Love So Sweet [an Ohno Satoshi love story] - Chapter 7
Layers of soft, fluid silk slipped over Rina’s body. Several pairs of hands moved swiftly to secure the folds and tie the ornate obi in place. She saw herself in the mirror, wrapped in a light cream colored furisode with a slight gold sheen and a delicate camellia pattern sewn along as if the flowers were cascading from her hands, layered with smoke blue silk underneath, embroidered with gold thread. The sleeves of the furisode fluttered down at her sides, almost reaching her feet. The obi was a soft peach color accented by strong red, orange and blue flower and chevron patterns like family crests; it was tied in a large, high knot in the back. Her long hair was curled, pulled in a loose bun and secured with a gold brooch, and her makeup was simple.
Rina turned in a circle, a little uncertainly in her white tabi socks and zori (tranditional sandals). Her heart fluttered a little; it was odd, growing up. And this was for everyone to watch; two large black video cameras were focusing intently on her at different angles. She wasn’t allowed to look at them though - Pretend they aren’t there, Mark Ross said.
Satomi and Sora (Sho couldn’t come, unfortunately, because he had work for News Zero), as well as the camera crew, accompanied Rina as she walked among the crowds towards city hall, where the Coming of Age ceremony would be held. One could tell those who were turning twenty - all the young women wore their elaborate furisodes and fur wraps, while the young men wore either suits or dark kimono. Many people stared at the entourage surrounding Rina. She tried not to let her embarrassment show on her face.
Oddly enough, another group of cameramen approached her, led by Sho! He was dressed in a perfectly tailored suit and held a microphone. A slight smile played on his face as he saw her surprise, but he otherwise kept his professional newscaster composure.
“Excuse me, but may we interview this young lady?” he asked utterly politely, addressing the reality show crew. They backed away, but still filmed Rina being interviewed - it would make for a cool scene. Sho turned back to her. “Hello, I’m Sakurai Sho, reporter for News Zero. You are here to celebrate your transition to adulthood? Omedetto! May I ask a few questions regarding your future?” He put the microphone to her.
Eh? She supposed he had to pretend he didn’t know her. “Sure.”
The cameras filmed from some distance away from Rina as she seated herself, waiting for the ceremony to start. To anyone else, it would seem like they were there for the press, not for her. A girl in bright pink sat next to her.
“I love your furisode!” the girl praised in a very chipper voice. “It’s so elegant!”
“Oh, thank you,” Rina said quietly. “Yours is very pretty too. Very… vibrant.”
“Omigosh, do you like Arashi? What am I saying, of course you do.” the girl went on a tangent. “I saw Sakurai Sho passing by! He must be doing newscaster work… He’s such an ikemen (hottie, male)!”
Rina laughed. “Sou, ka?”
“I’ve met Arashi, actually. Well, I didn’t really get to talk to them, but I was in their Truth video - I was one of the violinists in the background. But it was really cool watching them dance. Even though Matsujun is my favorite, I have to say that Ohno is the best dancer.”
This particularly caught Rina’s attention. He was a dancer?
The two girls talked a bit more, and found out that they both went to Tokyo Geijutsu Daigaku. The violinist’s name was Akiyama Michiyo, and she played in the school’s symphony orchestra. She was a very perky person, and so friendly that they exchanged numbers (Rina used the new fancy AU KDDI phone Sho had gotten for her).
There was a series of speeches made by government officials about the responsibilities of adulthood - perseverance, hard work, discernment, etc. Rina had particularly liked the man who emphasized the importance of knowing what your priorities should be; work or love, family or fame? Of course most people had fallen asleep by then. After the ceremony and formalities, the camera crew left - they had to go film another “cast member,” and they had limited staff. Sho was also done with News Zero stuff for the day. The four cousins jovially went out to eat, to celebrate Rina’s Coming of Age.
“So, how was your first day? A little weird?” Sho asked. They were in a quiet corner of the nice French restaurant (Rina’s pick). There were other people clearly also Of Age and dressed in their finest, but Satomi insisted that Rina was the prettiest one.
“It was awesome!” Sora grinned devilishly. “All the girls were staring at me.”
“I think they were looking at Rina, Sora.” Satomi said, rolling her eyes. “I thought she handled it very gracefully.”
“It was really embarrassing, having everyone staring and either trying to avoid me or run in front of me,” Rina smirked. At the same time, it felt cool that she would always have a record of herself, hopefully in a good light. Imagine how it would be to watch herself ten or twenty years from now. “But I think I’ll get used to it.”
The next day, Arashi was on location for a photoshoot for Myojo Magazine. While the photographer was working one-on-one with Aiba Masaki, the rest of the boys waited around. Ninomiya Kazunari was hunched over on the couch, lost in his Dragon Quest Nintendo DS game; his face was a mixture of frustration and determination, sometimes victorious, as he bent over the handheld device. If you listened carefully you could hear the tiny digital battle cries. While a stylist was fussing with his hair, Matsumoto Jun silently read a manga that Nino had recently gotten him hooked to. He looked very geek-chic in his thick black-rimmed glasses. Sakurai Sho turned to Ohno Satoshi, who was doing nothing except resting his head on Nino’s shoulder. Nino had given up on trying to push him off.
“Hey, want to see some pictures I took from yesterday? It was Rina’s Seijin no Hi.” the camera-happy guy of Arashi asked.
Ohno sat up at this, and looked on intently. “Kirei…” he murmured, observing the girl in the traditional outfit. It fit her perfectly, and because of the soft colors, she wore the furisode - it did not wear her. In the picture, she was pointing at all the streets’ flashy decorations in delight. In another, she was eating some street vendor food; her mouth was stuffed mouth and she was giving enthusiastic thumbs up. “Ahno, was she okay? Those cameramen following her everywhere…” Ohno asked. Sho had told them about Rina’s new “job.”
“She was perfectly composed. I guess it runs in the family.” Sho said proudly, ignoring the snorts from the others (Matsujun and Nino, who had overheard) to the contrary. How many times had Sho mortified himself on national TV? The list included stocking head, cosplaying and knocking a cameraman over with his butt, just to name a few.
There was another picture of Rina putting a secretive finger to her mischievous lips as she snuck a sip of Satomi’s wine at the restaurant. Sora had captured one of Sho and Rina having a serious discussion about the different harmonizing components of their tartines. There was one where Rina took it of herself and Satomi - they both smiled prettily. Then she had taken one of her and Sora - he bore all his teeth like a bear, and she stuck her tongue out and pulled her eye down. Ohno laughed at their expressions, and thought of how Rina could be both serious and silly.
credit for the scan: cerraazizi
Just like when Naruse looks at Shiori in Maou, when they're lighting fireworks together ^_^
On a side note, I wonder if those are Ohno's "French bread" shoes that Sho talks about...
Rina turned in a circle, a little uncertainly in her white tabi socks and zori (tranditional sandals). Her heart fluttered a little; it was odd, growing up. And this was for everyone to watch; two large black video cameras were focusing intently on her at different angles. She wasn’t allowed to look at them though - Pretend they aren’t there, Mark Ross said.
Satomi and Sora (Sho couldn’t come, unfortunately, because he had work for News Zero), as well as the camera crew, accompanied Rina as she walked among the crowds towards city hall, where the Coming of Age ceremony would be held. One could tell those who were turning twenty - all the young women wore their elaborate furisodes and fur wraps, while the young men wore either suits or dark kimono. Many people stared at the entourage surrounding Rina. She tried not to let her embarrassment show on her face.
Oddly enough, another group of cameramen approached her, led by Sho! He was dressed in a perfectly tailored suit and held a microphone. A slight smile played on his face as he saw her surprise, but he otherwise kept his professional newscaster composure.
“Excuse me, but may we interview this young lady?” he asked utterly politely, addressing the reality show crew. They backed away, but still filmed Rina being interviewed - it would make for a cool scene. Sho turned back to her. “Hello, I’m Sakurai Sho, reporter for News Zero. You are here to celebrate your transition to adulthood? Omedetto! May I ask a few questions regarding your future?” He put the microphone to her.
Eh? She supposed he had to pretend he didn’t know her. “Sure.”
The cameras filmed from some distance away from Rina as she seated herself, waiting for the ceremony to start. To anyone else, it would seem like they were there for the press, not for her. A girl in bright pink sat next to her.
“I love your furisode!” the girl praised in a very chipper voice. “It’s so elegant!”
“Oh, thank you,” Rina said quietly. “Yours is very pretty too. Very… vibrant.”
“Omigosh, do you like Arashi? What am I saying, of course you do.” the girl went on a tangent. “I saw Sakurai Sho passing by! He must be doing newscaster work… He’s such an ikemen (hottie, male)!”
Rina laughed. “Sou, ka?”
“I’ve met Arashi, actually. Well, I didn’t really get to talk to them, but I was in their Truth video - I was one of the violinists in the background. But it was really cool watching them dance. Even though Matsujun is my favorite, I have to say that Ohno is the best dancer.”
This particularly caught Rina’s attention. He was a dancer?
The two girls talked a bit more, and found out that they both went to Tokyo Geijutsu Daigaku. The violinist’s name was Akiyama Michiyo, and she played in the school’s symphony orchestra. She was a very perky person, and so friendly that they exchanged numbers (Rina used the new fancy AU KDDI phone Sho had gotten for her).
There was a series of speeches made by government officials about the responsibilities of adulthood - perseverance, hard work, discernment, etc. Rina had particularly liked the man who emphasized the importance of knowing what your priorities should be; work or love, family or fame? Of course most people had fallen asleep by then. After the ceremony and formalities, the camera crew left - they had to go film another “cast member,” and they had limited staff. Sho was also done with News Zero stuff for the day. The four cousins jovially went out to eat, to celebrate Rina’s Coming of Age.
“So, how was your first day? A little weird?” Sho asked. They were in a quiet corner of the nice French restaurant (Rina’s pick). There were other people clearly also Of Age and dressed in their finest, but Satomi insisted that Rina was the prettiest one.
“It was awesome!” Sora grinned devilishly. “All the girls were staring at me.”
“I think they were looking at Rina, Sora.” Satomi said, rolling her eyes. “I thought she handled it very gracefully.”
“It was really embarrassing, having everyone staring and either trying to avoid me or run in front of me,” Rina smirked. At the same time, it felt cool that she would always have a record of herself, hopefully in a good light. Imagine how it would be to watch herself ten or twenty years from now. “But I think I’ll get used to it.”
The next day, Arashi was on location for a photoshoot for Myojo Magazine. While the photographer was working one-on-one with Aiba Masaki, the rest of the boys waited around. Ninomiya Kazunari was hunched over on the couch, lost in his Dragon Quest Nintendo DS game; his face was a mixture of frustration and determination, sometimes victorious, as he bent over the handheld device. If you listened carefully you could hear the tiny digital battle cries. While a stylist was fussing with his hair, Matsumoto Jun silently read a manga that Nino had recently gotten him hooked to. He looked very geek-chic in his thick black-rimmed glasses. Sakurai Sho turned to Ohno Satoshi, who was doing nothing except resting his head on Nino’s shoulder. Nino had given up on trying to push him off.
“Hey, want to see some pictures I took from yesterday? It was Rina’s Seijin no Hi.” the camera-happy guy of Arashi asked.
Ohno sat up at this, and looked on intently. “Kirei…” he murmured, observing the girl in the traditional outfit. It fit her perfectly, and because of the soft colors, she wore the furisode - it did not wear her. In the picture, she was pointing at all the streets’ flashy decorations in delight. In another, she was eating some street vendor food; her mouth was stuffed mouth and she was giving enthusiastic thumbs up. “Ahno, was she okay? Those cameramen following her everywhere…” Ohno asked. Sho had told them about Rina’s new “job.”
“She was perfectly composed. I guess it runs in the family.” Sho said proudly, ignoring the snorts from the others (Matsujun and Nino, who had overheard) to the contrary. How many times had Sho mortified himself on national TV? The list included stocking head, cosplaying and knocking a cameraman over with his butt, just to name a few.
There was another picture of Rina putting a secretive finger to her mischievous lips as she snuck a sip of Satomi’s wine at the restaurant. Sora had captured one of Sho and Rina having a serious discussion about the different harmonizing components of their tartines. There was one where Rina took it of herself and Satomi - they both smiled prettily. Then she had taken one of her and Sora - he bore all his teeth like a bear, and she stuck her tongue out and pulled her eye down. Ohno laughed at their expressions, and thought of how Rina could be both serious and silly.
credit for the scan: cerraazizi
Just like when Naruse looks at Shiori in Maou, when they're lighting fireworks together ^_^
On a side note, I wonder if those are Ohno's "French bread" shoes that Sho talks about...