It's Kazunari, not Kazuya - Part 8
With Ohno's help, Nino was able to cast the protection spells around the apartment. Of course, the boss couldn’t conjure a spell or anything. But, he had helped Nino by distracting Sho. While Nino was working on the spell in the living hall, Ohno brought Sho into his room, pretending that he had to discuss work-related stuff with Sho.
Once the spell was done, Nino took his phone out and dialled Jun’s number. He didn’t want Jun to be surprised to sense magic all over the house when he arrived later. And Jun was quick in picking up his call.
“Hello, Nino,” greeted Jun when the call was connected. “Why do you call? Do you want me to bring your stuff over so that you can sleep at Ohno’s house tonight?”
Not letting Nino correct him or telling him the real reason for the call, Jun continued to talk, spouting nonsense about Nino’s and Ohno’s relationship.
“See… I know it! You must be sleeping there tonight. Didn’t I tell you to bring extra clothes before you left?”
“Jun-kun,” Nino tried to interrupt but the man still wouldn’t let him talk as he wasn’t done teasing Nino.
“But, don’t worry. I’ll bring your clothes with me. And, I will be there in ten minutes,” informed Jun. The man, then, ended the call before Nino could tell him anything. And, Nino could only sigh, wondering why Jun was so fixated on teasing him with Ohno.
“Why are you sighing?”
The hall was too quiet and that’s why when Ohno greeted him from behind and patted his shoulder, he was too shocked and couldn’t stop the strings of words that came out from his mouth. And, it wasn’t even in the language of this place.
“What are you saying?” Ohno asked curiously. Judging from the look on his face, Nino knew the man was controlling himself from laughing. Ah, this was so embarrassing. It must be funny for Ohno to hear what he said earlier. “Is it the language you used in the place where you come from?”
Nino tapped his chin, thinking of how to answer the question. The language that his people spoke was almost similar to this place. That’s why it wasn’t hard for Nino to learn. At the same time, Nino was also taught the ancient language. Well, most of the spells were in the ancient language so it made sense why they had to learn it after all. While some people only learn it to cast spells, Nino took it a step further after he found out who he was. The texts about Child of Light were in the ancient language. So, he decided to study the language more to get a better understanding of what he was. But, before he could discover more, he had to flee from his kingdom.
“Our language is almost similar to yours,” explained Nino. “But, we also learn the ancient language. And, whenever I am mad or frustrated or startled, I don’t know… I would end up rambling in that language,”
Ohno let out a long oh and nodded his head. The action was too cute to look at and Nino couldn’t stop staring at the man. His boss was cute, thought Nino as he watched his boss with a smile on his face.
“Is it different here?” Asked Ohno. “Do you miss your home?”
A weak smile was all Nino could do as he thought of his kingdom. Of course, it was different. For a starter, his kingdom was filled with nature. Trees and plants decorated every inch of the lands. Of course, there were also buildings. That’s where they stayed after all. But, the design was different and they weren’t as tall as the building here. And, unlike this place, his kingdom was a serene place where one could hear the sound of nature wherever they went.
Did he miss his kingdom?
Nino pondered over it for a second. Strange. He didn’t miss it as much as he thought. Frankly, he was more comfortable being here than in the kingdom he was from. Maybe because he was no one here. And, he had someone he could call a friend. Over there, he was lonely.
“Kazunari…” Ohno waved his hands in front of Nino, breaking him off from his trance. Thank goodness, the action didn’t cause him to ramble as he did earlier. “Sorry for asking. Of course, you miss your hometown, right?” said Ohno and once again, Nino only smiled at his boss. “Anyway, are you done with the protection spell?”
“Yes,” answered Nino. “I think it is okay to let Sakurai-san out now,”
Ohno simply shrugged him off. “Just let him stay in my room for a while. He’s busy, checking the report that I have to submit on Monday,” The man then pulled him to sit on the couch. And upon closer inspection, Nino noticed he had a cheeky smile on his face, accompanied by a mischievous glint in the eyes. “Let’s sit and talk,”
“Hmm, what do you want to talk about?” asked Nino, suddenly aware of how close they were. Maybe because of their proximity, Nino’s heart started to race. But, like before, it didn’t make him uncomfortable.
“Tell me, why did you sigh when I came out of the room? Something bad happened?”
Nino shook his head. “It’s Jun,” he said, trying to keep his voice low, afraid that Sho might hear what he said next. Yes, Sho was far from him but, it’s better to take precaution, right? “I tried to tell him about the protection spell around the house so that he won’t be surprised when he comes later. But, he didn’t let me talk at all because he was busy teasing…”
Nino stopped himself. No, he shouldn’t let Ohno know.
“Why do you stop?” asked Ohno. His tone, even though it sounded curious, seemed to suggest that he was just pretending to be so as he leaned closer towards Nino with a smirk. “Did he tease you about us?”
Nino’s eyes widened. He was flabbergasted to know Ohno was aware of the teasing. As he didn’t answer, Ohno shortened the distance between their faces slowly. And, even though Nino should move away, his body refused to cooperate as he let Ohno leaned closer and closer towards him until their noses touched. The man stopped after that but his eyes were focusing on Nino’s lips and Nino could feel he was doing the same towards the man.
“Ne, can I call you Kazuya again?” asked Ohno, taking his eyes away from Nino’s mouth and staring straight at Nino’s eyes. He used his deep voice, which made him sound sexy. And, the look that Ohno gave Nino did nothing to calm his heart.
Nino tried to answer but nothing came out of his mouth. How can someone stay calm in this situation? And, what will Ohno do? Will he do what Nino thinks the man will do? If he does, Nino knows he will not resist the man because deep down, he wants it too.
However, before anything could happen, the doorbell was rung, surprising the two of them. Nino pulled back from Ohno who also did the same with a curse. He smiled at Nino and then pecked him lightly on the nose before he went to answer the door. It must be Jun, Nino thought, as the man said he would be here in ten minutes during the phone call.
But, it wasn’t Jun. It was the pizza delivery man. That was a relief because Nino wasn’t ready to face Jun yet. Pretty sure his face was red right now because of what happened between him and Ohno. And, if Jun saw it, he would easily guess why he was blushing and most likely, he would tease Nino even further after that.
However, once Ohno was done dealing with the pizza man, Jun came striding into the house, carrying Nino’s tote bag with him. That must be where he put Nino’s stuff.
He wasn’t alone, though. Aiba was beside him, smiling brightly as he greeted Nino and Ohno. Jun, on the other hand, looked around the house warily, perhaps because he had detected the protection spell around the house. But, he didn’t look angry as he shifted his attention towards Nino. Confused and curious. That’s what Nino could detect from his gaze.
"Aiba-chan," Ohno called the man softly. "Help me in the kitchen, please,"
"Sure," Aiba readily agreed as he followed Ohno to the kitchen, talking animatedly about the small box that he brought. Knowing how much Aiba loved eating sweet food, it was easy to guess the content of the box. It must be pastries from his favourite store.
"Your ears are red," remarked Jun as soon as Ohno and Aiba were out of earshot. "And… even though it wasn't obvious… Ohno-san looked frustrated,"
Seeing the teasing glint in Jun's eyes, Nino knew what the man was going to say next.
"Sorry for interrupting your intimate moment," said Jun, smirking. "But, don't worry. I'm sure you will not be interrupted tonight,"
"Shut up,"
"Well, put that thing aside. Tell me, did you do what I think you do?" Jun moved closer and then said in an extremely low voice but could still be heard by Nino. "Protection spell?"
"Yes," answered Nino. “I’ve been trying to tell you when I called you. But, you didn’t let me talk,”
“Why are you doing it? Does this have anything to do with Ohno-san? Is he in danger?”
“I will explain later,” said Nino. But Jun didn’t seem to like the idea. He eyed the house warily and then after making sure no one else could see him, he began casting a spell. At the first glance, it might seem like nothing had happened. But, Nino could sense how the air went still. Jun had frozen the time along with the people around them. And, only the two of them that can talk and move normally.
This was a surprise to Nino because he knew Jun didn’t like to use magic with other people around. Perhaps he was aware when Ohno spotted him when he did magic before. And, since then, he had been careful when casting it.
“Explain, now,” instructed Jun.
Nino didn’t know whether Jun was a strong magician or not. Being able to freeze time was impressive but he could sense the struggle that his friend was facing. So, without hesitating, he briefly recounted the event that had happened earlier, expecting Jun to be mad at him when he talked about using magic in front of Ohno. But, his friend barely had any changes in his expression.
“The magic isn’t hers, right?” That’s the first thing that Jun said once Nino was done telling him what happened.
“Yes,” confirmed Nino. “But, it is strong. And, Ohno-san said it is stronger than he ever felt before,” Nino paused for a second, contemplating to ask what worried him the most. “Ne, aren’t you angry at me for using magic in front of Ohno-san?”
“Well, you guys are going to be a couple soon. So, maybe it’s a good idea for Ohno-san to know about it,”
“Jun-kun!” Nino yelled, surprised to hear the response from Jun. His friend laughed at first before he set his face to look serious.
“It’s okay, Nino,” said Jun. “I screwed up once. I thought I was alone in the office. But, Ohno-san was there. Thank goodness, he didn’t say anything about it. And, because this matter about Mei involves him, he has the right to know. But, we still have to be careful around Aiba-chan and Sakurai-san,”
Nino hummed in agreement. “How about Mei? Do you have any idea how she can use a love spell on Ohno-san? Do you think she knows someone from our place? Do you think someone else has the same ability as you?”
“Perhaps,” answered Jun. “You are not the first Child of Light even though it has been a while since we have one. So, I might not be the only one who is blessed with this ability. After all…”
Jun paused for a while. He shut his eyes with a frown and Nino watched him curiously, eager to know what the man would say.
“I discovered my ability when I was still small, you know,” Jun began. “I was playing in the forest when I discovered a veil to this place. I ripped it open and entered this world. Imagine how surprised I was to see a completely different place for the first time. I ran back to our world to show my parents. They could see the veil when I touched them but it will be hidden from their eyes when I let them go,”
Nino listened intently. In the back of his mind, he recalled the day he came to this world. If he was not mistaken, Jun was the one who created the veil and then after they crossed the boundary, Jun closed the veil.
“I learn more about my ability after that. I found out that I can create and close the veil on my own. So, now, it made me think…”
“Who created the veil that you saw when you were small?” The two of them said in unison.
“The person who is helping Mei might be the same person who created the veil that I saw,” deduced Jun. “He or she might create the veil by mistake and then crossed the boundary without knowing how to get back to our world,”
“Or he preferred to stay here,”
“Well, that is possible too,” said Jun. “We have to investigate this. I will try to find something. In the meantime, you have to be careful and protect your boyfriend,”
“Jun-kun!” Nino whined. He rolled his eyes, wondering why his friend was still in the mood to tease him. Jun only smirked before he snapped his fingers and then, everything went back to normal.
Aiba and Ohno came striding from the kitchen. While Aiba walked to them, Ohno headed to his bedroom, bringing Sho with him when he came out. All five of them ate and talked and then, following Aiba’s suggestion, played a dumb board game that he created. It was the first time for Nino to play the game but everyone else seemed to have played it often. They had to throw the dice and then moved the game piece according to the number displayed on the dice. They would get a reward or a punishment depending on where they stopped on the board. Nino’s turn was after Ohno’s. And, weirdly enough, they would land at the same place each time they rolled the dice.
They ate dinner together as Jun volunteered to cook for them. After dinner, they decided to watch a movie. Nino tried to pay attention but halfway through the movie, his eyes started to get heavy. Didn’t bother to resist, he ended up falling asleep and only stirred when he could feel a strong pair of arms lifted him from the couch.
“Just sleep, Kazuya,” said a voice.
Nino didn’t object as he was too tired. He was then placed into something soft and then a kiss was placed on his forehead.
A young man stared at the ceiling of his room. Appearance could be deceiving. He may look young. But, he was actually older than he looked.
He smiled, thinking of the small man that he saw in the crystal ball. What he saw was amazing. He was different from the people around him. He could see and do things that others couldn’t do. And, when he saw the small man, it was the first time he saw someone similar to him. The shape of magic around the man was beautiful.
He wanted to know more about the man. Should he go and visit the man?
A/N: Ohno seemed to be getting bolder here. If only the delivery man didn't come at that time, maybe Ohmiya will already have their first kiss.
Not sure what to think of this part. But, I hope it is okay. Let me know what you think of it, okay? It will be very much appreciated :)