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tacumaChapter 29
'You weren't at the club yesterday,' said Mizuki to Fuji when they were having breakfast. Fuji had thought about not showing up this morning and acting like he was still sick, but he knew that wouldn't work. By now all of the others probably already knew he wasn't sick in the first place. So he went anyway, but now Mizuki started this discussion, Fuji already regretted it.
'I didn't feel well,' answered Fuji. 'I didn't think I would be able to do my job properly, so I chose not to go. If Tezuka doesn't agree with it he can decide not to pay me for that evening, but that is his decision.'
'You think you can do anything,' answered Mizuki. 'You think you can, because you're everybody's favourite. But being favourite means you have to work, not that you can hide behind the bar and go to bed whenever you want.'
'Well, that shows why you are no one's favourite,' stated Fuji. 'You never do much at all. Not yesterday, not ever. You should be glad you're still paying off your debt. I would tell you to work harder, or you would never get out of here. Not with that attitude of yours.'
'I have an attitude?' asked Mizuki offended. 'Look who's talking! Your attitude is much worse! You're acting like an ass towards others and you're lazy.'
'That is a great way to describe yourself,' said Nioh.
Mizuki wanted to say something in return, but was stopped by Tezuka who entered the dining room. He glared at Oishi, for not putting a stop to the fight.
'Fuji, are you done with your breakfast?' he asked. Fuji nodded as he took the last bite. He stood up and followed Tezuka.
'Don't kiss his ass too much!' shouted Mizuki. Tezuka and Fuji heard a lot of tumult in the dining room after that. Fuji smirked. He knew what had happened. Nioh had probably hit the annoying self-proclaimed fashion designer.
Fuji followed Tezuka into his office and sat down on the chair he had been sitting before. He had still been able to be sarcastic and to laugh with the others before, but now he was feeling nervous. He knew what Tezuka wanted. He would have to explain what had happened last night.
'You weren't sick last night,' stated Tezuka. 'What was going on?'
Fuji took a deep breath. 'Someone I knew came to the club last night. I knew his business was doing well, but I guess things went better for him since the last time I saw him. Before he wouldn't be able to pay the high fees. I think he was with a friend.'
'Who was it? Who was that guy came to the club last night. How do you know him?'
'He…' started Fuji. 'He was my boyfriend. The guy with the white hair.' Fuji looked at the floor. He didn't want to look at Tezuka. He didn't want to talk to him either. He knew he had to tell what had happened to him and that was exactly what he didn't want to do.
'I told you I used to travel a lot before I got here, right?' said Fuji with a sigh. When Tezuka nodded, Fuji continued. 'Sometimes it's difficult to have a boyfriend when you're away from home so often. But everything went well. He said it didn't bother him and that he was busy as well. He worked a lot, sometimes around twelve hours a day. It was normal for him to make more than sixty hours a week. So even when I was home, he was often at work and I would hardly see him. He used to be my best friend. I already knew him since I was young. It was hard for us to find a boyfriend, since we were so busy, but things worked perfectly between the two of us. Neither of us minded the other being busy. We could do what we wanted, but we didn't have to be lonely. We shared an apartment. It wasn't that big, but we didn't need a large place. It had a nice view and was in a nice neighbourhood, that was enough.' There Fuji stopped his story, not sure how to go on.
Tezuka didn't really know what to say either. He was sure something had happened, otherwise Fuji wouldn't mind telling it. 'So, why did you hide when you saw him enter the club?'
'One day I went on a trip through the south of Europe. Italy, Greece, Spain, all beautiful countries with a lot of monuments and museums. It was truly amazing. I told Kojiroh, that is his name, Saeki Kojiroh, that I would stay away for three weeks. But before those three weeks were over, I already wanted to go home. The countries were amazing and I photographed a lot, but after a while I had seen enough of it. I could chose to visit another country or go back to Japan. Kojiroh had been sad I would be gone for almost a month, so I wanted to surprise him and went back home. I was so sure he would be happy. I couldn't have been more stupid.'
'Something happened when you came home, right?' asked Tezuka. 'Something unpleasant.' He knew something had happened, but he hoped his questions would help Fuji to tell his story. He tried to be understanding, but that was hard when you didn't know what was going on.
'I didn't call him to pick me up at the airport like I usually did. I wanted to surprise him and be home when he came home from work. It was still early. Well, not for normal people, but around that time Kojiroh was never home yet. I wanted to cook an Italian meal for him. I had delicious pasta during the time I was gone and I wanted to make it for him. I took a taxi from the airport to get me home. I remember I was surprised to see the lights were on at home. I was surprised Kojiroh was already there. He always made long days at work, especially when I wasn't home. I entered the house and walked to the living room, but nobody was there. I dropped my suitcase there and went to the bedroom. I heard weird noises there and I had no clue about what Kojiroh could be doing. I guess you already understand.'
'He was with someone else?' Tezuka guessed.
'Yeah, he was,' answered Fuji, looking at the floor aain. 'In our bed. He was having sex with someone else in our bed. I felt like pulling them both out of the bed and beating the hell out of them. He had gone home early to do it with some asshole, while I was being nice, thinking about him and coming home early so he wouldn't be lonely. That is what pissed me off most at first. Until the other person sat up. It was my own brother. My boyfriend came home early to enjoy himself with my only brother. I ran out of the house. I still heard them shout that it wasn't what it looked like, but I'm not stupid. I ran to a park that was close by. I always liked being there when I was home. So I went there. Neither of them even bothered to follow me.'
'Why didn't you go to a friend?' asked Tezuka. 'Or family? You could have talked to someone. You wouldn't have been on your own.'
'That was exactly the problem,' said Fuji. 'I had no friends, because I was always abroad. Who wants a friend that is only home now and then and never knows when he has time for you? And family, I never had much family. My father worked abroad and when my younger brother went to middle school we had to go into dorms. My older sister was in university already and my brother went to a different middle school then I did. Now that her kids were gone, my mom followed my dad and went abroad as well. My sister started to live in Nagoya. Couldn't just go there that late at night and it was not like I wanted to talk to my brother. So I went to the park and stayed there. I cried on one of the benches underneath the trees. It was cold, but I didn't care. I didn't bring my suitcase when I ran out, so I had nothing. I was incredibly tired. It had been a long flight and I hardly slept during the flight, so I fell asleep on that bench.'
Tezuka couldn't believe it. He had never thought the always smiling Fuji had such a past. He had always made it sound like his life had been perfect. Filled with money, travelling and photography. Nothing else.
'I woke up when I was roughly pulled off the bench,' continued Fuji. 'There they were, some yakuza guys. I recognized their clothes. They probably thought I was some sort of homeless guy and that nobody would miss me if they took me and sold me. In a way they were right. I wonder if they ever bothered to search for me. I wonder if my parents and sister even know that I had disappeared. They didn't know anything about me and my brother. They never came to Japan to visit us, so I never bothered to visit them either. Well, you know what happened after that. I was held for about four days with hardly any food or water when you came to pick me up.'
'Your ex-boyfriend is at fault for you being taken away,' said Tezuka a little surprised. He hadn't seen that coming.
'Yes,' answered Fuji. 'If he would have just told me he liked my brother, I would have just broken up with him and I wouldn't have ran out of the house. Yakuza wouldn't have brought me to that parking lot and I wouldn't have ended up here.'
'But you like it here, don't you?' asked Tezuka. 'I know this isn't what you wanted with your life and I know it could have been much better, but maybe this had to happen to make you realise you needed a break? To show you that life wasn't perfect either?'
Fuji looked up. 'I thought about that as well. I don't really hate it here. I got some friends and I got to meet interesting people. But I don't want to see Kojiroh. I will either start crying or slap him in the face and I don't want either to happen. That is why I ran away yesterday. I'm sorry.'
'I can understand. I think facing him is better, but you weren't ready for that. If he will come again tonight, or any other night, you have permission to leave the club. Just walk to the storage and go to your room. If you want to face him and talk to him you can do that. I won't punish you if you get into a fight with him and I won't punish you either if you might accidently hit him.'
Fuji smiled. 'Thank you,' he said.
Then the door opened and Nioh stepped inside. 'Or make him jealous. Show him how much friends you've got here and how much you are loved, by colleagues and guests. Show him what he missed out on and what he let go. Make him feel like he did the most stupid thing ever. And if he will ask you back, you will tell him to go to hell.'
'You were listening?' asked Fuji surprised.
'Yeah, sorry,' answered Nioh. 'I knew your illness had something to do with one of the guys that were at the club at that moment. I was curious and wanted to know what had happened to you. I know I should have waited for you to tell me, but I wanted to know. When I heard what that bastard did to you I wanted to help you and I really think the best way to have your revenge is to make him feel jealous and stupid for what he did. Unless you want to go back to him.'
'Never,' answered Fuji. 'I only want to get my clothes and my camera back. I don't need anything else from him. If he will come again I will let him know I want my stuff back.'
'He will want to know how you ended up here,' said Tezuka. 'What will you tell him?'
'I'm not telling him anything. I don't want to make him feel guilty. It is his fault, but I don't want him to feel good or bad about it. I will just let him know that I don't miss him at all. I hope my disappearing and the loss of our friendship will be painful enough for him.'
'Good,' answered Nioh with a smirk. 'If he will ever come here again, make him suffer.'