Burikaesu
My name is Ninomiya Kazunari. I am 26 years old, although I look like I’m 17, and I don’t think my life is as easy as everyone tells me it is. I am an actor, a musician, even a magician and the occasional video gamer. I have long dark brown, almost black hair, which isn’t too long that I can’t manage it, and brown eyes. I also have a mole on the right side of my chin, which I’ve heard fans say, is what makes me distinguishable from other actors and improves my overall looks. I sometimes think of it as a bother but I’ve learned to live with it. Over the years I’ve also, sadly enough, learned how to deal with fans, family and the unusual press that seems so interested in my everyday life, which I consider…boring.
“Kazu! Ohno is here!” my mother called.
I ran down from my room to see my best friend standing by the front door with my mother. “Come on up.” I called from the steps.
It was a lot easier living at home. I’m not home too much to begin with because of my job so it would be a waste to have to pay rent, especially in this time. The employment rates had been decreasing lately and I am glad that I’m in a business that is always looking for the next person to act or perform in something. My friend Ohno Satoshi is in the same business. He acts in dramas and stage plays mostly, and has been highly praised for it. His dancing, in my opinion, is great as well. As long as I’ve known him, I’ve never met another dancer, or singer for that matter, like him, which just goes to show how genuine he is. I probably could top him with singing but I’ve never tried to challenge him. I respect him too much. He has hair, about the same color as mine, but keeps it shorter, with some length, and styles it the same: slightly spiked. His eyes were even darker. We met back in 1999 when we joined the same agency.
“How have you been? Busy?” he asked.
“Not too bad. I just finished filming that movie. It is going into editing now before it gets released. It will be a few months before it hits theaters though.” I said.
“I see.” He was examining my bookshelf filled with all the games I had collected over the years. 2 shelves worth!
“Have you even beaten all these games?” Ohno mumbled.
I had to think for a minute. I didn’t like to leave something unfinished or say ‘I can’t complete it because I’m absolutely stuck and can’t think of what to do next,’ so I told him: “Possibly,” and left it at that.
“So…it’s not everyday that you get a day off, Oh-chan. What’s so special that couldn’t wait until after your trip?” I said to him, sitting at my desk chair, facing away from my computer so that he would have my full attention. I didn’t have many friends but I did cherish the ones I had. I wasn’t that cold-hearted.
“I have a friend coming back from Canada! He went over there for business, he was covering the Winter Olympics for a news team and he’s returning tomorrow.”
“That’s neat. When’s he arriving? I haven’t met him, have I?”
“I don’t remember if I introduced him to you. Sakurai Sho, does that ring any bells?”
Sakurai Sho…that name did sound familiar to me but I wasn’t sure where I had heard it from. “What news team is he from?” I asked. It was eating me up, knowing the name but not being able to recall a face.
“News ZERO. He’s been with them for a while. He’s a pretty big name in the world of casting, apparently. I heard from him yesterday that the Canadians wanted to keep him; they thought he was so well mannered and the ladies were quite taken with him and are sad to see him go.”
“How did you ever meet this person anyway?” If I knew my best friend…he never watched the news. He did what pleased him, which included: fishing, art, acting, dance choreographing, playing Wii with his family and spending time with friends, but never watching the news.
“The Nihon TV building. He’s a news caster for that station and at the time I was doing filming for a drama in the studio there. I cut myself on something and he helped me out. After that we started talking and became friends.”
‘Uh-huh…ok.’ I thought listening to his story.
“You know I wouldn’t ask for a favor if I didn’t need anything, right? Basically, I’m asking if he can spend a few days here with you instead of at my house while I’m away filming.”
“Why can’t he stay with your parents?” I asked in a confused manner.
“If you haven’t seen him, you wouldn’t know. He’s a friend of mine and my sister and mother stare at him like he’s food. It’s creepy!” Ohno gave a little shutter as he talked about it.
“I’ll have to think about it. Do you know when he comes in?”
Ohno scratched his head and pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed a number. I happened to look at the clock at that time as I wasn’t sure what time he’d be calling there since it was morning here in Japan. There was a time difference between Canada and Japan, right?
Ohno finally spoke after a few seconds of silence. “Ah, Sho-kun?”
I could hear a little of the voice coming from the other end. I caught a word every now and then but it wasn’t clear enough to make it into a sentence.
“I found a place that you could possibly stay while I’m away filming.”
“Oh, that’s great!” I heard from the other line.
“I didn’t remember what time you’d be coming in though.”
I felt awkward listening to the one-sided conversation. It felt like eavesdropping on a conversation that two girls would have gossiping.
“Oh, ok….alright…I’ll see you then….bye,” and he closed the phone. “He said he was going to be in by tonight at 5.”
I nodded. He wasn’t going to take ‘no’ for an answer obviously. I’d have no choice but to let him stay. I couldn’t kick this guy out. My mom would scold me, this Sakurai person would think of me as a jerk that didn’t deserve the friendship I had with Ohno, and who knows what Ohno would do…
“Who’s picking him up?” I asked nonchalantly.
“We are~” Ohno said with stars in his eyes.
We waited in Narita Airport at the gate that Sakurai was supposed to come from. Ohno repeatedly checked his watch. The last time he lifted up his arm, I stole a peak at his watch. 5:45, it read. I was starting to get impatient.
“Is he here yet?” I grumbled. My mom had started making dinner at home for us to sit down and eat when we got back. I hadn’t eaten much today, maybe an onigiri and something to drink. My stomach was starting to make noises and I was getting impatient waiting for this guy I was supposed to share my room with for a few days.
Ohno’s phone started to buzz and make music. He checked the name on the front before answering and then opened it up to talk. “Sho? Where are you?”
“Right here!” A voice came from behind us that we seemed to recognize.
Ohno shouted his name and took off towards him to bring him into a bear hug even though the man was a few inches taller and definitely more muscular, from what I could tell with him wearing a business suit. I felt I knew him but wasn’t able to pin down exactly where or how. His face wasn’t familiar but his voice was…
“Nice to meet you. My name is Sakurai Sho,” the man introduced himself to me and bowed slightly. He was clean cut, hair the same color as mine and Ohno’s… but it was straighter and looked like it had been professionally styled. His brown eyes were gentle, like a doe’s. His voice was smooth but had a sense of professionalism to it. The suit he wore made him look distinguished and put together. When you are in show business you happen to notice these things more closely and my eyes had become even sharper over the years. He looked no older than 28.
“Nice to meet you, too. I’m Ninomiya Kazunari. I heard you were going to be staying with me.”
“Oh, yeah! If you don’t mind! I’d need a place to stay with Ohno-kun being away. His mother and sister look at me funny…and to be serious…it bothers me some when he is not there.”
He was very polite. I wasn’t expecting this, but I didn’t expect him to be rude. Ohno has this thing that I find kind of valuable, even if he doesn’t know about it. He seems to read people well, so when he trusts somebody, it becomes easier for me to talk to them.
“Um…no, that’s fine! You’re welcome to stay. My mom owns a restaurant and would love to have you stay for dinner,” I said to which I received a smile back.
“Just as long as I’m not dinner!” he said back.
‘Great…this guy has a sense of humor,’ I thought.
Dinner went smoothly, as smoothly as one can get at my home anyway. My mom was quite taken with Sakurai’s perfect behavior which I considered slightly annoying at how well he handled the situation. When asked about it he simply replied, “I guess I do well because of all the interviews I do with athletes, and of course politics,” which then continued into, “My son is terrible with speeches. He can’t do a proper thank you in an awards ceremony without being a smart ass.”
True, I did mention something a director or cast member might have done, or heck, maybe something that I’ve even done when I accept awards but giving a speech at awards ceremonies don’t have to be so short and boring, do they?
We finished cleaning from dinner, which Sakurai had helped with even though he didn’t take a bite, and then I showed him upstairs to my room where he would be staying. I laid out a futon on the floor, as my bed was already in my room. He was gracious enough to take the futon, and thank goodness he did because I didn’t feel like sacrificing my bed for someone I just met. We changed into pajamas and I crawled into bed at around 11 p.m. I’d been going to bed early because of a job I had the next day, more filming for a drama. Sakurai sat with his back against the door to my room. And it was just the two of us. I was getting ready to shut the light from my bed when I noticed that was Sakurai still sitting there like a rock staring at the wall opposite to where he sat.
“Why don’t you get some sleep? You aren’t tired from your trip?” I asked, drowsily.
“I’m fine. I don’t need sleep at the moment.”
“That’s no good! Is it that you can’t sleep?”
“I don’t need sleep,” he said. He sounded angrier this time. He wasn’t frowning but his gaze never changed. He continued to stare at the wall across from where he sat.
I pulled the sheets off of me, got up from the bed and started to make my way to him. Compared to him, I was scrawny and a few inches shorter but I felt that I needed to protect my masculine side. There’s a time in life when it’s okay to show off, right? I walked over, big and tough-like, only to step on a tack that had fallen off my desk earlier and was never found. I jumped up and down after hissing a curse word under my breath. I then sat down where I stood to see if I was bleeding and I was…
The next thing I heard was hissing coming from Sakurai, his incisor teeth shooting into fangs and his eyes turning into a golden color, staring intently at me.
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OOC: So, how was it? Not bad for a first?
Chapter 2