It Was Always You (Chapter 3)
Title: It Was Always You
Pairing: Sakumiya (main), Ohmiya, Sakuraiba
Rating: PG
Summary: Ninomiya Kazunari attempts to confess his feelings to college senior Ohno Satoshi in a letter. However, in a twist of events, the letter did not end up with Ohno, but his roommate Sakurai Sho, who happened to have unrequited feelings for Nino's roommate, Aiba Masaki. The pair finally decide to form an alliance of mutual interests, only to learn that it takes them in a completely different direction...
Nino watched as Sho scrawled a title on top of a piece of paper.
"Phase 1: Synchronisation..."
"Yep," Sho said, "by 'synchronisation', I mean that we need to line up our schedules well in such a way that we can bump into each other. Oh, and lunch together is a given."
Nino frowned at his words.
"It won't work. Aiba-kun studies Veterinary in the Biology wing of the Science block. You are in Economics in the Arts block. That puts you and him on two opposite ends of the university. I don't see how you will bump into each other then!"
"Huh, you are right… Well I guess we can just make sure our lunch times line up well then."
Nino shrugged as he thought about his roommate.
"Well he is a friendly dude to get to know, but I assure you he ain't as perfect as the god you envisioned him to be."
"I know that!" Sho said petulantly.
"No you don't. You were practically idolising him just now with hearts and sparkles in your fanboy eyes."
"Was not!"
"You so were."
"Shut up!" Sho barked as he picked up a pen and continued, "anyhow, about you and Satoshi-kun.. he takes Visual Arts in the Arts wing."
"And I take Music in the Arts wing as well. I guess this works out perfectly, doesn't it?"
Sho nodded as he started to draw something.
"Wait wait waaaait," Nino stopped Sho's hand from drawing as he looked at the masterpiece that sat in front of them, "what are you drawing?"
"The layout for the arts wing."
"And what are those...erm …potatoes with squiggly tentacles and spiky fins on top?"
"How rude! Those are human beings! They are you and Satoshi-kun!"
"... I have seen bad drawings from Aiba-kun but THIS is a whole new level..." Nino murmured, "I guess you two will hit it off REALLY well."
"SHUT UP!"
“Okay, how about stick figures? Those are easy to draw."
Sho sulked as he took out a fresh sheet of paper and drew two stick figures, annotating them with "O" and "N".
"There."
"Much, much better. Thanks. And use a ruler next time."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Nino laid on his bed that night.
After a lengthy discussion, he and Sho had decided to email each other a copy of their weekly timetables and meet up slightly earlier before their common lunch the next day to come up with a schedule that they could all work with.
He had drawn up a simple timeline that outlined his and Aiba's lessons and scanned it before emailing it to Sho hours ago. He sighed quietly as he tossed over in bed.
"Well, things had gone in a direction I hadn't expected," Nino murmured as his eyelids fell shut, his mind thinking curiously about Ohno Satoshi and his new friend.
To: mario_kazu@arashimail.com
From: sho_sakurai@arashimail.com
Subject: So much for a proper schedule
Attachment: properschedule.xlsx (1.9 MB)
Ninomiya-kun,
When I asked for a schedule, I had expected a proper timetable chart that shows the time and location of the lectures. Also, you have forgotten the extra-curricular activities.
Please look at my schedule for an example as to what a proper schedule should look like.
Sakurai Sho
Student Council President
Storm University
Nino seethed quietly in frustration at the email that Sho had sent him. Well it was true that he could have added a bit more detail to his timeline, but to have it shot down like that kind of hurt.
He pursed his lips and opened the attachment.
His eyes popped out of their sockets at the sight of the massive chart that sat before his eyes.
Sho's schedule for the week was completely packed from 0800 hours to 0000 hours, each particular activity being recorded as a colour coded block packed to the brim with details from the lecture subjects to the name of the lecturers on that day. There were even small notes that annotated dates of tests and assignment deadlines in the future.
Nino sighed as he replied back.
To: sho_sakurai@arashimail.com
From: mario_kazu@arashimail.com
Subject: RE:So much for a proper schedule
Attachment: detailedasfuck.xlsx (1.9 MB)
Sho-kun,
What you have given me is NOT a schedule, but an entire planner with the most unnecessary details that have absolutely nothing to do with getting you together with Aiba-san.
Please revise your schedule to make it less packed with annoying details so I can actually use it!
Ninomiya Kazunari.
"Oiiii! Nino-kun?"
Nino immediately closed his laptop as he heard his name being called.
"Uh, yeah?"
"We both have lessons in about half an hour's time! Let's go now!" Aiba called from their room door.
"O-okay! I will be there!" Nino called as he stashed away his belongings in his bag, and joined Aiba outside the dormitory.
"So? What were you so busy with just now?" Aiba asked.
"Nothing much. Just messaging a really annoying professor."
"Ahahaha…that can't be helped, ne?" Aiba said with a slight chuckle as he gave Nino a comforting pat on the shoulder. Nino shrugged and looked up along the corridor to see two familiar faces.
Ohno Satoshi strode beside Sakurai Sho, chatting together as per usual. Nino's lips curled up in a soft smile at the sight of Ohno's sleepy eyes, and his eyes averted for a moment to meet Sho's sharp ones.
The pair exchanged a brief, hostile glance before looking away, with a slightly indignant huff.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Nino sat down at his table at the cafeteria, patiently waiting for Aiba to walk over from his classes. Just then, he felt someone plop a bag right down beside him.
"Aiba-cch-oh. It's you," Nino greeted in disdain.
Sho raised a questioning eyebrow.
"Don't look so disappointed. Remember what I said about us having to lunch together so that you can speak to Satoshi-kun?"
"Well yeah of course, but.." Nino was about to protest when he saw Ohno Satoshi walk towards them from behind Sho. Ohno looked vacantly around the cafeteria before finally finding them, his eyes flashing in recognition as he looked at Nino.
"Ah! You! You are the guy who got lost on the first day of the semester, right?" Ohno asked, completely surprised.
"Ah-yes-er, erm.." Nino answered shyly, and Sho could have sworn he saw the tips of Nino's ears go slightly pink.
"Well, good to see that you found your way around after all these months," Ohno continued with an angelic smile as he set his bag down beside Sho, "Sho-kun, I'll go buy food."
"Okay. Go right ahead," Sho said as he watched his friend leave, and gave a triumphant grin to Nino, "well? How does it feel?"
“I…erm..I have no idea what you are talking about,” Nino said as he cleared his throat, trying not to appear overexcited.
"Oh! Nino-kun! So there you are!" Aiba greeted cheerfully as he jogged over, casting a curious look at Sho. Now, it was Sho's turn to flush a deep red.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
".. so, Aiba-san! What are you studying right now?" Sho asked as he started eating.
"Sports Sciences," Aiba answered enthusiastically," well it is a whole lot of biology and physics stuff, really. Nothing interesting."
"But it is! What are you planning to specialise in? Sport nutrition? Experimental biomechanics?"
"Mmm I have not decided quite yet, but Sport Nutrition sounds pretty interesting!" Aiba said excitedly, "speaking of which, do you know that..."
Just opposite the chatting pair sat Ohno and Nino, who are quietly picking away at their food.
Nino inwardly sighed.
Yes. He was sitting right next to the guy he was intereste-no-curious about.
But that didn’t change the fact that speaking to someone he only met once was pretty awkward.
Sho nodded as he followed Aiba's flow of the conversation about macronutrition ratios, his eyes flickering over for a moment at Nino and Ohno, who only ate their food in silence.
Sho went into deep thought as he assessed the awkward social situation opposite him and looked up at Aiba with a smile. He had an idea as to how he could bring them into the conversation.
"How is Nino-kun as a roommate?" Sho asked brightly. Nino looked up at the sound of his name to see Sho posing the question.
"Oh, heheh.." Aiba giggled as he looked over at Nino and Ohno, "he is actually surprisingly helpful with cleaning when he needs to be. But of course, he would always grumble."
"Oi. It's no surprise!" Nino argued, "do you KNOW how untidy you get in the room?"
Nino heard a soft chuckle from beside him.
"Sho-kun is an untidy person too," Ohno said with an amused smile, his eyes twinkling playfully as he looked over at Sho.
"Seriously?! I thought Mr. Straight-laced right here would have everything spick and span," Nino said with a snarky grin as he looked over at Sho. Sho only cleared his throat as he tried not to look too embarrassed.
"..They say that having untidy tables is a sign of high intelligence-"
"So it IS untidy!" Nino exclaimed, "seriously?!"
Aiba laughed in response.
"Maa maa... at least we are both geniuses in that respect!" He said with a charming smile, and Sho could have sworn he felt his heart stop for a full second.
"Ahhh...pity we have to clean up after both our geniuses, ne?" Nino said to Ohno with a mock sigh. Ohno played along with a "Ne~", a smile forming on his chubby cheeks.
Nino looked up to see Sho meeting his eyes for a moment. He blinked and looked away, a smile tugging on his lips.
They got off on a rough start, but their cooperation was going very, very well. He had to admit that.
Pairing: Sakumiya (main), Ohmiya, Sakuraiba
Rating: PG
Summary: Ninomiya Kazunari attempts to confess his feelings to college senior Ohno Satoshi in a letter. However, in a twist of events, the letter did not end up with Ohno, but his roommate Sakurai Sho, who happened to have unrequited feelings for Nino's roommate, Aiba Masaki. The pair finally decide to form an alliance of mutual interests, only to learn that it takes them in a completely different direction...
Nino watched as Sho scrawled a title on top of a piece of paper.
"Phase 1: Synchronisation..."
"Yep," Sho said, "by 'synchronisation', I mean that we need to line up our schedules well in such a way that we can bump into each other. Oh, and lunch together is a given."
Nino frowned at his words.
"It won't work. Aiba-kun studies Veterinary in the Biology wing of the Science block. You are in Economics in the Arts block. That puts you and him on two opposite ends of the university. I don't see how you will bump into each other then!"
"Huh, you are right… Well I guess we can just make sure our lunch times line up well then."
Nino shrugged as he thought about his roommate.
"Well he is a friendly dude to get to know, but I assure you he ain't as perfect as the god you envisioned him to be."
"I know that!" Sho said petulantly.
"No you don't. You were practically idolising him just now with hearts and sparkles in your fanboy eyes."
"Was not!"
"You so were."
"Shut up!" Sho barked as he picked up a pen and continued, "anyhow, about you and Satoshi-kun.. he takes Visual Arts in the Arts wing."
"And I take Music in the Arts wing as well. I guess this works out perfectly, doesn't it?"
Sho nodded as he started to draw something.
"Wait wait waaaait," Nino stopped Sho's hand from drawing as he looked at the masterpiece that sat in front of them, "what are you drawing?"
"The layout for the arts wing."
"And what are those...erm …potatoes with squiggly tentacles and spiky fins on top?"
"How rude! Those are human beings! They are you and Satoshi-kun!"
"... I have seen bad drawings from Aiba-kun but THIS is a whole new level..." Nino murmured, "I guess you two will hit it off REALLY well."
"SHUT UP!"
“Okay, how about stick figures? Those are easy to draw."
Sho sulked as he took out a fresh sheet of paper and drew two stick figures, annotating them with "O" and "N".
"There."
"Much, much better. Thanks. And use a ruler next time."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Nino laid on his bed that night.
After a lengthy discussion, he and Sho had decided to email each other a copy of their weekly timetables and meet up slightly earlier before their common lunch the next day to come up with a schedule that they could all work with.
He had drawn up a simple timeline that outlined his and Aiba's lessons and scanned it before emailing it to Sho hours ago. He sighed quietly as he tossed over in bed.
"Well, things had gone in a direction I hadn't expected," Nino murmured as his eyelids fell shut, his mind thinking curiously about Ohno Satoshi and his new friend.
To: mario_kazu@arashimail.com
From: sho_sakurai@arashimail.com
Subject: So much for a proper schedule
Attachment: properschedule.xlsx (1.9 MB)
Ninomiya-kun,
When I asked for a schedule, I had expected a proper timetable chart that shows the time and location of the lectures. Also, you have forgotten the extra-curricular activities.
Please look at my schedule for an example as to what a proper schedule should look like.
Sakurai Sho
Student Council President
Storm University
Nino seethed quietly in frustration at the email that Sho had sent him. Well it was true that he could have added a bit more detail to his timeline, but to have it shot down like that kind of hurt.
He pursed his lips and opened the attachment.
His eyes popped out of their sockets at the sight of the massive chart that sat before his eyes.
Sho's schedule for the week was completely packed from 0800 hours to 0000 hours, each particular activity being recorded as a colour coded block packed to the brim with details from the lecture subjects to the name of the lecturers on that day. There were even small notes that annotated dates of tests and assignment deadlines in the future.
Nino sighed as he replied back.
To: sho_sakurai@arashimail.com
From: mario_kazu@arashimail.com
Subject: RE:So much for a proper schedule
Attachment: detailedasfuck.xlsx (1.9 MB)
Sho-kun,
What you have given me is NOT a schedule, but an entire planner with the most unnecessary details that have absolutely nothing to do with getting you together with Aiba-san.
Please revise your schedule to make it less packed with annoying details so I can actually use it!
Ninomiya Kazunari.
"Oiiii! Nino-kun?"
Nino immediately closed his laptop as he heard his name being called.
"Uh, yeah?"
"We both have lessons in about half an hour's time! Let's go now!" Aiba called from their room door.
"O-okay! I will be there!" Nino called as he stashed away his belongings in his bag, and joined Aiba outside the dormitory.
"So? What were you so busy with just now?" Aiba asked.
"Nothing much. Just messaging a really annoying professor."
"Ahahaha…that can't be helped, ne?" Aiba said with a slight chuckle as he gave Nino a comforting pat on the shoulder. Nino shrugged and looked up along the corridor to see two familiar faces.
Ohno Satoshi strode beside Sakurai Sho, chatting together as per usual. Nino's lips curled up in a soft smile at the sight of Ohno's sleepy eyes, and his eyes averted for a moment to meet Sho's sharp ones.
The pair exchanged a brief, hostile glance before looking away, with a slightly indignant huff.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Nino sat down at his table at the cafeteria, patiently waiting for Aiba to walk over from his classes. Just then, he felt someone plop a bag right down beside him.
"Aiba-cch-oh. It's you," Nino greeted in disdain.
Sho raised a questioning eyebrow.
"Don't look so disappointed. Remember what I said about us having to lunch together so that you can speak to Satoshi-kun?"
"Well yeah of course, but.." Nino was about to protest when he saw Ohno Satoshi walk towards them from behind Sho. Ohno looked vacantly around the cafeteria before finally finding them, his eyes flashing in recognition as he looked at Nino.
"Ah! You! You are the guy who got lost on the first day of the semester, right?" Ohno asked, completely surprised.
"Ah-yes-er, erm.." Nino answered shyly, and Sho could have sworn he saw the tips of Nino's ears go slightly pink.
"Well, good to see that you found your way around after all these months," Ohno continued with an angelic smile as he set his bag down beside Sho, "Sho-kun, I'll go buy food."
"Okay. Go right ahead," Sho said as he watched his friend leave, and gave a triumphant grin to Nino, "well? How does it feel?"
“I…erm..I have no idea what you are talking about,” Nino said as he cleared his throat, trying not to appear overexcited.
"Oh! Nino-kun! So there you are!" Aiba greeted cheerfully as he jogged over, casting a curious look at Sho. Now, it was Sho's turn to flush a deep red.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
".. so, Aiba-san! What are you studying right now?" Sho asked as he started eating.
"Sports Sciences," Aiba answered enthusiastically," well it is a whole lot of biology and physics stuff, really. Nothing interesting."
"But it is! What are you planning to specialise in? Sport nutrition? Experimental biomechanics?"
"Mmm I have not decided quite yet, but Sport Nutrition sounds pretty interesting!" Aiba said excitedly, "speaking of which, do you know that..."
Just opposite the chatting pair sat Ohno and Nino, who are quietly picking away at their food.
Nino inwardly sighed.
Yes. He was sitting right next to the guy he was intereste-no-curious about.
But that didn’t change the fact that speaking to someone he only met once was pretty awkward.
Sho nodded as he followed Aiba's flow of the conversation about macronutrition ratios, his eyes flickering over for a moment at Nino and Ohno, who only ate their food in silence.
Sho went into deep thought as he assessed the awkward social situation opposite him and looked up at Aiba with a smile. He had an idea as to how he could bring them into the conversation.
"How is Nino-kun as a roommate?" Sho asked brightly. Nino looked up at the sound of his name to see Sho posing the question.
"Oh, heheh.." Aiba giggled as he looked over at Nino and Ohno, "he is actually surprisingly helpful with cleaning when he needs to be. But of course, he would always grumble."
"Oi. It's no surprise!" Nino argued, "do you KNOW how untidy you get in the room?"
Nino heard a soft chuckle from beside him.
"Sho-kun is an untidy person too," Ohno said with an amused smile, his eyes twinkling playfully as he looked over at Sho.
"Seriously?! I thought Mr. Straight-laced right here would have everything spick and span," Nino said with a snarky grin as he looked over at Sho. Sho only cleared his throat as he tried not to look too embarrassed.
"..They say that having untidy tables is a sign of high intelligence-"
"So it IS untidy!" Nino exclaimed, "seriously?!"
Aiba laughed in response.
"Maa maa... at least we are both geniuses in that respect!" He said with a charming smile, and Sho could have sworn he felt his heart stop for a full second.
"Ahhh...pity we have to clean up after both our geniuses, ne?" Nino said to Ohno with a mock sigh. Ohno played along with a "Ne~", a smile forming on his chubby cheeks.
Nino looked up to see Sho meeting his eyes for a moment. He blinked and looked away, a smile tugging on his lips.
They got off on a rough start, but their cooperation was going very, very well. He had to admit that.