It's Kazunari, not Kazuya - Part 7
Another guest came over when they were almost done with the curry pan. The ringing bell surprised both Ohno and Nino. And, for a second, Nino thought Mei had come back to the house. But, Ohno assured him that the woman would not bother them anymore. At least not today because she would need time to figure out why her spell didn’t work on Ohno. However, Nino wasn’t fully convinced. He still remembered the way Mei looked at him before she left. She might guess that it had something to do with Nino. Nevertheless, Nino didn’t say anything to the boss and he was left alone in the kitchen as Ohno checked who was at the door.
"You cook curry today?" He heard Sho's voice, accompanied by two sets of footsteps walking towards him. "It smells delicious. May I… oh!" The man trailed off when he spotted Nino in the kitchen. His eyes widened in surprise. "Hi, Ninomiya-san. Didn't expect to see you here,"
"Hello, Sakurai-san," Nino greeted the man politely. Truthfully, he didn't know how to react. Despite the smile on his face, Sho didn't seem happy to see him in Ohno's house. But, why? Unlike Ohno, Sho had been nice to him since day one. Did he do anything that made the boss angry at him?
"How was your trip to Osaka?" Asked Nino.
"It was good," answered Sho nonchalantly as he took a seat at the counter while Ohno sat beside him. "Hmm, what are you doing here? Did Satoshi bully you to cook for him?"
Ah, he should expect this. Of course, Sho would think like that. Since his first day of work, Sho had been worried for him because of how Ohno treated him initially. But, things have changed recently. So, there’s no need for Sho to worry about him.
"I'm helping Ohno-san with the curry-pan," explained Nino. "And, don't worry. Ohno-san didn't force me to come here. I'm willingly helping him,"
"Well, if you say so,"
"Sho-chan, how could you think of me like that!" Said Ohno, pouting. "I didn't bully Kazunari. He is a good cook. So, I asked him to help me make curry pan,"
"Matsujun is also a good cook but you never ask him to cook with you,"
"Because Matsujun is scary," answered Ohno. Nino chose to ignore the two of them. The last batch of their curry pan is almost ready. So, his focus was on taking the bread out of the pot. However, before he could do anything, Ohno suddenly took his hand and then led Nino to the seat he previously occupied.
“Ohno-san…”
“Just sit and relax, okay?” Said Ohno, cutting him off. The man expertly took the bread out of the pot. Then, he took three smaller plates and put the curry pan on the plates, two for each of them. Once he was done, he placed the plate in front of both Nino and Sho.
“Let’s eat,” exclaimed Ohno, taking a seat next to Nino. The boss was too close to him. If he moved his arm, there was no doubt it would brush against Ohno’s arm. But, strangely, Nino wasn’t uncomfortable to have Ohno near him.
“It looks good,” said Sho as he took the first bite. The man nodded his head a few times as he munched the bread. “Your recipe, right?”
He directed the question to Ohno, who nodded his head. Then, Ohno asked. “How is it?”
“It is good. I love the filling,” said Sho.
“Well, it’s because of Kazunari. The recipe is mine but Kazunari did most of the job,”
The compliment wasn’t what he expected from Ohno. That’s why he could only cough when he heard it. And, it became even more embarrassing when Sho looked at him.
“No wonder Satoshi loves your cooking,” stated Sho. “It’s really good,”
“I just followed his instruction,” responded Nino, lowering his face. As he couldn’t see how he looked right now, he could only hope that his face didn’t turn red because of the compliment.
“Well… it’s good that you are here, Sho-chan,” said Ohno, taking the attention from Nino. “I don’t have to drop by your house later to send the curry pan. How about we invite both Matsujun and Aiba here? We can have a small party to welcome Kazunari into our company,”
Before Nino could reject the idea, Sho already nodded his head, agreeing. He couldn't interject as his two bosses continued to discuss.
“Sounds good,” said Sho, taking out his phone. "I will text them. How about the food? Do you want to cook?"
"Delivery, of course," answered Ohno. "What do you want to eat, Kazunari?"
"Eh?" Nino blinked his eyes, not sure how to respond. Everything happened too fast. And, he was even more confused when Ohno suddenly flicked his nose gently. An action that somehow made Sho frown as he looked at them.
"I'm asking…" Ohno repeated. "What do you want to eat? This party is for you so you get to choose what you want to eat,"
“Eh.. there’s no need to make a party for me… I mean, I am just…”
Nino ended up trailing off, suddenly feeling wary of the surroundings. Magic. He could feel the presence of magic in the kitchen even though it was only for a moment. The magic was there for a second and then it abruptly went away. But, the trace of magic still lingered in the kitchen. Seemed like the person who cast the magic was trying to spy on them. It wasn’t dark magic so Nino’s presence had no effect on it. So, why did the person change his mind? He had no idea.
Well, at least, Nino was certain that the spy must be Mei. However, thanks to the few minutes spending with her earlier, it could be confirmed that she couldn’t do magic. So, how did she do it? Did someone else help her? Someone from his realm, perhaps… But, how did that person come here? Did he have the same magic as Jun?
“Kazunari…”
Ohno gently tapped his shoulder, snapping Nino out of his trance. Both Ohno and Sho had the same expression on their face as they looked at Nino with concern. The only difference was Ohno seemed to understand what happened to him.
"Are you okay, Ninomiya-san?" Asked Sho. "You seem to be…" Sho paused for a while, perhaps trying to find the right word to describe Nino. “... wary, I guess? What happened?”
“Nothing to be worried about,” answered Nino, deciding that he shouldn’t let Sho know about magic yet. Letting Ohno know about his secret was already a big step and Nino did that without consulting Jun. Well, at least, Ohno was directly involved in this. So, Jun might understand his decision. But, if Nino told Sho about magic, Jun might not be happy.
“Are you sure?” asked Sho again. “For a second, I thought you saw a ghost because you suddenly went stiff,”
Nino brushed it off with a slight smile. “So, about the party…”
“Ah yes…” said Ohno. “What do you want to eat, Kazunari?”
Nino thought about it for a while. Was it a good idea to have a party at Ohno’s house? But, at least, Jun would be here and maybe, they could discuss what to do with Ohno after Aiba and Sho left. In the meantime, maybe he should put a protection spell around the house so that Mei couldn’t spy on them anymore. The spell would only be temporary, though. But, as long as Nino stayed around Ohno, nothing would harm the boss.
“Kazunari…”
Ohno tapped his shoulder again as Nino was once again lost in his thoughts.
"Ah, sorry, I didn't mean to space out," said Nino. "I couldn't think of anything to eat. So, I will be okay with anything you order,"
"If you say so…" drawled Ohno. "Will pizza be okay?"
"Sure,"
"Great," exclaimed Ohno. "Sho-chan, can you text Matsujun and Aiba to come over? Kazunari and I will order pizza,"
Before Sho could say anything, Ohno already dragged Nino to his bedroom. Not only that, but Ohno also locked the door once they were inside. Nino wouldn’t blame the man because Ohno must be dying to know what had happened earlier. But, acting like this would make Sho suspicious of them.
“What happened?” Ohno didn’t waste any second to ask. “Did she do something?”
“Sort of… she was trying to spy on us,” Answered Nino. At the same time, he also placed a spell on the door so that Sho couldn’t hear their conversation.
“You stopped her?”
Nino shook his head. “No, she stopped it willingly before I could do anything. She didn’t use dark magic to do it so my presence doesn’t affect the magic,”
Ohno tilted his head, scratching his head. “Your presence? Dark magic?”
“Hmm… what she used on you is a love spell and it is considered dark magic. However, whenever I am around, dark magic will not be effective. That’s why her love spell no longer works on you,”
“Whenever you are around?” repeated Ohno. “So, you didn’t do anything? It happened because of your presence only?”
“Yes, that’s how it works,”
“But, that’s weird,” said Ohno, tapping his chin.
"What do you mean?"
“Well, the first time I could resist her was when I first met you,” explained Ohno. “I’ve told you, right? I could hear her voice in my head even when she wasn't around. Before your interview, the voice kept telling me to meet her. But, Sho-chan forced me to interview you. Because I was resisting her order, I had a headache and that’s why I was in a bad mood. But, the moment I entered the meeting room, her voice started to fade,”
Nino stayed silent, deciding to listen intently to what Ohno had to say. Never would he imagine Ohno would describe the incident with more details.
“Of course, at that time, I didn’t know it’s because of you,” continued Ohno. “And, I was also curious to know if I meet her as she instructed, will the voice come back to haunt me. That’s why I am eager to leave,”
Nino frowned, remembering the first time he met Ohno. “That’s reckless. What if you were under her influence again?”
Ohno, however, only shrugged him off. “I wasn’t with you, right? But, the spell no longer worked on me when I met her. I can still hear her voice in my head but I am immune to it. Why?”
Nino thought about it for a while. But, truthfully, he had no idea how his speciality magic worked. Perhaps traces of Nino’s magic was still lingering on Ohno when the man met Mei that day. That’s why he was immune to her.
“I have no idea, Ohno-san,” He told Ohno. “Hmm, so, when she showed up today, the voice is back?”
Ohno nodded. “Yes, and it is louder than before. That’s why I get a headache,”
Her voice was louder this time, Nino noted. Hmm, that would mean Mei might have used a stronger love spell. Thankfully, Nino’s magic was still stronger than her spell. This worried him. What if the next time she showed up, Mei will use a different spell and it was stronger than Nino’s magic. Would Ohno be under her influence again? No, he wouldn’t allow that.
A knock from the outside surprised the two of them.
“Hey, what are you up to?” said Sho from the other side of the door. “I have texted Aiba-chan and Matsujun. They will come. Have you ordered the pizza?”
“Almost. Kazunari didn’t know which pizza he wants,” answered Ohno, sticking his tongue at Nino. “We will be out in a minute,”
“Okay, I will just watch TV while you two enjoy yourself in the room doing whatever you are doing,”
Soon after, the two of them heard the footsteps walking away from the room. In response, Ohno suddenly laughed.
“Sho-chan must be thinking about something dirty,”
“Something dirty?” asked Nino, not getting what Ohno meant by that. His reaction, somehow, made Ohno laugh even harder.
“I will leave it up to your imagination,” answered Ohno without explaining anything. “Right now, we need to order a pizza,”
“Hmm, fascinating,”
Mei watched her companion with a frown on her face. The man was staring at a crystal ball but whatever he saw in it, he didn’t tell Mei, which made her curious. Earlier, her companion had asked for her permission to see the man who was with Satoshi. However, instead of going out, the man only took out a crystal ball and he had been staring at it with a smirk. What did he see in the ball?
“As I thought, Miss…” the man finally took his eyes off the crystal ball. “The man who is with Satoshi-san… he is special,”
“I don’t care if he is special or not. I want you to get rid of him. Can you do that?”
“Of course, Miss. You don’t have to worry,” assured the man. “It may take some time but trust me, Miss, the victory will be ours,”
A/N: Sorry if this isn't okay. Hope you enjoy reading and let me know what you think of it. It will be very much appreciated :)