he might agree, but then he clenched his jaw and shook his head as a car horn blared outside and the telephone began ringing. “Hurry. They’re waiting for you.” He grabbed Toru’s arm and kissed his mouth, then gave him a little shove. “Go. Have a safe trip.”

  When Toru reached the elevator, Hideki went to the window and peered through the curtain. He touched his hand to the window when Toru looked up and waved, though he was certain the drummer Kyoru was making some remark about it. “I’ll miss you,” he whispered as the limo pulled away and disappeared into the night.

  He went back to the bedroom and curled up on Toru’s side of the bed, hugging the pillow in his arms and inhaling Toru’s scent. He took comfort in it and the memory of his lover’s hands upon him. He touched the sheets still warm from their long “goodbye.” Tomorrow he’d go and get his life, his career back, and when Toru came home, they’d have a proper celebration.

  * * * * *

  The advertising executive took Hideki’s portfolio and slid it to the side of his desk. “Yes, we’re aware of how sales of our telephone subsidiary jumped when you were our spokesman, Sakae-san, but due to the current marketplace and the shift in our sales demographics, we’ve decided to go with a female idol to represent our new electronics line. But rest assured, we haven’t forgotten you. We’ll call your agent for our next ad campaign.”

  Hideki plastered on the largest smile he could muster and stood, bowing deeply from the waist. “Thank you, Chiba-san. I look forward to hearing from you soon.”

  Chiba did not walk him to the door, and as he exited, Hideki was certain he heard his folder slide off the desk and hit the trashcan below. However, he wouldn’t give the bastard the satisfaction of looking back.

  “Thank you for coming, Sakae-san.” The receptionist bowed to him as he passed the front desk.

  “Whatever,” he muttered through clenched teeth. He would bet anything that by later this afternoon his name would officially be dropped from the sponsor list.

  No, he assertively reminded himself. All of his options weren’t closed off yet; there was no sense in giving up or sinking into self-pity. Toru’s words from the other day echoed in his mind. Currently, he might be on a lot of people’s blacklists, but that didn’t change the fact he had what mattered: talent.

  Stepping out of the elevator, he crossed the marble floor of the lobby and left the business center. The one person he hadn’t managed to get in touch with was his agent, but Iwasaki’s assistant explained that was only because the man was on vacation in Europe. Iwasaki was supposed to be back home no later than next evening, and Hideki assured himself they would be able to think of something together.

  “Hey!” a female voice shouted behind him. “Hey, you, Sakae!”

  Hideki turned, already wary. But instead of the usual cluster of harassing paparazzi, two girls in black school uniforms and knee-high socks were coming up to him. He was surprised at how bold they were, and serious too. Neither of them was smiling and the taller, older one looked angry, actually.

  “Hi,” he said, puzzled more than anything.

  “You abandoned us, you jerk!” the smaller of the two girls accused. Her hands were fisted at the sides of her pleated skirt.

  “What?” Hideki blinked.

  “You left SundayEveryday because you’re a selfish pig.”

  Now the older one -- the one who’d shouted his name earlier -- spoke up. “Cocksucker.”

  They darted around him and ran off, jeering.

  Hideki frowned. No. He was not going to let this get to him, either. They weren’t important; they were nothing more than yarakashi, those rude “fans” like the ones who’d given his friend Umiko such a hard time when she was photographed drinking while on vacation. Yes, it was technically against the law for her to drink before age twenty, but she was nineteen and about to be twenty in less than a month and had just gotten news that her first single was a hit when the incident occurred. She’d been happy and wanted to celebrate with a toast, not get
roaring drunk every day.

  And yet she’d been suspended from her singing duo for three months and had lost a lot of fans over the incident.

  He stopped walking and leaned against a high cement tree planter. It had been so much easier to think he’d get through this easily when Toru was here.

  Hideki slipped on a pair of dark glasses and continued down the sidewalk. He hoped no one else would recognize him, and after walking a few blocks without incident, he pretty much stopped worrying about it. Catching the bus at the end of the street, he took a seat near the back and stared out the window so no one could get a close look at his face.

  He could’ve just taken a cab, but being around people -- even strangers -- comforted him some. His thoughts of Toru back there reminded him how much he missed his lover’s company in just the few hours they’d been separated.

  The bus pulled up to a stop in front of a small shopping plaza. The bus stop had a bunch of advertisements lining the inside walls of the small structure. One of them featured a full-body picture of Hideki holding a cell phone as sponsor for the company.

  While Nippon or the cell phone people may have missed this one, the yarakashi hadn’t.

  Obscene words in katakana were spray painted in black and red all over the advertisement. No alterations had been made to Hideki’s image, but the phone in his hand was painted over to resemble a dick. Another phallic shape had been painted close enough to Hideki’s ass, making the meaning very clear.

  The heat rushed to straight his cheeks, but he was too morbidly fixated on the graffitied ad to look away.

  Please don’t let Toru be getting this same bullshit from his fans ...

  * * * * *

  Jun stood and tried to stretch his cramped back just before the fasten seatbelt light came on. He groaned then sat back down and buckled in, nudging Toru with his elbow. “You were staring out that window when we left Tokyo last night. Did you get any sleep?”

  Toru shrugged. “No. Maybe. I don’t know.”

  He heard Imai mutter something to Kyoru in the seats ahead but let it slide. He was too tired and too worried to get into this shit with those two. They could be such bitches at times.

  They arrived in LA a bit ahead of schedule, and their ride from the record company wasn’t there, so they decided to grab breakfast. Koji pulled out his laptop to do his obsessive checking of the two-channel message board and the ChildsPrey fansites -- both Japanese and English.

  “It’s too early for that shit, Koji.” Jun rubbed his eyes and stifled a yawn.

  The guitarist snickered. “It’s never too early for stuff this good.”

  Jun slumped forward and rested his forehead on the table. “Unless it’s something really good, I don’t want to hear it.”

  “How about you, Toru?” Koji peered over the top of the screen. “It’s about you ...”

  “Fuck it,” Toru answered, looking across the airport’s food court to avoid meeting Koji’s stare. Kyoru was at one of the fast-food spots ordering coffee and shit with Imai and their manager.

  Koji plowed ahead, even when Jun protested. “I’ll say it anyway. Since this thing with Hideki-kun, there’s been renewed interest in ChildsPrey yaoi doujinshi.”

  “Oh, no,” Jun groaned. “Crap ... Rumiko will start drawing that shit again ...”

  “Well, she can do a new one with you fucking Toru, or Toru doing Imai.” Koji howled. “Shit, Toru -- they have you fucking everyone. You’re the band’s new slut.”

  “Fuck, no.” Toru shook his head and rolled his eyes.

  “Yeah, but the way they draw you, you’re hardly recognizable.” Koji peeked over the laptop again. “You shouldn’t have been caught wearing a dress, man. You’ve got these fans going crazy over your visual kei stuff again.”

  Toru grumbled something unintelligible. Koji chuckled and poked Jun in the arm. “That reminds me -- Rumiko owes me one. Before you guys got married, she promised to do one of me and you as sex-crazed high school boys.”

  Jun gaped, his mouth flapping open and closed like a fish struggling for air.

  Koji laughed. “It’s all just for fun," he said quickly. "You don’t do it for me in the real world, sorry.”

  The others came back, and Imai set coffee and pastries down in front of Jun and Toru. “What are you cackling about now, Koji? Some little fangirl write you a gushy email saying she wants to have your babies?”

  “Aw ... everyone knows I want to have yours, Imai-kun.”

  Everyone laughed. Everyone but Toru. He picked up his coffee and wandered over to stare out at the tarmac. He hoped to hell that despite what Nippon was doing, Hideki’s fans were treating this as nothing more than amusing “fanservice.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Hideki made it back to Toru’s apartment way before nightfall. Staying out and about for the rest of the day just didn’t have much appeal anymore.

  A couple of photographers were hanging out in front of the building, their cameras dangling from straps around their necks. They were busy talking and almost missed him as he tried to sneak by, but as soon as the automatic door swooshed open, they pounced.

  “Sakae, Sakae!” they called out, hoping to get him to turn around so they could snap a clearer picture. “So you are living with Toruhiko Nakai? Is it true he’s buying you a private house in southern Kyuushuu to share with his mistress, Sasao Miyamoto?”

  Where the hell were these stories being spun? Hideki whipped around. “Leave me alone, damn it!”

  The photographers went wild snapping pictures and almost followed Hideki into the building. Thankfully, the security guard stopped them from passing through the doors.

  “Sakae-san!”

  Hideki took his finger off the elevator button and looked at the security guard.

  “Some packages arrived while you were out.” He went to a small, locked room behind his desk and came out with a large plastic bin containing some oversized padded envelopes and boxes, as well as some letters. “You may leave the bin outside the apartment door. I’ll collect it on my rounds.”

  Hideki took the container and gave the old man a bow of his head. “Thank you.”

  “Sakae-san?”

  The guard hurried over and pressed the elevator button for Hideki. “I have known Nakai-san for a few years now, and it’s good to see him happy.”

  Hideki nodded and managed a small smile.

  “I just hope I’m not more trouble than I’m worth,” he said quietly.

  The security guard shook his head. “This is nothing. After a few years of working or living in a building like this, where so many famous or popular people are, you’ll know what trouble is.”

  Somehow, the old man’s attempt to cheer him up didn’t really do much at all. Hideki thanked him anyway and climbed into the elevator.

  On the ride up, he glanced down at the bundle of packages in his arms. Odd ... they were made out to him, and a few had no return address. Damn it, he’d spent only a few days here, and already people like those photographers knew he was living in this building.

  Distracted, he stepped out on Toru’s floor and smacked right into a girl who was rushing into the elevator. The packages dropped to the floor and he reached out to catch her as she lost her balance.

  “Sorry, sorry,” he apologized quickly. He blinked in surprise, recognizing her as Sasao Miyamoto.

  “There you are!” the actress gasped. “I’ve been trying to get a hold of you.”

  Hideki blanched. “Is Toru all right? Nothing happened? His plane --”

  “He’s fine. I spoke to him for a minute, and that’s why I’m here to see you. I needed to ask him how to contact you because I have a proposition for you.”

  He knelt down to pick up the fallen things. “Proposition?”

  Sasao laughed and reached down to ruffle his hair. “Don’t worry; it’s not the kind To-chan would be jealous over.”

  Hideki gathered up the things and walked to the apartment door. He held it open for Sasao and set
the plastic bin on the floor in the corner, then went to the kitchen. “So what is it?”

  “A job. Well, an audition for a job. But you’re perfect for the part, and you have experience being in that drama about the rotten school kids.”

  Hideki smiled and handed her a bottle of water. “I appreciate the offer, but I don’t want any favors, especially if means any trouble for you. I know Nippon backs some of the shows you’ve worked on.”

  Sasao tossed her bottle cap at him. “If I want to do favors for people I like, I do them.”

  Hideki gave her a skeptical look. “You don’t know me to like me.”

  “I’ve known Toru my whole life, and he loves you. You brought him happiness he’s needed for way too long, and that, my friend, is endorsement enough for me. Besides, the director had you in mind from the start. And I told him you’ll probably work cheaper than what Nippon would have charged him to loan you out.”

  Hideki laughed and tossed the bottle cap back at her. “The way things have been the past couple days, I’d consider working for a free lunch.”

  “Don’t sell yourself short, now.” She gestured at him with her bottle of water. “You’ve got a lot of sexy, boy-next-door appeal. Just because Nippon is being all stupid about things doesn’t mean you have to be.”

  “Thanks ... I think.” Hideki gave her a dry, half-smile.

  “Well, it’s true.”

  Hideki leaned back against the kitchen counter while Sasao made herself at home on one of the barstools. “Are you really close to Toru?”

  Sasao nodded. “Like I said, we go way back. He’s just about my best friend.”

  Hideki bit his lower lip and stared at the label on his bottle of water. “So you two used to be ...?”

  “Oh, no, no, no.” Sasao shook her head. “Those are just more of those weird stories; we’ve never been like that. But the rumors of a ‘scandalous affair’ between a TV actress and a slighter older rocker didn’t set the rumor mill ablaze like the ones about you and Toru.”

  “You’re lucky,” Hideki said quietly. “It bites big time.” He slid down the counter until he was sitting cross-legged on the floor. “I hope Toru doesn’t start to resent me for any trouble this brings him.”