Consealed

Chapter 2.2 - Only Human

Tsuya's pov

Urugami-san hits with his fist against the door with a loud bang "Tsukushi what are you doing in there!? We must get going! How many times do I have to repeat myself? Your schedule is planned so tight you can't just wander off all the time! You get me into trouble with your lousy behavior!!" He yells while slamming his fist some more. Kaneko-san scares up from the loud noise. "You should go, you're getting in trouble because of me!" She tried to convince me. "No, I can't leave you alone..." I'm in trouble. I can't possibly leave her on her own when I still don't know what's going on, but she can't come along on all my meetings. Urugami-san would never allow that. What can I do? What should I do? Urugami-san managed to open the door and storms into the room. "Who is that girl!? Didn't I make clear you can't give any of your fans, regardless of the reason, any special treatment! What if the media will see you like this? We're surrounded by all kinds of nosy reporters. This could ruin your career!" He yelled angrily. "She is not like the others!" I tried to defend her. "It's okay... I'm a nuisance anyway... thank you that you cared for me Tsukumi-dono..." I see that's she's tearing up again. "She's not leaving my side. I want to know she's safe before we go anywhere other than here." I say standing my ground. "Are you out of your mind!?" he says flabbergasted and angrily. His expression changed quickly to some face I have never seen him make before. "Do you understand how this business works? You have nothing to say, only the big guys in this industry, like me. One wrong word and one wrong move means the end of your career, forever. I see your potential and I see your talent. I can make you big and that scum over there could ruin everything I did for you in just a few minutes." He steps closer towards us. "Urugami-san... This isn't what I want, I don't want to harm you but this girl... She's in danger and if we don't do anything then she might die!" I tried to explain. Urugami-san grabs my wrist and pulls me out of my chair, which makes me spill my tea on the floor. "Listen closely Tsuya. If you don't intend to come with me now, you end up like your father. You wouldn't want that, would you?" he threatens me. He threatened me!? I get scared. I have never seen him like this before. "My father is a great man." I manage to defend my man of honor. "But a failure of a musician and a failure of the industry." He snarls. "Give me a minute and I'll be there." He finally let go of me. "One minute, I'll be waiting outside." He leaves the room. I look back at Kaneko-san who seems to be terrified by the situation. I take a deep breath and go sit back down with her. I grab my phone and open an app to call for a taxi. "What are you doing Tsukumi-dono?" she asks me curiously. I type in an address where I know she'll be safe. "I ordered a taxi for you. It must be here in five minutes. It will bring you to a safe place. When I'm finished with all my plans I will come and visit you right away." I tell her. "But where is it bringing me?" she asks me confused. "Don't worry it's a place very few people know about. The taxi will bring you to a neighborhood, ring the door at number 52. Tell the person I sent you and he will let you in." I tell her strict. "Now go quick, I'll see you later." I stand up. So does she and she gives me a sudden hug. "Thank you." She says holding back tears. She hurries out of the room.

I go back to Uragami-san. "What's our next appointment?" I ask him uncomfortably. "There's a business party tonight, which you'll have to attend to gain more popularity. There are some very important people who can be meaningful to your career." He walks towards the exit of the building. "Where is this exactly?" I ask him while I follow him outside to the limousine. "On the other side of Haze." He answered quickly. We get inside the limousine where I practice my business talk. "First we'll drive to the designer to get your new suit. Then we'll drive directly to the party, and you have to do and say exactly like instructed on this paper, or you can forget your big gigs." He says strict. I nod in response. I know Urugami-san does everything for the best of me, but I don't feel like he's heading in the same direction as I am. The limousine stopped and we are at the designer's place. We go inside and there's a man coming towards us to greet us. "Good evening Urugami-dono, Tsukushi-dono. I have prepared you three different kinds of suites for you to try on. One is made off..." and so he goes on explaining which expensive materials he used to create the suites. I can't really follow all the things he's saying. "May I assist you to the changing rooms Tsukushi-dono?" he asks in the politest way I've ever heard. "Of course." I say and I follow him to the changing rooms. The first suit I'm trying on looks silver/blue, with a white shirt and a matching tie. It looks classy, but I don't think this is my color. The next suit is multicolored. It has a brown base with beige details and yellow. This one also isn't what suites me. The third one is a white suite at base, with little purple-ish details from grown flowers and plants. The tie is inverted to the suite and the shoes match the outfit perfectly. "This is the one!" I say excited. "I don't think so." Urugami-san responds. "But I like this one..." I say a bit disappointed. "You should take the silver one, it's much less childish." He says strict. "This one isn't childish. It gives me the feeling it shows where our roots are." I say but Urugami-san doesn't change his mind. "We'll take the first one" He turned to the designer and went to checkout. Disappointed I walk back into the changing room and put the first suit back on. It makes me look so un-human like. I get my stuff and walk towards Urugami-san. "Are you ready to leave?" he asks me strict. "Yes." I answer. We go back into the limousine where I continue my business behavior. Urugami-san teaches me all kinds of stuff I must think about. At the party there's a lot of different kinds of food, where I shouldn't just get a full plate off. I have to talk to people first by instance.

We arrive at the manor where the party will be held. Urugami-san is also dressed in a suit, matching mine so we stand out from the rest. We go to the entrance where a butler receives us. He takes our coat and escorts us towards the main hall. There're already hundreds of people. I feel nervous. Urugami-san didn't give me much detail about the party. He said it's to get a broader network, but I don't even know who's the host of this party. When we walk into the main hall, I see lots of tables filled with food, punches, and alcohol. I feel my stomach growl, I haven't eaten in hours. I look at my watch, it's 20:12, fashionably late since the party started at 19:30. I think I ate around 13:00, right before we went to the recordings of the Yakahama's show. I'm used to not eating much on a day, because we keep traveling all the time. I really have to take caution. I can see that I'm getting slimmer over the past few weeks. I wonder what dad would say if he would see me like this. I see a few people walking towards us. A somewhat bigger man around his 40's and what I assume his wife. Next to them are also, what looks like important businesspeople, and their spouse. I greet them with a bow, just like Uragami-san. "Thank you for having us at your feast." Urugami-san said gratefully. The others give a small bow and welcome us. "If it isn't Tsukumi-kun and Urugami-san? Welcome! We are more than excited to have you two here today. Tsukumi-kun, or Tsukushi-kun was it? What a wonderful performance this afternoon!" The bigger man compliments me. "Thank you." I say a little overwhelmed. What was his name again? Did he introduce himself? I'm having a blackout, oh no not now. "Tsukushi-kun has always had a great hearing to rhythm, sound and is an absolute expert when it comes to writing. Did you know he's able to play more than five instruments fluently, Takahashi-dono?" Urugami-san saved me. Takahashi-dono, that's the man who organized this party if I remember correctly. "Wonderful, so he's a true musical prodigy, right? Since autotuning came into the industry almost anyone can call themselves performers. It's great to hear there's still true talent left." Takahashi-dono sighed in relieve. "Let me introduce you to my wife, Takahashi Aoi." The woman bows at us and introduces herself a bit. She tells us about her company and how successful she is and what a great support her husband has given her. Slowly more people are joining, while others are wandering off to other groups of people. Time flies and more people start talking to us and each other but it's all just passing by me. I look at the clock on the side of the hall, 21:43, I'm really hungry and feel a bit light-headed. Suddenly I feel someone lightly bumping my right shoulder. "Right Tsukushi-kun?" a random man said to me. I haven't been paying attention at all. I was caught up in my thoughts. "U-uhm yeah." I manage to bring out. "It has been a long day for Tsukushi-kun. We're getting something to eat and drink. Please excuse us." Urugami-san put his hand around my arm and pulled me towards one of the table's filled with all kinds of exotic cuisines. "You must be pretty hungry. I'm sorry I didn't notice sooner." Urugami-san apologized. "Let's stay for another hour and go home afterwards. You're doing great, you shouldn't be so nervous." He encouraged me. "It's fine." I say and try to hold myself back from grabbing all the food around me. I put some of the cuisines on my plate and get myself some punch. Urugami-san also got something to eat, and we sit at one of the tables near the windows. When I look outside, I can see all the way back to the city center of Haze. I think about Kaneko-san. I hope she's alright and that she made it back home safe. "You look awfully tired." Urugami-san said to me out of nowhere while he takes another bite from his white fish. "You think so?" I take a bite from my salad and mushroom steak. "I think you need some good night's rest. I'll make sure your schedule stays empty until late in the afternoon, then you can catch some rest." He suddenly suggested. "Why do you say that all of a sudden? This afternoon you were furious at me and now you're being nice again? I can't really follow where you're going Urugami-san." I say confused. "I know, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done what I did. You know I want the best for you because I believe in your talent. This business can be hard especially on young, gifted artists like you. Sometimes it even drags me in. You should be careful with certain fans and people. Don't try to be alone with them, make sure I'm there. You never know what people are capable of. Some can look so nice, and innocent yet can be the exact opposite. I'm trying to protect you from that." He says honestly, I can feel that. "I'm sorry I doubted you Urugami-san." I look him in the eyes.

It's passed eleven in the evening and Urugami-san and I go back to our limousine. I ask them to set me off at the same address I sent Kaneko-san to. When we arrive in the neighborhood, Urugami-san already went to his own home. I walk across the street towards house number 52. I open the door and the lights are still on. I walk into the living room. There he is. "Hi dad, I'm sorry for coming in so late. I missed you."

I was in such a writing flow this weekend that I'm able to release two paragraphs! Thank you to everyone who is still reading and a big hello to all the new people joining in on the story! I'm trying to keep each paragraph about 2000 words, some will be longer and some will be shorter. I hope to see you guys in paragraph 2.3!