It's Kazunari, not Kazuya - Part 5
Nino didn’t want Jun to know that he’s going to Ohno’s house today.
But, that didn’t go as planned.
Ohno had informed him that he would pick him up the next morning. So, Nino expected the man would send him a text when he arrived. And, Nino would meet him outside. But, his boss didn’t do so. Instead, while Nino was getting ready in his room, Ohno rang the bell and Jun was the one who opened the door. Nino, on the other hand, decided to stay in the room to listen to their conversation. Ohno was 30 minutes early, after all.
“Ohno-san,” said Jun. He sounded surprised. “Good morning. I didn’t expect to see you today,”
“Good morning, Matsujun,” responded his boss. “How are you? Have you recovered from your cold?”
“Yes, Ohno-san. I had plenty of rest yesterday. So, now, I’m fine. Sorry for yesterday, ne?”
“It’s okay. You’ve been working hard. Taking a day off will be good for you,”
“I hope I didn’t cause much trouble,” said Jun. “Why are you here, Ohno-san?”
“Oh, Kazunari didn’t tell you? I want to make curry pan today and Kazunari will help me,”
“Ah…” said Jun. Even though Nino couldn’t see the man, Jun definitely had a smug look on his face right now. “I will go and get him,”
Nino could hear the footsteps approaching but he did nothing. Ohno was early and he wasn’t ready to face the man yet. So, he sat on his bed as Jun knocked on his door and then opened it without waiting for Nino. His friend looked at him with a mischievous smile.
“You didn’t tell me about your second date with Ohno-san today,”
“It’s not a date,” Nino corrected the man. Geez, why was his friend so fixated on that stupid idea?
“Of course, it is a date,” said Jun. “And, why are you dressed like that?”
“What’s wrong with the way I dress?” asked Nino as he checked his reflection on the mirror. Granted, it was simple. He was only wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. But, what else should he wear? A suit? That didn’t seem appropriate to help Ohno with his curry pan.
“It’s too simple for a date,”
Nino threw a pillow at Jun. “This is not a date, Jun-pon. How many times do I have to tell you? Ohno-san doesn’t like me. He already has Mei-chan. Maybe we are making the curry pan for his girlfriend,”
“That’s impossible,” said Jun. “I see the way he looks at you. And the way he calls your name. I’m sure he has feelings for you. Besides, I think there’s something weird about that woman,”
“What do you mean?” Asked Nino. Almost instantly, he remembered the conversation he had with Aiba yesterday. The conversation about Mei and how she might bewitch Ohno.
“Well, I sense magic whenever she is around,” answered Jun. And, because of what Aiba told him, Nino wasn’t surprised. Truthfully, he had planned to talk about this with Jun. However, thanks to Ohno and his weird request, the plan was forgotten.
“Do you think she is one of us?”
Jun shook his head. “No, the magic didn’t come from her,”
“What do you mean?”
“Hmm… maybe something that she has… most likely, her perfume. Maybe it was infused with a love spell,”
Nino tilted his head, thinking about it. How could she have something made of magic if she didn’t do it? Maybe she accidentally found the perfume without knowing what it could do. But, how did the object end up in this place? And, if he was not mistaken, for a love spell to work, it had to be specific. So, if it was only Ohno who was affected by the spell, it was indeed made for him.
“Anyway…” Jun tapped his shoulder lightly while he was deep in his thought. “... after you meet Ohno-san, it seems like the spell no longer works on him. So, whatever she did, it was indeed dark magic. I mean, you are the Child of Light, right?”
Nino blinked his eyes. He was taken aback by the nickname. Indeed, in the place where he came from, he was called the Child of Light. In their community, it was something rare. In fact, there was no Child of Light for centuries and it was more like a myth. But, Nino was born and things started to change.
Frankly, even though it was obvious, he had hoped Jun would not know his true identity. Despite coming from the same place, Jun was different. Unlike everyone else, Jun didn’t go to school. He received his magic education from his parents, which made Nino wonder if it was because of Jun’s ability. What Jun could do… it was unheard of. So, perhaps his parents didn’t send him to school to protect him.
“Why do you look surprised?”
“How do you know I am the Child of Light?”
Jun rolled his eyes. “Because it’s obvious. Why else would you be running from the kingdom? They were after you, right?”
Nino nodded his head. Being the Child of Light… was it a blessing or a curse? As everyone knows, magic has different forms. Some are good, some are bad. Of course, dark magic such as controlling others and love spells are prohibited. But, some people are sneaky enough to practice it without getting caught.
And, for those people, the Child of Light is their enemy. The dark magic they did will lose their effect whenever Nino was around. And, that’s why he was targeted by those people and had to flee from his home.
“Okay, that’s enough chatting for now,” Jun pulled him to stand. “We will discuss this later. Now, you have a date to go,”
“It’s not…”
“You better hurry. What if you make Ohno-san angry?”
Nino glared at his friend. But, what Jun said was true. Knowing his boss, maybe he would scold Nino for making him wait. And, even though it was his fault for being early, Ohno would twist the truth so that it would be Nino’s fault.
Nino put his key and phone in the pocket. But, when he was ready to go, Jun stopped him again.
“Nino, you forget something,”
“What is it?”
“Extra clothes,” said Jun, smirking. “Who knows? Maybe you will not be home tonight,”
Nino could only sigh. He didn’t know how to stop Jun from teasing him about his relationship with Ohno. So, he simply turned around and left the room. The sight that greeted him in the living room, on the other hand, wasn’t what he expected. Ohno was sitting on the couch with his eyes shut. Eh? Was he sleeping? If he was, should Nino wake him up? Nevertheless, he still walked closer to the boss to confirm it. But, once he was a few steps from Ohno, he could only stare at the boss, not knowing what to do actually.
“I’m not sleeping, Kazunari,”
He almost screeched when Ohno talked without opening his eyes.
“I’m sorry, Ohno-san,” He quickly apologized even though he didn’t make any mistake.
“Nothing to apologize for,” Ohno said, slowly opening his eyes. “Are you ready, Kazunari?”
He only nodded.
“Good!” Ohno clasped his hands together as he stood up. "Have you had your breakfast?"
"Errr…" He hadn't, actually. He thought of eating while waiting for Ohno. But, the boss arrived early.
"I assume you haven't eaten yet," said Ohno. "That's great, then. We can have breakfast together,"
"Oh… can I recommend a place for you two?" Jun appeared from the bedroom. He looked excited.
"It's okay, Matsujun," said Ohno. "I already decide where to eat for breakfast today,"
"Okay! Enjoy your day, Ohno-san. You too, Nino,"
With that, the two of them waved at Jun and then walked out together.
“Feel free to order anything,” said Ohno, handing him a menu.
Nino took it. However, instead of looking at the menu, he looked around the cafe that Ohno brought him. It was near Jun’s house and Nino often thought of going to the cafe once he received his first salary. From what he saw whenever he passed the cafe, the restaurant looked cosy. So, it was a surprise for him. After what happened on his first day of work, he thought Ohno would bring him to another high-class restaurant.
“Have you decided on what you want to eat?” asked Ohno. His eyes were on the menu.
“Ah, I will just have the coffee,” answered Nino. He had enough money to pay for that.
Hearing what he said, Ohno put the menu away.
“Order something to eat,” said Ohno. He tried to sound stern but it didn’t sound natural. Well, frankly, Ohno was different than the first time Nino met him. He was nicer, which made Nino wonder if it had anything to do with the spell that Mei cast on him. Perhaps, he was harsh before because of the spell. Well, that would be another thing to discuss later.
“It’s okay, Ohno-san. I’m not hungry,”
“But, you haven’t had your breakfast yet,”
“True… but, I usually skip breakfast,”
Ohno shook his head and sighed. He looked disappointed. “It’s not good to skip your breakfast, Kazunari,”
This was weird. Ohno seemed to be genuinely concerned about his wellbeing. But, why?
“Well, I don’t care. You have to eat today,” said Ohno. Before Nino could protest, the man continued. “And, don’t worry about the bill. It’s my treat this time. But, you can bring lunch for me on Monday if you feel bad,”
“Do you like my cooking?”
“It’s acceptable,” answered Ohno. His face was red, which made Nino think that he was lying. “But, because you brought lunch for me every day, I don’t have to worry about what to eat. But, you never make curry for me, right?”
“Ah…” That was true. There’s a reason he never made curry for Ohno. “Jun-kun said you love curry. So, I’m worried if my curry isn’t up to your standard, you will be mad at me,”
To his surprise, Ohno suddenly roared with laughter. Nino looked at him weirdly. Is his boss crazy? Nothing funny happened so why did he laugh?
Then, just like how sudden the laugh was, Ohno also stopped laughing almost immediately when a few people pointed at them. Once again, his face was red but Nino didn’t say anything about it. This was the first time he saw Ohno being embarrassed. And, he thought that Ohno looked cute.
“Quickly pick what you want to eat, Kazunari,” said Ohno without meeting Nino’s eyes. “We have to buy the ingredients for curry pan after this,”
“Okay,” Nino didn’t protest this time. Free food, right? But, to compensate for this, he would bring lunch for Ohno on Monday.
“Put those things on the counter,” ordered Ohno, pointing at the kitchen. Nino simply nodded and then headed to the direction as instructed by his boss. “Let’s start in 15 minutes, okay? In the meantime, you can rest in the living room,”
Well, that would be great, Nino thought. He was exhausted. Earlier, he went to the supermarket to buy the ingredients for curry pan with Ohno. And, the man was too meticulous. The way he scrutinized the onions, carrots, tomatoes and other ingredients to be put into the curry… wow, Nino didn’t expect Ohno would pay too much attention to that. But, it shouldn’t be a surprise, actually. After two weeks of working for Ohno, he could see that his boss is a perfectionist.
After putting the ingredient on the counter, Nino washed his hand and then, went to the living room. He looked around the spacious apartment, not sure what to do. Ohno had disappeared into, what Nino assumed, his bedroom. So, Nino was left all alone. Hmm, what should he do while waiting?
He decided to just sit on the couch. Fifteen minutes wouldn’t be that long, right? Pretty sure, Ohno would be out in a while. Perhaps, he went to his bedroom to change his clothes into something comfortable.
“Kazunari…” Ohno shouted from the room. “You don’t bring extra clothes, right?”
“No,” He shouted back. Why did Ohno ask? Did he want Nino to sleep here tonight? But, why?
“Do you want to borrow mine, then?”
“Eh?”
Ohno appeared from the bedroom, standing at the door with his arms crossed.
“I’m just asking in case you want to take a shower after we cook today,”
Oh…
Gosh, this was embarrassing. Why would he think Ohno wants him to spend the night here? This was all Jun’s fault.
“If you want…”
Ohno didn’t get to finish what he wanted to say as the front door was opened from the outside, revealing a woman wearing a very short skirt. Well, the rest of her clothes were pretty much revealing too. And, tight.
This must be Mei, Nino guessed.
“Who are you?” She asked. “What are you doing in my boyfriend’s apartment?”
But, Nino didn’t answer her. He was too shocked to respond. As Jun said, Nino could also sense magic around her. But, it didn’t come directly from her. It was from something else.
But, that wasn’t the reason he was shocked. No, there was something else. The magic that he sensed around her… it was dark magic. Yes, Jun had told him about that too. But, Nino didn’t expect it would be a potent, powerful dark magic.
A/N: So, Nino finally met Mei. What will happen? How will Ohno react? A part of me wish that he won't recognize Mei at all. Perhaps, because she used dark magic on Ohno right from the start. The spell might take some time to lose its effect on Ohno, so, maybe Ohno never mentioned her at all because he didn't remember her. Hahaha, I'm not so sure yet about this. So, let's me figure it out later.
As always, let me know what you think about this, ne? It will be very much appreciated :)