[series] Dreamcatcher: chapter five
Title: Dreamcatcher 5/??
Pairings: Ohmiya, tba
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I own the plot, Arashi owns my heart, and Johnny owns Arashi and my wallet.
Word Count: 2165
Summary: AU. Ohno meets Nino within dreams, but Nino will always wake up again to reality, and Ohno will always be forgotten. Nino isn’t supposed to remember.
Chapter 1 // Chapter 2 // Chapter 3 // Chapter 4
.chapter five.
Aiba knows that Nino knows that Sho worries about both of them, but Nino probably doesn’t know that Aiba worries a lot for Nino and Sho, too, just not in the same ways.
Sho worries the way a mother would fret about her kids: making sure they ate properly, trying to keep them from getting sick, pushing them a little so they can be successful or productive in some way and provide for themselves. Sho has a steady job, but he has to pay for living expenses himself and Aiba and Nino. Even if they refused it, Sho always found a way to help chip in. On top of that, he pays for food and clothes and things that neither of them would spend much on otherwise. Sho has a nicer job and the pay isn’t bad, but he’s not so much better off that he can afford all three of them, even if he pretends he can. Sho tries to hide it, but Aiba can see that Sho has sacrificed a lot for them.
Aiba doesn’t really worry like that. Maybe it’s because Aiba has known Nino longer than Sho has, since their days in elementary school together. Aiba was there when Nino’s parents divorced, when the other kids bullied him, and when money was even tighter than now. Aiba has seen the world try to break Nino, and Aiba has seen Nino hold together in spite of it all. Nino is much stronger than his slight frame would suggest, and Aiba is sure that he doesn’t need to worry about Nino being unable to support himself.
The things that Aiba worries about are different. He’s worried that Sho worries, because it reminds Aiba of a mother bird who keeps returning to her nest to check up on her babies. Sho is smart and talented and could soar to heights that Aiba and Nino never could, which Aiba thinks is a funny metaphor, since Sho is afraid of heights. But if he keeps coming back to the nest, he will never fly and reach his full potential. Aiba worries that he’s holding Sho back, keeping him from greatness.
Aiba worries about Nino because Aiba believes Nino could do just about anything, just like Sho, but Nino doesn’t seem to think he can. Most people find Nino to be egotistical and full of himself, but Aiba understands the insecurity lurking behind the bravado. Even though Nino has stood strong over all of these years, broken dreams have torn down his faith, leaving behind only skepticism and false confidence. Nino wanted to be a baseball player, but an injury to his hand ruined his chances. He dreamt of becoming a songwriter or director, but missed or messed up opportunities made him give up. Nino isn’t really pursuing anything anymore.
Maybe that’s why Aiba isn’t concerned about the abnormal dreams Nino’s been having. Aiba has hoped with all of his heart that Nino would find a dream again, and while he doesn’t mean a literal dream, this might be even better. Nino snaps at Aiba for getting excited over it, but Aiba can tell that this Ohno from his dreams has changed Nino.
Nino is finally looking forward to tomorrow again. Nino gets anxious for things like meetings to end, or gets wound up over a video game, but Aiba can’t remember the last time Nino was truly eager, truly looking forward to something. It’s been too long since Nino has been this happy.
Sho is apparently worried that it will continue, and end up hurting Nino. Aiba is afraid it will end.
Part of Aiba is afraid that Sho and Nino will take off into the great things Aiba knows they’re destined for, because then Aiba will be left behind. Aiba’s a really fast runner, but he thinks he’ll never be able to keep up with them if they ever start walking ahead of him. Aiba’s not clever like Nino or smart like Sho. He really doesn’t think he’s good at anything, and he always finds a way to mess things up, but Nino and Sho still befriended him. Even though they could both do so much more than Aiba, they choose to do things for Aiba, with Aiba, and it speaks on a higher level than they themselves probably realize.
Aiba wants to do something in return, even if he can’t do much. So he tries to get Sho to relax, so he can smile and not have to stress out and worry all the time, and so he can focus on himself, too, not just on Aiba and Nino. Aiba tries to encourage Nino with instances like these, when Nino’s found something worth chasing after, because Nino deserves to be happy.
“Why do you think Nino still can’t see or hear Ohno in the real world?” Aiba asks Sho. Nino is already asleep, sprawled out on the couch with his head in Sho’s lap and his feet in Aiba’s. Naga-nii is sitting in his chair, arms folded and head hanging as he exhales in sturdy snores. Aiba is amazed that Naga-nii could sleep like that. He looks like one of those guardian statue things. “Ohno said that Nino shouldn’t remember him in his dreams, but he still does. He said Nino shouldn’t be able to see him in real life, and he can’t. Why one and not the other?”
This dream thing with Nino isn’t something any of them understand. Even Ohno doesn’t, according to Nino. Aiba is trying to help, but it’s not like he can talk to Ohno himself or see what's going on, and nothing they do in the real world seems to have any affect, so Aiba is at a loss. Naga-nii tends to play along with whatever Nino and Aiba present, but Sho doesn’t completely believe what little they could explain. Sho spent most of the night telling them about people and theories that Aiba doesn’t remember, but none of them clarified anything further.
Sho sighs and shrugs a little, running a hand through Nino’s hair timidly. “I have no idea,” he mutters sleepily. Signs of dawn are already peeking through the window, and Aiba and Sho spent the entire night discussing it, running conversations in circles. “There are too many questions left unanswered. Why is it only Nino that remembers? Why can he only remember this person? How is this happening? I don’t know where to start. I’m not even sure I can believe this ‘dreamcatcher’ thing. But Nino wouldn’t take a joke this far, and even though I doubt it sometimes, he’s not entirely crazy.”
“Nino said that Ohno told him that dreamcatchers take dreams with them, and that’s why people don’t remember,” Aiba adds. “He said that Nino used to forget, until now. But with the dream taking thing, nothing has changed.”
“But what purpose is there in taking a dream, or whatever it is they do? From what you’ve told me, this Ohno person and the others like him practically live for the sake of this dream collecting.”
“So?”
Sho chews on his lower lip, mind whirring in thought. “Yet that guy, Ohno, doesn’t even know what they’re used for? I hate to say it, but he must be lying or something. There’s no way an entire community would dedicate themselves to that sort of work without at least some knowledge as to what their work is being used for. They could be stealing dreams for an evil reason, or maybe they’re nothing but souvenirs of humans to them. Why are we so sure we can trust that guy in the first place? For all we know, these dreamcatchers could be bad people.”
Aiba shakes his head furiously, placing a hand gently on a sloping shoulder. “Ohno’s not a bad person, I’m positive. Nino will be okay.”
Sho laughs humorously, looking down at the sleeping Nino with a bitter smile. “Aiba, just because Nino trusts him doesn’t mean he should be trusted. Nino falls in love quickly and gets hurt easily.”
No, Aiba thinks. Nino loves quickly, but he doesn’t fall in love with just anyone. Nino trusts people quickly, but he doesn’t put his trust in them. It’s one of the complexities of Nino, how he could be so open and so guarded, so optimistic and so cynical, all at the same time. Nino gets hurt easily because he sees the best in people, and they let him down far too often.
“You don’t have to believe him,” Aiba says out loud, and he’s not sure if he’s speaking to Sho, a still slumbering Nino, or himself. “You just have to believe in him.”
Sho peers at Aiba with furrowed eyebrows. He’s wincing a little, and his hands in Nino’s hair tighten. The way Sho looks now, confused and hopeful and so uncharacteristically fragile, stings Aiba a bit too deeply. Aiba knows - he’s known for a long time already - and Aiba has to duck his head.
There shouldn’t have to be a choice between Nino or Sho’s happiness. Aiba isn’t trying to pick between them, and he knows that helping Nino and getting Sho to help Nino is for the best. He just isn’t sure how to handle the guilt gnawing at his stomach.
Thankfully, Sho chuckles a little, and his features are soft again when Aiba glances back up. “I think I actually get what it is you’re saying. I take that as an indication that I’ve been hanging around you guys for too long.”
“You’re becoming one of us!” Aiba giggles.
Aiba slaps his hand over his mouth when Nino stirs, shifting slightly before sitting up, so abrupt he almost whacks Sho in the jaw. Nino is always hard to wake up in the mornings, but his eyes are wide and alert.
“I’m sorry, Nino!” Aiba says in panic. “I didn’t mean to be so loud! I’m sorry for waking you up! It was an accident, really!”
Sho slips his hand onto Nino’s back. “Are you alright?”
Nino nods mutely, burying his face in his hands. He takes a few deep breaths before speaking. “I found out a little more,” he says, voice still rough from waking, “about dreamcatchers. It’s just like you said, Sho - dreams are suppressed thoughts, desires, fears… They’re things of the subconscious. Dreamers shape their own dreams, but then dreamcatchers come in and manipulate it, connect to it until it’s their own. It becomes their dream, not yours.”
“Slow down, Nino,” instructs Sho. “Slow down, calm down. Now, tell me if I understand this correctly. These people enter dreams, somehow morph them into their own, and then take it with them?”
“Right.” Nino sounds more awake now, stronger, but he’s still trembling slightly. “It’s not your dream anymore once they connect to it, and when they take it, it’s as if it never existed to anyone but them. Like right now, I’m telling you about my dream, but you didn’t see it for yourself. You and Aiba can’t remember dreams that I had.”
“Then the reason you remember is because Ohno doesn’t completely connect to your dreams?” Aiba asks. “When there’s a bad signal or it’s rainy, the radio cackles and stuff. Something like that?”
Sho pushes Nino off of him gently and stands, rubbing the back of his neck. Naga-nii is still snoring in his chair, mumbling something in his sleep about hamburgers and idiots. “No, I think I get it, if that’s how it works,” Sho says, pacing the expanse between the couch and the coffee table. “Not like a bad signal, Aiba-chan. Think mixed signal. Have you ever picked up two radio stations at once while driving?”
“That’s what we were thinking,” Nino says. “There’s nothing wrong with the way Ohno’s connecting. Most likely the problem is that, for some reason, I don’t disconnect.”
Aiba frowns. Something doesn’t make sense. He opens his mouth to ask, but Sho notices and tells him, “It’s not as complicated as we’re making it sound. It’s like plugging two devices into an outlet that should only hold one, or… I don’t know, playing a game on multiplayer when you only have one controller.”
“No, no, I get it,” Aiba assures him. “But Nino, isn’t it a good thing that we’ve finally figured something out, even just a little? It’s been a week of no answers, and now we have at least this much. But you don’t look happy.”
Sho stops tracking back and forth to shoot an alarmed look at Nino. “Did Ohno say something else?”
“That’s just it. Ohno didn’t say anything.”
Aiba doesn’t understand, so he tells him so. “Then how’d you find out all this stuff?”
Nino swallows heavily. “Ohno wasn’t in my dreams last night. His friend, Jun, was.”
Sho’s jaw drops open. “But that means-”
“Exactly.” Nino reclines and rests his head on the back of the couch, closing his eyes. “I didn’t forget Jun, either. Ohno's not the only dreamcatcher I can remember.”
---
A/N: DUN DUN DUN D:
I was going to post this earlier, but I had a really busy day and I'm still fighting off a headache. So, I didn't edit this much. Sorry if there's any mistakes ^^
Just so everyone knows: I'm moving into my dorm next Friday. I will post the next chapter before I leave, but until I settle in and everything, I don't know when I'll be able to reply to comments or post more.
Anyway, now we have even more questions left unanswered, don't we? I hope everyone liked Aiba's POV. The next chapter will be Ohno's POV again.
And guess what? rawambition made me a fanvid! How awesome is that? :D All of you should check it out! Thanks again for making it, Jaime <333
Pairings: Ohmiya, tba
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I own the plot, Arashi owns my heart, and Johnny owns Arashi and my wallet.
Word Count: 2165
Summary: AU. Ohno meets Nino within dreams, but Nino will always wake up again to reality, and Ohno will always be forgotten. Nino isn’t supposed to remember.
Chapter 1 // Chapter 2 // Chapter 3 // Chapter 4
.chapter five.
Aiba knows that Nino knows that Sho worries about both of them, but Nino probably doesn’t know that Aiba worries a lot for Nino and Sho, too, just not in the same ways.
Sho worries the way a mother would fret about her kids: making sure they ate properly, trying to keep them from getting sick, pushing them a little so they can be successful or productive in some way and provide for themselves. Sho has a steady job, but he has to pay for living expenses himself and Aiba and Nino. Even if they refused it, Sho always found a way to help chip in. On top of that, he pays for food and clothes and things that neither of them would spend much on otherwise. Sho has a nicer job and the pay isn’t bad, but he’s not so much better off that he can afford all three of them, even if he pretends he can. Sho tries to hide it, but Aiba can see that Sho has sacrificed a lot for them.
Aiba doesn’t really worry like that. Maybe it’s because Aiba has known Nino longer than Sho has, since their days in elementary school together. Aiba was there when Nino’s parents divorced, when the other kids bullied him, and when money was even tighter than now. Aiba has seen the world try to break Nino, and Aiba has seen Nino hold together in spite of it all. Nino is much stronger than his slight frame would suggest, and Aiba is sure that he doesn’t need to worry about Nino being unable to support himself.
The things that Aiba worries about are different. He’s worried that Sho worries, because it reminds Aiba of a mother bird who keeps returning to her nest to check up on her babies. Sho is smart and talented and could soar to heights that Aiba and Nino never could, which Aiba thinks is a funny metaphor, since Sho is afraid of heights. But if he keeps coming back to the nest, he will never fly and reach his full potential. Aiba worries that he’s holding Sho back, keeping him from greatness.
Aiba worries about Nino because Aiba believes Nino could do just about anything, just like Sho, but Nino doesn’t seem to think he can. Most people find Nino to be egotistical and full of himself, but Aiba understands the insecurity lurking behind the bravado. Even though Nino has stood strong over all of these years, broken dreams have torn down his faith, leaving behind only skepticism and false confidence. Nino wanted to be a baseball player, but an injury to his hand ruined his chances. He dreamt of becoming a songwriter or director, but missed or messed up opportunities made him give up. Nino isn’t really pursuing anything anymore.
Maybe that’s why Aiba isn’t concerned about the abnormal dreams Nino’s been having. Aiba has hoped with all of his heart that Nino would find a dream again, and while he doesn’t mean a literal dream, this might be even better. Nino snaps at Aiba for getting excited over it, but Aiba can tell that this Ohno from his dreams has changed Nino.
Nino is finally looking forward to tomorrow again. Nino gets anxious for things like meetings to end, or gets wound up over a video game, but Aiba can’t remember the last time Nino was truly eager, truly looking forward to something. It’s been too long since Nino has been this happy.
Sho is apparently worried that it will continue, and end up hurting Nino. Aiba is afraid it will end.
Part of Aiba is afraid that Sho and Nino will take off into the great things Aiba knows they’re destined for, because then Aiba will be left behind. Aiba’s a really fast runner, but he thinks he’ll never be able to keep up with them if they ever start walking ahead of him. Aiba’s not clever like Nino or smart like Sho. He really doesn’t think he’s good at anything, and he always finds a way to mess things up, but Nino and Sho still befriended him. Even though they could both do so much more than Aiba, they choose to do things for Aiba, with Aiba, and it speaks on a higher level than they themselves probably realize.
Aiba wants to do something in return, even if he can’t do much. So he tries to get Sho to relax, so he can smile and not have to stress out and worry all the time, and so he can focus on himself, too, not just on Aiba and Nino. Aiba tries to encourage Nino with instances like these, when Nino’s found something worth chasing after, because Nino deserves to be happy.
“Why do you think Nino still can’t see or hear Ohno in the real world?” Aiba asks Sho. Nino is already asleep, sprawled out on the couch with his head in Sho’s lap and his feet in Aiba’s. Naga-nii is sitting in his chair, arms folded and head hanging as he exhales in sturdy snores. Aiba is amazed that Naga-nii could sleep like that. He looks like one of those guardian statue things. “Ohno said that Nino shouldn’t remember him in his dreams, but he still does. He said Nino shouldn’t be able to see him in real life, and he can’t. Why one and not the other?”
This dream thing with Nino isn’t something any of them understand. Even Ohno doesn’t, according to Nino. Aiba is trying to help, but it’s not like he can talk to Ohno himself or see what's going on, and nothing they do in the real world seems to have any affect, so Aiba is at a loss. Naga-nii tends to play along with whatever Nino and Aiba present, but Sho doesn’t completely believe what little they could explain. Sho spent most of the night telling them about people and theories that Aiba doesn’t remember, but none of them clarified anything further.
Sho sighs and shrugs a little, running a hand through Nino’s hair timidly. “I have no idea,” he mutters sleepily. Signs of dawn are already peeking through the window, and Aiba and Sho spent the entire night discussing it, running conversations in circles. “There are too many questions left unanswered. Why is it only Nino that remembers? Why can he only remember this person? How is this happening? I don’t know where to start. I’m not even sure I can believe this ‘dreamcatcher’ thing. But Nino wouldn’t take a joke this far, and even though I doubt it sometimes, he’s not entirely crazy.”
“Nino said that Ohno told him that dreamcatchers take dreams with them, and that’s why people don’t remember,” Aiba adds. “He said that Nino used to forget, until now. But with the dream taking thing, nothing has changed.”
“But what purpose is there in taking a dream, or whatever it is they do? From what you’ve told me, this Ohno person and the others like him practically live for the sake of this dream collecting.”
“So?”
Sho chews on his lower lip, mind whirring in thought. “Yet that guy, Ohno, doesn’t even know what they’re used for? I hate to say it, but he must be lying or something. There’s no way an entire community would dedicate themselves to that sort of work without at least some knowledge as to what their work is being used for. They could be stealing dreams for an evil reason, or maybe they’re nothing but souvenirs of humans to them. Why are we so sure we can trust that guy in the first place? For all we know, these dreamcatchers could be bad people.”
Aiba shakes his head furiously, placing a hand gently on a sloping shoulder. “Ohno’s not a bad person, I’m positive. Nino will be okay.”
Sho laughs humorously, looking down at the sleeping Nino with a bitter smile. “Aiba, just because Nino trusts him doesn’t mean he should be trusted. Nino falls in love quickly and gets hurt easily.”
No, Aiba thinks. Nino loves quickly, but he doesn’t fall in love with just anyone. Nino trusts people quickly, but he doesn’t put his trust in them. It’s one of the complexities of Nino, how he could be so open and so guarded, so optimistic and so cynical, all at the same time. Nino gets hurt easily because he sees the best in people, and they let him down far too often.
“You don’t have to believe him,” Aiba says out loud, and he’s not sure if he’s speaking to Sho, a still slumbering Nino, or himself. “You just have to believe in him.”
Sho peers at Aiba with furrowed eyebrows. He’s wincing a little, and his hands in Nino’s hair tighten. The way Sho looks now, confused and hopeful and so uncharacteristically fragile, stings Aiba a bit too deeply. Aiba knows - he’s known for a long time already - and Aiba has to duck his head.
There shouldn’t have to be a choice between Nino or Sho’s happiness. Aiba isn’t trying to pick between them, and he knows that helping Nino and getting Sho to help Nino is for the best. He just isn’t sure how to handle the guilt gnawing at his stomach.
Thankfully, Sho chuckles a little, and his features are soft again when Aiba glances back up. “I think I actually get what it is you’re saying. I take that as an indication that I’ve been hanging around you guys for too long.”
“You’re becoming one of us!” Aiba giggles.
Aiba slaps his hand over his mouth when Nino stirs, shifting slightly before sitting up, so abrupt he almost whacks Sho in the jaw. Nino is always hard to wake up in the mornings, but his eyes are wide and alert.
“I’m sorry, Nino!” Aiba says in panic. “I didn’t mean to be so loud! I’m sorry for waking you up! It was an accident, really!”
Sho slips his hand onto Nino’s back. “Are you alright?”
Nino nods mutely, burying his face in his hands. He takes a few deep breaths before speaking. “I found out a little more,” he says, voice still rough from waking, “about dreamcatchers. It’s just like you said, Sho - dreams are suppressed thoughts, desires, fears… They’re things of the subconscious. Dreamers shape their own dreams, but then dreamcatchers come in and manipulate it, connect to it until it’s their own. It becomes their dream, not yours.”
“Slow down, Nino,” instructs Sho. “Slow down, calm down. Now, tell me if I understand this correctly. These people enter dreams, somehow morph them into their own, and then take it with them?”
“Right.” Nino sounds more awake now, stronger, but he’s still trembling slightly. “It’s not your dream anymore once they connect to it, and when they take it, it’s as if it never existed to anyone but them. Like right now, I’m telling you about my dream, but you didn’t see it for yourself. You and Aiba can’t remember dreams that I had.”
“Then the reason you remember is because Ohno doesn’t completely connect to your dreams?” Aiba asks. “When there’s a bad signal or it’s rainy, the radio cackles and stuff. Something like that?”
Sho pushes Nino off of him gently and stands, rubbing the back of his neck. Naga-nii is still snoring in his chair, mumbling something in his sleep about hamburgers and idiots. “No, I think I get it, if that’s how it works,” Sho says, pacing the expanse between the couch and the coffee table. “Not like a bad signal, Aiba-chan. Think mixed signal. Have you ever picked up two radio stations at once while driving?”
“That’s what we were thinking,” Nino says. “There’s nothing wrong with the way Ohno’s connecting. Most likely the problem is that, for some reason, I don’t disconnect.”
Aiba frowns. Something doesn’t make sense. He opens his mouth to ask, but Sho notices and tells him, “It’s not as complicated as we’re making it sound. It’s like plugging two devices into an outlet that should only hold one, or… I don’t know, playing a game on multiplayer when you only have one controller.”
“No, no, I get it,” Aiba assures him. “But Nino, isn’t it a good thing that we’ve finally figured something out, even just a little? It’s been a week of no answers, and now we have at least this much. But you don’t look happy.”
Sho stops tracking back and forth to shoot an alarmed look at Nino. “Did Ohno say something else?”
“That’s just it. Ohno didn’t say anything.”
Aiba doesn’t understand, so he tells him so. “Then how’d you find out all this stuff?”
Nino swallows heavily. “Ohno wasn’t in my dreams last night. His friend, Jun, was.”
Sho’s jaw drops open. “But that means-”
“Exactly.” Nino reclines and rests his head on the back of the couch, closing his eyes. “I didn’t forget Jun, either. Ohno's not the only dreamcatcher I can remember.”
---
A/N: DUN DUN DUN D:
I was going to post this earlier, but I had a really busy day and I'm still fighting off a headache. So, I didn't edit this much. Sorry if there's any mistakes ^^
Just so everyone knows: I'm moving into my dorm next Friday. I will post the next chapter before I leave, but until I settle in and everything, I don't know when I'll be able to reply to comments or post more.
Anyway, now we have even more questions left unanswered, don't we? I hope everyone liked Aiba's POV. The next chapter will be Ohno's POV again.
And guess what? rawambition made me a fanvid! How awesome is that? :D All of you should check it out! Thanks again for making it, Jaime <333
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