Not for Sale - Part 4
“What are you doing, Junny?” Scolded Nino. “Why do you bring him here?”
He pointed at Ohno. Did the man hear what Nino had said about him? He didn’t appear to be offended at all as he continued to stare at Nino with a dazed expression on his face. Urgh, this was creepy, proving that Nino was right. Ohno had a bad intention for purchasing him. And it got even more terrifying when Ohno moved forward and stood right in front of Nino.
“Does it hurt…”
“Huh?”
“...when you fell from heaven?”
What the… Nino could feel his face contorted in a grimace of annoyance. What a lame pick-up line. Noticing the way Jun, Aiba and Sakurai tried to stifle their laughter, he knew they were also thinking of the same thing as him. Any seconds Aiba would burst into laughter because the man always had a hard time controlling his reaction. However, to his surprise, it was Sakurai who roared with laughter first.
“Satoshi,” called Sakurai, still laughing. “I never thought you would use a pick-up line. Totally unbelievable!”
Nino chuckled when he noticed the way Ohno’s face turned red because of the comment from Sakurai. It made him look cute.
Eh? Nino quickly shook his head when he realized he had silently praised the creepy man. Cute or not, Ohno is a weirdo.
But, something else had caught his attention. Satoshi. That's what Sakurai called Ohno. It wasn’t a surprise that Sakurai knew Ohno. Ohno is Aiba’s boss and since Aiba and Sakurai worked at the same place, of course, the man would know Ohno too. But, he had called Ohno by his first name. They must be close and that's why Ohno allowed Sakurai to call him by his first name. Hmm, maybe he could use Ohno to get Sakurai and Aiba together, thought Nino as he started formulating a plan in his head. But, now was not the time to do so. He had to settle some score with Jun first.
“I deal with you later,” he told Ohno before directing his gaze at Jun. “Junny, we need to talk. My room, now!”
Nino was about to take a step forward when Jun finally said something.
“Are you sure you want me in your room? Wouldn’t it be better to have Ohno-san there?”
Nino narrowed his eyes, glaring at Jun. This man… he still had the nerve to joke around. From the smirk on Jun’s face, Nino could see how much the man enjoyed making his life miserable.
“Hurry up, please!” cried Nino, not bothering to hide his annoyance. “I don’t have time for this,”
Nino hastened to his room without looking back. Footsteps followed him. Good! Jun was scared of him and that’s why he didn’t say anything this time.
“Close the door behind you. I don’t want anyone to hear us,” said Nino once they were inside his room. Never once he looked back to see the person behind him.
“Okay,”
Wait a minute… Why did Jun sound different? It didn’t sound like his voice at all. And, to his horror, he had heard the voice before. It sounded like… no!
Nino quickly turned around, finding himself face-to-face with Ohno.
The whole situation was awkward. Right after he found out that he was once again tricked by Jun, he dashed out, wanting to lash out at his roommate. But, he was left alone with Ohno in the house. Jun, Aiba and Sakurai had left them. What worse, his roommate locked the gate and took the key with him, making it impossible for Nino to leave the house. Damn!
Why did Jun do this? Why was he so determined to make Nino talk with Ohno? Nino couldn’t think of a reason. But, he wouldn’t let Jun win. So, instead of talking to Ohno, he hid inside his room, leaving Ohno alone in the living hall. However, both his phone and laptop were outside so he had nothing to entertain him in the room. Not knowing what to do, he fell asleep.
He woke up about an hour later, feeling hungry. Made sense he was starving. Ohno arrived when he was eating breakfast so he didn’t have the chance to finish his meal. Should he go out and eat now? What if Ohno was still there? What should he say to the man?
This was absurd, Nino snorted. This was his house. Why did he hide as if he had committed a crime? He should just go out and do whatever he wanted, including chasing Ohno out of his house. Who knows? Maybe Ohno already went home.
“Nino?”
A knock on the door broke Nino out of his reverie. The voice belonged to Ohno. Damn! This man was still in his house? Why was he still here? Well, Nino knew they were locked inside the house but Ohno could call Jun to set him free.
“The cute but annoying Nino?”
Another knock because Nino didn’t respond. Nino simply snorted, taking no action to open the door.
“You must be hungry, right?” The man continued. “I make lunch for you. Let’s eat together,”
“Who allows you to use our food to cook?” Asked Nino behind the closed door.
“Matsumoto-san,”
“You called Junny? So, why are you still here? You should just ask him to unlock the gate and then you can go home,”
“I don’t want to go home,” came the reply from Ohno. “I haven’t had the chance to talk with you,”
Nino sighed. “I don’t want to talk with you,”
“But…”
“Just go home, please, Ohno-san?” pleaded Nino. The idea to use Ohno in his plan to unite Aiba and Sakurai forgotten. “We have nothing to talk about. I don’t even know you. And, sorry for being blunt. But, you freak me out. It’s scary, you know,”
“Sorry,” said Ohno. Great! The man sounded like a sad puppy and it made Nino feel terrible. “Hmm… But… I really want to talk with you,”
“About what?”
“About… hmmm…” There was a long pause. The man seemed to be taking his time in answering a simple question.
“Are you still there, Ohno-san?”
Couldn’t bear the silence any longer, Nino was the first to talk. Damn! Wasn’t he trying to get rid of Ohno? Why was he still talking to this man, then?
“Yes, I’m still here,” said Ohno. “Hmm… Ninomiya-san… do you still like Teletubbies?”
Nino titled his head, frowning to hear the random question. Weird. Why did Ohno suddenly talk about Teletubbies?
“Wait a second, okay?” continued Ohno when Nino didn’t say anything. “I have something to show you,”
Nino could hear footsteps walking away from his room. He tapped his chin, thinking. Should he open the door to let Ohno in? Frankly, he was curious to see whatever it was that Ohno wanted to show him. Ohno made it sound like the thing was something interesting. But, a part of him was worried that it could be a trick to make him open the door.
“I will slip it under your door, okay?” Ohno’s voice returned. Absent-mindedly, Nino looked down at his door, following Ohno’s instruction. What was that? A photograph? Nino hurried to the door, curious to know why Ohno gave a picture to him.
Nino recognized the picture without even lifting it from the floor. It’s been a while since the last time he saw the photo but he would always recognize it. It was taken when he was still a small boy, perhaps around four years old. He wasn’t alone in the photo. Another older boy was with him. He crouched down and took the photo. Why did Ohno have this picture too?
He flipped the photo, looking at the other side. Unlike the one that he had in his parents’ house, nothing was written there. Before this, he never paid attention to the other person who was in the photo. According to his mother, Nino only met the boy once. The boy’s mother had to take care of Nino for a day because of an emergency. The picture was taken then but never once he ever had an intention to look for the boy.
But, he knew the boy’s name. Not the full name. Only what he had called the boy when they met years ago. With his mother’s help, his younger self wrote something behind the photo to commemorate the day he met the boy. What he wrote was ‘Kazu and…’
“Sato nii-chan,” He said the name aloud.
“Do you remember me, Kazu?” Ohno sounded happy.
Nino didn’t answer. He simply stared at the picture, at the boy who he usually ignored, particularly. The resemblance between Ohno and the boy was there, proving that Ohno was indeed the boy.
“You are Sato nii-chan?” Nino wanted a confirmation even though the answer was obvious.
“Un!” answered Ohno happily. “And you are Kazu, right?”
Nino chose not to answer. Should he be mad that Ohno had carelessly called him by his first name without permission?
Nino shook his head. This was not the time to be petty. Instead, he asked. “Why do you ask about Teletubbies?”
The man on the other side of the door laughed softly. “Because you love Teletubbies,”
Did he? Nino tilted his head. He didn’t remember at all.
“You were still small when you came to my house,” Ohno began. “You were four and I was six. We played together and then you asked if you could watch Teletubbies. My mother allowed you to watch. It should only be thirty minutes but you kept asking to watch more episodes. And, because you are cute and adorable, my mother couldn’t resist you,”
Nino accidentally glanced at the mirror, noticing that his cheeks were red. Huh? Why were his cheeks red? Was he blushing? But, why would he blush? It couldn’t be because Ohno called him cute and adorable, right? Well, at least Ohno was on the other side of the door so he didn’t see it.
“I think we are fated to meet again,” Ohno continued, not aware of the effects that he had on Nino. “A day before we bumped into each other, I was looking at old photos and found the picture. When I saw it, the memory just came out, and I vividly remember the day even though it happened a long time ago. Not gonna lie but I keep thinking about you… whether you are still as cute as before… and when we bumped into each other, I was starstruck. I don’t know what to do and you left before I could say anything,”
Starstruck, huh? Nino tried to remember the day he met Ohno, which was a week ago. He was in a hurry at that time so he didn’t remember much. But, he noticed how Ohno barely blinked when Nino helped him up.
“I’ve been searching for you after that,” Nino still stayed silent as Ohno continued. “I thought you will be working in the same building and we might bump into each other again. But, a week passed and nothing happened. And, then, a miracle happened, thanks to the post that Matsumoto-san made. Without thinking, I just bought you. And, I don’t blame you for freaking out. Well, if I’m in your place, I will be the same too. But, I don’t have any bad intention towards you, Ninomiya-san. I just want to be your friend,”
No one said anything after that. Nino knew Ohno was waiting for his answer. As for Nino… well… He could feel Ohno’s sincerity. And, he believed Ohno. So, should he say yes, then?
A/N: Do you recognize the story that Ohno told Nino? The one about Teletubbies. It was taken from here. I keep thinking of using the chibi Ohmiya I wrote in another story. At first, I want to use it for Cupid. Then, after some thought, I decided to use it here. Hope it is okay.
So, will Nino say yes? Will Nino and Ohno be friends? They can be friends first and then it will change into something else.
Let me know what you think of this, okay? It will be very much appreciated :)