It takes Jin a moment to start the car, because his hand is shaking.
The dream flashes in his mind again as he pulls out of the parking garage. Rain-slicked streets, glowing neon lights - it could be any street in Tokyo, only something about it seems familiar. He knows that intersection, he's sure of it, he just can't remember where. Frowning, Jin tries fruitlessly to play back the scene in his head, but the dream has already grown fainter. He's never had the right memory for that kind of thing, anyway.
(Once, back in the days right after their debut, Jin had skipped a meeting to hide in NEWS' dressing room with Yamapi, and Kato had been there demonstrating his ability to remember the set list of every jimusho show he'd ever seen, or been in. Jin had made sure to let Kato know what a pointless skill it was at the time, but he'd secretly been just the tiniest bit impressed. He wouldn't mind Kato's memory now.)
This early in the morning, the streets are still nearly empty. Jin drives toward the center of Tokyo - toward Kame's apartment - on autopilot. The location of the dream remains tantalizingly familiar, and just out of reach. There had been a pedestrian overpass ahead, and a blotch of inky darkness that could have been - trees? A park. To the left, a multistory arcade, buzzing with activity even in the middle of the night; to the right, a row of little shuttered shops. They'd reached the intersection, and -
A horn blares and for a moment Jin's heart stops beating. Then he realizes it's not just the dream. He snaps back into the present and yanks the steering wheel to the right, avoiding the oncoming sports car by a hairsbreadth. He swears under his breath, and as he does he remembers.
*
They'd been filming on location for Hadaka no Shounen, in Kichijoji on the outskirts of Tokyo - Kazama and Hasejun and Jin and Kame. Kazama had tried to convince Sawada-san, the assistant producer, that they should all go to the Ghibli Museum instead of the traditional Japanese dance studio they were supposed to be at but strangely enough Sawada-san had just laughed and cuffed Kazama lightly on the side of the head. Jin was so excited that Kame got to come on location with them for once that he didn't care that much.
They even got a whole hour for lunch, and the freedom to take it wherever they wanted - within reason, Sawada-san amended, eyeing Kazama and Hasejun suspiciously. Jin had tugged on Kame's sleeve and they'd slipped away amidst the Terrible Two's loud and not particularly credible protestations of innocence.
Now they were wandering up and down the narrow streets, peering into almost every tiny restaurant or soba shop they passed. A brand-new game center gleamed temptingly across the street, and Jin slid a glance at Kame, wondering if Kame would mind all that much if they ate quickly and just took a look inside, just a look - but Kame was pointing straight ahead.
"Look," he said. "A park."
Jin frowned. "So?"
"So let's take our lunch there." At Jin's less than convinced expression, Kame said, "Come on, we've been inside all day. It's sunny, too."
Jin didn't see what was so great about the outdoors, and besides, he wanted sesame ramen. You couldn't take sesame ramen to the park. As he opened his mouth to protest, Kame clamped a hand over it, and Jin was so surprised that he didn't make a sound.
He stared at Kame, who slowly turned a deep red. His hand was still over Jin's mouth.
"Um," Jin tried to say and Kame snatched his hand away like it was burning. Jin coughed, and Kame cleared his throat. "As I was saying," Kame said, trying valiantly and succeeding only in sounding weirdly formal. "I think we should each lunch in the park."
"Okay," Jin said meekly, and they bought bento from the conbini on the corner and sat on a bench and talked about nothing for a whole glorious hour. The sunshine was kind of nice after all, Jin thought.
*
Or maybe, Jin thinks, years later, it had just been the expression on Kame's face, like he was afraid to be so happy.
He flicks on his turn signal and takes the next exit, west out of the city, toward Kichijoji.
spreading to: spurious
It takes Jin a moment to start the car, because his hand is shaking.
The dream flashes in his mind again as he pulls out of the parking garage. Rain-slicked streets, glowing neon lights - it could be any street in Tokyo, only something about it seems familiar. He knows that intersection, he's sure of it, he just can't remember where. Frowning, Jin tries fruitlessly to play back the scene in his head, but the dream has already grown fainter. He's never had the right memory for that kind of thing, anyway.
(Once, back in the days right after their debut, Jin had skipped a meeting to hide in NEWS' dressing room with Yamapi, and Kato had been there demonstrating his ability to remember the set list of every jimusho show he'd ever seen, or been in. Jin had made sure to let Kato know what a pointless skill it was at the time, but he'd secretly been just the tiniest bit impressed. He wouldn't mind Kato's memory now.)
This early in the morning, the streets are still nearly empty. Jin drives toward the center of Tokyo - toward Kame's apartment - on autopilot. The location of the dream remains tantalizingly familiar, and just out of reach. There had been a pedestrian overpass ahead, and a blotch of inky darkness that could have been - trees? A park. To the left, a multistory arcade, buzzing with activity even in the middle of the night; to the right, a row of little shuttered shops. They'd reached the intersection, and -
A horn blares and for a moment Jin's heart stops beating. Then he realizes it's not just the dream. He snaps back into the present and yanks the steering wheel to the right, avoiding the oncoming sports car by a hairsbreadth. He swears under his breath, and as he does he remembers.
*
They'd been filming on location for Hadaka no Shounen, in Kichijoji on the outskirts of Tokyo - Kazama and Hasejun and Jin and Kame. Kazama had tried to convince Sawada-san, the assistant producer, that they should all go to the Ghibli Museum instead of the traditional Japanese dance studio they were supposed to be at but strangely enough Sawada-san had just laughed and cuffed Kazama lightly on the side of the head. Jin was so excited that Kame got to come on location with them for once that he didn't care that much.
They even got a whole hour for lunch, and the freedom to take it wherever they wanted - within reason, Sawada-san amended, eyeing Kazama and Hasejun suspiciously. Jin had tugged on Kame's sleeve and they'd slipped away amidst the Terrible Two's loud and not particularly credible protestations of innocence.
Now they were wandering up and down the narrow streets, peering into almost every tiny restaurant or soba shop they passed. A brand-new game center gleamed temptingly across the street, and Jin slid a glance at Kame, wondering if Kame would mind all that much if they ate quickly and just took a look inside, just a look - but Kame was pointing straight ahead.
"Look," he said. "A park."
Jin frowned. "So?"
"So let's take our lunch there." At Jin's less than convinced expression, Kame said, "Come on, we've been inside all day. It's sunny, too."
Jin didn't see what was so great about the outdoors, and besides, he wanted sesame ramen. You couldn't take sesame ramen to the park. As he opened his mouth to protest, Kame clamped a hand over it, and Jin was so surprised that he didn't make a sound.
He stared at Kame, who slowly turned a deep red. His hand was still over Jin's mouth.
"Um," Jin tried to say and Kame snatched his hand away like it was burning. Jin coughed, and Kame cleared his throat. "As I was saying," Kame said, trying valiantly and succeeding only in sounding weirdly formal. "I think we should each lunch in the park."
"Okay," Jin said meekly, and they bought bento from the conbini on the corner and sat on a bench and talked about nothing for a whole glorious hour. The sunshine was kind of nice after all, Jin thought.
*
Or maybe, Jin thinks, years later, it had just been the expression on Kame's face, like he was afraid to be so happy.
He flicks on his turn signal and takes the next exit, west out of the city, toward Kichijoji.
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