I'm Not - Chapter 4: Representation
Yay! I finished my Oral Defense! I didn’t pass, but STILL~! I’M DONE! *dies*
So yeah, the chapter! :D I’m not sure if it’s good though. Maybe it has become annoying to read? Please read anyway! Please tell me what you think through a comment! Comments are really appreciated! *flies away~*
Ohno arrived at the set of Arashi no Shukudai-kun before the other members again and decided that it was fine to sit and wait for the members on set since he was first anyway. As he watched the staff members prepare for the shoot, he took this time to think things over about what to do with Ninomiya and this ‘worry’ that was accumulating in his heart and making it feel heavier. He is worried, of course, his heart makes that present but his mind contradicts every other thing about his ‘dangerous’ friend.
Nino was the next to arrive on set and looked around. Nino said nothing as he caught sight of Ohno, who flinched at the tiredness in Nino’s eyes staring at him. As Nino wordlessly approached Ohno and sat next to him, as close as physically possible, Ohno realized that he was growing more drained every day. Nino silently leaned his head on Ohno’s chest followed by the rest of his torso on Ohno’s. Nino’s back was pressed to Ohno’s chest like before in the VS Arashi dressing room that was temporarily made a model set by the sexy Matsujun, sexy Matsujun photographer Sho and Chicken bento eating supporter Aiba.
Somehow, two or three of the photos were leaked into the ‘public hands,’ otherwise called the ‘fangirl clutches’ and poor Matsujun had to go stay home for a while because he fainted after seeing one of his private ultra sexy photo shoot shots being used for a huge billboard advertizing Pepsi Nex.
Pepsi Nex was known to be dangerous.
Even the spokesperson couldn’t take its awesome powers.
So, Aiba and Sho were going to pick Matsujun up from his house to avoid further occurrences of fainting. Sho called Ohno to say that they’ll be coming a bit later than usual because of Matsujun and his state and all.
Disregarding that for a moment, this is the third day that Ohno has seen Nino so sleepy in a row, and it’s also the third day in a row that he has been used as the pillow of the said sleepy person. Ohno was getting worried since, when he asked the others, he was told that Nino has never been this tired after the whole ‘waiting outside the store for the whole night where the last newest version of the RPG game he loved so much was being sold’ thing some months ago.
Even counting that, he looks even more exhausted now than that time. What has he been doing to himself?
This ‘worry’ was quickly escalating.
“Nino, why are you sleepy again?” Ohno used his nickname this time, feeling too the tiredness of his companion and becoming lazy to say the whole 4 syllables of Nino’s family name. Ohno waited for answer but silence answered his query. He shifted slightly to accommodate Nino’s form.
“Nggh.” Was Nino’s reply to that, finally, or maybe it was just a noise caused by his displeasure at Ohno’s sudden movement. When he got comfortable once more, Nino pulled out a deck of cards from his front pocket and shuffled them as he closed his eyes. “Mm?”
“Yes, I did eat breakfast. Don’t worry.” Ohno didn’t know why he said that but when Nino’s head nodded slightly as a response, Ohno left that thought unanalyzed.
“Ne, Riida?” Nino spoke very softly but the suddenness surprised Ohno all the same.
“Ha?” Ohno breathed in such a way that the sound was for Nino’s ears only. Nino didn’t speak for a little while.
“We just thought of the same thing, didn’t we?” Nino finally said, his hands moving the deck of cards on their own. “We thought about food…”
“I guess… I guess.” Ohno could see the complex hand movements Nino appeared to be doing unconsciously. Then, Nino stopped shuffling them and held the deck face down.
“Will we be thinking the same for this too?” Nino’s voice was weakly projected as his hand moved to the top of the deck and picked up the card on top. He let the rest of the deck drop to his lap as he held the topmost card up for Ohno, its back facing the fishing addict, and turned it around.
The Ace of Hearts.
Nino said nothing as he proceeded to cut the card through the middle, right across the blood red heart. Ohno was going to say something when Nino threw the 2 pieces of the same card in the air and catching them both at the same time in one hand.
“What-”
“Look.” Nino blandly said as he opened his clenched fist near Ohno’s face. Ohno could see what was inside. It was a card, yes, but not a ripped Ace…
It was a whole card folded in half.
It was the Two of Hearts.
Ohno sighed in astonishment.
“What do you think, Ohno-kun?” Nino turned his head to face Ohno, his lips twitching into a forced smile that Ohno noticed but chose to be quiet about. Nino got an unexpected smile.
“Nino, you got better, didn’t you? You’re really a pro in magic now.” Ohno thought that his reply was the best that he can muster out of his scattered thoughts and thought that it was the right thing to say to a person who just performed magic.
Nino’s slight smile faded unnoticeably and turned his head back to its previous position, facing the cameras. “Ah. Thanks. I’ll try to get even better, though. I’ll learn more tricks, okay? Then I’ll show them to you.” His conviction was not in his words.
“As long as you like.” Ohno reached up and played with Nino’s hair again, like last time. Nino seemed to find comfort in this. Nino continued to shuffle his cards in silence.
‘WHAT… THE HELL AM I THINKING, IDIOT!?’
Ohno’s mind suddenly exploded with thoughts from his ‘other’ self.
‘He’s faking it. He’s BAITING me. Don’t fall for it. He’s going to kill me. Who knows? Maybe that next magic trick will make me disappear, FOREVER. I can’t afford to let this feeling of ‘worry’ distract me. It’s all a plan, isn’t it? I have to get to him first, before he does anything…’
Ohno shook his head furiously, trying his best to not let the shaking cause too much unwanted movement on Nino’s end. His thoughts were driving him nuts. He and Nino, along with the rest of Arashi, have been together for at least 10 years, including their Junior times.
Nino couldn’t be after Ohno. He just can’t, after all they’ve been through.
But… what was that memory? Being pinned by this person currently resting himself on Ohno’s torso. It really happened, didn’t it? If it didn’t, why would this memory be so vivid? Ohno could even remember the nervousness he felt as his back made unfriendly contact with the cold concrete wall of the tunnel. Their faces were so close… yet there was a negative feeling about it.
He could ask. He could ask now. The person in question was right there beside him.
Ohno took a second to compose himself.
“Nino, I have-”
“I made Matsujun so sexy, even he couldn’t take it!” Sho laughingly told the Aiba loudly as they entered the studio a full half-hour late. Matsujun was holding onto Aiba’s shoulder for a little balance, looking absolutely petrified as they entered. “I could turn pro!”
Ohno let the words waiting to be said in his mouth disappear as the others approached. Nino was unmoving and, on further inspection, his breathing had slowed and deepened.
He was napping.
Ohno sighed silently. Oh well.
“Oh, Riida. Morning!” Aiba said his greeting in a softer tone than Sho’s speech a moment ago. As they approached, Matsujun removed himself from Aiba’s side and splayed himself over his regular seat across from Ohno and Nino’s. “Matsujun was a lot of trouble! We had to avoid places with billboards of Pepsi Nex because Matsujun was throwing a fit!” Aiba’s tension would have risen even more if it wasn’t already off the charts, as per usual.
“How could anyone be comfortable with seeing themselves kneeling over a bottle, half naked and… and… IT WAS ON THE BIGGEST FREAKING BILLBOARD for ALL to SEE!!!” Matsujun was still lying tired on the chair, but his voice made such a boom that the sound betrayed what they saw. Nino shifted but did not wake up.
“Come on, lighten up. You were this close to ruling the world with your sexiness.” Sho commented with a slight tone and looking very pleased at Matsujun and his success. Matsujun gaped at the newscaster and then to the rest of his friends with a slacked jaw. When he received a welcoming silence, he let his head fall on the seat with a small thud.
“It’s true anyway! Matsujun was really close to making people faint on the spot!” Aiba laughed in his charming manner and Matsujun turned to face the cushions, trying to hide an apparent blush only known to him. He mumbled into the pillow as if angry.
“Matsujun…” Aiba and Sho went to him, partly to bug him about it and then apologize after. Ohno would have approached as well, but he felt it to be far too troublesome to stand. Plus, he was already comfortable. His eyes were starting to feel heavy as well…
“Everyone! Please ready yourselves! Ohno-san, please wake Ninomiya-san up and be ready in 10 minutes, thanks!” A staff member called from behind the cameras on the set for Arashi no Shukudai-kun. Ohno thought Nino had woken up from the staff’s clear voice but he had not.
“Ninomiya… wake up.” Ohno gently shook his friend (or was he?) on the shoulder, gaining no response. He made the movement once more and used a louder voice to call out to him but it still didn’t work. Ohno tried a few times more, but Nino would not leave his dreams. Nino hasn’t slept this deeply in a while. What kind of sick new game has he been staying up for these days?
“Hm…” Ohno was contemplating if he should hit Nino on the head or not. It seemed more efficient to.
“AAAH!!” Aiba’s voice was loud and made Ohno cringe. “There is a one hundred yen coin in the couch! How long has it been there, I wonder?” He raised it up triumphantly for everyone to see and then pocketed it with a smile on his face.
Aiba was loud. Loud enough to wake Nino up at least. Or was it just because he heard something about money? Ohno would never know, but he spent a moment to ponder the possibilities as Nino sat up and away from Ohno. He let the thought flutter away when they saw Ogura-san near the back and the doors opening to let the audience in as these were the signs that they should be ready soon.
The four stood up while Nino shook the sleep from his eyes. They headed for the back and Nino followed suit.
One of his cards fell on the floor and he turned around to pick it up. It was the Ace of Hearts from a while ago.
“I thought I ripped this up…”
~~~~~~~~~~
Ah, you know what was creepy? I was playing with my deck of cards while thinking of how to write the card trick scene and you know what happened? The minute I thought of the Ace of Hearts on top of Nino’s deck to show to Ohno, I picked the card on the top of my deck and WAH! It was the Ace of Hearts. *dies of shock* WHAT DOES THIS MEAN!? XD (More Ohmiya Love!? XD)
Thank you for reading! I hope you didn’t hate it. My ideas seem so uncreative, huh? Anyway, please comment! :D I will lubs you if you do. XD Classes are ending soon over here, so I foresee and update coming up soon! XD