After more than a month...
TITLE: A Lot Like Love
CHARACTERS: Ninomiya Kazunari, Matsumoto Jun, Inoue Mao, Horikita Maki, + others (tbd)
GENRE: AU
RATINGS: PG
DISCLAIMER: The only thing i own in this story is the plot...
SUMMARY: This is a story about a girl taking her chances and making her choices about life, love, and boys
AUTHOR'S NOTE: jecassie_joi written for for the Fund-Raising Project for the Habagat Victims
“Tell me again why I’m doing this?”
Inoue Mao, 25 and artist extraordinaire, almost dropped the cold demeanor she had adopted for the past couple of hours or so and let out a hearty chuckle the moment she heard her best friend cry that.
Not that it’s really amusing of course, even in context with her said best friend struck in a semi-awkward pose by the ledge of her apartment/studio window. It’s funny because it wasn’t the first time Matsumoto Jun, 28, said those very words in the last hour, or in the last five instances he had modeled for her when inspiration failed to hit her.
“It’s not like you’re actually painting me anyway,” Jun continued to grumble, making it a lot harder for Mao to put a serious look on her face.
He’s right, of course. She never actually painted, drew, or even sketched Jun. Ever. In the over a decade long period she’d known the guy, she never did that. It’s not that she’s not good with doing people or that it’d be difficult to capture Jun’s features; she’d always said that Jun had really distinct features. Somehow, she just does not feel right even just having to sketch the guy.
“You know you’re modeling helps me paint,” Mao chose to shrug as she regarded her almost complete work for a minute.
It’s actually the sunrise captured amidst Jun’s silhouette she was painting. And by the looks of it, it amazing looks complete. It’s amazing because before Jun (grudgingly) posed for her, she had no idea if she could finish the painting in time for her meeting one of her clients later that morning.
“Besides, this is like a substitute for all those modeling jobs and gigs you’ve been offered,” she told him, matching those words with a cheeky grin.
She knew about those modeling offers the guy has been offered of course, she was actually with him in a couple of those times when an agent (and at one time, even the director of a commercial that was shooting at the moment) approached him to give the modeling world a chance. There were times they were just strolling at the model, gone window shopping, or even just taking a snack and one of those agents would come up to talk to him. And then there’s the number of girls that keep flocking him too.
He never accepted any of those offers though. Maybe being the son of a wealthy businessman also played a part but Jun always maintained that he didn’t want that kind of life for himself. He’d sometimes kid that he “didn’t want to be too famous”, something she almost always finds a use for during their petty quarrels.
Her bringing that out told Jun exactly what just happened; that she’s almost done with her painting. Stretching the muscles that had been strained for sitting on that ledge for hours, he shot back “Need I remind you that I always turn those down?”
Mao grinned. “I know,” she said as she wiped her hands clean. “Pity though, you’d be so rich if you became a model.”
“I’m making enough money, thank you very much,” Jun snorted as he approached her canvass to see her painting for himself. He seem to have expected what he saw since he simply gave a contented shrug. Jun rarely compliments her paintings the same way she rarely comments on his dishes, their expressions are mostly enough.
Enough money is an understatement, of course. Even without his dad’s money, Jun had started quite a successful restaurant on his own. To be honest though, it wouldn’t be that successful if it wasn’t leaked that Jun was doing the actual cooking at the kitchen, that’s when everything skyrocketed. Somehow with his looks and Jun’s talent at the kitchen, he’s become quite the celebrity chef.
“And very little rest,” he added as he reached back to rub the back of his neck. “You had me up at the crack of dawn!”
“Duh! I wanted to capture the sunrise, of course you had to wake up at dawn!” Mao said.
Shaking his head, Jun headed to the adjoined kitchen and Mao knew why. Whenever they’re together, which is very often, Mao rarely has to work on the kitchen, except to help out (or to be more precise, to bug Jun as he cooks), since Jun does all the preparations. He once joked he doesn’t trust her in any kitchen, even in her own, and while Mao thinks she’d do an okay job if he let her, she just let him do what he wants because he looked so happy doing it anyway.
Mao took that time to fix her paints and brushes.
“I have a suggestion,” Jun suddenly said a little while later when the air was filled with smell of eggs and bacon and cheese, prompting Mao to look up at him. “Why don’t we just take a picture of me and post it on your walls? That way, I can sleep and you’d still be inspired to do your paintings!”
“Stop complaining,” Mao rolled her eyes. It was one of those things Jun had said in the past that were all just words. Not that they didn’t give it a try though, just that it didn’t work. “You know you love modeling for me. You’ve also said it before, I’m the only person in the world you’d be willing to pose for,” she added cheekily.
“I don’t even know why,” Jun added dramatically, complete with him rolling his eyes followed by a deep sigh. “It’s not like I’m getting anything good out of this, I’m not getting paid, I still do the cooking, and most importantly, your place is not that inviting for me to stay in.”
With a pout, Mao took one look at her place at those words even if she already knew what she’s going to see there: books and magazines and CDs strewn all over the place, the previous days’ jacket, her bag and her keys thrown unceremoniously on the couch, and there were even some of last week’s laundry she managed to forget to take down still hanging by her veranda.
She was never really a neat person, her mom told her that, her father, on occasion, tells her that, and then of course, Jun tells her that. And she can never really answer back to any of them, especially Jun, considering that Jun doesn’t even have a maid yet her own mother would approve of how he maintained his place.
“I’m an artist,” she reasoned, like she always does, as she deposited her jarful of brushes on the only neat-looking part of the place (other than the kitchen), a long table along one side that houses all of her art supplies. “Live with it!”
“I don’t even know how you live with it,” Jun snorted shortly followed by “Breakfast is ready!”
Not even surprised at how fast he had come up with breakfast, coupled by the sudden grumbling of her stomach in anticipation of Jun’s delectable dish, Mao’s feet immediately carried her to the kitchen where Jun has already set the table.
“Hmmm… Breakfast surprise…” she mumbled with her eyes closed as she chewed her way through the omelet Jun has made. It’s one of her favorite dishes by him and certainly one of the more in demand breakfast dishes Jun’s restaurant is offering. She was actually the one who came up with the name, hence the ‘originality’ of it.
When he hadn’t said anything when he’s usually made a comment already, Mao ended up opening her eyes. That’s when she saw Jun looking, almost staring, down at her.
“You know, people actually line up and pay to eat that,” he said a matter-of-factly.
“Just one of those perks of being me, I guess…” she replied cheekily.
Jun shook his head but there’s an unmistakable grin already setting on his lips as he did.
-----
Mao could not fight off a huge smile on her lips as she left her car the moment she reached the restaurant for her scheduled meeting for the day when she remembered the last thing she saw before she closed her apartment door behind her and headed out. It was Jun, sprawled on her sofa with his arm across a teddy bear, fast asleep.
It is not an unusual occurrence, Jun sleeping in her apartment. Sometimes, he crashes there when he’s way too tired to drive home after working at his restaurant (which is closer to her apartment than his), or the rare occasion when they feel like drinking. But mostly, he ends up sleeping there during her painting sessions with him at odd hours.
It doesn’t feel awkward, even during those nights when she’s also there. The truth is she only just started sleeping in peace at her place when she just transferred there after Jun decided to spend the night over. Somehow, the sight on him on her couch has a calming effect on her.
The teddy bear though was just her personal touch since she could practically imagine Jun’s expression the moment he opens his eyes and sees it; his eyebrows creased and his lips knit together as though he’s looking at something he’s trying to understand something but really couldn’t.
It was actually his gift to her on her 15th birthday, her first birthday with the two of them being friends already. But while she couldn’t help but smile every time she sees it, Jun would, often times, simply grunt. She guessed that it must have had something to do with everyone else, from his friends or hers assuming that he was courting her when he gave her that. She, of course, said ‘No’ and laughed it off but what’s done is done, and since then Jun would stare the bear down.
The smile was still on her lips when she stepped into the restaurant and her eyes started searching for that one familiar person who sets up her client meetings, Horikita Maki, her friend and manager.
The moment she caught sight of Maki though, who had also stood up and waved at her, Mao’s smile faded as her jaws dropped and her eyes grew large. Her eyes had just caught sight of the other person occupying Maki’s table and memories of her past started to surface in her mind.
The guy looked familiar, so eerily familiar that it’s almost as if he didn’t change at all from when she was 12 and he was 15 except for his hair and how he dresses. And when he smiled when he seemed to have caught sight of her, it’s practically the same too: boyish and somehow devilish, Mao practically held her breath.
She knew him!
Ninomiya Kazunari.
-----TBC-----
TITLE: Aozora: We Meet Again
CHARACTERS: Ohno Satoshi, Sakurai Sho, Aiba Masaki, Ninomiya Kazunari, Matsumoto Jun, Aiko (Sho's love interest in Aozora Pedal)
GENRE: AU
RATINGS: PG
DISCLAIMER: The only thing i own in this story is the plot...
SUMMARY: Five years after the barbeque at Aozora Pedal, Sho sees her again
AUTHOR'S NOTE: irnsnchz written for for the Fund-Raising Project for the Habagat Victims
“Are they here already?”
The seemingly innocent question earned Aiba Masaki, the tallest and perhaps kindest-looking but certainly the jolliest one of the five men in that room who also happened to be the source of that question, a sharp look, a fierce glare, a barely suppressed chuckle, and a rather confused stare from each of the other four guys in that room with him.
It is opening day for the newest and biggest branch of Aozora, conveniently situated near Ebisu Garden Place’s Clock Tower, and its five co-owners had just found themselves converging at the executive room on the second floor of what is to be considered as Tokyo and Osaka’s trendiest resto/hang-outs. The blessings and the rituals have all been completed. All that’s left to do is for them to watch over their patrons swarm amidst the first floor displays.
So far, it’s looking good. Really good. Their months-long endeavors had really paid off.
This is why, if truth be told, the tension the bubbly Masaki is receiving could easily be considered as unwarranted to someone from the outside.
After all, it didn’t hurt to have two (minutely) detail-oriented individuals in-charge with setting up something as huge as Aozora in the persons of Sakurai Sho and Matsumoto Jun. With those two manning the helm, along with Ninomiya Kazunari’s wits, Ohno Satoshi’s talents, and Masaki’s very own insight into the restaurant business (his family is a proud owner of a successful Chinese restaurant), one might even say that setting up the whole thing was actually almost like a breeze.
But the tension the question was attracting wasn’t entirely because of opening day pressures. It wasn’t even due to the fact that it’s already Masaki’s 8th time to ask that very same question since the day started because, well, such a feat is something that is very characteristically Masaki, something that the four other men had long since accepted. After all, long before being business partners, the five of them had already been good friends and there are certain mysteries and quirks the others have that they’ve already deemed normal.
And in a way, it is very in-character too, the way the other four responded to Masaki; Jun with his thick eyebrows and steady (and somewhat scary) look, the chuckle the I-stopped-aging-at-17 Kazunari didn’t even bother to hide, and Satoshi’s physically-present-but-I-might-have-already-fallen-asleep look. If anything, it would only be Sho’s glare that could be considered as something out of character since, mostly, it is Sho who would first show the signs of endurance of the craziest proposals and ideas Masaki would come up to.
But then again, Sho had been acting a bit strange for quite some time. And the rest of them all have the same idea as to why. It all started about a month ago.
A month ago…
“I still don’t understand why I didn’t get to do the food tasting job,” Satoshi, the eldest by age but not necessarily in action of the group, complained as he placed his beer bottle back on the table with an almost slam.
The five of them were at Jun’s place then sharing a few drinks, all of them having met there after the long day of doing their own things to talk about the expansion of their pet endeavor, Aozora.
Technically speaking, Aozora is actually just their sideline. Satoshi’s main line of work is his paintings, Masaki’s is the pet shop and care he owns with his brother, Kazunari’s is being a game developer, and Jun with his photography. It’s actually only Sho who gets to deal day to day with Aozara being the acting general manager of all the branches.
Four pairs of eyes turned to look at Satoshi then in varying degrees of amusement and disbelief, Satoshi being less docile than usual (which may also mean he’s starting to get drunk),before Jun broke the silence that followed those words.
“Because we need a critic Satoshi-kun,” he said, a little lighter than he would have if it was anyone else among the four who said that. “You’d only be eating, not tasting.”
“Yeah,” Kazunari added to Jun’s right, having noticed that Satoshi may not be as drunk as they feared, with a grin already set in place. “Everything would still be ‘Umai!’ to you…”
“Because it is delicious!” Satoshi continued to complain.
“Yeah,” Masaki agreed opposite Kazunari. “That gyudon dish last time really was excellent!”
“Yeah right,” Jun snorted. “You lost all your food-related credentials the day you declared that Sho-chan’s omelet tasted good.”
“Oi!” Sho immediately complained hearing the his name being pushed into the limelight of jokes and games but he couldn’t say any more than that nor add any weight to it considering that they’ve long since accepted that he’s the worst cook of them all.
But even his complaint was drowned by a rousing round of laughter that erupted from the group in his expense.
“Good thing you’re great at managing people and those kinds of stuff! If not, I’m not sure what position you’d be holding in Aozora,” Kazunari even added, causing another round of laughter to erupt.
When the laughter died down, it wasn’t Sho but Aiba whose voice floated in the air.
“Yaaa…” the guy exclaimed in nostalgia. “In a couple of weeks, all the preparations would be finished and we’re soon to open Aozora’s biggest branch. It felt like it was just months ago when we were still preparing for the opening of the first one…”
As though something infectious, the nostalgic smile Aiba had on his lips was adopted by Sho’s, and then, Satoshi’s, and then Kazunari’s and Jun’s, even as the two younger ones rolled their eyes at their friend for reminiscing the past again.
“What I remember most about then was that I was in charge of making the sign,” Satoshi muttered.
“Eh,” Sho exclaimed. “If I remember correctly, we made another sign. All of us.”
“Exactly,” Ohno cried. “I remember it because my sign was at the other side of the board we used for the display!” he added causing the others to break out in hearty laughter.
“What I remember most about then was the fireworks,” Kazunari piped up energetically. “We played janken and Sho-chan had to go buy the fireworks because he lost… That was fun!”
“Yeah, Tae-chan, Yokiko-chan, and Aiko-chan were there too…” Masaki added.
For a while, no one spoke after hearing what Masaki just said. Truth is, the energy in the room started to diminish the moment Kazunari mentioned the fireworks because those fireworks would consequently be connected to the other original creators of Aozora the way Aiba did; Taiyo Aiko, Yoshizuka Yokiko, and Kojima Tae.
It’s not that unnatural, actually, for Masaki to be the first to speak of the three women since he was the first of them to be friendly with the girls through Yokiko who was his childhood friend who then pulled in her best friends, Kojima and Aiko to the fold. But after what happened in their group five years ago just before the first Aozora opened, it is also not unnatural for a bout of silence or awkwardness to fill the air whenever the girls’ names are mentioned, especially Aiko’s.
“Uhm, yeah… About that…” Jun started, breaking the particular silence that arises from the unexpected mention of the girls for the first time since forever. “I invited the girls as guests for opening day.”
It took everyone about half a second to fully digest what he just said before they all started. It was Satoshi who managed to say the words first.
“You mean they’re coming?” he asked, a mix of excitement and worry, although mostly of excitement, evident in his voice. The said reaction is highly visible on Kazunari and Masaki as well while Sho had a weird mix of mostly shock and forced happiness look.
“I think so,” Jun shrugged, acting nonchalant although his eyes had travelled to look at Sho the same way the others had too, secretly. “I mean, they all said yes,” he added, putting emphasis on the word all.
“How’d you get in contact with them anyway?” Kazunari asked.
“Yeah,” Masaki seconded. “Even I lost contact with Yokiko-chan after she went to England.”
“I have my means,” Jun simply replied.
“So, they’re coming then,” Kazunari contentedly sighed. “It’s like five years ago all over again!”
No one was actually expecting any one to comment or add to that, though four pairs of eyes still continued to sneak glances at Sho every now and then, though none of them could think of any new topic to ease into.
This is why, despite the fact that he had said it in a very quiet voice, they all still heard it just the same when Sho muttered “Yeah.”
Good thing the guy closed his eyes the moment he uttered those because he failed to catch the other four catching each other’s eyes. By the time Sho’s eyes flew open again, Jun was pushing himself to a stand and had said “I’m getting some snacks. What do you like?”
“Mabo tofu?” Masaki immediately replied, naming his so-called specialty dish none of them ever want to try ever again.
“No!” came the collected reply of the four other voices there as even Sho exclaimed his disagreement.
“Popcorn then?” Jun suggested eventually.
“Sure…” came the reply.
And while the topic easily changed after the whole snacks business, the topic about the girls still wasn’t completely dropped as evidenced by the conversation that started the moment Sho excused himself to the comfort room.
“You think Jun-kun has forgiven Sho-chan about Aiko-chan already?” Masaki asked the other two.
“I don’t know…” Kazunari replied as they all caught each other’s eyes. After all, after the whole fiasco between Sho and Aiko and while they all tried their best to stay neutral, it was plainly evident that Jun was most displeased with Sho on a level that none of their friends really ever reached, especially considering the span of time it took for Jun to just let it go.
“I guess we’re about to find out…” sighed Satoshi.
-----TBC-----
It's been over a month since i was first supposed to start working on these and, well, i did start working on them then... just that with everything that happened to me these past month, i never really got to continue with what i started. and then of course, there's the fact that i failed to continue with what i originally wanted to work with so i had to redo it... and well... *sigh*
Anyway, it's here! i hope you guys are still interested in it... And i do hope you liked how it started...
Comments are greatly loved!
also, if you feel like it, add me on my twitter account... @lovesmatch
it's my fangirl account though (i mean, of all my fandoms: Arashi, JE, HP, Jhabea, Ginebra, et. al) so beware? lol... i'll be following back
CHARACTERS: Ninomiya Kazunari, Matsumoto Jun, Inoue Mao, Horikita Maki, + others (tbd)
GENRE: AU
RATINGS: PG
DISCLAIMER: The only thing i own in this story is the plot...
SUMMARY: This is a story about a girl taking her chances and making her choices about life, love, and boys
AUTHOR'S NOTE: jecassie_joi written for for the Fund-Raising Project for the Habagat Victims
“Tell me again why I’m doing this?”
Inoue Mao, 25 and artist extraordinaire, almost dropped the cold demeanor she had adopted for the past couple of hours or so and let out a hearty chuckle the moment she heard her best friend cry that.
Not that it’s really amusing of course, even in context with her said best friend struck in a semi-awkward pose by the ledge of her apartment/studio window. It’s funny because it wasn’t the first time Matsumoto Jun, 28, said those very words in the last hour, or in the last five instances he had modeled for her when inspiration failed to hit her.
“It’s not like you’re actually painting me anyway,” Jun continued to grumble, making it a lot harder for Mao to put a serious look on her face.
He’s right, of course. She never actually painted, drew, or even sketched Jun. Ever. In the over a decade long period she’d known the guy, she never did that. It’s not that she’s not good with doing people or that it’d be difficult to capture Jun’s features; she’d always said that Jun had really distinct features. Somehow, she just does not feel right even just having to sketch the guy.
“You know you’re modeling helps me paint,” Mao chose to shrug as she regarded her almost complete work for a minute.
It’s actually the sunrise captured amidst Jun’s silhouette she was painting. And by the looks of it, it amazing looks complete. It’s amazing because before Jun (grudgingly) posed for her, she had no idea if she could finish the painting in time for her meeting one of her clients later that morning.
“Besides, this is like a substitute for all those modeling jobs and gigs you’ve been offered,” she told him, matching those words with a cheeky grin.
She knew about those modeling offers the guy has been offered of course, she was actually with him in a couple of those times when an agent (and at one time, even the director of a commercial that was shooting at the moment) approached him to give the modeling world a chance. There were times they were just strolling at the model, gone window shopping, or even just taking a snack and one of those agents would come up to talk to him. And then there’s the number of girls that keep flocking him too.
He never accepted any of those offers though. Maybe being the son of a wealthy businessman also played a part but Jun always maintained that he didn’t want that kind of life for himself. He’d sometimes kid that he “didn’t want to be too famous”, something she almost always finds a use for during their petty quarrels.
Her bringing that out told Jun exactly what just happened; that she’s almost done with her painting. Stretching the muscles that had been strained for sitting on that ledge for hours, he shot back “Need I remind you that I always turn those down?”
Mao grinned. “I know,” she said as she wiped her hands clean. “Pity though, you’d be so rich if you became a model.”
“I’m making enough money, thank you very much,” Jun snorted as he approached her canvass to see her painting for himself. He seem to have expected what he saw since he simply gave a contented shrug. Jun rarely compliments her paintings the same way she rarely comments on his dishes, their expressions are mostly enough.
Enough money is an understatement, of course. Even without his dad’s money, Jun had started quite a successful restaurant on his own. To be honest though, it wouldn’t be that successful if it wasn’t leaked that Jun was doing the actual cooking at the kitchen, that’s when everything skyrocketed. Somehow with his looks and Jun’s talent at the kitchen, he’s become quite the celebrity chef.
“And very little rest,” he added as he reached back to rub the back of his neck. “You had me up at the crack of dawn!”
“Duh! I wanted to capture the sunrise, of course you had to wake up at dawn!” Mao said.
Shaking his head, Jun headed to the adjoined kitchen and Mao knew why. Whenever they’re together, which is very often, Mao rarely has to work on the kitchen, except to help out (or to be more precise, to bug Jun as he cooks), since Jun does all the preparations. He once joked he doesn’t trust her in any kitchen, even in her own, and while Mao thinks she’d do an okay job if he let her, she just let him do what he wants because he looked so happy doing it anyway.
Mao took that time to fix her paints and brushes.
“I have a suggestion,” Jun suddenly said a little while later when the air was filled with smell of eggs and bacon and cheese, prompting Mao to look up at him. “Why don’t we just take a picture of me and post it on your walls? That way, I can sleep and you’d still be inspired to do your paintings!”
“Stop complaining,” Mao rolled her eyes. It was one of those things Jun had said in the past that were all just words. Not that they didn’t give it a try though, just that it didn’t work. “You know you love modeling for me. You’ve also said it before, I’m the only person in the world you’d be willing to pose for,” she added cheekily.
“I don’t even know why,” Jun added dramatically, complete with him rolling his eyes followed by a deep sigh. “It’s not like I’m getting anything good out of this, I’m not getting paid, I still do the cooking, and most importantly, your place is not that inviting for me to stay in.”
With a pout, Mao took one look at her place at those words even if she already knew what she’s going to see there: books and magazines and CDs strewn all over the place, the previous days’ jacket, her bag and her keys thrown unceremoniously on the couch, and there were even some of last week’s laundry she managed to forget to take down still hanging by her veranda.
She was never really a neat person, her mom told her that, her father, on occasion, tells her that, and then of course, Jun tells her that. And she can never really answer back to any of them, especially Jun, considering that Jun doesn’t even have a maid yet her own mother would approve of how he maintained his place.
“I’m an artist,” she reasoned, like she always does, as she deposited her jarful of brushes on the only neat-looking part of the place (other than the kitchen), a long table along one side that houses all of her art supplies. “Live with it!”
“I don’t even know how you live with it,” Jun snorted shortly followed by “Breakfast is ready!”
Not even surprised at how fast he had come up with breakfast, coupled by the sudden grumbling of her stomach in anticipation of Jun’s delectable dish, Mao’s feet immediately carried her to the kitchen where Jun has already set the table.
“Hmmm… Breakfast surprise…” she mumbled with her eyes closed as she chewed her way through the omelet Jun has made. It’s one of her favorite dishes by him and certainly one of the more in demand breakfast dishes Jun’s restaurant is offering. She was actually the one who came up with the name, hence the ‘originality’ of it.
When he hadn’t said anything when he’s usually made a comment already, Mao ended up opening her eyes. That’s when she saw Jun looking, almost staring, down at her.
“You know, people actually line up and pay to eat that,” he said a matter-of-factly.
“Just one of those perks of being me, I guess…” she replied cheekily.
Jun shook his head but there’s an unmistakable grin already setting on his lips as he did.
-----
Mao could not fight off a huge smile on her lips as she left her car the moment she reached the restaurant for her scheduled meeting for the day when she remembered the last thing she saw before she closed her apartment door behind her and headed out. It was Jun, sprawled on her sofa with his arm across a teddy bear, fast asleep.
It is not an unusual occurrence, Jun sleeping in her apartment. Sometimes, he crashes there when he’s way too tired to drive home after working at his restaurant (which is closer to her apartment than his), or the rare occasion when they feel like drinking. But mostly, he ends up sleeping there during her painting sessions with him at odd hours.
It doesn’t feel awkward, even during those nights when she’s also there. The truth is she only just started sleeping in peace at her place when she just transferred there after Jun decided to spend the night over. Somehow, the sight on him on her couch has a calming effect on her.
The teddy bear though was just her personal touch since she could practically imagine Jun’s expression the moment he opens his eyes and sees it; his eyebrows creased and his lips knit together as though he’s looking at something he’s trying to understand something but really couldn’t.
It was actually his gift to her on her 15th birthday, her first birthday with the two of them being friends already. But while she couldn’t help but smile every time she sees it, Jun would, often times, simply grunt. She guessed that it must have had something to do with everyone else, from his friends or hers assuming that he was courting her when he gave her that. She, of course, said ‘No’ and laughed it off but what’s done is done, and since then Jun would stare the bear down.
The smile was still on her lips when she stepped into the restaurant and her eyes started searching for that one familiar person who sets up her client meetings, Horikita Maki, her friend and manager.
The moment she caught sight of Maki though, who had also stood up and waved at her, Mao’s smile faded as her jaws dropped and her eyes grew large. Her eyes had just caught sight of the other person occupying Maki’s table and memories of her past started to surface in her mind.
The guy looked familiar, so eerily familiar that it’s almost as if he didn’t change at all from when she was 12 and he was 15 except for his hair and how he dresses. And when he smiled when he seemed to have caught sight of her, it’s practically the same too: boyish and somehow devilish, Mao practically held her breath.
She knew him!
Ninomiya Kazunari.
-----TBC-----
TITLE: Aozora: We Meet Again
CHARACTERS: Ohno Satoshi, Sakurai Sho, Aiba Masaki, Ninomiya Kazunari, Matsumoto Jun, Aiko (Sho's love interest in Aozora Pedal)
GENRE: AU
RATINGS: PG
DISCLAIMER: The only thing i own in this story is the plot...
SUMMARY: Five years after the barbeque at Aozora Pedal, Sho sees her again
AUTHOR'S NOTE: irnsnchz written for for the Fund-Raising Project for the Habagat Victims
“Are they here already?”
The seemingly innocent question earned Aiba Masaki, the tallest and perhaps kindest-looking but certainly the jolliest one of the five men in that room who also happened to be the source of that question, a sharp look, a fierce glare, a barely suppressed chuckle, and a rather confused stare from each of the other four guys in that room with him.
It is opening day for the newest and biggest branch of Aozora, conveniently situated near Ebisu Garden Place’s Clock Tower, and its five co-owners had just found themselves converging at the executive room on the second floor of what is to be considered as Tokyo and Osaka’s trendiest resto/hang-outs. The blessings and the rituals have all been completed. All that’s left to do is for them to watch over their patrons swarm amidst the first floor displays.
So far, it’s looking good. Really good. Their months-long endeavors had really paid off.
This is why, if truth be told, the tension the bubbly Masaki is receiving could easily be considered as unwarranted to someone from the outside.
After all, it didn’t hurt to have two (minutely) detail-oriented individuals in-charge with setting up something as huge as Aozora in the persons of Sakurai Sho and Matsumoto Jun. With those two manning the helm, along with Ninomiya Kazunari’s wits, Ohno Satoshi’s talents, and Masaki’s very own insight into the restaurant business (his family is a proud owner of a successful Chinese restaurant), one might even say that setting up the whole thing was actually almost like a breeze.
But the tension the question was attracting wasn’t entirely because of opening day pressures. It wasn’t even due to the fact that it’s already Masaki’s 8th time to ask that very same question since the day started because, well, such a feat is something that is very characteristically Masaki, something that the four other men had long since accepted. After all, long before being business partners, the five of them had already been good friends and there are certain mysteries and quirks the others have that they’ve already deemed normal.
And in a way, it is very in-character too, the way the other four responded to Masaki; Jun with his thick eyebrows and steady (and somewhat scary) look, the chuckle the I-stopped-aging-at-17 Kazunari didn’t even bother to hide, and Satoshi’s physically-present-but-I-might-have-already-fallen-asleep look. If anything, it would only be Sho’s glare that could be considered as something out of character since, mostly, it is Sho who would first show the signs of endurance of the craziest proposals and ideas Masaki would come up to.
But then again, Sho had been acting a bit strange for quite some time. And the rest of them all have the same idea as to why. It all started about a month ago.
A month ago…
“I still don’t understand why I didn’t get to do the food tasting job,” Satoshi, the eldest by age but not necessarily in action of the group, complained as he placed his beer bottle back on the table with an almost slam.
The five of them were at Jun’s place then sharing a few drinks, all of them having met there after the long day of doing their own things to talk about the expansion of their pet endeavor, Aozora.
Technically speaking, Aozora is actually just their sideline. Satoshi’s main line of work is his paintings, Masaki’s is the pet shop and care he owns with his brother, Kazunari’s is being a game developer, and Jun with his photography. It’s actually only Sho who gets to deal day to day with Aozara being the acting general manager of all the branches.
Four pairs of eyes turned to look at Satoshi then in varying degrees of amusement and disbelief, Satoshi being less docile than usual (which may also mean he’s starting to get drunk),before Jun broke the silence that followed those words.
“Because we need a critic Satoshi-kun,” he said, a little lighter than he would have if it was anyone else among the four who said that. “You’d only be eating, not tasting.”
“Yeah,” Kazunari added to Jun’s right, having noticed that Satoshi may not be as drunk as they feared, with a grin already set in place. “Everything would still be ‘Umai!’ to you…”
“Because it is delicious!” Satoshi continued to complain.
“Yeah,” Masaki agreed opposite Kazunari. “That gyudon dish last time really was excellent!”
“Yeah right,” Jun snorted. “You lost all your food-related credentials the day you declared that Sho-chan’s omelet tasted good.”
“Oi!” Sho immediately complained hearing the his name being pushed into the limelight of jokes and games but he couldn’t say any more than that nor add any weight to it considering that they’ve long since accepted that he’s the worst cook of them all.
But even his complaint was drowned by a rousing round of laughter that erupted from the group in his expense.
“Good thing you’re great at managing people and those kinds of stuff! If not, I’m not sure what position you’d be holding in Aozora,” Kazunari even added, causing another round of laughter to erupt.
When the laughter died down, it wasn’t Sho but Aiba whose voice floated in the air.
“Yaaa…” the guy exclaimed in nostalgia. “In a couple of weeks, all the preparations would be finished and we’re soon to open Aozora’s biggest branch. It felt like it was just months ago when we were still preparing for the opening of the first one…”
As though something infectious, the nostalgic smile Aiba had on his lips was adopted by Sho’s, and then, Satoshi’s, and then Kazunari’s and Jun’s, even as the two younger ones rolled their eyes at their friend for reminiscing the past again.
“What I remember most about then was that I was in charge of making the sign,” Satoshi muttered.
“Eh,” Sho exclaimed. “If I remember correctly, we made another sign. All of us.”
“Exactly,” Ohno cried. “I remember it because my sign was at the other side of the board we used for the display!” he added causing the others to break out in hearty laughter.
“What I remember most about then was the fireworks,” Kazunari piped up energetically. “We played janken and Sho-chan had to go buy the fireworks because he lost… That was fun!”
“Yeah, Tae-chan, Yokiko-chan, and Aiko-chan were there too…” Masaki added.
For a while, no one spoke after hearing what Masaki just said. Truth is, the energy in the room started to diminish the moment Kazunari mentioned the fireworks because those fireworks would consequently be connected to the other original creators of Aozora the way Aiba did; Taiyo Aiko, Yoshizuka Yokiko, and Kojima Tae.
It’s not that unnatural, actually, for Masaki to be the first to speak of the three women since he was the first of them to be friendly with the girls through Yokiko who was his childhood friend who then pulled in her best friends, Kojima and Aiko to the fold. But after what happened in their group five years ago just before the first Aozora opened, it is also not unnatural for a bout of silence or awkwardness to fill the air whenever the girls’ names are mentioned, especially Aiko’s.
“Uhm, yeah… About that…” Jun started, breaking the particular silence that arises from the unexpected mention of the girls for the first time since forever. “I invited the girls as guests for opening day.”
It took everyone about half a second to fully digest what he just said before they all started. It was Satoshi who managed to say the words first.
“You mean they’re coming?” he asked, a mix of excitement and worry, although mostly of excitement, evident in his voice. The said reaction is highly visible on Kazunari and Masaki as well while Sho had a weird mix of mostly shock and forced happiness look.
“I think so,” Jun shrugged, acting nonchalant although his eyes had travelled to look at Sho the same way the others had too, secretly. “I mean, they all said yes,” he added, putting emphasis on the word all.
“How’d you get in contact with them anyway?” Kazunari asked.
“Yeah,” Masaki seconded. “Even I lost contact with Yokiko-chan after she went to England.”
“I have my means,” Jun simply replied.
“So, they’re coming then,” Kazunari contentedly sighed. “It’s like five years ago all over again!”
No one was actually expecting any one to comment or add to that, though four pairs of eyes still continued to sneak glances at Sho every now and then, though none of them could think of any new topic to ease into.
This is why, despite the fact that he had said it in a very quiet voice, they all still heard it just the same when Sho muttered “Yeah.”
Good thing the guy closed his eyes the moment he uttered those because he failed to catch the other four catching each other’s eyes. By the time Sho’s eyes flew open again, Jun was pushing himself to a stand and had said “I’m getting some snacks. What do you like?”
“Mabo tofu?” Masaki immediately replied, naming his so-called specialty dish none of them ever want to try ever again.
“No!” came the collected reply of the four other voices there as even Sho exclaimed his disagreement.
“Popcorn then?” Jun suggested eventually.
“Sure…” came the reply.
And while the topic easily changed after the whole snacks business, the topic about the girls still wasn’t completely dropped as evidenced by the conversation that started the moment Sho excused himself to the comfort room.
“You think Jun-kun has forgiven Sho-chan about Aiko-chan already?” Masaki asked the other two.
“I don’t know…” Kazunari replied as they all caught each other’s eyes. After all, after the whole fiasco between Sho and Aiko and while they all tried their best to stay neutral, it was plainly evident that Jun was most displeased with Sho on a level that none of their friends really ever reached, especially considering the span of time it took for Jun to just let it go.
“I guess we’re about to find out…” sighed Satoshi.
-----TBC-----
It's been over a month since i was first supposed to start working on these and, well, i did start working on them then... just that with everything that happened to me these past month, i never really got to continue with what i started. and then of course, there's the fact that i failed to continue with what i originally wanted to work with so i had to redo it... and well... *sigh*
Anyway, it's here! i hope you guys are still interested in it... And i do hope you liked how it started...
Comments are greatly loved!
also, if you feel like it, add me on my twitter account... @lovesmatch
it's my fangirl account though (i mean, of all my fandoms: Arashi, JE, HP, Jhabea, Ginebra, et. al) so beware? lol... i'll be following back