[Chaptered] All my Roads {4/10}
Hello~ late with this. T__T
Now we introduce the Aimiya angle. Ahehehe.
Enjoy?
FOUR
Jun stared at Sho with an unreadable glint in his eyes that shows how close he was to losing sanity. Recollections of what previously happened rapidly filter in on his mind. He had been hurt, he knew that much. He felt as if he was dying, that was for sure. Did he actually die? Is this some kind of limbo he was in?
“ Sho… stop this nonsensical joke right now… I was with Ninomiya last night, I was hurt, I felt like dying… what the hell are you talking about… about…,” Jun couldn’t continue for the fearful look in Sho’s eyes seemed to have gotten hold of his tongue.
“What are you talking about?” Sho whispered at him and Jun had this sudden urge to run. He felt that if he runs, if his feet would take him somewhere far away from the disturbing look on Sho’s face, everything would suddenly dissolve back to what (and where) it’s supposed to be.
He was supposed to be hurt, right? He was supposed to feel like he’s dying… dying in Ninomiya’s arms.
Where’s Ninomiya anyway?
With that kind of thought, Jun sprang to his feet and headed out, barefoot and still in his night clothes. He ignored Sho’s frantic calls of his name or how the season was suddenly mid-winter instead of late summer. He ignored everything because his mind was only focused on getting out of there and finding Ninomiya.
It was only after a few minutes of running aimlessly that Jun realized how cold it was. He was barefoot, in thin clothes and a very thin blanket of snow covers the earth.
“What the hell…,” Jun murmured, feeling involuntary shivers rocking his body. “Even the weather is this crazy?” For a second he regretted running out and foregoing beating Sho up for conjuring such a bad joke yet, when he realized that summer suddenly turning into winter could never be a joke, he felt something uneasy rising up in his chest
What exactly is wrong? Is this what usually happens when people die? They go into some kind of dividing line and everything turns upside down?
Jun slowed down into a walk as confusing thoughts race through his mind. People stare at him as if he’s some lunatic walking in mid-winter in barefoot and thin clothes but he couldn’t care less. All he knew is that he’s still in Japan, still in Tokyo, probably still seeing the same faces he sees everyday but why… why does it feel different?
Feeling as if he was drained of all energy, Jun roughly sat down on the sidewalk, his mind too full to process any other information. A soft sound of winter air blowing hangs around in the air and busy people pass by him on the street. Maybe he’s dreaming and if he would just close his eyes for a second and open them again, maybe everything will be back to normal. Sho would be his servant once again and winter will dissolve back into summer.
And Jun tried it. He closed his eyes, softly counting numbers, his brows furrowed and his hands gripped the hem of his shirt. That has got to work because if this is a dream… then it should see its ending somewhere. The moment he opens his eyes, it should come to an end.
“…Fifty…,” he murmured, willing everything to go back to what was supposed to be normal.
“Hey,” a rough voice sounded in his ears but Jun refused to open his eyes. “Hey!” Hands took hold of his shoulders and Jun felt he was being shaken.
“I am trying to end this dream so don’t disturb me!” He snarled at the person shaking him, stubbornly keeping his eyes closed. “Go away.”
“Are you crazy? Want me to put you to jail for causing this kind of public disturbance?”
Annoyed, Jun opened his eyes and roughly stood up.
“How can this be public disturbance… ah!” He paused in his sentence, his eyes narrowing as he sees a policeman standing in front of him with raised eyebrows. He looked very familiar, the way old faces in high school yearbooks do. It felt like an old photograph that Jun tried to dig from the back of his head, but he knew he’d met this policeman before, back in the yellowed pages of his high school memories.
“What?” The policeman snarled as Jun’s gaze landed on the name plate below the other’s badge. Officer Oguri Shun, it says and something inside Jun’s brain clicked.
“Of course!” Jun exclaimed. “You’re Oguri Shun! We went to high school together! We’ve been in the same class for four straight years! How can you not know me? It hasn’t been that long since we’ve graduated… wait… it’s only been two years, right?” He tried to fill in the details but with each word he says, Shun’s eyebrows only furrowed more.
“Who are you?”
“Jun. Matsumoto Jun! How can you not know me? You used to do my science reports for me!” Jun insisted.
Shun looked more confused than ever, stepping back a little, as if the thoughts of being near Jun scared him.
“I do not know you, I’ve never been to high school with you and certainly… it’s seven or eight years since I’ve finished high school,” he said and Jun frowned. Seven or eight years? But he’s only twenty one and he’s pretty sure Shun is of the same age.
“W-what…,” Jun stammered, feeling his body giving another involuntary shiver.
“Oi… are you crazy? Go home before you freeze to death and stop bothering other people!” Shun exclaimed with a rough voice and left Jun more confused than ever.
“What the freaking hell is this?” Jun murmured to himself as his head starts to throb from the weirdness of everything. He stood there on the freezing sidewalk like a statue, watching the world slowly move around him. He recognizes the same buildings, same landmarks and he even knows the name of the streets. Everything is where they used to be, like books properly tucked in on the shelf and it’s only… only himself who seems to be out of place.
Surely, if he died that night, this isn’t heaven. His eyes widened at the thought… he’s probably in hell! He’s probably being punished by some kind of evil karma for what he’s done in his lifetime. And with that, Jun felt something similar to fear creeping at his insides. The winter air suddenly felt colder and more biting.
“What exactly…”
“Jun!”
Jun turned his head towards the direction of the voice and saw Sho panting as he runs towards him, a thick coat and a pair of slippers in hand. He stopped in front of Jun, hands on his knees and painfully gasping for air.
“You’re an idiot. Why did you run out in those clothes?! You’ll freeze to death! Here, wear this.” Sho said and handed Jun a brown coat that the latter never imagined wearing in his lifetime.
Slowly, Jun took it, wrapping it around himself but his gaze never left Sho’s face. Tentatively, he murmured… “Sho… c-chan?” and he almost felt like dying when Sho didn’t even flinch and instead said ‘yeah?’
“Uwa! I really am in hell!”
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“Let me get this straight,” Sho slowly said as they sat face to face in a newly opened Chinese restaurant nearby. Jun had smirked silently to his face. This was the exact same Chinese restaurant that he and Ninomiya had eaten at the day before everything that was weird and strange happened to him.
“You’re the son of a hospital owner, your mother is an heir to a chain of hotels, you study in a prestigious university and I work as a servant in your house?” Sho asked slowly, pausing every once in a while to catch his breath.
Jun nodded.
“Jun… what kind of joke are you playing?” Sho asked, frowning.
“I am not playing a joke!” Jun insisted. “It’s true! I’m a rich kid! And… and… before I woke up in that room, I was in an alley, I was hurt and I was dying and… and… maybe I am indeed dead that’s why…”
“JUN!” Sho shouted, causing the younger man to come to pause. “Stop playing around,” he said, his voice once again mellow. “First of all… you’re not a student anymore, Jun. It’s been two years since you’ve finished your university studies… and,” Sho exhaled. “And didn’t we talk about this before? We agreed we’re not going to bring up this parent matter anymore.”
“W-What do you mean?” Jun asked, an uneasy sense of panic rising in his chest. “What the hell do you mean?”
Sho looked melancholy for a second before he gazed out the window, refusing to look at Jun.
“We’ve never had parents, Jun. Never… both of us… you and I… we never knew how it feels like to have parents.”
A suffocating layer of silence dominated Jun’s world after Sho’s words dropped like a bomb on his head. Something inside him screams and refuses to believe because he knew. He knew what it feels like to have parents… to have a family. It may not be a perfect family but yesterday and the days before that, he knew how it feels like to have a family.
“Liar,” Jun hissed through his gritted teeth. “You’re lying because I know! I’ve had parents! I have parents! I even talked to my mother just recently!”
“Jun… Jun!” Sho tried to calm him down when Jun abruptly stood up. He was about to say something more when an elderly man, probably around eighty approached them with a smile and offered a plate of fortune cookies.
“Would you like to have some fortune cookies? Since it’s opening day today, we’ll be very generous and offer you a plate,” he said, mysterious eyes landing on Jun’s face. “You look like you need some. Sit down son, and enjoy,” he said before bowing and taking his leave.
Jun and Sho sighed in unison.
Feeling his racing heart calming, Jun sat back down and angrily snatched a cookie from the plate, cracking it in two. A small piece of paper fell from the cookie and Jun ignored it as he ate. It was Sho who picked it up and read it out loud.
“Be careful what you wish for. Innocent wishes can sometimes come true,” Sho read and Jun frowned, the words igniting something inside him.
Blinking once, he took another cookie, cracked it in two. This time he nervously unrolled the piece of paper inside and almost did a double take when the same words appeared before his eyes.
Be careful what you wish for. Innocent wishes can sometimes come true.
“This is so messed up,” Jun said, snatching another cookie and unrolling the piece of paper inside. “This is so freaking messed up,” he repeated as the same words appeared. His hands shook as he cracks one cookie after the other and strangely, the same message appears.
“Jun… what’s wrong?” Sho asked, worried about how insanely Jun was acting, cracking cookies one after the other.
“This is so messed up, this is so messed up,” Jun kept on repeating as scenes fade in and out of his mind until it was stuck to that particular night when he first saw the rain falling amidst the shining stars.
He felt his whole world stop the moment he recalled his own words that night: I wish… I wish I was born to a different set of parents so I will not see that nasty old man again!
He slowly looked at Sho, voice shaking as he spoke.
“H-how old am I now? I-is my name still Matsumoto Jun? I… what…,” Jun stammered, as confusing thoughts fight for dominance in his mind.
“Jun… are you okay?”
“Answer me!” Jun demanded as the beginnings of fear showed through the forming tears in his eyes.
Sho looked scared and confused but he answered nonetheless.
“You’re Matsumoto Jun, twenty seven years old… and… your acceptance letter to be a teacher in a local pre-school just arrived today…”
A single drop of tear fell from Jun’s eyes as he heard the words.
“A teacher?! What?! In a local pre-school? And… and… how did we start living together?”
The frown on Sho’s face worsened.
“We grew up together, Jun. We started living together at the orphanage but we moved out when I turned eighteen and I took you with me and we started living in that house… Jun, what is wrong with you?”
The single tear that surprisingly fell from Jun’s eyes was followed by one drop after the other as he stood up and mumbled incoherent words.
“So everything… everything was my fault…,” he mumbled before he found himself once again aimlessly running from some things he couldn’t really understand.
“Jun! Where are you going again?” Sho shouted after him but once again, Jun had turned deaf. The younger man kept running and bumped into the owner of the restaurant on his way out.
The old man smiled at him with two of his teeth missing.
“Are your fortune cookies interesting?” He whispered before sauntering over towards an arguing couple near the door. Jun stopped for a moment, glanced at Sho and continued running, words echoing in his mind.
Did everything happen because of that one stupid wish? There must be some crazy god up there who loves to play with people’s lives in strange ways like this. Jun thought of these things as he kept on running, salty tears rolling down his cheeks. He never really wanted to live another life. Sure, his family sometimes pisses him off but is that enough reason to grant a wish from someone who never intended it to be a wish in the first place? Regrets slowly creep up on him in ways it never did before.
That’s what’s funny about humans, anyway. When words are said and acts are done, that’s when they realize their mistakes and grieve for it. It’s like being too lazy to double check a test paper and when it comes back, you realize that one mis-shaded number divided the difference between passing and failing.
Had Jun failed?
He still has to try to find out.
“If I wish again… maybe it will all go back to normal… maybe…,” he thought to himself and stopped from his running. He closed his eyes so tight that it almost hurt and in all innocence he wished for things to be back to normal. He wished for everything to stop being so weird and just… he wished to go back to that alley, almost dying in Ninomiya’s arms.
It doesn’t matter if he’s dying as long as everything is where it’s supposed to be, as long as he knew he has parents… as long as Ninomiya is there. To think he didn’t even have the chance to tell Ninomiya what he realized…if only everything would go back to normal…
Yet, wishing and un-wishing are two different things. Sometimes, really, humans must face the consequences of their wishes, no matter how innocent they may be.
When Jun opened his eyes, he was still in the same spot, still wearing the same clothes and still looking like an idiot with his eyes closed.
“This isn’t working,” he said and tried to look for coins in his pockets. To his luck, he found two coins in the pocket of the coat Sho gave him. “This will do,” he said and closed his eyes, ready to throw the coin anywhere. Nevermind that there’s no wishing fountain or wishing well nearby.
“I wish for everything to go back to normal!” He exclaimed and threw the coin over his shoulders. He waited and it took a second before an angry voice reach his ears.
“Oi! Why are you throwing coins at me?!”
Jun’s heart skipped a beat when he heard the voice that sweetly sounded familiar in his ears, no matter how angry the owner is. Turning around abruptly, a nervous smile appeared on Jun’s face as he saw a man rubbing his forehead where the coin had hit him.
Ninomiya Kazunari.
“N-Ninomiya…,” Jun murmured. “Is it you? Ninomiya!” he shouted, running towards the other man, feeling overjoyed that he finally found him. “Are you hurt? Everything’s weird here, isn’t it? Aren’t you surprised too? We were in the alley last night but when I woke up… everything’s turned upside down because of one silly wish… Ninomiya?” Jun paused from his machine gun storytelling and looked curiously at the other man. “What’s wrong?”
Ninomiya stared at him.
“What’s wrong?” He asked. “You’re asking me what’s wrong? What’s wrong is that you hit me with a coin, didn’t bother to say sorry and acted as if you know me. Listen, whatever your name is. I don’t know you… and I don’t care if your life is weird right now. Just say sorry.”
Jun looked dumbfounded. He stared at the other man… same hair, same eyes, same voice… it’s the same Ninomiya that he knew for more than a week; the same Ninomiya who has as bad temper as he has; same Ninomiya who used to tutor him; the same Ninomiya who made Jun’s picky heart beat twice as fast… but why? Why does it seem like a huge wall has now built itself in between them?
“Ninomiya… why?”
“Why? Everyone’s gotta say sorry once in his life! Especially when he hurts a person. You hit me with your coin, it’s only natural for you to say sorry to me.”
Jun blinked. Those were the exact same words Ninomiya said to him once. Without thinking, he grabbed the man on the shoulders to shake him.
“Stop acting like it hasn’t been strange for you too! You’ve said those words to me before, Ninomiya! Now snap out of it and let’s try to find a way to get out of this mess together!”
“Where do you think you’re touching?!” Ninomiya complained, pushing Jun away. “Look, weirdo. I don’t know you, this is my first time talking to you so stop creeping me out,” he stated and glanced over Jun’s shoulders as a shiny black car stopped on the road behind them.
“Young master…,” the driver called as he emerged.
“Yes?” Jun and Ninomiya said together. The latter gave Jun a smirk.
“Dreaming?” Ninomiya sarcastically asked before heading towards the car. He turned back to Jun before he went inside. “If I meet you again next time, make sure you learn how to say sorry,” he said and slammed the car door, leaving Jun too confused to talk.
“Oi…,” Jun called even after the car sped away. “OI! Ninomiya Kazunari!”
If indeed… if everything turned upside down, does it mean that the people he knew… did their attitude turn upside down too? Because the Ninomiya he knew… the normal Ninomiya he knew might have had a short temper but he was easier to talk to.
In that moment, Jun felt as if he’s been stripped of all identity, like a leaf placed too long in acid, losing color, losing distinction. Sure he was still Matsumoto Jun and he didn’t seem to be dead… but what’s the point of it all when everything that he knew, everything that has happened in his life, every memory etched in the corners of his mind… has slowly turned into lies?
Every school trip he remembered, angry conversations with his father, gentle moments with his mother, climbing a mountain, riding a roller coaster, falling in love with Ninomiya, every bit of memory… what’s the use of remembering them all now when it’s only him who remembers?
--------------------------
“Is he someone you know, sir?”
Ninomiya Kazunari frowned and shook his head.
“No. It’s my first time meeting him,” he answered. “But he insists that he knows me. Some people these days…” he shook his head.
The driver chuckled.
“It’s a chance encounter, maybe?”
Ninomiya made a face and threw something towards his driver.
“Aiba Masaki!” He protested. “You’re speaking nonsense,” he said and Aiba laughed. “And stop calling me ‘sir’ or ‘young master’ when it’s just the two of us. It’s uncomfortable,” Ninomiya added and Aiba’s breathy laughter resounded inside the car.
“But you are my young master. I’m your driver, remember?” Aiba insisted.
“Only when my family’s looking. Masaki, we practically grew up together. You’re like a brother to me so when it’s just the two of us, just call me by my name.”
“Only a brother?” Aiba asked playfully, laughing as he sees the murderous look on Ninomiya’s face through the rearview mirror. “Uwa… why do I feel like you’re going to grab me by the neck and strangle me?”
Ninomiya shrugged.
“Are you sure you simply look at me as a brother-friend? You’ve been spouting that same joke over and over since I could remember,” he observed, pretending to skim over some documents in his hands. When Aiba’s pitchy laughter once again bounced around the car, Ninomiya grinned. He likes the sound of it.
“So are you going to be the one to manage that pre-school your father opened?”
Ninomiya’s frown deepened at the mention of his father’s supposed good deed.
“Somewhat. Let’s not talk about it” he said, frowning.
Several months ago, his father decided to do his supposed charity work and opened a pre-school to show his socially aware side to the public and he appointed his only son as the managing director for it. Ninomiya had clearly rejected the idea but his father insisted with the end view of publicity for the company.
“It still pisses you off?” Aiba asked and Ninomiya nodded slowly.
“I don’t like children.” Ninomiya said and Aiba chuckled. “If he’s going to do some good deed, why not just donate the money somewhere instead of opening some kind of pre-school when none of us knows how to operate it in the first place!”
“That’s why you have people around you, Nino,” Aiba said after a while and Ninomiya grinned at the sudden mention of his private nickname. “They’re there to help you. There are surely a lot of things in this world that you can’t do alone. That’s why you hire people, that’s why you have friends, that’s why you have a family… that’s why you have me…”
Ninomiya leaned back on his seat with a small smile on his face.
“I guess so,” he said slowly. “Dare to leave me, idiot and you will run out of spaces to run on. I’ll come hunting you down,” he joked as he closes his eyes, feeling the familiar comfort that comes from talking to Aiba.
“Sure, whatever” Aiba said and continued to drive, laughing at the threats his friend suddenly spouted.
“I mean it,” Ninomiya threatened. “I’m Ninomiya Kazunari, after all,” he grinned.
Ninomiya Kazunari. The son of a wealthy businessman, set to inherit the family’s business after his father retires. Ninomiya Kazunari. The man loved by all, a seemingly sweet person with no flaws both in physical appearance and in attitude…
Ninomiya Kazunari. The real him has too many insecurities in life, too many kept bitterness… too many imperfections that not many people can understand.
“If you must know, Nino…” Aiba murmured, looking at Ninomiya from the mirror. “It never crossed my mind… to leave you,” he said and Ninomiya smiled a little, giving a thumbs-up sign towards Aiba.
Yet, in spite of all his hidden imperfections, Aiba Masaki is always there to understand him.
And Ninomiya’s going to keep him.
TBC
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1. Eeepsss! If I fail anywhere, do ignore it for now. I’ll fix it later when I get back home.
2. LJ’s been giving people problems lately but I do understand that it’s been the subject of several attacks. I hope it won’t happen again anytime soon. ^__^
Now we introduce the Aimiya angle. Ahehehe.
Enjoy?
FOUR
Jun stared at Sho with an unreadable glint in his eyes that shows how close he was to losing sanity. Recollections of what previously happened rapidly filter in on his mind. He had been hurt, he knew that much. He felt as if he was dying, that was for sure. Did he actually die? Is this some kind of limbo he was in?
“ Sho… stop this nonsensical joke right now… I was with Ninomiya last night, I was hurt, I felt like dying… what the hell are you talking about… about…,” Jun couldn’t continue for the fearful look in Sho’s eyes seemed to have gotten hold of his tongue.
“What are you talking about?” Sho whispered at him and Jun had this sudden urge to run. He felt that if he runs, if his feet would take him somewhere far away from the disturbing look on Sho’s face, everything would suddenly dissolve back to what (and where) it’s supposed to be.
He was supposed to be hurt, right? He was supposed to feel like he’s dying… dying in Ninomiya’s arms.
Where’s Ninomiya anyway?
With that kind of thought, Jun sprang to his feet and headed out, barefoot and still in his night clothes. He ignored Sho’s frantic calls of his name or how the season was suddenly mid-winter instead of late summer. He ignored everything because his mind was only focused on getting out of there and finding Ninomiya.
It was only after a few minutes of running aimlessly that Jun realized how cold it was. He was barefoot, in thin clothes and a very thin blanket of snow covers the earth.
“What the hell…,” Jun murmured, feeling involuntary shivers rocking his body. “Even the weather is this crazy?” For a second he regretted running out and foregoing beating Sho up for conjuring such a bad joke yet, when he realized that summer suddenly turning into winter could never be a joke, he felt something uneasy rising up in his chest
What exactly is wrong? Is this what usually happens when people die? They go into some kind of dividing line and everything turns upside down?
Jun slowed down into a walk as confusing thoughts race through his mind. People stare at him as if he’s some lunatic walking in mid-winter in barefoot and thin clothes but he couldn’t care less. All he knew is that he’s still in Japan, still in Tokyo, probably still seeing the same faces he sees everyday but why… why does it feel different?
Feeling as if he was drained of all energy, Jun roughly sat down on the sidewalk, his mind too full to process any other information. A soft sound of winter air blowing hangs around in the air and busy people pass by him on the street. Maybe he’s dreaming and if he would just close his eyes for a second and open them again, maybe everything will be back to normal. Sho would be his servant once again and winter will dissolve back into summer.
And Jun tried it. He closed his eyes, softly counting numbers, his brows furrowed and his hands gripped the hem of his shirt. That has got to work because if this is a dream… then it should see its ending somewhere. The moment he opens his eyes, it should come to an end.
“…Fifty…,” he murmured, willing everything to go back to what was supposed to be normal.
“Hey,” a rough voice sounded in his ears but Jun refused to open his eyes. “Hey!” Hands took hold of his shoulders and Jun felt he was being shaken.
“I am trying to end this dream so don’t disturb me!” He snarled at the person shaking him, stubbornly keeping his eyes closed. “Go away.”
“Are you crazy? Want me to put you to jail for causing this kind of public disturbance?”
Annoyed, Jun opened his eyes and roughly stood up.
“How can this be public disturbance… ah!” He paused in his sentence, his eyes narrowing as he sees a policeman standing in front of him with raised eyebrows. He looked very familiar, the way old faces in high school yearbooks do. It felt like an old photograph that Jun tried to dig from the back of his head, but he knew he’d met this policeman before, back in the yellowed pages of his high school memories.
“What?” The policeman snarled as Jun’s gaze landed on the name plate below the other’s badge. Officer Oguri Shun, it says and something inside Jun’s brain clicked.
“Of course!” Jun exclaimed. “You’re Oguri Shun! We went to high school together! We’ve been in the same class for four straight years! How can you not know me? It hasn’t been that long since we’ve graduated… wait… it’s only been two years, right?” He tried to fill in the details but with each word he says, Shun’s eyebrows only furrowed more.
“Who are you?”
“Jun. Matsumoto Jun! How can you not know me? You used to do my science reports for me!” Jun insisted.
Shun looked more confused than ever, stepping back a little, as if the thoughts of being near Jun scared him.
“I do not know you, I’ve never been to high school with you and certainly… it’s seven or eight years since I’ve finished high school,” he said and Jun frowned. Seven or eight years? But he’s only twenty one and he’s pretty sure Shun is of the same age.
“W-what…,” Jun stammered, feeling his body giving another involuntary shiver.
“Oi… are you crazy? Go home before you freeze to death and stop bothering other people!” Shun exclaimed with a rough voice and left Jun more confused than ever.
“What the freaking hell is this?” Jun murmured to himself as his head starts to throb from the weirdness of everything. He stood there on the freezing sidewalk like a statue, watching the world slowly move around him. He recognizes the same buildings, same landmarks and he even knows the name of the streets. Everything is where they used to be, like books properly tucked in on the shelf and it’s only… only himself who seems to be out of place.
Surely, if he died that night, this isn’t heaven. His eyes widened at the thought… he’s probably in hell! He’s probably being punished by some kind of evil karma for what he’s done in his lifetime. And with that, Jun felt something similar to fear creeping at his insides. The winter air suddenly felt colder and more biting.
“What exactly…”
“Jun!”
Jun turned his head towards the direction of the voice and saw Sho panting as he runs towards him, a thick coat and a pair of slippers in hand. He stopped in front of Jun, hands on his knees and painfully gasping for air.
“You’re an idiot. Why did you run out in those clothes?! You’ll freeze to death! Here, wear this.” Sho said and handed Jun a brown coat that the latter never imagined wearing in his lifetime.
Slowly, Jun took it, wrapping it around himself but his gaze never left Sho’s face. Tentatively, he murmured… “Sho… c-chan?” and he almost felt like dying when Sho didn’t even flinch and instead said ‘yeah?’
“Uwa! I really am in hell!”
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“Let me get this straight,” Sho slowly said as they sat face to face in a newly opened Chinese restaurant nearby. Jun had smirked silently to his face. This was the exact same Chinese restaurant that he and Ninomiya had eaten at the day before everything that was weird and strange happened to him.
“You’re the son of a hospital owner, your mother is an heir to a chain of hotels, you study in a prestigious university and I work as a servant in your house?” Sho asked slowly, pausing every once in a while to catch his breath.
Jun nodded.
“Jun… what kind of joke are you playing?” Sho asked, frowning.
“I am not playing a joke!” Jun insisted. “It’s true! I’m a rich kid! And… and… before I woke up in that room, I was in an alley, I was hurt and I was dying and… and… maybe I am indeed dead that’s why…”
“JUN!” Sho shouted, causing the younger man to come to pause. “Stop playing around,” he said, his voice once again mellow. “First of all… you’re not a student anymore, Jun. It’s been two years since you’ve finished your university studies… and,” Sho exhaled. “And didn’t we talk about this before? We agreed we’re not going to bring up this parent matter anymore.”
“W-What do you mean?” Jun asked, an uneasy sense of panic rising in his chest. “What the hell do you mean?”
Sho looked melancholy for a second before he gazed out the window, refusing to look at Jun.
“We’ve never had parents, Jun. Never… both of us… you and I… we never knew how it feels like to have parents.”
A suffocating layer of silence dominated Jun’s world after Sho’s words dropped like a bomb on his head. Something inside him screams and refuses to believe because he knew. He knew what it feels like to have parents… to have a family. It may not be a perfect family but yesterday and the days before that, he knew how it feels like to have a family.
“Liar,” Jun hissed through his gritted teeth. “You’re lying because I know! I’ve had parents! I have parents! I even talked to my mother just recently!”
“Jun… Jun!” Sho tried to calm him down when Jun abruptly stood up. He was about to say something more when an elderly man, probably around eighty approached them with a smile and offered a plate of fortune cookies.
“Would you like to have some fortune cookies? Since it’s opening day today, we’ll be very generous and offer you a plate,” he said, mysterious eyes landing on Jun’s face. “You look like you need some. Sit down son, and enjoy,” he said before bowing and taking his leave.
Jun and Sho sighed in unison.
Feeling his racing heart calming, Jun sat back down and angrily snatched a cookie from the plate, cracking it in two. A small piece of paper fell from the cookie and Jun ignored it as he ate. It was Sho who picked it up and read it out loud.
“Be careful what you wish for. Innocent wishes can sometimes come true,” Sho read and Jun frowned, the words igniting something inside him.
Blinking once, he took another cookie, cracked it in two. This time he nervously unrolled the piece of paper inside and almost did a double take when the same words appeared before his eyes.
Be careful what you wish for. Innocent wishes can sometimes come true.
“This is so messed up,” Jun said, snatching another cookie and unrolling the piece of paper inside. “This is so freaking messed up,” he repeated as the same words appeared. His hands shook as he cracks one cookie after the other and strangely, the same message appears.
“Jun… what’s wrong?” Sho asked, worried about how insanely Jun was acting, cracking cookies one after the other.
“This is so messed up, this is so messed up,” Jun kept on repeating as scenes fade in and out of his mind until it was stuck to that particular night when he first saw the rain falling amidst the shining stars.
He felt his whole world stop the moment he recalled his own words that night: I wish… I wish I was born to a different set of parents so I will not see that nasty old man again!
He slowly looked at Sho, voice shaking as he spoke.
“H-how old am I now? I-is my name still Matsumoto Jun? I… what…,” Jun stammered, as confusing thoughts fight for dominance in his mind.
“Jun… are you okay?”
“Answer me!” Jun demanded as the beginnings of fear showed through the forming tears in his eyes.
Sho looked scared and confused but he answered nonetheless.
“You’re Matsumoto Jun, twenty seven years old… and… your acceptance letter to be a teacher in a local pre-school just arrived today…”
A single drop of tear fell from Jun’s eyes as he heard the words.
“A teacher?! What?! In a local pre-school? And… and… how did we start living together?”
The frown on Sho’s face worsened.
“We grew up together, Jun. We started living together at the orphanage but we moved out when I turned eighteen and I took you with me and we started living in that house… Jun, what is wrong with you?”
The single tear that surprisingly fell from Jun’s eyes was followed by one drop after the other as he stood up and mumbled incoherent words.
“So everything… everything was my fault…,” he mumbled before he found himself once again aimlessly running from some things he couldn’t really understand.
“Jun! Where are you going again?” Sho shouted after him but once again, Jun had turned deaf. The younger man kept running and bumped into the owner of the restaurant on his way out.
The old man smiled at him with two of his teeth missing.
“Are your fortune cookies interesting?” He whispered before sauntering over towards an arguing couple near the door. Jun stopped for a moment, glanced at Sho and continued running, words echoing in his mind.
Did everything happen because of that one stupid wish? There must be some crazy god up there who loves to play with people’s lives in strange ways like this. Jun thought of these things as he kept on running, salty tears rolling down his cheeks. He never really wanted to live another life. Sure, his family sometimes pisses him off but is that enough reason to grant a wish from someone who never intended it to be a wish in the first place? Regrets slowly creep up on him in ways it never did before.
That’s what’s funny about humans, anyway. When words are said and acts are done, that’s when they realize their mistakes and grieve for it. It’s like being too lazy to double check a test paper and when it comes back, you realize that one mis-shaded number divided the difference between passing and failing.
Had Jun failed?
He still has to try to find out.
“If I wish again… maybe it will all go back to normal… maybe…,” he thought to himself and stopped from his running. He closed his eyes so tight that it almost hurt and in all innocence he wished for things to be back to normal. He wished for everything to stop being so weird and just… he wished to go back to that alley, almost dying in Ninomiya’s arms.
It doesn’t matter if he’s dying as long as everything is where it’s supposed to be, as long as he knew he has parents… as long as Ninomiya is there. To think he didn’t even have the chance to tell Ninomiya what he realized…if only everything would go back to normal…
Yet, wishing and un-wishing are two different things. Sometimes, really, humans must face the consequences of their wishes, no matter how innocent they may be.
When Jun opened his eyes, he was still in the same spot, still wearing the same clothes and still looking like an idiot with his eyes closed.
“This isn’t working,” he said and tried to look for coins in his pockets. To his luck, he found two coins in the pocket of the coat Sho gave him. “This will do,” he said and closed his eyes, ready to throw the coin anywhere. Nevermind that there’s no wishing fountain or wishing well nearby.
“I wish for everything to go back to normal!” He exclaimed and threw the coin over his shoulders. He waited and it took a second before an angry voice reach his ears.
“Oi! Why are you throwing coins at me?!”
Jun’s heart skipped a beat when he heard the voice that sweetly sounded familiar in his ears, no matter how angry the owner is. Turning around abruptly, a nervous smile appeared on Jun’s face as he saw a man rubbing his forehead where the coin had hit him.
Ninomiya Kazunari.
“N-Ninomiya…,” Jun murmured. “Is it you? Ninomiya!” he shouted, running towards the other man, feeling overjoyed that he finally found him. “Are you hurt? Everything’s weird here, isn’t it? Aren’t you surprised too? We were in the alley last night but when I woke up… everything’s turned upside down because of one silly wish… Ninomiya?” Jun paused from his machine gun storytelling and looked curiously at the other man. “What’s wrong?”
Ninomiya stared at him.
“What’s wrong?” He asked. “You’re asking me what’s wrong? What’s wrong is that you hit me with a coin, didn’t bother to say sorry and acted as if you know me. Listen, whatever your name is. I don’t know you… and I don’t care if your life is weird right now. Just say sorry.”
Jun looked dumbfounded. He stared at the other man… same hair, same eyes, same voice… it’s the same Ninomiya that he knew for more than a week; the same Ninomiya who has as bad temper as he has; same Ninomiya who used to tutor him; the same Ninomiya who made Jun’s picky heart beat twice as fast… but why? Why does it seem like a huge wall has now built itself in between them?
“Ninomiya… why?”
“Why? Everyone’s gotta say sorry once in his life! Especially when he hurts a person. You hit me with your coin, it’s only natural for you to say sorry to me.”
Jun blinked. Those were the exact same words Ninomiya said to him once. Without thinking, he grabbed the man on the shoulders to shake him.
“Stop acting like it hasn’t been strange for you too! You’ve said those words to me before, Ninomiya! Now snap out of it and let’s try to find a way to get out of this mess together!”
“Where do you think you’re touching?!” Ninomiya complained, pushing Jun away. “Look, weirdo. I don’t know you, this is my first time talking to you so stop creeping me out,” he stated and glanced over Jun’s shoulders as a shiny black car stopped on the road behind them.
“Young master…,” the driver called as he emerged.
“Yes?” Jun and Ninomiya said together. The latter gave Jun a smirk.
“Dreaming?” Ninomiya sarcastically asked before heading towards the car. He turned back to Jun before he went inside. “If I meet you again next time, make sure you learn how to say sorry,” he said and slammed the car door, leaving Jun too confused to talk.
“Oi…,” Jun called even after the car sped away. “OI! Ninomiya Kazunari!”
If indeed… if everything turned upside down, does it mean that the people he knew… did their attitude turn upside down too? Because the Ninomiya he knew… the normal Ninomiya he knew might have had a short temper but he was easier to talk to.
In that moment, Jun felt as if he’s been stripped of all identity, like a leaf placed too long in acid, losing color, losing distinction. Sure he was still Matsumoto Jun and he didn’t seem to be dead… but what’s the point of it all when everything that he knew, everything that has happened in his life, every memory etched in the corners of his mind… has slowly turned into lies?
Every school trip he remembered, angry conversations with his father, gentle moments with his mother, climbing a mountain, riding a roller coaster, falling in love with Ninomiya, every bit of memory… what’s the use of remembering them all now when it’s only him who remembers?
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“Is he someone you know, sir?”
Ninomiya Kazunari frowned and shook his head.
“No. It’s my first time meeting him,” he answered. “But he insists that he knows me. Some people these days…” he shook his head.
The driver chuckled.
“It’s a chance encounter, maybe?”
Ninomiya made a face and threw something towards his driver.
“Aiba Masaki!” He protested. “You’re speaking nonsense,” he said and Aiba laughed. “And stop calling me ‘sir’ or ‘young master’ when it’s just the two of us. It’s uncomfortable,” Ninomiya added and Aiba’s breathy laughter resounded inside the car.
“But you are my young master. I’m your driver, remember?” Aiba insisted.
“Only when my family’s looking. Masaki, we practically grew up together. You’re like a brother to me so when it’s just the two of us, just call me by my name.”
“Only a brother?” Aiba asked playfully, laughing as he sees the murderous look on Ninomiya’s face through the rearview mirror. “Uwa… why do I feel like you’re going to grab me by the neck and strangle me?”
Ninomiya shrugged.
“Are you sure you simply look at me as a brother-friend? You’ve been spouting that same joke over and over since I could remember,” he observed, pretending to skim over some documents in his hands. When Aiba’s pitchy laughter once again bounced around the car, Ninomiya grinned. He likes the sound of it.
“So are you going to be the one to manage that pre-school your father opened?”
Ninomiya’s frown deepened at the mention of his father’s supposed good deed.
“Somewhat. Let’s not talk about it” he said, frowning.
Several months ago, his father decided to do his supposed charity work and opened a pre-school to show his socially aware side to the public and he appointed his only son as the managing director for it. Ninomiya had clearly rejected the idea but his father insisted with the end view of publicity for the company.
“It still pisses you off?” Aiba asked and Ninomiya nodded slowly.
“I don’t like children.” Ninomiya said and Aiba chuckled. “If he’s going to do some good deed, why not just donate the money somewhere instead of opening some kind of pre-school when none of us knows how to operate it in the first place!”
“That’s why you have people around you, Nino,” Aiba said after a while and Ninomiya grinned at the sudden mention of his private nickname. “They’re there to help you. There are surely a lot of things in this world that you can’t do alone. That’s why you hire people, that’s why you have friends, that’s why you have a family… that’s why you have me…”
Ninomiya leaned back on his seat with a small smile on his face.
“I guess so,” he said slowly. “Dare to leave me, idiot and you will run out of spaces to run on. I’ll come hunting you down,” he joked as he closes his eyes, feeling the familiar comfort that comes from talking to Aiba.
“Sure, whatever” Aiba said and continued to drive, laughing at the threats his friend suddenly spouted.
“I mean it,” Ninomiya threatened. “I’m Ninomiya Kazunari, after all,” he grinned.
Ninomiya Kazunari. The son of a wealthy businessman, set to inherit the family’s business after his father retires. Ninomiya Kazunari. The man loved by all, a seemingly sweet person with no flaws both in physical appearance and in attitude…
Ninomiya Kazunari. The real him has too many insecurities in life, too many kept bitterness… too many imperfections that not many people can understand.
“If you must know, Nino…” Aiba murmured, looking at Ninomiya from the mirror. “It never crossed my mind… to leave you,” he said and Ninomiya smiled a little, giving a thumbs-up sign towards Aiba.
Yet, in spite of all his hidden imperfections, Aiba Masaki is always there to understand him.
And Ninomiya’s going to keep him.
TBC
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1. Eeepsss! If I fail anywhere, do ignore it for now. I’ll fix it later when I get back home.
2. LJ’s been giving people problems lately but I do understand that it’s been the subject of several attacks. I hope it won’t happen again anytime soon. ^__^