Love So Sweet [an Ohno Satoshi love story] - Chapter 9
As an unbreakable rule, the ToGeiDa cameras had to leave when Sakurai Sho was around. He had come home early that evening, although he was going to leave again soon anyway. Arashi was invited to an honors ceremony at the high class Venus Hall in the ritzy part of downtown Tokyo. Since the five members couldn’t meet up at the Agency, Sho was getting ready in his bathroom. One of the trusted stylists was busy at work doing Sho’s makeup and hair. Rina passed by on the way to get a glass of water; she was amused that his preparation took even longer than hers. Of course, he was the one that had to look perfect.
The stylist was standing behind Sho, working some sort of waxy goop into his hair and pulling it into piecey layers. Sho looked completely absorbed in the piece of paper he was holding; one could call it his studious face. He muttered out loud to himself.
“Na, you look so kakkoi, Sho-kun!” Rina exclaimed. He was wearing a really nice dove grey suit with a silver sheen. “Although I should be complimenting the stylist on his nice work.” When the stylist was finished and left, Rina asked, “What are you reading?”
“It’s Arashi’s speech. We’re accepting an award tonight, so... Here,” He handed the slip to her. “Help me practice.”
He followed her out, tugging at his hair and reciting his lines at the same time, something about hard work and thanking the fans. He wanted it to sound as natural as possible. Rina put the paper down to get her water. Sho closed his eyes and continued nervously. His rehearsal was interrupted when his cell phone rang.
“Hai, I’m ready. I’ll be right down.” His ride had arrived.
“Ganbarre yo!” Rina said encouragingly. Through the upstairs window (for they had a large wall surrounding the house, separating it from the street. This is common with expensive homes in Asia) she saw a sleek black limo pull away. She relaxed and got on the computer for a little while, but something kept bugging her in the back of her mind. Then it hit her. She rushed to the kitchen: Sho’s speech was still lying on the counter.
The grand Venus Hall stood tall and flashy as Rina jumped out of the taxi. There was a spectacle around the long red carpet, with photographers and press and screaming fans crowding all around. Polished celebrities walked along the backdrop, stopping every few feet to answer some questions and sign autographs. Rina tried to squeeze in - she heard A.RA.SHI, A.RA.SHI, For Dream being chanted - but she just couldn’t get to the front. Someone’s Matsujun uchiwa smacked her in the face; she grimaced. Curse Sho for not answering his phone. Yosh, I’ll find another way…
So, while hissing in her head, I can’t believe I’m doing this… Why am I doing this…?!, Rina snuck through the back, up through the basement, and somehow ended up in the kitchen.
“Oi! You, in the jeans! Where’s your uniform?” A stressed man in a vest-slack combo bustled to her anxiously. “You can’t skip your job to go gawk at celebrities! I don’t care if they’re idols or not!” he scolded exasperatedly. He shoved a bundle of clothes in her arms. “Here, get dressed, and report to Watari-san in the back, right away. Please.”
“Chotto-!“ But he was already dashing somewhere else. Rina sighed. Of course, she couldn’t expect to be recognized from ToGeiDa after only one episode and minimal advertisement or publicity. She guessed being mistaken for a worker was better than being kicked out for looking like a fangirl who’d crashed the party. A peek at the uniform revealed regular black slacks, black tie, an ugly maroon vest, and a white button-up shirt - a rather conventional, bland ensemble. It was a good thing that she was already wearing black flats.
The kitchen was all in a frenzy, a controlled chaos, with chefs in white running back and forth with bowls and chopping, mixing, tasting, all behind steaming pots and blazing stoves and calling out to each other for soy sauce and confit that should have been done five minutes ago. Waiters like Rina simply followed orders the best they could. In the midst of all this was the head chef. Rina gawked; it was her favorite Iron Chef Morimoto Masaharu in his trademark glasses. He seemed very absorbed and yet relaxed, the master. Somehow, Rina was more impressed by seeing him than any of the celebrities out in the ballroom, since she actually knew who he was.
Watari-san, the planner of the whole event, was relaying instructions loudly. “… And once the filming starts again, you absolutely cannot be seen, or else every portion with staff in it will be cut. Report back as soon as the countdown starts again. Got it?”
The main dining hall was filled with some of the best looking people in the entertainment industry chatting away and sipping on wine. Sparkling chandeliers hung all around, illuminating their beautiful faces in a soft light. Up front was a high platform with a blank screen and a podium, where the awards and speeches would be given. A large orchestra was playing softly at the very back of the stage. With a platter of hors d’oeuvres balanced in her hands, Rina charged in, not so glamorous. She arrived at her first table, a little peeved that it wasn’t Arashi (at first, she’d planned to just find Sho, give him the paper, and leave), but she continued to give her best effort.
“Konbanwa, yoroshiku onegaishimasu, Katsumi desu. I’ll be your waitress this evening. For starters, we have an assortment of sashimi, and five-star accompaniments. Freshly ground wasabi from Shimane, shoyu from…” She explained the menu planned for the banquet with a smile. It seemed like they had already broken into the wine set out.
“Sounds good. Thank you very much!” one of the six men grinned. (This is Tanaka Koki, fyi) He had a rather angular face, but a surprisingly friendly smile. The others were very made-up as well, as celebrities are. Two of them were whispering amongst themselves, not paying attention.
One of them, who had very thin eyebrows, hissed, “Yo, Jin, say something to her. I dare you.” He nudged the very handsome one next to him.
“Yada, Kame!” Jin grunted. He shyly glanced up at Rina through his fringe of flippy hair and uneasily took another sip of wine.
“Do it~!”
Rina was confused. “Ahno… would you like me to get you something?”
The one named Jin gathered himself, and looked straight at Rina with an innocent smile. The others at the table leaned in.
“I just couldn’t help but notice how pretty you are.” Jin murmured in English.
She looked at him incredulously. “What?” was her automatic response. Her English flowed out more quickly when she was irritated. “Excuse me?”
Jin was a little shocked; his joke had backfired.
“Sugoi! She understood you!” one of them burst out laughing. (Either Ueda or Nakamaru, your choice)
“Hey, what’d you guys say?” another cute one (Taguchi Junnosuke) asked, wanting to be in on the fun. He didn’t read the atmosphere properly, and failed to notice the slightly offended look she had.
“Hilarious.” Rina said flatly. She returned to Japanese. “Now, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be back with your appetizers shortly.”
“Nice one, Bakanishi.” Kame grinned when their waitress stalked away.
“Omae! You’re the one who kept pushing it!” Jin retorted…
Jin icon: numetto , Kame icon: marionette_life
“… Onegaishimasu! It’s really important!” Rina begged the other server girl. It had taken her forever to figure out who was serving Arashi. “Only for this last course, I swear.”
“No way, Katsumi-san. Watari-san will kill me if the arrangement gets messed up. Is Arashi your favorite or something? They’re good and all, but not--”
“-Ahno, that’s too bad then,” Rina pretended to sigh. “The guys at one of my tables are... really hott. Even compared to... to Matsumoto Jun. They’re really flirty too.” She was pulling this out of nowhere, or rather stretching her observations, and tried to keep a straight face.
The other waitress started looking a little interested. “Who do you have?”
Rina hadn’t caught their names, and she certainly didn’t know their celebrity facts. “Eto... There are six of them. One of them has a kind of shaved head and a really strong face. Another is really pretty, almost like a girl, and his English is really-“
“Sugoi, do you mean Jin? Akanishi Jin? You have KAT-TUN?! They’re so kakkoii!” she squealed. “A- ahno, are you really sure you want to switch? I guess we can, sure.”
Yatta… Always trust the inner fangirl in all. She was relieved. Now, Sho would not be humiliated.
Finally, as dinner was cleared away, she found them. She marched up with slight frustration. All the running back and forth from the kitchen made her sweaty and out of breath.
“Katsumi-san? What are you doing here?” Aiba asked with his big-eyed look. Matsumoto, Ninomiya, Ohno and Sakurai stopped their conversations.
Rina finally took the wad of paper out of her pocket and dropped it front of Sho. “Here, Sho-kun.”
Sho was in awe. “You went through all that trouble for…? Rina-chan… I already have it memorized! Even if I didn’t, these guys would have had their copies too.” He gave her a careful look. “I’m really sorry that you thought…”
“Nande?” She groaned and tilted her head back in a way very reminiscent of Sho, which made Aiba crack up. She quickly regained her composure though, and kind of laughed about it.
She took their dessert orders, wondering why butterflies were multiplying in her stomach whenever she caught the quiet smile of Ohno Satoshi. In person of course, he wasn’t Naruse Ryou or Yano Kenta, yet he had an aura about him that appealed to her. Even though he didn’t act like a leader, she felt that the four other guys of Arashi somehow centered around Ohno; she didn’t really yet know why. At the same time, she had to be honest; she was just a normal college girl, and he was an idol of the idols going on ten years. What’s more, she didn’t understand why she was feeling all this after only being around him two or three times. Out of the corner of her ear, she heard the nagging voice of Watari-san.
Oh shoot. Rina thought. “Eight... Seven… If you’re not back here right now--!” There was no way she was going to make it all the way across the crowded floor to the safety of the kitchen in time.
“Rina-chan…?” Sho asked. The rest of Arashi was puzzled by her slight panic too.
“Three… Two…”
An absurd idea popped into Rina’s head, and she took it. She dropped to the floor and in a flash, scrambled through the tablecloth, underneath the table. The guys’ legs left little room to move, so she hugged her notepad to her chest and curled up as small as she could; this felt ridiculous and embarrassing, but audacious, which was a pretty new sensation for her. The oration from the stage, the clapping and performances continued, sounding loud but muffled from Rina’s situation. A few moments into her huddled position, and her thighs started burning. It was going to be a whole ten more minutes before the next commercial break, and she groaned.
Then, Rina felt a tickling nudge at her back. It had been someone’s foot. She dismissed it as just someone fidgeting. But it came again, and then again. She turned, a little peeved, and stared at the foot, which was bobbing tauntingly from its crossed leg. The pants were a blueish shade of white - Ohno had been the only one wearing a suit that color. She smacked the mischievous foot with her notepad scribbled on with orders; it made a dead thumping sound. The foot paused for a moment, but then continued to bump RIna’s knees lightly. This was perturbing, but at the same time it made her laugh; it was so silly.
Above, four of the boys were paying attention to the short film being played. However, though Ohno was staring at the screen, he was secretly smirking to himself. Then, he winced a little, and fought back a chuckle. Matsumoto glanced at Riida for a moment with raised brows, wondering how he could be laughing when the man on screen had just had his house ransacked... Ohno must have been in his own world again.
With another surge of daring, Rina puckishly, sneakily, pulled at the shoelace till it was completely untied. Then, she yanked the shoe off with an evil giggle. The two feet, one sock and one shoe, started flailing amusingly.
There was a muddled speech made, loud applause, and everyone started talking amongst themselves again; the intermission must have come. The curtain of the tablecloth was lifted, and Ohno’s handsome grinning face popped through. Rina held her breath.
“Can I have my shoe back, please?” he laughed. “We have to go backstage soon, before the break ends.” He took the shoe from the cute girl and bent down to put it back on, still in her range of vision.
“Ahno… is the coast clear?” Rina asked cautiously.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I was going to wait until Matsumoto-san left… I think he thinks I’m strange.”
Ohno grinned. “He’s not as scary as you’d think. Once you get to know him, at least. But in that case, you can come out now.” She scrambled out from the table and brushed herself off, hoping no one noticed. Ohno was still standing there with his hands in his pockets; he told the others he’d catch up in a second.
“So what are you guys going to do up there?”
“Accept the award, say a few words, and perform a song.”
“Suge! I hope I can see that.”
His manager was giving him the evil eye from behind the curtain. “De (anyways), I have to go now… but if I were you, I’d worry about meeting Johnny-san. I think he’s around here somewhere.” It was true. As part of the complicated contract between ToGeiDa and Johnny’s Entertainment, Rina was not to involve herself with them unless they made a previously appointed jointure, cameras or not. Johnny Kitagawa kept such a close eye on his idols that he would probably recognize her.
Before he left, she said quietly, “Ganbatte, ne.”
Ohno smiled, nodded, and went off to do his job.
Rina quietly stood in the dimly lit back of the hall with the other waitresses who looked on giggling at the handsome group of five who took the stage to accept their award for their amazing success in 2008. They bantered with the announcers, making the audience enjoy the ceremony a bit more. They were so natural compared to the others…
The moment she’d been waiting for - they took the stage. Musicians of the orchestra behind them got ready to play. Arashi stood in a staggered line behind tall microphones.
“Here is Arashi singing the #2 hit song of the Oricon charts, “One Love”!”
Their hands rose up in the air like a dance of sign language with the soaring violins. Matsumoto Jun started to sing, and was joined by Ohno. It was at that very moment when Ohno opened his mouth and sung those beginning few verses that Rina’s heart skipped a beat. Her perfect ears were not playing tricks. THAT was it - that was the velvety voice that had struck her deeply the very first time she heard it.
I want to tell you, though... I don't want to let you know.
From time to time, I haven't been as honest as I should.
But those seasons full of tears... We've overcome them now.
At this moment, you and I are shining bright.*
His voice enveloped the others and kept them unified, but never overpowered them. This time, Ohno really smiled when he sang. From the shadows, Rina watched them smoothly move in pretty unison. The declarative song and the blend of sweet voices lifted her spirits. As said before, if there was a way to her heart, it was through music.
Some die-hard fans were still camped outside the impressive building in the freezing night air, hoping to catch a glimpse of their favorite stars after an elegant evening. They waved and cheered at the black limo as it pulled out and drove past, even though they couldn’t see inside. Arashi was thankful for the privacy of the two-way tinted windows; they loosened their ties and lounged around in the spacious vehicle after the fairly relaxing event (by their standards, anyway). The sounds of the city outside were muted.
“That turned out surprisingly well.” Jun said. He was sitting the most properly, even though he was just as tired. The shiny plaque they’d received was safely guarded in his hands; it would go to the Jimusho to keep, though.
“I know - I half expected the performance to be like a bad theme restaurant in Las Vegas, since everyone was eating and drinking.” Nino smirked. “But they listened, I think.”
“Jun-kun, did you ever go to one when you were in Las Vegas? One of those flashy casino club places. I know Mao-chan wouldn’t have liked it but-” Aiba asked eagerly, not noticing how Jun’s smile faltered at the mention of Inoue Mao. “- I’ve seen on TV that they have ones where girls do the - the can dance (he meant the can-can) - in sparkly bikinis and big ostrich feathers…”
Their leader Ohno was only half listening as he typed on his phone; his mom had texted him, asking him why he wasn’t home yet.
Sho got up and rolled down the screen between the backseat and the driver. At shotgun, dozing away in her regular clothes again, was Rina. All that hustle and bustle had really worn her out. Each streetlight they passed sent her serene but weary face aglow for a moment.
“How’s she doing, Uetake-san?” Sho whispered. He leaned in to check up on her like an earnest mother.
“Perfect, sir. She’s been sound asleep for several minutes now.”
“-Kawaii, ne…!” Aiba beamed. He had snuck up behind Sakurai and peered over the guy’s shoulder. Like little boys, the others curiously wanted to see too.
“Hey, sit back down. You’ll wake her up.” Sho shushed.
Matsumoto ever so slightly shook his head. He didn’t like how Rina kept “coincidentally” showing up. It also irritated him that Sakurai was so attentative to her, when Matsumoto himself was bitter with missing a certain someone’s affection. Rina was Sho’s cousin though, so he would keep his opinion to himself.
“Ahno, Sho-kun… Take this.” Ohno murmured, shrugging out of his suit jacket. “Her head must be knocking against the window.”
“Arigatou…”
“Yasashi, na. As expected of Riida.” grinned Aiba.
The article was folded into a wad and without disturbing the young woman much, carefully placed between her cheek and the glass as a makeshift pillow. She stirred a little, snuggled up against the jacket, and then continued dreaming.
---------------
* Translation of "One Love" found here!
Feedback appreciated! Sorry if I made KAT-TUN seem kind of jerkish... I don't know why I wanted to randomly add them in XD Don't know who to credit for all the pics either! Please let me know if they're yours.
I hope you caught all the subtle Arashi personalities (hentai Aiba and DoS Matsujun, for example)! Dialogue is hard for me to write...
The stylist was standing behind Sho, working some sort of waxy goop into his hair and pulling it into piecey layers. Sho looked completely absorbed in the piece of paper he was holding; one could call it his studious face. He muttered out loud to himself.
“Na, you look so kakkoi, Sho-kun!” Rina exclaimed. He was wearing a really nice dove grey suit with a silver sheen. “Although I should be complimenting the stylist on his nice work.” When the stylist was finished and left, Rina asked, “What are you reading?”
“It’s Arashi’s speech. We’re accepting an award tonight, so... Here,” He handed the slip to her. “Help me practice.”
He followed her out, tugging at his hair and reciting his lines at the same time, something about hard work and thanking the fans. He wanted it to sound as natural as possible. Rina put the paper down to get her water. Sho closed his eyes and continued nervously. His rehearsal was interrupted when his cell phone rang.
“Hai, I’m ready. I’ll be right down.” His ride had arrived.
“Ganbarre yo!” Rina said encouragingly. Through the upstairs window (for they had a large wall surrounding the house, separating it from the street. This is common with expensive homes in Asia) she saw a sleek black limo pull away. She relaxed and got on the computer for a little while, but something kept bugging her in the back of her mind. Then it hit her. She rushed to the kitchen: Sho’s speech was still lying on the counter.
The grand Venus Hall stood tall and flashy as Rina jumped out of the taxi. There was a spectacle around the long red carpet, with photographers and press and screaming fans crowding all around. Polished celebrities walked along the backdrop, stopping every few feet to answer some questions and sign autographs. Rina tried to squeeze in - she heard A.RA.SHI, A.RA.SHI, For Dream being chanted - but she just couldn’t get to the front. Someone’s Matsujun uchiwa smacked her in the face; she grimaced. Curse Sho for not answering his phone. Yosh, I’ll find another way…
So, while hissing in her head, I can’t believe I’m doing this… Why am I doing this…?!, Rina snuck through the back, up through the basement, and somehow ended up in the kitchen.
“Oi! You, in the jeans! Where’s your uniform?” A stressed man in a vest-slack combo bustled to her anxiously. “You can’t skip your job to go gawk at celebrities! I don’t care if they’re idols or not!” he scolded exasperatedly. He shoved a bundle of clothes in her arms. “Here, get dressed, and report to Watari-san in the back, right away. Please.”
“Chotto-!“ But he was already dashing somewhere else. Rina sighed. Of course, she couldn’t expect to be recognized from ToGeiDa after only one episode and minimal advertisement or publicity. She guessed being mistaken for a worker was better than being kicked out for looking like a fangirl who’d crashed the party. A peek at the uniform revealed regular black slacks, black tie, an ugly maroon vest, and a white button-up shirt - a rather conventional, bland ensemble. It was a good thing that she was already wearing black flats.
The kitchen was all in a frenzy, a controlled chaos, with chefs in white running back and forth with bowls and chopping, mixing, tasting, all behind steaming pots and blazing stoves and calling out to each other for soy sauce and confit that should have been done five minutes ago. Waiters like Rina simply followed orders the best they could. In the midst of all this was the head chef. Rina gawked; it was her favorite Iron Chef Morimoto Masaharu in his trademark glasses. He seemed very absorbed and yet relaxed, the master. Somehow, Rina was more impressed by seeing him than any of the celebrities out in the ballroom, since she actually knew who he was.
Watari-san, the planner of the whole event, was relaying instructions loudly. “… And once the filming starts again, you absolutely cannot be seen, or else every portion with staff in it will be cut. Report back as soon as the countdown starts again. Got it?”
The main dining hall was filled with some of the best looking people in the entertainment industry chatting away and sipping on wine. Sparkling chandeliers hung all around, illuminating their beautiful faces in a soft light. Up front was a high platform with a blank screen and a podium, where the awards and speeches would be given. A large orchestra was playing softly at the very back of the stage. With a platter of hors d’oeuvres balanced in her hands, Rina charged in, not so glamorous. She arrived at her first table, a little peeved that it wasn’t Arashi (at first, she’d planned to just find Sho, give him the paper, and leave), but she continued to give her best effort.
“Konbanwa, yoroshiku onegaishimasu, Katsumi desu. I’ll be your waitress this evening. For starters, we have an assortment of sashimi, and five-star accompaniments. Freshly ground wasabi from Shimane, shoyu from…” She explained the menu planned for the banquet with a smile. It seemed like they had already broken into the wine set out.
“Sounds good. Thank you very much!” one of the six men grinned. (This is Tanaka Koki, fyi) He had a rather angular face, but a surprisingly friendly smile. The others were very made-up as well, as celebrities are. Two of them were whispering amongst themselves, not paying attention.
One of them, who had very thin eyebrows, hissed, “Yo, Jin, say something to her. I dare you.” He nudged the very handsome one next to him.
“Yada, Kame!” Jin grunted. He shyly glanced up at Rina through his fringe of flippy hair and uneasily took another sip of wine.
“Do it~!”
Rina was confused. “Ahno… would you like me to get you something?”
The one named Jin gathered himself, and looked straight at Rina with an innocent smile. The others at the table leaned in.
“I just couldn’t help but notice how pretty you are.” Jin murmured in English.
She looked at him incredulously. “What?” was her automatic response. Her English flowed out more quickly when she was irritated. “Excuse me?”
Jin was a little shocked; his joke had backfired.
“Sugoi! She understood you!” one of them burst out laughing. (Either Ueda or Nakamaru, your choice)
“Hey, what’d you guys say?” another cute one (Taguchi Junnosuke) asked, wanting to be in on the fun. He didn’t read the atmosphere properly, and failed to notice the slightly offended look she had.
“Hilarious.” Rina said flatly. She returned to Japanese. “Now, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be back with your appetizers shortly.”
“Nice one, Bakanishi.” Kame grinned when their waitress stalked away.
“Omae! You’re the one who kept pushing it!” Jin retorted…
Jin icon: numetto , Kame icon: marionette_life
“… Onegaishimasu! It’s really important!” Rina begged the other server girl. It had taken her forever to figure out who was serving Arashi. “Only for this last course, I swear.”
“No way, Katsumi-san. Watari-san will kill me if the arrangement gets messed up. Is Arashi your favorite or something? They’re good and all, but not--”
“-Ahno, that’s too bad then,” Rina pretended to sigh. “The guys at one of my tables are... really hott. Even compared to... to Matsumoto Jun. They’re really flirty too.” She was pulling this out of nowhere, or rather stretching her observations, and tried to keep a straight face.
The other waitress started looking a little interested. “Who do you have?”
Rina hadn’t caught their names, and she certainly didn’t know their celebrity facts. “Eto... There are six of them. One of them has a kind of shaved head and a really strong face. Another is really pretty, almost like a girl, and his English is really-“
“Sugoi, do you mean Jin? Akanishi Jin? You have KAT-TUN?! They’re so kakkoii!” she squealed. “A- ahno, are you really sure you want to switch? I guess we can, sure.”
Yatta… Always trust the inner fangirl in all. She was relieved. Now, Sho would not be humiliated.
Finally, as dinner was cleared away, she found them. She marched up with slight frustration. All the running back and forth from the kitchen made her sweaty and out of breath.
“Katsumi-san? What are you doing here?” Aiba asked with his big-eyed look. Matsumoto, Ninomiya, Ohno and Sakurai stopped their conversations.
Rina finally took the wad of paper out of her pocket and dropped it front of Sho. “Here, Sho-kun.”
Sho was in awe. “You went through all that trouble for…? Rina-chan… I already have it memorized! Even if I didn’t, these guys would have had their copies too.” He gave her a careful look. “I’m really sorry that you thought…”
“Nande?” She groaned and tilted her head back in a way very reminiscent of Sho, which made Aiba crack up. She quickly regained her composure though, and kind of laughed about it.
She took their dessert orders, wondering why butterflies were multiplying in her stomach whenever she caught the quiet smile of Ohno Satoshi. In person of course, he wasn’t Naruse Ryou or Yano Kenta, yet he had an aura about him that appealed to her. Even though he didn’t act like a leader, she felt that the four other guys of Arashi somehow centered around Ohno; she didn’t really yet know why. At the same time, she had to be honest; she was just a normal college girl, and he was an idol of the idols going on ten years. What’s more, she didn’t understand why she was feeling all this after only being around him two or three times. Out of the corner of her ear, she heard the nagging voice of Watari-san.
Oh shoot. Rina thought. “Eight... Seven… If you’re not back here right now--!” There was no way she was going to make it all the way across the crowded floor to the safety of the kitchen in time.
“Rina-chan…?” Sho asked. The rest of Arashi was puzzled by her slight panic too.
“Three… Two…”
An absurd idea popped into Rina’s head, and she took it. She dropped to the floor and in a flash, scrambled through the tablecloth, underneath the table. The guys’ legs left little room to move, so she hugged her notepad to her chest and curled up as small as she could; this felt ridiculous and embarrassing, but audacious, which was a pretty new sensation for her. The oration from the stage, the clapping and performances continued, sounding loud but muffled from Rina’s situation. A few moments into her huddled position, and her thighs started burning. It was going to be a whole ten more minutes before the next commercial break, and she groaned.
Then, Rina felt a tickling nudge at her back. It had been someone’s foot. She dismissed it as just someone fidgeting. But it came again, and then again. She turned, a little peeved, and stared at the foot, which was bobbing tauntingly from its crossed leg. The pants were a blueish shade of white - Ohno had been the only one wearing a suit that color. She smacked the mischievous foot with her notepad scribbled on with orders; it made a dead thumping sound. The foot paused for a moment, but then continued to bump RIna’s knees lightly. This was perturbing, but at the same time it made her laugh; it was so silly.
Above, four of the boys were paying attention to the short film being played. However, though Ohno was staring at the screen, he was secretly smirking to himself. Then, he winced a little, and fought back a chuckle. Matsumoto glanced at Riida for a moment with raised brows, wondering how he could be laughing when the man on screen had just had his house ransacked... Ohno must have been in his own world again.
With another surge of daring, Rina puckishly, sneakily, pulled at the shoelace till it was completely untied. Then, she yanked the shoe off with an evil giggle. The two feet, one sock and one shoe, started flailing amusingly.
There was a muddled speech made, loud applause, and everyone started talking amongst themselves again; the intermission must have come. The curtain of the tablecloth was lifted, and Ohno’s handsome grinning face popped through. Rina held her breath.
“Can I have my shoe back, please?” he laughed. “We have to go backstage soon, before the break ends.” He took the shoe from the cute girl and bent down to put it back on, still in her range of vision.
“Ahno… is the coast clear?” Rina asked cautiously.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I was going to wait until Matsumoto-san left… I think he thinks I’m strange.”
Ohno grinned. “He’s not as scary as you’d think. Once you get to know him, at least. But in that case, you can come out now.” She scrambled out from the table and brushed herself off, hoping no one noticed. Ohno was still standing there with his hands in his pockets; he told the others he’d catch up in a second.
“So what are you guys going to do up there?”
“Accept the award, say a few words, and perform a song.”
“Suge! I hope I can see that.”
His manager was giving him the evil eye from behind the curtain. “De (anyways), I have to go now… but if I were you, I’d worry about meeting Johnny-san. I think he’s around here somewhere.” It was true. As part of the complicated contract between ToGeiDa and Johnny’s Entertainment, Rina was not to involve herself with them unless they made a previously appointed jointure, cameras or not. Johnny Kitagawa kept such a close eye on his idols that he would probably recognize her.
Before he left, she said quietly, “Ganbatte, ne.”
Ohno smiled, nodded, and went off to do his job.
Rina quietly stood in the dimly lit back of the hall with the other waitresses who looked on giggling at the handsome group of five who took the stage to accept their award for their amazing success in 2008. They bantered with the announcers, making the audience enjoy the ceremony a bit more. They were so natural compared to the others…
The moment she’d been waiting for - they took the stage. Musicians of the orchestra behind them got ready to play. Arashi stood in a staggered line behind tall microphones.
“Here is Arashi singing the #2 hit song of the Oricon charts, “One Love”!”
Their hands rose up in the air like a dance of sign language with the soaring violins. Matsumoto Jun started to sing, and was joined by Ohno. It was at that very moment when Ohno opened his mouth and sung those beginning few verses that Rina’s heart skipped a beat. Her perfect ears were not playing tricks. THAT was it - that was the velvety voice that had struck her deeply the very first time she heard it.
I want to tell you, though... I don't want to let you know.
From time to time, I haven't been as honest as I should.
But those seasons full of tears... We've overcome them now.
At this moment, you and I are shining bright.*
His voice enveloped the others and kept them unified, but never overpowered them. This time, Ohno really smiled when he sang. From the shadows, Rina watched them smoothly move in pretty unison. The declarative song and the blend of sweet voices lifted her spirits. As said before, if there was a way to her heart, it was through music.
Some die-hard fans were still camped outside the impressive building in the freezing night air, hoping to catch a glimpse of their favorite stars after an elegant evening. They waved and cheered at the black limo as it pulled out and drove past, even though they couldn’t see inside. Arashi was thankful for the privacy of the two-way tinted windows; they loosened their ties and lounged around in the spacious vehicle after the fairly relaxing event (by their standards, anyway). The sounds of the city outside were muted.
“That turned out surprisingly well.” Jun said. He was sitting the most properly, even though he was just as tired. The shiny plaque they’d received was safely guarded in his hands; it would go to the Jimusho to keep, though.
“I know - I half expected the performance to be like a bad theme restaurant in Las Vegas, since everyone was eating and drinking.” Nino smirked. “But they listened, I think.”
“Jun-kun, did you ever go to one when you were in Las Vegas? One of those flashy casino club places. I know Mao-chan wouldn’t have liked it but-” Aiba asked eagerly, not noticing how Jun’s smile faltered at the mention of Inoue Mao. “- I’ve seen on TV that they have ones where girls do the - the can dance (he meant the can-can) - in sparkly bikinis and big ostrich feathers…”
Their leader Ohno was only half listening as he typed on his phone; his mom had texted him, asking him why he wasn’t home yet.
Sho got up and rolled down the screen between the backseat and the driver. At shotgun, dozing away in her regular clothes again, was Rina. All that hustle and bustle had really worn her out. Each streetlight they passed sent her serene but weary face aglow for a moment.
“How’s she doing, Uetake-san?” Sho whispered. He leaned in to check up on her like an earnest mother.
“Perfect, sir. She’s been sound asleep for several minutes now.”
“-Kawaii, ne…!” Aiba beamed. He had snuck up behind Sakurai and peered over the guy’s shoulder. Like little boys, the others curiously wanted to see too.
“Hey, sit back down. You’ll wake her up.” Sho shushed.
Matsumoto ever so slightly shook his head. He didn’t like how Rina kept “coincidentally” showing up. It also irritated him that Sakurai was so attentative to her, when Matsumoto himself was bitter with missing a certain someone’s affection. Rina was Sho’s cousin though, so he would keep his opinion to himself.
“Ahno, Sho-kun… Take this.” Ohno murmured, shrugging out of his suit jacket. “Her head must be knocking against the window.”
“Arigatou…”
“Yasashi, na. As expected of Riida.” grinned Aiba.
The article was folded into a wad and without disturbing the young woman much, carefully placed between her cheek and the glass as a makeshift pillow. She stirred a little, snuggled up against the jacket, and then continued dreaming.
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* Translation of "One Love" found here!
Feedback appreciated! Sorry if I made KAT-TUN seem kind of jerkish... I don't know why I wanted to randomly add them in XD Don't know who to credit for all the pics either! Please let me know if they're yours.
I hope you caught all the subtle Arashi personalities (hentai Aiba and DoS Matsujun, for example)! Dialogue is hard for me to write...