Who Are You?
Title: Who Are You?
Pairing: OhMiya (slight Sakuraiba)
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Nino met a new worker of his company. Even though they met for the first time, he felt like he had known him before
Ninomiya Kazunari. Everyone in Japan knows him. He is famous for being the owner of the largest video game company in Japan. His family and friends knew how addictive he is in playing video games since he was small. They didn’t expect that he will make money with his hobby. Even Nino himself was surprised.
The idea came from the brilliant mind of his best friend, Sakurai Sho. Sho was tired of listening to Nino’s complaint about the game he played so he suggested Nino made his own game to be satisfied. Sho wasn’t expecting anything when he suggested that, in fact, he wasn’t even aware of what he was saying at that time. The next thing he knew, Nino resigned from his job and started to make his own game. Of course, it wasn’t easy in the beginning but with his experience as a gamer and knowledge in programming and coding as well as his determination to make people happy with his game, Nino overcome the hurdles and successfully make his company, NeenGames on the top for gaming industry.
“Nino, you have a meeting with Matsujun at 10 am. He would like to discuss the concept for the next project with you. That is the only appointment you have today,” informed Sho. Nino nodded his head, noticing that it was only 9 am and he will have an hour to do his routine.
Nino recruited Sho to be his PA/secretary when his business was well received by the public. He loves being a boss and order people around but he wasn’t good in management. That’s why he needed Sho’s help. Fortunately, Sho was willing to work with him and one of the reasons his company was on the top now was because of Sho’s management skill.
“Okay,” answered Nino shortly and he stood up, ready to do his routine.
“Where are you going?” Asked Sho. “Game testing?”
Nino nodded his head. Sho didn’t say anything even though he clearly disagree with Nino. Nino ignored him and walked to the elevator to go to Game Testing Department in the third floor. It is his favourite department. He had the chance to play and criticize the games before launching. Well, there weren’t much to complain because his workers knew how meticulous he was. Furthermore, he was involved in the development for each game from the beginning. Each element of the game would need his approval first before moving to the next phase. So, the game would be nearly perfect by the time it reached the testing department.
“I’m busy right now,”
Nino was waiting for the elevator when he heard a soft voice talking. He didn’t recognize the voice, so he wondered if it was one of his employees. But, he prohibited all of the employees from going upstairs. He only allowed Sho and Matsumoto Jun upstairs.
“Later, okay,”
Said the voice once again. It came from the corridor near the washroom so Nino approached the corridor, wondering which employees was daring enough to defy his order. There must be at least two of them.
“I’m working right now. I will go there after work,”
Weird. Nino never heard anyone respond to the voice. It was the same voice talking. Nino was now peeking from the wall and he only saw a short guy talking to himself. He wasn’t talking on the phone because he used both of his hands to push someone away. Based on the stranger’s side profile, Nino never saw him before and wondered if he is a new employee or an intruder.
“JUST GO,”
The short guy shouted. Whoever he was talking to left him. He sighed and then turned only to be surprised to see Nino. Nino used the chance to look at the guy properly but he was sure he never saw him before. He was around the same height as Nino. His hair was short and black. He was chubby and a bit tanned. His eyes was almond shaped. Nino couldn’t help but to think how cute the stranger is. Even though he didn’t know who the guy is but there was something familiar about the guy.
“Kazu!” Said the man excitedly as he ran towards Nino and hugged him tightly. Nino didn’t respond to the hug. Instead, he was thinking why the guy acted friendly with him even though it was the first time they met. He even has the guts to call Nino Kazu. He only allowed his family to call him Kazu so who gave the permission for the guy to call him that.
“Kazu?”
The guy finally let him go and stared at him with a frown.
“Who are you?”
Asked Nino. The guy was surprised but he immediately recovered as he looked at Nino with a pair of sad eyes.
“I’m sorry. I thought you are a friend of mine. You looked just like him,”
Nino could sense the sadness from the guy as he said that. It was weird. He didn’t know the guy but looking at the sad and disappointed face of the guy, all he wanted to do was to comfort him.
“Ano…” He couldn’t continue as suddenly his head felt like it was going to explode. He never felt so much pain before.
Everything turned dark after that.
I love you, Kazu.
Nino opened his eyes slowly as he heard the confession. He looked around, wondering what had happened and why is he sleeping on the couch in his office. It took a while but he finally remember that he was about to go downstairs to do his routine. He remembered waiting for the elevator but he wasn’t sure if he get inside or not. Then there was also a cute stranger who was talking to himself. He wasn’t sure if he really saw the weirdo. Perhaps it was just a dream, Nino concluded.
“I guess Sho was right. You’re not ready to get back to work,” he heard a voice from the table. It was Matsumoto Jun, the creative director for his company. Sitting opposite of him was Sho, who nodded in agreement.
“J, did you just confessed to me?”
There were a lot of things he wanted to ask Jun but he didn’t know why he asked a totally unrelated question. Perhaps because he heard a confession right before he woke up. He had a crush on Jun and he was hoping that Jun finally responded to his feeling, if it was indeed his voice he heard before. However, he didn’t know why, his heart started to crave for someone else now.
Hearing his question, both of his friends frowned as they stared at him.
“Did you… I don’t know…. You hit your head on the floor… Maybe it damaged your nervous system and it sends a different signal to your brain. I’m pretty sure I didn’t say anything that sounds like a confession,”
“Yeah, Jun was right. He didn’t confessed to you. Are you okay, Nino?”
“So, I hit my head? How?”
He decided to change the topic before those two thought he was imagining things. Now that he thought carefully, the voice sounded nothing like Jun or Sho. The voice was softer than either of them. It sounded familiar but he didn’t know who the owner was. Trying to think of the owner causing him headache so he tried to stop thinking about the confession.
“Well, Ohno san came running to my office telling me you collapsed. So, I brought you to the office and let you rest. You’ve been sleeping for three hours. Jun came here for the meeting and seeing that you’re not ready yet, we decided not to disturb you,”
“Ohno san?”
“He’s the new design artist. Been working here for almost a year. He started working here about a month after your accident,”
The accident, Nino thought to himself. About a year ago, he got into an accident and was in a coma until he suddenly woke up two months ago. Today was the first day he got back to work after the accident. Sho had been persuading him to rest longer but two months of staying at home doing nothing was too much for him. Furthermore, each time he closed his eyes to sleep, he would dream of chasing a guy. He didn’t know how the guy looked like because he only see his figure from the back. He wanted to distract himself from thinking about the guy. That’s why he decided to get back to work today, ignoring the disapproval look from Sho.
“I thought no one was allowed upstairs except both of you. So, how…”
Nino didn’t finished his question as he watched both Jun and Sho exchanged look. They were forcing each other to explain the situation regarding the mysterious Ohno to him. But, wait a minute. Is Ohno the stranger he thought he was dreaming about? Sho said Ohno found him collapsed. So, perhaps his meeting with the cute but weird stranger wasn’t a dream at all?
“Was he chubby? He was short and tanned?” Asked Nino to confirm the identity. Both men nodded their head.
“So… What is he doing upstairs? Sho, please explain to me,”
He didn’t miss the look of relief on Jun’s face when he asked Sho to explain to him about Ohno. Sho glared at Jun in return before he started talking.
“Well, as I said before he is the new design artist. He is talented but he is a bit weird. He often spaced out and the other staff often saw him talking to himself,”
Nino recalled his meeting with Ohno earlier. So, Ohno always talked to himself and he wasn’t the only one who had seen that. He didn’t want to hastily jump into conclusion but he was convinced that the guy must be crazy.
“He must be a lunatic. I saw him just now. If he talked to himself the way J did, I don’t mind. But…” Nino risked a glance at Jun who was giving him a murderous look. All of them knew how Jun acted when he was alone at home. He will speak to objects in his room like they are human and Nino love to make fun of Jun because of that. “He was totally delusional. He acted like there was someone else with him,”
And suddenly acted like he knew me. Nino keep that thought to himself.
“Trust me, Nino. He is not a lunatic. We’ve checked his background before hiring him and he wasn’t in mental institutions,” explained Sho. Nino looked at him sceptically.
“Then why is he talking to himself?” Asked Nino in return. Both of his friends looked reluctant to answer. “I don’t know, Sho. I’m afraid he will cause trouble to us. So, it’s better to get rid of him now,”
“No. Don’t do that,” protested Jun.
“Then give me one good reason why I shouldn’t fire him. If it’s because of his talent, I’m pretty sure we can find others who are better than him,”
“Believe me, Nino. He is the best and you will regret to let him go,” answered Jun. “It wasn’t just his talent. He is a good worker, finished his job on time perfectly. Never cause any problem for us. He was quiet and focused in doing his work, not interested to join the drama in the company. So, we hired him because of his talent and attitude,”
“Are you sure he is not a lunatic?” Asked Nino once again.
“I understand why you are worried. Actually, we know why he talked to himself. But, maybe it will be better for you to hear it from him. It’s a bit personal,” explained Sho.
Nino remained silent, thinking of what he should do. He didn’t like the idea of talking with Ohno but he was curious to know the reason he talked to himself. He also found it interesting that both Jun and Sho are very protective of Ohno. Is Ohno someone special to both of them? Is he perhaps Jun’s boyfriend? He had a vague memory of Jun telling him that he already had someone prior to his accident so maybe Ohno is the one he meant. That’s why he talked highly about the guy and tried to stop Nino from firing him.
“Are you sure he will not cause any trouble to us?”
Both Jun and Sho immediately nodded.
“Okay, I will let him stay,”
“You’re not going to ask him why he talked to himself?”
Nino shook his head. He had a feeling Ohno wouldn’t tell him the truth even if he asked. Furthermore, he felt uncomfortable talking with Ohno. So, he would just trust his friends’ judgement.
Ohno sighed as he lied down on his bed, thinking of what happened earlier. He acted stupidly just now. There’s no way Nino would remember him.
He missed Nino. He wanted to see Nino so much. So, he went to the top floor, to see Nino even from afar. He knew Nino wouldn’t allow anyone else except Jun and Sho there but he didn’t care.
But… Someone disturb his mission. Why would he show up while he was waiting for Nino silently on the corridor? Because of him, Nino thought he was crazy for speaking alone. It doesn’t help that he couldn’t control himself once he saw Nino. He hugged Nino and called him Kazu. Of course Nino would think of him as crazy.
“Riida, are you home?”
Ohno immediately stood up when he heard the familiar voice. The door was opened from the outside and Ohno threw his pillow at the guy. Ohno knew it wasn’t his fault but he desperately wanted to blame the guy who entered his room. He was the one who gave him the idea to see Nino from afar if he missed Nino so much.
“What happened?” Asked the guy. The pillow didn’t hit him. Instead, it went straight to the door.
Ohno didn’t answered him. Instead he lied back on his bed and pouted. The guy approached him. With his cold hand, he touched Ohno’s face, wiping the tear from his eyes. Ohno didn’t realized he was crying.
“I’m sorry, Aiba chan,” Ohno apologized to the guy. “It wasn’t your fault. You gave the idea but I’m the one who lose control. I couldn’t help but to hug him when I saw him again. And he looked at me like I’m a crazy guy. It didn’t help that he saw me talking to myself before,”
“Riida,” Aiba smiled encouragingly. “I know Nino. I believe that he will remember you. Whether you believe me or not, he loves you, Riida. He will find his way back to you,”
Ohno only smiled at Aiba. He wasn’t the only who believes that. Even Jun and Sho wanted to make Nino remember him. They Nino had been calling him in his sleep, giving him hope that he was indeed someone special to Nino. He wasn’t sure if that was a good idea. After all, he was the one who pushed Nino away from his life. It serves him right to have Nino forget all about him.
“Aiba,” he felt the need to change the topic. If they continue talking about Nino, he won’t stop thinking about him. “Don’t you want to go home?”
Aiba shook his head.
“I will stay here until Nino come back for you. I don’t want to leave you alone,”
“You don’t have to worry about me. You should know that I would never be alone,”
Nino woke up early the next morning. He couldn’t sleep after waking up from his dream. He wasn’t alone in his dream. There was someone else in his dream but he couldn’t see his face. The voice, on the other hand, was similar to the voice of the person who confessed to him in his dream yesterday. Who is this person? Is he perhaps the person he was craving for right now? Why does he felt some part of his memories were lost after he woke up from the coma? Thinking of all of these made his headache came once again so he played Mario kart to distract himself.
He get ready for work when he noticed it is almost 8 am. Sho will pick him up later so he better get ready now. His friend didn’t trust him yet to drive the car so that’s why he offered himself to be Nino’s driver.
“You looked terrible. Did you sleep yesterday?” Asked Sho when he opened the car’s door.
“I slept but I woke up at 4 am. I couldn’t sleep after that,” answered Nino. He wanted to point out that Sho looked equally miserable like him but better not. He knew Sho went home late every night because of his visit to a hospital. He didn’t know the details but apparently, a friend of Sho was in a coma and Sho visited him everyday, hoping that one day he would wake up.
Nino took out the proposal Jun gave him from his bag. His meeting with Jun yesterday was cancelled but he asked for the proposal from Jun. He didn’t have the time to look through the proposal yesterday so he decided to do it now.
He was surprised to read Jun’s idea for the next game. He wanted to do a fairytale type of game where a prince would save his damsel in distress. It wasn’t the kind of theme Jun would usually do. He skimmed through the preliminary sketch that Jun included in the proposal and laughing as he noticed how the prince was similar to Jun. Wow, he couldn’t believe that his friend would make himself as the hero of the game.
“This should be the villain, not the hero,” said Nino, showing the sketch to Sho who laughed as well.
Nino turned to the next page and immediately froze upon seeing the drawing. It was a sketch of the princess who would be rescued by the prince. She looked just like him, except with a tiara, long hair and feminine features. But, he wasn’t surprised because of seeing himself as the princess. No, he was surprised because he had seen the drawing before. In his dream this morning.
“Wow, what a beautiful drawing! You’re so talented, Riida!”
“Thank you,Ka…” The guy that he called Riida immediately stop talking when he realized what was happening. He immediately hide his sketch book but Nino laughed in return. There’s no point in hiding. He already saw the sketch.
“How long have you been watching me?”
“About 15 minutes,” answered Nino. He loved the way Riida panic to hear that.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Well, I called you when I entered the room but you were so preoccupied with the drawing, you ignored me. So, it wasn’t my fault,” that was a lie. He was curious to know what Riida was drawing so he didn’t called him when he entered. Instead, he sneakily went behind him to observe him drawing. The guy was too concentrated in his drawing, he wonder what he was thinking about at that time.
“Are you angry?”
“Why would I be? I’m just curious to know why are you drawing me as a princess. I should be a prince, you know,”
Riida didn’t immediately answered him. Instead he stared at his own drawing.
“I think you are beautiful,”
“Well, I will be flattered to hear that if I’m a woman. I know there is a different reason you draw me like that. So, tell me,”
“Don’t be angry at me if I told you,” said Riida. Nino nodded his head. He can never be angry at Riida. The guy is too adorable that he can never do so at him. “I think, you are a princess who was waiting to be rescued by your prince charming,”
Nino was too stunned to respond. What did he meant by that? Did he meant with Nino’s current situation, he was waiting for a prince to rescue him?
“Kazu, please don’t get me wrong,” Riida tried to explain himself. Nino didn’t know how he looked like right now but he might look furious because Riida seems to be scared of him.
“Remember that you used to tell me that you want to be a character in your own game. I was just thinking of something like Mario. You see, I think Princess Peach was capable of protecting herself from Bowser. But, she seems to enjoy being rescued by Mario. So, I think you were similar with Peach because of that. Capable of doing something on your own but prefer to let others do it for you. Ah, but I don’t mean to say you are lazy,”
Nino laughed hearing the explanation from Riida. As expected, he couldn’t be angry at Riida. He took the sketchbook from Riida. Looking at the sketch gave him inspiration for the concept of his next game.
“Ne, can you draw…”
That was when his dream ended. He didn’t know who Riida is. The guy’s face was blurred in his dream. He wonder who drew the sketch for Jun’s proposal. Perhaps the guy is Riida in his dream. If not, maybe he knew who Riida is. He needs to meet Riida. Riida was the key for him to understand why he felt like something was missing in his life.
“Nino,” said Sho, with concern. “Are you okay?”
Nino turned to look at Sho. He realized that they have arrived in the office.
“I’m okay,” answered Nino, putting back the proposal in his bag. “Sho, please ask Jun and the guy who sketch the character in the proposal to meet me as soon as possible,”
Nino was staring at the drawing of himself as a princess when someone knocked on his door. He asked the person to enter. It was Jun and - He wasn’t surprised to see the person behind Jun. It was Ohno.
“Good morning, Nino,” Jun greeted cheerfully as he sat on the chair opposite of him. Ohno, on the other hand, remained standing.
“You may sit, Ohno san,” said Nino. With a soft voice, Ohno thanked him before sitting on the chair next to Jun. His voice. Was it similar to Riida in his dream?
“So…” Nino tried to compose himself. “I’ve read the proposal you gave me yesterday, J. I was surprised that you will come out with that kind of concept,”
“It wasn’t my idea. It’s Ohno san’s idea. I saw the sketch and he explained to me what he was thinking when he sketched that. So, I thought it will be a good idea for our new game,”
Nino turned to look at Ohno. He was surprised to see the sketch.
“So, you drew me a as princess. Why?” Asked Nino. Like Riida, Ohno didn’t respond immediately, instead he stared at the sketch. Will he give the same answer as Riida?
“Are you angry?” Asked Ohno timidly in return. Nino was reminded of the way Riida reacted in his dream.
“Nope, just curious. I should be the prince, you know,” he tried to respond in the same way he did in his dream, to see the way Ohno reacted. However, the other guy remained expressionless, not even a flinch. Was Nino wrong and the guy had nothing to do with Riida? Then, is the similarity between the drawing just a coincidence?
“A short prince,” said Jun in a low voice followed by a soft laugh. Nino ignored him as he was more interested to hear Ohno’s answer. However, it’s hard to keep a straight face when Ohno’s lips curled upwards, smiling because of Jun’s remark.
“Why are you smiling? You’re short like me too,” said Nino, pretending to be angry. Ohno immediately stopped smiling and apologized to him. He looks really cute to be panic like that.
“At least, Ohchan didn’t claim to be a prince,” defended Jun.
Once again, Nino wondered what was the relationship between Jun and Ohno. He felt jealous to see them and to his surprise, he was jealous at Jun. It’s weird. It was like, he has feeling for Ohno.
“Whatever. Anyway…” Nino pointed at the sketch of Jun in a prince outfit. “I don’t want this to be the hero. I want this to be the villain,”
“What? Why should I be the villain? This handsome face shouldn’t be a villain. You must be jealous because Ohchan thought that I have prince quality,” protested Jun. Nino stuck his tongue out in response. It’s childish but that’s how he usually acted with Jun.
“I am not jealous. You can be the prince if you want. I just want to change the storyline of your game,” explained Nino.
“Interesting. What do you want to change?” Asked Jun.
In the original proposal, a princess of a wealthy kingdom was engaged to a prince. A few days before their wedding, she was kidnapped by a monster and the prince embarked on a journey to save her. However, Nino thought of another storyline. A witch stole an important item from the princess’ kingdom. The prince volunteer to retrieve the item but the princess refused to allow him because it’s her kingdom so she should be the one to retrieve the item. She asked him to take care of the kingdom during her absence. A servant of the prince offered himself to accompany the princess and the prince allowed him to follow. At first, the princess thought the servant would be a burden because he looked weak. But, as their journey began, she discovered that the servant was actually a skillful warrior.
As the twist, the princess didn’t know that the prince and the witch cooperate to overthrow her. The true purpose of the journey was to kill her. In the fake final battle, it would be between the servant and the witch. Once the witch was defeated, the prince would appear and reveal his evil intention. So, the final battle was between the servant and the prince. At the end, the princess would marry the servant because they fall in love during the journey.
“The servant should be the main character. I want the game to be from his point of view,” said Nino, ending his explanation. Jun looked at him thoughtfully while Ohno remained expressionless as before. He wonder if Ohno listen to his explanation or simply spaces out.
“It’s better than the original. Okay, I agree with your idea,”
“Great. Think of a plot that would explain why the servant offered himself to go with the princess and make sure each level is challenging enough,” instructed Nino and Jun nodded in agreement.
“As for you, Ohchan…” Nino didn’t know why both Ohno and Jun were surprised when he said that. “… I want you to sketch the servant as someone who looked weak, lazy, unmotivated. That’s why the prince underestimate his true ability,”
“Okay, Ka… Ninomiya san,”
Of course, Nino noticed the slip out but he didn’t say anything. He dismissed both of them from his office.
Who are you, Ohchan? Was that just a dream or perhaps a memory that I cannot remember? If we really know each other before, why can't I remember you? Nino thought to himself as he watched Ohno’s retreating back.
Ohno blinked in surprise when Nino suddenly laughed at him. He was sure the guy was angry at him for calling him a princess a moment ago but now the guy was laughing hysterically. He didn’t think Nino was angry at him anymore as he smiled innocently at him. A smile that he gave him whenever he wanted Ohno to do something for him.
“Ne, can you draw Jun as the prince?”
Ohno flinched upon hearing the request from Nino. Most probably Nino didn’t notice that as he keep on blabbering about the idea he had for his next game. Nino had admitted to him that he likes Jun and had confessed to him. But Jun rejected him because he had another in his heart.
“But…” Ohno tried to reject the idea.
“Yes, I know it’s delusional. But, if I cannot be with him in real life, can I be with him in my own imagination? If he said anything, I will just say it’s because of his prince-like quality, not because I was expecting something,”
Nino looked at him expectantly. He cannot say no to that face so reluctantly, he agreed. Nino’s face beaming with happiness and Ohno smiled in return. In his heart, he wondered why Nino keep hoping that Jun will love him. What he said earlier was right. Nino was indeed waiting for his prince to rescue him and he wanted Jun to be his prince. If only he realized there was someone else who wants to be his knight in shining armour.
“Ohchan~~~”
Jun sing song his name as he stood in front of him. Ohno narrowed his eyes in annoyance.
“Don’t be angry at me. You should thank me. You get the brat’s attention because of me,” Ohno was about to protest when Jun continued. “In a good way. The brat wanted to fire you yesterday because he thought you are a lunatic. We’ve told him that you are talented so he wanted to give you a chance. What is the better way to show off your talent? Of course, the drawing of the gorgeous princess,”
“Whatever. Whose idea was it to submit my drawing without my permission? Sho?”
Ohno was surprised when Nino show him the sketch earlier. He gave the sketch to Jun, explaining what Nino had in mind for their next project but a lot of things had happened that he forgot about the drawing. He didn’t expect Jun will give the sketch to Nino once he woke up from coma.
“It’s my idea,” their conversation was interrupted by Sho who showed up in his working station. “We just want to help him remember you. The drawing seems special so maybe he will remember you soon,”
Ohno sighed in return. He didn’t mind to show the sketch at Nino. It would be a miracle if Nino really remember him because of the drawing. What he was afraid of was Nino’s reaction if he remembered something else about the drawing.
“Ohno kun, I was with him this morning when he found the drawing. He was staring at it like he was trying to remember where he had seen it before. So, let’s be optimistic, okay?”
Sho tried to cheer him up. He didn’t know how to respond so he simply nodded his head.
“Okay, Ohchan. You better start working on the sketch for the hero. Do you have any idea for the servant?”
Ohno shook his head. He noticed Jun and Sho exchanged look, like they were plotting something evil.
“I’m sure you will figure out something,” said Jun as he stood up to leave. Both he and Sho leave immediately before Ohno could ask them the meaning behind their evil look.
Nino looked at the watch. It’s almost 8 pm but Sho was nowhere to be found. He had been waiting for Sho for two hours. He wasn’t in the office. He tried to call Sho but there was no answer. He wanted to go home but his friend had warned him not to go anywhere alone. He could ask Jun to give him a ride home but the guy was in a hurry and left before he could say anything.
“Ah, whatever. If anything happened to me, it is Sho’s fault for leaving me alone,” Nino decided to leave without waiting for his friend. He thought of what to eat for dinner when he saw Ohno sitting at the bench near the entrance. He hadn’t seen Ohno for the last two days, since he saw the sketch of himself as the princess. He didn’t know why his heart beats faster and feel excited to see the other guy again. Even though Ohno was alone, he seems to be talking with someone as he nodded his head while muttering ‘I see’. He didn’t seem to notice Nino was there.
“So, you want me to meet your friend and told him you didn’t blame him for what happened?” Asked Ohno to his imaginary friend. It was creepy to see Ohno talking to himself like that but he continued to watch.
“Okay, I will go to see him n..” Nino didn’t know how to react when Ohno lifted his head and caught him staring. Ohno’s face turned red in embarrassment.
“It’s late. Why are you still here?” Asked Nino. He decided to pretend he didn’t see anything earlier.
“I had some work to do,”
“For our new game?” Asked Nino once again and Ohno nodded his head. Nino knew it was a lie. Ohno was late because of something else.
“Okay, I look forward to see the results,” said Nino, turning his direction towards the entrance of the company. “I’ll go home first,”
“Ano…” Nino stopped walking when Ohno suddenly pulled his hand. But he immediately let go when he realized what he was doing. “Where is Sho? Aren't you supposed to go home with him?”
“Ah… I’ve been waiting for him but he was missing. Maybe something happened with his friend in the hospital,” Nino suddenly thought of Sho’s friend. That would explain why Sho suddenly went missing without reason.
“I haven't seen Aiba chan today,” Ohno mumbled in a low voice. The name sounds familiar but as Nino didn’t know who Aiba was, he ignored it
“Isn't it dangerous for you to go home alone? Where is Matsujun?” Asked Ohno again. Nino then explained that Jun went home immediately before he could ask for a ride. He felt weird to be interrogated by his employee like that. But, he was even more surprised to realize that he wasn’t angry at Ohno for acting like that. Instead, he was happy.
“I will accompany you home,” announced Ohno.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to do that,” He refused to accept Ohno’s offer. Deep in his heart, he was scolding himself for saying that. He wanted to spend more time with Ohno
“No no. You might collapsed again. It’s dangerous so please let me help,”
“But… You have to go somewhere else, right?” Said Nino as he remembered what Ohno said earlier. But, Ohno immediately pouted when he said that.
“Eh… What’s wrong?” Asked Nino when he noticed the change in Ohno’s expression.
“You must have seen me talking to myself again. You must thought that I am a lunatic. That’s why you refused to go with me. You are afraid of me. But, I don’t… Hmmm… Let me….”
Nino didn’t know what controls him at that moment as hugged Ohno to stop him from blabbing. It worked as Ohno stared at him in confusion. He knew he should let go of the guy but he didn’t. Instead, he hugged Ohno tightly. It felt right to embrace Ohno, it felt like something that he wanted to do for a long time.
“Let’s go to where you have to go first. Then, we eat dinner together and you can send me home after that,” suggested Nino. Ohno didn’t say anything but he nodded his head in agreement.
Nino admitted that he was surprised with himself. There was something… Something about Ohno that made him felt like he had known him for a long time. He wanted to ask Ohno if there was something between them but he thought it would be more satisfying if he get the answer himself.
“Ohchan, can you please open the door? It’s too noisy,”
Ohno stirred in his sleep when someone pushed him lightly. He was too sleepy to think who it was but it must be one of his uninvited guest. It’s true it is too noisy. He can hear the doorbell rang as well as the phone ringing. He was too lazy to open the door and hoping the person at the other side of the door will stop and go home. But, it seems like the other person wouldn’t give up.
With a heavy step and loud yawn, he stood up from the couch (since when did he buy a couch? He suddenly thought of it) and opened the door to reveal Jun and Sho who frowned upon seeing him.
“What are you doing here early in the morning?” Asked Ohno as he glanced at the clock, noting it was only 7 am.
Since when did I put the clock…..? He didn’t feel sleepy anymore when he finally realized why Sho and Jun were surprised to see him, as well as the existence of the couch when he was sure he didn't buy any for his small apartment. More importantly, the hand which pushed him earlier wasn’t as cold as his usual guest. He turned to the couch to see Nino sleepily rubbed his eyes and the memory of what happened yesterday came back to him.
Ohno was surprised when Nino suddenly hugged him. The last time he hugged the other guy, it leads to their first and last kiss. With the way Nino was staring at him right now, he doubted he could control himself from kissing the other guy again.
Nino finally let him go when he agreed to what was suggested by Nino. He was convinced the other guy thought he was crazy after catching him talking to himself for the second time. Surprisingly, Nino didn’t freak out but instead pretended like nothing happened.
“Let’s go,” Nino took his hand and lead him outside. It wasn’t the first time they hold hand but it certainly felt different than the previous times.
They didn’t talk much as they walked together. They went to his destination first as suggested by Nino, to meet a friend of a friend. Thankfully, the apartment of the guy he was supposed to meet was only two stops away from their office. They talked outside of the apartment but Nino stood a bit far from them, not listening to what they were talking about. He was thankful for that because he didn’t want Nino to know what he can do.
After he finished delivering the message, he brought Nino to the restaurant that Nino had been craving to eat but hadn't had a chance yet. Nino was silent as he observed the restaurant.
“It’s weird. I think this is my first time here but it seems like I’ve been here before,” said Nino. Ohno didn’t say anything as he pulled Nino to his favourite spot.
“Ah, you finally brought a friend here!” The waitress greeted them. She was the one who usually served Ohno whenever he went there. It wasn’t true. Ohno always brought Nino, and sometimes Aiba to the restaurant.
“You always come here?” Asked Nino and Ohno nodded in return. “Then, can you choose for me?”
Ohno ordered hamburger for both of them. It was what he usually ordered, the thing that Nino always wanted to eat. He was glad that Nino finally had the chance to taste the hamburger.
“It’s delicious! Thank you for bringing me here,”
They talked as they ate. Nino asked him to talk about himself. He already told Nino all about him a long time ago but he didn’t mind they getting to know each other again.
After they finished their meal, they walked together to Nino’s apartment. Even though the apartment was quite far, Nino didn’t want to take the train. Ohno didn’t complain because he will have more time to spend with Nino. However, Nino wasn’t as chatty as he was in the restaurant. He was silent, like something was bothering him. Ohno didn’t want to ask, afraid of what Nino would answer.
“Ne…” Nino suddenly stop walking. “Can I ask you something?”
Reluctantly, Ohno nodded his head. Even though Ohno gave him the permission, Nino still looked unsure to continue. So, Ohno braced himself to talk about things that made people thought he was crazy.
“Do you want to ask me who I was talking to in the office just now?” Said Ohno. In response, Nino nodded his head.
“Would you believe me if I said I can see things that other people can’t see?”
“Like ghost?” Nino didn’t seem surprise. Perhaps because he already think of that.
“I prefer to call them spirits,”
“You’re not afraid of them?” Asked Nino. Ohno shook his head. He was surprised when he first saw them but he wasn’t afraid. Instead, he felt sorry at them for not being able to move on. That’s why he decided to help them even though some of them are stubborn.
Nino didn’t say anything after that. They walked in silence until they arrived in front of Nino’s apartment.
“Thank you. Would you like to get inside?” Asked Nino. Ohno shook his head. It’s getting late. If he didn’t leave now, he might miss the last train.
However, Nino seems to be disappointed with his decision.
“I will miss the last train if I stay,”
“Ne, don’t laugh at me but I am afraid of ghost. I don’t want to admit their existence but when I know you can see them, it scares me. Can you please check if there are any in my house?”
Ohno glanced at his watch before nodding his head. If he ran to the station later, maybe he can still get on the last train.
Ohno closed his eyes, tried to sense if there are any ghost in the apartment. He had been doing this for a long time. He didn’t need to check every room to ensure there is no ghost in the house.
He opened his eyes to see a frightening Nino. He wondered if the guy will freak out if he said there is a ghost in the house. But, he decided to tease Nino some other time.
“Don’t worry. There is nothing in your apartment,”
“Are you sure?” Ohno nodded his head.
He was getting ready to leave when Nino pulled his hand. But, he didn’t say anything.
“Ahhhhhhh!!!!”
Ohno’s memory of what happened yesterday stopped when he heard the scream. Nino was screaming because Jun pulled both his ears.
“You made too much noise in the morning. People are still sleeping,” said Jun. Nino attempted to do the same to Jun but Jun was quick to avoid Nino’s attack on his ear.
“You are the one who made too much noise in the morning,” complained Nino. “We were sleeping until you came,”
“That’s because we are worried something happened to you,” Sho defended both Jun and himself. It reminds Ohno of why he ended up in Nino’s place. Both Sho and Jun had promised him to look after Nino but they left him alone yesterday. Fortunately, he met Nino before the guy went home by himself. He didn’t want to imagine what would happen to Nino if he didn’t met him. What if Nino get into an accident or if he collapsed because his headache come again. Thinking of that made him furious to both Jun and Sho.
“Why did you left Nino?” Ohno couldn’t control himself from scolded both guys. “What if something happened to him on his way home?”
The three guys looked at him in panic because of his sudden outburst. However, Nino’s expression became curious, perhaps wondering why he snapped at both Jun and Sho. That is when he realized that he shouldn’t snapped at Jun and Sho, at least not in front of Nino. This Nino wasn’t aware of the relationship they had and he must be thinking why would a stranger worry for his safety.
“Ah, I’m sorry,” he apologized immediately, hoping Nino wouldn’t think so much of it.
“No no. It’s my fault,” said Sho. “I had an emergency yesterday. I was panic so I forgot to inform Jun to bring Nino home. I remembered Nino this morning so I immediately called Jun to ask if he sent Nino home. When he said he didn’t, I tried to call Nino but he didn’t answer the phone. I came here immediately to check if he was home. Thank you, Ohno san for bringing him home and I’m really sorry for what happened yesterday,”
“It’s okay,” it was Nino who answered. “We have the chance to know each other, right?”
Nino was hugging his arm and he couldn’t think of a proper response for that so he ended up just nodded his head. Both Jun and Sho looked at them curiously, perhaps wondering what they were doing yesterday that made Nino overly attached to him today. Well, he was surprised himself with what Nino was doing and wondering if what they did yesterday caused Nino to act like this with him today.
He decided to stay yesterday at Nino’s house after he missed the last train. This is because he wasted his time staring at Nino’s beautiful brown eyes after Nino pulled him. Nino was excited with his decision before suddenly showing him a dvd. It was a horror movie that Nino had been dying to watch but scared to watch alone. He couldn't ask Jun or Sho to watch with him because they would definitely make fun of him. As they were watching the movie, Nino hugged him the whole time and would ask if the ghost in real life were as what shown in the movie. He didn’t answer him for fear that his answer might scare Nino. When Nino fell asleep on his shoulder, he switched off the television. He wanted to carry Nino to his room but the guy suddenly woke up and told him he wanted to sleep on the couch. Ohno asked him if there is a futon that he could use but Nino pulled him to sleep next to him on the small couch.
“I’m still sleepy,” mumbled Nino sleepily. “You may stay but if you want to leave, please lock the door,”
Ohno took that as the cue to leave. He was still sleepy and thankful that it was Saturday so he can continue sleeping once he get home. He was about to ask Sho if he could get a ride home when Nino suddenly gestured for him to go to his bedroom.
“Sleeping on the bed is more comfortable, ne?” Said Nino to him. “Ah, it would be wonderful if breakfast is ready for us when we woke up,”
Ohno couldn’t bring himself to decline the offer from Nino and without thinking of anything, he followed Nino to bedroom. Sho and Jun didn’t say anything as they looked at both of them with confusion.
Nino keep staring at Ohno who was sleeping soundly next to him. He lied to his friends just now, telling them he was sleepy. He was fully awake since Jun and Sho disturbed his sleep. But, he felt sorry to see Ohno’s sleepy face. Most probably, he couldn’t sleep well because of the couch and that’s why Nino offered him to sleep on the bed. Ohno immediately drifted to dreamland once he lied down on the bed.
As Nino wasn’t sleepy, he decided to stare at Ohno’s peaceful face. He looked like an angel when he was sleeping and Nino love to see it. He could feel that this wasn’t the first time he watched the other sleeping. It could be hundredth or thousandth of times he’s doing this. He could hear the sound of someone cooking in the kitchen. He hoped it was Jun. If it was Sho… Well, he couldn’t imagine what would happen to his kitchen. Sho was capable of doing a lot of things, but cooking was not one of them.
Since he woke up from his coma, yesterday was the first time he could sleep without any dream of a guy named Riida. In the beginning, he dreamt of chasing after a guy in a very dark place but after he met Ohno, the dream changed to spending time with Riida. Surprisingly, everything he remembered about the dream was connected to Ohno. The drawing of him as the princess. The restaurant he went yesterday with Ohno. The hamburger he ate with Ohno. They were all in his dream. Now that he thought of it, he finally know why Aiba sounds familiar. He had seen him in his dream. Unlike Riida, Nino could clearly seen Aiba’s face. He is a cheerful guy that he loves to bully in his dream. Aiba often complained that Riida neglected him after Nino stayed with them. But he didn’t look like he was jealous, instead he seems happy to see both of them.
With all of the clues from his dream, he was fully convinced that Ohno was Riida. Knowing what Ohno could do, he had an idea of when he might meet Ohno but he couldn’t bring himself to ask Ohno to confirm the truth.
He let Ohno slept in the room alone, worried for what Ohno would think of him if he found him staring as he slept. He took a shower and went outside of the room to see what Jun and Sho were doing. He was relief to see Jun cooked in the kitchen. Sho, on the other hand, was staring at a photo with a pair of sad eyes. Wondering who was in the photo, Nino went behind him and snatched the photo from him. It was a photo of Sho and a guy. Though he never met the guy before, he knew who he was.
“Nino, who gave you the permission to look at the picture?” Sho was angry at him as he snatched the photo from him.
“Is that… Aiba chan?” Asked Nino. He only met Aiba in his dream but he was convinced he was correct when Sho was surprised to hear him say the name.
“How do you know Aiba chan?” asked Sho.
“I’ve seen him…”
“When? Where?”
“In my dream,” answered Nino shortly. Then he remembered what Ohno said yesterday. “Ohchan knows him too. He said he didn’t see Aiba chan at all yesterday,”
“What?” Sho was surprised to hear what he was saying. Then, his eyes became wide before storming off to Nino’s room. Nino followed him from behind, wondering what is this about.
“Ne…..” Sho tried to wake Ohno up from his sleep. Perhaps because his sleep was disturbed in not a gentle way, Ohno immediately wake up. He looked clueless, wondering why Sho disturbed his sleep once again. “Did you lie to me about Aiba chan? Have you met him?”
“How….” Ohno was too surprised to respond. But his reaction gives Sho the answer he was looking for. It’s obvious that Ohno had met Aiba. Nino only watched this in silent, wondering why Sho was angry with Ohno for keeping a secret about Aiba.
“Do you know how long Aiba was in a coma? 5 years! The doctor said there was nothing wrong with him, he just refused to wake up. When I found out that you could see spirits, I’ve asked you to look for him and convinced him to come back but you said you cannot find him. But…. You lied to me, right?”
Ohno didn’t say anything. He just listened to what Sho was saying without denying anything.
“Why did you lied to me?” Sho continued to ask but Ohno still didn’t answer the question. He looked guilty for what happened but it didn’t seems like he wanted to answer. Jun came shortly after, asking Nino what happened that caused Sho to shout like that.
“Please answer me!”
“I tried!” Ohno finally snapped after being pushed to answer for a few times by Sho. “He is my friend, the first one who refused to move on. I didn’t know anything about him until the first time you came to my house and asked for my help to find his spirits. When I noticed how uneasy he was to see you, I know you are the reason why he didn’t want to wake up. He never ask for anything since I met him but when you showed up, he didn’t want you to know that I knew him and that’s why I lied about him to you,”
“But… Why? What did I do that made him refuse to wake up?”
“I don’t know. I’ve been telling him to go back but he didn’t want to. The last time we talked about this, he said he will leave once Kazu come back. But, since that day, he rarely show up in front of me and yesterday, I don’t see him at all,” answered Ohno. Nino tried to remained expressionless when he heard Ohno mentioned Kazu. He was convinced that he was the one meant by Ohno. “Ne… Your emergency yesterday…. Did something happened to him?”
“His parents want to….”
Sho was interrupted by a sudden phone call. At first, it seems that he wanted to reject the call but once he saw the caller ID, he immediately answered.
“Moshi moshi, Aiba san,” answered Sho. “Did something happened to Masaki?”
“Masaki… Is that really you?” Nino didn’t know why everyone else in the room was surprised to hear what Sho said. Ohno, especially, seems happy to hear it. “I’m in a friend’s house. I will go there immediately. Wait for me, okay!”
Sho ended the phone call and before he leave, he turned to Ohno.
“Do you want to see Masaki with me?”
Ohno shook his head before continuing. “He won’t remember me,”
Sho smiled understandingly at him before rushing to leave the house. Jun told both Ohno and Nino that he had prepared breakfast for both of them before he leave them to follow Sho.
Even though he had spent the entire night being alone with Ohno yesterday, it became awkward to be left like this. Ohno stared at him and he stared at Ohno with no one say anything.
“Let’s eat,” said Nino awkwardly. However, Ohno shook his head.
“I’m sorry. I need to go home now,”
Part 2
Pairing: OhMiya (slight Sakuraiba)
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Nino met a new worker of his company. Even though they met for the first time, he felt like he had known him before
Ninomiya Kazunari. Everyone in Japan knows him. He is famous for being the owner of the largest video game company in Japan. His family and friends knew how addictive he is in playing video games since he was small. They didn’t expect that he will make money with his hobby. Even Nino himself was surprised.
The idea came from the brilliant mind of his best friend, Sakurai Sho. Sho was tired of listening to Nino’s complaint about the game he played so he suggested Nino made his own game to be satisfied. Sho wasn’t expecting anything when he suggested that, in fact, he wasn’t even aware of what he was saying at that time. The next thing he knew, Nino resigned from his job and started to make his own game. Of course, it wasn’t easy in the beginning but with his experience as a gamer and knowledge in programming and coding as well as his determination to make people happy with his game, Nino overcome the hurdles and successfully make his company, NeenGames on the top for gaming industry.
“Nino, you have a meeting with Matsujun at 10 am. He would like to discuss the concept for the next project with you. That is the only appointment you have today,” informed Sho. Nino nodded his head, noticing that it was only 9 am and he will have an hour to do his routine.
Nino recruited Sho to be his PA/secretary when his business was well received by the public. He loves being a boss and order people around but he wasn’t good in management. That’s why he needed Sho’s help. Fortunately, Sho was willing to work with him and one of the reasons his company was on the top now was because of Sho’s management skill.
“Okay,” answered Nino shortly and he stood up, ready to do his routine.
“Where are you going?” Asked Sho. “Game testing?”
Nino nodded his head. Sho didn’t say anything even though he clearly disagree with Nino. Nino ignored him and walked to the elevator to go to Game Testing Department in the third floor. It is his favourite department. He had the chance to play and criticize the games before launching. Well, there weren’t much to complain because his workers knew how meticulous he was. Furthermore, he was involved in the development for each game from the beginning. Each element of the game would need his approval first before moving to the next phase. So, the game would be nearly perfect by the time it reached the testing department.
“I’m busy right now,”
Nino was waiting for the elevator when he heard a soft voice talking. He didn’t recognize the voice, so he wondered if it was one of his employees. But, he prohibited all of the employees from going upstairs. He only allowed Sho and Matsumoto Jun upstairs.
“Later, okay,”
Said the voice once again. It came from the corridor near the washroom so Nino approached the corridor, wondering which employees was daring enough to defy his order. There must be at least two of them.
“I’m working right now. I will go there after work,”
Weird. Nino never heard anyone respond to the voice. It was the same voice talking. Nino was now peeking from the wall and he only saw a short guy talking to himself. He wasn’t talking on the phone because he used both of his hands to push someone away. Based on the stranger’s side profile, Nino never saw him before and wondered if he is a new employee or an intruder.
“JUST GO,”
The short guy shouted. Whoever he was talking to left him. He sighed and then turned only to be surprised to see Nino. Nino used the chance to look at the guy properly but he was sure he never saw him before. He was around the same height as Nino. His hair was short and black. He was chubby and a bit tanned. His eyes was almond shaped. Nino couldn’t help but to think how cute the stranger is. Even though he didn’t know who the guy is but there was something familiar about the guy.
“Kazu!” Said the man excitedly as he ran towards Nino and hugged him tightly. Nino didn’t respond to the hug. Instead, he was thinking why the guy acted friendly with him even though it was the first time they met. He even has the guts to call Nino Kazu. He only allowed his family to call him Kazu so who gave the permission for the guy to call him that.
“Kazu?”
The guy finally let him go and stared at him with a frown.
“Who are you?”
Asked Nino. The guy was surprised but he immediately recovered as he looked at Nino with a pair of sad eyes.
“I’m sorry. I thought you are a friend of mine. You looked just like him,”
Nino could sense the sadness from the guy as he said that. It was weird. He didn’t know the guy but looking at the sad and disappointed face of the guy, all he wanted to do was to comfort him.
“Ano…” He couldn’t continue as suddenly his head felt like it was going to explode. He never felt so much pain before.
Everything turned dark after that.
I love you, Kazu.
Nino opened his eyes slowly as he heard the confession. He looked around, wondering what had happened and why is he sleeping on the couch in his office. It took a while but he finally remember that he was about to go downstairs to do his routine. He remembered waiting for the elevator but he wasn’t sure if he get inside or not. Then there was also a cute stranger who was talking to himself. He wasn’t sure if he really saw the weirdo. Perhaps it was just a dream, Nino concluded.
“I guess Sho was right. You’re not ready to get back to work,” he heard a voice from the table. It was Matsumoto Jun, the creative director for his company. Sitting opposite of him was Sho, who nodded in agreement.
“J, did you just confessed to me?”
There were a lot of things he wanted to ask Jun but he didn’t know why he asked a totally unrelated question. Perhaps because he heard a confession right before he woke up. He had a crush on Jun and he was hoping that Jun finally responded to his feeling, if it was indeed his voice he heard before. However, he didn’t know why, his heart started to crave for someone else now.
Hearing his question, both of his friends frowned as they stared at him.
“Did you… I don’t know…. You hit your head on the floor… Maybe it damaged your nervous system and it sends a different signal to your brain. I’m pretty sure I didn’t say anything that sounds like a confession,”
“Yeah, Jun was right. He didn’t confessed to you. Are you okay, Nino?”
“So, I hit my head? How?”
He decided to change the topic before those two thought he was imagining things. Now that he thought carefully, the voice sounded nothing like Jun or Sho. The voice was softer than either of them. It sounded familiar but he didn’t know who the owner was. Trying to think of the owner causing him headache so he tried to stop thinking about the confession.
“Well, Ohno san came running to my office telling me you collapsed. So, I brought you to the office and let you rest. You’ve been sleeping for three hours. Jun came here for the meeting and seeing that you’re not ready yet, we decided not to disturb you,”
“Ohno san?”
“He’s the new design artist. Been working here for almost a year. He started working here about a month after your accident,”
The accident, Nino thought to himself. About a year ago, he got into an accident and was in a coma until he suddenly woke up two months ago. Today was the first day he got back to work after the accident. Sho had been persuading him to rest longer but two months of staying at home doing nothing was too much for him. Furthermore, each time he closed his eyes to sleep, he would dream of chasing a guy. He didn’t know how the guy looked like because he only see his figure from the back. He wanted to distract himself from thinking about the guy. That’s why he decided to get back to work today, ignoring the disapproval look from Sho.
“I thought no one was allowed upstairs except both of you. So, how…”
Nino didn’t finished his question as he watched both Jun and Sho exchanged look. They were forcing each other to explain the situation regarding the mysterious Ohno to him. But, wait a minute. Is Ohno the stranger he thought he was dreaming about? Sho said Ohno found him collapsed. So, perhaps his meeting with the cute but weird stranger wasn’t a dream at all?
“Was he chubby? He was short and tanned?” Asked Nino to confirm the identity. Both men nodded their head.
“So… What is he doing upstairs? Sho, please explain to me,”
He didn’t miss the look of relief on Jun’s face when he asked Sho to explain to him about Ohno. Sho glared at Jun in return before he started talking.
“Well, as I said before he is the new design artist. He is talented but he is a bit weird. He often spaced out and the other staff often saw him talking to himself,”
Nino recalled his meeting with Ohno earlier. So, Ohno always talked to himself and he wasn’t the only one who had seen that. He didn’t want to hastily jump into conclusion but he was convinced that the guy must be crazy.
“He must be a lunatic. I saw him just now. If he talked to himself the way J did, I don’t mind. But…” Nino risked a glance at Jun who was giving him a murderous look. All of them knew how Jun acted when he was alone at home. He will speak to objects in his room like they are human and Nino love to make fun of Jun because of that. “He was totally delusional. He acted like there was someone else with him,”
And suddenly acted like he knew me. Nino keep that thought to himself.
“Trust me, Nino. He is not a lunatic. We’ve checked his background before hiring him and he wasn’t in mental institutions,” explained Sho. Nino looked at him sceptically.
“Then why is he talking to himself?” Asked Nino in return. Both of his friends looked reluctant to answer. “I don’t know, Sho. I’m afraid he will cause trouble to us. So, it’s better to get rid of him now,”
“No. Don’t do that,” protested Jun.
“Then give me one good reason why I shouldn’t fire him. If it’s because of his talent, I’m pretty sure we can find others who are better than him,”
“Believe me, Nino. He is the best and you will regret to let him go,” answered Jun. “It wasn’t just his talent. He is a good worker, finished his job on time perfectly. Never cause any problem for us. He was quiet and focused in doing his work, not interested to join the drama in the company. So, we hired him because of his talent and attitude,”
“Are you sure he is not a lunatic?” Asked Nino once again.
“I understand why you are worried. Actually, we know why he talked to himself. But, maybe it will be better for you to hear it from him. It’s a bit personal,” explained Sho.
Nino remained silent, thinking of what he should do. He didn’t like the idea of talking with Ohno but he was curious to know the reason he talked to himself. He also found it interesting that both Jun and Sho are very protective of Ohno. Is Ohno someone special to both of them? Is he perhaps Jun’s boyfriend? He had a vague memory of Jun telling him that he already had someone prior to his accident so maybe Ohno is the one he meant. That’s why he talked highly about the guy and tried to stop Nino from firing him.
“Are you sure he will not cause any trouble to us?”
Both Jun and Sho immediately nodded.
“Okay, I will let him stay,”
“You’re not going to ask him why he talked to himself?”
Nino shook his head. He had a feeling Ohno wouldn’t tell him the truth even if he asked. Furthermore, he felt uncomfortable talking with Ohno. So, he would just trust his friends’ judgement.
Ohno sighed as he lied down on his bed, thinking of what happened earlier. He acted stupidly just now. There’s no way Nino would remember him.
He missed Nino. He wanted to see Nino so much. So, he went to the top floor, to see Nino even from afar. He knew Nino wouldn’t allow anyone else except Jun and Sho there but he didn’t care.
But… Someone disturb his mission. Why would he show up while he was waiting for Nino silently on the corridor? Because of him, Nino thought he was crazy for speaking alone. It doesn’t help that he couldn’t control himself once he saw Nino. He hugged Nino and called him Kazu. Of course Nino would think of him as crazy.
“Riida, are you home?”
Ohno immediately stood up when he heard the familiar voice. The door was opened from the outside and Ohno threw his pillow at the guy. Ohno knew it wasn’t his fault but he desperately wanted to blame the guy who entered his room. He was the one who gave him the idea to see Nino from afar if he missed Nino so much.
“What happened?” Asked the guy. The pillow didn’t hit him. Instead, it went straight to the door.
Ohno didn’t answered him. Instead he lied back on his bed and pouted. The guy approached him. With his cold hand, he touched Ohno’s face, wiping the tear from his eyes. Ohno didn’t realized he was crying.
“I’m sorry, Aiba chan,” Ohno apologized to the guy. “It wasn’t your fault. You gave the idea but I’m the one who lose control. I couldn’t help but to hug him when I saw him again. And he looked at me like I’m a crazy guy. It didn’t help that he saw me talking to myself before,”
“Riida,” Aiba smiled encouragingly. “I know Nino. I believe that he will remember you. Whether you believe me or not, he loves you, Riida. He will find his way back to you,”
Ohno only smiled at Aiba. He wasn’t the only who believes that. Even Jun and Sho wanted to make Nino remember him. They Nino had been calling him in his sleep, giving him hope that he was indeed someone special to Nino. He wasn’t sure if that was a good idea. After all, he was the one who pushed Nino away from his life. It serves him right to have Nino forget all about him.
“Aiba,” he felt the need to change the topic. If they continue talking about Nino, he won’t stop thinking about him. “Don’t you want to go home?”
Aiba shook his head.
“I will stay here until Nino come back for you. I don’t want to leave you alone,”
“You don’t have to worry about me. You should know that I would never be alone,”
Nino woke up early the next morning. He couldn’t sleep after waking up from his dream. He wasn’t alone in his dream. There was someone else in his dream but he couldn’t see his face. The voice, on the other hand, was similar to the voice of the person who confessed to him in his dream yesterday. Who is this person? Is he perhaps the person he was craving for right now? Why does he felt some part of his memories were lost after he woke up from the coma? Thinking of all of these made his headache came once again so he played Mario kart to distract himself.
He get ready for work when he noticed it is almost 8 am. Sho will pick him up later so he better get ready now. His friend didn’t trust him yet to drive the car so that’s why he offered himself to be Nino’s driver.
“You looked terrible. Did you sleep yesterday?” Asked Sho when he opened the car’s door.
“I slept but I woke up at 4 am. I couldn’t sleep after that,” answered Nino. He wanted to point out that Sho looked equally miserable like him but better not. He knew Sho went home late every night because of his visit to a hospital. He didn’t know the details but apparently, a friend of Sho was in a coma and Sho visited him everyday, hoping that one day he would wake up.
Nino took out the proposal Jun gave him from his bag. His meeting with Jun yesterday was cancelled but he asked for the proposal from Jun. He didn’t have the time to look through the proposal yesterday so he decided to do it now.
He was surprised to read Jun’s idea for the next game. He wanted to do a fairytale type of game where a prince would save his damsel in distress. It wasn’t the kind of theme Jun would usually do. He skimmed through the preliminary sketch that Jun included in the proposal and laughing as he noticed how the prince was similar to Jun. Wow, he couldn’t believe that his friend would make himself as the hero of the game.
“This should be the villain, not the hero,” said Nino, showing the sketch to Sho who laughed as well.
Nino turned to the next page and immediately froze upon seeing the drawing. It was a sketch of the princess who would be rescued by the prince. She looked just like him, except with a tiara, long hair and feminine features. But, he wasn’t surprised because of seeing himself as the princess. No, he was surprised because he had seen the drawing before. In his dream this morning.
“Wow, what a beautiful drawing! You’re so talented, Riida!”
“Thank you,Ka…” The guy that he called Riida immediately stop talking when he realized what was happening. He immediately hide his sketch book but Nino laughed in return. There’s no point in hiding. He already saw the sketch.
“How long have you been watching me?”
“About 15 minutes,” answered Nino. He loved the way Riida panic to hear that.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Well, I called you when I entered the room but you were so preoccupied with the drawing, you ignored me. So, it wasn’t my fault,” that was a lie. He was curious to know what Riida was drawing so he didn’t called him when he entered. Instead, he sneakily went behind him to observe him drawing. The guy was too concentrated in his drawing, he wonder what he was thinking about at that time.
“Are you angry?”
“Why would I be? I’m just curious to know why are you drawing me as a princess. I should be a prince, you know,”
Riida didn’t immediately answered him. Instead he stared at his own drawing.
“I think you are beautiful,”
“Well, I will be flattered to hear that if I’m a woman. I know there is a different reason you draw me like that. So, tell me,”
“Don’t be angry at me if I told you,” said Riida. Nino nodded his head. He can never be angry at Riida. The guy is too adorable that he can never do so at him. “I think, you are a princess who was waiting to be rescued by your prince charming,”
Nino was too stunned to respond. What did he meant by that? Did he meant with Nino’s current situation, he was waiting for a prince to rescue him?
“Kazu, please don’t get me wrong,” Riida tried to explain himself. Nino didn’t know how he looked like right now but he might look furious because Riida seems to be scared of him.
“Remember that you used to tell me that you want to be a character in your own game. I was just thinking of something like Mario. You see, I think Princess Peach was capable of protecting herself from Bowser. But, she seems to enjoy being rescued by Mario. So, I think you were similar with Peach because of that. Capable of doing something on your own but prefer to let others do it for you. Ah, but I don’t mean to say you are lazy,”
Nino laughed hearing the explanation from Riida. As expected, he couldn’t be angry at Riida. He took the sketchbook from Riida. Looking at the sketch gave him inspiration for the concept of his next game.
“Ne, can you draw…”
That was when his dream ended. He didn’t know who Riida is. The guy’s face was blurred in his dream. He wonder who drew the sketch for Jun’s proposal. Perhaps the guy is Riida in his dream. If not, maybe he knew who Riida is. He needs to meet Riida. Riida was the key for him to understand why he felt like something was missing in his life.
“Nino,” said Sho, with concern. “Are you okay?”
Nino turned to look at Sho. He realized that they have arrived in the office.
“I’m okay,” answered Nino, putting back the proposal in his bag. “Sho, please ask Jun and the guy who sketch the character in the proposal to meet me as soon as possible,”
Nino was staring at the drawing of himself as a princess when someone knocked on his door. He asked the person to enter. It was Jun and - He wasn’t surprised to see the person behind Jun. It was Ohno.
“Good morning, Nino,” Jun greeted cheerfully as he sat on the chair opposite of him. Ohno, on the other hand, remained standing.
“You may sit, Ohno san,” said Nino. With a soft voice, Ohno thanked him before sitting on the chair next to Jun. His voice. Was it similar to Riida in his dream?
“So…” Nino tried to compose himself. “I’ve read the proposal you gave me yesterday, J. I was surprised that you will come out with that kind of concept,”
“It wasn’t my idea. It’s Ohno san’s idea. I saw the sketch and he explained to me what he was thinking when he sketched that. So, I thought it will be a good idea for our new game,”
Nino turned to look at Ohno. He was surprised to see the sketch.
“So, you drew me a as princess. Why?” Asked Nino. Like Riida, Ohno didn’t respond immediately, instead he stared at the sketch. Will he give the same answer as Riida?
“Are you angry?” Asked Ohno timidly in return. Nino was reminded of the way Riida reacted in his dream.
“Nope, just curious. I should be the prince, you know,” he tried to respond in the same way he did in his dream, to see the way Ohno reacted. However, the other guy remained expressionless, not even a flinch. Was Nino wrong and the guy had nothing to do with Riida? Then, is the similarity between the drawing just a coincidence?
“A short prince,” said Jun in a low voice followed by a soft laugh. Nino ignored him as he was more interested to hear Ohno’s answer. However, it’s hard to keep a straight face when Ohno’s lips curled upwards, smiling because of Jun’s remark.
“Why are you smiling? You’re short like me too,” said Nino, pretending to be angry. Ohno immediately stopped smiling and apologized to him. He looks really cute to be panic like that.
“At least, Ohchan didn’t claim to be a prince,” defended Jun.
Once again, Nino wondered what was the relationship between Jun and Ohno. He felt jealous to see them and to his surprise, he was jealous at Jun. It’s weird. It was like, he has feeling for Ohno.
“Whatever. Anyway…” Nino pointed at the sketch of Jun in a prince outfit. “I don’t want this to be the hero. I want this to be the villain,”
“What? Why should I be the villain? This handsome face shouldn’t be a villain. You must be jealous because Ohchan thought that I have prince quality,” protested Jun. Nino stuck his tongue out in response. It’s childish but that’s how he usually acted with Jun.
“I am not jealous. You can be the prince if you want. I just want to change the storyline of your game,” explained Nino.
“Interesting. What do you want to change?” Asked Jun.
In the original proposal, a princess of a wealthy kingdom was engaged to a prince. A few days before their wedding, she was kidnapped by a monster and the prince embarked on a journey to save her. However, Nino thought of another storyline. A witch stole an important item from the princess’ kingdom. The prince volunteer to retrieve the item but the princess refused to allow him because it’s her kingdom so she should be the one to retrieve the item. She asked him to take care of the kingdom during her absence. A servant of the prince offered himself to accompany the princess and the prince allowed him to follow. At first, the princess thought the servant would be a burden because he looked weak. But, as their journey began, she discovered that the servant was actually a skillful warrior.
As the twist, the princess didn’t know that the prince and the witch cooperate to overthrow her. The true purpose of the journey was to kill her. In the fake final battle, it would be between the servant and the witch. Once the witch was defeated, the prince would appear and reveal his evil intention. So, the final battle was between the servant and the prince. At the end, the princess would marry the servant because they fall in love during the journey.
“The servant should be the main character. I want the game to be from his point of view,” said Nino, ending his explanation. Jun looked at him thoughtfully while Ohno remained expressionless as before. He wonder if Ohno listen to his explanation or simply spaces out.
“It’s better than the original. Okay, I agree with your idea,”
“Great. Think of a plot that would explain why the servant offered himself to go with the princess and make sure each level is challenging enough,” instructed Nino and Jun nodded in agreement.
“As for you, Ohchan…” Nino didn’t know why both Ohno and Jun were surprised when he said that. “… I want you to sketch the servant as someone who looked weak, lazy, unmotivated. That’s why the prince underestimate his true ability,”
“Okay, Ka… Ninomiya san,”
Of course, Nino noticed the slip out but he didn’t say anything. He dismissed both of them from his office.
Who are you, Ohchan? Was that just a dream or perhaps a memory that I cannot remember? If we really know each other before, why can't I remember you? Nino thought to himself as he watched Ohno’s retreating back.
Ohno blinked in surprise when Nino suddenly laughed at him. He was sure the guy was angry at him for calling him a princess a moment ago but now the guy was laughing hysterically. He didn’t think Nino was angry at him anymore as he smiled innocently at him. A smile that he gave him whenever he wanted Ohno to do something for him.
“Ne, can you draw Jun as the prince?”
Ohno flinched upon hearing the request from Nino. Most probably Nino didn’t notice that as he keep on blabbering about the idea he had for his next game. Nino had admitted to him that he likes Jun and had confessed to him. But Jun rejected him because he had another in his heart.
“But…” Ohno tried to reject the idea.
“Yes, I know it’s delusional. But, if I cannot be with him in real life, can I be with him in my own imagination? If he said anything, I will just say it’s because of his prince-like quality, not because I was expecting something,”
Nino looked at him expectantly. He cannot say no to that face so reluctantly, he agreed. Nino’s face beaming with happiness and Ohno smiled in return. In his heart, he wondered why Nino keep hoping that Jun will love him. What he said earlier was right. Nino was indeed waiting for his prince to rescue him and he wanted Jun to be his prince. If only he realized there was someone else who wants to be his knight in shining armour.
“Ohchan~~~”
Jun sing song his name as he stood in front of him. Ohno narrowed his eyes in annoyance.
“Don’t be angry at me. You should thank me. You get the brat’s attention because of me,” Ohno was about to protest when Jun continued. “In a good way. The brat wanted to fire you yesterday because he thought you are a lunatic. We’ve told him that you are talented so he wanted to give you a chance. What is the better way to show off your talent? Of course, the drawing of the gorgeous princess,”
“Whatever. Whose idea was it to submit my drawing without my permission? Sho?”
Ohno was surprised when Nino show him the sketch earlier. He gave the sketch to Jun, explaining what Nino had in mind for their next project but a lot of things had happened that he forgot about the drawing. He didn’t expect Jun will give the sketch to Nino once he woke up from coma.
“It’s my idea,” their conversation was interrupted by Sho who showed up in his working station. “We just want to help him remember you. The drawing seems special so maybe he will remember you soon,”
Ohno sighed in return. He didn’t mind to show the sketch at Nino. It would be a miracle if Nino really remember him because of the drawing. What he was afraid of was Nino’s reaction if he remembered something else about the drawing.
“Ohno kun, I was with him this morning when he found the drawing. He was staring at it like he was trying to remember where he had seen it before. So, let’s be optimistic, okay?”
Sho tried to cheer him up. He didn’t know how to respond so he simply nodded his head.
“Okay, Ohchan. You better start working on the sketch for the hero. Do you have any idea for the servant?”
Ohno shook his head. He noticed Jun and Sho exchanged look, like they were plotting something evil.
“I’m sure you will figure out something,” said Jun as he stood up to leave. Both he and Sho leave immediately before Ohno could ask them the meaning behind their evil look.
Nino looked at the watch. It’s almost 8 pm but Sho was nowhere to be found. He had been waiting for Sho for two hours. He wasn’t in the office. He tried to call Sho but there was no answer. He wanted to go home but his friend had warned him not to go anywhere alone. He could ask Jun to give him a ride home but the guy was in a hurry and left before he could say anything.
“Ah, whatever. If anything happened to me, it is Sho’s fault for leaving me alone,” Nino decided to leave without waiting for his friend. He thought of what to eat for dinner when he saw Ohno sitting at the bench near the entrance. He hadn’t seen Ohno for the last two days, since he saw the sketch of himself as the princess. He didn’t know why his heart beats faster and feel excited to see the other guy again. Even though Ohno was alone, he seems to be talking with someone as he nodded his head while muttering ‘I see’. He didn’t seem to notice Nino was there.
“So, you want me to meet your friend and told him you didn’t blame him for what happened?” Asked Ohno to his imaginary friend. It was creepy to see Ohno talking to himself like that but he continued to watch.
“Okay, I will go to see him n..” Nino didn’t know how to react when Ohno lifted his head and caught him staring. Ohno’s face turned red in embarrassment.
“It’s late. Why are you still here?” Asked Nino. He decided to pretend he didn’t see anything earlier.
“I had some work to do,”
“For our new game?” Asked Nino once again and Ohno nodded his head. Nino knew it was a lie. Ohno was late because of something else.
“Okay, I look forward to see the results,” said Nino, turning his direction towards the entrance of the company. “I’ll go home first,”
“Ano…” Nino stopped walking when Ohno suddenly pulled his hand. But he immediately let go when he realized what he was doing. “Where is Sho? Aren't you supposed to go home with him?”
“Ah… I’ve been waiting for him but he was missing. Maybe something happened with his friend in the hospital,” Nino suddenly thought of Sho’s friend. That would explain why Sho suddenly went missing without reason.
“I haven't seen Aiba chan today,” Ohno mumbled in a low voice. The name sounds familiar but as Nino didn’t know who Aiba was, he ignored it
“Isn't it dangerous for you to go home alone? Where is Matsujun?” Asked Ohno again. Nino then explained that Jun went home immediately before he could ask for a ride. He felt weird to be interrogated by his employee like that. But, he was even more surprised to realize that he wasn’t angry at Ohno for acting like that. Instead, he was happy.
“I will accompany you home,” announced Ohno.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to do that,” He refused to accept Ohno’s offer. Deep in his heart, he was scolding himself for saying that. He wanted to spend more time with Ohno
“No no. You might collapsed again. It’s dangerous so please let me help,”
“But… You have to go somewhere else, right?” Said Nino as he remembered what Ohno said earlier. But, Ohno immediately pouted when he said that.
“Eh… What’s wrong?” Asked Nino when he noticed the change in Ohno’s expression.
“You must have seen me talking to myself again. You must thought that I am a lunatic. That’s why you refused to go with me. You are afraid of me. But, I don’t… Hmmm… Let me….”
Nino didn’t know what controls him at that moment as hugged Ohno to stop him from blabbing. It worked as Ohno stared at him in confusion. He knew he should let go of the guy but he didn’t. Instead, he hugged Ohno tightly. It felt right to embrace Ohno, it felt like something that he wanted to do for a long time.
“Let’s go to where you have to go first. Then, we eat dinner together and you can send me home after that,” suggested Nino. Ohno didn’t say anything but he nodded his head in agreement.
Nino admitted that he was surprised with himself. There was something… Something about Ohno that made him felt like he had known him for a long time. He wanted to ask Ohno if there was something between them but he thought it would be more satisfying if he get the answer himself.
“Ohchan, can you please open the door? It’s too noisy,”
Ohno stirred in his sleep when someone pushed him lightly. He was too sleepy to think who it was but it must be one of his uninvited guest. It’s true it is too noisy. He can hear the doorbell rang as well as the phone ringing. He was too lazy to open the door and hoping the person at the other side of the door will stop and go home. But, it seems like the other person wouldn’t give up.
With a heavy step and loud yawn, he stood up from the couch (since when did he buy a couch? He suddenly thought of it) and opened the door to reveal Jun and Sho who frowned upon seeing him.
“What are you doing here early in the morning?” Asked Ohno as he glanced at the clock, noting it was only 7 am.
Since when did I put the clock…..? He didn’t feel sleepy anymore when he finally realized why Sho and Jun were surprised to see him, as well as the existence of the couch when he was sure he didn't buy any for his small apartment. More importantly, the hand which pushed him earlier wasn’t as cold as his usual guest. He turned to the couch to see Nino sleepily rubbed his eyes and the memory of what happened yesterday came back to him.
Ohno was surprised when Nino suddenly hugged him. The last time he hugged the other guy, it leads to their first and last kiss. With the way Nino was staring at him right now, he doubted he could control himself from kissing the other guy again.
Nino finally let him go when he agreed to what was suggested by Nino. He was convinced the other guy thought he was crazy after catching him talking to himself for the second time. Surprisingly, Nino didn’t freak out but instead pretended like nothing happened.
“Let’s go,” Nino took his hand and lead him outside. It wasn’t the first time they hold hand but it certainly felt different than the previous times.
They didn’t talk much as they walked together. They went to his destination first as suggested by Nino, to meet a friend of a friend. Thankfully, the apartment of the guy he was supposed to meet was only two stops away from their office. They talked outside of the apartment but Nino stood a bit far from them, not listening to what they were talking about. He was thankful for that because he didn’t want Nino to know what he can do.
After he finished delivering the message, he brought Nino to the restaurant that Nino had been craving to eat but hadn't had a chance yet. Nino was silent as he observed the restaurant.
“It’s weird. I think this is my first time here but it seems like I’ve been here before,” said Nino. Ohno didn’t say anything as he pulled Nino to his favourite spot.
“Ah, you finally brought a friend here!” The waitress greeted them. She was the one who usually served Ohno whenever he went there. It wasn’t true. Ohno always brought Nino, and sometimes Aiba to the restaurant.
“You always come here?” Asked Nino and Ohno nodded in return. “Then, can you choose for me?”
Ohno ordered hamburger for both of them. It was what he usually ordered, the thing that Nino always wanted to eat. He was glad that Nino finally had the chance to taste the hamburger.
“It’s delicious! Thank you for bringing me here,”
They talked as they ate. Nino asked him to talk about himself. He already told Nino all about him a long time ago but he didn’t mind they getting to know each other again.
After they finished their meal, they walked together to Nino’s apartment. Even though the apartment was quite far, Nino didn’t want to take the train. Ohno didn’t complain because he will have more time to spend with Nino. However, Nino wasn’t as chatty as he was in the restaurant. He was silent, like something was bothering him. Ohno didn’t want to ask, afraid of what Nino would answer.
“Ne…” Nino suddenly stop walking. “Can I ask you something?”
Reluctantly, Ohno nodded his head. Even though Ohno gave him the permission, Nino still looked unsure to continue. So, Ohno braced himself to talk about things that made people thought he was crazy.
“Do you want to ask me who I was talking to in the office just now?” Said Ohno. In response, Nino nodded his head.
“Would you believe me if I said I can see things that other people can’t see?”
“Like ghost?” Nino didn’t seem surprise. Perhaps because he already think of that.
“I prefer to call them spirits,”
“You’re not afraid of them?” Asked Nino. Ohno shook his head. He was surprised when he first saw them but he wasn’t afraid. Instead, he felt sorry at them for not being able to move on. That’s why he decided to help them even though some of them are stubborn.
Nino didn’t say anything after that. They walked in silence until they arrived in front of Nino’s apartment.
“Thank you. Would you like to get inside?” Asked Nino. Ohno shook his head. It’s getting late. If he didn’t leave now, he might miss the last train.
However, Nino seems to be disappointed with his decision.
“I will miss the last train if I stay,”
“Ne, don’t laugh at me but I am afraid of ghost. I don’t want to admit their existence but when I know you can see them, it scares me. Can you please check if there are any in my house?”
Ohno glanced at his watch before nodding his head. If he ran to the station later, maybe he can still get on the last train.
Ohno closed his eyes, tried to sense if there are any ghost in the apartment. He had been doing this for a long time. He didn’t need to check every room to ensure there is no ghost in the house.
He opened his eyes to see a frightening Nino. He wondered if the guy will freak out if he said there is a ghost in the house. But, he decided to tease Nino some other time.
“Don’t worry. There is nothing in your apartment,”
“Are you sure?” Ohno nodded his head.
He was getting ready to leave when Nino pulled his hand. But, he didn’t say anything.
“Ahhhhhhh!!!!”
Ohno’s memory of what happened yesterday stopped when he heard the scream. Nino was screaming because Jun pulled both his ears.
“You made too much noise in the morning. People are still sleeping,” said Jun. Nino attempted to do the same to Jun but Jun was quick to avoid Nino’s attack on his ear.
“You are the one who made too much noise in the morning,” complained Nino. “We were sleeping until you came,”
“That’s because we are worried something happened to you,” Sho defended both Jun and himself. It reminds Ohno of why he ended up in Nino’s place. Both Sho and Jun had promised him to look after Nino but they left him alone yesterday. Fortunately, he met Nino before the guy went home by himself. He didn’t want to imagine what would happen to Nino if he didn’t met him. What if Nino get into an accident or if he collapsed because his headache come again. Thinking of that made him furious to both Jun and Sho.
“Why did you left Nino?” Ohno couldn’t control himself from scolded both guys. “What if something happened to him on his way home?”
The three guys looked at him in panic because of his sudden outburst. However, Nino’s expression became curious, perhaps wondering why he snapped at both Jun and Sho. That is when he realized that he shouldn’t snapped at Jun and Sho, at least not in front of Nino. This Nino wasn’t aware of the relationship they had and he must be thinking why would a stranger worry for his safety.
“Ah, I’m sorry,” he apologized immediately, hoping Nino wouldn’t think so much of it.
“No no. It’s my fault,” said Sho. “I had an emergency yesterday. I was panic so I forgot to inform Jun to bring Nino home. I remembered Nino this morning so I immediately called Jun to ask if he sent Nino home. When he said he didn’t, I tried to call Nino but he didn’t answer the phone. I came here immediately to check if he was home. Thank you, Ohno san for bringing him home and I’m really sorry for what happened yesterday,”
“It’s okay,” it was Nino who answered. “We have the chance to know each other, right?”
Nino was hugging his arm and he couldn’t think of a proper response for that so he ended up just nodded his head. Both Jun and Sho looked at them curiously, perhaps wondering what they were doing yesterday that made Nino overly attached to him today. Well, he was surprised himself with what Nino was doing and wondering if what they did yesterday caused Nino to act like this with him today.
He decided to stay yesterday at Nino’s house after he missed the last train. This is because he wasted his time staring at Nino’s beautiful brown eyes after Nino pulled him. Nino was excited with his decision before suddenly showing him a dvd. It was a horror movie that Nino had been dying to watch but scared to watch alone. He couldn't ask Jun or Sho to watch with him because they would definitely make fun of him. As they were watching the movie, Nino hugged him the whole time and would ask if the ghost in real life were as what shown in the movie. He didn’t answer him for fear that his answer might scare Nino. When Nino fell asleep on his shoulder, he switched off the television. He wanted to carry Nino to his room but the guy suddenly woke up and told him he wanted to sleep on the couch. Ohno asked him if there is a futon that he could use but Nino pulled him to sleep next to him on the small couch.
“I’m still sleepy,” mumbled Nino sleepily. “You may stay but if you want to leave, please lock the door,”
Ohno took that as the cue to leave. He was still sleepy and thankful that it was Saturday so he can continue sleeping once he get home. He was about to ask Sho if he could get a ride home when Nino suddenly gestured for him to go to his bedroom.
“Sleeping on the bed is more comfortable, ne?” Said Nino to him. “Ah, it would be wonderful if breakfast is ready for us when we woke up,”
Ohno couldn’t bring himself to decline the offer from Nino and without thinking of anything, he followed Nino to bedroom. Sho and Jun didn’t say anything as they looked at both of them with confusion.
Nino keep staring at Ohno who was sleeping soundly next to him. He lied to his friends just now, telling them he was sleepy. He was fully awake since Jun and Sho disturbed his sleep. But, he felt sorry to see Ohno’s sleepy face. Most probably, he couldn’t sleep well because of the couch and that’s why Nino offered him to sleep on the bed. Ohno immediately drifted to dreamland once he lied down on the bed.
As Nino wasn’t sleepy, he decided to stare at Ohno’s peaceful face. He looked like an angel when he was sleeping and Nino love to see it. He could feel that this wasn’t the first time he watched the other sleeping. It could be hundredth or thousandth of times he’s doing this. He could hear the sound of someone cooking in the kitchen. He hoped it was Jun. If it was Sho… Well, he couldn’t imagine what would happen to his kitchen. Sho was capable of doing a lot of things, but cooking was not one of them.
Since he woke up from his coma, yesterday was the first time he could sleep without any dream of a guy named Riida. In the beginning, he dreamt of chasing after a guy in a very dark place but after he met Ohno, the dream changed to spending time with Riida. Surprisingly, everything he remembered about the dream was connected to Ohno. The drawing of him as the princess. The restaurant he went yesterday with Ohno. The hamburger he ate with Ohno. They were all in his dream. Now that he thought of it, he finally know why Aiba sounds familiar. He had seen him in his dream. Unlike Riida, Nino could clearly seen Aiba’s face. He is a cheerful guy that he loves to bully in his dream. Aiba often complained that Riida neglected him after Nino stayed with them. But he didn’t look like he was jealous, instead he seems happy to see both of them.
With all of the clues from his dream, he was fully convinced that Ohno was Riida. Knowing what Ohno could do, he had an idea of when he might meet Ohno but he couldn’t bring himself to ask Ohno to confirm the truth.
He let Ohno slept in the room alone, worried for what Ohno would think of him if he found him staring as he slept. He took a shower and went outside of the room to see what Jun and Sho were doing. He was relief to see Jun cooked in the kitchen. Sho, on the other hand, was staring at a photo with a pair of sad eyes. Wondering who was in the photo, Nino went behind him and snatched the photo from him. It was a photo of Sho and a guy. Though he never met the guy before, he knew who he was.
“Nino, who gave you the permission to look at the picture?” Sho was angry at him as he snatched the photo from him.
“Is that… Aiba chan?” Asked Nino. He only met Aiba in his dream but he was convinced he was correct when Sho was surprised to hear him say the name.
“How do you know Aiba chan?” asked Sho.
“I’ve seen him…”
“When? Where?”
“In my dream,” answered Nino shortly. Then he remembered what Ohno said yesterday. “Ohchan knows him too. He said he didn’t see Aiba chan at all yesterday,”
“What?” Sho was surprised to hear what he was saying. Then, his eyes became wide before storming off to Nino’s room. Nino followed him from behind, wondering what is this about.
“Ne…..” Sho tried to wake Ohno up from his sleep. Perhaps because his sleep was disturbed in not a gentle way, Ohno immediately wake up. He looked clueless, wondering why Sho disturbed his sleep once again. “Did you lie to me about Aiba chan? Have you met him?”
“How….” Ohno was too surprised to respond. But his reaction gives Sho the answer he was looking for. It’s obvious that Ohno had met Aiba. Nino only watched this in silent, wondering why Sho was angry with Ohno for keeping a secret about Aiba.
“Do you know how long Aiba was in a coma? 5 years! The doctor said there was nothing wrong with him, he just refused to wake up. When I found out that you could see spirits, I’ve asked you to look for him and convinced him to come back but you said you cannot find him. But…. You lied to me, right?”
Ohno didn’t say anything. He just listened to what Sho was saying without denying anything.
“Why did you lied to me?” Sho continued to ask but Ohno still didn’t answer the question. He looked guilty for what happened but it didn’t seems like he wanted to answer. Jun came shortly after, asking Nino what happened that caused Sho to shout like that.
“Please answer me!”
“I tried!” Ohno finally snapped after being pushed to answer for a few times by Sho. “He is my friend, the first one who refused to move on. I didn’t know anything about him until the first time you came to my house and asked for my help to find his spirits. When I noticed how uneasy he was to see you, I know you are the reason why he didn’t want to wake up. He never ask for anything since I met him but when you showed up, he didn’t want you to know that I knew him and that’s why I lied about him to you,”
“But… Why? What did I do that made him refuse to wake up?”
“I don’t know. I’ve been telling him to go back but he didn’t want to. The last time we talked about this, he said he will leave once Kazu come back. But, since that day, he rarely show up in front of me and yesterday, I don’t see him at all,” answered Ohno. Nino tried to remained expressionless when he heard Ohno mentioned Kazu. He was convinced that he was the one meant by Ohno. “Ne… Your emergency yesterday…. Did something happened to him?”
“His parents want to….”
Sho was interrupted by a sudden phone call. At first, it seems that he wanted to reject the call but once he saw the caller ID, he immediately answered.
“Moshi moshi, Aiba san,” answered Sho. “Did something happened to Masaki?”
“Masaki… Is that really you?” Nino didn’t know why everyone else in the room was surprised to hear what Sho said. Ohno, especially, seems happy to hear it. “I’m in a friend’s house. I will go there immediately. Wait for me, okay!”
Sho ended the phone call and before he leave, he turned to Ohno.
“Do you want to see Masaki with me?”
Ohno shook his head before continuing. “He won’t remember me,”
Sho smiled understandingly at him before rushing to leave the house. Jun told both Ohno and Nino that he had prepared breakfast for both of them before he leave them to follow Sho.
Even though he had spent the entire night being alone with Ohno yesterday, it became awkward to be left like this. Ohno stared at him and he stared at Ohno with no one say anything.
“Let’s eat,” said Nino awkwardly. However, Ohno shook his head.
“I’m sorry. I need to go home now,”
Part 2