CLASSMATES 38/40
CHAPTER 38
+STORM+
“And that concludes my presentation ladies and gentlemen,” Shi bowed in relief after the last slide of her presentation flashed on the screen.
Despite the recent events that had occur these past days in and out the jimusho, Johnny insisted that they pushed through to the original schedule of her proposal and presentation since the sponsors didn’t have the slightest idea that she was actually involved on that matter. At first, all she wanted was to look over her kids especially after the incident which had nearly caused her to lose them, but her professionalism was put into test after hearing that some of the big bosses were quite skeptical about her skills, and that they just agreed out of fear when they found out that she is her mother’s daughter. So in the end, while being anxious about her kids, Shi managed to stay professional and presented her best until the very last part of her proposal.
After the last slide of her presentation had been flashed, the lights in the conference room were turned on and the audience-among which were the sponsors, the big bosses and Johnny, gave her a round of applause.
Shi bowed again and smiled before resuming her empty seat.
“Now, ladies and gentlemen, after hearing and seeing the proposal, shall we vote then?” Johnny asked the sponsors and the big bosses while his secretary was distributing the folder with 3 evaluation sheets. In order for the project to be permitted, all the sponsors should vote atleast 2 YES out of the 3 evaluation process-Design, Cost, and Safety.
Shi glanced at the conference’s clock: 5:30 pm. She couldn’t believe that her 3-part presentation (Design, Cost, and Safety) lasted for 4 hours, with 15-minute break at the end of each part. With fingers crossed and heart beating anxiously, she waited while the sponsors and the big bosses deliberated. After discussing her designs, continuous reading of her proposal, and asking questions which she was obliged to answer, the audience grew silent and the result was out at exactly 6:10pm.
++++++++++++++++++++++
“I hate that woman reporter,” Jun slumped on the couch beside Aiba who was reading a script. He couldn’t help having headache because of what took place minutes after arriving in the buiding.
“Easy Jun-pon,” Nino smirked and rested his head on Ohno’s lap while browsing his phone for some games update. “But I wonder where did she get that photo of you and Angel? And on top of it, it was that time when you kissed her..”
“That’s what I like to find out too Nino.. Didn’t the contract with TBS state that taking photos, whether candid or not, is strictly prohibited on shoot?” Jun hissed angrily remembering the question of the nosy reporter awhile ago.
“Unless if one of the promotions team gave it to her,” Ohno told them.
“But that’s impossible Ridaa, even the promotions team were prohibited to do so, lest they want to lose their job..” Jun commented frustration written on his face.
“But what was her purpose anyway?” Ohno asked.
“I dunno, she just wanted to know Shi-chan’s name, but of course I can’t disclosed that, so I told her that she’ll know when the drama SP is out,” Jun answered.
“Did Sho-chan know?” Aiba joined the conversation.
“Nope, as far as I know, Sho isn’t an impulsive person, but when it comes to Shi, his feelings tend to get in way of his reasons,” Jun told Aiba while eyeing him incredulously, “So mind to keep your mouth shut Aiba.”
“Ne~ Matsujun, when the reporter asked you, where was Sho that time?” Nino asked.
“Toilet,”
“Ah I see, mah~mah~mah~ lets just hope that it wouldn’t cause some problems, especially on Angel,” Nino told them despite having a bad feeling about it.
“Problems? Angel? Are you talking about Shi?” Sho who had just entered the greenroom asked curiously.
The guys exchange looks but before they could say anything further, Sho spoke again.
“Ah!” the rapper exclaimed while looking at his watch. 7:30 pm.
“Doshita?”
“I wonder if Shi’s proposal turned out well.. I was too pissed because our photoshoot’s been delayed that I almost forgot about it,” He rummaged his pocket for his phone and found out that he had just missed a call from Shi. Sho waited until his phone vibrated against his hand and answered without bothering to hide his excitement from the guys.
“Moshi, moshi Shi? How was the meeting?” He asked delightedly and paused to listen. When Sho heard the tremor in her voice, his smile turned to panic, his strength leaving him that he almost fell, if not for Jun catching him and made him sit on the couch, his phone landed straight on the carpeted floor.
“Doshita no Sho?” Jun asked the member whose face looked like it has been drained of blood. But Sho remained silent.
“Oi, kaasan?” Aiba closed the script and glanced worriedly at Sho.
“What happened?” Nino shifted into a sitting position, suddenly alarmed at the situation. He glanced at Sho whose face was still white and pale.
Brggggggg.
Ohno searched for the vibrating sound and found Sho’s phone lying on the floor, still vibrating because of an incoming call. He reached for the phone and saw that Shi was calling. Ohno opted to take the call instead of giving it to Sho because of fear that the rapper would not be able to take whatever it was that Shi wanted to say.
“Moshi moshi?” Ohno held a finger to his mouth, motioning the guys to stay put and continued talking to Shi. “Ah.. Its Ohno,.. um.. yes.. Sho wasn’t able to speak to you at the moment..urm, no, no, he’s fine.. nothing happened, just having a hard time..don’t worry..Jun was tending to him..” Ohno pursed his lips and listened carefully.. “Hey, what happened?..wait-what???” Ohno widened his eyes in shock but unlike Sho, he managed to keep his cool like what he always does and listened until Shi was done speaking despite feeling nauseated as seconds passed by. “I get it.. where are you now?.. Okay, I’ll tell them.. ne~ Shi-chan?” He paused. “Calm down.. everything’s gonna be fine okay?” He smiled as an assurance though he knew that Shi couldn’t see him.
“What did she say Oh-chan?” Nino asked when Ohno placed Sho’s phone on the table.
“Shuji and Shuri,” Ohno breathed slowly, taking his time to explain calmly. “Shi-chan said that they’re missing.”
“Kami-sama,” Aiba clutched his chest. As much as he wanted to finish reading his script, he could not focus.
“Oh no, not again…” Jun kneaded his temple, the pain from the headache awhile ago seemed to sear throughout his brain, much worse this time.
“Oi.. what’s with you guys?” Nino said spitefully. “We know nothing yet, so please don’t conclude as if something bad happened!”
“Oh-chan.. where’s Shi?”
All heads turned to the member who had spoken after being silent for a while. Ohno, Aiba, Nino and Jun couldn’t help but sighed in relief upon seeing that the color on Sho’s face had now returned even with the apparent concern that he was showing.
“She’s on her way back from their school. Your kids’ classmate told them that she overheard the twins talking about going here. She said to meet her at the building’s lobby.” Ohno told him. Beside him, Nino was with his phone, talking to someone. Jun was doing the same thing with his phone while Aiba was texting.
“I called the receptionist, he said that he knew the kids since they often come here to visit Johnny-san, but he assured me that he didn’t see them coming.,” Nino told them.
“The same with the security office, they’re currently looking at the CCTVs. I told them to contact us immediately if they happen to see any.” Jun reported but was distracted by what Aiba was doing. “Hey, baka! What are you doing?”
“I’m asking my friend at the nearby shop if he happened to see two kids walking around the area..” Aiba frowned, “He said none.. but he told me that he’ll asked the others too..”
“Min’na.. thanks. “ Sho smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. Standing up, “I’m going to meet up with Shi and we’ll search around the area together..” He told them.
“We’ll come with you..” Ohno said determinedly.
“Thanks Ridaa.. but it’ll just make a commotion if the five of us will go together,” Sho offered a friendly smile.
“But~” Nino was about to stand but Ohno grabbed his hand and gave him a knowing look.
“Wakatta.” Nino resumed his seat remembering about his resolved to forget about his feelings for Shi. “Just call us if anything happens.” He said putting all his trust on Sho.
“Same here, call me if there’s an update, jya~” He grabbed his phone that was on the table before leaving the guys, bearing mixed emotions with him. Just please be alright.. He thought while dialing Shi’s number.
++++++++++
Awhile ago at 6:10pm
“With a unanimous decision, the project, Johnny’s Entertainment Stadium, is approved. Starting next month, the geodetic team will go on the location for field reconnaissance and land survey.” Johnny announced the outcome and another round of applause were heard inside the conference room.
Shi couldn’t help but smile after hearing the result. Honest to goodness, she felt elated that the sponsors’ decision was unanimous but at the same time pressured because the weight of their expectations was too heavy. Her days of having no sleep when she was developing plans did really pay off and it made her proud of her accomplishment. While feeling lightheaded because of the turnout of events, Shi’s phone vibrated against her hand and it registered Nakahara-san, the butler that was assigned to fetch her kids, as the caller. She couldn’t help feeling nervous, but she knew she had to stay calm because although the result has just been out, the meeting itself was still ongoing. She felt relieved when the vibrating stopped. Moments later, she received a mail from the same man which caused her to feel dizzy.
From: Nakahara Takeshi
Subject: Sorry
Message: The twins were not here when I arrived to fetch them. Don’t panic. Still searching around the school grounds.
To: Nakahara Takeshi
Subject: Re: Sorry
Message: Don’t panic? There’s no way in hell that I can’t panic!
Shi sent her message while restraining herself to stand even before the meeting was adjourned. Her hands had gone cold from trembling and even the sweat that started falling on her forehead, despite the hall being air-conditioned, felt cold. She glanced at Johnny, horror-stricken, and the old man new right away that something was wrong.
“Ladies and gentlemen, that’s all for today, this meeting is adjourned,” Johnny called off the meeting and glanced at her direction.
After having to say their congratulatory words to her, the sponsors and the big bosses left, leaving only Johnny-san, his secretary, and Shi.
“Sir, you have to go now, you still have another meeting to attend,” Secretary-san told him.
“Secretary-san, please go ahead and tell my assistant that I’ll catch up with him later..” the old man said. The secretary bowed and left the room.
When the secretary was out of sight, Johnny asked, “What’s wrong child?”
“Jii-chan.. my kids..” Shi was trembling. “they’re missing..”
“What?.. Have you tried contacting them?” Johnny asked calmly.
“Urm~ yes, but Shuji’s phone was off.”
“How about Shuri-chan’s phone?”
“I can’t jii-chan, my daughter’s phone was with me.. she forgot to take it this morning,” Shi informed him.
Johnny glanced at the time: 6:30pm. There’s no time. The old man heaved a sigh before turning his attention on her, “I’m sorry Shi, as much as I wanted to help, I need to go now, I still have a meeting..” he told her regretfully.
“it’s okay..I understand Johnny-jiichan, Ki otsukete ne~” she said holding back the tears that started resurfacing because of helplessness. Shi wanted the old man to stay but it will be selfish of her to do that. She and her kids had troubled him enough; asking Johnny to cancel his appointments will just trouble him further.
“In this situation, its best to call your kids’ dad, don’t you think so?” Johnny patted her shoulder and smiled before leaving her.
After hearing Johnny’s words, Shi browsed her phone and dialed Sho’s phone number only to cancel it right away. She thought its best to check it out herself first, rather than putting up a false alarm when she knew that the guy might still be at work. Browsing her phone once again, she dialed Nakahara-san’s number while rummaging her bag for her car keys and left the hall.
+++++++++++
“How could you be so careless Nakahara-san?” Shi felt bad about blaming the butler but she had no choice. The butler had been searching the school grounds about an hour before she arrived, but still, the kids where nowhere to be found.
“I’m sorry Shi-sama, as the usual routine, I arrived here two hours before the end of their class, but according to the guard, the twins left at about 11am.” Nakahara-san said apologetically.
“Wait.. what?” Shi didn’t expect that. “11am? That’s 4 hours earlier than their last period.. how come?”
“It seemed that classes were suspended because of an emergency meeting.” He informed her.
Shi was speechless. She knew her kids. School has always been the place they love to hang out aside from their house. It doesn’t make sense.. why would they leave without saying a word about it? Unless-Her thoughts were diverted when she saw a kid walking towards their direction together with her mom.
“Anou~” the kid started.
“How may I help you?” Shi’s heart began hopeful.
“Are you acquainted with the twins?”the kid asked, Shi nodded.
“Riku-desu. I’m in the same class with your kids.” Riku-chan smiled.
“Sumimasen, we didn’t want to listen to your conversation, but Riku here got worried when she heard you talking about the twins..” Riku’s mom apologized.
“Ah, iie- iie, daijobu,” Shi tried to smile, but concern was written all over her face that the smile turned out half-hearted.
“Anou~ I dunno if it’ll help,. You know their dad right? Afterall he’s an idol, so I thought they might have gone to see him or something like that..”
“What do you mean?” Shi asked a little shaky. When the butler noticed this, he offered an arm to support her which she accepted.
“A while ago, I heard Shuji talking to Shuri about surprising their dad..” The kid recalled.
“Ah.., sou..” A sudden light was lit inside her. “Arigatou Riku-chan,” Shi bowed gratefully towards the kid and her mom who bowed back before turning onto her car’s direction. To her surprise, she felt a tugging force on her back and realized that the little girl was holding the back of her coat.
“Nani?” Shi turned around and smiled at the girl who hid beside her mom.
“Um~ you’re not a kidnapper right?” Riku asked boldly which earned her a wary look from her mom. “Demo kaachan.. “ She said to her mom before looking back at Shi, straightly into her eyes,” Gomen ne~I just wanted to be sure that nothing bad will happen again,” the kid explained meaningfully.
Shi laughed heartily before walking her way towards where Nakahara-san was waiting inside the service car and entered her own car. She started the engine and began driving.
“Ma-te kudasai!” Riku ran after her, the mother followed suit.
When Shi noticed this, she signaled Nakahara-san to go ahead. When the service car drove past her car, she stopped in front of the mother and daughter. Opening the car windows, she smiled warmly at the little girl, “My kids must be very lucky to have you as their friend.. ne~ Riku-chan?”
“My kids? Shuji to Shuri no okaasan? Ah! Hatzukashi..” Riku blushed out of embarrassment.
Shi just continued to smile “Hontou ni arigatou.. Jya ne~” Shi waved a hand and began driving. The smile that she had shown towards the mother and the kid was again replaced with apprehension. She looked over her car watch: 7:20pm, and remembered Johnny’s words. Although she still felt uneasy that her body was still shaking, she can’t deny the possibility of her kids being inside J.E building.
Putting her phone into a speaker mode, she once again dialed Sho’s number, and waited for him to answer this time. To her dismay, the man wasn’t picking up her call. She tried again, and felt relieved when the other line answered. There was no trace of worry on Sho’s voice, his voice was very cheerful to be exact, that she hesitated whether to tell him or not. She chose the former.
“Sho..” Shi didn’t know how to start that her voice sounded so shaky. “O-ur k-ids..” she tried again but her voice was failing her. After seconds of trying to recount what happened, she heard a loud thud and she didn’t need to be an expert to tell what that means. A couple of heartbeat passed, and the call ended. Shi tried calling again while forcing herself to calm down regardless of feeling dead beat about the situation.
“Sho..?” She said when the other line picked up the call. “Ah.. Satoshi-kun..is Sho with you?.. ah.. can I speak to him?..why? Is he okay?...is there something bad happened?.. Oh I see..” Shi was relieved upon hearing what Ohno had to say but remembering about the situation she couldn’t help but frown that her voice sounded sad, and it didn’t escaped the man’s ears. “The twins..” she sniffed. “When the butler went to fetch them in school, they were not there. They left 4 hours before their last period. Nakahara-san tried searching around the area but they are missing..I tried calling them, but Shuji’s phone was off and Shuri’s phone was still with me. I tried telling Sho, but my voice sounded shaky that I couldn’t tell him a single thing about it… I’m so scared Satoshi-kun, and I guessed Sho feels the same way..”
While listening to Ohno, Shi parked the car at the curb side, because her shaking won’t stop. “Just now, I met one of their classmate, she said that she overheard the twins talking about surprising Sho.. so I’m on my way back to J.E building..please tell Sho to meet me at the lobby..” She paused.”HAi.. I will.. thanks Satoshi-kun.. I hope so..” She ended the call and started the engine.
+++++++++++++++++++
“Sho!” Shi ran towards Sho, unmindful of their surroundings. Right now, finding the kids was more important than worrying over such petty matters.
“Shi.. ohmigod..daijobu?” Sho enclosed the girl with his arms upon seeing the worried state on her beautiful face. “I’m sorry about the phone call, I--” but he wasn’t able to finish because she began crying.
“Our kids..” Shi clutched his shirt and embraced him tightly, as if doing so will gain her the strength she needed. Sho rubbed her back, while muttering inaudible words such as “Its okay” “I’m here”
When she somehow stopped crying, Sho asked, “Ridaa told us.. are you sure that our kids intended to come here?”
“Urm.. I guess so..kids don’t lie right?” She looked at him, eyes still swelling with tears. She didn’t want to think that Riku was lying. “Please Sho.. please say that we’ll find them..”
“We’ll find them Shi.. “ Sho didn’t want to lie, but he couldn’t stop himself from doubting the information either. While battling whether it was real or not, his phone vibrated. It was from Aiba.
From: Aiba Masaki
Subject: (none)
Message: My friend from the antique shop outside J.E building said that someone had spotted the twins earlier.
Upon reading Aiba’s message, Sho broke from the hug and pressed the call button.
“Moshi moshi, where?” Sho listened. After a minute, he grabbed Shi’s hand and began heading towards the building’s entrance. “Aiba said that someone from the ice cream parlor saw them.” He paused and realized that if they were to go outside, Shi should at least wear something to hide her face. “Wait..”
“What?” Shi questioned.
“Your face.. we should take precautions.. wait here.” He said and was out of sight for a couple of minutes. When he returned, he was carrying a cap and pair of tinted lenses. “Here, wear this.”
Shi was surprised. Now she understood why it didn’t matter to Sho when they cuddled each other awhile ago. It was because they were inside the hall, and there’s a rule that applied amongst all Johnny’s. But outside was different. She wore the cap and the sunglasses, and they headed for the shop that Aiba talked about.
++++++++++
“Sumimasen. We were told that you happened to see two kids awhile ago.. could you tell me, when exactly have you seen them?” Sho asked the manager anxiously.
“anou~sa..there were many kids that passed by this area..how am I supposed to know?” The manager said smugly, obvious that he was making fun of them.
“But-“ Sho was losing his patience that he nearly raised his voice. Shi squeezed his hand and shook her head.
She then turned towards the manager, slightly pulled down the tinted lenses off her eyes, smiled sweetly, and glared for a split second. “Ah.. sou ka~ sorry for bothering you, we’ll leave then..” Shi said politely and dragged Sho out of the shop leaving the guy with his mouth open.
“Calm down Sho....that guy, he’ll surely tell us..” Shi gave him a devilish grin.
“But that guy! He’s obviously enjoying what he’s doing!” he hissed angrily.
“Exactly my point.. that’s why stop doing reckless things, or it will just anger him more,” Shi sounded so optimistic that he couldn’t help thinking if she had gone insane.
“Anou~”
Shi gave Sho an i-told-you-so expression before glancing at the source of the voice. She’s right, it’s the same manager.
“Er~. About the kids.. I saw them going towards that corner,” The manager pointed the small corner in between the shops and J.E building. “It seemed that they are trying to outrun some of your fans..” He looked nastily at Sho who returned it with a scowl.
Sho was about to speak but Shi gave him a warning look that he pursed his lips instead.
“And when exactly was that?” Shi was surprised that the manager could see through the disguise but continued speaking.
“15 minutes after 11am, that’s all. If you really wanted to know, asked that shop owner, but I doubt about it, since its almost 8pm now. Jya~” the guy left without waiting for their reply.
When they were alone again, Sho remarked, “I never knew that you were that brilliant. You know..brilliant but scary..poor guy, I bet he would not be able to sleep tonight..I might as well have a heart attack when you do that to me..”
“Domo.” Shi grinned at the compliment before keeping up with his pace.
“But that man, he said something about trying to outrun some girls right, don’t you think-“ Sho stopped realizing his words.
“Oh, not again Sho, I swear, if something like that happens again, I’ll become a murderer. I don’t care if I end up in jail, I still won’t stop until I kill all your fans..”
“Hey, easy..” Sho felt constricted but at the same time satisfied. Hearing her say that, it just goes to show how much she loves their kids. They were about to enter the shop on the corner but once again, he felt his phone vibrated.
From: Matsumoto Jun
Subject: Found them
Message: The security called. They spotted the twins inside the building. Come back right away.
Sho couldn’t prevent himself from smiling.
“Who mailed you? Shi asked curiously.
“Jun. He said that the security had spotted the twins. Let’s go.”
“hai.”
+++++++++++++++
“oh.. you’re awake....” Shige commented.
“Hai.. sorry for the trouble,” Shuri stooped politely. “Anou~ what time is it?”
“Ah, its almost 6pm..” Yuya told them.
“ah sou~ choto.. 6pm? Yabai! how come you didn’t wake us up?” Shuji felt sickly after sleeping that long.
“That’s because you looked really exhausted after running awhile ago. When we brought you here, you immediately fell asleep without us realizing..” Koyama explained.
“Besides, when we left for work at around 2pm and even after we arrived at 5pm, you’re still sleeping soundly..”
“But you should at least wake us up!!!” Shuji bellowed.
“Mou yamete kudasai anchan! Why are you shouting?” Shuri throw daggers at her twin brother. “Sorry about that NEWS-san, Shuji was being ungrateful even when you saved us..”
“Its okay Shuri-chan..” Masuda smiled, “Aren’t you hungry? Here, we bought some obentou because we thought you might be hungry.. Afterall you slept for about 6 hours..” He said handling her the lunch box.
“Ah, hai, arigatou,” Shuri smiled shyly.
“How about Shuji-chan?” Masuda offered the obentou.
“ I’m not-” But stopped midway when her sister shot him a warning look, “Fine. If you insists,” And snatched the obentou from the guy’s hand.
“Don’t mind him ne~ my twin was just shy, that’s why he said that..” Shuri smiled, “Itadakimasu.”
Tsk. How could my sister be overbearing?. “Itadakimasu.” Shuji clicked his tongue and began eating.
“hah! I told you, even the attitude matches!” Ryo smirked seeing the annoyance on the kid’s face.
“Oi. Yamete. If you make that kid cry, we’ll be in trouble..” Yamapi told his bandmate. “But what are you doing there anyway? You should atleast know that some of the fans might still come after you especially now that the truth was out.”
“Um, we were planning to surprise Ma- ah I mean Papa,” Shuri sighed. She almost disclosed to them who their mother was. It was Shuji’s time to shot her a warning look. “But our classes got cancelled that we ended here earlier than planned. And then, those girls started following us, so we got scared..that’s why, I really want to thank you about earlier..”
“Iie~ don’t mention it.. Lucky that we recognized you right away.” Yuya told her delightedly.
“Hai.. that’s why we’re really thank you.. right Shuji-chan?” She turned at her brother.
“Ah..you could say that,” Shuji’s face turned slightly pink. “A-a-rigatou.”
“Kawaii~ ne~ ne~ he really resembled Sakurai-sempai ne~” Masuda observed the boy with so much interest, wearing a wide smile that his face could’ve split into two.
Shuji’s eyes looked sideways to hide his embarrassment. That’s when he saw the guitar that Ryo was holding. Without realizing it, his attention was drawn to him.
“Do you play?” Yamapi asked all of a sudden seeing the interest in the kid’s eyes.
“A little..” Shuji answered.
“Ah! I have an idea..” Shuri exclaimed all of a sudden.
“Choto ma-te Shuri, Instead of your silly idea, I think we should call tousan.. its past 6, you mentioned earlier that they’re photoshoot ends at 5pm right?” Shuji knew right away what was on her twin’s mind.
“Ah..almost forgot, but I don’t have my phone with me..” Shuri pouted. She knew the reason why her twin brought up that topic.
“Oh! Mine’s battery empty.” Shuji said disappointed while showing off his phone. “Yuya-san, could w-we.. b-borrow..” But he was too shy to say it.
“Oh, no problems,” Yuya was amused seeing the kid like that. “But if I’m not mistaken, ARASHI-sempai’s photoshoot got delayed, I think it will end at 7pm..”
“Seriously?” Shuji asked.
“Hai. I heard one of their P.A said that..”
“Ah,. Sou..” Shuji sighed. “I guess we have no choice but to stay here huh?..”
“Hey.. that sounded unappreciative..” Ryo raised an eyebrow, “If you wanted so much to leave then why don’t you give your mom a call?”
“Her work ends at 7pm or later than that,” Shuri told them. “Gomen ne~ please bear with him..”
“I was just kidding Shuri-chan, but seriously, your brother needed to mind his attitude or others will hate him..” Ryo grinned.
“Why? Do you hate me now?” Shuji asked.
“Nope. It will take a lot deal of effort before you could make me hate you..” Ryo grinned even more.
“Whatever.” Shuji grinned back.
“See? You’re more adorable when you smile, Shuji-chan.” Ryo commented.
“Of course,. I’m my father’s son.” He said proudly.
“Ehh??” the guys had to laugh on that.
“Hey, awhile ago, Pi asked if you play the guitar, and you said yes.. was that true?” Koyama inquired.
“Its true. Even Shuri knows how..” Shuji told them.
“Then, why don’t you play for us.”
“Fine.” Shuji stated and borrowed Ryo’s guitar.
“Wait, we should be at the auditorium at 7pm for our usual practice, since the music room was under renovation..” Yamapi reminded them.
“Then, why don’t we go there, and let’s have these twins play while waiting for Sakurai-sempai to arrived.” Shige suggested.
“Anou~ is there a piano there?” Shuri got excited.
“Hai. The grand one.” Masuda said.
“Hontou?” Shuri beamed. The guys nodded. “Yatta! ne~ anchan, iku. Iku.”
“Wakata! Wakata!” Shuji answered annoyingly.
“Yosh! Iku,” Pi smiled before standing up.
+++++++++++++
“According to the CCTVs the twins were last spotted in this floor,” Jun told them.
“Couldn’t they just tell the exact location?” Nino was being impatient.
“Apparently not, Nino. If they can, they should’ve told us a while ago..” Jun informed him. Like Nino, he too was being impatient because of the little information that they had. Tsk..best to have little than none at all..
“Tsk.. Remind me to tell Johnny-san about how poor security is in this building..” Nino said.
“Oi, stop it will you? Instead of whining over the building’s security, why don’t we split up? That’s faster and more convenient,” Ohno suggested.
“Ridaa’s right..”
++++++++++++++
“Sugoi!!!”
“Kawaii!”
“Hmm, I wonder if Sakurai-sempai thought of having his kids as idols in the future?” one of the idols commented.
“No doubt about the boy, I wouldn’t be surprised if one day I see him here as an idol,” Someone from the johnny’s junior remarked.
“How about the girl? Kireii ne~? I bet their mother is also pretty..” Another idol said while keenly watching the two kids playing and singing with their sempais from NEWS.
Apart from them, there are also other groups that were present inside the auditorium. Some were just killing time, some were doing rehearsals, and some just went there the moment they heard the beautiful music coming inside the auditorium and found out that it was their sempai’s kids that were playing.
From the farthest row of seats inside the auditorium, Chinen stood from his seat and set to leave when he saw their choreographer calling them. The other members of HSJ followed suit.
“But I wonder.. what are they doing here, and on top of that, with NEWS-sempai? Its 15 minutes past 8pm, aren’t their parents worried?” Yuto asked when they were outside the hall.
“Hmm, maybe… that means trouble if their parents didn’t know..” Chinen said, walking absentmindedly because of the effect that the kids’ playing brought on him.
“What trouble?”
They heard someone spoke from behind them. When they turn around to see the source of the voice, the guys were surprised to see their sempai from ARASHI except Sho.
“K-konbanwa ARASHI-sempai,” They greeted nonchalantly.
“I see, you’re going to your rehearsal?” Ohno asked, they just nodded.
“A while ago, you were talking about?” Nino asked while Jun was on his phone, talking.
“Ah.. h-hai, were talking about-”but the guys were too terrified to speak, especially when Nino was looking at them as if he’ll swallow them hard.
“Oi, Nino, don’t scare them,” Aiba said and looked at them with sympathy, “Um, sorry about that, could you tell us-”
But Aiba was cut in midsentence by Sho. “Are they inside?” he asked haphazardly and straightly went inside the auditorium without waiting for a reply.
While the group was trying to contain what just happened, who they saw next was someone they didn’t expect to see.
“Tetsuka-neesan?” Chinen asked when he saw Shi about to enter the auditorium.
Shi was distracted by how the guy had called her that she glanced back, her hand against the door that was ajar and recognized that it was Chinen, the guy who was so enthusiastic to know her after finding out that she was the one who made the J.E stadium model.
“Eh? What was oneesan doing here?” Chinen asked curiously, but was sidetracked when they heard Sho’s voice from inside.
“The kids are here,” Sho shouted.
Upon hearing that, Shi hurriedly went inside, totally forgetting the distraction that Chinen brought by the way he addressed her. Later on, the member followed suit.
“Uwaa~ so Tetsuka-neesan is those twins’ mother, that means, that guy who left her five years ago is Sak-” he was stopped when Nino shot him a cold look.
“Daijobu?” Ohno patted Chinen’s back before going inside, which made the younger guy back in reality.
“A-hai,” He nodded and tag along.
+++++++++++++++++++++
“Shuri! Shuji!” Shi ran carelessly from the top of the walkway onto the stage where the kids were, running past Sho who was only midway the stage and the walkway. She was too occupied to get there fast that she didn’t notice all the eyes that turned to her, especially the group that was currently on the stage, the moment she entered the auditorium.
Some of the idols gasp while admiring her beauty and some even widened their eyes, but for NEWS, shock was an understatement, especially, when they heard what the twins had to say.
“Mama!” The twins dashed onto her direction the instant they saw her. Shuri almost tripped when Shuji grabbed her hand but they managed to meet Shi halfway.
“Oh my God.. thank you..” Shi kneeled and embraced Shuri and Shuji, tears flowed endlessly, all her worries were washed away. “Oh please, don’t do that again!” She said, while arms still wounded around them, not minding all the people that were watching the scene.
“I think you owe your mom an apology..” Sho said in a fatherly tone, smiling in relief that nothing bad happened to them.
“Papa!” Shuri broke form Shi’s embrace and approached Sho who was standing few meters behind them. “Gomen,” the kid bowed when she saw that there was certain seriousness behind her father’s smile. “Shuji and I just wanted to surprise you..”
Hoisting Shuri up, “Yeah.. I know, but hora~ you made your mom worried..” Sho glanced at Shi whose arms were still around Shuji, never wanting to let the kid go. “So you should apologize to her okay?”
“Mama.. are you mad?” Shuri asked while still on Sho’s arms. “Gomen ne~”
“Sorry kaasan,” Shuji apologized as well. “It was my fault, if I didn’t drag Shuri here, if I just listened to her..”
“Just don’t do that again!” Shi’s voice was raised a little higher that Shuji almost draw back from her. “Sorry.. I’m just..I’m just..” She said and started crying again. “What if something happened again? Sho and I heard that you were being chased by girls awhile ago..” Shi hiccupped.
“I was wondering, how are you able to outrun those girls?” Nino asked all of a sudden. He was sitting on one of the seats near them. Beside him were Ohno, Jun, and Aiba.
“Oh, about that, someone saved us,” Shuri smiled.
“Eh? who?”
Shuji broke from his mother’s arms and grinned towards the stage, where their saviors were. Shi’s attention drawn towards the stage and recognized the members of NEWS right away, particularly, Pi, the guy who insulted her, Ryo, the member who pisses her off, and Yuya, the member who had just confessed his feelings toward her.
“Yo! Hime-chan!” Ryo grinned and gave her a salute the moment their eyes met.
“If I remember correctly, I told you to stop calling me princess, Ryo-kun,” She raised an eyebrow and grinned back at him.
“Hey, is that the proper way of treating your kids-whoah!” Ryo was startled by her sudden gesture. The other members were surprised too.
“Hontou ni arigatou gozaimasu,” Shi bowed so low in front of them.
What came next was something they didn’t expect, even in their wildest dreams.
“Thank you for what you did,” Sho bowed as well, shocking the guys and all the other idols that were present. “Shi and I were now indebted to you.”
“Don’t mention it sempai,” Pi spoke, “As co-idols, we know the hassle of being chased by fans, so we just acted accordingly..”
“Especially after what happened to your kids.. surely we don’t want another accident right?” Masuda smiled.
“Ah..h-hai,” Both Shi and Sho stood straightly.
“Anou~” Shuri interrupted the conversation, “Sumimasen, I know that introductions were not necessary, but a promise is a promise,”
“What do you mean Shuri-chan?”
“Um, I promised Yuya-chan to introduce Mama to him..” Shuri glanced at the stage but Yuya was not there. “A-re, where’s Yuya-chan?” She asked the other members.
+++++++++++++
“Eh??????” the guys said in chorus.
“Shssssshhhh!” Shi put a finger on her lip and glanced at her kids who were sleeping in the couch. After all that happened, the guys decided to spend the night in Shi’s apartment.
“Choto mat-te Angel-chan..you mean to say, Yuya-san is inlove with you?” Aiba asked confusedly.
“Baka. that’s what she told us just now..” Jun crossed his arms to prevent himself from hitting their middle child. “But I’m amazed that he even gone as far as confessing his feelings to you.”
“No wonder he just disappeared after knowing that Shi is the twins’ mother..” Ohno felt pity toward the guy.
“After that, he’s probably off to somewhere, crying and drowning himself to alcohol,” Nino grunted.
“Why? Is that what you did when Shi-chan rejected you?” Jun smirked at the older guy.
“Fcuk off Matsumoto,” Nino just shrugged his shoulder.
“Hey, don’t talk as if Shi’s not here okay?” Sho felt pissed. “Demo~I’m just curious Shi.. how come you know them? I mean, you seemed closer..even Nishikado-san was too friendly with you..”
Hearing Sho’s question, Shi sighed heavily. Its going to be a long night.
++++++++++++++++++++
“Back off Jun.” Nino retorted the moment Jun entered the greenroom.
“Hey, don’t tell me, you’re still holding a grudge from last night?” Jun said disbelievingly.
“You can’t blame him Jun, it was your fault anyway.. saying those things in front of Shi..” Ohno reasoned out.
“Tsk. I was just joking. Fine. If you’re ignoring me, then I’ll just talk with the miracle boy. Where’s Sho by the way?” Jun asked simultaneously.
“Taping.” Ohno said but was forced to explain further. “Filming with Shi-chan starts today right?”
“Ah, that’s good then,” Jun remarked vaguely.
“Excuse me?” Nino raised an eyebrow.
“Oh, I thought you’re not interested?” Jun teased.
“Start talking Matsujun, or I’ll rip those thick eyebrows of yours.” Nino snapped back.
“Tsche. Remember that reporter I told you yesterday?” Jun started with grave expression on his face.
++++++++++++
“Now, if you don’t mind, I still have some work to do,” Shi said calmly despite feeling irritated.
“Wait, why Angel-chan, or should I say, Tetsuka Shi-chan?” the woman threatened.
“What do you want?” Shi asked coldly.
“Oh. Simple. I just want you to come with me,” she said.
“And if I don’t?” Shi asked again.
“I trust that you know what will happen,”
“Fine.” Shi replied and let herself be taken.
previous
+STORM+
“And that concludes my presentation ladies and gentlemen,” Shi bowed in relief after the last slide of her presentation flashed on the screen.
Despite the recent events that had occur these past days in and out the jimusho, Johnny insisted that they pushed through to the original schedule of her proposal and presentation since the sponsors didn’t have the slightest idea that she was actually involved on that matter. At first, all she wanted was to look over her kids especially after the incident which had nearly caused her to lose them, but her professionalism was put into test after hearing that some of the big bosses were quite skeptical about her skills, and that they just agreed out of fear when they found out that she is her mother’s daughter. So in the end, while being anxious about her kids, Shi managed to stay professional and presented her best until the very last part of her proposal.
After the last slide of her presentation had been flashed, the lights in the conference room were turned on and the audience-among which were the sponsors, the big bosses and Johnny, gave her a round of applause.
Shi bowed again and smiled before resuming her empty seat.
“Now, ladies and gentlemen, after hearing and seeing the proposal, shall we vote then?” Johnny asked the sponsors and the big bosses while his secretary was distributing the folder with 3 evaluation sheets. In order for the project to be permitted, all the sponsors should vote atleast 2 YES out of the 3 evaluation process-Design, Cost, and Safety.
Shi glanced at the conference’s clock: 5:30 pm. She couldn’t believe that her 3-part presentation (Design, Cost, and Safety) lasted for 4 hours, with 15-minute break at the end of each part. With fingers crossed and heart beating anxiously, she waited while the sponsors and the big bosses deliberated. After discussing her designs, continuous reading of her proposal, and asking questions which she was obliged to answer, the audience grew silent and the result was out at exactly 6:10pm.
++++++++++++++++++++++
“I hate that woman reporter,” Jun slumped on the couch beside Aiba who was reading a script. He couldn’t help having headache because of what took place minutes after arriving in the buiding.
“Easy Jun-pon,” Nino smirked and rested his head on Ohno’s lap while browsing his phone for some games update. “But I wonder where did she get that photo of you and Angel? And on top of it, it was that time when you kissed her..”
“That’s what I like to find out too Nino.. Didn’t the contract with TBS state that taking photos, whether candid or not, is strictly prohibited on shoot?” Jun hissed angrily remembering the question of the nosy reporter awhile ago.
“Unless if one of the promotions team gave it to her,” Ohno told them.
“But that’s impossible Ridaa, even the promotions team were prohibited to do so, lest they want to lose their job..” Jun commented frustration written on his face.
“But what was her purpose anyway?” Ohno asked.
“I dunno, she just wanted to know Shi-chan’s name, but of course I can’t disclosed that, so I told her that she’ll know when the drama SP is out,” Jun answered.
“Did Sho-chan know?” Aiba joined the conversation.
“Nope, as far as I know, Sho isn’t an impulsive person, but when it comes to Shi, his feelings tend to get in way of his reasons,” Jun told Aiba while eyeing him incredulously, “So mind to keep your mouth shut Aiba.”
“Ne~ Matsujun, when the reporter asked you, where was Sho that time?” Nino asked.
“Toilet,”
“Ah I see, mah~mah~mah~ lets just hope that it wouldn’t cause some problems, especially on Angel,” Nino told them despite having a bad feeling about it.
“Problems? Angel? Are you talking about Shi?” Sho who had just entered the greenroom asked curiously.
The guys exchange looks but before they could say anything further, Sho spoke again.
“Ah!” the rapper exclaimed while looking at his watch. 7:30 pm.
“Doshita?”
“I wonder if Shi’s proposal turned out well.. I was too pissed because our photoshoot’s been delayed that I almost forgot about it,” He rummaged his pocket for his phone and found out that he had just missed a call from Shi. Sho waited until his phone vibrated against his hand and answered without bothering to hide his excitement from the guys.
“Moshi, moshi Shi? How was the meeting?” He asked delightedly and paused to listen. When Sho heard the tremor in her voice, his smile turned to panic, his strength leaving him that he almost fell, if not for Jun catching him and made him sit on the couch, his phone landed straight on the carpeted floor.
“Doshita no Sho?” Jun asked the member whose face looked like it has been drained of blood. But Sho remained silent.
“Oi, kaasan?” Aiba closed the script and glanced worriedly at Sho.
“What happened?” Nino shifted into a sitting position, suddenly alarmed at the situation. He glanced at Sho whose face was still white and pale.
Brggggggg.
Ohno searched for the vibrating sound and found Sho’s phone lying on the floor, still vibrating because of an incoming call. He reached for the phone and saw that Shi was calling. Ohno opted to take the call instead of giving it to Sho because of fear that the rapper would not be able to take whatever it was that Shi wanted to say.
“Moshi moshi?” Ohno held a finger to his mouth, motioning the guys to stay put and continued talking to Shi. “Ah.. Its Ohno,.. um.. yes.. Sho wasn’t able to speak to you at the moment..urm, no, no, he’s fine.. nothing happened, just having a hard time..don’t worry..Jun was tending to him..” Ohno pursed his lips and listened carefully.. “Hey, what happened?..wait-what???” Ohno widened his eyes in shock but unlike Sho, he managed to keep his cool like what he always does and listened until Shi was done speaking despite feeling nauseated as seconds passed by. “I get it.. where are you now?.. Okay, I’ll tell them.. ne~ Shi-chan?” He paused. “Calm down.. everything’s gonna be fine okay?” He smiled as an assurance though he knew that Shi couldn’t see him.
“What did she say Oh-chan?” Nino asked when Ohno placed Sho’s phone on the table.
“Shuji and Shuri,” Ohno breathed slowly, taking his time to explain calmly. “Shi-chan said that they’re missing.”
“Kami-sama,” Aiba clutched his chest. As much as he wanted to finish reading his script, he could not focus.
“Oh no, not again…” Jun kneaded his temple, the pain from the headache awhile ago seemed to sear throughout his brain, much worse this time.
“Oi.. what’s with you guys?” Nino said spitefully. “We know nothing yet, so please don’t conclude as if something bad happened!”
“Oh-chan.. where’s Shi?”
All heads turned to the member who had spoken after being silent for a while. Ohno, Aiba, Nino and Jun couldn’t help but sighed in relief upon seeing that the color on Sho’s face had now returned even with the apparent concern that he was showing.
“She’s on her way back from their school. Your kids’ classmate told them that she overheard the twins talking about going here. She said to meet her at the building’s lobby.” Ohno told him. Beside him, Nino was with his phone, talking to someone. Jun was doing the same thing with his phone while Aiba was texting.
“I called the receptionist, he said that he knew the kids since they often come here to visit Johnny-san, but he assured me that he didn’t see them coming.,” Nino told them.
“The same with the security office, they’re currently looking at the CCTVs. I told them to contact us immediately if they happen to see any.” Jun reported but was distracted by what Aiba was doing. “Hey, baka! What are you doing?”
“I’m asking my friend at the nearby shop if he happened to see two kids walking around the area..” Aiba frowned, “He said none.. but he told me that he’ll asked the others too..”
“Min’na.. thanks. “ Sho smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. Standing up, “I’m going to meet up with Shi and we’ll search around the area together..” He told them.
“We’ll come with you..” Ohno said determinedly.
“Thanks Ridaa.. but it’ll just make a commotion if the five of us will go together,” Sho offered a friendly smile.
“But~” Nino was about to stand but Ohno grabbed his hand and gave him a knowing look.
“Wakatta.” Nino resumed his seat remembering about his resolved to forget about his feelings for Shi. “Just call us if anything happens.” He said putting all his trust on Sho.
“Same here, call me if there’s an update, jya~” He grabbed his phone that was on the table before leaving the guys, bearing mixed emotions with him. Just please be alright.. He thought while dialing Shi’s number.
++++++++++
Awhile ago at 6:10pm
“With a unanimous decision, the project, Johnny’s Entertainment Stadium, is approved. Starting next month, the geodetic team will go on the location for field reconnaissance and land survey.” Johnny announced the outcome and another round of applause were heard inside the conference room.
Shi couldn’t help but smile after hearing the result. Honest to goodness, she felt elated that the sponsors’ decision was unanimous but at the same time pressured because the weight of their expectations was too heavy. Her days of having no sleep when she was developing plans did really pay off and it made her proud of her accomplishment. While feeling lightheaded because of the turnout of events, Shi’s phone vibrated against her hand and it registered Nakahara-san, the butler that was assigned to fetch her kids, as the caller. She couldn’t help feeling nervous, but she knew she had to stay calm because although the result has just been out, the meeting itself was still ongoing. She felt relieved when the vibrating stopped. Moments later, she received a mail from the same man which caused her to feel dizzy.
From: Nakahara Takeshi
Subject: Sorry
Message: The twins were not here when I arrived to fetch them. Don’t panic. Still searching around the school grounds.
To: Nakahara Takeshi
Subject: Re: Sorry
Message: Don’t panic? There’s no way in hell that I can’t panic!
Shi sent her message while restraining herself to stand even before the meeting was adjourned. Her hands had gone cold from trembling and even the sweat that started falling on her forehead, despite the hall being air-conditioned, felt cold. She glanced at Johnny, horror-stricken, and the old man new right away that something was wrong.
“Ladies and gentlemen, that’s all for today, this meeting is adjourned,” Johnny called off the meeting and glanced at her direction.
After having to say their congratulatory words to her, the sponsors and the big bosses left, leaving only Johnny-san, his secretary, and Shi.
“Sir, you have to go now, you still have another meeting to attend,” Secretary-san told him.
“Secretary-san, please go ahead and tell my assistant that I’ll catch up with him later..” the old man said. The secretary bowed and left the room.
When the secretary was out of sight, Johnny asked, “What’s wrong child?”
“Jii-chan.. my kids..” Shi was trembling. “they’re missing..”
“What?.. Have you tried contacting them?” Johnny asked calmly.
“Urm~ yes, but Shuji’s phone was off.”
“How about Shuri-chan’s phone?”
“I can’t jii-chan, my daughter’s phone was with me.. she forgot to take it this morning,” Shi informed him.
Johnny glanced at the time: 6:30pm. There’s no time. The old man heaved a sigh before turning his attention on her, “I’m sorry Shi, as much as I wanted to help, I need to go now, I still have a meeting..” he told her regretfully.
“it’s okay..I understand Johnny-jiichan, Ki otsukete ne~” she said holding back the tears that started resurfacing because of helplessness. Shi wanted the old man to stay but it will be selfish of her to do that. She and her kids had troubled him enough; asking Johnny to cancel his appointments will just trouble him further.
“In this situation, its best to call your kids’ dad, don’t you think so?” Johnny patted her shoulder and smiled before leaving her.
After hearing Johnny’s words, Shi browsed her phone and dialed Sho’s phone number only to cancel it right away. She thought its best to check it out herself first, rather than putting up a false alarm when she knew that the guy might still be at work. Browsing her phone once again, she dialed Nakahara-san’s number while rummaging her bag for her car keys and left the hall.
+++++++++++
“How could you be so careless Nakahara-san?” Shi felt bad about blaming the butler but she had no choice. The butler had been searching the school grounds about an hour before she arrived, but still, the kids where nowhere to be found.
“I’m sorry Shi-sama, as the usual routine, I arrived here two hours before the end of their class, but according to the guard, the twins left at about 11am.” Nakahara-san said apologetically.
“Wait.. what?” Shi didn’t expect that. “11am? That’s 4 hours earlier than their last period.. how come?”
“It seemed that classes were suspended because of an emergency meeting.” He informed her.
Shi was speechless. She knew her kids. School has always been the place they love to hang out aside from their house. It doesn’t make sense.. why would they leave without saying a word about it? Unless-Her thoughts were diverted when she saw a kid walking towards their direction together with her mom.
“Anou~” the kid started.
“How may I help you?” Shi’s heart began hopeful.
“Are you acquainted with the twins?”the kid asked, Shi nodded.
“Riku-desu. I’m in the same class with your kids.” Riku-chan smiled.
“Sumimasen, we didn’t want to listen to your conversation, but Riku here got worried when she heard you talking about the twins..” Riku’s mom apologized.
“Ah, iie- iie, daijobu,” Shi tried to smile, but concern was written all over her face that the smile turned out half-hearted.
“Anou~ I dunno if it’ll help,. You know their dad right? Afterall he’s an idol, so I thought they might have gone to see him or something like that..”
“What do you mean?” Shi asked a little shaky. When the butler noticed this, he offered an arm to support her which she accepted.
“A while ago, I heard Shuji talking to Shuri about surprising their dad..” The kid recalled.
“Ah.., sou..” A sudden light was lit inside her. “Arigatou Riku-chan,” Shi bowed gratefully towards the kid and her mom who bowed back before turning onto her car’s direction. To her surprise, she felt a tugging force on her back and realized that the little girl was holding the back of her coat.
“Nani?” Shi turned around and smiled at the girl who hid beside her mom.
“Um~ you’re not a kidnapper right?” Riku asked boldly which earned her a wary look from her mom. “Demo kaachan.. “ She said to her mom before looking back at Shi, straightly into her eyes,” Gomen ne~I just wanted to be sure that nothing bad will happen again,” the kid explained meaningfully.
Shi laughed heartily before walking her way towards where Nakahara-san was waiting inside the service car and entered her own car. She started the engine and began driving.
“Ma-te kudasai!” Riku ran after her, the mother followed suit.
When Shi noticed this, she signaled Nakahara-san to go ahead. When the service car drove past her car, she stopped in front of the mother and daughter. Opening the car windows, she smiled warmly at the little girl, “My kids must be very lucky to have you as their friend.. ne~ Riku-chan?”
“My kids? Shuji to Shuri no okaasan? Ah! Hatzukashi..” Riku blushed out of embarrassment.
Shi just continued to smile “Hontou ni arigatou.. Jya ne~” Shi waved a hand and began driving. The smile that she had shown towards the mother and the kid was again replaced with apprehension. She looked over her car watch: 7:20pm, and remembered Johnny’s words. Although she still felt uneasy that her body was still shaking, she can’t deny the possibility of her kids being inside J.E building.
Putting her phone into a speaker mode, she once again dialed Sho’s number, and waited for him to answer this time. To her dismay, the man wasn’t picking up her call. She tried again, and felt relieved when the other line answered. There was no trace of worry on Sho’s voice, his voice was very cheerful to be exact, that she hesitated whether to tell him or not. She chose the former.
“Sho..” Shi didn’t know how to start that her voice sounded so shaky. “O-ur k-ids..” she tried again but her voice was failing her. After seconds of trying to recount what happened, she heard a loud thud and she didn’t need to be an expert to tell what that means. A couple of heartbeat passed, and the call ended. Shi tried calling again while forcing herself to calm down regardless of feeling dead beat about the situation.
“Sho..?” She said when the other line picked up the call. “Ah.. Satoshi-kun..is Sho with you?.. ah.. can I speak to him?..why? Is he okay?...is there something bad happened?.. Oh I see..” Shi was relieved upon hearing what Ohno had to say but remembering about the situation she couldn’t help but frown that her voice sounded sad, and it didn’t escaped the man’s ears. “The twins..” she sniffed. “When the butler went to fetch them in school, they were not there. They left 4 hours before their last period. Nakahara-san tried searching around the area but they are missing..I tried calling them, but Shuji’s phone was off and Shuri’s phone was still with me. I tried telling Sho, but my voice sounded shaky that I couldn’t tell him a single thing about it… I’m so scared Satoshi-kun, and I guessed Sho feels the same way..”
While listening to Ohno, Shi parked the car at the curb side, because her shaking won’t stop. “Just now, I met one of their classmate, she said that she overheard the twins talking about surprising Sho.. so I’m on my way back to J.E building..please tell Sho to meet me at the lobby..” She paused.”HAi.. I will.. thanks Satoshi-kun.. I hope so..” She ended the call and started the engine.
+++++++++++++++++++
“Sho!” Shi ran towards Sho, unmindful of their surroundings. Right now, finding the kids was more important than worrying over such petty matters.
“Shi.. ohmigod..daijobu?” Sho enclosed the girl with his arms upon seeing the worried state on her beautiful face. “I’m sorry about the phone call, I--” but he wasn’t able to finish because she began crying.
“Our kids..” Shi clutched his shirt and embraced him tightly, as if doing so will gain her the strength she needed. Sho rubbed her back, while muttering inaudible words such as “Its okay” “I’m here”
When she somehow stopped crying, Sho asked, “Ridaa told us.. are you sure that our kids intended to come here?”
“Urm.. I guess so..kids don’t lie right?” She looked at him, eyes still swelling with tears. She didn’t want to think that Riku was lying. “Please Sho.. please say that we’ll find them..”
“We’ll find them Shi.. “ Sho didn’t want to lie, but he couldn’t stop himself from doubting the information either. While battling whether it was real or not, his phone vibrated. It was from Aiba.
From: Aiba Masaki
Subject: (none)
Message: My friend from the antique shop outside J.E building said that someone had spotted the twins earlier.
Upon reading Aiba’s message, Sho broke from the hug and pressed the call button.
“Moshi moshi, where?” Sho listened. After a minute, he grabbed Shi’s hand and began heading towards the building’s entrance. “Aiba said that someone from the ice cream parlor saw them.” He paused and realized that if they were to go outside, Shi should at least wear something to hide her face. “Wait..”
“What?” Shi questioned.
“Your face.. we should take precautions.. wait here.” He said and was out of sight for a couple of minutes. When he returned, he was carrying a cap and pair of tinted lenses. “Here, wear this.”
Shi was surprised. Now she understood why it didn’t matter to Sho when they cuddled each other awhile ago. It was because they were inside the hall, and there’s a rule that applied amongst all Johnny’s. But outside was different. She wore the cap and the sunglasses, and they headed for the shop that Aiba talked about.
++++++++++
“Sumimasen. We were told that you happened to see two kids awhile ago.. could you tell me, when exactly have you seen them?” Sho asked the manager anxiously.
“anou~sa..there were many kids that passed by this area..how am I supposed to know?” The manager said smugly, obvious that he was making fun of them.
“But-“ Sho was losing his patience that he nearly raised his voice. Shi squeezed his hand and shook her head.
She then turned towards the manager, slightly pulled down the tinted lenses off her eyes, smiled sweetly, and glared for a split second. “Ah.. sou ka~ sorry for bothering you, we’ll leave then..” Shi said politely and dragged Sho out of the shop leaving the guy with his mouth open.
“Calm down Sho....that guy, he’ll surely tell us..” Shi gave him a devilish grin.
“But that guy! He’s obviously enjoying what he’s doing!” he hissed angrily.
“Exactly my point.. that’s why stop doing reckless things, or it will just anger him more,” Shi sounded so optimistic that he couldn’t help thinking if she had gone insane.
“Anou~”
Shi gave Sho an i-told-you-so expression before glancing at the source of the voice. She’s right, it’s the same manager.
“Er~. About the kids.. I saw them going towards that corner,” The manager pointed the small corner in between the shops and J.E building. “It seemed that they are trying to outrun some of your fans..” He looked nastily at Sho who returned it with a scowl.
Sho was about to speak but Shi gave him a warning look that he pursed his lips instead.
“And when exactly was that?” Shi was surprised that the manager could see through the disguise but continued speaking.
“15 minutes after 11am, that’s all. If you really wanted to know, asked that shop owner, but I doubt about it, since its almost 8pm now. Jya~” the guy left without waiting for their reply.
When they were alone again, Sho remarked, “I never knew that you were that brilliant. You know..brilliant but scary..poor guy, I bet he would not be able to sleep tonight..I might as well have a heart attack when you do that to me..”
“Domo.” Shi grinned at the compliment before keeping up with his pace.
“But that man, he said something about trying to outrun some girls right, don’t you think-“ Sho stopped realizing his words.
“Oh, not again Sho, I swear, if something like that happens again, I’ll become a murderer. I don’t care if I end up in jail, I still won’t stop until I kill all your fans..”
“Hey, easy..” Sho felt constricted but at the same time satisfied. Hearing her say that, it just goes to show how much she loves their kids. They were about to enter the shop on the corner but once again, he felt his phone vibrated.
From: Matsumoto Jun
Subject: Found them
Message: The security called. They spotted the twins inside the building. Come back right away.
Sho couldn’t prevent himself from smiling.
“Who mailed you? Shi asked curiously.
“Jun. He said that the security had spotted the twins. Let’s go.”
“hai.”
+++++++++++++++
“oh.. you’re awake....” Shige commented.
“Hai.. sorry for the trouble,” Shuri stooped politely. “Anou~ what time is it?”
“Ah, its almost 6pm..” Yuya told them.
“ah sou~ choto.. 6pm? Yabai! how come you didn’t wake us up?” Shuji felt sickly after sleeping that long.
“That’s because you looked really exhausted after running awhile ago. When we brought you here, you immediately fell asleep without us realizing..” Koyama explained.
“Besides, when we left for work at around 2pm and even after we arrived at 5pm, you’re still sleeping soundly..”
“But you should at least wake us up!!!” Shuji bellowed.
“Mou yamete kudasai anchan! Why are you shouting?” Shuri throw daggers at her twin brother. “Sorry about that NEWS-san, Shuji was being ungrateful even when you saved us..”
“Its okay Shuri-chan..” Masuda smiled, “Aren’t you hungry? Here, we bought some obentou because we thought you might be hungry.. Afterall you slept for about 6 hours..” He said handling her the lunch box.
“Ah, hai, arigatou,” Shuri smiled shyly.
“How about Shuji-chan?” Masuda offered the obentou.
“ I’m not-” But stopped midway when her sister shot him a warning look, “Fine. If you insists,” And snatched the obentou from the guy’s hand.
“Don’t mind him ne~ my twin was just shy, that’s why he said that..” Shuri smiled, “Itadakimasu.”
Tsk. How could my sister be overbearing?. “Itadakimasu.” Shuji clicked his tongue and began eating.
“hah! I told you, even the attitude matches!” Ryo smirked seeing the annoyance on the kid’s face.
“Oi. Yamete. If you make that kid cry, we’ll be in trouble..” Yamapi told his bandmate. “But what are you doing there anyway? You should atleast know that some of the fans might still come after you especially now that the truth was out.”
“Um, we were planning to surprise Ma- ah I mean Papa,” Shuri sighed. She almost disclosed to them who their mother was. It was Shuji’s time to shot her a warning look. “But our classes got cancelled that we ended here earlier than planned. And then, those girls started following us, so we got scared..that’s why, I really want to thank you about earlier..”
“Iie~ don’t mention it.. Lucky that we recognized you right away.” Yuya told her delightedly.
“Hai.. that’s why we’re really thank you.. right Shuji-chan?” She turned at her brother.
“Ah..you could say that,” Shuji’s face turned slightly pink. “A-a-rigatou.”
“Kawaii~ ne~ ne~ he really resembled Sakurai-sempai ne~” Masuda observed the boy with so much interest, wearing a wide smile that his face could’ve split into two.
Shuji’s eyes looked sideways to hide his embarrassment. That’s when he saw the guitar that Ryo was holding. Without realizing it, his attention was drawn to him.
“Do you play?” Yamapi asked all of a sudden seeing the interest in the kid’s eyes.
“A little..” Shuji answered.
“Ah! I have an idea..” Shuri exclaimed all of a sudden.
“Choto ma-te Shuri, Instead of your silly idea, I think we should call tousan.. its past 6, you mentioned earlier that they’re photoshoot ends at 5pm right?” Shuji knew right away what was on her twin’s mind.
“Ah..almost forgot, but I don’t have my phone with me..” Shuri pouted. She knew the reason why her twin brought up that topic.
“Oh! Mine’s battery empty.” Shuji said disappointed while showing off his phone. “Yuya-san, could w-we.. b-borrow..” But he was too shy to say it.
“Oh, no problems,” Yuya was amused seeing the kid like that. “But if I’m not mistaken, ARASHI-sempai’s photoshoot got delayed, I think it will end at 7pm..”
“Seriously?” Shuji asked.
“Hai. I heard one of their P.A said that..”
“Ah,. Sou..” Shuji sighed. “I guess we have no choice but to stay here huh?..”
“Hey.. that sounded unappreciative..” Ryo raised an eyebrow, “If you wanted so much to leave then why don’t you give your mom a call?”
“Her work ends at 7pm or later than that,” Shuri told them. “Gomen ne~ please bear with him..”
“I was just kidding Shuri-chan, but seriously, your brother needed to mind his attitude or others will hate him..” Ryo grinned.
“Why? Do you hate me now?” Shuji asked.
“Nope. It will take a lot deal of effort before you could make me hate you..” Ryo grinned even more.
“Whatever.” Shuji grinned back.
“See? You’re more adorable when you smile, Shuji-chan.” Ryo commented.
“Of course,. I’m my father’s son.” He said proudly.
“Ehh??” the guys had to laugh on that.
“Hey, awhile ago, Pi asked if you play the guitar, and you said yes.. was that true?” Koyama inquired.
“Its true. Even Shuri knows how..” Shuji told them.
“Then, why don’t you play for us.”
“Fine.” Shuji stated and borrowed Ryo’s guitar.
“Wait, we should be at the auditorium at 7pm for our usual practice, since the music room was under renovation..” Yamapi reminded them.
“Then, why don’t we go there, and let’s have these twins play while waiting for Sakurai-sempai to arrived.” Shige suggested.
“Anou~ is there a piano there?” Shuri got excited.
“Hai. The grand one.” Masuda said.
“Hontou?” Shuri beamed. The guys nodded. “Yatta! ne~ anchan, iku. Iku.”
“Wakata! Wakata!” Shuji answered annoyingly.
“Yosh! Iku,” Pi smiled before standing up.
+++++++++++++
“According to the CCTVs the twins were last spotted in this floor,” Jun told them.
“Couldn’t they just tell the exact location?” Nino was being impatient.
“Apparently not, Nino. If they can, they should’ve told us a while ago..” Jun informed him. Like Nino, he too was being impatient because of the little information that they had. Tsk..best to have little than none at all..
“Tsk.. Remind me to tell Johnny-san about how poor security is in this building..” Nino said.
“Oi, stop it will you? Instead of whining over the building’s security, why don’t we split up? That’s faster and more convenient,” Ohno suggested.
“Ridaa’s right..”
++++++++++++++
“Sugoi!!!”
“Kawaii!”
“Hmm, I wonder if Sakurai-sempai thought of having his kids as idols in the future?” one of the idols commented.
“No doubt about the boy, I wouldn’t be surprised if one day I see him here as an idol,” Someone from the johnny’s junior remarked.
“How about the girl? Kireii ne~? I bet their mother is also pretty..” Another idol said while keenly watching the two kids playing and singing with their sempais from NEWS.
Apart from them, there are also other groups that were present inside the auditorium. Some were just killing time, some were doing rehearsals, and some just went there the moment they heard the beautiful music coming inside the auditorium and found out that it was their sempai’s kids that were playing.
From the farthest row of seats inside the auditorium, Chinen stood from his seat and set to leave when he saw their choreographer calling them. The other members of HSJ followed suit.
“But I wonder.. what are they doing here, and on top of that, with NEWS-sempai? Its 15 minutes past 8pm, aren’t their parents worried?” Yuto asked when they were outside the hall.
“Hmm, maybe… that means trouble if their parents didn’t know..” Chinen said, walking absentmindedly because of the effect that the kids’ playing brought on him.
“What trouble?”
They heard someone spoke from behind them. When they turn around to see the source of the voice, the guys were surprised to see their sempai from ARASHI except Sho.
“K-konbanwa ARASHI-sempai,” They greeted nonchalantly.
“I see, you’re going to your rehearsal?” Ohno asked, they just nodded.
“A while ago, you were talking about?” Nino asked while Jun was on his phone, talking.
“Ah.. h-hai, were talking about-”but the guys were too terrified to speak, especially when Nino was looking at them as if he’ll swallow them hard.
“Oi, Nino, don’t scare them,” Aiba said and looked at them with sympathy, “Um, sorry about that, could you tell us-”
But Aiba was cut in midsentence by Sho. “Are they inside?” he asked haphazardly and straightly went inside the auditorium without waiting for a reply.
While the group was trying to contain what just happened, who they saw next was someone they didn’t expect to see.
“Tetsuka-neesan?” Chinen asked when he saw Shi about to enter the auditorium.
Shi was distracted by how the guy had called her that she glanced back, her hand against the door that was ajar and recognized that it was Chinen, the guy who was so enthusiastic to know her after finding out that she was the one who made the J.E stadium model.
“Eh? What was oneesan doing here?” Chinen asked curiously, but was sidetracked when they heard Sho’s voice from inside.
“The kids are here,” Sho shouted.
Upon hearing that, Shi hurriedly went inside, totally forgetting the distraction that Chinen brought by the way he addressed her. Later on, the member followed suit.
“Uwaa~ so Tetsuka-neesan is those twins’ mother, that means, that guy who left her five years ago is Sak-” he was stopped when Nino shot him a cold look.
“Daijobu?” Ohno patted Chinen’s back before going inside, which made the younger guy back in reality.
“A-hai,” He nodded and tag along.
+++++++++++++++++++++
“Shuri! Shuji!” Shi ran carelessly from the top of the walkway onto the stage where the kids were, running past Sho who was only midway the stage and the walkway. She was too occupied to get there fast that she didn’t notice all the eyes that turned to her, especially the group that was currently on the stage, the moment she entered the auditorium.
Some of the idols gasp while admiring her beauty and some even widened their eyes, but for NEWS, shock was an understatement, especially, when they heard what the twins had to say.
“Mama!” The twins dashed onto her direction the instant they saw her. Shuri almost tripped when Shuji grabbed her hand but they managed to meet Shi halfway.
“Oh my God.. thank you..” Shi kneeled and embraced Shuri and Shuji, tears flowed endlessly, all her worries were washed away. “Oh please, don’t do that again!” She said, while arms still wounded around them, not minding all the people that were watching the scene.
“I think you owe your mom an apology..” Sho said in a fatherly tone, smiling in relief that nothing bad happened to them.
“Papa!” Shuri broke form Shi’s embrace and approached Sho who was standing few meters behind them. “Gomen,” the kid bowed when she saw that there was certain seriousness behind her father’s smile. “Shuji and I just wanted to surprise you..”
Hoisting Shuri up, “Yeah.. I know, but hora~ you made your mom worried..” Sho glanced at Shi whose arms were still around Shuji, never wanting to let the kid go. “So you should apologize to her okay?”
“Mama.. are you mad?” Shuri asked while still on Sho’s arms. “Gomen ne~”
“Sorry kaasan,” Shuji apologized as well. “It was my fault, if I didn’t drag Shuri here, if I just listened to her..”
“Just don’t do that again!” Shi’s voice was raised a little higher that Shuji almost draw back from her. “Sorry.. I’m just..I’m just..” She said and started crying again. “What if something happened again? Sho and I heard that you were being chased by girls awhile ago..” Shi hiccupped.
“I was wondering, how are you able to outrun those girls?” Nino asked all of a sudden. He was sitting on one of the seats near them. Beside him were Ohno, Jun, and Aiba.
“Oh, about that, someone saved us,” Shuri smiled.
“Eh? who?”
Shuji broke from his mother’s arms and grinned towards the stage, where their saviors were. Shi’s attention drawn towards the stage and recognized the members of NEWS right away, particularly, Pi, the guy who insulted her, Ryo, the member who pisses her off, and Yuya, the member who had just confessed his feelings toward her.
“Yo! Hime-chan!” Ryo grinned and gave her a salute the moment their eyes met.
“If I remember correctly, I told you to stop calling me princess, Ryo-kun,” She raised an eyebrow and grinned back at him.
“Hey, is that the proper way of treating your kids-whoah!” Ryo was startled by her sudden gesture. The other members were surprised too.
“Hontou ni arigatou gozaimasu,” Shi bowed so low in front of them.
What came next was something they didn’t expect, even in their wildest dreams.
“Thank you for what you did,” Sho bowed as well, shocking the guys and all the other idols that were present. “Shi and I were now indebted to you.”
“Don’t mention it sempai,” Pi spoke, “As co-idols, we know the hassle of being chased by fans, so we just acted accordingly..”
“Especially after what happened to your kids.. surely we don’t want another accident right?” Masuda smiled.
“Ah..h-hai,” Both Shi and Sho stood straightly.
“Anou~” Shuri interrupted the conversation, “Sumimasen, I know that introductions were not necessary, but a promise is a promise,”
“What do you mean Shuri-chan?”
“Um, I promised Yuya-chan to introduce Mama to him..” Shuri glanced at the stage but Yuya was not there. “A-re, where’s Yuya-chan?” She asked the other members.
+++++++++++++
“Eh??????” the guys said in chorus.
“Shssssshhhh!” Shi put a finger on her lip and glanced at her kids who were sleeping in the couch. After all that happened, the guys decided to spend the night in Shi’s apartment.
“Choto mat-te Angel-chan..you mean to say, Yuya-san is inlove with you?” Aiba asked confusedly.
“Baka. that’s what she told us just now..” Jun crossed his arms to prevent himself from hitting their middle child. “But I’m amazed that he even gone as far as confessing his feelings to you.”
“No wonder he just disappeared after knowing that Shi is the twins’ mother..” Ohno felt pity toward the guy.
“After that, he’s probably off to somewhere, crying and drowning himself to alcohol,” Nino grunted.
“Why? Is that what you did when Shi-chan rejected you?” Jun smirked at the older guy.
“Fcuk off Matsumoto,” Nino just shrugged his shoulder.
“Hey, don’t talk as if Shi’s not here okay?” Sho felt pissed. “Demo~I’m just curious Shi.. how come you know them? I mean, you seemed closer..even Nishikado-san was too friendly with you..”
Hearing Sho’s question, Shi sighed heavily. Its going to be a long night.
++++++++++++++++++++
“Back off Jun.” Nino retorted the moment Jun entered the greenroom.
“Hey, don’t tell me, you’re still holding a grudge from last night?” Jun said disbelievingly.
“You can’t blame him Jun, it was your fault anyway.. saying those things in front of Shi..” Ohno reasoned out.
“Tsk. I was just joking. Fine. If you’re ignoring me, then I’ll just talk with the miracle boy. Where’s Sho by the way?” Jun asked simultaneously.
“Taping.” Ohno said but was forced to explain further. “Filming with Shi-chan starts today right?”
“Ah, that’s good then,” Jun remarked vaguely.
“Excuse me?” Nino raised an eyebrow.
“Oh, I thought you’re not interested?” Jun teased.
“Start talking Matsujun, or I’ll rip those thick eyebrows of yours.” Nino snapped back.
“Tsche. Remember that reporter I told you yesterday?” Jun started with grave expression on his face.
++++++++++++
“Now, if you don’t mind, I still have some work to do,” Shi said calmly despite feeling irritated.
“Wait, why Angel-chan, or should I say, Tetsuka Shi-chan?” the woman threatened.
“What do you want?” Shi asked coldly.
“Oh. Simple. I just want you to come with me,” she said.
“And if I don’t?” Shi asked again.
“I trust that you know what will happen,”
“Fine.” Shi replied and let herself be taken.
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