Yume de ii Kara (Because it's Good to Dream) [a Sakurai Sho Love Story] Chapter 39
Yume de Ii Kara Chapter 39
Pairing: Sakurai Sho/OC, Arashi/non-Johnny's females
Rating: PG
Genre: Realistic romance, friendship, family
Disclaimer: I don't own any of Arashi, or anything of Johnny's Entertainment. And sorry if I've misused any Japanese phrases.
Summary
What can you do when you fall in love with someone that is out of your reach, someone as distant and brilliant as the stars? Can one dare to dream? Singer, dancer, actor, newscaster, model. Idol, to put it simply. But behind Sakurai Sho’s public image is a sincere, dorky, passionate man. Few people get to see a real glimpse of the person behind the lights, except for what he chooses to display.
Friends, sure, but love? That’s impossible, according to the intelligent, beautiful and humble Kaori, a medical school student who doesn’t realize how much she can accomplish. But maybe, just maybe, she’s exactly what Sakurai Sho needs.
All previous chapters in the master post!
------------
Sho and Kaori sat fidgeting in the faux-leather clinic chairs and crossed and re-crossed their legs in unison. They absentmindedly flipped through the pages of the magazines without registering any words. Both pulled caps over their eyes and cough masks over their noses. Even thus disguised, other patients in the waiting room tried to catch peeks to confirm their suspicions. The husband kept on glancing sideways, about to begin to speak, before catching himself and remaining silent.
“What is it?” Kaori hissed through her mask. “You’re making me nervous.”
“I don’t know if I should wait to tell you…”
“Please, just let it out already.”
Sho bit his lip. “I ran into Nagase-kun today.”
Her head perked up brightly. “And?”
He imitated his senpai’s slang-filled declaration, “I saw your wife, Sho-kun, Aiba-kun pointed her out to me at headquarters! Majide, she’s cho kirei, and she was even wearing a leather biker jacket, how cool is she? Man…”
“Kya~!”
Just as he’d expected, Kaori could hardly contain her yelp of joy. She hopped up and down in her seat and violently shook his shoulder, beside herself with glee. Growing up, she had always been a TOKIO fan - and its lead singer had always been her true bias. Nagase Tomoya thought she was pretty. The others in the clinic stared even more intently.
“Mou…” Sho jealously grumbled as she tried to calm down her fangirling. “That’s the happiest I’ve seen you all month. You never went giddy like that over me.”
“Can’t be helped~” Kaori straightened with a big, smug exhale.
At that moment, out of the side door stepped a nurse with a clipboard. “Sakurai Kaori-san? The doctor is ready for you. Please follow me.”
Kaori and Sho’s sharp eyes locked in anticipation and they rose with a nod. Sho kept one protective hand on the small of her back to guide his wife forward. With budding parental instincts, they just knew that the time had come.
-------
credit: azul3104 on Tumblr
It had become a tradition on the final days of every concert series - once Arashi had completed their multiple encores and the roars of the crowds died down - for Kaori to go and greet Sho backstage. Once the cheers and elation had subsided, he always had the best person to finish the wave of happiness with.
That night Arafes 2013 had come to a momentous conclusion. Kaori found Sho goofing off with the other members as they towel-dried their freshly washed hair.
“Subarashi deshita~!” she beamed. She was just as proud of Ohno, Aiba, Ninomiya, and Matsumoto, who had slowly become like a strange family to her through Sho’s unique lens. The three other members automatically let her into their circle and began to ask for her opinion on their performance as always. The one missing - their leader - stayed off to the side, pressing his forehead to the wall as if he was anxiously meditating.
“Otsukare~!” another voice piped up liltingly. They turned to see that the small but lovely Katsumi Rina appear behind them.
“Rina-chan!” Sho exclaimed to his cousin. “I didn’t know you’d be here tonight.”
“The oji-san asked me to come backstage for some reason.” she shrugged teasingly. “Do you know where he is?” They pointed the anxious man out amongst the commotion and she waltzed over to him.
Awareness as to the current situation suddenly clicked in Kaori’s brain. She had learned, from getting to know her cousin-in-law, that Kokuritsu Stadium had been the place where she and Ohno Satoshi had parted years ago. It was only appropriate that this be the launching point from where they would begin their next chapter together.
She tried to mask her delight as she watched Ohno pull Rina from the hectic crew area and out onto the now-empty stage. He had asked the staff for a brief moment of privacy.
“Dou shitan desu ka?” the others cocked their heads.
Kaori giggled knowingly. “You’ll see.”
Similarly, Sakurai Sho wanted to share a special moment with his wife. They borrowed two motor scooters used for the performance transportation and made their way towards the opposite end of the stadium. Staff members waved fondly at the charming couple that glided by.
credit: littlebadlei on Tumblr
“Be careful, ne.” Sho warned cautiously, keeping an eye on Kaori who easily glided along on the two wheels. “Go slowly.”
“I’ll be fine.” she chuckled. Her stomach wouldn’t even begin to show for another month or so.
Now with her delicate ‘condition,’ the man’s worry wart tendencies manifested. But it warmed her heart that he was always trying to keep her - and their child - safe. She would have tried explaining the resilience of the female skeletal structure for this exact purpose, but figured she could let him play his part.
Soon, they zoomed over to the stands that faced the main stage and kicked their feet up with all the room to themselves. The stadium lights sent a soft glow into the dark hush. With the upcoming stadium renovation, this would be the last time that Arashi would have a chance to view this scenery. Perhaps it would even be the last time they performed there. After four consecutive years, it had been an honor.
“Just think - by the time the next Arafes rolls around, you’ll be a father.”
Sho’s heart caught in his chest, and he pulled Kaori closer to kiss her in the small spot right behind the ear. He hadn’t thought about it that way, that within certain moments everything would be different; he could hardly wait. The constant changing pace of life was beautiful. As they surveyed the breathtaking emptiness they felt the balancing weight of all these new beginnings.
They were not the only ones. From across the wide expanse they heard the silly singing of Rina and Ohno and watched the miniscule figures dancing across the stage like two idiots. What in the world were they doing? Suddenly, they saw Ohno drop to his knee…
“EH - Nani sore?!” Sho gasped.
Kaori grinned widely. “Ohno-san is proposing.”
“… Ohno Satoshi is going to be part of the family?!”
---------
Initially, Johnny Kitagawa had not taken the pregnancy news very well at all; it was yet another bombshell right after the announcement of Ohno Satoshi’s engagement. Was ungrateful, uninhibited Arashi trying to stab him in the back after all he’d done for them? The disclosure meeting with Sho and Arashi’s managers had resulted in a pencil snapped in two in the old man’s grasp and banishment from his presence. So when he was called back several days later, the idol anxiously took a seat opposite the president’s big chair. Johnny-san rest his chin on the tips of his fingers and glared through his reflective, wire-rimmed glasses.
“Sakurai-san.”
“H-hai.”
“The press release is ready to be sent out, if you’re ready to go forward and tell the fans.”
A wave of relief overcame Sho. “Yes, we’re ready.” ‘We’ did not only refer to him and Kaori, but to Arashi as a group.
“Very well then.” Johnny-san swiveled around in his chair, as if he was already done talking, but then he turned back with a small, elegantly wrapped package. “This is for your - for the child.” he muttered the word uncomfortably and slid it across the desk.
Sho’s mouth fell open. “Majidesuka? A-arigatou gozaimasu!”
The gift was a temari ball - an intricately embroidered ball of colorful threads - that symbolized future happiness and was a high honor to receive. The man was struck by the poignancy of the president’s gesture. He and Kaori really did have his blessing, after all.
-----------------
This shopping trip for baby supplies had started out with the best of intentions, but soon the two mothers - Kureha Etsuko and Sakurai Sayuri - began bickering with each other over the best items to buy for their soon-to-be first grandchild. Kaori, whose now noticeably protruding stomach was heavy enough to put a strain on her body, sheepishly shuffled behind them. It would be a bad idea to get caught between the two strong-willed women.
She obediently tried on chest sling carriers, wheeled different strollers with various new contraptions, and tried to give her mother and mother-in-law a veritable opinion on what she thought was suitable. There were so many factors she had never put into consideration. Yet another wailing child sounded from somewhere in the store, and Kaori felt a headache coming on.
“A bedside monitor will only encourage them to spoil the child!” Sakurai okaa-san protested.
“It’s just an extra safety precaution.” Kureha okaa-san defended. “You never know what could happen. SIDS, or what have you…”
“What do you think, Kaori-chan?”
Her mind raced with all the potential diseases, accidents, and conditions that she had ever witnessed or read about. Based on probability, there was bound to be a disaster. The woman instinctively put a hand to her round stomach with a pale look of sudden worry. “SIDS… That’s a possibility, isn’t it? Doushio…?”
“I didn’t mean to scare you, dear.” her mother insisted, realizing the stress was starting to get to her.
Sakurai Sayuri softened as well. “Don’t worry, anata. Of course the first baby is bound to be daunting, but you’ll learn quickly. Plus, both of us are here to help you with anything. My son will certainly be busy, so…”
“Iye,” Kaori insisted, feeling a wash of comfort as she thought of her reliable husband. “Sho-kun promised that he would be involved as much as he could.”
-----
Despite the naysayers and public scrutiny, Sho was true to his word. He might not have been present for every ultrasound or the baby shower, and he did not pick out nursery furniture. However, he had been there to massage her swollen feet, and to muse over names that would give the child a strong character, and to share in her fears and dreams for their future.
That morning at their front door, Sho had uncertainly parted with her after she had noted a “vague, strange feeling” throughout her body. Between filming breaks he constantly checked his phone but did not receive any calls, so at any rate it seemed like it had been a false alarm.
The last item for that day Arashi ni Shiyagare was wrapping up when in mid-MC, Sakurai saw from the corner of his eye his manager in the sidelines, who suddenly picked up his phone and paced urgently. Manager Satake’s gaze immediately zoomed in on Sho up on the brightly lit stage, and he nodded. Sho’s blood pounded wildly, and the last ten minutes of filming never registered in his memory.
As soon as the director called Cut, Manager Satake ran up to him with a flushed expression.
“I just spoke with Kaori-san’s parents, Sakurai-kun. She’s going into labor.”
The four members of Arashi exploded with excitement. They cheered their friend on with waves and hollers as he raced out of the studio. “Itterasshai, Sho-chan!”
credit: milkyr on Tumblr
--------------
Happy Birthday Sho-kun! This chapter has been long-waiting, but it seemed appropriate to publish it today. It jumps around events in short sections, but I wanted to condense the time frame. Hope you liked both the humor and human-aspect in this one. I think I'll conclude the story in one more chapter :)
Part where Ohno proposes to Rina here: Love So Sweet ch. 45
Temari balls are gorgeous. I suggest you do a Google Image search and see all the beautiful variations and amazing close ups of the handiwork.