Happy to
See You
by Queen
Part One: We
Meet Again
Very few people
ever have the experience of being extremely
wealthy and enjoying all its benefits. One of them is being able to
sleep late
whenever you feel like it and going to work whenever you damn well
please.
That’s one of the benefits of being in charge. Apparently, one of Mr.
Taiyou’s
employees wasn’t aware of this benefit, and had the nerve to have his
phone
ringing that morning. It wasn’t terribly early. It was about 9:30 AM
when he
got the call. But that wasn’t the point. The point was that he had
decided to
sleep in that day and someone had the audacity to ruin that plan.
Sesshoumaru
could tell who it was immediately. It was Mr. Colefield, the one in
charge of
booking the entertainment at the casino. He sounded very excited about
something, and Sesshoumaru hoped it was about something extremely
important or
someone was about to have to hit the streets seeking other employment.
“Mr. Taiyou! It’s
Brian. Did I wake you?”
“Yes, you did.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,
sir. I didn’t mean to wake you, it’s just
that there’s something I don’t think you’d want to miss!”
“Oh really? What is
it that I wouldn’t want to miss,
besides your head as I aim at it with a katana blade for waking me up
from a
quite pleasurable dream?”
There was silence
on the other end of the line for a few
seconds before Colefield continued.
“Well, sir, it’s
some new talent that came in for our last
audition. It’s a group called Wind Spirit, and frankly sir, they blew
me away!”
Sesshoumaru
frowned, wondering what type of mind altering
drugs possessed this human to tell him about something that wasn’t
remotely
important to him. He didn’t care much for the latest talent, as long as
they
brought in the customers. He had his fill of pop stars in a can, and he
was
tired of hearing and seeing the same old thing.
“Colefield, why do
you think I would be interested in this
so called talent that you’ve discovered?”
“Oh, I know you’re
usually not particularly interested in
the artists we have perform here, but you just gotta check out Wind
Spirit,
sir! They are amazing! And I also thought you’d be interested because
they are
Japanese!”
“Did you say
Japanese?” Now he was interested.
“Yes sir. Ms.
Kazegami says that she’s actually half
Japanese and half Okinawan, whatever that means. The hell if I know.
All I know
is she has a voice straight from heaven and the band has a sound like
I’ve
never heard before! I can’t even classify it, sir!”
“It’s that bad,
huh?”
“No, sir! Actually
it’s the opposite! Nothing like the noise
that you call a terribly sad excuse for music.”
“And you are
telling me this because...?”
“Because I asked
them to come back today to give you your
own personal show so you can see and hear what I’m talking about.
They’ll be
here today at noon. I was hoping you could stop by and see what all the
fuss is
about.”
Taiyou pondered
this for a moment. He was really
comfortable in his bed and didn’t really feel like getting up. And yet
he did
like the idea of a diversion of some kind.
“What’s the name of
that lead singer again?”
“Kazegami. Aori
Kazegami.”
“All right, I’ll be
there, noon sharp.”
“Really, Mr.
Taiyou?”
“Isn’t that what I
just said?”
“Great! Thank you
so much, sir! Uh, domo arigatou! You
won’t be disappointed!”
“You don’t know how
right you are,” he mumbled as he hung
up the phone.
Sesshoumaru took
his time preparing for his excursion. It
was supposed to be very hot that day and he wanted to be comfortable as
well as
look good. Although he was going from an air conditioned house to an
air
conditioned limo to and air conditioned music hall, the ten second walk
from
the limo to the door could be scorching in the three digit heat. He
wasn’t
planning on being out there long, so he figured a comfortable cotton
shirt and
a pair of Dockers should do the trick. His shirt sleeves were long
enough to
cover his prosthetic arm. He didn’t want to draw too much attention to
himself,
although his white hair and the markings on his face were striking
enough.
After looking himself over in a full length mirror, he was satisfied
and ready
to depart. He paged Mr. Jaken to drive the limo to the door. They
exchanged
their usual pleasantries then headed for the resort. Five minutes into
the
drive, Jaken decided to ask something of his master.
“Sesshoumaru-sama,
might I ask what this last minute trip
is all about? I thought you were going to sleep in today.”
“Colefield called
me this morning telling me that there was
something I just had to see.”
“What is it, sir?”
“A band called Wind
Spirit. Led by someone by the name of
Aori Kazegami,” Sesshoumaru replied in his usual matter- of- fact
manner.
Hearing this, Jaken’s already large eyes widened even further.
“Master, you don’t
think...you don’t think it could be her,
do you?”
“Only one way for
us to find out.”
“Us...?”
“Yes, us. You are
my assistant, are you not? Besides, I
figured if it is her you definitely wouldn’t want to miss seeing her.”
Jaken bowed his
head slightly as he felt a blush creeping
across his face. He silently hoped his employer couldn’t see his face
in the
mirror. He had to admit to himself that he did hope it was really her.
He
wondered if his master truly knew how very glad he would be to see her.
About twenty
minutes later, they arrived at the casino. An
obviously excited Brian Colefield was there waiting for them at the
V.I.P.
entrance. He was trying not to rush them inside, but his enthusiasm was
apparent.
“Mr. Taiyou! Glad
you could make it, sir! They just
finished setting up. All they need is an audience!”
As they made their
way to the music hall, Brian noticed
something strange about one of his guests. Taiyou had his usual deadpan
expression, but Mr. Jaken seemed a bit nervous. Colefield decided to
mind his
own business as he lead the two youkai to the front of the music hall
to
introduce them to the band.
“Mr. Taiyou, I’d
like you to meet Wind Spirit. This is
their lead singer and founder, Ms. Aori Kazegami.”
As she bowed
politely, Sesshoumaru gave her a good looking
over. She had the same unusually dark complexion, light brown eyes, and
bluish
hair. She had her hair cut short and her clothing was in step with the
times,
but nothing could hide that scent. It was definitely her. After bowing
his head
slightly in response to her, he turned to Jaken and gave him a slight
nod. That
let the diminutive demon know his suspicions were correct. After
Colefield
introduced the other three band members, who were all male, he let Wind
Spirit
know that they could begin their performance.
As the band
performed, Sesshoumaru and Jaken’s suspicions
were confirmed even further. There was no mistaking that voice, the way
she
could grab one’s attention with it then caress the senses with a sound
as
subtle as a gentle breeze. Yes, it was most definitely her, and the
only thing
that surprised the inu youkai was the fact that she’d managed to find
him. Wind
Spirit completed their performance to the enthusiastic applause of
Colefield
and Jaken and an approving smile from Sesshoumaru.
“Excellent. I’m
very impressed. I do have a question for
Ms. Kazegami. Would you be willing to perform topless?”
Aori, who was
caught off guard by the question, stood there
in shock for one moment, then embarrassment for another. She was
obviously
flustered.
“Mr. Colefield
never told me anything about that, Mr.
Taiyou....” she quietly replied looking as if she would bolt off the
stage at
any given moment. Brian finally broke out of his own state of shock to
give an
explanation.
“Ms. Kazegami, it’s
not required of you do perform topless.
That’s only for the showgirls. Mr. Taiyou’s just kidding, right sir?”
Colefield
gave his employer a nervous glance, hoping that was the case. He
couldn’t tell
by his expression, which was quite unreadable.
“Actually, I was
thinking a private performance at my home
would work for me. What do you think, Jaken? Does that sound like a
good idea
to you?”
Now his personal
assistant was just as thoroughly
embarrassed as Ms. Kazegami. All he could do was stutter in response,
until
Aori spoke up once again.
“Mr. Taiyou, I’d
really appreciate it if you wouldn’t tease
me like that. I’d like to be taken seriously, unless that’s too much to
ask.”
That got everyone’s
attention. No one but the bravest of
the brave dared to speak to the boss like that. Both Jaken and Brian
looked at
Sesshoumaru to see exactly what he would do.
“Are you saying you
don’t want to give me a private show in
my home?”
“That’s exactly
what I’m saying.”
“That’s funny...you
never had trouble saying ‘yes’ to me
before.”
By now, Colefield
had nearly gotten whiplash from whipping
his head around between the boss and the singer.
“Mr. Taiyou...you
know her?”
Sesshoumaru
completely ignored his question, since the
answer was obvious.
“Ms. Kazegami, may
I have a word with you
backstage...alone?”
“What if I refuse?”
From the look in
his eyes, Aori knew that was not an
option. Sesshoumaru had a way of making things very unpleasant for
those who
defy him. She finally agreed, asking the rest of the band to wait for
her in
the front row seats. Jaken watched slacked-jawed as his master and the
female
made their way backstage.
“It...it really is
her,” he whispered to himself as his
mind was flooded with nearly forgotten memories of his first true
infatuation.
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