Magic in the Air -- G [Koyato-gen]
Shige also knows what Koyama’s favorite color is (red, but kind of a pinkish vibrant red) and what food he likes best (his mom’s ramen). Which made it more than a little embarrassing that Tegoshi, the self-described harmlessly self-centered one, noticed it first.
He pulls Shige over after a taping for Music Station, Tegoshi’s eyes glancing around to make sure that they’re alone.
“Shige,” he breathes in that way that conveys he is about to impart vast and important knowledge. “Have you noticed anything weird about Kei-chan?” The question catches Shige off guard because he’d been expecting some gleeful gossip or a request to take Tegoshi out for dinner. But Shige shakes his head and tries to think back. Koyama always became a little more enthusiastic around holiday season, but it hadn’t been anything out of the ordinary.
“Not really…” he says slowly, watching Tegoshi’s reaction. Tegoshi frowned a little bit and played with his hands awkwardly for a couple seconds. After a minute of internal debate, Tegoshi nodded to himself.
“Ok,” He said in a stage whisper. “There’s something important that you should know. Koyama is …..magic.” Shige tries not to laugh, waiting for the member-ai punch line. But when Tegoshi sees Shige’s barely concealed smile, he frowns. “I think he’s like a kind of fairy!” Shige waits a minute for the punch line, but when it doesn’t come, he starts laughing.
“Tegoshi,” he says in between hiccupping laughter. “Are you aware that fairies aren’t-”and Tegoshi hastily puts his hand over Shige’s mouth.
“Don’t say it.” Tegoshi says threateningly. “I know that this is true. And why would I lie about this? You’re the only one who would believe me…and who isn’t gullible.” While Shige feels honored by Tegoshi’s trust, the idea of Koyama being a fairy is, well, laughable. (Although Shige realizes that the idea of a tights-wearing, sparkling Koyama fairy really isn’t that far off from reality.)
Despite his tendency to acquiesce to Tegoshi, Shige can’t quite keep a skeptical look off his face.
Tegoshi harrumphs slightly and crosses his arms. “Remember yesterday when we were going to be horrendously late to our taping, and Yamapi was then going to be late to his filming and he was getting really upset?” Shige remembered it perfectly. No one had been sleeping a whole lot lately, Yamapi especially, which made for a slightly hysterical, on the edge leader. The day had been packed full with just about everything, and the early morning traffic had been unexpectedly bad, leading to mass panic. But suddenly, just as everyone reached their despair point, Koyama had punched the air and announced reassuringly that everyone shouldn’t worry, because everything would be just fine.
Almost instantaneously, the traffic had opened up and they’d made it to their taping right on time.
Shige sighed. “Traffic clearing up is not magic. And if it was, that wasn’t necessarily Koyama’s magic.”
Tegoshi just smiles. “Last week Massu forgot to bring his lunch. And then Kei-chan pulled out an extra bento box that he just happened to have from his small bag.” Shige blinked. That had been a little odd. Who really kept an extra bento box in their bag?
“But that’s not necessarily magic. It’s just good luck. Or coincidence.”
Tegoshi sighs as if Shige is being deliberately obtuse. “You know how we all do a group huddle before a concert or an appearance and everyone’s feeling kind of nervous and then once we all touch Kei-chan’s hands, we all calm down? Suddenly everything becomes clear and there’s no worrying. It’s magic. Kei-chan is magic!” He gives Shige a measuring look and then his face breaks out into a smile. “Right?”
Shige finds he can’t help but nod, despite his misgivings. “So even if Koyama is magic, what are we going to do?”
Tegoshi looks shocked for a second. “We’re not going to do anything!” He says in a horrified voice that bespoke of Shige’s insensitivity to the fairy plight. “I just wanted you to know. And isn’t it cool to have a fairy in our band?” With that, Tegoshi gives Shige a big hug and smiles before bounding off, leaving Shige alone in the corner.
“Great.” Shige thinks. “Just great.”
Shige and Koyama take the same train home that night and when they get to the station, it’s full up with all the people running about going to holiday parties. Koyama sighs cheerfully and stands against a corner prepared to wait 15 minutes until their train comes.
Shige stands next to him awkwardly and then says loudly, “It’s so crowded in here. Wouldn’t it be nice if it was less crowded?” He looks expectantly at Koyama.
Koyama nods vigorously. “So many people are excited about the holidays! The holidays are my favorite season,” he starts before launching into a detailed analysis of all of his very favorite holidays. Shige mentally berates himself. What was his expecting? The crowds to magically go away? Tegoshi’s delusions were clearly spreading to him.
When they finally crowd onto the train, Shige really does wish Koyama was a fairy because he’s crowded right between Koyama and a yakuza-looking man. He gulps nervously and makes eyes at Koyama, who’s completely oblivious to Shige’s predicament.
Koyama is focused on an old woman hovering near the seats. She appears to want to ask a teenager sitting down to please move, but hasn’t worked up the courage. Shige watches as Koyama makes an almost imperceptible hand gesture and the teenager promptly gets up and moves, making room for the old woman.
Shige stands there in slack-jawed surprise until Koyama finally turns around to face him. “Shige, are you ok?” He asks worriedly. “You’re acting kind of weird tonight.” Shige sputters and Koyama pats Shige reassuringly.
When Shige gets home, he takes a deep breath and tells himself that what he saw doesn’t equal magic. It could be entirely coincidence. Maybe the hand motion was a secret gang sign that both Koyama and the boy know. Maybe the boy was getting up anyways, and Koyama had a muscle spasm right before the boy was getting up. There’s nothing to link the two together, Shige tells himself. Even if the idea of Koyama being in a gang is even less likely than Koyama being a fairy, it’s still possible. Shige clings to that idea and tries to put everything else outside of his thoughts.
But somehow magic can’t seem to leave his mind, and for the first time in ten years, Shige’s dreams are violent, scary and eerily vivid. Someone chases Shige down and alleyway, shouting magic spells at him. Shige’s pants are torn and his ankle is throbbing with enough intensity to make him think it might be broken. Shige is desperate to escape, the alleyway looks like it’s going to dead end, and there’s someone on his trail right behind Shige.
Right before his follower turns the corner, Shige wakes up in his own bed, surrounded by sweaty sheets. His ankle has become twisted in one of the corners, almost cutting off the circulation and Shige untangles himself, trying to take deep breaths instead of gulps.
Shige can’t shake the paralyzing fear from the dream and he tries not to panic, failing spectacularly. He desperately thinks of Koyama and wishes that his best friend could be there to calm him down and tell him that it’s just a dream.
His phone goes off next to his bed and Shige lunges for it, and there’s Koyama’s name lighting up on the screen.
“Oh Kei,” Shige practically breathes into the phone.
“Sorry for waking you up, Shige, but I was in the area and I really didn’t want to have to go all the way back home. Do you mind if I sleep over at your house tonight?” Shige laugh-sobs into the phone before he composes himself.
“Yes. That’s perfectly fine. Yes, completely.” Koyama must’ve caught the slight hysteria in Shige’s voice, because he asks if Shige is Shige is ok. Shige just laughs it off, the tightness in his chest gone, and tells Koyama to hurry over.
Five minutes later, a sheepish Koyama is knocking at Shige’s door and Shige hugs him tightly. He tells Koyama about the dream and Koyama gives him another big hug, and there’s something about Koyama’s hug and his presence that reassures Shige.
Shige means to ask Koyama about the whole magic thing, but all he gets out once they’re in his bed, tucked in tightly, is a garbled question before he’s fast asleep.
The next morning Shige knows as certainly as he has an imaginary cat that something about Koyama is magical. He tries to brush it off, but it firmly stays in the back of his mind. Shige hears Tegoshi whispering that Koyama is magic and it just seems to stick in there. Shige keep watching Koyama all morning on the train, rehearsal, and lunch, not sure what he’s looking for.
He would pay attention in the afternoon, but Tegoshi comes back to his locker to find his wallet missing, probably left somewhere, and the rest of the day is spent trying to calm Tegoshi down and keep rehearsals on schedule.
While the rest of the members are off showering, Shige takes it upon himself to see if Tegoshi’s wallet has slipped behind the locker or been misplaced into nearby areas. But when he goes back to the locker room, he sees Koyama standing near Tegoshi’s locker.
Shige can’t explain why, but he finds himself hiding behind a set of lockers. He mentally berates himself-he’s not even sure what he’s expecting to see, but he can’t bring himself to move.
Shige watches as Koyama checks around Tegoshi’s locker, presumably for the wallet. When nothing turns up, he checks around him before closing his eyes and holding out one hand. There’s a slight hiss in the air and then Tegoshi’s wallet pops out of the air into Koyama’s hand.
Koyama gently places the wallet into Tegoshi’s locker and wipes his hands together. He smiles at the locker before he punches his fist into the air and says, “Let’s work our hardest!” And then turns and walks out.
Shige just stands there in surprise, unable to get his mind past the wallet when he feels a slight tap on his shoulder. He whirls around, ready to explain himself to Koyama and instead just finds Tegoshi, who nods knowingly at Shige. “See?” Tegoshi says proudly.
When Shige finally manages to confront Koyama about it a couple days later Koyama just laughs and pats Shige affectionately.
“Magic,” he says. “Is just about believing in yourself and those around you. That’s magic.” Shige wants to argue the point, and say there’s no way that’s true, but Koyama is smiling, and probably working that magic of his, so Shige decides to wait until another day.
“How did Tegoshi figure it out first?” Shige grumbles. “I thought I was supposed to be the smart one.” Koyama just laughs harder and then shuts Shige a sneaky grin.
“Well it takes magic to know magic.” Shige wants to ask what that means, but Koyama tickles him and damn those long limbs, Shige can’t do anything to stop him.