Part 03: By Accident
Title: By Accident - part o3: lost memory
Genre: angst
Pairing(s): no pairings
Rating: PG-13 for violence and situations which may not be suitable to younger children
Disclaimer: Characters are not owned by me nor am I related to them in any way, which is a shame.
Author's Notes: being organized is so like Nino, right? Tell me I'm not alone on this one =)
"So you noticed nothing out of the ordinary this morning?" Sho asked as they climbed out of Aiba's car.
Aiba cut in before Nino could react, "For the tenth time Sho, Nino barely looked around when he left this morning."
"But if what Ohno and Jun said was true, his clothes should be packed and waiting by the door." Sho pointed out.
"These were still in my closet." Nino explained, walking ahead of the two.
His apartment was located in the quiet suburbs, away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Tokyo. The complex was eight stories high, and at this hour the public swimming pool and garden were empty.
They entered the building unnoticed, heading straight towards the elevator. Once inside, Nino pressed the button with a number 6 printed on top.
"So you were going to take some and leave some, eh?" Sho went on, speaking to no one in particular.
Aiba kept his gaze fixed on the elevator door. Nino toyed with his keys absently, lost in his own thoughts. They had been throwing questions and comments from the moment they left JE. They managed to come up with little information, mostly speculations. Sho insisted on going over and over what they do have, while Aiba was confident the answers are waiting in Nino's apartment.
The doors opened. Nino lead the way again, trying his best not to run. Sho was still muttering under his breath, as if he can solve the puzzle by doing so. Aiba gave Nino a rueful smile and nodded encouragingly.
Stopping in front of a white door, Nino took out a golden key and inserted it into the keyhole, the lock turned on the other side. He swung the door open and motioned with his hand for his friends to enter.
"I'll take care of the living room." Aiba offered, already planting himself beside the telephone.
"I'd help you with the bedroom." Sho said to Nino.
He nodded, and they made their way towards the far end of the room, where another white door stood locked and closed. Nino took another key from his pocket and opened the door, Sho followed inside, switching on the light.
The room was bare and empty of color. The king-size bed occupied most of the room, with a bedside lamp on each side. A tall bookcase stood opposite the bed beside the wooden writing table, and a large landscape painting was the sole decoration on the wall behind the bed. The walk-in closet took up one wall, and right beside it was the door leading to the bathroom.
“Seriously, do you even sleep here?” Sho wondered out loud
Nino scratched his head. The sheets do look new, the books were lined up perfectly, and the garbage can had been emptied.
Sho was already busy looking at the closet, "You still have jeans, shirts, and suits in here, but some drawers don't have anything in them." he observed loudly, "Maybe those were the ones you took?"
"Maybe." Nino echoed, moving closer to his writing table. He scanned the small pile of papers briefly; bills, concert schedule, flyers, nothing important.
A thick black book sitting innocently to one side caught his attention. It was his journal. Nino sat down and flipped it open. There were pictures taken months ago, during their tour. He smiled a little, looking at Sho and Aiba make funny faces on the camera, Ohno hugging an impossibly large fish from a hunting trip, and Jun imitating complicated yoga poses. There were pictures of himself with his friends, laughing and performing onstage.
He flipped through the pages quickly, willing himself not to feel nostalgic; more letters, some thoughts about the tour. The last entry was three months ago. Nino carefully studied each page for clues, but nothing sufficed.
Sighing, he put the journal back on the desk and moved to his other books.
Sho came out of the closet, shaking his head, "Sorry man, except for the empty drawers I can't find anything helpful. I'd try the bathroom now."
Nino nodded, standing up, "I'd look at the kitchen."
He went out of the room and saw Aiba seated on the floor with the telephone directory on his lap. He seemed to be concentrating on something and did not notice Nino walk by.
The kitchen was as immaculate as his bedroom. The counters were spotless. Nino checked the fridge, his stomach grumbling. He did not have the chance to cook anything that morning, and the fridge was well-stocked.
A few minutes later, Nino had finished cutting vegetables and meat for the soup he was making. While waiting for it to brew, Nino continued his search. There were notes on doing his laundry tomorrow as well as telephone numbers scrawled into a piece of paper hanging on the fridge's door.
Nino leaned against the counter, staring at the soup. He tried to ignore the nagging feeling of wanting to find anything. It doesn’t matter what, as long as we find a lead of some kind, he thought inwardly.
As if an answer to his desperation, his gaze fell on the wastebasket. He forgot to empty that one, and it was half full of papers, candy wrappers, and bottles. Nino grabbed it from the floor and emptied the contents unceremoniously on the countertop.
He quickly sorted out the papers from the trash, moving in a slow pace, reading every line. More notes about chores to be done, a receipt from doing the grocery four nights ago, a bus ticket, and lots of flyers. Nino flipped through the flyers half-heartedly; restaurant, concerts, clinics, car deals…
Nino frowned, suddenly stopping and staring at the flyer in his hand. It was crumpled into a ball, and when he straightened it out he found out that it was a brochure for the newest model of an mp3 player that he wanted to buy. Scrawled on top of the page, in his own handwriting, was the name Yamada Takeru and the date five nights ago.
Yamada…Yamada Takeru…Takeru, Nino closed his eyes, forcing himself to remember with all his might.
"Nino?"
Someone from JE? No. An actor? Doesn’t ring a bell. An endorser? Why can't I remember who he is! Yamada Takeru. Yamada…
"Nino!"
He opened his eyes. Sho was standing opposite him, shaking his head. Aiba had turned off the stove, the soup had spilled on the floor, but the rest on the stove finally stopped boiling.
"Did you find something?" Sho asked interestedly, eyeing the brochure.
Nino nodded, "Yeah, I think so. I mean there's a name here. I can't recall who it is though.."
Aiba and Sho read it at the same time. Sho frowned, "I don't think I know anyone with that name."
"Me too," Aiba agreed, "we can ask around, it can't be too hard to find right?"
Sho nodded enthusiastically, "I found something on the bathroom too…I don't know if they're going to help anything but…well--"
He hesitated then, glancing at Nino briefly. He took out an orange pill container from his pocket. Nino looked at it without recognition.
Aiba read the label out loud, "Diazepam. You were taking sleeping pills?"
"Uh…I guess so."
"Are you sure you haven't take them before?" Sho asked, watching him intently.
"I never needed the pills." Nino said, nodding.
"So you are absolutely sure you can't remember taking them" his friend pressed on excitedly
Nino shook his head. Aiba sighed and asked, "What are you getting at, Sho?"
Sho looked at them incredulously, as if he couldn't believe he was the only one who figured it out,
"Don’t you see? Nino can recall things that happened a long time ago, and even the things he had been doing all his life. Those that happened probably this month until the day of the accident are the only things he can't remember. Which means, he started taking the pills recently, which means whatever happened was too disturbing he could not sleep, which means he had to visit a doctor to get a prescription!" he finished, slapping the counter with one hand triumphantly.
Aiba shook his head, but he was grinning despite of himself. "What do you think, Nino?"
Nino nodded, "I think Sho's theory is solid. I need to go to a doctor in order to get the prescription, and I need to have a reason in order to get those pills. But which doctor and when?"
Sho pointed at the container's label, "It says here you got it on the fifth of august."
Aiba counted the days with one hand, "That was five days ago." he told them
Nino gasped, "Yamada Takeru!"
He looked at the brochure again. True enough, the date underneath Yamada's name was August 5.
"He must be the doctor," Aiba said, "good. Now we just have to find out which hospital he's affiliated to."
Sho was suddenly moving towards a cabinet, where Nino kept his serving bowls and glasses. He took three from the pile and made his way towards the stove.
Aiba turned to Nino, "I found something interesting too."
Nino suddenly noticed that Aiba had been holding the telephone directory the whole time, which the tall guy now dropped on the countertop and opened. "Since the telephone book was missing, I looked over the directory instead," Aiba began, "it seems you have picked two names from the list."
He stopped and pointed on an entry. Nino read the name, "Shinagawa, D."
His friend nodded, turned several pages, and pointed again. The name Takeshi, M. was encircled by a black marker.
"I looked for anything that might lead to them, but that's all I found. There were no other markings in the book. Do you remember who they are?"
Nino shook his head slowly, "No, I don't know who they are."
"If we're going with Sho's theory about your memory, it's possible they are linked to you too and may be able to help. I have one more thing I want you to hear, it's from your voice mail."
Aiba led him and Sho to the living room, where they crowded around the wooden end table. The telephone sat on its top, Aiba pressed on a switch and waited.
Nino was about to ask what they are waiting for, but the speaker suddenly came to life. It was the unfamiliar voice of a teenage boy, tense and high-pitched.
" Sorry man, I know I said I won't call here but…you probably heard by now. Can you also talk some sense to her?"
The message was cut abruptly, and the a long beep followed. A moment later it came back to life, and the same nasal voice spoke, now with a sense of urgency in the edges, "I think I'd go there, she might need someone. We'll see each other again, okay?"
A long beep, followed by silence. The tape stopped playing, and Aiba turned to Nino. Sho was staring at the telephone with unblinking eyes.
Who is that guy? Her? Who's her?
Nino shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. Aiba, sensing his confusion, broke the silence, "What the guy mentioned, it seems he doesn't call your home number that often, but his news was urgent."
"There are two people involved." Nino added hoarsely. Who are they?
Aiba nodded slowly, "It seems the caller met with the girl, and was worried that if he will be making that trip, he had to add about seeing you in another time."
Nino glanced at him with surprise "You mean, whoever that was…is saying goodbye?"
Aiba nodded again, "It sounded like it."
He pressed another button on the phone, his mouth set on a firm line. Nino stared at it with unbelieving eyes.
"The two messages were recorded on the day of the accident." Aiba explained.
Nino felt his knees weakening, and he sat down on his sofa. Here was their biggest lead yet.
Who is he?
"Aiba," Sho said faintly, "do you think the callers are the names from the directory?"
"It's a possibility," Aiba answered, frowning, "I tried calling the numbers listed but both don't work anymore."
"We need to find out who the caller is." Nino said, "can we trace this number?"
Aiba thought about it for a minute, "I'm not sure."
"I know someone who can do it," Sho volunteered, "I can take it now and call you if I find anything."
Aiba nodded and turned to Nino, "What do you want to do now, Nino?"
"The doctor," Nino replied immediately, "We have to follow every lead we managed to find."
"How are we going to find him?" Sho asked
"We can start with those that we know," Nino said, shrugging. "We'd go back to JE and ask Dr. Tamaro if he knew someone with that name."
"What if he doesn't?"
"We'll think of something when we get there." Nino answered quietly, staring at the suitcases waiting beside the door.
Genre: angst
Pairing(s): no pairings
Rating: PG-13 for violence and situations which may not be suitable to younger children
Disclaimer: Characters are not owned by me nor am I related to them in any way, which is a shame.
Author's Notes: being organized is so like Nino, right? Tell me I'm not alone on this one =)
"So you noticed nothing out of the ordinary this morning?" Sho asked as they climbed out of Aiba's car.
Aiba cut in before Nino could react, "For the tenth time Sho, Nino barely looked around when he left this morning."
"But if what Ohno and Jun said was true, his clothes should be packed and waiting by the door." Sho pointed out.
"These were still in my closet." Nino explained, walking ahead of the two.
His apartment was located in the quiet suburbs, away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Tokyo. The complex was eight stories high, and at this hour the public swimming pool and garden were empty.
They entered the building unnoticed, heading straight towards the elevator. Once inside, Nino pressed the button with a number 6 printed on top.
"So you were going to take some and leave some, eh?" Sho went on, speaking to no one in particular.
Aiba kept his gaze fixed on the elevator door. Nino toyed with his keys absently, lost in his own thoughts. They had been throwing questions and comments from the moment they left JE. They managed to come up with little information, mostly speculations. Sho insisted on going over and over what they do have, while Aiba was confident the answers are waiting in Nino's apartment.
The doors opened. Nino lead the way again, trying his best not to run. Sho was still muttering under his breath, as if he can solve the puzzle by doing so. Aiba gave Nino a rueful smile and nodded encouragingly.
Stopping in front of a white door, Nino took out a golden key and inserted it into the keyhole, the lock turned on the other side. He swung the door open and motioned with his hand for his friends to enter.
"I'll take care of the living room." Aiba offered, already planting himself beside the telephone.
"I'd help you with the bedroom." Sho said to Nino.
He nodded, and they made their way towards the far end of the room, where another white door stood locked and closed. Nino took another key from his pocket and opened the door, Sho followed inside, switching on the light.
The room was bare and empty of color. The king-size bed occupied most of the room, with a bedside lamp on each side. A tall bookcase stood opposite the bed beside the wooden writing table, and a large landscape painting was the sole decoration on the wall behind the bed. The walk-in closet took up one wall, and right beside it was the door leading to the bathroom.
“Seriously, do you even sleep here?” Sho wondered out loud
Nino scratched his head. The sheets do look new, the books were lined up perfectly, and the garbage can had been emptied.
Sho was already busy looking at the closet, "You still have jeans, shirts, and suits in here, but some drawers don't have anything in them." he observed loudly, "Maybe those were the ones you took?"
"Maybe." Nino echoed, moving closer to his writing table. He scanned the small pile of papers briefly; bills, concert schedule, flyers, nothing important.
A thick black book sitting innocently to one side caught his attention. It was his journal. Nino sat down and flipped it open. There were pictures taken months ago, during their tour. He smiled a little, looking at Sho and Aiba make funny faces on the camera, Ohno hugging an impossibly large fish from a hunting trip, and Jun imitating complicated yoga poses. There were pictures of himself with his friends, laughing and performing onstage.
He flipped through the pages quickly, willing himself not to feel nostalgic; more letters, some thoughts about the tour. The last entry was three months ago. Nino carefully studied each page for clues, but nothing sufficed.
Sighing, he put the journal back on the desk and moved to his other books.
Sho came out of the closet, shaking his head, "Sorry man, except for the empty drawers I can't find anything helpful. I'd try the bathroom now."
Nino nodded, standing up, "I'd look at the kitchen."
He went out of the room and saw Aiba seated on the floor with the telephone directory on his lap. He seemed to be concentrating on something and did not notice Nino walk by.
The kitchen was as immaculate as his bedroom. The counters were spotless. Nino checked the fridge, his stomach grumbling. He did not have the chance to cook anything that morning, and the fridge was well-stocked.
A few minutes later, Nino had finished cutting vegetables and meat for the soup he was making. While waiting for it to brew, Nino continued his search. There were notes on doing his laundry tomorrow as well as telephone numbers scrawled into a piece of paper hanging on the fridge's door.
Nino leaned against the counter, staring at the soup. He tried to ignore the nagging feeling of wanting to find anything. It doesn’t matter what, as long as we find a lead of some kind, he thought inwardly.
As if an answer to his desperation, his gaze fell on the wastebasket. He forgot to empty that one, and it was half full of papers, candy wrappers, and bottles. Nino grabbed it from the floor and emptied the contents unceremoniously on the countertop.
He quickly sorted out the papers from the trash, moving in a slow pace, reading every line. More notes about chores to be done, a receipt from doing the grocery four nights ago, a bus ticket, and lots of flyers. Nino flipped through the flyers half-heartedly; restaurant, concerts, clinics, car deals…
Nino frowned, suddenly stopping and staring at the flyer in his hand. It was crumpled into a ball, and when he straightened it out he found out that it was a brochure for the newest model of an mp3 player that he wanted to buy. Scrawled on top of the page, in his own handwriting, was the name Yamada Takeru and the date five nights ago.
Yamada…Yamada Takeru…Takeru, Nino closed his eyes, forcing himself to remember with all his might.
"Nino?"
Someone from JE? No. An actor? Doesn’t ring a bell. An endorser? Why can't I remember who he is! Yamada Takeru. Yamada…
"Nino!"
He opened his eyes. Sho was standing opposite him, shaking his head. Aiba had turned off the stove, the soup had spilled on the floor, but the rest on the stove finally stopped boiling.
"Did you find something?" Sho asked interestedly, eyeing the brochure.
Nino nodded, "Yeah, I think so. I mean there's a name here. I can't recall who it is though.."
Aiba and Sho read it at the same time. Sho frowned, "I don't think I know anyone with that name."
"Me too," Aiba agreed, "we can ask around, it can't be too hard to find right?"
Sho nodded enthusiastically, "I found something on the bathroom too…I don't know if they're going to help anything but…well--"
He hesitated then, glancing at Nino briefly. He took out an orange pill container from his pocket. Nino looked at it without recognition.
Aiba read the label out loud, "Diazepam. You were taking sleeping pills?"
"Uh…I guess so."
"Are you sure you haven't take them before?" Sho asked, watching him intently.
"I never needed the pills." Nino said, nodding.
"So you are absolutely sure you can't remember taking them" his friend pressed on excitedly
Nino shook his head. Aiba sighed and asked, "What are you getting at, Sho?"
Sho looked at them incredulously, as if he couldn't believe he was the only one who figured it out,
"Don’t you see? Nino can recall things that happened a long time ago, and even the things he had been doing all his life. Those that happened probably this month until the day of the accident are the only things he can't remember. Which means, he started taking the pills recently, which means whatever happened was too disturbing he could not sleep, which means he had to visit a doctor to get a prescription!" he finished, slapping the counter with one hand triumphantly.
Aiba shook his head, but he was grinning despite of himself. "What do you think, Nino?"
Nino nodded, "I think Sho's theory is solid. I need to go to a doctor in order to get the prescription, and I need to have a reason in order to get those pills. But which doctor and when?"
Sho pointed at the container's label, "It says here you got it on the fifth of august."
Aiba counted the days with one hand, "That was five days ago." he told them
Nino gasped, "Yamada Takeru!"
He looked at the brochure again. True enough, the date underneath Yamada's name was August 5.
"He must be the doctor," Aiba said, "good. Now we just have to find out which hospital he's affiliated to."
Sho was suddenly moving towards a cabinet, where Nino kept his serving bowls and glasses. He took three from the pile and made his way towards the stove.
Aiba turned to Nino, "I found something interesting too."
Nino suddenly noticed that Aiba had been holding the telephone directory the whole time, which the tall guy now dropped on the countertop and opened. "Since the telephone book was missing, I looked over the directory instead," Aiba began, "it seems you have picked two names from the list."
He stopped and pointed on an entry. Nino read the name, "Shinagawa, D."
His friend nodded, turned several pages, and pointed again. The name Takeshi, M. was encircled by a black marker.
"I looked for anything that might lead to them, but that's all I found. There were no other markings in the book. Do you remember who they are?"
Nino shook his head slowly, "No, I don't know who they are."
"If we're going with Sho's theory about your memory, it's possible they are linked to you too and may be able to help. I have one more thing I want you to hear, it's from your voice mail."
Aiba led him and Sho to the living room, where they crowded around the wooden end table. The telephone sat on its top, Aiba pressed on a switch and waited.
Nino was about to ask what they are waiting for, but the speaker suddenly came to life. It was the unfamiliar voice of a teenage boy, tense and high-pitched.
" Sorry man, I know I said I won't call here but…you probably heard by now. Can you also talk some sense to her?"
The message was cut abruptly, and the a long beep followed. A moment later it came back to life, and the same nasal voice spoke, now with a sense of urgency in the edges, "I think I'd go there, she might need someone. We'll see each other again, okay?"
A long beep, followed by silence. The tape stopped playing, and Aiba turned to Nino. Sho was staring at the telephone with unblinking eyes.
Who is that guy? Her? Who's her?
Nino shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. Aiba, sensing his confusion, broke the silence, "What the guy mentioned, it seems he doesn't call your home number that often, but his news was urgent."
"There are two people involved." Nino added hoarsely. Who are they?
Aiba nodded slowly, "It seems the caller met with the girl, and was worried that if he will be making that trip, he had to add about seeing you in another time."
Nino glanced at him with surprise "You mean, whoever that was…is saying goodbye?"
Aiba nodded again, "It sounded like it."
He pressed another button on the phone, his mouth set on a firm line. Nino stared at it with unbelieving eyes.
"The two messages were recorded on the day of the accident." Aiba explained.
Nino felt his knees weakening, and he sat down on his sofa. Here was their biggest lead yet.
Who is he?
"Aiba," Sho said faintly, "do you think the callers are the names from the directory?"
"It's a possibility," Aiba answered, frowning, "I tried calling the numbers listed but both don't work anymore."
"We need to find out who the caller is." Nino said, "can we trace this number?"
Aiba thought about it for a minute, "I'm not sure."
"I know someone who can do it," Sho volunteered, "I can take it now and call you if I find anything."
Aiba nodded and turned to Nino, "What do you want to do now, Nino?"
"The doctor," Nino replied immediately, "We have to follow every lead we managed to find."
"How are we going to find him?" Sho asked
"We can start with those that we know," Nino said, shrugging. "We'd go back to JE and ask Dr. Tamaro if he knew someone with that name."
"What if he doesn't?"
"We'll think of something when we get there." Nino answered quietly, staring at the suitcases waiting beside the door.