Father Son Relationships
Disclaimer:
Sensual phrase and all copyrights belong to Mayu Shinjo and Shogakukan,
Inc (VIZ for the English Translation).
I am not Mayu Shinjo. Enjoy.
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The plane ride was mostly uneventful. Although he garnered a little attention at
the very beginning, several autographs and an acknowledgement that yes, Sakuya
Ookochi was in first class was all it took to leave him in peace. The last two days had been a roller coaster
of scheduling, tying up loose ends, and learning everything he could about
Grazer Media. So, while he had the
chance for some downtime, he put earphones on and slept. The air attendants noticed him sleeping and
put a meal back in case he woke and wanted it later.
Sakuya had spent most of the last 48 hours learning
everything he could about the man who was his father. Although he hated the man, he knew that on order to beat the
enemy, one must first understand that enemy.
When he’d kissed Aine in the dressing room and she’d run from him, he
realized that the only way to have a future would be to conquer the past.
After the plane landed in New York, he went through the
tedious process of gathering his bags.
On his way to the taxi kiosk, he noticed a coin glinting in the
artificial lights of the airport.
Bending down, he picked up a quarter.
On the reverse-side, it read ‘New Hampshire’ and ‘Live Free or
Die.’ Rubbing over the design, he gazed
ahead. Suddenly an evil glint entered
his eyes and he pocketed the quarter before standing and resuming his path.
Once he reached the kiosk, he hailed a taxi and told the
driver to take him to Grazer Media. As
the taxi pulled up in front of a large metal monolith, Sakuya took a deep
breath and reminded himself again why he was doing this. Because Aine is suffering and I currently
have no power to help her.
Exiting the taxi, he slid his sunglasses over his eyes so
that he could observe his surroundings unobtrusively. The building had the architectural earmark of an early 90’s
design and when he entered he realized it had been built before the bombing of
New York’s World Trade Center. All of
the elevators were clumped in the middle of the building, a design that proved
to be a liability. Walking up to the
guard’s desk, his single carryon in his hand, he looked down his nose at the
guard.
The guard was from an old Irish American family, and he
answered to Paul Nathan. He had a fine
love for whiskey, his wife, and the three girls his two eldest daughters had
birthed over the last five years. Their
pictures were mounted on the corner of his desk, and the other guards respected
him enough not to set their coffee cups on them when he wasn’t on duty. What very few people knew about the burly
guard was that he held a doctorate in fine arts and had been a Broadway singer
in his younger years.
Paul had seen a lot of people in his life, both as a singer
and as a guard. He was a quick, and
accurate, judge of character. Clearing
his throat, he looked at the man trying to intimidate him by staring down at
him through sunglasses. “Son. Can I offer some advice?”
Sakuya was taken back by this man. In Japan, people kept their thoughts to themselves, and never
offered advice unless first asked.
Looking down at Paul, and giving him the respect he’d give a stranger,
Sakuya nodded.
“There are two types of people.” He coughed lightly.
“Those that own the world, and those that think they do. Do you know how to tell the
difference?” When Sakuya shook his
head, he continued. “Those that think
they own the world, try to act like it.
Those that do, don’t need to.”
Sakuya felt a grin start on his face. He’d had very little to smile about in so
long that it was a strange feeling.
Nodding his head slightly, he took off his glasses before offering his
hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet
you. My name is Sakuya Ookochi, you
are?”
Although Paul had never met this man before, he knew who he
was. He also recognized those
eyes. Clearing his throat, he
stood. “I’m Paul Nathan.” Smiling at the young man who towered over
him, even when he stood, he accepted the offered hand. The young man’s handshake was firm but
gentle. “I don’t understand a word of
what you sing, but my youngest daughter buys every CD you make.” Chuckling, he leaned forward as if sharing a
confidence. “Can I ask you a question?”
Sakuya was surprised that anyone in the US knew of him. “Sure.”
“Are your lyrics as provocative as I’ve heard they
are?” Twinkling blue eyes answered his
question. “I see. I guess I’ll have to tell Clara that she’ll
need to give those CD’s to her mother.”
He chuckled again. “My wife will
love them. She’s originally from Osaka,
and it can’t hurt my love life can it?”
Sitting back down, he looked up at the singer. “Why are you here?”
The mask fell back across Sakuya’s face, and Paul was very
glad he wasn’t the cause. “I’m here to
see my father.”
Paul didn’t need to ask any questions, the eyes were a dead
giveaway. Realizing they were back on
formal terms, he stepped back into his guard persona. “Just a minute sir.” Gleefully
enjoying the prank he’d get to play on the bitch that doggedly guarded Rupert
Grazer’s office, he picked up the phone and dialed her extension. “Mrs. Thomas, Mr. Grazer’s son is here to
see him.” Smiling, he pointed to the
leftmost elevator. “He’s on the top
floor. It was a pleasure to talk to
you. And remember that you don’t have
to show anyone you own the world, they’ll figure it out on their own.” As Sakuya walked to the elevator, Paul
hummed an Irish limerick to himself. That
kid will do just fine.
When the doors slid opened, Linda Thomas was surprised to
see a tall black-haired foreigner exit the elevator. Using her snootiest voice, she berated him. “Sir, you have the wrong floor.” I’m going to have that bastard Paul fired
for this mistake! However, the tall
man exited the elevator and walked straight past her as if she was
invisible. Standing, she grabbed his
arm. “Sir! You cannot go in there!”
Turning, he pierced her with the same eyes her boss
had. “Take your hands off of me. I’m here to see my father, and if you stand
in my way, I will walk over you.”
Backing up in fear, she walked to the desk. “L..et me at least tell him you are
here.” She reached for the phone.
Grabbing her hand and gently caressing it, he smiled. “No, I believe I’ll just walk in and
surprise him.” Leaving his suitcase at
her desk, he turned to pin her with his sexiest glare. “This is mine. I’ll be back for it.”
Opening the doors, he sauntered into the inner sanctum of the one person
he’d hated since he was old enough to understand what the word meant.
Rupert looked up from his video-conference when the doors to
his office opened, already forming a derogatory statement for his assistant,
when he caught the outline of a tall, lanky body. Because he’d pulled the curtains to help with the conference, it
was darker in his office than the hallway.
He couldn’t clearly see who was in his office; but he did recognize that
the man wasn’t intimidated by anything.
Looking forward to matching wits with this intruder, he disconnected
from the conference in the middle of an underling’s presentation and
stood. “Who the hell do you think you
are, to barge in here?”
Sakuya fingered the quarter in his pocket, reminding himself
that everything had a price and this was his to pay. “I’m your son, and I want to learn everything you know.” Sakuya didn’t stop until he was directly in
front of the devil who had created him.
“Sakuya?” His father
gazed into slanted eyes the exact same shade as his own. “And why do you want to learn everything I
know?”
Sakuya leaned over, facing his father. “So that I can take over and crush
you.” He smiled, his teeth showing like
a shark’s for just a fraction of a second.
The middle-aged man chuckled and stood, walking around his desk
to stand in front of the other man. “I
see that your spirit wasn’t damaged by your mother’s death.”
Sakuya clenched his fists at the reminder of that part of
his life, but Rupert saw the giveaway.
“If you want to learn everything I know, you’ll have to get over
that. I intend to rub your entire
existence into your face at every opportunity.
Now that I’ve found your weakness, I plan to exploit it.”
The young man chuckled, humorlessly. “My existence is your fault, not mine. And my mother isn’t my weakness. But feel free to bring her up…just remember
your part in the story.” As Rupert’s
face hardened to stone, Sakuya smiled shallowly. “So, are you going to teach me everything you know, or do I have
to beg?”
They looked at each other across the span of seventeen
years. One who was too proud to admit
he was human, the other too human to set aside hatred and admit that his father
was a flawed one himself. Rupert had regrets
about that night, but the man standing in front of him wasn’t one of them. However, he gave nothing away and he’d be
damned before he’d let this boy get one up on him.
Sakuya knew what he’d have to do, but he waited until he had
no other choice. While Rupert continued
to stand in stubborn silence, Sakuya dropped to his knees, and put his face to
the ground. “I beg of you, teach me
everything you know.”
Rupert was shamed for an instant that he’d reduced his very
proud son to begging, but quickly decided to use it to see exactly what kind of
mettle the man had. “And you’ll use it
to destroy me?” He looked at the young
man at his feet.
“Yes.” Sakuya didn’t
even look up.
“Well, at least you’re honest.” That’s more than I can say about my other son. “You’re welcome to try. Stand up.
You’ll beg me to release you from my service before you get anything
from me.” He walked back behind the
desk, pressing some buttons and waiting for the man at the other end to pick
up.
“Yes sir?” The quiet
male voice didn’t seem bothered to be talking to the boss.
“I have someone in my office that I want you to add to the
payroll. He’ll be working directly for
me as a trainee.” He put his hands in
the pockets of his gray slacks, rocking back onto his heels in the process.
“What?” The voice sounded startled.
“You may be CFO, but don’t forget who signs your
bonuses.” He hung up the phone and
glanced at his watch. As the door
opened to the office, he scowled at his next in line. Forty-two seconds…asshole.
Marvin Hillmann stood in front of Rupert, breathing
normally. He had been a track star in
high school. Since it irked Rupert that
twenty years later he could still run up two flights of stairs without becoming
winded, he did it as often as possible just to tweak the tiger’s tail. “Is this the person you want me to
add?” He turned to look at the upstart
standing next to Rupert’s desk. His
eyes widened slightly as he recognized the uncanny resemblance between the two.
Rupert chuckled.
“Yes, this is my son, and he has come all the way from Japan to beg me
to teach him everything I know.” He
walked up to his son and patted his cheek.
“Begged me. Do you know what
that means to a Japanese male?”
Marvin did. He’d
been part of Rupert’s team when they’d set up Grazer Media’s Japan
Division. He knew exactly what it meant
to that young man’s pride to beg for anything.
Looking at Sakuya again, Marvin gasped as he inspected those blue
eyes. This isn’t a man who begs for
anything, ever. Wondering at the
root cause, he decided to keep his thoughts to himself. “I will add him immediately.” Turning, he left the office.
“You do realize that everyone in this building will know you
lowered yourself to beg at my feet by the end of the day?”
“Yes.” Sakuya knew he’d have to do that before he ever got
on the plane. It didn’t make it any more
appetizing; but knowing he had to eat a plate of shit was easier than just
being handed the plate and told to dig in.
“Tomorrow you are to report to the mailroom at 3am. If you want to get to the top, you’ll start
at the bottom.” He sat back down, dismissing
the man in front of him.
However, Sakuya wasn’t finished with Rupert. Bending over and getting in his face, Sakuya
said what he’d held while Marvin was in the room. “I’ll never beg to be released from your service, but you’re
welcome to try and break me. I’ll start
at the bottom and work my way through the jobs during my working hours, but I
want you to give me more. I’ll be
through your idea of a Herculean task in a month. When I start working in the office beside yours, I want to
already know what’s happening. You
might take things one at a time, but I’m not that lazy.”
Feeling a secret pride that his son was so ambitious, Rupert
pressed the page button on the phone.
“Linda, I want a copy of every financial report for the last three years
on my desk by tomorrow morning. And…the
white papers for every project we’re considering.” Hanging up, he looked at his son. “Is that enough for you?”
Pushing up from the surface of the desk, he turned and
walked to the door. “I’ll be back next
week for more.” He turned and bowed to
the man sitting before him. “Thank
you.”
“Don’t thank me yet.
I have no confidence in your ability to overcome the weak half of your
genetic makeup and rise to the performance standard I require.” He waved his hand dismissively. “You’re free to go.”
“I give no less than my best. It won’t be my Japanese half that holds me back.” Sakuya bowed again before leaving. As he walked through the door, he knocked a
frantic Mrs. Thomas over as she scurried to gather all of the materials her
boss had requested. Stopping long
enough to help her up, he grabbed his suitcase and left.
A/N: Wow,
another week already! I finally
deviated from the formal flight plan.
See you next week. -TK
