Change (prequel to Unbalance)
Title: Change (Prequel to Unbalance)
Author: saturn_necklace/stormy_words
Pairing/group: Hinted future Ohno/Nino
Word count: 5,237
Rating: PG-13
Genre: AU (Historical/Fantasy)
Warnings: British English.
Summary: Nino, Ohno, Jun, Sho and Aiba live in Kikuyama, a small town in the mountains. Magic is commonly practised by those who're blessed with the skills, and the group of five live normal lives, undergoing training for both these magical skills, or the skills of a warrior, as well as those of their family business.
AN: It's been quite a while, but here's the prequel to Unbalance (originally written for je_holiday). The sequel is already partly written, but I doubt that it'll be coming very soon, since it's getting close to the time for my exams, and I haven't been finding much motivation to write it recently. It will be finished eventually though, so for now I hope you enjoy this installment :D
The heat of summer hung heavily in the air, the sun brutally beating down on the earth below it, leaving everyone to experiment with various ways of keeping cool. Nino, Ohno, Jun, Sho and Aiba had retreated for the shade that the trees of the forest provided, the five of them settled in the clearing that they had deemed ‘their place’ many years before, when they were still young children.
The air was still humid, but the trees protected them from the relentless burn of the sun. Robes hung half open as the group lounged around the clearing, leaning against trees - or in Aiba’s case, laid flat out on the ground, a blanket beneath him to protect his robes from the dirt - and fanning themselves.
They knew it probably wouldn’t be long until someone came to find them - they were, after all, meant to be helping out with the various family businesses - but until that time they had decided to laze around in hopes of cooling off, holding idle conversation (mostly complaints about the extreme heat) as they allowed their bodies to go limp in exhaustion; heat had that strange way of sapping all the energy from a person, even without them doing anything which required physical effort.
The five of them had been friends as long as any of them could remember. It had been natural really, all of them having grown up together in Kikuyama, their families all knowing each other well. They had never grown apart, and now that they had all reached their early twenties the friendship between them remained much the same.
As a young child, Sho had been sensible and kind, and was probably the main reason that Aiba hadn’t had any major accidents throughout childhood; where Aiba was excitable and curious, Sho had always been rational and careful - not to mention concerned about all four of his best friends - and whenever he had seen potential danger in one of Aiba’s antics, he had always made sure to look after the other. The same could be said for Ohno, who’d had a way of attracting all sorts of accidents when he was young - Sho had taken it on as his duty to watch over everyone.
Because of this kind, patient and caring nature, it had come as no surprise to anyone when Sho had begun to display the signs of white magic around the age of ten, where any abilities people had tended to start kicking in. They had figured it out when Sho had healed a small graze on Aiba’s knee after he had tripped whilst chasing after his younger brother, who had just pulled some sort of prank on him.
When they had all been around five to eight years old, Sho had been the one they all looked up to. He was smart and kind and looked after them all, and Aiba in particular had idolized him in a way, declaring that he waned to be like Sho-chan when he was older, and was always going to him for help if he hurt himself, or was teased by someone.
Really, it probably wasn’t surprising that Sho had always been the one Aiba went to; five year old Jun and Nino would make fun of him if he cried, and Ohno would just have been in a world of his own, whilst Sho never laughed and always helped him with a gentle smile. Even now that they had all grown up significantly, Aiba still usually went to Sho when he needed someone to talk to and to give him advice.
Aiba was the only one of the five who lacked any type of magical ability, and although secretly that had disappointed him somewhat, he had decided to look at what he could do instead, and so had begun to train in the way of the sword. He had never admitted it to anyone but Sho, but a main part of the reason he had begun his training had been so he didn’t feel inferior next to his highly skilled friends; had he not learned to be talented with the sword, he would have felt a step below the other four, having only his family business - the restaurant which his family had run for many generations - waiting for him in future life.
Nino had always seemed to like maintaining a certain closeness with his friends - particularly Ohno, who he was closest to - and that was something that had never changed in all the time they had known each other. Holding hands and leaning against people he was close to were normal as far as Nino was concerned, and it was something he demonstrated frequently. Ohno’s easy going nature was probably one of the main reasons him and Nino got on so well; he had never so much as batted an eyelid at Nino’s displays of friendly affection.
The way Nino acted had always varied a lot. Whilst he showed affection and kindness fairly frequently - particularly towards his four best friends - he could be hostile, guarded and sarcastic to those he considered ‘outsiders’. It was probably this extreme split in personality that had lead to Nino having skill in both black and white magic - his personality could be equally suited to both depending on the situation.
For the majority of his childhood, Ohno’s face usually held a somewhat dazed expression. He had been a child who thought about a lot of different things and was curious, but this had always had a tendency to get him into various accidents. As he got older, he had become far more aware of his surroundings, but he still found himself lost in thought more often than not, sometimes contemplating questions that he had never been given the answer to. Sometimes, when he was alone, he didn’t think at all; at some point in his life, without ever really noticing it he had perfected the technique of keeping a totally clear mind. This was probably the reason for his calm temperament and laid back nature.
Ohno wasn’t easily startled, and so when Nino had held his hand, or hugged him, or kissed his cheek as a child, he hadn’t been surprised in the slightest. Although he was the oldest among the five of them, Ohno had never seemed that way. Often, when they were young, it had seemed like he needed protecting, and that’s exactly what all his friends had done, standing up for him if any of the other children called him strange.
Ohno had always suspected that he and Nino got on so well because their personalities complimented each other perfectly. Nino didn’t like being pressured to do things, and Ohno never put pressure on him. Ohno said a lot of random, unusual things, and Nino never made fun of him. They both seemed to have an instinctive understanding of each other.
The reason for the rare abilities Ohno had gained was most likely because he was a strange sort of person. Most people didn’t think the same way Ohno did, and didn’t do things the way he did; it was only fitting that he had abilities that most people didn’t have. Nino had been the first to notice them, when Ohno had disappeared in front of him, only for a split second. Nino had blinked a few times, and put it down to his eyesight, but when he mentioned what had happened to his parents at dinner that night, they had told Ohno’s parents, and it had turned out that Ohno had been hearing things that he shouldn’t be able to hear - conversations happening the other side of town - and that even in the dark, he was still able to see extremely well.
As the youngest, Jun had been the last to develop his abilities. It wasn’t surprising that he was able to do black magic, as he had never had quite the same kindness as Sho - he wasn’t particularly hostile, but his temper could often get the worse of him. Jun had been a small child, and had been self conscious about it. Because of that he had grown up constantly worrying about how other people saw him; even when he finally grew taller than everyone in the group of friends except Aiba, he found himself worrying about other things. Part of his way with dealing with his self conscious feelings had been to form a sort of barrier, to make sure people didn’t tease him - if they did he would almost always lose his temper.
Over the years, his friends had helped Jun to control his temper, particularly Sho who always encouraged him to talk about things, and tried to calm him when was necessary. As Jun reached his late teenage years he was a lot less hostile towards people he didn’t know, although he still often came across as unreachable and aloof.
It was Nino’s sister who came to find them - mostly because with Nino not around, she had to do his share of the work too. When she found them all lying down in a state nearing sleep she rolled her eyes - particularly at her brother, who had been using Ohno’s lap as a pillow.
“I hate to disturb you all, but you’re wanted back in town.” The sarcasm was clearly evident in her voice - everyone knew all too well that she didn’t care in the slightest whether she had disturbed them or not.
Nino gave a non-committal grunt and weakly covered his eyes with his left arm, as if he thought the action would make his sister leave. Unfortunately, the ‘I can’t see you, so you aren’t there’ theory - which Nino had really been hoping was true at that moment in time - was very quickly proven wrong as his sister walked over to nudge him with her foot.
“Kazunari, you’re coming home to help with the cleaning right now. I have no intention of doing your share of the work.”
Nino moved his arm to shoot his sister a glare before groaning in dissatisfaction at the idea, whilst she moved on to the four other messages she’d been told to deliver.
“Aiba-kun, your father said you’re meant to be helping out at the restaurant - I suggest you do so. Jun-kun, your sister said you knew what you were meant to be doing, so go and actually do it. Sho-kun, your mother said she needed your help with something - she didn’t specify what. Ohno-kun, your mother said she doesn’t really need you for anything, but I suggest you go back anyway, because you’ll be pretty lonely here by yourself. Actually, if you have nothing to do, you can come and help us.”
There was a chorus of grunts of distaste once she had finished talking, but slowly the five of them pulled themselves up off the ground and picked up the blankets they had been lying on. It was going to be a long day.
Ohno had gone home just to make sure his parents definitely didn’t need him for anything, and then headed over to Nino’s. He liked it at Nino’s house - it was clear to see that for all their petty arguments and teasing, they really did love each other (even if Nino didn’t like to admit that he might not always completely hate his sister). When Ohno arrived - slipping off his shoes in the genkan before announcing his arrival and stepping into the house - Nino was scrubbing the tatami in the back room. Ohno joined him, sitting in the corner of the room and watching Nino work.
It didn’t take long for Nino to mumble a complaint about Ohno not helping; Ohno just hummed noncommittally, stretching his legs out in front of him as he melted against the wall, the heat getting the better of him.
“I’m keeping you company.”
“You could keep me company and help me at the same time.”
Ohno shrugged, idly tracing shapes on the tatami with his fingers. Nino grumbled again, but gave up on the hope of getting Ohno to give him a hand.
A few minutes later Ohno shuffled over to sit next to Nino.
“Want to go on a picnic tomorrow?”
“I have training tomorrow.”
“After training.”
“Sure, why not.”
“Good, I’ll see you tomorrow then.” Ohno smiled and stood, saying his goodbyes before leaving. Nino smiled and rolled his eyes; really, Ohno was never any help, but he would’ve been lying if he’d said he didn’t enjoy the other’s company.
Nino and Ohno went on picnics together fairly frequently - had done every since they were young. The first time had been when Nino was nine years old and Ohno was eleven; Ohno had asked in exactly the same way ever since then - something which Nino always found rather endearing.
It had been at Nino’s house on a summer evening when the sun was just beginning to set, casting an orange glow across the back room where Ohno and Nino sat. It was one of those lazy evenings, where everything was relaxed, and the two of them had both just been sitting together, lost in thought. Suddenly Ohno had shuffled over a little to sit directly next to Nino.
“Want to go on a picnic tomorrow?”
“I have my first magic training session tomorrow.”
“After training.”
“Sure, why not.”
“Good, I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
Ohno had stood up then, and Nino had looked at him in confusion.
“Where are you going?”
“To make our picnic.”
Nino had smiled and Ohno had smiled back. “Come over to my house when you’re done with training.”
And with that sentence Ohno had left, cheerfully bidding Nino’s mother goodbye as he walked through the kitchen towards the front door.
The next day Ohno had been sat outside his front door waiting for Nino, a huge basket next to him, and he had smiled widely when Nino arrived.
“Let’s go! I found a really cool place for us to eat.”
Nino had taken hold of Ohno’s hand and let himself be led into the forest, in a slightly different direction to usual. Finally they had found themselves in front of a lake, and Ohno had set out a blanket for them to sit on.
From then on that had been their place - the only discovery they hadn’t shared with Jun, Sho and Aiba.
“How was training?” Ohno sat cross-legged on the blanket Nino had laid out, setting the picnic basket down in front of him and opening it. Nino sat opposite him, legs curled underneath himself as he watched Ohno pull out various items of food.
“It went pretty well; although Jun set fire to something next door - apparently he hasn’t quite got control over that skill yet.” Nino laughed. “At least Sho got to practise healing minor burns though.”
Ohno chuckled, setting three rice balls out on a plate for Nino, then for himself. “What were you learning today?”
“Started with a bit of black magic, then did some white magic to finish up. I perfected a new trick as well.”
Ohno looked at him in curiosity, and Nino smiled, holding a clenched fist out in front of him, and opening it to reveal a small flame, about the size of his thumb. Ohno smiled and clapped appreciatively as Nino clenched his fist again to extinguish it.
“A little bit showy,” Nino picked up a rice ball and took a bite, “but it’s still pretty cool I think.”
“Very cool.” Ohno agreed, pouring a cup of barley tea for each of them.
“So, what’ve you been doing today?”
“I was helping dad out at the shop,” Ohno took a bite of one of his own rice balls. “I made something for you actually.” He reached into the basket and pulled out a teacup with an intricately drawn pattern of cherry blossom. “Dad finally let me try out designing something for myself.”
Nino took the cup, examining it carefully. “It’s beautiful.” He smiled, tracing a finger over the carefully painted pattern. “You know, this is way cooler than my fire trick.”
Ohno laughed. “I think they’re too different to compare.”
That cup was something Nino would treasure for the rest of his life; it certainly wasn’t the most impressive thing that Ohno would ever make, but to both of them it was the most special.
They stayed at their picnic spot by the lake until the sun had gone down - neither of them ever particularly wanted to leave. When they were at the lake all that existed was the two of them; they could talk, laugh, swim, sleep - do whatever they wanted without anyone bothering them - once the sun had set though, they knew they had to go back.
Rather than going home immediately, they headed towards the Aiba family restaurant, where the five of them would often meet up in the evenings. When they got there, Sho and Jun were already sat at their regular table, Aiba joining them in breaks between serving customers.
“You two only just got back?” Sho asked through a mouthful of rice, a question to which Ohno and Nino nodded their confirmation.
“It’s alright for some,” Jun muttered, sipping his drink, “dad had me helping out with the business the moment I got back from training.”
Nino smirked, “Clearly he just thought you hadn’t already had enough fire for one day.”
Jun glared as Sho suppressed a snort of laughter; Jun’s family were the town’s blacksmiths, and Jun spent much of his time every summer complaining about how it was too hot for that kind of work - his incident at training certainly hadn’t done too much to make him any fonder of that aspect of his family’s business.
“He nearly singed his eyebrow off you know.” Sho commented, earning a glare from Jun which clearly warned that there would be bodily harm, should he continue the discussion any further.
“You shouldn’t glare so much, Jun,” Aiba commented, setting two cups of water in front of Ohno and Nino as they took their seats, “it can’t be good for you.”
It had only taken about ten minutes for Nino to fish around in the picnic basket and pull out the cup Ohno had made for him to show it off to everyone. Sho and Jun admired it as Aiba beamed at him and declared that it wouldn’t be long until Ohno took over his family’s pottery business.
“Jun, you should make me a sword.” Aiba stated as he sat down for a quick break, having taken Ohno and Nino’s orders to his father.
“Why’s that?”
“Ohno made Nino a cup. So you and Sho should both make me something.”
“I don’t see your logic.” Jun ate a mouthful of rice.
“Well, I need a sword, and you’re learning to make swords. It’s only right that I should get your first one.”
“Where do I come into this?” Sho asked, only slightly bewildered.
“You can make me a table. Or a chair.”
Nino snorted, and Jun smirked.
“Aiba-chan, just because I’m a carpenter, I don’t see why you really need me to make you a table. Or a chair.”
“So you aren’t left out.”
Nino snorted again, taking care not to spit his mouthful of water across the table.
“I’ll make you something,” Sho assured him, “but I think it’ll be something a little more portable.”
Once Nino and Ohno’s food had arrived, and Aiba had decided to take another break, Nino had brought the topic of conversation back around to making people things.
“This isn’t fair you know.”
Ohno had raised a questioning eyebrow, urging Nino to continue.
“I don’t get to make anyone anything. Oh-chan can make crockery, Jun can make swords, Sho can make tables and chairs,” Jun smirked at that point, as Sho shook his head in despair, muttering something that sounded like ‘of all things, why tables and chairs?’ “Aiba can make food. My family owns a grocery - I don’t get to make anything.”
“You can make flames on the palm of your hand.” Ohno pointed out.
Nino chewed his mouthful of rice thoughtfully. “Point taken.”
Two months later, when Aiba arrived home from training one evening, there was a sword waiting for him in the main room of his house. It was simple and sturdy, with good balance and little decoration other than Aiba’s name carved in the hilt; Aiba loved it. Next to it sat a sheet of paper decorated with Jun’s flowing script - he had always been good at calligraphy, far better than Aiba himself.
‘My first sword - look after it properly.’
Jun had always been one to give gifts in that kind of understated way. He didn’t want praise, he didn’t want thanks - not spoken anyway; it was so easy to lie through words. Aiba would never say a thank you to Jun, but just seeing that sword in Aiba’s hand was more than enough.
That sword would be the one to save all of their lives; it would be one that Aiba never let go of, even when Jun’s skills improved and he made better weapons - Aiba’s sword was the first sword, and it carried feeling. Aiba had always drawn strength from other people - their feelings and their emotions - not from how technically good a weapon was. For Aiba, that first sword was the perfect sword.
The next day, when they had been sat in the clearing, lazing around after training and work, Sho had pressed something into Aiba’s hand with a smile. Aiba had opened the small cloth pouch and emptied the contents into his hand. There wasn’t much, a small charm - Aiba’s name carved precisely into it by Sho’s steady hands, something that Aiba would never let go of in the years to come, and would always believe brought him luck - and a folded note.
‘When you get home, take a look in your living room.’
When he got back, and looked, like the note had said, Aiba had laughed. In the centre of the room, a brand new table had pride of place. It didn’t look particularly special or grand, but to Aiba it was perfect; even when he had suggested it, he hadn’t expected Sho to actually make him one - he had expected it even less after everyone had laughed at the suggestion. It was so like Sho to do something like that, though - to give Aiba something just because he had asked for it, even if the suggestion had mostly been a joke. Ever since they were young Sho had been like that, never so much with the others, but always for Aiba; Sho had always had a soft spot for him, possibly because of Aiba’s infectiously happy nature, possibly because it was entirely impossible to dislike him in any way.
Aiba made a decision that night; one day he would give something back to his friends. He might not have had the skills that they had, he might not know what it would be yet, and it might not be any time soon, but he would do it - one day he would definitely do it.
The seasons passed, each one chasing the previous away to give way to the unique characteristics that the next held. The heat of summer slowly cooled as autumn took over, and in what seemed like no time, the bitter chill of winter had set in - by which time they could barely believe that it had ever been hot enough for them to complain about the relentless heat.
Training went on as normal, regardless of the temperature or weather, and all five of them gradually progressed with their skills. Jun finally gained good control over his fire, and in the process Sho became better and better at healing burns, until he had it down to a fine art. Almost two years had passed since that summer, and as they reached the sixth month, Nino’s twentieth birthday was fast approaching.
Although it was his birthday, Nino didn’t want much fuss to be made - he would go to the local shrine with his family and his four friends - who were close enough to be considered some sort of family, really - and then he would go for a picnic with Ohno before heading to Aiba’s restaurant, like usual.
The seventeenth day of the month came around faster than Nino could have imagined, and he found himself dressed in formal robes, at the shrine, as everyone did on their birthday. Once he had reached that point, time seemed to have slowed down to almost a halt and Nino found himself rejoicing once he was finally wearing something more comfortable and walking towards the forest with Ohno.
The day was a hot one, and once they had finished eating, Ohno and Nino had found themselves spread out across the blanket, robes loosened and Nino’s head resting on Ohno’s stomach. They stayed there for an hour or so, drifting in and out of sleep as they let time pass them at a lazy pace.
Lying in the sun had left them covered in a thin sheen of sweat, and once they finally gathered the energy to move, it had only been as far as the lake, slipping off their summer robes - which seemed stifling in the muggy atmosphere - and lowering themselves into the welcome coolness of the water.
The temperature seemed to revive them somewhat, restoring some of the energy that the heat had sapped away, and they found themselves splashing each other with water in a childish sort of game.
“I thought you were meant to be getting older, not regressing to your childhood.” Ohno laughed, raising his hands in defeat, and Nino stuck his tongue out before launching towards the other to tackle him under the water - insurance of his victory.
They both toppled into the water, staying under for only a few moments before returning to the surface, coughing, spluttering and laughing. When the laughter died down, Nino smiled at Ohno, and Ohno smiled back; they stayed like that, watching each other for no particular reason other than that they were standing in front of one another and had no reason not to stare at the other.
‘It would be so easy to kiss him right now’ Nino had thought, and he would’ve wondered where the thought had come from, had he not had the same one many times before. When they had been younger, about fourteen and sixteen, they had both gone with those thoughts, for no real reason other than curiosity - it was easier to discover and learn with someone you knew and trusted, where both of you were as unsure as the other about everything you were doing. He was twenty now, though, Ohno twenty two, and they were too old for such curiosities, too old for discoveries, had probably learnt all they would ever learn from each other in that respect.
Probably, Nino thought, they should’ve grown out of those urges long ago - he was fairly certain Jun, Sho and Aiba had - and he couldn’t help but wonder whether they were even just urges anymore, as they had been before. Nino had noticed that he only ever felt that way towards Ohno, had noticed that he wanted more than he had before - when he had been fourteen it had been about needs and discovery, now it was about love and desire - but he ignored it, needed to ignore it. As far as he could see, he and Ohno would stay together in Kikuyama together for the rest of their lives, best friends until the day they died. At some point in the not so distant future, they would find wives and have children, and there would be no room in their lives for a secret, homosexual, love affair.
So Nino moved away, still smiling, and climbed out of the lake, taking Ohno’s hand to help the other out as well; hand holding was safe territory, as was hugging and kissing on the cheek - anything more than that definitely wasn’t.
“We didn’t bring anything to dry off.” Nino noted, nudging a blade of grass with his toe.
Ohno shrugged. “Use the blanket.”
Once they were dressed again the blanket was laid out to dry, and Ohno and Nino found themselves sat on the grass, waiting for sunset to come; they did this every time they had a picnic now, the image of the setting sun reflected in the clear water of the lake as the sky turned orange and pink and deep blue, and every colour in between was too beautiful for them to pass up.
When the time for sunset grew closer they lay down, shoulders touching, and hands linked, and they watched in silence as day gradually turned to night, their time alone together slipping away.
When they arrived at Aiba’s restaurant Jun, Sho and Aiba were waiting for them. They were ushered quickly to their seats by an impatient Jun, and Aiba’s father brought out their meals. They spent the evening talking and laughing and reminiscing, much like they always did, only it was slightly different to usual; not just because it was Nino’s birthday. Nino felt different, like something inside him had changed.
At the lake that day, he had subconsciously worked something out; whilst he had been telling himself that he and Ohno shouldn’t happen, couldn’t happen, a part of his mind had been questioning that - finding a counter argument for every reason Nino came up with as to why he and Ohno was impossible. And as the five of them sat together, Nino knew what he wanted.
He didn’t want the wife, he didn’t want the children, he wanted Ohno - more than anything he wanted Ohno; Nino had been stupid enough to fall in love with someone he could never truly have.
Other than Nino’s feelings, everything stayed the same. For two years everything passed in much the same way; training, work, picnics, spending time with his friends - nothing changed. Nino sometimes thought about telling Ohno, thought about kissing Ohno, thought about getting it out in the open - but he never did. At some point within those two years, the option of telling Ohno how he felt had become increasingly more attractive; even if he couldn’t truly have Ohno, even if Ohno would get a wife and children, Nino thought he might be content with having as much as he could get, as long as it was something - maybe a secret, homosexual, love affair wouldn’t be so bad.
But time went by and Nino did nothing, and he’d turned twenty two, and it was so easy for him to tell himself ‘Tomorrow, you’ll do it tomorrow’ every single day without ever actually saying ‘Hey, look, it’s tomorrow now; it’s time to let him know’. As long as things remained unchanging, it would probably always be tomorrow, until the chance slipped away from Nino completely.
If Nino was ever going to do it he needed change; he never realised that change would be quite so drastic.
To Unbalance Part 1
Author: saturn_necklace/stormy_words
Pairing/group: Hinted future Ohno/Nino
Word count: 5,237
Rating: PG-13
Genre: AU (Historical/Fantasy)
Warnings: British English.
Summary: Nino, Ohno, Jun, Sho and Aiba live in Kikuyama, a small town in the mountains. Magic is commonly practised by those who're blessed with the skills, and the group of five live normal lives, undergoing training for both these magical skills, or the skills of a warrior, as well as those of their family business.
AN: It's been quite a while, but here's the prequel to Unbalance (originally written for je_holiday). The sequel is already partly written, but I doubt that it'll be coming very soon, since it's getting close to the time for my exams, and I haven't been finding much motivation to write it recently. It will be finished eventually though, so for now I hope you enjoy this installment :D
The heat of summer hung heavily in the air, the sun brutally beating down on the earth below it, leaving everyone to experiment with various ways of keeping cool. Nino, Ohno, Jun, Sho and Aiba had retreated for the shade that the trees of the forest provided, the five of them settled in the clearing that they had deemed ‘their place’ many years before, when they were still young children.
The air was still humid, but the trees protected them from the relentless burn of the sun. Robes hung half open as the group lounged around the clearing, leaning against trees - or in Aiba’s case, laid flat out on the ground, a blanket beneath him to protect his robes from the dirt - and fanning themselves.
They knew it probably wouldn’t be long until someone came to find them - they were, after all, meant to be helping out with the various family businesses - but until that time they had decided to laze around in hopes of cooling off, holding idle conversation (mostly complaints about the extreme heat) as they allowed their bodies to go limp in exhaustion; heat had that strange way of sapping all the energy from a person, even without them doing anything which required physical effort.
The five of them had been friends as long as any of them could remember. It had been natural really, all of them having grown up together in Kikuyama, their families all knowing each other well. They had never grown apart, and now that they had all reached their early twenties the friendship between them remained much the same.
As a young child, Sho had been sensible and kind, and was probably the main reason that Aiba hadn’t had any major accidents throughout childhood; where Aiba was excitable and curious, Sho had always been rational and careful - not to mention concerned about all four of his best friends - and whenever he had seen potential danger in one of Aiba’s antics, he had always made sure to look after the other. The same could be said for Ohno, who’d had a way of attracting all sorts of accidents when he was young - Sho had taken it on as his duty to watch over everyone.
Because of this kind, patient and caring nature, it had come as no surprise to anyone when Sho had begun to display the signs of white magic around the age of ten, where any abilities people had tended to start kicking in. They had figured it out when Sho had healed a small graze on Aiba’s knee after he had tripped whilst chasing after his younger brother, who had just pulled some sort of prank on him.
When they had all been around five to eight years old, Sho had been the one they all looked up to. He was smart and kind and looked after them all, and Aiba in particular had idolized him in a way, declaring that he waned to be like Sho-chan when he was older, and was always going to him for help if he hurt himself, or was teased by someone.
Really, it probably wasn’t surprising that Sho had always been the one Aiba went to; five year old Jun and Nino would make fun of him if he cried, and Ohno would just have been in a world of his own, whilst Sho never laughed and always helped him with a gentle smile. Even now that they had all grown up significantly, Aiba still usually went to Sho when he needed someone to talk to and to give him advice.
Aiba was the only one of the five who lacked any type of magical ability, and although secretly that had disappointed him somewhat, he had decided to look at what he could do instead, and so had begun to train in the way of the sword. He had never admitted it to anyone but Sho, but a main part of the reason he had begun his training had been so he didn’t feel inferior next to his highly skilled friends; had he not learned to be talented with the sword, he would have felt a step below the other four, having only his family business - the restaurant which his family had run for many generations - waiting for him in future life.
Nino had always seemed to like maintaining a certain closeness with his friends - particularly Ohno, who he was closest to - and that was something that had never changed in all the time they had known each other. Holding hands and leaning against people he was close to were normal as far as Nino was concerned, and it was something he demonstrated frequently. Ohno’s easy going nature was probably one of the main reasons him and Nino got on so well; he had never so much as batted an eyelid at Nino’s displays of friendly affection.
The way Nino acted had always varied a lot. Whilst he showed affection and kindness fairly frequently - particularly towards his four best friends - he could be hostile, guarded and sarcastic to those he considered ‘outsiders’. It was probably this extreme split in personality that had lead to Nino having skill in both black and white magic - his personality could be equally suited to both depending on the situation.
For the majority of his childhood, Ohno’s face usually held a somewhat dazed expression. He had been a child who thought about a lot of different things and was curious, but this had always had a tendency to get him into various accidents. As he got older, he had become far more aware of his surroundings, but he still found himself lost in thought more often than not, sometimes contemplating questions that he had never been given the answer to. Sometimes, when he was alone, he didn’t think at all; at some point in his life, without ever really noticing it he had perfected the technique of keeping a totally clear mind. This was probably the reason for his calm temperament and laid back nature.
Ohno wasn’t easily startled, and so when Nino had held his hand, or hugged him, or kissed his cheek as a child, he hadn’t been surprised in the slightest. Although he was the oldest among the five of them, Ohno had never seemed that way. Often, when they were young, it had seemed like he needed protecting, and that’s exactly what all his friends had done, standing up for him if any of the other children called him strange.
Ohno had always suspected that he and Nino got on so well because their personalities complimented each other perfectly. Nino didn’t like being pressured to do things, and Ohno never put pressure on him. Ohno said a lot of random, unusual things, and Nino never made fun of him. They both seemed to have an instinctive understanding of each other.
The reason for the rare abilities Ohno had gained was most likely because he was a strange sort of person. Most people didn’t think the same way Ohno did, and didn’t do things the way he did; it was only fitting that he had abilities that most people didn’t have. Nino had been the first to notice them, when Ohno had disappeared in front of him, only for a split second. Nino had blinked a few times, and put it down to his eyesight, but when he mentioned what had happened to his parents at dinner that night, they had told Ohno’s parents, and it had turned out that Ohno had been hearing things that he shouldn’t be able to hear - conversations happening the other side of town - and that even in the dark, he was still able to see extremely well.
As the youngest, Jun had been the last to develop his abilities. It wasn’t surprising that he was able to do black magic, as he had never had quite the same kindness as Sho - he wasn’t particularly hostile, but his temper could often get the worse of him. Jun had been a small child, and had been self conscious about it. Because of that he had grown up constantly worrying about how other people saw him; even when he finally grew taller than everyone in the group of friends except Aiba, he found himself worrying about other things. Part of his way with dealing with his self conscious feelings had been to form a sort of barrier, to make sure people didn’t tease him - if they did he would almost always lose his temper.
Over the years, his friends had helped Jun to control his temper, particularly Sho who always encouraged him to talk about things, and tried to calm him when was necessary. As Jun reached his late teenage years he was a lot less hostile towards people he didn’t know, although he still often came across as unreachable and aloof.
It was Nino’s sister who came to find them - mostly because with Nino not around, she had to do his share of the work too. When she found them all lying down in a state nearing sleep she rolled her eyes - particularly at her brother, who had been using Ohno’s lap as a pillow.
“I hate to disturb you all, but you’re wanted back in town.” The sarcasm was clearly evident in her voice - everyone knew all too well that she didn’t care in the slightest whether she had disturbed them or not.
Nino gave a non-committal grunt and weakly covered his eyes with his left arm, as if he thought the action would make his sister leave. Unfortunately, the ‘I can’t see you, so you aren’t there’ theory - which Nino had really been hoping was true at that moment in time - was very quickly proven wrong as his sister walked over to nudge him with her foot.
“Kazunari, you’re coming home to help with the cleaning right now. I have no intention of doing your share of the work.”
Nino moved his arm to shoot his sister a glare before groaning in dissatisfaction at the idea, whilst she moved on to the four other messages she’d been told to deliver.
“Aiba-kun, your father said you’re meant to be helping out at the restaurant - I suggest you do so. Jun-kun, your sister said you knew what you were meant to be doing, so go and actually do it. Sho-kun, your mother said she needed your help with something - she didn’t specify what. Ohno-kun, your mother said she doesn’t really need you for anything, but I suggest you go back anyway, because you’ll be pretty lonely here by yourself. Actually, if you have nothing to do, you can come and help us.”
There was a chorus of grunts of distaste once she had finished talking, but slowly the five of them pulled themselves up off the ground and picked up the blankets they had been lying on. It was going to be a long day.
Ohno had gone home just to make sure his parents definitely didn’t need him for anything, and then headed over to Nino’s. He liked it at Nino’s house - it was clear to see that for all their petty arguments and teasing, they really did love each other (even if Nino didn’t like to admit that he might not always completely hate his sister). When Ohno arrived - slipping off his shoes in the genkan before announcing his arrival and stepping into the house - Nino was scrubbing the tatami in the back room. Ohno joined him, sitting in the corner of the room and watching Nino work.
It didn’t take long for Nino to mumble a complaint about Ohno not helping; Ohno just hummed noncommittally, stretching his legs out in front of him as he melted against the wall, the heat getting the better of him.
“I’m keeping you company.”
“You could keep me company and help me at the same time.”
Ohno shrugged, idly tracing shapes on the tatami with his fingers. Nino grumbled again, but gave up on the hope of getting Ohno to give him a hand.
A few minutes later Ohno shuffled over to sit next to Nino.
“Want to go on a picnic tomorrow?”
“I have training tomorrow.”
“After training.”
“Sure, why not.”
“Good, I’ll see you tomorrow then.” Ohno smiled and stood, saying his goodbyes before leaving. Nino smiled and rolled his eyes; really, Ohno was never any help, but he would’ve been lying if he’d said he didn’t enjoy the other’s company.
Nino and Ohno went on picnics together fairly frequently - had done every since they were young. The first time had been when Nino was nine years old and Ohno was eleven; Ohno had asked in exactly the same way ever since then - something which Nino always found rather endearing.
It had been at Nino’s house on a summer evening when the sun was just beginning to set, casting an orange glow across the back room where Ohno and Nino sat. It was one of those lazy evenings, where everything was relaxed, and the two of them had both just been sitting together, lost in thought. Suddenly Ohno had shuffled over a little to sit directly next to Nino.
“Want to go on a picnic tomorrow?”
“I have my first magic training session tomorrow.”
“After training.”
“Sure, why not.”
“Good, I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
Ohno had stood up then, and Nino had looked at him in confusion.
“Where are you going?”
“To make our picnic.”
Nino had smiled and Ohno had smiled back. “Come over to my house when you’re done with training.”
And with that sentence Ohno had left, cheerfully bidding Nino’s mother goodbye as he walked through the kitchen towards the front door.
The next day Ohno had been sat outside his front door waiting for Nino, a huge basket next to him, and he had smiled widely when Nino arrived.
“Let’s go! I found a really cool place for us to eat.”
Nino had taken hold of Ohno’s hand and let himself be led into the forest, in a slightly different direction to usual. Finally they had found themselves in front of a lake, and Ohno had set out a blanket for them to sit on.
From then on that had been their place - the only discovery they hadn’t shared with Jun, Sho and Aiba.
“How was training?” Ohno sat cross-legged on the blanket Nino had laid out, setting the picnic basket down in front of him and opening it. Nino sat opposite him, legs curled underneath himself as he watched Ohno pull out various items of food.
“It went pretty well; although Jun set fire to something next door - apparently he hasn’t quite got control over that skill yet.” Nino laughed. “At least Sho got to practise healing minor burns though.”
Ohno chuckled, setting three rice balls out on a plate for Nino, then for himself. “What were you learning today?”
“Started with a bit of black magic, then did some white magic to finish up. I perfected a new trick as well.”
Ohno looked at him in curiosity, and Nino smiled, holding a clenched fist out in front of him, and opening it to reveal a small flame, about the size of his thumb. Ohno smiled and clapped appreciatively as Nino clenched his fist again to extinguish it.
“A little bit showy,” Nino picked up a rice ball and took a bite, “but it’s still pretty cool I think.”
“Very cool.” Ohno agreed, pouring a cup of barley tea for each of them.
“So, what’ve you been doing today?”
“I was helping dad out at the shop,” Ohno took a bite of one of his own rice balls. “I made something for you actually.” He reached into the basket and pulled out a teacup with an intricately drawn pattern of cherry blossom. “Dad finally let me try out designing something for myself.”
Nino took the cup, examining it carefully. “It’s beautiful.” He smiled, tracing a finger over the carefully painted pattern. “You know, this is way cooler than my fire trick.”
Ohno laughed. “I think they’re too different to compare.”
That cup was something Nino would treasure for the rest of his life; it certainly wasn’t the most impressive thing that Ohno would ever make, but to both of them it was the most special.
They stayed at their picnic spot by the lake until the sun had gone down - neither of them ever particularly wanted to leave. When they were at the lake all that existed was the two of them; they could talk, laugh, swim, sleep - do whatever they wanted without anyone bothering them - once the sun had set though, they knew they had to go back.
Rather than going home immediately, they headed towards the Aiba family restaurant, where the five of them would often meet up in the evenings. When they got there, Sho and Jun were already sat at their regular table, Aiba joining them in breaks between serving customers.
“You two only just got back?” Sho asked through a mouthful of rice, a question to which Ohno and Nino nodded their confirmation.
“It’s alright for some,” Jun muttered, sipping his drink, “dad had me helping out with the business the moment I got back from training.”
Nino smirked, “Clearly he just thought you hadn’t already had enough fire for one day.”
Jun glared as Sho suppressed a snort of laughter; Jun’s family were the town’s blacksmiths, and Jun spent much of his time every summer complaining about how it was too hot for that kind of work - his incident at training certainly hadn’t done too much to make him any fonder of that aspect of his family’s business.
“He nearly singed his eyebrow off you know.” Sho commented, earning a glare from Jun which clearly warned that there would be bodily harm, should he continue the discussion any further.
“You shouldn’t glare so much, Jun,” Aiba commented, setting two cups of water in front of Ohno and Nino as they took their seats, “it can’t be good for you.”
It had only taken about ten minutes for Nino to fish around in the picnic basket and pull out the cup Ohno had made for him to show it off to everyone. Sho and Jun admired it as Aiba beamed at him and declared that it wouldn’t be long until Ohno took over his family’s pottery business.
“Jun, you should make me a sword.” Aiba stated as he sat down for a quick break, having taken Ohno and Nino’s orders to his father.
“Why’s that?”
“Ohno made Nino a cup. So you and Sho should both make me something.”
“I don’t see your logic.” Jun ate a mouthful of rice.
“Well, I need a sword, and you’re learning to make swords. It’s only right that I should get your first one.”
“Where do I come into this?” Sho asked, only slightly bewildered.
“You can make me a table. Or a chair.”
Nino snorted, and Jun smirked.
“Aiba-chan, just because I’m a carpenter, I don’t see why you really need me to make you a table. Or a chair.”
“So you aren’t left out.”
Nino snorted again, taking care not to spit his mouthful of water across the table.
“I’ll make you something,” Sho assured him, “but I think it’ll be something a little more portable.”
Once Nino and Ohno’s food had arrived, and Aiba had decided to take another break, Nino had brought the topic of conversation back around to making people things.
“This isn’t fair you know.”
Ohno had raised a questioning eyebrow, urging Nino to continue.
“I don’t get to make anyone anything. Oh-chan can make crockery, Jun can make swords, Sho can make tables and chairs,” Jun smirked at that point, as Sho shook his head in despair, muttering something that sounded like ‘of all things, why tables and chairs?’ “Aiba can make food. My family owns a grocery - I don’t get to make anything.”
“You can make flames on the palm of your hand.” Ohno pointed out.
Nino chewed his mouthful of rice thoughtfully. “Point taken.”
Two months later, when Aiba arrived home from training one evening, there was a sword waiting for him in the main room of his house. It was simple and sturdy, with good balance and little decoration other than Aiba’s name carved in the hilt; Aiba loved it. Next to it sat a sheet of paper decorated with Jun’s flowing script - he had always been good at calligraphy, far better than Aiba himself.
‘My first sword - look after it properly.’
Jun had always been one to give gifts in that kind of understated way. He didn’t want praise, he didn’t want thanks - not spoken anyway; it was so easy to lie through words. Aiba would never say a thank you to Jun, but just seeing that sword in Aiba’s hand was more than enough.
That sword would be the one to save all of their lives; it would be one that Aiba never let go of, even when Jun’s skills improved and he made better weapons - Aiba’s sword was the first sword, and it carried feeling. Aiba had always drawn strength from other people - their feelings and their emotions - not from how technically good a weapon was. For Aiba, that first sword was the perfect sword.
The next day, when they had been sat in the clearing, lazing around after training and work, Sho had pressed something into Aiba’s hand with a smile. Aiba had opened the small cloth pouch and emptied the contents into his hand. There wasn’t much, a small charm - Aiba’s name carved precisely into it by Sho’s steady hands, something that Aiba would never let go of in the years to come, and would always believe brought him luck - and a folded note.
‘When you get home, take a look in your living room.’
When he got back, and looked, like the note had said, Aiba had laughed. In the centre of the room, a brand new table had pride of place. It didn’t look particularly special or grand, but to Aiba it was perfect; even when he had suggested it, he hadn’t expected Sho to actually make him one - he had expected it even less after everyone had laughed at the suggestion. It was so like Sho to do something like that, though - to give Aiba something just because he had asked for it, even if the suggestion had mostly been a joke. Ever since they were young Sho had been like that, never so much with the others, but always for Aiba; Sho had always had a soft spot for him, possibly because of Aiba’s infectiously happy nature, possibly because it was entirely impossible to dislike him in any way.
Aiba made a decision that night; one day he would give something back to his friends. He might not have had the skills that they had, he might not know what it would be yet, and it might not be any time soon, but he would do it - one day he would definitely do it.
The seasons passed, each one chasing the previous away to give way to the unique characteristics that the next held. The heat of summer slowly cooled as autumn took over, and in what seemed like no time, the bitter chill of winter had set in - by which time they could barely believe that it had ever been hot enough for them to complain about the relentless heat.
Training went on as normal, regardless of the temperature or weather, and all five of them gradually progressed with their skills. Jun finally gained good control over his fire, and in the process Sho became better and better at healing burns, until he had it down to a fine art. Almost two years had passed since that summer, and as they reached the sixth month, Nino’s twentieth birthday was fast approaching.
Although it was his birthday, Nino didn’t want much fuss to be made - he would go to the local shrine with his family and his four friends - who were close enough to be considered some sort of family, really - and then he would go for a picnic with Ohno before heading to Aiba’s restaurant, like usual.
The seventeenth day of the month came around faster than Nino could have imagined, and he found himself dressed in formal robes, at the shrine, as everyone did on their birthday. Once he had reached that point, time seemed to have slowed down to almost a halt and Nino found himself rejoicing once he was finally wearing something more comfortable and walking towards the forest with Ohno.
The day was a hot one, and once they had finished eating, Ohno and Nino had found themselves spread out across the blanket, robes loosened and Nino’s head resting on Ohno’s stomach. They stayed there for an hour or so, drifting in and out of sleep as they let time pass them at a lazy pace.
Lying in the sun had left them covered in a thin sheen of sweat, and once they finally gathered the energy to move, it had only been as far as the lake, slipping off their summer robes - which seemed stifling in the muggy atmosphere - and lowering themselves into the welcome coolness of the water.
The temperature seemed to revive them somewhat, restoring some of the energy that the heat had sapped away, and they found themselves splashing each other with water in a childish sort of game.
“I thought you were meant to be getting older, not regressing to your childhood.” Ohno laughed, raising his hands in defeat, and Nino stuck his tongue out before launching towards the other to tackle him under the water - insurance of his victory.
They both toppled into the water, staying under for only a few moments before returning to the surface, coughing, spluttering and laughing. When the laughter died down, Nino smiled at Ohno, and Ohno smiled back; they stayed like that, watching each other for no particular reason other than that they were standing in front of one another and had no reason not to stare at the other.
‘It would be so easy to kiss him right now’ Nino had thought, and he would’ve wondered where the thought had come from, had he not had the same one many times before. When they had been younger, about fourteen and sixteen, they had both gone with those thoughts, for no real reason other than curiosity - it was easier to discover and learn with someone you knew and trusted, where both of you were as unsure as the other about everything you were doing. He was twenty now, though, Ohno twenty two, and they were too old for such curiosities, too old for discoveries, had probably learnt all they would ever learn from each other in that respect.
Probably, Nino thought, they should’ve grown out of those urges long ago - he was fairly certain Jun, Sho and Aiba had - and he couldn’t help but wonder whether they were even just urges anymore, as they had been before. Nino had noticed that he only ever felt that way towards Ohno, had noticed that he wanted more than he had before - when he had been fourteen it had been about needs and discovery, now it was about love and desire - but he ignored it, needed to ignore it. As far as he could see, he and Ohno would stay together in Kikuyama together for the rest of their lives, best friends until the day they died. At some point in the not so distant future, they would find wives and have children, and there would be no room in their lives for a secret, homosexual, love affair.
So Nino moved away, still smiling, and climbed out of the lake, taking Ohno’s hand to help the other out as well; hand holding was safe territory, as was hugging and kissing on the cheek - anything more than that definitely wasn’t.
“We didn’t bring anything to dry off.” Nino noted, nudging a blade of grass with his toe.
Ohno shrugged. “Use the blanket.”
Once they were dressed again the blanket was laid out to dry, and Ohno and Nino found themselves sat on the grass, waiting for sunset to come; they did this every time they had a picnic now, the image of the setting sun reflected in the clear water of the lake as the sky turned orange and pink and deep blue, and every colour in between was too beautiful for them to pass up.
When the time for sunset grew closer they lay down, shoulders touching, and hands linked, and they watched in silence as day gradually turned to night, their time alone together slipping away.
When they arrived at Aiba’s restaurant Jun, Sho and Aiba were waiting for them. They were ushered quickly to their seats by an impatient Jun, and Aiba’s father brought out their meals. They spent the evening talking and laughing and reminiscing, much like they always did, only it was slightly different to usual; not just because it was Nino’s birthday. Nino felt different, like something inside him had changed.
At the lake that day, he had subconsciously worked something out; whilst he had been telling himself that he and Ohno shouldn’t happen, couldn’t happen, a part of his mind had been questioning that - finding a counter argument for every reason Nino came up with as to why he and Ohno was impossible. And as the five of them sat together, Nino knew what he wanted.
He didn’t want the wife, he didn’t want the children, he wanted Ohno - more than anything he wanted Ohno; Nino had been stupid enough to fall in love with someone he could never truly have.
Other than Nino’s feelings, everything stayed the same. For two years everything passed in much the same way; training, work, picnics, spending time with his friends - nothing changed. Nino sometimes thought about telling Ohno, thought about kissing Ohno, thought about getting it out in the open - but he never did. At some point within those two years, the option of telling Ohno how he felt had become increasingly more attractive; even if he couldn’t truly have Ohno, even if Ohno would get a wife and children, Nino thought he might be content with having as much as he could get, as long as it was something - maybe a secret, homosexual, love affair wouldn’t be so bad.
But time went by and Nino did nothing, and he’d turned twenty two, and it was so easy for him to tell himself ‘Tomorrow, you’ll do it tomorrow’ every single day without ever actually saying ‘Hey, look, it’s tomorrow now; it’s time to let him know’. As long as things remained unchanging, it would probably always be tomorrow, until the chance slipped away from Nino completely.
If Nino was ever going to do it he needed change; he never realised that change would be quite so drastic.
To Unbalance Part 1