Posted: Sun Oct 21, 2007 11:57 am Post subject: [Ongoing] Links - updated 05/02
Disclaimer: I’m not Johnny, and therefore I don’t own them.
A/N: Hey guys! This is my first fic… Hopefully you guys like it! Comments are always welcome. Thanks! xoxo
Links
Link: a relationship between two things or situations, esp. where one thing affects the other.
Chapter 1
“Final boarding call for passengers on flight JL047 to Tokyo.”
“This is it,” Rei thought as she handed her boarding pass to the flight attendant at the gate, “My new life starts 12 or so hours from now…”
American-born Kanemura Rei had never spent more than 2 months in Japan whenever she went there. In all her 21 years, she had thought about it as nothing but a mere holiday destination. But today was different. Starting today, she would return to the homeland of her parents and start work there…
…as a model.
She had met Katoh Seiji randomly 6 months prior to that day. He was a top stylist in Japan that had business to attend to in New York. On their fateful meeting day, Rei happened to be walking her dog, Nana through central park…
~~~
“Nana, o-suwari! (sit down)”
The Yorkshire terrier sat, wagging her tail obediently. For some strange reason, Nana only understood Japanese. Rei took a seat on a park bench facing a lake in the middle of the park. She took a deep breath in and felt relaxed. In a high-speed city like New York, this was the only place where time seemed to stand still.
“Ano, sumimasen…” a tall Japanese man approached her. He asked her all sorts of questions. Was she Japanese? How old was she? What was she doing? She was slightly bothered by his incessant prodding but answered politely, trying not to let on too much. She drew the line however, when he asked if he could take some photos of her.
“Oh God, I’ve been attacked by a pervert…” she thought to herself.
She politely refused, much to the man’s disappointment. He pointed in the direction of the lake, “Look over there. We’ve already set up. I noticed you from over there and I think you have potential.”
On the other side of the lake, she saw 3 other tall, Asian girls posing and having their pictures taken by a cameraman. Modelling, as it were… Someone Rei knew from a long time ago always told her she could be a model, but she always brushed him off with a loud, “BAAAAAAKA!”
A small smile crept across her face, “Yattemimasu.” (I’ll give it a try)
~~~
And that was when it all started… 6 months later, all arrangements were made and she was to move to Japan…
As Rei sat in her seat awaiting take off, she pulled out her mobile phone and began typing a very important text message.
“Sho-chan, I arrive at Narita tomorrow morning at 10a.m. Tokyo time. DO NOT FORGET TO PICK ME UP!”
Sent.
~~~
“OOHHHHHH!!!”
“Nani-nani? OHHHHH SUGE~~~~~~”
“Nino!! Hayaku! (hurry)”
“WHAT on EARTH are you guys going on about?!”
Ninomiya Kazunari put down his sweat-covered Nintendo Ds for the first time in 2 hours, “This had better be good. You killed me with all your bickering back there. I’ve only got 2 lives left now!”
He frowned and walked over to the other side of the dressing room where 3 of the other members of his band were huddled together in a circle, intently staring down at something.
“Let me through,” he said pushing a very excited Ohno Satoshi aside to see what all the commotion was about. He looked down, “What the…”
“You guys called me over here for this?... You made me quit my game for this?” his voice started building up.
On the ground in front of him was nothing but a set of Jenga blocks.
They were playing Jenga.
They interrupted his game for a stupid game of Jenga.
He slapped his forehead and sighed, “Alright,” he said giving up with a smile, “Since you guys interrupted my game, the loser pays for dinner tonight!”
“You’ll never change Nino,” Sakurai Sho gave a smirk, “You’ll always be the scrooge of Arashi.”
Matsumoto Jun laughed, “Maa, iin jyanai? At least if any of us need money, we know who to turn to… Not that he’ll lend us any of it anyway.”
“Shut up Matsumoto, it’s your turn. Ara? Where’s Aiba-chan?” looking around, Nino could only see a total of 4 Arashi members.
“Beats me. He left the room awhile ago, but you were too engrossed in your game to notice,” Ohno rolled his eyes. The only thing that could ever get in between him and Nino was that stupid baby blue brick that Nino brought with him wherever he went. “I should throw away his DS one day,” he thought to himself, smiling.
Matsujun brushed a strand of hair away from his eyes, “Don’t worry about him. Aiba just needs to be alone sometimes.”
~~~
A very pissed off Aiba Masaki sat in the corridor outside the dressing room. He stared down at his mobile phone.
“Sorry Masaki. I can’t do this anymore.
It’s not your fault. We live in different worlds.
Gomen ne.”
The message shocked him.
Dumped, yet again. He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. On one hand he understood where she was coming from, on the other hand, well, he had just been dumped… (via text message! Sheesh…)
He banged his fist on the ground, “Grr…”
“Aiba-chan! We’re on stage in 30 minutes!” Aiba could hear Nino calling from inside the dressing room.
He stood up, “Wakatta yo!” he called back as he tried to regain his composure.
He opened the door of the dressing room to find the other 4 members of his band huddled in a circle looking down at something.
Curious, he barged into the circle, “What are you guys doing?”
“AHHHHHHHHHHH”
There was a loud crash as the Jenga tower fell to the ground.
“AIBA-KUN!!!!” Sakurai shook his head in disbelief, but then began to laugh at the sight of a very puzzled-looking Aiba.
“Aah.. Gomen ne!” he replied sheepishly. Watching his band members goofing off lifted his spirits slightly, “At least I’ll always have Arashi,” he thought to himself.
Nino frowned, “Great, who’s going to pay for dinner now?”
The 5 boys looked at each other silently…
“SAISHO WA GU! JANKEN POI!”
Last edited by dellie on Tue Feb 05, 2008 4:31 pm; edited 7 times in total
“Mattaku…” finding a bench to rest on, Rei sat patiently waiting for Sho.
Sakurai Sho. The second oldest member of the popular boy band Arashi and one of Rei’s best friends. Their mothers had gone to college together and had been best friends ever since. They stayed in close contact even when Rei’s parents decided to move to America to start a family. Thus, Sho knew Rei even before she was born… He was 4 years her senior and somewhat of a brother figure to her. Rei felt that he was someone she could always rely on… Except when it involved waking up “early” in the morning.
“KANEMURA----!!!!!!!”
Rei rolled her eyes. “Finally!!!”
Sakurai came running up to her, “Sorry I’m late… I-“
“Overslept? Yeah I guessed as much, Mr. Unreliable” she replied sarcastically and flicked Sho on the head, “Hisashiburi!”
He rubbed his head, “Ow! Sheesh, you get more S (sadistic) every time.”
“Great, another Matsumoto…” he muttered under his breath.
“Na~ni?! Did I just hear you saying bad stuff about me Sakurai-san???”
“I didn’t say anything!!!”
“You know what happens when you’re mean to meeeee~” a mischievous grin appeared on Rei’s face. Sakurai turned pale.
He backed up, “I DIDN’T SAY ANYTHING!”
“Uso tsukiiii~ (liar)” Rei closed in… with her hands ready in tickling position.
“Kanemura Rei, do not bring those fingers of doom anywhere near me, you hear-”
Too late.
He was stuck against a pillar with nowhere to run. And that’s when she attacked!
“AHHH STOP!!” half laughing, half crying he tried his best to dodge her attacks. But those damn hands and their dexterous fingers were too fast. Before he knew it he was on the ground begging for mercy, “OK! You win!!! I’m sorry!” he chuckled, “I’ll treat you to breakfast ok?”
Rei smiled, “That’s more like it!”
~~~
Awoken by the sound of fan girls outside his house, Aiba Masaki sat up and scratched his pounding head. The screaming made him cringe, he shouldn’t have left his window open. He got up to close it.
“LOOK!!! IT’S AIBA-CHAN!!!!”
Masaki faked a smile and waved causing the fan girls to scream. He put a finger to his lips, quietly saying “shhh” before closing the window. He lived upstairs to his family’s Chinese restaurant and day after day fan girls came hoping to get a glimpse of him and other Arashi members.
He walked over to his bed and lay down. His head feeling like it was about to split open.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have drank so much…”
The boys had gone out for dinner the night before, Sho’s treat for losing the janken-battle. Sore from being dumped, Aiba drank way more than his skinny body could handle. By the end of the night, he could barely walk and was vomiting everywhere, including in Sho’s car on the way home.
~~~
“Kusai!” Rei wound the passenger seat window down, “Sho-chan your car smells… rancid.”
Sho nodded his head, “We all went out for dinner last night and Aiba got completely wasted. I took him home and somewhere on the way he threw up… on the seat that you are sitting on now.”
“WHAT?!”
“Kidding, kidding… Riida sat in front last night; Aiba threw up in the backseat.”
“No, no I’m not worried about that… Is Masa-.., I mean Aiba-kun alright???” concern filled Rei’s eyes.
“Hmm… I suppose so. Maa, he’ll come around though! ‘Mou dame da to omou shunkan wa minna onaji’ right?” Sho gave a know-it-all smirk. He had just incorporated lyrics from one of his own songs into his conversation. He gave himself an imaginary pat on the back, “Pure genius Sakurai-san!!”
Rei smiled, “Hai, hai… I just hope he’s ok….” her voice trailed off.
“He’ll be fine,” in truth, Sho was just as concerned for Aiba as Rei was. He had hoped that by buying Aiba a few rounds of beer the night before, he would open up and talk to the boys about what was bugging him. But instead, he silently sat there, downing one bottle after another. By the end of it, he wasn’t in his usual uber-genki drunk state, but was rather cold and brushed everyone off.
Sho looked over to the passenger seat. Rei was staring out the window, a blank expression on her face.
“Yappari, she’s still in love with him huh…”
“Ne, Rei-chan…”
The girl turned her head, “Hmm? Doushita no?”
“How about we skip breakfast?”
“HAH?! Baka jyanai? You said you’d buy me breakfast today!!!!” she whined.
“Ok, I’ll buy you lunch instead. I promise. For now, let’s go somewhere else.”
She gave in, “Ok, as long as you keep that promise. Where are we going?”
Sho paused for a second, “… Aiba-kun’s house…”
Her smile faded, “Iya da.”
“Rei-chan, I think-”
“Shut up Sho-chan… We’re not going there. I don't want to go there,” her voice was distant.
“Demo…”
“No buts. I’m not ready to face him.”
“You will have to someday.”
“I know… just not today.”
The rest of the car ride was carried out in silence as Rei continued to stare out of the window, knowing that both her and Sho were thinking about the exact same thing…
A/N: I should really be studying for exams ... oh well!
Chapter 3
2 years ago…
“Ne, ne Sho-chan!!! Who is it, who is it?!” a highly energetic Masaki jumped around an unimpressed Sakurai who whacked him on the head.
“Calm down. You’ll scare her.”
Arashi had gotten together at JE headquarters that day for one purpose…
They were finally going to find out who Sho’s mystery girl was.
Since forming Arashi, the boys had all matured and grown up. Their personalities all changed slightly, adjusting to the lifestyle of being in the entertainment industry. But there was one thing that never changed. Roughly during the time of summer and winter holidays every year, Sakurai would disappear… a lot. He would always be extra busy and would always ask their manager for days off. It was one of the great Arashi mysteries, along with other mysteries such as; the mystery of Matsujun’s disappearing yoghurt from their dressing room fridge. (Which really wasn’t a mystery because no matter how much he denied it, everyone knew that Riida had eaten it)
Actually, everyone was secretly wondering why Sho had always taken time off in summer and winter, but no one had the guts to ask him.
It was a very brave Matsumoto who finally had the courage one day to ask, “… so what is it that you have to do every summer and winter anyway?”
“Oh! You guys didn’t know? See there’s this girl…”
“I KNEW IT!” Ohno danced around, “It had to be a girl!”
Nino grabbed Ohno’s hands and together they danced around in a circle, “Sho and *someone* sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-”
“-Eww, God no, she’s not my girlfriend. Just a really good friend. I’ll bring her in tomorrow. I guess it’s about time that she met you guys. She’s a huge fan you know.”
So, the day where Rei was to meet Arashi finally came. She waited patiently outside their dressing room, as per Sho’s orders.
In the dressing room, Sakurai was trying his best to calm his other band members down. But they were all too busy trying to imagine what kind of girl was waiting outside…
Captain put his arm around Nino, who gave a content smile, “If it’s Sho-kun’s girlfriend, she is definitely going to be very lady-like.”
“And cute!” Masaki added.
Nino agreed, “And smart.”
“And have a great body, ‘cause Sho-kun is super picky,” Matsujun piped up.
The other 4 boys nodded simultaneously.
“In short, she is going to be close to perfect!” Ohno replied, pointing his index finger up in the air, “Ok boys, let’s try not to swoon. This is Sho-kun’s girl.”
“Aye aye Captain!”
“U-RU-SA-I!!!” Sakurai yelled, “YUCK! For the millionth time, she is not my girlfriend. She’s like my little sister for crying out loud. So all of you shut up. I’m going to bring her in now.”
Rei stepped into the room, “Hajimemashite.”
“Guys, this is Kanemura Rei. A good friend of mine. NOT my girlfriend.”
Rei gave Sho a disgusted look, “Huh? They thought I was your girlfriend? …EW…”
The boys laughed and introduced themselves politely. All except for Aiba, who was somewhat flabbergasted.
“Meccha kawaii…” lost in his thoughts, he couldn’t help but rudely stare at her.
Sho smacked him in the head, “Oi Aiba! Introduce yourself!”
“A-A-A-Aiba Mas-s-saki desu,” “Crap, why am I stuttering? Play it cool Masaki…” he cleared his throat and coolly added, “Yoroshiku.”
“Unn!” the girl replied cheerfully, sticking out her hand.
Masaki reached to shake it. As he stretched out his hand, he noticed it began to shake slightly; and when his hand finally made contact with hers, he felt his heart stop.
“What the heck? What the hell is this feeling?” he watched as Rei chatted away with the other members, felt his cheeks burn every time she smiled and that was when he noticed, “Yabai… Suki kamo.”
~~~
That same night, Rei had joined Arashi for dinner.
“Yeah! And then stupid Sho-chan told me that if I cut my hand with scissors, it would bleed, so if I let the hairdresser cut my hair, it would bleed like hell! Plus, he said that people have millions of strands of hair, so it would be like a blood bath.”
Tears ran from Sho’s eyes as he held his stomach, “HAHA! And when she went to the hairdresser, she tried to fight him off! It was hilarious!”
Ohno snorted, and some of the beer that he had been drinking came out his nose.
The whole room bust out laughing. Except for one Aiba Masaki. Who since meeting Rei earlier that afternoon, hadn’t taken his eyes off her. Matsumoto noticed this. He slid his chair over slightly, and lent over, his plump lips centimetres from Aiba’s ear.
“You think you like her don’t you?” he whispered.
Taken by surprise, Aiba flinched slightly, “What?” he whispered back.
“Kane-chan. She’s cute isn’t she.”
“… Maa… yeah…” Masaki mumbled, his eyes still locked onto her face.
Matsumoto smiled slyly, “Talk more. You’ve been really quiet all night. How is she supposed to notice you if you don’t talk.”
Masaki agreed with what Jun had to say. But every time he opened his mouth to say something, he froze. By the end of the night, all he could manage were single words like, “hai”, “ou” and “eh”.
“Saa-… Kaerou ka? (let’s go home)” Sho got up, “We’ve got an early day tomorrow, and I’ve got to take Rei back to her hotel… Mendokusai kedo na… It’s a bit out of the way.”
“Aah… Gomen ne Sho-chan! It’s cool, I’ll just catch a cab!”
Sakurai protested, “Uh-uh, there is no way am I letting a young lady like you catch a cab in the middle of the night!”
Jun raised an eyebrow, “Where abouts is your hotel?”
“Odaiba” she replied.
Excitement filled Jun’s eyes as he nudged Aiba, “Hey Chiba-ken! Isn’t that on the way back to your place?”
“O-ou…” Aiba replied
“Offer to take her home!” Jun hissed.
He nodded, “I-ii yo Sho-chan…” everyone turned to look at him in shock as he barely said anything all night, “I’ll take you home… Kane-chan,” his face was flushed.
Sho wrinkled his forehead, “Alright. But don’t try anything funny Masaki.” he said with a wink.
Aiba waved his remark off as he opened the door of the passenger seat to his car, “After you.”
~~~
Rei had fun in the car with Aiba on the way back to her hotel. He was a pretty funny guy. And Aiba, who had problems opening his mouth to speak to her previously, found himself opening up to her and really enjoying her company. The long trip to her hotel seemed to pass by in an instant.
“Jya… Oyasumi! And thanks again… Aiba-san.” Rei blushed. From afar, she had always been an Aiba fan. But she would never admit that to Sakurai, who would surely call her a traitor.
Aiba smiled dreamily, “’Night.”
Weeks and months passed after that night and Rei and Masaki got to know each other better. They chatted on the phone for hours and met sometimes privately (without Sho tagging along; he completely wrecked the atmosphere by constantly telling Aiba that he was getting to close. “Kora! Don’t touch her shoulder like that!”). He would even call her when she was back in America, just to hear the sound of her voice. They were falling hard and fast for each other.
When Rei next went to Japan (during her winter vacation), Aiba finally asked her out and of course, she agreed. Long-distance relationships are normally hard to maintain, but it was never a problem for Rei and Masaki…
They were together for a blissful year and Rei thought that it would last forever…
She thought she would surprise him. After all, normally, she could only see him during summer and winter. So she decided she would surprise him during her spring break.
Sho told her that she could probably find Aiba rehearsing for his play in one of the studios at JE headquarters. She bounced off to HQ, found his rehearsal room and opened the door with a loud and genki, “MA-Sa------ki……….?”
What she saw shocked her. There he was. Her Masaki. Making out with another woman. Tears began to stream uncontrollably from Rei’s face.
Aiba looked up, “REI?” a broad smile stretched across his face and he ran across the room to see her.
“How can you smile at me like that… at a time like this…” she raised her hand and gave him a tight slap across his face, “MASAKI DAI KIRAI! (I hate Masaki)” she turned to run away.
He grabbed her arm, “Wait… Rei-chan… this is…”
She looked down, her eyes widened at what she saw and her voice filled with bitterness, “Masaki… you… should… pull up your pants.”
He looked down, sure enough; his jeans were around his ankles. His faced turned red.
She scoffed, “How could you…” and with that she turned around and walked away. And he never saw her again.
~~~
“Ehh… Rei-chan’s back?” Jun took a sip of his iced tea.
Sho nodded, “Yup! That’s right. And this time she’s staying for good!”
“It’s been awhile since we’ve seen her huh…” Ohno took a bite from his strawberry shortcake, “Uma~i!”
The 3 boys turned to look at Nino, waiting for a comment from him, “… hmm… huh… what? Oh sorry, I wasn’t listening. Who’s back?” he closed the lid of his DS.
“STOP PLAYING!!!” cried Ohno. He quickly grabbed the DS from Nino’s clutches and shoved it into his pocket.
Nino stood up and had a stern look on his face, “Satoshi-kun, give it back… NOW.”
Ohno gave a smirk, like a child who had done something naughty and was about to get away with it, he stuck his tongue out, “Never!”
Nino stretched out his hand, “I’m going to ask you one last time. Satoshi, give Kazunari back his toy.”
Ohno grinned, “It’s in my pocket. If you want it, you reach in there yourself and grab it.”
“Yeah… I’m not going there,” Nino laughed and sat down, “So who’s back?”
Sho stirred his coffee, “Rei-chan.”
The smile disappeared from Nino’s face, “Does Aiba-chan know?”
Jun shook his head. Silence fell. The truth was, what happened between Rei and Aiba was a nothing but big misunderstanding. Aiba had tried to contact Rei over and over again to explain himself, but she never answered his calls. Sho tried to explain things to her from Aiba’s standpoint but it was useless. Rei was a great person, but stubbornness was definitely one of her bad points.
“Sho-chan… you’re a really great guy. I respect you for trying to cover up for your friend, even though he’s nothing but a big fat jerk,” she used to tell him. She was badly affected by what she had witnessed, and for a long time, was bitter and unhappy. It was hard for Sho to bring up Aiba because every time he did, Rei seemed to retract. It hurt him to see her like that, and so he tried not to mention Aiba.
Sho scratched his head, “I don’t know what to do with the 2 of them… She becomes a completely different person at the sound of his name; although I did catch her off guard yesterday,” he said, remembering how she nearly jumped out of her seat when she heard that Aiba had vomited, “I think she still loves him.”
“Hmm…” the oldest member of Arashi had a serious look plastered on his face.
No one knew what to do.
Jun’s heart ached for his friend, who since breaking up with Rei had been in relationship after relationship, trying to fill some unfillable gap in himself, “He hasn’t been the same since Rei-chan.”
Silence filled the room again.
Nino’s phone rang.
“Moshi-moshi? Yo! We were just talking about you!” he put his hand over the receiver, “It’s Aiba,” he mouthed, “What do you mean you can’t make it?”… “Ohhh, you’ve got work? That’s cool. We’ll see you tonight then… Alright, unn, ok… Mata ne.”
Matsujun raised his eyebrows, “Well?”
“He’s got a photo shoot today. He’s coming to dinner later though.”
Ohno laughed, “That’s our model Aiba-chan for you!” he glanced over at Sho who had a Mimura Takuya*-type prankster face on, “What’s wrong Sho-kun?”
“Did he say what he was shooting for?”
Nino shook his head, “Nope… why?”
“Iya, it’s just that… Rei-chan’s got her first shoot today… around now.”
A sly grin crept onto Matsujun’s face, “Masaka!”
~~~
“Sorry Rei-dear, he’s not normally this late,” Katoh-san paced up and down the studio, “Why don’t you get dressed and prepped in hair-and-make-up first?”
Rei nodded, “Hai.”
She headed to the hair-and-make-up department and got dressed. She was nervous. This was her first official shoot and she was hoping that all would go well. She took one last look in the mirror before going back to the studio. They had her dressed in a very casual, home-style ensemble; a blue knee-length skirt, white shirt and a brown apron on top. Her hair was done up in a large bun on top of her head. The hair lady had called it “O-dango”. She looked mature, “Heh, reminds me of mother,” she thought as she walked back to the studio.
“Sorry Hun, your counter-part just got here, he should be ready soon. Take a seat on that couch there for a minute, I’ll take some solo shots first.”
The studio was set up like a living room with a joint kitchen and plenty of sunlight was let in.
“Today we’re shooting for a family lifestyle magazine. So think kawaii, young housewife ok love? Ok darling, now look up to the ceiling and give me ‘content’.”
*snap*
“Beautiful Rei-dear, now rest your elbows on your knees and cup your face in your hands. Yes, yes that’s right. Excellent. Sigh for me. Good girl. Now smile… Subarashii.”
The camera shutter kept clicking. Katoh-san was happy with what he saw and Rei, who had appeared quite stiff at first, began to soften up and was a natural in front of the camera.
“Katoh-san!! Sorry I’m late…” a male voice somewhat familiar to Rei entered the room.
“Ah! There you are handsome. Good, good, you’re all dressed, come meet your partner for today!”
Rei thought her ears were playing tricks on her, “That voice…”
She got up off the couch and turned around.
Her eyes widened…
“Uso… ” she felt her lip quiver and bit down hard on it.
There he was…
… standing there…
Aiba Masaki.
*NB – Mimura Takuya is the character Sakurai Sho played in Yamada Taro Monogatari
Aiba couldn’t believe his eyes. He rubbed them, just to make sure.
“The resemblance, it’s uncanny…”
He blinked.
“Nope, I’m not seeing things… and I didn’t drink last night so I don’t think I have a hangover... Or am I still hung over from 2 days ago? No, wait, that doesn’t make sense… Calm down Masaki, There are plenty of explanations for this. One, she had a twin sister and never told me. Two, that girl standing there is a crazy fan that saw me with her one day and decided to have plastic surgery to look like her. Three…” he stood there, frozen stiff whilst all sorts of crazy thoughts ran amok in his mind.
Katoh-san tapped his foot impatiently, “Oi, Aiba-kun! Snap out of it! I know she’s cute and everything, but leave nanpa (picking up) strategies for later please.”
Aiba walked over to the couch, where the girl was standing completely motionless.
“Umm… looks like we’ll be taking some photos together today, Aiba Masaki desu. Yoroshiku,” he said, scratching the back of his head and sticking his hand out.
“Why is he trying to act so damn cool? Is he pretending not to know me? Or is he really that baka that he doesn’t realise it’s me? Wait a minute, it’s Aiba Masaki we’re talking about here… he’s definitely that baka.” Rei rolled her eyes.
“Anata wa aikawarazu baka da ne…(you’re as baka as ever)”
“Hmm?!” Aiba blinked some more, “She even sounds like her…” His forehead wrinkled, “Eh?!?!?!? Gomen, what did you say your name was?”
She sighed, did he really want to play games at a time like this? Or was he really that dense… or had he completely forgotten about her already?
She looked away, “Kanemura Rei… desu.”
Masaki froze, “Oh my God, it really is her… What should I do? What do I say? I’ve been waiting so long to talk to her, I’ve been trying so hard to forget her, to fill the hole that she left in me, and here she is, right in front of me… and I… I can’t move…again…”
“Are you 2 ready yet?” Katoh was starting to get angry.
“Ah, hai, sumimasen.”
“Aiba-kun, the theme is ‘young and happily wedded couple’. Join Rei-chan on the couch please.”
Aiba quietly did as he was told.
“Loosen up you 2!!! Now, Aiba-kun, arm around her shoulder please.”
Rei felt her stomach churn as he wrapped his arm around her; unsure whether it was churning from happiness or pure disgust.
“Shitsureishimasu… (pardon the intrusion)”
“Ok, fantastic, now, converse! And remember! Plenty of smiles people. You’re a young couple, you’ve just gotten married! Happiness is at its peak!”
“Gyagu desho…(it’s the other way around)” Rei muttered under her breath, but faked a smile as she looked at Aiba.
Aiba too, tried the best he could to plaster on an irresistibly happy face, “… When did you get back?”
Rei beamed, “Ohhh… So now you remember who I am.”
“Warui, I didn’t mean to offend you. I just… I just wasn’t sure…” he said, grinning.
“Very nice, now I want you guys to face each other. Good, good, now, bring your faces close together. Yes, yes, laugh, smile… fantastic!”
Aiba swallowed, “… Genki?”
“Rei-baby, I’d like you to grab Masaki’s face with your hands and nuzzle his nose.”
“Sheesh, do I have to? I’d rather grab his face and punch his lights out.” she silently protested but did as she was told anyway, putting her face within milimeters from his and rubbing up against his nose, “I’ve been doing just fine without you.”
As she placed her nose on his, Aiba felt his heart skip a beat.
“Good, good, we’re getting some nice shots here people! Aiba-kun, I’d like you to do the same to Rei-chan please.”
He sighed as he took her small face in his hands, “Hontou kayo, Rei?”
Her jaw began to ache from all the fake smiling, “Hmm?”
“Have you really been doing fine without me?
“Yes I have.”
“Really?”
“Mou, nankai mo iwaserunayo. (stop making me repeat myself)”
The camera shutter clicked for the last time, “That’s a wrap people! Very good work guys!! You 2 make a good pair! I’ll remember that for next couple shoot we have to do! Otsukaresama!”
They bowed politely, “Otsukaresama deshita.”
“Great, an opportunity to get out of here.” Rei picked up her belongings and sped to the door.
“Matte yo Rei!” Aiba chased after her.
She spun around, “What?”
Her eyes were dark and cold. Looking at them made his heart sting. He remembered a very different pair of eyes, ones filled with warmth. He stared into the dark abyss facing him, “… maybe you’ve been doing fine without me… But… ore wa… kimi ga inai to dame nandayo…(I can’t be without you)”
As she stared back into his eyes, she felt nothing but confusion. Part of her wanted so badly to leap into his arms and tell him that everything was ok, that they could start over from the start… but another part of her was hurt. Scarred so badly that it made her hate him.
“Well, you should’ve thought about that before you did what you did,” tears of anger slowly built up in her eyes as the icy words left her lips. She turned around and began walking away.
“CHIGAU YO REI! It’s not like what you think it is!!! ... if you’d just let me… explain…”
Too late. He stood there, remembering the very similar events that happened the year before…
~~~
1 year ago…
“How could you…”
She began to walk away.
“Wait! Rei!”
“Chase after her! What are you doing Masaki? …I can’t move…”
Frozen in his tracks, he watched as she disappeared away from him. His cheek burned from the handprint she left on his face.
“Um… Aiba-kun? Maybe we should resume this tomorrow…”
A small figure appeared behind him.
“Ah… Takagawa-san, I’m sorry it’s-…”
“It’s fine Aiba-kun. We’ll go over this scene again tomorrow. There’s no rush. If anything, I think you should rush after that girl and explain everything to her.”
He nodded.
Takagawa Minako. Esteemed actress and Aiba’s co-star in a play about a forbidden love between a man and a married, older woman. They were rehearsing the bed scene and Rei had walked right in…
Finally finding his feet, Aiba ran out of the studio to the elevator. He pressed the down button for what must’ve been a 100 times before giving up. JE headquarters was a huge building and he was on the 30th floor. The elevator wasn’t going to come any time soon.
“Dou shiyou?!” he cried, slamming his head on the elevator doors before noticing the door to the fire escape.
“The stairs!” he thought, opening the door and began rushing down all 30 flights.
“I can’t believe she saw all that… She must be hurting really badly right now. What should I do now? Will she listen to what I have to say? It doesn't matter… for now I just have to catch her.” while running, he pulled out his mobile and tried calling her, “Come on, pick up… Pick up please!”
No answer.
“Kuso-!!!!”
He kept running. He felt his heart pumping harder and faster. It hurt but he ignored it, “Only 12 flights to go…”
His phone began to ring.
“REI!?”
“Sakurai desu.”
“Sho-kun! Rei…” he puffed, “Are you with Rei?”
The voice on the other end was stern, “What have you done to her Masaki?”
“No! Sho-kun, it’s a misunderstanding!”
“She’s crying Masaki.”
His breathing was laboured, “Where is she?”
“Does it really matter to you Aiba?”
“FUZAKERUNA! WHERE IS SHE?”
Sho paused, “She’s on the way to Narita. She’s getting on the next flight back to New York.”
“What?” he made out, in barely a whisper.
His head started to feel light and he started to feel pain in his chest, unsure of whether it was because of his scattering around or whether it was because his heart ached for her.
On the other side of the phone, Sakurai could no longer hear the sound of footsteps and started to worry, “Oi, Aiba! AIBA? Can you hear me?”
Masaki grabbed his chest and let out a cough, “Itai… it stings… No, not now. Please don’t fail me now…”
“Rei…” he said quietly before passing out cold in the fire escape.
~~~
When he came to, he was in Matsujun’s apartment. It took a full-scale search of JE headquarters by Ohno, Nino and Matsumoto to find him. Sho headed for the airport to talk to Rei.
Riidaa sighed, “Mou… Aiba-chan, you know your body can’t handle sudden exertion like that…”
“What does it matter? She hates me. I’d rather be dead.”
Rei had left for New York, despite Sho’s efforts to get her to stay.
After that day, the other members of Arashi noticed a change in Aiba. At first he seemed lost, desperate. He spent every waking moment trying to get in contact with Rei; calling her, messaging her, emailing her… but he never got a reply. Eventually he gave up and it seemed like his heart froze over. He drank recklessly and got into numerous relationships; playing around with the feelings of countless girls around him, knowing that they would never compare to his ideal.
But, a wave of change was lingering in the air.
This time, he looked on as she kept walking away from him with a smile slowly appearing on his face.
“She’s back. There’s hope. Somewhere in those dark eyes, there’s still light. I know there is…”
And after a long period of being overcast, his eyes finally started to sparkle again.
Rei hurriedly left the building, not looking back once. Her heart was pounding.
“Huh? Why is my heart beating so fast? But more importantly, what is up with that Aiba Masaki?! Telling me that he needed me and all that…” she felt her cheeks turn red.
“BAH! What’s wrong with me? Dame dame dame dame Rei! You hate Aiba Masaki. He broke your heart remember? That’s right! Take a deep breath. You DO NOT still like him.”
“Oh… how sad, is it me you don’t like?” someone stepped out of a parked car behind her, giving Rei the fright of her life.
She jumped, “HUH? WHAT?!”
“Did I say all that out loud?! Who the hell is that? Is that person trying to give me a heart attack? If it’s Aiba Masaki I am going to…”
She turned around
“KAZU-KUN!”
Ninomiya smiled. He liked how Rei called him Kazu-kun. It felt refreshing. Not a lot of people called him by his first name.
“Yo!” he called back, waving, “Hisashiburi!” he opened the passenger seat to his car, “Want to go for a ride?”
Rei beamed. It was an offer she couldn’t refuse. She got into the passenger seat of what seemed to be a very new car.
“Did you and Sho-chan buy your cars together or something? They’re exactly the same!”
Nino nodded, “We won them on a game show a few months back. Cool huh?” he said in English, tilting his head and raising one eyebrow slightly as he opened the sunroof, letting in the warm summer breeze.
“Very cool,” Rei replied as she stretched her arms, letting her hands reach out of the sunroof, “Aah, kimochiiiiii-!! De, how did you know I had a photo shoot there today?” she asked.
“Sho-kun of course,” Nino kept his eyes on the road, “But more importantly…” he began to smirk, “how was it?”
Rei gasped, “Kazu-kun!!! You knew?! Wait a minute, how did you know? Oh my God, this whole thing was a set-up by Sho-chan wasn’t it?”
Nino couldn’t resist bursting out into laughter, “No, no… it was pure coincidence. We didn’t even know Aiba-chan had a photo shoot till this morning.”
“Aa sou…” Rei looked down, still trying to comprehend the weird feeling stirring up in her.
They stopped for a moment at a traffic light and Nino took a look at Rei. She was unusually quiet. Her head was facing down and she was picking away at a fingernail.
It reminded him of Ohno.
He blushed slightly at the thought of him before remembering that Ohno still had his Nintendo DS in his pocket, “That baka…” he thought; but smiled as he remembered what he had in the back of his car.
Prior to picking Rei up, he had made a trip to Riidaa’s house and was let in by a smiling Ohno-Mama; who only let him in believing that Nino was there to pick up some things for Satoshi. Well, technically he was picking some things up for Satoshi…
As ransom, that is, for stored in the trunk of Nino’s car was a mountain of art tools, a laptop and clay… lots of clay.
“Does he order his clay in bulk or something?” Nino pondered as he remembered dragging out an enormous box of the stuff from Ohno’s house; telling Ohno-Mama that they were using it to make a scale model of the Arashi members.
“Ne Kazu-kun…”
Rei’s voice interrupted his train of thought, “Hmm?”
“Where are we going?” she asked.
The top of his lip curved into a cheeky smile, “Oh, I’m taking you with me to meet Riidaa! You haven’t seen him in awhile right?”
There was something suspicious about the way Nino smiled, “He’s up to something…”
“Kazu-kun…” she said in a warning tone, “What are you up to?”
The cheeky smile changed into a sheepish grin, “Bareta ka?! (Busted?)”
“Bareta ne! What’s going on?”
“Look in the backseat.”
“UWA! What’s with all the art supplies?” Rei leant into the backseat and rummaged through the stack of art tools; paintbrushes, paint, palettes, an easel, a turntable, tools for modelling clay and, poking out from behind the backseat of the car…
Clay. Lots and lots of clay. In fact, a whole giant box of clay.
“Are you and Toshi finally moving in together!!?” she said excitedly.
“No we aren’t,” “Do we act that gay?” “All this stuff is for ransom purposes.”
“Ransom?”
“Yeah… Riidaa has my Nintendo DS, and he won’t give it back unless I reach into his pocket and take it back myself.”
Rei had an eyebrow raised, “And the problem with that is…?”
“Iya da! Why would I want to stick my hand into his pocket?”
“… Isn’t that one of your hobbies?”
“No, touching his butt is.”
“… Right…” “How can he say that so easily?” “So these art supplies are…?”
“Dakara, I told you already! Ransom!”
“So, wait a minute, let me get this straight, you went to Toshi’s house and dragged out a whole stack of art supplies and what must be 50kg worth of clay just to get your Nintendo thingy back?”
Nino looked at her as if she had committed a crime, “Rei-chan ne, it’s a Nintendo D-S… not a Nintendo thingy. And yes. This is all so I can get it back. And you’re going to help me.”
“Ne Kazu-kun, weren’t you in a Hollywood movie recently?”
“Yes I was! Have you seen it?! It’s called ‘Letters from Iwoji-”
“-And you would’ve made good money from that movie right?”
“Of course!!! I’m probably the richest member of Arashi now!”
“… so why can’t you just buy another DS?”
“…………. That’s just a waste of money Rei-chan!” he laughed, “Baka jyanai?!!!”
Rei felt a drop of sweat slide down her face as if she was an anime character.
~~~
Ohno paced up and down the sidewalk. As usual, he was perfectly on time. Nino however, was late.
“Mou… Osoi na… I wonder where he-”
“-TOSHIIIIIIII!!!”
“Toshi? Nino never calls me that.” In the distance, Ohno could see a figure running towards him, but he couldn’t tell whether it was Nino so he squinted his eyes.
“Oh wait, that person’s wearing a skirt. It can’t be Nino. Wait, did that person call me Toshi?”
Ohno’s eyes grew large with excitement as he waved his hand frantically at the running person, “REI-CHAN!!!!!!” he extended his arms for a hug.
Puffed from running, Rei nearly collapsed in his arms, “Hi Toshi!” she said cheekily.
He patted her on the back as she caught her breath, “Hisashiburi da ne! Were you with Nino?”
Rei puffed, “I was… but he’s parking his car across the street.”
“I can’t believe that Kazu-kun roped me into his stupid plan…” she thought.
Ohno looked confused, “Across the street? Isn’t the Rainbow Bridge across the street? He can’t park there unless he’s planning on parking in the ocean,” he chortled.
His phone rang.
“Moshi moshi? Nino? Where are you? Hey, did you know you can’t park your car on that side of the road? ………………………. WHAT?”
“Looks like Kazu-kun’s stated his demands.” A small smile began to form on Rei’s face.
Riidaa had a serious look on his face, “You’re crazy Nino, I know how much you love money. You’re not going to drive your new car into the water with all my art supplies and my laptop.”
…
…
“Oh… the car was free on a game show?”
…
“It doesn’t matter if you get rid of it?”
…
“GIVE ME BACK MY CLAY! I HAD TO ORDER THAT SPECIALLY!!!!”
Rei couldn’t hold her laughter in anymore. “I love these boys!” she thought in between laughing fits.
Riidaa’s face grew sterner by the second, “Very well Ninomiya-san. Let’s negotiate,” he said before hanging up.
“I can’t believe you,” he said bitterly whilst chewing.
Jun smacked him in the head, “Riidaa! Swallow first, I don’t want to see how well-chewed your hard-boiled egg is.”
Nino laughed, “Maa, maa Riidaa… It was all in good fun right? We both got what we wanted.”
Ohno puffed his cheeks and continued glaring as Ninomiya and Matsumoto continued to laugh at him.
On the other side of the table, Aiba and Sakurai silently ate their ramen. For some reason, Sho had a certain mischievous look on his face the whole night. It gave Aiba the chills, “Ne, Sho-chan… Why do you have that creepy, spaced-out look on your face?”
“Yeah, he does look quite creepy,” Jun leant forward and waved his hand in front of Sho’s face, “Moshi mosh? Anyone home? Don’t tell me you’re thinking of something perverted again.”
Sho’s cheeky face suddenly grew a cheeky smile and he stared deeply into Matsujun’s eyes.
“Uwa, kimochi waruiiiiii…. (gross)” Matsumoto leant back into his chair and pressed himself against it, trying to get as far away from Sho’s gaze as possible.
But Sakurai kept at it. He kept that weird, sinister look plastered onto his face until he heard the door of the ramen shop open.
A girl stepped in.
He shot to his feet, “REI-CHAN KOCCHI! (over here)”
Ohmiya and Matsumoto turned their gazes to Aiba who had his mouth open with a few strands of ramen hanging out.
Rei spun her head at the sound of her name and waved back at Sho, “Sorry I’m late!! I-”
She froze and frowned when she saw that he wasn’t there alone like he said he was. The other 4 members of Arashi were sitting around the table, and it looked like they had saved an empty spot for her. In between Sho and Masaki. She flashed Sakurai a sour look but he just smiled back at her with a cheeky grin.
Jun smirked as he flashed looks between a red-faced Masaki and Rei, “Naruhodo ne…”
Sakurai walked towards the door of the restaurant, “Come, come I’ve saved you a seat.”
“What on earth do you think you’re doing?” Rei hissed quietly.
Sho ignored her, grabbed her by the arm and dragged her toward their table. 3 of the boys smiled as Sho tried to force her onto the seat in between his and Aiba’s. The remaining 1 boy kept his head down and fidgeted slightly.
“Yo Rei! It’s been awhile! Genki ka?” Matsujun gave a small wave.
“Unn, genki genki… Mattsun wa?” she replied cheerfully while trying to fight Sho off, “Damn it Sho-chan! You’re getting too strong.”
Sho started to get annoyed, “Ii kara, suwatte yo! (Just sit down already)”
“Hai, hai, relax Chesto,” she patted his head.
“Chesto!?” mouthed Sakurai as he gave Rei a huge frown. Jun laughed.
As Rei took her seat next to Aiba, that weird feeling came over her again. Her heart started pounding and for no reason at all she felt blood boiling in her cheeks. She tried her hardest not to look at him and to maintain thoughts of hatred.
Aiba kept his head lowered and stared into his empty ramen bowl, “Doushiyou, doushiyou? She’s sitting next to me. I can smell her shampoo, I never realised how much I missed that smell. Why is my heart thumping? I need to talk to her. But everyone else is around…”
Jun shifted his gaze between the two red-faced people sitting opposite him. In his mind, he had his own plan brewing. He stared at Sakurai and waited for eye contact. When Sho’s head turned to face him, Matsumoto gave a wink and made a subtle drinking gesture with his thumb and index finger. Sho gave him a light kick from under the table and winked back.
One side of Jun’s mouth curved slightly. He turned to face Rei, “Rei-chan are you ready to order?”
Rei blinked, she was thinking so hard about trying to hate Aiba that she forgot to think about food, “Ee-tou… Umm.. I’ll just have a …. Miso ramen. Thanks Mattsun!”
Jun nodded and called out to the nearest waitress, “Sumimasen! Miso ramen hitotsu to, hiyazake go-hon kudasai! (1 miso ramen and 5 bottles of cold sake please)”
Aiba kicked him hard from under the table and mouthed the words, “SAKE?!” Ohno and Nino were just as shocked. They all knew that although Rei liked to drink, she got drunk quick.
“It’s been awhile since we’ve all seen Rei-chan. This is a decent excuse to celebrate, ne?” he said, pouring out sake for everyone.
Ohmiya agreed and Sho initiated the festivities with a loud, “KANPAI!”
~~~
7 bottles of sake later, Ohno was slurring and laughing uncontrollably, Matsumoto was in high-tension mode and Sakurai was sitting there smiling at thin air. As usual, Nino drank the least and was the calmest of the lot. Across the table from him, Aiba had a bit to drink, but being quite tolerant to alcohol, he was perfectly normal, but abnormally quiet.
Rei on the other hand, was wasted. Nino laughed as he watched her talk to herself, stick her fingers in Sho’s nose and laughed harder when Sho did the same to her.
When Matsumoto was confident that Rei was intoxicated enough, he nudged Nino.
“Ne, I think you should take Riidaa home now,” he whispered, pointing to a very drunk Captain.
Ninomiya groaned, “Do I have to? I’m sure he can get home by himself.”
Ohno looked at Nino and grinned, “Nino-chan, aishiteru yo!” he chirped and leant in to hug his younger band member.
Nino blushed slightly, “I guess it can’t be helped. Come on Riidaa. I’ll drive you back,” he felt guilty for trying to hold Ohno’s art supplies ransom and felt he should atone for it, “De, Matsujun… are you up to something?” he whispered.
Matsumoto nodded in the direction of Rei and Aiba.
“Good job,” Ninomiya got up from his seat and tried to help Ohno who kept leaping at him with bursts of “NINO-CHAN!!!”
“Jya, we’ll be heading off now!” he poked Ohno, “Oi Riidaa, say goodbye to everyone!”
Masaki got off his chair, “Hah? You guys are leaving already? But-”
Nino scratched the back of his head, “Ah, I’ve got filming early in the morning, and Riidaa, well just look at him…”
Ohno had a ridiculous smile across his face and was singing the theme to Dragon Ball, using a pair of chopsticks as a microphone, “Yay!!! Karaoke!”
Ninomiya smacked his forehead, “Riidaa, we’re in a ramen shop. Not a Karaoke bar. Come on let’s go. Bye guys!”
Everyone waved.
Sakurai looked at Matsumoto and nodded discretely, “Err, I need to pee!” he said suddenly and ran off to the bathroom.
“Three down. Now I’ve got to find an excuse to leave,” thought Matsujun as he fiddled with his mobile phone. He looked at Rei who was trying to count the number of toothpicks in the toothpick holder without touching them and chuckled slightly.
“Ne Aiba-chan.”
“Hmm?”
“Err, I… OH YABAI! I forgot! I had a date tonight! I better go and check if she’s still waiting! Jya ne!” he said speedily and ran towards the door.
“EH? Cho-chotto!” Aiba got up and tried to chase after him but that Matsujun was a swift one.
He sat back down and started to worry. The guys had ditched him and left him alone with Rei, although Rei didn’t seem to notice. His heart was beating faster and faster with anxiety and the palms of his hands started to get sweaty.
Suddenly, his phone beeped.
“Sorry for running off Aiba-chan.
I’ll make it up to you another day, I promise.
But I thought it would be nice to give you 2 some time alone.
Make sure Rei gets home safe.
And I’ve already paid the bill so don’t worry about it.
Mata ne.
-Sakurai
PS: DON’T YOU DARE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HER JUST BECAUSE SHE’S DRUNK”
Aiba rolled his eyes, “Those pranksters…”
“A-a-ano Rei-chan…”
She turned to look at him and smiled, “Yes?!” she replied, a little too cheerfully.
Aiba was slightly taken aback by her reaction and hesitated for awhile, “Wow, that was unexpected…”
“I think we better head off. The rest aren’t coming back. I’ll take you home. Do you know your new address?”
“MOCHIRON!” she chirped, “Eh? Sho-chan isn’t taking me home?” her head swayed as she spoke. The sake was definitely working, “Are?! It’s Aiba Masaki! Did you know you’re my favourite member of Arashi!? But, we can’t tell Sho-chan that… No, no we can’t,” she continued to babble.
Aiba sighed, “Kawaii na…” he thought as he helped her into his car.
Omatase!!! Exams are finally over so I can keep writing Here's a short update...
Chapter 8
Aiba Masaki pulled up in front of block of executive apartments.
“Rei-chan, tsuita zo… (Rei-chan, we’re here)” he said quietly.
Looking over at the passenger seat, he saw that Rei was curled up into a ball, fast asleep against the window. He felt his heart clench and smiled a somewhat sad smile. He leant over and tapped her on the shoulder.
Rei rubbed her eyes, “Hmm?”
“You’re home now. Can you walk?” he asked gently.
Rei blinked a few times and stared at him for a few seconds before saying, “Hey! You’re Aiba Masaki!” she started giggling uncontrollably.
Masaki sighed, “Ga~n….”
He got out of the car and opened the door to the passenger seat, “Come on…” he said, holding her hand and leading her out of the car tenderly. “Can you walk?” he asked again.
Rei stepped out of the car, took a few wobbly steps and fell flat on her butt. She burst out laughing. Aiba shook his head, “She is really drunk…”
He walked over to her, “Daijoubu?”
She nodded, “Hee! I can’t get up!!!” she said in between giggles.
Aiba shook his head slightly, bent over and picked her up in his arms, “Ok, which floor do you live on?”
She shot her arm in the air, “Whee!!! 33 DE~SU!”
Masaki pressed the up button and waited for the elevator to come down. He looked at Rei and noticed that her head was pressed tightly against his chest. “Doki-!” he felt his heart pound hard and prayed to God that she couldn’t hear it.
They arrived at the 33rd floor of the apartment with Rei still snug in a very red-faced Aiba’s arms.
“Ok, you’re home now. Oyasumi, Rei-chan. And since you probably won’t remember any of this in the morning, I just want to say…” he took a deep breath, “I’ve really missed you,” he said with a smile, “Just so you know, I’ve decided that I’m not giving up on you,” he patted her on the head and lowered her to the ground, “Mata ne.”
As he began to walk away, he felt a tug on his sleave, “Ikanaide… (Don’t go)” came the quiet voice.
He turned and faced Rei, who was on her knees with her head lowered. He didn’t know what to think.
“Masaki…” she said softly, looking at him with puppy dog eyes, grabbing onto his sleave, “Masaki, don’t go… I… I…” her eyelids grew heavy and her voice began to trail off. Her grip on Aiba’s sleave grew weak and she felt the force of gravity pull from under her.
He caught her before she hit the ground.
~~~
Rei groaned and rolled over to turn off the contraption that was beeping frantically next to her head.
“Oww…” her head felt like it was about to split into 2, “Huh? I’m home? How did I get back?”
The clock read 6 a.m.
“6? I don’t remember setting the alarm for 6…” she scratched her head.
“Mou… Manager-san, onegai… 5 minutes more…” a voice whimpered from beside her.
“UWA!... DARE?!” she grabbed onto her blankets tightly and looked around, but apart from her, the queen bed was empty.
“What should I do? Who was that? Am I hearing things?” her mind was racing with fear at the thought that someone else might have been her room, “Is it a ghost?!?!?!” she scanned frantically around the room, refusing to move from her bed. But no one was there.
She sighed, “Maybe it was my imagination…”
Her head was pounding so she decided to get out of bed for a glass of water. Swinging her feet over the side of the bed she stepped on something on the ground below her.
“ITE-!!!!” came the cry.
Frightened, Rei hopped back into bed and pulled the covers over her head, “W-Who’s there?” her voiced trembled and through the thin sheets, she could see a figure slowly standing up in front of her.
“Oww…” it mumbled, and slowly approached her.
She saw its hand stretching out towards the bed and froze with sheer fright, her heart racing at what felt like a million beats per second. The hand got closer and closer until it was hovering over her head. Not knowing what to do, Rei squeezed her eyes shut and prayed that it was nothing but a bad dream.
The covers were pulled off.
Rei sat there with her eyes still tightly shut, expecting the worst to happen.
But nothing happened.
She slowly opened her eyes and looked up, her eyes widening when she realised who was standing in front of her, scratching his head and yawning. Her face turned a bright red when she noticed he wasn’t wearing a shirt, revealing a birthmark stretching across his left shoulder, accentuating his collarbone. She tried hard not to stare, but who wouldn’t have stared intently if they were faced with the same situation?
“Ohayo,” he said in a crackly voice.
Rei felt her heart melt at the sight; but suddenly confusion took over and she tried hard to remember what might have happened the night before. That was when she noticed out of the corner of her eye, the clothes that she was wearing, folded up and placed neatly on her couch.
“Oh crap…” she thought nervously as she slowly turned her head downward, revealing that all she was wearing was… underwear.
She frantically grabbed her bed sheets and used them to cover her half-naked body, her mind full of thoughts as to what might have happened, when suddenly she froze.
“Wait… Me… underwear. Him… topless…”
“AHHHH!!!!” she screamed and threw a pillow at Aiba’s sleepy-looking face.
“HOW COULD YOU?!” she cried, “Saitei!!! (you’re the worst) How could you take advantage of me like that!”
“Hah?” Masaki scratched his head, still half-asleep, trying to comprehend why she had attacked him with that pillow. He rubbed his eyes and looked at Rei, who was panting and anxiously covering herself up, “Doushita no?” he croaked.
Rei scoffed, “Y-y-you…” she replied bitterly, “You took advantage of me didn’t you…”
Aiba raised an eyebrow, “Why would I do that??? You were drunk!” he felt slightly hurt at her remarks. After all, he had looked after her the whole night and even slept on the floor without any pillows or blankets so that she could have the whole bed to herself.
“Then why am I not wearing any clothes? And why aren’t you wearing any clothes?!” she shrieked.
“Calm down Rei…” he replied quietly, “You don’t remember anything that happened last night?”
“How could I?! I was drunk!!! And you… you…” she felt faint. What had happened? How did she end up bringing Aiba Masaki home? And did they do anything? What was she going to do? Did she let on that she still loved him? So much for trying to hang on to her pride… Tears began to trickle down her cheeks. She felt confused and didn’t know what to do.
Aiba smiled gently, sat next to her and cupped her tiny face in his hands. He placed his forehead on hers and looked deep into her tear-drenched eyes, “We didn’t do anything. Nakanaide (don’t cry),” he said quietly, using his thumb to wipe some of the tears away, “I took you home last night. You semi-passed out so I stayed to make sure you were okay.”
Rei sobbed. Letting her guard down completely, she let herself get lost in his gaze. Her heart was beating at bullet train speed. She sniffed, “… and the clothes?”
“It was hot, you don’t have an air conditioner in here so I took of my shirt,” he explained, “You threw your clothes off in the middle of the night. I folded them up for you. We didn’t do anything. Don’t worry. I’d never do anything to hurt you ever again…” he said, his voice so gentle and trustworthy Rei felt like dying on the spot. She felt stupid for giving him up and was now surer than ever that she loved him more than anything. But her stupid pride had done so much damage.
“How can he still treat me so well after all that I’ve put him through… I never let him explain himself… for all I know, Sho-chan might be right… It could’ve all just been a misunderstanding…”
The confusion settled in and the tears wouldn’t stop. She reached her hand out and pulled him in closer to her, hugging him tightly, not wanting to let him go ever again.
Masaki was shocked. He froze slightly but a feeling of happiness and warmth started to fill him, making him smile. He extended his arms and held Rei in a tight embrace.
“Gomen ne Masaki…” she whispered into his ear.
He smiled and ruffled her hair, “Mou ii yo… ki ni shinaide. (It’s alright now… don’t worry about it)
2 months of writing and I only manage a small chapter ;__; stupid work!~
But anyway, enjoy~
Chapter 9
Ohno-kun paced up and down the dressing room with a frown plastered onto his face, “Late again,” he sighed.
Sho looked up from his newspaper and took a sip of his coffee. Aiba and Matsumoto hadn’t showed up for work yet and Riidaa seemed to be getting annoyed. Of course, it was natural for Matsujun to oversleep and rock up to work over an hour late, but Aiba? Something out of the ordinary was definitely going on. Sho smirked and congratulated himself silently, “Mission accomplished I guess?” he thought as he gave the newspaper a flick to straighten out its edges.
After deciding that walking up and down the room was too much of an effort, Satoshi plonked himself down on a couch, next to a button-mashing Kazunari. He lit a cigarette, took a long drag and tapped the burnt remains into an ashtray.
“Stress is definitely a killer,” he thought to himself as he continued puffing away, only to be interrupted by Ninomiya who swiftly took the cigarette out of his leader’s fingers and took a deep puff.
Ohno’s eyes widened as he stared at the younger man, “I-i-i-i-i-in-indirect k-k-k-k-kiss….!!!” he felt his face redden at the very thought, his eyes never leaving Nino’s face.
“Stupid game!!!” Nino exclaimed. He scratched his head, groaning as he turned off the console and threw it into his bag, “I keep dying!!!! Light me another one Riidaa… This is too stressful.”
Ohno sighed as he held his lighter up to Nino’s lips, “Stressful indeed,” he muttered, looking out the window as Nino took a drag from the fresh cigarette, when he spotted a familiar, grumpy-looking face screaming into his phone while waiting to cross the street. He continued to watch as the angry man crossed the road and entered the building.
Ohno closed his eyes, “3…2…1…”
“ARGHHHH!!! CHO- MUKATSUKU!” Doumyouji’s unmistakeable voice came flying into the room as he kicked open the door.
Nino stubbed his cigarette into the ashtray, “Ohayou Jun-kun,” he said cheerfully, raising an eyebrow, “And what, may I ask, has gotten you into such a rotten mood this morning?”
“Aiba-chan wa? (Where’s Aiba-chan?)” came Jun’s curt reply.
Sho immediately looked up from his newspaper, “Aiba-chan?”
~~~
“Are you sure you don’t have to go to work? I don’t want to get you into trouble,” Rei said with concern.
“It’s fine! People are entitled to sick leave right?”
“But you’re not sick…”
“I am!” chirped an overly excited Aiba Masaki.
Rei raised an eyebrow, “You’re not.”
“I AM!”
There was a short pause before he opened his mouth again to say, “… love sick that is!” he replied, in a somewhat seductive voice.
Rei took one glance at his face and burst out into laughter, “BAAAAAAAKA! That was the lamest thing I’ve ever heard!”
Masaki felt his face turn red and tried hard to change the subject, “-A-Aaahh!” he yelled, pointing out the car window, “A rainbow!”
Rei cocked her head to one side, “Ne, Ma-chan… there’s nothing there.”
“It’s there!! Hora!” he said, continuing to point out the window.
“Da-ka-ra! There’s nothing th-” she tried to verbalize but was stopped in the middle of her sentence when she felt his lips on hers.
“This ought to distract her…” thought a very cheeky looking Aiba Masaki who pulled away gently and smiled as Rei’s face turned a bright pink.
Silence followed as Rei was caught in a daze, holding her fingers to her lips and staring down at her feet. Masaki smiled as he continued driving. He had decided to take the day off work and spend it with Rei. In his pocket, he could feel his phone ringing persistently but snubbed it and kept his eyes on the road.
~~~
“He’s not answering…” Sho said quietly in disbelief.
“Well try again then!” Matsumoto screeched, pacing frantically.
“Ne Jun-kun,” Nino looked worried, “Are you absolutely sure?”
“POSITIVE. Why would I lie about something like this?”
Riidaa let out a sigh, “But Aiba-chan… I can’t believe it…”
Jun banged his head against a wall, “I KNOW! I fricking know! You’re not the only confused one here alright?” he yelled.
Jun dug his phone out of his pocket and threw it into the direction of the 2nd eldest band member, “Try a-g-a-i-n Sakurai,” he demanded before heading out of the dressing room, slamming the door behind him.
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... oh well!
Here's a short update...
