[One-shot] Readeption
Like my new layout? It's very colorful, isn't it? XP Here's a picture of my old layout.
It used to be so orange and now it's a mix of different colors. Also my new userpic is colorful. (\ ~_~ /) They are both filled with Arashi colors!!
Anyways, before I start posting Giving It My All. I want to post up this one-shot that I've been working on. This is a request one-shot from omaegasuki. Since one-shots are easier to work with, I finished this as fast as I could but don't worry, I'm still working on multi-chaptered fanfics. irnsnchz and janipanda, sorry for making you guys wait a while for your requests. (>_<)
This one-shot is long but it is filled with random happenings and adorable scenes. Also omaegasuki requested that the song, 'Once Upon A December' is used in this story. If you haven't heard of this song before, it's one of the songs from the 1997 animation movie 'Anastasia'. I saw this movie a long time before but I can still remember some scenes from the movie. Sometimes they broadcast this movie on one of my channels. (^_^) I'm not exactly sure if people in Japan would know this movie but I tried to incorporate it into the story like everyone in the world has heard of the song before... (-_-;)
Well please enjoy this one-shot!
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Readeption
Sei hesitantly grabbed her Polaroid camera from a small patio table on her rooftop. It was 5 in the evening. But the winter solace was starting soon so the sun was setting around this time. It was fall but outside was a bit chilly at night but sometimes warm during the day.
Sei loves taking pictures of the city below her. Her house is located on a little hill in the outskirts of Tokyo. She was happy to be living there because the air was a bit cleaner than the city and also she doesn’t have to be bothered by the sounds of the busy people down below her.
She slowly raised her Polaroid camera and she was about to snap a picture of a firefly on the ledge, when her cellphone began to vibrate. The firefly she saw was surprised and quickly flew away. Sei sighed and quickly placed her camera back on the table before picking up her phone.
“Sei-chan! Sei-chan! My bestest friend in the entire universe!” She heard her friend shout from the other end of the line. Sei chuckled quietly to herself before she answered her. “Kana-chan, I thought you were upset at me and swore that you would never call me again.” Sei said with a raised eyebrow.
Sei and Kana became best friends during their first year at university. Sei was the bookworm who knows miscellaneous facts while Kana loves to know about weird facts about the world, like she loves watching horror movies, no matter how frightening they are.
Also at that time Sei started to fall in love with her 5 years older art professor. He was handsome, witty and naive. His name was Arato Taiyo or also known as Tai-kun to Sei and Kana. Sei was deeply in love with this man that she would have done anything for him. If he needed a bone marrow transplant, she would have agreed to it, if it were compatible. Also if he wanted some help to organize his books in his office, Sei would lie to her boss that she was sick, in order to help him out.
Soon afterwards, her effort paid off because Taiyo also fell in love with her. But Sei’s short-lived romance came to an end when she was informed that Taiyo’s childhood friend was pregnant with his child. Also he had revealed to her that they were going to get married for the baby’s sake.
Sei was devastated and heart-broken that her romance was only temporary. Sei wished that she could have at least had a first date with him or hug him like a couple would do.
Since then Sei is afraid of falling in love again. She doesn’t want to be hurt like the first time so Sei would usually avoid company or co-workers parties. She would rather stay at home like sing or play music with her guitar or piano, take pictures of things around her house and paint landscapes.
“Sei-chan! Sei-chan! If you're my best friend out of the entire universe, would you rescue me from bad people?” Kana asked as she slurred some of her words.
Sei furrowed her eyebrows and wondered what she meant. Sei knew Kana very well that she was 99% sure that she was at a drinking party with some of her friends. If there were free drinks, Sei knew very well that Kana would definitely be there.
“Kana-chan, are you drunk right now?” Sei asked in a concerned voice. It was not that common for Kana to call Sei. She was beginning to drink that she was in a terrible and sticky situation.
“I’m at a karaoke bar across from Yoyogi station. If I told you that I’m with bad, very bad people, would you become Superwomen and save me?” Kana asked and then giggled at the end of her sentence.
Sei was still dumbfounded and confused. She wanted to know if Kana was telling her the truth. “Kana-chan, do you want me to pick you up?” Sei suggested to her, which Kana immediately replied. “Hai! Hai!” She quickly hung up the call and Sei was still left with some questions lingering in her mind.
She quickly shook them away and thought that Kana might actually be in trouble. She quickly grabbed her car keys and a jacket before leaving her house to pick her up.
~*~
Ninomiya Kazunari sighed heavily as he looked around the room to see his group members chatting in their own world. Nino was a bit intoxicated but he still had a control of his own mind.
He slumped in his seat and then slowly grabbed his shochu glass. When he placed his glass to his lips and tried to drink, he noticed that there was no more shochu left. He sighed again and sluggishly poured more shochu in his glass until it reached to the top. He took a shot of it and now his mind started to drift away.
He staggered as he stood up from his seat and walked towards the bar outside the karaoke rooms. He was about to go to grab another drink when he accidently bumped into a person.
Sei knocked her head against someone and she hastily rubbed her head to get rid of the pain. “Watch where you are…” Sei looked up to see a drunken person now lying on the floor.
Sei began to panic and quickly bent down beside him as she started to shake him, she shouted. “Ne. Ne. Daijoubu?” Sei started to freak out. She didn’t mean to make some unconscious after bumping into them. She began to laugh it off and started to pinch herself. She thought this was just a terrible dream that she wanted to wake up from.
Sei wanted to even slap her cheek, when someone grabbed her hand. “What are you doing? Are you trying slapping yourself?” Sei slowly glanced up to see a young and handsome man glaring at her. She gradually widened her eyes and quickly yanked her hand away from him.
She bit her lower lip and looked away from him. She kept telling herself that she didn’t want to fall in love again so she had to avoid looking at any guy.
“Sei-chan?” Suddenly Sei heard a familiar voice coming towards her. Sei quickly looked up to see Kana skipping towards her. Sei got up and walked to her. She grabbed onto Kana’s shoulder and shook her. “Daijoubu? Did anyone hurt you? Let’s go before they catch you escaping.” Sei began to drag Kana out of the karaoke bar when Kana slipped Sei’s hand off of her wrist.
Sei swiftly turned around with a confused face. “Kana-chan, what are you doing? Didn’t you say you were in trouble?” Sei asked her. Kana began to laugh and pulled out some money. “I had a bet. Gomen for involving you. I’ll give you half of what I made.” Sei dropped her mouth and stared at Kana.
Sei’s legs started to tremble as she fell down to the floor. Kana’s lie was a huge shock for her. She was mentally prepared to help Kana if she was in a situation but she never expected that she be lied for money.
“Sei-chan, honto ni gomenasai. Sei-chan! Honto honto ni gomenasai.” Kana kept pleading for Sei’s forgiveness. Sei sighed heavily and got up from the floor. “Honestly, you should have sent me a text message right afterwards that you were lying. Then I wouldn’t have wasted time and gas to save you from non-existent people.”
The man who was with them the whole entire time began to chuckle and looked at Sei. Sei flinched a little and bowed her head slightly. “Gomenasai for being rude to you. As you can tell I was tricked by her.” Sei said sadly and dropped her chin.
Kana smiled and placed her hands on the man. “Come on Jun-kun. You remember if I won the bet that you would buy me more drinks.” Kana said with a little smirk. Sei quickly looked up and looked at the man that was now beside Kana. “Wait, Kana-chan, you know him?”
Sei was now completely confused. What a hectic day this has been for Sei.
“Yep. I’m a friend of one of his group members.” Kana said and started to walk away. Sei slowly nodded her head and then noticed Nino who she had bumped into was still lying on the floor.
“Ano… Can you guys help me find which room he is in?” Sei shouted to them and then pointed at Nino. Then Kana and the other man started to laugh. “He was with us. Do you mind if you take him home?” The guy said.
Sei widened her eyes and quickly grabbed onto the man’s shirt. “Chotto, I have to take him home?” Sei said in disbelief as she was still pointing at Nino. The man smirked and Sei quickly asked before he walked away. “What’s your name?” She wanted to know why the man in front of her was so irresponsible of his friend. Sei always thought friends should be loyal and trustworthy.
“My name is Matsumoto Jun and if you’re wondering, the guy on the floor is called Ninomiya Kazunari.” Sei blinked her eyes as she saw Kana and Jun walking back into the loud party room.
Sei rolled her eyes and let out a tired sigh. She looked back down at the floor to see Nino was sleeping. She slowly bent down and started to poke him on the face and chest. She wanted to wake him up so she could ask where he lives.
“Ano…” Sei muttered as she tried to wake him up. Nino started to groan and kept moving around which pissed her off a little. “Where do you live?” She repeated herself as she waited a reply from him.
Nino slowly opened his eyes and his eyesight was blurry but he could make out a silhouette of a women. Nino pushed her away and said drunkenly. “I’m not giving you an autograph and no pictures… Those are the rul…” Before Nino finished his sentence, he fell back to sleep and Sei began to stress out of what to do with him.
~*~
It was almost 3 in the morning when Sei placed the drunken Nino on her bed. She sighed heavily and placed her car keys back on the coffee table. Then Sei zipped up her jacket and slowly walked up the stairs that led to her rooftop. She had missed taking the picture of the sunset. But she knew that she would get another opportunity tomorrow. Although she had read in a book that each sunset looks different each time it sets.
Her house was designed to be eco-friendly so the stairs led up to a green house that was built on top of her roof. Sei felt like her rooftop was a sanction for her. During the winter, she would be able to take care of plants although it’s the wrong season but during the summer she is able to chill on her roof as the summer breeze sometimes passes by.
When you walk out of the greenhouse, there is a wall of another building beside her house. The owners of the building beside her allowed her to use the wall since they knew she has a creative mind and a big imagination.
Sei smiled as she approached her wall. It was filled with an uncompleted work of art. She didn’t know what to paint but for now, she had a picture of orange autumn leaves floating down. Sei loves the fall season because she loves looking at trees turning orange and yellow as they prepare for the winter temperatures.
Sei quickly pulled out her cell phone and turned on her music player. She chose a song that seemed fitting. She chose the song, ‘Once Upon A December’. She loves listening to the melody and also she loves the movie the song came from.
“Hmm. Hm. Hmm….” Sei began to hum the melody as the song played. She closed her eyes and gracefully spun around as she danced along with the music. Also even when the song stopped playing, she kept humming and dancing, but she didn’t know that someone was going to find out her secret.
~*~
Nino woke up as he heard some noises coming from above. He crankily got up and felt an immediate pounding coming from his head. “Where am I?” Nino muttered as he placed a hand on his head. He scanned around the dark room to see unfamiliar furniture.
He furrowed his eyebrows and groggily got up from the bed. He dragged his feet and decided to follow the voice. He wanted to find out where he was and who was with him. He looked around the room again and knew that it wasn’t Jun’s; Sho’s nor Aiba’s house so he thought that one of Aiba’s friend had taken him.
He looked around the bedroom to see music sheets of famous composers’ songs. Then he also noticed a keyboard. He wondered if he was at one of his friends’ houses.
He continued to drag his feet and climbed up the stairs to see a greenhouse around him. He wondered what kind of person would live like this. He walked forward and noticed Sei dancing on the rooftop as she hummed a melody with her brown and white long skirt moving up and down as she danced. Nino smiled and chuckled quietly to himself as he quietly walked out of the greenhouse to get a better vision of Sei dancing.
Nino stared at her dancing and he was immediately thought that Sei was stupid and dorky but after a few minutes of watching Sei dancing, Nino changed his mind. He thought she was pure like a child. He started to become fascinated of her.
Nino took a step forward and accidently made a sound. Sei quickly turned around to see a chuckling Nino staring at her.
Sei quickly widened her eyes and turned her head as she felt her heart pounding faster and her cheeks burning up. She was flustered that he was watching her.
Nino slowly approached Sei and as he walked towards her, he noticed her huge wall that was incomplete. “Are you a painter?” Nino asked and changed his direction from Sei to the wall. Sei looked up and she noticed that he was talking about her wall.
“Um… Kind of…” Sei said and suddenly got the hiccups. She held her breath and Nino turned his head to look at her. He laughed a little before turning his head back to stare at her wall. “It’s beautiful.”
Sei’s heart suddenly jumped and she shouted. “Eh?”
Nino chuckled and pointed to the wall. “Your painting.” Sei looked at her wall and slowly she began to frown. “Oh…” She trailed off and all of a sudden she laughed. She was starting to have high hopes of falling in love again but then it was too sudden for her.
She laughed it off like he said a joke to her. Nino folded his arms and stared at her wall and then he moved his gaze to the small patio table. He noticed her Polaroid camera and a photo album.
“You take pictures too? Wow, you must really like different types of art.” Nino muttered and walked towards the table to take a good look at her pictures.
Sei saw Nino walking towards her photo album and quickly tried to stop him. She wanted to make sure no one was able to look at her pictures except for herself. She doesn’t even let Kana take a look at them. Her pictures were precious and represents her feelings as she captured the moments. She didn’t want to be embarrassed again so she quickly grabbed her album before Nino could grab it first.
“Iie. You can’t take a look at these.” Sei said with her flushed face. Sei hugged tightly onto her album as she hid her face from Nino. Nino pouted his lips and started to walk away. Sei made a small smile and let her guard down, when unexpectedly Nino ran towards her and snatched the album from her hands.
“Please don’t!” Sei quickly closed her eyes and covered her ears. She was thinking that he was going to laugh at her pictures because they were different than your average photos.
“These are… They are amazing.” Nino muttered and flipped through the album. Sei slowly opened her eyes and stared at Nino deeply staring at her pictures.
“They don’t look weird to you?” Sei asked and Nino quickly looked at her, which made Sei flinch a little. Nino shook his head and smiled at her. “I can’t really tell because of the lighting but these pictures are inspirational. You took a picture of a different and unique view. Honestly if you were a professional cameraman, I wouldn’t be surprised. But these are your personal pictures, right?” Nino asked.
Sei smiled and approached him. She nodded her head at him as she tuck her hair behind her ear, which made Nino’s heart beat a bit faster. She began to point at a few of her pictures and said. “I like to take pictures because they can express and summarize a bunch of feelings into one thing. Like for an example, a sunrise could be expressed as a brand new start in one’s life but it can also express running out of time for someone else.”
Nino slowly nodded his head and looked at more of her pictures. Sei began to laugh and she was happy that someone enjoyed her work.
Out of the blue, someone’s phone rang. Sei quickly pulled out her phone to see it wasn’t her phone that was ringing. Nino quickly widened his eyes and scrambled to answer his call. He answered the phone to hear it was his manager calling that he was in front of his house to pick him up.
“Ah, I’ll meet you then. I’m not at home. Okay, ja.” Nino said and quickly ended his call. He let out a small sigh before shoving his phone back into his pocket.
Sei furrowed her eyebrows and wondered why he would receive a call this early. She wondered if it was his parents.
“Well I’ve got to go. It was nice meeting you…?” Nino trailed off. He spent a long time with her and he didn’t even know her name yet. Sei laughed and said. “You can call me Sei.”
Nino nodded his head to her and extended his right hand out to her. “I’m Kazu.” Sei smiled and shook hands with him as she said. “I know. Your friend, Matsumoto-san…?” Sei couldn’t really remember his name, but Nino nodded and said. “Do you mean Matsumoto Jun-san?”
Sei smiled and pointed at Nino. “Yeah, him. He had asked me to drop you home but I couldn’t get an address out from you in your drunken state so if you were wondering why you are here, that’s the reason why.” Sei confessed and blushed as she looked at the ground.
Nino finally found his answer and he kind of felt bad. Sei was pushed with the responsibility of making sure he got home but instead she was kind enough to let him sleep for a while at her house. If it were a different person, Nino might have ended up in trouble or in the streets.
“Well I guess I owe you one.” Nino said and started to head back into the greenhouse. “Matte.” Sei shouted and quickly grabbed the end of Nino’s shirt.
Nino tossed his head around and noticed Sei’s hands trembling. “Hm? What’s wrong?” Nino asked in a sweet and soft voice. He was starting to anticipate for what was going to happen next.
“Ano… Since you owe me one, how about I tell it to you right now.” Sei quickly looked up at Nino and stared at his eyes. Nino was startled and made an awkward smile. “Uh, sure.”
Sei bit her lower lip and opened her mouth. Nino slowly leaned closer to her and hoped that they were thinking about the same thing.
“Can you keep what happened here a secret?” Sei said in one compressed sentence. Nino blinked his eyes and stared at Sei. He thought that she was going to confess but Nino was completely blown away that Sei just wanted that out from him.
Nino burst out in laughter and stopped himself from laugh by covering his mouth with his hands but he couldn’t help to laugh at her strange request.
When Nino found the strength to control his laughter, he nodded and then patted her head. “Sure. I’ll keep this as a secret.” Sei smiled and she started to escort Nino to her front door.
~*~
Sei let out a tired sigh as she placed the grinned coffee beans into the coffee maker. She loves the smell of coffee but now she was beginning to hate it.
After Sei graduated from university, she had a hard time finding a full-time job so she usually works at a coffee shop during the day and another part-time job at night. With working two part-time jobs, she is able to feed for herself. Luckily she was off that day when she met Nino or they wouldn’t have met and she wouldn’t be able to experience something different in her life.
“Welcome.” Sei said in a monotone voice as someone opened the front door. She quickly went back to the cash register as she noticed someone else wanted to order.
“I’ll take one ice coffee and a blueberry muffin.” The lady said to her. Sei nodded her head and punched the buttons according to the lady’s order. “That will be 650 yen.” The lady gave her the exact change and she moved onto the side to let the person behind her take his order.
Sei quickly made her iced coffee and as it was pouring into a cup, she grabbed a blueberry muffin from the display case. She placed it on a plate and along with the ice coffee; she laid them on a small tray so it would be easier for the lady to carry. The lady walked away and Sei was now ready for the next order.
“I’ll take a strawberry and banana smoothie.” A man said to Sei. Sei nodded her head again and pressed the button. She slowly looked up to the person in front of her. She gradually widened her eyes and noticed that it was Ninomiya Kazunari.
“Ah!” Sei shouted and Nino quickly covered her mouth with his hand. “Don’t say my name.” Nino whispered and slowly took his hand off from her mouth.
Sei clenched her jaw tightly and nodded her head obediently to him. She started to laugh as she tried to keep it a secret.
Nino smirked and chuckled quietly to himself. Sei hastily turned around and made Nino’s order. She was surprised that she saw him again.
It has been 4 months since they last saw each other. Nino was glad to see her again and he couldn’t stop himself from thinking about her. Sei had made a huge impression on Nino, which left him wanting to know more about her.
Meanwhile Sei was happy to see him again but she wasn’t ready for their relationship to move onto the next step. She didn’t want to be hurt again.
Sei carried Nino’s strawberry and banana smoothie to the counter and Nino grabbed it. He made a small smile at her before he found a seat and sat down.
As Sei was diligently working the entire day, Nino was fascinated by Sei’s facial expressions and work habits. Whenever Sei met an unhappy customer, she would treat them as they treated her. Then if Sei met a really hyper customer, she would start making a conversation to calm them down. Nino couldn’t believe that she knows how to read people so well.
By the time Nino finished drinking his strawberry and banana smoothie, it was almost 3 in the afternoon. He had spent almost 2 hours in the coffee shop because he was watching Sei.
Nino quickly left the coffee shop that day with a huge smile on his face but he was determined whenever he had the time, he would go to that coffee shop and watch Sei work.
~*~
One day as Sei was closing up the coffee shop; someone suddenly approached her. Sei blinked her eyes to notice Nino waiting for her.
“Yo!” Nino said and smiled shyly. He had his hands shoved in his pockets and he was carrying a guitar case on his back.
Sei made an awkward smile and replied. “Yo.” She began to wonder why Nino was waiting for her. Did he forget something or did he want to talk to her? Sei was confused because Nino became a regular customer of the coffee shop. He was given a lot of opportunities if he wanted to say something to her.
“Just finished with work?” Nino asked and quickly glanced at Sei before he stared back at the ground. He was in love with her but he didn’t know if she had the same feelings for him. He felt like no matter what answer she says, he wanted to be by her side.
They started to walk and Sei nodded her head to him. “Un. I’m going to my next part-time job now.” She said and pointed to a street that was a few blocks away.
“Ee... You work during the day and night?” Nino asked with a curious look on his face. Sei giggled and said. “I have a lot of things that I have to pay off, so I have to work two jobs just to barely get by.” Nino’s smile slowly turned into a frown. He never knew that Sei had a busy life. He always thought Sei had a peaceful life, like during the day she would work at the coffee shop, and during the night she would rest at home by painting or taking pictures.
“Ah, there’s the place I work at. You can walk me till here.” Sei suggested. Nino bit his lower lip and his heart started to beat faster. He wanted to confess to her. He knew that this would be a good moment to tell her his feelings.
Sei bowed her head to Nino and started to walk away when Nino quickly widened his eyes as he noticed she was going to leave him. He quickly grabbed Sei’s wrist and pulled her closer to him. Now Sei’s head was resting on Nino’s chest and she could hear his heart beating. Meanwhile Nino gently wrapped his arms around Sei and then whispered in her ear. “I’m falling in love with you.”
Sei widened her eyes as she heard those words. She couldn’t believe that Nino had fell in love with her. Suddenly a rush of terrible memories of Taiyo came back to Sei’s head. She wanted to fall in love but she knew if she was going say those words back to him, then she might be hurt again. Sei didn’t know Nino enough to be able to trust him.
Nino slowly pulled back his head and cautiously leaned in closer to kiss her but Sei turned her head away. She muttered. “Gomenasai.” Before running away into the building where she works.
Nino had a sad and bitter look on his face as he stared at Sei running away from him. He wondered if Sei was forced to not to fall in love or she had a certain circumstance that she cannot fall in love with him.
But Nino decided that he wasn’t going to chase after her that day because he didn’t want to frighten her any further.
He drifted away from the streets and wondered what was Sei thinking after he had confessed to her.
On the other hand, Sei quickly ran into the staff room and dropped down the floor after her knees gave out. Her heart was beating rapidly and she kept thinking about how Nino acted until now.
Slowly tears ran down her cheeks as she had flashbacks of the times when she with Nino. How he always stared at her in the coffee shop and when he found her secret, he just simply laughed. As she calmed down, she started to hear her own heart pounding.
~*~
Sei sat on her rooftop and played on her guitar that her mother had given to her before she passed away. Sei strummed her hands on her guitar and played her favorite song. It was the same song that she hummed when she met Nino.
“La. La. Laa…” All of a sudden Sei heard a voice singing the same song. She stopped playing and quickly got up from her chair. She spun her head to the left and then to the right. She was beginning to wonder where the voice was coming from.
~Dancing bears
Painted wings
Things I almost remember,
And a song someone sings
Once upon a December
Someone holds me safe and warm,
horses prance through a silver storm,
Figures dancing gracefully,
across my memory.~
Sei concentrated on the voice and followed her ears to determine where the voice was coming from. Sei closed her eyes and walked in the direction of the voice. When the person stopped singing, Sei opened her eyes to notice she was standing in front of her wall.
“Up here.” She heard a whisper. Sei obediently did what the voice said and she widened her eyes as she saw a smiling Nino looking down at her.
“What… How…?” Sei muttered and took a step back, but as she took a step back she tripped on her shoes and fell back.
Her butt landed hard on the concrete floor and it had stung. But that didn’t matter because she was surprised and frightened by his sudden appearance.
“Daijoubu?” Nino quickly climbed down the stairs that connected the two buildings and quickly fled to her side. “Daijoubu? Did you hurt yourself?” He asked in a sweet and caring tone. Nino started to touch her arm and hands to see if she got a scratch or a cut but Sei quickly pulled back her hands from him.
She bit her lip and quickly got up from the floor. “I’m fine.” She muttered and stared at the floor. She wanted to avoid looking at him. Ever since he confessed to her, Sei’s heart had been confused and her head was filled with worries.
Nino bit his lower lip and stared at Sei. He wanted her to open up to him and he wanted to know why Sei has been acting that way ever since he had confessed to her. When Nino would visit her at the coffee shop, she would by all means, avoid and ignore him.
“Do you hate me?” Nino asked as he took a step back and folded his arms. Sei quickly looked at him and shook her head.
Nino let out a tired sigh and walked closer to Sei. Sei slowly started to back away and eventually she was pinned against the wall. She looked onto the side and clenched her jaw tightly. Now she was nervous of what Nino was going to do to her. Tears ran down her cheeks as she got a flashback of when Taiyo announced that he was going to get married to his childhood friend.
Sei’s hand began to tremble but she tightly held them into fists to stop them from trembling.
Nino closely examined her. He felt bad for doing this to her but he was desperate to find out what she was hiding in her heart. Nino slowly raised his hands and cupped her face. Then he carefully moved her face so they could look into each other’s eyes. Also he had noticed that she was crying as tears slowly trickled down her face.
“I want to kiss you but I don’t want to hurt you either. Would you mind telling me why you’re trying to avoid me?” Nino whispered softly to Sei as he stared at her. She bit her lip and slowly grabbed Nino’s hands. She tightly held onto them and more tears ran down her cheeks. “I’m afraid to love again. I have terrible memories of my first love. I’m scared that if I start dating you then, you would soon abandon me for another girl. You see, I’m a weird girl that likes to be at home and I rather paint and draw than to go out shopping.” Sei started to laugh and she slowly looked away from him again. “I don’t want a short-lived romance. I want to be with someone that is committed and truly in love with me. I don’t want to have high hopes for a person who could break my heart easily.” Sei said and more tears rushed down her cheeks.
Nino made a small smile and used his thumb to wipe her tears away from her face. “I also don’t want to love someone like that as well, but I can promise you this…” Slowly Nino leaned in closer and gently placed his lips on hers.
Sei widened her eyes, as she was shocked to feel his lips touching hers. But before Sei could push him away, Nino started to chuckle as he muttered. “I love you and I would wait forever for someone like you. You're the very first person who makes me feel this way. No matter what decision you make, I’ll accept it.”
Gradually a smile crept on Sei’s face and she began to wrap her arms around him. “Arigato.” She whispered in his ear, which made Nino happy. He as well wrapped his arms around Sei and he warmly embraced her.
~*~
“Kana-chan, I’m leaving now.” Sei said happily as she got up from her chair and started to wave good-bye to her. Kana furrowed her eyebrows and wondered why Sei was happy all of a sudden. Kana quickly got up and grabbed Sei’s wrist. “Are you going on a date with someone?” Kana said as she raised an eyebrow. Kana knew that Sei wasn’t the type of a girl that would easily date someone.
Sei giggled and nodded her head. Kana slowly let go of her wrist and Sei smiled to her. “He’s waiting for me outside.” Sei said before she left Kana speechless in the café.
As Sei walked out of the café, someone quickly covered her eyes and whispered in her ear. “Guess who?” Sei smiled and began to giggle. She placed her hands on top of the person’s hands and pulled them away. She swiftly turned around and laughed. “My boyfriend.”
Nino smirked and grabbed her hand. He held tightly onto hers and then they started to walk off.
Meanwhile Kana was left speechless as she saw the lovey-dovey couple from outside of the café. She made a small smile before she took a sip of her coffee.
Although love may be scary at times, you may encounter a person who will support and give you the courage to overcome those times. Your first love may not always be the one you are destined with but love never stops.
As Sei figured out that the struggles in her life were not bad for her but it actually gave her a chance to discover something new.
It used to be so orange and now it's a mix of different colors. Also my new userpic is colorful. (\ ~_~ /) They are both filled with Arashi colors!!
Anyways, before I start posting Giving It My All. I want to post up this one-shot that I've been working on. This is a request one-shot from omaegasuki. Since one-shots are easier to work with, I finished this as fast as I could but don't worry, I'm still working on multi-chaptered fanfics. irnsnchz and janipanda, sorry for making you guys wait a while for your requests. (>_<)
This one-shot is long but it is filled with random happenings and adorable scenes. Also omaegasuki requested that the song, 'Once Upon A December' is used in this story. If you haven't heard of this song before, it's one of the songs from the 1997 animation movie 'Anastasia'. I saw this movie a long time before but I can still remember some scenes from the movie. Sometimes they broadcast this movie on one of my channels. (^_^) I'm not exactly sure if people in Japan would know this movie but I tried to incorporate it into the story like everyone in the world has heard of the song before... (-_-;)
Well please enjoy this one-shot!
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Readeption
Sei hesitantly grabbed her Polaroid camera from a small patio table on her rooftop. It was 5 in the evening. But the winter solace was starting soon so the sun was setting around this time. It was fall but outside was a bit chilly at night but sometimes warm during the day.
Sei loves taking pictures of the city below her. Her house is located on a little hill in the outskirts of Tokyo. She was happy to be living there because the air was a bit cleaner than the city and also she doesn’t have to be bothered by the sounds of the busy people down below her.
She slowly raised her Polaroid camera and she was about to snap a picture of a firefly on the ledge, when her cellphone began to vibrate. The firefly she saw was surprised and quickly flew away. Sei sighed and quickly placed her camera back on the table before picking up her phone.
“Sei-chan! Sei-chan! My bestest friend in the entire universe!” She heard her friend shout from the other end of the line. Sei chuckled quietly to herself before she answered her. “Kana-chan, I thought you were upset at me and swore that you would never call me again.” Sei said with a raised eyebrow.
Sei and Kana became best friends during their first year at university. Sei was the bookworm who knows miscellaneous facts while Kana loves to know about weird facts about the world, like she loves watching horror movies, no matter how frightening they are.
Also at that time Sei started to fall in love with her 5 years older art professor. He was handsome, witty and naive. His name was Arato Taiyo or also known as Tai-kun to Sei and Kana. Sei was deeply in love with this man that she would have done anything for him. If he needed a bone marrow transplant, she would have agreed to it, if it were compatible. Also if he wanted some help to organize his books in his office, Sei would lie to her boss that she was sick, in order to help him out.
Soon afterwards, her effort paid off because Taiyo also fell in love with her. But Sei’s short-lived romance came to an end when she was informed that Taiyo’s childhood friend was pregnant with his child. Also he had revealed to her that they were going to get married for the baby’s sake.
Sei was devastated and heart-broken that her romance was only temporary. Sei wished that she could have at least had a first date with him or hug him like a couple would do.
Since then Sei is afraid of falling in love again. She doesn’t want to be hurt like the first time so Sei would usually avoid company or co-workers parties. She would rather stay at home like sing or play music with her guitar or piano, take pictures of things around her house and paint landscapes.
“Sei-chan! Sei-chan! If you're my best friend out of the entire universe, would you rescue me from bad people?” Kana asked as she slurred some of her words.
Sei furrowed her eyebrows and wondered what she meant. Sei knew Kana very well that she was 99% sure that she was at a drinking party with some of her friends. If there were free drinks, Sei knew very well that Kana would definitely be there.
“Kana-chan, are you drunk right now?” Sei asked in a concerned voice. It was not that common for Kana to call Sei. She was beginning to drink that she was in a terrible and sticky situation.
“I’m at a karaoke bar across from Yoyogi station. If I told you that I’m with bad, very bad people, would you become Superwomen and save me?” Kana asked and then giggled at the end of her sentence.
Sei was still dumbfounded and confused. She wanted to know if Kana was telling her the truth. “Kana-chan, do you want me to pick you up?” Sei suggested to her, which Kana immediately replied. “Hai! Hai!” She quickly hung up the call and Sei was still left with some questions lingering in her mind.
She quickly shook them away and thought that Kana might actually be in trouble. She quickly grabbed her car keys and a jacket before leaving her house to pick her up.
~*~
Ninomiya Kazunari sighed heavily as he looked around the room to see his group members chatting in their own world. Nino was a bit intoxicated but he still had a control of his own mind.
He slumped in his seat and then slowly grabbed his shochu glass. When he placed his glass to his lips and tried to drink, he noticed that there was no more shochu left. He sighed again and sluggishly poured more shochu in his glass until it reached to the top. He took a shot of it and now his mind started to drift away.
He staggered as he stood up from his seat and walked towards the bar outside the karaoke rooms. He was about to go to grab another drink when he accidently bumped into a person.
Sei knocked her head against someone and she hastily rubbed her head to get rid of the pain. “Watch where you are…” Sei looked up to see a drunken person now lying on the floor.
Sei began to panic and quickly bent down beside him as she started to shake him, she shouted. “Ne. Ne. Daijoubu?” Sei started to freak out. She didn’t mean to make some unconscious after bumping into them. She began to laugh it off and started to pinch herself. She thought this was just a terrible dream that she wanted to wake up from.
Sei wanted to even slap her cheek, when someone grabbed her hand. “What are you doing? Are you trying slapping yourself?” Sei slowly glanced up to see a young and handsome man glaring at her. She gradually widened her eyes and quickly yanked her hand away from him.
She bit her lower lip and looked away from him. She kept telling herself that she didn’t want to fall in love again so she had to avoid looking at any guy.
“Sei-chan?” Suddenly Sei heard a familiar voice coming towards her. Sei quickly looked up to see Kana skipping towards her. Sei got up and walked to her. She grabbed onto Kana’s shoulder and shook her. “Daijoubu? Did anyone hurt you? Let’s go before they catch you escaping.” Sei began to drag Kana out of the karaoke bar when Kana slipped Sei’s hand off of her wrist.
Sei swiftly turned around with a confused face. “Kana-chan, what are you doing? Didn’t you say you were in trouble?” Sei asked her. Kana began to laugh and pulled out some money. “I had a bet. Gomen for involving you. I’ll give you half of what I made.” Sei dropped her mouth and stared at Kana.
Sei’s legs started to tremble as she fell down to the floor. Kana’s lie was a huge shock for her. She was mentally prepared to help Kana if she was in a situation but she never expected that she be lied for money.
“Sei-chan, honto ni gomenasai. Sei-chan! Honto honto ni gomenasai.” Kana kept pleading for Sei’s forgiveness. Sei sighed heavily and got up from the floor. “Honestly, you should have sent me a text message right afterwards that you were lying. Then I wouldn’t have wasted time and gas to save you from non-existent people.”
The man who was with them the whole entire time began to chuckle and looked at Sei. Sei flinched a little and bowed her head slightly. “Gomenasai for being rude to you. As you can tell I was tricked by her.” Sei said sadly and dropped her chin.
Kana smiled and placed her hands on the man. “Come on Jun-kun. You remember if I won the bet that you would buy me more drinks.” Kana said with a little smirk. Sei quickly looked up and looked at the man that was now beside Kana. “Wait, Kana-chan, you know him?”
Sei was now completely confused. What a hectic day this has been for Sei.
“Yep. I’m a friend of one of his group members.” Kana said and started to walk away. Sei slowly nodded her head and then noticed Nino who she had bumped into was still lying on the floor.
“Ano… Can you guys help me find which room he is in?” Sei shouted to them and then pointed at Nino. Then Kana and the other man started to laugh. “He was with us. Do you mind if you take him home?” The guy said.
Sei widened her eyes and quickly grabbed onto the man’s shirt. “Chotto, I have to take him home?” Sei said in disbelief as she was still pointing at Nino. The man smirked and Sei quickly asked before he walked away. “What’s your name?” She wanted to know why the man in front of her was so irresponsible of his friend. Sei always thought friends should be loyal and trustworthy.
“My name is Matsumoto Jun and if you’re wondering, the guy on the floor is called Ninomiya Kazunari.” Sei blinked her eyes as she saw Kana and Jun walking back into the loud party room.
Sei rolled her eyes and let out a tired sigh. She looked back down at the floor to see Nino was sleeping. She slowly bent down and started to poke him on the face and chest. She wanted to wake him up so she could ask where he lives.
“Ano…” Sei muttered as she tried to wake him up. Nino started to groan and kept moving around which pissed her off a little. “Where do you live?” She repeated herself as she waited a reply from him.
Nino slowly opened his eyes and his eyesight was blurry but he could make out a silhouette of a women. Nino pushed her away and said drunkenly. “I’m not giving you an autograph and no pictures… Those are the rul…” Before Nino finished his sentence, he fell back to sleep and Sei began to stress out of what to do with him.
~*~
It was almost 3 in the morning when Sei placed the drunken Nino on her bed. She sighed heavily and placed her car keys back on the coffee table. Then Sei zipped up her jacket and slowly walked up the stairs that led to her rooftop. She had missed taking the picture of the sunset. But she knew that she would get another opportunity tomorrow. Although she had read in a book that each sunset looks different each time it sets.
Her house was designed to be eco-friendly so the stairs led up to a green house that was built on top of her roof. Sei felt like her rooftop was a sanction for her. During the winter, she would be able to take care of plants although it’s the wrong season but during the summer she is able to chill on her roof as the summer breeze sometimes passes by.
When you walk out of the greenhouse, there is a wall of another building beside her house. The owners of the building beside her allowed her to use the wall since they knew she has a creative mind and a big imagination.
Sei smiled as she approached her wall. It was filled with an uncompleted work of art. She didn’t know what to paint but for now, she had a picture of orange autumn leaves floating down. Sei loves the fall season because she loves looking at trees turning orange and yellow as they prepare for the winter temperatures.
Sei quickly pulled out her cell phone and turned on her music player. She chose a song that seemed fitting. She chose the song, ‘Once Upon A December’. She loves listening to the melody and also she loves the movie the song came from.
“Hmm. Hm. Hmm….” Sei began to hum the melody as the song played. She closed her eyes and gracefully spun around as she danced along with the music. Also even when the song stopped playing, she kept humming and dancing, but she didn’t know that someone was going to find out her secret.
~*~
Nino woke up as he heard some noises coming from above. He crankily got up and felt an immediate pounding coming from his head. “Where am I?” Nino muttered as he placed a hand on his head. He scanned around the dark room to see unfamiliar furniture.
He furrowed his eyebrows and groggily got up from the bed. He dragged his feet and decided to follow the voice. He wanted to find out where he was and who was with him. He looked around the room again and knew that it wasn’t Jun’s; Sho’s nor Aiba’s house so he thought that one of Aiba’s friend had taken him.
He looked around the bedroom to see music sheets of famous composers’ songs. Then he also noticed a keyboard. He wondered if he was at one of his friends’ houses.
He continued to drag his feet and climbed up the stairs to see a greenhouse around him. He wondered what kind of person would live like this. He walked forward and noticed Sei dancing on the rooftop as she hummed a melody with her brown and white long skirt moving up and down as she danced. Nino smiled and chuckled quietly to himself as he quietly walked out of the greenhouse to get a better vision of Sei dancing.
Nino stared at her dancing and he was immediately thought that Sei was stupid and dorky but after a few minutes of watching Sei dancing, Nino changed his mind. He thought she was pure like a child. He started to become fascinated of her.
Nino took a step forward and accidently made a sound. Sei quickly turned around to see a chuckling Nino staring at her.
Sei quickly widened her eyes and turned her head as she felt her heart pounding faster and her cheeks burning up. She was flustered that he was watching her.
Nino slowly approached Sei and as he walked towards her, he noticed her huge wall that was incomplete. “Are you a painter?” Nino asked and changed his direction from Sei to the wall. Sei looked up and she noticed that he was talking about her wall.
“Um… Kind of…” Sei said and suddenly got the hiccups. She held her breath and Nino turned his head to look at her. He laughed a little before turning his head back to stare at her wall. “It’s beautiful.”
Sei’s heart suddenly jumped and she shouted. “Eh?”
Nino chuckled and pointed to the wall. “Your painting.” Sei looked at her wall and slowly she began to frown. “Oh…” She trailed off and all of a sudden she laughed. She was starting to have high hopes of falling in love again but then it was too sudden for her.
She laughed it off like he said a joke to her. Nino folded his arms and stared at her wall and then he moved his gaze to the small patio table. He noticed her Polaroid camera and a photo album.
“You take pictures too? Wow, you must really like different types of art.” Nino muttered and walked towards the table to take a good look at her pictures.
Sei saw Nino walking towards her photo album and quickly tried to stop him. She wanted to make sure no one was able to look at her pictures except for herself. She doesn’t even let Kana take a look at them. Her pictures were precious and represents her feelings as she captured the moments. She didn’t want to be embarrassed again so she quickly grabbed her album before Nino could grab it first.
“Iie. You can’t take a look at these.” Sei said with her flushed face. Sei hugged tightly onto her album as she hid her face from Nino. Nino pouted his lips and started to walk away. Sei made a small smile and let her guard down, when unexpectedly Nino ran towards her and snatched the album from her hands.
“Please don’t!” Sei quickly closed her eyes and covered her ears. She was thinking that he was going to laugh at her pictures because they were different than your average photos.
“These are… They are amazing.” Nino muttered and flipped through the album. Sei slowly opened her eyes and stared at Nino deeply staring at her pictures.
“They don’t look weird to you?” Sei asked and Nino quickly looked at her, which made Sei flinch a little. Nino shook his head and smiled at her. “I can’t really tell because of the lighting but these pictures are inspirational. You took a picture of a different and unique view. Honestly if you were a professional cameraman, I wouldn’t be surprised. But these are your personal pictures, right?” Nino asked.
Sei smiled and approached him. She nodded her head at him as she tuck her hair behind her ear, which made Nino’s heart beat a bit faster. She began to point at a few of her pictures and said. “I like to take pictures because they can express and summarize a bunch of feelings into one thing. Like for an example, a sunrise could be expressed as a brand new start in one’s life but it can also express running out of time for someone else.”
Nino slowly nodded his head and looked at more of her pictures. Sei began to laugh and she was happy that someone enjoyed her work.
Out of the blue, someone’s phone rang. Sei quickly pulled out her phone to see it wasn’t her phone that was ringing. Nino quickly widened his eyes and scrambled to answer his call. He answered the phone to hear it was his manager calling that he was in front of his house to pick him up.
“Ah, I’ll meet you then. I’m not at home. Okay, ja.” Nino said and quickly ended his call. He let out a small sigh before shoving his phone back into his pocket.
Sei furrowed her eyebrows and wondered why he would receive a call this early. She wondered if it was his parents.
“Well I’ve got to go. It was nice meeting you…?” Nino trailed off. He spent a long time with her and he didn’t even know her name yet. Sei laughed and said. “You can call me Sei.”
Nino nodded his head to her and extended his right hand out to her. “I’m Kazu.” Sei smiled and shook hands with him as she said. “I know. Your friend, Matsumoto-san…?” Sei couldn’t really remember his name, but Nino nodded and said. “Do you mean Matsumoto Jun-san?”
Sei smiled and pointed at Nino. “Yeah, him. He had asked me to drop you home but I couldn’t get an address out from you in your drunken state so if you were wondering why you are here, that’s the reason why.” Sei confessed and blushed as she looked at the ground.
Nino finally found his answer and he kind of felt bad. Sei was pushed with the responsibility of making sure he got home but instead she was kind enough to let him sleep for a while at her house. If it were a different person, Nino might have ended up in trouble or in the streets.
“Well I guess I owe you one.” Nino said and started to head back into the greenhouse. “Matte.” Sei shouted and quickly grabbed the end of Nino’s shirt.
Nino tossed his head around and noticed Sei’s hands trembling. “Hm? What’s wrong?” Nino asked in a sweet and soft voice. He was starting to anticipate for what was going to happen next.
“Ano… Since you owe me one, how about I tell it to you right now.” Sei quickly looked up at Nino and stared at his eyes. Nino was startled and made an awkward smile. “Uh, sure.”
Sei bit her lower lip and opened her mouth. Nino slowly leaned closer to her and hoped that they were thinking about the same thing.
“Can you keep what happened here a secret?” Sei said in one compressed sentence. Nino blinked his eyes and stared at Sei. He thought that she was going to confess but Nino was completely blown away that Sei just wanted that out from him.
Nino burst out in laughter and stopped himself from laugh by covering his mouth with his hands but he couldn’t help to laugh at her strange request.
When Nino found the strength to control his laughter, he nodded and then patted her head. “Sure. I’ll keep this as a secret.” Sei smiled and she started to escort Nino to her front door.
~*~
Sei let out a tired sigh as she placed the grinned coffee beans into the coffee maker. She loves the smell of coffee but now she was beginning to hate it.
After Sei graduated from university, she had a hard time finding a full-time job so she usually works at a coffee shop during the day and another part-time job at night. With working two part-time jobs, she is able to feed for herself. Luckily she was off that day when she met Nino or they wouldn’t have met and she wouldn’t be able to experience something different in her life.
“Welcome.” Sei said in a monotone voice as someone opened the front door. She quickly went back to the cash register as she noticed someone else wanted to order.
“I’ll take one ice coffee and a blueberry muffin.” The lady said to her. Sei nodded her head and punched the buttons according to the lady’s order. “That will be 650 yen.” The lady gave her the exact change and she moved onto the side to let the person behind her take his order.
Sei quickly made her iced coffee and as it was pouring into a cup, she grabbed a blueberry muffin from the display case. She placed it on a plate and along with the ice coffee; she laid them on a small tray so it would be easier for the lady to carry. The lady walked away and Sei was now ready for the next order.
“I’ll take a strawberry and banana smoothie.” A man said to Sei. Sei nodded her head again and pressed the button. She slowly looked up to the person in front of her. She gradually widened her eyes and noticed that it was Ninomiya Kazunari.
“Ah!” Sei shouted and Nino quickly covered her mouth with his hand. “Don’t say my name.” Nino whispered and slowly took his hand off from her mouth.
Sei clenched her jaw tightly and nodded her head obediently to him. She started to laugh as she tried to keep it a secret.
Nino smirked and chuckled quietly to himself. Sei hastily turned around and made Nino’s order. She was surprised that she saw him again.
It has been 4 months since they last saw each other. Nino was glad to see her again and he couldn’t stop himself from thinking about her. Sei had made a huge impression on Nino, which left him wanting to know more about her.
Meanwhile Sei was happy to see him again but she wasn’t ready for their relationship to move onto the next step. She didn’t want to be hurt again.
Sei carried Nino’s strawberry and banana smoothie to the counter and Nino grabbed it. He made a small smile at her before he found a seat and sat down.
As Sei was diligently working the entire day, Nino was fascinated by Sei’s facial expressions and work habits. Whenever Sei met an unhappy customer, she would treat them as they treated her. Then if Sei met a really hyper customer, she would start making a conversation to calm them down. Nino couldn’t believe that she knows how to read people so well.
By the time Nino finished drinking his strawberry and banana smoothie, it was almost 3 in the afternoon. He had spent almost 2 hours in the coffee shop because he was watching Sei.
Nino quickly left the coffee shop that day with a huge smile on his face but he was determined whenever he had the time, he would go to that coffee shop and watch Sei work.
~*~
One day as Sei was closing up the coffee shop; someone suddenly approached her. Sei blinked her eyes to notice Nino waiting for her.
“Yo!” Nino said and smiled shyly. He had his hands shoved in his pockets and he was carrying a guitar case on his back.
Sei made an awkward smile and replied. “Yo.” She began to wonder why Nino was waiting for her. Did he forget something or did he want to talk to her? Sei was confused because Nino became a regular customer of the coffee shop. He was given a lot of opportunities if he wanted to say something to her.
“Just finished with work?” Nino asked and quickly glanced at Sei before he stared back at the ground. He was in love with her but he didn’t know if she had the same feelings for him. He felt like no matter what answer she says, he wanted to be by her side.
They started to walk and Sei nodded her head to him. “Un. I’m going to my next part-time job now.” She said and pointed to a street that was a few blocks away.
“Ee... You work during the day and night?” Nino asked with a curious look on his face. Sei giggled and said. “I have a lot of things that I have to pay off, so I have to work two jobs just to barely get by.” Nino’s smile slowly turned into a frown. He never knew that Sei had a busy life. He always thought Sei had a peaceful life, like during the day she would work at the coffee shop, and during the night she would rest at home by painting or taking pictures.
“Ah, there’s the place I work at. You can walk me till here.” Sei suggested. Nino bit his lower lip and his heart started to beat faster. He wanted to confess to her. He knew that this would be a good moment to tell her his feelings.
Sei bowed her head to Nino and started to walk away when Nino quickly widened his eyes as he noticed she was going to leave him. He quickly grabbed Sei’s wrist and pulled her closer to him. Now Sei’s head was resting on Nino’s chest and she could hear his heart beating. Meanwhile Nino gently wrapped his arms around Sei and then whispered in her ear. “I’m falling in love with you.”
Sei widened her eyes as she heard those words. She couldn’t believe that Nino had fell in love with her. Suddenly a rush of terrible memories of Taiyo came back to Sei’s head. She wanted to fall in love but she knew if she was going say those words back to him, then she might be hurt again. Sei didn’t know Nino enough to be able to trust him.
Nino slowly pulled back his head and cautiously leaned in closer to kiss her but Sei turned her head away. She muttered. “Gomenasai.” Before running away into the building where she works.
Nino had a sad and bitter look on his face as he stared at Sei running away from him. He wondered if Sei was forced to not to fall in love or she had a certain circumstance that she cannot fall in love with him.
But Nino decided that he wasn’t going to chase after her that day because he didn’t want to frighten her any further.
He drifted away from the streets and wondered what was Sei thinking after he had confessed to her.
On the other hand, Sei quickly ran into the staff room and dropped down the floor after her knees gave out. Her heart was beating rapidly and she kept thinking about how Nino acted until now.
Slowly tears ran down her cheeks as she had flashbacks of the times when she with Nino. How he always stared at her in the coffee shop and when he found her secret, he just simply laughed. As she calmed down, she started to hear her own heart pounding.
~*~
Sei sat on her rooftop and played on her guitar that her mother had given to her before she passed away. Sei strummed her hands on her guitar and played her favorite song. It was the same song that she hummed when she met Nino.
“La. La. Laa…” All of a sudden Sei heard a voice singing the same song. She stopped playing and quickly got up from her chair. She spun her head to the left and then to the right. She was beginning to wonder where the voice was coming from.
~Dancing bears
Painted wings
Things I almost remember,
And a song someone sings
Once upon a December
Someone holds me safe and warm,
horses prance through a silver storm,
Figures dancing gracefully,
across my memory.~
Sei concentrated on the voice and followed her ears to determine where the voice was coming from. Sei closed her eyes and walked in the direction of the voice. When the person stopped singing, Sei opened her eyes to notice she was standing in front of her wall.
“Up here.” She heard a whisper. Sei obediently did what the voice said and she widened her eyes as she saw a smiling Nino looking down at her.
“What… How…?” Sei muttered and took a step back, but as she took a step back she tripped on her shoes and fell back.
Her butt landed hard on the concrete floor and it had stung. But that didn’t matter because she was surprised and frightened by his sudden appearance.
“Daijoubu?” Nino quickly climbed down the stairs that connected the two buildings and quickly fled to her side. “Daijoubu? Did you hurt yourself?” He asked in a sweet and caring tone. Nino started to touch her arm and hands to see if she got a scratch or a cut but Sei quickly pulled back her hands from him.
She bit her lip and quickly got up from the floor. “I’m fine.” She muttered and stared at the floor. She wanted to avoid looking at him. Ever since he confessed to her, Sei’s heart had been confused and her head was filled with worries.
Nino bit his lower lip and stared at Sei. He wanted her to open up to him and he wanted to know why Sei has been acting that way ever since he had confessed to her. When Nino would visit her at the coffee shop, she would by all means, avoid and ignore him.
“Do you hate me?” Nino asked as he took a step back and folded his arms. Sei quickly looked at him and shook her head.
Nino let out a tired sigh and walked closer to Sei. Sei slowly started to back away and eventually she was pinned against the wall. She looked onto the side and clenched her jaw tightly. Now she was nervous of what Nino was going to do to her. Tears ran down her cheeks as she got a flashback of when Taiyo announced that he was going to get married to his childhood friend.
Sei’s hand began to tremble but she tightly held them into fists to stop them from trembling.
Nino closely examined her. He felt bad for doing this to her but he was desperate to find out what she was hiding in her heart. Nino slowly raised his hands and cupped her face. Then he carefully moved her face so they could look into each other’s eyes. Also he had noticed that she was crying as tears slowly trickled down her face.
“I want to kiss you but I don’t want to hurt you either. Would you mind telling me why you’re trying to avoid me?” Nino whispered softly to Sei as he stared at her. She bit her lip and slowly grabbed Nino’s hands. She tightly held onto them and more tears ran down her cheeks. “I’m afraid to love again. I have terrible memories of my first love. I’m scared that if I start dating you then, you would soon abandon me for another girl. You see, I’m a weird girl that likes to be at home and I rather paint and draw than to go out shopping.” Sei started to laugh and she slowly looked away from him again. “I don’t want a short-lived romance. I want to be with someone that is committed and truly in love with me. I don’t want to have high hopes for a person who could break my heart easily.” Sei said and more tears rushed down her cheeks.
Nino made a small smile and used his thumb to wipe her tears away from her face. “I also don’t want to love someone like that as well, but I can promise you this…” Slowly Nino leaned in closer and gently placed his lips on hers.
Sei widened her eyes, as she was shocked to feel his lips touching hers. But before Sei could push him away, Nino started to chuckle as he muttered. “I love you and I would wait forever for someone like you. You're the very first person who makes me feel this way. No matter what decision you make, I’ll accept it.”
Gradually a smile crept on Sei’s face and she began to wrap her arms around him. “Arigato.” She whispered in his ear, which made Nino happy. He as well wrapped his arms around Sei and he warmly embraced her.
~*~
“Kana-chan, I’m leaving now.” Sei said happily as she got up from her chair and started to wave good-bye to her. Kana furrowed her eyebrows and wondered why Sei was happy all of a sudden. Kana quickly got up and grabbed Sei’s wrist. “Are you going on a date with someone?” Kana said as she raised an eyebrow. Kana knew that Sei wasn’t the type of a girl that would easily date someone.
Sei giggled and nodded her head. Kana slowly let go of her wrist and Sei smiled to her. “He’s waiting for me outside.” Sei said before she left Kana speechless in the café.
As Sei walked out of the café, someone quickly covered her eyes and whispered in her ear. “Guess who?” Sei smiled and began to giggle. She placed her hands on top of the person’s hands and pulled them away. She swiftly turned around and laughed. “My boyfriend.”
Nino smirked and grabbed her hand. He held tightly onto hers and then they started to walk off.
Meanwhile Kana was left speechless as she saw the lovey-dovey couple from outside of the café. She made a small smile before she took a sip of her coffee.
Although love may be scary at times, you may encounter a person who will support and give you the courage to overcome those times. Your first love may not always be the one you are destined with but love never stops.
As Sei figured out that the struggles in her life were not bad for her but it actually gave her a chance to discover something new.