I'll try to actually get a 'on writing' blog post this week. I've just been so busy and focused on PAINTING that it's hard to do anything else.
Chapter
18 (Summer vacation comes to an end)
Keiko
yawned while she ran her fingers
across Zack’s chest. Had it already been a week since she and Natsumi had moved in with him? Best. Week. Ever.
Zack
massaged Keiko’s neck. “Are you
awake already?”
After
looking up at him, she nodded. “Just thinking.”
“About what?”
“You.”
A smile spread across his
face.
Thump-thump. Her heart
raced, and heat coursed through her body. She became wet. Sopping wet.
His hands moved down
between her shoulder-blades and worked the tension from her back. “What about
me?”
“It’s been like a dream come true. I could only
ask for one more thing.”
“What?”
Zack swallowed. “It’s …
not important. Listen. I — never mind.”
Do you already love me like I love you? A squeal of elation climbed
from Keiko’s lungs, but she squashed it before it reached daylight. “Did
you ever hear anything back from your friend?”
Zack
cringed. “He said he would email
me today, but —”
Keiko
placed a finger to his soft,
inviting lips. “I already told you. My father still wants you to get the
device, but he hinted to me that
getting an exact location in your friend’s company would be enough.”
“I’m
really grateful to the both of you.”
It was my idea. “We’re just glad —”
Zack’s
phone vibrated, buzzing around his desk in a circular
pattern. He sighed then climbed
from the bed in nothing but purple, silk boxers.
She chewed on her
lower-lip. When he hangs up, I’ll have some alone time with him.
###
Less than a week from Zack’s original deadline,
he dropped the towel in the washing machine and strode to the closet. What
should I wear to tonight’s dinner with Daiki? He reached out and pulled the closet door open.
As a cruel joke, Natsumi had tossed all of his
clothes onto the closet floor despite his efforts to press the wrinkles from them.
Beyond that, she spilled trash onto the floor anytime he tried to vacuum or
straighten things. What was wrong with her?
He sighed then began to
rifle through a pile of clothes.
Behind him, she and Keiko sat
on the bed, having a private conversation. They would allow him the
opportunity to dress himself — or,
so they said before he got into the shower.
Did they really throw his favorite
pink tie away? They were so
frustrating sometimes. Yet … these past two weeks with them had made
him happier than he could ever remember being.
Zack
picked through his clothes for the sixth time. The solid black suit it is.
“Always
a good choice,” Shinji said as if he were nodding in approval.
It has the least wrinkles.
“So,
how will you convince this Daiki to let you into his lab?”
Maybe a tour or something. Zack
pulled the suit out of the closet and hung it over Andrew’s old chair. Any
specific tie color?
“Since
you are going to ask for a favor, I would say blue.” Shinji paused. “It
will show him that you are serious while not being too forceful.”
Good
call. Zack held out a blue tie with white stripes and another with pink
polka-dots. Of the two?
“Striped.
More professional.”
Shinji coughed.
Zack
clenched his eyes shut and began to dress. I wonder if finding it will truly be enough?
“I want to say, yes … .”
I … understand.
Natsumi and Keiko glanced at Zack, grins splitting their faces.
A smile pulled at Zack’s
lips.
Why didn’t he give them a
chance sooner? Unlike Sena, they were amazing and treated him — mostly — with
respect as if he were a person. And save for the pink tie, and the mess, their
actions had helped him move on with his life. The distant memory of Sena began
to fade, and the desire for a daughter blazed like an inferno. Though, Shinji
was still a secret. They would probably freak out about it.
While yawning, Zack wrapped the tie around his neck in the Eldredge knot, as usual. “Are you two going to sit around,
naked, all day?”
Natsumi
met Keiko’s gaze and cocked her
head to the left. Natsumi slowly
returned her gaze to Zack. “So, are you complaining that two beautiful women
are sitting around your apartment, naked?”
“No
—”
“Then
shut up.”
Zack
straightened his tie and spun. “How do I look?”
“Delicious,” the two said as one. “Good
luck.”
When they stood, he
glided across the room and kissed each. “I’ll be back before the last
train.” He threw on his new dress
shoes and stepped outside, heading off towards Ikebukuro station.
A five-minute train delay,
but nothing to complain about.
After
getting off the train at Shinjuku station,
Zack walked through the west exit ticket gate.
People stuffed the area around the ticket gate tighter
than a Thanksgiving Day Turkey. The smell of
fresh-baked bread overpowered the
sheer volume of sweaty bodies. Lucky.
When the throng of gawkers parted, a tiny, Japanese man remained, standing outside of the Odakyu department building entrance. His thick, horn-rimmed
glasses and cheap, purple tie drew
away from what must be an expensive suit. Freckles covered his cheeks, and a humongous grin split his face.
“Daiki!”
Zack waved.
“He is so short.” Shinji snickered.
I
know. That’s how we met.
“What
do you mean?”
At a party, I randomly called him short and broke the
ice.
“Drunk?”
How else are you supposed to be at a party?
“I see.”
We’ve been friends
ever since.
“Oh?”
Shinji’s voice rose in pitch.
Well,
last year … . Never mind. Zack shook
hands with Daiki and patted him on the back. “How have you been?”
“Busy.”
When Daiki’s throaty voice flared his nostrils,
he adjusted his glasses. “Your Japanese sounds better.”
He
doesn’t sound pissed. “Had a lot of time to study.” I guess he got over
it.
Daiki
wiggled his nose. “That’s good. So, things have been good on your end?”
“I
can’t complain.” Zack shrugged. “How about we continue this with a few beers?” It was a beer kind of night.
“Sounds
like a plan.” Daiki led Zack outside and past UniQlo. “I know this place with
good deals and the best Yakitori.”
They entered a small alleyway.
Tears
glistened Zack’s eyes. “Great.”
“Is
something wrong?”
I
miss Yaki-NJ. “No … something
caught in my eye.”
“Ah.”
Daiki slid open an unmarked door and gestured inside. “This is it.”
“Really?”
Zack ducked in and sat down at an open table. “Beers?”
“My
thoughts exactly.” Daiki raised his hand, and an alright-looking waitress
brought two mugs to their table. “Kanpai!”
With a smile, Zack lifted his glass.
“Kanpai.” Now … how
should I go about asking?
Daiki
watched the waitress walk away while
they drank.
Zack
took another sizable gulp before setting his glass on the table. “What a great
beer.”
“Ain’t
nothing like it after work.” Sitting
his drink beside Zack’s, Daiki
took a handful of beer-nuts and stuffed
them into his mouth. Crunch-crunch-crunch.
“Speaking
of work, while I’m on vacation, could you sneak me into your company again?”
Daiki
frowned. “I wish I could.” He shook his head, voice solemn. “I do, but the
project we’re working on at the
moment is taking up all of my time.”
“You mean a new game you
picked up?” A smirk tugged at Zack’s lips.
Daiki shook his head
again. “I wish. They have me sweating for ten hours a day in the B3 lab.”
“That sucks.”
“Tell me about it.”
The
two began to kick back drink after drink, and Zack prodded Daiki
until he said the words, “Painted
Chains.” In the end, Zack told
Daiki every new dirty joke he learned,
and they laughed like Junior High School students. Daiki seemed happy the entire time — Zack was glad Daiki wasn’t still harboring ill feelings. Missing his last train by the
hair on his arms, Zack took a taxi home — luckily Shinjuku wasn’t so far from
Ikebukuro.
###
Natsumi
shot upright as the lock on the front door clicked. Why is he so late? She nudged Keiko.
Keiko started awake. “Huh?”
With an outstretched hand,
Natsumi gestured towards the door. “He is back.”
The
front door flung open, and the stench of alcohol walked inside just before Zack
did. He swayed back and forth. When
he tried to take his shoes off, he fell
face first onto the hardwood floor. Thwack! His body jerked before his muscles slacked.
A squeal leaped from Keiko’s
mouth, and she hopped out of the bed, rushing to his side.
Natsumi climbed from the bed, feeling a
chill caress her naked skin as the air conditioner made its rounds. She shivered. I hate the cold, but at least it dampens
his smell. “Let us get his
clothes off and throw him in the shower.”
Keiko
grinned then undid his belt.
Natsumi
knelt beside Keiko and unbuttoned his shirt.
“We need to get him sober enough to talk before having our fun.”
Keiko’s
lips pouted. “Alright … .”
With
a shake of her head, Natsumi lifted him —
naked — by the waist and hoisted his
arm onto her shoulder. She dragged him into the shower with Keiko’s help.
“Welcome home.”
Despite Zack’s glazed over eyes, he
blinked. “Huh? What’s going —”
Natsumi
cut on the cold water.
Zack screamed.
A laugh bellowed from
Keiko’s belly, and soon, Natsumi joined her.
While he wriggled in the shower, he huffed, and his teeth chattered. “Enough!”
Shadow poured from his left hand,
and as indicated by the tingle on the back of Natsumi’s neck, Light from his
right.
Natsumi
groaned. “Stop.” Painting as fast as she could, she stacked a Shield and a Bomb — a starburst on top of a circle with jagged
rocks and shrapnel moving away from the explosion. With a flick of her
wrist, the Masterpiece wrapped around Zack’s glob of Shadow and dissipated it.
“Keiko!”
“I’m
working on it!” Keiko held her hands forward and gritted her teeth.
Zack
gasped. His eyes bulged, and he
looked up, appearing lucid. “What
… ?”
“It
is a type of Masterpiece that temporarily cuts off someone’s connection to their ecstasy.” Natsumi cut the water off
and pulled him out of the shower. “Most
of the time, it is not worth the ecstasy, and beyond that, it is really hard to
hit with it.”
“Oh.”
Shivering, Zack took the towel from Keiko and dried off. “I —”
Natsumi
held a finger up. “Brush your teeth first. Then, tell us what happened.”
He grabbed his toothbrush and went to work on his atrocious breath.
After rinsing his mouth out, he
joined Natsumi and Keiko on the
bed, still naked. With a drunken slur, he recounted his night — his success and his failure.
“That
should be good enough to shut our fathers up and give us the time we need to …
.” Natsumi shook her head then reached
between his legs. “Let us have a
little bit of fun before we go back to sleep.”
###
While Keiko tapped her foot, she pulled her cellphone out and checked the
time. It’s already been fifteen minutes.
She glanced up.
Natsumi placed her free
hand on the closet door then screamed into her cellphone.
Keiko sighed. How long does she intend to drag this report out?
Zack
chewed on his lower-lip and paced
from the kitchen to the bed then
back. With each pass, the burned stink of eggs wafted into Keiko’s nose.
A grimace crossed her
face. She should have never tried to cook. And the fire? I need to go out and buy Zack some new
curtains.
“I
have already told you!” Natsumi clenched
her fist and slammed it into the wall beside the window. “That is all you will get out of him! He belongs to me now, and you no longer have any interest in him.” After screaming a fifth time, she slapped
her cellphone shut. “Your turn, Keiko.”
“I
can’t believe you yelled at your
father like that.” Keiko shivered. “I
mean —”
“Ha! What I cannot believe is how stupid he is.”
She’s so rude. Keiko opened her mouth then shut it. I had better not say that with her in this
mood.
Zack
zipped across the room and grabbed
Natsumi by the hands. “So?”
“As
you could hear —” Natsumi leaned forward and placed her lips on his before sliding her tongue into his mouth.
After a long kiss, she pulled back. “— it
is done.”
He swallowed, and a moment later, he turned to Keiko. “Good luck.”
Unlike Natsumi … . Keiko smiled. “I
won’t need it. My father and I get along fine.” Thump-thump. Her heart raced.
“You have nothing to worry about.” I
hope.
Zack
squeezed the bridge of his nose and resumed pacing.
She flipped her cellphone open and
called her father. “Boss Mitaka?”
“Ah,
Keiko,” Boss Mitaka said in his fatherly voice, “Good news?”
Perfect! He’s in a cheerful mood. “A lot
actually.”
“Oh?”
Keiko
gave Zack a thumbs-up — something
every foreigner seemed to do when they had good news. “For one, I have tamed
Zack.”
While chuckling, Boss Mitaka clapped.
“That is wonderful news. And his
assignment?”
“Together,
we have found the exact location of the device, but there are too many
safeguards preventing us from getting to it.”
“Us?”
Keiko
explained the change in her and
Zack’s relationship, though she avoided
mentioning Natsumi. After telling her father she planned to live with
Zack, she detailed the location of Painted
Chains and how the Radiance Family should go about collecting it. “And that’s about it, Fa— Boss Mitaka. Words
can’t explain how good he makes me feel.”
Boss
Mitaka made a smacking sound. “I am … so
happy for you, honey, but would it not be best if the two of you move in here?”
She shook her head and gulped. “Besides you still scaring
him, I —” She winked at Zack. “— have
to teach him manners first. But one day … .”
After
releasing a belly laugh, Boss Mitaka gasped for air. “Okay, honey. Just be safe
and come to see me every so often.”
“I
will. Love you.”
“Love
you, too, honey.” Boss Mitaka hung
up.
Keiko
squealed in joy. “It’s done!” She rushed forward and wrapped her arms around
Zack, showering him with kisses.
###
A
faceless, fat man in a blue suit shackled Zack to the floor. Then, the fat man placed
his hands around Zack’s neck and laughed. “You will bow.”
Zack’s
eyes glazed over while he
convulsed on the ground. No! He screamed
for his body to move, but it didn’t listen.
The fat man released his
death grip. “I have a better idea.” He reached out and picked up the leashes
attached to a pair of toy-poodles. He made them dance about and do tricks. The toy-poodles followed each of his commands with disturbing precision.
Bang! A pack of
rabid dogs broke through a wall and rushed
towards the fat man. They snarled, spittle flying everywhere.
He squealed then pulled one of the leashes.
The white
toy-poodle leaped in the way to defend him.
A vicious set of jaws reached for the cute,
little puppy’s neck.
Zack
set his jaw against the pain and shattered
his binds. “No!” Despite his soba-like limbs, he forced himself to move.
The
fat man gasped.
Zack threw the
white toy-poodle to the side, and the
rabid dog ripped through his throat instead. Blood
gushed onto the floor. Splatter! His body jerked back and forth.
Everything went still.
He gaped when his spirit left his body. Impossible. He watched himself die.
“Find
peace and let us make a
deal,” an unseen voice said.
While Zack trembled, the world around
him lurched. Something tied his spirit to
his body, and he rose from the floor. His body burst aflame. He was born
again. Through gritted teeth, he howled
then stuck his arm through
the fat man’s chest. “Now what?”
The
man cackled while his crimson life rolled down his chin. He pointed to the sky. “I
win.”
Lightning crashed all
around.
Zack blinked the spots
from his eyes.
The two, towering
mountains — black and white — stood before him.
A shiver like slime
brushing across his skin rolled down to his toes. “Why this again?”
The mountains rumbled; a bushel of boulders stampeded down their slopes.
He turned to run and froze.
A fissure had split the
ground and trapped the toy-poodles.
They whimpered and whined. A pair of rocks leaped over Zack and barreled towards
the toy-poodles.
Zack threw himself between
the two rocks and shattered both with his clenched fists. “It won’t end like this!” He spun to face the mountains, and his hands
shot forward. “Die!” With an incredible force, he rent the mountains in
two, starting from the top.
Echoing laughter erupted from the fat man’s corpse.
Zack’s breath caught, and
his lips quivered. “How?”
The fat man’s
corpse rose into the air and shuddered until it turned into the Godzilla-like monster. The world
burned around Zack while the
monster expanded and grew, drawing
power from the stars. It howled once
it grabbed Zack.
“I’ve
had enough!” Zack blasted the beast with waves of Shadow and Light, but no
matter how many limbs he struck off, more grew to replace it. The stars!
He looked into the black sky and frowned. Can I actually destroy them?
###
The alarm blared, and Zack started. He rolled
over and hit the snooze button. What the
fuck was that? His chest jerked up and down, but the air refused to fill
his lungs. He pressed the pillow to his face tighter. I need
five more minutes.
“Does
your vacation not end today?” Shinji used his lecturing tone.
Zack yawned. I’d
rather not think about it.
“Nonetheless,
Natsumi and Keiko know. I doubt they will let you sleep much
longer.”
What
do you mean? When Zack stretched, his
arms touched no one. He edged the pillow over and opened his eyes.
Natsumi
sat at his computer, going through his porn while the smell of burnt eggs and
crispy toast told him that Keiko was in the kitchen. Natsumi turned; a grim frown marred her beautiful lips.
He faked a snore then
closed his eyes in a slow and steady motion.
She growled, and water cascaded across his face.
A scream took the little breath he held, and his
body bolted up into a sitting position. Cold shit! “What the fuck was that for?”
Looking irritated, she tapped her fingers on his
desk. “Motivation.”
“Motivation?”
With the soft blanket, Zack wiped
his face dry.
“Yeah,
to get you out of bed.” Natsumi grinned,
and Zack couldn’t help but laugh.
Keiko
stepped out of the kitchen. “What’s going on in here?”
Long moments of silence passed before Natsumi
looked around Keiko. “Less than what is going on behind you.”
A squeal escaped Keiko’s mouth, and she turned to the fire.
“Oh no! The eggs!”
As he continued to laugh, his sides began to hurt.
Keiko scramble back
to the stove.
“Well,” he
whispered, “at least we don’t have to eat it.”
Natsumi
chuckled. “Yeah, I know. That is why I held
her gaze.”
“Brilliant.”
Zack climbed from bed and scratched his balls.
“Do
you have to do that with me sitting right here?”
Zack
shrugged. “You didn’t have a problem with them in your face last night.”
“There
is a difference between bed-play and morning-etiquette.” Natsumi punched Zack
in the stomach and stood.
Zack
coughed. “That was uncalled for.”
“I
do not think so.”
“I
do not think so,” she said in echo
of Shinji. Then, she strolled into
the bathroom.
Zack shook his head. “Why don’t you
close the bathroom door?”
Natsumi
groaned. “Why do you not?”
“She
has got you there.”
Stop
siding with her. “Noted.” Zack stepped past the bathroom.
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter.
He massaged his left
shoulder. “So, how bad is —”
Fire
had charred the wall black as well as a few unfortunate bowls and plates. Burnt
egg and some darker substance coated the fry-pan with a stench that curled his lips. All-in-all, a good day in the kitchen for Keiko.
Zack’s jaw dropped. At least … she didn’t burn the window screen again. “So … what’s the occasion?”
Keiko
blushed. “Well, as you know, today is your first day back at work. I thought —”
She ground the ball of her foot into the floor. “— you know, I just wanted to make it special.”
“Thank
you.” Zack leaned forward and kissed her
on the forehead.
“Also … my father called me this morning.”
“What?”
Tears rolled down her cheeks. “My father
wants me to come in. Though, he didn’t
say for what.”
“Oh.”
“He
—” Keiko sniffled and wiped her eyes. “— probably just misses me.”
Natsumi
grunted from the bathroom. “Boss Endo
has also told me to report in today.”
She spat on the floor.
Zack
glanced at Natsumi. Did she have to do that? “So … will you be back in time for dinner?”
“If
we are lucky,” Natsumi said just before
a flushing sound escaped the bathroom.
Keiko
embraced Zack and held him tight. “I don’t want to go.”
“You
don’t —” He jumped when an icy hand caressed his naked
flesh.
“Yes … she does. As do I if we do not want them to get suspicious.”
Natsumi ran her fingers down his
back then pinched his ass.
A yelp flew from his lungs.
Natsumi pressed her lips
to Zack’s neck then rested her chin on his shoulder. “Do not worry; we
will keep your secret safe.”
He turned to kiss her. “Thank you so much.”
She pulled away from him and ostentatiously rubbed her belly
— it made Zack nervous.
His dream — no! Now was
not the time to bring a new life into this world, under his care. He couldn’t
risk more lives, and if either of them gave him a daughter, it would kill Zack
to put them in danger.
She grabbed Keiko
by the wrist and pulled her to the door. “We should be going now.” Natsumi blew a kiss to Zack and opened
the door. “See you tonight.”
He nodded as the girls
stepped out into the glaring sun and shut the door behind them. Huh. He
scanned the room. Without Natsumi to
stop me, I guess I should clean
then get ready for work.
Next: A fight scene with Zack
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