Somewhere Only We Know [a Ninomiya Kazunari love story] - Chapter 9
Somewhere Only We Know, Chapter 9
Pairing: Ninomiya Kazunari/OC
Rating: PG
Genre: Realistic romance, friendship, family
Disclaimer: I don’t own anything of Arashi or Johnny’s Entertainment! Sorry if I misuse some Japanese phrases.
Summary:
When you’ve been alone for so long, sometimes you forget that you’re lost. But if you one day brush across another hand grappling in the dark - if you dare to take it and hold on tight - you just might find the way out together. Love, in the end, is what saves us all; if you’re brave enough you’ll find it, and if you’re crazy enough it just might stay.
All previous chapters in the master post!
----------------
Ninomiya Kazunari lifted up one leg and stared down at his plaid bell bottom pants in amazement. To think that people used to wear these things normally…! Then again, he had worn much worse attire for his concerts.
“Action!”
credit: Wikipedia It was evening, and Nino gazed at the colorful displays of the fair against the dark sky. Almost like a giant toy set, it reminded him of simpler times. He checked the shiny watch on his wrist. The cameras zoomed in on his slightly nervous expression.
“Over here, Hide-kun!” A group of seven young people ran over, waving.
“Yo guys!” Kazuhide greeted casually as he clasped hands with his old classmates. They had all certainly matured in looks, but they wore the same bold smiles.
“It’s been forever, man. How has America treated you?” Suguru grinned.
“Great, really. But I’m back now, for good.” Kazuhide glanced at the unfamiliar females in confusion. “You - you all brought your girlfriends?”
His three friends all began introducing the stylish women clinging to their arms. But there was one extra girl eyeing him up and down.
Kenichi announced, “We knew you were single so we asked them to bring their friend along too. This is Reiko-chan.”
Reiko, a good-looking girl with voluminous hair and a skinny waist, smiled at him. She seemed pleasantly surprised. “Nice to meet you, Kazuhide-kun.”
“Same here.” he nodded uncertainly. “But actually guys, I invited someone else too. She should be here any minute.”
“Eh, who?” Hayao gasped. “You’ve only been back for a week and already…!”
“It’s not like that, Yao.” Kazuhide surveyed the surroundings, and right at that moment, she came into view.
credit: theproudpenguin on Tumblr
Everything was fake - the popcorn stand, the clowns, the game booths; even the crowds sauntering around in clothing from the 1970’s were pretending - so nothing could fully explain the very real jolt in Ninomiya’s chest when he saw Yuri walking straight towards him. Her knee length khaki skirt was not as trendy and her long silky hair was not impressively coifed, but he thought she was much prettier compared to the others.
Indeed, Yuri didn’t want to face Nino after the uneasiness of their dinner the night before, but she reminded herself that she was an actress - a professional - and marched up anyway.
“Minna, this is my family friend, Sugase Yukino.”
Clinging to her small shoulder bag awkwardly, feeling all eyes on her, Yukino briefly bowed before the group.
“Sugase… THAT Sugase?” Hayao squinted. “Are you related to that guy who just died?”
“Omae!” Kazuhide barked. He glanced at the girl to see her bite her lip uncomfortably. “Let’s go in, everyone!” he breathed, before anyone made any further embarrassing remarks. He pulled Yukino by the elbow and hurried them ahead of the group through the iron gates.
“I swear I read it in the news…” Hayao grumbled to himself. Reiko, on the other hand, eyed the pair jealously.
Four years abroad certainly had changed Kazuhide; he hadn’t realized just how much until he tried conversing with his old buddies. They had all waded through the same preparatory schools, attended the same ritzy social events with their families, and even dated in the same circles. But now he felt out of place as the trio seemed to be concerned with the same things as always. Money, and the affairs of other people with money. Their old jokes rang brash against his ears and his own responses trailed off by their astonished laughs.
Still, Kazuhide had a separate assignment. He carefully tried to keep contact with Yukino who floated at the edge of the group at all times. They stood aside as the men played balloon darts to win prizes for their girlfriends.
“Are you going to play too?” Reiko asked Kazuhide carefully.
“Naw, I’m no good at these sorts of games. Plus, I have no one to win it for.”
He was oblivious that he had disappointed her as she returned to her female friends. He turned to Yukino, who was observing the antics by herself with a small smirk.
“Are you hungry, Yukino-san? My treat.”
“Really?”
“Nn, I was going to go and get a hotdog anyway.”
“Okay, popcorn then.”
A sudden brightness came over Kazuhide at this small opportunity. He jogged to the food stand and inhaled the delicious smell of oil.
“One hotdog and one small popcorn, please.”
“Your total comes to 850 yen.”
Kazuhide pulled out his wallet and blanched. He only had 700 yen left from the bank withdrawal he had made. He jingled the measly coins and ignored the growling from his stomach.
“Actually, I’ll just have the popcorn.”
His friends were still competing at the booth games when he ran back with the popcorn.
“Here you go.”
“What about your hotdog?” Yukino asked innocently.
“I changed my mind.” he fibbed.
“Then take some of mine.” she insisted, holding the paper bag out to him. They munched on the salty, buttery snack together and watched the game progress. “Suguru-san is pretty good at this!”
The group let out a loud cheer as Suguru was the first to pop five balloons. He presented his girlfriend with a large stuffed bear and she kissed him in thanks.
“I propose that we go to the haunted house next!” Kenichi called out.
Some cringed and complained but they still traveled together to the shadowy, cobwebbed House of Horrors. Evil cackles and terrified screams echoed from inside. The first half of the maze was a cart ride, and each cart only had space for two people.
Reiko jumped onto Kazuhide. “Let’s sit together, Kazuhide-kun!”
“Uhh, sure…”
Everyone else was already paired up, so Yukino took the last wagon for herself with a shrug. She observed the line of couples in front of her, including Kazuhide and Reiko, with a patient air. There was a jerk forward, and their procession was tugged along the jittery track into the darkness.
According to the script, Yukino was supposed to stare at the back of Kazuhide and Reiko’s heads in worry, but Yuri herself couldn’t help but burst out laughing at the fright of the people before her. Besides, by the time it was her turn to pass through smoke and have mechanical skeletons pop out at her, all the surprise was spoiled. The others turned around, bewildered at the girl having a ball in the back seat.
As soon as the track came to an end, the young couples were rudely pulled out of their seats by a man in a tattered suit, through a thick velvet curtain. Yukino was thrust through last and suddenly found herself in a dizzying maze of mirrors like that of an Alice in Wonderland nightmare. Disoriented, she gaped at the dozens of distorted images of herself staring back at her. Where did the ceiling meet the floor? Eerie echoes from the others up ahead propelled her forward, but they grew fainter until everything was silent. She realized that she was all alone.
With something like indignation of being left behind and lost, she forced herself to put one foot in front of the other. She felt around the walls for support and tried not to panic. Suddenly a voice sailed from out of nowhere, and she wondered if she was going crazy.
“Yukino…!” it bounced off of the glass mirrors.
“N-Nomura-san?” she called back.
“Where are you?” Kazuhide shouted. “Just keep talking and I’ll find you!”
“Eh? You’ll get even more lost!”
Moments later, a large ghoulish figure popped in the mirror behind her and she screamed enough to make up for her laughter earlier.
“It’s okay, it’s me!” Kazuhide exclaimed with arms out warily. All the others had already found the exit, but minutes after she still hadn’t appeared, he had gone back in to look for her.
“Let’s - let’s get out of here.”
Kazuhide placed his hands on her shoulders and steadily led her through the maze. Finally, they found the door and stepped out into the peaceful fresh air. The seven others in the group had deserted.
“I guess they all got impatient.” Kazuhide sighed. “What should we do now?”
“Ahno,” Yukino gulped, “Can we rest for a bit?”
Yuri closed her sore eyes and took shallow breaths. Nino could tell that she wasn’t acting.
“Daijoubu?”
“I suddenly got a headache. I think it was all the moving images… Just give me a second, ne.”
While her eyes were still closed, Nino came close without hesitation and put his hands on the sides of her face. She stayed very still as he tenderly rubbed her temples in tiny circular motions. It was unbelievably soothing and she felt the throbbing in her skull - as well as her anger towards Nino - melt away as his touch. The massaging stopped, but the man’s warm hands remained. He studied the soft curl of her eyelashes fanned over her cheeks.
Yuri opened her eyes and flushed - their faces were mere inches apart, and Nino was gazing at her most intently.
“--- CUT!” director Hisamatsu cried out. Yuri came back to her senses and broke away from Nino’s grasp. “Okay, that was good! Fifteen minute break while we move to the next scene!”
The two co-stars kept several feet of distance between each other as they trailed behind the lights and sound team as they made their way across the fair grounds.
Ninomiya braced himself and reluctantly muttered, “By the way… thanks.”
“Eh?”
“For getting rid of those fans for me last night.”
“I know how it feels, so I couldn’t let them do that to you.”
“I guess that was just a rare rotten bunch. Arashi fans are usually incredibly good natured and polite.”
Yuri looked ahead with a sardonic smile. “How lucky.”
“What do you mean?”
It took a conscious decision for her to quietly admit, “Back then, my fans turned on me.” She still felt a wrench of shame when she replayed those traumatic moments. She had been followed and egged among other things, and of course, verbally assailed in all forms of social media.
Much weight was carried in this simple statement, and Nino knit his brows in concern. He didn’t know the full story of Jolie or why Yuri decided to quit the band, but he could only imagine how painful it must have been for her to lose her fanbase. From the sounds of it the fans had even become a source of condemnation. Behind her pretty and composed exterior, he could tell that she harbored a lot of secrets of her own.
“You’ll gain new fans with this movie in no time. We’re careful to create a different sort of loyalty; less of that psychotic nonsense.”
“… How?”
“By being imperfect.”
The last scene had no dialogue, so they could say anything they wanted and the music would be played over. Around and around Yuri and Nino went on the Ferris wheel while the cameraman kept his distance on a large lift. High up in the air, they enjoyed the calmer view and dangled their feet contently. Nino impishly rocked their seat causing Yuri to both hoot and protest in alarm. He even convinced her to show more of her perfected gangster impersonation, sending them both into giggles. Even though there was plenty of room to move around, Yuri found that their sides naturally slid together. Normally she cringed at physical contact, but she realized she didn’t want to move as their bench slowly touched the ground once more.
Internally, she chastised herself for forgiving him so easily.
credit: pauleski on Tumblr
Pairing: Ninomiya Kazunari/OC
Rating: PG
Genre: Realistic romance, friendship, family
Disclaimer: I don’t own anything of Arashi or Johnny’s Entertainment! Sorry if I misuse some Japanese phrases.
Summary:
When you’ve been alone for so long, sometimes you forget that you’re lost. But if you one day brush across another hand grappling in the dark - if you dare to take it and hold on tight - you just might find the way out together. Love, in the end, is what saves us all; if you’re brave enough you’ll find it, and if you’re crazy enough it just might stay.
All previous chapters in the master post!
----------------
Ninomiya Kazunari lifted up one leg and stared down at his plaid bell bottom pants in amazement. To think that people used to wear these things normally…! Then again, he had worn much worse attire for his concerts.
“Action!”
credit: Wikipedia It was evening, and Nino gazed at the colorful displays of the fair against the dark sky. Almost like a giant toy set, it reminded him of simpler times. He checked the shiny watch on his wrist. The cameras zoomed in on his slightly nervous expression.
“Over here, Hide-kun!” A group of seven young people ran over, waving.
“Yo guys!” Kazuhide greeted casually as he clasped hands with his old classmates. They had all certainly matured in looks, but they wore the same bold smiles.
“It’s been forever, man. How has America treated you?” Suguru grinned.
“Great, really. But I’m back now, for good.” Kazuhide glanced at the unfamiliar females in confusion. “You - you all brought your girlfriends?”
His three friends all began introducing the stylish women clinging to their arms. But there was one extra girl eyeing him up and down.
Kenichi announced, “We knew you were single so we asked them to bring their friend along too. This is Reiko-chan.”
Reiko, a good-looking girl with voluminous hair and a skinny waist, smiled at him. She seemed pleasantly surprised. “Nice to meet you, Kazuhide-kun.”
“Same here.” he nodded uncertainly. “But actually guys, I invited someone else too. She should be here any minute.”
“Eh, who?” Hayao gasped. “You’ve only been back for a week and already…!”
“It’s not like that, Yao.” Kazuhide surveyed the surroundings, and right at that moment, she came into view.
credit: theproudpenguin on Tumblr
Everything was fake - the popcorn stand, the clowns, the game booths; even the crowds sauntering around in clothing from the 1970’s were pretending - so nothing could fully explain the very real jolt in Ninomiya’s chest when he saw Yuri walking straight towards him. Her knee length khaki skirt was not as trendy and her long silky hair was not impressively coifed, but he thought she was much prettier compared to the others.
Indeed, Yuri didn’t want to face Nino after the uneasiness of their dinner the night before, but she reminded herself that she was an actress - a professional - and marched up anyway.
“Minna, this is my family friend, Sugase Yukino.”
Clinging to her small shoulder bag awkwardly, feeling all eyes on her, Yukino briefly bowed before the group.
“Sugase… THAT Sugase?” Hayao squinted. “Are you related to that guy who just died?”
“Omae!” Kazuhide barked. He glanced at the girl to see her bite her lip uncomfortably. “Let’s go in, everyone!” he breathed, before anyone made any further embarrassing remarks. He pulled Yukino by the elbow and hurried them ahead of the group through the iron gates.
“I swear I read it in the news…” Hayao grumbled to himself. Reiko, on the other hand, eyed the pair jealously.
Four years abroad certainly had changed Kazuhide; he hadn’t realized just how much until he tried conversing with his old buddies. They had all waded through the same preparatory schools, attended the same ritzy social events with their families, and even dated in the same circles. But now he felt out of place as the trio seemed to be concerned with the same things as always. Money, and the affairs of other people with money. Their old jokes rang brash against his ears and his own responses trailed off by their astonished laughs.
Still, Kazuhide had a separate assignment. He carefully tried to keep contact with Yukino who floated at the edge of the group at all times. They stood aside as the men played balloon darts to win prizes for their girlfriends.
“Are you going to play too?” Reiko asked Kazuhide carefully.
“Naw, I’m no good at these sorts of games. Plus, I have no one to win it for.”
He was oblivious that he had disappointed her as she returned to her female friends. He turned to Yukino, who was observing the antics by herself with a small smirk.
“Are you hungry, Yukino-san? My treat.”
“Really?”
“Nn, I was going to go and get a hotdog anyway.”
“Okay, popcorn then.”
A sudden brightness came over Kazuhide at this small opportunity. He jogged to the food stand and inhaled the delicious smell of oil.
“One hotdog and one small popcorn, please.”
“Your total comes to 850 yen.”
Kazuhide pulled out his wallet and blanched. He only had 700 yen left from the bank withdrawal he had made. He jingled the measly coins and ignored the growling from his stomach.
“Actually, I’ll just have the popcorn.”
His friends were still competing at the booth games when he ran back with the popcorn.
“Here you go.”
“What about your hotdog?” Yukino asked innocently.
“I changed my mind.” he fibbed.
“Then take some of mine.” she insisted, holding the paper bag out to him. They munched on the salty, buttery snack together and watched the game progress. “Suguru-san is pretty good at this!”
The group let out a loud cheer as Suguru was the first to pop five balloons. He presented his girlfriend with a large stuffed bear and she kissed him in thanks.
“I propose that we go to the haunted house next!” Kenichi called out.
Some cringed and complained but they still traveled together to the shadowy, cobwebbed House of Horrors. Evil cackles and terrified screams echoed from inside. The first half of the maze was a cart ride, and each cart only had space for two people.
Reiko jumped onto Kazuhide. “Let’s sit together, Kazuhide-kun!”
“Uhh, sure…”
Everyone else was already paired up, so Yukino took the last wagon for herself with a shrug. She observed the line of couples in front of her, including Kazuhide and Reiko, with a patient air. There was a jerk forward, and their procession was tugged along the jittery track into the darkness.
According to the script, Yukino was supposed to stare at the back of Kazuhide and Reiko’s heads in worry, but Yuri herself couldn’t help but burst out laughing at the fright of the people before her. Besides, by the time it was her turn to pass through smoke and have mechanical skeletons pop out at her, all the surprise was spoiled. The others turned around, bewildered at the girl having a ball in the back seat.
As soon as the track came to an end, the young couples were rudely pulled out of their seats by a man in a tattered suit, through a thick velvet curtain. Yukino was thrust through last and suddenly found herself in a dizzying maze of mirrors like that of an Alice in Wonderland nightmare. Disoriented, she gaped at the dozens of distorted images of herself staring back at her. Where did the ceiling meet the floor? Eerie echoes from the others up ahead propelled her forward, but they grew fainter until everything was silent. She realized that she was all alone.
With something like indignation of being left behind and lost, she forced herself to put one foot in front of the other. She felt around the walls for support and tried not to panic. Suddenly a voice sailed from out of nowhere, and she wondered if she was going crazy.
“Yukino…!” it bounced off of the glass mirrors.
“N-Nomura-san?” she called back.
“Where are you?” Kazuhide shouted. “Just keep talking and I’ll find you!”
“Eh? You’ll get even more lost!”
Moments later, a large ghoulish figure popped in the mirror behind her and she screamed enough to make up for her laughter earlier.
“It’s okay, it’s me!” Kazuhide exclaimed with arms out warily. All the others had already found the exit, but minutes after she still hadn’t appeared, he had gone back in to look for her.
“Let’s - let’s get out of here.”
Kazuhide placed his hands on her shoulders and steadily led her through the maze. Finally, they found the door and stepped out into the peaceful fresh air. The seven others in the group had deserted.
“I guess they all got impatient.” Kazuhide sighed. “What should we do now?”
“Ahno,” Yukino gulped, “Can we rest for a bit?”
Yuri closed her sore eyes and took shallow breaths. Nino could tell that she wasn’t acting.
“Daijoubu?”
“I suddenly got a headache. I think it was all the moving images… Just give me a second, ne.”
While her eyes were still closed, Nino came close without hesitation and put his hands on the sides of her face. She stayed very still as he tenderly rubbed her temples in tiny circular motions. It was unbelievably soothing and she felt the throbbing in her skull - as well as her anger towards Nino - melt away as his touch. The massaging stopped, but the man’s warm hands remained. He studied the soft curl of her eyelashes fanned over her cheeks.
Yuri opened her eyes and flushed - their faces were mere inches apart, and Nino was gazing at her most intently.
“--- CUT!” director Hisamatsu cried out. Yuri came back to her senses and broke away from Nino’s grasp. “Okay, that was good! Fifteen minute break while we move to the next scene!”
The two co-stars kept several feet of distance between each other as they trailed behind the lights and sound team as they made their way across the fair grounds.
Ninomiya braced himself and reluctantly muttered, “By the way… thanks.”
“Eh?”
“For getting rid of those fans for me last night.”
“I know how it feels, so I couldn’t let them do that to you.”
“I guess that was just a rare rotten bunch. Arashi fans are usually incredibly good natured and polite.”
Yuri looked ahead with a sardonic smile. “How lucky.”
“What do you mean?”
It took a conscious decision for her to quietly admit, “Back then, my fans turned on me.” She still felt a wrench of shame when she replayed those traumatic moments. She had been followed and egged among other things, and of course, verbally assailed in all forms of social media.
Much weight was carried in this simple statement, and Nino knit his brows in concern. He didn’t know the full story of Jolie or why Yuri decided to quit the band, but he could only imagine how painful it must have been for her to lose her fanbase. From the sounds of it the fans had even become a source of condemnation. Behind her pretty and composed exterior, he could tell that she harbored a lot of secrets of her own.
“You’ll gain new fans with this movie in no time. We’re careful to create a different sort of loyalty; less of that psychotic nonsense.”
“… How?”
“By being imperfect.”
The last scene had no dialogue, so they could say anything they wanted and the music would be played over. Around and around Yuri and Nino went on the Ferris wheel while the cameraman kept his distance on a large lift. High up in the air, they enjoyed the calmer view and dangled their feet contently. Nino impishly rocked their seat causing Yuri to both hoot and protest in alarm. He even convinced her to show more of her perfected gangster impersonation, sending them both into giggles. Even though there was plenty of room to move around, Yuri found that their sides naturally slid together. Normally she cringed at physical contact, but she realized she didn’t want to move as their bench slowly touched the ground once more.
Internally, she chastised herself for forgiving him so easily.
credit: pauleski on Tumblr