Hypnosis + Defying Destiny (6/8)
TITLE: Hypnosis
CHARACTERS: Ohno Satoshi, Sakurai Sho, Aiba Masaki, Matsumoto Jun, Inoue Mao, Oguri Shun, unnamed hypnotist, Johnny
GENRE: RL
RATINGS: PG
DISCLAIMER: The only thing i own in this story is the plot...
SUMMARY: Where Jun goes under hypnosis, Sho is a Hanadan fanboy, Nino (still) has a crush on Mao, Aiba (still!) has a knack for trouble, and Ohno is surprisingly (?) alert... Oh, and Johnny is cool, old guy...
The sight of four grown men crouching, leaning, or otherwise standing outside a room, with their ears pressed against the door is already quite an unusual, if not funny, sight. Closer inspection and seeing that those four men are four-fifths of pop idol group, Arashi, made it even more conspicuous and unusual.
But perhaps it shouldn’t be. Especially not when the room they are eaves-dropping on is occupied by their youngest, Jun, and only one other person, a professional.
It’s the time of the year again for the members of Johnny’s Jimusho’s annual psych evaluation test.
The test, in itself is not unusual, almost, if not all, talent agencies in Japan hold their own although just slightly unique from the others’. But perhaps what makes it ‘unusual’ for outsides is the fact that while the others would do the test to their talents biennially or so, Johnny’s do it every year, without fail. But then again, considering everything these Johnny idols are doing, it’s not unwarranted. After all, even some of their most loyal fans have come to a point where they thought their idol is going crazy.
And maybe, that’s why the psych test is mandatory, to make sure that the talents are still clinging to some sense of sanity despite everything they are made to do. (At least that’s what Johnny had told himself.)
Every year, these psych tests are different (“So you will not memorize it and try to fool the system,” Johnny said) and this year, this year everyone has to undergo hypnosis, whether they like it, believe it, trust it, or not.
The hypnotism is supposed to bring out the deepest and/or darkest thoughts each and any of them are harboring.
And that, more than anything else, is why Ohno, Sho, Aiba and Nino are outside a room a few doors away from their greenroom where they were supposed to be resting. The session has already begun.
-----
“At the count of three, you will open the eyes of your mind and you will see yourself in a place you hold most important, somewhere or something you hold most dear to your heart,” the hypnotist said in a smooth, soothing voice.
On the recliner, with his eyes shut, Matsumoto Jun didn’t even bother to give off any sign. But he does look relaxed, way more relaxed than how he usually is, even in the midst of his sleep.
“One… Two… Three…” the hypnotist continued, his voice steady and even. Jun didn’t say anything immediately until the hypnotist said “Tell me what you see…”
“Bright, too bright,” came Jun’s reply, his voice calm and even, his eyes still shut close.
“Continue…” the hypnotist ordered lightly. “Do you see where you are?”
Jun’s eyelids moved a bit, as though he’s blinking though in truth his eyes remained closed. “A stadium,” he said. “Kokuritsu… except, it isn’t Kokuritsu.”
“Explain,” the hypnotist prompted calmly.
“It looks like Kokuritsu,” Jun continued, his pace and tone unchanging. “The size, the space, the design, but it’s still different. It doesn’t look like it’s in Tokyo.”
“What are you doing?” the hypnotist asked.
“I’m in the middle of the field, the stage is set,” Jun started. “The lights are up. I think Arashi’s supposed to be holding a concert here. Everything looks set…”
----
“Jun’s still thinking of concerts in his subconscious?” Sho wondered in whispered voice, straightening up a bit, on the other side of the door. “That’s dedication! And it’s weird.”
“That’s boring,” Nino snorted. “We know he’s concert master already, where’re all the juicy stuff? What is the great Matsumoto Jun’s greatest fear?!”
“Shhh!” two of the least likely distinct voices whispered in reprimand, none of its owners even bothering to look up at the two as Aiba reached out and pulled at Nino by the shoulder, the guy hitting the door lightly by the head. Thankfully though, the action didn’t make too much sound, nor did Aiba when Nino reached out to hit the guy at the back of his head. Sho grimaced before he joined his friends again.
-----
“But?” the hypnotist prompted, noting the hang in his sentence.
“It’s different,” Jun replied. His head moved sideways slightly as though he’s turning around, his eyes still closed. “I can taste the salt in the air. There’s an opening! I can see the beach!” (“The beach?!” Nino whispered in confusion from the other side. “What’s with the beach?!” “Shhh!”)
“Describe the beach…”
“It’s beautiful,” Jun said, a ghost of a smile almost visible in his face. “The sand is clean tan, the water bluish green. The water stretches on into the horizon. I can see a faint shadow of a person, but nothing else.” (“Why does that description sound so familiar?” Sho couldn’t help but wonder. “Shhh!”)
The hypnotist didn’t even need to prompt him as Jun continued “I want to go there. I feel like going there. But…”
For the first time since he entered hypnosis, Jun’s forehead creased. “The spotlights are suddenly turned on, I can feel the lights and the heat on me. I’m rooted on the spot. I… I want to be there…”
-----
“Eeeeh?” Aiba exclaimed on the other side, not managing to lower his voice as he stared at the door in a mix of confusion and surprise. “Shouldn’t this be Ohno’s? I mean, him wanting to go to the beach but he doesn’t get to because of work?”
Ohno nodded in an identical mixture of confusion and surprise but before he can say anything, not that he was really planning on saying anything, Nino turned to them both and bit out a low “Shut up!”. Sho didn’t even bother to take notice, his ear still pressed close to the door. Something about the last few lines seemed to have piqued his interest.
Aiba grimaced apologetically before he and Ohno joined the two again.
-----
“Can you move to there?” the hypnotist asked.
“I… I can’t,” Jun replied, his voice sounding troubled for the first time. “I can’t move my legs. I can feel numerous hands holding me in place but I don’t see anything! I can’t move my legs!”
“Relax,” the hypnotist ordered in his calm voice and Jun, who’s face and tone had started to rise seemed to have relaxed again. The crease and panic in Jun’s face is already gone.
“This shadow you see at the beach, is he or she still there?” the hypnotist asked.
“Yes,” Jun replied, his voice back to being calm. “I can still see her.”
“Her?” the hypnotist noted. “Describe her.”
“I can’t see her clearly,” Jun shook his head, his forehead once again creased but this time, not in panic but in concentration. “Long hair, she has long hair. I can see the wind blowing at it. She’s not slim but she isn’t plump either. She doesn’t seem to be that tall. But I seem to know that she’s just beautiful…”
-----
“Mao!” Sho exclaimed, barely remembering to lower his voice due to his surprise.
“What?” Nino asked, his anger at the disturbance eclipsed by his interest at the name Sho had just mentioned. Even Aiba and Ohno looked up.
“He’s definitely describing Mao!” Sho cried in whispers (if that’s even possible). “I swear! And the beach! I’m sure he’s describing that beach they filmed on for Hanadan!”
“But they’re not together,” Nino pointed out, the smile in his lips showing a little bit too much pleasure about something that, technically speaking, does not actually concern him. “Not anymore. Jun and Mao broke up years ago.”
“So?” Sho replied, the (not so) hidden Hanadan fanboy in him prompting him to smile widely. “They’re still friends, they can get back together! Besides, what do we know about Jun’s private life these days?”
“Nothing much,” Ohno replied, making Nino turn to the guy and look at him with narrowed eyes.
“You aren’t supposed to be siding with him on this,” he told their eldest to which Ohno replied with a shrug and an apologetic smile.
“Well, it is true…” Aiba butted in. “I mean, the last time Jun said anything about his love life was eons ago when Ryo tried setting him up with Kitagawa Keiko.”
“Plus, he’s been very secretive of what he’s been doing during his private time lately,” Sho added in triumph. “Usually he says he’s going out with Toma, or Shun, or Kame, or someone else! And that was right after Kouhaku. We know what happened during Kouhaku right?”
“He and Mao reunited?” Ohno promptly suggested.
Nino, who had been looking at Sho and Aiba in annoyance turned to Ohno again and huffed. “I swear! You aren’t supposed to be siding with them on this!”
Before Ohno could say anything in reply though, Aiba cried out “Shhh!”
-----
“I will count to the number of three and when I tap your forehead, you will open your eyes, for real this time, and remember clearly what your mind had seen,” the hypnotist said. “One… two… three…”
Feeling the light tap on his forehead, Jun opened his eyes. He had to blink a couple of times to get used to the brightness of the room as the rest of his senses caught up with him.
“Wow,” he exclaimed, more to himself than to the hypnotist as he remembered everything from his hypnosis clearly. “That’s quite an experience.”
The hypnosis smiled. By then Jun senses had fully caught up with him since he heard the commotion outside.
The hypnotist didn’t seem to have heard it, or if he did, the man didn’t take notice, but Jun did. And he knew the sound well. Like four certain somebodies suddenly clamoring to get away from the door before they are caught in the act for eavesdropping. Jun could barely hold in a snort.
“Thank you doctor,” he said instead.
“Oh no,” the hypnotist shook his head and smiled. “Thank you. I find your subconscious a rather interesting place to explore. Do you want to know what the things you saw could have possibly meant?”
Jun actually already had an idea, something that was made clear to him when he saw those pretty eyes again after a long while during Kohaku practices. But he simply nodded and smiled. It’d be interesting to hear it from a professional anyway.
-----
“I think I just saw Aiba’s car driving away,” Oguri Shun told Jun as the former handed the latter an opened bottle of beer.
The best friends are currently in Shun’s house, Shun’s parents and sister being currently on a trip to Nagoya.
“Yep,” Jun nodded as he took a swig.
Raising an eyebrow, Shun said “So you’re aware that your group mate, or, most probably, group mates, is tailing you. Why?”
“Aiba going nuts?” Jun chuckled with a light shrug as he placed his beer bottle on the table. “I haven’t exactly digested all the things going on in my group mates minds.”
“Yeah right,” Shun replied, before something seemed to have flicked in his head and he snorted. “So you suddenly deciding to turn into a Hanadan get-together between you, me and Mao the dinner only the two of you were supposed to have is absolutely just a coincidence, huh?”
Jun grinned.
Shun ended up chuckling though. “I knew that things are going to be interesting again the moment I heard about you and Mao working together again.”
-----
“So who of you two geniuses came up with the idea to follow Jun tonight only to find him heading to his best friend’s place?” Nino asked Sho and Aiba sarcastically from where he and Ohno were seated on the back of Aiba’s car.
Moments ago, they had just left the street of the Oguri compound and found themselves stuck in heavy traffic.
“To set the record straight,” Aiba supplied. “We didn’t really follow Jun there because we already know that he’s heading there,” he said, all of them being there when Jun was talking to Shun on the phone.
“Exactly!” Nino exclaimed. “We already know he was just meeting Shun!” he added, finding it hard to hide the glee in his tone when they saw that no one else, particularly a female else, seems to be heading to Shun’s apartment about the same time as Jun.
“I was so sure Mao would be there too!” Sho sighed in defeat, making Nino only smile more.
The smile though was wiped off his face when Ohno, who was looking out the window next to him, suddenly exclaimed “Hey, isn’t that Mao?”
Hurriedly, Aiba, Sho, and Nino turned around and looked at the cab heading to the opposite direction as theirs, and caught a quick glimpse of the woman two of them were hoping to see earlier, one was hoping would not be there, and one who had first caught sight of her.
It really is Mao!
In seconds though, the cab she was on had gone out of sight. A collective groan filled the car when they realized that they wouldn’t be able to follow that cab with Mao inside it since they are yet to get out of the heavy traffic. Plus, they’ll never be able to confirm if Mao is heading to the Oguri house or not. Well, unless of course they show up at the house themselves and check every room and possible hiding place which, one of them (read: Aiba) actually and for a moment, seriously considered.
-----
“So tell me doctor,” Johnny said turning to the hypnotist he had commissioned for his talents. “How are my boys?”
“From the ones I got to talk to so far, everyone’s looking all right,” the hypnotist said. “Some may be a bit tired or weary but nothing they can’t handle yet.”
“Good,” Johnny nodded contentedly. “That’s good. Anything or anyone strike you as particularly interesting?”
The hypnotist paused for a while before he offered the older man a smile. “The inner fan in me of a certain drama would be happy of one of your talent’s deepest desire and fear.”
Johnny looked curiously at the hypnotist for a while, prompting him to go on, but the hypnotist merely smiled and shook his head. “Client-doctor privileges,” he simply supplied.
Johnny pouted a bit though before he sighed. “Anyway, I believe you’re still haven’t met all of them?”
“Yes,” the hypnotist nodded, thankful that Johnny had not pursued the question. “I had them scheduled over the next couple of weeks.”
“Keep me posted then,” Johnny nodded contentedly.
The hypnotist nodded and took his stand. Bowing low, he was about to take his leave when Johnny spoke up.
“Doctor, you a Hanadan fan?”
Taken aback, the hypnotist didn’t immediately notice the cheer in Johnny’s eyes. When he did though, he couldn’t help but chuckle. Johnny took that as enough of an answer. The old man smiled.
-----THE END-----
yay! JunxMao one-shot! it's been a while... Next!!!
TITLE: Defying Destiny
CHARACTERS: Ninomiya Kazunari, Nagasawa Masami, Nishikido Ryo, Matsumoto Jun, Aiba Masaki, Ohkura Tadayoshi, Uchi Hiroki, Sakurai Sho, Yasuda Shota, Yokoyama Yuu, Ohno Satoshi, Murakami Shingo, Shibutani Subaru, Maruyama Ryuhei
GENRE: AU
RATINGS: PG
DISCLAIMER: The only thing i own in this story is the plot...
AUTHOR'S NOTE: written for kitsune_hikaru for her fic request for winning the Lightning round of the fic auction activity of help_pilipinas as part of their fundraising activity to help the victims of typhoon that recently hit Mindanao.
Chapter1, Chapter2, Chapter3, Chapter4, Chapter5,
Chapter 6
“I may not be sure of a lot of things but if there’s one thing I know, that I love you and I’m not going to give up on us,” Ryo had said seriously midway through their walk to her apartment that afternoon.
Masami felt the catch in her throat as she felt her eyes grew heavy. The mere sight of the guy had made her heart jump actually, especially when she thought he’d been avoiding her. But with him next to her, walking alongside her, hearing him say those words, she just couldn’t believe it. She felt like crying, her heart elating, and she couldn’t help that smile from rising to her lips.
“That’s two things,” she joked though the moment she found her voice capable enough to speak.
Ryo turned to her before he ended up chuckling. “Okay, make that three. I’ll do everything just to make sure you’re happy. Oh, four! Because tomorrow, you’re going out on a date with me.”
-----
Masami would have pretended to be indifferent about their date if she hadn’t felt so nervous about it. She couldn’t really sleep and she felt all giddy, something she hadn’t really felt much over the years, not to that intensity at least. It was as though it’s her first ever date!
She and Ryo first headed to the carnival, the same place Ryo had taken her on their second date. It was though they were in their teens! They took the rides, went on the screamers and played a whole lot of games, both together and against each other. Ryo would win some and then he’d let her win the others. He even got for her a huge bear as a prize. The two of them laughed as they shared a cotton candy and tried on funny masks and hats.
She even pulled him to that one attraction she had completely said ‘No!’ to the first (and other) time the two of them went there; the haunted maze.
“Are you sure?” Ryo asked, looking at her curiously and in amazement.
The honest answer would actually be another ‘No!’ but she knew how Ryo liked those kids of attractions, she remembered how Ryo’s shoulders fell when she declined the first time, because he couldn’t share the thrill with her. And actually, she just wanted to do it. For a change, give it a try.
“Not really,” Masami smiled sheepishly before she added “But I want to give it a try.”
Ryo looked at her closely for a while first before he smiled and said “I’m going to be here with you, all the way” as he clutched her hand.
In the end, it wasn’t really as scary as she had always thought and feared it would be. Or maybe it was because Ryo always had her hand in his, whenever they pass by a scary clown, or a screaming banshee; because there was always Ryo to jump to whenever a huge spider or the grim reaper suddenly jumps out.
The day at the park was followed by lunch at the plaza. Ryo had taken her to an Italian place because Masami said she’d like to have some pasta. The two of them ended up laughing and chuckling when the two of them started targeting the other’s meatballs. It was, after all, both their favorite.
It wasn’t all laughter though because midway through their lunch, things veered to the serious side.
It all started when Masami noticed that Ryo’s eyes are not leaving her face.
“Is something wrong?” she ended up asking as she felt her cheeks flush at the attention.
Ryo shook his head, his eyes still never leaving her face. “Nothing. Why?”
“You’re staring,” Masami jokingly reprimanded, her hand reaching at out to lightly hit him on his arm. There was nothing unnerving with the way he looked at her but Ryo never really watches her that openly. Often times, when she sees him watching her, he’d shy away immediately and pretend to be doing something else.
Ryo chuckled, shaking his head lightly, removing his gaze from her face for the first time. Masami smiled, expecting the retraction any second now. But then Ryo said something else.
“Thank you,” he said.
“Ryo…” Masami started awkwardly. She wasn’t entirely sure what she’s going to say but before she can say anything else other than the guy’s name, Ryo stepped in.
“No, really,” he said.
There was nothing melancholic about the way he said it. It wasn’t the kind when the person saying it is actually covertly asking for something else.
“I know I’m not the easiest person to deal with all the time” he continued “so thanks for putting up with me.”
Masami smiled. “I can say that about myself too,” she told him in assurance.
Ryo pretended to contemplate a bit on this before he chuckled and shook his head. “Well, you’re cute so you’re forgiven” causing Masami to laugh along.
When the laughter died down though, the cheer in Ryo’s eyes had a mix of something else.
“Seriously though, thank you, for entering my life, for making me happy,” he said. “And all I’ll ever really want is that for you to be happy too.”
“I am happy,” Masami said, assuring Ryo, as her hand reached out to cover Ryo’s hand that had lain still on the table, holding a fork.
Ryo smiled. “But, just in case you realize that you’ll be happier somewhere else with someone else, don’t hesitate to tell me,” he said. “I won’t deny you from finding happiness when you feel like you’ll find it more with someone else, not me.”
Masami couldn’t help but swallow hard at those words. She felt like crying, she’s not really sure why. So many things were going on inside her; her mind is buzzing, her heart filling with memories and happiness. She’s not really sure which is which and what’s going on but she knew that something about her, something inside of her, is changing, probably setting her for the next course of her life.
“But I have to say, it wouldn’t be easy though,” Ryo suddenly added with a wink and a grin, making Masami chuckle again. “Because I’ll do more than just give a good fight if that day ever comes.”
-----
“I had lots of fun,” Masami started as she and Ryo entered her apartment complex early that evening hand in hand.
“Yeah, me too,” Ryo smiled.
Actually, they weren’t supposed to be heading home just yet. Ryo had planned for the two of them to have dinner and light some fireworks for later in the evening but something came up in Ryo’s work prompting them to cancel. Masami understood though. She knew it was part of his job although it rarely, if ever, occurs.
“Will you be all right?” he asked. “Is Jun home already? If he isn’t I can wait with you until he arrives,” he volunteered. “I’m sure Sho would understand.”
“I actually think my brother didn’t even leave the house,” Masami chuckled, remembering the sullen look in Jun’s face early that morning when she told him that she’s heading out. He even said “And here I was thinking I’d be spending the day with you for a change.”
Ryo chuckled. “It must be really nice to have a job where you can decide for your time,” he said with a dreamy sigh. “Plus he gets to work with really gorgeous models too.”
“Hey!” Masami pouted, lightly hitting Ryo by the arm. She was about to withdraw her hand from his too but he tightened his hold and grinned at her.
“Just kidding!” he told her. “Besides, you’re prettier than any model I’ve ever met.”
With her eyes narrowed at him, Masami said “Aha! Where and when did you meet said models? Hmmm?!”
Ryo grinned. “In a past lifetime,” he said. “A lifetime that looks very bleak because there was no you.”
Masami continued, or tried to continue, looking at him with narrowed eyes but she knew that it was all just pretend anyway. She ended up laughing as she saw the twinkle in Ryo’s eyes.
The two of them were still sharing a laugh when they turned the corner and was surprised at what they saw, or who they saw, standing outside Masami and Jun’s apartment door.
Nino.
-----
“I fingered you more for the sadistic type, not the masochistic type,” Jun said dryly as the two of them watched the two figures from the corridor window.
There was quite a small distance between Nino and Masami as the two of them headed towards Nino’s parked renter and really, with that distance, there’s really not much cause to be jealous or worried, especially since Ryo had told Masami it was okay. But it wasn’t entirely okay, not when the mere image of the two of them next to each other on the wide area of the car is enough to make Ryo want to not stay away.
“They’re just going to talk,” he simply told Jun in reply.
He could practically hear the mockery in Jun’s tone, although it was conspicuously absent from the forefront, when the guy said “And you think that it’s really what Masami’s ex-boyfriend wants to do? You do know that the guy wants her back, right?”
If Ryo’s going to actually dissect it, there was actually something akin to caution hidden in those words coming from the guy, not that he put much notice to that, especially when Masami and Nino had just entered the guy’s car and is now driving away.
“I trust her,” Ryo ended up simply saying.
“That she loves you?” Jun asked and Ryo didn’t even have to turn to look at the guy to see that Jun had an eyebrow raised.
With a final sigh, Ryo shook his head. “No,” he said, finally turning to the guy. “That she’ll follow her heart and she’ll do the right thing.”
-----
“Can we talk?”
Those words, in itself, should never be really as awkward as how it sounded when Masami heard those lines from Nino the moment the guy saw them come up. Really, it shouldn’t.
But considering that he’s her ex-boyfriend and she’s just gone home from a date with her current boyfriend, it is. Especially since Nino said that after a curt, and entirely civil, nod to Ryo.
A part of her seriously considered saying no. it was just, well, for the lack of a better term, wrong, especially considering the circumstances. But Ryo had nodded and said it was okay. Masami saw the sudden fear in the guy’s eyes though before Ryo managed to mask it.
But for two people who should be talking, she and Nino had been awfully and generally quite throughout the car ride to an exclusive restaurant Nino had reserved for them except for some choice words. Silence filled the air even as the waited left with their orders.
“What--?”
“It’s-“
The two of them started almost at the same time before they both chuckled and Masami saw, once again, that boyish smile she had loved seeing on Nino.
“What were you going to say?” he managed to ask first.
Masami shook her head lightly and smiled. “I was just wondering what you were doing outside my apartment door.”
“Waiting for you,” Nino replied a matter-of-factly. “What else?”
“Yes,” Masami replied. “But why were you outside?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Your brother didn’t let me in!” Nino chuckled. “He just said you weren’t home and closed the door. It felt like I was being hazed all over again.”
Masami’s jaw dropped, not that she should really be that surprised. She had known that Jun had been ‘hazing’, as Nino puts it, her suitors in the past. She knew that Nino and Ryo had both experienced their fair share of that, Jun still does it to Ryo from time to time although she knew Ryo had been subtlety fighting back. She just thought that Nino had gotten past that stage with her brother already.
“I’m not complaining though,” Nino smiled. “If I had you for a sister, I would have probably done the same thing. Or worse. Luckily though, because I had this chance to fall in love with you.”
Masami felt her heart jump to her throat at this. Nino always had his way with words.
“Uhm, you said you wanted to talk about something?” she asked instead, hoping that the change of topic will ease out the sudden tension between the two of them.
Nino, obviously read though that though evidenced by the knowing smile that grazed his lips. Before he could say anything though, the waiter arrived with their orders.
-----
After the waiter left, Nino had given Masami the chance to gather herself as he simply urged her to start with her meal as he did with his. Truth be told, he wasn’t really hungry. But his hand and mouth needed something to do before his hand started shaking and his mouth makes things uncomfortable between the two of them again.
He’s generous enough to know that he’s making things uncomfortable for her.
Midway through the dinner though, he knew he couldn’t push the subject away any longer. Time isn’t actually his luxury to spend, considering both his and her situation.
“Masami,” he started with a soft voice, and he knew that when Masami looked up from her plate, that the woman knew why he’s suddenly calling out her name. it wasn’t about the food. It wasn’t for any small, random talk. It was because it.
“Destiny,” he simply said at first and when Masami looked a bit confused, he added, “The last time we talked, you said something about destiny. That the two of us ARE destined for each other.”
Realization dawned in Masami’s eyes.
-----TBC-----
Defying Destiny should have been posted earlier (read: last night) but i wanted to add Hypnosis first...
I'm really not sure why... lol...
i just wrote Hypnosis actually... so now i'm sleepy... so i'm going to have to do the editing tomorrow (read: later today) when i wake up... :D
also, i'll work on Perfect after i finish Defying Destiny which, i'm targeting, would be by Sunday.
so how was it?
comments are loved! :)
CHARACTERS: Ohno Satoshi, Sakurai Sho, Aiba Masaki, Matsumoto Jun, Inoue Mao, Oguri Shun, unnamed hypnotist, Johnny
GENRE: RL
RATINGS: PG
DISCLAIMER: The only thing i own in this story is the plot...
SUMMARY: Where Jun goes under hypnosis, Sho is a Hanadan fanboy, Nino (still) has a crush on Mao, Aiba (still!) has a knack for trouble, and Ohno is surprisingly (?) alert... Oh, and Johnny is cool, old guy...
The sight of four grown men crouching, leaning, or otherwise standing outside a room, with their ears pressed against the door is already quite an unusual, if not funny, sight. Closer inspection and seeing that those four men are four-fifths of pop idol group, Arashi, made it even more conspicuous and unusual.
But perhaps it shouldn’t be. Especially not when the room they are eaves-dropping on is occupied by their youngest, Jun, and only one other person, a professional.
It’s the time of the year again for the members of Johnny’s Jimusho’s annual psych evaluation test.
The test, in itself is not unusual, almost, if not all, talent agencies in Japan hold their own although just slightly unique from the others’. But perhaps what makes it ‘unusual’ for outsides is the fact that while the others would do the test to their talents biennially or so, Johnny’s do it every year, without fail. But then again, considering everything these Johnny idols are doing, it’s not unwarranted. After all, even some of their most loyal fans have come to a point where they thought their idol is going crazy.
And maybe, that’s why the psych test is mandatory, to make sure that the talents are still clinging to some sense of sanity despite everything they are made to do. (At least that’s what Johnny had told himself.)
Every year, these psych tests are different (“So you will not memorize it and try to fool the system,” Johnny said) and this year, this year everyone has to undergo hypnosis, whether they like it, believe it, trust it, or not.
The hypnotism is supposed to bring out the deepest and/or darkest thoughts each and any of them are harboring.
And that, more than anything else, is why Ohno, Sho, Aiba and Nino are outside a room a few doors away from their greenroom where they were supposed to be resting. The session has already begun.
-----
“At the count of three, you will open the eyes of your mind and you will see yourself in a place you hold most important, somewhere or something you hold most dear to your heart,” the hypnotist said in a smooth, soothing voice.
On the recliner, with his eyes shut, Matsumoto Jun didn’t even bother to give off any sign. But he does look relaxed, way more relaxed than how he usually is, even in the midst of his sleep.
“One… Two… Three…” the hypnotist continued, his voice steady and even. Jun didn’t say anything immediately until the hypnotist said “Tell me what you see…”
“Bright, too bright,” came Jun’s reply, his voice calm and even, his eyes still shut close.
“Continue…” the hypnotist ordered lightly. “Do you see where you are?”
Jun’s eyelids moved a bit, as though he’s blinking though in truth his eyes remained closed. “A stadium,” he said. “Kokuritsu… except, it isn’t Kokuritsu.”
“Explain,” the hypnotist prompted calmly.
“It looks like Kokuritsu,” Jun continued, his pace and tone unchanging. “The size, the space, the design, but it’s still different. It doesn’t look like it’s in Tokyo.”
“What are you doing?” the hypnotist asked.
“I’m in the middle of the field, the stage is set,” Jun started. “The lights are up. I think Arashi’s supposed to be holding a concert here. Everything looks set…”
----
“Jun’s still thinking of concerts in his subconscious?” Sho wondered in whispered voice, straightening up a bit, on the other side of the door. “That’s dedication! And it’s weird.”
“That’s boring,” Nino snorted. “We know he’s concert master already, where’re all the juicy stuff? What is the great Matsumoto Jun’s greatest fear?!”
“Shhh!” two of the least likely distinct voices whispered in reprimand, none of its owners even bothering to look up at the two as Aiba reached out and pulled at Nino by the shoulder, the guy hitting the door lightly by the head. Thankfully though, the action didn’t make too much sound, nor did Aiba when Nino reached out to hit the guy at the back of his head. Sho grimaced before he joined his friends again.
-----
“But?” the hypnotist prompted, noting the hang in his sentence.
“It’s different,” Jun replied. His head moved sideways slightly as though he’s turning around, his eyes still closed. “I can taste the salt in the air. There’s an opening! I can see the beach!” (“The beach?!” Nino whispered in confusion from the other side. “What’s with the beach?!” “Shhh!”)
“Describe the beach…”
“It’s beautiful,” Jun said, a ghost of a smile almost visible in his face. “The sand is clean tan, the water bluish green. The water stretches on into the horizon. I can see a faint shadow of a person, but nothing else.” (“Why does that description sound so familiar?” Sho couldn’t help but wonder. “Shhh!”)
The hypnotist didn’t even need to prompt him as Jun continued “I want to go there. I feel like going there. But…”
For the first time since he entered hypnosis, Jun’s forehead creased. “The spotlights are suddenly turned on, I can feel the lights and the heat on me. I’m rooted on the spot. I… I want to be there…”
-----
“Eeeeh?” Aiba exclaimed on the other side, not managing to lower his voice as he stared at the door in a mix of confusion and surprise. “Shouldn’t this be Ohno’s? I mean, him wanting to go to the beach but he doesn’t get to because of work?”
Ohno nodded in an identical mixture of confusion and surprise but before he can say anything, not that he was really planning on saying anything, Nino turned to them both and bit out a low “Shut up!”. Sho didn’t even bother to take notice, his ear still pressed close to the door. Something about the last few lines seemed to have piqued his interest.
Aiba grimaced apologetically before he and Ohno joined the two again.
-----
“Can you move to there?” the hypnotist asked.
“I… I can’t,” Jun replied, his voice sounding troubled for the first time. “I can’t move my legs. I can feel numerous hands holding me in place but I don’t see anything! I can’t move my legs!”
“Relax,” the hypnotist ordered in his calm voice and Jun, who’s face and tone had started to rise seemed to have relaxed again. The crease and panic in Jun’s face is already gone.
“This shadow you see at the beach, is he or she still there?” the hypnotist asked.
“Yes,” Jun replied, his voice back to being calm. “I can still see her.”
“Her?” the hypnotist noted. “Describe her.”
“I can’t see her clearly,” Jun shook his head, his forehead once again creased but this time, not in panic but in concentration. “Long hair, she has long hair. I can see the wind blowing at it. She’s not slim but she isn’t plump either. She doesn’t seem to be that tall. But I seem to know that she’s just beautiful…”
-----
“Mao!” Sho exclaimed, barely remembering to lower his voice due to his surprise.
“What?” Nino asked, his anger at the disturbance eclipsed by his interest at the name Sho had just mentioned. Even Aiba and Ohno looked up.
“He’s definitely describing Mao!” Sho cried in whispers (if that’s even possible). “I swear! And the beach! I’m sure he’s describing that beach they filmed on for Hanadan!”
“But they’re not together,” Nino pointed out, the smile in his lips showing a little bit too much pleasure about something that, technically speaking, does not actually concern him. “Not anymore. Jun and Mao broke up years ago.”
“So?” Sho replied, the (not so) hidden Hanadan fanboy in him prompting him to smile widely. “They’re still friends, they can get back together! Besides, what do we know about Jun’s private life these days?”
“Nothing much,” Ohno replied, making Nino turn to the guy and look at him with narrowed eyes.
“You aren’t supposed to be siding with him on this,” he told their eldest to which Ohno replied with a shrug and an apologetic smile.
“Well, it is true…” Aiba butted in. “I mean, the last time Jun said anything about his love life was eons ago when Ryo tried setting him up with Kitagawa Keiko.”
“Plus, he’s been very secretive of what he’s been doing during his private time lately,” Sho added in triumph. “Usually he says he’s going out with Toma, or Shun, or Kame, or someone else! And that was right after Kouhaku. We know what happened during Kouhaku right?”
“He and Mao reunited?” Ohno promptly suggested.
Nino, who had been looking at Sho and Aiba in annoyance turned to Ohno again and huffed. “I swear! You aren’t supposed to be siding with them on this!”
Before Ohno could say anything in reply though, Aiba cried out “Shhh!”
-----
“I will count to the number of three and when I tap your forehead, you will open your eyes, for real this time, and remember clearly what your mind had seen,” the hypnotist said. “One… two… three…”
Feeling the light tap on his forehead, Jun opened his eyes. He had to blink a couple of times to get used to the brightness of the room as the rest of his senses caught up with him.
“Wow,” he exclaimed, more to himself than to the hypnotist as he remembered everything from his hypnosis clearly. “That’s quite an experience.”
The hypnosis smiled. By then Jun senses had fully caught up with him since he heard the commotion outside.
The hypnotist didn’t seem to have heard it, or if he did, the man didn’t take notice, but Jun did. And he knew the sound well. Like four certain somebodies suddenly clamoring to get away from the door before they are caught in the act for eavesdropping. Jun could barely hold in a snort.
“Thank you doctor,” he said instead.
“Oh no,” the hypnotist shook his head and smiled. “Thank you. I find your subconscious a rather interesting place to explore. Do you want to know what the things you saw could have possibly meant?”
Jun actually already had an idea, something that was made clear to him when he saw those pretty eyes again after a long while during Kohaku practices. But he simply nodded and smiled. It’d be interesting to hear it from a professional anyway.
-----
“I think I just saw Aiba’s car driving away,” Oguri Shun told Jun as the former handed the latter an opened bottle of beer.
The best friends are currently in Shun’s house, Shun’s parents and sister being currently on a trip to Nagoya.
“Yep,” Jun nodded as he took a swig.
Raising an eyebrow, Shun said “So you’re aware that your group mate, or, most probably, group mates, is tailing you. Why?”
“Aiba going nuts?” Jun chuckled with a light shrug as he placed his beer bottle on the table. “I haven’t exactly digested all the things going on in my group mates minds.”
“Yeah right,” Shun replied, before something seemed to have flicked in his head and he snorted. “So you suddenly deciding to turn into a Hanadan get-together between you, me and Mao the dinner only the two of you were supposed to have is absolutely just a coincidence, huh?”
Jun grinned.
Shun ended up chuckling though. “I knew that things are going to be interesting again the moment I heard about you and Mao working together again.”
-----
“So who of you two geniuses came up with the idea to follow Jun tonight only to find him heading to his best friend’s place?” Nino asked Sho and Aiba sarcastically from where he and Ohno were seated on the back of Aiba’s car.
Moments ago, they had just left the street of the Oguri compound and found themselves stuck in heavy traffic.
“To set the record straight,” Aiba supplied. “We didn’t really follow Jun there because we already know that he’s heading there,” he said, all of them being there when Jun was talking to Shun on the phone.
“Exactly!” Nino exclaimed. “We already know he was just meeting Shun!” he added, finding it hard to hide the glee in his tone when they saw that no one else, particularly a female else, seems to be heading to Shun’s apartment about the same time as Jun.
“I was so sure Mao would be there too!” Sho sighed in defeat, making Nino only smile more.
The smile though was wiped off his face when Ohno, who was looking out the window next to him, suddenly exclaimed “Hey, isn’t that Mao?”
Hurriedly, Aiba, Sho, and Nino turned around and looked at the cab heading to the opposite direction as theirs, and caught a quick glimpse of the woman two of them were hoping to see earlier, one was hoping would not be there, and one who had first caught sight of her.
It really is Mao!
In seconds though, the cab she was on had gone out of sight. A collective groan filled the car when they realized that they wouldn’t be able to follow that cab with Mao inside it since they are yet to get out of the heavy traffic. Plus, they’ll never be able to confirm if Mao is heading to the Oguri house or not. Well, unless of course they show up at the house themselves and check every room and possible hiding place which, one of them (read: Aiba) actually and for a moment, seriously considered.
-----
“So tell me doctor,” Johnny said turning to the hypnotist he had commissioned for his talents. “How are my boys?”
“From the ones I got to talk to so far, everyone’s looking all right,” the hypnotist said. “Some may be a bit tired or weary but nothing they can’t handle yet.”
“Good,” Johnny nodded contentedly. “That’s good. Anything or anyone strike you as particularly interesting?”
The hypnotist paused for a while before he offered the older man a smile. “The inner fan in me of a certain drama would be happy of one of your talent’s deepest desire and fear.”
Johnny looked curiously at the hypnotist for a while, prompting him to go on, but the hypnotist merely smiled and shook his head. “Client-doctor privileges,” he simply supplied.
Johnny pouted a bit though before he sighed. “Anyway, I believe you’re still haven’t met all of them?”
“Yes,” the hypnotist nodded, thankful that Johnny had not pursued the question. “I had them scheduled over the next couple of weeks.”
“Keep me posted then,” Johnny nodded contentedly.
The hypnotist nodded and took his stand. Bowing low, he was about to take his leave when Johnny spoke up.
“Doctor, you a Hanadan fan?”
Taken aback, the hypnotist didn’t immediately notice the cheer in Johnny’s eyes. When he did though, he couldn’t help but chuckle. Johnny took that as enough of an answer. The old man smiled.
-----THE END-----
yay! JunxMao one-shot! it's been a while... Next!!!
TITLE: Defying Destiny
CHARACTERS: Ninomiya Kazunari, Nagasawa Masami, Nishikido Ryo, Matsumoto Jun, Aiba Masaki, Ohkura Tadayoshi, Uchi Hiroki, Sakurai Sho, Yasuda Shota, Yokoyama Yuu, Ohno Satoshi, Murakami Shingo, Shibutani Subaru, Maruyama Ryuhei
GENRE: AU
RATINGS: PG
DISCLAIMER: The only thing i own in this story is the plot...
AUTHOR'S NOTE: written for kitsune_hikaru for her fic request for winning the Lightning round of the fic auction activity of help_pilipinas as part of their fundraising activity to help the victims of typhoon that recently hit Mindanao.
Chapter1, Chapter2, Chapter3, Chapter4, Chapter5,
Chapter 6
“I may not be sure of a lot of things but if there’s one thing I know, that I love you and I’m not going to give up on us,” Ryo had said seriously midway through their walk to her apartment that afternoon.
Masami felt the catch in her throat as she felt her eyes grew heavy. The mere sight of the guy had made her heart jump actually, especially when she thought he’d been avoiding her. But with him next to her, walking alongside her, hearing him say those words, she just couldn’t believe it. She felt like crying, her heart elating, and she couldn’t help that smile from rising to her lips.
“That’s two things,” she joked though the moment she found her voice capable enough to speak.
Ryo turned to her before he ended up chuckling. “Okay, make that three. I’ll do everything just to make sure you’re happy. Oh, four! Because tomorrow, you’re going out on a date with me.”
-----
Masami would have pretended to be indifferent about their date if she hadn’t felt so nervous about it. She couldn’t really sleep and she felt all giddy, something she hadn’t really felt much over the years, not to that intensity at least. It was as though it’s her first ever date!
She and Ryo first headed to the carnival, the same place Ryo had taken her on their second date. It was though they were in their teens! They took the rides, went on the screamers and played a whole lot of games, both together and against each other. Ryo would win some and then he’d let her win the others. He even got for her a huge bear as a prize. The two of them laughed as they shared a cotton candy and tried on funny masks and hats.
She even pulled him to that one attraction she had completely said ‘No!’ to the first (and other) time the two of them went there; the haunted maze.
“Are you sure?” Ryo asked, looking at her curiously and in amazement.
The honest answer would actually be another ‘No!’ but she knew how Ryo liked those kids of attractions, she remembered how Ryo’s shoulders fell when she declined the first time, because he couldn’t share the thrill with her. And actually, she just wanted to do it. For a change, give it a try.
“Not really,” Masami smiled sheepishly before she added “But I want to give it a try.”
Ryo looked at her closely for a while first before he smiled and said “I’m going to be here with you, all the way” as he clutched her hand.
In the end, it wasn’t really as scary as she had always thought and feared it would be. Or maybe it was because Ryo always had her hand in his, whenever they pass by a scary clown, or a screaming banshee; because there was always Ryo to jump to whenever a huge spider or the grim reaper suddenly jumps out.
The day at the park was followed by lunch at the plaza. Ryo had taken her to an Italian place because Masami said she’d like to have some pasta. The two of them ended up laughing and chuckling when the two of them started targeting the other’s meatballs. It was, after all, both their favorite.
It wasn’t all laughter though because midway through their lunch, things veered to the serious side.
It all started when Masami noticed that Ryo’s eyes are not leaving her face.
“Is something wrong?” she ended up asking as she felt her cheeks flush at the attention.
Ryo shook his head, his eyes still never leaving her face. “Nothing. Why?”
“You’re staring,” Masami jokingly reprimanded, her hand reaching at out to lightly hit him on his arm. There was nothing unnerving with the way he looked at her but Ryo never really watches her that openly. Often times, when she sees him watching her, he’d shy away immediately and pretend to be doing something else.
Ryo chuckled, shaking his head lightly, removing his gaze from her face for the first time. Masami smiled, expecting the retraction any second now. But then Ryo said something else.
“Thank you,” he said.
“Ryo…” Masami started awkwardly. She wasn’t entirely sure what she’s going to say but before she can say anything else other than the guy’s name, Ryo stepped in.
“No, really,” he said.
There was nothing melancholic about the way he said it. It wasn’t the kind when the person saying it is actually covertly asking for something else.
“I know I’m not the easiest person to deal with all the time” he continued “so thanks for putting up with me.”
Masami smiled. “I can say that about myself too,” she told him in assurance.
Ryo pretended to contemplate a bit on this before he chuckled and shook his head. “Well, you’re cute so you’re forgiven” causing Masami to laugh along.
When the laughter died down though, the cheer in Ryo’s eyes had a mix of something else.
“Seriously though, thank you, for entering my life, for making me happy,” he said. “And all I’ll ever really want is that for you to be happy too.”
“I am happy,” Masami said, assuring Ryo, as her hand reached out to cover Ryo’s hand that had lain still on the table, holding a fork.
Ryo smiled. “But, just in case you realize that you’ll be happier somewhere else with someone else, don’t hesitate to tell me,” he said. “I won’t deny you from finding happiness when you feel like you’ll find it more with someone else, not me.”
Masami couldn’t help but swallow hard at those words. She felt like crying, she’s not really sure why. So many things were going on inside her; her mind is buzzing, her heart filling with memories and happiness. She’s not really sure which is which and what’s going on but she knew that something about her, something inside of her, is changing, probably setting her for the next course of her life.
“But I have to say, it wouldn’t be easy though,” Ryo suddenly added with a wink and a grin, making Masami chuckle again. “Because I’ll do more than just give a good fight if that day ever comes.”
-----
“I had lots of fun,” Masami started as she and Ryo entered her apartment complex early that evening hand in hand.
“Yeah, me too,” Ryo smiled.
Actually, they weren’t supposed to be heading home just yet. Ryo had planned for the two of them to have dinner and light some fireworks for later in the evening but something came up in Ryo’s work prompting them to cancel. Masami understood though. She knew it was part of his job although it rarely, if ever, occurs.
“Will you be all right?” he asked. “Is Jun home already? If he isn’t I can wait with you until he arrives,” he volunteered. “I’m sure Sho would understand.”
“I actually think my brother didn’t even leave the house,” Masami chuckled, remembering the sullen look in Jun’s face early that morning when she told him that she’s heading out. He even said “And here I was thinking I’d be spending the day with you for a change.”
Ryo chuckled. “It must be really nice to have a job where you can decide for your time,” he said with a dreamy sigh. “Plus he gets to work with really gorgeous models too.”
“Hey!” Masami pouted, lightly hitting Ryo by the arm. She was about to withdraw her hand from his too but he tightened his hold and grinned at her.
“Just kidding!” he told her. “Besides, you’re prettier than any model I’ve ever met.”
With her eyes narrowed at him, Masami said “Aha! Where and when did you meet said models? Hmmm?!”
Ryo grinned. “In a past lifetime,” he said. “A lifetime that looks very bleak because there was no you.”
Masami continued, or tried to continue, looking at him with narrowed eyes but she knew that it was all just pretend anyway. She ended up laughing as she saw the twinkle in Ryo’s eyes.
The two of them were still sharing a laugh when they turned the corner and was surprised at what they saw, or who they saw, standing outside Masami and Jun’s apartment door.
Nino.
-----
“I fingered you more for the sadistic type, not the masochistic type,” Jun said dryly as the two of them watched the two figures from the corridor window.
There was quite a small distance between Nino and Masami as the two of them headed towards Nino’s parked renter and really, with that distance, there’s really not much cause to be jealous or worried, especially since Ryo had told Masami it was okay. But it wasn’t entirely okay, not when the mere image of the two of them next to each other on the wide area of the car is enough to make Ryo want to not stay away.
“They’re just going to talk,” he simply told Jun in reply.
He could practically hear the mockery in Jun’s tone, although it was conspicuously absent from the forefront, when the guy said “And you think that it’s really what Masami’s ex-boyfriend wants to do? You do know that the guy wants her back, right?”
If Ryo’s going to actually dissect it, there was actually something akin to caution hidden in those words coming from the guy, not that he put much notice to that, especially when Masami and Nino had just entered the guy’s car and is now driving away.
“I trust her,” Ryo ended up simply saying.
“That she loves you?” Jun asked and Ryo didn’t even have to turn to look at the guy to see that Jun had an eyebrow raised.
With a final sigh, Ryo shook his head. “No,” he said, finally turning to the guy. “That she’ll follow her heart and she’ll do the right thing.”
-----
“Can we talk?”
Those words, in itself, should never be really as awkward as how it sounded when Masami heard those lines from Nino the moment the guy saw them come up. Really, it shouldn’t.
But considering that he’s her ex-boyfriend and she’s just gone home from a date with her current boyfriend, it is. Especially since Nino said that after a curt, and entirely civil, nod to Ryo.
A part of her seriously considered saying no. it was just, well, for the lack of a better term, wrong, especially considering the circumstances. But Ryo had nodded and said it was okay. Masami saw the sudden fear in the guy’s eyes though before Ryo managed to mask it.
But for two people who should be talking, she and Nino had been awfully and generally quite throughout the car ride to an exclusive restaurant Nino had reserved for them except for some choice words. Silence filled the air even as the waited left with their orders.
“What--?”
“It’s-“
The two of them started almost at the same time before they both chuckled and Masami saw, once again, that boyish smile she had loved seeing on Nino.
“What were you going to say?” he managed to ask first.
Masami shook her head lightly and smiled. “I was just wondering what you were doing outside my apartment door.”
“Waiting for you,” Nino replied a matter-of-factly. “What else?”
“Yes,” Masami replied. “But why were you outside?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Your brother didn’t let me in!” Nino chuckled. “He just said you weren’t home and closed the door. It felt like I was being hazed all over again.”
Masami’s jaw dropped, not that she should really be that surprised. She had known that Jun had been ‘hazing’, as Nino puts it, her suitors in the past. She knew that Nino and Ryo had both experienced their fair share of that, Jun still does it to Ryo from time to time although she knew Ryo had been subtlety fighting back. She just thought that Nino had gotten past that stage with her brother already.
“I’m not complaining though,” Nino smiled. “If I had you for a sister, I would have probably done the same thing. Or worse. Luckily though, because I had this chance to fall in love with you.”
Masami felt her heart jump to her throat at this. Nino always had his way with words.
“Uhm, you said you wanted to talk about something?” she asked instead, hoping that the change of topic will ease out the sudden tension between the two of them.
Nino, obviously read though that though evidenced by the knowing smile that grazed his lips. Before he could say anything though, the waiter arrived with their orders.
-----
After the waiter left, Nino had given Masami the chance to gather herself as he simply urged her to start with her meal as he did with his. Truth be told, he wasn’t really hungry. But his hand and mouth needed something to do before his hand started shaking and his mouth makes things uncomfortable between the two of them again.
He’s generous enough to know that he’s making things uncomfortable for her.
Midway through the dinner though, he knew he couldn’t push the subject away any longer. Time isn’t actually his luxury to spend, considering both his and her situation.
“Masami,” he started with a soft voice, and he knew that when Masami looked up from her plate, that the woman knew why he’s suddenly calling out her name. it wasn’t about the food. It wasn’t for any small, random talk. It was because it.
“Destiny,” he simply said at first and when Masami looked a bit confused, he added, “The last time we talked, you said something about destiny. That the two of us ARE destined for each other.”
Realization dawned in Masami’s eyes.
-----TBC-----
Defying Destiny should have been posted earlier (read: last night) but i wanted to add Hypnosis first...
I'm really not sure why... lol...
i just wrote Hypnosis actually... so now i'm sleepy... so i'm going to have to do the editing tomorrow (read: later today) when i wake up... :D
also, i'll work on Perfect after i finish Defying Destiny which, i'm targeting, would be by Sunday.
so how was it?
comments are loved! :)