Putting Down the Mask and Taking Off the Gloves
Disclaimer:
“Say it three times while clacking your heels…”
”Mayu Shinjo, Mayu Shinjo, Mayu Shinjo… Oh look TOTO, we’re
back in Tokyo. Auntie Em’s house is
still here, and here’s everyone I love!
Auntie Em, I had a dream that Tommy was the lead singer of a visual
band, and Eddy was the guitarist. Oh,
and guess what!?! I owned the rights to
Sensual Phrase.”
“Poor Twik, maybe you should lay down for a while, when you
wake back up, everything will be back to normal. You’ll remember you’re a poor college student, and Mayu Shinjo
will have been credited with the intellectual rights for these characters.”
Ralph Grazer was sitting at his desk when the call came
in. Picking up the phone, he greeted
the caller before listening quietly.
Hanging up the handset, he stood up and walked to the window, a grin
growing ever brighter on his face. If
his PA had walked into the room, she would have died of fright.
Ralph had gotten where he was despite being pitted against
an invisible foe. From a very early
age, Rupert Grazer had used his youngest son as a weapon to spur his eldest to
perform to ever increasing expectations.
Ralph had grown up hating the brother that his father had spawned off of
a Japanese whore.
When Sakuya’s mother died several years ago, Rupert had
gathered his eldest son and flown to Japan.
Because she’d been labeled as an adulterer, she could not be buried in
the Buddhist custom of her ex-husband; so Sakuya had arranged a western style
burial. Rupert and Ralph stood in the
very back, Rupert watching the funeral with saddened eyes while Ralph glared at
the tall child standing in front of the grave.
After the ceremony, they had flown back to the states. Rupert bragging the entire time about how
his ‘accidental’ child had grown early into a man. Unable to stand it, Ralph snapped. “What’s so great about that whore’s son that I don’t have?”
Rupert leaned forward and smacked his son’s face, turning
his cheek. “Don’t EVER refer to her as
a whore. I don’t regret the son we
created, but I do regret how it happened.”
Turning to look out the window, Rupert put his hand over his mouth,
watching the clouds pass under their jet.
Realizing there was more to the story than his father had
told him, Ralph kept his mouth shut.
Angered that his father had hit him, he secretly enjoyed the fact that
his father was embarrassed by some action.
Growing up, he’d known his father had no conscience. It was strange to learn otherwise.
When his father turned back to him, he was shocked by the
sadness apparent in his elder’s face.
“I cheated on your mother many times before she left me. However, I always had a willing
partner.” He picked up the glass of
wine sitting on the table beside him. “When your mother left me, you were probably too young to
remember, but she took you with her.”
Ralph nodded, he remembered those dark days when his mother
drank too much and his father never called.
“I went into a stall, and decided the only way to recover
would be to add fuel and yank hard on the stick. The result was that I went to Japan to start the Asian branch of
our firm. I was there for over a year.” He swirled the red liquid, watching the way
the sun shone through the glass. “There
was a nightclub near the new studios. I
would go there frequently to unwind.
The singer was a beautiful woman whose songs healed something in me that
had broken when your mother left.”
He put down the glass.
“She was married and wanted nothing to do with me, so I took what I
wanted from her.” Ralph’s eyes bugged
out, not believing what his father was saying.
“Hell son, you’re getting ready to graduate from high school, you figure
it out.” Rupert turned back to the
window, but this time he noticed his habit of putting his hand in front of his
mouth and stopped. “It was only
once. I discovered that sex just wasn’t
the same when the woman wasn’t willing.”
He pinned his sun with his stare.
“Sakuya was the result.”
“If she was married, why do you support her?” Ralph could understand his father’s
passions; he’d inherited them from him.
“For years you’ve written monthly checks to this woman.”
“Her husband abandoned her.” He laughed mirthlessly.
“Pure Japanese don’t have blue eyes.”
He turned to look at his son.
“I’ll tell you something though…I’d do it again in a heartbeat. That voice haunts my soul, and I’ll forever
feel I buried a part of myself in the ground today.” A waiter appeared with their dinner. “Besides, that boy has had to work for everything he is; and he’s
going to go much farther in life than you.
You’re lazy Ralph.” He pointed
his fork at his son. “Now eat up, don’t
waste what I work for.”
That night raised an insurmountable wall between the
two. Rupert had told his son something
he’d promised himself to take to the grave.
Instead of hating himself for his actions, he turned that hatred towards
his son; making Ralph’s life a living hell.
By the time Ralph had wrested control of the entertainment branch of
Grazer Media from his father and purchased Teikoku Television, he had only one
goal in his mind…destroy the man that had become the wall between him and his
father.
ssssss
Shaking off the memories, and realizing what that phone call
meant, he again smiled out over the city.
“Finally, I’ve beaten him.”
Turning, he pressed the intercom button. “Suzi, I’m leaving for the day.
Reschedule all of my meetings.”
He grabbed his jacket and walked out, leaving a very surprised secretary
still holding the phone.
Upon arriving at the apartment, he opened the door to find
Aine sitting in front of the window.
“Hello honey, I’m home.” It was
the perfect parody of a loving tone, and she responded by tightening her
shoulders. He got off on taunting this
extension of Sakuya’s heart. Walking
over to her, he ran his hand up her back.
“I see that the city shines for you in the sunlight as well.” Yet another stab, mocking the first song
she’d written him...‘Suite Spot.’
“You’re here early today.”
She turned and smiled, trying her best not to anger him.
He smiled, an action that would have made him breathtaking
if his eyes hadn’t turned the whole gesture sinister. “I received very good news today, and I had to share.” He turned and walked to the couch, patting
the cushion beside him. “Please, come
sit.”
She’s been around Ralph long enough to know that he was
never kind without a reason. He was the
epitome of a sadist, someone who only gave pleasure to make the pain more
intense. However, her only other option
would ultimately lead to his bed, and she absolutely couldn’t stomach the
thought of that. Sitting down close
enough not to offend; but far enough away not to have to touch him, she was
surprised when he suddenly stood.
Smacking his hands together gleefully, he smiled down at the
young woman. “I almost forgot the
drinks and snacks!” He looked at his
watch before walking into the kitchen.
“We have enough time. Why don’t
you make tea?”
She stood and followed him into the kitchen, flipping the
switch on the hotpot. It made boiling
water in less than two minutes and she walked back into the room with a tea
tray just as he flipped on the TV. She
poured his tea and handed it to him and had just picked up her cup when the
commercial ended and the show came back on.
She immediately recognized the news anchor as the woman that Sakuya had
been interviewed by today.
The reporter wore a white dress suit that emphasized her
curling black hair and green contact eyes.
“And now for the last guest of the day.
This is his first appearance in public since his hospitalization, please
welcome Sakuya Ookochi.” The camera
panned over to the man she had touched just hours earlier. “You’ve been discharged from the hospital,
and recovered fully from a nasty bout of exhaustion. You’re feeling good and presumably ready to get on with your
career. So tell us, what’s next for
Lucifer?”
Without batting an eye, he looked straight at the
camera. “Lucifer is disbanding.”
Gasps could be heard in the background along with Sasaki
screaming to cue the music; but Aine was numb to all of it. Ralph watched with secret glee as his very
expensive Wedgewood cup fell to the ground, spilling the tea before smashing
upon impact. It was a very satisfying
sound. If only he could make Sakuya’s
heart do the same. “Running away with
his tail between his legs? Just like
the wild dog he is.” He sighed
dramatically. “I’d actually placed a
little more faith in his love for you than that.” Walking up to her, he gently ran his fingers across one of her
cheeks. “What did you say to that
pretty boy to hurt him so badly today?”
“What?” Her eyes
grew two sizes, filled with the horror of both of her greatest fears coming
true.
“Oh Aine, you go nowhere without me watching. I know you went to the studio today. I’d planned to take it out of your hide
tonight; but this is so much more satisfying that I’ve decided to let it
slide.” He turned and walked back over
to the table, picking up his cup. “Did
you tell him that we were lovers?”
Her bowed head was answer enough. “Well, don’t forget to clean up your mess. I’ll be back really late, I have things to
do.” With that, he turned and left her
to her agony.
