Fic which started in a dream... its wierd
Title: Arranged marriages... not so medieval
Characters: Arashi, ShoxOC
Rating: PG-13
Author: Hannah
disclaimer: They aren't mine... Im just a humble fan... Uncle Johnny gets all the credit
*so this started as a reaalllyyyy wierd dream.... and has turned into a realllly long story....
part 1
“Hey Daddy! I just wanted to let you know that my plane landed safely and that I should be at the hotel in about 30 minutes. Ok! I’ll take my things to the room and meet you at the restaurant… Gotcha, room 327! Bye bye!!”
She hung up her phone and smiled apologetically at the taxi driver who simply smiled at the young woman. True to her word she arrived at her hotel around 4:45pm and after thanking the driver and paying him, went inside to place her things in her room. She was given her key and directed towards the elevator alongside a bellhop. She asked where the stairs were and the young man looked at her confused. She smiled apologetically and explained that she did not ride on elevators due to personal reasons. The bellhop shrugged and pointed out the stairwell. She thanked him and promised to be waiting for him when he reached her floor. Once again she was true to her word. She thanked him for his help and quickly brought her things into the room. It was a cozy single room her dad had booked for her stay. It was a last minute trip since she had just graduated from her University. He had tried very hard but was unable to get off work in time so she decided that visiting him would work just as well.
She decided to change into a dress since he had told her that they would be meeting with people for dinner. She checked her appearance in the mirror and shrugged. She was about 160cm tall with wavy honey blonde hair. Her hazel eyes stood out from her reddish skin tone. Her mixed heritage was quite evident but it made her appearance all the more intriguing. She had put on a little bit of makeup which made her eyes pop even more than usual which tended to draw attention away from her curvy figure for a little while. After turning around and checking her appearance for the umpteenth time she sighed and after grabbing her purse walked out of the room and towards the stairwell. When she walked into the restaurant she recognized her father immediately. He was a tall broad man, with salt-pepper hair and no facial hair. His skin tone revealed his Native American roots. To an outsider he would definitely appear intimidating but she knew better. He was talking with another gentleman that looked to be Asian. Instead of trying to ponder further she simply smiled and walked over to where they sat. Her dad turned as she approached and stood up to wrap her in a hug. When he spoke in the deep voice she was so familiar with she couldn’t help but smile.
“I’m so glad you came darling. I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to your graduation but congratulations. You are officially a college graduate. How does it feel?”
“Honestly daddy, it’s kind of unreal. I think I still need a few weeks to let it sink in.”
They laughed at her remark before she turned to the other gentleman. She looked at her dad quizzically and he looked as if he remembered that he had brought her there for a reason.
“Sorry about that. Emily dear, this is an old acquaintance of mine, Seiji Sakurai. Seiji-san this is my daughter EMily.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you Emily-san. I must say that you are even more beautiful than I imagined when Edward-san spoke of you.”
She inclined her head slightly in thanks and accepted the man’s praise quietly. After that she took her seat next to her dad but noticed that there was room for another person. Instead of dwelling on that fact she turned towards the other man.
“May I ask, Sakurai-san, how are you acquainted with my father?”
“We knew each other when we were younger. We signed an agreement way back when, with your mother’s consent of course, so I am here today to discuss that. You have no reason to look scared. It involves you and my son, who should be joining us shortly. I apologize for his late appearance but he had to fly over from Japan right after he finished his work for the evening so he should be here shortly.”
“So you are from Japan then sir? Well let me just say that your English is very impressive. But what may I ask was the agreement?”
“Thank you for your compliment Emily-san though my son is much more fluent than myself. I understand from your father that you speak Japanese?”
“I speak a little bit sir. I understand more than I can actually vocalize though. Back to my question if you don’t mind.”
“Of course, but that is a common occurrence. Anyway back to your question. Our agreement in the simplest of terms was of a marriage. Of my first born and his; since they were both young men we held off until his second was born. That is where you come in my dear. In a weeks’ time you are to be married to my son… Speak of the devil; he has just walked in the door.”
She was silent as the older man stood up and motioned for his son to join them. She was breathing steadily while staring at her hands. It took all of her effort not to curl her hands into fists and to start screaming at all three of the men. She took a deep breath when the older man asked if she would mind looking up to meet his son, or as he said her future husband. She heard a sharp intake of breath which she assumed came from the other offended party before she finally looked up. Her eyes went wide when she found herself face to face with a Japanese idol. She only knew he was an idol because he happened to belong to her favorite Japanese pop group. She took a deep breath and looked him directly in the eyes. Then with a word of apology she excused herself to go to the ladies room. She found herself almost running to the back of the restaurant. She entered the ladies room and simply collapsed on the small couch which was in the small sitting room outside of the actual restroom. She sat there for a few minutes to try to get a hold of her temper. After about five minutes she felt calm enough to face the men.
She stepped out of the bathroom and nearly ran straight into the man that she had been introduced to as her future husband. He steadied her before taking a step back and bowing politely to her. She repeated the gesture while asking in Japanese if he spoke or understood English. He nodded affirmatively and she waited patiently for what he had to say. He blushed as he struggled to find the words and she had to refrain from laughing as recognized his flustered behavior from the many variety shows and dramas she had watched him in. He took a deep breath and bowed low to her which startled her greatly.
“Hontou ni Gomenasai. I wish to apologize for the inconvenience that my father has called you. I cannot really argue with him since he has already gotten permission from my boss for my marriage, but I can promise that I will not mistreat you. Please do not be angry with my father.”
She was silent throughout his apology. She could sense his sincerity and it slowly diffused the anger she was previously feeling. When he looked up finally from bowing she sighed and smiled crookedly at him. She bowed slightly and smiled just barely.
“I cannot say that I am happy about the circumstances we are currently in Sakurai-san, but I hope that you will give me time to adjust. I apologize now if I am not the girl you were looking to settle down with but I promise not to be a burden to you.”
He stared at the young woman. He had been told that she was a good eight years his junior but she appeared to be taking the situation as well as someone twice his age might. He smiled slightly and realized that maybe this wouldn’t be such a bad thing after all. He offered his arm to the young woman and she smiled slightly before placing her hand on the crook of his arm. The couple walked back to where their fathers were speaking. They looked up when the couple came over to their table and at least had the decency to both look slightly ashamed. The couple sat opposite their fathers and each gave their father a look that the other would understand as a sign to explain himself immediately. Both men looked at their children and sighed. Edward spoke first.
“We did this with you both in mind. Seiji-san helped me out when we were young and your mom and I were in need of money. He didn’t ask that we repay it in any way but providing him with a respectful in-law for his first born. We agreed to this and had an official document drawn up. When his son was born his name was added to the document so after that it was simply a matter of waiting to see if we would have a daughter. Then we had you and your name was added to the document. After that it was simply a matter of waiting. We were lucky when you took in interest in Japan but as you know we never discouraged it. Basically that is the story.”
He smiled apologetically at the two young people and nodded for the other man to continue where he had left off. Seiji looked at his son who was trying very hard to contain his temper and was thankful for that.
“The wedding is set for a week from now therefore Emily-san will need to fly back with you, Sho. Kitagawa-san fully expects you to bring her to see him when you arrive so take her to your apartment after you land so that she will have time to change and drop her things off. We will take care of your wardrobe when I arrive back in the country in a few days. You have clothes with you that you are comfortable wearing yes? Very good! Another thing… Your parents are not able to attend but is there anyone else who has no conflicts that would be able to? I can afford to bring two people with me when I come back.”
She smiled and inclined her head and asked if she could get back to him in an hour’s time. He agreed and said that he could tell him before the two of them took off for the airport. She nodded and excused herself to go to her room. She kissed her fathers’ cheek and started off towards the lobby. Sho’s father sent him to tag along with her and she simply smiled apologetically as he followed her up to the third floor. Once they reached her hotel room she collapsed on one of the beds while staring at the ceiling. Sho sat on the bed opposite her and silently observed her. After a few minutes she sat up and picked up the room phone. She looked at him and asked him very bluntly what alcohol he preferred. When he answered rum she chuckled. She ordered a 750mL bottle of the best rum they had and a 2L of coke. A few minutes later she opened the door and took the cart from the bellhop. There were two glasses; a bucket of ice and the two bottles were chilled. She asked if he would like one and he simply gave her a look that answered that in one word. She chuckled again and poured the drinks. She handed him one glass and sat back on the bed opposite him. Her computer was open beside her and she was tapping into the hotel’s wireless internet.
She would take a sip of the drink and then pause to type; this pattern continued for a few minutes before she made a face at whatever had been written and drained the last of her glass quickly. She placed the glass on the bedside table and Sho made as if to pour her another glass. She shook her head and finally turned to face him. She stared at him for a few minutes before sighing and standing up from her spot. She retreated to her bathroom where she changed back into the jeans and t-shirt she had made her earlier flight in. She had her small suitcase packed with the clothes she wore the most since she was supposed to be packing to move out of her apartment back home. Thankfully she had already packed everything so it was just a matter of her family picking it up at the end of the month. She came out and put her dress back in the suitcase. She had washed the makeup off her eyes and taken the contacts she was wearing off. Once they were put away she tied her hair up into a pony tail and placed her glasses on. When she finally came back to sit down Sho grinned because she looked much more natural than before. He didn’t deny that she had been very attractive before but somehow he found that the more natural look she wore now suited her better. She smiled at him and began to speak.
“I should let you know this before we speak to your boss but I do know who you are, and I know who he is. I have been a fan of your group for a few years now, but I want you, the rest of your members, and Kitagawa-san to understand that I had no clue anything like this would ever happen. Please do not ask me who my favorite is because that would not be fair to either of us. Maybe once we have gotten comfortable around each other I might tell you. Do you have any questions or concerns I should know about?”
Sho smiled at her confession and he found himself grinning like an idiot. He never would have believed it if she hadn’t told him herself but for some reason he felt that her being a fan might actually help their relationship to develop faster than it might have. Another thing he noticed was the precision with which she spoke and how determined she was to have him understand. He nodded while continuing to smile.
“Well then… I have but one request. I would prefer for you not to speak to me so formally and I can do the same for you. I would ask that you let me call you Emily and simply have you call me Sho but I don’t believe you would be comfortable with that yet… I didn’t think so. Therefore I ask that you call me Sho-kun until you feel comfortable calling me by my first name. I shall call you EMily-chan until the time when you feel comfortable enough to drop the honorifics. Is this acceptable to you?”
She blushed slightly but nodded her head. All of the sudden both jumped when they heard a strange noise coming from her computer. She looked down to find her that her best friends were attempting to call her. She apologized to him quickly and answered the video call. Her friends were all in a chaos on the other side of the camera. She tried to calm them as she explained the situation to them. After about ten minutes she had managed to explain the whole situation to them and had even managed to get two of them to agree to meet his father at the Atlanta International airport in three days time. They promised to stand by her side since her parents didn’t currently have the ability to. After that whole fiasco was taken care of she asked if her friends would like a glimpse at her fiancé. They readily agreed and she asked if he would mind. Sho grinned and came to sit beside her on the bed. She scooted close to him and brought the laptop up for her friends to see his face. They were speechless as they recognized him. After that she promised to call them again later and explained that his father would be contacting them sometime in the next few days so that he could book their tickets. After that was done she shut her computer down and put it away. After looking around the room she was glad that she hadn’t had time to unpack since that way she didn’t have to worry about leaving something important behind. She looked at Sho as she placed her laptop and suitcase next to each other.
“I suppose we should get going now, ne Sho-kun?”
He smiled brightly and grabbed the handle of her suitcase and headed towards the elevator. She followed him with her laptop and purse but informed him that she would take the stairs. Before she could leave though he lightly gripped her wrist and made her face him.
“You will not be able to take the stairs in the Jimusho. Perhaps you should take the elevator with me now so that you will have time to trust me.”
The elevator arrived and he stepped inside clearly giving her a choice. After a full beat she sighed and slowly made her way to stand beside him. He was shocked by how much she was shaking by just standing in the machine and attempted to comfort her by placing his arm around her. He was several inches taller that her so that she fit nicely under his arm. After a few minutes the elevator reached the ground floor and she all but ran off the machine. He hugged her tightly when he stepped off and apologized. She simply shook her head and walked over to the desk where she quickly checked out. They then continued towards the front of the lobby where they could see both of their fathers waiting by a taxi for them. They exited the hotel and after placing her things in the taxi said their goodbyes. She hugged and kissed her dad while telling him that she would love and miss him. After that gave her friends’ contact information to Sho’s father and the couple left together for the airport.
part 2
They arrived in Tokyo in mid afternoon of the following day. Going through several time zones Emily felt like her word had been turned upside down. Sho drove from the airport to his apartment while she dozed in the front seat. When they arrived he grabbed her laptop and suitcase first. He let her sleep in the front seat while he took her things upstairs. After that he ran back down and woke her up gently. She apologized for falling asleep and he asked if she wanted to rest before meeting with Kitagawa. She took a deep breath and shook her head. She was fully awake now as reality crashed down on her. Sho looked at her terrified face apologetically and got back in the car. The drive went quickly and quietly since neither person knew what to say. When they arrived he took her hand in his and smiled warmly. He stuck to speaking Japanese to her now that he had learned how well she spoke the language.
“How about we go to meet the others first? I’m sure they are dying to meet you and I’m also pretty sure you would appreciate some time to relax before we go to see Kitagawa-san.”
She nodded slightly and he couldn’t help but pull her into a hug. His chin rested neatly atop her head and he smiled to himself. He promised her that everything would be alright and for some reason like before she wanted to believe him and started to calm down. He released her slowly and led her into the building. She gripped his hand like it was her only lifeline and Sho for once understood that the young woman probably was terrified at the thought of not only being thousands of miles from her home, away from her family and friends, and about to marry someone she didn’t even know. He felt bad because he had heard time and again from other women how their dream was to marry someone they loved. He knew it was irrational but he felt like he had fallen in love with the young woman the first time he had laid eyes on her. And after spending most of their fourteen hour flight talking with each other he felt himself falling deeper under her spell. He loved her quirky personality and how shy she really was. He noticed she was looking around curiously as they made their way to Arashi’s greenroom and smiled.
They finally stopped in front of a room with Arashi written on the door. He noticed her pale visibly as they heard voices coming from the other side. He squeezed her hand lightly and smiled reassuringly. She bit her lip and nodded but he didn’t miss the terror in her eyes. He took a deep breath and opened the door. Everyone fell silent as he walked in the door with the young woman in tow. Aiba got off the couch and would have bounded over if Ohno hadn’t stopped him by lightly placing a hand on his arm. Sho grinned at them and spoke in Japanese.
“I’m afraid she is terrified at the moment, not that I blame her considering everything that has happened to her over the last 24 hours. She graduated from university, found out that she was getting married, had to move to a foreign country with her soon to be husband and now has to deal with the fact that her soon to be husband is a national idol. There were many other things that happened but that is the basics so try not to scare her. She speaks Japanese fairly well but you will have to be patient with her. When she gets flustered she can’t seem to speak at all so just try to be patient. I brought her here because I thought it might be better for you all to meet her before I have to take her to meet Kitagawa-san. So how about I introduce you all to my wife.”
She flinched at his last sentence and felt herself being pulled out from behind him where she had originally hidden herself. She froze under the stares of the four other men who she also knew fairly well. She saw Nino laying on a couch playing his DS while pretending to be uninterested in the situation, Jun was sitting in a chair with a script he had been reading forgotten in favor of meeting her. Meanwhile Ohno still had a hand on Aiba who was straining to run over to her. When their eyes met he finally shook off Ohno’s hand and ran straight up to her. He was grinning brightly and bouncing around her much like a puppy might. She was shocked at first but her shock soon turned to laughter. When she chuckled slightly at his behavior everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Now they all felt like they could introduce themselves without terrifying the young woman further. She hid her smile as Aiba bounced around her and happily poked at her.
“Ne.. ne… ne… What’s your name?! Do you like Sho-chan?? Do you know us… We are Japanese idol… Arashi Arashi for dreeeam!”
She finally burst out in a fit of giggles as he spoke the last part in his attempted English. Sho grinned in spite of himself and the others noticed how smitten he was with the young woman. But the more they saw of her they couldn’t blame him at all. She clearly knew who they were which was a shock at first of course but she didn’t act like any of the fans they had met before. And after Sho had explained how she had made certain he understood that she knew nothing about this when she had originally become a fan, they understood that she was simply that, a fan of their music. She probably had a favorite but she still refused to tell any of them who it was. Everyone was brought out of their silent reveries when she stopped laughing actually spoke.
“Arashi minna-san, it is a pleasure to meet you all. My name is Emily. I hope that you all might consider me a friend eventually.”
Aiba bounced around her more exclaiming how cute her name was, how good her Japanese was and how he wanted to be her first official friend in Japan. Sho squawked and demanded that he was her first friend in the country. This of course led to them arguing back and forth about whether being a husband counted as being a friend. Finally they both turned to her and demanded an answer. She looked slightly flustered and so the others decided to step in. Ohno and Nino stepped between her and the other two while Jun motioned for her to come over to him. She walked over slowly watching the craziness from a safe point since they had yet to realize that she was no longer behind the shorter men. She leaned against the back of the couch and shook her head at the craziness. Jun smiled and offered his hand. She looked surprised but took it after a short hesitation. He smiled brighter afterwards and she couldn’t help but smile as well. Right about then Sho looked over and realized that she had escaped. He glared at Ohno and Nino and went to stand beside her. She chuckled when he came to stand beside her, his arms crossed across his chest as he pouted. She bit her lip at his face and unconsciously leaned against him. He smiled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She looked around at the others and smiled at them all. They could see now why Sho had become smitten with her so quickly.
The others introduced themselves and like Sho had already attempted to do try their hardest to get her to tell who her favorite was. They didn’t realize that during all of their cajoling and her tight lipped stance that others had entered the green room. After a few minutes someone cleared their throat and everyone turned to look at the door. Sho felt Emily stiffen as she recognized Johnny Kitagawa standing behind who she could only assume was Arashi’s manager. Unconsciously they all surrounded her in an attempt make her feel more comfortable. Their manager introduced himself and she simply nodded having not taken her eyes off of Kitagawa since they had made their presence known. He looked at the group sternly before focusing on her solely. She swallowed hard but stood her ground. After a few minutes his stare became less intense and he smiled gently at her.
“I was going to lecture you on the importance of staying silent as the wife of an idol but it seems like that isn’t necessary. Of course you fully understand that Sakurai-san’s marriage will not be publicized and your time together is likely to be very limited though I do not disagree with you befriending the others. Do you have any questions Emily-san?”
She had paled visibly while the five men had all grown deathly quiet and were glaring at their boss. She shook her head slowly and stared at her hands while Sho tightened his grip around her shoulders. Johnny frowned and bowed to them before leaving the room. Their manager said good bye as well and followed him out of the room. Once the door was shut she felt her knees simply give out and she sank to the floor. The guys were startled as she simply sat there. Sho crouched down beside her and waited for her to recover and answer their questions. Finally after a few minutes she looked up at him and he noticed the fear back in her eyes.
“He is… terrifying. I think I need to go get some sleep. I hate to be rude but I’m very tired.”