If you’re lookin’ good
Then you must be dumb
If you ain’t got money
Then you’re not someone
Either you’re too young to matter
Or you’re way too old (too old)
Public opinion is so hot and cold
 

Go on and brush it off
All those opinion’s gonna make you fake

it’s just dead weight
Only thing that matters
That you need to know
You’ll only find it in your heart and soul

So don’t you listen to a word they say
They gonna keep on talkin’ anyway
Only thing that matters
That you need to know
You’ll only find it in your heart and soul

(Haters – TLC – Album TLC)

 New Years Eve 2017

            The press release announcing the engagement of Koki Tanaka, second son to the Yoshiro Tanaka, grandson to Ren Tanaka, of the global conglomerate Tanaka Industries was disseminated to all major Japanese media outlets on December 30 creating a flash bomb of media frenzy and had the Japanese paparazzi camp outside the gates of the Tanaka compound.  The release was short and sweet yet those who circulated in the social circles of the higher echelon of Japanese upper society knew this was an unexpected event.

Press Release:

            Yoshiro Tanaka, CEO of Tanaka Industries, and Ai Tanaka his wife are pleased to announce that their second son Koki Tanaka, 29, is happily engaged to be married. His intended bride, Maria Ortiz, 30, is from Valley, Washington State of the United States of America. She is a former financial analyst for Hendrick’s Inc, which recently was acquired by Tanaka industries. Ortiz-san will be formally introduced to the company’s Executive Board at the annual Tanaka Industries New Year’s Eve Ball…

            The only item missing from the press release had been a picture of Maria, unfortunately, due to the short notice of the press release, there had not been enough time to have Maria sit for a professional headshot and so couldn’t be included. Initially, Yoshiro had a few reservations about putting out the press release at all. There were rumblings of a major power struggle within the Board and this news could adversely affect the growing tenuous hold that Yoshiro was able to maintain as CEO. He knew this new and unexpected blessing would further create a growing rift among the company’s Board. However, after discussing it over with Ai, Jiro, Koki, and Maria at a family meeting a few days prior to the press release, it was decided to go ahead with formally announcing the engagement.  And the night of ball had quickly arrived.

            With over 300 hundred esteemed guests making an appearance, the annual ball was well underway at the Grand Hyatt Tokyo hotel by the time Maria and Kazuya arrived. The company’s New Year ball was an annual tradition began my Koki’s great-grandfather, Atsushi Tanaka, the founder of the company. He was 25 in 1925  the year he established the company. After a decade of hard work and finally beginning to see profits from his fledgling technology company, Atsushi decided that one way to reward all his employees for their hard work over the year was to throw a party on December 31, to celebrate a year of accomplishments and look forward to New Year with positivity. What started out as a small party with 20 employees grew to 80 employees by the time Atsushi dies at the young age of 60 in May of 1960. By June 1960, his only son Ren official ascends to the position of CEO of Tanaka ILC at the age of 25 and by the time Yoshiro was born a couple of years later in 1962, Ren Tanaka was well on his way to making Tanaka Industries a multibillion-dollar company; with offices to be established over the next 30 years in Taiwan, India. Under the unwavering leadership of Yoshiro, the company was and now established in America with an eye on South Korea.

            Tanaka ILC now named Tanaka Industries was a celebrated conglomerate on the level of Toyota, Hitachi and Nintendo as to the level of global reach they had been able to achieve in under a century of time. No one was more aware of the successes of Tanaka Industries then President of the Board, Takeshi Oshiro. As one of the senior members of the Board of Trustees, AKA the Executive Board he had helped refine and redefine the vision of Tanaka Industries over the last two decades with Ren Tanaka and now Yoshiro. Takeshi, tall at six feet and very fit at the age of 56 years old, eluded a dangerous aura that made people loath to cross him and at time despise him outright and to some extent envy him as well. His cunning personality made him a major player at Tanaka and within high powered political circles. A man of influence and image the news of Koki’s engagement was a major blow to his career plan. Yet, Takeshi was always a man with a plan and his plans for would not be derailed no matter who Koki married.

             Looking dashing in his custom designed Italian black tux that was worth more than most Tanaka employees’ earned in two weeks, Takeshi stood next to his demure wife, Kamiko as they both silently observed the revelry around them. After a moment Kamiko broke the silence surrounding them as they stood off in a corner.

            “Do you think she will actually make an appearance tonight?’ Kamiko asks her husband of over 30 years. At the age of 50, Kamiko Oshiro could easily be mistaken for being in her late 30s. She in question is Maria Ortiz. “I still cannot get over the fact that Koki threw our jewel away for the likes of an American.” The last word was spoken with such disdain and distaste that there is no question in regard to the engagement of Koki Tanaka.

            “Mom, what are you discussing that is making your face look so unpleasant.” Kenta, their eldest child, and only son ask as he kisses his mother on her flawless cheek. He was just arriving at the hotel. Smiling up at her beloved son, she cups his cheek.

            “I just cannot believe the news of the Tanaka engagement.”

            “Mom, don’t get upset, Hitomi isn’t. This is just a small bump.” At the mention of his sister Takeshi, Kamiko, and Kenta looked to where Hitomi was holding court among some of the sons of the wealthiest families in Tokyo.  

            “Besides there is no woman in Japan or America that could compare to the Hitomi,” Takeshi says with fatherly pride.

            “You’re not just being a little bias are you Dad?” Kenta asks with a smirk.

            “None what so ever,” Takeshi says with a  straight face as he sipped on his flute of champagne, at which Kamiko and Kenta just smirked. It was a well-known fact that when it came to his children, Kenta and Hitomi they could do no wrong, and he challenged anyone to say otherwise.

***

            Hitomi Oshiro was having fun tonight. It did good things to a woman’s ego to be fawned over by handsome, not to mention wealthy men. Especially in light of her ex-boyfriend announcing that he was engaged to marry when less than two years ago he told her that he had no plans to be married. Apparently, that had been an incomplete sentence that really ended with he had no plans to be married to her. The realization of that truth exposed with the national papers yesterday morning had been a blow. What was even worse and got under her skin the most was that he wanted to marry a random American. In the back of her mind she could hear the snide remarks and catty comments from the females of her set that were sure to come in the day ahead; however, she pushed them aside. She would deal with it all tomorrow, tonight she would remind Koki of what he had so callously discarded.

             She held court literally off center the ballroom; however, she was in full view of every male and especially every female at the ball. This was never any real fun to be had unless she was making the other women in her radius jealous. After a quick inconspicuous scan of the huge ballroom, Hitomi makes notes of a few looks of jealously sent her way. Mission accomplished. Sipping her champagne to camouflage her self-satisfied smile she forces her mind to reenter the conversation she had long since vacated.

            The young man that was attempting to engage her in conversation was a rather young man, twenty-one, she believed, just a few months shy of graduation. His face slightly marred by a recent outbreak of acne. Of course being in late 2os he wasn’t a serious dating consideration but it was nice to be fawned over by a young man. He had apparently been drawn on about the majesty of cherry blossom season. The other young men allowed him to dominate the conversation as he was one of the Bridgestone heirs and was currently one of the more wealthier men surrounding her. Although he came from a family of some caliber he just wasn’t her type. She tended to lean towards men that were less…bumpy in the face.     She nodded her head at the appropriate times in the conversation and commented on the stunning glory of Japan’s national flower, the cherry blossom. She loved the flower as any other Japanese person, but to wax poetic over them for the past thirty minutes was a bit much. Deciding to end her current torture, she gently excused herself from her admirers and made her way to the lady’s room.

            And ran into another annoyance. Taisuke Fujigawa.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Author Note:

Hello, Every one and Happy New Year! I know my new year's greeting is late. Gomen. I was super lazy this past holiday, but I had earned it after the amount of work I had put at the end of the year. And I passed last semester's class with an A! Yep, I totally enjoyed it. Now I am back into my workflow, school flow and now writer flow. I was feeling so happy today after I successfully finished my school work and etc  That I wanted to finish editing this chapter so I can post it! YES! I managed to post once this month! I didn't know If I would accomplish that. So again, yea for me.

Can I be honest? Come a little bit closer as I whisper this into your ear.

I am so ready to finally move from NYE in this story.

The time before the last update which was a year or so ago I had entered major writer block when I got to this point. And I considered never coming back to it. I had lost my inspiration to write. And then I went onto my LiveJournal account where my stories were originally posted before I posted them here and I was like "Woah, this is actually good! Did I seriously write this?" Of course, there is a lot of growth I need to work on with my writing but I see potential, and so do you based on your awesome comments to me. I cherish those comments so much. You just do not know. And that was when I went back to the post before this one and picked it up again. Dog gone it! I had made a promise that no matter what I was always going to finish everything I start no matter how hard and uncomfortable it may be. That is not an NYE resolution, it is a life commitment. I say that to say that alas, it has now come to me why. Why am I stuck on this long day of December 31 that I now have dated 2017, time stamping this story? Becuase my inner/secret drama queen - okay she is not that secret in RL- that inspires my writing let me know that where I want to go with this story all hinges on this one night.That the Maria + Koki arch, Yoshiro + Tanaka Industries arch, the Maria + Koki + Hitomi + Takeshi love square arch (raised eyebrows here- oh yes, HONEY! it is going to get lit up in here), and Ren Tanaka's arch, and Taisuke Fujiwara's storyline all begin to take shape here. Just as the a new year flips over this is where this story 'flips'. So I am trying to be patient with myself as it all slowly sorts itself out and organizes itself in my mind and on the page. This story is about to get very interesting. At least in my mind. And I hope you will enjoy where Maria, Koki, Hitomi, Jin, Kazuya, Takeshi, Taisuke, and Ren will take you. Thank you for being patient.

Love you guys! Besos!!