A Name's Curse - Chapter 7
Pairing: Ohmiya
Rating: PG
Genre: Romance, AU, Drama
Summary: Nino’s father, a member of the Japanese legislature passed a bill allowing same-sex marriage in Japan. In accordance to this bill, Nino married Ohno who was just a mere stranger until recently. Before their marriage was announced to the public, Ohno had a chat with Nino's ex-girlfriend. :)
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Chapter 7
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“My name is Kuroki Meisa. I am Kazu’s ex-girlfriend.”
Ohno’s heart started pounding rapidly with the countless possibilities of why Nino’s ex-girlfiend would want to have a chat with him. Wanting Nino back, threatening Ohno if he didn’t let Nino go, revealing Nino’s dark past, telling him about her love life with Nino that would undeniably make him jealous (not that he had any reason to be since they relationship was a mere hoax). The possibilities that his imagination could fathom were endless leaving him in a state of dread, even more so with the looming announcement of their marriage in public.
“Ohno-kun?” Meisa called out uncertainly as he watched Ohno being drifted away with his thoughts as company.
“You can ask me whatever you like,” she offered with a pleasant smile and a carefree turn of her body.
“Why do you want to talk to me?” Ohno asked carefully.
“I told you: I am Kazu’s ex-girlfriend.” She repeated, making Ohno feel uncomfortable with the atmosphere. He knew that already; she didn’t need to repeat it for emphasis. Geez! “I just figured you would want to ask me something about Nino in general since you have made an outrageous decision of marrying him.” She said lightly.
Ohno pondered for a while. He was with a girl who was as good as a Pandora’s box of Nino’s past, willingly letting him have a peek at Nino’s personality, history and everything that he wasn’t yet familiar with regarding the man.
“Kazu,” Ohno said in an inquisitive tone.
Meisa was sensitive enough to deduce what Ohno was trying to ask. “Kazu. We were childhood friends along with Becky, your friend in the university. I’ve heard a lot about you from her. Anyway, I’ve called him Kazu ever since. Hard to break the habit, right?” Meisa said as she shyly looked away.
Ohno sensed that she still had lingering affection for Nino. There was just something in the way she said ‘Kazu’ that Ohno couldn’t quite put a finger on. “Don’t worry. We broke up way before he met you; there’s no reason to be jealous.” She said as if reading Ohno’s thoughts.
“Why did you break up with him, then?” Ohno asked the very question that had been nagging him ever since he heard the word ex-girlfriend. Ex. What did Nino do that made Kuroki-san want to leave him?
Hearing an amused laugh from Meisa was far from Ohno’s expectations.
“What made you think I was the one who ended the relationship?” Meisa asked. The corners of her eyes still wrinkled in laughter.
“He broke up with me,” she simply said.
Ohno just stood there stupidly, mouth agape, having difficulty taking the information in. He couldn’t think of a reason why Nino would want to break up with such a wonderful girl.
He finally concluded that Nino was indeed stupid.
“Why?”
“He thought… He thought I deserved someone better than him. He thought he was a hindrance in my pursuit of my dreams. He thought…” Meisa said in an undertone of sad memories washing over. “He thought it was for the best,” she whispered, loud enough for Ohno to clearly hear her as well as the emotions that were stirring inside her.
Ohno quietly listened and replied with silence. He wasn’t knowledgeable in the art of comforting other people with words, much less a broken-hearted woman. He took advantage of the silence to try to comprehend the implication of Meisa’s story.
“What do you think of Kazu, Ohno-kun?” the question took him by surprise. He was the one who was supposed to be in the questioning side of the conversation after all.
Truth be told, he has never taken the time to ponder on that question before.
He was at a loss as to how to answer that question so he decided to start with the basics, with the obvious, just for the sake of answering. “He… He studies Business Administration in the university. He works in a convenience store in weekends. He likes to play games. He is the son of-”
“I am not asking for Nino’s biography, Ohno-kun.” Meisa chided patiently. “I am asking what you think of him.”
Ohno sighed; he couldn’t get away that easily after all. “He likes to tease and make pranks. He is self-confident and persistent. He is arrogant and so full of himself. But sometimes…” Ohno’s voice getting softer, “Sometimes, he’s strangely kind. And there are times when I have absolutely no idea what he’s thinking of.”
Meisa remained silent after Ohno’s reply. Ohno worried if his answer was wrong, if it was not enough and if he should add something more. But what worried him the most was that maybe the Nino he knew was not the actual Nino. The possibility that he knew nothing about the real Nino terrified him.
Meisa was pensive and talked slowly as if she was trying to be precise with her description. She was careful to come up with the right words, as if one wrong word could be an insult to her memory of Nino. “He’s sensitive - more sensitive than an average person. He puts on a carefree facade, appearing to be contented with playing games all day, but I am certain the gears in his brain were in overdrive then, thinking of something else entirely. He thinks too much. He worries too much.” Meisa ranted, a pout forming on her lips.
“He’s too kind for his own good,” she finished.
“Ohno-kun,” Meisa waited for Ohno to turn to her with his full attention. “Nino has inferiority complex.” Ohno’s only reaction was eyebrows scrunched in bewilderment.
They have reached the part of the garden where the fountain was placed. It was a huge one, about twice the size of Ohno, adorned with lights that emanate a turquoise glow, darker at the bottom gradually getting lighter at the top. It was a sight to behold especially at night, with the lights adding an elegant radiance to it.
Despite the length of time Ohno had been living in the Ninomiya residence, he had yet to appreciate the beauty of that fountain that was already situated there even before Nino was born. It was an antique masterpiece that Nino’s grandfather himself crafted with glass as material. It has been preserved and was now gloriously located at the center of the garden.
Drawn to it like magnet, like a moth to a flame, an art enthusiast like Ohno Satoshi would have eyes ogling at such a brilliant work at a different time. However, right then he was too absorbed in his own thoughts to notice his immediate surroundings.
Meisa sat on the enclosure of the fountain, with her hands stretched to feel the splatters of cold water that touch her skin. She was watching Ohno at the corner of her eye as she waited for him to snap out of his reverie.
“This is just my selfish assumption but - I think he feels he doesn’t deserve to be loved,” she said, making Ohno gaze at her searchingly. Seeing the sadness and remorse on her face, he knew. He believed.
But he was still in denial. “Maybe that was only in the past. Maybe he has changed now.”
“Maybe. Hopefully.” She breathed with a heavy sigh. “You know what my biggest regret in life is? The reason why sometimes I couldn’t sleep at night, why sometimes amidst a funny conversation I get hit with mysterious bout of sadness, and the same reason why I’m talking to you right now?”
Ohno averted his gaze and stared at the flow of water at the fountain finally. He was seeing but not looking, for how can one perceive beauty at such a heavy topic of conversation?
“I regretted letting him go.” Meisa stood up and walked towards Ohno. “I wish I was more selfish, you know? More possessive...” She placed a hand on his shoulder and said, “I know it’s not right for me to say this to you, knowing that you two are married and all. But Ohno-kun, I just don’t want you to make the same mistake of letting go. Because I know - oh, believe me, I know - how hard it is to recover and try to forget,” she said with a soft smile. “I wish I could have been the one to make him realize that he does, in fact, deserve to be loved.”
“ But he is with you now.” She said giving his shoulder a soft squeeze for encouragement. “If you love him - or if you will fall in love with him in the future-” Ohno lifted his head rather too quickly for subtlety and glanced at her. Ohno knew at once that she had full knowledge of the relationship between Nino and him - that it was just a mere negotiation with no feelings involved.
Those knowing eyes said it all.
“Let him know. Make him feel it.” Her face drawing closer to Ohno’s to stress her next point. “Because if you don’t, I will not hesitate to steal him away from you,” she ended with a playful wink.
“OI! What are you two doing there?” the two heard Nino’s voice calling out.
Ohno hastily stepped back, almost tripping backwards in the process. His face was flushed; he cursed himself inwardly for being easily affected. His heart was working in overdrive and he was almost glad Nino interrupted them.
Ohno didn’t get to ask Meisa what could possibly be the cause of Nino’s self-doubt and low self-esteem because the very topic of their conversation unceremoniously appeared with his loud high-pitched voice.
“OI! You two aren’t having some secret conversation about me, are you?”
“Not everything in the world revolves around you, Kazu.” Meisa huffed. Only upon seeing her closely and hearing her voice did he believe that it was really his childhood friend.
“Mei-chan! You came! I thought you were busy with your work in New York so I didn’t invite you.” Nino said as he took her in his arms in a warm, friendly embrace. He was clueless of Ohno’s awkwardness of seeing their ardent reunion.
Ohno placed his hands in the pockets of his pants and averted his gaze. He wish he had the power to be invisible or to teleport because he certainly didn’t want to be in the presence of the happy couple right then.
“Of course I came! I wouldn’t dare miss your birthday party even if I was already at the brink of death. Besides, a little break from work wouldn’t be so bad. I will be staying in Tokyo for a while.” Meisa said excitedly. “We will be neighbours again for a while. Please treat me kindly,” she said with a comical bow.
Ohno was trying to quell the alarm and dread that was steadily growing in him upon hearing such news.
It didn’t make sense. The proximity of Nino’s ex-girlfriends should not concern him, right?
Rule #1 was not to fall in love with each other. Rule #2 was not to meddle with each other’s lives. Ohno confidently agreed to the provision of their contract.
“You are not trying to steal my Oh-chan away from me, are you?” Nino said playfully, referring to the state of physical closeness of the two when Nino found them. Ohno tensed but Meisa just brushed off Nino’s insinuation with a wave of her hand.
Remembering what he came for, Nino roughly grabbed Ohno’s wrist, “I need to borrow my husband for a while if you don’t mind,” he said rather smugly earning him a roll of eyes from Meisa.
Nino walked in a steady pace towards the far side of the garden near the fence, pulling Ohno along with him and refusing to let go of his wrist. Ohno wondered what Nino wanted, where he was taking him and why, but Ohno decided to keep his mouth shut and contented himself instead with just watching his feet to make sure he didn’t trip.
“Here are the cosmos flowers,” Nino said as he abruptly stopped on his tracks, finally letting go of Ohno’s wrist. Ohno massaged it as he looked up at the area dotted with flowers in colors pink, white and purple.
“It was already here even before I started arranging the garden. Can you see weeds and the wild grass? They live with those yet they still survive and bloom beautifully,” Nino said, not waiting for Ohno’s reply. “I think cosmos flowers symbolize beauty through adversity.”
Ohno nodded in spite of his confusion why Nino wanted to talk about flowers just a few minutes before the start of the party.
Nino continued to stare admiringly at the flowers. As he surveyed the area, he noticed at a low area, close to the soil a flower that was peculiar, with its color different from the rest. It was yellow. It was the only yellow flower there.
Nino squatted down without worrying about dirtying his elegant suit. He snapped the stem at the point closest to the root and fiddled with it in concentration. Ohno watched him for a while but eventually got bored and just stared at the general direction of the reception area, wondering if they were already needed there despite wishing otherwise.
Ohno suddenly felt warmth on the palm of his left hand. Tracing the source, he found Nino holding it and inserting the yellow cosmos flower on his finger. Nino crafted the stem into a ring, with a size just perfect for Ohno.
The receiver of the improvised ring giggled. “That is so cheesy, Nino! As in cheap teenage romance soap opera cheesy!” clapping his hands in amusement of Nino’s idea.
With cheeks turning a darker shade of pink, Nino looked down in embarrassment. “It’s because you have been acting jumpy since this morning. I thought if I do something strange, it would amuse you and help you calm down in some way.” He pouted.
Ohno’s expression softened as he stared at Nino and then at the cosmos with its stem snugly fit in his left ring finger. “I like it. Thanks.”
With those words as encouragement, Nino slowly looked up. “Thank you for marrying me, Oh-chan,” Nino gently said with that youthful twinkle in his eyes which charmed Ohno whenever he saw it. Captivated, he couldn’t look away.
Nino took Ohno’s cheeks with his hands and kissed the top of Ohno’s head. Ohno was overcome with emotion but he tried to hide it.
In a matter of minutes, he would be acknowledged as a Ninomiya and just what awaited him, he had no idea of, but like his favourite phrase said “we wouldn’t know until we try.”
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To be continued...
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AN: I apologize for the lateness.. I seem to be lacking creative juices lately...