[FIC] LOVE SO BITTERSWEET
title: Love So Bittersweet
fandom/pairing: JE/various (when i say various, i mean various)
rating: PG-13
word count: 3422
notes: thank you to all who commented on the first chapter, it relieved me to have so many people enjoying my take on the lovely shoujo manga. :D also, i would just iike to say that my choice of characters should not be taken to heart okay? it's all for the love of crack and fic. that said, i hope you all enjoy this chapter. :) no beta still and i do not own anything.
one | two | three
Being middle class apparently was reason enough to turn Nino into the class toy. He was often the butt of jokes and the recipient of pranks. Nino tolerated them up to a point, but when his classmates gang up on him during physical education time--he'd knock them all down only by the time he had one man down, there was another one to hit him again--early in the morning, Nino reached his limit faster than usual.
Their harmless basketball game morphed into a gang-up on Nino game. He would not be allowed control of the ball, and when he was, it hit him on random body parts. While his classmates obviously enjoyed this, Nino took a deep breath and told himself that they weren't worthy of his fist. A ball hit Nino's leg, and the impact had him kneeling.
"Hey Ninomiya, get up." Tegoshi Yuya sauntered over and glared him down. Beside him were Ueda Tatsuya and Miyake Ken, both sending him dirty looks. "Don't tell me that you're too weak to give in to that ball?"
Nino gritted his teeth and stood up. From where he stood, he could see that the infamous F4 again, on the soccer field. Almost immediately, Nino found himself watching Sakurai Sho.
"Is it your first time seeing a man as fine as Sho-kun?" Ken's shrill voice snapped Nino's train of thoughts. "We know that he looks amazing, but be more discreet about it, honestly."
"You throw yourselves at their feet and you have the nerve to tell me this?" Nino met their glares head on. To this, none of them could reply, so Tegoshi huffed and spun on his heel while the others followed suit.
--
"Are you that clumsy?" Matsumoto Jun demanded, watching Nino sitting by the row of faucets, cleaning his wounds. "Why do you have so many bruises?"
"It's none of your business," Nino replied in a clipped tone. He decided that since Matsumoto wouldn't leave him alone, he'd answer all his questions. Though Nino was never the one to give a decent answer to people he loathed. The damp cloth was now dirty after all those bruises Nino attained from one class, and he was about to run it under the faucet again when he saw Jun handing out his own handkerchief.
"Take it." Jun told him.
"I don't need it."
The Matsumoto heir took Nino's hand and forced his handkerchief down Nino's closed fist. Nino resisted the best he could, but when that ended up a failure, he gave the handkerchief back to Jun. When the latter refused it, Nino grabbed him by his collar and stuffed it in his pocket.
"I don't need anything from you." Nino clarified steely.
"I really don't understand you, Ninomiya Kazunari. I'm trying to help you when you really need it, but you refuse it."
"I'd rather die than get any help from you, Matsumoto."
That single sentence sparked something in Jun; in a quick move, he grabbed Nino by the wrist and pulled him close. Nino showed shock, but he replaced it with a glare. Their eyes met, and Nino tried to wrench his hand free.
"Why?" Jun managed to say, with quite some difficulty.
"Why what?"
"Why do you hate me?"
Nino couldn't help himself and let out a bitter laugh. "Why I hate you? How can I not hate you? You bully the weak and you do as you please. You think you're such a great person because you're rich, all you think about is yourself. After all that, can you blame me for hating you, Matsumoto Jun?"
Driving his muddy heel into Jun's polished leather shoe, Nino managed to loosen Jun's grasp and free himself. He thought that he was in deep trouble now, standing up to this person for the nth time since he entered this school.
But he'll manage. After all, what can be worse than Matsumoto Jun?
--
Kamenashi Kazuya's shifts start at exactly three in the afternoon and they end in nine in the evening. He shared the same schedule as Nino, but after all that dilemma with that rich boy group at school, Nino's often late for his shift. Kame hoped Nino was doing fine though. Their porridge shop was small and they had a few regulars. The six hour shift of the two young men were usually spent cleaning the already clean tables and washing the already washed dishes. Nino once thought of quitting in exchange for a higher paying job (his family really needed it) but the store owner was too attached to them to let them go, and vice versa.
"Nino's late," Ohno Satoshi, the one responsible for cooking up the porridges they served, muttered as he followed Kame's gaze out of the glass door. Kame sighed and nodded. "Why is he late?"
"School's been giving him a hard time," Kame told the store owner.
"Is that so,"
The pair spent quite a lot more moments watching the passers by from behind the glass, when Nino came out of nowhere and opened the door right into their faces. Kame, who received the initial impact, held a hand up to his nose and groaned. Ohno, who got hit by Kame's shoulder, took a few steps back.
"Sorry, I didn't--I was in a hurry. Sorry, I'm late."
"That really hurt," Kame rubbed at the bridge of his nose and pouted at Nino. Nino sent his friend an apologetic look.
"Nino-chan," Ohno finally spoke; Nino perked up and looked at him expectedly. "Don't be late next time, okay?"
"I won't! I promise I won't, Oh-chan!"
--
Today's shift--similar to the rest of the ones they've had this week--was slow. They've had one customer in the span of three hours, both Nino and Kame now seated on one of the boots, their cheeks on their open palms. At the sounds of the door opening, the pair perked up and prepared to welcome their guests.
Once he saw the newcomers though, Nino’s welcome died in his throat.
“Yo,” greeted Akanishi Jin, who was dressed far too much for someone going to eat at a porridge shop. Beside him was Ohkura Tadayoshi, who had gotten hold of the menu and was already scanning it. “Is this the way you usually treat your customers?”
Kame nudged Nino, whose face was still in disbelief. Seeing that his friend wasn’t about to recover from his shock soon, Kame went ahead and directed the two to a seat.
“What can I get you guys?” Kame filled in easily, while Nino still gaped at the two customers.
“Hey Nino-chan, relax. We’re not here to do any harm,” Jin threw Nino an easy smile. In front of him, Ohkura started dictating his order to Kame. Kame listed them effectively, though not missing the exchange between Nino and their mysterious customer.
Ohno was delighted to see people (other than Nino and Kame) and he immediately started working on the gentlemen’s (mostly Ohkura’s-no everything was Ohkura’s) order. Kame took this time to ask Nino what went on back there.
“Do you know them?”
“They’re part of that F4 group that I was talking about,” Nino hissed behind the menu.
“Did one of them give you that dress?”
“No,” Nino’s expression soured immediately. “No. I would not have let that guy enter this place if that were the case.”
“Then those two are…”
“That guy over there in sleek black clothes-is Akanishi Jin. Apparently, he’s some tea-ceremony whiz or something. He’s well known for being a playboy, and he even hits on boys so stay away from him. Girls easily swoon for him, they say. The one in the fancy vest and shirt is Ohkura Tadayoshi. He’s an expert in martial arts, as both his parents are involved in some underground society. He prefers women older than him, and he rarely dates anyone who isn’t.”
“And they’re rich?”
“Yes, did I fail to make that point.” Nino deadpanned.
“Well then, we’d better milk them for all they’re worth.” Grabbing the menu, Kame walked towards the pair, who can’t seem to stop looking around the place. “Excuse me,”
“What is it?” Jin answered with a smile.
“Our menu failed to tell you that there’ll be an additional service charge, I apologize-”
“Oh. That’s fine then,”
“Aren’t you going to ask how much?”
“It’s fine,” Jin told him in a clipped tone. The pleasing disposition he had in his previous replies was suddenly nowhere to be found, so Kame didn’t push it. “Are you Nino-chan’s friend?”
“Yes I am,” Kame replied, feeling awkward now as the two males watched him closely.
“And your name is?” Ohkura asked. He already prepared his spoon and was playing with it as he waited.
“Kamenashi Kazuya.”
“Your orders are here,” Nino cut in, sending Kame a look that told the latter how Nino felt about Kame interacting with these people. “Enjoy your meal,”
“Nice place you have here, Nino-chan.”
“It’s not mine, but thank you.” He replied, his tone devoid of pleasantries. “What brings you here?”
“I had a sudden craving for porridge,” Ohkura replied, his spoon already helping itself into the porridge. “And by coincidence, this shop was nearest.”
“Oh really,” how could they have expected Nino to believe that flimsy excuse?
“Do you always hound your customers while they eat, or is it because we’re special?” F4’s playboy asked, an amused smile playing on his lips. He directed it to Kame, and while the recipient was pretty shocked about it, Nino looked appalled at the sheer nerve of this guy.
“Definitely because you’re special,” replied Nino, who forced a smile at them.
Since he wasn’t quite sure whether he can control himself any longer, Nino finally left the pair alone, and Kame followed him. Once the two of them were on the counter, Kame took out his pen and started writing something. To get a better look, Nino peered over his friend’s shoulder.
“I didn’t know we had a 20% service charge,”
“It’s a special service for our F4 guests,” Kame grinned and gave Nino a thumbs up. Nino took the pen and changed it to 30%.
--
Walks back home were Nino’s favorite part of each day. After all the stress and all the work, he was granted a few minutes of solitude amidst Tokyo’s sidewalks. After his shift at Ohno’s shop, he usually went home immediately, unless he got hold of another part time job after it. Tonight was the usual. After he, Kame and Ohno shut the doors to their shop, Nino went on his way home.
Nino was used to seeing the lights on the streetlamps, the products on display in various stores, the people rushing past him. But tonight, although it was one of the usual nights, Nino saw something odd.
“So rich people do step on commoner’s grounds too, I didn’t know.”
Sakurai Sho looked up from a poster-an advertisement for cameras, Nino wondered what it was that had Sho looking so pensive-and smiled as he who had said the statement. By now, Nino stopped beating himself up for thinking of Sakurai Sho so differently. He was different, Nino decided, and liked his being different.
“Ninomiya-kun,” Sho smiled brightly, though Nino could see that it was a cover up for a completely different emotion.
“Are you a fan?” Nino asked, gesturing to the poster. Nino knew that guy, Okada Junichi. His parents adored him in everything he’s starred in. Nino thought he was okay, though he didn’t have a concrete opinion about him.
“I guess you can say that.” It seemed like an uneasy question but other than scratching the back of his head with that thoughtful expression of his, Sho showed no further signs of awkwardness. Still, Nino didn’t want to ask further. “Do you know him?”
“No, not personally.”
The cold wind blew, but Sho’s smile kept Nino warm.
--
Nino honestly, honestly, honestly didn’t like Matsumoto Jun. He disliked his selfish actions, and the way he thinks so highly of himself. Nino detested that he considered bullying as a hobby and that he acts too cool even though he didn’t earn a cent of what he’s spending. There was also the fact that he actually expected people to like him, despite all that. What Nino hated, just recently, was his cryptic message; a few days ago, he had neared Nino’s table and placed both palm on it (almost spilling Nino’s meager lunch) and said, “Saturday. Ebisu Fountain. Four PM. Be late and you’re dead.”
What did he think, that Nino would free his schedule just because he said so? He didn’t even ask for his consent! Then again, Nino has quite expected that. He glanced at his watch, which now read eight in the evening.
Surely, Matsumoto didn’t wait for him, right? It’s the first time in four hours did Nino permit himself to worry about this. He spent a few hours playing baseball with Kame and some guys, but it started raining; the rest of the time Nino and Kame killed in an arcade shop. Now, the rain hasn’t let up-if anything, it rained harder-and Nino told himself that it was stupid to even check if Jun was still there. Jun wasn’t the type to wait for anyone in the-
As Nino saw the familiar figure under the pouring rain, in front of the Ebisu Fountain, he had to eat his words before he could even say them out loud.
“Are you insane?” were the first words that came out of Nino’s mouth. Jun, dressed in a black coat wrapped tightly around himself, was completely drenched and shivering. Nino held out the umbrella for him.
“Y-y-you’re late,” Jun managed while his teeth chattered.
“Why did you wait for this long?”
No answer. Maybe Nino should just leave him, and when he proceeded to do exactly that, he felt a pair of arms wrap around him. He stilled immediately, and not soon after he felt Jun’s weight on his back too.
“It’s cold,” was all Jun said.
Nino found his hate temporarily making way for concern and that made grab Jun’s wrist and get him out of the rain.
--
He hasn’t seen Matsumoto Jun this close, nor this wet. If the F4 member was uncomfortable with someone looking at him closely, he sure didn’t show it. Nino took him to the nearest vending machine and bought him a cup of coffee. What Nino expected to be a long complaint actually didn’t happen, and Jun accepted his cup easily.
“This coffee is awful,”
Glad to know Nino’s got his personality understood.
“You can’t complain,” he told Jun. “I bought that with my own money so you better enjoy it.”
Jun smiled against his cup and continued to sip his drink. Nino felt something tingle in him (which was absurd! He didn’t have body parts that tingled!) but he ignored both it and Jun’s smile.
“Where do you want to go next for our date?” Jun asked, his eyes now focused on Nino.
“Date? Is that what you think this is?” smug laughter escaped Nino’s lips. “Hey Matsumoto, don’t get the wrong idea. I just can’t let you freeze out there in the rain, I’m not that heartless, but don’t delude yourself into thinking that this is a date.”
“Oh,” Jun’s disappointment caught up with Nino’s smugness. Nino felt himself watch Jun, waiting for him to explode in anger, or demand unreasonable things. Maybe even both. “So what do you call this then?”
“A rescue mission,” Nino replied. Though he was a bit taken aback at how Jun was being so calm in this situation, he still didn’t want to inflate the guy’s ego more. “A rescue mission, definitely.”
“So where do you want to go next in this rescue mission?”
--
Yellow numbers started lighting up, one after the other. Nino and Jun watched as the elevator descended to the ground floor, their floor. There was a cheap bakeshop and café at the fifth floor, was what Nino said. Jun followed his lead and went inside the eerie looking building right after Nino. With a ‘ding!’ sound, the elevator doors opened and Nino stepped inside, then motioned for Jun to do the same.
Jun looked around warily, as if the old worn walls would come and eat him alive.
“You’re too prissy,” Nino demanded, reaching out for Jun’s sleeve. He tugged the boy in, and Jun wasn’t left with much of a choice now, wasn’t he? Once they were both inside, the elevator doors closed and Nino pressed the button for the fifth floor.
It was too silent. There wasn’t even any elevator music nor any mechanical sounds from the elevator. It heightened Nino’s awareness that near him was Matsumoto Jun. Nino played with a loose thread on his jacket, while throwing subtle glances at his companion. On the other hand, Jun was watching the elevator’s panels keenly.
“What are you-” the statement was cut off when Nino felt the elevator stop abruptly. When he glanced at the panels, floor three and floor four were both lit up. With a surge of panic, he threw a look at Jun.
Jun frowned, took off his coat and pressed the emergency button. Nino waited for sirens or noises, but nothing happened.
“Was something supposed to happen?”
“I don’t know; weren’t you the one who knew this place?”
“I’ve never pressed that button before,” Nino replied hotly. “Maybe we can force the doors open or something…”
“We’re in the middle of two floors. We might be exerting much effort for nothing.”
“Since when have you been the expert at this,” Nino muttered under his breath. The metal walls reflected back the sound so no matter how low Nino whispered it, he was quite sure Jun could hear. Jun didn’t make any acknowledgment of that though.
“You can try the latch,” Jun finally said.
“What?”
“I’ll lift you up, and you open the latch. You can check if we can go out there.” Jun explained and Nino just nodded. He didn’t want to praise Jun and admit that that hadn’t crossed his mind.
Jun kneeled down and Nino put his legs on either side of Jun’s head. The aristocrat told Nino to savor the moment, for Matsumoto Jun kneeling twice in a lifetime for him was quite unlikely. With a scoff, Nino ignored that and reached for the latch instead.
“I can’t reach it.”
“You’re too short.”
“Don’t blame me, blame my genetic make-up!”
“If I could, I would. But you’re here now so I choose to complain to you!”
“Don’t get me started on my complaints on you!”
“What is there to complain about? I’m perfect!”
“It’s a miracle I managed to wrap my legs around your incredibly large head!”
--
“Okada-kun is coming,”
From the billiards table, Jin and Ohkura looked up. Jin leaned on the table and raised his eyebrows in curiosity and disbelief. Sho sighed and took this as his cue to elaborate.
“He’s coming back here in Japan. Tomorrow.”
“You don’t need sound excited,” Ohkura noted, maneuvering the white ball to hit the third and eight balls into two different pockets. Jin made a sound of annoyance.
“I am excited,” Sho insisted.
“He’s been away for so long huh,” Jin threw Sho a mysterious look. “Why is he coming back?”
“He wants to tell us something.”
--
The walls were making Nino a bit claustrophobic, but he shook that feeling away and grabbed his medicine kit-his father never lets him leave home without it. In front of him, Matsumoto Jun was covered in his own coat and in Nino’s.
“You are an idiot for waiting that long in the rain,” Nino scolded, his hand slipping the aspirin between Jun’s lips and then handing him a bottle of water (this time his mother’s orders; his parents compliment each other so much). Jun didn’t reply and instead, he just clutched at the clothes tighter. The fever that manifested itself on Jun’s hot forehead was still there, and Nino got worried.
“You should not have waited for me, stupid.” Nino told him, though this time he said it softly and devoid of any anger.
“If I didn’t wait,” Jun suddenly said in a thick voice. “Then I wouldn’t have known that you’d come.”
Nino didn’t have any reply for that, so he just smiled (just a tiny one) and told Jun to shut up and sleep.
--to be continued
fandom/pairing: JE/various (when i say various, i mean various)
rating: PG-13
word count: 3422
notes: thank you to all who commented on the first chapter, it relieved me to have so many people enjoying my take on the lovely shoujo manga. :D also, i would just iike to say that my choice of characters should not be taken to heart okay? it's all for the love of crack and fic. that said, i hope you all enjoy this chapter. :) no beta still and i do not own anything.
one | two | three
Being middle class apparently was reason enough to turn Nino into the class toy. He was often the butt of jokes and the recipient of pranks. Nino tolerated them up to a point, but when his classmates gang up on him during physical education time--he'd knock them all down only by the time he had one man down, there was another one to hit him again--early in the morning, Nino reached his limit faster than usual.
Their harmless basketball game morphed into a gang-up on Nino game. He would not be allowed control of the ball, and when he was, it hit him on random body parts. While his classmates obviously enjoyed this, Nino took a deep breath and told himself that they weren't worthy of his fist. A ball hit Nino's leg, and the impact had him kneeling.
"Hey Ninomiya, get up." Tegoshi Yuya sauntered over and glared him down. Beside him were Ueda Tatsuya and Miyake Ken, both sending him dirty looks. "Don't tell me that you're too weak to give in to that ball?"
Nino gritted his teeth and stood up. From where he stood, he could see that the infamous F4 again, on the soccer field. Almost immediately, Nino found himself watching Sakurai Sho.
"Is it your first time seeing a man as fine as Sho-kun?" Ken's shrill voice snapped Nino's train of thoughts. "We know that he looks amazing, but be more discreet about it, honestly."
"You throw yourselves at their feet and you have the nerve to tell me this?" Nino met their glares head on. To this, none of them could reply, so Tegoshi huffed and spun on his heel while the others followed suit.
--
"Are you that clumsy?" Matsumoto Jun demanded, watching Nino sitting by the row of faucets, cleaning his wounds. "Why do you have so many bruises?"
"It's none of your business," Nino replied in a clipped tone. He decided that since Matsumoto wouldn't leave him alone, he'd answer all his questions. Though Nino was never the one to give a decent answer to people he loathed. The damp cloth was now dirty after all those bruises Nino attained from one class, and he was about to run it under the faucet again when he saw Jun handing out his own handkerchief.
"Take it." Jun told him.
"I don't need it."
The Matsumoto heir took Nino's hand and forced his handkerchief down Nino's closed fist. Nino resisted the best he could, but when that ended up a failure, he gave the handkerchief back to Jun. When the latter refused it, Nino grabbed him by his collar and stuffed it in his pocket.
"I don't need anything from you." Nino clarified steely.
"I really don't understand you, Ninomiya Kazunari. I'm trying to help you when you really need it, but you refuse it."
"I'd rather die than get any help from you, Matsumoto."
That single sentence sparked something in Jun; in a quick move, he grabbed Nino by the wrist and pulled him close. Nino showed shock, but he replaced it with a glare. Their eyes met, and Nino tried to wrench his hand free.
"Why?" Jun managed to say, with quite some difficulty.
"Why what?"
"Why do you hate me?"
Nino couldn't help himself and let out a bitter laugh. "Why I hate you? How can I not hate you? You bully the weak and you do as you please. You think you're such a great person because you're rich, all you think about is yourself. After all that, can you blame me for hating you, Matsumoto Jun?"
Driving his muddy heel into Jun's polished leather shoe, Nino managed to loosen Jun's grasp and free himself. He thought that he was in deep trouble now, standing up to this person for the nth time since he entered this school.
But he'll manage. After all, what can be worse than Matsumoto Jun?
--
Kamenashi Kazuya's shifts start at exactly three in the afternoon and they end in nine in the evening. He shared the same schedule as Nino, but after all that dilemma with that rich boy group at school, Nino's often late for his shift. Kame hoped Nino was doing fine though. Their porridge shop was small and they had a few regulars. The six hour shift of the two young men were usually spent cleaning the already clean tables and washing the already washed dishes. Nino once thought of quitting in exchange for a higher paying job (his family really needed it) but the store owner was too attached to them to let them go, and vice versa.
"Nino's late," Ohno Satoshi, the one responsible for cooking up the porridges they served, muttered as he followed Kame's gaze out of the glass door. Kame sighed and nodded. "Why is he late?"
"School's been giving him a hard time," Kame told the store owner.
"Is that so,"
The pair spent quite a lot more moments watching the passers by from behind the glass, when Nino came out of nowhere and opened the door right into their faces. Kame, who received the initial impact, held a hand up to his nose and groaned. Ohno, who got hit by Kame's shoulder, took a few steps back.
"Sorry, I didn't--I was in a hurry. Sorry, I'm late."
"That really hurt," Kame rubbed at the bridge of his nose and pouted at Nino. Nino sent his friend an apologetic look.
"Nino-chan," Ohno finally spoke; Nino perked up and looked at him expectedly. "Don't be late next time, okay?"
"I won't! I promise I won't, Oh-chan!"
--
Today's shift--similar to the rest of the ones they've had this week--was slow. They've had one customer in the span of three hours, both Nino and Kame now seated on one of the boots, their cheeks on their open palms. At the sounds of the door opening, the pair perked up and prepared to welcome their guests.
Once he saw the newcomers though, Nino’s welcome died in his throat.
“Yo,” greeted Akanishi Jin, who was dressed far too much for someone going to eat at a porridge shop. Beside him was Ohkura Tadayoshi, who had gotten hold of the menu and was already scanning it. “Is this the way you usually treat your customers?”
Kame nudged Nino, whose face was still in disbelief. Seeing that his friend wasn’t about to recover from his shock soon, Kame went ahead and directed the two to a seat.
“What can I get you guys?” Kame filled in easily, while Nino still gaped at the two customers.
“Hey Nino-chan, relax. We’re not here to do any harm,” Jin threw Nino an easy smile. In front of him, Ohkura started dictating his order to Kame. Kame listed them effectively, though not missing the exchange between Nino and their mysterious customer.
Ohno was delighted to see people (other than Nino and Kame) and he immediately started working on the gentlemen’s (mostly Ohkura’s-no everything was Ohkura’s) order. Kame took this time to ask Nino what went on back there.
“Do you know them?”
“They’re part of that F4 group that I was talking about,” Nino hissed behind the menu.
“Did one of them give you that dress?”
“No,” Nino’s expression soured immediately. “No. I would not have let that guy enter this place if that were the case.”
“Then those two are…”
“That guy over there in sleek black clothes-is Akanishi Jin. Apparently, he’s some tea-ceremony whiz or something. He’s well known for being a playboy, and he even hits on boys so stay away from him. Girls easily swoon for him, they say. The one in the fancy vest and shirt is Ohkura Tadayoshi. He’s an expert in martial arts, as both his parents are involved in some underground society. He prefers women older than him, and he rarely dates anyone who isn’t.”
“And they’re rich?”
“Yes, did I fail to make that point.” Nino deadpanned.
“Well then, we’d better milk them for all they’re worth.” Grabbing the menu, Kame walked towards the pair, who can’t seem to stop looking around the place. “Excuse me,”
“What is it?” Jin answered with a smile.
“Our menu failed to tell you that there’ll be an additional service charge, I apologize-”
“Oh. That’s fine then,”
“Aren’t you going to ask how much?”
“It’s fine,” Jin told him in a clipped tone. The pleasing disposition he had in his previous replies was suddenly nowhere to be found, so Kame didn’t push it. “Are you Nino-chan’s friend?”
“Yes I am,” Kame replied, feeling awkward now as the two males watched him closely.
“And your name is?” Ohkura asked. He already prepared his spoon and was playing with it as he waited.
“Kamenashi Kazuya.”
“Your orders are here,” Nino cut in, sending Kame a look that told the latter how Nino felt about Kame interacting with these people. “Enjoy your meal,”
“Nice place you have here, Nino-chan.”
“It’s not mine, but thank you.” He replied, his tone devoid of pleasantries. “What brings you here?”
“I had a sudden craving for porridge,” Ohkura replied, his spoon already helping itself into the porridge. “And by coincidence, this shop was nearest.”
“Oh really,” how could they have expected Nino to believe that flimsy excuse?
“Do you always hound your customers while they eat, or is it because we’re special?” F4’s playboy asked, an amused smile playing on his lips. He directed it to Kame, and while the recipient was pretty shocked about it, Nino looked appalled at the sheer nerve of this guy.
“Definitely because you’re special,” replied Nino, who forced a smile at them.
Since he wasn’t quite sure whether he can control himself any longer, Nino finally left the pair alone, and Kame followed him. Once the two of them were on the counter, Kame took out his pen and started writing something. To get a better look, Nino peered over his friend’s shoulder.
“I didn’t know we had a 20% service charge,”
“It’s a special service for our F4 guests,” Kame grinned and gave Nino a thumbs up. Nino took the pen and changed it to 30%.
--
Walks back home were Nino’s favorite part of each day. After all the stress and all the work, he was granted a few minutes of solitude amidst Tokyo’s sidewalks. After his shift at Ohno’s shop, he usually went home immediately, unless he got hold of another part time job after it. Tonight was the usual. After he, Kame and Ohno shut the doors to their shop, Nino went on his way home.
Nino was used to seeing the lights on the streetlamps, the products on display in various stores, the people rushing past him. But tonight, although it was one of the usual nights, Nino saw something odd.
“So rich people do step on commoner’s grounds too, I didn’t know.”
Sakurai Sho looked up from a poster-an advertisement for cameras, Nino wondered what it was that had Sho looking so pensive-and smiled as he who had said the statement. By now, Nino stopped beating himself up for thinking of Sakurai Sho so differently. He was different, Nino decided, and liked his being different.
“Ninomiya-kun,” Sho smiled brightly, though Nino could see that it was a cover up for a completely different emotion.
“Are you a fan?” Nino asked, gesturing to the poster. Nino knew that guy, Okada Junichi. His parents adored him in everything he’s starred in. Nino thought he was okay, though he didn’t have a concrete opinion about him.
“I guess you can say that.” It seemed like an uneasy question but other than scratching the back of his head with that thoughtful expression of his, Sho showed no further signs of awkwardness. Still, Nino didn’t want to ask further. “Do you know him?”
“No, not personally.”
The cold wind blew, but Sho’s smile kept Nino warm.
--
Nino honestly, honestly, honestly didn’t like Matsumoto Jun. He disliked his selfish actions, and the way he thinks so highly of himself. Nino detested that he considered bullying as a hobby and that he acts too cool even though he didn’t earn a cent of what he’s spending. There was also the fact that he actually expected people to like him, despite all that. What Nino hated, just recently, was his cryptic message; a few days ago, he had neared Nino’s table and placed both palm on it (almost spilling Nino’s meager lunch) and said, “Saturday. Ebisu Fountain. Four PM. Be late and you’re dead.”
What did he think, that Nino would free his schedule just because he said so? He didn’t even ask for his consent! Then again, Nino has quite expected that. He glanced at his watch, which now read eight in the evening.
Surely, Matsumoto didn’t wait for him, right? It’s the first time in four hours did Nino permit himself to worry about this. He spent a few hours playing baseball with Kame and some guys, but it started raining; the rest of the time Nino and Kame killed in an arcade shop. Now, the rain hasn’t let up-if anything, it rained harder-and Nino told himself that it was stupid to even check if Jun was still there. Jun wasn’t the type to wait for anyone in the-
As Nino saw the familiar figure under the pouring rain, in front of the Ebisu Fountain, he had to eat his words before he could even say them out loud.
“Are you insane?” were the first words that came out of Nino’s mouth. Jun, dressed in a black coat wrapped tightly around himself, was completely drenched and shivering. Nino held out the umbrella for him.
“Y-y-you’re late,” Jun managed while his teeth chattered.
“Why did you wait for this long?”
No answer. Maybe Nino should just leave him, and when he proceeded to do exactly that, he felt a pair of arms wrap around him. He stilled immediately, and not soon after he felt Jun’s weight on his back too.
“It’s cold,” was all Jun said.
Nino found his hate temporarily making way for concern and that made grab Jun’s wrist and get him out of the rain.
--
He hasn’t seen Matsumoto Jun this close, nor this wet. If the F4 member was uncomfortable with someone looking at him closely, he sure didn’t show it. Nino took him to the nearest vending machine and bought him a cup of coffee. What Nino expected to be a long complaint actually didn’t happen, and Jun accepted his cup easily.
“This coffee is awful,”
Glad to know Nino’s got his personality understood.
“You can’t complain,” he told Jun. “I bought that with my own money so you better enjoy it.”
Jun smiled against his cup and continued to sip his drink. Nino felt something tingle in him (which was absurd! He didn’t have body parts that tingled!) but he ignored both it and Jun’s smile.
“Where do you want to go next for our date?” Jun asked, his eyes now focused on Nino.
“Date? Is that what you think this is?” smug laughter escaped Nino’s lips. “Hey Matsumoto, don’t get the wrong idea. I just can’t let you freeze out there in the rain, I’m not that heartless, but don’t delude yourself into thinking that this is a date.”
“Oh,” Jun’s disappointment caught up with Nino’s smugness. Nino felt himself watch Jun, waiting for him to explode in anger, or demand unreasonable things. Maybe even both. “So what do you call this then?”
“A rescue mission,” Nino replied. Though he was a bit taken aback at how Jun was being so calm in this situation, he still didn’t want to inflate the guy’s ego more. “A rescue mission, definitely.”
“So where do you want to go next in this rescue mission?”
--
Yellow numbers started lighting up, one after the other. Nino and Jun watched as the elevator descended to the ground floor, their floor. There was a cheap bakeshop and café at the fifth floor, was what Nino said. Jun followed his lead and went inside the eerie looking building right after Nino. With a ‘ding!’ sound, the elevator doors opened and Nino stepped inside, then motioned for Jun to do the same.
Jun looked around warily, as if the old worn walls would come and eat him alive.
“You’re too prissy,” Nino demanded, reaching out for Jun’s sleeve. He tugged the boy in, and Jun wasn’t left with much of a choice now, wasn’t he? Once they were both inside, the elevator doors closed and Nino pressed the button for the fifth floor.
It was too silent. There wasn’t even any elevator music nor any mechanical sounds from the elevator. It heightened Nino’s awareness that near him was Matsumoto Jun. Nino played with a loose thread on his jacket, while throwing subtle glances at his companion. On the other hand, Jun was watching the elevator’s panels keenly.
“What are you-” the statement was cut off when Nino felt the elevator stop abruptly. When he glanced at the panels, floor three and floor four were both lit up. With a surge of panic, he threw a look at Jun.
Jun frowned, took off his coat and pressed the emergency button. Nino waited for sirens or noises, but nothing happened.
“Was something supposed to happen?”
“I don’t know; weren’t you the one who knew this place?”
“I’ve never pressed that button before,” Nino replied hotly. “Maybe we can force the doors open or something…”
“We’re in the middle of two floors. We might be exerting much effort for nothing.”
“Since when have you been the expert at this,” Nino muttered under his breath. The metal walls reflected back the sound so no matter how low Nino whispered it, he was quite sure Jun could hear. Jun didn’t make any acknowledgment of that though.
“You can try the latch,” Jun finally said.
“What?”
“I’ll lift you up, and you open the latch. You can check if we can go out there.” Jun explained and Nino just nodded. He didn’t want to praise Jun and admit that that hadn’t crossed his mind.
Jun kneeled down and Nino put his legs on either side of Jun’s head. The aristocrat told Nino to savor the moment, for Matsumoto Jun kneeling twice in a lifetime for him was quite unlikely. With a scoff, Nino ignored that and reached for the latch instead.
“I can’t reach it.”
“You’re too short.”
“Don’t blame me, blame my genetic make-up!”
“If I could, I would. But you’re here now so I choose to complain to you!”
“Don’t get me started on my complaints on you!”
“What is there to complain about? I’m perfect!”
“It’s a miracle I managed to wrap my legs around your incredibly large head!”
--
“Okada-kun is coming,”
From the billiards table, Jin and Ohkura looked up. Jin leaned on the table and raised his eyebrows in curiosity and disbelief. Sho sighed and took this as his cue to elaborate.
“He’s coming back here in Japan. Tomorrow.”
“You don’t need sound excited,” Ohkura noted, maneuvering the white ball to hit the third and eight balls into two different pockets. Jin made a sound of annoyance.
“I am excited,” Sho insisted.
“He’s been away for so long huh,” Jin threw Sho a mysterious look. “Why is he coming back?”
“He wants to tell us something.”
--
The walls were making Nino a bit claustrophobic, but he shook that feeling away and grabbed his medicine kit-his father never lets him leave home without it. In front of him, Matsumoto Jun was covered in his own coat and in Nino’s.
“You are an idiot for waiting that long in the rain,” Nino scolded, his hand slipping the aspirin between Jun’s lips and then handing him a bottle of water (this time his mother’s orders; his parents compliment each other so much). Jun didn’t reply and instead, he just clutched at the clothes tighter. The fever that manifested itself on Jun’s hot forehead was still there, and Nino got worried.
“You should not have waited for me, stupid.” Nino told him, though this time he said it softly and devoid of any anger.
“If I didn’t wait,” Jun suddenly said in a thick voice. “Then I wouldn’t have known that you’d come.”
Nino didn’t have any reply for that, so he just smiled (just a tiny one) and told Jun to shut up and sleep.
--to be continued