Behind it all - Chapter 1
Chapter 1 - Ninomiya Kazunari: A Johnny's idol?!
1996
“!” Nino yelled as soon as he saw you.
You stopped right in front of the school gates and turned around to see a panting thirteen year old boy bending down with his hands on his knees. His eyes were directly on yours.
In between breaths, he said, “You will not believe what has been happening to me.”
“Relax. Let’s talk about it when you’re ready to talk properly,” you replied.
The both of you walked into the school with the sound of Nino’s heavy breathing. He wore a troubled expression on his face.
“We should find a place to talk. I don’t want to be heard by anyone else,” Nino said. You nodded in agreement. You ended up sitting with him under a big tree near the school’s baseball field.
Neither of you talked for a while. Nino just sat there quietly, probably thinking of… he didn’t say anything about his problem. Not yet.
“Okay, so what’s going on?” you ask.
Nino turned his head to look at you, his eyes looking stressed. “You might not believe me anyway.”
“Don’t tell me you wanted to talk about your puberty issues.”
Nino’s eyes grew wide. “That’s disgusting! Why on earth would I talk to anyone about that?”
You couldn’t help but give a look of doubt.
The boy let out a sigh. “That’s not my problem. My problem is that my cousin sent in an application form to some agency with the help of my mom.”
“What agency?”
“I forgot its name.” After a short pause, Nino added, “All I remember is that it’s the one SMAP’s in.”
You gave Nino a look of surprise. “You mean Johnny and Associates? That talent agency for guys?”
“Yeah, that’s the one.”
Being too astonished to comment, you remained silent.
“I know what you’re thinking. Why would a baseball freak like me bother joining a talent agency?” Nino definitely didn’t want to push through with this.
The thought of a boy like Nino training in a talent agency to become a national idol made you laugh. Nino, an idol? Seriously?
The “soon-to-be-idol” gave you a look of annoyance. “It’s not funny.”
Trying to look as sincere as you could, you replied, “Sorry. I couldn’t help it.” Your hand covered your mouth to hold in your laughter, but let it out a few seconds later. Nino appeared to get more and more irritated as time passed.
“Moving on,” you started, hoping to avert his anger at you, “when did you find out all this?”
“This morning.”
“Only today? Isn’t it kind of late?” You smiled a little. Nino finding about this anonymous application wasn’t kind of late. It was dreadfully late.
When Nino didn’t say anything, you added, “Tell me what happened.”
“I was eating breakfast with my mom and sister. While we ate, there was an uncomfortable silence. I noticed that my sis glanced at my mom strangely and mom would glance back at her in the same way. As if there was a silent conversation going on between them.” Nino paused and scoffed a little. “Now that I think about it, I feel stupid because I ignored all that.”
First he’s pissed off because of that application form to Johnny’s. Now he’s pissed off at that Johnny’s thing and at himself. This guy’s had a bad morning.
You decided to comfort him a little. “Even if I noticed the weirdness going on, I wouldn’t have said anything about it either.”
He let out a small sigh. “I guess I didn’t have to say anything after all.” You were about to say “That’s good. You shouldn’t feel stupid at all“ and sound like a good friend. Before you could even open your mouth, he added, “Because mom saw me looking at them. Now I feel more stupid for looking at them.”
You patted your depressed friend on the back. Come on, think of something. You have to say something. But what was there to say?
You felt relieved when he spoke again. “Mom told me she had something to tell me. Nee-san didn’t look at my direction. They both seemed anxious. That was when my mom told me about that talent agency thing. I was really surprised. I told her I didn’t want to do this. I think I raised my voice too loud because mom spoke in a louder and firmer voice.
“She said, ‘It’s for your own good. I think that you’ve been hanging out with the wrong group of people. I thought that making you join Johnny’s Entertainment would give you a sense of discipline.’ All I could do was grab my things and run out of the house. Mom was yelling my name and calling me back. I didn’t look back. Instead I kept running.”
Nino stopped talking. Now what? This was the cue for you to say something. So what should you say?
“So that’s why you were running to school.” How stupid. Your unhappy friend here said so much about his problem, and that’s all you can say?
“Yeah, that’s it.”
“You ran out of the house because your mom made you apply to Johnny’s without your knowledge.”
“And because I have to attend an audition too. Which happens to be on the same day as Sunday’s ball game,” he said, starting to sound angry again, but there seemed to be a hint of tiredness to it.
“Seriously?” you said. Your eyes grew wider. “How are you going to attend both?”
Nino smirked. “Easy. Forget the audition. I’m going to the match.”
“What? You can’t just bail on the audition. You might be expected there or something,” you protested. Why were you protesting anyway? You couldn’t imagine Nino singing and dancing at all.
His smirk fell into a frown. “I wasn’t the one who applied anyway.”
“Sometimes you can be a really big jerk,” you blurted. Why did you say that? It’s not like he wanted this in the first place.
Nino stared at you with a shocked expression. Then with a pained one. And then finally an irritated one.
Before he could say anything, you said, “I mean, if your mom sent in an application form without your knowledge, then she must be really desperate.”
He glared at you. You were ticked off now that he was directing his anger at you.
“I’m not going,” he said. Nino glanced at his watch, stood up and walked away.
At Sunday’s Baseball match
The moment they saw Nino in his baseball uniform, everyone on the team panicked. The coach called for a time-out and everyone gathered to where Nino was standing.
“Why are you late?”
“What are you doing here?”
“You should have been here before the match started!”
Nino remained quiet, ignoring his team mates’ heated remarks. Most of them were angry and agitated. One of their best players was late for this match and they were losing.
You were about to go there yourself, but the coach saved Nino from his tight spot.
“Ninomiya is excused for being late today,” the coach calmly told the team. “His mother informed me that he needed to attend an audition.”
“I’m sorry to have troubled everyone,” Nino said.
Most of the team members stayed quiet and apologized to Nino, but there were still a few who continued yelling at him.
You spotted the team captain step forward and put his hands on Nino’s shoulders. “We should be glad that he came today. He still came here to play even when he was aware he would be late. And besides, our team needs to win this game, and Nino here can help out. So let’s cut him some slack and concentrate on the game! Let’s do this!”
The game resumed, with Nino in it this time. As you sat down watching, you wondered about Nino. It was made clear that he went to the audition, even if that meant he would be late or might not be able to go to this game at all. Why did he decide to go all of a sudden?
The game ended with Nino’s team winning. Nino was the star of this game. He led the team to victory by scoring a home run and earning four points. Everyone on his team seemed to have forgotten about his tardiness earlier.
You rushed to him and congratulated him. He gave you a grin and a thumbs up.
After escaping from his cheering team mates and friends, Nino approached you.
You bought drinks together at a nearby fruit shakes stand.
Nino passed a cup to you. “It’s .”
After sitting on a bench and resting, Nino decided to start talking.
“I’m sorry for getting mad at you before,” he said earnestly. When you didn’t say anything he added, “I thought about what you said. I really didn’t want to go to the audition.”
“Why did you go there even if you clearly didn’t want to?” you finally asked.
The boy grinned naughtily. “Mom bribed me with 5000 yen.”
You giggled a little. “Not only are you a baseball freak and a game freak, you’re a money freak too.”
Nino chuckled along with you. “Well, that’s me. Nino the freak.”
A few days later, an announcement came. Ninomiya Kazunari has passed the audition to Johnny and Associates.
~♫~
A/N: So... There goes the first fic I EVER POSTED. Pardon my nervousness/hyperness. XD
Comments are love ♥ They'll keep me motivated. XD
Suggestions would be nice!
Criticism is welcome too, of course. Constructive criticism, that is.
And if you have any questions about some "facts", I'll answer them, don't worry.
Chapter 2's coming up!
Thank you for reading! <(^_^)>
1996
“!” Nino yelled as soon as he saw you.
You stopped right in front of the school gates and turned around to see a panting thirteen year old boy bending down with his hands on his knees. His eyes were directly on yours.
In between breaths, he said, “You will not believe what has been happening to me.”
“Relax. Let’s talk about it when you’re ready to talk properly,” you replied.
The both of you walked into the school with the sound of Nino’s heavy breathing. He wore a troubled expression on his face.
“We should find a place to talk. I don’t want to be heard by anyone else,” Nino said. You nodded in agreement. You ended up sitting with him under a big tree near the school’s baseball field.
Neither of you talked for a while. Nino just sat there quietly, probably thinking of… he didn’t say anything about his problem. Not yet.
“Okay, so what’s going on?” you ask.
Nino turned his head to look at you, his eyes looking stressed. “You might not believe me anyway.”
“Don’t tell me you wanted to talk about your puberty issues.”
Nino’s eyes grew wide. “That’s disgusting! Why on earth would I talk to anyone about that?”
You couldn’t help but give a look of doubt.
The boy let out a sigh. “That’s not my problem. My problem is that my cousin sent in an application form to some agency with the help of my mom.”
“What agency?”
“I forgot its name.” After a short pause, Nino added, “All I remember is that it’s the one SMAP’s in.”
You gave Nino a look of surprise. “You mean Johnny and Associates? That talent agency for guys?”
“Yeah, that’s the one.”
Being too astonished to comment, you remained silent.
“I know what you’re thinking. Why would a baseball freak like me bother joining a talent agency?” Nino definitely didn’t want to push through with this.
The thought of a boy like Nino training in a talent agency to become a national idol made you laugh. Nino, an idol? Seriously?
The “soon-to-be-idol” gave you a look of annoyance. “It’s not funny.”
Trying to look as sincere as you could, you replied, “Sorry. I couldn’t help it.” Your hand covered your mouth to hold in your laughter, but let it out a few seconds later. Nino appeared to get more and more irritated as time passed.
“Moving on,” you started, hoping to avert his anger at you, “when did you find out all this?”
“This morning.”
“Only today? Isn’t it kind of late?” You smiled a little. Nino finding about this anonymous application wasn’t kind of late. It was dreadfully late.
When Nino didn’t say anything, you added, “Tell me what happened.”
“I was eating breakfast with my mom and sister. While we ate, there was an uncomfortable silence. I noticed that my sis glanced at my mom strangely and mom would glance back at her in the same way. As if there was a silent conversation going on between them.” Nino paused and scoffed a little. “Now that I think about it, I feel stupid because I ignored all that.”
First he’s pissed off because of that application form to Johnny’s. Now he’s pissed off at that Johnny’s thing and at himself. This guy’s had a bad morning.
You decided to comfort him a little. “Even if I noticed the weirdness going on, I wouldn’t have said anything about it either.”
He let out a small sigh. “I guess I didn’t have to say anything after all.” You were about to say “That’s good. You shouldn’t feel stupid at all“ and sound like a good friend. Before you could even open your mouth, he added, “Because mom saw me looking at them. Now I feel more stupid for looking at them.”
You patted your depressed friend on the back. Come on, think of something. You have to say something. But what was there to say?
You felt relieved when he spoke again. “Mom told me she had something to tell me. Nee-san didn’t look at my direction. They both seemed anxious. That was when my mom told me about that talent agency thing. I was really surprised. I told her I didn’t want to do this. I think I raised my voice too loud because mom spoke in a louder and firmer voice.
“She said, ‘It’s for your own good. I think that you’ve been hanging out with the wrong group of people. I thought that making you join Johnny’s Entertainment would give you a sense of discipline.’ All I could do was grab my things and run out of the house. Mom was yelling my name and calling me back. I didn’t look back. Instead I kept running.”
Nino stopped talking. Now what? This was the cue for you to say something. So what should you say?
“So that’s why you were running to school.” How stupid. Your unhappy friend here said so much about his problem, and that’s all you can say?
“Yeah, that’s it.”
“You ran out of the house because your mom made you apply to Johnny’s without your knowledge.”
“And because I have to attend an audition too. Which happens to be on the same day as Sunday’s ball game,” he said, starting to sound angry again, but there seemed to be a hint of tiredness to it.
“Seriously?” you said. Your eyes grew wider. “How are you going to attend both?”
Nino smirked. “Easy. Forget the audition. I’m going to the match.”
“What? You can’t just bail on the audition. You might be expected there or something,” you protested. Why were you protesting anyway? You couldn’t imagine Nino singing and dancing at all.
His smirk fell into a frown. “I wasn’t the one who applied anyway.”
“Sometimes you can be a really big jerk,” you blurted. Why did you say that? It’s not like he wanted this in the first place.
Nino stared at you with a shocked expression. Then with a pained one. And then finally an irritated one.
Before he could say anything, you said, “I mean, if your mom sent in an application form without your knowledge, then she must be really desperate.”
He glared at you. You were ticked off now that he was directing his anger at you.
“I’m not going,” he said. Nino glanced at his watch, stood up and walked away.
At Sunday’s Baseball match
The moment they saw Nino in his baseball uniform, everyone on the team panicked. The coach called for a time-out and everyone gathered to where Nino was standing.
“Why are you late?”
“What are you doing here?”
“You should have been here before the match started!”
Nino remained quiet, ignoring his team mates’ heated remarks. Most of them were angry and agitated. One of their best players was late for this match and they were losing.
You were about to go there yourself, but the coach saved Nino from his tight spot.
“Ninomiya is excused for being late today,” the coach calmly told the team. “His mother informed me that he needed to attend an audition.”
“I’m sorry to have troubled everyone,” Nino said.
Most of the team members stayed quiet and apologized to Nino, but there were still a few who continued yelling at him.
You spotted the team captain step forward and put his hands on Nino’s shoulders. “We should be glad that he came today. He still came here to play even when he was aware he would be late. And besides, our team needs to win this game, and Nino here can help out. So let’s cut him some slack and concentrate on the game! Let’s do this!”
The game resumed, with Nino in it this time. As you sat down watching, you wondered about Nino. It was made clear that he went to the audition, even if that meant he would be late or might not be able to go to this game at all. Why did he decide to go all of a sudden?
The game ended with Nino’s team winning. Nino was the star of this game. He led the team to victory by scoring a home run and earning four points. Everyone on his team seemed to have forgotten about his tardiness earlier.
You rushed to him and congratulated him. He gave you a grin and a thumbs up.
After escaping from his cheering team mates and friends, Nino approached you.
You bought drinks together at a nearby fruit shakes stand.
Nino passed a cup to you. “It’s .”
After sitting on a bench and resting, Nino decided to start talking.
“I’m sorry for getting mad at you before,” he said earnestly. When you didn’t say anything he added, “I thought about what you said. I really didn’t want to go to the audition.”
“Why did you go there even if you clearly didn’t want to?” you finally asked.
The boy grinned naughtily. “Mom bribed me with 5000 yen.”
You giggled a little. “Not only are you a baseball freak and a game freak, you’re a money freak too.”
Nino chuckled along with you. “Well, that’s me. Nino the freak.”
A few days later, an announcement came. Ninomiya Kazunari has passed the audition to Johnny and Associates.
~♫~
A/N: So... There goes the first fic I EVER POSTED. Pardon my nervousness/hyperness. XD
Comments are love ♥ They'll keep me motivated. XD
Suggestions would be nice!
Criticism is welcome too, of course. Constructive criticism, that is.
And if you have any questions about some "facts", I'll answer them, don't worry.
Chapter 2's coming up!
Thank you for reading! <(^_^)>