[ 55 ]
Ryōichi was under no impression that their conversation was going to be a short one, so he turned his head in the direction of the bar and signalled for his regular. Any member of staff would be acutely aware of their boss if they were present; so when they saw the call come in, they immediately got to work.
He took a seat opposite Hiromasa, who looked quite relaxed in his current position. Though the man could be considered an 'important person', Ryōichi felt no pressure to be on-edge around the man. So he didn't readjust his tie, nor entertain the idea of sitting any straighter.
"You've been busy lately." Ryōichi acknowledged, accepting the small glass of whiskey as it arrived. After a few sips, he lamented how it didn't taste as good as the time he tasted it from his lover's lips. But he swirled the glass lightly anyway, looking over to the yellow-eyed man who was watching him closely.
"As have you," Hiromasa tilted his head to the side, "Judging by a certain lingering scent on you." He mentioned nonchalantly, even though the corner of his mouth curled up. Hoping for some rise from the other Alpha, but Ryōichi was old enough to know the man's deck of tricks.
Like himself, Hiromasa had always boasted his exceptional talent for scents. The man likely went through the same situation that his son was currently going through. But even so, Ryōichi would call the man's bluff, because he and Hisaya hadn't mated, their scents hadn't fully moulded together. So by Hiromasa's comment, it was clear that he knew something.
When Ryōichi refused to batter an eyelid, the other man was far from deterred. He rested an elbow on the arm of his chair, leaning his tall body to one side. "Playing coy?"
"No, I just wonder if this meeting is just going to be you talking about Hisaya, though I can't say I approve because in my opinion it looks like you're becoming a little too obsessed with the Omega." Ryōichi chose to objectify the young man he'd spent a glorious evening with, only to further manipulate the man in front of him, who had no concept of feelings.
"Though I smell a scent on you, I wouldn't have known it was Hisaya Reo's without you confirming it."
Ryōichi didn't believe a word as he raised a brow, "Now who's playing coy?"
"Hah!" Hiromasa bared his teeth as he grinned, "I suppose you're right. You can't blame me for testing you a little, I remember you being the standoffish type who observes from afar, but now... well I suppose a hole's a hole." He shrugged and Ryōichi's grip on his glass instinctively tightened.
"What is it you want, Kazuki?"
Both men fell into silence, staring at each other. One wanted to continue playing, keeping the other in the dark about the information he had on his possession, whilst the more maturer of the two would have preferred if the man spoke quicker, getting the whole situation over with. Ryōichi really didn't want to spend his evening with the man, nor did he want to be seen to be either.
"I wondered how little Hisaya could suddenly gather up the courage to go against someone like me. Initially, when I heard it, we all laughed. It's quite a good feeling having a small pest trying to take you on, only to be stomped on. But who would have thought he'd bounce back up? And I have to give it to him," Hiromasa shrugged, "He's proven to be far more of annoyance than I thought he'd be."
"He's proven that he's quite good at playing the business game, and to some degree he has a big following. Though, it may be out of pity because everyone knows his allegations are baseless."
Ryōichi scoffed, drawing the other alpha's attention. "Are they though?" He asked rhetorically, before shifting ever so slightly in his seat and continuing, "I've been at this game for a long time now, I've mostly seen all there is to see involving corrupted individuals like yourself. So I know what it looks like when someone's feeling threatened."
"Threatened? You think I'm feeling threatened? If anyone should be feeling that, it should be you. It's clear as day that you've been protecting the little twink. But for some time I couldn't understand why. I've known you for quite some years, and I have never seen you protective of anyone other than yourself. But then it hit me," he snapped his thumb and forefinger together, "Well, actually a spy of mine managed to come across it, but it was the revelation that you have a son! I'm sad I never got an invite to the baby shower." Hiromasa plucked something out of his jacket pocket, tossing it carelessly onto the table in front of them.
Ryōichi didn't reach for it immediately, but eventually set down his glass and took what the other man had thrown. His shaped brows pinched together when he recognised the face of his son, who was leaving nursery. The camera had captured him clearly, along with Ichiro who had offered to pick him up that day. But it to was clear to see who the person with the camera held most interest in, as the children surrounding Asahi was blurred into the background.
"He's cute, as kids go I suppose."
Ryōichi kept the picture in his hand, feeling unmeasurable rage surge inside of him. To think that that scum had been near his son. But now knowing that Hiromasa had this picture, he could guess where he was going to go with the conversation, and what it would eventually lead to.
"You've obviously known for some time I've had a son, why bring this up now?" He played along with the egotistical man.
"Why?" Hiromasa tilted his head ever so slightly to the side, his expression of a man that was holding all the answers to the questions he believed everyone was answering. Blissfully skipping along, believing himself in control, when in actual fact he'd been ensnared as soon as Ryōichi caught a glimpse of what he was planning. "Well, I've done a little digging. I just had to know why a man like yourself, who we all believed was married to his job, suddenly popped out a mysterious son and now works behind the scenes helping some omega who's trying to slander me. I would feel offended, Ryōichi, if I hadn't have kept on digging."
"Do tell, I'm practically on the edge of my seat." Was the other man's deadpan response.
"Your son, Asahi right? Though he looks nothing like you, he holds a striking resemblance to Hisaya, don't you think? And it's pretty clear that the omega in that picture isn't his mother."
Ryōichi could have denied it- very easily actually. He could have retorted with the fact that Hiromasa was blatantly obsessed, and only saw what he wanted to see. And there was no solid proof. But the wiser man wanted to coax out every drop of information, and if that came with stroking the other man's ego or feigning a little bit of fear; then so be it.
"I could perhaps understand why you wanted to keep it under-wraps about knocking someone up, but to the extent of completely getting rid of all records of Hisaya's hospital admission, that was a little extreme. But the thing is, you did a pretty sloppy job, because you left all the witnesses. One just had to ask a doctor, and yes they may not have remembered Hisaya, but they certainly remembered you."
Hiromasa was grinning from ear to ear. He was loving his 'position of power'.
"I had to play detective for some parts, because it all felt a little disjointed. Why would you, who is an icon for being a true gentleman, go so far to cover it up? No doubt you would have just decided to marry the Omega as soon as he started getting fat. That'd be 'less trouble' for you, right? Then you would be seen as a perfect little family in the eyes of the media. But then it hit me, what if this wasn't your decision altogether? What if our sweet little Hisaya, was the one who wanted it covered up? That made more sense, because when we last met, I eluded to knowing about your little secret, but he seemed oblivious. Obviously relying on you a little too much."
Hiromasa leant forward, "He, had more to lose. He was building his business, or something minuscule like that. I didn't think it was some miracle that an omega-orphan was able to cough-up enough money to have a base here in the Commercial District. You gave him the money, didn't you? And after that, he left you with a son and walked away. That's cold. But here you are, still protecting him," Hiromasa tutted and shook his head, "And you call me obsessed?"
Ryōichi was completely silent as he listened to the man fuel his own self-love. But even though he'd expected Hiromasa's bluntness, the way he dredged up everything he'd gone through over the years, in a mere breath, was a little irritating. But as he listened, images of wrapping Hisaya up in his arms as they slept in the same bed for the first time, was enough to keep him very happy and patient.
The way his young lover curled into him, his nose tucking into his neck, or the gentle sounds he would make when deep asleep.
"Why are you telling me this?" Ryōichi neither confirmed, nor denied.
"Because I'm giving you an opportunity. Realise who it is you really should be protecting, because if you still choose Hisaya then you'll leave me no other choice, and it will be putting your son in the same limelight you wanted to keep him out of." Hiromasa revealed, sipping on his drink.
"Ah, so that's the threatening part you were mentioning earlier."
Hiromasa shrugged his shoulders, intending now only to listen to what Ryōichi had to say in response. But what he did have to say, was not something he would like to hear. "You know, there's a big difference between you and I," Ryōichi acknowledged as he finished off his own drink, setting down the glass on the table with a 'clunk'. "And I don't mean business wise. This difference has been set in stone since we were both children. Because unlike you, who had all his boo-boo's kissed, I had to fight tooth and nail to get to my position. I won't deny that it made a big difference having a large inheritance as a safety-net, but if you knew what my parents were like, you'd know that they didn't hand things out easily. I had to earn their respect, I had to show that I could be trusted with their money. And because of this tough love, I've turned my father's respectable company into an empire. Yet, if they were still around I'm sure they'd still have something to nag me about, but that's ok. Because I respected them just as much."
"So you see," Ryōichi fixed the man with a pointed stare, "Talking about personal problems with you, is the equivalent of me talking about them with Asahi. He doesn't understand, and you never will. From day one you obtained everything you wanted, without so much of a shred of resistance. Which resulted in your over-inflated ego and your ridiculous notion that you can't be touched." He stood up, and grabbed a few notes out of his wallet, tossing them onto the table.
"Publish whatever you like, but don't sit there pretending you have a shred of knowledge about family matters." He chastised before turning and leaving.
Hiromasa was left behind, sitting with a deeply-etched frown on his face. His lip curled in further distaste as he watched the hotel owner leave the premises. A man he would have like to avoid confronting if he could, but he had to begrudgingly admit now that they had a conflict of interest. But the other man's words did irk him- not enough to change his outlook on life, but enough that he'd take the situation more seriously.
Slipping the photograph across the table, and depositing it back into his pocket, he stood up and got right to work with putting a plan into action. And it started with the Alpha Times and Aristocratic.
At the same time, as Ryōichi slipped into the back of his car, with Yoshiaki up front, he was in a much lighter mood. "You seem satisfied." His right-hand, and closest friend acknowledged as he looked in the rear-view mirror.
"Mm. Hiromasa's got proof of Hisaya being Asahi's omega-parent." He replied simply, and as the car came to a stop at a red-light, Yoshiaki revealed a wider-eyed expression. But seeing his boss' calm exterior, clearly steps had already been taken.
"Is that not a bad thing?" He found himself asking as the lights turned green and he continued driving. Ryōichi, on the other hand, had finished flicking through the images on his phone. He'd stopped on one specific one, which was dated not that long ago.
Asahi's bright smile was the focal point of the picture, because he was in the centre of it. But the young man his son was clinging to was breathtaking. The young man had the same coloured hair as his son, and had his arms wrapped around Asahi just as lovingly as his smile. It was clear to see, with them side by side, that they were a related pair. And it was a gorgeous sight to be behold.
Ryōichi was also in the picture, and he debated cropping himself out of it, but then decided against it. Because this picture had been taken after the night he and Hisaya spent in the same bed, they were much more comfortable with skin-ship. Which is why such an intimate picture could be taken with the three of them. Hisaya was sat flush against him, Asahi on his lap and the little legs on Ryōichi's lap. Also following the little trotters was Hisaya's hand, which was sat comfortably on the older man's thigh. It was something Ryōichi hadn't really noticed then, and it didn't appear his lover did either, but on the photo it painted a picture of a loving family trio.
He'd treasure it, and for the umpteenth time he'd stared at it since Hisaya left, he smiled warmly. He felt a little reluctant to use such a picture for the next step of his plan, but he guaranteed that his young lover would do the same. Especially in order to protect Asahi.
"There's no doubt, that Hiromasa will act rashly because he believes his case is strong. There's a chance he will even put his name somewhere on the finished article. He's so brazen he'll want people to know it was him that found the information out, him that is shaming Hisaya. So we're going to use that to our advantage."
He spoke as he composed an email, attaching the image to it and sent it off without anymore hesitations. No doubt he'd be called back in a short while, because no news-station would turn down such a juicy story. Especially when the Pantheon would get the added bonus of having it known that Ryōichi was favouring them.
"Then do you suppose we should tell Hisaya?" Yoshiaki asked.
"Leave that to me." Ryōichi was certain that the plan he had put into motion was one that would strongly counteract Hiromasa's own, but he couldn't deny the fact that he was exposing his relationship for another reason. Perhaps it was the innate possessiveness he fought against, but he wanted everyone to know that Hisaya was the one who gave him his son. He wanted the headline to act as a warning to anyone else who thought ill of his lover, or thought of him in any other way. And he wanted his little family to be together without having to hide.
No doubt he'd be busy for some time, so he texted Hisaya. Though he knew he had to tell him the situation, in actual fact he just wanted to know how his lover was doing. He'd taken a step back for some time now, opting not to have eyes and ears on Hisaya at all times. But it came at a cost, because he had no clue what the strong-headed omega was up to.
Ω
Meanwhile, Hisaya had diverted all his attention towards 'The Underground'. He would have loved to storm right in there, but knowing Hiromasa, the man wouldn't make it easy for just anyone to waltz in, so he had to plan his steps. He decided to do this part completely on his own. He refused to rope anyone else into it, just in case anything went wrong. Red, specifically, was one who wanted to get involved but Hisaya quickly rejected the idea.
The kid was recovering, if the drastically reducing stock in his kitchen was anything to go by. But even then, Red was only a young teen who shouldn't have to get his hands dirty. Not yet anyway, because Hisaya held some concerns for the spitfire's future. He was stubborn, mouthy.. and too much like him, so how could he not be worried?
Even though Hisaya was doing the snooping, he was definitely being more cautious now he had a little blond bun's face in his mind. So instead of acting hands-on himself, he picked up the phone and sought out a man who had proven to be a very reliable hub of information.
Besides, it's the very same man that said he owed him one.
[ TBC ]
[ Hope you enjoyed the first of this weeks chapters! If you're eager to read more then chapters fifty-six and fifty-seven are available on my Patreon page. ] The link is in my bio <3
[ The poll for the third world's setting has ended, and the results are in. BUT I'M NOT GOING TO TELL YOU THEM. That sounds mean. But i'm sure you'll be happy with what it is, and if you're not then give it a chance, because by now I would hope you know that I like to take a somewhat different route with my writing. <3 ]
ONTO FANART! - Our lovely Hisaya and beloved Asahi! I love both so much, a huge thank you to 'zero2alpha' on Instagram. [sorry I didn't catch your Wattpad username <3]