(no subject)
Title: The Path of Least Resistance
Pairing: None
Rating: PG
Word count: 3,479
Notes: This thing has been in the works since April. Thanks to my friends for putting up with my random ass spamming of this to them. I know I probably upset you with bombarding you with the constant question of does this flow right to you? I even brought in the spamming of it to people who have no idea who Arashi is. So Thank you so much. Hopefully this format works well.
Summary: There are times Ohno wonders if he made the right decision in joining Johnny's...
There are times where Ohno wonders if following his mother's advice and joining Johnny's and Associates was really the right thing to do. He rarely ever thinks about it, and when he does it doesn't last long, because somewhere in his introspection he remembers that his mom is always right. Always. In fact, he's only ever wondered about it seven times in the fifteen years he's been at Johnny's. Each time he thought it was the first time he ever wondered such a thing.
~
His first dance class is different from what he was expecting. The instructor is rude and arrogant and has already managed to make someone cry and Ohno doesn’t know why he’s even there. A few days ago his life had been nice and normal. He went to school and spaced out and drew and talked to Kacchan, it was a relatively relaxing and normal life. Now it’s not. Now it’s filled with instructors who throw things at people when they get angry and lots of new people that he has no clue how to talk to. He wouldn’t have anything in common with them; he doesn’t even want to be here. He wonders if it was such a great idea to show up to the audition in the first place. He feels as if he’ll be lonely here with no one around that thinks like he does. Surely everyone else showed up to the audition because they wanted to, not because their mother is a little crazy in the head. But then another boy comes up and introduces himself as Machida Shingo. He’s nice and seems a little afraid of the dance instructor too. It is then that Ohno realizes that Johnny’s might not be such a bad place after all. If nothing else maybe it won’t be as lonely as he thought it would be.
~
Kyoto is a cold and lonely place. It doesn’t really hit him how much he misses his mom until he gets a call from her. He doesn’t know what to think anymore. When Ohno came here he was hoping that he would be recognized and people would start to notice him or at least recognize his dancing. It seems like an incredibly hopeless dream now. No one comes to see the play and Ohno’s exhausted and just misses home way too much. Maybe this is all that he has in him. Perhaps he’s not cut out for this world. It’s strange though, no matter how much he wants to give up part of him knows that for now he should see through what he started. He talks to Machida, who feels the same way and somehow it relieves him, it reminds him that he’s not the only one who feels that way; that everyone there was going through the same frustrations that he was. For now, at least, he feels a little like he’s where he belongs.
~
Arashi is debuting and Ohno is filled with doubts. He’s on a boat with people he doesn’t know, in Hawaii. Okay, maybe it’s not completely fair to say that he doesn’t know them, because after all they’ve worked in the same company for a while now, he knows who they are and what their reputation is but he doesn’t know them for himself, something that he finds a very important distinction to make. So he’s on a boat with people he doesn’t know, who knows how far away from home and all he can think about is how homesick he is. And that is when the thought appears. He dwells on it a little while, wondering if maybe Arashi, or even Johnny’s isn’t the right place for him.
He thinks about the convenience store he wants to work at, not that normal people want to give up a high paying high publicity job for something so mundane as working in a convenience store, but Ohno thinks that that would probably suit him better than his new job. He’s seen the news enough times to realize what was going to happen at this new job. The entire nation will be watching his every move, just waiting for him to mess up. A few months ago it didn’t matter to pretty much anyone if he messed up, he would be able to fix it with the people he needed to fix it with and then it would all be over. Now if he screwed up not only would he have to deal with it but so would his band, his parents, even Johnny’s would have to deal with the reprecussions. Something that he wasn’t sure was such a wonderful idea, after all in his head it was only a matter of time before he messed up big time.
Finally he finishes worrying about what might happen tomorrow and allows himself to be pulled back to reality. He looks around at the people surrounding him. Ninomiya-san (“Call me Nino”, the boy had said when they were introduced again, “I don’t particularly care for my last name.”) had more reasons to complain than Ohno did, and yet, Nino did no such thing, even though he was physically sick (sea-sick of all things) he still smiled and danced and sang for the cameras even while fighting to keep his lunch down.
Sakurai-san (“Sho-kun” he had said that “there is no need for formalities now that we are in the same group together, and have known each other for a while now, right?”) was graduating high school soon, and if he had heard right he was entering next spring at Keio University. That was something Ohno had never even contemplated doing partially because he had no interest in all the unnecessary stress, and partially because he never considered himself intelligent enough to go to college, after all he had dropped out of high school after three days. But even though Sho-san was feeling an inevitable amount of stress and pressure he still smiled and sang and danced for the cameras.
Matsumoto-san (“MatsuJun” the boy had insisted, because “it sounds a lot cooler than Matsumoto, right? After all there are too many Matsumoto’s in show business anyway and there’s only one MatsuJun.”) was in his awkward stage. It was a stage that every teenager dreaded and that was without it having to be documented in photos and videos that would be dredged up every time someone wanted to talk about their debut. Ohno remembered his awkward stage. It was only a few years ago, he had been a junior then, but then again he’d been a junior up until yesterday so he supposed it didn’t really count, and had been lucky enough to not have it televised for the entire country to see. In fact, he had been around many others who were going through the same thing he was and would sympathize if nothing else. Technically, Nino should be going through that stage too but he was so sick Ohno couldn’t tell if he was or not. Regardless of Matsumoto’s awkwardness and inevitable embarrassment that went along with it, he still smiled and sang and danced for the cameras.
And lastly, Aiba-san (“Aiba-chan” he’d chirped “it just sounds cuter that way, right?”) had this look on his face that Ohno recognized all too well. He was doubting himself. While the boy was excited about his debut, as is normally the case in such a company, he looked as if he wasn’t certain as to why he was there. He looked even more ill than Nino, something that was hard to do for sure, as he mumbled under his breath trying to remember all the lyrics and dance steps and answers to questions that he might need. Ohno remembered doubting himself, he had done that before Kyo to Kyo and really all it had served him was feeling like he was about to be eaten inside out, not a particularly pleasant feeling in the slightest. Regardless of all of Aiba’s doubts the boy still smiled and sang and danced for the cameras anyway.
Being surrounded by such people who, even though it seemed like the world was working against them on their debut, still managed to do all that was asked of them and more, made Ohno realize that even if he really didn’t want to be here he should make the most of it anyway. And so Ohno smiled and sang and danced for the cameras. He looked around at the group that surrounded him and decided that maybe his mom was right after all. Perhaps he really could get along with them.
~
The next time the thought passed by, Ohno was on television and had just won a game of rock-paper-scissors that determined Ohno's role in the group was that of the leader. He hadn‘t signed up for this. He was not leadership material. You could ask any one of his teachers or even his parents. His mother, he was sure, was going to have a laughing fit but still hold him to his new position anyway. His father was bound to just scratch his head and wonder what the world was coming to. Just like Ohno was right now. He was convinced that the only reason he was chosen as the leader was because he failed to show up to the run-through, which was just completely unfair in its own right. Seriously, wouldn’t him not showing up end up proving his point that he wasn’t leadership material? If he had to choose anyone out of Arashi as someone who could lead them it would have been Sho-kun not him, really anyone would have been better than him. Then the thought passes through. It’s only been a few months since the press conference, he still doesn’t have many fans and Arashi could make do without him. It’s not like they’re that close or anything. Hell, Toma or Takki could even possibly debut as a part of Arashi like almost everyone had expected. But when the show ends and Ohno is still in shock, the other members start to congratulate him.
He asks them if they were just being mean to him and punishing him for not showing up on time no matter how many times they insisted he should. They all say that they weren’t. Nino doesn’t even have that little smile that he usually has on when he thinks something’s funny. Sho-kun frowns at him seemingly upset at the suggestion that they would do something so petty. MatsuJun just looks at him with a combination of disbelief and anger. And Aiba-chan started pouting, “Is that what you think of us?” he asks, his voice shy and quiet.
Ohno quickly shakes his head. He hasn’t known all of them for that long but they haven’t really done anything that would make him feel like they would do something like that. Even though he kind of wishes that was the reason, because at least that would be a little logical. “Not really, I just don’t understand why me and not Sho-kun.” He says in reply.
Nino replies for them all, “Sho-kun is a worrier, he would drive us all crazy with his questions, even more so than he does now. You worry, but not to the extent that Sho-kun does. MatsuJun is detail-orientated so much so that he will drive us up the wall with trying to get everything perfect. You care about the details but you aren’t so keen on the need for perfection. I get distracted too easily and it takes a lot to pull me out of whatever it is that keeps my attention. You get distracted too but you don’t delve quiet as deeply into your distractions as I do. Aiba-chan is too sensitive, not in a bad way but if it really comes down to it and we ended up in a fight he wouldn’t be able to mediate. You’re sensitive too but not so much that you’ll end up crying if we got into a fight. It has to be you. You are the only one who can manage to balance out the bad parts of us; we all tend to overdo things. It is a leader’s responsibility to make sure that things like that don’t get in the way of work and relationships, and you’re the only one us who can do it. Only you can be our Riida.”
Ohno looked at the rest of the group hoping that someone else would speak and point out some glaring flaw in logic that he had missed because otherwise he was just going to have to get used to his new position. No one else spoke up. He shook his head in disbelief. “I have faults too you know. I’m not smart like Sho-kun, or witty like Nino, or organized like MatsuJun, or imaginative like Aiba-chan. I take a while to realize things and even if I do realize that something’s gone wrong or something is missing there’s no guarantee that I’ll be able to fix it. If you really want me to be your leader you have to accept that. I can’t lead alone; I’ll need everyone’s help. If you’re really alright with that then I will accept the position.” Everyone smiled at him and they all responded with varying degrees of “Of course we’ll help our leader” and thus it was decided. And Ohno thought “Well if we’re all in this together then it should be fine. Maybe mom was right; we really will make it as a group.”
~
The members of Arashi were in a meeting with Johnny the next time the thought struck him. “You will all be in a movie.” Ohno did not hear anything else after those words were said. Those words shocked him more than anything else they had been told did. Arashi in a movie together? He could understand if it was Nino or MatsuJun, they both had experience with drams and had been recognized for their acting at the time. Even Sho made more sense than he did. Everyone else had at least appeared in a drama before.
The only experience Ohno could hold onto was those incredibly short ‘V no Arashi’ episodes, that reminded him a bit too much of the junior dramas they had all been part of, and all of his stage plays. The method for acting in a stage play and movie were totally different though. He was glad he wasn’t Aiba who played the lead role in his first ever movie, although one of them would have had to be the lead and none of them had done a movie before.
Ohno almost wished that he could ask the rest of Arashi to help him with his character. The guy was suppose to be someone who has no luck at all and had no social skills at all. It was almost an exaggerated perception of Ohno himself but he didn’t know how to add that extra level on. Normally during his stage plays the entire cast would gather and together they would all seem to easily piece together each other’s characters. He didn’t want to be a bother to anyone else though so he wasn’t going to ask for help, they were all just as busy, if not more so than he was.
Just as he began to think this Aiba came over to him and sat down next to him. “You know,” he began to speak, “we’re all in this together. That’s the best thing about Arashi. If you need help then just ask someone. Even if you just need someone to run lines with you or bounce ideas about your character off of, we’re all glad to help.” Ohno nods because he knows they are, he just doesn’t want to bother them. “I don’t want to be a burden.” He says in a quiet voice. Aiba looks at him studying his face and smiles, “Leader could never be a burden, even if you tried to be. So go ask someone about whatever it is that’s worrying you.” He nods and starts to assault Aiba with various questions about what he thinks their character’s relationship should play out like. Aiba smiles goofily and happily starts to answer. By the end of the day he’s talked to everyone and has all their roles flowing through his head and he wonders what he was worried about anyway.
~
Years pass without him worrying and then by the time he realizes it he feels like he’s being left behind. Nino is in Hollywood filming a movie with a world famous director, Sho is talking to Agency about being able to be a newscaster, MatsuJun has gotten startlingly popular recently because of his recent dramas, and Aiba’s work has increased ever since he started working on Tensai! Shimura Doubutsen. Only his amount of work has not increased. It was a strange feeling, being left behind. It was like having been running a marathon where everyone was tied but suddenly everyone else starts to sprint ahead leaving you in the dust.
It wasn’t that he was jealous of them or resentful, they all earned their new work loads, but he was upset with himself for not being able to keep up. Interviews were awkward for him because he really wasn’t doing much to talk about so he fell back on talking about drawing. Everyone else said it was alright. He was a my-pace sort of person and that’s what they liked about him, but it didn’t really sink in until Sho talked to him about it.
“You know Leader, it’s alright to not be constantly busy. Don’t you always say so long as everyone stays healthy you’ll be happy no matter what? We feel the same way. You’re doing things too you know. You just recently did a stage play and do art all the time. So what if it’s not your time to shine. That’s alright, there’s always more time. You aren’t letting us down, you know. You make us proud just by being you.”
The next day everyone seemed to ask him about how his art was going and they all took the time to talk to him and assure him that he wasn’t going to be left behind. They would never do that, after all Arashi is made up of five people after all.
~
He'd been afraid of this when he first debuted. He'd messed up. It didn't matter to the public that the so called "evidence" of the threesome and drugs was a picture that had been taken when he was drunk. Regardless of whether it was true or not the damage had been done, and he had no idea how he was going to be able to face Arashi.
His manager spent the car ride talking about tactics. He was told to keep quieter than normal and to issue an apology at a press conference that had been setup for him. He was told not to take the train for a while and not to worry because it would all die down after a while. Being told something like that hardly helped at all.
It was strange how awkward he felt standing outside Arashi's dressing room door. He could only hope that they wouldn't be too mad at him.
When he opened the door he was greeted with the same sight he saw every day. Sho was reading the newspaper, probably his fourth of the day if the piles on the coffee table next to him were any sign. Aiba was flipping through some magazines that more likely then not were idol magazines. He was pretty sure he saw a wink-up in the pile on the floor somewhere. Nino was playing another game on his DS, every so often he would groan or start yelling at his game. Finally, MatsuJun was listening to music, his head bobbing along to the beat of "Thriller".
All heads turned his way after a few seconds and he could tell that they had been waiting for him. He stood stock still trying to gather his courage. his head was filled with all sorts of apologies and excuses that could be said but he felt as if that woudn't be enough. he had screwed up and now everything was wrong in a way that it hadn't been before.
"I... I don't know what to say. I'm so sorry for every thing. Please don't hate me." The words had started out strong but by the end even he could hear that they would most likely me classified as mummbling.
Everyone stopped. They blinked. MatsuJun stood up. "There's nothing to hate you for. Things happen. It's not your fault. We've all been through this before and we'll get through this again." The next thing Ohno knew he was being hugged not only by MatsuJun but by Aiba, Sho, and Nino. Hopefully they were right, everything would be okay.
Pairing: None
Rating: PG
Word count: 3,479
Notes: This thing has been in the works since April. Thanks to my friends for putting up with my random ass spamming of this to them. I know I probably upset you with bombarding you with the constant question of does this flow right to you? I even brought in the spamming of it to people who have no idea who Arashi is. So Thank you so much. Hopefully this format works well.
Summary: There are times Ohno wonders if he made the right decision in joining Johnny's...
There are times where Ohno wonders if following his mother's advice and joining Johnny's and Associates was really the right thing to do. He rarely ever thinks about it, and when he does it doesn't last long, because somewhere in his introspection he remembers that his mom is always right. Always. In fact, he's only ever wondered about it seven times in the fifteen years he's been at Johnny's. Each time he thought it was the first time he ever wondered such a thing.
~
His first dance class is different from what he was expecting. The instructor is rude and arrogant and has already managed to make someone cry and Ohno doesn’t know why he’s even there. A few days ago his life had been nice and normal. He went to school and spaced out and drew and talked to Kacchan, it was a relatively relaxing and normal life. Now it’s not. Now it’s filled with instructors who throw things at people when they get angry and lots of new people that he has no clue how to talk to. He wouldn’t have anything in common with them; he doesn’t even want to be here. He wonders if it was such a great idea to show up to the audition in the first place. He feels as if he’ll be lonely here with no one around that thinks like he does. Surely everyone else showed up to the audition because they wanted to, not because their mother is a little crazy in the head. But then another boy comes up and introduces himself as Machida Shingo. He’s nice and seems a little afraid of the dance instructor too. It is then that Ohno realizes that Johnny’s might not be such a bad place after all. If nothing else maybe it won’t be as lonely as he thought it would be.
~
Kyoto is a cold and lonely place. It doesn’t really hit him how much he misses his mom until he gets a call from her. He doesn’t know what to think anymore. When Ohno came here he was hoping that he would be recognized and people would start to notice him or at least recognize his dancing. It seems like an incredibly hopeless dream now. No one comes to see the play and Ohno’s exhausted and just misses home way too much. Maybe this is all that he has in him. Perhaps he’s not cut out for this world. It’s strange though, no matter how much he wants to give up part of him knows that for now he should see through what he started. He talks to Machida, who feels the same way and somehow it relieves him, it reminds him that he’s not the only one who feels that way; that everyone there was going through the same frustrations that he was. For now, at least, he feels a little like he’s where he belongs.
~
Arashi is debuting and Ohno is filled with doubts. He’s on a boat with people he doesn’t know, in Hawaii. Okay, maybe it’s not completely fair to say that he doesn’t know them, because after all they’ve worked in the same company for a while now, he knows who they are and what their reputation is but he doesn’t know them for himself, something that he finds a very important distinction to make. So he’s on a boat with people he doesn’t know, who knows how far away from home and all he can think about is how homesick he is. And that is when the thought appears. He dwells on it a little while, wondering if maybe Arashi, or even Johnny’s isn’t the right place for him.
He thinks about the convenience store he wants to work at, not that normal people want to give up a high paying high publicity job for something so mundane as working in a convenience store, but Ohno thinks that that would probably suit him better than his new job. He’s seen the news enough times to realize what was going to happen at this new job. The entire nation will be watching his every move, just waiting for him to mess up. A few months ago it didn’t matter to pretty much anyone if he messed up, he would be able to fix it with the people he needed to fix it with and then it would all be over. Now if he screwed up not only would he have to deal with it but so would his band, his parents, even Johnny’s would have to deal with the reprecussions. Something that he wasn’t sure was such a wonderful idea, after all in his head it was only a matter of time before he messed up big time.
Finally he finishes worrying about what might happen tomorrow and allows himself to be pulled back to reality. He looks around at the people surrounding him. Ninomiya-san (“Call me Nino”, the boy had said when they were introduced again, “I don’t particularly care for my last name.”) had more reasons to complain than Ohno did, and yet, Nino did no such thing, even though he was physically sick (sea-sick of all things) he still smiled and danced and sang for the cameras even while fighting to keep his lunch down.
Sakurai-san (“Sho-kun” he had said that “there is no need for formalities now that we are in the same group together, and have known each other for a while now, right?”) was graduating high school soon, and if he had heard right he was entering next spring at Keio University. That was something Ohno had never even contemplated doing partially because he had no interest in all the unnecessary stress, and partially because he never considered himself intelligent enough to go to college, after all he had dropped out of high school after three days. But even though Sho-san was feeling an inevitable amount of stress and pressure he still smiled and sang and danced for the cameras.
Matsumoto-san (“MatsuJun” the boy had insisted, because “it sounds a lot cooler than Matsumoto, right? After all there are too many Matsumoto’s in show business anyway and there’s only one MatsuJun.”) was in his awkward stage. It was a stage that every teenager dreaded and that was without it having to be documented in photos and videos that would be dredged up every time someone wanted to talk about their debut. Ohno remembered his awkward stage. It was only a few years ago, he had been a junior then, but then again he’d been a junior up until yesterday so he supposed it didn’t really count, and had been lucky enough to not have it televised for the entire country to see. In fact, he had been around many others who were going through the same thing he was and would sympathize if nothing else. Technically, Nino should be going through that stage too but he was so sick Ohno couldn’t tell if he was or not. Regardless of Matsumoto’s awkwardness and inevitable embarrassment that went along with it, he still smiled and sang and danced for the cameras.
And lastly, Aiba-san (“Aiba-chan” he’d chirped “it just sounds cuter that way, right?”) had this look on his face that Ohno recognized all too well. He was doubting himself. While the boy was excited about his debut, as is normally the case in such a company, he looked as if he wasn’t certain as to why he was there. He looked even more ill than Nino, something that was hard to do for sure, as he mumbled under his breath trying to remember all the lyrics and dance steps and answers to questions that he might need. Ohno remembered doubting himself, he had done that before Kyo to Kyo and really all it had served him was feeling like he was about to be eaten inside out, not a particularly pleasant feeling in the slightest. Regardless of all of Aiba’s doubts the boy still smiled and sang and danced for the cameras anyway.
Being surrounded by such people who, even though it seemed like the world was working against them on their debut, still managed to do all that was asked of them and more, made Ohno realize that even if he really didn’t want to be here he should make the most of it anyway. And so Ohno smiled and sang and danced for the cameras. He looked around at the group that surrounded him and decided that maybe his mom was right after all. Perhaps he really could get along with them.
~
The next time the thought passed by, Ohno was on television and had just won a game of rock-paper-scissors that determined Ohno's role in the group was that of the leader. He hadn‘t signed up for this. He was not leadership material. You could ask any one of his teachers or even his parents. His mother, he was sure, was going to have a laughing fit but still hold him to his new position anyway. His father was bound to just scratch his head and wonder what the world was coming to. Just like Ohno was right now. He was convinced that the only reason he was chosen as the leader was because he failed to show up to the run-through, which was just completely unfair in its own right. Seriously, wouldn’t him not showing up end up proving his point that he wasn’t leadership material? If he had to choose anyone out of Arashi as someone who could lead them it would have been Sho-kun not him, really anyone would have been better than him. Then the thought passes through. It’s only been a few months since the press conference, he still doesn’t have many fans and Arashi could make do without him. It’s not like they’re that close or anything. Hell, Toma or Takki could even possibly debut as a part of Arashi like almost everyone had expected. But when the show ends and Ohno is still in shock, the other members start to congratulate him.
He asks them if they were just being mean to him and punishing him for not showing up on time no matter how many times they insisted he should. They all say that they weren’t. Nino doesn’t even have that little smile that he usually has on when he thinks something’s funny. Sho-kun frowns at him seemingly upset at the suggestion that they would do something so petty. MatsuJun just looks at him with a combination of disbelief and anger. And Aiba-chan started pouting, “Is that what you think of us?” he asks, his voice shy and quiet.
Ohno quickly shakes his head. He hasn’t known all of them for that long but they haven’t really done anything that would make him feel like they would do something like that. Even though he kind of wishes that was the reason, because at least that would be a little logical. “Not really, I just don’t understand why me and not Sho-kun.” He says in reply.
Nino replies for them all, “Sho-kun is a worrier, he would drive us all crazy with his questions, even more so than he does now. You worry, but not to the extent that Sho-kun does. MatsuJun is detail-orientated so much so that he will drive us up the wall with trying to get everything perfect. You care about the details but you aren’t so keen on the need for perfection. I get distracted too easily and it takes a lot to pull me out of whatever it is that keeps my attention. You get distracted too but you don’t delve quiet as deeply into your distractions as I do. Aiba-chan is too sensitive, not in a bad way but if it really comes down to it and we ended up in a fight he wouldn’t be able to mediate. You’re sensitive too but not so much that you’ll end up crying if we got into a fight. It has to be you. You are the only one who can manage to balance out the bad parts of us; we all tend to overdo things. It is a leader’s responsibility to make sure that things like that don’t get in the way of work and relationships, and you’re the only one us who can do it. Only you can be our Riida.”
Ohno looked at the rest of the group hoping that someone else would speak and point out some glaring flaw in logic that he had missed because otherwise he was just going to have to get used to his new position. No one else spoke up. He shook his head in disbelief. “I have faults too you know. I’m not smart like Sho-kun, or witty like Nino, or organized like MatsuJun, or imaginative like Aiba-chan. I take a while to realize things and even if I do realize that something’s gone wrong or something is missing there’s no guarantee that I’ll be able to fix it. If you really want me to be your leader you have to accept that. I can’t lead alone; I’ll need everyone’s help. If you’re really alright with that then I will accept the position.” Everyone smiled at him and they all responded with varying degrees of “Of course we’ll help our leader” and thus it was decided. And Ohno thought “Well if we’re all in this together then it should be fine. Maybe mom was right; we really will make it as a group.”
~
The members of Arashi were in a meeting with Johnny the next time the thought struck him. “You will all be in a movie.” Ohno did not hear anything else after those words were said. Those words shocked him more than anything else they had been told did. Arashi in a movie together? He could understand if it was Nino or MatsuJun, they both had experience with drams and had been recognized for their acting at the time. Even Sho made more sense than he did. Everyone else had at least appeared in a drama before.
The only experience Ohno could hold onto was those incredibly short ‘V no Arashi’ episodes, that reminded him a bit too much of the junior dramas they had all been part of, and all of his stage plays. The method for acting in a stage play and movie were totally different though. He was glad he wasn’t Aiba who played the lead role in his first ever movie, although one of them would have had to be the lead and none of them had done a movie before.
Ohno almost wished that he could ask the rest of Arashi to help him with his character. The guy was suppose to be someone who has no luck at all and had no social skills at all. It was almost an exaggerated perception of Ohno himself but he didn’t know how to add that extra level on. Normally during his stage plays the entire cast would gather and together they would all seem to easily piece together each other’s characters. He didn’t want to be a bother to anyone else though so he wasn’t going to ask for help, they were all just as busy, if not more so than he was.
Just as he began to think this Aiba came over to him and sat down next to him. “You know,” he began to speak, “we’re all in this together. That’s the best thing about Arashi. If you need help then just ask someone. Even if you just need someone to run lines with you or bounce ideas about your character off of, we’re all glad to help.” Ohno nods because he knows they are, he just doesn’t want to bother them. “I don’t want to be a burden.” He says in a quiet voice. Aiba looks at him studying his face and smiles, “Leader could never be a burden, even if you tried to be. So go ask someone about whatever it is that’s worrying you.” He nods and starts to assault Aiba with various questions about what he thinks their character’s relationship should play out like. Aiba smiles goofily and happily starts to answer. By the end of the day he’s talked to everyone and has all their roles flowing through his head and he wonders what he was worried about anyway.
~
Years pass without him worrying and then by the time he realizes it he feels like he’s being left behind. Nino is in Hollywood filming a movie with a world famous director, Sho is talking to Agency about being able to be a newscaster, MatsuJun has gotten startlingly popular recently because of his recent dramas, and Aiba’s work has increased ever since he started working on Tensai! Shimura Doubutsen. Only his amount of work has not increased. It was a strange feeling, being left behind. It was like having been running a marathon where everyone was tied but suddenly everyone else starts to sprint ahead leaving you in the dust.
It wasn’t that he was jealous of them or resentful, they all earned their new work loads, but he was upset with himself for not being able to keep up. Interviews were awkward for him because he really wasn’t doing much to talk about so he fell back on talking about drawing. Everyone else said it was alright. He was a my-pace sort of person and that’s what they liked about him, but it didn’t really sink in until Sho talked to him about it.
“You know Leader, it’s alright to not be constantly busy. Don’t you always say so long as everyone stays healthy you’ll be happy no matter what? We feel the same way. You’re doing things too you know. You just recently did a stage play and do art all the time. So what if it’s not your time to shine. That’s alright, there’s always more time. You aren’t letting us down, you know. You make us proud just by being you.”
The next day everyone seemed to ask him about how his art was going and they all took the time to talk to him and assure him that he wasn’t going to be left behind. They would never do that, after all Arashi is made up of five people after all.
~
He'd been afraid of this when he first debuted. He'd messed up. It didn't matter to the public that the so called "evidence" of the threesome and drugs was a picture that had been taken when he was drunk. Regardless of whether it was true or not the damage had been done, and he had no idea how he was going to be able to face Arashi.
His manager spent the car ride talking about tactics. He was told to keep quieter than normal and to issue an apology at a press conference that had been setup for him. He was told not to take the train for a while and not to worry because it would all die down after a while. Being told something like that hardly helped at all.
It was strange how awkward he felt standing outside Arashi's dressing room door. He could only hope that they wouldn't be too mad at him.
When he opened the door he was greeted with the same sight he saw every day. Sho was reading the newspaper, probably his fourth of the day if the piles on the coffee table next to him were any sign. Aiba was flipping through some magazines that more likely then not were idol magazines. He was pretty sure he saw a wink-up in the pile on the floor somewhere. Nino was playing another game on his DS, every so often he would groan or start yelling at his game. Finally, MatsuJun was listening to music, his head bobbing along to the beat of "Thriller".
All heads turned his way after a few seconds and he could tell that they had been waiting for him. He stood stock still trying to gather his courage. his head was filled with all sorts of apologies and excuses that could be said but he felt as if that woudn't be enough. he had screwed up and now everything was wrong in a way that it hadn't been before.
"I... I don't know what to say. I'm so sorry for every thing. Please don't hate me." The words had started out strong but by the end even he could hear that they would most likely me classified as mummbling.
Everyone stopped. They blinked. MatsuJun stood up. "There's nothing to hate you for. Things happen. It's not your fault. We've all been through this before and we'll get through this again." The next thing Ohno knew he was being hugged not only by MatsuJun but by Aiba, Sho, and Nino. Hopefully they were right, everything would be okay.