[ShouxSaga, ToraxHiko] "Beach Boys", 01/0?

[blindcottonlove]

BEACH BOYS, 01/0?

PAIRINGS: ShouxSaga, ToraxHiko, possibly a bit SagaxSomeone Else
GENRE: a bit of comedy, romance, fluff
RATING: for this chapter PG
DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction; the author has no connections whatsoever to the mentioned artists.

A/N: Another short chaptered story :) This one's loosely based on a dorama called Beach Boys (hence the name), starring Takashi Sorimachi. It's one of my all-time favourite Japanese dramas, so... I kind of decided to borrow the plot a little *lol* I'm trying to keep this even somewhat 'realistic', thus the mix of boylove and het in this. Enjoy!♥

SUMMARY: One minshuku inn, one lazyass leech who's looking for a place to stay and one slightly uptight office worker in search of a peace of mind, all in the surveillance of a bohemian unmarried couple; it will be a summer to remember.



Takashi was staring out the train window. It was late spring, or early summer, it depended on who you asked about it. Whichever it was, it had gotten hot. Even in the air-conditioned train the man felt uncomfortable. Every now and then there was a glimpse of sparkling ocean in the distance, and it made sitting in the train even worse. Takashi strained his neck to catch a better view of the sparkling blue but it was too late -the train had dived into a little forest and the trees were hiding the refreshing view in the horizon.

When the forest got thinner and then vanished again and the endless fields took over the landscape, a seaside city had hidden the ocean. Takashi pouted a bit. There was now nothing but the fields, and a lonely road that accompanied the tracks. There was not much traffic today; only one car, old and cheap, was driving by the train. Takashi watched the tiny vehicle, smitten. The car was close enough for him to see the driver, a blond boy at his twenties. He was opening and closing up his mouth -he was probably singing to the radio, Takashi thought.

Then there was a pang of jealousy in his heart -that boy seemed like he had no troubles whatsoever on his heart. He was having a drive on a sunshiny day at the countryside, enjoying the whatever music it was the radio happened to be playing. Although the car was an old junk, it worked, taking the boy from one place to another, and apparently it was enough for the youth.

Takashi pulled away from the window, annoyed at allowing such a sentimental moment for himself. He rubbed his eyes and started collecting his things that were scattered all over the empty seats around him. The next station would be the last; it was time for him to step out and figure something out.

The station was small. There was hardly anything there -it was a mere cement platform in the middle of nowhere with a tiny station building next to it. There were fields around it with some mountains reaching towards the sky far behind them. When Takashi walked through the station building and got to the other side, he saw more fields, one serpentine road and the blue glimmer that couldn't be mistaken to anything else -the ocean.

"Excuse me." Takashi turned around. Mesmerized by the sparkling blue, he hadn't noticed the young man who had approached him. He was short, and somehow funny-looking with his big teeth and tousled hair. However, he was wearing a two-piece uniform that consisted of a white shirt and straight pants, and it gave a hint why the man was there. "Do you need a ride?"

Takashi bit on his lower lip. Then, hesitantly, he nodded, and the other man lifted Takashi's bags and carried them to a car that had a 'taxi' sign on top of it. The driver opened a door for Takashi before cheerfully taking his seat in the front. The tiny man took the hat that belonged to his uniform from the seat next to his, and after carefully placing it on his head, he turned a little and asked: "And where are we headed at?"

Helplessly, Takashi stared at the man with confused eyes. He hadn't really thought this through at all, it dawned to him. He wasn't quite sure where he was, much less what he wanted to do there. "Um... How about the closest town?" He suggested after a long pause during which the driver had already started raising his brows at him questioningly.

The driver beamed at the answer. "What a nice choice, sir, if I may say so. It's my hometown. I'm sure you'll enjoy your stay."

Takashi smiled back a little, and the driver started the vehicle, soon steering away from the lonely train station.

The road seemed endless: Takashi couldn't see any signs indicating that there was a town anywhere close. The driver was jabbering away joyfully; his voice had turned into white noise a long ago. Takashi stared out of the window, exhausted and unsure. A part of him wanted to return to that train station and wait for the next train going back to Tokyo. This is madness, he kept repeating over and over again in his mind. Plain madness.

Then, suddenly, something interrupted his wallowing. They passed the car from before, the white and crappy one. It was moving to the same direction as the taxi but with the difference that no one was actually driving it; the boy who apparently owned the piece of junk was pushing the vehicle, sweating in the hot weather.

Takashi grinned maliciously. There was something about the boy's misfortune that made him ridiculously happy. Completely carefree people didn't exist in this world, it seemed, and it was relieving.

He turned a bit to see the distancing car from the back window of the taxi. The boy's lips were moving, this time with curses, Takashi figured. His brain processed the view quickly. Well, what the hell.

"Excuse me," he leaned closer to the driver. "Could you pull over, thank you?"

"What do you mean, you don't know where's the closest gas station?"

"I don't. I'm not a local. But you said yourself there's a town somewhere near, yeah? So, if we just keep pushing, we'll get there eventually."

"Eventually, yes, but that eventually might take thirty minutes or three hours or more. I'm going crazy with you."

"Hey, I didn't ask for any help. It was you who stopped and decided to give a helping hand. So, I think you're not entitled to whine."

"Kid, watch your mouth. I'm your senpai, you know? Senpai. Address me according to that."

"Sorry. I think you're not entitled to whine, senpai."

Takashi made a face, barely resisting the urge to stick out his tongue in a disrespectful manner. It had been a spur of a moment thing, to help the kid out. He just had had no idea the boy, Shou, was traveling without a destination, much like he himself was. Now he was stuck at pushing the car that had ran out of gasoline some miles ago. Not exactly the type of opening for a summer vacation he had had on mind when he had left Tokyo.

"Hey, look! It's a gas station! Awesome!" an excited voice cut in. Takashi stopped to take a breath. Shadowing his eyes with a hand, he squinted in the direction Shou was waving at. Yes, there was a tiny gas station in the horizon.

"Yosh," Takashi mumbled, taking a better grasp on the car. "Let's go."

It took another twenty minutes to get the car to the gas station. By the time they got there, Takashi was sweat-drenched, his arms and legs were hurting like hell, and he suspected his back was severely injured.

"Yattaa, we made it," Shou breathed out ecstatically. "Waa. Thanks, really, Taka-kun. I don't know what I would've done without you."

"It was nothing," Takashi muttered. "Just get the car filled up, so that we can leave."

"Yes, yes." Shou lifted the sunglasses from his nose and started rummaging through his pockets. After a moment he pulled out a handful of coins and a few crumpled bills. "Uh..."

"What?" Takashi asked, already sensing what was wrong.

Shou grinned. "I forgot I paid for a room in the previous town I visited. Usually I just sleep in my car but... Well, whatever. Anyway, there's not much left of my travel fund..."

"That's your travel fund?" Takashi asked, shocked, staring at the pile of coins in the hand of the other man.

Shou scratched his head with his free hand, smiling slightly embarrassedly. "Well, I haven't had a job in a while, so... It has been pretty tight recently after my ex-girlfriend kicked me out..."

Takashi gaped at the boy. "So, you're saying you live on the road?"

Shou made a ponderous face. "I guess you can say so. I like to think that I'm a free spirit, though. Moving around is refreshing. It's a lifestyle, really."

"Being homeless is a lifestyle, these days?" Takashi snorted. It was evident he had come across with a leech. "Whatever. I'll pay for the gas."

Shou bowed. "Thank you for your kindness, senpai."

A few minutes later, they were back on the road, only this time around it was more comfortable: the car, despite it being old, moved surprisingly comfortably. There was no air-conditioning, of course not, but the open windows helped a little. Takashi took off the jacket of his suit and fished a pack of cigarettes from its pocket before folding it neatly onto his lap.

"Where are you from?" he asked, lighting the stick.

Not asking for a permission, Shou snatched a cigarette for himself too, and after pulling the first blissful drag from it, he answered, smoke swirling through his lips with the words: "Nowhere, and everywhere, guess. I mean, I was born in Atami but my family moved quite a lot when I was a kid, so I don't really consider it my hometown, either." He thought about his answer for a moment before adding: "Well, I graduated from Kanazawa High, so maybe I'll say Kanazawa. I have some nice memories from there. How about you, Taka-senpai?"

Takashi finished his cigarette, throwing the stub out from the open window. "I've lived my whole life in Tokyo," he answered shortly.

"Tokyo, that's a nice place," Shou mused. "A little too big and hectic for my taste but it's quite a nice place to visit every now and then." He stole a glance at the older man's outfit. "So, you're a salaryman, uh?"

Takashi arched a brow. "A department head, actually."

"Yeah? What does your company do?"

Takashi stretched his arms a bit, enjoying the breeze coming in from the window. "We provide water supply and water supply planning. It's probably nothing you'd be interested in, anyway."

Shou smirked. "You're right. It doesn't sound interesting."

Takashi's eyes glazed. "It really isn't."

For the next few miles they drove in silence, Takashi staring at the landscapes with empty eyes whilst Shou tried to find a working radio station. Slowly, more traffic appeared as they reached the hems of the town. The town lay in a relatively small dell right by the sea. The road dived into the dell rather steeply, and from up where they were, the view was quite beautiful. There weren't many houses, maybe only a few hundred, and they were scattered in the dell in a seemingly disorganized way. The town wasn't a result of any careful planning; it had just been born in there as centuries had passed.

"I have enough money for some soba noodels," Shou said as they drove down the road. "Care to join me?"

"No, thanks. I'll go and find a hotel or something. I could really use a nap now."

Shou shrugged. "Okay. I'll just drop you off theeeeeeeen!" His sentence ended with an incoherent scream. The speed of the car had increased, and continued doing so. The tiny vehicle bounced on the bumpy road as they whizzed down it towards the town peacefully awaiting them.

"What the hell?!" Takashi yelled. His luggage was flying from the back seat to the front, something hard hitting the older man on the head. "Shou?!"

"The brakes, the brakes!" Shou screamed, hysteria growing in his voice. "They aren't working!"

"What?!" Takashi stared at the other man, horrified. "What do you mean they aren't working?! What is this piece of shit you call a car?!"

"This has happened before," Shou explained hurriedly, desperately pushing the pedal to no avail. "The guys said they got the problem fixed, though..."

"This has happened before?! And you're telling that now?" Takashi didn't have time to scold the man more; somehow miraculously they had managed to pass the first buildings of the town without hitting them, and now they were headed to the beach in front of them. Takashi felt something twisting in his stomach nastily: there was nothing to stop them anymore. The only thing left was the ocean.

"Watch out!"

The car crashed into something, a sign maybe, that was crushed to a million pieces. The next thing the boys knew, there was a huge splash due to which water started pouring in through the open windows.

Then... The car stopped. Takashi's heart beat fast as he fumbled for the door handle, and after struggling with it for a moment, he got it open. His shaking legs couldn't bare his weight; as soon as he got out of the car, he fell onto his knees. They were still close to the shore; even when in a sitting position, the water was only up to Takashi's shoulders.

"Taka-senpai?" A slightly trembling voice hollered from behind the car. "Are you in one piece?"

Takashi nodded, not realizing the other man couldn't see it. "Dear lord," he muttered to himself. "Dear lord..."

There was a bang somewhere close; a woman stumbling over the helms of her summer dress ran from an old, two-story house built close to the seashore. She was soon followed by a dark-haired, slim young man. The woman got into the water first: she forded to the car and started helping the now giggling Shou up. The dark-haired man quickly followed her into the sea, and as if based on an inaudible agreement, he left Shou to the girl's care. Instead, he forded deeper into the sea where Takashi was still sitting, wearing an upset expression and a soaked suit.

"You alright?" the stranger asked whilst helping Takashi up.

"We're fine," Shou chuckled from the other side of the car. "The downhill was kind of surprising, that's all."

"Here. Please, use these."

Takashi and Shou accepted gladly the soft, fluffy towels the woman handed for them. Soon the man who had fished Takashi from the sea appeared from the kitchen, carrying a tray that was loaded with tea cups.

"Thank you," Takashi muttered, feeling slightly embarrassed for having strangers making such a fuzz about him. "And my apologies, too."

The girl chuckled. "It's okay. It was an accident, right? You weren't hurt, and that's the most important thing."

"I'm Shou," Shou bowed playfully. "Or Kaza, whichever is fine. Nice to meet you."

"Takashi Sakamoto," Takashi held out his hand.

The third man in the room lifted the last cup from the tray before moving his eyes to Takashi. "Tora," the owner replied, easily picking up the clue hidden in the man's formal answer. He shook hands with the newcomer briskly before turning a little to motion towards the girl. "And this is Hiko. Nice to meet you both."

"Tora..?" Takashi realized a bit too late he was muttering out loud. But, what kind of name was that, really?

The girl, Hiko, tied her hair to a loose bundle. "He used to surf, almost professionally. The nickname comes from back then. These days, he doesn't really react to his real name anymore."

"You're the same, aren't you?" Tora teased and sat down. "When was the last time someone tried calling you by your birth name?"

"Last Christmas, my mom," the answer came sharply. Apparently there hadn't been many such occasions, since the woman could so easily recall the event.

"You used to surf, too?" Shou asked curiously. Takashi stole a glance at him and snorted. Something about the bohemian couple was clearly attracting the youth.

Hiko burst into uncontrollable giggles. "No, no. I would just hang out at the beach, watching hot guys with my friends. My second boyfriend was a surfer too, and he gave me that nickname. The guy went but the name stayed." She paused, the memory reflecting in her eyes. Soon, she shook herself from her thoughts and continued: "A whole bunch of surfers show up here every summer, so if you stay, it's impossible for you to miss them. Tora was like that too. One summer he came here with his entourage, and... He stayed. After the summer he simply took a job from the town's only bar and moved in there."

At that, Tora smirked. "Women," he defended himself and gave Hiko a light squish.

"It took over a year for him to ask me out, though," Hiko added, mischievously grinning.

"How long have you been married?" Shou asked, smitten, rocking on the chair. Takashi wanted to give him a good smack on the head -the boy was prying too much. Takashi had noticed a long ago that the couple wasn't carrying rings.

Luckily, the couple didn't seem to mind. "We aren't, actually," Hiko answered, shrugging her shoulders.

"But..." Shou's eyes enlarged. "You..." He fell silent but his cheeks kept reddening up.

"Oh, this?" Hiko patted her slightly rounded stomach that could barely be seen from under the layers of the skirt. "This... Wasn't actually what one would call 'planned'."

The girl's straightforwardness stunned even an open-minded person like Shou (or, more like a hole-headed, in Takashi's opinion) for a moment. Soon the boy regained his balance, though, and the radiant smile returned onto his face. "But that's great, isn't it? Kids are awesome. Congratulations."

Tora hummed and muttered an amused thank you before changing the subject: "So, what are your plans? Looking for a place to stay?"

"I..." Takashi quieted. He hadn't actually thought about it yet -staying, or not staying. He hadn't had any special plans when he had escaped Tokyo -he had just wanted to get away, as quickly as possible. The inn was nothing much -actually, calling it an inn was an overstatement. It was actually a tiny minshuku, Tora and Hiko's home with a few extra rooms for guests to say in. Everything was a little worn-out and shabby; the wallpapers had started peeling off from the corners, the paint's original shade on the windowsills was difficult to tell -although Takashi guessed it had been pastel yellow- and the textiles in the room were horribly old-fashioned. All in all, though, the atmosphere was somehow attractive, cozy, even, Takashi thought to himself as shoving his hands into the pockets of his pants. The combined dining room-lounge was small to begin with and with the numerous paintings, pictures and flowery pillows someone had decided to stuff in there the room seemed even smaller. However, as Takashi watched the owners sitting at the table, at the center of that multicolored chaos, he felt... warm. The room looked like it belonged to the youths, or maybe the youths belonged to the house, he wasn't sure. Either way, there was harmony in there Takashi hadn't sensed in a long, long time. "Do you have rooms available?" he finally coughed. "I could pay for a week in advance," he added quickly, pulling out his wallet.

Tora looked at Hiko, who shrugged. "Of course we'll be happy to have you. It's just that the season hasn't started yet, so it will be pretty dead around here for one month or so."

"Don't worry," Takashi smiled politely. "I enjoy peace and quiet, so being the only guest sounds good."

"Only guest?" Shou's voice cut in. Takashi winced. "I want to stay too! I like Hiko-chan and Tora-kun!"

"Well, as Hiko said, we have vacant rooms," Tora grinned. "Do you have any luggage with you? I'll carry them up for you."

Shou shifted awkwardly, his lips puckering up in an ashamed way. Takashi sighed -he knew that expression. That was a face of a boy who had always gotten what he wanted by putting up a cute and puzzled face -no wonder he had never had to work to make his living. Girls were sure to fall for that puppy face.

However, Tora wasn't that easily fooled.

"Short on money, uh?" The raven-haired man crossed his arms, tilting his head a little.

Shou smiled sheepishly. "Kind of."

Tora scratched his chin thoughtfully before turning to his girlfriend. "What do you think, honey? He seems like a strong guy."

The woman measured the lanky blond boy with her eyes before nodding slowly. "I think he's okay." Then she stood up, the three men following her example, and waved Takashi to follow her. "This way, please. Tora will bring your bags up soon."

Tora waited until the two had disappeared into the staircase that led to the second floor. Then, a charming smile spread across his face -a smile that made Shou slightly uneasy. That smile meant sweat and trouble, he was sure of it.

"Say, did you have time to read the sign in the front before crashing right through it?" Tora purred softly, pleased with whatever he had come up with.

Shou stared at the man from under his furrowed brows. "No, not really. It was quite... intense, back then." He cleared his throat as wrapping the towel tighter around him. "What was the... sign about, then?"

The ex-surfer was now smiling downright victoriously. He collected the cups from the table and arranged them neatly onto the tray before stepping up to the other man with the pile of dishes on his hands. He leant closer and gently yet firmly, gave the tray to Shou. "It said, 'Help wanted'." And with that, he left the house and baffled Shou, and went to collect Takashi's luggage from the veranda where they had left it to dry up.

Moar A/N-ess: Haha, Shou/Saga it is! I've never written anything with them but... the plot somehow chose its characters *nods* And because the original dorama is so full of awesomeness, I might try writing fanfics of it too, at some point. (I posted my first dorama fic yesterday, yattaa 8D Because Fujimaru/Otoya is canon♥) Anyway, I'm excited to try writing a new pairing, and hopefully you're excited too! :D This will consist of... maybe four or five parts? I haven't quite decided yet which parts of the dorama I'm going to include.

Anyway, comments are loved and appreciated, feel free to add us, andddd.... Yup. That's it. Now I need breakfast :')