The Stranger
Title: The Stranger
Pairing: Ohno Satoshi x Ninomiya Kazunari
Rating /Warning: PG.
Summary: Nino found a stranger outside his shop. And he is lost. Nino help him to found the palace. Historical AU.
Notes: For arashi_exchange 2016. You can read it originally in Here
Nino bowed at the last person that was about to leave his little shop. Nino has a small Dango shop that run from noon until midnight. "Thank you for coming," he said. He get out to close his shop properly. Just before he closed his shop, he saw someone in black clothes standing near there. At first, he didn’t want to approach that man since he brought a sword behind him. But since he was too kind, he walked over to the man.
"Ano, sumimasen, " Nino said timidly.
The other jerked his head and looked at Nino in his shop clothes standing behind him. "Ah, Did I... sorry."
"No. I just want to ask. What are you doing in the middle of the night in front of my shop?"
The other man looked around. "I come from the south. Is this the correct way to the capital?"
"Yes. Do you want to go to the capital?" The man nodded.
Just before the man could say something, Nino heard a growl from the man’s stomach and let out a laugh. "Come in, I can serve you some food," Nino said, opening door to his shop.
The other stayed in place. Nino smiled. "Don’t worry, it’s on me. Though it’s only dango, at least it can fill your stomach."
The man followed Nino and sat on the tatami, waiting for Nino to serve him some dango. Not long, Nino came back with the tray and put it in front of him. "Sorry, it’s not much since the shop is already closed."
"Thank you." The other took the plate and started eating the dango.
Nino watched the man until he finished his dango and drank all his tea. "Thanks for the meal."
Nino bit his lips, darting his eyes to the sword that lay beside the man. "Are- are you a samurai?" Bravely he asked the man.
"Samurai?" The other man looked at his sword. "Ah, yes, yes. I am."
"Oh, by the way, I am Ninomiya Kazunari, the shop owner, nice to meet you Mr. Samurai."
The man let out a laugh. "Don’t call me Mr. Samurai. I do have a name. It’s Ohno Satoshi."
"Say, Ohno-san, do you want to go to the capital?"
Ohno nodded. "I need to do something in there. How long will it take from here?"
Nino paused to think. "Depends. It takes around 1-2 hours by carriage or horse. Did you bring yours?"
Ohno shook his head. "By foot. I came by foot. How long will it take?"
"It depends. Maybe around 4 to 6 hours," Nino answered.
Ohno looked around. "Well, if I start now, I can arrive before noon."
"You’re planning to go right now?" Nino asked, bewildered.
"Yes. Your dango had given me energy. I think I can manage it."
"But it’s already dark. There isn’t any light out there. You can get lost."
Ohno looked at Nino. "I need to go there as soon as possible."
"But if you get lost outside, you will end up taking a longer time. You can rest here tonight. Just a night will not postpone your trip longer."
"In here? In your shop?" Ohno worriedly asked.
Nino laughed. "Of course not “here”. Inside my house. I have a spare futon for you."
Nino took the tray and walked inside, assuming that Ohno following behind. Nino turned and saw Ohno timidly followed him inside.
"There is a place for you to wash yourself, and beside it is your room. I will prepare it." Nino said as he pointed to a door at the corner.
Ohno just nodded and walked to the room. After making sure Ohno went to the bath room Nino started to prepare the guestroom. Not long after that, Ohno came to the room, now wearing a white robe for sleep instead of his black kimono
Nino smiled to his guest. "I hope you had a nice bath. Here, you can sleep in here." He pointed out to a futon that lays in the middle of the room.
Ohno put his sword and belongings beside the futon before he lied on it. Nino was ready to leave, when Ohno grabbed his wrist, stopping him.
"Ohno-san?"
"Why you are so nice to me? A stranger?" Ohno's tone was serious.
"Why can’t I be nice to you?"
Ohno's grip loosened. "You know, I brought a sword in here and I can stab you to death. I can do anything to you with that."
"But you will not do it right?"
"But I can do it."
"Then why don’t you do it now. Right here. Stab me, kill me, do anything to me with your sword," Nino said it sweetly.
Despite the sweet talking on the outside, deep inside, Nino was really frightened. What if Ohno will really take his sword and kill him right there? He tried to slow down his heartbeat so Ohno wouldn’t notice that he was scared. But, instead of the sword that came to his body, it’s Ohno's tender touch that came to his hand. He looked at his guest.
"I will not harm you, after all, you already gave me a place to sleep."
Nino took Ohno's hand and tucked it into the blanket "Sleep Ohno-san. You will have a very long journey tomorrow."
Ohno looked at Nino who walked out and closed the sliding door. Outside, Nino finally could let out his breath. Hurriedly he walked to his own room.
In the next morning, Ohno woke up feeling refreshed. He took his clothes and went to wash himself. After he was done, he packed his belongings and walked to Nino's dango store. In there, he found Nino making some dango.
"Oh, you already woke up? Come, come. I’ll prepare breakfast." Nino washed his hands before starting to put rice in the bowl.
"Ah, no need." Ohno's voice cut Nino's activity.
Nino still prepared the food and walked over to Ohno. "Just sit down, you need energy to continue your journey."
Ohno didn't have any choice. He sat in front of Ninomiya and he began to eat his breakfast.
"Are you really going to the capital after this?" Nino asked casually and Ohno only nodded.
"Where is your destination? What do you want to do there? Immigrate?" he continued.
Ohno gulped down his rice and drank first before answering, "I want to go to the palace."
"Palace? You have business with the royal family?"
Ohno didn't answer and kept eating. Nino knew he would not get any information so he shut his mouth.
"Are you sure you know the way to the capital, moreover to the palace?"
Ohno started tidying up his belongings. "I don’t know. I can ask."
"That’s not good. People might tell you the way to get there, but they would ask for money. Or worse, you might get robbed.”
"I have money. And I have a sword. They will not rob me if they don’t want me to kill them."
Nino laughed. " That’s not the worse part. They can ask you for a duel."
Ohno put his hand on Nino's shoulder, touching the delicate fabric of Nino's yukata. "Don’t worry Ninomiya-san. I'll be fine. Thank you for letting me rest here."
Nino let Ohno walked out from his shop just like that. He didn’t even say anything since the other left as the wind.
Ohno walked to the big road in front of Nino's shop. He walked confidently on the road that start to show their lives. He heard someone coming towards him from behind. He tightened his grip in his sword, sensing danger. He felt a grip on his upper arm. Just when he wanted to withdraw his sword, he heard a familiar voice.
"As expected I can’t leave you alone." Ohno looked at Ninomiya who walked beside him, still trying to catch his breath.
Ohno raised his eyebrow. "Why are you here?"
"I can't leave you alone to go to the palace. This is the most dangerous road I’ve ever known." Nino matched Ohno's pace as he walked beside him.
"Don’t worry, I will be fine. And you still have a shop to look over, right?"
"A closed shop for one day is better than feeling guilty and worried if something bad will happen to you.”
Ohno sighed. "And I will feel guilty if you get hurt since you said it’s a dangerous road. It’s better if you go back."
But Nino still kept walking beside Ohno. "I already packed my belongings. I brought lunch, too. And yes, it’s dangerous for you, but not that dangerous for me."
Ohno could only sigh. "Fine. Fine. You are really stubborn."
They kept walking, chatting about the weather and saw some shops at the side of the road. One hour later, their first hurdle arrived. They needed to cross the river. Since it was shallow, there was no bridge. All they needed to do was jump from one rock to the next to cross. Ohno, of course, didn’t have any difficulty. But Nino’s yukata was more of the delicate fabric that was used for indoor work than outdoor like his, Ohno turned around to Nino.
"Can you?" Ohno asked as he took off his boots.
Nino smiled. "I can, don’t worry. " Nino took off his shoes and lifted his yukata to his knees, showing his white hairless legs. He dipped his legs into the cold water, following Ohno who had already started moving.
Nino had a little difficulty managing his balance since the rocks were very slippery. "Here." He looked up to see Ohno reaching out his hand. He smiled as he took Ohno's hand. "Thank you."
Crossing the river took around 10 minutes. Once they were back on land and wore their shoes, Ohno let go of Nino's hand. They continued their journey. Nino announced that soon, they would reach a market.
Ohno looked at Nino who started to slow down behind him. He slowed down to match Nino’s pace to walk beside him again. "Want to stop for a drink?" he asked.
"Eh?"
"You are tired right? There is a shop ahead. We can stop there to take a rest," Ohno said as he pointed to a certain shop that was already open in the morning.
Nino could only nod before they walked to the shop. Nino kept his head down as they sat inside the shop. Ohno bought him a glass of drink and he gladly took it.
"O-ho. Look who is here," a hoarse voice made Nino look up.
Ohno looked at the man that suddenly come to their table. "You know him, Ninomiya-san?" Ohno ask. Nino shook his head.
"Who is he, Ninomiya-san? So you finally took a client? Outside?" The man derided, smiling suggestively
Ohno stood. "Look, he said he doesn’t know you. So please leave our table."
The man looked at Ohno and realized Ohno had a sword, he cursed himself before muttering, “Fine then, I'll go to your home soon, Ni-no-mi-ya." He left their table.
Nino still kept his head down. "How could he say that? Who is he actually?"
"I don’t know," Nino answered simply.
Ohno didn't want to burden Nino so he stopped the conversation. Once they were done with their drinks, they started to move again. Outside the shop, Ohno noticed Nino really didn’t keep his head up. People started to look at him more. He knew there was something going on, but Nino didn’t really want to talk.
"You can talk to me," Ohno said once they were out from market area. Now, they walked into a quiet neighborhood.
"Talk about what?"
"Anything. About something that’s in your head. Or just talk. If you keep silent, it feels like I’m alone in this journey, not together with you,"
Nino muffled a laugh. "You are just curious about what that guy said in the shop, right?"
Ohno hummed. "And also why people were staring at me," Nino added.
"Well, do you know what kind of district where I open my shop?" Ohno shook his head.
"It’s the brothel area."
"Brothel?" Ohno asked like he had never heard of it.
"You don’t know? A prostitution house."
Ohno frowned. "But you are not, right?"
"I am not. But people assumed I do it, too. And if someone is into guys, they always come to mine. They said I am pretty for a guy. They thought that I sell my body, too, which is not true. It’s been countless times they courted me, and tell me that they will pay me high. So yeah. Basically, you are walking with the most wanted guy in this city."
Ohno smiled. "I feel special, then."
Nino tried to hide his blushing cheeks. "I just want to help you."
"But I assume it’s the first time you walk with men, right?"
Nino widened his eyes. "How did you know?"
"People look at me with jealous glare. They want to get you, but instead you are walking with me."
"Well, I always turn down everyone because if I say yes to one of them, the others will come, too. And I don’t want that to happen."
"Why me?" Ohno asked with a serious tone.
Nino shrugged. "I don’t know. I just know you are not from this city, so you will not brag to others. And yes, like what I said last night, I believe you. We already here but you still had not stabbed me to death."
"If I want to do it, I can do it right here." Ohno looked at their surrounding, they didn’t realize that they had come into a forest that connected to the capital.
Nino started to panic, his body shaking. He knew there wasn’t anybody near them. And it was really easy to kill him and abandon his body in the forest. But instead of a sharp sword, he felt Ohno's arm on his shoulder. "Eh?"
"Don’t panic. I will not do that. Don’t worry. Let’s go." Ohno entered the forest, and Nino followed him.
"Ne, Ohno-san. What did you do for living?" Nino started to ask questions.
"I am a samurai, as you see." Nino felt stupid for asking.
Ohno let out a laugh. "Sorry, just kidding. I do some painting, too."
"Painting? Like portraits?"
"No. Not a portrait. But a nature painting. I like painting mountains, forests, and beaches. Something like that."
"Isn’t it awesome? But why you are a samurai when you like to paint. Aren’t you more suitable for being a painter? An artist?"
"Because my dad wanted me to be a samurai. Not an artist."
Nino bit his lips, hesitant to ask the next question. "Perhaps, this journey has a connection with that?"
Ohno looked at Nino briefly but didn’t answer. Instead he said, "Have you been to the palace, Ninomiya-san?"
"I have been to the capital, but never once had I stepped into the palace. Well, it’s every kid's dream to enter the palace. But it’s a special place and no commoners can enter it."
"But you want to go there."
"Of course. Who doesn’t want to? But, looking from afar is enough."
Ohno looked at Nino while nodding. Suddenly, Nino stopped and gripped Ohno’s arm. "What?" Nino motioned to look ahead.
They found four bulky men wearing black yukata and holding a sword each in front of them. "I forgot to tell you that there are bandits in this forest.”
"Look who we find here. Surely we will have a great feast today," said the man standing in the front who looked like the leader.
Ohno scooted to hide Nino behind him. "What do you want?" he asked.
"Well, you are crossing my territory, so I want you to pay me. Give me everything you have if you want to live. But if you didn’t bring anything, you can give me that pretty boy behind you and I will let you leave."
Ohno looked over his shoulder to Nino and saw Nino biting his lip. But then he drew his sword. "Oh - oh. Don’t be like that. You don’t want to mess with us, right? You just need to hand us your belongings."
"No. I will not hand you anything. Instead, I ask for a duel and we leave this forest if I win."
The bandits just laughed. "Are you sure? We can kill you in one movement you know."
"And I can do that, too."
Three of the bandits ran to him, and with his swift movements, Ohno disarmed them and Ohno cut them down one by one effortlessly. When he focused on the last member of the bandits, he didn’t realize that the leader had already moved. He lost his focus when he heard Nino's shout. But fortunately, he didn’t give the opponent the opportunity to hurt him. Instead, he disarmed him, too, before turning to find Nino.
In front of him, the sight was quite terrifying. There was a cut on Nino's upper arm. It made the yellow yukata that he was wearing stained with red dots.
"See, I can do the same. You outcasted my members. I can outcast yours too. I give you an easy way, but you chose to make it difficult.”
Ohno had to come up with a strategy, but he needed to think fast, before Nino would collapse from blood loss. Just as he was about to strike, he watched Nino dropped his head, thinking that Nino had fainted. Instead, Nino twisted himself to face the bandit leader and kicked him in the crotch area. While the leader knelt down in pain, Ohno rushed to cut him down, making sure he couldn’t move. Ohno turned to see Nino smiling behind him.
"Are you alright?" And Nino laughed.
"I am not that weak, you know. It’s not a big deal. Well, it hurt, but I still can move."
Ohno took them a little bit farther from the bandit before they sat under big tree. "Let me see."
Nino let Ohno look at his arm. Ohno tore Nino's right sleeves and the scar looked obvious. "This will hurt a little," Ohno said as he took out a bottle from his bag.
The bottle contained a potion and he poured it onto Nino's wound. Nino hissed, not realizing tears had fallen down his face. Ohno secured it by making Nino's sleeves as bandage. "It will be fine. By the end of the week, the wound will form a scar, and that will disappear in a few days." Ohno wiped Nino's tear. "Sorry, if it hurt a little."
Nino shook his head. "No. Thank you, Ohno-san."
Ohno looked at the sun above them. "I think we had walked around 3 hours or more."
"I think so, too. Do you want to rest, Ohno-san? We can eat too."
Ohno sat beside Nino. "What did you pack for us?"
Nino took the food he packed and gave it to Ohno. "I hope you like it," he said as he took his own food. Instead of eating his own, Ohno keep staring at him. "What?"
"Can you eat? Your right arm is injured.”
"I am naturally left handed. It’s fine." He handed Ohno a pair of chopsticks, then realizing he only brought one pair. He just shrugged it off. Ohno saw then that Nino didn’t have any chopsticks.
"Where is yours?" he asked.
Nino just shrugged. "I forgot to bring a second pair. But it’s fine, I’ll eat the rice ball." Nino started eating the rice ball.
Suddenly a side dish appeared in front of his mouth. He looked at Ohno who offered it. "You don’t have to, Ohno-san."
"I intend to. So you better eat it."
Nino didn’t have any other choice so he ate it from Ohno's chopsticks. "Thank you, Ohno-san."
Ohno continued with his lunch. "Your food is really delicious. You're really a good cook."
"You really compliment me a lot, Ohno-san."
After they were done eating, Ohno wrapped the chopsticks and handed them to Nino. "Can you please bring that? It won’t fit in my pocket."
Ohno nodded. "Ah, sure. No problem." He put it in his pocket.
Ohno stood and helped Nino up. But Nino tripped over his own yukata and landed in Ohno's arms and accidentally kissed Ohno on the lips. He hurriedly pulled away from Ohno.
He gave Ohno a deep bow. "I am sorry, Ohno-san. It's really accident. I don’t intent to harass you. It’s really an accident. Please forgive me!"
Ohno patted Nino's shoulder and pulled him up. "It’s fine, Ninomiya-san. It's fine. It’s just an accident. I know."
Nino kept his head down until they got out of the forest. "Don’t keep your head down. It’s really fine, Ninomiya-san. Now we’re at the capital."
Nino looked up and yes, in front of them, the gate to the capital was standing high. They needed to pass the guards to enter. That was obviously not a problem since they didn’t bring anything suspicious. Ohno, of course, explained why he brought the sword.
"The palace is right in the middle of the capital. So it’s really close," Nino said.
They began to head to the palace, which already can be seen. Bravely, Ohno gripped Nino's hand, making Nino stopped and looked at him. Nino tilted his head. "Is there anything wrong, Ohno-san?"
Ohno just smiled. "Can it stay like this until we arrive at the palace?" Ohno asked.
Nino just shrugged it off and let Ohno gripped his hand. They continued walking.
"Here we are.” They stop in front of its gate.
"You can go in, Ohno-san. This is the end of our journey," Nino added.
Ohno pulled on Nino's arm. "You should go in with me, too."
Before Nino could answer, the gate opened. A man that Nino believed was part of the royal family came out.
"Oh, my God! Finally you arrived!"
Ohno widened his eyes. "Sakurai!"
Nino wanted to ask, but Sakurai's voice muted him.
"Finally you are back, Prince Ohno!"
Nino looked shocked. He looked at Ohno's face, and stared at the man who had come to his house last night and had accompanied him on this journey.
"You are the prince," he whispered.
Ohno didn’t say anything. "You are the prince, Ohno-san." Nino slipped his arm from Ohno's grip.
"He is the prince of this country. May I know who are you?" Sakurai asked him.
Nino gave a deep bow. "I am just a citizen, Sakurai-sama. Ohno-sama. Please forgive me. I really didn’t know. I am really sorry." And with that, Nino ran away from palace gate.
"Nino!" Ohno tried to run after him, but he couldn't find Nino in the crowded street.
"Ohno-sama. Please come in. We already waited for you inside." Sakurai's voice was stern and Ohno couldn’t disobey. Ohno looked once more before decided to follow Sakurai to the palace.
On the other hand, Nino tried to go back to home, though he was really tired of walking. He really wanted to leave the capital as soon as possible. He sat and looked at his sleeveless arm. He took a look at his purse and counted his money. He still had enough money left to go home.
Nino decided it was better to just go back to his home. After all, the prince was already in his palace. But he didn’t have any energy to go back on foot. He used his money to rent a carriage to bring him home.
On the way, Nino still remembered every step he took with Ohno. Every road made him remember of the very short journey with him.
Nino arrived at his home at before the sun has set. He didn’t have any will to open his shop, so he just went straight to his room. He curled himself on his futon. Just when he started to go to sleep, someone was banging at his door. He knew who it was. Only one person would do that. So he opened the door for that person. "Why you are here? " After making sure his guest came inside the shop, Nino went back into his futon.
"Mind telling me about the gossip in the city?" Aiba sat down beside him
"What gossip?" He pulled up his blanket.
Aiba chuckled. "That you went with a man."
"Who turned out to be the prince," Nino interrupted him.
Aiba was bewildered. "THE PRINCE???"
Nino jerked his blanket. "I didn’t know that he is the prince. Really. I really didn’t know. I only knew when we arrived in the palace. I just bowed to him and ran away.
Aiba shook Nino's shoulder. "What have you done to him?"
"It was an accident!”
"What? What did you do?"
"I kissed him. But it was just an accident. I can make sure to you!"
Aiba loosened his grip. "It will be the end of me, right?" Nino asked.
"Let’s just hope that he will not tell anyone about it," Aiba sighed.
Nino bit his lips before curling back on his futon.
It had been three days since that day. Nino had opened his shop yesterday. The palace condition was already under control, which was why Ohno slipped out to the garden.
Ohno took out the chopsticks from his pocket and looked at it. He brushed his fingers over it as he remembered the scene when they had lunch. A slow, sad smile appeared on his lips.
"You miss him, right?" Sakurai sudden appeared from behind, making him jump.
Ohno put back the chopsticks. "What are you talking about?"
Sakurai laughed. "That boy who came here together with you. Something happened with the both of you, right?" Ohno remained silent.
"You remain silent to protect him. He had done something to you. What is it?" Sakurai insisted.
Ohno dropped his head and focused on his feet. "He kissed me."
"But you remain silent to protect him, because you know he can get punishment because he did something inappropriate with a member of the royal family, right?" And Ohno is still silent
"You’re not going to tell the advisers, right?" Ohno asked.
Sakurai's face stiffened. "I’ll tell them. It’s something they should know. He has done something inappropriate, Ohno-sama."
Ohno gripped Sakurai's arm, stopping him from walking back to the building. "Please, don’t tell them. It’s… It’s just… It’s just an accident."
Sakurai narrowed the gap between them. "I will not tell them, if you go to that boy and confess."
"Confess?" Ohno whispered.
"Yes. Confess. You like him. I know. So you better go there and tell that boy that you have fallen in love with him." And with that, Sakurai left Ohno alone in the garden.
The whole night, Ohno thought about Sakurai's words. He looked at ceiling in his room. Suddenly, a memory from his little journey with Nino came. He smiled at his own imagination.
The next day, Nino opened the shop as usual. His right arm was still bandaged but he was getting better. He tried to forget the scene days ago. He was still afraid if he is getting punished because of the kissing accident. But he remembered that Ohno also gripped his hand. Will he get punished from that, too?
That night, when Nino was just about to close his shop, he saw someone wearing black clothes near his shop. He could only see the back, but he suddenly had a feeling who it was. "Anoo, sumimasen, " Nino timidly said to the stranger.
The man turned and smiled at him. "Do you have another portion of dango?" the man asked.
Nino bit his lips and his eyes started getting watery. "Yes. Please come inside." Nino once again opened his store for the person.
Ohno followed him and sat at the place where he sat before.
"Here." Nino put a plate of dango in front of him.
Ohno took Nino's hand and stopped him. "Your right arm, is it fine already?"
Nino look at his hand. "Someone was kind enough to give me medicine. It’s fine. Thank you for your concern, Ohno-sama."
Ohno started to enjoy his dango while Nino started tidying his shop. "Thank you for the meal," Ohno said.
Nino didn’t want to bring up anything from past. He was really terrified if Ohno had come to capture him and punish him. But instead, Ohno just stood in front of him, holding out the chopsticks.
"I just want to give it back to you." Nino took the chopsticks and bowed to him.
"You don’t need to. But thank you, Ohno-sama,"
"Can you please not call me ‘Ohno-sama’? Can you just call me Ohno like before?" Ohno asked softly.
Nino, still bowed. "I can’t. You are the prince, Ohno-sama."
Ohno gripped Nino's hand and made him froze. "Ohno-sama, " Nino whispered.
"Can I be like before? Just Ohno Satoshi that you saved that night. Not a prince. I just want to be someone that make you leave this shop to accompany me to the palace. Just a simple Ohno Satoshi without ‘prince’ in front of my name."
But Nino remained silent.
Ohno loosened his grip and start to walk out. Once Ohno left, Nino let his knees fall and his tears spill out. He bit his lips when he rubbed the chopsticks.
They felt different. When he took a closer look, he realized that some writing was on the chopsticks. He took another look to read.
“I like you, Kazunari.”
Nino’s eyes widened. He dashed out to find Ohno mounted his horse, already walking away. "I don’t want to call you Ohno-san anymore!" Nino shouted.
Ohno stopped his horse, waiting for Nino to run up to him. He stepped down once he saw Nino stood beside his horse. "It’s fine. I know it’s hard to go back like how it was before. I am sorry."
Nino laughed. "It’s not like that."
Ohno threw a confused look. Nino stepped closer to the future king of the country. "Because I want to call you Satoshi," he said.
Ohno looked so shocked, but then he chose to intertwine their fingers and flashed his smile to the man in front of him. And of course Nino threw him his sweet smile.
END
Hi. Just drop to repost my fic for Arashi exchange in here. the original recipient is nino1711azuki . I dont have any planning to write since i am really busy right now.
i am being a producer, director, Cameramen, And Editor for my new documenter movie. So, do not expect anything for me.
Anyway, i am still into fandom, tough right now i add another fandom *Criminal Minds*. I still love watching our boys.
Till then, see you.
Thanks for reading.
I hope you enjoy.
Let me know!
Pairing: Ohno Satoshi x Ninomiya Kazunari
Rating /Warning: PG.
Summary: Nino found a stranger outside his shop. And he is lost. Nino help him to found the palace. Historical AU.
Notes: For arashi_exchange 2016. You can read it originally in Here
Nino bowed at the last person that was about to leave his little shop. Nino has a small Dango shop that run from noon until midnight. "Thank you for coming," he said. He get out to close his shop properly. Just before he closed his shop, he saw someone in black clothes standing near there. At first, he didn’t want to approach that man since he brought a sword behind him. But since he was too kind, he walked over to the man.
"Ano, sumimasen, " Nino said timidly.
The other jerked his head and looked at Nino in his shop clothes standing behind him. "Ah, Did I... sorry."
"No. I just want to ask. What are you doing in the middle of the night in front of my shop?"
The other man looked around. "I come from the south. Is this the correct way to the capital?"
"Yes. Do you want to go to the capital?" The man nodded.
Just before the man could say something, Nino heard a growl from the man’s stomach and let out a laugh. "Come in, I can serve you some food," Nino said, opening door to his shop.
The other stayed in place. Nino smiled. "Don’t worry, it’s on me. Though it’s only dango, at least it can fill your stomach."
The man followed Nino and sat on the tatami, waiting for Nino to serve him some dango. Not long, Nino came back with the tray and put it in front of him. "Sorry, it’s not much since the shop is already closed."
"Thank you." The other took the plate and started eating the dango.
Nino watched the man until he finished his dango and drank all his tea. "Thanks for the meal."
Nino bit his lips, darting his eyes to the sword that lay beside the man. "Are- are you a samurai?" Bravely he asked the man.
"Samurai?" The other man looked at his sword. "Ah, yes, yes. I am."
"Oh, by the way, I am Ninomiya Kazunari, the shop owner, nice to meet you Mr. Samurai."
The man let out a laugh. "Don’t call me Mr. Samurai. I do have a name. It’s Ohno Satoshi."
"Say, Ohno-san, do you want to go to the capital?"
Ohno nodded. "I need to do something in there. How long will it take from here?"
Nino paused to think. "Depends. It takes around 1-2 hours by carriage or horse. Did you bring yours?"
Ohno shook his head. "By foot. I came by foot. How long will it take?"
"It depends. Maybe around 4 to 6 hours," Nino answered.
Ohno looked around. "Well, if I start now, I can arrive before noon."
"You’re planning to go right now?" Nino asked, bewildered.
"Yes. Your dango had given me energy. I think I can manage it."
"But it’s already dark. There isn’t any light out there. You can get lost."
Ohno looked at Nino. "I need to go there as soon as possible."
"But if you get lost outside, you will end up taking a longer time. You can rest here tonight. Just a night will not postpone your trip longer."
"In here? In your shop?" Ohno worriedly asked.
Nino laughed. "Of course not “here”. Inside my house. I have a spare futon for you."
Nino took the tray and walked inside, assuming that Ohno following behind. Nino turned and saw Ohno timidly followed him inside.
"There is a place for you to wash yourself, and beside it is your room. I will prepare it." Nino said as he pointed to a door at the corner.
Ohno just nodded and walked to the room. After making sure Ohno went to the bath room Nino started to prepare the guestroom. Not long after that, Ohno came to the room, now wearing a white robe for sleep instead of his black kimono
Nino smiled to his guest. "I hope you had a nice bath. Here, you can sleep in here." He pointed out to a futon that lays in the middle of the room.
Ohno put his sword and belongings beside the futon before he lied on it. Nino was ready to leave, when Ohno grabbed his wrist, stopping him.
"Ohno-san?"
"Why you are so nice to me? A stranger?" Ohno's tone was serious.
"Why can’t I be nice to you?"
Ohno's grip loosened. "You know, I brought a sword in here and I can stab you to death. I can do anything to you with that."
"But you will not do it right?"
"But I can do it."
"Then why don’t you do it now. Right here. Stab me, kill me, do anything to me with your sword," Nino said it sweetly.
Despite the sweet talking on the outside, deep inside, Nino was really frightened. What if Ohno will really take his sword and kill him right there? He tried to slow down his heartbeat so Ohno wouldn’t notice that he was scared. But, instead of the sword that came to his body, it’s Ohno's tender touch that came to his hand. He looked at his guest.
"I will not harm you, after all, you already gave me a place to sleep."
Nino took Ohno's hand and tucked it into the blanket "Sleep Ohno-san. You will have a very long journey tomorrow."
Ohno looked at Nino who walked out and closed the sliding door. Outside, Nino finally could let out his breath. Hurriedly he walked to his own room.
In the next morning, Ohno woke up feeling refreshed. He took his clothes and went to wash himself. After he was done, he packed his belongings and walked to Nino's dango store. In there, he found Nino making some dango.
"Oh, you already woke up? Come, come. I’ll prepare breakfast." Nino washed his hands before starting to put rice in the bowl.
"Ah, no need." Ohno's voice cut Nino's activity.
Nino still prepared the food and walked over to Ohno. "Just sit down, you need energy to continue your journey."
Ohno didn't have any choice. He sat in front of Ninomiya and he began to eat his breakfast.
"Are you really going to the capital after this?" Nino asked casually and Ohno only nodded.
"Where is your destination? What do you want to do there? Immigrate?" he continued.
Ohno gulped down his rice and drank first before answering, "I want to go to the palace."
"Palace? You have business with the royal family?"
Ohno didn't answer and kept eating. Nino knew he would not get any information so he shut his mouth.
"Are you sure you know the way to the capital, moreover to the palace?"
Ohno started tidying up his belongings. "I don’t know. I can ask."
"That’s not good. People might tell you the way to get there, but they would ask for money. Or worse, you might get robbed.”
"I have money. And I have a sword. They will not rob me if they don’t want me to kill them."
Nino laughed. " That’s not the worse part. They can ask you for a duel."
Ohno put his hand on Nino's shoulder, touching the delicate fabric of Nino's yukata. "Don’t worry Ninomiya-san. I'll be fine. Thank you for letting me rest here."
Nino let Ohno walked out from his shop just like that. He didn’t even say anything since the other left as the wind.
Ohno walked to the big road in front of Nino's shop. He walked confidently on the road that start to show their lives. He heard someone coming towards him from behind. He tightened his grip in his sword, sensing danger. He felt a grip on his upper arm. Just when he wanted to withdraw his sword, he heard a familiar voice.
"As expected I can’t leave you alone." Ohno looked at Ninomiya who walked beside him, still trying to catch his breath.
Ohno raised his eyebrow. "Why are you here?"
"I can't leave you alone to go to the palace. This is the most dangerous road I’ve ever known." Nino matched Ohno's pace as he walked beside him.
"Don’t worry, I will be fine. And you still have a shop to look over, right?"
"A closed shop for one day is better than feeling guilty and worried if something bad will happen to you.”
Ohno sighed. "And I will feel guilty if you get hurt since you said it’s a dangerous road. It’s better if you go back."
But Nino still kept walking beside Ohno. "I already packed my belongings. I brought lunch, too. And yes, it’s dangerous for you, but not that dangerous for me."
Ohno could only sigh. "Fine. Fine. You are really stubborn."
They kept walking, chatting about the weather and saw some shops at the side of the road. One hour later, their first hurdle arrived. They needed to cross the river. Since it was shallow, there was no bridge. All they needed to do was jump from one rock to the next to cross. Ohno, of course, didn’t have any difficulty. But Nino’s yukata was more of the delicate fabric that was used for indoor work than outdoor like his, Ohno turned around to Nino.
"Can you?" Ohno asked as he took off his boots.
Nino smiled. "I can, don’t worry. " Nino took off his shoes and lifted his yukata to his knees, showing his white hairless legs. He dipped his legs into the cold water, following Ohno who had already started moving.
Nino had a little difficulty managing his balance since the rocks were very slippery. "Here." He looked up to see Ohno reaching out his hand. He smiled as he took Ohno's hand. "Thank you."
Crossing the river took around 10 minutes. Once they were back on land and wore their shoes, Ohno let go of Nino's hand. They continued their journey. Nino announced that soon, they would reach a market.
Ohno looked at Nino who started to slow down behind him. He slowed down to match Nino’s pace to walk beside him again. "Want to stop for a drink?" he asked.
"Eh?"
"You are tired right? There is a shop ahead. We can stop there to take a rest," Ohno said as he pointed to a certain shop that was already open in the morning.
Nino could only nod before they walked to the shop. Nino kept his head down as they sat inside the shop. Ohno bought him a glass of drink and he gladly took it.
"O-ho. Look who is here," a hoarse voice made Nino look up.
Ohno looked at the man that suddenly come to their table. "You know him, Ninomiya-san?" Ohno ask. Nino shook his head.
"Who is he, Ninomiya-san? So you finally took a client? Outside?" The man derided, smiling suggestively
Ohno stood. "Look, he said he doesn’t know you. So please leave our table."
The man looked at Ohno and realized Ohno had a sword, he cursed himself before muttering, “Fine then, I'll go to your home soon, Ni-no-mi-ya." He left their table.
Nino still kept his head down. "How could he say that? Who is he actually?"
"I don’t know," Nino answered simply.
Ohno didn't want to burden Nino so he stopped the conversation. Once they were done with their drinks, they started to move again. Outside the shop, Ohno noticed Nino really didn’t keep his head up. People started to look at him more. He knew there was something going on, but Nino didn’t really want to talk.
"You can talk to me," Ohno said once they were out from market area. Now, they walked into a quiet neighborhood.
"Talk about what?"
"Anything. About something that’s in your head. Or just talk. If you keep silent, it feels like I’m alone in this journey, not together with you,"
Nino muffled a laugh. "You are just curious about what that guy said in the shop, right?"
Ohno hummed. "And also why people were staring at me," Nino added.
"Well, do you know what kind of district where I open my shop?" Ohno shook his head.
"It’s the brothel area."
"Brothel?" Ohno asked like he had never heard of it.
"You don’t know? A prostitution house."
Ohno frowned. "But you are not, right?"
"I am not. But people assumed I do it, too. And if someone is into guys, they always come to mine. They said I am pretty for a guy. They thought that I sell my body, too, which is not true. It’s been countless times they courted me, and tell me that they will pay me high. So yeah. Basically, you are walking with the most wanted guy in this city."
Ohno smiled. "I feel special, then."
Nino tried to hide his blushing cheeks. "I just want to help you."
"But I assume it’s the first time you walk with men, right?"
Nino widened his eyes. "How did you know?"
"People look at me with jealous glare. They want to get you, but instead you are walking with me."
"Well, I always turn down everyone because if I say yes to one of them, the others will come, too. And I don’t want that to happen."
"Why me?" Ohno asked with a serious tone.
Nino shrugged. "I don’t know. I just know you are not from this city, so you will not brag to others. And yes, like what I said last night, I believe you. We already here but you still had not stabbed me to death."
"If I want to do it, I can do it right here." Ohno looked at their surrounding, they didn’t realize that they had come into a forest that connected to the capital.
Nino started to panic, his body shaking. He knew there wasn’t anybody near them. And it was really easy to kill him and abandon his body in the forest. But instead of a sharp sword, he felt Ohno's arm on his shoulder. "Eh?"
"Don’t panic. I will not do that. Don’t worry. Let’s go." Ohno entered the forest, and Nino followed him.
"Ne, Ohno-san. What did you do for living?" Nino started to ask questions.
"I am a samurai, as you see." Nino felt stupid for asking.
Ohno let out a laugh. "Sorry, just kidding. I do some painting, too."
"Painting? Like portraits?"
"No. Not a portrait. But a nature painting. I like painting mountains, forests, and beaches. Something like that."
"Isn’t it awesome? But why you are a samurai when you like to paint. Aren’t you more suitable for being a painter? An artist?"
"Because my dad wanted me to be a samurai. Not an artist."
Nino bit his lips, hesitant to ask the next question. "Perhaps, this journey has a connection with that?"
Ohno looked at Nino briefly but didn’t answer. Instead he said, "Have you been to the palace, Ninomiya-san?"
"I have been to the capital, but never once had I stepped into the palace. Well, it’s every kid's dream to enter the palace. But it’s a special place and no commoners can enter it."
"But you want to go there."
"Of course. Who doesn’t want to? But, looking from afar is enough."
Ohno looked at Nino while nodding. Suddenly, Nino stopped and gripped Ohno’s arm. "What?" Nino motioned to look ahead.
They found four bulky men wearing black yukata and holding a sword each in front of them. "I forgot to tell you that there are bandits in this forest.”
"Look who we find here. Surely we will have a great feast today," said the man standing in the front who looked like the leader.
Ohno scooted to hide Nino behind him. "What do you want?" he asked.
"Well, you are crossing my territory, so I want you to pay me. Give me everything you have if you want to live. But if you didn’t bring anything, you can give me that pretty boy behind you and I will let you leave."
Ohno looked over his shoulder to Nino and saw Nino biting his lip. But then he drew his sword. "Oh - oh. Don’t be like that. You don’t want to mess with us, right? You just need to hand us your belongings."
"No. I will not hand you anything. Instead, I ask for a duel and we leave this forest if I win."
The bandits just laughed. "Are you sure? We can kill you in one movement you know."
"And I can do that, too."
Three of the bandits ran to him, and with his swift movements, Ohno disarmed them and Ohno cut them down one by one effortlessly. When he focused on the last member of the bandits, he didn’t realize that the leader had already moved. He lost his focus when he heard Nino's shout. But fortunately, he didn’t give the opponent the opportunity to hurt him. Instead, he disarmed him, too, before turning to find Nino.
In front of him, the sight was quite terrifying. There was a cut on Nino's upper arm. It made the yellow yukata that he was wearing stained with red dots.
"See, I can do the same. You outcasted my members. I can outcast yours too. I give you an easy way, but you chose to make it difficult.”
Ohno had to come up with a strategy, but he needed to think fast, before Nino would collapse from blood loss. Just as he was about to strike, he watched Nino dropped his head, thinking that Nino had fainted. Instead, Nino twisted himself to face the bandit leader and kicked him in the crotch area. While the leader knelt down in pain, Ohno rushed to cut him down, making sure he couldn’t move. Ohno turned to see Nino smiling behind him.
"Are you alright?" And Nino laughed.
"I am not that weak, you know. It’s not a big deal. Well, it hurt, but I still can move."
Ohno took them a little bit farther from the bandit before they sat under big tree. "Let me see."
Nino let Ohno look at his arm. Ohno tore Nino's right sleeves and the scar looked obvious. "This will hurt a little," Ohno said as he took out a bottle from his bag.
The bottle contained a potion and he poured it onto Nino's wound. Nino hissed, not realizing tears had fallen down his face. Ohno secured it by making Nino's sleeves as bandage. "It will be fine. By the end of the week, the wound will form a scar, and that will disappear in a few days." Ohno wiped Nino's tear. "Sorry, if it hurt a little."
Nino shook his head. "No. Thank you, Ohno-san."
Ohno looked at the sun above them. "I think we had walked around 3 hours or more."
"I think so, too. Do you want to rest, Ohno-san? We can eat too."
Ohno sat beside Nino. "What did you pack for us?"
Nino took the food he packed and gave it to Ohno. "I hope you like it," he said as he took his own food. Instead of eating his own, Ohno keep staring at him. "What?"
"Can you eat? Your right arm is injured.”
"I am naturally left handed. It’s fine." He handed Ohno a pair of chopsticks, then realizing he only brought one pair. He just shrugged it off. Ohno saw then that Nino didn’t have any chopsticks.
"Where is yours?" he asked.
Nino just shrugged. "I forgot to bring a second pair. But it’s fine, I’ll eat the rice ball." Nino started eating the rice ball.
Suddenly a side dish appeared in front of his mouth. He looked at Ohno who offered it. "You don’t have to, Ohno-san."
"I intend to. So you better eat it."
Nino didn’t have any other choice so he ate it from Ohno's chopsticks. "Thank you, Ohno-san."
Ohno continued with his lunch. "Your food is really delicious. You're really a good cook."
"You really compliment me a lot, Ohno-san."
After they were done eating, Ohno wrapped the chopsticks and handed them to Nino. "Can you please bring that? It won’t fit in my pocket."
Ohno nodded. "Ah, sure. No problem." He put it in his pocket.
Ohno stood and helped Nino up. But Nino tripped over his own yukata and landed in Ohno's arms and accidentally kissed Ohno on the lips. He hurriedly pulled away from Ohno.
He gave Ohno a deep bow. "I am sorry, Ohno-san. It's really accident. I don’t intent to harass you. It’s really an accident. Please forgive me!"
Ohno patted Nino's shoulder and pulled him up. "It’s fine, Ninomiya-san. It's fine. It’s just an accident. I know."
Nino kept his head down until they got out of the forest. "Don’t keep your head down. It’s really fine, Ninomiya-san. Now we’re at the capital."
Nino looked up and yes, in front of them, the gate to the capital was standing high. They needed to pass the guards to enter. That was obviously not a problem since they didn’t bring anything suspicious. Ohno, of course, explained why he brought the sword.
"The palace is right in the middle of the capital. So it’s really close," Nino said.
They began to head to the palace, which already can be seen. Bravely, Ohno gripped Nino's hand, making Nino stopped and looked at him. Nino tilted his head. "Is there anything wrong, Ohno-san?"
Ohno just smiled. "Can it stay like this until we arrive at the palace?" Ohno asked.
Nino just shrugged it off and let Ohno gripped his hand. They continued walking.
"Here we are.” They stop in front of its gate.
"You can go in, Ohno-san. This is the end of our journey," Nino added.
Ohno pulled on Nino's arm. "You should go in with me, too."
Before Nino could answer, the gate opened. A man that Nino believed was part of the royal family came out.
"Oh, my God! Finally you arrived!"
Ohno widened his eyes. "Sakurai!"
Nino wanted to ask, but Sakurai's voice muted him.
"Finally you are back, Prince Ohno!"
Nino looked shocked. He looked at Ohno's face, and stared at the man who had come to his house last night and had accompanied him on this journey.
"You are the prince," he whispered.
Ohno didn’t say anything. "You are the prince, Ohno-san." Nino slipped his arm from Ohno's grip.
"He is the prince of this country. May I know who are you?" Sakurai asked him.
Nino gave a deep bow. "I am just a citizen, Sakurai-sama. Ohno-sama. Please forgive me. I really didn’t know. I am really sorry." And with that, Nino ran away from palace gate.
"Nino!" Ohno tried to run after him, but he couldn't find Nino in the crowded street.
"Ohno-sama. Please come in. We already waited for you inside." Sakurai's voice was stern and Ohno couldn’t disobey. Ohno looked once more before decided to follow Sakurai to the palace.
On the other hand, Nino tried to go back to home, though he was really tired of walking. He really wanted to leave the capital as soon as possible. He sat and looked at his sleeveless arm. He took a look at his purse and counted his money. He still had enough money left to go home.
Nino decided it was better to just go back to his home. After all, the prince was already in his palace. But he didn’t have any energy to go back on foot. He used his money to rent a carriage to bring him home.
On the way, Nino still remembered every step he took with Ohno. Every road made him remember of the very short journey with him.
Nino arrived at his home at before the sun has set. He didn’t have any will to open his shop, so he just went straight to his room. He curled himself on his futon. Just when he started to go to sleep, someone was banging at his door. He knew who it was. Only one person would do that. So he opened the door for that person. "Why you are here? " After making sure his guest came inside the shop, Nino went back into his futon.
"Mind telling me about the gossip in the city?" Aiba sat down beside him
"What gossip?" He pulled up his blanket.
Aiba chuckled. "That you went with a man."
"Who turned out to be the prince," Nino interrupted him.
Aiba was bewildered. "THE PRINCE???"
Nino jerked his blanket. "I didn’t know that he is the prince. Really. I really didn’t know. I only knew when we arrived in the palace. I just bowed to him and ran away.
Aiba shook Nino's shoulder. "What have you done to him?"
"It was an accident!”
"What? What did you do?"
"I kissed him. But it was just an accident. I can make sure to you!"
Aiba loosened his grip. "It will be the end of me, right?" Nino asked.
"Let’s just hope that he will not tell anyone about it," Aiba sighed.
Nino bit his lips before curling back on his futon.
It had been three days since that day. Nino had opened his shop yesterday. The palace condition was already under control, which was why Ohno slipped out to the garden.
Ohno took out the chopsticks from his pocket and looked at it. He brushed his fingers over it as he remembered the scene when they had lunch. A slow, sad smile appeared on his lips.
"You miss him, right?" Sakurai sudden appeared from behind, making him jump.
Ohno put back the chopsticks. "What are you talking about?"
Sakurai laughed. "That boy who came here together with you. Something happened with the both of you, right?" Ohno remained silent.
"You remain silent to protect him. He had done something to you. What is it?" Sakurai insisted.
Ohno dropped his head and focused on his feet. "He kissed me."
"But you remain silent to protect him, because you know he can get punishment because he did something inappropriate with a member of the royal family, right?" And Ohno is still silent
"You’re not going to tell the advisers, right?" Ohno asked.
Sakurai's face stiffened. "I’ll tell them. It’s something they should know. He has done something inappropriate, Ohno-sama."
Ohno gripped Sakurai's arm, stopping him from walking back to the building. "Please, don’t tell them. It’s… It’s just… It’s just an accident."
Sakurai narrowed the gap between them. "I will not tell them, if you go to that boy and confess."
"Confess?" Ohno whispered.
"Yes. Confess. You like him. I know. So you better go there and tell that boy that you have fallen in love with him." And with that, Sakurai left Ohno alone in the garden.
The whole night, Ohno thought about Sakurai's words. He looked at ceiling in his room. Suddenly, a memory from his little journey with Nino came. He smiled at his own imagination.
The next day, Nino opened the shop as usual. His right arm was still bandaged but he was getting better. He tried to forget the scene days ago. He was still afraid if he is getting punished because of the kissing accident. But he remembered that Ohno also gripped his hand. Will he get punished from that, too?
That night, when Nino was just about to close his shop, he saw someone wearing black clothes near his shop. He could only see the back, but he suddenly had a feeling who it was. "Anoo, sumimasen, " Nino timidly said to the stranger.
The man turned and smiled at him. "Do you have another portion of dango?" the man asked.
Nino bit his lips and his eyes started getting watery. "Yes. Please come inside." Nino once again opened his store for the person.
Ohno followed him and sat at the place where he sat before.
"Here." Nino put a plate of dango in front of him.
Ohno took Nino's hand and stopped him. "Your right arm, is it fine already?"
Nino look at his hand. "Someone was kind enough to give me medicine. It’s fine. Thank you for your concern, Ohno-sama."
Ohno started to enjoy his dango while Nino started tidying his shop. "Thank you for the meal," Ohno said.
Nino didn’t want to bring up anything from past. He was really terrified if Ohno had come to capture him and punish him. But instead, Ohno just stood in front of him, holding out the chopsticks.
"I just want to give it back to you." Nino took the chopsticks and bowed to him.
"You don’t need to. But thank you, Ohno-sama,"
"Can you please not call me ‘Ohno-sama’? Can you just call me Ohno like before?" Ohno asked softly.
Nino, still bowed. "I can’t. You are the prince, Ohno-sama."
Ohno gripped Nino's hand and made him froze. "Ohno-sama, " Nino whispered.
"Can I be like before? Just Ohno Satoshi that you saved that night. Not a prince. I just want to be someone that make you leave this shop to accompany me to the palace. Just a simple Ohno Satoshi without ‘prince’ in front of my name."
But Nino remained silent.
Ohno loosened his grip and start to walk out. Once Ohno left, Nino let his knees fall and his tears spill out. He bit his lips when he rubbed the chopsticks.
They felt different. When he took a closer look, he realized that some writing was on the chopsticks. He took another look to read.
“I like you, Kazunari.”
Nino’s eyes widened. He dashed out to find Ohno mounted his horse, already walking away. "I don’t want to call you Ohno-san anymore!" Nino shouted.
Ohno stopped his horse, waiting for Nino to run up to him. He stepped down once he saw Nino stood beside his horse. "It’s fine. I know it’s hard to go back like how it was before. I am sorry."
Nino laughed. "It’s not like that."
Ohno threw a confused look. Nino stepped closer to the future king of the country. "Because I want to call you Satoshi," he said.
Ohno looked so shocked, but then he chose to intertwine their fingers and flashed his smile to the man in front of him. And of course Nino threw him his sweet smile.
END
Hi. Just drop to repost my fic for Arashi exchange in here. the original recipient is nino1711azuki . I dont have any planning to write since i am really busy right now.
i am being a producer, director, Cameramen, And Editor for my new documenter movie. So, do not expect anything for me.
Anyway, i am still into fandom, tough right now i add another fandom *Criminal Minds*. I still love watching our boys.
Till then, see you.
Thanks for reading.
I hope you enjoy.
Let me know!