[Arashi Fanfic] Love, Courage and Cherry Pie: Chapter 1
Grammar is not a strength. It should be, but it isn't. So please ignore the grammar errors, along with any possible spelling errors and other errors. Comments are appreciated. Flames are unnecessary. I flame myself every time I write.
All dramas have a tinge, an iota of truth. Dreams are built on what we see around us. But what happens when dreams become more real than ever expected?
Yuuki was not her real name, of course. It was more intended to be a means of recognition, so that her new friends wouldn't have to grapple with her real name. It bore close meaning though: yuu, kanji for excellence, and ki-kanji for discipline. It also resembled the Japanese word for courage, which was why she chose it in the first place.
Yuuki was in Japan, Land of the Rising Sun…and more importantly, perhaps, Land of Arashi. The opportunity for taking part in the exchange was hard to come by, and competition was fierce. Somehow, Yuuki was chosen, despite her being thoroughly convinced beforehand of there being no possibility of her being offered the chance of studying in Japan, at Meiji University, for a year. A full year. She was still in a daze throughout the packing, the plane journey, and the enrolment process. It was not until halfway through her first class that she realized she really was in Japan, that it wasn’t a dream.
It was Yuuki's first day of classes at Meiji, and she had just bought her lunch. In the glass-walled cafeteria, she stood, with her tray of food in her hands, her shoulders shuffled every now and then to adjust the weight of her bag, and kept it from slipping. The cafeteria was relatively empty, as usual at this time of the day. There were many seats available, yet somehow she stood, her body still, her eyes wandered from one stranger to the next. All the other tables were taken with couples, who giggled and flirted with each other; it made her more and more aware of her loneliness. Her eyes paused when she saw the young man, as a drowning person would on the sight a floating log. She moved, swiftly but quietly.
A young man sat alone, at one of the many round tables, with his lunch of curry rice and a text book. His head was low, his glasses-clad eyes trained on the pages of the book, crammed with words yet clean from scribbles and marks. His hand held a silver spoon loosely, tightening his grip only to pile another mouthful of the mix of sauce, vegetables and rice.
"Excuse me, may I sit here?" In two quick strides, she was facing the young man, her hands gripped her tray tightly in nervous anticipation.
"Eh? Nani ka…" The young man glanced at her, giving her a sense that the interruption was unwelcomed.
"Ah, sumimasen. Ano… koko ni suwatte mo ii desu ka?" She asked, uncertainly. "Nihongo wa jouzu janai…" She added for good measure.
"Ii yo. Douzo." He replied, coolly, his eyes still focused on his book. "I understand English, just a little."
"Thank you." A small smile replaced her previous nervous face. "I really don't like eating lunch alone."
Her voice was quiet, almost a whisper.
His reading stopped, and gave her a hard, long look, trying to figure out her character. Her eyes met his, and held the gaze momentarily.
Both broke into a wide smile. Yuuki knew that she had found her first friend in Tokyo.
"Hi. My name is Yuuki. Nice to meet you."
"Tomohisa desu. Yoroshiku." He held out his hand
He looks familiar…Yuuki thought as she shook his hand.
Lunch with Tomohisa became a new routine in Yuuki's life. He'd always be early, with the 300yen lunch set (usually curry) and a textbook, at the same table every time. Conversation was always lively, with Tomo-kun, the nickname Yuuki gave him, always curious about her life. Yuuki loved to travel, and was familiar with many Asian and Australian locations. Tomo-kun always responded warmly, no matter how trivial the story was, or if the same anecdote had been told again. He was quiet and reserved, it was hard for Yuuki to learn more about his life. She could only guess his life experiences, extrapolating from the responses he gave to her endless chatter. Occasionally Yuuki would notice other students casting curious glances towards them, but always brushed it off as wondering how the ice-cube Tomo-kun and the weird exchange student managed to 'hit it off' so well.
"Boo."
Yuuki jumped a little, then realised it was none other than Tomo-chan. "Sorry, won't be able to do lunch tomorrow. There's some work I need to take care of. Whacha listening to?" He asked.
"Oh… just a little J-Pop." Her iPod was playing the latest Arashi single, but was too embarrassed to be frank with Tomohisa. He raised an eyebrow, plucked an earplug from her ear and popped it in his own. Tomo's face flushed for a moment when he realised who the artist was.
"You…um…like Arashi?" He asked, not wishing to appear too inquisitive or knowledgeable in that area.
Yuuki nodded.
"A fan?"
"…Yeah."
There was an uncomfortable pause, both searching for the right words to say. Tomohisa decided to come out with the 'truth'.
"You know…I kinda know the Arashi guys."
"You do?" Her face flushed a little. Ok, he probably thinks I'm this freak now. Yuuki cringed inwardly.
Seeing her red face, he smiled. "You know, they're having a concert soon." He stopped, his eyes fixed on her form, and anticipated her response.
"Yeah. I've been trying to get tickets. It's been extra hard- I haven't been able to get in the FC."
I really should just shut up. Yuuki thought. Everything I say today is coming out totally wrong.
Tomo laughed. Yuuki looked up, in surprise. His eyes gained a mischievous spark.
"Leave it to me. I'll need to make it up to you for missing our lunch tomorrow anyway." He flashed a smile, ruffled her hair, and walked away.
Yuuki's eyes widened. Her jaw dropped on realising what he meant.
I can't believe this…Does this mean he really is…
"No way…"
=======================================
Outside the venue, Yuuki clutched her ticket, and waited for Tomohisa near the footbridge. She couldn’t believe she was attending an Arashi concert, even less so the biggest one ever. Of course, she had Tomo-kun to thank-he didn't forget his promise, and gave her the tickets over lunch a week after that little morning interlude.
Tomo-kun.
There was definitely something up with him. Yuuki had a feeling that he wasn't exactly what he seemed to be, the bookworm, ice-cube Meiji Uni student. He'd disappear occassionally, and the next day, the entertainment news would either be abuzz with Yamapi news, or she'd see NewS fangirls posting word of new photoshoots, adding to their ever-growing wishlist of magazines. It didn't take a genius to know something was different about this guy. She was just looking for some kind of confirmation, and her ticket was probably the best evidence supporting her theory.
Tomo-kun. Tomohisa. Yamashita Tomohisa. Yamapi.
Of course she knew who Yamapi was: he worked with Nino in Stand Up!, and was loved by She was just having a hard time believing that her friend, the very first friend she made in Japan was so famous. Especially considering how she had never met anyone so famous, let alone be friends with them. But she was still not convinced. Her mind still tried to keep it real-that Tomo-kun wasn't really famous, he just happened to look like Yamapi. He got the tickets by balloting for her. Nothing more.
Taking a deep breath, she took out her au mobile, fingers ready to call her friend. She felt a gentle tap on her shoulder.
"Hi." Tomo-kun flashed a quick smile. "Ready to go in?"
He looked just a little unusual. Instead of his usual frameless glasses, he was wearing large aviator sunnies, with a baseball cap, covering most of his face. The Russ-K T-shirt covered his body, but one could still make out his defined torso. In one hand he held a bag of concert goods, in the other, two concert T-shirts out of their packaging. If his choice of clothes was intended to disguise his identity, the items he carried certainly undid his efforts. Not to mention, he was surrounded by a sea, if not ocean, of fangirls. He stood out like a sore thumb.
Yuuki gave a little giggle, and admired at how ridiculous her lunch buddy looked. "Sure am," she replied.
"Here. You might want to put this on." He handed her the purple T-shirt. "Just to get into the swing of things."
"Thanks. And thanks so much for this." She held up her ticket. "If I forget to say this later, I had a wonderful time today."
He laughed. "No problem. Let's head in, then."
==========================================
The concert was beyond amazing. Fireworks, fountains, costumes, member ai… it was everything Yuuki had expected, and then some. She sang along to every song, and the guys waved happily whenever they walked past her, sometimes stopping, sometimes not. Everything interesting happened before her eyes, like Nino pinning Aiba down, showing the world his split pants, Jun eating Aiba's finger, and Sho mocking himself during MC. It was nothing short of extraordinary.
Towards the end of the second encore, a staff member approached Tomohisa and whispered something in his ear. Tears of great happiness and immense sadness streamed down Yuuki's face, and she was much too distracted by the Arashi boys on stage to have noticed this. Tomohisa tugged Yuuki's T-shirt to get her attention, and made an indication for the teary fangirl to follow him.
"But the encore's not over…" Yuuki sobbed. She had a strange feeling about this.
"Don't worry, just follow me" He mouthed back. "Come on!"
Yuuki's heart was pounding as she followed Tomo-kun and the staff member. She heard every beat of her pulse-her ears echoed each resonating thump. Her gut had an idea of what may lie ahead, at the end of the long corridor, but her mind found that notion implausible, even slightly impossible. But it was happening. She was backstage at the end of an Arashi concert.
A roar, then deafening screams, and chants for Arashi could be heard from the other side of the stage. Moments later, the boys emerged, one by one, wiping their faces with towels.
"Tomo-chan!" Nino was ready to pounce on Tomohisa, but Ohno was still in a daze, with a dorky grin on his face and an arm around Nino's hips, and kept it there, which effectively prevented the prankster from making any big moves. The Leader flashed Tomohisa a quick smile, and greeted him with a nod.
"Yo," Sho said coolly. The two boys high-fived. Yuuki sensed a little glint of competition between the two guys.
Jun and Aiba joined the group. Aiba's eyes were wet, from both sweat and tears. Jun was trying to console the infamous crybaby of the group. The pair seemed oblivious to the two intruders, wrapped in their own world of post-concert trauma.
"Ne, why don't we go for yakiniku?" Jun suggested, some moments later, after the group exchanged introductions and greetings with Yuuki. "You guys just wait a moment, we won't be too long. I hope." He cast a worried glance at Aiba, who seemed to have regained some composure.
It's not hard to understand why Ohno always looks spaced out, once you've spent some time with the group. Yuuki was swimming in her own thoughts, which seemed to flow endlessly- Arashi was such an unbelievable group. They were nothing short of amazing, even though three members seemed a little out of the ordinary today. Sho and Aiba weren't talking to each other, Jun was rather distracted-sort of split between worrying about Sho and Aiba, and waiting for an important phone call. The Ohmiya pair were fooling around, just as Yuuki had seen on various videos. It became a rather large party, with most, if not all, the staff involved. Higashiyama and Machida, even though they were invited, stayed only a short while. It seemed everyone was having a good time, except Aiba, Sho and Jun. Yuuki chose to sit back and observe, feeling that if her fangirling side came out now, it might just scar everyone forever, including herself. Tomo-kun kept a respectful distance between himself and his Arashi sempais.
"Tomo-chan," Nino piped, "you still haven't told us why you brought Yuuki to our concert. Is she your…" Nino wiggled his eyebrows playfully.
The party stilled a little, and the Arashi guys looked at Tomo-kun.
"Oh. We're friends from uni. Just friends, ne, Tomo-kun?" Yuuki replied, evidently an attempt to prevent embarrassment.
"Ah sou. Yuuki-chan's not from around here, are you?" Jun asked, and thoughtfully changed the subject.
"Iie, I'm Chinese, actually. But I grew up in Australia. I'm in Japan as an exchange student."
"Aah, I remember Australia. Are you from Sydney? Cairns? We went there a couple of years ago, ne." Ohno asked, with rare interest. "There are lots of fish in Australia, ne?"
Yuuki giggled. "There sure are." And proceeded to exchange fishing stories with Ohno. Aiba shuffled a little, and motioned for Yuuki to move over, and sat her between Ohno and himself. Soon, the three were engaged in keen conversation about fishing, animals and food.
Nino moved to the spot next to Tomo-kun. "Pi-chan, she's kinda special. You'll have to hold on if you don’t want to lose her."
All dramas have a tinge, an iota of truth. Dreams are built on what we see around us. But what happens when dreams become more real than ever expected?
Yuuki was not her real name, of course. It was more intended to be a means of recognition, so that her new friends wouldn't have to grapple with her real name. It bore close meaning though: yuu, kanji for excellence, and ki-kanji for discipline. It also resembled the Japanese word for courage, which was why she chose it in the first place.
Yuuki was in Japan, Land of the Rising Sun…and more importantly, perhaps, Land of Arashi. The opportunity for taking part in the exchange was hard to come by, and competition was fierce. Somehow, Yuuki was chosen, despite her being thoroughly convinced beforehand of there being no possibility of her being offered the chance of studying in Japan, at Meiji University, for a year. A full year. She was still in a daze throughout the packing, the plane journey, and the enrolment process. It was not until halfway through her first class that she realized she really was in Japan, that it wasn’t a dream.
It was Yuuki's first day of classes at Meiji, and she had just bought her lunch. In the glass-walled cafeteria, she stood, with her tray of food in her hands, her shoulders shuffled every now and then to adjust the weight of her bag, and kept it from slipping. The cafeteria was relatively empty, as usual at this time of the day. There were many seats available, yet somehow she stood, her body still, her eyes wandered from one stranger to the next. All the other tables were taken with couples, who giggled and flirted with each other; it made her more and more aware of her loneliness. Her eyes paused when she saw the young man, as a drowning person would on the sight a floating log. She moved, swiftly but quietly.
A young man sat alone, at one of the many round tables, with his lunch of curry rice and a text book. His head was low, his glasses-clad eyes trained on the pages of the book, crammed with words yet clean from scribbles and marks. His hand held a silver spoon loosely, tightening his grip only to pile another mouthful of the mix of sauce, vegetables and rice.
"Excuse me, may I sit here?" In two quick strides, she was facing the young man, her hands gripped her tray tightly in nervous anticipation.
"Eh? Nani ka…" The young man glanced at her, giving her a sense that the interruption was unwelcomed.
"Ah, sumimasen. Ano… koko ni suwatte mo ii desu ka?" She asked, uncertainly. "Nihongo wa jouzu janai…" She added for good measure.
"Ii yo. Douzo." He replied, coolly, his eyes still focused on his book. "I understand English, just a little."
"Thank you." A small smile replaced her previous nervous face. "I really don't like eating lunch alone."
Her voice was quiet, almost a whisper.
His reading stopped, and gave her a hard, long look, trying to figure out her character. Her eyes met his, and held the gaze momentarily.
Both broke into a wide smile. Yuuki knew that she had found her first friend in Tokyo.
"Hi. My name is Yuuki. Nice to meet you."
"Tomohisa desu. Yoroshiku." He held out his hand
He looks familiar…Yuuki thought as she shook his hand.
Lunch with Tomohisa became a new routine in Yuuki's life. He'd always be early, with the 300yen lunch set (usually curry) and a textbook, at the same table every time. Conversation was always lively, with Tomo-kun, the nickname Yuuki gave him, always curious about her life. Yuuki loved to travel, and was familiar with many Asian and Australian locations. Tomo-kun always responded warmly, no matter how trivial the story was, or if the same anecdote had been told again. He was quiet and reserved, it was hard for Yuuki to learn more about his life. She could only guess his life experiences, extrapolating from the responses he gave to her endless chatter. Occasionally Yuuki would notice other students casting curious glances towards them, but always brushed it off as wondering how the ice-cube Tomo-kun and the weird exchange student managed to 'hit it off' so well.
"Boo."
Yuuki jumped a little, then realised it was none other than Tomo-chan. "Sorry, won't be able to do lunch tomorrow. There's some work I need to take care of. Whacha listening to?" He asked.
"Oh… just a little J-Pop." Her iPod was playing the latest Arashi single, but was too embarrassed to be frank with Tomohisa. He raised an eyebrow, plucked an earplug from her ear and popped it in his own. Tomo's face flushed for a moment when he realised who the artist was.
"You…um…like Arashi?" He asked, not wishing to appear too inquisitive or knowledgeable in that area.
Yuuki nodded.
"A fan?"
"…Yeah."
There was an uncomfortable pause, both searching for the right words to say. Tomohisa decided to come out with the 'truth'.
"You know…I kinda know the Arashi guys."
"You do?" Her face flushed a little. Ok, he probably thinks I'm this freak now. Yuuki cringed inwardly.
Seeing her red face, he smiled. "You know, they're having a concert soon." He stopped, his eyes fixed on her form, and anticipated her response.
"Yeah. I've been trying to get tickets. It's been extra hard- I haven't been able to get in the FC."
I really should just shut up. Yuuki thought. Everything I say today is coming out totally wrong.
Tomo laughed. Yuuki looked up, in surprise. His eyes gained a mischievous spark.
"Leave it to me. I'll need to make it up to you for missing our lunch tomorrow anyway." He flashed a smile, ruffled her hair, and walked away.
Yuuki's eyes widened. Her jaw dropped on realising what he meant.
I can't believe this…Does this mean he really is…
"No way…"
=======================================
Outside the venue, Yuuki clutched her ticket, and waited for Tomohisa near the footbridge. She couldn’t believe she was attending an Arashi concert, even less so the biggest one ever. Of course, she had Tomo-kun to thank-he didn't forget his promise, and gave her the tickets over lunch a week after that little morning interlude.
Tomo-kun.
There was definitely something up with him. Yuuki had a feeling that he wasn't exactly what he seemed to be, the bookworm, ice-cube Meiji Uni student. He'd disappear occassionally, and the next day, the entertainment news would either be abuzz with Yamapi news, or she'd see NewS fangirls posting word of new photoshoots, adding to their ever-growing wishlist of magazines. It didn't take a genius to know something was different about this guy. She was just looking for some kind of confirmation, and her ticket was probably the best evidence supporting her theory.
Tomo-kun. Tomohisa. Yamashita Tomohisa. Yamapi.
Of course she knew who Yamapi was: he worked with Nino in Stand Up!, and was loved by She was just having a hard time believing that her friend, the very first friend she made in Japan was so famous. Especially considering how she had never met anyone so famous, let alone be friends with them. But she was still not convinced. Her mind still tried to keep it real-that Tomo-kun wasn't really famous, he just happened to look like Yamapi. He got the tickets by balloting for her. Nothing more.
Taking a deep breath, she took out her au mobile, fingers ready to call her friend. She felt a gentle tap on her shoulder.
"Hi." Tomo-kun flashed a quick smile. "Ready to go in?"
He looked just a little unusual. Instead of his usual frameless glasses, he was wearing large aviator sunnies, with a baseball cap, covering most of his face. The Russ-K T-shirt covered his body, but one could still make out his defined torso. In one hand he held a bag of concert goods, in the other, two concert T-shirts out of their packaging. If his choice of clothes was intended to disguise his identity, the items he carried certainly undid his efforts. Not to mention, he was surrounded by a sea, if not ocean, of fangirls. He stood out like a sore thumb.
Yuuki gave a little giggle, and admired at how ridiculous her lunch buddy looked. "Sure am," she replied.
"Here. You might want to put this on." He handed her the purple T-shirt. "Just to get into the swing of things."
"Thanks. And thanks so much for this." She held up her ticket. "If I forget to say this later, I had a wonderful time today."
He laughed. "No problem. Let's head in, then."
==========================================
The concert was beyond amazing. Fireworks, fountains, costumes, member ai… it was everything Yuuki had expected, and then some. She sang along to every song, and the guys waved happily whenever they walked past her, sometimes stopping, sometimes not. Everything interesting happened before her eyes, like Nino pinning Aiba down, showing the world his split pants, Jun eating Aiba's finger, and Sho mocking himself during MC. It was nothing short of extraordinary.
Towards the end of the second encore, a staff member approached Tomohisa and whispered something in his ear. Tears of great happiness and immense sadness streamed down Yuuki's face, and she was much too distracted by the Arashi boys on stage to have noticed this. Tomohisa tugged Yuuki's T-shirt to get her attention, and made an indication for the teary fangirl to follow him.
"But the encore's not over…" Yuuki sobbed. She had a strange feeling about this.
"Don't worry, just follow me" He mouthed back. "Come on!"
Yuuki's heart was pounding as she followed Tomo-kun and the staff member. She heard every beat of her pulse-her ears echoed each resonating thump. Her gut had an idea of what may lie ahead, at the end of the long corridor, but her mind found that notion implausible, even slightly impossible. But it was happening. She was backstage at the end of an Arashi concert.
A roar, then deafening screams, and chants for Arashi could be heard from the other side of the stage. Moments later, the boys emerged, one by one, wiping their faces with towels.
"Tomo-chan!" Nino was ready to pounce on Tomohisa, but Ohno was still in a daze, with a dorky grin on his face and an arm around Nino's hips, and kept it there, which effectively prevented the prankster from making any big moves. The Leader flashed Tomohisa a quick smile, and greeted him with a nod.
"Yo," Sho said coolly. The two boys high-fived. Yuuki sensed a little glint of competition between the two guys.
Jun and Aiba joined the group. Aiba's eyes were wet, from both sweat and tears. Jun was trying to console the infamous crybaby of the group. The pair seemed oblivious to the two intruders, wrapped in their own world of post-concert trauma.
"Ne, why don't we go for yakiniku?" Jun suggested, some moments later, after the group exchanged introductions and greetings with Yuuki. "You guys just wait a moment, we won't be too long. I hope." He cast a worried glance at Aiba, who seemed to have regained some composure.
It's not hard to understand why Ohno always looks spaced out, once you've spent some time with the group. Yuuki was swimming in her own thoughts, which seemed to flow endlessly- Arashi was such an unbelievable group. They were nothing short of amazing, even though three members seemed a little out of the ordinary today. Sho and Aiba weren't talking to each other, Jun was rather distracted-sort of split between worrying about Sho and Aiba, and waiting for an important phone call. The Ohmiya pair were fooling around, just as Yuuki had seen on various videos. It became a rather large party, with most, if not all, the staff involved. Higashiyama and Machida, even though they were invited, stayed only a short while. It seemed everyone was having a good time, except Aiba, Sho and Jun. Yuuki chose to sit back and observe, feeling that if her fangirling side came out now, it might just scar everyone forever, including herself. Tomo-kun kept a respectful distance between himself and his Arashi sempais.
"Tomo-chan," Nino piped, "you still haven't told us why you brought Yuuki to our concert. Is she your…" Nino wiggled his eyebrows playfully.
The party stilled a little, and the Arashi guys looked at Tomo-kun.
"Oh. We're friends from uni. Just friends, ne, Tomo-kun?" Yuuki replied, evidently an attempt to prevent embarrassment.
"Ah sou. Yuuki-chan's not from around here, are you?" Jun asked, and thoughtfully changed the subject.
"Iie, I'm Chinese, actually. But I grew up in Australia. I'm in Japan as an exchange student."
"Aah, I remember Australia. Are you from Sydney? Cairns? We went there a couple of years ago, ne." Ohno asked, with rare interest. "There are lots of fish in Australia, ne?"
Yuuki giggled. "There sure are." And proceeded to exchange fishing stories with Ohno. Aiba shuffled a little, and motioned for Yuuki to move over, and sat her between Ohno and himself. Soon, the three were engaged in keen conversation about fishing, animals and food.
Nino moved to the spot next to Tomo-kun. "Pi-chan, she's kinda special. You'll have to hold on if you don’t want to lose her."