One shot - Jan-ken-pon
Title: Jan-ken-pon
Genre: Drama, fluff
Pairings: OT5, Ohno-centric
Rating: G
Wordcount: ~2300
Disclaimer: Fiction! :)
Author's note: This is Ohno's bday fic!!! :D Though it's already past midnight in Japan, so it's not technically his birthday anymore... I got a little carried away and made it longer than I thought. X3 All for our dear Riida!
Ohno sighed and lazily kicked at the sparse gravel on the sidewalk. He looked up at their waiting minibus and then at the grey sky, and twisted his hands in his hoodie pocket. Behind him, his bandmates were exiting the studio building excitedly.
They had really enjoyed the talk with Shonentai. Well, he would have as well... If they had not decided to choose a leader for Arashi...
Why did they even need a leader? They had been fine without one before! And anyway, if anyone was to be leader, Sho would fit the part perfectly! He was hard-working, focused, patient, and so smart! And speaking in front of the cameras never seemed to really get to him!
“Are you okay?” A familiar voice came by his ear; quiet but intent.
Ohno shrugged. “Yeah...”
Nino laughed one of his high-pitched bratty laughs. “You know I know you way too well to believe that?!”
Ohno could not supress a smile. Nino’s laugh was infectious.
“Nino! Ohno!” Jun was calling and waving from the door of their minibus. “We’ve got a photoshoot to get to!”
“Coming!” Nino shouted back. But before they walked over, he gave the older man a pat on the shoulder and added softly. “Senpai said it was just leader for fun. So if you really don’t want to do it seriously, you don’t have to. Don’t worry Oh-chan.”
Ohno grinned at the nickname and nodded. He felt a bit reassured; though something was still gnawing at the back of his mind.
He decided to ignore it for now and let himself be pushed onto the bus and squeezed between Aiba and Nino and their enthusiasm took over him easily.
*
Ohno realized what was still bugging him only the next day, as he got out of bed. As it hit him, he sat back onto his mattress abruptly, suddenly feeling light-headed.
Shonentai had said it was just for fun; they had not meant to chose the actual, official leader of Arashi. But the point was, all of his bandmates had agreed that they wanted him to do it; regardless of whether it was a joke and that they had played jankenpon for it.
It had been unanimous.
To him, it seemed ridiculous and yet, they all seemed to think it made sense.
His felt his mouth go dry as he felt the weight of that responsibility and his incapability to fulfil this role became clear.
He tried to hold on to what Nino had said, but he too had said he would want Ohno as leader as well.
Though it had not been very long since they had debuted, he now felt quite close to all of them, and held a certain will to follow their wishes, especially if had been this straightforward for them. He knew they would never force him to do something he did not want to, but now that they had all made it clear what they wanted, he felt guilty for not even trying.
But could he even try to do this?
He had found it incredible he had even debuted in the first place. And now he would be the representative for them?!
Ohno took a deep breath and again pushed his worries aside. Whatever the case was, he had to get to work.
*
“Hey Riida!!” Aiba sang loudly as he walked into their green room. Ohno frowned. So much for not thinking about it...
Jun giggled and Sho hit the back of Aiba’s head. “Idiot...” he muttered with a smile.
Ohno went to put his bag down and sat on the couch by Nino who was focusing a little too intently at his Nintendo. Granted it was Nino, but still, it looked like he was trying to laser holes through the device with his eyes...
After a moment Nino paused his game and sighed, apparently giving up pretending he had not heard Aiba.
“Don’t pay attention to him; I can feel how tense you are. Really, don’t worry over this Oh-chan.” He said seriously.
Ohno nodded, it seemed that Sho and Jun, though the youngest, had a much stronger sense of leadership. He decided he would let them stay at the forefront even more, to show how they would be the more obvious choice for a leader, if they really needed one.
*
A few weeks later
“Sho-kun?” Ohno asked curiously when he heard sniffs coming from a bathroom stall.
It had to be him, all the others had already left and he had seen Sho’s bag in the greenroom.
There was sudden silence at his question, then a flushing toilet.
“Hi Ohno... I didn’t know you were still here...” Sho said quietly as he walked to the sink and started to wash his hands.
“Are you okay?” Ohno noticed the younger man looked paler than usual. “Were you-- crying in there?” he asked bewildered.
“N- no...” the taller man muttered, but his voice was definitely shaking.
Ohno’s mouth fell open in shocj. He’d always thought Sho had it really well put together, and it was baffling to think he was just crying!
“You...” Ohno stuttered, suddenly feeling shy. “You can tell me, you know? If something’s wrong...”
Sho closed the tap and turned his head hesitantly. “Are you sure? It’s... really stupid...” he let out quietly.
Ohno took a step forward and held his gaze, trying to show he was serious.
The younger man sighed. “Okay so... I haven’t told anyone this, but... recently I’ve been finding it tough to do both Arashi and Keio. And I really don’t want to stop either one, but now I’m really scared that if I keep doing both I’ll mess one up... I want to show myself and my family that I can be an idol and still have a higher education; but if I get terrible grades, I’ll be just ridiculous...” His voice broke off.
Ohno frowned. “But... have your marks gone down?”
Sho shook his head.
“And I haven’t noticed you being slower than us at the Arashi stuff either...” The older man continued, thinking out loud. “And if you weren’t finding it difficult it would be a bit strange because what you’re doing would be impossible for most people... But you’re still managing... Well...” He suddenly looked up. “But you are doing okay right? I mean... Do you think you’re going over your limit?” He asked earnestly.
Sho chuckled slightly at the monologue. It was rare to see Ohno speak this long without a pause.
He shook his head. It was true, fulfilling his obligations for both Arashi and his program at Keio was definitely a challenge, but he didn’t think he had gone over his mental or physical limit.
Ohno grinned. “So if you really want to do this, I’m sure you can!” He then frowned. “And I don’t think you should worry about what we think or your parents think if it’s a weight.”
Sho nodded thoughtfully.
Ohno was about to open the bathroom door, but paused with his hand on the handle. “But why were you crying in the bathroom?” he asked confused.
Sho blushed. “I was embarrassed... Like you guys said, you see me as the most dependable one... So I didn’t want to break that image...”
Ohno laughed at this. “You could cry in front of us for an hour, and you would still be the most dependable one out of the five of us! Have you seen us?” He asked sarcastically.
Sho nodded, grinned and pulled Ohno into a bear hug. “Thanks Ohno-kun, I needed to hear that!”
He opened the door widely and enthusiastically pulled the surprised man into the corridor.
“Really?” Ohno asked confusedly as they both ran towards their green room. He could not see anything special in what he had said.
Well at least Sho seemed reassured and that was more important.
*
A few months later
“Sorry!” Aiba exclaimed as the music was stopped again. “I’m really sorry!”
“Aibaa...” Jun let out exasperatedly. “We went over this routine so many times! How can you not have memorised the steps by now?”
The taller man was blushing and repeatedly bowing to the staff of the PV.
Sho and Nino were giggling at a joke that Nino had apparently made.
Ohno frowned, Aiba looked so flustered. The older man had a feeling he would not be able to get it if they kept going like this.
“Could we have a moment?” He asked the director, who sighed and nodded. “But be quick.”
Ohno called Aiba over and led him out of the studio to a deserted room.
“I’m really sorry Ohno-kun! I keep messing up... I don’t get it, I know the moves, but I just can’t put them together...” The tall man whined.
Ohno shook his head. “Don’t apologize, it’s okay.” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I think the problem is you’re too tense. That’s why you keep missing the connection to the next step. You need to keep it really smooth to put those moves all together.”
The taller man frowned. “I suppose that’s true... I guess I didn’t notice since I was focusing so hard on the dance...”
“It’s weird...” Ohno continued. “Because you’re usually so relaxed... I would have thought Nino would be more tense than you...”
Aiba let out a high-pitched and breathy giggle. “You know if he hears that, he’ll prank you for sure...”
Ohno grinned, seeing Aiba’s lanky figure relax as he laughed. “Well try to imagine that prank before we start filming again. And that’ll keep you from becoming tense again.”
Aiba nodded enthusiastically. “Thank Riida!!”
Ohno smiled slightly. Though his bandmates did not seem to expect him to act any differently, they had taken a habbit to calling him like this...
And somehow, over the past few months, he had gotten used to the nickname.
*
A few years later
“Guys seriously stop it! We need to go filming soon!” Sho exclaimed.
The members were about to go to the studio for an episode of G no Arashi. But the atmosphere was far from their usual relaxed one. Ohno had just come back from the bathroom and was confused as to what had happened in his short absence.
“Nino, apologize!” Jun shouted fiercely at the shorter man.
“Or what...” Nino muttered coldly.
Ohno sighed. What had the bratty member of the group said now...
“Riida! Say something!” Aiba called desperately.
“Or I’ll make you...” Jun said menacingly, taking a step towards Nino’s bag.
“If you break my Nintendo, you’ll have to buy me another one...” the short man said coolly, folding his arms.
Ohno turned his head as he heard the sound of staff coming closer, and then looked back to his bandmates.
Aiba and Sho were now arguing loudly with Nino and Jun, trying vainly to bring them to apologize to each other.
The young man grimaced at the thought of an episode filmed with an angry Jun and a sulking Nino.
“Guys!” He said firmly. The room went quiet. He did not usually use this kind of tone.
“Can you keep it for after filming?” He asked quickly, hearing footsteps coming closer. “You know? For the fans’ sake?” He looked at Jun and Nino seriously.
They both nodded silently, just as a staff member came into their room to tell them it was time to start filming.
Sho and Aiba sighed in relief as they walked over to the studio. Sho put an arm around Ohno’s shoulder.
“Nice one, Riida.” He said with a smile. “You know you kind of looked like...” He stopped himself and chuckled. “Never mind...”
The older man frowned as they reached the studio, wondering what Sho had thought he’d looked like.
*
A couple more years later
Ohno looked around the freakishly big stadium and then at his terrified bandmates.
“It’s the Tokyo dome!” Aiba exclaimed, sounding party excited, partly alarmed.
“And it’s the biggest concert venue in Japan!” Sho continued quickly, looking at the rows and rows of empty seats.
“Jun stop hyperventilating like that it’s annoying.” Nino muttered in a high-pitched voice to the younger man next to him.
They had come for the first rehearsal at the dome, but even empty, the dome was incredibly intimidating.
Ohno shook his head. “Yes it’s big, but it’s another concert. The fans believe in us and just because there will be more of them, doesn’t mean it's going to be harder.” He said firmly.
Though he found it hard to believe his own words, he knew his bandmates needed his reassuring words, now more than ever.
*
A few days later
With a deafening cheer, the wide stairs closed in front of them.
There was a moment of silence where they all seemed to hold their breath, and then finally, they all sighed in relief and exhaustion.
Ohno could not supress a grin, as his bandmates burst out laughing, still high on adrenaline.
They had all survived it! Their first concert in the Tokyo Dome!
A little voice came up in his head: ‘But there’ll be other concerts, other shows, other events... Maybe even bigger than this!’
‘Yeah, but I’ll be there. I’ll keep us on track.’
The fierce leader-like thought surprised him. And yet, it did not feel daunting and impossible anymore.
He knew he could do it, and more importantly, he absolutely wanted to. If they needed him, he wanted to be there to give them a push, a word, a look; whatever could help them...
Yes, he’d do everything he could for them; for Arashi.
Maybe he could be a different kind of leader...
Of course, he would never be as quick-tongued as Nino, as enthusiastic as Aiba, as organised as Sho, or as detail-oriented as Jun, but perhaps that's why they needed him to be a leader...
They all fulfilled their role so well, maybe they needed someone else to keep them together, to occasionally step in...
Maybe that's what Arashi needed...
He could be... the backstage leader...
Perhaps he was beginning to understand why they had all pointed to him at that Shonentai interview all those years back.
With this hopeful thought, he grinned, and let the others pull him laughter-filled group hug.
*****
Happy birthday Riidaaaa!!!!
I had this idea a while back and thought I'd write it on this special day!!
Though I ended up posting it later than I would have wished... And I know there's lots of fics with this idea about Ohno as leader, but I thought I'd contribute my own contribution! ^w^
I hope my view on Ohno was convincing, (I find him complex to understand) let me know what you thought! :)
As always comments are loved!! <3