Who Are You? - Part 2
Nino woke up early the next morning. He couldn’t sleep after waking up from his dream. He wasn’t alone in the dream. There was someone else with him but he couldn’t see the face. The voice, on the other hand, was similar to the voice of the person who confessed to him in his dream yesterday. Who was this person? Was he perhaps the person he was craving for right now? Why did he feel some part of his memories were lost after he woke up from the coma? Thinking of all of these made his headache came once again so he played Mario kart to distract himself.
He started to get ready for work when he noticed it was almost 8 am. Sho would pick him up later so he better get ready now. His friend didn’t trust him to drive the car. That’s why he offered himself to be Nino’s driver.
“You looked terrible. Did you sleep yesterday?” Asked Sho when he opened the car’s door.
“I slept but I woke up at 4 am. I couldn’t sleep after that,” answered Nino. He wanted to point out that Sho looked equally miserable... but... better not. He knew Sho went home late every night because he visited a hospital. He didn’t know the details but apparently, a friend of Sho was in a coma and Sho visited him every day, hoping that one day he would wake up.
Nino took out a document from his bag. It was the proposal about their next project that Jun gave him yesterday. As he didn’t get the chance to discuss the next project with Jun, he asked for the proposal from Jun. However, he hadn’t had the chance to review the proposal yet.
Nino was surprised to read Jun’s idea for the next game. Jun wanted to do a fairytale type of game where a prince would save his damsel in distress. It wasn’t the kind of theme Jun would usually do. Nino skimmed through the preliminary sketch that Jun included in the proposal and laughing as he noticed how the prince was similar to Jun. Wow, he couldn’t believe that his friend would make himself as the hero of the game.
“This should be the villain, not the hero,” said Nino, showing the sketch to Sho who laughed as well.
Nino turned to the next page and immediately froze upon seeing the drawing. It was a sketch of the princess who would be rescued by the prince. She looked just like him, except with a tiara, long hair and feminine features. But, he wasn’t surprised because of seeing himself as the princess. No, he was surprised because he had seen the drawing before. In his dream this morning.
“Wow, what a beautiful drawing! You’re so talented, Riida!”
“Thank you, Ka…” The guy that he called Riida trailed off when he realized what was happening. He immediately hid his sketchbook but Nino laughed in return. There’s no point in hiding. He already saw the sketch.
“How long have you been watching me?”
“About 15 minutes,” answered Nino. He loved the way Riida panic to hear that.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Well, I called you when I entered the room but you were so preoccupied with the drawing and ignored me. So, it wasn’t my fault,” That was a lie. He was curious to know what Riida was drawing so he didn’t call him when he entered. Instead, he sneakily went behind him to observe him drawing. The guy was too concentrated in his drawing so he didn’t notice Nino at all.
“Are you angry?”
“Why would I be? I’m just curious to know why are you drawing me like a princess. I should be a prince, you know,”
Riida didn’t immediately answer him. Instead, he stared at the drawing.
“I think you are beautiful,”
“Well, I will be flattered to hear that if I’m a woman. I know there is a different reason you draw me like that. So, tell me,”
“Don’t be angry at me if I told you,” said Riida. Nino nodded his head. He can never be angry at Riida. The guy is too adorable that he can never do so at him. “I think, you are a princess who was waiting to be rescued by your prince charming,”
Nino was too stunned to respond. What did he mean by that? Did he mean with Nino’s current situation, he was waiting for a prince to rescue him?
“Kazu, don’t get me wrong,” Riida tried to explain himself. Nino didn’t know how he looked like right now but he might look furious because Riida seemed to be scared of him.
“Remember that you used to tell me that you want to be a character in your own game. I was just thinking of something like Mario. You see, I think Princess Peach was capable of protecting herself from Bowser. But, she seems to enjoy being rescued by Mario. So, I think you were similar to Peach because of that. Capable of doing something on your own but prefer to let others do it for you. Ah, but I don’t mean to say you are lazy,”
Nino laughed hearing the explanation from Riida. As expected, he couldn’t be angry at Riida. He took the sketchbook from Riida. Looking at the sketch gave him inspiration for the concept of his next game.
“Ne, can you draw…”
That was when his dream ended. He didn’t know who Riida was. The guy’s face was blurred in his dream. He wondered who sketched the drawing in Jun’s proposal. Perhaps the guy was Riida in his dream. If not, maybe he knew who Riida was. He had to meet Riida. Riida was the key for him to understand why he felt like something was missing in his life.
“Nino,” said Sho, with concern. “Are you okay?”
Nino turned to look at Sho. He realized that they have arrived in the office.
“I’m okay,” answered Nino, putting back the proposal in his bag. “Sho, please ask Jun and the guy who sketch the character in the proposal to meet me as soon as possible,”
Nino was staring at the drawing of himself as a princess when someone knocked on his door. He asked the person to enter. It was Jun and - He wasn’t surprised to see the person behind Jun. It was Ohno.
“Good morning, Nino,” Jun greeted cheerfully as he sat on the chair opposite of him. Ohno, on the other hand, remained standing.
“You may sit, Ohno san,” said Nino. With a soft voice, Ohno thanked him before sitting on the chair next to Jun. His voice. Was it similar to Riida in his dream?
“So…” Nino tried to compose himself. “I’ve read the proposal you gave me yesterday, J. I was surprised that you will come out with that kind of concept,”
“It wasn’t my idea. It’s Ohno san’s idea. I saw the sketch and he explained to me what he was thinking when he sketched that. So, I thought it will be a good idea for our new game,”
Nino turned to look at Ohno. He was surprised to see the sketch.
“So, you drew me like a princess. Why?” Asked Nino. Like Riida, Ohno didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he stared at the sketch. Will he give the same answer as Riida?
“Are you angry?” Asked Ohno timidly in return. Nino was reminded of the way Riida reacted in his dream.
“Nope, just curious. I should be the prince, you know,” he tried to respond in the same way he did in his dream, to see the way Ohno reacted. However, the other guy remained expressionless. He did not even flinch. Was Nino wrong and the guy had nothing to do with Riida? Then, was the similarity between the drawing just a coincidence?
“A short prince,” said Jun in a low voice followed by a soft laugh. Nino ignored him as he was more interested to hear Ohno’s answer. However, it’s hard to keep a straight face when Ohno’s lips curled upwards, smiling because of Jun’s remark.
“Why are you smiling? You’re short like me too,” said Nino, pretending to be angry. Ohno immediately stopped smiling and apologized to him. He looks really cute to be panic like that.
“At least, Ohchan didn’t claim to be a prince,” defended Jun.
Once again, Nino wondered what was the relationship between Jun and Ohno. He felt jealous to see them and to his surprise, he was jealous at Jun. It’s weird. It was like, he had a feeling for Ohno.
“Whatever. Anyway…” Nino pointed at the sketch of Jun in a prince outfit. “I don’t want this to be the hero. I want this to be the villain,”
“What? Why should I be the villain? This handsome face shouldn’t be a villain. You must be jealous because Ohchan thought that I have prince quality,” protested Jun. Nino stuck his tongue out in response. It’s childish but that’s how he usually acted with Jun.
“I am not jealous. You can be the prince if you want. I just want to change the storyline of your game,” explained Nino.
“Interesting. What do you want to change?” Asked Jun.
In the original proposal, a princess of a wealthy kingdom was engaged to a prince. A few days before their wedding, she was kidnapped by a monster and the prince embarked on a journey to save her. However, Nino thought of another storyline. A witch stole an important item from the princess’ kingdom. The prince volunteer to retrieve the item but the princess refused to allow him because it’s her kingdom so she should be the one to retrieve the item. She asked him to take care of the kingdom during her absence. A servant of the prince offered himself to accompany the princess and the prince allowed him to follow. At first, the princess thought the servant would be a burden because he looked weak. But, as their journey began, she discovered that the servant was a skilful warrior.
As the twist, the princess didn’t know that the prince and the witch cooperate to overthrow her. The true purpose of the journey was to kill her. In the fake final battle, it would be between the servant and the witch. Once the witch was defeated, the prince would appear and reveal his evil intention. So, the final battle was between the servant and the prince. In the end, the princess would marry the servant because they fall in love during the journey.
“The servant should be the main character. I want the game to be from his point of view,” said Nino, ending his explanation. Jun looked at him thoughtfully while Ohno remained expressionless as before. He wondered if Ohno listened to his explanation or simply spaces out.
“It’s better than the original. Okay, I agree with your idea,”
“Great. Think of a plot that would explain why the servant offered himself to go with the princess and make sure each level is challenging enough,” instructed Nino and Jun nodded in agreement.
“As for you, Ohchan…” Nino didn’t know why both Ohno and Jun were surprised when he said that. “… I want you to sketch the servant as someone who looked weak, lazy, unmotivated. That’s why the prince underestimate his true ability,”
“Okay, Ka… Ninomiya san,”
Of course, Nino noticed the slip out but he didn’t say anything. He dismissed both of them from his office.
Who are you, Ohchan? Was that just a dream or perhaps a memory that I cannot remember? If we know each other before, why can't I remember you? Nino thought to himself as he watched Ohno’s retreating figure.
Ohno blinked in surprise when Nino suddenly laughed at him. He was sure the guy was angry at him for calling him a princess a moment ago but now the guy was laughing hysterically. He didn’t think Nino was angry at him anymore as he smiled innocently at him. A smile that he gave him whenever he wanted Ohno to do something for him.
“Ne, can you draw Jun as the prince?”
Ohno flinched upon hearing the request from Nino. Most probably Nino didn’t notice that as he keep on blabbering about the idea he had for his next game. Nino had admitted to him that he likes Jun and had confessed to him. But Jun rejected him because he had another in his heart.
“But…” Ohno tried to reject the idea.
“Yes, I know it’s delusional. But, if I cannot be with him in real life, can I be with him in my imagination? If he said anything, I will just say it’s because of his prince-like quality, not because I was expecting something,”
Nino looked at him expectantly. He cannot say no to that face. So, reluctantly, he agreed. Nino’s face was filled with happiness and Ohno smiled in return. In his heart, he wondered why Nino kept hoping that Jun would love him. What he said earlier was right. Nino was indeed waiting for his prince to rescue him and he wanted Jun to be his prince. If only he realized there was someone else who wants to be his knight in shining armour.
“Ohchan~~~”
Jun sing-song his name as he stood in front of him. Ohno narrowed his eyes in annoyance.
“Don’t be angry at me. You should thank me. You get the brat’s attention because of me,” Ohno was about to protest when Jun continued. “In a good way. The brat wanted to fire you yesterday because he thought you are a lunatic. We’ve told him that you are talented so he wanted to give you a chance. What is the better way to show off your talent? Of course, the drawing of the gorgeous princess,”
“Whatever. Whose idea was it to submit my drawing without my permission? Sho?”
Ohno was surprised when Nino showed him the sketch earlier. He gave the sketch to Jun, explaining what Nino had in mind for their next project. But, a lot of things had happened causing him to forget about the drawing. He didn’t expect Jun will give the sketch to Nino once he woke up from the coma.
“It’s my idea,” their conversation was interrupted by Sho who showed up in his working station. “We just want to help him remember you. The drawing seems special so maybe he will remember you soon,”
Ohno sighed in return. He didn’t mind to show the sketch to Nino. It would be a miracle if Nino remembered him because of the drawing. What he was afraid of was Nino’s reaction if he remembered something else about the drawing.
“Ohno Kun, I was with him this morning when he found the drawing. He was staring at it like he was trying to remember where he had seen it before. So, let’s be optimistic, okay?”
Sho tried to cheer him up. He didn’t know how to respond so he simply nodded his head.
“Okay, Ohchan. You better start working on the sketch for the hero. Do you have any idea for the servant?”
Ohno shook his head. He noticed Jun and Sho exchanged look like they were plotting something evil.
“I’m sure you will figure out something,” said Jun as he stood up to leave. Both he and Sho leave immediately before Ohno could ask them the meaning behind their evil look.
Nino looked at the watch. It’s almost 8 PM but Sho was nowhere to be found. He had been waiting for Sho for two hours. He wasn’t in the office. He tried to call Sho but there was no answer. He wanted to go home but his friend had warned him not to go anywhere alone. He could ask Jun to give him a ride home but the guy was in a hurry and left before he could say anything.
“Ah, whatever. If anything happened to me, it is Sho’s fault for leaving me alone,” Nino decided to leave without waiting for his friend. He thought of what to eat for dinner when he saw Ohno sitting at the bench near the entrance. He hadn’t seen Ohno for the last two days. The last time he saw Ohno was when he called the guy to his office. His heart beats faster and he felt excited to see the other guy again. Even though Ohno was alone, he seems to be talking with someone as he nodded his head while mumbling ‘I see’. He didn’t seem to notice Nino was there.
“So, you want me to meet your friend and told him you didn’t blame him for what happened?” Asked Ohno to his imaginary friend. It was creepy to see Ohno talking to himself like that but he continued to watch.
“Okay, I will go to see him n...” Nino didn’t know how to react when Ohno lifted his head and caught him staring. Ohno’s face turned red in embarrassment.
“It’s late. Why are you still here?” Asked Nino. He decided to pretend he didn’t see anything earlier.
“I had some work to do,”
“For our new game?” Asked Nino once again and Ohno nodded his head. It was a lie but Nino didn’t say anything about it.
“Okay, I look forward to seeing the results,” said Nino, turning his direction towards the entrance of the company. “I’ll go home first,”
“Ano…” Nino stopped walking when Ohno suddenly pulled his hand. But he immediately let go when he realized what he was doing. “Where is Sho? Aren't you supposed to go home with him?”
“Ah… I’ve been waiting for him but he was missing. Maybe something happened to his friend in the hospital,” Nino suddenly thought of Sho’s friend. That would explain why Sho suddenly went missing without reason.
“I haven't seen Aiba chan today,” Ohno mumbled in a low voice. The name sounds familiar but as Nino didn’t know who Aiba was, he ignored it
“Isn't it dangerous for you to go home alone? Where is Matsujun?” Asked Ohno again. Nino then explained that Jun went home immediately before he could ask for a ride. He felt weird to be interrogated by his employee like that. But, he was even more surprised to realize that he wasn’t angry at Ohno for acting like that. Instead, he was happy.
“I will accompany you home,” announced Ohno.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to do that,” He refused to accept Ohno’s offer. Deep in his heart, he was scolding himself for saying that. He wanted to spend more time with Ohno.
“No no. You might collapse again. It’s dangerous so please let me help,”
“But… You have to go somewhere else, right?” Said Nino as he remembered what Ohno said earlier. Ohno immediately pouted when he said that.
“Eh… What’s wrong?” Asked Nino when he noticed the change in Ohno’s expression.
“You must have seen me talking to myself again. You must think that I am a lunatic. That’s why you refused to go with me. You are afraid of me. But, I don’t… Hmmm… Let me….”
Nino didn’t know what controls him at that moment as hugged Ohno to stop him from blabbing. It worked as Ohno stared at him in confusion. He knew he should let go of the guy but he didn’t. Instead, he hugged Ohno tightly. It felt right to embrace Ohno, it felt like something that he wanted to do for a long time.
“Let’s go to where you have to go first. Then, we eat dinner together and you can send me home after that,” suggested Nino. Ohno didn’t say anything but he nodded his head in agreement.
Nino had to admit that he was surprised with himself. There was something… Something about Ohno that made him felt like he had known him for a long time. He wanted to ask Ohno if there was something between them but he thought it would be more satisfying if he found the answer on his own.
A/N: Actually, I wanted to write the story that I wrote for the game. The one about the princess and the servant. Totally random, right?
Anyway, have you listened to Arashi's new song? I really love the B-side songs especially Bokura no Hi da.
Okay, I didn't forget the other stories. I will update them as soon as possible.
He started to get ready for work when he noticed it was almost 8 am. Sho would pick him up later so he better get ready now. His friend didn’t trust him to drive the car. That’s why he offered himself to be Nino’s driver.
“You looked terrible. Did you sleep yesterday?” Asked Sho when he opened the car’s door.
“I slept but I woke up at 4 am. I couldn’t sleep after that,” answered Nino. He wanted to point out that Sho looked equally miserable... but... better not. He knew Sho went home late every night because he visited a hospital. He didn’t know the details but apparently, a friend of Sho was in a coma and Sho visited him every day, hoping that one day he would wake up.
Nino took out a document from his bag. It was the proposal about their next project that Jun gave him yesterday. As he didn’t get the chance to discuss the next project with Jun, he asked for the proposal from Jun. However, he hadn’t had the chance to review the proposal yet.
Nino was surprised to read Jun’s idea for the next game. Jun wanted to do a fairytale type of game where a prince would save his damsel in distress. It wasn’t the kind of theme Jun would usually do. Nino skimmed through the preliminary sketch that Jun included in the proposal and laughing as he noticed how the prince was similar to Jun. Wow, he couldn’t believe that his friend would make himself as the hero of the game.
“This should be the villain, not the hero,” said Nino, showing the sketch to Sho who laughed as well.
Nino turned to the next page and immediately froze upon seeing the drawing. It was a sketch of the princess who would be rescued by the prince. She looked just like him, except with a tiara, long hair and feminine features. But, he wasn’t surprised because of seeing himself as the princess. No, he was surprised because he had seen the drawing before. In his dream this morning.
“Wow, what a beautiful drawing! You’re so talented, Riida!”
“Thank you, Ka…” The guy that he called Riida trailed off when he realized what was happening. He immediately hid his sketchbook but Nino laughed in return. There’s no point in hiding. He already saw the sketch.
“How long have you been watching me?”
“About 15 minutes,” answered Nino. He loved the way Riida panic to hear that.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Well, I called you when I entered the room but you were so preoccupied with the drawing and ignored me. So, it wasn’t my fault,” That was a lie. He was curious to know what Riida was drawing so he didn’t call him when he entered. Instead, he sneakily went behind him to observe him drawing. The guy was too concentrated in his drawing so he didn’t notice Nino at all.
“Are you angry?”
“Why would I be? I’m just curious to know why are you drawing me like a princess. I should be a prince, you know,”
Riida didn’t immediately answer him. Instead, he stared at the drawing.
“I think you are beautiful,”
“Well, I will be flattered to hear that if I’m a woman. I know there is a different reason you draw me like that. So, tell me,”
“Don’t be angry at me if I told you,” said Riida. Nino nodded his head. He can never be angry at Riida. The guy is too adorable that he can never do so at him. “I think, you are a princess who was waiting to be rescued by your prince charming,”
Nino was too stunned to respond. What did he mean by that? Did he mean with Nino’s current situation, he was waiting for a prince to rescue him?
“Kazu, don’t get me wrong,” Riida tried to explain himself. Nino didn’t know how he looked like right now but he might look furious because Riida seemed to be scared of him.
“Remember that you used to tell me that you want to be a character in your own game. I was just thinking of something like Mario. You see, I think Princess Peach was capable of protecting herself from Bowser. But, she seems to enjoy being rescued by Mario. So, I think you were similar to Peach because of that. Capable of doing something on your own but prefer to let others do it for you. Ah, but I don’t mean to say you are lazy,”
Nino laughed hearing the explanation from Riida. As expected, he couldn’t be angry at Riida. He took the sketchbook from Riida. Looking at the sketch gave him inspiration for the concept of his next game.
“Ne, can you draw…”
That was when his dream ended. He didn’t know who Riida was. The guy’s face was blurred in his dream. He wondered who sketched the drawing in Jun’s proposal. Perhaps the guy was Riida in his dream. If not, maybe he knew who Riida was. He had to meet Riida. Riida was the key for him to understand why he felt like something was missing in his life.
“Nino,” said Sho, with concern. “Are you okay?”
Nino turned to look at Sho. He realized that they have arrived in the office.
“I’m okay,” answered Nino, putting back the proposal in his bag. “Sho, please ask Jun and the guy who sketch the character in the proposal to meet me as soon as possible,”
Nino was staring at the drawing of himself as a princess when someone knocked on his door. He asked the person to enter. It was Jun and - He wasn’t surprised to see the person behind Jun. It was Ohno.
“Good morning, Nino,” Jun greeted cheerfully as he sat on the chair opposite of him. Ohno, on the other hand, remained standing.
“You may sit, Ohno san,” said Nino. With a soft voice, Ohno thanked him before sitting on the chair next to Jun. His voice. Was it similar to Riida in his dream?
“So…” Nino tried to compose himself. “I’ve read the proposal you gave me yesterday, J. I was surprised that you will come out with that kind of concept,”
“It wasn’t my idea. It’s Ohno san’s idea. I saw the sketch and he explained to me what he was thinking when he sketched that. So, I thought it will be a good idea for our new game,”
Nino turned to look at Ohno. He was surprised to see the sketch.
“So, you drew me like a princess. Why?” Asked Nino. Like Riida, Ohno didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he stared at the sketch. Will he give the same answer as Riida?
“Are you angry?” Asked Ohno timidly in return. Nino was reminded of the way Riida reacted in his dream.
“Nope, just curious. I should be the prince, you know,” he tried to respond in the same way he did in his dream, to see the way Ohno reacted. However, the other guy remained expressionless. He did not even flinch. Was Nino wrong and the guy had nothing to do with Riida? Then, was the similarity between the drawing just a coincidence?
“A short prince,” said Jun in a low voice followed by a soft laugh. Nino ignored him as he was more interested to hear Ohno’s answer. However, it’s hard to keep a straight face when Ohno’s lips curled upwards, smiling because of Jun’s remark.
“Why are you smiling? You’re short like me too,” said Nino, pretending to be angry. Ohno immediately stopped smiling and apologized to him. He looks really cute to be panic like that.
“At least, Ohchan didn’t claim to be a prince,” defended Jun.
Once again, Nino wondered what was the relationship between Jun and Ohno. He felt jealous to see them and to his surprise, he was jealous at Jun. It’s weird. It was like, he had a feeling for Ohno.
“Whatever. Anyway…” Nino pointed at the sketch of Jun in a prince outfit. “I don’t want this to be the hero. I want this to be the villain,”
“What? Why should I be the villain? This handsome face shouldn’t be a villain. You must be jealous because Ohchan thought that I have prince quality,” protested Jun. Nino stuck his tongue out in response. It’s childish but that’s how he usually acted with Jun.
“I am not jealous. You can be the prince if you want. I just want to change the storyline of your game,” explained Nino.
“Interesting. What do you want to change?” Asked Jun.
In the original proposal, a princess of a wealthy kingdom was engaged to a prince. A few days before their wedding, she was kidnapped by a monster and the prince embarked on a journey to save her. However, Nino thought of another storyline. A witch stole an important item from the princess’ kingdom. The prince volunteer to retrieve the item but the princess refused to allow him because it’s her kingdom so she should be the one to retrieve the item. She asked him to take care of the kingdom during her absence. A servant of the prince offered himself to accompany the princess and the prince allowed him to follow. At first, the princess thought the servant would be a burden because he looked weak. But, as their journey began, she discovered that the servant was a skilful warrior.
As the twist, the princess didn’t know that the prince and the witch cooperate to overthrow her. The true purpose of the journey was to kill her. In the fake final battle, it would be between the servant and the witch. Once the witch was defeated, the prince would appear and reveal his evil intention. So, the final battle was between the servant and the prince. In the end, the princess would marry the servant because they fall in love during the journey.
“The servant should be the main character. I want the game to be from his point of view,” said Nino, ending his explanation. Jun looked at him thoughtfully while Ohno remained expressionless as before. He wondered if Ohno listened to his explanation or simply spaces out.
“It’s better than the original. Okay, I agree with your idea,”
“Great. Think of a plot that would explain why the servant offered himself to go with the princess and make sure each level is challenging enough,” instructed Nino and Jun nodded in agreement.
“As for you, Ohchan…” Nino didn’t know why both Ohno and Jun were surprised when he said that. “… I want you to sketch the servant as someone who looked weak, lazy, unmotivated. That’s why the prince underestimate his true ability,”
“Okay, Ka… Ninomiya san,”
Of course, Nino noticed the slip out but he didn’t say anything. He dismissed both of them from his office.
Who are you, Ohchan? Was that just a dream or perhaps a memory that I cannot remember? If we know each other before, why can't I remember you? Nino thought to himself as he watched Ohno’s retreating figure.
Ohno blinked in surprise when Nino suddenly laughed at him. He was sure the guy was angry at him for calling him a princess a moment ago but now the guy was laughing hysterically. He didn’t think Nino was angry at him anymore as he smiled innocently at him. A smile that he gave him whenever he wanted Ohno to do something for him.
“Ne, can you draw Jun as the prince?”
Ohno flinched upon hearing the request from Nino. Most probably Nino didn’t notice that as he keep on blabbering about the idea he had for his next game. Nino had admitted to him that he likes Jun and had confessed to him. But Jun rejected him because he had another in his heart.
“But…” Ohno tried to reject the idea.
“Yes, I know it’s delusional. But, if I cannot be with him in real life, can I be with him in my imagination? If he said anything, I will just say it’s because of his prince-like quality, not because I was expecting something,”
Nino looked at him expectantly. He cannot say no to that face. So, reluctantly, he agreed. Nino’s face was filled with happiness and Ohno smiled in return. In his heart, he wondered why Nino kept hoping that Jun would love him. What he said earlier was right. Nino was indeed waiting for his prince to rescue him and he wanted Jun to be his prince. If only he realized there was someone else who wants to be his knight in shining armour.
“Ohchan~~~”
Jun sing-song his name as he stood in front of him. Ohno narrowed his eyes in annoyance.
“Don’t be angry at me. You should thank me. You get the brat’s attention because of me,” Ohno was about to protest when Jun continued. “In a good way. The brat wanted to fire you yesterday because he thought you are a lunatic. We’ve told him that you are talented so he wanted to give you a chance. What is the better way to show off your talent? Of course, the drawing of the gorgeous princess,”
“Whatever. Whose idea was it to submit my drawing without my permission? Sho?”
Ohno was surprised when Nino showed him the sketch earlier. He gave the sketch to Jun, explaining what Nino had in mind for their next project. But, a lot of things had happened causing him to forget about the drawing. He didn’t expect Jun will give the sketch to Nino once he woke up from the coma.
“It’s my idea,” their conversation was interrupted by Sho who showed up in his working station. “We just want to help him remember you. The drawing seems special so maybe he will remember you soon,”
Ohno sighed in return. He didn’t mind to show the sketch to Nino. It would be a miracle if Nino remembered him because of the drawing. What he was afraid of was Nino’s reaction if he remembered something else about the drawing.
“Ohno Kun, I was with him this morning when he found the drawing. He was staring at it like he was trying to remember where he had seen it before. So, let’s be optimistic, okay?”
Sho tried to cheer him up. He didn’t know how to respond so he simply nodded his head.
“Okay, Ohchan. You better start working on the sketch for the hero. Do you have any idea for the servant?”
Ohno shook his head. He noticed Jun and Sho exchanged look like they were plotting something evil.
“I’m sure you will figure out something,” said Jun as he stood up to leave. Both he and Sho leave immediately before Ohno could ask them the meaning behind their evil look.
Nino looked at the watch. It’s almost 8 PM but Sho was nowhere to be found. He had been waiting for Sho for two hours. He wasn’t in the office. He tried to call Sho but there was no answer. He wanted to go home but his friend had warned him not to go anywhere alone. He could ask Jun to give him a ride home but the guy was in a hurry and left before he could say anything.
“Ah, whatever. If anything happened to me, it is Sho’s fault for leaving me alone,” Nino decided to leave without waiting for his friend. He thought of what to eat for dinner when he saw Ohno sitting at the bench near the entrance. He hadn’t seen Ohno for the last two days. The last time he saw Ohno was when he called the guy to his office. His heart beats faster and he felt excited to see the other guy again. Even though Ohno was alone, he seems to be talking with someone as he nodded his head while mumbling ‘I see’. He didn’t seem to notice Nino was there.
“So, you want me to meet your friend and told him you didn’t blame him for what happened?” Asked Ohno to his imaginary friend. It was creepy to see Ohno talking to himself like that but he continued to watch.
“Okay, I will go to see him n...” Nino didn’t know how to react when Ohno lifted his head and caught him staring. Ohno’s face turned red in embarrassment.
“It’s late. Why are you still here?” Asked Nino. He decided to pretend he didn’t see anything earlier.
“I had some work to do,”
“For our new game?” Asked Nino once again and Ohno nodded his head. It was a lie but Nino didn’t say anything about it.
“Okay, I look forward to seeing the results,” said Nino, turning his direction towards the entrance of the company. “I’ll go home first,”
“Ano…” Nino stopped walking when Ohno suddenly pulled his hand. But he immediately let go when he realized what he was doing. “Where is Sho? Aren't you supposed to go home with him?”
“Ah… I’ve been waiting for him but he was missing. Maybe something happened to his friend in the hospital,” Nino suddenly thought of Sho’s friend. That would explain why Sho suddenly went missing without reason.
“I haven't seen Aiba chan today,” Ohno mumbled in a low voice. The name sounds familiar but as Nino didn’t know who Aiba was, he ignored it
“Isn't it dangerous for you to go home alone? Where is Matsujun?” Asked Ohno again. Nino then explained that Jun went home immediately before he could ask for a ride. He felt weird to be interrogated by his employee like that. But, he was even more surprised to realize that he wasn’t angry at Ohno for acting like that. Instead, he was happy.
“I will accompany you home,” announced Ohno.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to do that,” He refused to accept Ohno’s offer. Deep in his heart, he was scolding himself for saying that. He wanted to spend more time with Ohno.
“No no. You might collapse again. It’s dangerous so please let me help,”
“But… You have to go somewhere else, right?” Said Nino as he remembered what Ohno said earlier. Ohno immediately pouted when he said that.
“Eh… What’s wrong?” Asked Nino when he noticed the change in Ohno’s expression.
“You must have seen me talking to myself again. You must think that I am a lunatic. That’s why you refused to go with me. You are afraid of me. But, I don’t… Hmmm… Let me….”
Nino didn’t know what controls him at that moment as hugged Ohno to stop him from blabbing. It worked as Ohno stared at him in confusion. He knew he should let go of the guy but he didn’t. Instead, he hugged Ohno tightly. It felt right to embrace Ohno, it felt like something that he wanted to do for a long time.
“Let’s go to where you have to go first. Then, we eat dinner together and you can send me home after that,” suggested Nino. Ohno didn’t say anything but he nodded his head in agreement.
Nino had to admit that he was surprised with himself. There was something… Something about Ohno that made him felt like he had known him for a long time. He wanted to ask Ohno if there was something between them but he thought it would be more satisfying if he found the answer on his own.
A/N: Actually, I wanted to write the story that I wrote for the game. The one about the princess and the servant. Totally random, right?
Anyway, have you listened to Arashi's new song? I really love the B-side songs especially Bokura no Hi da.
Okay, I didn't forget the other stories. I will update them as soon as possible.