Nino's Birthday Drabbles
Game
A, A, B, A, B Left, A again. Nino pushed down those buttons hard for a combo to beat the Big Boss but that evil warlord just refused to die. He punched another set of keys for another combo. B, A, Left, Left, Right. A secret technique. A fireball escaped from his character’s palms, knocking the Big Boss backwards but the evil warlord stood up, unscathed. Nino hissed.
“Bye Kazu,” he heard someone say in the background.
He didn’t turn around to see who it was. He just nodded and grunted in acknowledgement.
B, B, A, B, A. This time, his character jumped and attacked the warlord from above. Blood spurted out from the huge gash on his head. Nino smirked.
Finally, you’re going down.
“Bye, Nion.”
“Bye Nino.”
“Bye Kazu.”
A chorus of voices rang out.
Again, Nino grunted, not looking up.
The evil warlord was running towards his character now, his katana raised above his head. Nino pressed down on the left button repeatedly. The katana missed him by a few inches.
The warlord swung his katana down again. But Nino didn’t manage to dodge this time around.
The katana sliced open his characters head.
“Aaaaaah!”
His character fell to the ground, dead.
The screen went blank. A few moments later, two words appear in red.
Game Over.
Nino let out a frustrated sigh. He was so close! And now, he had to climb up five levels to reach the big boss again.
Oh, well.
Finally, Nino looked up. The dressing room was too quite. He looked around. No one was there.
So they left me?
Again?
*
Fishing Trip
Ohno shook his leg and tapped his hand on the steering wheel impatiently.
Where was Kazu?
He was waiting in his car in front of Nino’s apartment for an hour already but the younger guy still hadn’t arrived.
At that moment, Nino came running down the stairs, a rucksack slung across his right shoulder.
Well, at least he didn’t bring too much luggage.
“Sorry oh-chan. It’s just that I don’t know what to -“ Nino stammered.
Ohno silenced him with a kiss.
Nino gave a squeak of surprise before melting into Ohno’s mouth.
Their moans filled the car as their tongue danced. The interior suddenly felt hot as Nino moved closer to Ohno. He grabbed the older guy’s head and leaned it at an angle, deepening the kiss.
Ohno’s hands were all over Nino. His chest. His back. His thighs.
But Ohno was the one who pulled back first.
“We… have to… stop,” he said in between pants.
Nino, who was also panting heavily, looked at the older guy with puppy dog eyes.
Ohno rolled his eyes and laughed. He turned the key and the engine started. But before he drove off, he asked curiously;
“So what did you end up bringing, anyway?”
Nino opened up his rucksack and Ohno peered inside.
A pair of jeans. A Nintendo DS. A cartridge. A shirt. Another cartridge. Ohno ruffled around more. All he found were more game cartridges. He looked up at the younger guy.
“You do know that we’re going on a fishing trip by the lake don’t you?”
Nino nodded. He was still able to look innocent.
“These are for the trip itself. You don’t expect me to sit still while you’re driving.”
Ohno looked at him incredulously.
‘”But -“
“Besides, we’ll be too occupied when we've reached the lake to do anything else anyway,” Nino said with a sly smirk as his hands travelled to Ohno’s thigh.
Ohno blushed and shrugged. He released the handbrake and steered away from the parking lot.
This is going to be one exciting fishing trip.
*
Birthday
Ninomiya Kazunari stared out of the window. It’s drizzling outside, making the afternoon dark and gloomy.
It was his birthday today. He was supposed to be happy but somehow he wasn’t. Another birthday meant that he was growing another year older. Sooner and later, he’ll reach the big ‘three zero’. Nino sighed.
This must be what they call a mid-life crisis.
The drizzle outside had somehow turned into a storm. He seemed fascinated by it. Maybe this was why the big boss named their group ARASHI.
Because storms never fail to fascinate people.
Nino still remembered that day when he and Sho went to the big boss’ house. There were loads of papers strewn across the table in his office. And on one of those papers, there were a list of words - names. All of the names were crossed out except for one; a kanji character written in the big boss’ messy handwriting. ARASHI it said. And somehow, that was how they began.
The five of them had gone through a lot together. The hard work they put in every one of their performances, the hard work they’ve put in their songs. All of it paid off after a long while. Of course, they had to fight off those idol haters but now, as he looked back, it was all worth it.
Because my friends were with me all the while.
At that moment, there was a knock at the door. Nino, jumped, startled. He opened the door to find four of his friends, comrades, standing in the doorway. Ohno was holding a huge box.
They even bought me a birthday cake.
That night, they drank, they laughed, and they ate - a lot.
As Nino sat at the corner and looked at his friends having the time of their lives, he thought,
Everything will be all right, as long as these four people were by his side.