Sins

Sins

Chapter 4

Standing behind his synthesizer with hands mindlessly playing "Blind Game Again" stood the new father-to-be. Fingers glided along the keyboard instinctively while Suguru's mind aimlessly wandered through time and space. Images of holding a baby up and twirling him around like a pinwheel in the breeze brought a smile to the young man's face. It wasn't until he heard a gun's bang and felt a breeze on his cheek as a bullet whizzed past him did he come out of his revelry. K-san was yelling in his usual boisterous baritone voice, "FUKISAKI WILL YOU GET YOUR MIND ON YOUR WORK?"

Shaking his head slightly and looking absent-mindedly at the blond man with the cannon pointed at him he asked, "What?"

The manager looked at his keyboardist with one hand on Suguru’s shoulder and the other holding his gun inches from Suguru’s face. “We stopped the song half-way through. Why aren’t you paying attention today? This is the fourth time we have stopped songs and you kept playing. Your mind isn’t on your work and that isn’t normal for you.”

Blushing like a child caught with a hand in the cookie jar, he turned his eyes towards his gawking band mates. “Sorry guys.”

“I don’t remember you having that much to drink last night Fujisaki, so what’s your excuse? I know Shuichi and Hiro have hangovers this morning, but I don’t believe you do.” Bloodshot blue eyes stared at the young man in an inquisitive manner. Yes, even hard-drinker K-san still got hangovers and the one he had today kept him in a disagreeable mood. “What’s got you so distracted?”

Not giving the real reason to his friends was mandatory. So keeping his secret locked safely away in his heart and mind, he lied. Well, he didn’t really tell a complete lie, but it’s something everyone should believe. “I’m angry with Tohma for the way he reacted last night at his party. He didn’t appreciate a damned thing that was done for him. He’s an ungrateful ass.”

Mouths gaped and eyes popped at the proclamation when something totally unexpected was heard. “So, you think I’m an unappreciative ass?” Tohma stood in the doorway to the studio and steam could almost be seen coming from his ears as he focused his attention on his cousin. With practiced control he continued. “I come to check on the progress of the new CD and this is what I find. If you’re upset with me about something, come to me but don’t let it interfere with your work.”

Suguru didn’t want Tohma anywhere near him now but he couldn’t tell him to get lost. Opting to try and defuse the situation he merely said, “Fine, let’s take this to your office.” He nonchalantly walked past Tohma and out the door. Anger was not the best way to describe the senior keyboardist’s attitude but it was close. He turned and left the speechless ensemble wondering what in the hell just happened.

The door to Tohma’s office flew open when Suguru gave an unexpectedly hard push. Following just seconds behind the younger musician came his mentor and unknown rival. The planks of wood shook as Tohma slammed them shut. ”What’s your problem, Suguru?” was the question that exploded from Tohma’s mouth as the door finally closed tightly.

Coming face to face with the man he both loved and resented, Suguru pursed his lips and bit his tongue. He needed to think very carefully before blurting out something that would end up hurting the woman he loved, Tohma’s wife. Tension was thick as a staring contest kept both men’s eyes glued on one another, black on turquoise. Inhaling a deep controlling breath and exhaling slowly, Suguru finally spoke. “Do you have any idea how much time and effort Mika and I put into making the best possible celebration for your birthday? All those hours of sneaking out of the studio, getting the whole family to help make it special and your reaction was hardly what we expected. To add more insult, you ignored everyone except your precious Sakuma and a few principals from the industry. I wanted to take that birthday cake and shove it in your face and cram it down your throat until you choked!”

Nobody ever spoke to Tohma that way, at least if he expected to keep his head attached to shoulders. The unassuming young man’s ranting caught Tohma totally by surprise. Only the fact that this was his favorite cousin and protégé kept Tohma from losing all control and cascading him with his own tirade. Biting back what he really wanted to say, Tohma opted to remain silent which only infuriated Suguru more.

“You’re a pompous, self-righteous jerk with delusions of godhood and I’m sick of it! When are you going to finally appreciate your wife?” The words flew out of Suguru’s mouth faster than his common sense could stop.

Tohma crooked his head as he examined the flushed face before him. “Are you angry because I didn’t fawn over that overdone extravaganza Mika organized or because of something else? I can’t believe that you’re upset over my less than enthusiastic response to having a party she knew I didn’t want.”

Suguru wanted to blurt out his feelings for Mika as well as those for his arrogant elder, but he realized that would make matters worse. Panting slightly from his anger, silence became the choice of the moment. He watched Tohma and waited to find out if there was any way out of the current predicament. Finally, he backed down and tried a different tactic. In a meeker tone he asked, “Why couldn’t you just appreciate what was done for you? A simple thank you would have been sufficient. I really wanted to make your birthday special and you ruined it.” A false look of hurt covered Suguru’s face as he waited to see how Tohma would react.

The bait was taken when Tohma stepped forward and extended his hand to his cousin. “The party was a surprise and you know that I’m not fond of surprises. Please accept my apology for upsetting you.”

His own feelings weren’t what he cared about, but he would accept it for the sake of ending the ordeal. Suguru took the offered hand and before he spoke again, Tohma’s phone rang. If it wasn’t cliché to say saved by the bell, Suguru would’ve done just that. He bowed slightly and quickly left the room when Tohma went to answer the phone. Leaning against the wall outside the office, he sighed. What was he thinking by confronting Tohma like that? After hitting himself in the forehead with the heel of his hand, Suguru went back to work. This time he would concentrate on the current tasks and leave his dilemma with Mika for later.

While the play unfolded in Tohma’s office, Mika sat in her living room contemplating her options. She debated calling her confidant and ultimate voice of reason, her brother Eiri. What kept her from doing so was his involvement with the lead singer of Tohma’s rival band, one Shuichi Shindou. Eiri would tell her all the things that were wrong with her affair but would still give good advice. However, that kid couldn’t keep a secret if his life depended on it. Eiri blurted out the plans for Tohma’s party one night during sex. Only Hiro stuffing a donut in Shuichi’s mouth when Tohma stopped by the studio the next morning kept him from announcing the party plans. She couldn’t take a chance that something this dynamic would find its way to Shuichi’s ears.

Her thoughts were halted by the sound of her baby’s cries from his cradle. Since the nanny had been given the afternoon off, Mika was home alone with her son. It was a rare treat for her to be able to spend quality time with the babe and not have the nanny’s eyes watching her. She walked over and smiled as she caressed the tiny boy’s back, soothing his cries. That beautiful child made being in a loveless marriage tolerable. As she bent over to pick him up, a stabbing pain cut through Mika. She crumbled to the floor next to the cradle and wrapped her arms around her abdomen.

Minutes later, and with great difficulty, she was able to crawl to the end table and reached up for the phone. Her fingers made contact with the receiver cord and she tugged, which caused the receiver to fall into her waiting hand. Not knowing what else to do, she called Suguru’s cell phone. After several rings he finally answered only to hear a crying Mika begging, “Help me, something’s wrong with the baby.” Suguru dropped his cell phone at the plea and turned pale.

K picked up the fallen mobile unit and listened to hear Mika repeat her words and the phone went dead. He announced he was calling Tohma when Suguru grabbed the phone back and yelled, “No, Tohma can’t know about this! I’ll take care of it.”

Shock gripped the faces in the room at the musician’s outburst. K looked at the fear in Suguru’s eyes and knew something was not right with this situation. “Why not call Tohma if his son is in trouble?”

Without thinking about the consequences, what was said next sent shockwaves through the room. “It’s not Tohma’s baby she’s calling about, it’s mine!” He looked at K with tears welling in his eyes and asked, “Can you drive me to Mika?”

It was the longest twelve minutes in Suguru’s life riding in the van with K and the rest of his band associates. No one wanted to be left behind. Considering that Tohma might come back to check on the status of the recording, K decided that it would be best to take everyone. He rationalized that if the whole band was gone, Tohma wouldn’t think anything was amiss.

As the van came to a rolling stop in front of the Seguchi home, Suguru jumped out and ran to the front door. Finding it unlocked, he opened the door and froze. Mika was unconscious on the floor next to the cradle containing his little cousin. While he stood there in a stupor, K ran up and pushed past the fear-stricken young man and moved quickly to the woman on the floor. After checking for a pulse, he dipped into his pants pocket, extracted his cell phone and called for medical assistance. It only took a few minutes before the ambulance was parked in front of the house and paramedics rushed in to tend Mika. As she was being lifted onto a stretcher to be taken to the hospital, her dark eyes opened. Panic struck her face when she saw two strange men looking down at her prone form.

A weak squeal caught Suguru’s attention and he hurried beside her and grabbed her hand. “It’s going to be okay, Mika.” He smiled at her trying to put on a brave front as fear at what was happening raged through his body. Left on the floor where Mika had lain was a small puddle of blood and he knew it was a very bad omen. Mika didn’t release Suguru’s hand when the paramedics started wheeling her out of the room. At the front door on the way out, Suguru turned and asked for everyone to stay and take care of the infant in the cradle.

K turned to Hiro and Shuichi and told them to go find something to clean the floor while he held the whimpering child. They quickly returned and were wiping up the last of the mess when K looked at them and said, “This doesn’t go outside this room. No one says a word to anyone.” Looking directly at Shuichi’s upturned face he added, “Not even Yuki-san can know. If his sister wants him told, she will tell him. Is that understood?” Shuichi gulped and silently nodded.

Suguru didn’t know how long the ride to the hospital actually took but was glad when the ambulance stopped and the back doors opened. The paramedics and hospital personnel grabbed the stretcher and pulled it out, then hurried into the emergency room. Suguru wasn’t allowed to stay in the room as the nurses undressed the semi-conscious woman so the doctor could examine her. After being escorted to a seating area, he was forced to wait.

Afternoon turned to evening before anyone came out to find Suguru again. Sitting alone in the corner, he looked up to see the face of Mika’s doctor staring down at him. “I assume you are Suguru, I’m doctor Haiku. Mika-san asked me to talk to you. She’s doing well but,” she stopped before continuing further knowing that this was not Mika’s husband and not wanting to break ethical ground.

Intense dismay was on the youthful face as he finished her sentence. “She lost the baby.”

The doctor closed her eyes and nodded. “There was nothing that could be done. She miscarried before she got here.”

Tears streamed down Suguru’s face at the loss of his unborn child. He gazed at the doctor then realized that there were questions he failed to ask. “How is Mika? Will she be alright?”

Relief that the baby wasn’t his only concern graced the doctor’s face. She smiled as she told him, “Mika-san’s going to be fine. I’ve sedated her and she’ll spend the night here. You can take her home in the morning. Would you like to see her?” Suguru jumped up and eagerly followed the doctor.

In the sterile cubical he saw the woman he loved lying with an IV in her arm. Tears had stained her face and seeing Suguru caused her to start crying again. “I’m sorry,” was all she could say.

Walking over and taking her quaking hand in his, he tried to console her. “There’s no need to apologize, Mika. You couldn’t prevent this from happening. At least you’re alright now.” He leaned over and placed a kiss on her forehead. “You rest and we’ll talk about this tomorrow.” The medication Dr. Haiku had given Mika started to work and as she gripped Suguru’s hand, she fell asleep.

TBC