Underneath It All [Ch. 6]
Title: Underneath It All
Author: natsuaisu
Word Count: 4,131
Pairing: DaiNoo (main), YabuHika, TakaYama
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Romance/Comedy
Warning: Excuse any grammatical errors or spelling mistakes I make! I do not have a beta! C:
“Fucking shit…” Inoo muttered typing in a number into his cellphone as he ran to his car, unlocking the driver’s door. There were three signals before someone picked up.
’Hello?’
“Yabu! I need your help!” Inoo exclaimed strapping on his seatbelt and turning the key in the ignition at lightning speed. There was a ruffling noise on the other end of the phone line.
‘Eh?’ What’s wrong?’ Yabu asked his friend, obviously confused at the neediness of his outburst. Inoo backed out of the driveway and turned the wheel making his way down to the gates where he used an automatic control to open them up for him.
“Do you know Daiki’s address?” Driving out through the gates Inoo turned to the right and headed down the road at full speed, his hand gripping the wheel as he nervously drove out of his neighbourhood without any specific destination.
‘What?’ Yabu repeated. Inoo sounded incredibley tense when he called him and now he wanted to know Daiki’s address? Was there something wrong with the boy?
“I need to get something from him.” Quickly added in hopes of covering up his real intention. However, Yabu had already heard Inoo’s panicked tone of voice earlier, and judging by the background noise he assumed his friend was in his car somewhere. Not really believing Inoo’s reason Yabu questioned him.
‘What is it?’ Inoo gritted his teeth and mentally cursed at the intrusive questions. Yabu had no idea what he’d been going through with Daiki and the feelings he’d battled with for the boy; there was no way in hell he was going to explain everything to him now of all times.
“Something personal. Do you know his adress?” He merely avoided giving a detailed answer. He made it out of his neighbourhood area and decided the best choice would be to head into central since he doubted Daiki lived in the suburbs. Inoo heard Yabu sighing on the other end.
‘No, sorry.’ Clenching his eyes shut Inoo let his head briefly fall onto the rubber steering wheel before looking up and continuing his drive. Licking his lips he looked to his sides and rear-view mirror to make sure no one would see him go over the speeding limit. Suddenly Yabu’s voice boomed through the cellphone.
‘Wait, wait! I know where I can get it!’ Inoo’s eyes widened at the information.
“Really?” he asked, hopeful. Yabu’s chipper voice travelled through the line.
‘Yeah, yeah. Just... I’ll call you back in 10 minutes, okay?’ There was shuffling on the other end which Inoo assumed was Yabu moving around. Pressing down on the pedal he increased his speed and yelled back to Yabu.
“A-alright! But hurry up!”
~~~~~~~~~~~
Daiki’s eyes darted across the page, his brows furrowing as he took in every piece of information that was written down as he re-read it a third time. He was so confused right now, but at the same time absolutely releaved. The paper he had stolen from Kei had turned out to be something worth gold, really helpful, and almost too good to be true.
After Daiki had gotten home he’d immediately taken out the file and opened it up, beginning to read everything that his mind could process as quickly as possible. What he’d taken from Kei’s office turned out to be a file which contained Kei’s visits to a private rehabilitation centre, and the file marked down every move, every thought and any progress or decline in progress that Kei had made. All the information was amazingly detailed, every single sentence having been written with some sort of analysis at the end and mentionings of different kinds of therapy like pills, cognitive therapy and at one point, electrotherapy. Daiki tightened his grip on the file when he read the last method, his thoughts flashing to an image of Kei endulging being connected to a machine that sent a wave of raw electricity through him. The pain must’ve been unbearable.
The information in the file astonished Daiki, and it wasn’t because of all of the detailed notes, the therapeutic methods or the agonizing images of Kei suffering. The thing that really astounded Daiki was the Inoo Kei, the man the magazines had pinned as a philanderer and womanizer, accounting several affairs with countless of women to him, was in fact a closeted homosexual.
Daiki finished reading the paper for the third time and let out a low pust of air. Deciding to read the file for a fourth time just to make sure he didn’t miss out on any information, he shifted in his seat on the floor and started from the top of the page.
It turned out that Inoo had confessed to his therapist that he realized his sexuality when he was fairly young, just before his teens. He had told his father of him being gay and attempted to describe his feelings about his thoughts, but his father refused to listen, saying that having his son be a faggot would affect the company. Kei had said that this signalled the beginning of their stale relationship. Kei mentioned that he tried to get his father to come to terms with his decision, but after too much persistance he struck him. This was the beginning of a short period of abuse, but it ended just as quickly as it had begun. After Kei realized that his father would not approve of his sexuality he tried to desperately hide it and get rid of it. He thought that if he slept around with women he would be able to suppress the urge of sleeping around with men.
Daiki noted that this pinpointed the start of Inoo’s encounters, and it wasn’t that the media had somehow found out about it his escapades and written all about it like the general population assumed. No, in the file the therapist had written down that Inoo admitted to anonymously sending in pictures and letters to the TV stations and magazine companies of the women he’d been with, in hopes of having his father hear about it and see the fact that Kei was no longer gay, but completely straight. In paranthesis the therapist had written that the action Kei took was too dramatic and was most likely and outlet of his anger towards his father, where even though he wanted him to notice him, he was also resentful towards him. Sending in the photos was his way of desperately getting his father to accept him, but also humiliate him in front of everyone for what he had to put himself through.
Even though Kei had desperately tried to hide his sexuality because his father claimed the truth would hurt the company, it turned out that Kei’s outlet for his frustration and denial ended up hurting the company even more.
The rest of the file mentioned how Kei’s progress was going and how his father had him subjected to various treatments in order to get over his urge of finding men attractive. Most of it was ethical, but then there were some treatments like the electrotherapy which Daiki knew did nothing more but hurt Kei. Towards the end page the therapist had written about Kei’s surprising progress and his attitude towards women, writing that he had finally gotten a steady girl and was therefore able to be released from the rehabilitation centre for a trial period.
Daiki dropped the file onto the floor and bit his lower lip, his mind reeling as he tried to calmly process all the information he’d just read for the fourth time in a row. He guessed that Kei passed his trial period since he was currently working freely at his mansion, and he also guessed that the steady girl mentioned in the file must have been Toda since she was now his fiancée. Exhaling, Daiki let his eyes fall to the file lying innocently on the floor.
He’d read it a fifth time. Just in case.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Takaki was standing behind the counter leisurely enjoying the silence that engulfed the shop, his eyes travelling across the shelves. There weren’t many customers that day so he could enjoy some time relaxing and taking it easy before the customers began filing in around the afternoon. He’d be the only one working today since Hikaru’s shift had just ended and he was in the back room finishing up a snack and getting his belongings. Lost in his thoughts Takaki didn’t notice somebody enter the shop until he heard a voice speak.
“Good day.” Takaki snapped out of his trance of staring at the shelves and turned his attention to the customer. He was surprised to see Daiki’s friend from their previous meeting.
“Oh, good day!” He replied with a smile. Making his way out from behind the counter Takaki extended his hand towards the man. “Nice to see you back so soon. Yabu, right?”
Yabu took a hold of Takaki’s hand and shook it in return.
“Yeah, glad you still remember.” He replied looking around the store. Takaki crossed his arms over his chest and smiled.
“Well, a friend of Daiki’s is a friend of mine.” Yabu turned his attention to Takaki and smiled in return.
“Yeah... speaking of Daiki, do you happen to know where he lives?” Takaki raised his eyebrow and Yabu began explaining. “He’s got something that Kei, his boss Inoo Kei, needs back. It’s sort of urgent.” Takaki nodded slowly in understanding as he turned back to the counter and motioned for Yabu to follow him.
“I can take you there.” A voice said. The two men looked up to see a now brunette Hikaru slinging his scarf around his neck. Yabu gave a wide smile and bowed slightly at Hikaru’s offer, holding up his hand to show his decline.
“There’s no need for that, I can just get directi-“ he began but was cut off by the brunette.
“Nah, but my shift ended 15 minutes ago anyway. I can take you to Dai-chan’s apartment, it’s not that far from here.” Takaki turned back to Yabu to see how the man would reply, but when there was nothing he turned back to Hikaru who was adjusting his scarf and nodded his head in agreement.
“Yeah, it’ll probably be easier for you to find Daiki’s apartment if there’s someone who can take you there.” Yabu opened his mouth to protest as he stared at Takaki, but no words came out as his mouth was left slightly agape.
“Alright.” He finally said. Smiling, Hikaru asked Takaki.
“Yuuyan, can we borrow your car?” The older male began rummaging through the boxes under the counter to give his friend the keys but Yabu stopped him mid-way through by taking out his own keys and showing them to the shop-owner.
“No, it’s fine. I’ve already got mine outside so we can take that one.” Yabu gave a small wave to Takaki as he made his way towards the exit and waited at the door for Hikaru and Takaki to hug goodbye before leaving with him. The two got into Yabu’s fancy car (which Hikaru gladly wolf-whistled at) and began strapping on their seatbelts and Yabu called up Inoo. As the signals were heard the older male turned to Hikaru and quickly asked.
“At what adress does Daiki live?”
“Compton Street 59.” The brunette replied calmly as Yabu turned the key in the ignition and drove out of his parking space just as he heard the click of Inoo picking up his phone.
“Hey, Kei! I got Daiki’s adress right here. It’s Compton Street 59. You got it? Great! I’ll see you there.” Hanging up the call Yabu turned to Hikaru and gave a light ‘thank you’ before turning his full attention to the road ahead of him.
“...It sort of sounds like you’re going to ambush him.” Hikaru commented. Yabu just chuckled in reply.
“Ah, it’s fine, I’m sure he’ll fight back.” Smiling the brunette nodded and leaned back comfortable in his seat.
“Yeah, Dai-chan’ll definitely kick his ass.” He pointed his finger ahead and told Yabu where to turn when they headed to a certain sign.
“Mm, but Inoo is surprisingly strong. Which is strange because he’s quite feminine.” Yabu retorted as he turned into the next lane.
“Is that so?” Hikaru asked, both his and Yabu’s eyes on the road.
“Yeah...”
There was a eerie silence in the car as both men continued to stare forward, Hikaru occassionally gesturing with his hand to where Yabu should drive next in order to get to the correct exit. After a few minutes Hikaru attempted at making conversation.
“Sorry, but I forgot your name.” Giving Hikaru a quick side glance Yabu replied.
“Ah, it’s Yabu.” If he were to be honest he was kinda upset that Hikaru hadn’t remembered his name since it showed that he maybe didn’t have much interest in him. Yabu on the other hand had remembered his name and once or twice since their first meeting thought of the boy during his days, though not obsessively. Hikaru gave a small chuckle and looked up at Yabu.
“No, no, no, no, that one I know. I mean your first name. What was it now again?” Snickering to himself lightly he answered.
“Kouta.” The brunette slowly nodded his head as if he remembering it now.
“Oh, that’s right.” Yabu licked his lower lip before turning to quickly look at Hikaru as he spoke.
“It’s not really a name that sticks to your memory.”
“Nah, I just have a lousy memory.” Hikaru replied smiling gently.
Once again there was a short period where neither of the men said anything as Hikaru instructed Yabu on where to go and which street they needed to turn right at.
“So what do people call you?” he asked trying to continue the conversation.
“Yabu.”
“Just Yabu?”
“Just Yabu.” Hikaru raised a questioning brow as he accepted the answer.
“You don’t have a nickname or anything?” he asked. Yabu bit his lower lip as he changed gear.
“Mmm... Not any good ones.”
“Ah...” Yabu noticed that his answers weren’t giving the brunette much to work with so he decided to talk more and elaborate on his answers. Maybe even ask Hikaru a few questions in order to create a good mood in the car.
“But my friends usually call me ‘S’.” At this the brunette looked over at the driver with a questioning glance.
“’S’? Why ‘S’?” he asked, a bit curious at the choice of the letter nickname since Yabu’s name didn’t have any ‘S’ in it. Yabu’s eyes repeatedly darted over to Hikaru who was next to him, contemplating whether discussing his nickname was a wise choice or not. He couldn’t help but take note of the fact that Hikaru’s slightly furrowed eyebrows and the confusion painted across his face made him look adorable, especially the fact that his lips were slightly parted and his eyes were focused on him. Giving a slight cough Yabu looked at his side-view mirror to check if any cars were getting to close to them.
“Cus it stands for ‘Sadist’.” Hikaru’s eyes widened for a moment when he heard the explanation, but quickly regained himself. Yabu however had caught the look when he’d turned back to face the road and smiled to himself at how innocent the brunette seemed.
“Sadist?” Hikaru began. “Why, um... why do they call you that?” Tilting his head to the side Yabu gave a small laugh.
“Uhh... cause I am one?”
Hikaru continued to stare at Yabu who kept his eyes fixated on the road, his mind reeling with questions, thoughts and jokes. He finally gave a small smile and let out a inaudible laugh.
“Like, in the bedroom?” he asked, a grin taking over. Yabu smirked at the latter’s question and gave a playful reply.
“Like, think that question is a bit too personal.” Hikaru kept his gaze on Yabu as he lightly pinched his bottom lip. After a few seconds the brunette spoke.
“I think that’s a ‘yes’.”
~~~~~~~~~~~
Stacking cans of corn on the shelf, Takaki hummed to himself as he counted the number cans on the shelf and the amount left in the box by his foot. He was in the midst of counting up to 20 when a gentle nudge on his shoulder got his attention. Interrupting his task Takaki turned his face only to be greeted by the face of one of the sweetest faces he had ever seen. The person’s face was round and white, looking very smooth and had what looked like some very pinchable cheeks. Their hair was black and framed their face nicely, red lips standing out against the white skin and a pair of brown orbs staring up at him calmly. It was hard to tell whether they were male or female based upon their unisex appearance. Takaki cleared his throat and turned his entire body around.
“Um, yes. Can I help you?” he asked the person.
“Yes. I was wondering if you had a bit of time. I would like to talk to you.” The person asked very politely, his eyes looking around the store as he spoke. This was definitely a boy since he had a voice which would be unusual for a woman to have Takaki simply opened his mouth as he spoke slowly.
“Sure.” He led the boy towards the counter before turning his head to talk to him. “Uhh, sorry, but do I know you?” The boy smiled gently at him as he extended his hand.
“No, you don’t.“ Takaki reached out and shook the others’ hand. “My name is Yamada Ryosuke and I’m Inoo Kei’s personal butler.”
“Inoo Kei?” Takaki asked. Inoo Kei had a butler? It would make sense seeing as the Inoo family was quite wealthy, but Takaki never thought he’d actually meet one. God knew his lifestyle was far from being able to afford a personal butler.
“Yes. Mr. Inoo has had Mr. Arioka working for him for the past few months.” Yamada said, his voice coming out even and serene. Takaki snorted as he recalled Daiki having to quit his job at his store which they’d both worked together at.
“Yeah, I know. The guy stole Daiki away from my store and brought him back to his house.” Takaki gave a low huff as he looked down at his shoes, missing the uncomfortable smile Yamada had. Takaki then quickly looked up at Yamada and give a bright smile. “But Dai-chan seems to enjoy it, and you know he always tries to keep us updated on how he’s doing at his new workplace.”
“That’s nice.” Yamada said, this time taking a few seconds before he spoke again. “I’ve actually talked a lot with Mr. Arioka since he started working with Mr. Inoo and he certainly is a fun person. I enjoy the time we spend together.” He spoke with such fondness that Takaki was actually caught off guard, his eyebrow having been raised as he listened to Yamada talk about Daiki.
“O…kay?” he uttered, humour laced in his voice.
“But that’s not why I’m here. Why I came here was to specifically talk to you about a certain matter connected to Mr. Inoo.” Yamada kept his eyes focused on Takaki as he spoke in all seriousness.
“Oh?”
“You see, Mr. Inoo is known for being a philanderer, and everyone who meets him immediately assumes that he is that kind of character.”
“Well the newspapers had loads of evidence to support that.” Takaki interrupted. Yamada clenched his jaw as he fell silent for a second.
“Yes, I know. But that’s what the media says. People don’t know it from his closest friends’ or relatives’ point of view.” Takaki furrowed his eyebrows.
“Are you saying you know the real thing?” he asked. Yamada shook his head.
“No, I don’t. But I can tell you without a doubt in my mind that Mr. Inoo would not selfishly or foolishly parade into the world and grab the closest thing that moves for sexual pleasure!” At the last bit Yamada had continuously raised his voice, something which shocked Takaki as he just stared at the boy in front of him with anger swirling in his eyes. Yamada shut his eyes as he tried to compose himself, breathing evenly and straightening his posture.
“But…” he began. “Even though I don’t know exactly why Mr. Inoo decided to sleep around with all those…” Takaki could see Yamada straining himself. “women,” he spat out. “I do know the true reason as to why he hired Daiki.”
At this Takaki’s interest was perked. The true reason as to why Inoo hired Daiki? Wasn’t it just because the police had found Inoo’s fiancées engagement ring in their store after the guy in the hood had left it on the counter? What did Yamada know about it? Wait, what did Inoo know about it? How did Inoo know about it? Something wasn’t right there. If the ring was stolen and appeared at his store, how did the police know it was there? Why was Inoo there at the police station when it was found? Why was he so calm and composed? Why did he want Daiki working for him when he should’ve very obviously been mad at him for having supposedly stolen his fiancées engagement ring. That’s how a normal person would react, right? Why didn’t Inoo-
Yamada speaking again interrupted Takaki’s train of thought.
“I will tell you the reason, if, you promise to sit down, and listen to every word I have to say until I’m finished, without interrupting.” He finished.
Takaki stared at Yamada for a few moments. The boy was so serious about this that he hated to think that the true reason behind Inoo hiring Daiki was something terrible. If it was something horrible that would hurt Daiki he definitely wanted to help stop it seeing as he was his best friend and all. Biting his lower lip Takaki nodded his head, gesturing for Yamada to follow him to the back room.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Inoo had just arrived outside Daiki’s street and stopped right outside his apartment building. Tearing the seat belt off of him Inoo threw himself out of the car and rushed into the building and up what seemed to be an endless amount of stairs. At each floor Inoo looked at the name plates to see if any of them had Daiki’s name on them, but none of them did so he continued his marathon up the stairs. Finally Inoo reached a floor and door which held a name plate with ‘Daiki Arioka’ written on it. The pretty boy was completely out of breathe, gasping and inhaling any air that his lungs could handle whilst leaning on the doorframe of Daiki’s apartment. After having gained his composure Inoo raised his hand to knock on the door, but hesitated.
He thought of if Daiki had already opened the file and seen his papers. He imagines a scenarios where Daiki had read all of the papers in the file and how he would react, how he would lose respect for Inoo, what he would think of him now after having found out the truth. Daiki might quit his job, and it’s not like Inoo could stop him because Daiki would have a legitimate reason to leave, he had evidence, he could decide not to stay with a mindlessly horny boy who ruined his fathers’ company by whoring around. He was disgusting. He was filth. Why the fuck did Daiki have to take the file? It would ruin their whole, their whole… Their friendship, their relationship, their, their- what the fuck did they even have? What was it? Was it only friendship? Was it only friendship even though he wanted more than that?
Inoo let his hand fall onto the door which made a soft ‘thump’ sound. He leaned his forehead on the door and shut his eyes, a huge sensation of worry overtaking his mind.
Daiki would be disgusted and throw him out of his apartment, out of the building. He’d never talk to him again and cut all contact with him. He wouldn’t be able to ever visit the boy, or see him, talk to him, not even- even… not even anything that had to do with him. What had he done? What had he-
Just then the door opened and Inoo hastily took a step back. He was greeted by the face of the boy he cared for so much, and his cheeks started heating up. A little flustered Inoo was determined to ask Daiki about the file and opened his mouth to speak.
“Da-“
But he wasn’t able to to finish because Daiki had pulled him down into a kiss.
A/N: FINALLY CHAPTER 6, YO. >8DDDD
I'm so sorry for putting this off for so long, but I've been incredibly busy with school. Which reminds me, I have MOCK exams coming up this week so I probably won't be able to write much after this weekend. (Even though I really want to! >.<) But I promise that as soon as that is done I will run back onto LJ and continue writing some fics. :))
Hope everyone is having a good weekend with plenty of rest (or homework, asjkdjskfjsk Dx) !