Release - KameKoya, RyoJunno, PG
title: Release
author: nihongofrancais
pairing/group: Kamenashi Kazuya/Koyama Keiichiro, Nishikido Ryo/Taguchi Junnosuke
rating: PG
words: 2,839 words
notes: for grunhilda for je_holiday 2008. Beta-read by my mabudachi, anamuan, who was a source of constant gushing and encouragement. ♥ Based loosely off the structure of Won Kar-wai's wonderful Chungking Express. (if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it! :Dv)
summary: 解放 (kaihou) means release in Japanese. 解 (kai) means to unravel or understand. 放 (hou) means to set free.
Kame pulls up the collar on his jacket and buries his hands deep down into the recesses of his pockets. He closes his eyes and a gentle breeze passes, brushing against his cheeks, nipping at his nose, tickling his eyelashes. It's cold, but refreshing. He feels alive.
After a quiet moment, he opens his eyes again, red all around him. The hue of the trees as autumn sets in, the leaves dying away in brilliant fashion, demanding to be noticed. Soon enough they will fall, will litter the ground beneath his feet and he will tromp through them without a second thought as they turn rotten and brown and fade away. The sunset is behind him, a fierce orange-red, lengthening his shadow across the parking lot-larger than life for a time.
The familiar, comforting jingle of bells alerts him and Kame turns to look over at the entrance of the convenience store. His companion struggles to pocket his wallet while juggling his car keys and the two cans of warm coffee that he's just bought. His hair is red too, but is hardly in transition like everything else around Kame.
He comes over to the side of the car that Kame is leaning against and hands him a can. "BOSS is okay?" he asks, referring to the brand of coffee.
Kame rolls the can against the palm of his hand and nods. "It's fine."
Settling against his car next to Kame, he gives a satisfied nod and pops open his can. It steams for a second and he stares. "It's cold."
Kame shrugs as he drinks his coffee. "I like it. It's nice. It feels real."
He nods again in silent agreement.
"Thank you."
Startled by the sudden declaration of gratitude, he asks, "For what?"
Kame glances at his shadow-no longer larger than life as the sun appears to have already fallen behind the horizon, only the last vestiges of daylight lingering. "For bringing me out here. I needed to breathe and that just wasn't happening back at home."
He grins lightly. "I can't imagine why..."
Kame rolls his eyes. "I know, I know. It's my fault."
"I never said that," he maintains, clasping both hands around his coffee can.
"...maybe you can teach me. Teach me how to breathe."
"I'm not sure I'm the right person to be asking, Kamenashi-kun."
"I'm usually not wrong about these things, Koyama."
*~*~*
The Yokohama skyline glitters around them in the near pitch-black darkness of the late evening. Weather forecasts are calling for snow this coming weekend, but with the full moon glowing above them in the clear sky, that hardly seems possible.
Kame pulls off his Yankees' baseball hat and ruffles his newly-dyed black hair. His eyes catch on the nearby rollercoaster as people scream, riding down the big plunge to the end. "You know, I don't think I've ever ridden this before."
Koyama looks at Kame from across the carriage, focusing on Kame's face as they slowly climb higher. "Yeah, neither have I."
He can't help but notice Koyama's wide eyes and gives him a curious look in return. "Are you okay?"
Koyama shakes his head. "Not really." His hands are clasped tightly in his lap, knuckles on their way to becoming nice and white. "I'm sort of scared of heights."
Kame doesn't really believe him, so he skeptically remarks, "You're lying."
"Not lying, I promise you that."
"Then why'd you insist that we get on?!"
"It was nearby; you have to go back to filming after this right? And I thought it'd be a good breathing exercise."
Kame scoffs, folding his arms across his chest. "And what? While I was breathing, you'd sit here and practice not breathing for the entire ride?"
"I didn't think that far ahead."
Kame laughs and surprisingly, Koyama seems to visibly relax at this. If he can keep him occupied, maybe there's a chance Koyama can get out of this experience and not have constant nightmares of Ferris wheels.
"What about that one time you rode in that helicopter? You know, when Jin lost to you and Jimmy?" Despite the darkness, Kame manages to keep constant eye contact with Koyama.
Koyama is silent before he speaks. "...you mentioned Akanishi-kun."
Kame shrugs. "I can't stay pissed off forever. It's hardly productive."
"You would think of it like that." Koyama's hands are now resting on his thighs and he seems less concerned that they are at the apex of the Ferris wheel and more occupied by Kame's words.
"What's that supposed to be mean?
Koyama doesn't answer his question. "Have you talked to anyone about Akanishi-kun? About how you feel about the whole thing?"
"You mean, to the other members?" Kame looks beyond Koyama, stares out into the dark horizon. He thinks he could see the Tokyo skyline if he squints. Maybe even his house. "We don't really talk about it."
"You should!" Koyama chastises, clearly coming from his own experience. "Otherwise, aren't you just keeping it pent up inside?"
"Not really." Kame's looking directly at Koyama now, meeting his gaze. "I've learned to let it go."
Koyama scoffs. "I hardly believe that."
Kame simply shrugs once more, eyes on the baseball hat in his hands.
"What kind of life are you living?"
"I'm living. I'm working. I think it's a pretty good life."
"...you need to get a new life."
*~*~*
Kame leans over the railing, one cherry blossom petal after another drifting past his face, illuminated by the florescent lights of the train station below. The petals fall at five centimeters per second, oblivious to the fate that awaits them as they come to rest on the presently empty tracks. The waiting passengers hardly notice from the train platform, don't move to warn them, don't move to save them.
"How was the trip to New York? I haven't seen you since then."
Turning around, Kame looks at Koyama sitting at the base of the tree, shrouded in the dark of the early evening. He takes a moment to think, features pensive, before he answers. "It was good. New York is always good."
"I heard that Akanishi-kun is coming back at the end of the week." It's not so dark that Kame can't see Koyama's eyes, but Koyama's long bangs get in the way.
"Yeah," Kame pauses, and then turns the conversation on Koyama, "What about you? How is it being NEWS again?" He knows he's asked Koyama this question before, but he feels it necessary to ask once more. To show that he does see Koyama. (That this isn't all one way.)
"It's good. Everything's different, but it's the same. It's good to be complete again. You'll know how that feels soon too."
Kame nods and ponders that. To be six again, to let Jin back into the fold. There was a time he didn't think he wanted to, but he's since let that go. He thinks maybe he's ready now. Ready for everything to be different, but the same.
"It'll be part of a new start," Kame declares after a long moment, stepping away from the railing. "A new life."
Koyama smiles, but Kame can't help but notice that it doesn't seem quite as genuine as the others that he has witnessed during the span of their strangely-shaped friendship. "To a new life with a new KAT-TUN, Akanishi-kun back in the fold." Koyama doesn't say more, but it seems like he wanted to to Kame.
Kame bridges the space between them and ends up plopping down on the ground next to Koyama. "You'll have to help me manage it all," Kame insists. "I don't know if I'll be able to make the adjustment on my own."
"I'm sure you can. Akanishi-kun will be back and-"
"Jin'll be busy with himself. Besides, I don't want his help." Kame gently bumps his shoulder against Koyama's. "I'd rather have you around. You're an expert."
"I'm an expert?" Koyama repeats slowly, his voice unsure.
"You're an expert." Kame emphatically declares. "And even if you weren't, I'd still want you around."
At first he gives a small grin, but once Koyama glances his way and meets his eyes, Kame finds himself breaking out into a wide smile that he struggles to reign in for fear of appearing utterly stupid. Koyama smiles back, and this time, it's full and bright and everything that Kame has come to expect from Koyama's smiles.
Kame doesn't like to be wrong, because when he's right, it just makes everything that much sweeter.
Just as Koyama's getting ready to leave the dressing room, he spots Ryo fast asleep on the long sofa. "Ryo!" Koyama calls out, gently shaking his shoulder.
Ryo startles from his sleep, and blinks a few times before his vision focuses on Koyama above him. "...oh, Koyama. Shit. Did I fall asleep?"
Koyama nods sympathetically. "You did. Everyone else is already gone."
"Thanks." Ryo sits up, and runs a hand through his hair to straighten it out. "I would've slept here all night if you hadn't woken me up."
"Has it been that busy lately?"
Ryo stretches his arms above his head and lets out a long yawn. "Yeah. Mostly stuff for the prefecture tour with Kanjani8, but add the NEWS stuff on top of that and it's kind of been a lot."
"Take care of yourself, Ryo-chan. Don't burn out," Koyama advises with all the concern appropriate of the mother hen of the group.
"I'll try not to," Ryo assures with a small smile.
"Shouldn't you be at home playing video games or something?"
He ignores Ryo's pointed question and replies with a question of his own. "Since when have you been into billiards, Nishikido-kun?"
Ryo shrugs, takes another drink from his mug of beer. "Not really interested."
He blinks, rather confused, and looks around the establishment that is full up with billiard tables. "Then why are you here?"
Ryo is quick to answer, turning to wave down the bartender in the process. "I heard the beer here was good and cheap." The bartender arrives. "Another mug of the same, please."
"You heard right. But isn't it late? Don't you have work in the morning?"
Ryo looks over at him, noting the concern on his face. It's strangely irritating and comforting at the same time, though he doesn't tell him that. "Don't you have work in the morning too, Taguchi?" he retorts instead.
Junno gives a wide, awkward smile as if caught with his hand in the cookie jar though he's never been a huge fan of cookies. "...yeah, but I'm actually here to play billiards, not drink."
It's Ryo's turn to blink in confusion. "Since when you do play billiards?"
"It's something I picked up last year," Junno replies. "Kind of an addiction."
"I suppose it's better than being a video game otaku."
"But I still play video games too! Lately, I've been playing computer games that you can play online with people from around the world and-"
"Weren't you going to play billiards?" Ryo interrupts Junno before he talks his ear off. He doesn't really want to make small talk with someone he hardly knows when all he came here for was the beer (and maybe a place to relax).
Junno quiets; Ryo's slightly snappish tone is telling enough. The bartender arrives with Ryo's beer and then turns to him. "Taguchi-san, aren't you going to play tonight?"
"Yeah, just about to," Junno returns with a friendly smile then turns back to Ryo. "You should come play too, Nishikido-kun. It's a good way to unwind after a long day."
The bartender leaves to attend to another customer and Junno descends the stairs from the raised bar to join the other billiard players in the main area. Ryo finds his gaze following Junno as he weaves through the tables, occasionally stopping, talking, and laughing with people he assumes are friends. Watching Junno interact with the others with familiarity and ease despite being an idol tickles something uncomfortable in Ryo so he reaches for his beer, taking a large gulp, forcefully washing it away.
*~*~*
Ryo stands back and watches as the cue ball collides with the cleanly racked balls, sending all fifteen of them scattering across the dark green felt with a sharp snapping sound. He thinks he likes that sound. All that momentum, all that pressure releasing in one clear-cut moment, the beginning of everything.
Since Ryo fails to pocket any balls, Junno takes over. The taller man wanders along his side of the table, sizing up where the varied balls have stopped. "If you had hit it just a little harder, this one would've gone in," he comments, motioning to the three ball that precariously leans on the edge of a corner pocket.
Junno's tone is hardly pretentious and Ryo knows it, but he still feels that little of bit of irritation niggling deep down. "Whatever," he scoffs, leaning slightly on his cue. "Just go already, Taguchi."
Junno glances at Ryo over the table, through the dimness of the room, before he leans down to set up his shot. He takes his time, seeing through all the angles and possibilities. Ryo watches intently, fascinated by this completely different Junno than the one he vaguely knows from work. He's serious-passionate even, if all the effort he is applying to this one shot says anything.
"You're taking too long." The complaint falls from Ryo's lips, unfettered. He's fascinated, but he's also irritated. He just wants to hear that loud snap again. It seems to calm him.
"Billiards is about strategy. It's not just about figuring out how to hit and pocket the ball, but it's about figuring out which ball to hit when."
Junno takes his shot at the green six ball and pockets it, calling solids and then continuing on to set up for his next shot.
After Junno makes his third consecutive shot, Ryo stops noticing, stops caring about the game. That repeated sound. LOUD, soft, soft. LOUD. LOUD, LOUD, soft. He gets lost in it. It's potential and then kinetic. It's tension and then release.
"Nishikido-kun?"
"...hm?"
"It's your turn. I missed."
"You missed?" Ryo repeats. There are only a few solid-colored balls left as opposed to all of the striped ones. "You can just keep on going. I don't care."
Junno frowns. "But that's not how the game is played."
"That's okay. Just hurry up and finish it."
"But that's-"
"Who cares! Just finish it up!"
*~*~*
Junno leans across the table for a particularly tricky shot, his torso long and his cue right along side him as he gets in close. Everything is done with an expertise that only comes with practice and time. His weight is evenly shifted, his positioning is precise, and the force used is measured appropriately.
Ryo thinks it's beautiful.
Ryo also thinks he might be drunk.
As he sinks the final eight ball, Junno looks to Ryo. "Maybe we should get going, Nishikido-kun."
"It's only three!"
"It's already three in the morning. I'm supposed to be at the office at ten."
"Since when did you become so reasonable?!"
Junno picks up Ryo's cue and puts it away for him. He then unscrews his own personal cue and carefully puts it back into its case. "It must be difficult. Working for both Kanjani8 and NEWS."
Ryo wishes he were drunker. To the point where he wouldn't be able to understand the words coming out of Junno's mouth. To the point where he wouldn't be able to answer. "I love it!" he insists with great fervor.
Junno takes him by the arm lightly, leading him through the floor of tables. "But you don't find it stressful? Double the work and the responsibility? I would be completely overwhelmed."
"That's because you're not me," Ryo retorts. "You don't have the skill or ability to balance two groups at once."
Junno doesn't say anything until they've stepped out of the billiards bar into the cool, early Tokyo morning. "Maybe not. I could never handle it as well as you do."
"No, you probably couldn't," Ryo agrees with a nod.
Within the next few minutes, Junno manages to flag down a taxi and the cold air seems to be helping Ryo as he feels the effects of his drinking slowly fading away. Junno helps Ryo into the backseat and asks, "You think you'll be okay?"
"Yeah. I'll be fine, thanks," Ryo replies awkwardly, suddenly more aware that it's Junno who's helping him.
Junno smiles. "Alright. I'll catch another taxi then."
Ryo nods. "Thanks."
"No problem. I just hope never to see you here again."
Ryo is startled by Junno's abrupt forwardness, but after a second, understands. He's a little surprised that Junno of all people gets it-that Ryo is just like one of those billiard balls before they get hit, full of tension with no release in sight-but maybe he shouldn't be. Junno is a skilled player after all, one who knows his own game.
"Yeah, me too."
the end.
author: nihongofrancais
pairing/group: Kamenashi Kazuya/Koyama Keiichiro, Nishikido Ryo/Taguchi Junnosuke
rating: PG
words: 2,839 words
notes: for grunhilda for je_holiday 2008. Beta-read by my mabudachi, anamuan, who was a source of constant gushing and encouragement. ♥ Based loosely off the structure of Won Kar-wai's wonderful Chungking Express. (if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it! :Dv)
summary: 解放 (kaihou) means release in Japanese. 解 (kai) means to unravel or understand. 放 (hou) means to set free.
Kame pulls up the collar on his jacket and buries his hands deep down into the recesses of his pockets. He closes his eyes and a gentle breeze passes, brushing against his cheeks, nipping at his nose, tickling his eyelashes. It's cold, but refreshing. He feels alive.
After a quiet moment, he opens his eyes again, red all around him. The hue of the trees as autumn sets in, the leaves dying away in brilliant fashion, demanding to be noticed. Soon enough they will fall, will litter the ground beneath his feet and he will tromp through them without a second thought as they turn rotten and brown and fade away. The sunset is behind him, a fierce orange-red, lengthening his shadow across the parking lot-larger than life for a time.
The familiar, comforting jingle of bells alerts him and Kame turns to look over at the entrance of the convenience store. His companion struggles to pocket his wallet while juggling his car keys and the two cans of warm coffee that he's just bought. His hair is red too, but is hardly in transition like everything else around Kame.
He comes over to the side of the car that Kame is leaning against and hands him a can. "BOSS is okay?" he asks, referring to the brand of coffee.
Kame rolls the can against the palm of his hand and nods. "It's fine."
Settling against his car next to Kame, he gives a satisfied nod and pops open his can. It steams for a second and he stares. "It's cold."
Kame shrugs as he drinks his coffee. "I like it. It's nice. It feels real."
He nods again in silent agreement.
"Thank you."
Startled by the sudden declaration of gratitude, he asks, "For what?"
Kame glances at his shadow-no longer larger than life as the sun appears to have already fallen behind the horizon, only the last vestiges of daylight lingering. "For bringing me out here. I needed to breathe and that just wasn't happening back at home."
He grins lightly. "I can't imagine why..."
Kame rolls his eyes. "I know, I know. It's my fault."
"I never said that," he maintains, clasping both hands around his coffee can.
"...maybe you can teach me. Teach me how to breathe."
"I'm not sure I'm the right person to be asking, Kamenashi-kun."
"I'm usually not wrong about these things, Koyama."
*~*~*
The Yokohama skyline glitters around them in the near pitch-black darkness of the late evening. Weather forecasts are calling for snow this coming weekend, but with the full moon glowing above them in the clear sky, that hardly seems possible.
Kame pulls off his Yankees' baseball hat and ruffles his newly-dyed black hair. His eyes catch on the nearby rollercoaster as people scream, riding down the big plunge to the end. "You know, I don't think I've ever ridden this before."
Koyama looks at Kame from across the carriage, focusing on Kame's face as they slowly climb higher. "Yeah, neither have I."
He can't help but notice Koyama's wide eyes and gives him a curious look in return. "Are you okay?"
Koyama shakes his head. "Not really." His hands are clasped tightly in his lap, knuckles on their way to becoming nice and white. "I'm sort of scared of heights."
Kame doesn't really believe him, so he skeptically remarks, "You're lying."
"Not lying, I promise you that."
"Then why'd you insist that we get on?!"
"It was nearby; you have to go back to filming after this right? And I thought it'd be a good breathing exercise."
Kame scoffs, folding his arms across his chest. "And what? While I was breathing, you'd sit here and practice not breathing for the entire ride?"
"I didn't think that far ahead."
Kame laughs and surprisingly, Koyama seems to visibly relax at this. If he can keep him occupied, maybe there's a chance Koyama can get out of this experience and not have constant nightmares of Ferris wheels.
"What about that one time you rode in that helicopter? You know, when Jin lost to you and Jimmy?" Despite the darkness, Kame manages to keep constant eye contact with Koyama.
Koyama is silent before he speaks. "...you mentioned Akanishi-kun."
Kame shrugs. "I can't stay pissed off forever. It's hardly productive."
"You would think of it like that." Koyama's hands are now resting on his thighs and he seems less concerned that they are at the apex of the Ferris wheel and more occupied by Kame's words.
"What's that supposed to be mean?
Koyama doesn't answer his question. "Have you talked to anyone about Akanishi-kun? About how you feel about the whole thing?"
"You mean, to the other members?" Kame looks beyond Koyama, stares out into the dark horizon. He thinks he could see the Tokyo skyline if he squints. Maybe even his house. "We don't really talk about it."
"You should!" Koyama chastises, clearly coming from his own experience. "Otherwise, aren't you just keeping it pent up inside?"
"Not really." Kame's looking directly at Koyama now, meeting his gaze. "I've learned to let it go."
Koyama scoffs. "I hardly believe that."
Kame simply shrugs once more, eyes on the baseball hat in his hands.
"What kind of life are you living?"
"I'm living. I'm working. I think it's a pretty good life."
"...you need to get a new life."
*~*~*
Kame leans over the railing, one cherry blossom petal after another drifting past his face, illuminated by the florescent lights of the train station below. The petals fall at five centimeters per second, oblivious to the fate that awaits them as they come to rest on the presently empty tracks. The waiting passengers hardly notice from the train platform, don't move to warn them, don't move to save them.
"How was the trip to New York? I haven't seen you since then."
Turning around, Kame looks at Koyama sitting at the base of the tree, shrouded in the dark of the early evening. He takes a moment to think, features pensive, before he answers. "It was good. New York is always good."
"I heard that Akanishi-kun is coming back at the end of the week." It's not so dark that Kame can't see Koyama's eyes, but Koyama's long bangs get in the way.
"Yeah," Kame pauses, and then turns the conversation on Koyama, "What about you? How is it being NEWS again?" He knows he's asked Koyama this question before, but he feels it necessary to ask once more. To show that he does see Koyama. (That this isn't all one way.)
"It's good. Everything's different, but it's the same. It's good to be complete again. You'll know how that feels soon too."
Kame nods and ponders that. To be six again, to let Jin back into the fold. There was a time he didn't think he wanted to, but he's since let that go. He thinks maybe he's ready now. Ready for everything to be different, but the same.
"It'll be part of a new start," Kame declares after a long moment, stepping away from the railing. "A new life."
Koyama smiles, but Kame can't help but notice that it doesn't seem quite as genuine as the others that he has witnessed during the span of their strangely-shaped friendship. "To a new life with a new KAT-TUN, Akanishi-kun back in the fold." Koyama doesn't say more, but it seems like he wanted to to Kame.
Kame bridges the space between them and ends up plopping down on the ground next to Koyama. "You'll have to help me manage it all," Kame insists. "I don't know if I'll be able to make the adjustment on my own."
"I'm sure you can. Akanishi-kun will be back and-"
"Jin'll be busy with himself. Besides, I don't want his help." Kame gently bumps his shoulder against Koyama's. "I'd rather have you around. You're an expert."
"I'm an expert?" Koyama repeats slowly, his voice unsure.
"You're an expert." Kame emphatically declares. "And even if you weren't, I'd still want you around."
At first he gives a small grin, but once Koyama glances his way and meets his eyes, Kame finds himself breaking out into a wide smile that he struggles to reign in for fear of appearing utterly stupid. Koyama smiles back, and this time, it's full and bright and everything that Kame has come to expect from Koyama's smiles.
Kame doesn't like to be wrong, because when he's right, it just makes everything that much sweeter.
Just as Koyama's getting ready to leave the dressing room, he spots Ryo fast asleep on the long sofa. "Ryo!" Koyama calls out, gently shaking his shoulder.
Ryo startles from his sleep, and blinks a few times before his vision focuses on Koyama above him. "...oh, Koyama. Shit. Did I fall asleep?"
Koyama nods sympathetically. "You did. Everyone else is already gone."
"Thanks." Ryo sits up, and runs a hand through his hair to straighten it out. "I would've slept here all night if you hadn't woken me up."
"Has it been that busy lately?"
Ryo stretches his arms above his head and lets out a long yawn. "Yeah. Mostly stuff for the prefecture tour with Kanjani8, but add the NEWS stuff on top of that and it's kind of been a lot."
"Take care of yourself, Ryo-chan. Don't burn out," Koyama advises with all the concern appropriate of the mother hen of the group.
"I'll try not to," Ryo assures with a small smile.
"Shouldn't you be at home playing video games or something?"
He ignores Ryo's pointed question and replies with a question of his own. "Since when have you been into billiards, Nishikido-kun?"
Ryo shrugs, takes another drink from his mug of beer. "Not really interested."
He blinks, rather confused, and looks around the establishment that is full up with billiard tables. "Then why are you here?"
Ryo is quick to answer, turning to wave down the bartender in the process. "I heard the beer here was good and cheap." The bartender arrives. "Another mug of the same, please."
"You heard right. But isn't it late? Don't you have work in the morning?"
Ryo looks over at him, noting the concern on his face. It's strangely irritating and comforting at the same time, though he doesn't tell him that. "Don't you have work in the morning too, Taguchi?" he retorts instead.
Junno gives a wide, awkward smile as if caught with his hand in the cookie jar though he's never been a huge fan of cookies. "...yeah, but I'm actually here to play billiards, not drink."
It's Ryo's turn to blink in confusion. "Since when you do play billiards?"
"It's something I picked up last year," Junno replies. "Kind of an addiction."
"I suppose it's better than being a video game otaku."
"But I still play video games too! Lately, I've been playing computer games that you can play online with people from around the world and-"
"Weren't you going to play billiards?" Ryo interrupts Junno before he talks his ear off. He doesn't really want to make small talk with someone he hardly knows when all he came here for was the beer (and maybe a place to relax).
Junno quiets; Ryo's slightly snappish tone is telling enough. The bartender arrives with Ryo's beer and then turns to him. "Taguchi-san, aren't you going to play tonight?"
"Yeah, just about to," Junno returns with a friendly smile then turns back to Ryo. "You should come play too, Nishikido-kun. It's a good way to unwind after a long day."
The bartender leaves to attend to another customer and Junno descends the stairs from the raised bar to join the other billiard players in the main area. Ryo finds his gaze following Junno as he weaves through the tables, occasionally stopping, talking, and laughing with people he assumes are friends. Watching Junno interact with the others with familiarity and ease despite being an idol tickles something uncomfortable in Ryo so he reaches for his beer, taking a large gulp, forcefully washing it away.
*~*~*
Ryo stands back and watches as the cue ball collides with the cleanly racked balls, sending all fifteen of them scattering across the dark green felt with a sharp snapping sound. He thinks he likes that sound. All that momentum, all that pressure releasing in one clear-cut moment, the beginning of everything.
Since Ryo fails to pocket any balls, Junno takes over. The taller man wanders along his side of the table, sizing up where the varied balls have stopped. "If you had hit it just a little harder, this one would've gone in," he comments, motioning to the three ball that precariously leans on the edge of a corner pocket.
Junno's tone is hardly pretentious and Ryo knows it, but he still feels that little of bit of irritation niggling deep down. "Whatever," he scoffs, leaning slightly on his cue. "Just go already, Taguchi."
Junno glances at Ryo over the table, through the dimness of the room, before he leans down to set up his shot. He takes his time, seeing through all the angles and possibilities. Ryo watches intently, fascinated by this completely different Junno than the one he vaguely knows from work. He's serious-passionate even, if all the effort he is applying to this one shot says anything.
"You're taking too long." The complaint falls from Ryo's lips, unfettered. He's fascinated, but he's also irritated. He just wants to hear that loud snap again. It seems to calm him.
"Billiards is about strategy. It's not just about figuring out how to hit and pocket the ball, but it's about figuring out which ball to hit when."
Junno takes his shot at the green six ball and pockets it, calling solids and then continuing on to set up for his next shot.
After Junno makes his third consecutive shot, Ryo stops noticing, stops caring about the game. That repeated sound. LOUD, soft, soft. LOUD. LOUD, LOUD, soft. He gets lost in it. It's potential and then kinetic. It's tension and then release.
"Nishikido-kun?"
"...hm?"
"It's your turn. I missed."
"You missed?" Ryo repeats. There are only a few solid-colored balls left as opposed to all of the striped ones. "You can just keep on going. I don't care."
Junno frowns. "But that's not how the game is played."
"That's okay. Just hurry up and finish it."
"But that's-"
"Who cares! Just finish it up!"
*~*~*
Junno leans across the table for a particularly tricky shot, his torso long and his cue right along side him as he gets in close. Everything is done with an expertise that only comes with practice and time. His weight is evenly shifted, his positioning is precise, and the force used is measured appropriately.
Ryo thinks it's beautiful.
Ryo also thinks he might be drunk.
As he sinks the final eight ball, Junno looks to Ryo. "Maybe we should get going, Nishikido-kun."
"It's only three!"
"It's already three in the morning. I'm supposed to be at the office at ten."
"Since when did you become so reasonable?!"
Junno picks up Ryo's cue and puts it away for him. He then unscrews his own personal cue and carefully puts it back into its case. "It must be difficult. Working for both Kanjani8 and NEWS."
Ryo wishes he were drunker. To the point where he wouldn't be able to understand the words coming out of Junno's mouth. To the point where he wouldn't be able to answer. "I love it!" he insists with great fervor.
Junno takes him by the arm lightly, leading him through the floor of tables. "But you don't find it stressful? Double the work and the responsibility? I would be completely overwhelmed."
"That's because you're not me," Ryo retorts. "You don't have the skill or ability to balance two groups at once."
Junno doesn't say anything until they've stepped out of the billiards bar into the cool, early Tokyo morning. "Maybe not. I could never handle it as well as you do."
"No, you probably couldn't," Ryo agrees with a nod.
Within the next few minutes, Junno manages to flag down a taxi and the cold air seems to be helping Ryo as he feels the effects of his drinking slowly fading away. Junno helps Ryo into the backseat and asks, "You think you'll be okay?"
"Yeah. I'll be fine, thanks," Ryo replies awkwardly, suddenly more aware that it's Junno who's helping him.
Junno smiles. "Alright. I'll catch another taxi then."
Ryo nods. "Thanks."
"No problem. I just hope never to see you here again."
Ryo is startled by Junno's abrupt forwardness, but after a second, understands. He's a little surprised that Junno of all people gets it-that Ryo is just like one of those billiard balls before they get hit, full of tension with no release in sight-but maybe he shouldn't be. Junno is a skilled player after all, one who knows his own game.
"Yeah, me too."
the end.