Chocolate fic for angelshill
To: angelshill
From: karened
Title: Beautiful Mistake - An Act Of Cupid...?
Pairing: Ohno Satoshi x Fukada Kyoko as main, Matsumoto Jun x Inoue Mao + Nishikido Ryo x Sawajiri Erika + Yamada Ryosuke x Shida Mirai as supporting
Rating: General
Summary: Ohno finally gets a date and his well-meaning friends guide him in making the best out of it!
Beta reader: tsuriken_pg and tinyangl
A/N: Written for angelshill for the 2011 JE White Day challenge! I apologise for making it such a looooooong fanfic, but seeing how it surprisingly ended with a nice 5,000 words, cut me some slack eh? Thanks to my lovely betas, the fanfic has been slightly shortened! May White Day bring some love to those working to rebuild their country in Japan.
"It's done!" Matsumoto announced as he pushed himself away from his workstation violently, grabbing the finalised fashion spread pieces from the desk.
As he made a mad dash for the editor's room, the growing tower of valentine gifts on his workstation, a stack of delicately wrapped boxes, toppled. Letters, pink, red and white, flew in all directions. Kind colleagues helped pick up those doomed feelings of affections. One, however, was left unnoticed on the workstation just behind its intended receipient.
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"Good morning, Ohno-san!" Inoue chirped just as the man approached the barbecue pit.
Scratching the back of his head, Ohno greeted back with a nod.
Looking up from the pile of charcoal that was refusing to burn, Matsumoto threw the older man a glance. Alarmed by what he saw, he rose to his feet to take a better look at his long-time colleague. "What are you wearing?" he finally managed to put his disbelief into words.
At that, Ohno cast a downward glance at his own attire. Did he grab a mismatched pair of socks? He knew the answer even before seeing the pale blue edges of the brand new pair sticking out from his sneakers. Maybe the sea breeze had blown his hair the wrong way? He had spent a whole 45 minutes styling it following instructions from the fashion column Matsumoto put out a month ago! Perhaps he ought to have bought the Gatsby hair wax instead of using that suspicious looking tub lying at the corner of his wardrobe.
"Ohno... Do you know what day it is?" Matsumoto asked impatiently. "Why are you wearing a denim jacket, equally plain jeans and white sneakers? And what's that? A round-collar shirt?"
Pulling the front of his windbreaker tighter at Matsumoto's last sentence, Ohno stammered. "Well, it's...befitting the location!"
"But not the occasion," Matsumoto broke through the weak reasoning easily.
Suddenly catching sight of a familiar figure approaching from behind Matsumoto, Ohno retorted, "Then should I have worn something like that? For a barbeque by the beach?"
At that, Matsumoto looked over his shoulders.
Just a few metres away from them was Nishikido. The chap was wearing a black leather jacket paired with washed out jeans and black canvas shoes. And below the leather is a bright yellow V-neck tee. It was an outfit quite unsuitable for the location, but extremely attention grabbing for a group date like this.
Flashing them a bright smile, Nishikido slapped Matsumoto lightly on the shoulder. "Hey yo."
"Good morning, Nishikido-san," Inoue greeted and, upon seeing his long-time girlfriend of 3 months behind him, added, "Good morning, Sawajiri-san."
Before they could exchange courtesies, Matsumoto continued his lecture. "At least he stands out. YOU should be the one standing out today! Don't let my efforts go to waste!" Matsumoto reminded Ohno. Afterall, he had personally sent invitations to the participants of today's group date.
"That's right," Nishikido joined in, amused. "This whole thing is set up for you. You better get the girl today."
I'll let it take its own course," Ohno declared his intention to take a back seat and leave it all to the girl. Afterall, she was the one who wrote him that love letter, right?
"Yeah right. Who was the one who got so excited at receiving ONE letter that he dropped it into the sea while trying to open it?" Nishikido called his bluff.
Joining in their favourite pastime, Matsumoto added, "And who was the one who got drunk the last time and kept whining about how he'll never get married even at 35 at the rate he's going?"
"Oi!" Ohno muttered, shooting the two a threat to keep those secrets to themselves.
It made no difference really, because the two ladies seemed to consider those as existing knowledge. Laughly lightly, Inoue cheered Ohno on. "Ohno-san, make the best out of today!"
"That's right, don't waste my girlfriend's effort at organising this barbeque," Matsumoto said, wrapping his arms loosely around Inoue for a moment before being pushed away by the woman. "No public display of affection," she warned with a straight face, probably her personal method to hide embarrassment.
"But first, you need a change of clothes. Or at least put away that jacket that's blending into the background," a sharp voice came from behind. It was Sawajiri, Nishikido's girlfriend. Matsumoto and Ohno had heard of the movie critic's reputation in the publishing firm, but had only met her in person a few times since she and their good friend got together. Inoue had barely met her twice before this. Even so, they were all impressed by her forthrightness and wittiness. As a close friend she might be too westernised, but as the girlfriend of their sharp-tongued friend she was a perfect match. The fact that they have passed the 2 weeks mark was proof of that.
"I agree," Nishikido stood next to Sawajiri, arms crossed.
"Me too," Matsumoto echoed their view.
Next to him, Inoue nodded.
Trusting the advice of friends, Ohno dragged himself to a nearby public toilet. His source of motivation that gave him energy to go through the trouble was tucked in his back pocket - a white envelop with the words 'To my dear senpai' barely visible. The unfortunate accident at sea had caused most of the handwritten letter to smudge. Although Ohno instinctively jumped into the waist-deep waters to retrieve it, all that was left visible were a few words littered around: 'always', 'like', 'try dating' and 'Fukada Kyoko'. Well, that was enough for the experienced Nishikido to fill in the blanks and guess the gist of the letter, and certainly more than enough to send Ohno's poor, old, underworked heart thumping.
Ohno reappeared at the pit a while later with Matsumoto's velvet blazer, a black piece with its lapel in a dark shade of purple. Knowing Ohno's lack of wardrobe selection, but not his lack of enthusiasm for today's date, Matsumoto had brought his one-blazer-fits-all darling just in case.
By that time, the rest of the participants had arrived.
Nagase, their senpai at the office, was helping out with the fire, which was finally starting to burn. Nagase had overheard Matsumoto informing Nishikido about the barbeque and decided that he should tag along as their senpai in life and dish out some advice. When Nishikido showed some signs of opposition, the man shut him up with the excuse of needing to set up a healthy date for his grown-up-but-not-so-grown-up nephew, who just scored a white day date with a fellow classmate at school. So, it was decided that the pair will join the group date and Nagase will tag along to supervise the young couple.
The couple in question was sitting awkwardly at the side, helping to arrange the food that Matsumoto and Inoue had prepared beforehand.
But Ohno was not paying attention to them. His eyes were set on the last participant of the barbeque. She was standing next to Matsumoto at the barbeque pit, her sleeves rolled up, helping to keep a steady supply of charcoal for the two men working at the fire. In the month that followed Valentine's, Ohno had quietly gathered information on this previously unknown colleague.
Fukada Kyoko, graphics editor at the ladies magazine department a few storeys below his. Blood type O. Has baking as her hobby. Well, basically useless information...but in this era, no information on the grapevine was information in itself.
Ohno approached her cautiously, wanting to make a good start. He was about to recite his welcome address when the target rose up suddenly, nearly knocking into him.
"Ah," Fukada gasped, startled. "Sorry, I didn't know you were behind."
"It's ok, it's ok," Ohno assured.
"Good morning, Ohno-san. I'm Fukuda Kyoko, nice to meet you," she greeted.
Struck by the liveliness of her voice, Ohno replied mechanically, "Good morning."
Catching him in his dazed state was Inoue, who had just returned with drinks from a nearby beach hut. Putting the bag on the table, she nudged him lightly and asked, "Is that her?"
Without waiting for an answer, she walked up to Fukada. "Hi, you must be Fukada Kyoko-san?"
"Ah, yes I am. Nice to meet you!" Fukada replied.
"I'm Inoue Mao, nice to meet you."
Failing to match that name to a particular department, Fukada asked, "Inoue-san, which department are you from?"
"Oh, actually I'm," Inoue started, only to be interrupted by a call from the barbeque pit.
Matsumoto, whose face was beginning to be covered with perspiration, called out, "Inoue! Can you grab me some tissues?"
"It's ok, I've got them," Fukada told the other woman before rushing over with a packet of tissues.
"She's such an enthusiastic person, Fukada-san," Inoue commented while taking the drinks out of the bag.
"Perhaps a little too enthusiastic...towards the wrong things," Sawajiri added.
Looking up at Inoue, she took a slow sip from a newly opened can of beer before delivering her warning, masked under a layer of nonchalance, "She's been buzzing around Matsumoto since she arrived."
Sawajiri's point reached Inoue, who turned around just in time to see Fukada bouncing on the balls of her feet, apparently tickled by something Matsumoto had said. She didn't have much time to process the scene before Matsumoto called for the food to be sent to the grill.
With that, the barbeque started.
Everyone had their own place at the activity.
Ohno and Shida Mirai, one half of the young couple, worked at arranging the pre-marinated food for easy access by the ones at the fire.
Matsumoto, Fukada and Yamada Ryosuke, Nagase's cousin, gathered around the barbeque pit, churning out as much food as possible to feed the hungry ones.
Delivering the food was Inoue, who actually would rather to stand by the burning fire than to stay away from her boyfriend and let someone else stand by his side. But someone had to take the food away, and with everyone else already at their positions, she had little choice but to do this job. Twice she hinted to Fukada if she wanted to stay away from the high temperature area and give Ohno a hand instead. Both times she was politely rejected with a smile and an excuse that she wanted to stay close to the source of the aroma that was hanging heavily in the air.
Of course, there were three participants remaining: Nagase, Nishikido and Sawajiri. They had a tough task on hand too - to give feedback on whether the food was undercooked, overcooked, too tough, too soft, too greasy, too bland, or just nice. They worked so hard at that that Inoue had to maintain a separate store of food for the rest of them.
When the cooking was halfway done, everyone took turns to savour their share of the food. Inoue, Fukada, Shida and Matsumoto started first. Ohno kept watch by the fire and found himself engaging in a conversation with Yamada-kun, who was more than ten years his junior.
"Ohno-san, why don't you go grab a bite with them first? I can handle the cooking here," Yamada suggested.
"It's ok, I prefer staying here," Ohno replied.
The brother of a Korean drama fan, Yamada was quick to pick out the unspoken. Nudging Ohno lightly, he probed, "Too shy to face Fukada-san?"
Ohno dropped the piece of sausage from the tongs he was using.
"It's a white day date today, so us guys should take the initiative. I mean, the girls took the first step on Valentine's Day, so we've got to reciprocate now," Yamada said.
"Reciprocate?"
"Yup. I made some preparations beforehand." Yamada grinned as he looked up from the fire and cast a gaze at his soon-to-be-girlfriend. "I'll make this day memorable... But I'm still quite nervous, of course. This is the first time I've done this."
"A memorable day?"
"I'm going to ask her to be my girlfriend," Yamda explained. "What about you, Ohno-san? What have you got planned? I'm sure Fukada-san is anticipating something from you!"
Ohno's heart sank. Prior to this conversation, he has yet to consider planning any surprise, much less to have one prepared. "Actually, I haven't thought of any..." Ohno trailed off.
"Eh!?" Yamada stared at Ohno in obvious disbelief.
"Do I really have to have one?"
"Well, since you invited her out, she'll naturally expect a reply from you. It's not that you must give her a surprise, but unless you're intending to reject her, I think you'd want to make this reply a memorable one, right?"
"Oh dear... Yamada-kun, can you share your surprise with me?" Ohno asked out of desperation.
"Eh!" Yamada was taken by surprise. "But... I won't have enough sparkler sticks for myself. I bought just enough."
"Oh, you bought sparkler sticks? Yeah...girls like them, don't they?"
Guilty at not being able to help his senpai, Yamada fished out his iPhone 4 from his pocket and started hitting the screen furiously. It took just a few minutes before he found what he sought and held the screen in front of Ohno. On the screen was an online blog with tons of photos plastered on the various posts.
"My sister's blog, aka a treasure trove of cheesy romance scenes," Yamada said with a grin. "Apparently, girls like these stuff. I've gained a lot of inspiration from them myself!"
Ohno studied the scenes seriously, hoping to find some help from these dialogues and scenerios. He was desperate enough to go through ten pages of chessy dialogues and kissing scenes before picking out two that were the least exaggerated: serenade her with a love song and give her a piggyback ride if her feet hurts from the heels. But it'd seem weird if he were to interrupt the barbeque with a song right now or to suggest that they end it right away so he could give Fukada a ride.
Noticing Ohno's dejected look, Yamada gave another suggestion. "Or perhaps you can consult Uncle Nagase. I think he's got the most experience among us all... He's the eldest!"
At that, Ohno minced his way towards the other half of the group. He might as well have strode right there because the interruption was extremely welcomed to break the awkward tension that had started to form while he and Yamada were busy exchanging pointers.
While the rest were still quite oblivious to what was happening, Sawajiri the detached had already gotten most of it figured out. It all started with a simple comment from Nagase. "Fukada-san would make a great wife!" He was refering to how she busied herself with serving food to the others.
Matsumoto wouldn't have expected his follow up to release the green-eye monster in Inoue. "That's true," he agreed, though his mind was conjuring up an image of his best friend Ohno happily married to Fukada.
Close as they were, Inoue was not Matsumoto and the image she had in her mind was of an entirely different sort. All she was thinking of were the many occasions where Matsumoto teased her for being unable to help out much at home. That wasn't completely true, because it was Matsumoto's high standards that made Inoue seem poor at housework. Still, it stung when one's boyfriend praised another girl in ways that he didn't do to her. Her pride piqued, Inoue grew pricky towards Matsumoto and Fukada.
"So, Fukuda-san, what do you do on your off days?" Inoue asked.
"Well, I don't have much hobbies...I bake."
"You bake? You've got let us try your baking skills one day," Nishikido exclaimed excitedly, earning him a stare from his partner.
Inoue added, "But you have to eat all the confectioneries you bake, right? It's not very healthy, right, Matsumoto-san?"
Looking up from his chicken wing, Matsumoto nodded mechanically. "I guess so... With all the fresh cream... I don't really eat such sugary stuff."
Slightly appeased by his reply, Inoue was almost ready to let his previous slip up pass when the man unknowingly took a step closer to death. "But who can resist a well-made confectionery? You know, those very delicately made ones..."
"So you like to eat cakes?" Inoue pushed away the plate of chicken wings Matsumoto was reaching for.
A frown formed across Matsumoto's forehead. "Don't you?"
"I did, but then you said it wasn't very healthy to include them in our daily diet."
"That's true, but it's all right to eat them once in a while."
"So you're fine with breaking your promise just because the cake in front of you looks very tempting?"
Matsumoto was taken aback by the peculiarity of her question and the accusatory tone she applied. "What promise? What cake?"
"Your promise not to eat cakes!"
"Huh?" Growing increasingly annoyed by Inoue's seemingly nonsensical words, Matsumoto snapped, "I have no idea what you're talking about."
At this point, Sawajiri joined in the conversation, in spite of Nishikido's hints for her to play dumb. "Inoue-san, cakes are only desserts. They are not sufficient to fill up the stomach, so don't worry about that. The main meal is still the most important!"
"But us Japanese love cakes and desserts, don't we?" Nagase said. It was a wonder how he, as the eldest of the group, didn't sense the oddity of the conversation. He was, in fact, still savouring the barbequed meat that had piled up on his plate. Even his soon-to-be-nephew's-girlfriend understood what this healthy diet conversation was actually about. Unfamiliar with all the adults around her, Shida sorely wished that Yamada would come pull her out of this awkward situation.
Fortunately, it was at this moment that Ohno came over and dragged Nagase aside. Yamada joined the group and his cheery nature helped to ease the tension a little with his small talk on the most popular youth-lingo at the moment.
Standing a short distance away from the group was Ohno, intent on seeking help from the experienced Nagase. He briefly explained his situation to Nagase, who seemed to be more engrossed in tearing his chicken wing apart than in listening to the troubled man's call for help.
"Fukada-san? I thought she's interested in Ma..." Nagase mumbled to himself when Ohno finally gave him some quiet time to think of a solution. Then, turning back to Ohno, he recited what came to mind. "Women love to be in the center of attention. They enjoy showing off to others how much they're being loved."
"They do?" Ohno pondered aloud.
"They do! That's why they always insist on having big bouquets of flowers being sent to their workplace - so that they can tell all their colleagues and those people they meet while taking the train home how much their boyfriend loves them!"
That made sense, so Ohno waited for Nagase to continue onto his plan.
"Tell you what, I'll suggest a game of Truth or Dare later. I'll secretly tell the rest to help you to confess to this girl should the bottle spin to you," Nagase suggested.
"Confess!?" Ohno jumped slightly, taken aback by the sudden need to make a public confession. Besides, it's not like he really, really, really love her. Well, at least not as much as he liked the fellow part-timer he worked with in high school. Even for that three year one-sided love Ohno didn't make any confession, how could he bring himself to make one for a person he barely knew? His only intention in coming for the barbeque date was to let Fukada know that he was willing to give it a shot at getting to know each other better.
"Yeah! If someone asks if there's anyone you like right now, announce her name! If someone dares you to kiss someone, kiss her! And after that, tell her that you'll be responsible for your action and date her!" Nagase said with a face so serious that Ohno nearly took what he suggested for real. It couldn't be real. It sounded like an April's Fools joke.
Before Ohno could protest, Nagase was already making his way back to the group. Dinner ended swiftly, with Nagase and Nishikido too eager to play the game and watch the show, and the others (Fukada excluded) too willing to end the tenseful dinner. Shida and Inoue helped to clear the tables for the game and soon all was set to go. Everyong gathered around the tables, each bearing different feelings. The longest lasting pair was still frustrated with each other's actions and decided to keep the distance between them. The young ones were not exactly excited about playing this Showa period game with a bunch of adults and waited impatiently for some time alone. Nishikido was busy plotting an embarrassing moment for Ohno with Nagase, leaving his girlfriend alone with her touchup mirror. Ohno was having a nerve wracking moment by himself as he attempted to mentally rehearse his confession. The unsuspecting Fukada was preparing her own version of a confession, though not to Ohno.
Fortunately for many, the first quarter of an hour saw the bottle spinning to everyone except for Matsumoto, Ohno and Fukada. The unexpected fun that flowed from the game brought some peace back to the participants and laughter started to sound from the loose circle.
However, what's to come will come, and, to Nishikido's delight, the bottle finally pointed to Ohno, on his turn no less!
The barbequed fish that Ohno had forced down a while earlier threatened to swim back up when he volunteered an answer to a yet-to-be-asked question. "Dare." Having reflected on his inability to form logical sentences when faced with the topic of confession, he had long decided to let his actions do the job.
"Are you that anxious to get to that?" Nishikido teased relentlessly. Clearing his throat to draw everyone's attention, he continued, "All right then, Ohno-san, I dare you to serenade someone with a love song right here!"
Ohno had not expected this dare. He had thought that Nagase would have communicated what he had suggested to everyone - that he was to kiss someone in the group. But to sing? It was too late for him to back out now. It'd be too rude for him to escape and leave Fukada-san to handle the embarrassment by herself. She must be waiting for his reply. Reaching into his back pocket for the strength he sorely needed, Ohno got up and took the spot in between Inoue and Fukuda. Lips quivering and heart thumping, he took in three deep breaths before attempting to hit the first note in his selected tune. It started off weak, but as he continued, he found that staring at the ground helped loosen the tightness that wrapped around his chest.
"Everytime I'm touched by the kindness you show me, my memories overflowing to the point they can't be conveyed."
Finally mustering enough courage, Ohno took his gaze off the ground and focused it on the subject of his confession. "Fukada-san, let's give it a try."
"Huh?"
Ohno stared at Fukada blankly, unsure of what to make of her response.
"Ohno just accepted your affections!" Nagase spelt it out clearly for all, although what he thought was factual was actually a big misunderstanding.
"My what?"
Butting in to have his share of fun, Nishikido added, "You wrote him a letter, didn't you? You don't know how happy this guy was when he received it!"
Pulling out the white envelop, Ohno apologised sheepishly but completely sincere, "I'm sorry that it got wet. But I could make out your name! Well... Th-thank you for...for liking me."
Fukada took one look at the smudged ink on the ill-fated letter and all that had happened during the barbeque finally made sense. Inoue's sudden hostility towards her and Matsumoto, Sawajiri's seemingly innocent remarks and Ohno's strange glances from afar. Believing herself to be the joke of the evening, she left the table in a huff.
"Did I say anything wrong?" Ohno asked.
Sawajiri, the only one who truly saw the full picture, assured him otherwise. "It's not your fault. She just needed to get away from us."
"Oh, was she embarrassed that Ohno confessed to her so openly?" Nishikido ventured a poor guess.
"I guess she was embarrassed," Sawajiri agreed.
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"Fukada-san!"
Fukada was surprised to hear her name being called and turned back towards shore. Despite the darkness that was slowly engulfing the beach, she could make out the silhouette of a medium-built man running towards the breakwater she was sitting on. Though slightly disappointed that it wasn't the subject of her affections, she heaved a sigh of relief that she didn't have to face the embarrassment so soon. Returning her gaze to the choppy waves a distance away, she showed no reaction as Ohno climbed onto the breakwater and settled down next to her. He dared not look at her directly and chose to sit with her in silence until he thought of something to say.
"Are you all right?" Ohno finally asked, unsure of how he should comfort her. "Are you angry that I made a public confession?"
"I'm all right," came her short reply which sounded more polite than sincere.
Ohno just couldn't understand women. Fukada was obviously upset, yet she claimed to be otherwise. She had wrote him a love letter, yet she seemed unhappy when he returned the affection. Ohno would have run away from such an awkward situation if it was in the past, but somehow he couldn't get himself to leave Fukada alone this time. Her letter had saved him from the melancholy that had weighed down on him on Valentine's Day, and he felt that he should try cheer her up as well, no matter how clumsy he was when it came to comforting someone.
"Fukada-san, actually, I'm not done with the song yet."
Finally turning towards him, Fukada asked with an incredulous stare, "Are you going to sing some more?"
Taken aback by the tears that were welling up in her eyes, Ohno forced a smile and joked, "You can kick me into the water if you don't like it!"
"The tears that you hid by pretending to look up at the sky, if I can hold you close, I want to wipe them away with my hands."
"Turn away."
"Huh?"
"I said, turn away," Fukada repeated in a shaky voice.
When Ohno did as instructed, he found her resting her head on his shoulder. Soon, moisture was seeping through the velvet blazer Ohno had on.
"Hey... Let me take this off first," Ohno nudged Fukada lightly.
Sitting straight, Fukada asked, "Why?"
"Because I borrowed this from Matsumoto. He'll be enraged if I return it to him soaked," Ohno answered- so bluntly that it sent Fukada into another round of tears without giving him time to remove the jacket.
By the time she was done crying, the sun had already completely disappeared from the horizon. Only a few loosely scattered road lamps worked together with the moon to light up the empty beach. The two decided that it was time to return and prepared to get off the breakwater. It was only at this point that they realised how time and tide waited for no man, quite literally. During their time there, the tide had rose so much that the small sand path that led to the breakwater was no longer visible.
"Oh dear, what should we do now?"
Ohno was calmer than Fukada when assessing the situation. "Let's just sit out the high tide. I'm sure the tide will recede in a few hours' time."
"A few hours?! The tide may just rise further to flood the entire breakwater! Or we die from the cold," Fukada exclaimed, visibly shaken by the unpleasant prospects.
Ohno knew from experience that her first fear was unfounded and not likely to befall them unless Lady Luck has forsaken them entirely. But he was already shivering from the chilly sea breeze that was hitting his body every second. If they were to stay out there throughout the night, they might really just die a laughable death. Perhaps not Fukada, because the law of courtship stated that the gentleman had to give his coat up to the lady.
"I think the water is only shoulder-deep at most," Ohno started, "I can give you a piggyback ride back to shore."
"But...But..."
Starting to climb down the breakwater to where he supposed the sand path to start at, Ohno assured her, "It'll be ok. Let's go before the water rises any further."
He felt a tug at his arm and turned back. "But there might be dangerous sea creatures in the water...sea urchins or something..."
Fukada had a genuine look of worry on her that gave Ohno a strange sense of confidence as he replied, "I've fished around here before. Those vile creatures don't inhabit these waters!"
It took a fair bit of persuasion but Fukada finally allowed Ohno into the waters before hopping onto his back.
"Thank you," she muttered shyly into his left ear as he trod back towards shore.
Pursing his lips tightly in a bid to draw his attention away from the warmth that was radiating into his back, Ohno made a mental note to rent some DVDs on the way back home. Apparently, old tricks from TV serials do work in real life, even for a guy like him.
From: karened
Title: Beautiful Mistake - An Act Of Cupid...?
Pairing: Ohno Satoshi x Fukada Kyoko as main, Matsumoto Jun x Inoue Mao + Nishikido Ryo x Sawajiri Erika + Yamada Ryosuke x Shida Mirai as supporting
Rating: General
Summary: Ohno finally gets a date and his well-meaning friends guide him in making the best out of it!
Beta reader: tsuriken_pg and tinyangl
A/N: Written for angelshill for the 2011 JE White Day challenge! I apologise for making it such a looooooong fanfic, but seeing how it surprisingly ended with a nice 5,000 words, cut me some slack eh? Thanks to my lovely betas, the fanfic has been slightly shortened! May White Day bring some love to those working to rebuild their country in Japan.
"It's done!" Matsumoto announced as he pushed himself away from his workstation violently, grabbing the finalised fashion spread pieces from the desk.
As he made a mad dash for the editor's room, the growing tower of valentine gifts on his workstation, a stack of delicately wrapped boxes, toppled. Letters, pink, red and white, flew in all directions. Kind colleagues helped pick up those doomed feelings of affections. One, however, was left unnoticed on the workstation just behind its intended receipient.
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"Good morning, Ohno-san!" Inoue chirped just as the man approached the barbecue pit.
Scratching the back of his head, Ohno greeted back with a nod.
Looking up from the pile of charcoal that was refusing to burn, Matsumoto threw the older man a glance. Alarmed by what he saw, he rose to his feet to take a better look at his long-time colleague. "What are you wearing?" he finally managed to put his disbelief into words.
At that, Ohno cast a downward glance at his own attire. Did he grab a mismatched pair of socks? He knew the answer even before seeing the pale blue edges of the brand new pair sticking out from his sneakers. Maybe the sea breeze had blown his hair the wrong way? He had spent a whole 45 minutes styling it following instructions from the fashion column Matsumoto put out a month ago! Perhaps he ought to have bought the Gatsby hair wax instead of using that suspicious looking tub lying at the corner of his wardrobe.
"Ohno... Do you know what day it is?" Matsumoto asked impatiently. "Why are you wearing a denim jacket, equally plain jeans and white sneakers? And what's that? A round-collar shirt?"
Pulling the front of his windbreaker tighter at Matsumoto's last sentence, Ohno stammered. "Well, it's...befitting the location!"
"But not the occasion," Matsumoto broke through the weak reasoning easily.
Suddenly catching sight of a familiar figure approaching from behind Matsumoto, Ohno retorted, "Then should I have worn something like that? For a barbeque by the beach?"
At that, Matsumoto looked over his shoulders.
Just a few metres away from them was Nishikido. The chap was wearing a black leather jacket paired with washed out jeans and black canvas shoes. And below the leather is a bright yellow V-neck tee. It was an outfit quite unsuitable for the location, but extremely attention grabbing for a group date like this.
Flashing them a bright smile, Nishikido slapped Matsumoto lightly on the shoulder. "Hey yo."
"Good morning, Nishikido-san," Inoue greeted and, upon seeing his long-time girlfriend of 3 months behind him, added, "Good morning, Sawajiri-san."
Before they could exchange courtesies, Matsumoto continued his lecture. "At least he stands out. YOU should be the one standing out today! Don't let my efforts go to waste!" Matsumoto reminded Ohno. Afterall, he had personally sent invitations to the participants of today's group date.
"That's right," Nishikido joined in, amused. "This whole thing is set up for you. You better get the girl today."
I'll let it take its own course," Ohno declared his intention to take a back seat and leave it all to the girl. Afterall, she was the one who wrote him that love letter, right?
"Yeah right. Who was the one who got so excited at receiving ONE letter that he dropped it into the sea while trying to open it?" Nishikido called his bluff.
Joining in their favourite pastime, Matsumoto added, "And who was the one who got drunk the last time and kept whining about how he'll never get married even at 35 at the rate he's going?"
"Oi!" Ohno muttered, shooting the two a threat to keep those secrets to themselves.
It made no difference really, because the two ladies seemed to consider those as existing knowledge. Laughly lightly, Inoue cheered Ohno on. "Ohno-san, make the best out of today!"
"That's right, don't waste my girlfriend's effort at organising this barbeque," Matsumoto said, wrapping his arms loosely around Inoue for a moment before being pushed away by the woman. "No public display of affection," she warned with a straight face, probably her personal method to hide embarrassment.
"But first, you need a change of clothes. Or at least put away that jacket that's blending into the background," a sharp voice came from behind. It was Sawajiri, Nishikido's girlfriend. Matsumoto and Ohno had heard of the movie critic's reputation in the publishing firm, but had only met her in person a few times since she and their good friend got together. Inoue had barely met her twice before this. Even so, they were all impressed by her forthrightness and wittiness. As a close friend she might be too westernised, but as the girlfriend of their sharp-tongued friend she was a perfect match. The fact that they have passed the 2 weeks mark was proof of that.
"I agree," Nishikido stood next to Sawajiri, arms crossed.
"Me too," Matsumoto echoed their view.
Next to him, Inoue nodded.
Trusting the advice of friends, Ohno dragged himself to a nearby public toilet. His source of motivation that gave him energy to go through the trouble was tucked in his back pocket - a white envelop with the words 'To my dear senpai' barely visible. The unfortunate accident at sea had caused most of the handwritten letter to smudge. Although Ohno instinctively jumped into the waist-deep waters to retrieve it, all that was left visible were a few words littered around: 'always', 'like', 'try dating' and 'Fukada Kyoko'. Well, that was enough for the experienced Nishikido to fill in the blanks and guess the gist of the letter, and certainly more than enough to send Ohno's poor, old, underworked heart thumping.
Ohno reappeared at the pit a while later with Matsumoto's velvet blazer, a black piece with its lapel in a dark shade of purple. Knowing Ohno's lack of wardrobe selection, but not his lack of enthusiasm for today's date, Matsumoto had brought his one-blazer-fits-all darling just in case.
By that time, the rest of the participants had arrived.
Nagase, their senpai at the office, was helping out with the fire, which was finally starting to burn. Nagase had overheard Matsumoto informing Nishikido about the barbeque and decided that he should tag along as their senpai in life and dish out some advice. When Nishikido showed some signs of opposition, the man shut him up with the excuse of needing to set up a healthy date for his grown-up-but-not-so-grown-up nephew, who just scored a white day date with a fellow classmate at school. So, it was decided that the pair will join the group date and Nagase will tag along to supervise the young couple.
The couple in question was sitting awkwardly at the side, helping to arrange the food that Matsumoto and Inoue had prepared beforehand.
But Ohno was not paying attention to them. His eyes were set on the last participant of the barbeque. She was standing next to Matsumoto at the barbeque pit, her sleeves rolled up, helping to keep a steady supply of charcoal for the two men working at the fire. In the month that followed Valentine's, Ohno had quietly gathered information on this previously unknown colleague.
Fukada Kyoko, graphics editor at the ladies magazine department a few storeys below his. Blood type O. Has baking as her hobby. Well, basically useless information...but in this era, no information on the grapevine was information in itself.
Ohno approached her cautiously, wanting to make a good start. He was about to recite his welcome address when the target rose up suddenly, nearly knocking into him.
"Ah," Fukada gasped, startled. "Sorry, I didn't know you were behind."
"It's ok, it's ok," Ohno assured.
"Good morning, Ohno-san. I'm Fukuda Kyoko, nice to meet you," she greeted.
Struck by the liveliness of her voice, Ohno replied mechanically, "Good morning."
Catching him in his dazed state was Inoue, who had just returned with drinks from a nearby beach hut. Putting the bag on the table, she nudged him lightly and asked, "Is that her?"
Without waiting for an answer, she walked up to Fukada. "Hi, you must be Fukada Kyoko-san?"
"Ah, yes I am. Nice to meet you!" Fukada replied.
"I'm Inoue Mao, nice to meet you."
Failing to match that name to a particular department, Fukada asked, "Inoue-san, which department are you from?"
"Oh, actually I'm," Inoue started, only to be interrupted by a call from the barbeque pit.
Matsumoto, whose face was beginning to be covered with perspiration, called out, "Inoue! Can you grab me some tissues?"
"It's ok, I've got them," Fukada told the other woman before rushing over with a packet of tissues.
"She's such an enthusiastic person, Fukada-san," Inoue commented while taking the drinks out of the bag.
"Perhaps a little too enthusiastic...towards the wrong things," Sawajiri added.
Looking up at Inoue, she took a slow sip from a newly opened can of beer before delivering her warning, masked under a layer of nonchalance, "She's been buzzing around Matsumoto since she arrived."
Sawajiri's point reached Inoue, who turned around just in time to see Fukada bouncing on the balls of her feet, apparently tickled by something Matsumoto had said. She didn't have much time to process the scene before Matsumoto called for the food to be sent to the grill.
With that, the barbeque started.
Everyone had their own place at the activity.
Ohno and Shida Mirai, one half of the young couple, worked at arranging the pre-marinated food for easy access by the ones at the fire.
Matsumoto, Fukada and Yamada Ryosuke, Nagase's cousin, gathered around the barbeque pit, churning out as much food as possible to feed the hungry ones.
Delivering the food was Inoue, who actually would rather to stand by the burning fire than to stay away from her boyfriend and let someone else stand by his side. But someone had to take the food away, and with everyone else already at their positions, she had little choice but to do this job. Twice she hinted to Fukada if she wanted to stay away from the high temperature area and give Ohno a hand instead. Both times she was politely rejected with a smile and an excuse that she wanted to stay close to the source of the aroma that was hanging heavily in the air.
Of course, there were three participants remaining: Nagase, Nishikido and Sawajiri. They had a tough task on hand too - to give feedback on whether the food was undercooked, overcooked, too tough, too soft, too greasy, too bland, or just nice. They worked so hard at that that Inoue had to maintain a separate store of food for the rest of them.
When the cooking was halfway done, everyone took turns to savour their share of the food. Inoue, Fukada, Shida and Matsumoto started first. Ohno kept watch by the fire and found himself engaging in a conversation with Yamada-kun, who was more than ten years his junior.
"Ohno-san, why don't you go grab a bite with them first? I can handle the cooking here," Yamada suggested.
"It's ok, I prefer staying here," Ohno replied.
The brother of a Korean drama fan, Yamada was quick to pick out the unspoken. Nudging Ohno lightly, he probed, "Too shy to face Fukada-san?"
Ohno dropped the piece of sausage from the tongs he was using.
"It's a white day date today, so us guys should take the initiative. I mean, the girls took the first step on Valentine's Day, so we've got to reciprocate now," Yamada said.
"Reciprocate?"
"Yup. I made some preparations beforehand." Yamada grinned as he looked up from the fire and cast a gaze at his soon-to-be-girlfriend. "I'll make this day memorable... But I'm still quite nervous, of course. This is the first time I've done this."
"A memorable day?"
"I'm going to ask her to be my girlfriend," Yamda explained. "What about you, Ohno-san? What have you got planned? I'm sure Fukada-san is anticipating something from you!"
Ohno's heart sank. Prior to this conversation, he has yet to consider planning any surprise, much less to have one prepared. "Actually, I haven't thought of any..." Ohno trailed off.
"Eh!?" Yamada stared at Ohno in obvious disbelief.
"Do I really have to have one?"
"Well, since you invited her out, she'll naturally expect a reply from you. It's not that you must give her a surprise, but unless you're intending to reject her, I think you'd want to make this reply a memorable one, right?"
"Oh dear... Yamada-kun, can you share your surprise with me?" Ohno asked out of desperation.
"Eh!" Yamada was taken by surprise. "But... I won't have enough sparkler sticks for myself. I bought just enough."
"Oh, you bought sparkler sticks? Yeah...girls like them, don't they?"
Guilty at not being able to help his senpai, Yamada fished out his iPhone 4 from his pocket and started hitting the screen furiously. It took just a few minutes before he found what he sought and held the screen in front of Ohno. On the screen was an online blog with tons of photos plastered on the various posts.
"My sister's blog, aka a treasure trove of cheesy romance scenes," Yamada said with a grin. "Apparently, girls like these stuff. I've gained a lot of inspiration from them myself!"
Ohno studied the scenes seriously, hoping to find some help from these dialogues and scenerios. He was desperate enough to go through ten pages of chessy dialogues and kissing scenes before picking out two that were the least exaggerated: serenade her with a love song and give her a piggyback ride if her feet hurts from the heels. But it'd seem weird if he were to interrupt the barbeque with a song right now or to suggest that they end it right away so he could give Fukada a ride.
Noticing Ohno's dejected look, Yamada gave another suggestion. "Or perhaps you can consult Uncle Nagase. I think he's got the most experience among us all... He's the eldest!"
At that, Ohno minced his way towards the other half of the group. He might as well have strode right there because the interruption was extremely welcomed to break the awkward tension that had started to form while he and Yamada were busy exchanging pointers.
While the rest were still quite oblivious to what was happening, Sawajiri the detached had already gotten most of it figured out. It all started with a simple comment from Nagase. "Fukada-san would make a great wife!" He was refering to how she busied herself with serving food to the others.
Matsumoto wouldn't have expected his follow up to release the green-eye monster in Inoue. "That's true," he agreed, though his mind was conjuring up an image of his best friend Ohno happily married to Fukada.
Close as they were, Inoue was not Matsumoto and the image she had in her mind was of an entirely different sort. All she was thinking of were the many occasions where Matsumoto teased her for being unable to help out much at home. That wasn't completely true, because it was Matsumoto's high standards that made Inoue seem poor at housework. Still, it stung when one's boyfriend praised another girl in ways that he didn't do to her. Her pride piqued, Inoue grew pricky towards Matsumoto and Fukada.
"So, Fukuda-san, what do you do on your off days?" Inoue asked.
"Well, I don't have much hobbies...I bake."
"You bake? You've got let us try your baking skills one day," Nishikido exclaimed excitedly, earning him a stare from his partner.
Inoue added, "But you have to eat all the confectioneries you bake, right? It's not very healthy, right, Matsumoto-san?"
Looking up from his chicken wing, Matsumoto nodded mechanically. "I guess so... With all the fresh cream... I don't really eat such sugary stuff."
Slightly appeased by his reply, Inoue was almost ready to let his previous slip up pass when the man unknowingly took a step closer to death. "But who can resist a well-made confectionery? You know, those very delicately made ones..."
"So you like to eat cakes?" Inoue pushed away the plate of chicken wings Matsumoto was reaching for.
A frown formed across Matsumoto's forehead. "Don't you?"
"I did, but then you said it wasn't very healthy to include them in our daily diet."
"That's true, but it's all right to eat them once in a while."
"So you're fine with breaking your promise just because the cake in front of you looks very tempting?"
Matsumoto was taken aback by the peculiarity of her question and the accusatory tone she applied. "What promise? What cake?"
"Your promise not to eat cakes!"
"Huh?" Growing increasingly annoyed by Inoue's seemingly nonsensical words, Matsumoto snapped, "I have no idea what you're talking about."
At this point, Sawajiri joined in the conversation, in spite of Nishikido's hints for her to play dumb. "Inoue-san, cakes are only desserts. They are not sufficient to fill up the stomach, so don't worry about that. The main meal is still the most important!"
"But us Japanese love cakes and desserts, don't we?" Nagase said. It was a wonder how he, as the eldest of the group, didn't sense the oddity of the conversation. He was, in fact, still savouring the barbequed meat that had piled up on his plate. Even his soon-to-be-nephew's-girlfriend understood what this healthy diet conversation was actually about. Unfamiliar with all the adults around her, Shida sorely wished that Yamada would come pull her out of this awkward situation.
Fortunately, it was at this moment that Ohno came over and dragged Nagase aside. Yamada joined the group and his cheery nature helped to ease the tension a little with his small talk on the most popular youth-lingo at the moment.
Standing a short distance away from the group was Ohno, intent on seeking help from the experienced Nagase. He briefly explained his situation to Nagase, who seemed to be more engrossed in tearing his chicken wing apart than in listening to the troubled man's call for help.
"Fukada-san? I thought she's interested in Ma..." Nagase mumbled to himself when Ohno finally gave him some quiet time to think of a solution. Then, turning back to Ohno, he recited what came to mind. "Women love to be in the center of attention. They enjoy showing off to others how much they're being loved."
"They do?" Ohno pondered aloud.
"They do! That's why they always insist on having big bouquets of flowers being sent to their workplace - so that they can tell all their colleagues and those people they meet while taking the train home how much their boyfriend loves them!"
That made sense, so Ohno waited for Nagase to continue onto his plan.
"Tell you what, I'll suggest a game of Truth or Dare later. I'll secretly tell the rest to help you to confess to this girl should the bottle spin to you," Nagase suggested.
"Confess!?" Ohno jumped slightly, taken aback by the sudden need to make a public confession. Besides, it's not like he really, really, really love her. Well, at least not as much as he liked the fellow part-timer he worked with in high school. Even for that three year one-sided love Ohno didn't make any confession, how could he bring himself to make one for a person he barely knew? His only intention in coming for the barbeque date was to let Fukada know that he was willing to give it a shot at getting to know each other better.
"Yeah! If someone asks if there's anyone you like right now, announce her name! If someone dares you to kiss someone, kiss her! And after that, tell her that you'll be responsible for your action and date her!" Nagase said with a face so serious that Ohno nearly took what he suggested for real. It couldn't be real. It sounded like an April's Fools joke.
Before Ohno could protest, Nagase was already making his way back to the group. Dinner ended swiftly, with Nagase and Nishikido too eager to play the game and watch the show, and the others (Fukada excluded) too willing to end the tenseful dinner. Shida and Inoue helped to clear the tables for the game and soon all was set to go. Everyong gathered around the tables, each bearing different feelings. The longest lasting pair was still frustrated with each other's actions and decided to keep the distance between them. The young ones were not exactly excited about playing this Showa period game with a bunch of adults and waited impatiently for some time alone. Nishikido was busy plotting an embarrassing moment for Ohno with Nagase, leaving his girlfriend alone with her touchup mirror. Ohno was having a nerve wracking moment by himself as he attempted to mentally rehearse his confession. The unsuspecting Fukada was preparing her own version of a confession, though not to Ohno.
Fortunately for many, the first quarter of an hour saw the bottle spinning to everyone except for Matsumoto, Ohno and Fukada. The unexpected fun that flowed from the game brought some peace back to the participants and laughter started to sound from the loose circle.
However, what's to come will come, and, to Nishikido's delight, the bottle finally pointed to Ohno, on his turn no less!
The barbequed fish that Ohno had forced down a while earlier threatened to swim back up when he volunteered an answer to a yet-to-be-asked question. "Dare." Having reflected on his inability to form logical sentences when faced with the topic of confession, he had long decided to let his actions do the job.
"Are you that anxious to get to that?" Nishikido teased relentlessly. Clearing his throat to draw everyone's attention, he continued, "All right then, Ohno-san, I dare you to serenade someone with a love song right here!"
Ohno had not expected this dare. He had thought that Nagase would have communicated what he had suggested to everyone - that he was to kiss someone in the group. But to sing? It was too late for him to back out now. It'd be too rude for him to escape and leave Fukada-san to handle the embarrassment by herself. She must be waiting for his reply. Reaching into his back pocket for the strength he sorely needed, Ohno got up and took the spot in between Inoue and Fukuda. Lips quivering and heart thumping, he took in three deep breaths before attempting to hit the first note in his selected tune. It started off weak, but as he continued, he found that staring at the ground helped loosen the tightness that wrapped around his chest.
"Everytime I'm touched by the kindness you show me, my memories overflowing to the point they can't be conveyed."
Finally mustering enough courage, Ohno took his gaze off the ground and focused it on the subject of his confession. "Fukada-san, let's give it a try."
"Huh?"
Ohno stared at Fukada blankly, unsure of what to make of her response.
"Ohno just accepted your affections!" Nagase spelt it out clearly for all, although what he thought was factual was actually a big misunderstanding.
"My what?"
Butting in to have his share of fun, Nishikido added, "You wrote him a letter, didn't you? You don't know how happy this guy was when he received it!"
Pulling out the white envelop, Ohno apologised sheepishly but completely sincere, "I'm sorry that it got wet. But I could make out your name! Well... Th-thank you for...for liking me."
Fukada took one look at the smudged ink on the ill-fated letter and all that had happened during the barbeque finally made sense. Inoue's sudden hostility towards her and Matsumoto, Sawajiri's seemingly innocent remarks and Ohno's strange glances from afar. Believing herself to be the joke of the evening, she left the table in a huff.
"Did I say anything wrong?" Ohno asked.
Sawajiri, the only one who truly saw the full picture, assured him otherwise. "It's not your fault. She just needed to get away from us."
"Oh, was she embarrassed that Ohno confessed to her so openly?" Nishikido ventured a poor guess.
"I guess she was embarrassed," Sawajiri agreed.
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"Fukada-san!"
Fukada was surprised to hear her name being called and turned back towards shore. Despite the darkness that was slowly engulfing the beach, she could make out the silhouette of a medium-built man running towards the breakwater she was sitting on. Though slightly disappointed that it wasn't the subject of her affections, she heaved a sigh of relief that she didn't have to face the embarrassment so soon. Returning her gaze to the choppy waves a distance away, she showed no reaction as Ohno climbed onto the breakwater and settled down next to her. He dared not look at her directly and chose to sit with her in silence until he thought of something to say.
"Are you all right?" Ohno finally asked, unsure of how he should comfort her. "Are you angry that I made a public confession?"
"I'm all right," came her short reply which sounded more polite than sincere.
Ohno just couldn't understand women. Fukada was obviously upset, yet she claimed to be otherwise. She had wrote him a love letter, yet she seemed unhappy when he returned the affection. Ohno would have run away from such an awkward situation if it was in the past, but somehow he couldn't get himself to leave Fukada alone this time. Her letter had saved him from the melancholy that had weighed down on him on Valentine's Day, and he felt that he should try cheer her up as well, no matter how clumsy he was when it came to comforting someone.
"Fukada-san, actually, I'm not done with the song yet."
Finally turning towards him, Fukada asked with an incredulous stare, "Are you going to sing some more?"
Taken aback by the tears that were welling up in her eyes, Ohno forced a smile and joked, "You can kick me into the water if you don't like it!"
"The tears that you hid by pretending to look up at the sky, if I can hold you close, I want to wipe them away with my hands."
"Turn away."
"Huh?"
"I said, turn away," Fukada repeated in a shaky voice.
When Ohno did as instructed, he found her resting her head on his shoulder. Soon, moisture was seeping through the velvet blazer Ohno had on.
"Hey... Let me take this off first," Ohno nudged Fukada lightly.
Sitting straight, Fukada asked, "Why?"
"Because I borrowed this from Matsumoto. He'll be enraged if I return it to him soaked," Ohno answered- so bluntly that it sent Fukada into another round of tears without giving him time to remove the jacket.
By the time she was done crying, the sun had already completely disappeared from the horizon. Only a few loosely scattered road lamps worked together with the moon to light up the empty beach. The two decided that it was time to return and prepared to get off the breakwater. It was only at this point that they realised how time and tide waited for no man, quite literally. During their time there, the tide had rose so much that the small sand path that led to the breakwater was no longer visible.
"Oh dear, what should we do now?"
Ohno was calmer than Fukada when assessing the situation. "Let's just sit out the high tide. I'm sure the tide will recede in a few hours' time."
"A few hours?! The tide may just rise further to flood the entire breakwater! Or we die from the cold," Fukada exclaimed, visibly shaken by the unpleasant prospects.
Ohno knew from experience that her first fear was unfounded and not likely to befall them unless Lady Luck has forsaken them entirely. But he was already shivering from the chilly sea breeze that was hitting his body every second. If they were to stay out there throughout the night, they might really just die a laughable death. Perhaps not Fukada, because the law of courtship stated that the gentleman had to give his coat up to the lady.
"I think the water is only shoulder-deep at most," Ohno started, "I can give you a piggyback ride back to shore."
"But...But..."
Starting to climb down the breakwater to where he supposed the sand path to start at, Ohno assured her, "It'll be ok. Let's go before the water rises any further."
He felt a tug at his arm and turned back. "But there might be dangerous sea creatures in the water...sea urchins or something..."
Fukada had a genuine look of worry on her that gave Ohno a strange sense of confidence as he replied, "I've fished around here before. Those vile creatures don't inhabit these waters!"
It took a fair bit of persuasion but Fukada finally allowed Ohno into the waters before hopping onto his back.
"Thank you," she muttered shyly into his left ear as he trod back towards shore.
Pursing his lips tightly in a bid to draw his attention away from the warmth that was radiating into his back, Ohno made a mental note to rent some DVDs on the way back home. Apparently, old tricks from TV serials do work in real life, even for a guy like him.