The Boat
GENRE: General
RATING: G
NOTES: I wrote this for the contest in ohno_daily for Ohno’s birthday.
At the beginning of November, the rest Arashi started to think about what they would get Ohno for his birthday. Since the time together they had before and after each TV show was barely enough to mention the idea let alone talk about it in depth without Ohno noticing, the four decided to arrange a time to meet for lunch. It was on the second Monday before his birthday, right after the Sapporo concerts, and they were clearly running low on time. Even though the four of them were extremely busy, they weren’t so busy that they couldn’t arrange time to meet each other. They decided on a yakiniku restaurant in Shibuya that all of them could make it to, even if it was just for an hour.
Jun was the first to arrive, never wanting to be late especially because he was the one who came up with the idea. Sho was next, and he walked in talking on his cell, making arrangements about an interview for News Zero. He quickly finished as he noticed Jun waiting, and ran over to him.
“Always early, Matsujun. I thought I would be first,” he said as he grinned at the younger man.
“Don’t worry about it. We’re all busy. I’m just surprised you can make it. It seems like you’re doing more than the rest of us,” Jun said with a hint of worry in his voice.
“It’s nothing. I can’t survive if I’m not busy.” He adjusted his tie and was ready to ask Jun about his life, when he noticed Nino walking in the door with Aiba behind him. Aiba raised his hand in a ‘hello,’ but Nino gestured over his shoulder to Aiba, saying, “Look what I found wandering the streets near the station,” as he rolled his eyes and smiled.
As the waitress led them to their table in the back Sho asked, “What happened this time?”
Aiba giggled and explained, “I thought I knew where this place was, but I must have gotten the directions messed up.” He giggled again as he took his seat with the others. “It’s a good thing Nino came along, or I would still be standing there.”
“You should have called me, silly!” Sho said in a motherly tone.
“I did, but it was busy!” Aiba retorted.
“Sorry, News Zero stuff has been keeping me busy. But you could have at least left a message or something.” Sho fired back, a grin gracing his lips.
“Nino came along before I got a chance.” Aiba answered, looking to Nino with appreciation in his eyes.
“Thank goodness for me. I’m not one to save the day, but I have been known to save Aiba occasionally.” Nino grinned impishly at Aiba, who was sitting across from him. Jun, sitting next to him on the outside, was intently reading the menu, and was the first to order when the waitress came.
Once that was done with, he brought up the whole reason they were here. “Well guys as far as I know, no one has gotten Riida anything, and yesterday he mentioned that he wanted a boat during the MC when we asked him. I know we can’t afford that, even if we pooled our money. Actually, we can’t afford a real one, but we can afford a fake one.”
Only blank stares greeted him. Nino was the first to pipe up. “What do you mean a ‘fake’ one? Wouldn’t that be cheesy?” Just then, the waitress came with the orders and Jun was first to start grilling.
Sho began laughing when she left. “Like Matsujun’s coat wasn’t cheesy?” He was referring to the yellow one covered in sequins that they presented to him on his most recent birthday.
Aiba giggled and added, “I knew that was silly. And if I knew, everyone else must have thought it was crazy.” He looked at Nino and Sho after a minute.
“It wasn’t entirely crazy. At least I know that you all love me enough to spend your money on something like that,” Jun smiled staring at the grill. “Here, this batch is ready.” Everyone took their chopsticks and grabbed some.
Sho was the first to comment, “Oh, it’s so delicious.”
Everyone was busy stuffing their faces, until Nino put his chopsticks down and looked to Jun, inquiring, “So you are you saying we should buy a toy boat?”
While busily putting the next batch of meat on, Jun answered, “I guess you could say that. But, if each of us got him something boat related, like even a t-shirt with a boat on it that would be fine. For example, someone could get like a bath toy boat, another could get a shirt, another….”
“A baseball cap!” Sho chimed in with his mouth still full.
“Exactly. You know, since he has enough lures, fishing rods, paint brushes, and pencils to last a lifetime. It’s us. It doesn’t have to be serious. And if we did want to be serious, we could give him some money or something.”
“Or we could just get him a statue of a boat or something. You know, for decoration.” Aiba said, pointing to Jun while his chopsticks were still in his hand. As soon as he finished talking, he shoved another piece of beef in his mouth.
“That could actually work,” Sho was quick to add. “What do you think, Matsujun?”
Jun grinned and answered, “That’s really a better idea than mine. He would probably throw the other stuff away in time, but who throws away something that looks like it was expensive?”
“Yeah, even though a boat that heavy kind of defeats the purpose of being a boat. Even we know that, right Masaki?” Their table burst into laughter.
Nino was the first to recover, and said as he reached for another piece of meat, “Well, it’s either the toys or a nice statue, and I say a nice statue. So, how much are we spending on this thing?”
“I guess it would depend on how much it costs. Anyone have any ideas?” Sho questioned.
“Oh, I know! I saw a nice statue in a catalogue that my mom had. I automatically thought of Captain when I saw it, too. I could always call my brother and get him to find out how much it is.” Aiba’s mouth was full, but that didn’t deter him from talking.
“Right now?” Nino shot him a look of disbelief in mid-reach for more food.
“Sure, he should be home. I’ll be right back.” Aiba motioned for Sho, who willingly obeyed, to move and he ran out of the store, onto the street. The others stuffed themselves while he was out and made small talk.
Aiba rushed back in with a smile on his face a moment later. “Guys great news!” he exclaimed as he slid back into his seat. “Unfortunately the shipping takes 2 weeks. The good news is that the boat is only 20,000 yen (225 US $), and the best part is that you can get the same statue at one of the stores in Aeon!! All we have to do is go and get it!!”
“Let’s do rock paper scissors,” Jun said after a moment of silence. Aiba groaned to himself, since he had the worst luck in the group, but he put his fist in. After two rounds, it was decided that Nino was going to go get it.
“Ugh, just so everyone gives me the money before we leave here.” He grinned, since he didn’t mind going to get the present for his best friend. At that moment, everyone took out their wallets and handed him 5000 yen since they didn’t know when they could meet up again before the special day.
It was about time to leave, so they did rock paper scissors again to decide who would pay for the meal. Jun’s luck ran out this time. “Well, I guess that’s what I get for coming up with this thing,” he said with a smile on his face. They all got up and made their way to the door except Jun, who walked to the counter. The others shouted, “Thanks for the meal!” as they passed the counter. Jun paid as quickly as he could, grabbed a toothpick, and hurried out to meet the rest. He brought up what they were going to do on the day of, which they decided in record time. Finally, they all said their good-byes and good luck to each other, then went their separate ways.
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Later that day, Nino had no trouble finding the statue after work. It was made of bronze, about 12 inches (30 cm) in length, almost the same in height because of the sails, and was a replica of an 18th century English passenger ship. They had also decided that Nino had to buy a card, but he didn’t tell the others that he had a nice collection at home just for such an occasion that he could choose from. Anything so that he could pay less money at the cash register. At Aeon the attendants boxed and wrapped the statue for him, so that was nothing to worry about. He texted the others when he got home to tell them he had found and bought the statue. They responded with messages which basically said, ‘that was rather quick and painless, good job!’ Nino grinned to himself after reading them before sitting down to turn on the DS.
The next week and a half went by relatively fast, besides the special event at Disney Sea. Ohno had messaged them all once to ask if they wanted to do something on his birthday, his treat. Each of them had knowingly responded that they were too busy, and maybe they could do something on the weekend. Well, this was fine with him, since his family would probably have something for him anyway. What the others had decided outside the yakiniku restaurant was that they would pretend to be busy on Thursday night, but they would arrange their schedules so that they were not. Also, on Thursday morning Nino would text Ohno and tell him that his schedule had cleared, and that they should get together that evening around seven. Everyone else would come to Nino’s house two hours before that time, and surprise their leader when he walked in the door. Of course, someone had to tell Ohno’s family so that they wouldn’t plan something for him that night, and Sho had been elected to do that. He made sure to do it the first spare five minutes he had. Ohno’s mother was the one to answer the phone, and she had no problem since she loved the rest of Arashi like her own sons.
On the day of the party, Nino actually took the day off after lunch just so he could get everything ready. The others were bringing food and some decorations, but he wanted the house to be clean. He was also making side dishes for karaage.
Ten minutes before five, Jun was the first to arrive. He brought things to make karaage and wanted to get an early start. Nino had just finished getting the dishes and pans Jun would need to make the fried chicken, when Aiba arrived. Arashi’s mood-maker brought a cake he made himself that surprisingly turned out well, as the others would tell him later. He had frosted it with vanilla icing and written “Happy Birthday Riida” on it and decorated it with wax fish. Last to arrive was Arashi’s newscaster since he had drama shooting to attend to, but he brought the majority of the decorations since the others had decided it would probably be better if he didn’t cook or bake anything. Nino’s apartment was a flurry of activity until five minutes before seven, when they all ducked behind furniture, party crackers in hand. Everyone that was except Nino, whom they trusted to bring out the lit cake after the others had greeted Riida with the crackers.
Meanwhile, Ohno had been feeling a little out of sorts the whole day since Nino was the only one who was going to party with him tonight. As much as he loved his best friend, he felt a little jealous that the others all had had birthday parties which almost everyone had been able to attend. He tried his best to ignore it and just think that his family might have something for him in the day time, but six o’clock came and went and no one was home yet. He had even stayed inside and drew all day rather than go fishing just in case. At a quarter after six, he decided that he should catch the train so he could make it to Nino’s with time to spare. With a sigh, he gathered his coat and left the house, making his way to the train station. Once he was on the train, he started pondering what the others’ schedules would be at that time and hoped that they were getting adequate sleep since they couldn’t even make time to spend with him. He didn’t like feeling so selfish, but it was hard not to be. It wasn’t even that they couldn’t spend time with him, it was that they were really so busy. Was the price of their popularity? He really didn’t have time to think about it since the stop near Nino’s apartment had just been called, so he stood up and walked to the opposite door from the side he was sitting on. When the doors opened, he got off the train, followed the crowd to the stairs, made his way up and through the long halls, put his ticket in the ticket machine, turned left outside the station, and began walking down the street toward Nino’s apartment.
As he arrived at the door, he thought he heard talking, but dismissed the voices as the neighbors’ because he knew Nino was alone. He knocked, and Nino yelled, “It’s open!” Opening the door and stepping into the darkness, he noticed that the only light in the whole place looked like it was coming from a candle in the kitchen. He tried to remember when Nino had put a candle in the kitchen as he took off his shoes, when suddenly three loud cracks surprised him. Then he heard familiar voices shout, “Surprise!!” as someone flicked on the lights, which allowed him to see Aiba, Jun, and Sho smiling back at him. He was speechless as Nino came around the corner from the kitchen, carrying a cake and beginning to sing, “Happy birthday to you…” The others joined in, and by the time the last line was finished, Nino was standing right in front of him, grinning like a school boy and holding the cake out to him so he could blow out the candles. He blew them out and tears came to his eyes.
“What’s wrong, Satoshi, smoke get in your eyes?” Sho was the first to appear next to Nino.
“No, it’s just that I just had my mind so set on the idea that you all were so busy that you couldn’t even celebrate my birthday with me, and I really hoped you were all doing okay, and that your work was going okay, and then you showed up, and now I’m basically in shock.” He really looked ready to cry, but laughed nervously. Nino passed the cake to Sho, and stepped forward to tightly embrace Ohno. It wasn’t two seconds before Jun threw his arms around the two of them, then Aiba followed suit, and after putting the cake down, Sho tried to get his arms around the other four, but failed and just squeezed.
Jun was the first to speak, saying, “We wouldn’t miss this for the world, Satoshi. You’re part of Arashi which means you get a birthday party like the rest of us.”
Tears were now freely rolling down the oldest man’s face. In a voice that was clearly heavy with emotion, he said, “Thanks guys. You’re the best friends a guy could ask for, especially a guy like me who only wants to fish and draw all day.”
Aiba laughed and said, “It’s fine, since you guys are the only one who could like someone like me.”
Sho added, “And you guys are the only ones who could keep up with me, and sometimes not even then.”
After a moment had gone by, Nino said, “You know, I love you guys, but it’s getting a little tight in here. I think I’m losing my ability to breathe.” They broke into laughter, and quickly let go.
Jun and Aiba went to get the food, and Sho put the cake in the refrigerator. Nino ran to get the present from his room, and Ohno just sat down on the couch, feeling better than he had in a while.
When everyone was back, Sho declared that the birthday boy should open his present before they started eating. Everyone agreed, and Nino put the box on Ohno’s lap before plopping down next to him. “Aw, you guys didn’t have to get me anything. Just being here is enough!” Ohno said, feeling teary again.
Aiba quickly retorted, “What would a birthday be without a present? Now hurry up and open it!” With encouragement from the others, Ohno unwrapped the gift, trying not to ruin the paper. Everyone else stared at him in anticipation, wondering what he would think of it.
As he lifted Styrofoam casing out of the box, he spoke his thoughts aloud: “Why is it so heavy?!” The others laughed and told him to keep going. Of course he did, and the moment he saw the statue, he threw his head back and started laughing. “I asked for a boat, and you guys really got me one! How nice…” he said, turning it this way and that as he admired it.
“I’m glad you get the joke,” Jun commented with a smile on his lips.
“Yeah, it was Jun’s idea,” Nino piped in.
“No, actually it was Masaki’s,” Sho corrected him.
“I don’t care whose it was. You guys really out did yourselves. I’m so lucky to have you guys as friends. You're the best!!” He chuckled, put the box down beside him, and picked up a pair of chopsticks. “Now, let’s feast on karaage!” he exclaimed as picked up the first piece and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing contentedly. Everyone was right behind him.
RATING: G
NOTES: I wrote this for the contest in ohno_daily for Ohno’s birthday.
At the beginning of November, the rest Arashi started to think about what they would get Ohno for his birthday. Since the time together they had before and after each TV show was barely enough to mention the idea let alone talk about it in depth without Ohno noticing, the four decided to arrange a time to meet for lunch. It was on the second Monday before his birthday, right after the Sapporo concerts, and they were clearly running low on time. Even though the four of them were extremely busy, they weren’t so busy that they couldn’t arrange time to meet each other. They decided on a yakiniku restaurant in Shibuya that all of them could make it to, even if it was just for an hour.
Jun was the first to arrive, never wanting to be late especially because he was the one who came up with the idea. Sho was next, and he walked in talking on his cell, making arrangements about an interview for News Zero. He quickly finished as he noticed Jun waiting, and ran over to him.
“Always early, Matsujun. I thought I would be first,” he said as he grinned at the younger man.
“Don’t worry about it. We’re all busy. I’m just surprised you can make it. It seems like you’re doing more than the rest of us,” Jun said with a hint of worry in his voice.
“It’s nothing. I can’t survive if I’m not busy.” He adjusted his tie and was ready to ask Jun about his life, when he noticed Nino walking in the door with Aiba behind him. Aiba raised his hand in a ‘hello,’ but Nino gestured over his shoulder to Aiba, saying, “Look what I found wandering the streets near the station,” as he rolled his eyes and smiled.
As the waitress led them to their table in the back Sho asked, “What happened this time?”
Aiba giggled and explained, “I thought I knew where this place was, but I must have gotten the directions messed up.” He giggled again as he took his seat with the others. “It’s a good thing Nino came along, or I would still be standing there.”
“You should have called me, silly!” Sho said in a motherly tone.
“I did, but it was busy!” Aiba retorted.
“Sorry, News Zero stuff has been keeping me busy. But you could have at least left a message or something.” Sho fired back, a grin gracing his lips.
“Nino came along before I got a chance.” Aiba answered, looking to Nino with appreciation in his eyes.
“Thank goodness for me. I’m not one to save the day, but I have been known to save Aiba occasionally.” Nino grinned impishly at Aiba, who was sitting across from him. Jun, sitting next to him on the outside, was intently reading the menu, and was the first to order when the waitress came.
Once that was done with, he brought up the whole reason they were here. “Well guys as far as I know, no one has gotten Riida anything, and yesterday he mentioned that he wanted a boat during the MC when we asked him. I know we can’t afford that, even if we pooled our money. Actually, we can’t afford a real one, but we can afford a fake one.”
Only blank stares greeted him. Nino was the first to pipe up. “What do you mean a ‘fake’ one? Wouldn’t that be cheesy?” Just then, the waitress came with the orders and Jun was first to start grilling.
Sho began laughing when she left. “Like Matsujun’s coat wasn’t cheesy?” He was referring to the yellow one covered in sequins that they presented to him on his most recent birthday.
Aiba giggled and added, “I knew that was silly. And if I knew, everyone else must have thought it was crazy.” He looked at Nino and Sho after a minute.
“It wasn’t entirely crazy. At least I know that you all love me enough to spend your money on something like that,” Jun smiled staring at the grill. “Here, this batch is ready.” Everyone took their chopsticks and grabbed some.
Sho was the first to comment, “Oh, it’s so delicious.”
Everyone was busy stuffing their faces, until Nino put his chopsticks down and looked to Jun, inquiring, “So you are you saying we should buy a toy boat?”
While busily putting the next batch of meat on, Jun answered, “I guess you could say that. But, if each of us got him something boat related, like even a t-shirt with a boat on it that would be fine. For example, someone could get like a bath toy boat, another could get a shirt, another….”
“A baseball cap!” Sho chimed in with his mouth still full.
“Exactly. You know, since he has enough lures, fishing rods, paint brushes, and pencils to last a lifetime. It’s us. It doesn’t have to be serious. And if we did want to be serious, we could give him some money or something.”
“Or we could just get him a statue of a boat or something. You know, for decoration.” Aiba said, pointing to Jun while his chopsticks were still in his hand. As soon as he finished talking, he shoved another piece of beef in his mouth.
“That could actually work,” Sho was quick to add. “What do you think, Matsujun?”
Jun grinned and answered, “That’s really a better idea than mine. He would probably throw the other stuff away in time, but who throws away something that looks like it was expensive?”
“Yeah, even though a boat that heavy kind of defeats the purpose of being a boat. Even we know that, right Masaki?” Their table burst into laughter.
Nino was the first to recover, and said as he reached for another piece of meat, “Well, it’s either the toys or a nice statue, and I say a nice statue. So, how much are we spending on this thing?”
“I guess it would depend on how much it costs. Anyone have any ideas?” Sho questioned.
“Oh, I know! I saw a nice statue in a catalogue that my mom had. I automatically thought of Captain when I saw it, too. I could always call my brother and get him to find out how much it is.” Aiba’s mouth was full, but that didn’t deter him from talking.
“Right now?” Nino shot him a look of disbelief in mid-reach for more food.
“Sure, he should be home. I’ll be right back.” Aiba motioned for Sho, who willingly obeyed, to move and he ran out of the store, onto the street. The others stuffed themselves while he was out and made small talk.
Aiba rushed back in with a smile on his face a moment later. “Guys great news!” he exclaimed as he slid back into his seat. “Unfortunately the shipping takes 2 weeks. The good news is that the boat is only 20,000 yen (225 US $), and the best part is that you can get the same statue at one of the stores in Aeon!! All we have to do is go and get it!!”
“Let’s do rock paper scissors,” Jun said after a moment of silence. Aiba groaned to himself, since he had the worst luck in the group, but he put his fist in. After two rounds, it was decided that Nino was going to go get it.
“Ugh, just so everyone gives me the money before we leave here.” He grinned, since he didn’t mind going to get the present for his best friend. At that moment, everyone took out their wallets and handed him 5000 yen since they didn’t know when they could meet up again before the special day.
It was about time to leave, so they did rock paper scissors again to decide who would pay for the meal. Jun’s luck ran out this time. “Well, I guess that’s what I get for coming up with this thing,” he said with a smile on his face. They all got up and made their way to the door except Jun, who walked to the counter. The others shouted, “Thanks for the meal!” as they passed the counter. Jun paid as quickly as he could, grabbed a toothpick, and hurried out to meet the rest. He brought up what they were going to do on the day of, which they decided in record time. Finally, they all said their good-byes and good luck to each other, then went their separate ways.
------------------
Later that day, Nino had no trouble finding the statue after work. It was made of bronze, about 12 inches (30 cm) in length, almost the same in height because of the sails, and was a replica of an 18th century English passenger ship. They had also decided that Nino had to buy a card, but he didn’t tell the others that he had a nice collection at home just for such an occasion that he could choose from. Anything so that he could pay less money at the cash register. At Aeon the attendants boxed and wrapped the statue for him, so that was nothing to worry about. He texted the others when he got home to tell them he had found and bought the statue. They responded with messages which basically said, ‘that was rather quick and painless, good job!’ Nino grinned to himself after reading them before sitting down to turn on the DS.
The next week and a half went by relatively fast, besides the special event at Disney Sea. Ohno had messaged them all once to ask if they wanted to do something on his birthday, his treat. Each of them had knowingly responded that they were too busy, and maybe they could do something on the weekend. Well, this was fine with him, since his family would probably have something for him anyway. What the others had decided outside the yakiniku restaurant was that they would pretend to be busy on Thursday night, but they would arrange their schedules so that they were not. Also, on Thursday morning Nino would text Ohno and tell him that his schedule had cleared, and that they should get together that evening around seven. Everyone else would come to Nino’s house two hours before that time, and surprise their leader when he walked in the door. Of course, someone had to tell Ohno’s family so that they wouldn’t plan something for him that night, and Sho had been elected to do that. He made sure to do it the first spare five minutes he had. Ohno’s mother was the one to answer the phone, and she had no problem since she loved the rest of Arashi like her own sons.
On the day of the party, Nino actually took the day off after lunch just so he could get everything ready. The others were bringing food and some decorations, but he wanted the house to be clean. He was also making side dishes for karaage.
Ten minutes before five, Jun was the first to arrive. He brought things to make karaage and wanted to get an early start. Nino had just finished getting the dishes and pans Jun would need to make the fried chicken, when Aiba arrived. Arashi’s mood-maker brought a cake he made himself that surprisingly turned out well, as the others would tell him later. He had frosted it with vanilla icing and written “Happy Birthday Riida” on it and decorated it with wax fish. Last to arrive was Arashi’s newscaster since he had drama shooting to attend to, but he brought the majority of the decorations since the others had decided it would probably be better if he didn’t cook or bake anything. Nino’s apartment was a flurry of activity until five minutes before seven, when they all ducked behind furniture, party crackers in hand. Everyone that was except Nino, whom they trusted to bring out the lit cake after the others had greeted Riida with the crackers.
Meanwhile, Ohno had been feeling a little out of sorts the whole day since Nino was the only one who was going to party with him tonight. As much as he loved his best friend, he felt a little jealous that the others all had had birthday parties which almost everyone had been able to attend. He tried his best to ignore it and just think that his family might have something for him in the day time, but six o’clock came and went and no one was home yet. He had even stayed inside and drew all day rather than go fishing just in case. At a quarter after six, he decided that he should catch the train so he could make it to Nino’s with time to spare. With a sigh, he gathered his coat and left the house, making his way to the train station. Once he was on the train, he started pondering what the others’ schedules would be at that time and hoped that they were getting adequate sleep since they couldn’t even make time to spend with him. He didn’t like feeling so selfish, but it was hard not to be. It wasn’t even that they couldn’t spend time with him, it was that they were really so busy. Was the price of their popularity? He really didn’t have time to think about it since the stop near Nino’s apartment had just been called, so he stood up and walked to the opposite door from the side he was sitting on. When the doors opened, he got off the train, followed the crowd to the stairs, made his way up and through the long halls, put his ticket in the ticket machine, turned left outside the station, and began walking down the street toward Nino’s apartment.
As he arrived at the door, he thought he heard talking, but dismissed the voices as the neighbors’ because he knew Nino was alone. He knocked, and Nino yelled, “It’s open!” Opening the door and stepping into the darkness, he noticed that the only light in the whole place looked like it was coming from a candle in the kitchen. He tried to remember when Nino had put a candle in the kitchen as he took off his shoes, when suddenly three loud cracks surprised him. Then he heard familiar voices shout, “Surprise!!” as someone flicked on the lights, which allowed him to see Aiba, Jun, and Sho smiling back at him. He was speechless as Nino came around the corner from the kitchen, carrying a cake and beginning to sing, “Happy birthday to you…” The others joined in, and by the time the last line was finished, Nino was standing right in front of him, grinning like a school boy and holding the cake out to him so he could blow out the candles. He blew them out and tears came to his eyes.
“What’s wrong, Satoshi, smoke get in your eyes?” Sho was the first to appear next to Nino.
“No, it’s just that I just had my mind so set on the idea that you all were so busy that you couldn’t even celebrate my birthday with me, and I really hoped you were all doing okay, and that your work was going okay, and then you showed up, and now I’m basically in shock.” He really looked ready to cry, but laughed nervously. Nino passed the cake to Sho, and stepped forward to tightly embrace Ohno. It wasn’t two seconds before Jun threw his arms around the two of them, then Aiba followed suit, and after putting the cake down, Sho tried to get his arms around the other four, but failed and just squeezed.
Jun was the first to speak, saying, “We wouldn’t miss this for the world, Satoshi. You’re part of Arashi which means you get a birthday party like the rest of us.”
Tears were now freely rolling down the oldest man’s face. In a voice that was clearly heavy with emotion, he said, “Thanks guys. You’re the best friends a guy could ask for, especially a guy like me who only wants to fish and draw all day.”
Aiba laughed and said, “It’s fine, since you guys are the only one who could like someone like me.”
Sho added, “And you guys are the only ones who could keep up with me, and sometimes not even then.”
After a moment had gone by, Nino said, “You know, I love you guys, but it’s getting a little tight in here. I think I’m losing my ability to breathe.” They broke into laughter, and quickly let go.
Jun and Aiba went to get the food, and Sho put the cake in the refrigerator. Nino ran to get the present from his room, and Ohno just sat down on the couch, feeling better than he had in a while.
When everyone was back, Sho declared that the birthday boy should open his present before they started eating. Everyone agreed, and Nino put the box on Ohno’s lap before plopping down next to him. “Aw, you guys didn’t have to get me anything. Just being here is enough!” Ohno said, feeling teary again.
Aiba quickly retorted, “What would a birthday be without a present? Now hurry up and open it!” With encouragement from the others, Ohno unwrapped the gift, trying not to ruin the paper. Everyone else stared at him in anticipation, wondering what he would think of it.
As he lifted Styrofoam casing out of the box, he spoke his thoughts aloud: “Why is it so heavy?!” The others laughed and told him to keep going. Of course he did, and the moment he saw the statue, he threw his head back and started laughing. “I asked for a boat, and you guys really got me one! How nice…” he said, turning it this way and that as he admired it.
“I’m glad you get the joke,” Jun commented with a smile on his lips.
“Yeah, it was Jun’s idea,” Nino piped in.
“No, actually it was Masaki’s,” Sho corrected him.
“I don’t care whose it was. You guys really out did yourselves. I’m so lucky to have you guys as friends. You're the best!!” He chuckled, put the box down beside him, and picked up a pair of chopsticks. “Now, let’s feast on karaage!” he exclaimed as picked up the first piece and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing contentedly. Everyone was right behind him.