[Fic] Dream Boy™
Title: Dream Boy™
Author: queen_kat_tun
Rating: PG
Genre: Fantasy, Extreme AU, Romance, Drama, Humor, Fluff
Beta: kaykm
Warning: Extreme AU. Fantasy.
Disclaimer: All standard RPS disclaimer applies.
Word Count: 23,383
Summary: Jin gets a dream boy who sleeps in a briefcase.
A/N: This fic is greatly influenced by the manga and anime series, Rozen Maiden by Peach pit. Some scenes are taken from the series and has been modified to fit the story. Characters from the manga, particularly Shinku and Hina Ichigo, influenced my characterisation of Kame. To kaykm , thank you lots! You just don't know how grateful I am to you for beta-ing this :) Thank you, really. <3
Fic for:
myself because I'm weird like that and I've always, always wanted to write something like this so yay, me! :D
prologuesized for encouraging me to write weird stuff and because I adore her for being a ninja creep. I hope that you would at least enjoy reading this :)
sugar_pain_baby because I still haven't finished the birthday fic I dedicated for you last year and your birthday is due again in months time. I am really sorry. I will get back to it, I promise!
jamie_spotty who claims to have enjoyed this fic a lot when I made her read the first 4k words of this fic which I entitled shizz and demanded that I finish and post this when I told her that I want to keep this fic personal. She also bullied me into saving her a spot.
tesshimassu just because she won't stop bothering me and hey, advanced Happy 18th! Shot!
karilly because she graduated from uni! Oh joy! :)
February 23, 1986
How to make a Dream Boy:
Step 1: Use a white porcelain cover on top of an inorganic body.
Step 2: Crush red and white rose petals to paint his cheeks and lips.
Step 3: Mix a spoon of star dust into the glass eyes.
Step 4: Use a ribbon of the night sky to make up the hair that has been spun with moonlight.
Step 5: Steal the song of the nightingale for his voice.
Step 6: Dress him with clothes made only with the finest of silk and cotton threads.
Step 7: Give him a soul to sustain his life.
Step 8: When all is done, he shall be packed in his briefcase and in his sleep, dream for a partner whom he shall await.
"Weave a beautiful dream inside your head, my sweetest child, and nurture the feeling inside your heart. I'll carry the briefcase where you lay; someone who deserves you shall wake you someday. The heart inside you remains untouched; he shall purify your soul and stay by your side. The body you now have may just be a shell, but you'll soon be real once in love he fell. If the red thread ties both of your hearts, eternal happiness you shall have. But, no matter how special you are to me, my child, the dream of your reality shall vanish when neglect you he does."
-
25 years later...
The month of February brings snow in Tokyo. It rarely happens but it does. Stepping out of the conbini, Jin grimaces instantly when the cold breeze hits him on the face. It's already late and the city is flooded with a beckoning sea of neon lights. There are only a few people left on the street. Jin keeps his head low as he walks past them.
“Hey-“ Jin voices out when someone bumps into him. He looks up and sees a man, about his age maybe, who have gentle-looking eyes. They seem to shine in the dark. The man is tall, lean, and his hair is set in curls. The colour of his hair is like that of copper - a mixture of orange and brown - when light shines down on his hair.
"I'm sorry," the man says, bowing his head a little in apology. "I was in a hurry and I didn't see you."
"It's all right," Jin says. "But try to look at where you're going next time."
The man looks up and smiles. "I will. Sorry again."
Jin nods and starts walking away. As he goes, he could feel the man's eyes on him and he tries to ignore the feeling that sets in inside him. However, the feeling isn't that of uncomfortable and creepy. It's something akin to curiosity and...something else that Jin couldn't find words to describe.
"Hey!"
He hears the voice but Jin continues walking and doesn't turn back.
The man shrugs his shoulders before making his way towards the other. "Hey, do you know a place where I can have tea?"
Jin looks to his side and sees the man with the orange-ish hair now walking alongside him. In all honesty, Jin thinks that the man won't do him any harm but then again, looking nice doesn't mean that you are.
"I don't like tea that much so I don't know," he tells him.
"Really? Ah, that is quite unfortunate," the man says. He sounds disappointed, actually. "You see, I need to have tea now."
"Like, right now?" Jin asks.
The man nods. "Yes. This instant or the soonest time possible."
"Why?"
"Just because," the man says and Jin pays the man a weird stare which only makes the man laugh. "I can't miss drinking it. Shouldn't, rather. I must have tea eight times a day."
"Why?" Jin asks again, this time a bit more curiously.
"Tea helps calm my nerves. I get paranoid and stuff when I'm alone in the streets and I found out that tea helps keep me calm. It helps me...travel. I get out of sorts when I miss a...cup." The man chuckles.
"You're weird," Jin says candidly. He remembers the movie he watched the other night and for some reason, the stranger reminds him of the mad hatter.
"I know." The man laughs. "So, do you know a tea house nearby?"
"It's late. It's most likely that every tea house in this area is already closed by now."
"How unfortunate," the man whimpers. "Then, can I have tea at your place?"
"Ha?!"
"I said, can I have tea at your place?"
"I don't invite strangers to my house," Jin says.
"Didn't you know that strangers are like surprises?" the man says. "We...surprise you," He laughs then but stops immediately when he is reminded of the case he is carrying.
Jin couldn't help but glance at the briefcase. It's rectangular, plain, and black. It's hideous, Jin thinks.
"I'm not carrying anything that will cause you harm, trust me. I just really need to have my tea now."
"I can't promise that I won't fight back if ever you plan to do something that might harm me."
"So does that mean I can have tea at your house? I always bring a pack with me so you don't have to worry about getting me some."
"Whatever."
"Thanks for inviting me over."
"I didn't invite you."
"Thanks for letting me have tea at your place then."
"Dude, like what I've said, whatever."
"What's your name?" the man asks Jin as they walk down the now-empty street.
The evening is calm except for the sound of cars passing by and the wind; Snow keeps on falling to the ground. Jin reaches a hand out and captures some in his hand, watching it melt slowly.
"Akanishi Jin," he answers. "You can call me Jin. Most people call me that."
"You have a nice name, Jin-kun."
"What about you?" Jin asks, glancing at the man on his side. "What's your name? I need that if ever I need to report you to the police," he says. They just need to walk a few more blocks before they reach his apartment.
The man laughs. "You're funny, Jin-kun," he says. "You can call me Tou-san."
"Tou-san?" Jin asks. "Is that your name?"
The man shakes his head. "No. That's what my children call me."
"I see," Jin says, finding nothing unusual. "How many children do you have? You look young to be a father."
"I only have one child left," the man says, smiling at Jin. "The others already grew up, some...are already gone."
"They grew up?" Jin asks. "Does growing up mean that they are no longer your children? I grew up but I'm still my parents' son."
"Oh, it's different for me," Tou-san says, looking at Jin with bright eyes and a serene expression. "When my children grow up, they forget."
"But shouldn't you be sad about that?" Jin wonders. "Your children forgetting about you when you're the one who raised them?"
"Like I said, it's different for me." Tou-san emphasizes on his words. "It's all right because when they forget, I know then that they are happy. It's better than watching them get lost and break."
"Break?"
"Nothing."
Tou-san looks around the apartment while Jin is in the kitchen, boiling the tea leaves and cooking what smells like instant ramen to him. He sees CDs and DVDs stacked up in a shelf. There are magazines that have intimate photographs of women, what seems to be used socks, and empty cans of beer lying in a corner. Akanishi Jin is a typical man. No one special.
Tou-san sits on the couch and reaches for the pile of paper laid out on the low table in front of him. Some are lyric sheets while the others are just music scores. The scribbled words on the lyric sheets are carefully arranged, some erasures here and there, and doodles of doughnuts and bottled water decorate the sides and the bottom part of the paper. It makes him smile.
Perfect, he thinks. Jin's personality is just perfect for raising a child well.
"Jin?" he calls out from the living room. He walks toward the kitchen and watches Jin work in silence. His eyes focus on the empty packs of noodles that are lying on the floor. Tou-san stops himself from telling Jin to pick the trash up and throw it properly.
"Jin."
"Yeah?" Jin looks toward the man as he continues to stir the noodles in the pot.
"Do you like music?"
"Very much. It's a big part of my life," Jin says and he feels happy inside. He loves music as much as he loves soccer and the West. He still has a long way to go, Jin knows, but he's always been proud of his songs, his music, his creations.
Tou-san didn't fail to see how Jin's eyes lights up with the topic. "Care to tell me why?"
"I want to make a change through my songs," Jin says honestly. "I want people to listen to me, to hear me and allow me to be a part of their lives. I've always believed that music can make people feel. Music can be one's friend."
It has always been his dream to make a difference and Jin knows that music can influence people on a lot of things. For him, music is a means of communication.
"Why do you ask?"
"Nothing," Tou-san replies, smiling at the young man. "I just know someone who loves music really well."
"Really?" Jin immediately perks up. "What's his name? Does he like hip-hop and auto-tunes? I like my songs where people can dance to its beat."
"He likes songs that come from the heart," is all Tou-san says before he leaves Jin alone in the kitchen again.
Tou-san glances at the wall clock before he picks up the briefcase and settles it on his lap. It’s only a minute left before February 23 arrives.
Twenty-five years. It has been twenty-five years since he finished it and it has been sleeping for a good twenty years. Those five years it had spent with him has been fun and filled with memories, teachings, and learning.
Placing his hands on the sides of the case, Tou-san pushes the button in the middle and pulls the top half open. Reaching inside, he slowly and gently pulls out the object that lies inside it and holds it up with his hands. He waits a little more and when the second hand of the clock reaches twelve, Tou-san leans down and whispers 'Happy Birthday' to the object's right ear. The object in his hands takes a sudden deep breath, as if he's a human who's been long deprived of air, before it goes still again.
"Take care, Kazuya."
When Jin comes to call Tou-san to eat, he is a bit surprised to find himself staring at an empty living room. Searching the room with his eyes, he wonders where the man could be.
“Tou-san?" Jin calls out. "Tou-san?"
Hearing no reply and seeing no one coming to him, Jin walks toward his door to check if the man is outside. There's no one. Closing the door behind him, Jin tries to recall if he has heard his door open then close. He couldn't remember hearing anything. Walking towards the couch, he frowns when he sees the man's briefcase lying on it.
Since childhood, Jin knows he shouldn't touch anything that doesn't belong to him. It is the right thing to do in cases like this but something about the briefcase beckons him. For some reason, he finds the case attractive. It's as if it is calling out to him.
With his heart in his throat, Jin kneels down in front of the case and places his hands on both of its sides. He could now see the intricate designs of the case now that he's up close to it. Jin runs a finger on the surface of the case, feel the bumps and curves on it, before pulling the lid open.
“Please take good care of him, Jin."
It is Tou-san's voice that echoes softly in Jin's ears.
Jin is on the floor with a bowl of ramen in one hand and a pair of chopsticks in the other. The briefcase is laid open in front of him. He continues to eat as he scrutinizes the doll inside the case. Finishing his food, Jin decides to poke the thing with the clean tip of his chopsticks, as if afraid to touch any part of the doll.
The doll is beautiful, Jin thinks, as he stares at its serene face. It looks like it's just sleeping.
Sighing, Jin finally gives in and puts down his bowl and chopsticks on the floor. He picks up the doll with both of his hands and makes the doll stand on its own feet. It amazes him when he realizes that the doll is big and it's the type that opens its eyes when standing. Wondering about its height, Jin stands up and is surprised to find out that the doll's head reaches half of his thigh.
Checking the doll's limbs, Jin concludes that it's a ball-jointed doll. Jin has never been into the craze of collecting ball-jointed dolls yet, even if he doesn't own any, Jin still know the basics and one of those is the fact that this kind of dolls are usually made with resin. So he wonders why the skin of this doll feels smooth and so soft against his finger as he traces its face. It feels as if it's almost real.
Out of curiosity, Jin studies the doll's face in detail - it's sharp and angled but the face-up is really well-made. He looks almost human. The glass eyes are coloured in the shade of brown and a bit slanted. There's even a microscopic mole under its right eye. The doll's nose bridge is a bit crooked while his cheekbones are well-defined. His lips, painted in a light mix of pink- and red-, look luscious. The clothes fit the doll perfectly - a black shirt and dark-washed jeans. On his feet is a pair of fashionable leather footwear. The artisan must have spent so much time sculpting and creating this doll and Jin suddenly feels that he doesn't deserve to hold such an amazing masterpiece.
Bringing the doll to his eye level, Jin takes notice of the accessories the doll is wearing. He has an earring, a rainbow-coloured necklace on his neck, several bracelets on his wrist and amusingly enough, a pinky ring. Jin doesn't know why but the sight of the doll's pinky ring brings a smile to his lips. It feels unnaturally cold when he traces the metal with a finger. He tries to rub the ring with the use of his finger but nothing happened.
Feeling a bit stupid with the way he thinks, Jin still leans in and presses his lips to the hand that has the ring to somehow warm it up. It did the trick but Jin isn't aware of it. Pulling away, he settles the doll on his lap and searches the box for the paper that has its details.
Model: Kazuya Kamenashi
Type: Special
Code: 02231986
Skin color: Fair
Hair color: Brown
Eye color: Brown
Likes: Music, Tea, and Strawberries
Dislikes: Has unexplainable hate for tomatoes.
"You're cute," Jin says and pokes the doll on its tummy. "But I'm really sorry, Kamenashi. I don't collect and play with dolls. However, I do know someone who can and will take care of you."
-
Ueda immediately crosses his arms on his chest as soon as he opens his door and leans on its frame. He's known Jin since high school and Jin only visits whenever he's bored, has a problem, or needs financial help. Nakamaru, his roommate and their other friend, is currently out and working at the preschool nearby.
"And you're here because?"
"Good morning to you, too, Ueda," Jin greets and waves his hand. "Can I come in?"
"No."
"Thanks!" Jin chirps happily and makes his way past Ueda, ignoring his friend's groaning. Ueda rolls his eyes when Jin doesn't pay him attention but follows inside. He raises a brow when he sees the briefcase Jin has with him.
Jin goes straight to look at the shelf where Ueda keeps his collection. Unlike him and Maru, Ueda's an avid ball-jointed doll collector. Ueda is one of those people who order their dolls online along with their clothes and accessories.
"Ueda, why do you collect these things?" Jin asks, looking at the dolls that are way smaller than Kamenashi.
"I already told you that it's my hobby, Jin."
"Yeah. And you know, after so many years, I still find that hard to believe."
"I see no point in repeating myself to you over and over again," Ueda remarks before sitting on his couch. He spares Jin a glance before putting his glasses on. With his laptop on his lap, he continues browsing the net for new clothes and accessories for his dolls.
"Too bad," Jin says dramatically. "I got you a present, you know?"
"It's not my birthday," Ueda answers and doesn't look at Jin.
"Oh shush, Ueda. You've been a good friend so you deserve a gift from me."
"I don't remember asking you for anything."
"You won't give up, will you?"
Ueda smirks. "I know what you want, Jin, and I still don't feel like sharing it to you."
"Even if I'm willing to exchange a doll for a story?"
Ueda glances at his friend and shakes his head. "Jin, if that's a doll then no. I can buy my own. Also, I don't trust your taste when it comes to dolls. I have no intention to collect dolls with big boobs and blonde hair. I like my dolls fun, smart, and classy."
"Whoever said about big boobs and blondes?" Jin frowns. "The one I have here is a special edition BJD."
"It's still a no, Jin."
Jin puts on a sad face and sighs. "It's really one-of-a-kind, you know? He may not look fun but he looks smart and classy." He pauses for a short while and shrugs his shoulders when Ueda ignores him. "Oh well, I guess I'll just throw it away. Bye then. It was nice seeing you today, Ueda." Jin mentally counts one to ten as he walks past the older man.
"Whatever, Akanishi.”
"How can you let a pretty little thing go to waste?" Jin demands a bit childishly but still carrying the briefcase with utmost care. He knows Ueda's looking at it.
"It's because you are the one giving me a doll."
"So much for trusting a friend. A friend, Ueda! A friend!" Jin exaggeratedly whimpers before reaching for the door knob. "A doll inside this exquisite case..."
"Wait!" Ueda calls out when Jin steps out. "It's inside that?"
With an innocent look on his face, Jin looks at his friend. "Yes."
"Special edition, you say?" Ueda glances at the case.
"You know that I can't and don't lie to you, Ueda,” Jin says, big-eyed and innocent-looking. “Maru, on the other hand, is completely a different matter though." He smiles slyly.
Ignoring Jin's remark, Ueda asks, "How did you get it?"
"A man named Tou-san left it at my place last night. He bumped into me while I was on my way home and he said he needed to drink his tea to calm him or his nerves or something," Jin informs. "To put it simply, it was already late and tea houses are probably closed already so I allowed him to come with me to my place."
"You, Akanishi Jin, did those for a stranger?" Ueda's tone is that of mocking. After all the years he's known Jin, Ueda knows that Jin has this selfish, childish trait which, most often than not, becomes a reason as to why Jin doesn't always reach out to others, rather to strangers.
"I guess." Jin shrugs. "Anyway, when I checked on him, he was no longer around. He left this and told me to take care of it. Or something like that." He still remembers the soft whisper of the man but doesn't tell Ueda about it anymore. It's pretty weird, so to say, and he isn't sure if he really did hear it. Ueda gestures for him to sit down and Jin makes his way back to the living room, placing the case on the low table before sitting beside Ueda.
"You know that I'm not fond of dolls so I'm going to give it to you instead. I'm a very generous friend, aren't I?" His grin is as wide as that of a Cheshire cat’s. He feels that he has gotten Ueda wrapped around his finger when in all honesty, it only makes him look like a fool in Ueda's eyes.
"Interesting story," Ueda says. "Can I see it?" he asks.
"Nope."
"Jin."
"You gotta do what you gotta do if you want this." Jin then leans back, crosses a leg over another and waits for Ueda to speak.
"Fine then." Ueda huffs when Jin refuses to budge. Jin's obsession to know his story is something that doesn't amuse Ueda. Not at all. Nakamaru is the only person who knows but well, Nakamaru is Nakamaru. He cracks under pressure and has told Jin that there's actually a reason as to why he collects dolls.
"My parents," Ueda begins but his eyes aren't on Jin. Instead, Ueda occupies himself with scanning the links on his laptop as he speaks, "they both came from influential families who practice fixed marriages. My father is a man who cares too much about money and his reputation while my mother is someone who values her freedom a lot. My father is traditional and believes that wives should stay at home to do chores and look after the children which, obviously enough, sounds absurd to my mother. To cut the long story short, they got fed up with each other and that resulted to fights."
"And these dolls come in where?"
"You know, it's rude to talk while I'm telling you my story," Ueda says, looking at Jin through the corner of his eyes. "Anyway, whenever our parents would fight, my sister would always turn to her dolls and seek comfort from them. As for me, I was away. I lived with my grandparents in France since I was 9 until the age of 19 so I had no idea how things really were back here. When I came back, my then 15-year-old sister already had a collection of dolls. She became too attached to them but I didn't think it was unnatural because she's a girl and girls love all things pretty and cute." Ueda remembers the days he had spent with his sister in her bedroom. He had witnessed how much she gave the dolls' affection and love. "She took care of her dolls as if they were alive. Every night I watched her talked to them, listened to her as she read them stories and watched her brush their hairs. I was with her when she ordered them clothes online and dressed them up."
"I started to think something was wrong so one night, I asked her why she was doing all those things to her dolls. She told me, 'dolls feed on love, onii-san.' They're like us; they get lost when we ignore them. It's the consciousness that establishes the existence of the dolls. Without it, dolls get lost in a realm only they can see and they stay there. When that happens, they become shells - pretty on the outside, empty in the inside."
"Love?" Jin asks. "They aren't even alive. Don't you think that it would be too troublesome to give them love knowing that they cannot return it? Love is supposed to be reciprocal."
"I told her that, too," Ueda replies and clicks the link of a BJD online shop. "But you'd be surprised how a lonely, broken, 15-year-old thinks. She told me that dolls were capable of loving if their owner showed them what real love was like."
"That's too much of an emotional investment," Jin says. He doesn't really get as to why people would devote themselves in caring for something that doesn't breathe. "In the end it still would be frustrating because the dolls wouldn't respond to that love."
"It's not that they cannot return it," Ueda says. "She told me that dolls just have no means of letting their owners know that they love them back."
"That's because they aren't alive,” Jin mumbles. "They're not supposed to be."
"Anyway," Ueda continues. "I had no idea that my parents are getting divorced. So when mom came home one day she brought my sister along with her. I asked her where they're going and mom said she'd just take my sister to the mall and buy her clothes and a new doll. My sister wanted me to go with them but mom said I can't because I have piano lessons that afternoon which was true so I told my sister that it's alright and bade them goodbye. They never came back though. I missed my sister a lot and it even came to the point where I slept in her room."
"I'm sorry to hear that..."
"Don't be. You see, a week after my mom took her, I noticed how the dolls seemed lonely." Ueda glances at his shelf.
"They looked different. Their eyes looked empty and their smiles faded. And then it crossed my mind. My sister took care of them as if they were family. It must have been hard for them to be abandoned in an instant and ever since then, I took the responsibility of taking care of my sister's dolls. After years of investing in these dolls, I finally realized what my sister was trying to tell me."
"And that is?" Jin asks Ueda with a raised brow.
"These dolls...Through them I am able to relive my happy memories with her. Through them, we are together. It's weird but I think that the dolls gave us some sort of a connection. I think dolls could understand."
"You're creeping me out, do you know that? Your way of thinking is seriously beyond what I am capable of understanding." Jin then stares up to the ceiling and asks, "So do you like, hate your mom? I love my mom but I don't know how I would feel if ever she did what your mom did to you."
"The thing is, I can never hate her," Ueda answers with all honesty, clicking on the items he wants to buy for his dolls. "She's my mom. I love her but I am mad at her for taking my sister away." He fills out the form, enters his credit card number before clicking the send button. Satisfied with his purchase, Ueda puts his laptop on sleep mode, and looks at Jin. "You have more questions?"
"Where are they now?"
"Gone because of an accident." Ueda manages to say calmly but the knowledge that his sister is no longer around still pricks at his heart. "That's why I left home and decided to live on my own. Rather, live with these dolls and Nakamaru. It's too painful to continue living in that big house when all it would remind me of are sad memories. Besides, my father already has a new family."
"I'm sorry." Jin says again and shifts in his seat uncomfortably. He has never thought that a painful story exists behind Ueda's hobby. "I nev-"
"It's alright." Ueda smiles at Jin. "It's been ten years already and I've come to accept that fact."
Feeling a bit awkward, Jin just hands Ueda the case. "Err, I hope that this will make you feel better..."
Ueda takes the case and sets it on the table. "This better be worth it or I'm going to seriously make you pay for a new doll. I've been planning to get a new one."
"Ueda, you know that I'm not rich and the money I'm receiving is just enough to feed me every day and provide myself shelter." Jin whines, knowing that Ueda can make his life a living hell if Ueda so wants.
"Ueda, did you hear-"
"Jin."
"What?"
"He is beautiful," Ueda tells Jin after he's opened the case.
The doll is facing towards him; its hips and legs curled a little, like a human sleeping on a side-lying position. The doll's feet are pointing downwards just like a ballerina. His small hands are pressed together, fingers interlacing against his chest.
"He looks real."
"That's what I thought so, too," Jin says, remembering how amazed he has been when he first laid eyes on the doll. "By any means, you can have him. I have no intention to keep him. His name is Kamenashi Kazuya, by the way."
"Kamenashi Kazuya?" Ueda repeats. "How did you know?"
"It's listed here." Jin reaches inside the case, searches for a pocket and hands Ueda the piece of paper that has the doll's details.
Taking his eyes off of the doll, Ueda skims through the list. "Does he have a certificate?" he asks.
"Certificate?"
"BJDs like this usually have one," Ueda says, still marvelling at the piece in front of him. He has always been keen on those certificates since he started his collection. It makes it easier to have the doll fixed by its manufacturer. "This one should have a certificate since it's special edition or so you and this paper claim."
Jin scratches his head and winces. "I don't know. I've no idea what these dolls go with."
Rolling his eyes, Ueda gives the doll to Jin and searches the case. The case feels foreign to him, especially its size.
"Traumtyp," he reads the golden letters written in cursive on the bottom right corner of the case. "I've never heard of this brand before."
Curiously, Ueda inspects the case and is amused to find out that the case has a carefully designed mattress for the doll to sleep on and that it fits the entire briefcase. Ueda is sure that he's never had a doll delivered to him with a case like this one. He's never seen one like this, actually. Lifting up the silk sheet covered mattress, Ueda searches beneath it until his hand bumps into a scroll.
"This certifies that Akanishi Jin is the chosen partner of Kamenashi Kazuya," Ueda reads aloud. "As the chosen partner, Akanishi Jin shall take full responsibility of Kazuya at all cost until Kazuya decides to terminate the contract. With regard to this matter, the contract is made to bind doll and human together as long as a harmonious, mutual, and equal partnership, cohabitation, or relationship between doll and human exists. In case that circumstances that can affect the doll-human partner relationship to an extent that breaks the doll - literally and figuratively - occur, the contract shall be considered void and partnership with the doll is immediately revoked. This contract has been signed on February 23 at 00:00."
"What contract? I didn't sign any-"
"Please take note that Kazuya will wake up 1582 seconds after reading this contract." Ueda interrupts as he reads the last line on the bottom of the sheet. Done reading, he looks up at his obviously confused friend.
"What in hell have you gotten yourself into this time, Jin?"
Jin slumps on the couch, staring at the doll in his hands. "I seriously have no idea."
Ueda shrugs. "Well, in any case, congratulations! I think you just got yourself a magical doll," he remarks and waits for the seconds to pass them by.
"You seriously aren't bothered by this at all, are you?" Jin narrows his eyes at Ueda who seems excited rather than worried.
"No," Ueda replies nonchalantly and looks at his fingernails. "Have you forgotten that I find the supernatural fascinating?"
Jin feels like cringing when he sees Ueda beam.
One thousand five hundred eighty-two seconds later, Kazuya flutters his eyes open but his lids feel heavy. He counts to three in his head and tries to open his eyes again, a bit more slowly this time, allowing them to accommodate with the light flooding the room. He blinks, yawns, and stretches his body; feet digging into something soft while his hands are closed into tiny fists. Stretching higher, Kazuya hits something with his fists and he hears an "Ow!" but he cannot be bothered to check since he already has his eyes focused on the pretty human in front of him.
"Good morning, Kame." Ueda is the first one who speaks, greeting the doll with a smile. He catches sight of Jin and glares when he sees Jin looking so annoyed and ready to smack the doll on the head.
"Kame?" Kazuya repeats, unaware of the presence behind him. "Did you just call me Kame?" He sees the pretty male nod at him and Kame answers it with a smile. "How did you know my name?"
"I read the list of your details." Ueda replies. "My name is Ueda Tatsuya, by the way. You can call me Ueda."
"Ueda? Details?" Kame says then his eyes widen when realization hits him. "Oowah~!!!" he exclaims. "Are you my partner, Ueda-kun?" Kame's voice is a bit high-pitched and excited. He shifts on his seat so that he could stare intently at Ueda's face.
"What is it?" Ueda asks when Kame, the doll frowns and pouts.
"You're not."
"I'm not what?"
"You're not my partner," Kame tells Ueda. He feels a bit disappointed since he feels a good connection with Ueda.
"Oh? How do you know?" Ueda asks the doll.
"You don't look like the one I had dreamt of."
"Dreamt of? You can dream?"
Kame nods. "Of course I can! I was created by otousan. I'm one of those dolls that otousan granted with a soul."
"One of those dolls?"
"Yes. Otousan's family has the power to make a living doll. But I don't know where the others are now or how they are now,” Kame says. Otousan has never told him stories about the other dolls. Otousan had said that every doll is different; the way they lived, the paths they chose. Otousan wanted every doll to live life the way a doll wants to. There would be no comparison.
“I am capable of dreaming and breathing, of singing and dancing, of bathing and eating," Kame informs the human. "Ah, it's been so long since I last ate. Otousan made Kame sleep for a long, long time." He finishes his story with his hand rubbing on his stomach.
"Wait a minute! Dolls are not supposed to be like humans!"
"Who says so?" Kame snaps and stands up. He turns around to see where the voice came from. "Ah! YOU!" he exclaims, pointing a tiny finger at the man.
"Me? What about me?" Jin retorts, looking down at the doll that is standing now on his thighs. "Get off of me! You're creepy!"
"Akanishi Jin!" Ueda's tone is meant to warn Jin.
"What?! Ueda, can't you see? This doll is cursed!"
"Shut up, Jin! Didn't you hear him? His maker provided him with a soul so that basically means that he's a living thing."
"Special or not, dolls are not supposed to have one! They're toys! Toys are made of plastic and they cannot have a soul." Jin is almost in panic. "It's either he's a cursed doll or he's a cursed doll. Do you see my point, Ueda?"
Kame's eyes narrow at Jin's comment and without any warning, he clenches his right hand to a fist and punches the man in the middle of his stomach. Jin curls in pain.
"How dare you say I am a cursed doll? For the record, I am not," he tells Jin indignantly. "This is why otousan doesn't want to create more special dolls. Humans are idiots. Especially human males like you." Kame stomps a foot and digs his heel deep into the man's thigh. He smirks when he hears the man grunt in pain again.
Gracefully, Kame jumps down to the floor and walks around, ignoring the man completely. He only stops when he sees the glass shelf that has Ueda's dolls. The dolls inside the shelf are all wearing fashionable clothes but Kame notices a certain group of dolls. 8 dolls. 8 colours. Kame likes the one in pink the most.
"Ah, you took care of them so well, Ueda,” Kame says. “They want to let you know that they are grateful to you and that they are happy."
"Really?" Ueda looks at his dolls and smiles. "I'm glad." His sister must be happy, too.
"Who is this Nakamaru they speak of?" Kame asks then.
"Nakamaru Yuichi is my flat mate," Ueda answers. "We live together."
"You live together? Are you a couple?"
"No. We don't live together in that way. What I mean is, we share this house. We both moved out of our family's home and since Tokyo is an expensive city, housing can cost one a lot. Nakamaru's work is near here and his salary is just enough to send his sister to a good school. We kind of help each other out by sharing the expenses and saving up."
"I see. This Nakamaru...he seems to be a nice guy. They like him too even if he's...awkward," Kame says and then turns to look at the couch. He sees Ueda watching him in amusement while the other man is busy fuming.
"Akanishi," Kame calls out to the fuming man, "come here quickly and carry me. I cannot see these dolls properly. They are telling me so many things about you."
"Like what?" Jin asks, intrigued.
"They are making fun of you because, according to them, you are...too curvy for a Japanese male."
"Fuck you!" Jin screeches and refuses to get up from the couch.
“But it’s true, Jin,” Ueda says, laughing at Jin.
“Ueda!!!”
Kame heaves out a sigh. "I knew that this partnership won't come easy. Akanishi, why are you taking so long? Drag your ass here now." He then taps a foot on the floor, arms crossed on his chest as he waits for Jin to come and pick him up.
Annoyed, Jin throws a random magazine lying on the floor at Kame. "I am not your servant.”
Kame tilts his head a little to dodge the magazine. When the magazine drops on the floor, he picks it up and looks at Ueda. "Ueda-kun, I want tea. Can we have tea?”
"Of course, Kame. You can have tea here anytime you want," Ueda says, smiling. He leaves his laptop on the table and makes his way to his kitchen.
"And you," Kame looks at Jin again, "you don't get to throw things at me just because you feel like it. Stupid human," he says and throws the magazine back, aiming at Jin. Following Ueda to the kitchen, Kame smirks when he hears the spine of the magazine make contact with Jin's forehead.
-
It has only been a week and the first thing Jin does every time he awakens is to groan in annoyance all because of Kame.
It's all because of Kame who seems fond of waking him up for stupid reasons that include opening the door, making tea, turning the TV on and tuning in on a baseball show, or helping Kame read the newspaper by turning its pages while Kame's seated on his lap. Jin doesn't have any idea why he keeps up with this demanding doll's ways. His attitude sucks. His personality sucks. His sense of humour sucks. Scratch that. Kamenashi has no sense of humour at all. In short, Kamenashi Kazuya sucks and for the life of him, Jin couldn't understand why he is in such situation.
"The contract has already been made so we have no choice but to make this work," Kame has said.
At the end of the day, they both know that they couldn't. They have nothing in common and their personalities clash too much to be able to maintain a balance between them.
-
“So, how is Jin treating you?” Ueda asks while pouring tea on Kame’s cup. Jin has asked him to look after Kame the entire day since Jin apparently has work to do. If he hadn't known better, Ueda would bet everything he owns that Jin left Kame with him because Jin is losing his patience on a doll.
“We’re getting to know each other,” Kame replies calmly, staring at his tea quietly.
“I wonder if I should take that as a good sign.” Ueda laughs. “Do you like milk on your tea?”
“Yes, please. Three drops is enough.”
“You want…three drops…of milk in your tea?” Ueda repeats, wondering how on earth he’ll be able to put three drops of milk in Kame’s tea.
“Yes. I always drink my tea like that.” Kame reaches for a strawberry-flavoured Pocky and bites down on it. “That idiot never puts the exact amount so I always end up pouring everything on his feet.”
Ueda cackles.
-
A month has gone by and Kame’s attitude still grits on his nerves. They rarely talk and they mostly keep to themselves. Still, it doesn't prevent Jin from concluding that Kame has serious attitude problem. Kame is too proud. A perfectionist even and it shows on how he keeps things organized in the house. Kame is also unpredictable. His mood fluctuates from time to time and Jin doesn't have time to understand how a doll can have PMS.
During the days, when they're both at home, Jin finds out that Kame’s actually easy to please. All Jin has to do is to follow exactly what Kame wants him to do - like putting his underwear in the laundry basket and not leave it lying on the floor for Kame to trip over. Then again, Jin doesn’t like taking orders from a doll so they always end up bickering at each other.
However, it didn't escape Jin's notice that his house became livelier when Kame came around. It's as if Kame gave life to the gloomy, lonely place Jin lives in. Jin kind of likes it.
The peace doesn't last long though. Every time they are at the same place, something happens and Jin does things that mess up the house and that alone infuriates Kame. Not to mention the one time that he cooked pasta and used tomatoes for the sauce. Kame didn't eat and when Jin woke up the next day, he looked like a human panda with all the blacks and whites all over him and a fake bamboo was stuck in his shorts.
A few broken things later and with Kame's case always getting a messy paint job, they both settled for a truce. Fighting with Kame, Jin realizes, will only cost him a lot even if he gets that feeling of satisfaction whenever he sees Kame seething when he finds his briefcase in a not-so-sparkly state. Kame hates it when his briefcase gets mangled by Jin’s ghetto artwork.
Days passed them by and during those times, they somehow found a way to open up to each other. In those times, Jin learned that Kame doesn't like being idle. Kame once told him that he's already been unproductive for such a long time, 20 years to be exact and doing nothing when he's awake bores him to death.
Kame likes working and doing stuffs around the house. When there is really nothing else to do, Kame tells him stories about the time when he was still living with otousan. Kame tells him about how otousan would teach him things about humans and the way they live and how otousan made it sure that his special dolls have the ability to survive in the human world in case separation of maker and doll becomes inevitable.
Jin still doesn't understand everything about Kame pretty well. Kame eats and bathes and breathes and Jin still finds everything strange - like that one afternoon when Kame asked him if he could get Kame a dog to play with. Of course Jin had to turn down Kame's request because taking care of a pet is costly. He wouldn’t trade his Apple product obsession for a furry pet. Kame himself is already high-maintenance, what with his choice of expensive teas which, for some weird reason, is a must for the doll.
Kame has expensive taste for a doll and wants nothing but only the best. Once, Jin had tried to cut down on expenses by buying second-rate stuffs and fed those to Kame. Even if the food is cooked well and the tea leaves are boiled perfectly, Kame actually got sick and didn't wake up for a day. Strangely enough, it scared him and since then, Jin never bought cheap stuffs for Kame ever again.
"Jin," Kame calls out to him one day.
"Yeah?" Jin looks at the doll who's seated on the other side of his couch. From the way Kame is seated, back leaning on the couch and a leg crossed over the other, Jin could tell that Kame is already at home with him. Kame still sleeps in his briefcase when night time falls but other than that, Kame always spends time with him before he leaves for work, other times, Kame would simply pass time by reading, watching or experimenting in the kitchen. Kame knows he couldn't leave the house. Ueda drops by from time to time to chat with Kame and tell him stories and give him strawberries to which Jin is actually grateful for. Kame's mood always seems to be better whenever he's had strawberry.
"What is this?"
Jin reaches for the paper Kame has held out to him. "This?” Kame nods at him, eyes looking expectant. “This is my music. I write songs and I sing for a living. Haven't I told you that before?"
Kame shakes his head. "Sing for me then."
"What?"
"I said I want you to sing," Kame says. He lowers the volume of the TV but still has his eyes fixed on the screen, smiling even when Sakamoto hits the curved ball thrown his way.
"Jin, how many times do I have to tell you that I do not like waiting?" Kame asks when Jin still hasn't sing.
"When I tell you to do something you do it immediately. Do you understand, Jin?"
When Kame starts talking in such way, it makes Jin want to pull the doll apart and throw him out the window. Refusing the urge to murder Kame, Jin settles on glaring at the doll that is still busy watching the baseball game on TV. Shifting his eyes on the spot next to Kame, Jin quickly reaches for the remote and turns the TV off. Payback. Jin feels smug when the screen goes black.
"Jin, turn it on. Didn't you notice that I'm watching?" Kame says, eyes still glued on the blank screen in front of him.
"You are not paying the bills," Jin replies and starts typing on his iPhone.
Rolling his eyes, Kame jumps down from the couch to the floor and walks to Jin.
"What?" Jin asks, staring down at Kame with an uninterested look.
Without any warning, Kame steps on Jin's right foot. Jin lets out a pained yelp and curses at Kame who is now on his way to the kitchen.
"You are so going to get it next time, Kamenashi!" Jin huffs, rubbing on his aching foot.
-
“Ueda, is he your relative? Cousin? Nephew?” Nakamaru asks when he came home one day and finds Ueda sitting at the dining table with a young boy. They are having tea and strawberry shortcake. After washing his hand, Nakamaru digs in, not noticing the way the young boy is looking at him.
”You seem starved,” Kame says, watching the man devour the cake.
Nakamaru nods his head quickly and takes another spoonful of cake. “Worsh wash bin diring day.”
“Ueda, how can you continue living with this man? He lacks some good manners. He's even worse than Jin." Kame lifts his cup and sips on his tea quietly. “He doesn’t even speak a language I can understand.” Ueda just laughs and watches Nakamaru become agitated.
“A young boy like you should not speak like that.” Nakamaru scolds like a mother. “And I said, work has been tiring today.”
“I’m not a boy. I’m a doll,” Kame replies. “What do you do?”
“You’re too real to be a doll. Also, I’m a preschool teacher,” Nakamaru says proudly.
“I see. That explains your…” Kame quips, eyeing the green argyle sweater Nakamaru is wearing. “…odd taste in fashion.”
“I don’t like you,” Nakamaru declares and forks the strawberry on Kame’s cake.
“It’s all right,” Kame says. He gets up from his chair and walks on the table, crossing to where Nakamaru is and surprises the man with a kiss on the cheek.
“I like you, anyway.”
Kame smirks when Nakamaru blushes deeply then faints.
-
Part II