Ohno in Oz, Chapter 5!!!
Series: Chapter 5~
Rating: Pg-13
Pair: Ohmiya
Genre: A mix of many things, but mostly adventure, and au
Summary: Ohno and Co. depart the Utaban, and encounter yet another stranger in the forest.
DC: I don't own Arashi, The Wizard of Oz, Utaban or any number of the cameos in this fic, but I heard Nakai likes hats~ This is pure absurd, bizarre crack that has absolutely nothing to do with the real band, their 'true' personalities, or even the real land of Oz. Do not under any circumstances take this fic seriously, or without a sense of humor and adventure. Also note that just about all of the normal old WOO plot has been ripped into shreds. Please read with an open mind. ^^
Note: Ohno in Oz returns, after an extened break....with not much to offer. >< Sorry for weird errors, lj hates me these days.
The Wicked Witch of the West finished the last of his wine, just the strange TM finished cleaning the barroom after dinner, while complaining loudly to the scarecrow, who in turn, was playing with a fat grey cat sitting on the bar. The Witch set his wine glass on the table in the corner, crossed the bar leisurely, and just as he made it to the hallway, he heard the TM’s high voice whine.
“Alright! Done at last…eh? Where‘d that wine glass come from…Aiba was someone sitting there in the corner?”
“Ah, I dunno, I wasn‘t paying attention…hey, do you think all cats like to be scratched behind the ears like this?”
“Yeah, but you know what cats like better?“
“What?!“
“Try yanking his tail.”
“Really? So if I pull it like thi-OUCH. BAD GORO! BAD!”
“Oh, I guess cats don’t like having their tails yanked after all….but you know what they do like, and I swear this one will work….”
Quite invisible to the inhabitants of the inn, the Wicked Witch smiled as he ascended the stairs. That TM would make a good minion, clever and mischievous. And the other two, the Outsider and the Scarecrow looked like the type who would take candy from strangers.
Toma was a fool, he decided, to think such a person could challenge the great and formidable Wicked Witch of the West. What could any of them possibly do? Well, the TM might be able to think of something, but the other two were such obvious pushovers. And the naïve Outsider wasn’t even wearing Jin’s silver shoes to protect himself!
He could sense, as he had all evening while he observed his apparent rival, that the silver shoes were in a room upstairs, unprotected and practically abandoned. It took little more then opening an unlocked door before he was in the blue room, and the Outsider’s backpack, and the all powerful silver shoes were in his hands.
The Witch stood there, alone in the room while it’s intended occupant was in the bath.
He should just take the shoes and leave. It was the smart, tactical, and obvious thing to do.
But that would be like capturing the flag before the other team knew the game had started. Or in this Outsider’s case, that he was even holding a flag to begin with.
And the other team could provide so much more amusement if the last two hours of drinking were any indication. The Witch had been starved for entertainment recently. One could only watch the same Tackey and Tsubasa routine so many times without having to raze a village or two.
With a smile growing into a sideways grin, the Wicked Witch set the bag back where he found it, and left the room.
As he slipped out the front door, the Wicked Witch was thoroughly excited. He was eager to be off, setting traps and making plans, but he knew Tackey would be along any minute with his report.
Not even a minute after the Witch had left the inn, Tackey appeared with a low bow. “Sir, sorry I’m late, but we’ve got them both. Yamapi and Toma.”
A grin broke across the Witch’s face. “And what have you done with them?”
“We’ve thrown them in the Weeping Room for the time being sir. Is there a special kind of torture…?” Tackey’s voice trailed off when he finally sensed his master’s mood. If he wasn’t mistaken the Wicked Witch was down right jovial.
“Just make sure they can’t touch or reach each other. That room should be torture enough…..for now.”
“Yes sir.” Tackey was slightly concerned that the Wicked Witch wasn’t laughing maniacally….or ordering a more severe form of torture. He was about to excuse himself when he remembered something Toma had said. “Oh, and if it interests you sir, Toma told the inn keeps here that Yamapi would be along to help that Outsider. They‘re supposed to relay the message so the Outsider should be expecting him.”
The Witches eyes lit with possibilities and excitement. “Did he? Tell me more…”
“No!” Ohno‘s eyes flew open suddenly, awoken from his realistic nightmare. It had felt so real…two white robed men…and three black robed men in a strange room….but the visions subsided, replaced by his pale blue bedroom at Utaban inn. With a few calming breaths, Ohno closed his eyes again…‘it was just a dream, fountains are nothing to be afraid of…’ he convinced himself and in an effort to find sleep again, he rolled over to the other side of the bed.
But the other side of the bed was occupied. Ohno’s eyes flew open alarmed, and his heart leapt to his throat as he recognized the trespasser.
It was Nino.
Ohno’s eyes widened, his heart rate accelerating as he remembered scenes from late last night: Nino, shirtless, his chest marked with silver scars. Nakai and Takaaki, with their welding implements and…
Nino had died….. or something similar. He certainly couldn’t have been alive in any normal sense of the word, after instantly becoming so lifeless on that table.
And it was all Ohno’s fault, for forcing that sandwich on Nino.
“Nino?” Whispered Ohno in a strained breath. “Nino if you‘re alive…would you wake up?”
Nino’s eyes remained closed, the only movement coming from the steady rise and fall of his bare chest.
‘Wait…he’s breathing! Dead people don’t breathe!’ Ohno nearly cried out, he was so relieved.
“Nino.” He tried again, a bit louder, and bolder. “Please wake up.”
Again Nino made no signs of waking, but Ohno reassured himself that Nino was simply a deep sleeper and not dead. Calmed, Ohno settled back onto his pillow, admiring Nino in the golden early morning light.
It was indeed a sight unlike any Ohno had seen before, and not just because Nino was handsome. Against Nino’s slightly metallic skin, the morning light refracted in a most particular phenomenon.
Nino glowed, a faint golden hue.
Half expecting Nino to wake up, Ohno slowly moved his hand over to Nino’s arm, and felt the radiant skin. Despite the strange glow, it had the exact same texture as that of a normal person. Ohno, with a small pinch and pull, discovered that it was also just a pliable.
Ohno was suddenly compelled, though he knew not why, to caress Nino’s arm, the mysterious glow fading slightly as the sun rose higher. Nino was nearly a stranger, and he couldn’t even tell if they were friends, let alone close enough for Ohno to touch him with such familiarity.
But Ohno had instincts.
And they told him it was okay to touch Nino.
Ohno trusted his instincts.
A smile, though he didn’t know it was there, formed on Ohno’s lips. His fingers followed the curve of Nino’s arm up to the chest, where he encountered the first of Nino’s scars. Ohno traced one with his fingertip. It was smooth and soft like a healed over scab.
Ohno’s fingers traveled further south, connecting the scars like constellations, until his palm suddenly brushed against Nino’s waist band.
Instantly, Ohno’s eyes snapped to where his hand brushed against Nino’s pants, and he suddenly became curious. But before he explored further, he blinked, realizing what he was about to do. Feeling very guilty, (not to mention his instincts gave him a ’bad idea Satoshi’ vibe) Ohno removed his hand altogether from Nino’s body, attempting to still it’s roaming on the small stripe of bed between them.
Drumming his fingers on the sheet, Ohno’s looked at Nino’s face, and a silent sigh escaped his lips disguised as a breathy exhale. Before he could stop himself, his hand brushed against Nino’s cheek. With a touch lighter then a feather, Ohno stroked Nino’s eyelashes, his smile expanding almost to a grin.
From the eyelashes, Ohno traced down Nino’s nose, pausing at the tip, then sliding back down and across Nino’s cheek.
Ohno’s smile faded slightly when he realized something was missing, as if there was something he should have noticed. Unsettled, Ohno traced down Nino’s neck, and that’s when he realized.
Nino didn’t have a pulse.
His heart skipping a beat, Ohno quickly pressed two fingers to where he thought Nino’s jugular vein would be…..and felt no throb of coursing blood.
But Nino was breathing, Ohno reaffirmed by watching, and feeling Nino’s chest rise and fall….which should mean that he’s alive….
Nervously, Ohno leaned forward, and pressed an ear over the left side of Nino’s chest, above where a heart should be.
Straining his ears as he might, Ohno couldn’t hear anything other then Nino’s breathing. No thumping, not even the sound of machinery. Eyebrows creased, Ohno settled his head in the crook of Nino’s shoulder.
Ohno tried to convince himself that it didn’t matter if Nino had a pulse or even a heart, as long as Nino was alright. This was Ozu after all, perhaps lots of living things didn’t have hearts.
Satisfied, for the most part, with his conclusion, Ohno yawned, nestling into Nino without thinking much of it. ‘This feels nice…’
Nino’s eyes opened slowly, and raising his head slightly off the bed he looked at Ohno, sleeping on his arm.
Gently, without waking Ohno, he tugged his arm free from the Outsider’s weight, and raised it in the air above the bed, staring at his hand for a long moment.
With a last glance to Ohno, his head fell back on the bed, and he wrapped his arm around Ohno, who only cuddled closer, thinking of many things. But what kept floating to the front of his mind was something simple, yet baffling. ’This….feels nice…’
And Ohno was asleep again.
Nakai and Takaaki had seen it all, peeking through the slightly open door. They gaped at the sight, with Nakai whispering to Takaaki as he crouched on the floor. “Did you initiate Nino’s wake up sequence without me?”
“We just came here to do that together, when would I have done it without you?” Takaaki had his face firmly pressed between the door and the door frame. “But…if you just saw, what I just saw….”
“I did.”
“I didn’t!” Aiba, full of more morning cheer then a cereal commercial, was trying to peek around the inn keepers, having just arrived to a cluttered hall. “What did you see in there?”
“Nothing juicy.” Nakai stood up instantly, knocking his head Takaaki’s chin.
“Nothing an innocent scarecrow like you needs to know.” Rubbing his chin, Taka glared at Nakai, who was readjusting his nightcap.
“But I want to know.” Aiba pouted, but then it dawned on him, and he giggled excitedly. “Does it have to do with….bonus parts?”
“Bonus……oy!” Nakai bopped Aiba on the head. “That’s none of your business! Go make yourself busy in the kitchen!”
Despite being hit, Aiba retreated, looking over his shoulder at the closed door to Ohno’s room, still giggling.
Breakfast for Ohno, after he awoke the second time….was normal. He wasn’t sure what he had been expecting, but he was relieved that Taka, Nakai and Nino weren’t mad at him for the sandwich thing. Ohno’s stomach still felt funny when he thought about the whole ordeal, so he decided not to think about it.
The only difference in anyone, as far as Ohno could tell, was in the one person who wasn’t involved in the least. Aiba had taken to fits of giggles as he sat at the table between Ohno and Nino.
“Are you okay?” Ohno asked Aiba seriously, digging into his molasses porridge.
“Tee, I’m great, but how are you? Satisfied?” Aiba giggled, playing with Chinen in his lap.
Frowning, and confused, Ohno was about to ask what Aiba meant by ‘satisfied’ but Nakai interrupted.
“When are you heading out?” Nakai asked, pouring himself more orange juice towards the end of the meal.
“It’s going to be sad leaving Goro.” Aiba remarked, remorsefully.
Takaaki leaned in to whisper, as Ohno knew he would, and Ohno held a steady face when he replied. “As soon as possible, I can’t wait to get out of this dump, and away from you old fogies.”
The reaction, of course, was predictable and instantaneous, with Nakai nearly sending the table flying in his attempt to get at Ohno. “I AM NOT A FOGY!!”
“Of course you aren’t” Reassured Nino.
“I’m fashionable, trendy, and young!” Shouted Nakai indignantly, readjusting his grey felt derby.
“Very much so.” Agreed Aiba, as Nakai returned to his seat.
“So when do you plan on leaving?” Takaaki asked again though a mouth full of toast and sausage omelet. “Today?”
“Ah…I hadn’t really thought about it…” Ohno didn’t have but a passing thought of continuing his journey since last night. “When do you guys want to-”
“Whenever you want to leave, Ohno!” Aiba grinned, flashing a thumbs-up to Ohno which he acknowledged with a nod, before turning to Nino.
“I’m not traveling with you.” Came a soft, somber voice as Nino nursed one of the mysterious tin cans in his hands.
Ohno’s heart dropped to the floor like a ten ton bowling ball. “Y-you’re not?”
“I told you before I’d only see you as far as Utaban. Good luck with going home, and have a nice life.” Nino stood from the table without so much as looking at Ohno, smashing the can in his hands as he walked back towards the kitchen.
“N-nino?” His voice faltering, Ohno stood from the table, looking after Nino’s back with his heart pounding painfully in his ribcage.
But Nino made no sign of returning. After a moment of standing at a silent table, Ohno sat back down slowly. He picked up his spoon again, but his stomach suddenly felt like it had shriveled faster and smaller then a grape left in a sauna.
Not even an hour later, Ohno and Aiba were standing in the Utaban’s foyer, shaking hands and thanking their hosts. Ohno looked around for Nino, but he couldn’t see the TM anywhere, and he tried to ignore that sadness pooling in his stomach.
“I’m sorry for all the stuff I said.” Ohno apologized to Nakai as they clasped hands. “I didn’t mean any of it.” He suddenly felt Takaaki elbow him. “Except…except for the fogy part…”
“Why you!” Nakai pulled him into a head lock, and ruffled his hair. Then he pulled Ohno into a gruff hug. “I’m gonna miss playn’ with you, kid.”
Ohno, unsure of how to handle a hug from Nakai, stood limp until he was released. “Thank you again for letting us stay on such short notice.”
“Not at all.” Said Taka, as he shook Ohno’s hand. “As I said before, you were paid for. Ah, that reminds me…The Good Witch of the South came by, and said that the other Good Witch, the one of the North, would be waiting for you just outside of Ligears Forest.”
“Why?” Ohno asked, curious about the sudden help that Toma was giving him second hand.
“The rest of your journey is going to be dangerous to the point of deadly, you‘ll need the help of a Witch. Not to mention you’ll be traveling through the Wicked Witch of the West’s territory.” Nakai warned, infectiously serious. “Travel as fast as you can, with few stops until you reach the city.”
Ohno nodded, his fear rekindled for the journey. He picked up his backpack, laden now with generous provisions from Utaban. Aiba too, was given a sack of supplies, containing blankets, and the like. With a final bow and farewell, (and a squeeze to Goro) Ohno and Aiba left the Utaban.
Nino hadn’t showed up to say goodbye. Ohno hadn’t even seen the TM since breakfast, and the sadness that absence caused weighted more on his heart then the fear for surviving the trip to E. City. Ohno’s eyes fell to the stone drive, as they walked back to the yellow brick road.
His instincts were telling him it wasn’t right to just leave like this, without saying goodbye.
Should he turn back now, and find Nino? Did Nino even care that he left, possibly never to be seen again?
He was so consumed in his own thoughts that Ohno didn’t notice Aiba’s giggling had began again, and with his eyes all but glued to the ground in front of him, he couldn’t see the person standing, waiting on the yellow brick road, until he nearly bumped into him.
“Sorry.” Ohno said with an automatic bow, not looking up from the brown leather shoes of the stranger.
“You should be, I’ve been waiting out here for nearly a half an hour.” Responded a high, whiney voice that made Ohno snap to attention.
“Ni…Nino?” Ohno couldn’t believe his eyes. “Why? I thought…”
“Turns out I have business in E.City.” Nino explained lightly, as if he needed to pick up a few items at a grocery store. Ohno didn’t really care about Nino’s reasons, so long as Nino wanted to travel with him. “Just don’t push my buttons and we should get along fine.” Nino concluded, leading them away from the Utaban inn on the cliffs, towards another forest in the distance.
“You have buttons?” Awed Aiba, reaching out a hand for a feel. Nino quickly slapped the hand away.
“ I don’t have buttons, it was just a figure of speech.” At Aiba’s blank look, Nino grinned. “You don’t know what a figure of speech is? Like what I mean when I say ‘it‘s like killing two birds with one stone‘?”
“Don’t kill birds!” Aiba cried indignantly, clinging to Chinen, as if Nino might stone the dog to death too.
“…This….might be an entertaining trip.” Nino grinned, looking at Ohno, taking his hand subconsciously. “We should teach Aiba a few things, on the way, don’t you think?”
Ohno blushed as they held hands, feeling lighter then air as they neared the forest. “Y-yeah…”
Aiba pouted too, letting Chinen jump to the road to run ahead of them. “Not fair…”
“What, we’re offering to help you just in case you never get a brain!”
“No…I mean..you’re both so lucky…I wish I had a snuggle buddy…”
“S-snuggle buddy?” Ohno’s voice rose an octave, his face flushing as he remembered waking up next to Nino that morning. He had wondered if that had been a dream, because Nino was gone in the morning. If so, it was a very nice dream.
Nino laughed, and continued holding Ohno’s hand. “Well, you have that dog, and last night you looked pretty comfy with Goro…”
“That’s not what I meant!” Aiba began, but stopped quickly when he saw a splash of white on the edge of the forest ahead of them. “Hey…what’s that?”
“Looks like someone dressed in white.” Ohno vaguely elaborated. “Oh…it’s probably the other Good Witch who Toma sent to help us!”
The Wicked Witch of the West watched the trio approach from his position at the edge of the forest, his smile broadening as they neared. He had changed into a white robe, rather then his usual black, after spending several hours creating traps on the road ahead.
“HI!” Shouted the tall scarecrow, when they were within range. The Wicked Witch felt a pang of annoyance from the loud obnoxious exuberance.
But his gaze locked on the Outsider, Ohno. Grinning, he gave a small regal wave which turned into a handshake when the three were next to him. “Hello! I’m here to offer my services as the Good Witch of the North,” The Wicked Witch of the West lied with a poisonous smile. “Matsumoto Jun. It‘s a pleasure to meet you. "