Look, The Cherry Blossoms Has Bloomed - Chapter 1
Title : Look, The Cherry Blossoms Has Bloomed
Author :
zeon_avalanthe
Rating : PG-13
Genre : AU ; Fluff ; Angst
Pairing : YutoYama
Disclaimer : Everyone knows that I don't own any of those boys, sadly.. And the Bartender setting I used in this story was shamelessly taken from the drama Bartender which Aiba Masaki starred at.. The drinks mentioned belong to their respective, err, founders..
Summary : He finally find his happiness. But will his happiness last? Or will the nightmare of his past haunt him and ruin his happiness?
Author's Note : This fic was my project for YutoYama Exchange 2015 in AO3, dedicated for butthurtnoona. Many thanks for my beta Joana for helping me out in this project.. Now that the exchange is finally over and the fics have all been revealed, I think it is save for me to cross-post my story here.. :)
So please, enjoy !
~Chapter 1~
It is a work of fate, although he was never one to believe in such words.
He never wanted this. All of these. When he returned to this town after years, he never expected this to happen. He never expected things to go this way.
Or not.
Perhaps deep inside him, he knew this would have happened sooner or later. Perhaps, that was why he came back. He just never knew he would fall this deep, or that it would feel this painful.
“This is my atonement.”
He whispered this to no one. Gripping the piece of paper in his hands tightly, he closed his eyes. And, so, he lets go.
***
Yuto heaved a deep sigh as he shuffled inside the small sophisticated bar he came across, before finding an empty seat and plopped himself down. He never thought job-hunting would be a tough job.
Loosening the knot of his tie, Yuto gave a weak smile to the bartender who greeted him with a polite smile while offering a small hand towel.
“Welcome to Bar Eden Hall. May I take your order, Sir ?”
“I’ll have whatever you recommend.” He told the bartender absentmindedly while he scanned the bar’s interior.
Few customers are lined on his further left -a young lady and a middle-aged man-, seemingly talking animatedly to another bartender who laughed crisply at what the woman had said. On the more private side behind the counter he was sitting on, sat a couple who seemed to enjoy their night while drinking cocktails. The place itself held this cozy and warm feeling, and Yuto is sure the place is popular despite it’s currently lack of customers. After all, Yuto came at a weird time. Most of the customers must have left already.
“Here is your drink, Sir. A glass of Take Five.” The bartender’s voice brought Yuto back from his reverie. Seemingly noticing the wonder in Yuto’s face, the bartender continued, “While it’s a drink related to music, it also has another meaning. That is for you to take a five-minutes break, a proper time to enjoy a glass of drink.”
That was when Yuto looked up to see the bartender properly. Facing him with the most angelic smile Yuto ever saw, is a young man looking barely in his twenties. His carefully-arranged brown hair seemed to match perfectly with his red wine vest over his white shirt.
“I can see that you’re stressed and in need of a short break, Sir. That’s why I thought a glass of Take Five would be good for you.” The young man added with another smile.
Yuto answered the bartender’s smile with one of his own. Carefully lifting the glass to his lips, he took a sip to the brownish-coloured drink and felthis body relaxed immediately.
“It’s delicious.” Yuto told the young man softly. “May I ask for your name ?”
“It’s Ryosuke, Sir. Yamada Ryosuke.” The young man answered with a short bow.
“Yamada-kun.” Yuto tasted the name with his own lips. “My name is Nakajima Yuto. It was nice meeting you.”
“My pleasure, Sir.”
***
It had become a habit of Yuto to visit Eden Hall every Friday nights. Especially after the long week of fruitless job-hunting, Yuto found his time in Eden Hall like a little reward for himself after getting through another week of stressful days. To support his living, Yuto took several part-time jobs, and although they’re nothing big, the earnings allow him to survive and even enjoy a little luxury of drinking at Eden Hall.
“I just don’t know anymore. No offices would hire me around. Perhaps, I will just work part-time for life and give up being a salaryman.” Yuto told Yamada one day.
“It seems tough at your side, Nakajima-san.” Yamada made a little face as he prepared the drink.
“Yeah. You’re lucky to have found your passion early and work your way through it. I don’t have such thing so my only hope, aside from part-timing, is being a salaryman.” With a deep sigh, Yuto leaned forward, watching Yamada’s hand stir the mixture of drink carefully.
“A Whisper for you, Sir.” Yamada slide the glass over to him. “In a bar, there is this rule to never speak so loudly. Do you know why is that, Nakajima-san ?”
Yuto shook his head, as his eyes scanned the beautiful-looking concoction in front of him.
“So you can have a conversation with yourself.” Yamada told him gently.
“A conversation with myself ?” Yuto looked up and frown.
“Yes.” Yamada nodded his head. “Sometimes, when you are faced with a problem in life, all you have to do is to have a conversation with yourself and find the answer within you. If people around you speak too loud, you might have lost that voice inside of you.”
“I see.” Yuto hummed as he picked up the glass.
“I’m sure the answer to your current predicament also lies within you, Nakajima-san. All you have to do is to listen to that whisper that came from within you. Find something you really love. And enjoy them.”
“To listen to my inner voice, eh ?” Yuto whispered softly while lifting the glass to his lips. “Thank you, Yamada-kun. I will remember that.”
***
Yuto had thought that he enjoyed talking to Yamada at Eden Hall because the young man possessed maturity and wisdom which surpassed his age. Yamada knew many varieties of things, from poems and french cuisines to musical instruments and medical idioms. And to think that Yamada is a few years younger than himself (Yuto being twenty-eight and Yamada twenty-three)! Yuto is always amazed at how the young man spoke and explained things to him. And as a plus point, the drink he make is always outstandingly delicious.
But later on, he figured out that he simply enjoyed the man’s company and that has nothing to do with his personality nor the drinks he made.
“Yamada-kun ?”
“Nakajima-san ?”
It is a pleasing coincidence for Yuto to meet Yamada on his visit to the bookstore one Wednesday. Yuto is looking for his favourite music magazine, while Yamada seemingly went to buy a few of newly-released manga. The two of them talked about their respective choice of books, and Yuto was amused to find a cheerful and excited Yamada for a change. After all, the young man always showed his professional composed look everytime he visited Eden Hall.
“It’s lunch-time already. How about you have a meal with me and continue our conversation there ? My treat.” Yuto offered the young man as they exited the bookstore.
“Eh ? But that would be rude of me..” Yamada looked hesitant.
“Nonsense! I just received my pay-check so you don’t have to be worried!” Yuto told him with a huge smile on his face. “Come on! I know this restaurant who has the best ramen in town. And I wouldn’t accept a no!”
“If you insist then.” Yamada bowed apologetically before following Yuto inside the restaurant.
“Why did you move to this town, Nakajima-san?” Yamada asked while they waited for their orders.
“I originally came from this town, you know. But things happened and I had to leave this town. For a few years, I lived by myself, simply spending my days meaninglessly. Until something happened and I decided to move back to the town that raised me.” Yuto told the young man truthfully.
“Something happened? May I know what it is ?” Yamada asked, curiousity filled his voice.
“I just--suddenly remembered of the things I left unfinished when I was last here.” A small smile framed Yuto’s face, eyes misty as he looked back at the years behind him. To the dark past he wished was not his.
‘We’re the bottomline of society, Yuto. It’s our fate.’
“Enough about me. How about you, Yamada-kun? Tell me about yourself.” Yuto shook his head to push the memories behind him, flashing a smile and focusing his attention at Yamada instead.
“I’m nothing special, really.” Yamada said with a shrug. “Masaki-kun, the owner of Eden Hall, is my Uncle, and he’d taken care of me since I was a little boy. Perhaps, that was the main influence as to why I wanted to be a bartender.”
“Where are your parents ?” Yuto asked again, giving the waitress a small thanks as she delivered their ramen.
“My parents died when I was seven years old.” Yamada told him softly. “They were murdered.”
An awkward silence fell between them as soon as those words left Yamada’s mouth. Yuto felt something stirred inside him, and the look on Yamada’s eyes doubled that feeling. He felt like a complete jerk for asking such an insensitive reason and mentally slapped himself for that.
“Yamada-kun? Uh, I- uhm, I’m sorry. I- I shouldn’t have asked.” Stumbling over his words, Yuto scratched the back of his head in shame.
“Don’t be, Nakajima-san.” Yamada lift his head, his smile returning. “It was years ago. I’m over it already. And besides, wherever they are, I know my parents are watching over me.”
Yuto replied with a smile. “Yeah. I’m sure they are.”
But for some weird reason, the nasty feeling never left Yuto, even long after he bid his goodbye from Yamada. Even long after the day changed into night and Yuto is already on top of his bed yet the sleep refuse to come soon. And after what felt like hours lying motionlessly there with his dark ceiling as the only view, Yuto finally closed his eyes.
***
Everything is cold. The pavement he sat at, the wall he leaned on, the passing breeze even his skin felt cold. But he has nowhere else to go to. He has no other place where he could cuddle under the warm and cozy blanket with a mug of hot chocolate in hands and a pair of soft arms that would caress his hair comfortingly, gently lulling him to a deep and peaceful sleep.
No. No more. He’s all alone now. And the only thing he has is the piece of torn clothes which barely covered his thin and battered body anymore. He’s alone. He’s homeless. He’s but a piece of junk that no one even bothered to look at.
He’s dead.
“Poor young man. Sitting outside on this cold winter by yourself? Will you come with me then? I will give you a new home, a new family.”
He was too dazed and confused. He could barely catch the words this man is saying. But he’s seeing light for the very first time in a while. He’s seeing light and he refused to let it go. And so he took the hand that would lead him out from the hell he’d been living. To his new home. His new family.
“What’s your name, boy ?”
He looked up slowly. From their interwinted hands, to the long arm coated in smooth black fabric, to the hard face framed with a long scar on the cheek, and that cold yet calming grey eyes which is twinkling at him -waiting for an answer.
“Yuto. My name is Yuto.”
“Just Yuto ?”
He nodded his head. “Yes. Just Yuto.”
“Well, Yuto, I’m Nakajima Atsushi. And from today on, you are Nakajima Yuto. My son.”
“Your son?”
A thin smile, almost invisible, made it’s way through the man’s face and he’s awed by the way the wind made the man’s jetblack hair flow.
“Yes, Yuto. You’re my son now.”
~End Of Chapter 1~
Cross-posted at AO3 here
Comments are always appreciated~ :)
Author :
zeon_avalanthe
Rating : PG-13
Genre : AU ; Fluff ; Angst
Pairing : YutoYama
Disclaimer : Everyone knows that I don't own any of those boys, sadly.. And the Bartender setting I used in this story was shamelessly taken from the drama Bartender which Aiba Masaki starred at.. The drinks mentioned belong to their respective, err, founders..
Summary : He finally find his happiness. But will his happiness last? Or will the nightmare of his past haunt him and ruin his happiness?
Author's Note : This fic was my project for YutoYama Exchange 2015 in AO3, dedicated for butthurtnoona. Many thanks for my beta Joana for helping me out in this project.. Now that the exchange is finally over and the fics have all been revealed, I think it is save for me to cross-post my story here.. :)
So please, enjoy !
~Chapter 1~
It is a work of fate, although he was never one to believe in such words.
He never wanted this. All of these. When he returned to this town after years, he never expected this to happen. He never expected things to go this way.
Or not.
Perhaps deep inside him, he knew this would have happened sooner or later. Perhaps, that was why he came back. He just never knew he would fall this deep, or that it would feel this painful.
“This is my atonement.”
He whispered this to no one. Gripping the piece of paper in his hands tightly, he closed his eyes. And, so, he lets go.
***
Yuto heaved a deep sigh as he shuffled inside the small sophisticated bar he came across, before finding an empty seat and plopped himself down. He never thought job-hunting would be a tough job.
Loosening the knot of his tie, Yuto gave a weak smile to the bartender who greeted him with a polite smile while offering a small hand towel.
“Welcome to Bar Eden Hall. May I take your order, Sir ?”
“I’ll have whatever you recommend.” He told the bartender absentmindedly while he scanned the bar’s interior.
Few customers are lined on his further left -a young lady and a middle-aged man-, seemingly talking animatedly to another bartender who laughed crisply at what the woman had said. On the more private side behind the counter he was sitting on, sat a couple who seemed to enjoy their night while drinking cocktails. The place itself held this cozy and warm feeling, and Yuto is sure the place is popular despite it’s currently lack of customers. After all, Yuto came at a weird time. Most of the customers must have left already.
“Here is your drink, Sir. A glass of Take Five.” The bartender’s voice brought Yuto back from his reverie. Seemingly noticing the wonder in Yuto’s face, the bartender continued, “While it’s a drink related to music, it also has another meaning. That is for you to take a five-minutes break, a proper time to enjoy a glass of drink.”
That was when Yuto looked up to see the bartender properly. Facing him with the most angelic smile Yuto ever saw, is a young man looking barely in his twenties. His carefully-arranged brown hair seemed to match perfectly with his red wine vest over his white shirt.
“I can see that you’re stressed and in need of a short break, Sir. That’s why I thought a glass of Take Five would be good for you.” The young man added with another smile.
Yuto answered the bartender’s smile with one of his own. Carefully lifting the glass to his lips, he took a sip to the brownish-coloured drink and felthis body relaxed immediately.
“It’s delicious.” Yuto told the young man softly. “May I ask for your name ?”
“It’s Ryosuke, Sir. Yamada Ryosuke.” The young man answered with a short bow.
“Yamada-kun.” Yuto tasted the name with his own lips. “My name is Nakajima Yuto. It was nice meeting you.”
“My pleasure, Sir.”
***
It had become a habit of Yuto to visit Eden Hall every Friday nights. Especially after the long week of fruitless job-hunting, Yuto found his time in Eden Hall like a little reward for himself after getting through another week of stressful days. To support his living, Yuto took several part-time jobs, and although they’re nothing big, the earnings allow him to survive and even enjoy a little luxury of drinking at Eden Hall.
“I just don’t know anymore. No offices would hire me around. Perhaps, I will just work part-time for life and give up being a salaryman.” Yuto told Yamada one day.
“It seems tough at your side, Nakajima-san.” Yamada made a little face as he prepared the drink.
“Yeah. You’re lucky to have found your passion early and work your way through it. I don’t have such thing so my only hope, aside from part-timing, is being a salaryman.” With a deep sigh, Yuto leaned forward, watching Yamada’s hand stir the mixture of drink carefully.
“A Whisper for you, Sir.” Yamada slide the glass over to him. “In a bar, there is this rule to never speak so loudly. Do you know why is that, Nakajima-san ?”
Yuto shook his head, as his eyes scanned the beautiful-looking concoction in front of him.
“So you can have a conversation with yourself.” Yamada told him gently.
“A conversation with myself ?” Yuto looked up and frown.
“Yes.” Yamada nodded his head. “Sometimes, when you are faced with a problem in life, all you have to do is to have a conversation with yourself and find the answer within you. If people around you speak too loud, you might have lost that voice inside of you.”
“I see.” Yuto hummed as he picked up the glass.
“I’m sure the answer to your current predicament also lies within you, Nakajima-san. All you have to do is to listen to that whisper that came from within you. Find something you really love. And enjoy them.”
“To listen to my inner voice, eh ?” Yuto whispered softly while lifting the glass to his lips. “Thank you, Yamada-kun. I will remember that.”
***
Yuto had thought that he enjoyed talking to Yamada at Eden Hall because the young man possessed maturity and wisdom which surpassed his age. Yamada knew many varieties of things, from poems and french cuisines to musical instruments and medical idioms. And to think that Yamada is a few years younger than himself (Yuto being twenty-eight and Yamada twenty-three)! Yuto is always amazed at how the young man spoke and explained things to him. And as a plus point, the drink he make is always outstandingly delicious.
But later on, he figured out that he simply enjoyed the man’s company and that has nothing to do with his personality nor the drinks he made.
“Yamada-kun ?”
“Nakajima-san ?”
It is a pleasing coincidence for Yuto to meet Yamada on his visit to the bookstore one Wednesday. Yuto is looking for his favourite music magazine, while Yamada seemingly went to buy a few of newly-released manga. The two of them talked about their respective choice of books, and Yuto was amused to find a cheerful and excited Yamada for a change. After all, the young man always showed his professional composed look everytime he visited Eden Hall.
“It’s lunch-time already. How about you have a meal with me and continue our conversation there ? My treat.” Yuto offered the young man as they exited the bookstore.
“Eh ? But that would be rude of me..” Yamada looked hesitant.
“Nonsense! I just received my pay-check so you don’t have to be worried!” Yuto told him with a huge smile on his face. “Come on! I know this restaurant who has the best ramen in town. And I wouldn’t accept a no!”
“If you insist then.” Yamada bowed apologetically before following Yuto inside the restaurant.
“Why did you move to this town, Nakajima-san?” Yamada asked while they waited for their orders.
“I originally came from this town, you know. But things happened and I had to leave this town. For a few years, I lived by myself, simply spending my days meaninglessly. Until something happened and I decided to move back to the town that raised me.” Yuto told the young man truthfully.
“Something happened? May I know what it is ?” Yamada asked, curiousity filled his voice.
“I just--suddenly remembered of the things I left unfinished when I was last here.” A small smile framed Yuto’s face, eyes misty as he looked back at the years behind him. To the dark past he wished was not his.
‘We’re the bottomline of society, Yuto. It’s our fate.’
“Enough about me. How about you, Yamada-kun? Tell me about yourself.” Yuto shook his head to push the memories behind him, flashing a smile and focusing his attention at Yamada instead.
“I’m nothing special, really.” Yamada said with a shrug. “Masaki-kun, the owner of Eden Hall, is my Uncle, and he’d taken care of me since I was a little boy. Perhaps, that was the main influence as to why I wanted to be a bartender.”
“Where are your parents ?” Yuto asked again, giving the waitress a small thanks as she delivered their ramen.
“My parents died when I was seven years old.” Yamada told him softly. “They were murdered.”
An awkward silence fell between them as soon as those words left Yamada’s mouth. Yuto felt something stirred inside him, and the look on Yamada’s eyes doubled that feeling. He felt like a complete jerk for asking such an insensitive reason and mentally slapped himself for that.
“Yamada-kun? Uh, I- uhm, I’m sorry. I- I shouldn’t have asked.” Stumbling over his words, Yuto scratched the back of his head in shame.
“Don’t be, Nakajima-san.” Yamada lift his head, his smile returning. “It was years ago. I’m over it already. And besides, wherever they are, I know my parents are watching over me.”
Yuto replied with a smile. “Yeah. I’m sure they are.”
But for some weird reason, the nasty feeling never left Yuto, even long after he bid his goodbye from Yamada. Even long after the day changed into night and Yuto is already on top of his bed yet the sleep refuse to come soon. And after what felt like hours lying motionlessly there with his dark ceiling as the only view, Yuto finally closed his eyes.
***
Everything is cold. The pavement he sat at, the wall he leaned on, the passing breeze even his skin felt cold. But he has nowhere else to go to. He has no other place where he could cuddle under the warm and cozy blanket with a mug of hot chocolate in hands and a pair of soft arms that would caress his hair comfortingly, gently lulling him to a deep and peaceful sleep.
No. No more. He’s all alone now. And the only thing he has is the piece of torn clothes which barely covered his thin and battered body anymore. He’s alone. He’s homeless. He’s but a piece of junk that no one even bothered to look at.
He’s dead.
“Poor young man. Sitting outside on this cold winter by yourself? Will you come with me then? I will give you a new home, a new family.”
He was too dazed and confused. He could barely catch the words this man is saying. But he’s seeing light for the very first time in a while. He’s seeing light and he refused to let it go. And so he took the hand that would lead him out from the hell he’d been living. To his new home. His new family.
“What’s your name, boy ?”
He looked up slowly. From their interwinted hands, to the long arm coated in smooth black fabric, to the hard face framed with a long scar on the cheek, and that cold yet calming grey eyes which is twinkling at him -waiting for an answer.
“Yuto. My name is Yuto.”
“Just Yuto ?”
He nodded his head. “Yes. Just Yuto.”
“Well, Yuto, I’m Nakajima Atsushi. And from today on, you are Nakajima Yuto. My son.”
“Your son?”
A thin smile, almost invisible, made it’s way through the man’s face and he’s awed by the way the wind made the man’s jetblack hair flow.
“Yes, Yuto. You’re my son now.”
~End Of Chapter 1~
Cross-posted at AO3 here
Comments are always appreciated~ :)