The Fan ~ Chapter VII
Title: The Fan ~ Chapter VII
Author: clovert
Rating: eventual R
Pairing: Aimiya, Ohmiya
Summary: He almost didn't mind staying here.
A/N: Inspired by this creepy music video: Epik High's MV "Fan". This is a collaboration with kokkaii. It's funny how you squeeze out all kind of time to do shit when you DON'T have time during exam weeks = =. Yes everyone! I finally managed to come up with this after watching Misery!!!
Previous chapters:
The Fan ~ Chapter I
The Fan ~ Chapter II
The Fan ~ Chapter III
The Fan ~ Chapter IV
The Fan ~ Chapter V
The Fan ~ Chapter VI
Chapter VII:
For the first time since he arrived here, Nino felt a weight off his shoulders.
Yesterday when the man allowed him out of his cell, it was like someone above had suddenly decided to bestow him a glimpse of hope. It made him think that maybe, he did have a chance to escape. He couldn't sleep for the whole night, because ideas kept running through his head. It was like he could finally think clearly.
People tell Nino that he's been a clever little brat all his life.
He's smart enough to get out of here.
*
The last few days had been - Nino was reluctant to use that word - somewhat pleasant. It was almost like he was having a vacation, save for the fact that he couldn't get out of the cell. He knew his current circumstances were far from what he described as a vacation, however it had been a long time since nothing was expected of him. No more forced smiles on the days that he was depressed. No more careful orchestrated mannerisms or pretentious personas. No more assistant directors on variety shows forcing him to say 'it's delicious' after eating something that would end up with him vomiting his guts out.
Although it wasn't much, but he could do whatever he wanted.
He almost didn't mind staying here.
After that first day, he had been allowed to keep his guitar in the vicinity of his cell. And the one who called himself 'Aiba-chan' would come in every day to hear him play. It was weird having an audience like this, who would listen to him with all ears and eyes. He knew he was trying to hide it, but a twisted part of him enjoyed it.
SK was a group with Satoshi at the front line. Nino knew it, and accepted it because he loved Satoshi. He knew the other was talented, and it made perfect sense if he was the more popular one. Nino even had a hand in making it happen, he wouldn't and shouldn't be jealous.
But sometimes... sometimes he wished that his voice would reach the audience too -- even if he can't sing like Satoshi. Nino didn't even need other people to acknowledge his talents, he just, simply wanted his lyrics and melodies to be heard.
And Aiba-chan, he knew all the little things that Nino thought no one would remember. From the short little jingles he used to write for their SK radio show, to the detailed stories he had as inspirations for SK's songs. Aiba-chan would happily talk about them, ask him questions, request Nino to sing his songs. It was then that he realized for the first time, he was one of his biggest fans, not unlike the ones who would send him fan letters or build his fan pages.
If circumstances weren't like this, then Nino would probably be really grateful.
Yes, he would be. Nino thought as he observed the person sleeping at the side of his bed. How can someone sleeping with such an unguarded expression be a bad person? Maybe it was because his fear was subsiding. Humans have a terrible habit of adapting to their situations, and Nino admits to having adapted already. That's why he could be here like this, analyzing the man in front of him.
Aiba-chan was loud and he talked a lot, but he always smiled with wrinkles at the corner of his eyes. His voice was nasal and he always spoke to Nino in a whiny tone. Sometimes Nino could feel something akin to the mother instincts he had for Satoshi surface. Aiba-chan was so friendly that Nino didn't even know how to react.
"Kazu-chan?" His train of thoughts was cut short by the awakening of the other. Aiba-chan rubbed his eyes in a childish fashion and then turned to look at him with a puzzled expression.
Nino answered without much thought, "... yeah?"
"Is Kazu-chan bored here?" The childish man suddenly pounced on the bed, surprising Nino and causing him to lean back.
When Nino couldn't answer the question, the other man continued, "well I thought that, all you do is play music everyday, so you might be bored."
He slightly nodded.
"If you need anything... of course it has to be something possible..." Aiba-chan trailed off looking at him. If he was the Nino from last week, 'I need to get out of here' probably would have been his reply. But partially mesmerized by the bright eyes in front of him, Nino wasn't able to realize the ridiculousness of the situation.
"Magazines." He felt himself say as he turned his head to the side and caught a glimpse of his pictures on the wall without Satoshi.
*
"Kazu-chan! Breakfast!" Aiba-chan barged in happily with his breakfast and a stack of this month's magazines.
However, Nino could really care less at this time in the morning, so he groaned pulled the covers over his head. If he was actually awake, he would have been shocked at what he was doing right now. But he wasn't so he just ignored the other man when he felt something pounced at the foot of his bed.
"I got your magazines too!"
"Un."
"I'll leave them here."
"Un."
"Oh, and I'm gonna be out until late today. I'll leave the door open so you can take a shower."
"Un."
He could hear the other man shifted and hover closer to his head. "Alright, I'll be on my way now, be good."
Nino randomly nodded and fell back into his dreams.
He woke up sometime after noon because of a dull pain in his stomach. Registering it as a sign that he should eat the two meals that he missed, he left the bed and walked over to the tray of cold breakfast on the floor.
It was noodles, but the soup is all dried up and it was cold due to the cool temperature in the room. Nino took the plastic fork and stabbed it for a bit because finally catching a glimpse of the cereal and carton of milk in ice nearby. He immediately abandoned his breakfast for it.
He finally got to the huge stack of magazines after finishing his bowl of cereal. It was surprising that the man had bought every single one that came out for the month. Nino started flipping through the one on the top.
A part of him was curious, since he disappeared for so long, he wondered if they would still write about him.
The first two did have small articles about him. He didn't know what to think of it as he read it over. It was all just the facts, there wasn't any speculations about the reason for his disappearance. But then again, he didn't expect much from the cold world of entertainment. Old things never stuck around.
Half way through the third magazine, Nino noticed something awkward. Pulling the two sides of the pages further apart, he leaned down to inspect the spine. The pages were ripped out, carefully. But he could still see the serrated edges. Nino was about to turn the page when the question popped up in his mind, why would Aiba-chan rip the pages out? Was it something that he didn't want him to see?
Curiosity got to him and Nino could find himself flipping back to the beginning of the magazine to the table of contents. Thankfully, Aiba forgot to rip this out and Nino remembered that this magazine had the titles of their articles posted along with their sections.
Nino found the numbers of the missing pages and followed his finger to the title....
"Ohno Satoshi Scandal: Booze, Girls, and Drugs"
Nino felt a brick drop down the bottom of his stomach.
Scandal? Why this? Why now?
Was it because he wasn't there?
It wasn't the first time that either of them had a scandal. In the entertainment business, this kind of news floats up once in a while. But every time, he was the one who comes up with ways to smooth things out. It wasn't because that Satoshi was naive, it was just because he isn't someone who would express his opinions out loud in nature. He would keep quiet while the media dump accusations on him.
Their agency was really strict about scandals, and Nino doesn't know what was on those articles but if Satoshi doesn't explain properly he would be in trouble.
Even if he asked Aiba-chan, he knew he won't give him the magazine article, because he purposely hid it in the first place. But even if he had it, it was no use, because he wasn't there.
He took in a shaky breath and got on his feet. The magazine crumpled in his hands.
Nino could feel himself getting agitated. There was dread at the pit of his stomach and saying that he was getting worried would be an understatement. He raked his hair back with shaking fingers.
He must get out of here now.
He can't wait any longer.