[Arashi Fanfic] Love, Courage and Cherry Pie: Chapter 9
"Hisako?" Yuuki said, while they waited for the train on the platform.
"Nani?"
"Thanks for dragging me out today."
"You're welcome." Hisako smiled. "I'm glad Tomohisa-kun called. He told me everything, Yuuki."
"He called you?" Yuuki asked, surprise evident in her voice.
"Yeah. Just before his concert started. Told me to drag you to the Dome, no matter what. Said it was important. And that I'd probably find you in a mess, too. That you were probably berating yourself for breaking up with him." She turned to face her friend. "He sure knows you better than I ever will, Yuuki. I'm so jealous that you've got such a great guy in your life."
Yuuki smiled sadly. "I'm too lucky, Hisako. I don't know how to handle so much luck. And so I panicked. I mean, we are talking about Yamapi."
Tears began to well up in Yuuki's eyes again. Hisako hugged her friend tightly. "I'm glad that you guys are friends again. Yuuki, you know you can tell me everything. And if anything happens, I'm always here for you. Always."
"Thank you." Yuuki choked, and tears flowed, for one last time.
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Just as one storm ended, another began.
A fuming Johnny H. Kitagawa was pacing the length and width of his office in the JE building, angrily mumbling under his breath. Words like "How could he be so stupid…", "didn't that thing with Arashi teach any of them anything…" and "what on earth was he thinking…" could be heard. Yamapi's manager, Suzuki-san, and Kato-san were outside the office, unsure if they should knock or wait.
"OH FOR GOD'S SAKE WHERE ARE THOSE MANAGERS?" The boss roared. The men nervously gulped before knocking on the door.
"Boss, you wanted to see us?" Kato-san asked. Suzuki-san was slightly trembling, worried about what may come.
"Would someone care to explain how the stupid paparazzi got these shots?" Johnny demanded, as he threw a couple of grainy photographs onto his table.
Kato and Suzuki peeked. There were various shots of Yuuki, out and about, with different Johnny boys by his side-Yamapi, Aiba, Nino and Ohno. Of course Nino and Ohno couldn't be with her; the thought of them dating girls was just too amusing. Suzuki-san had seen Yuuki on a couple of occasions, but wasn't familiar with her as Kato-san was.
"Um, boss, she's just a friend of theirs." Kato-san said, as calmly and respectfully as he could manage under such stressful circumstances. "Her name's Yuuki, she's an exchange student who Yamapi met at uni."
"If she's Yamapi's friend, how did the Arashi guys get to know her?" Johnny questioned, glaring at Kato.
"He took her to an Arashi concert, and the guys invited them to yakiniku afterwards." He replied. "She's a nice girl, boss."
"I'm sure she is, just like how Hikari and Kytana are nice girls too. Look how much trouble they've caused." Johnny snapped back. "Get her here. Now. I need to talk to her."
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Class had resumed, and Yuuki's life was back to "normal" again. Since Tomohisa had graduated, Yuuki had lunch with almost different people every day. Though she didn't look it, Yuuki was a friendly person, and rarely said no to anything when asked. Many girls at Meiji despised the exchange student initially, out of jealousy that she had managed to befriend the celebrity, which was why Yuuki found it quite difficult to friend others at first, but that feeling had subsided now that Tomohisa was no longer a student. On other days, Yuuki would meet Tomohisa at a nearby restaurant, café or ramen stand-classes were getting harder which meant Yuuki had less free time after uni; Tomohisa was getting more and more jobs, which meant lunch was the only time they were both free on most occasions. Today, they were at a monjya yaki store, and was just about to tuck in when Tomohisa's phone rang.
"Moshi moshi? Tomohisa desu."
"Yamapi? It's Suzuki. Where are you?" His manager asked.
"I'm having lunch. What's up?"
"Is Yuuki with you?"
The question made Tomohisa frown. He cast a glance at Yuuki, who was staring at the monjya yaki with interest and anticipation. "Yeah, she is. Why do you ask?"
"Give me the address of the restaurant. I'll come and pick you guys up later." The man replied, "Johnny wants to talk to her."
An hour later, Yuuki found herself outside an office in the JE building. Johnny H. Kitagawa's office, to be exact. The boss of Johnnys Corporation. The creator of massively popular boy bands. The taker of her hard-earned cash. No amount of fangirl talks, complaints and hypotheticals could have prepared Yuuki for this. She was going to meet the big boss, and if her instincts were right, it's not going to be pretty. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door.
"Come in," a voice bellowed from within.
Yuuki took a deep breath before extending her hand to open the door. Kato-san, Arashi's manager, was beside her. Yamapi was getting a talk from his own manager. Kato-san gave her an encouraging look, and pushed the door open, as the girl was much too nervous to even grip the handle properly. Yuuki flashed a worried smile, before she stepped in.
"You must be Yuuki." Johnny Kitagawa stated, without so much as looking up from the document he was reading to get a look of the girl. "Sit down."
She sat, gingerly, afraid to make so much as a sound. Yuuki waited quietly as Johnny finished reading the document, and signed at the bottom of the page.
"Right. I'm sure you know why you're here, Yuuki." Johnny started. "What do you want? Money? A job? My approval to marry one of them? Just name it."
Yuuki frowned. "I'm sorry, I actually don't want any of those things. As to why I'm here, I'm sure you wouldn't mind telling me the reason, Mr Kitagawa?"
He opened the drawer and took out some photographs. "These."
Yuuki took them with shaking fingers, for a closer look. There were four grainy shots of her: one of Tomohisa piggybacking her, another of her with Aiba at Cuddly Dominion, a third of Nino and her peering at what looked like a DS, and the last was fishing with Ohno. Her eyes widened in surprise as she grasped the old man's meaning. "Mr Kitagawa, I'm not-"
"Oh, cut me the crap. Of course you're not the kind of girl I think you are-you'd never admit to that. But in the end you guys just all want the same thing. So just give me a figure. How much will it cost me to shut you up and make sure that you won't see any of them again?" He took out his cheque book, and held the Montblanc pen in his hand.
"Nothing. If that's what you want, and if that's what's best for them, then I'm happy to leave them alone. I'll change my phone numbers, move, and do everything I can to make sure that they don't ever see me again. But will that solve all your problems, Mr Kitagawa? Or do you want to hear my part of the story first, before you make a decision?" Yuuki said, calmly. Inside, her stomach was knotting up from the nerves. She bit her lip as she waited for a response.
Johnny put down his pen, and looked at Yuuki, and waited for the girl to continue.
"You probably know that I'm an exchange student already. I met Tomo-kun at uni, and we became friends before I knew he was really Yamapi. It wasn't until he took me backstage to the Arashi concert that my suspicions were confirmed. I know, I probably should have stopped things there, but I couldn't leave a friend just because he happens to be an idol. So I treated him in the same way I treat all my friends. Sir, I'm from Australia, and as familiar as I am with Japanese customs of etiquette and all, there are some habits I just can't get rid of. Like being friendly. We were just friends, and still are. Nothing more." Yuuki explained. "As for the photo, Tomo-kun was piggybacking me because he lost a bet."
"Did you date him?"
"I…" Yuuki stammered. "We…"
"Did you, or did you not?" Johnny asked, more forcefully this time.
"We did." Yuuki confessed. "But it didn't work out." She hung her head, and stared at her hands in her lap.
Johnny raised an eyebrow, and chuckled. The momentary lapse in composure was quickly rectified before Yuuki noticed. "What about the Arashi guys?"
"Sir, I'm sure you know that Jun and Sho are much too hung up on Kytana and Hikari to even cast a glance at me." Johnny grimaced slightly at this remark. "Nino and Ohno…nothing can separate those two, as you're well aware. These shots," she pointed at the ones of her with Nino and Ohno, "Nino was showing me how to pass the next level of a game, and Ohno took me fishing one weekend. Nino was sleeping in the cabin from seasickness."
"As for this one," Yuuki pointed to the one of her and Aiba eating lunch, "Aiba met up with me after a shoot at Cuddly Dominion, not that long after their cons finished. I'll admit that I like him more than just as a friend. Which was why Tomo-kun and I.. Why we didn't work out. But Aiba doesn't know that yet. And if I can help it, he will never know."
It was Johnny's turn to be surprised. He leaned forward, and examined Yuuki with interest.
"Sir, Aiba sees me as nothing more than a buddy, at most, a sister. He's got more than enough problems of his own to deal with at the moment, and I'm not going to add to his burden. I know how complicated things can get in relationships, Mr Kitagawa. Especially when the relationship involves a celebrity. And all I want in my life is simplicity."
Johnny leaned back into his leather seat, and studied Yuuki carefully, before he spoke again. "Tell me, what are you studying and how many more years do you have before you graduate?"
"Commerce and law. I've got at least two more years, after I go back to Australia, before I can graduate. Why do you ask?"
"Would you be interested to come work for me?" Johnny asked, in all seriousness.
"I'm sorry?" Yuuki couldn't believe her ears. "You want me to work for you?"
"I like your ways, girl. How your head works. You're not like Kytana, or Hikari, I'll give you that. But you've got spunk, and guts, and you know what's good for people. We could do with someone like you. Let me know when you're ready to start." He passed her a business card.
"Thank you for the offer Mr Kitagawa, but I must decline. My life is complicated as it is already, I don't need a job which will only fuel the chaos. I don't think I can handle it." She smiled, stood up, and was ready to leave.
"My offer remains open. Just let me know if you're feeling up to the challenge." The big boss said. Yuuki turned her head, smiled, and gave a small nod, then left the room and closed the door behind her.
Johnny Kitagawa stared at the door for a moment, deep in thought. Then he picked up his phone, and dialed a number quickly.
"Kytana? Johnny here. I need a favour." He said, as he stared at the photos in his hand. "The Jimusho got a delivery of photos today, and I want you to track down the sender."
Oh my God. What did I just do? Yuuki thought as she came out of the office. I just turned down a job working for Johnny. Every fangirl's dream job. Oh my God, what have I done…
Yuuki was walking down the corridor, still berating herself when Yamapi approached, with Kato and Suzuki behind him.
"What did he say?" One asked impatiently.
"Johnny offered me a job." Yuuki replied, absentmindedly. "Oh my God, what have I done…"
"He-What? The boss offered you a job?" Kato exclaimed, surprised.
Yuuki was too occupied with her own thoughts. "Oh my God. I can't believe this. And I turned him down. Oh my God, what have I done…"
Tomohisa laughed. "That's such a Yuuki thing to do."
"Oh shut up!" Yuuki chased after him, fists in air. "If I accepted, I might finally have the money to buy everything associated with you guys! Oi, come back here..."
Behind her, Johnny's bellow could be heard. "Kato! Suzuki! Get your asses in here. NOW!"