忍ぶ感情 Shinobu Kanjyo
Title: Part 3: Shinobu Kanjyo
Rating: PG13
Pairing: Jun/Ohno, Sho/Nino
Genre: action, AU
Chapter: nineteen
Disclaimer: I guess Johnny’s technically owns Arashi, huh? Not me.
Summary: Ohno Satoshi is the student of a strong ninja lord who has lived his life following his teacher’s strict guidance. But what happens when he slowly learns he has to live for himself?
Part 1: Shinobu Ishi ( Chapter one, Chapter two, Chapter three, Chapter four, Chapter five, Chapter six, Chapter seven)
Part 2: Shinobu Kokoro ( Chapter eight, Chapter nine, Chapter ten, Chapter eleven, Chapter twelve, Chapter thirteen, Chapter fourteen)
Part 3: Shinobu Kanjyo ( Chapter fifteen, Chapter sixteen, Chapter seventeen, Chapter eighteen
Jun decided today was the day. He was going to corner Ohno and tell him that he loved him.
He intended to force Leader to either accept the fact that there was a chance they could be happy together and that their ninja world wouldn’t completely fall apart, or make him say that he really didn’t love Jun at all and that he needed to get over it.
Jun was thinking it’d be the second one, but he had high hopes that they would at least come out of the situation as friends. He was pretty sure that Arashi wouldn’t be broken apart over something like this…
Actually, Jun was more afraid that everything would go back to normal after his heart was ripped out. He knew if Ohno rejected him without really rejecting him, like he’d been doing up until now, just pushing him far enough away that he always came back, that they’d be stuck that way forever. They’d never be able to change their relationship and that’s what Jun wanted to avoid at all costs.
But Ohno was training Yokoyama tonight, which wasn’t unusual, and the illusionist would have to wait until nightfall to find his friend. He was feeling good about the confession, though, so even if the dark wasn’t exactly the most optimal time, since he couldn’t properly watch Ohno’s reaction, he’d rather get it done now that wait until he wasn’t confident about it anymore.
“Good luck,” Aiba commented happily and Jun looked at him nervously. The herbalist was seated in the corner of their private quarters watching Jun pace around the room, and even though Jun hadn’t said anything about his plot, his nervousness was no doubt radiating around him like an aura. Nino and Sho were snuggling in another corner and the smaller ninja was smirking at the youngest of them, as if he knew exactly what was going on and wanted to see the outcome himself.
“Uh, thanks?” Jun replied as though he didn’t know what Aiba was referring to. He was busy working on some strange project, which none of them had bothered to ask him about (he’d been working on it for more than a week, but his sewing skills weren’t so good), and had produced something that Jun had argued with Nino looked more like a rose than a beet.
Aiba only smiled at him happily, as if not understanding the source of Jun’s confusion, and kept to his project.
He started walking around the room again, attempting to sort out the words that he wanted to say in his head and anxiously waiting for Ohno to come back.
“Would you stop that?” Nino finally asked in annoyance, sighing heavily and leaning back against Sho’s chest. The archer was seated behind him, his legs on either side of Nino’s waist, with his nose in a book about new-age tactics, which had arrived two days ago. He hadn’t been good conversation since, although Jun didn’t care much about that because Nino said more than enough for both of them.
Jun made a tch sound with his mouth and turned to his friend, feeling more nervous than before. He didn’t want to stop, he wanted to be doing something.
Looking around the room, paused in a mental debate on whether to follow Nino’s direction or not, Jun shifted his gaze back to his friend when he spoke again.
“Hey, why don’t you sit down here and tell me what you’re going to say to him?”
Without bothering to be surprised at the request, Jun’s gaze darted between the floor at his feet and Nino, wondering if he really should. It would probably make him feel better, but at the same time Ohno could be home any second.
He plopped down anyway, just a few feet in front of the lovey-dovey couple, and sighed.
But he didn’t offer anything, not knowing where to start.
Nino stared at him for a second, then began the conversation himself.
“Where’re you going to take him? It’ll have to be out of the Main Building.”
Jun swallowed and nodded, silently thanking Nino for knowing what to say.
“I was thinking of into the forest, close to our training spot. There’s a little area I’ve been to a few times… it’s sort of isolated, but not far enough away to be a pain.”
Nino looked agreeable and motioned for Jun to continue with his hands.
The younger ninja swallowed and rubbed his forehead. He had a vague idea of how this was going to go, but he kept changing his mind on what the best way to go about it was.
“And…? What’re you going to say…?” Nino prompted with an annoyed look.
“Well, I was just going to-“
The door slid open and Jun immediately shut his mouth.
“Ah, Oh-chan!” Aiba chirped enthusiastically, looking up from his glob of red fabric. “Welcome back!”
“Thanks,” Ohno replied in a tired voice, but he forced out a genuine smile that said he was happy to be home.
He gently set his sword on the ground along with a water skin and another bag in the spot that he usually left them, then yawned, covering his mouth haphazardly with his hand even though he didn’t need to.
Acting without thinking, Ohno shuffled over to where Sho and Nino were seated against the wall and fell down next to the archer, who still hadn’t removed his head from the book even when Leader had arrived. His eyebrows were furrowed in concentration and occasionally he would start to mouth words with his lips, as if that would help him remember the contents more effectively.
Jun had been watching Ohno the whole time, but when Leader met his gaze, he turned away shyly, holding back a blush. He had suddenly lost his drive when he saw how haggard he looked and was almost tempted to push off his confession to another night.
“How was training?” Aiba asked conversationally, as if the silence that had settled over the room was unnerving him. Jun hoped that his own anxiety hadn’t rubbed off on him, since he didn’t have anything to worry about; Aiba just tended to be very sensitive to his friends’ moods.
Ohno nodded unconsciously and sighed, looking up at the ceiling.
“It was okay. The same as usual.”
Jun wasn’t surprised at the short answer. It didn’t seem like any of the rest of the room’s occupants were either, but no one offered a new topic or prompted for anything more. Nino was looking at Jun expectantly, waiting for him to ask Ohno to step outside, but Jun was swallowing and trying his hardest to force the words out. He was staring down at his knees and running his hands slowly over his thighs, trying to rid his palms of the sweat that had built up there.
After a few more seconds of quiet, though, Ohno began to talk again, and Jun figured it was either because he had sensed the nervousness in the air and the way Jun was looking at him, or he was too tired to realize that he was rambling.
“Yokoyama is getting pretty good, I guess. He mastered that difficult move that I was trying to show him, even though it took three lessons to do it.”
Jun clearly remembered Ohno complaining almost a week ago that Yokoyama had kept him late because he hadn’t been able to perform the move correctly, not even once. Jun had tried his hardest not to laugh in triumph at the news, but at the same time he felt bad that Ohno had to deal with such a dimwit.
Not that Jun would ever be able to do that move, but he had his knives, which he had put much more work into than Yokoyama had probably put into the sword. He had room to brag, right?
“He actually looked pretty cool once he got it down,” Ohno continued with a proud grin, although it was fairly small on his face, and Jun thought that maybe his friend was feeling that glow that came with being a teacher than he heard about so often. Jun had already decided that Nakai was much more adept at teaching than Ohno, and it was true from what he had seen of Leader’s sessions (it had taken him a full month before he realized that he had to verbally explain some things rather than just make Yokoyama watch and follow him), but it seemed like that sense of satisfaction didn’t distinguish whether you were good at teaching or not.
“That’s nice, Leader,” Nino broke in with a forced smile. “How much longer are you going to be training him?” He was looking to his side at Ohno, obviously either trying to change the subject or make the older man shut up, and Jun was thankful for that. Somehow Nino had the tact and subtly that the he lacked, as well as the courage to speak up when Jun couldn’t. But then again, Nino wasn’t in love with Ohno like he was.
“I don’t know. I told him it would only be for three months, but I guess we’re coming up on that pretty fast, huh?” he said slowly and thoughtfully in reply. “I might train him for a little while longer… He’s got some potential…”
In his head, Jun continued Ohno’s sentence for him. Even though he’ll never be as good as me.
He was getting a little bitter with Leader bragging about his rival like that, and his mood was degrading by the second. Jun was positive he wouldn’t be able to confess now, even if Ohno suddenly said that he hated Yokoyama and wished he was leaving (Jun’s exact feelings).
“We get along really well,” Leader started once more and Jun’s face fell into a frown. “He practices a lot by himself, which is nice for me. He’s always ready when we start lessons.”
Nino darted his eyes at the illusionist and then back at Ohno, but before he could interject, the older man continued with a sleepy tone.
“He doesn’t say much, you know, only asks questions when he needs to. And he’s really honest. I like that.”
The last words were followed up by an oversized yawn and Jun snuck a look at his crush, anything and everything caught in his throat.
“And when those girls came over to watch us, he chased them away.” Ohno had an amused grin on his face and was trying to hold back a laugh. “It was really funny to see him getting all upset over something like that…”
Jun looked down at his own hands, an emotional barb sticking into his chest. Even though Leader didn’t mention it specifically, he was comparing the two of them. Jun talked a lot about whatever he felt like, and would do whatever he needed to in order to get Ohno to talk back. Jun would rather spare his friend’s feelings than be honest with them, even though there were just some situations in which he just had to be firm and straightforward. And Jun had encouraged the girls to stay instead of chasing them off, using them in a manipulative way to get Ohno to pay attention to him. Yokoyama, Ohno was so highly praising, was completely opposite of Jun.
“And we have some interests in common. He told me tonight that he wanted to go fishing with me sometime-“ Leader continued, looking at Nino with a content expression, and Jun couldn’t stand it anymore.
He stood up sharply and stomped towards the door. He knew that everyone was watching him and that he was making a scene, but there was no way he was going to listen to Leader anymore. Usually he’d love to hear the heavy voice and didn’t care what Ohno talked about as long as he looked happy, but right now his heart was being shredded syllable by syllable.
“Jun!” Nino said sharply, and he heard him stand behind him and follow him to the exit, catching up to the taller ninja just as he entered the hallway. “What’re you doing?” he asked in a quick whisper. Jun thought he really meant to say you’re going to mess up all your planning.
“I can’t stand listening to him talk about Yokoyama anymore. I’m leaving,” he replied in a stiff tone, giving Nino an expression that told him not to argue with his decision. Jun knew that he had spoken loud enough that everyone still in their room had heard him, but he didn’t care in the slightest. Actually, he hoped Ohno was listening so he couldn’t pretend to not know why Jun was pissed off later on.
Nino looked helpless in reply, his eyes widened and his mouth hanging open a little bit. He swallowed when Jun turned back around to take off, but didn’t stop him in the end.
Watching as his friend made his escape, Nino was hesitant to go back to the rest of the group. The burden of explaining to Ohno what he had just ruined was left on his shoulders, even though he didn’t blame Jun for leaving, not after what Ohno had been saying about the man that he knew Jun was coming to loathe.
Pulling himself together, Nino turned back to the room and walked through the door slowly, glancing at Ohno and then at Sho, who had finally been distracted from his book when Nino had gotten up so suddenly.
The captain was looking guilty but like he didn’t regret his words at all, while the archer seemed confused since he had missed most of the conversation. Aiba had a worried expression on his face and had dropped his project and stood as the shorter man entered the room again, ready to help.
“Should I go after him?” he asked softly, but Nino shook his head and sighed again, looking back to Sho unconsciously.
“No, let him go.”
Padding back over to the pair sitting against the wall, Nino sat in Jun’s spot just a little bit in front of Sho, gazing at the ground and wondering what the most effective way to break the mood was.
Ohno simply stared at him, waiting for what was inevitably going to come, and Nino rubbed his face and closed his eyes for just a second.
“He was going to tell you something important tonight,” Nino offered, bypassing all of the drama with Jun’s rival in favor of hitting the heart of the problem.
He tilted his head up to see what Ohno thought of that explanation and found the older boy watching his hands, the rebellion that had been on his face a few seconds ago completely gone.
Nino didn’t offer anything else and instead waited several minutes for Ohno to come up with a proper response. Just by the look on his face, Nino knew that Leader understood the details of the vague sentence, even though he hadn’t revealed very much about what Jun’s intentions were or what had been waiting for him a few minutes earlier.
Opening his mouth to say something but then closing it again, Ohno looked around the room at his three remaining friends with a pinched expression before he got anything out.
“About Jun…” he finally said, staring down at his hands again. “I don’t know…”
It appeared he wouldn’t be offering any more than that, so Nino spurred the conversation again.
“He’s in love with you, you know.”
Ohno’s face scrunched up in a weak grimace and he took a deep breath through his mouth, as if he had known all of this was coming and that he’d have to deal with it sooner or later.
Once again pausing for the older man to offer something more, and then a little longer as he failed to do so, Nino was almost at the end of his string of patience. He could see why Jun was so aggravated with Ohno and he felt for the younger ninja completely. Even though Nino loved Ohno more than he could say, he knew how infuriating the older man could be in emotional situations, and that his head was almost always trying to follow the simple rules that Jyani had implanted in his mind instead of making his own decisions.
And he couldn’t stand it anymore either.
“You’re in love with him, too,” Nino followed up in a haughty voice, as if daring Ohno to challenge him.
Leader looked up, a little stunned at the suddenness of that accusation, and Sho looked a little taken back too, like he couldn’t believe that Nino was calling the older man out on something so personal.
After an instance that passed with still no response, Leader averted his gaze again and struggled to come up with something to say.
“Jun…” he started slowly, and Nino once again waited for him to formulate an explanation or excuse. If he didn’t give him time to think about it, there would never be one. “Jun deserves someone better than me.”
It was apparent immediately that this was an excuse, and a bad one at that since Nino held a very high opinion of Leader and everyone present knew that, but he didn’t argue with him and instead let his friend use the statement as a spring board to say what he really wanted to.
“Look,” Ohno continued firmly with a heavy sigh, staring directly at Nino. “Jun is going to end up with someone like Mao. She’ll make him happy; they can live together and have kids.”
The air in the room changed immediately from a tension of secrets exposed to that of walking on thin ice. Ohno’s words were turning desperate and careless and Nino wondered if he was going to say something that he would regret in his passion. It would probably be the first time that ever happened.
“They belong together, right?” he asked, although his tone was unsure.
Leader fell silent and Nino’s expression said that he was ashamed of Ohno’s weak defense. There was something else underlying it, something more than jealousy and Johnny’s teachings, but the older man hadn’t said enough for him to figure it out quite yet.
“Ohno, the world isn’t going to come to an end if you let yourself be happy,” he replied sharply. “You’ve seen me and Sho, haven’t you? Jyani said that we’re the best pair team that he’s had yet.”
And his words were true. Although Jyani had told them so begrudgingly, after he had allowed Sho and Nino to take team missions together when Ohno began training Yokoyama, he had complimented them on their efficiency and ability to work together. He had praised them as an excellent duo, although he hadn’t mentioned the fact that they were more than that.
Leader met his gaze at the words and Nino saw something resembling anger and hurt there.
In a lowered voice, one that Ohno didn’t use often, he explained.
“Because I’m in love with Jun,” he bit out, then swallowed, his voice straining with the emotion he was holding back, “Sho almost died.”
Nino’s stare fell as he realized the main reason behind Ohno tentativeness to succumb to this relationship.
It was because of the rest of the group.
Leader had mentioned the same thing a little while ago, right before he began training Yokoyama; that he held himself responsible for saving Jun instead of the rest of them and that it was really his fault that Sho had almost died. At the time Nino hadn’t realized how serious Ohno was.
The archer swallowed and shifted uncomfortably against the wall, since it was the first time that he had ever heard of this reason, and Nino leaned forward to grab his hand tightly, scooting closer to his boyfriend and the current topic of conversation.
Trying to put his feelings into proper words, Nino squeezed the fingers in his grip and looked at Ohno with determination.
“Ohno, I love Sho. You know how much I love him, right?” he asked slowly, staring into the older ninja’s eyes as they finally met his. Ohno nodded tentatively, obviously listening carefully to what the younger man had to say you him. “And I wish that he hadn’t been hurt so bad that day. It tore me apart with worry, you know that, right?”
Nodding again, Leader held back his personal interjections as Nino continued.
“But I have no doubt,” he paused for emphasis, stealing a glance at Sho, who looked guilty at putting the man he loved through all of that mess, “that Jun would have died that day if you hadn’t gone to him.”
The room was dead quiet, not even the sound of Aiba fumbling with his fabric breaking it.
“He hadn’t been here that long, he couldn’t use those goddamned knives to save his life, and he was the target of the attack anyway. Do you really think if the two of you hadn’t met that he would have gotten much farther?” Nino asked seriously, and Ohno looked down at his lap again with worry written plainly on his face.
Sho glanced between his two friends as Nino continued his lecture, and although Aiba’s eyes weren’t on them, he was still paying attention too.
“What if Jun had walked into Nakai’s house and you weren’t there? What if he had just been faced with those three ninja and two more coming behind him? Do you think they would have let him get away? If they didn’t kill him, they surely would have taken him back to Matsumoto, and I’m not sure that would’ve been much better.”
Ohno couldn’t reply and silence threatened to swallow them completely. Nino closed his eyes for just a second, trying to calm himself down and not continue ranting about the topic, but he still didn’t think that Ohno was convinced that if he let Jun go there wouldn’t be another chance.
“You’ve learned you’re lesson, okay? Jun’s old enough to take care of himself now and you’ve had more than enough experience ignoring him, so why don’t you just give it a try and deal with problems as they start to come?” Nino suggested, and it was the best direction of action in his opinion. “If you start messing up, Jyani will surely put you back in line,” he added as an afterthought, forcing a smirk and finally breaking the heavy mood.
Sho let out a not quite obvious sigh and Aiba was back to slowly sewing stitches through his fabric, the aura of the room returning to their usual comfortable atmosphere.
Ohno was still acting apprehensive, though.
“But Jun has Mao, now, what does he need me for?” he asked quietly, revealing that the woman mentioned earlier really was a threat inside of his head.
Nino burst out laughing, although it was bitter and sarcastic instead of amused. “Are you kidding me? She could throw herself naked at Jun and he wouldn’t bat an eyelash. All you have to do is smile to make him flustered.”
Ohno blushed a little and Nino patted him lightly on the shoulder, relieved that the swordmaster actually seemed to be listening to him this time instead of just ignoring the reasons why he was being stupid.
The air was cleared and even though Nino wanted to encourage Ohno to run after the object of his affection, he knew that he needed a little more time to come to terms with giving himself to Jun.
+++
Jun had spent the night training in Arashi’s usual clearing, unable to bring himself to seek out Mao because of the guilty feeling of continuing to be friends with her still despite his pursuit of Ohno.
He had gotten his aggression out on the practice course and was effectively exhausted by the time the sun was coming up, finally deciding to head back home.
But before he’d gotten halfway, he heard two people coming from the opposite direction and ducked into the trees, not feeling up to confronting anyone. He was tired and just wanted his lonely futon to himself inside of Arashi’s private room.
Recognizing the footsteps immediately as Ohno’s, Jun quietly shuffled farther into the forest, even though he figured that Leader most likely had heard him, too. But the other steps were Yokoyama’s, and so Leader probably wouldn’t follow him, even if he was feeling up to making things between them better and Jun doubted that, anyway.
Stumbling into the grove of trees that he was becoming quite attached to, Jun allowed himself to collapse against the abandoned log, his head resting against its bark and his legs buried in the grass growing around the bottom.
With the melody of the nearby stream as a lullaby, Jun immediately fell into sleep despite the awkward position.
+++
Ohno had trained Yokoyama earlier in the morning because the recruit had to leave on a short mission later that afternoon, and so when they were finished, the student gave Ohno a small smile as he was sent off by him. With apprehension he returned the grin, wondering if he was leading him on by not being harsher during their practices, and especially outside of them.
Straggling just a little bit, enough to make the other man leave first, Ohno collected his things and followed a few minutes after him, his steps slower than even his usual leisurely pace.
Once he reached the area in which Jun had led him off the path back when the topic of conversation had been about their attack and the possibility that Matsumoto had found him again, Ohno paused and looked off towards where the fallen tree should be. Of course he couldn’t see it from the trail, but he wondered if the illusionist was still in the area, where he’d heard him this morning.
Unable to stop himself and with the words from Nino the night before running through his head, Ohno shuffled through the low branches and cautiously approached the area he was now associating with Jun.
He saw the ninja collapsed on the ground and immediately sped up his movements, dropping his equipment and rushing to Jun’s side.
It was only after he realized that Jun was just asleep and not hurt that Ohno allowed himself to breathe again, the image of Jun’s death or capture still haunting his conscious even after all these years.
He squatted down in front of his friend’s face, which was tilted to the side, half of it pressed into the dirt, and smiled gently.
As quietly and smoothly as possible, Ohno sat down the rest of the way and leaned over Jun, picking out a few leaves from his hair, and then allowed his fingers to ghost across the full cheeks. He’d be able to tell immediately when he began to regain consciousness (and he was pretty far gone right now), and so Leader gave himself a little leeway while he thought once again about his feelings for the younger man.
He wondered how their relationship would change if he freed himself from the emotional bonds of being in charge of Arashi, and how he would begin to treat the others, too. He wondered if he could continue to concentrate as well as he did now or if being with Jun would only make him better like Nino was implying.
He wondered what kind of look Jun would have on his face if he told him that he was willing to give it all a try, how wide his smile would be. He wondered what Jun would taste like as his thumb gently touched the plump lips, and how sweet his kiss would be. He wondered what kind of sounds Jun would make when-
Ohno blushed at the dirty thoughts filtering through his brain and pulled his hand away, instead resting them on top of his knees which were pressed against his chest, and stared intently at the peaceful face in front of him.
But he still wasn’t sure about this whole thing. He didn’t want to put Sho or Nino or Aiba or Jun at risk because of his own selfishness.
He had begun to see the truth of the earlier situation, though, that he really had saved Jun, even though it was at Sho’s expense. But that realization was only making Ohno more tempted to give in, so it was easier if he continued to use that as an excuse to keep his head level.
Even though Nino had been trying to convince him otherwise, Ohno couldn’t help but think what could happen to him and Arashi if he allowed himself to be distracted with Jun.
+++
When Jun woke up to Nino poking him in the cheek, a little later that evening, he was back in the Main Building.
“Dinner’s ready, you want some?” the older ninja asked lightly, leaning over the previously unconscious man.
Jun’s eyes fluttered open and closed, still caught in the throes of sleep.
“How did I get here?” he asked distractedly, looking around the otherwise empty room.
“Huh? You didn’t come back yourself?” Nino countered with a raised eyebrow.
“No, I thought that I, uh…” Jun rubbed his head and then shook it in an attempt to wake up faster. “Nevermind. What’re we having?”
“Soup. I brought you a bowl,” Nino replied immediately, turning back to a tray waiting behind him, and offered one of the servings to Jun.
He finally sat up and took the food, his stomach rumbling as the scent from it made its way to his nose. He began scarfing it down, remembering that he’d spent the entire night training and then had fallen asleep in the middle of the forest instead of returning home properly.
Nino smirked at his movements and started on his own bowl, then began chatting lightly.
“So are you going to talk to Ohno or what? He might’ve warmed up to the idea.”
Jun immediately looked up with his mouth full of soup. He swallowed painfully and then choked a little, having to cough before he could respond correctly.
“Wh-what?”
“I talked to him a little bit after you left. There’s still a lot of work to do, but it’s up to you now,” he explained and then took a small sip of his dinner.
“Really? What did you talk about?”
“Uh…” Nino wasn’t sure he wanted to reveal the conversation to Jun, since it was quite the touchy subject and Jun would only get more introverted if he found out that he was pretty much the cause of Ohno trying to stay away from him, even if it was a roundabout way. Jun would then blame himself for Sho getting hurt and this whole situation would just go in a vicious cycle.
But there was another topic that Nino had meant to address. It was one that Jun needed to clear up himself, since the words coming from Nino hadn’t held much value.
“Jun,” he started seriously, giving the younger ninja a stern look. “He said that Mao was perfect for you and that the two of you would be happy together and have kids.”
His whole body stiffening, Jun’s grip on his bowl increased and his expression was startled if not completely overturned.
“He said that?” he asked quietly, clarifying what he had just been told. Nino nodded slowly. “God damn it…” Jun set his almost empty bowl on the floor and rubbed his face with his palm, his eyes squinted shut in irritation.
“You just need to come out and tell him it’s not what you want. That you love him,” Nino encouraged with a nervous swallow.
Jun took a few deep breaths, obviously trying to calm himself down, and then suddenly looked determined. “You’re right. I need to talk to him.”
Glancing up at the ceiling and sighing, Jun ran his hands through his hair, his thoughts suddenly full of what he was going to say to the older man.
“Can you do me a favor and ask him to meet me in the forest near that fallen tree tonight? He should know where it is.”
Nino nodded with an encouraging smile as Jun stood and stretched.
“Do you know what you’re going to say to him?” Nino asked, even though he had some idea from the previous conversation. He was curious if Jun was going to use the straightforward avenue and confess or if he was going to simply try to seduce him. Either way would probably work.
“I’m not sure yet. I’ll think about it.”
Nino went back to his soup and didn’t stop Jun when he shuffled to the door and headed back outside.
+++
A/N: Happy Ninja Update! This chapter was all talking and no action, but hopefully that was okay.
It was my last day of school today! I'm so sad to leave my kids, but definitely looking forward to moving. :) Hopefully the week I put aside will be plenty of time to take care of that, with lots of free time in the middle. :D
Still working on a few other things too. Need to make a few more posts to make up for being a slacker the last month...
Chapter twenty
Rating: PG13
Pairing: Jun/Ohno, Sho/Nino
Genre: action, AU
Chapter: nineteen
Disclaimer: I guess Johnny’s technically owns Arashi, huh? Not me.
Summary: Ohno Satoshi is the student of a strong ninja lord who has lived his life following his teacher’s strict guidance. But what happens when he slowly learns he has to live for himself?
Part 1: Shinobu Ishi ( Chapter one, Chapter two, Chapter three, Chapter four, Chapter five, Chapter six, Chapter seven)
Part 2: Shinobu Kokoro ( Chapter eight, Chapter nine, Chapter ten, Chapter eleven, Chapter twelve, Chapter thirteen, Chapter fourteen)
Part 3: Shinobu Kanjyo ( Chapter fifteen, Chapter sixteen, Chapter seventeen, Chapter eighteen
Jun decided today was the day. He was going to corner Ohno and tell him that he loved him.
He intended to force Leader to either accept the fact that there was a chance they could be happy together and that their ninja world wouldn’t completely fall apart, or make him say that he really didn’t love Jun at all and that he needed to get over it.
Jun was thinking it’d be the second one, but he had high hopes that they would at least come out of the situation as friends. He was pretty sure that Arashi wouldn’t be broken apart over something like this…
Actually, Jun was more afraid that everything would go back to normal after his heart was ripped out. He knew if Ohno rejected him without really rejecting him, like he’d been doing up until now, just pushing him far enough away that he always came back, that they’d be stuck that way forever. They’d never be able to change their relationship and that’s what Jun wanted to avoid at all costs.
But Ohno was training Yokoyama tonight, which wasn’t unusual, and the illusionist would have to wait until nightfall to find his friend. He was feeling good about the confession, though, so even if the dark wasn’t exactly the most optimal time, since he couldn’t properly watch Ohno’s reaction, he’d rather get it done now that wait until he wasn’t confident about it anymore.
“Good luck,” Aiba commented happily and Jun looked at him nervously. The herbalist was seated in the corner of their private quarters watching Jun pace around the room, and even though Jun hadn’t said anything about his plot, his nervousness was no doubt radiating around him like an aura. Nino and Sho were snuggling in another corner and the smaller ninja was smirking at the youngest of them, as if he knew exactly what was going on and wanted to see the outcome himself.
“Uh, thanks?” Jun replied as though he didn’t know what Aiba was referring to. He was busy working on some strange project, which none of them had bothered to ask him about (he’d been working on it for more than a week, but his sewing skills weren’t so good), and had produced something that Jun had argued with Nino looked more like a rose than a beet.
Aiba only smiled at him happily, as if not understanding the source of Jun’s confusion, and kept to his project.
He started walking around the room again, attempting to sort out the words that he wanted to say in his head and anxiously waiting for Ohno to come back.
“Would you stop that?” Nino finally asked in annoyance, sighing heavily and leaning back against Sho’s chest. The archer was seated behind him, his legs on either side of Nino’s waist, with his nose in a book about new-age tactics, which had arrived two days ago. He hadn’t been good conversation since, although Jun didn’t care much about that because Nino said more than enough for both of them.
Jun made a tch sound with his mouth and turned to his friend, feeling more nervous than before. He didn’t want to stop, he wanted to be doing something.
Looking around the room, paused in a mental debate on whether to follow Nino’s direction or not, Jun shifted his gaze back to his friend when he spoke again.
“Hey, why don’t you sit down here and tell me what you’re going to say to him?”
Without bothering to be surprised at the request, Jun’s gaze darted between the floor at his feet and Nino, wondering if he really should. It would probably make him feel better, but at the same time Ohno could be home any second.
He plopped down anyway, just a few feet in front of the lovey-dovey couple, and sighed.
But he didn’t offer anything, not knowing where to start.
Nino stared at him for a second, then began the conversation himself.
“Where’re you going to take him? It’ll have to be out of the Main Building.”
Jun swallowed and nodded, silently thanking Nino for knowing what to say.
“I was thinking of into the forest, close to our training spot. There’s a little area I’ve been to a few times… it’s sort of isolated, but not far enough away to be a pain.”
Nino looked agreeable and motioned for Jun to continue with his hands.
The younger ninja swallowed and rubbed his forehead. He had a vague idea of how this was going to go, but he kept changing his mind on what the best way to go about it was.
“And…? What’re you going to say…?” Nino prompted with an annoyed look.
“Well, I was just going to-“
The door slid open and Jun immediately shut his mouth.
“Ah, Oh-chan!” Aiba chirped enthusiastically, looking up from his glob of red fabric. “Welcome back!”
“Thanks,” Ohno replied in a tired voice, but he forced out a genuine smile that said he was happy to be home.
He gently set his sword on the ground along with a water skin and another bag in the spot that he usually left them, then yawned, covering his mouth haphazardly with his hand even though he didn’t need to.
Acting without thinking, Ohno shuffled over to where Sho and Nino were seated against the wall and fell down next to the archer, who still hadn’t removed his head from the book even when Leader had arrived. His eyebrows were furrowed in concentration and occasionally he would start to mouth words with his lips, as if that would help him remember the contents more effectively.
Jun had been watching Ohno the whole time, but when Leader met his gaze, he turned away shyly, holding back a blush. He had suddenly lost his drive when he saw how haggard he looked and was almost tempted to push off his confession to another night.
“How was training?” Aiba asked conversationally, as if the silence that had settled over the room was unnerving him. Jun hoped that his own anxiety hadn’t rubbed off on him, since he didn’t have anything to worry about; Aiba just tended to be very sensitive to his friends’ moods.
Ohno nodded unconsciously and sighed, looking up at the ceiling.
“It was okay. The same as usual.”
Jun wasn’t surprised at the short answer. It didn’t seem like any of the rest of the room’s occupants were either, but no one offered a new topic or prompted for anything more. Nino was looking at Jun expectantly, waiting for him to ask Ohno to step outside, but Jun was swallowing and trying his hardest to force the words out. He was staring down at his knees and running his hands slowly over his thighs, trying to rid his palms of the sweat that had built up there.
After a few more seconds of quiet, though, Ohno began to talk again, and Jun figured it was either because he had sensed the nervousness in the air and the way Jun was looking at him, or he was too tired to realize that he was rambling.
“Yokoyama is getting pretty good, I guess. He mastered that difficult move that I was trying to show him, even though it took three lessons to do it.”
Jun clearly remembered Ohno complaining almost a week ago that Yokoyama had kept him late because he hadn’t been able to perform the move correctly, not even once. Jun had tried his hardest not to laugh in triumph at the news, but at the same time he felt bad that Ohno had to deal with such a dimwit.
Not that Jun would ever be able to do that move, but he had his knives, which he had put much more work into than Yokoyama had probably put into the sword. He had room to brag, right?
“He actually looked pretty cool once he got it down,” Ohno continued with a proud grin, although it was fairly small on his face, and Jun thought that maybe his friend was feeling that glow that came with being a teacher than he heard about so often. Jun had already decided that Nakai was much more adept at teaching than Ohno, and it was true from what he had seen of Leader’s sessions (it had taken him a full month before he realized that he had to verbally explain some things rather than just make Yokoyama watch and follow him), but it seemed like that sense of satisfaction didn’t distinguish whether you were good at teaching or not.
“That’s nice, Leader,” Nino broke in with a forced smile. “How much longer are you going to be training him?” He was looking to his side at Ohno, obviously either trying to change the subject or make the older man shut up, and Jun was thankful for that. Somehow Nino had the tact and subtly that the he lacked, as well as the courage to speak up when Jun couldn’t. But then again, Nino wasn’t in love with Ohno like he was.
“I don’t know. I told him it would only be for three months, but I guess we’re coming up on that pretty fast, huh?” he said slowly and thoughtfully in reply. “I might train him for a little while longer… He’s got some potential…”
In his head, Jun continued Ohno’s sentence for him. Even though he’ll never be as good as me.
He was getting a little bitter with Leader bragging about his rival like that, and his mood was degrading by the second. Jun was positive he wouldn’t be able to confess now, even if Ohno suddenly said that he hated Yokoyama and wished he was leaving (Jun’s exact feelings).
“We get along really well,” Leader started once more and Jun’s face fell into a frown. “He practices a lot by himself, which is nice for me. He’s always ready when we start lessons.”
Nino darted his eyes at the illusionist and then back at Ohno, but before he could interject, the older man continued with a sleepy tone.
“He doesn’t say much, you know, only asks questions when he needs to. And he’s really honest. I like that.”
The last words were followed up by an oversized yawn and Jun snuck a look at his crush, anything and everything caught in his throat.
“And when those girls came over to watch us, he chased them away.” Ohno had an amused grin on his face and was trying to hold back a laugh. “It was really funny to see him getting all upset over something like that…”
Jun looked down at his own hands, an emotional barb sticking into his chest. Even though Leader didn’t mention it specifically, he was comparing the two of them. Jun talked a lot about whatever he felt like, and would do whatever he needed to in order to get Ohno to talk back. Jun would rather spare his friend’s feelings than be honest with them, even though there were just some situations in which he just had to be firm and straightforward. And Jun had encouraged the girls to stay instead of chasing them off, using them in a manipulative way to get Ohno to pay attention to him. Yokoyama, Ohno was so highly praising, was completely opposite of Jun.
“And we have some interests in common. He told me tonight that he wanted to go fishing with me sometime-“ Leader continued, looking at Nino with a content expression, and Jun couldn’t stand it anymore.
He stood up sharply and stomped towards the door. He knew that everyone was watching him and that he was making a scene, but there was no way he was going to listen to Leader anymore. Usually he’d love to hear the heavy voice and didn’t care what Ohno talked about as long as he looked happy, but right now his heart was being shredded syllable by syllable.
“Jun!” Nino said sharply, and he heard him stand behind him and follow him to the exit, catching up to the taller ninja just as he entered the hallway. “What’re you doing?” he asked in a quick whisper. Jun thought he really meant to say you’re going to mess up all your planning.
“I can’t stand listening to him talk about Yokoyama anymore. I’m leaving,” he replied in a stiff tone, giving Nino an expression that told him not to argue with his decision. Jun knew that he had spoken loud enough that everyone still in their room had heard him, but he didn’t care in the slightest. Actually, he hoped Ohno was listening so he couldn’t pretend to not know why Jun was pissed off later on.
Nino looked helpless in reply, his eyes widened and his mouth hanging open a little bit. He swallowed when Jun turned back around to take off, but didn’t stop him in the end.
Watching as his friend made his escape, Nino was hesitant to go back to the rest of the group. The burden of explaining to Ohno what he had just ruined was left on his shoulders, even though he didn’t blame Jun for leaving, not after what Ohno had been saying about the man that he knew Jun was coming to loathe.
Pulling himself together, Nino turned back to the room and walked through the door slowly, glancing at Ohno and then at Sho, who had finally been distracted from his book when Nino had gotten up so suddenly.
The captain was looking guilty but like he didn’t regret his words at all, while the archer seemed confused since he had missed most of the conversation. Aiba had a worried expression on his face and had dropped his project and stood as the shorter man entered the room again, ready to help.
“Should I go after him?” he asked softly, but Nino shook his head and sighed again, looking back to Sho unconsciously.
“No, let him go.”
Padding back over to the pair sitting against the wall, Nino sat in Jun’s spot just a little bit in front of Sho, gazing at the ground and wondering what the most effective way to break the mood was.
Ohno simply stared at him, waiting for what was inevitably going to come, and Nino rubbed his face and closed his eyes for just a second.
“He was going to tell you something important tonight,” Nino offered, bypassing all of the drama with Jun’s rival in favor of hitting the heart of the problem.
He tilted his head up to see what Ohno thought of that explanation and found the older boy watching his hands, the rebellion that had been on his face a few seconds ago completely gone.
Nino didn’t offer anything else and instead waited several minutes for Ohno to come up with a proper response. Just by the look on his face, Nino knew that Leader understood the details of the vague sentence, even though he hadn’t revealed very much about what Jun’s intentions were or what had been waiting for him a few minutes earlier.
Opening his mouth to say something but then closing it again, Ohno looked around the room at his three remaining friends with a pinched expression before he got anything out.
“About Jun…” he finally said, staring down at his hands again. “I don’t know…”
It appeared he wouldn’t be offering any more than that, so Nino spurred the conversation again.
“He’s in love with you, you know.”
Ohno’s face scrunched up in a weak grimace and he took a deep breath through his mouth, as if he had known all of this was coming and that he’d have to deal with it sooner or later.
Once again pausing for the older man to offer something more, and then a little longer as he failed to do so, Nino was almost at the end of his string of patience. He could see why Jun was so aggravated with Ohno and he felt for the younger ninja completely. Even though Nino loved Ohno more than he could say, he knew how infuriating the older man could be in emotional situations, and that his head was almost always trying to follow the simple rules that Jyani had implanted in his mind instead of making his own decisions.
And he couldn’t stand it anymore either.
“You’re in love with him, too,” Nino followed up in a haughty voice, as if daring Ohno to challenge him.
Leader looked up, a little stunned at the suddenness of that accusation, and Sho looked a little taken back too, like he couldn’t believe that Nino was calling the older man out on something so personal.
After an instance that passed with still no response, Leader averted his gaze again and struggled to come up with something to say.
“Jun…” he started slowly, and Nino once again waited for him to formulate an explanation or excuse. If he didn’t give him time to think about it, there would never be one. “Jun deserves someone better than me.”
It was apparent immediately that this was an excuse, and a bad one at that since Nino held a very high opinion of Leader and everyone present knew that, but he didn’t argue with him and instead let his friend use the statement as a spring board to say what he really wanted to.
“Look,” Ohno continued firmly with a heavy sigh, staring directly at Nino. “Jun is going to end up with someone like Mao. She’ll make him happy; they can live together and have kids.”
The air in the room changed immediately from a tension of secrets exposed to that of walking on thin ice. Ohno’s words were turning desperate and careless and Nino wondered if he was going to say something that he would regret in his passion. It would probably be the first time that ever happened.
“They belong together, right?” he asked, although his tone was unsure.
Leader fell silent and Nino’s expression said that he was ashamed of Ohno’s weak defense. There was something else underlying it, something more than jealousy and Johnny’s teachings, but the older man hadn’t said enough for him to figure it out quite yet.
“Ohno, the world isn’t going to come to an end if you let yourself be happy,” he replied sharply. “You’ve seen me and Sho, haven’t you? Jyani said that we’re the best pair team that he’s had yet.”
And his words were true. Although Jyani had told them so begrudgingly, after he had allowed Sho and Nino to take team missions together when Ohno began training Yokoyama, he had complimented them on their efficiency and ability to work together. He had praised them as an excellent duo, although he hadn’t mentioned the fact that they were more than that.
Leader met his gaze at the words and Nino saw something resembling anger and hurt there.
In a lowered voice, one that Ohno didn’t use often, he explained.
“Because I’m in love with Jun,” he bit out, then swallowed, his voice straining with the emotion he was holding back, “Sho almost died.”
Nino’s stare fell as he realized the main reason behind Ohno tentativeness to succumb to this relationship.
It was because of the rest of the group.
Leader had mentioned the same thing a little while ago, right before he began training Yokoyama; that he held himself responsible for saving Jun instead of the rest of them and that it was really his fault that Sho had almost died. At the time Nino hadn’t realized how serious Ohno was.
The archer swallowed and shifted uncomfortably against the wall, since it was the first time that he had ever heard of this reason, and Nino leaned forward to grab his hand tightly, scooting closer to his boyfriend and the current topic of conversation.
Trying to put his feelings into proper words, Nino squeezed the fingers in his grip and looked at Ohno with determination.
“Ohno, I love Sho. You know how much I love him, right?” he asked slowly, staring into the older ninja’s eyes as they finally met his. Ohno nodded tentatively, obviously listening carefully to what the younger man had to say you him. “And I wish that he hadn’t been hurt so bad that day. It tore me apart with worry, you know that, right?”
Nodding again, Leader held back his personal interjections as Nino continued.
“But I have no doubt,” he paused for emphasis, stealing a glance at Sho, who looked guilty at putting the man he loved through all of that mess, “that Jun would have died that day if you hadn’t gone to him.”
The room was dead quiet, not even the sound of Aiba fumbling with his fabric breaking it.
“He hadn’t been here that long, he couldn’t use those goddamned knives to save his life, and he was the target of the attack anyway. Do you really think if the two of you hadn’t met that he would have gotten much farther?” Nino asked seriously, and Ohno looked down at his lap again with worry written plainly on his face.
Sho glanced between his two friends as Nino continued his lecture, and although Aiba’s eyes weren’t on them, he was still paying attention too.
“What if Jun had walked into Nakai’s house and you weren’t there? What if he had just been faced with those three ninja and two more coming behind him? Do you think they would have let him get away? If they didn’t kill him, they surely would have taken him back to Matsumoto, and I’m not sure that would’ve been much better.”
Ohno couldn’t reply and silence threatened to swallow them completely. Nino closed his eyes for just a second, trying to calm himself down and not continue ranting about the topic, but he still didn’t think that Ohno was convinced that if he let Jun go there wouldn’t be another chance.
“You’ve learned you’re lesson, okay? Jun’s old enough to take care of himself now and you’ve had more than enough experience ignoring him, so why don’t you just give it a try and deal with problems as they start to come?” Nino suggested, and it was the best direction of action in his opinion. “If you start messing up, Jyani will surely put you back in line,” he added as an afterthought, forcing a smirk and finally breaking the heavy mood.
Sho let out a not quite obvious sigh and Aiba was back to slowly sewing stitches through his fabric, the aura of the room returning to their usual comfortable atmosphere.
Ohno was still acting apprehensive, though.
“But Jun has Mao, now, what does he need me for?” he asked quietly, revealing that the woman mentioned earlier really was a threat inside of his head.
Nino burst out laughing, although it was bitter and sarcastic instead of amused. “Are you kidding me? She could throw herself naked at Jun and he wouldn’t bat an eyelash. All you have to do is smile to make him flustered.”
Ohno blushed a little and Nino patted him lightly on the shoulder, relieved that the swordmaster actually seemed to be listening to him this time instead of just ignoring the reasons why he was being stupid.
The air was cleared and even though Nino wanted to encourage Ohno to run after the object of his affection, he knew that he needed a little more time to come to terms with giving himself to Jun.
+++
Jun had spent the night training in Arashi’s usual clearing, unable to bring himself to seek out Mao because of the guilty feeling of continuing to be friends with her still despite his pursuit of Ohno.
He had gotten his aggression out on the practice course and was effectively exhausted by the time the sun was coming up, finally deciding to head back home.
But before he’d gotten halfway, he heard two people coming from the opposite direction and ducked into the trees, not feeling up to confronting anyone. He was tired and just wanted his lonely futon to himself inside of Arashi’s private room.
Recognizing the footsteps immediately as Ohno’s, Jun quietly shuffled farther into the forest, even though he figured that Leader most likely had heard him, too. But the other steps were Yokoyama’s, and so Leader probably wouldn’t follow him, even if he was feeling up to making things between them better and Jun doubted that, anyway.
Stumbling into the grove of trees that he was becoming quite attached to, Jun allowed himself to collapse against the abandoned log, his head resting against its bark and his legs buried in the grass growing around the bottom.
With the melody of the nearby stream as a lullaby, Jun immediately fell into sleep despite the awkward position.
+++
Ohno had trained Yokoyama earlier in the morning because the recruit had to leave on a short mission later that afternoon, and so when they were finished, the student gave Ohno a small smile as he was sent off by him. With apprehension he returned the grin, wondering if he was leading him on by not being harsher during their practices, and especially outside of them.
Straggling just a little bit, enough to make the other man leave first, Ohno collected his things and followed a few minutes after him, his steps slower than even his usual leisurely pace.
Once he reached the area in which Jun had led him off the path back when the topic of conversation had been about their attack and the possibility that Matsumoto had found him again, Ohno paused and looked off towards where the fallen tree should be. Of course he couldn’t see it from the trail, but he wondered if the illusionist was still in the area, where he’d heard him this morning.
Unable to stop himself and with the words from Nino the night before running through his head, Ohno shuffled through the low branches and cautiously approached the area he was now associating with Jun.
He saw the ninja collapsed on the ground and immediately sped up his movements, dropping his equipment and rushing to Jun’s side.
It was only after he realized that Jun was just asleep and not hurt that Ohno allowed himself to breathe again, the image of Jun’s death or capture still haunting his conscious even after all these years.
He squatted down in front of his friend’s face, which was tilted to the side, half of it pressed into the dirt, and smiled gently.
As quietly and smoothly as possible, Ohno sat down the rest of the way and leaned over Jun, picking out a few leaves from his hair, and then allowed his fingers to ghost across the full cheeks. He’d be able to tell immediately when he began to regain consciousness (and he was pretty far gone right now), and so Leader gave himself a little leeway while he thought once again about his feelings for the younger man.
He wondered how their relationship would change if he freed himself from the emotional bonds of being in charge of Arashi, and how he would begin to treat the others, too. He wondered if he could continue to concentrate as well as he did now or if being with Jun would only make him better like Nino was implying.
He wondered what kind of look Jun would have on his face if he told him that he was willing to give it all a try, how wide his smile would be. He wondered what Jun would taste like as his thumb gently touched the plump lips, and how sweet his kiss would be. He wondered what kind of sounds Jun would make when-
Ohno blushed at the dirty thoughts filtering through his brain and pulled his hand away, instead resting them on top of his knees which were pressed against his chest, and stared intently at the peaceful face in front of him.
But he still wasn’t sure about this whole thing. He didn’t want to put Sho or Nino or Aiba or Jun at risk because of his own selfishness.
He had begun to see the truth of the earlier situation, though, that he really had saved Jun, even though it was at Sho’s expense. But that realization was only making Ohno more tempted to give in, so it was easier if he continued to use that as an excuse to keep his head level.
Even though Nino had been trying to convince him otherwise, Ohno couldn’t help but think what could happen to him and Arashi if he allowed himself to be distracted with Jun.
+++
When Jun woke up to Nino poking him in the cheek, a little later that evening, he was back in the Main Building.
“Dinner’s ready, you want some?” the older ninja asked lightly, leaning over the previously unconscious man.
Jun’s eyes fluttered open and closed, still caught in the throes of sleep.
“How did I get here?” he asked distractedly, looking around the otherwise empty room.
“Huh? You didn’t come back yourself?” Nino countered with a raised eyebrow.
“No, I thought that I, uh…” Jun rubbed his head and then shook it in an attempt to wake up faster. “Nevermind. What’re we having?”
“Soup. I brought you a bowl,” Nino replied immediately, turning back to a tray waiting behind him, and offered one of the servings to Jun.
He finally sat up and took the food, his stomach rumbling as the scent from it made its way to his nose. He began scarfing it down, remembering that he’d spent the entire night training and then had fallen asleep in the middle of the forest instead of returning home properly.
Nino smirked at his movements and started on his own bowl, then began chatting lightly.
“So are you going to talk to Ohno or what? He might’ve warmed up to the idea.”
Jun immediately looked up with his mouth full of soup. He swallowed painfully and then choked a little, having to cough before he could respond correctly.
“Wh-what?”
“I talked to him a little bit after you left. There’s still a lot of work to do, but it’s up to you now,” he explained and then took a small sip of his dinner.
“Really? What did you talk about?”
“Uh…” Nino wasn’t sure he wanted to reveal the conversation to Jun, since it was quite the touchy subject and Jun would only get more introverted if he found out that he was pretty much the cause of Ohno trying to stay away from him, even if it was a roundabout way. Jun would then blame himself for Sho getting hurt and this whole situation would just go in a vicious cycle.
But there was another topic that Nino had meant to address. It was one that Jun needed to clear up himself, since the words coming from Nino hadn’t held much value.
“Jun,” he started seriously, giving the younger ninja a stern look. “He said that Mao was perfect for you and that the two of you would be happy together and have kids.”
His whole body stiffening, Jun’s grip on his bowl increased and his expression was startled if not completely overturned.
“He said that?” he asked quietly, clarifying what he had just been told. Nino nodded slowly. “God damn it…” Jun set his almost empty bowl on the floor and rubbed his face with his palm, his eyes squinted shut in irritation.
“You just need to come out and tell him it’s not what you want. That you love him,” Nino encouraged with a nervous swallow.
Jun took a few deep breaths, obviously trying to calm himself down, and then suddenly looked determined. “You’re right. I need to talk to him.”
Glancing up at the ceiling and sighing, Jun ran his hands through his hair, his thoughts suddenly full of what he was going to say to the older man.
“Can you do me a favor and ask him to meet me in the forest near that fallen tree tonight? He should know where it is.”
Nino nodded with an encouraging smile as Jun stood and stretched.
“Do you know what you’re going to say to him?” Nino asked, even though he had some idea from the previous conversation. He was curious if Jun was going to use the straightforward avenue and confess or if he was going to simply try to seduce him. Either way would probably work.
“I’m not sure yet. I’ll think about it.”
Nino went back to his soup and didn’t stop Jun when he shuffled to the door and headed back outside.
+++
A/N: Happy Ninja Update! This chapter was all talking and no action, but hopefully that was okay.
It was my last day of school today! I'm so sad to leave my kids, but definitely looking forward to moving. :) Hopefully the week I put aside will be plenty of time to take care of that, with lots of free time in the middle. :D
Still working on a few other things too. Need to make a few more posts to make up for being a slacker the last month...
Chapter twenty