What is this life?

What is this Life?

Chapter 17

Hiro enters into the bedroom after taking his shower, clad in only a towel. He tosses the jeans he was wearing into the hamper and the torn shirt in the trashcan sitting by the dresser. He walks over to the dresser and opens the top drawer as quietly as possible, not wanting to wake his sleeping friend. After extracting a pair of boxers, he closes the drawer. He walks over to the end of the bed, sits, puts on his boxers and tosses the damp towel in the hamper. Once the boxers are on, he crawls up on his side of the bed and lies down next to Shuichi.

Shuichi rolls over towards Hiro when he feels the mattress sink with the added weight. He curls up close to Hiro and puts his arm across the other's chest. His breathing is slow and steady.

Hiro twists his body slightly to get into a more comfortable position. The motion causes Shuichi to open his sleepy eyes. "Go back to sleep, Shu," is the only thing he says.

Shuichi closes his eyes and drifts back to sleep.

Hiro lies there, thinking about the activities in the studio with Sakuma-sama. A smile graces his face as he recalls the hot, passionate sex. If Ryuichi wasn’t his Master, he could easily take him as a lover. He sighs. Well, even if he’s just Ryuichi’s sex toy, he gets to enjoy fantastic sex. Hiro yawns. He closes his eyes and in a matter of seconds slumber overtakes his spent body.


Ryuichi’s in his suite, freshly showered and dressed for bed. He’s wearing dark green silk pajamas and a matching kimono-style robe with a dragon embroidered on the back. His attitude is upbeat. He's just had the most amazing and satisfying sex. He smiles as he remembers Hiro's gentle but firm touch, the warmth of his mouth and the tightness of his ass. "Gods above, that was incredible!" he half whispers. He makes a mental note to get the leather cover on the stool replaced first thing in the morning.

There's a knock at the door. "Enter," is how he beckons the person who interrupts his pleasant thoughts.

Tatsuha comes in. "Sir, you have a visitor. I told him you were retiring for the evening, but he’s most insistent."

Questioning why anyone would be coming to his mansion at such a late hour, "Well, who is the visitor? I don't recall having invited anyone. Did someone call while I was occupied with the designers?"

"Uh, no sir, no one called." Tatsuha is a little nervous. "It's Seguchi-san, sir."

"Speak of the devil," is the response as Ryuichi spies his friend in the doorway.

"Devil you say? That's rich, Ryu-chan." Seguchi brushes past the butler and enters the room uninvited.

"Thank you, Tatsuha. Would you have cook prepare some tea and bring it up, please?" Ryuichi gives a reassuring smile, letting his butler know everything is alright.

Tatsuha bows and backs out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Ryuichi looks at the expression on his friend's face. "Tohma, what's the matter? You seem a bit upset."

Taking a seat next to Ryuichi on the couch, "I'm not upset, just curious." Tohma's voice betrays what he's saying. "How long were you going to wait to tell me about your plans to start recording in your own studio here on the grounds?"

"I wasn't aware that I had to inform you of anything I do pertaining to my music." Ryuichi's getting annoyed and a bit scared because Tohma is starting to raise his voice. He wonders if Suguru's been spying on him and reporting back to his cousin again. "How’d you find out about my new plans Tohma? Do I have another spy in my household?"

Tohma is surprised. Quirking an eyebrow, he questions why his friend is so defensive, "Ryu, I merely asked a question. Is there something I shouldn't know about? It's not like you to keep something this important from me. After all, we’re best friends. I have a vested interest in you."

“Sorry, Tohma, it’s not a secret. I just don’t like going into the city. Besides, I want to try and produce my own music for a change.” Ryuichi knows that someone had to tell Tohma what’s going on at his home. “And you never answered my question, how did you know?”

”Oh, I ran into your manager earlier today and he told me. He was surprised that you hadn’t said anything to me.” Tohma still wants answers. “So, why didn’t you say anything to me? You know I would’ve helped you with this.”

“Tohma, this is my business. It doesn’t really involve you.” Ryuichi is getting pissed at his friend’s intrusion into his affairs. If Tohma finds out that it’s really a ploy so his playmates can make their own music he’ll be furious. Ryuichi’s somewhat relieved though, since no one in his employ is responsible for Tohma finding out about the construction work.

“Well, if that’s the way you feel, perhaps I should just leave.” Tohma starts to get up.

The conversation is interrupted by a knock at the door and Tatsuha’s re-emergence. He carries in a tray with a small ceramic teapot and two matching cups. He places them on the table in front of the seated company. “Shall I pour, sir?”

“Thank you, Tatsuha, but I can do it. You may leave.” Ryuichi gives a reassuring smile.

Tatsuha bows, nods to Tohma and leaves again, closing the door as he exits.

Ryuichi turns his attention back to his friend. “Really Tohma, it’s no big deal. Please, sit down and have some tea.” He tries to change the subject. “Did you know that I’ve been writing new material lately?” He takes the teapot and pours two cups, handing one to Tohma. After picking up his cup, he glances over towards Tohma to get his reaction.

Tohma takes the bait and slowly sits down. “Really, what kind of songs are you writing? I wasn’t aware that you really had an interest in composing.”

“It’s still in the rough stages, but it’s going to be a love song.” Now Ryuichi knows that he better have something to show Tohma, and soon. He takes a sip of the green tea to calm himself.

Tohma seems enthralled with the idea. “Well, I can’t wait to hear it. Promise me I can come over when you’re ready to record it. I want to be the first to hear a Ryuichi Sakuma original composition.”

Ryuichi almost chokes as he drinks some tea. Recovering as quickly as possible, he says, “Uh, sure Tohma. I’d love for you to hear it.” Oh boy, now he’s done it. He better come up with something soon. Maybe he can get Hiro and Shuichi to help out. ”I’ll give you a call when it’s finished.”

The conversation relaxes to more of the normal type two friends would have. Weather, Tohma’s businesses and plans for Tohma’s upcoming birthday are some of the topics discussed.

Ryuichi yawns and looks at his watch. “Sorry Tohma, it’s been a long day, I hate to be rude, but would you mind if we talk some other time? I’ve been up since early with the construction and getting everything moved into the studio.”

Tohma takes the not-so-subtle hint and obliges his friend. “We’ll talk again, and soon. Good night, Ryu.” He gets up and walks towards the door. He opens the door, then turns and says, “We’ll have to talk about the slaves later, too.” He exits the room, leaving Ryuichi stunned.

“Slaves? Why would he want to talk about them?” Ryuichi starts to think that maybe Tohma knows more than he’s telling. Ryuichi’s mood isn’t as cheerful as before and he’s stressed. He needs to unwind. He thinks about how to do this and decides that perhaps bed is not the answer, at least not going there alone. He looks at his watch again. It’s only 9:15 p.m. He needs something to cheer him up.

He sighs and heads out the door, down to the room on the right. He knocks on the door and waits for an answer. When he doesn’t get a response, he tries the doorknob. It’s locked, so he takes out his key and unlocks the door. He opens it and slips in the room. Ryuichi looks at the sleeping forms on the double bed. It almost seems a shame to wake them, but he’s not in the mood to be alone. He walks over to the bed and gives Shuichi a mild shake on his shoulder.

Shuichi opens his eyes and looks at the Master of the house. “Master, is everything alright?”

Ryuichi bends down close to Shuichi’s face. “Did I wake you?”

Rubbing his eyes to get the sleep out, Shuichi replies in a groggy voice, “It’s okay. I’ve been asleep for too long anyway. What’s wrong, sir?”

Just as Ryuichi is about to answer, Hiro opens his eyes. He looks over at Ryuichi and blinks. “What’s going on?”

Ryuichi is sorry he woke his young companions, but he really needs to be with someone. “Seguchi-san was just here. He knows about the studio and he’s not happy. I think he suspects there’s more to my story than me just wanting to me to record here. He got mad at me and now I can’t sleep. I want some company.”

Hiro gets up on his elbow and looks at the clock. He’s been asleep for about two hours. He nudges Shuichi. “Come on Shu, get up.” He looks at Ryuichi, “We’ll keep you company, sir. Please give us a minute to get dressed and we’ll be right with you.”

Ryuichi backs away from the bed and Shuichi sits up. He throws off the covers, revealing his naked body. He didn’t bother getting dressed after his shower several hours ago.

Ryuichi looks at the young man and smiles. He walks over to the dresser, opens a drawer and gets out a pair of pink pajamas. He tosses them to Shuichi. “Here, just put these on and grab a robe.” He looks at Hiro who nods, indicating he understands what’s expected of him, too.

Shuichi maneuvers to the side of the bed, puts his legs in the pajama bottoms and stands, pulling them up in a quick movement. He gets up, puts on the tops and grabs his robe off a hook near the closet. He takes Hiro’s robe from an adjoining hook and tosses it to him.

Hiro throws off the comforter completely and scoots over to the edge of the bed. He stands up, stretching and twisting his body to get out the kinks. He doesn’t bother with pajamas, just puts on his robe and ties it shut.

Once everyone is up and properly attired, Ryuichi heads out the door, the pair right behind him.


TBC