Love So Sweet [an Ohno Satoshi love story] - Chapter 11
Rina’s sculpture class was done for the day; there were still specks of clay she couldn’t scrub away from under her nails. While walking out of the university and down the street (followed by the cameras as usual), she picked at her nails with annoyance, but was soon distracted by the hubbub that had sprung up around the university boulevard. People from all over the neighborhood were gathered around the numerous food stands, raffle booths, and games. She noticed some people throwing what looked to be beans from their doors and cheering. She had forgotten that Setsubun, the festival announcing Spring, had arrived.
It was lunch time, and Rina bought some street takoyaki on a stick and a packet of sweet mochi for dessert. She took her food to an empty bench and sat down, relishing the simple takoyaki that was still hot from the grill, steaming a little in the cold air. Rina looked around in contentment and people watched. Several cute boys passed by; some were helping out at the festival booths, others playing catch in the cold afternoon. This was just the perfect moment for a Japanese drama-like romance to start.
A whining cry reached her ears though. A little 4 year old girl in pigtails was crying and scampering around the street. There was a bright blue balloon tied to her wrist. She came close to the bench, still wailing fresh tears.
“Ahno... daijoubu, ojo-chan?” Rina called to her uncertainly, but concerned. “Are you lost?” The little girl sized Rina up with a miserable, round face, then nodded. “Who are you looking for?”
“O-obaasan and okaa-san.” she sniffled. Her grandmother and mother.
“Hmm,” Rina would have walked around with the girl herself, but they’d probably get even more lost in the crowds. “Would you like to sit up here with me and wait? I’m sure she’ll spot your balloon right away.” She patted the spot next to her encouragingly. The child nodded and scampered up on the bench next to her. By this time, the ToGeiDa cameras had hidden behind a snack stand to film. Rina handed the girl a mochi ball. “Here, don’t cry. They will find you soon.” she smiled, patting her little head. “I’m Katsumi Rina. What’s your name?”
“Himura Youko desu.” the girl said shyly as she chewed on the sweet rice ball.
The two girls sat there for about ten minutes playing “I Spy.” They spotted a stray dog, a mailbox, a wedding cake in a bakery window…
“Can I tell you something, onee-san?” little Youko quietly asked after awhile.
“Of course.”
“I was bad… I ran away on purpose.”
Rina was a little concerned. “Why, Youko-chan?”
“Okaa-san said that I couldn’t visit ji-chan (uncle) today. She said he’s too busy, and that I would be in the way. But he promised!” she pouted. “He promised he would take me to the doubutsen (zoo). H-he said that I could feed fishies to - to the penguins if I wanted.”
“You really love your uncle, deshou?”
“Nn.” the girl nodded. “He’s really funny and baka.”
Rina laughed. “Sou ka…?”
“But I’m his only niece, so he takes care of me even though he doesn’t have a lot of time.”
“He sounds very nice, and I’m sure he’ll take you to the zoo like he promised. You just have to be patient.”
Then, “Obaa-chan! Obaa-chan!” little Youko cried. She suddenly jumped and ran to a woman in her mid fifties, with a doll-like round face just like her granddaughter. The grandmother held onto the little girl anxiously.
“Are you okay, Youko-chan? Where have you been?! We were SO worried... Don’t ever run off like that...”
“I’m sorry, obaa-chan.” Youko said. “But, but come meet onee-san!” She pulled her grandmother to her new friend.
“Have you been looking after Youko all this time?” said the woman. She gave a quick bow. “Arigato gozaimasu! She is lucky that she found you.”
“It’s quite alright. Youko-chan is a very good little girl.” Rina stood up. “Well, I better get going then. Nice to meet you both.” They waved goodbye. The grandmother stood watching the young woman walk away, and she was impressed.
“Well, let’s get back to kaa-chan, shall we?”
The camera crew snuck back to Rina’s side surprisingly stealthily considering the bulk they carried. Out of nowhere, a long-nosed camera snuck a snapshot of her. She was startled, and turned to see the handsome photographer in front of her.
(actor Tamaki Hiroshi)
“Yo.” Izumi Akira, the photography major, lowered the fancy camera that hung from his neck and raised his hand in greeting. “Don’t mind me, Katsumi-san. You’re just a good subject (to capture).”
“I see…” She gave him a funny look. The ToGeiDa crew was standing back, discussing among themselves who should take over now that the two “characters” had merged; there wouldn’t be a need for two teams of staff now, obviously.
While they were busy, Akira asked, “I’m supposed to appear on Cartoon KAT-TUN this week. Kakkoi, na? Have you gotten any offers lately?”
Rina vaguely thought back to waiting on KAT-TUN’s table several weeks back. Heh. “Well, I’m scheduled for a photoshoot for nicola magazine. I’m a bit nervous.”
The guy looked impressed. “Majide? That’s an honor, really. Usually they only exclusively use their nicomo models.”
One thing she was even more anxious but excited about, “I’m also supposed to be a guest on-“ She stopped when they were interrupted and told that they had to talk about “normal” topics. “So, are you enjoying the festival, Izumi-san?” she asked.
“Honestly, I only like the summer and New Year’s festivals… but I’m experimenting with different exposures and compositions for class. This is one of the best environments for trying new things.” Before Rina could prepare herself, Akira snapped another few speedy shots of her.
“Oi!” she cried, humorously blocking the lens with her hands. “I wasn’t ready!”
“Think of this as practice for nicola.” he grinned. He let her peek at the camera’s little screen. “These look really good, actually…”
The cameras recorded every detail of the pair’s interactions feverishly - they had been waiting for this relationship to start forming for weeks. This was the direction they wanted to take the show, but they could only coax things along subtly.
Rina was riding in a bumpy van packed with Johnny’s staff members; she was accompanying them on another one of her spur of the moment summons. The vehicle pulled up to an extensive driveway leading up to a huge grey concrete building; its garage doors were open wide but the inside was dark. Everyone hopped out as an old man in a windbreaker approached with a smile.
“Welcome! You’re right on time as expected, ne. Come in, I’m sure you’ll want to scope out the interior before you start shooting.”
They followed the friendly man in; the van drove in with their supplies. As they got closer, Rina caught a glimpse behind the cold building. Three different shiny airplanes sat out on what would now be assumed was the air strip. Rina’s eyes widened.
“Thank you for letting us have this space, Kawai-san. It’s perfect.”
“My pleasure! The planes need a little airing out anyway. Not to mention, I owe Johnny-san a favor.” he chortled.
“This guy is one of Johnny-san’s close friends.” a staff member whispered to Rina. “He’s letting us use his private air hanger for the day.”
Majide…? This Johnny Kitigawa person kept coming up like some elusive, all-knowing, faceless being. Then it registered in her mind - Kawai-san? Could it possibly THE Kawai Hirotaka of the Kawai Piano Corporation? She was in awe of the heir of one of the pioneers of music in Japan.
They stepped inside the shadows. There was a loud crank of a lever, and one by one the florescent lamps high above crackled to life. The cold humming lights illuminated the soaring ceiling and all the metal beams bolted in a precise criss-cross pattern that ran above their heads. Footsteps echoed lightly across the completely vacant smooth concrete floor.
“So when are the stars arriving?” the old man asked pleasantly as if he were having them over for a dinner party.
“They should be any minute now.” someone said, looking at his watch.
“Very good. Well, why don’t you all set up as you need to? Call my assistant if you run into any problems… I wish I could say hello to the boys - I haven’t seen them since they debuted - but I have to start flying if I want to reach Sendai in time… Sa, I’m off!” After a few moments they heard the great whirring of an engine, and a small plane flew away.
RIna had spent the last ten minutes doing nothing but flipping light switches on and off, getting the lights exactly to the director’s fluctuating wishes, when the last van arrived. The five men stepped out one by one, somehow looking unfairly cool in their casual private wear (even though it was somehow uncoordinated) which included at least a hat or sunglasses, if not both to be on the safe side. The staff immediately surrounded them and started briefing them, taking two to hair and makeup, the other three to the wardrobe trailer. Fully recognizing the situation, Rina knew it wasn’t her place to be so closely involved, so she kept her distance.
With the tedious light switch task done, Rina was sent to attend to the needs of the choreographer and director, Yara Tomoyuki, who was crouched by the cameras in the director’s chair, deep in thought. He was much younger than she had expected, with a cool bleached blonde hairstyle and an earring and everything. There was a sort of rock-pop-synth melody playing in the background.
“Excuse me, Yara-san? Domo. Katsumi Rina desu. I was told to report to you…”
He turned and was somewhat surprised at the rather harmless looking girl standing before him. Most people working for Johnny’s had to be pretty thick-skinned.
“Yoroshiku onegaishimasu! I heard that you’re a student taking film classes, Katsumi-san. I would like your opinion on something.”
“Eto… ganbarimasu.”
“The thing I’m struggling with is the lighting. I’m wondering how I should fix things so that the moves are best highlighted. But whatever I try seems to create too much shadow in the face. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Hai.”
“Okay, so I’ll have you do something. Please look at me through this camera here.” She did as he said, and stood behind the large equipment which cast a shadow over her. Yara turned the music louder and darted to the middle of the floor underneath the intense lighting. “Tell me how this looks!”
Somehow in the middle of a beat, Yara started moving, dancing randomly but extremely fluidly to the heavy pulse of the commanding music. On screen, it looked crisp and fun. But he was right, the light was too glaring. How else could they compensate for the gloomy interior though? Rina looked on studiously when another person unexpectedly jumped in with a beautiful flip exactly on count.
Rina’s heart pumped faster as the handsome dancer spurred the first one on; they challenged each other with huge grins. They were just having fun with it. Maybe she was biased, but he was possibly even better than the first. He grasped the rhythm so naturally as if it flowed through him. When he moved, it was sharp and intense yet completely graceful and effortless, like dancing on air. The song ended, yet the two hardly looked tired out. When Rina had met Michiyo, the girl had mentioned that he was the best dancer out of Arashi; Rina hadn’t realized what the best really was.
“Yaraemon~!” Ohno Satoshi exclaimed. His tension was really high. The old friends clasped hands. “How’ve you been, man?”
“Great. But of course, Satoshi-kun always shows me up!” Yara chuckled.
“THIS is going to be fun, na? Your choreographies are some of the best.” he grinned in full anticipation. This man of Johnny’s Musical Academy really understood what it meant to dance, to feel the music compelling you as intensely as you could move.
“Thanks! It’s just - I’m having a problem with the atmosphere, so I’m working on adjusting that right now. Which reminds me. Ahno, Katsumi-san,“ the choreographer/director called. (Ohno faltered a bit at her name; he had no idea she was going to be there. He looked left and right, but didn’t see her behind all the apparatuses.) “How was that?”
“H-hai! It was really - truly, ahno, sugoi.” She fumbled with her words and stared at the man looking perfectly cool in a leather jacket with his flawless hair and makeup. His gaze was strong even through the lens.
“I meant the lighting, but thank you.” Yara smiled patiently.
“Oh - right, sorry - The lighting is too strong. Somehow, it makes all the movements look a bit fleeting… It doesn’t balance out the somberness of the background, either. There’s only a greater contrast.”
“Do you have any ideas on what to do about that?”
“I’m thinking about this film we analyzed in class the other day. Maybe, nanka, you could have periodic bright points, a bit of a warm orange burst here and there instead of this constant blue. Not too much though, to keep the intensity factor.”
“Right, right, that actually sounds promising… Yosh, I’ll go discuss that with the lighting crew. Thank you very much!” Yara rushed off.
The remaining two nervously met in the middle.
“Hey… I guess you saw all that, huh?” Ohno murmured with his hands in his pockets.
“I had no idea that you were so good. More than good. Amazing, I mean it. It kind of makes me jealous.”
The guy looked embarrassed, but very pleased. “What do you mean by jealous?”
“I used to dance, you see.” She had tried not to think about it, but watching his agility made her realize how much she used to enjoy it. In all honesty, dancing had been her first love, not piano; she thought she’d been able to put the regret past her.
“But you stopped?”
“It couldn’t be helped.” She left it at that.
They stood there in a shy silence.
“Before I forget,” Rina reached into her messenger bag and pulled out the soft suit jacket she had protected for a few weeks. “I think this is yours. Thank you for lending it to me.” She extended the garment out to him.
Ohno was a little taken aback. “Y- you can keep that.”
“But why-“
“We’re always given free clothes to borrow, for appearances and things, but the stylists don’t take them back if they’ve disappeared for awhile. They aren’t able to return them to the designers.” he explained. He failed to mention that he’d already paid for it, meaning it was really his now. It was important that she keep it, but he couldn’t understand why himself. “So, it’s all yours.” By reaching out to gently push it back, for a moment his hands rested on hers. He noticed how smooth they were. Rina blushed at the warm touch. She didn’t know what she’d do with it, but she thanked him and tucked the bundle back in her bag.
The boys were called to the center once they were done being primped. Matsumoto Jun had a new curly mid-length hairstyle that Rina wasn’t quite sure about… Anyways, the music was turned up, the staff went silent, Yara-san shouted Action and the idols started dancing and mouthing to the music. It was amazing the range of genres they delved in, doing bright happy songs like “One Love,” to the rapping in “A Day In Our Life,” to this strong rock/hip-hop mix “Crazy Moon ~Kimi Wa Muteki~.” Their dancing was impressive as well. She saw the usually clutzy Aiba Masaki moving impressively, and Ninomiya Kazunari had a playful street-cool style. Jun’s ‘come hither’ persona was perfect. Even Sakurai Sho, a very inflexible man, slid across the floor expertly. Rina looked eagerly to Ohno Satoshi - to her surprise, he was holding back. Yes, he was often in the middle in the position of leader for once, and he didn’t make one false step, but she could tell that he held back. While she wished he would shine more, she also felt this was admirable. Not that he arrogantly felt that the others couldn’t perform up to his standard, of course, but he chose to be part of a team, which meant that he let others come before himself.
credit: annisyha
After a nice bento lunch, Rina wasn’t assigned any other tasks until the cleanup. She quietly sat on the side and watched Nino being filmed by himself. The camera shot from underneath as the youthful man glided and spun tirelessly across a glass platform. The undecided-when-to-be-released single had blared in the background for perhaps the fiftieth time, but Rina still found herself ever so slightly moving along to the beat in her chair.
This didn’t go unnoticed. Ohno was sitting by the monitor, relaxing now that all his parts had been filmed. He didn’t understand why, but before he knew it, he switched from Off to On mode, and then somehow he was in front of her, asking if she wanted a little lesson.
Rina stared up at him in bewilderment. “Eh?! N-nande?”
“You really miss dancing, don’t you?” More observant than he let on, he could tell that she had been itching to be in motion. “I’ll show you a few things.”
The girl gripped the sides of her chair. “N- hazukash- That would be so embarrassing. Everyone would--”
“Don’t worry about that. It’ll be fun~” He leaned down closer, and his sweet smile was irresistible.
The two easily found a clear, quiet part of the floor, away from the commotion but still able to hear the music. Rina’s heart pounded a little faster. She told him her favorite part of the dance, the part before the chorus. Somehow, she could hardly hear the music as she tried to follow Ohno’s slow, poised pace. She lost her spot again.
Ohno was very patient. “Daijoubu, it’s okay. Try again.”
Rina sighed and put her hands on her hips. “This is impossible! I just--” Her throat closed up as warm hands rested lightly on her shoulders.
“Don’t think - feel. Loosen up. Like this.”
He startled her as he started shaking his hips and waving his arms with a big cheesy grin like a cheerleader. Rina doubled over in laughter. Ohno continued to goof off, and sent Rina into peals of mirth. He even persuaded her to imitate him. After that, they pretty much forgot about their original plan…
A little farther away, Sakurai Sho walked back from an important phone call, to the other members, Matsumoto and Aiba. From the corner of Sho’s eye, he spotted the silly pair.
“Are? Is that - Satoshi… with Rina-chan? What are they doing?”
“He’s giving her dance lessons, though it kind of looks like they abandoned that idea.” Matsumoto Jun mumbled, lip curling slightly.
Sho crossed his arms. “Ah, that’s right! I remember she used to do ballet, if I’m not mistaken…”
“Masaki suggested it.”
“She looked really bored and lonely. It must be pretty hard for her to fit in with all the guys in the staff, ne.” Aiba explained in his sweet way; he was up next after Nino was done filming, and Matsumoto was in his DoS mode again, so Aiba suggested that Ohno do something. “We should all help take care of Sho-kun’s cousin, deshou?”
It was February 6th. Sakurai Sho was leaving that morning for New York City, where he would be promoting his film, Yatterman. Not many people from Johnny’s as much as Arashi had such opportunities in foreign countries. Among many other things, Sho had been a main newscaster for the Beijing Olympics. Ninomiya Kazunari went to Hollywood for Letters from Iwo Jima and worked with the prestigious director Clint Eastwood. Matsumoto Jun had traveled to Las Vegas and Hong Kong for the Hana Yori Dango movie. Aiba Masaki traveled regularly for Tensai Shimura Doubutsen, going as far as Africa to work with wild animals. Ohno Satoshi, well… he hadn’t done anything overseas on his own, but Arashi had had two Asia-wide concert tours. Again, Rina was both proud and intimidated of how much they had accomplished at such a young age.
“Rina, be careful at the photoshoot today, ne! If you’re uncomfortable at all, say so.”
“I’ll be okay.”
“It’s just nicola, isn’t it?” Satomi retorted. “It’s perfectly clean. Don’t worry so much.”
“I should be heading off then.” Sho pulled his luggage to the front door. Satomi, Sora and Rina gathered at the gate to say goodbye.
“Have a safe trip.” Satomi said.
“Bring us back some cool souvenirs, ne!” Sora grinned. “Make us proud.”
“Say hello to my parents for me.” New York was where the Katsumi family was based. “Ganbatte, Sho-kun.” Rina smiled. She had taught him some amusing slang, and wondered if he’d use it (like, “Oh snap!”).
Jumping up in a Y, he did a dorky Yatta~! exit, composed himself, and left in the awaiting taxi.
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Clip of Ohno cheerleading here XD
Please comment!
It was lunch time, and Rina bought some street takoyaki on a stick and a packet of sweet mochi for dessert. She took her food to an empty bench and sat down, relishing the simple takoyaki that was still hot from the grill, steaming a little in the cold air. Rina looked around in contentment and people watched. Several cute boys passed by; some were helping out at the festival booths, others playing catch in the cold afternoon. This was just the perfect moment for a Japanese drama-like romance to start.
A whining cry reached her ears though. A little 4 year old girl in pigtails was crying and scampering around the street. There was a bright blue balloon tied to her wrist. She came close to the bench, still wailing fresh tears.
“Ahno... daijoubu, ojo-chan?” Rina called to her uncertainly, but concerned. “Are you lost?” The little girl sized Rina up with a miserable, round face, then nodded. “Who are you looking for?”
“O-obaasan and okaa-san.” she sniffled. Her grandmother and mother.
“Hmm,” Rina would have walked around with the girl herself, but they’d probably get even more lost in the crowds. “Would you like to sit up here with me and wait? I’m sure she’ll spot your balloon right away.” She patted the spot next to her encouragingly. The child nodded and scampered up on the bench next to her. By this time, the ToGeiDa cameras had hidden behind a snack stand to film. Rina handed the girl a mochi ball. “Here, don’t cry. They will find you soon.” she smiled, patting her little head. “I’m Katsumi Rina. What’s your name?”
“Himura Youko desu.” the girl said shyly as she chewed on the sweet rice ball.
The two girls sat there for about ten minutes playing “I Spy.” They spotted a stray dog, a mailbox, a wedding cake in a bakery window…
“Can I tell you something, onee-san?” little Youko quietly asked after awhile.
“Of course.”
“I was bad… I ran away on purpose.”
Rina was a little concerned. “Why, Youko-chan?”
“Okaa-san said that I couldn’t visit ji-chan (uncle) today. She said he’s too busy, and that I would be in the way. But he promised!” she pouted. “He promised he would take me to the doubutsen (zoo). H-he said that I could feed fishies to - to the penguins if I wanted.”
“You really love your uncle, deshou?”
“Nn.” the girl nodded. “He’s really funny and baka.”
Rina laughed. “Sou ka…?”
“But I’m his only niece, so he takes care of me even though he doesn’t have a lot of time.”
“He sounds very nice, and I’m sure he’ll take you to the zoo like he promised. You just have to be patient.”
Then, “Obaa-chan! Obaa-chan!” little Youko cried. She suddenly jumped and ran to a woman in her mid fifties, with a doll-like round face just like her granddaughter. The grandmother held onto the little girl anxiously.
“Are you okay, Youko-chan? Where have you been?! We were SO worried... Don’t ever run off like that...”
“I’m sorry, obaa-chan.” Youko said. “But, but come meet onee-san!” She pulled her grandmother to her new friend.
“Have you been looking after Youko all this time?” said the woman. She gave a quick bow. “Arigato gozaimasu! She is lucky that she found you.”
“It’s quite alright. Youko-chan is a very good little girl.” Rina stood up. “Well, I better get going then. Nice to meet you both.” They waved goodbye. The grandmother stood watching the young woman walk away, and she was impressed.
“Well, let’s get back to kaa-chan, shall we?”
The camera crew snuck back to Rina’s side surprisingly stealthily considering the bulk they carried. Out of nowhere, a long-nosed camera snuck a snapshot of her. She was startled, and turned to see the handsome photographer in front of her.
(actor Tamaki Hiroshi)
“Yo.” Izumi Akira, the photography major, lowered the fancy camera that hung from his neck and raised his hand in greeting. “Don’t mind me, Katsumi-san. You’re just a good subject (to capture).”
“I see…” She gave him a funny look. The ToGeiDa crew was standing back, discussing among themselves who should take over now that the two “characters” had merged; there wouldn’t be a need for two teams of staff now, obviously.
While they were busy, Akira asked, “I’m supposed to appear on Cartoon KAT-TUN this week. Kakkoi, na? Have you gotten any offers lately?”
Rina vaguely thought back to waiting on KAT-TUN’s table several weeks back. Heh. “Well, I’m scheduled for a photoshoot for nicola magazine. I’m a bit nervous.”
The guy looked impressed. “Majide? That’s an honor, really. Usually they only exclusively use their nicomo models.”
One thing she was even more anxious but excited about, “I’m also supposed to be a guest on-“ She stopped when they were interrupted and told that they had to talk about “normal” topics. “So, are you enjoying the festival, Izumi-san?” she asked.
“Honestly, I only like the summer and New Year’s festivals… but I’m experimenting with different exposures and compositions for class. This is one of the best environments for trying new things.” Before Rina could prepare herself, Akira snapped another few speedy shots of her.
“Oi!” she cried, humorously blocking the lens with her hands. “I wasn’t ready!”
“Think of this as practice for nicola.” he grinned. He let her peek at the camera’s little screen. “These look really good, actually…”
The cameras recorded every detail of the pair’s interactions feverishly - they had been waiting for this relationship to start forming for weeks. This was the direction they wanted to take the show, but they could only coax things along subtly.
Rina was riding in a bumpy van packed with Johnny’s staff members; she was accompanying them on another one of her spur of the moment summons. The vehicle pulled up to an extensive driveway leading up to a huge grey concrete building; its garage doors were open wide but the inside was dark. Everyone hopped out as an old man in a windbreaker approached with a smile.
“Welcome! You’re right on time as expected, ne. Come in, I’m sure you’ll want to scope out the interior before you start shooting.”
They followed the friendly man in; the van drove in with their supplies. As they got closer, Rina caught a glimpse behind the cold building. Three different shiny airplanes sat out on what would now be assumed was the air strip. Rina’s eyes widened.
“Thank you for letting us have this space, Kawai-san. It’s perfect.”
“My pleasure! The planes need a little airing out anyway. Not to mention, I owe Johnny-san a favor.” he chortled.
“This guy is one of Johnny-san’s close friends.” a staff member whispered to Rina. “He’s letting us use his private air hanger for the day.”
Majide…? This Johnny Kitigawa person kept coming up like some elusive, all-knowing, faceless being. Then it registered in her mind - Kawai-san? Could it possibly THE Kawai Hirotaka of the Kawai Piano Corporation? She was in awe of the heir of one of the pioneers of music in Japan.
They stepped inside the shadows. There was a loud crank of a lever, and one by one the florescent lamps high above crackled to life. The cold humming lights illuminated the soaring ceiling and all the metal beams bolted in a precise criss-cross pattern that ran above their heads. Footsteps echoed lightly across the completely vacant smooth concrete floor.
“So when are the stars arriving?” the old man asked pleasantly as if he were having them over for a dinner party.
“They should be any minute now.” someone said, looking at his watch.
“Very good. Well, why don’t you all set up as you need to? Call my assistant if you run into any problems… I wish I could say hello to the boys - I haven’t seen them since they debuted - but I have to start flying if I want to reach Sendai in time… Sa, I’m off!” After a few moments they heard the great whirring of an engine, and a small plane flew away.
RIna had spent the last ten minutes doing nothing but flipping light switches on and off, getting the lights exactly to the director’s fluctuating wishes, when the last van arrived. The five men stepped out one by one, somehow looking unfairly cool in their casual private wear (even though it was somehow uncoordinated) which included at least a hat or sunglasses, if not both to be on the safe side. The staff immediately surrounded them and started briefing them, taking two to hair and makeup, the other three to the wardrobe trailer. Fully recognizing the situation, Rina knew it wasn’t her place to be so closely involved, so she kept her distance.
With the tedious light switch task done, Rina was sent to attend to the needs of the choreographer and director, Yara Tomoyuki, who was crouched by the cameras in the director’s chair, deep in thought. He was much younger than she had expected, with a cool bleached blonde hairstyle and an earring and everything. There was a sort of rock-pop-synth melody playing in the background.
“Excuse me, Yara-san? Domo. Katsumi Rina desu. I was told to report to you…”
He turned and was somewhat surprised at the rather harmless looking girl standing before him. Most people working for Johnny’s had to be pretty thick-skinned.
“Yoroshiku onegaishimasu! I heard that you’re a student taking film classes, Katsumi-san. I would like your opinion on something.”
“Eto… ganbarimasu.”
“The thing I’m struggling with is the lighting. I’m wondering how I should fix things so that the moves are best highlighted. But whatever I try seems to create too much shadow in the face. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Hai.”
“Okay, so I’ll have you do something. Please look at me through this camera here.” She did as he said, and stood behind the large equipment which cast a shadow over her. Yara turned the music louder and darted to the middle of the floor underneath the intense lighting. “Tell me how this looks!”
Somehow in the middle of a beat, Yara started moving, dancing randomly but extremely fluidly to the heavy pulse of the commanding music. On screen, it looked crisp and fun. But he was right, the light was too glaring. How else could they compensate for the gloomy interior though? Rina looked on studiously when another person unexpectedly jumped in with a beautiful flip exactly on count.
Rina’s heart pumped faster as the handsome dancer spurred the first one on; they challenged each other with huge grins. They were just having fun with it. Maybe she was biased, but he was possibly even better than the first. He grasped the rhythm so naturally as if it flowed through him. When he moved, it was sharp and intense yet completely graceful and effortless, like dancing on air. The song ended, yet the two hardly looked tired out. When Rina had met Michiyo, the girl had mentioned that he was the best dancer out of Arashi; Rina hadn’t realized what the best really was.
“Yaraemon~!” Ohno Satoshi exclaimed. His tension was really high. The old friends clasped hands. “How’ve you been, man?”
“Great. But of course, Satoshi-kun always shows me up!” Yara chuckled.
“THIS is going to be fun, na? Your choreographies are some of the best.” he grinned in full anticipation. This man of Johnny’s Musical Academy really understood what it meant to dance, to feel the music compelling you as intensely as you could move.
“Thanks! It’s just - I’m having a problem with the atmosphere, so I’m working on adjusting that right now. Which reminds me. Ahno, Katsumi-san,“ the choreographer/director called. (Ohno faltered a bit at her name; he had no idea she was going to be there. He looked left and right, but didn’t see her behind all the apparatuses.) “How was that?”
“H-hai! It was really - truly, ahno, sugoi.” She fumbled with her words and stared at the man looking perfectly cool in a leather jacket with his flawless hair and makeup. His gaze was strong even through the lens.
“I meant the lighting, but thank you.” Yara smiled patiently.
“Oh - right, sorry - The lighting is too strong. Somehow, it makes all the movements look a bit fleeting… It doesn’t balance out the somberness of the background, either. There’s only a greater contrast.”
“Do you have any ideas on what to do about that?”
“I’m thinking about this film we analyzed in class the other day. Maybe, nanka, you could have periodic bright points, a bit of a warm orange burst here and there instead of this constant blue. Not too much though, to keep the intensity factor.”
“Right, right, that actually sounds promising… Yosh, I’ll go discuss that with the lighting crew. Thank you very much!” Yara rushed off.
The remaining two nervously met in the middle.
“Hey… I guess you saw all that, huh?” Ohno murmured with his hands in his pockets.
“I had no idea that you were so good. More than good. Amazing, I mean it. It kind of makes me jealous.”
The guy looked embarrassed, but very pleased. “What do you mean by jealous?”
“I used to dance, you see.” She had tried not to think about it, but watching his agility made her realize how much she used to enjoy it. In all honesty, dancing had been her first love, not piano; she thought she’d been able to put the regret past her.
“But you stopped?”
“It couldn’t be helped.” She left it at that.
They stood there in a shy silence.
“Before I forget,” Rina reached into her messenger bag and pulled out the soft suit jacket she had protected for a few weeks. “I think this is yours. Thank you for lending it to me.” She extended the garment out to him.
Ohno was a little taken aback. “Y- you can keep that.”
“But why-“
“We’re always given free clothes to borrow, for appearances and things, but the stylists don’t take them back if they’ve disappeared for awhile. They aren’t able to return them to the designers.” he explained. He failed to mention that he’d already paid for it, meaning it was really his now. It was important that she keep it, but he couldn’t understand why himself. “So, it’s all yours.” By reaching out to gently push it back, for a moment his hands rested on hers. He noticed how smooth they were. Rina blushed at the warm touch. She didn’t know what she’d do with it, but she thanked him and tucked the bundle back in her bag.
The boys were called to the center once they were done being primped. Matsumoto Jun had a new curly mid-length hairstyle that Rina wasn’t quite sure about… Anyways, the music was turned up, the staff went silent, Yara-san shouted Action and the idols started dancing and mouthing to the music. It was amazing the range of genres they delved in, doing bright happy songs like “One Love,” to the rapping in “A Day In Our Life,” to this strong rock/hip-hop mix “Crazy Moon ~Kimi Wa Muteki~.” Their dancing was impressive as well. She saw the usually clutzy Aiba Masaki moving impressively, and Ninomiya Kazunari had a playful street-cool style. Jun’s ‘come hither’ persona was perfect. Even Sakurai Sho, a very inflexible man, slid across the floor expertly. Rina looked eagerly to Ohno Satoshi - to her surprise, he was holding back. Yes, he was often in the middle in the position of leader for once, and he didn’t make one false step, but she could tell that he held back. While she wished he would shine more, she also felt this was admirable. Not that he arrogantly felt that the others couldn’t perform up to his standard, of course, but he chose to be part of a team, which meant that he let others come before himself.
credit: annisyha
After a nice bento lunch, Rina wasn’t assigned any other tasks until the cleanup. She quietly sat on the side and watched Nino being filmed by himself. The camera shot from underneath as the youthful man glided and spun tirelessly across a glass platform. The undecided-when-to-be-released single had blared in the background for perhaps the fiftieth time, but Rina still found herself ever so slightly moving along to the beat in her chair.
This didn’t go unnoticed. Ohno was sitting by the monitor, relaxing now that all his parts had been filmed. He didn’t understand why, but before he knew it, he switched from Off to On mode, and then somehow he was in front of her, asking if she wanted a little lesson.
Rina stared up at him in bewilderment. “Eh?! N-nande?”
“You really miss dancing, don’t you?” More observant than he let on, he could tell that she had been itching to be in motion. “I’ll show you a few things.”
The girl gripped the sides of her chair. “N- hazukash- That would be so embarrassing. Everyone would--”
“Don’t worry about that. It’ll be fun~” He leaned down closer, and his sweet smile was irresistible.
The two easily found a clear, quiet part of the floor, away from the commotion but still able to hear the music. Rina’s heart pounded a little faster. She told him her favorite part of the dance, the part before the chorus. Somehow, she could hardly hear the music as she tried to follow Ohno’s slow, poised pace. She lost her spot again.
Ohno was very patient. “Daijoubu, it’s okay. Try again.”
Rina sighed and put her hands on her hips. “This is impossible! I just--” Her throat closed up as warm hands rested lightly on her shoulders.
“Don’t think - feel. Loosen up. Like this.”
He startled her as he started shaking his hips and waving his arms with a big cheesy grin like a cheerleader. Rina doubled over in laughter. Ohno continued to goof off, and sent Rina into peals of mirth. He even persuaded her to imitate him. After that, they pretty much forgot about their original plan…
A little farther away, Sakurai Sho walked back from an important phone call, to the other members, Matsumoto and Aiba. From the corner of Sho’s eye, he spotted the silly pair.
“Are? Is that - Satoshi… with Rina-chan? What are they doing?”
“He’s giving her dance lessons, though it kind of looks like they abandoned that idea.” Matsumoto Jun mumbled, lip curling slightly.
Sho crossed his arms. “Ah, that’s right! I remember she used to do ballet, if I’m not mistaken…”
“Masaki suggested it.”
“She looked really bored and lonely. It must be pretty hard for her to fit in with all the guys in the staff, ne.” Aiba explained in his sweet way; he was up next after Nino was done filming, and Matsumoto was in his DoS mode again, so Aiba suggested that Ohno do something. “We should all help take care of Sho-kun’s cousin, deshou?”
It was February 6th. Sakurai Sho was leaving that morning for New York City, where he would be promoting his film, Yatterman. Not many people from Johnny’s as much as Arashi had such opportunities in foreign countries. Among many other things, Sho had been a main newscaster for the Beijing Olympics. Ninomiya Kazunari went to Hollywood for Letters from Iwo Jima and worked with the prestigious director Clint Eastwood. Matsumoto Jun had traveled to Las Vegas and Hong Kong for the Hana Yori Dango movie. Aiba Masaki traveled regularly for Tensai Shimura Doubutsen, going as far as Africa to work with wild animals. Ohno Satoshi, well… he hadn’t done anything overseas on his own, but Arashi had had two Asia-wide concert tours. Again, Rina was both proud and intimidated of how much they had accomplished at such a young age.
“Rina, be careful at the photoshoot today, ne! If you’re uncomfortable at all, say so.”
“I’ll be okay.”
“It’s just nicola, isn’t it?” Satomi retorted. “It’s perfectly clean. Don’t worry so much.”
“I should be heading off then.” Sho pulled his luggage to the front door. Satomi, Sora and Rina gathered at the gate to say goodbye.
“Have a safe trip.” Satomi said.
“Bring us back some cool souvenirs, ne!” Sora grinned. “Make us proud.”
“Say hello to my parents for me.” New York was where the Katsumi family was based. “Ganbatte, Sho-kun.” Rina smiled. She had taught him some amusing slang, and wondered if he’d use it (like, “Oh snap!”).
Jumping up in a Y, he did a dorky Yatta~! exit, composed himself, and left in the awaiting taxi.
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Clip of Ohno cheerleading here XD
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