A/N: Heyaaa guys! (^_^) I know this update is really really late! I'm apologizing for it. I really have a terribly hectic schedule this semester. Gosh, I want Christmas break as soon as possible! Waah! Anyway, before any ado, I'm thanking everyone who read the previous chapters. This is, as usual, a self-beta'd one. I'm sorry for all the errors. I hope you'll enjoy it.
Word count: 2523 words.
Chapter 26:
“The Rumor”
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"WAHAHAHAHA!!!!"
Yamada and Yuto couldn't resist the urge anymore. By the time Yamada stepped a foot on the rooftop, both of them started laughing like mad. Yamada held his stomach while settling beside Yuto on the bench.
"Have you seen Ryutaro's worried face? It was so hilarious!" Yuto commented before laughing again.
Both their faces were turning red.
Yamada managed to pause from laughing. "Even Keito, he looked so funny!"
"WAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"
"Chi-chinen... he..." Yamada attempted to add but he couldn't finish what he wanted to say without laughs interrupting in between. "He even said we should not fight before I came up here! They were really worried!!!"
"Ahahaha!!!"
"Baka! Hontou ni BAKA!!!" Yuto finally said, stopping his own laugh.
Yamada had some small chuckles before finally stopping too, "Everyone in JUMP is baka, ne~"
"Yeah… including the both of us!" He agreed while smiling at him.
Yamada smiled back, "But not as much as them."
Then they both turned silent as they felt the sweet and warm summer breeze brushing against their faces.
"Yama-chan, can I ask you something?" Yuto suddenly broke the silence.
Yamada only nodded.
"Do you like Aya-chan?"
The question came abruptly that Yamada felt his senses numbing. His mind wasn't able to process the answer as immediately as possible. Just then, the wind started to blew harder.
Yuto saw him opening his mouth and was bracing himself for an answer he might not like.
"Yeah I do."
Yuto's eyes widened. Though he was expecting that kind of answer, it was still different to actually hear it directly from Yamada.
He could only looked down, "...really."
"And I had so many opportunities to tell her what I really feel but..." He paused and looked at Yuto's disappointed expression, "I always remember that I have a friend who loves her more than I do and is still planning to confess to her on the next Tanabata Festival!"
Yuto looked at him with a surprised look. "Haa?"
Yamada smiled, "So by the time Tanabata came and you haven't confessed to her, I'm sorry but I'm telling you, I won't hold back anymore. I'll court her myself! I don't care if you will hate me or what. It's your fault for wasting a whole year to prepare for that one special day!!! "
Yuto didn't know what to react; he was elated, challenged and surprised at the same time. "Y-yama-chan..." Now, he looked teary.
Yamada laughed, "Baka! Don't you dare cry!"
Yuto brushed the back of his hands on his teary eyes to wipe away the tears, "Thanks!" 'Thanks for motivating me when I badly need it.'
"I just wanna tell you one thing that I noticed throughout these times. Ayako-san always has a soft spot when it comes to you. She never stopped liking you even after what happened last year. But she has become my very good friend too so if you hurt her, I promise you I'll give you a punch that you'll never forget!" Yamada warned.
Yuto was thinking if Yamada was really serious about his feelings with Ayako or he was just challenging him to tell his feeling to her, nevertheless, he should plan how to confess right away or else he would not only lose a chance of a lifetime but also a very good friend, who was Yamada.
Suddenly, Yuto heard his phone ringing. He immediately got his phone and flipped it open, "Moshi moshi... Dai-chan!"
"Where are you Yuto?"
"I'm at the rooftop. Why?"
"Is this rumor true?" Daiki asked in a teasing manner.
"What rumor?" Yuto looked at Yamada like he was asking him the same question too.
"That you are dating a girl from another agency!" Daiki spat out like it was very great news.
Yuto palmed his forehead, 'Those rumors again...' "Where did you get that?"
Daiki was actually surfing the net while talking to Yuto on the phone, "From the internet. It's a website of a tabloid. Why don't you come here in our dressing room and see it for yourself?"
Yuto closed his phone and stood up, "We need to go down Yama-chan!"
Yamada only looked at him, "What was that about?"
"Sick rumors again and now I need to explain to Johnny-san again. This is beginning to be a pain on the neck!" He grumbled before going to the elevator.
Yamada just followed him. 'He is really getting famous. This has been the 4th rumor that involved him for the last two months. Saiko!~'
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"If I can remember, this is the 4th rumor. My gosh!!!"
Ayako heard Michiko exclaimed while reading a tabloid. Both of them were in Michiko's house spending some quality time.
"Nakajima-kun is very famous now, ne! I heard he has a movie too! Wow!!!" Michiko continued while throwing the tabloid across the table.
Ayako only pouted as she flipped the travel magazine on her lap. 'Yeah, it may be the 4th one but I think it is the most intriguing and to think the girl being paired to him on that rumor is his leading lady on that movie. GAAH! Whatever! Let him be happy on the hands of that pretty singer...'
"Nehh Aya-chan, Nakajima-kun is your ichiban in Hey! Say! JUMP, right?" Michiko has asked that same question a thousand times and she was asking it again.
Ayako sighed before nodding, "Do you really need to inquire that all the time?"
She smiled, "I'm just assuring myself that you're not a rival."
"I am a Hey! Say! JUMP fan! I adore all of them!!!" She informed in annoyance. 'Like I have any intention on stealing Ryosuke-kun from you!'
"Yeah! But Yamada-kun is your niban. As his fan, I can't help being threatened."
"Yeah right... I understand!" Ayako muttered before closing the travel magazine and then taking the tabloid that Michiko threw on the table.
She read the rumor once more and examined the pictures shown on the top of the article. It's obviously some photos taken while Yuto and his 'rumored' girlfriend were taping their movie but maybe the tabloid writer wasn't aware that they were shooting a movie -- 'Or maybe the writer was just a dork.' She thought.
Michiko took the remote on the table and clicked the ON button. She continued clicking buttons until it landed into a talk show. Ayako didn't like those kind of shows since it only talked about celebrities' private lives so she ignored the TV and started scanning the tabloid in search of some photos that might intrigued her. It's always like that when she finds a magazine or a tabloid, she searches for creative pictures.
"On the other latest showbiz news, an article from a tabloid reported that talents from Johnny's Jimusho and Hello! Project are suspected to be having a romantic relationship towards each other." The reporter announced.
Ayako was stunned as she looked at the TV. She decided to postpone her photo-searching on some other time. The news just got her full attention since she thought it was the same rumor involving Yuto.
"The tabloid boasted photos to support their allegations regarding the matter. Yet as we asked both the rumored talents, they denied it." The reporter continued. "The agency Hello! Project only gave a message to us saying that maybe the tabloid's writer misunderstood things. The pictures were only taken from where their talent was shooting a movie and they assure that the rumor is not true."
"Thank God!" Michiko exclaimed.
"We also asked Johnny’s Jumusho's side about the matter and their talent Nakajima Yuto personally answered us. Here is the video of our interview with him in their headquarters in Shibuya."
Ayako felt her heart clenched as a video inserted on the monitor with Yuto on it.
"So Nakajima-kun, is the rumor about you and the Hello! Project talent Kumai Yurina true?" The interviewer somewhere unseen on the camera asked.
Yuto smiled, "No. And about the pictures wherein we were seen hugging, I just want to clarify that those were taken while we were shooting a scene from our movie. If the writer wasn't aware about it, then I'm telling whoever he is that he had misunderstood it all. "
"So you don't have any girlfriend as of now?"
He shook his head.
Ayako smiled in relief.
Michiko noticed it. 'Wow! Aya-chan really likes this guy!'
'At least he denied it himself... but I can never be too sure. JE has a strict rule when it comes to girlfriend issues and maybe he is only covering it up so both of their careers won't be ruined.' Ayako thought pessimistically.
"Thank you very much Nakajima-kun. Anything you want to add?"
"Ahh, please watch our movie. It will be showed the day right after Tanabata Festival. Thank you very much!"
And the interview ended.
"That's more like it! Right, Aya-chan?" Michiko asked her as the talk show proceeded to the other news yet Ayako was pensive. She seemed to be drawn in a deep thought. "Aya-chan?"
Ayako jolted in surprise that her name was being called, "Hai?"
'Oh, that's weird of her.' "Any problem?"
She smiled, "No. I'm just... ahh... thinking of random things!"
"Sou desu ne..."
Ayako didn't want Michiko to think that that rumor was actually bugging her so she thought of a change of topic, "Ne Michi-chan, do you have any plans for Tanabata already?"
"Yeah, we will actually going to Nagoya for a small family reunion on my father's side." She replied.
'Uhh, so they will be going out of town.' "Wow, that's great!" Ayako commented.
"How about you?"
Ayako got dumbfounded. Tanabata Matsuri would be two days away and she didn't have any plans yet. It would gonna be a great day to spend it alone. People would be celebrating with their families and friends. 'But how about me? I don't know! I'm pretty sure Oneechan will have to work in the hospital. My parents won't be coming home. Michiko and her family will be on Nagoya. And then who else could I spend Tanabata with? Ahh, the cats?' "Hmm... Actually I have plans already." She lied.
"Really, what will you do?" Michiko fired back without noticing that Ayako lied.
"Ano...." She stuttered. "I... I will..."
"MICHIKO!" Someone yelled outside that cut off Ayako's unfinished sentence.
"HAI!" Michiko yelled back before turning to her friend, "Aya, I think it's the neighbor. They said they will be giving us some vegetables freshly harvested from their farm somewhere in the province. I'll get back to you, okay?"
"Yeah sure, go ahead! I'll be fine!" She replied cheerfully.
When Michiko disappeared, she sighed in great relief. 'Thanks to you Farmer-san!' Just then, her face lightened up. "Yay! I have an idea!"
-x-x-x-
"Tanaka Ainosuke-kun!" Ayako cheerfully exclaimed a drama character's name on the phone. "Are you busy?"
Yamada, who was changing in his School Kakumei uniform in their dressing room, flinched on the greeting and said, "No. why?"
"Ahh, do you have any plans for Tanabata already?"
He then thought of his schedule for the upcoming days, "Hmm... it's on the day after tomorrow, right?"
"Hai!"
"I guess I don't have plans yet." He answered.
He heard her cheering in delight on the other line and he couldn't help smiling. 'What is this all about now? Don't tell me she's planning to match make me again with some random girl.'
"Haha!!" She laughed triumphantly. "Wanna spend it with me?" She asked in a pleading tone.
Yamada was startled. "Why don't you ask Yuto-kun?" He suggested unmindfully as he buttoned his white shirt. His phone was fastened between his right shoulder and chin.
"I don't wanna spend Tanabata with him." She answered quickly.
His eyes widened. 'Of course she won't since it looks like she hasn't moved on yet! AYAKO-SAN! Why can't you just move on, recover and forget what happened?' "Tanabata? With me?" He asked in a high tone, trying to deviate the topic. He looked at his reflection on the mirror while grimacing of his thoughts. He couldn't say such thing because he would never know how painful it was for her.
"Uhh, but of course if you're not busy or I think you should rather sleep on that day. Ahh... yeah, you should rest then!" She sounded disappointed, or so.
"Nehh!" Yamada started to blunder. "Ahh, yeah, sure! Tanabata day is reserved for you!"
And he heard her exclaiming joyfully on the next line.
He palmed his face right after realizing what he had told her, 'Oh my, I can't really refuse to you!'
"Yama-chan, we will be on in five minutes!!!" Yamada heard Hikaru shouted behind the door of their dressing room.
He noticed he was the only one left inside. He started to move quickly and put on his blazer, "Hai! I'm going out now!" He replied while covering the receiver of his phone. Then, "Ayako-san...?"
"Ahh, you are shooting for School Kakumei?" She asked.
'Crap, he heard us.' "Yeah!"
"WAHH! I'm really sorry for disturbing you!" She apologized.
Yamada palmed his forehead once more, "Daijoubo! Don't be sorry!"
"Nahh, I'm really sorry! I forgot about it. So then, go to your shooting now!"
They really got so close and talked too much to each other that Ayako already knew most, if not the entirety, of his schedule.
"Hehe. Okay! Talk to you later..." He said it in a very sweet tone that Ayako found herself blushing. Yamada only smiled on the other line.
'Ahh? What was that for?' "Bye! Ahh, don't forget about Tanabata, okay? Ja!~" And she ended the call.
She then put her phone in a disgusted manner. "Nani? I think I just felt a weird tingling sensation when he talked to me! MY GOSH! That's awful!!!! AYAKO, don’t you ever dare think of falling in love to Yamada Ryosuke!!!"
On the other hand, before Yamada could get out of the dressing room, he realized something. He looked at himself again on the mirror and started talking. "Tanabata? Isn't that the day Yuto-kun should be confessing what he feels to her? Then, she just asked me to spend that day with me and I agreed. What the?! HAAA?? So that will mean Yuto-kun won't be able to talk to her because I'm with her."
"YAMA-CHAN!!!" Chinen yelled as he pounded the door thrice. "What are you doing there?! Hurry!!!"
"HAI!" He replied. 'Whatever! I'll think about this after the taping! GAAH! Why do I have to be involved with them? Why me?!' He hissed in frustration before going out of their dressing room.
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Thank you very much for reading.♥
Comments are well-accepted.
Btw, I must inform everyone that I won't be updating this fanfic until Christmas break comes.
I'm really sorry if its inconvenient on your part. I love writing this fanfic too but it's just, there are things that should be prioritized (school stuffs). Don't worry, I'll do my best to finish My Eminent Serenity before the year ends so you will know how Ayako's journey to love flow.
So for now, I'll leave you a semi-cliffhanger (is it even a cliffhanger?) so you might get enticed when I update it. I'm really hoping you'll understand me. I'm an Accountancy student and it's really difficult so I can't divide my time easily, (Like I did last semester w/c resulted to something I wasn't desiring).
For the love of HSJ, me as a fanfic writer will definitely be back.
Our Christmas Break will approximately start at Dec.18, so maybe two days after that, I could update the 27th chapter.
So, sayoonara for now. (^_^)/
Next Chapter UP now!
click here!