[fic]: narrow road to far province - part 2 (ryo/shige)
Title: Narrow Road To Far Province
Written: 060109
Summary: Shige's journey from where he was, to where he is, and of the person who accompanied him along the way. Ryo/Shige :p
Chapter: Part 2. WC: 1465.
Fandom: Johnny's Entertainment
Notes: I got halfway through the original 2nd chapter, copped out and decided to post instead - kinda like how the 2nd half of Heroes became season 3? ;p Still dedicated to dark3princess, as this is still part of her extremely long-winded bdae gift XD
part 1
Some mornings when Shige leaves his home, the sky is a perfect, powdery blue, the faintest hint of cotton-ball clouds beginning to form high up in the atmosphere. The sun's already a distance from the horizon, bordering upon glaring, but the breeze is cool as it kisses his face and ruffles his hair. It's good enough for him to overlook the blinding reflections from the windows of the houses he passes by that strike his eyes as he makes his light-hearted way down the few blocks to the train station.
It's a fairly busy passage, especially around the time when Shige heads out, since kids and teenagers are rushing for school and the salarymen and office ladies for work. But the tall hedges spilling over the walls, the winding spread of flowering bushes through cracks and fences, and the occasional shade from the overhanging branches of young trees make Shige slow his steps, savouring this short journey, appreciative of the colours of the flowers that catch his attention.
It feels refreshing, like he's connected, part of a greater whole.
When Shige gets to NewS' dressing room, he's a little surprised to see an ear-phoned Nishikido-kun curled up on one corner of a couch, using the armrest as a pillow as he naps away.
The noise from Shige's entry seems to have roused him, for he opens his eyes a slit and pulls off one of the ear buds. “Oh, it's you...” he mumbles.
“Ano... aren't you supposed to be at the photoshoot?” Shige asks tentatively. They're in for photoshoots today, followed by a few magazine interviews. With Yamashita-kun away for drama filming, and Uchi temporarily off from work because of his pneumothorax, the frequency of rehearsals and dance practice has been literally cut by half.
Nishikido-kun blinks slowly. “Problem on set, we have to wait a couple hours.” Then he shoves his earphone back and returns to dreamland.
Shige shudders to think about the type of set they'll have to contend with if it is complicated enough to have 'problems'. He takes a seat on the other couch, preparing to draw out his notes for some revision. That plan is nipped in the bud with Tegoshi's excited arrival with an old guitar he claims he found in one of the empty rehearsal rooms.
“Ne, Shige, you play, right? Could you teach me?” Tegoshi plops down next to Shige, bright-eyed and eager, already thrusting the guitar into Shige's lap.
Shige glances over to see if they're disturbing Nishikido-kun, but the older boy's eyes are shut and the music can be heard blaring tinnily from his earphones even from where Shige and Tegoshi are sitting. “It's Kato-kun to you,” Shige grumbles automatically as he takes the instrument, playing a few chords quietly and adjusting the pegs to get the right pitch.
He starts by showing Tegoshi the basic chords, and a few simple progressions. Tegoshi does a pretty good job of remembering the fingering and the chord changes but soon starts whining that his fingertips are tender, handing the guitar back to Shige instead.
Shige plays whatever comes to mind, strumming lazily, making up the chords and tune when he can't remember the actual ones, and Tegoshi softly sings along, humming wherever he's forgotten the words.
Shige's heart skips a beat when he looks up from his fingers executing a chord change to see Nishikido-kun staring straight at him. The guitar strings jangle as Shige stops abruptly. “I'm sorry, did we wake you?”
Nishikido-kun shakes his head, giving Shige a tiny smile, mellow and sleepy. “No, it's alright. You're not too bad.” His eyes drift shut again, but Shige notices that his earphones are gone.
Shige returns his attentions to the guitar, forcing the slight trembling out of his fingers as they press the strings. He slowly lets out the breath he's been unconsciously holding, the image of Nishikido-kun's peaceful expression accompanying him for the rest of the song.
*
On other mornings, when the rain beats its soothing pattern against the window panes and the dim morning light makes it seem earlier than it really is, the last thing Shige wants to do is emerge from the warm cocoon of his covers to face the cold and wet waiting outside.
These are the days that Shige's mom has to rap a little harder on his bedroom door, even come in to prod at what she assumes is his back underneath the hump of bedclothes, before he concedes defeat and hauls himself out of bed.
He munches mechanically through breakfast, barely registering the taste of the food, the gloomy exterior not doing much to alleviate the nagging worry inside.
When Shige's done eating, it's with heavy steps that he leaves the table.
Shige hits the light switch and gets the shock of his life when he hears someone curse in irritated Kansai-ben moments after the overhead fluorescents flicker on, illuminating the dressing room he previously thought to be empty.
His heart is still pounding when he realises it's just Nishikido-kun sprawled on the couch, rubbing his eyes and squinting from the sudden glare.
“Shit, you scared me! Why the hell are you sitting in the dark?!”
It's only after the words leave Shige's mouth that it occurs to him that he might have phrased it a bit too strongly in his shock, but Nishikido-kun merely gives a half-hearted shrug. “Catching the Shinkansen back to Osaka, it's not for another two hours.”
“Oh, then why didn't you--” go for dinner... Shige bites off the rest of his question when it hits him that yes, usually Nishikido-kun does leave earlier to catch a bite on days like this. With Uchi.
The silence in the room seems rife with Uchi's absence.
The guilt-remorse-regret rushes back again as Shige stands by the doorway awkwardly, watching Nishikido-kun, who appears smaller, more vulnerable than Shige ever imagined he would be. He remembers dance practice earlier when, for once, it's Nishikido-kun who keeps making the mistakes, moving into the wrong positions, pausing at the spaces where he should no longer wait, rehearsing for eight when now they're seven. Shige vaguely wishes that he'd shown more concern, had thought to visit or call Uchi during his convalescence instead of texting a couple of mails as an absent afterthought, had invited Uchi out for movies or karaoke or various other things he's never done with Uchi, has never really thought of doing with Uchi, until Uchi got so abruptly taken from them.
“I thought I'd catch up on my sleep while waiting,” Nishikido-kun murmurs, and Shige's ready to say okay, I won't disturb you then, go pick up the notebook he'd forgotten on the small coffee table beside the couch and go on home, but the desolate air that shrouds Nishikido-kun seems to cling to Shige, pulling Shige back and he finds himself bypassing the coffee table and heading for the corner of the room instead, where the old guitar that Tegoshi found is now stashed.
“I, um, I thought I'd get started on that song I'm supposed to write,” Shige stammers as he settles down on the other end of the couch Nishikido-kun is on. And Nishikido-kun doesn't call him on his blatantly transparent excuse, maybe he doesn't even notice - although technically Shige isn't really lying, he has been told to try and come up with some melodies for their next live tour.
The initial few chords are random as Shige honestly attempts to search out a tune within himself, but his muse eludes him and he eventually gives up and just falls back on a familiar song instead.
“Play that song from the other day?” Nishikido-kun has curled up sideways on the couch facing Shige, eyes focused on Shige's fingers as they move across the strings.
“Which one?” Shige feels a by-now familiar flush coming over him, and he tells himself it's just the build-up of tension from Uchi's departure.
“The one you and Tegoshi were writing.” And Shige can't help the jolt of surprise that Nishikido-kun noticed.
He finishes the current tune he's strumming and starts picking out the melody Nishikido-kun requested, ignoring the growling in his stomach, unfinished schoolwork and the prospect of his mother nagging him for missing dinner when he's already said he would be back in time for it. Instead, he focuses on Nishikido-kun and how he looks a little less lonely, as Shige quietly sings about rubbish bins and forsaken love.
end part 2
A/N: i'm actually making a very wild guess at wat tegoshi is actually singing in 'gomibako' cuz live singing isn't the clearest and my jap aural abilities aren't fantastic. comments are always loved and appreciated :)
part 3
Written: 060109
Summary: Shige's journey from where he was, to where he is, and of the person who accompanied him along the way. Ryo/Shige :p
Chapter: Part 2. WC: 1465.
Fandom: Johnny's Entertainment
Notes: I got halfway through the original 2nd chapter, copped out and decided to post instead - kinda like how the 2nd half of Heroes became season 3? ;p Still dedicated to dark3princess, as this is still part of her extremely long-winded bdae gift XD
part 1
Some mornings when Shige leaves his home, the sky is a perfect, powdery blue, the faintest hint of cotton-ball clouds beginning to form high up in the atmosphere. The sun's already a distance from the horizon, bordering upon glaring, but the breeze is cool as it kisses his face and ruffles his hair. It's good enough for him to overlook the blinding reflections from the windows of the houses he passes by that strike his eyes as he makes his light-hearted way down the few blocks to the train station.
It's a fairly busy passage, especially around the time when Shige heads out, since kids and teenagers are rushing for school and the salarymen and office ladies for work. But the tall hedges spilling over the walls, the winding spread of flowering bushes through cracks and fences, and the occasional shade from the overhanging branches of young trees make Shige slow his steps, savouring this short journey, appreciative of the colours of the flowers that catch his attention.
It feels refreshing, like he's connected, part of a greater whole.
When Shige gets to NewS' dressing room, he's a little surprised to see an ear-phoned Nishikido-kun curled up on one corner of a couch, using the armrest as a pillow as he naps away.
The noise from Shige's entry seems to have roused him, for he opens his eyes a slit and pulls off one of the ear buds. “Oh, it's you...” he mumbles.
“Ano... aren't you supposed to be at the photoshoot?” Shige asks tentatively. They're in for photoshoots today, followed by a few magazine interviews. With Yamashita-kun away for drama filming, and Uchi temporarily off from work because of his pneumothorax, the frequency of rehearsals and dance practice has been literally cut by half.
Nishikido-kun blinks slowly. “Problem on set, we have to wait a couple hours.” Then he shoves his earphone back and returns to dreamland.
Shige shudders to think about the type of set they'll have to contend with if it is complicated enough to have 'problems'. He takes a seat on the other couch, preparing to draw out his notes for some revision. That plan is nipped in the bud with Tegoshi's excited arrival with an old guitar he claims he found in one of the empty rehearsal rooms.
“Ne, Shige, you play, right? Could you teach me?” Tegoshi plops down next to Shige, bright-eyed and eager, already thrusting the guitar into Shige's lap.
Shige glances over to see if they're disturbing Nishikido-kun, but the older boy's eyes are shut and the music can be heard blaring tinnily from his earphones even from where Shige and Tegoshi are sitting. “It's Kato-kun to you,” Shige grumbles automatically as he takes the instrument, playing a few chords quietly and adjusting the pegs to get the right pitch.
He starts by showing Tegoshi the basic chords, and a few simple progressions. Tegoshi does a pretty good job of remembering the fingering and the chord changes but soon starts whining that his fingertips are tender, handing the guitar back to Shige instead.
Shige plays whatever comes to mind, strumming lazily, making up the chords and tune when he can't remember the actual ones, and Tegoshi softly sings along, humming wherever he's forgotten the words.
Shige's heart skips a beat when he looks up from his fingers executing a chord change to see Nishikido-kun staring straight at him. The guitar strings jangle as Shige stops abruptly. “I'm sorry, did we wake you?”
Nishikido-kun shakes his head, giving Shige a tiny smile, mellow and sleepy. “No, it's alright. You're not too bad.” His eyes drift shut again, but Shige notices that his earphones are gone.
Shige returns his attentions to the guitar, forcing the slight trembling out of his fingers as they press the strings. He slowly lets out the breath he's been unconsciously holding, the image of Nishikido-kun's peaceful expression accompanying him for the rest of the song.
*
On other mornings, when the rain beats its soothing pattern against the window panes and the dim morning light makes it seem earlier than it really is, the last thing Shige wants to do is emerge from the warm cocoon of his covers to face the cold and wet waiting outside.
These are the days that Shige's mom has to rap a little harder on his bedroom door, even come in to prod at what she assumes is his back underneath the hump of bedclothes, before he concedes defeat and hauls himself out of bed.
He munches mechanically through breakfast, barely registering the taste of the food, the gloomy exterior not doing much to alleviate the nagging worry inside.
When Shige's done eating, it's with heavy steps that he leaves the table.
Shige hits the light switch and gets the shock of his life when he hears someone curse in irritated Kansai-ben moments after the overhead fluorescents flicker on, illuminating the dressing room he previously thought to be empty.
His heart is still pounding when he realises it's just Nishikido-kun sprawled on the couch, rubbing his eyes and squinting from the sudden glare.
“Shit, you scared me! Why the hell are you sitting in the dark?!”
It's only after the words leave Shige's mouth that it occurs to him that he might have phrased it a bit too strongly in his shock, but Nishikido-kun merely gives a half-hearted shrug. “Catching the Shinkansen back to Osaka, it's not for another two hours.”
“Oh, then why didn't you--” go for dinner... Shige bites off the rest of his question when it hits him that yes, usually Nishikido-kun does leave earlier to catch a bite on days like this. With Uchi.
The silence in the room seems rife with Uchi's absence.
The guilt-remorse-regret rushes back again as Shige stands by the doorway awkwardly, watching Nishikido-kun, who appears smaller, more vulnerable than Shige ever imagined he would be. He remembers dance practice earlier when, for once, it's Nishikido-kun who keeps making the mistakes, moving into the wrong positions, pausing at the spaces where he should no longer wait, rehearsing for eight when now they're seven. Shige vaguely wishes that he'd shown more concern, had thought to visit or call Uchi during his convalescence instead of texting a couple of mails as an absent afterthought, had invited Uchi out for movies or karaoke or various other things he's never done with Uchi, has never really thought of doing with Uchi, until Uchi got so abruptly taken from them.
“I thought I'd catch up on my sleep while waiting,” Nishikido-kun murmurs, and Shige's ready to say okay, I won't disturb you then, go pick up the notebook he'd forgotten on the small coffee table beside the couch and go on home, but the desolate air that shrouds Nishikido-kun seems to cling to Shige, pulling Shige back and he finds himself bypassing the coffee table and heading for the corner of the room instead, where the old guitar that Tegoshi found is now stashed.
“I, um, I thought I'd get started on that song I'm supposed to write,” Shige stammers as he settles down on the other end of the couch Nishikido-kun is on. And Nishikido-kun doesn't call him on his blatantly transparent excuse, maybe he doesn't even notice - although technically Shige isn't really lying, he has been told to try and come up with some melodies for their next live tour.
The initial few chords are random as Shige honestly attempts to search out a tune within himself, but his muse eludes him and he eventually gives up and just falls back on a familiar song instead.
“Play that song from the other day?” Nishikido-kun has curled up sideways on the couch facing Shige, eyes focused on Shige's fingers as they move across the strings.
“Which one?” Shige feels a by-now familiar flush coming over him, and he tells himself it's just the build-up of tension from Uchi's departure.
“The one you and Tegoshi were writing.” And Shige can't help the jolt of surprise that Nishikido-kun noticed.
He finishes the current tune he's strumming and starts picking out the melody Nishikido-kun requested, ignoring the growling in his stomach, unfinished schoolwork and the prospect of his mother nagging him for missing dinner when he's already said he would be back in time for it. Instead, he focuses on Nishikido-kun and how he looks a little less lonely, as Shige quietly sings about rubbish bins and forsaken love.
end part 2
A/N: i'm actually making a very wild guess at wat tegoshi is actually singing in 'gomibako' cuz live singing isn't the clearest and my jap aural abilities aren't fantastic. comments are always loved and appreciated :)
part 3