Gift fic for novemberbaby86
To: novemberbaby86
From: satsumatsu
SEASON'S GREETINGS!
Title: Within four walls (1/2)
Pairing/Group: Matsumoto Jun/Ninomiya Kazunari / Arashi
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Attempted humor?
Notes: It's long, very long. And I would have included the other members but it would have turned out even longer... The set up might be a little weird as well, a 2LDK with two stories, but it was kind of necessary for the story. I went with the requested college life along with fashion and piano (however I'm not too firm...). But! The main story only takes place within the apartment. I admit it's a clichéd set up and story but I enjoyed writing it so so much. Thank you, for the request, novemberbaby86 and sorry if I did not meet your expectations.
Summary: Department of instrumental music meets Fashion Creation department. Two students who wouldn't move in the college's dorm even if their life depends on it (Really, who would want to move in the dorm? The noise, the filth, the lack of privacy...) share an apartment.
Elementary school, first year
Kazu doesn't particularly like school--he finds that out only two weeks after attending it for the very first time. Other kids are loud and noisy and the girls are giggling in high pitched voices and really, he just wants to eat his lunch in peace at the table, but soon another group of kids join him. They are from class D, he remembers--class D is the loudest.
Across him now sits a kid with a big toothy smile and cheeks and he is giggling and laughing and joking and tries so hard to be funny that Kazu can't help but stare at him with wonder.
The other one catches his look, and for a moment his grin wavers at the edges but then his friend is nudging him, saying something silly and the grin is back full force.
Strange, Kazu thinks, and continues to dig into his plain rice.
Elementary school, second year
Jun plays catch-ball with his friends at the school yard, yelling directions, laughing and running until his lungs hurt. He likes to play outside in the afternoon on the school yard; it's the best about school. He runs for a ball his friend threw way too far, grabbing the baseball which lays in the grass near the fence and dashes back. He catches sight of the many windows of the school. There is a boy half dangling out of a window in the second floor, playing with his game boy. Jun watches him curiously and thinks that it looks a little dangerous the way the boy is leaning over the window frame like that. Also, he is all alone and ignores the screams and cheers around him with ease.
Jun stares at him while running, almost tripping over his own feet. He yelps while trying to catch his steps. His friends laugh at him and he laughs along and waves. Before he reaches them he looks at the window again. Just in time to catch the boy starring at him, with a blank face before he shifts his attention to his game again.
Strange, Jun thinks before rejoining his friends.
~
Junior High School, second year
Kazu likes baseball. It's the first time that he actually likes something about school. He comes to watch the boys play nearly everyday. It's not that the team is as great--they don't have enough members for one--but it looks so much fun that Kazu enjoys just watching. One day, the one boy with the huge friendly smile runs towards him. He sweats a lot, Kazu notices, and thinks that baseball must be really, really fun!
The boy, Aiba Masaki, as he introduces himself, but everyone just calls him Aiba without a -kun or -chan, which is a little annoying but you get used to it, eventually, eh?, asks him to join the club. They're short on members due to illness and stuff and they have a tournament in two days, you see. Kazu just shrugs and Aiba grins. (In the end, half of the members fainted from heatstroke and they needed to resign from the tournament anyway.)
Aiba turns out to be his first real friend in school, sharing his karaage bentos with Kazu and accompanying him on his way home. It's the same direction after all, he says. Maybe Kazu finds him a little annoying, but not much because he smiles more often than not.
"Tomorrow, Matsujun will return," Aiba tells him excitedly, one day.
"Matsujun?"
"Yeah, he is in the club too--a great catcher! He had an accident right before the first school day."
"Heeeh...."
When Kazu sees 'Matsujun' the next day, it's the boy with the cheeks and the teeth and the jokes. However, he turns out to be very serious about baseball (ridiculously for Kazu) and he is an excellent catcher.
Junior High School, third year
Jun likes baseball. It's the sport for him. He likes to practice, he likes to play, he likes the teamwork.
Just that, first baseman, Ninomiya Kazunari... Jun chose long ago that he doesn't like Ninomiya and he doesn't even know Ninomiya--Nino, like everyone calls him--very well.
It's just that he is so good that you have to hate him for it. He doesn't seem very passionate about the game (which Jun totally is, and somehow requires this from his teammates as well). Everything he does appears so effortless, so at ease, and he is left-handed too--which should be a disadvantage. But it makes him even more special.
When they play against each other in practice, Jun always loses. And Jun hates to lose.
Though when they're playing against other teams, their teamwork is just awesome. But Jun can't be happy about their win. Even if everyone cheers with him, he thinks it's Ninomiya's earnings and can't enjoy it.
What a weird and grumpy fellow, he thinks every time he watches how Aiba runs off to Ninomiya, congratulating him and would just get a smack in return.
~
Graduation, High school
Nino finds himself lined up with fellow pupils of his year. In front of him is Matsumoto Jun, that boy from class F, who scored the most valentine gifts for three consecutive years. Nino stares at his neck. Over the years, he certainly grew taller and handsome, while they say about Nino that he just stayed like he was. It is kind of unfair. There’s this certain aversion against Matsumoto because of his looks and popularity (not that he wants any of this, though).
Well, he developed an aversion against the whole school, kind of. Nino just can't socialize very well with people of his own age. Fortunately, he doesn't know anyone who went for Tokyo Geijutsu Daigaku, and someone like Matsumoto certainly wasn't the type for anything related art.
He continues to stare at his neck--more like burning holes into it--while the principal calls out the names of the graduates. Suddenly, Matsumoto reaches for his neck and rubs it, as if he could feel Nino's stare. Nino smirks a little.
"Matsumoto Jun."
Matsumoto jerks slightly, goes up and receives his certificate, bows, bows lower and hurries to get down the stage. He joins a group of excited girls with that damn huge, handsome smile. Nino keeps staring at him even while his name is being called.
"Ninomiya Kazunari."
Matsumoto looks up and straight at him. Nino's eyes widen for a moment before he hurries to receive his certificate and down the stage again. He can still feel Matsumoto's gaze and he wonders what he should make out of it. He didn't expect Matsumoto to know him--sure they are in the same year and played in the baseball team, but Matsumoto never spared him anything other than a glance. But apparently, he does now, because when Nino passes by the group and looks up just for a short moment, Matsumoto is still watching him with an unreadable expression.
~
College, first year
Jun curses when he gets the letter from the agency.
Accommodation offer:
Flat sharing
2LDK, upstairs room available, six tatami mats, bright
Kitchen/Bathroom shared
Price includes utility costs
Offerer: Ninomiya
Flat sharing. Flat sharing means a roommate. A roommate. He doesn't want to have a roommate. He had asked for a single apartment off-campus! (Really, who would want to move in the dorm? The noise, the filth, the lack of privacy...) But apparently finding an apartment for a reasonable price isn’t as easy as he had thought. Now college starts in two days and he has to move somewhere--anywhere, really.
He sighs and picks up his phone to call the agency. He has no other choice but go for the offer at this point. Even though this is some weird set-up, he has never heard of a 2LDK with two stories for this price, he signs the contract without actually meeting his unwanted roommate or seeing the flat.
It doesn't help so much that the apartment is newly renovated, and that it’s one of those fashionable marionette ones, and that his room is directly under the roof with a huge window and--okay it does kind of help that he sees the awesome view after he has heaved his sewing machine (Privileg Supernutzstich, a German one, his pride and joy) through the hall and up the wooden stairs.
He had expected to have one of these noisy roommates who wants to chat in the morning, most likely the type to be standing in the hallway while doing so, and then joins to watch TV with you in the kitchen without being asked; but he doesn't get to see his roommate for the first two days.
In the bathroom is a towel, a cheap bar of soap, and a bottle of shampoo along with a worn out toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste which looks empty. Other than that, his roommate is practically invisible the first two days. Not that Jun minds. Maybe it is just a coincidence.
The only proof that his roommate is indeed alive is the growing number of empty ramen cups (mostly kimchi flavor) in the kitchen, and the piano Jun heard playing on the second day when he stepped into the apartment from his first design and sewing classes. He silently closed the door and listens briefly. It sounded nice and made Jun smile absentmindedly when he climbed the stairs to his room.
~
Nino had thought it would be much easier: moving off campus, finding a roommate and sharing the costs. Never in hell would he pay that amount of money just to move into a tiny room, sharing a moldy bathroom with a lot of other students and a kitchen where you wouldn’t even want to boil water.
Other students must have liked the idea, because he got practically no applications for the room upstairs (and honestly, the ones who did apply were freaks). He panicked a week before the term started and had nightmares about exploding costs. He hired an agency, paid the fee with a lot of teeth gritting but they informed him within three days that another student would be interested in the room, all ready to sign the contract because he is as desperate to find a place in Tokyo as Nino is to find a roommate. But shouldn’t they arrange a meeting first? Of course Nino said there’s no need, let him sign and come. That, he squints at the kanjis on the paper, Matsumoto Jun, fashion student, first year. It’s just fine.
That was three days back.
So far Nino hasn’t seen his roommate, but it must be some sort of maid because the first thing he had done turned out to be the dishes in the kitchen and cleaning the table. Nino is surprised to see a clean kitchen when he wants to build up his cup ramen tower but oh well. Interestingly, his roommate didn't touch the waste.
His roommate might be invisible, but not soundless. There is a noise in the hallway when he plays the piano that one afternoon. That’s it, though. (Well, he hogs the bathroom from time to time, but Nino can live with that as long it is not in the morning when he has to get ready himself.)
Nino records it as a coincidence, not minding too much. So far Matsumoto seems to be a pretty good catch.
However, all too soon, the Not Crossing Paths develops into Avoiding Each Other Like Hell. Including listening at doors, actually counting the minutes spent in the bathroom (up to 33 minutes, honestly!?) and recognizing footsteps--oh the haunting footsteps; in the hallway, on the stairs along with the sound of opening or closing doors. Nino knows them all. His roommate must know, as well.
After three more days Nino feels paranoid. Every time his roommate moves above him he involuntary glances up or stops his game. The result is that he never needed so long to finish a damn game. And when Nino is about to leave his room and he can hear a noise, any kind of noise up there, he closes the door again and waits.
~
Jun feels haunted.
On the one hand he wants to know who his roommate is because... it is his roommate, for once. And when he looks at the cup ramen tower in the kitchen which glows at him whenever he steps into the kitchen and grows proportionally to Jun's anger about it, he really would like to know to whom he owes the colorful, rotten piece of art. It itches him to no end, but never in hell would he take out the trash of others.
On the other hand...
He hears a noise from the hallway, a key being inserted into the lock of the front door and Jun hurries up the stairs with his mug of hot water that is supposed to be tea. Some water splashes on his fingers and he curses as he closes his door.
They seriously missed their timing to meet.
~
Nino plays the very first notes on his piano, for the first time in his new room. It has been too long, almost a week since he played and it feels good, actually. He isn’t one of these passionate players, but with the keys under his fingers, dipping softly at his touch, he gets that familiar feeling. The sound isn't as bad as he thought it would turn out in the room. His digits soon slide across the keys effortlessly and he can feel a smile creeping up until--
Rrrrraatatatatatatatatatattttt.
Abruptly Nino stops.
The noise stops too, shortly, but begins again.
Rrrraaaatatatatatatatattttt.
Nino looks around and tries to figure out where this noise is coming from when he looks above him.
Noooooooo, he thinks. What the hell?
Rrrrraaaaatatatatatatatatatttt.
What is this?
Nino has not even the slightest idea what could produce such a noise.
He also can't believe his luck and asks himself why he chose the room downstairs. (Of course he knows that he can't heave the piano up there but any sort of thing that produces this noise shouldn't be able to get upstairs, either!)
Rrraaaaaatatatatatatatatatttttt.
Wonderful.
~
Jun doesn't mind doing the dishes for the Cup Ramen Piano Guy, really. He likes doing the dishes. It calms him, somehow, but the hell he won't take out his trash. And by now it reeks. (Jun is waiting for the flies!). At this point there are two cup ramen towers and Jun is soon about to lose his patience.
He completes brewing his black tea and contemplates about leaving a post-it but decides against it. It is still too soon to show his OCD tendencies and he wants to lead a peaceful life here. He didn't even speak to his roommate or caught a single glimpse of him. So post-its could be kind of weird.
He picks up his mug and goes to his room again. Setting it onto his window board to let it cool down a bit, he sits to finish his piece for the class tomorrow.
Thumb, thumb, thumb.
He stops dead, holding his right foot over the pedal of his sewing machine.
What the hell?
He steps on the pedal again and sews the seam until--
Thumb, thumb, thumb.
He stares at his floor. Is this guy knocking on the ceiling?
He continues his work, changing the yarn to the dark blue one, sewing a second seam, neatly parallel to the first one.
Thumb, thumb, thumb.
Idiot.
So this is their first conversation. Great.
~
Nino stands on his chair, knocking on the ceiling with his fist, feeling completely stupid but really, this noise is getting on his nerves. It doesn't matter what this noise is anymore (Nino just can't figure it out), but when it’s been going on for three consecutive days, it matters. He wonders if their neighbors are deaf or something that they didn’t complain so far.
He doesn't have a broom to knock, because till now he didn't bother to buy one--having one of those dust pans must be enough. So he finds himself balancing on tiptoes on his chair in order to reach the damn ceiling. The noise stops for a brief moment and Nino already thought his roommate got the message but then it starts again and Nino knocks again. It stops and Nino stops. And it starts again and Nino is knocking furiously.
This...
Rrraaaaaatatatatatatatatatataattt--tttt.
... meant war.
The next day he goes to buy a broom.
He can't believe he's spending money on this and is feeling even more stupid standing in the store where a clerk wants to advise him. He asks for the one with the most solid stick but the clerk is looking at him so confused that he settles for the cheapest one.
(He feels even more stupid on the train.)
When he returns home his roommate isn't there, at least Nino thinks so. He can’t tell by the shoes in the genkan because there are just too many.
Other than that he hasn't seen anything lying around so far. Neither in the bathroom nor in the hallway. His roommate must bring his stuff from his room each time which creeps Nino out--but each his own. There is just awfully healthy looking food in the fridge, a coffee maker and lots of tea in the kitchen.
He settles on his piano, in hope to get some practice done. Sakurai-sensei is all for the basics and accurate timing while Nino is more the freelancer. They clash at times because Nino likes to pick on the young teacher too much, like playing ‘Get wild’ in three different ways in order to find his own style. He can see how Sakurai-sensei clenches his teeth at times and thinks how hilarious it is. He barely touched his keys when--
Rrrraaaaatatatatatatatatatattttt.
Nino groans and smashes his keys. He hurries to grab his broom, right next to the piano, and knocks with it on the ceiling.
The noise stops for a short time, but not long enough to let Nino feel any kind of victory.
~
Jun hears the annoying knocking from his roommate again. It appears louder than before.
Damn him.
Well, he can't help the fact that he is studying fashion creation, for God‘s sake, it means you have to sew things. That Cup Ramen Piano Guy must be really dense.
He shoves his glasses higher onto the bridge of his nose, his mouth set into a grim line, and continues to sew senseless patterns onto the fabric just for the heck of it.
~
The first time Nino actually gets to see his roommate, he is stepping out of their apartment into the hallway while Nino is heading towards it. To be honest, Nino expected a girl, albeit the shoes in the genkan... It's indeed a guy who looks like he just stepped out of Brooks Brothers, with his white shirt, his square bow tie and his colorful square pants.
It's Matsumoto Jun. Suddenly the name clicks.
It’s Matsumoto Jun.
Nino can't believe it. The Matsumoto Jun from school days. The one with the cheeks and the toothy grin in elementary school. The one from the school’s baseball team. The one who scored the Valentines gifts several years in a row. Just why is he in Tokyo?
Matsumoto meanwhile bows his head a little in acknowledgment but no recognition when he passes by him.
Asshole, Nino thinks and knocks with his broom even harder the next time Matsumoto carries out one of his noise sessions.
~
After two weeks Jun thinks he lives with a kind of maniac. The knocking should break the floor soon. He actually has had a different image of piano players. Something close to sensible, pleasant, calm and creative. His roommate is just... weird. Besides the ramen cups which already build up a third damn tower on top of the other two, it is kind of traveling up the wall (oh, the post-it is coming soon!), he also seems to be a game addict according to the noises from his room when he is not practicing.
And there Jun thought pianists have a sensitive soul. Screw that. This guy seems more like an agitator or a jerk (who happens to play the piano nice enough).
~
So he lives with Matsumoto Jun. A reckless Matsumoto Jun. A Matsumoto Jun who hogs the bathroom. At seven in the morning. Nino's time.
Surely, it must be some kind of revenge for the broom knocking. And he is certain that Matsumoto must have timed it when Nino usually uses the bathroom in the morning because today, when he wants to use it, the door is locked. And he needs to pee.
He stares at the closed bathroom door from his door frame in disbelief for 10 minutes, in anger for 20 minutes, in impatience for half an hour. Goddammit!
He can hear constant water running and splashes and rubbing and--Wait, is Matsumoto doing his laundry at seven in the morning?
After 45 minutes he knocks at the door. (He has a feeling that it's the only form of communication he will use with Matsumoto).
The splashing stops.
"I'm coming..."
The splashing continues.
Nino stomps off into his room, sitting down on his bed and desperately concentrates not to pee into his pants.
Five minutes later the door unlocks and opens. There is a muffled ‘Sorry’ and hurried steps on stairs and Nino thinks that Matsumoto is really, seriously annoying. He settles for that and hurries to the bathroom.
~
Damn it, damn it, damn it.
He is so late! He really shouldn’t experiment with the colors as much as he did. It took him all night. The result was that he couldn't finish his piece for class in time (but the bright crimson red spots on the turquoise blue died fabric were breathtaking).
The knock on the door had startled him.
"I'm coming!" He had shouted and rinsed the scarf for a last time.
He arrives at class with a half dried scarf and receives some scowls from Ohno-senpai. Jun becomes smaller along with the drying process of his piece.
He feels so guilty for the rest of the day--because it has been the first time that he really hindered the other when he really did not intend it--that he decides to make it up to his roommate, however invisible but lousy and noisy he is.
He takes out the trash in the evening (he has to go three times and curses a lot) and prepares a Japanese potato salad, while humming to 'Baby I'm a Fool' playing on the radio. His roommate is nowhere to be seen so he spares a bowl for him and sets it on the counter with a post-it note. He really thought his first post-it note would turn out differently, though.
He yawns when he makes his way up the stairs. He is lacking sleep due to his Midnight Morning Washing Experiments. It was worth it, without question yet he decides to call it a day.
~
When Nino arrives at home he has actually prepared a whole speech. Something close to: We need to work this out somehow or the revenge would never stop. It sounds like some Hollywood movie... but he is ready to face his special roommate. Well, he would but only darkness and complete silence welcomes him.
He hides, that bastard, Nino thinks while kicking off his shoes and let them be because he reckons Matsumoto is anal about such things, too.
He throws his stuff into his room and goes to make himself some tea. It’s the first thing he does when coming home next to observing the developing cup ramen towers which he is kind of proud of.
The first thing he realizes is that the towers are missing. He scowls. Does Matsumoto have any idea how difficult it was to balance--Okay, he must admit that it began to get disgusting. The second thing he notices is the white china bowl on the counter with a post-it attached to it.
Sorry for this morning.
A small change from all the instant ramen (?)
Jun M.
Nino raises his eyebrows and looks around himself. The silence, the trash, the note, the food.
Matsumoto wants to make it up to him--just when Nino intends to settle things, Matsumoto beats him to it. Bloody brilliant.
(Also Matsumoto has actually written his name in letters. Strange.)
Nino shrugs, books it as a victory on his side, picks up the salad and heads to his room.
The salad is fresh and delicious. He can't help but sigh at the taste since it's been a while he had something fresh to eat.
Between some occasional bites, he spends a blissfully quiet evening with his salad and some random piano practicing.
~
Jun wakes up to soft piano music and smiles into his cushion. He closes his eyes again, dozing off to the melody of 'Hey Jude'.
~
The next day is the first Sunday Nino spends at the apartment and not at his mom's (who would just complain that she isn't getting any thinner despite doing aerobics and these tirades just get old...). It is also the first morning that he sees Matsumoto inside their apartment. He is in the kitchen when Nino wants to make himself his usual corn-mayo-bread in the microwave.
For the first time Nino does not really have the urge to run and hide in the bathroom or something. Instead he leans against the kitchen's door frame and watches how Matsumoto prepares his coffee. Boiling water, reaching up to the board for his coffee caddy (his shirt rides up his impossible slim hips and Nino wonders for a glimpse of a second how a guy can have such hips. And really, he shouldn't stare at the exposed skin like he totally is) and snatching a spoon from the utility sink.
When Matsumoto bends down to get the milk from the fridge, however (and Nino can see other things through the light sweat pants), Nino clears his throat.
Matsumoto jerks up to that and hits his head at the open cup board door. Nino laughs the same time Matsumoto curses and turns around.
Nino pushes himself from the door frame, a little surprised that the Matsumoto Jun is wearing huge glasses which makes him look like a dork, like the kid he was back in school. But certainly the real surprise is on Nino's side.
"Morning," he greets casually.
Matsumoto looks at him, startled, surprised, a greeting already on his lips when he looks at Nino, his eyes wide while holding his head.
"You're--You're Ninomiya Kazunari." Matsumoto blurts out.
Nino's eyes widen slightly in surprise as he ducks he head. Matsumoto remembers his name?
"Yeah," he answers, somehow taken aback.
"I'm Matsumoto Jun! You went to Izumi High School too, didn't you?" He bows slightly and smiles one of these Nice To Meet You Again smiles.
Nino stares at him and can't come up with a reply. He can't say, 'Not only high school!' because he doesn’t want to admit that he even remembers Matsumoto back to their elementary school days. It would sound stupid and stalkerish. He also can't say, 'Really?' because it would be a blatant lie and everyone knew Matsumoto back then.
The silence already stretched out to be the awkward kind and he must have stared oddly at Matsumoto because he sees how Matsumoto's smile struggles and his eyes dart around before they settle on the boiling water.
"Right," Nino hears him mutter. "Do you want some coffee?" Matsumoto asks, smile apparent again.
Nino is still staring at him, his thoughts not catching up with the situation while looking at that smile. That smile which developed from a toothy and too big one into a handsome, winning one, even with the glasses. Nino can't say he dislikes it. Finally, he snaps out of his daze.
"Sure," he says easily enough and goes for his mug.
He sits down on the old kitchen sofa while Matsumoto gets the coffee, milk and sugar. He accompanies Nino at the table and adds a little milk while asking what Nino is doing. A stupid question, considering the piano, but Nino can see that Matsumoto just wants the conversation to flow. He has to give him credit for that.
And indeed, the talk is pleasant enough that Nino talks about his favorite music pieces (Take Five), his addiction to games ("That's why the curses," Matsumoto throws in, laughing into his coffee), his ambition to create game soundtracks and his money saving strategy. However, he resists the urge to show Matsumoto his saving box with the counting strokes.
Nino starts to feel comfortable over his third coffee, although his heart is racing already from all the caffeine but he does not want to stop talking to Matsumoto.
"So, seriously, what are you doing up there?" He asks finally, because he can't help it and is curious.
"Sewing," Jun answers over his mug.
"Sewing?"
"Yeah, I study fashion creation at the Bunka."
That explains the clothes.
"And the noise?"
Matsumoto raises an eyebrow, it looks haughty for a moment.
"My sewing machine?"
"Your sewing machine?"
That is a sewing machine for heaven's sake? Nino groans inwardly. He can't go against that.
That is as far they touch the Rrrattatatattt Knocking Battle but Jun greatly explains his studies (and that he just studied at the Bunka because of Kenzo) and his sewing machine and his classes and that he needs to sew and all that.
It's not an apology but it's not a blank explanation either.
"You need to show me a piece of yours sometime," Nino says, finally, honestly impressed by the eagerness and passion Matsumoto has for the subject.
It is not an apology on his side, either.
Matsumoto raises both of his eyebrows but changes into a smile soon.
"Sure."
~
From: satsumatsu
SEASON'S GREETINGS!
Title: Within four walls (1/2)
Pairing/Group: Matsumoto Jun/Ninomiya Kazunari / Arashi
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Attempted humor?
Notes: It's long, very long. And I would have included the other members but it would have turned out even longer... The set up might be a little weird as well, a 2LDK with two stories, but it was kind of necessary for the story. I went with the requested college life along with fashion and piano (however I'm not too firm...). But! The main story only takes place within the apartment. I admit it's a clichéd set up and story but I enjoyed writing it so so much. Thank you, for the request, novemberbaby86 and sorry if I did not meet your expectations.
Summary: Department of instrumental music meets Fashion Creation department. Two students who wouldn't move in the college's dorm even if their life depends on it (Really, who would want to move in the dorm? The noise, the filth, the lack of privacy...) share an apartment.
Elementary school, first year
Kazu doesn't particularly like school--he finds that out only two weeks after attending it for the very first time. Other kids are loud and noisy and the girls are giggling in high pitched voices and really, he just wants to eat his lunch in peace at the table, but soon another group of kids join him. They are from class D, he remembers--class D is the loudest.
Across him now sits a kid with a big toothy smile and cheeks and he is giggling and laughing and joking and tries so hard to be funny that Kazu can't help but stare at him with wonder.
The other one catches his look, and for a moment his grin wavers at the edges but then his friend is nudging him, saying something silly and the grin is back full force.
Strange, Kazu thinks, and continues to dig into his plain rice.
Elementary school, second year
Jun plays catch-ball with his friends at the school yard, yelling directions, laughing and running until his lungs hurt. He likes to play outside in the afternoon on the school yard; it's the best about school. He runs for a ball his friend threw way too far, grabbing the baseball which lays in the grass near the fence and dashes back. He catches sight of the many windows of the school. There is a boy half dangling out of a window in the second floor, playing with his game boy. Jun watches him curiously and thinks that it looks a little dangerous the way the boy is leaning over the window frame like that. Also, he is all alone and ignores the screams and cheers around him with ease.
Jun stares at him while running, almost tripping over his own feet. He yelps while trying to catch his steps. His friends laugh at him and he laughs along and waves. Before he reaches them he looks at the window again. Just in time to catch the boy starring at him, with a blank face before he shifts his attention to his game again.
Strange, Jun thinks before rejoining his friends.
~
Junior High School, second year
Kazu likes baseball. It's the first time that he actually likes something about school. He comes to watch the boys play nearly everyday. It's not that the team is as great--they don't have enough members for one--but it looks so much fun that Kazu enjoys just watching. One day, the one boy with the huge friendly smile runs towards him. He sweats a lot, Kazu notices, and thinks that baseball must be really, really fun!
The boy, Aiba Masaki, as he introduces himself, but everyone just calls him Aiba without a -kun or -chan, which is a little annoying but you get used to it, eventually, eh?, asks him to join the club. They're short on members due to illness and stuff and they have a tournament in two days, you see. Kazu just shrugs and Aiba grins. (In the end, half of the members fainted from heatstroke and they needed to resign from the tournament anyway.)
Aiba turns out to be his first real friend in school, sharing his karaage bentos with Kazu and accompanying him on his way home. It's the same direction after all, he says. Maybe Kazu finds him a little annoying, but not much because he smiles more often than not.
"Tomorrow, Matsujun will return," Aiba tells him excitedly, one day.
"Matsujun?"
"Yeah, he is in the club too--a great catcher! He had an accident right before the first school day."
"Heeeh...."
When Kazu sees 'Matsujun' the next day, it's the boy with the cheeks and the teeth and the jokes. However, he turns out to be very serious about baseball (ridiculously for Kazu) and he is an excellent catcher.
Junior High School, third year
Jun likes baseball. It's the sport for him. He likes to practice, he likes to play, he likes the teamwork.
Just that, first baseman, Ninomiya Kazunari... Jun chose long ago that he doesn't like Ninomiya and he doesn't even know Ninomiya--Nino, like everyone calls him--very well.
It's just that he is so good that you have to hate him for it. He doesn't seem very passionate about the game (which Jun totally is, and somehow requires this from his teammates as well). Everything he does appears so effortless, so at ease, and he is left-handed too--which should be a disadvantage. But it makes him even more special.
When they play against each other in practice, Jun always loses. And Jun hates to lose.
Though when they're playing against other teams, their teamwork is just awesome. But Jun can't be happy about their win. Even if everyone cheers with him, he thinks it's Ninomiya's earnings and can't enjoy it.
What a weird and grumpy fellow, he thinks every time he watches how Aiba runs off to Ninomiya, congratulating him and would just get a smack in return.
~
Graduation, High school
Nino finds himself lined up with fellow pupils of his year. In front of him is Matsumoto Jun, that boy from class F, who scored the most valentine gifts for three consecutive years. Nino stares at his neck. Over the years, he certainly grew taller and handsome, while they say about Nino that he just stayed like he was. It is kind of unfair. There’s this certain aversion against Matsumoto because of his looks and popularity (not that he wants any of this, though).
Well, he developed an aversion against the whole school, kind of. Nino just can't socialize very well with people of his own age. Fortunately, he doesn't know anyone who went for Tokyo Geijutsu Daigaku, and someone like Matsumoto certainly wasn't the type for anything related art.
He continues to stare at his neck--more like burning holes into it--while the principal calls out the names of the graduates. Suddenly, Matsumoto reaches for his neck and rubs it, as if he could feel Nino's stare. Nino smirks a little.
"Matsumoto Jun."
Matsumoto jerks slightly, goes up and receives his certificate, bows, bows lower and hurries to get down the stage. He joins a group of excited girls with that damn huge, handsome smile. Nino keeps staring at him even while his name is being called.
"Ninomiya Kazunari."
Matsumoto looks up and straight at him. Nino's eyes widen for a moment before he hurries to receive his certificate and down the stage again. He can still feel Matsumoto's gaze and he wonders what he should make out of it. He didn't expect Matsumoto to know him--sure they are in the same year and played in the baseball team, but Matsumoto never spared him anything other than a glance. But apparently, he does now, because when Nino passes by the group and looks up just for a short moment, Matsumoto is still watching him with an unreadable expression.
~
College, first year
Jun curses when he gets the letter from the agency.
Accommodation offer:
Flat sharing
2LDK, upstairs room available, six tatami mats, bright
Kitchen/Bathroom shared
Price includes utility costs
Offerer: Ninomiya
Flat sharing. Flat sharing means a roommate. A roommate. He doesn't want to have a roommate. He had asked for a single apartment off-campus! (Really, who would want to move in the dorm? The noise, the filth, the lack of privacy...) But apparently finding an apartment for a reasonable price isn’t as easy as he had thought. Now college starts in two days and he has to move somewhere--anywhere, really.
He sighs and picks up his phone to call the agency. He has no other choice but go for the offer at this point. Even though this is some weird set-up, he has never heard of a 2LDK with two stories for this price, he signs the contract without actually meeting his unwanted roommate or seeing the flat.
It doesn't help so much that the apartment is newly renovated, and that it’s one of those fashionable marionette ones, and that his room is directly under the roof with a huge window and--okay it does kind of help that he sees the awesome view after he has heaved his sewing machine (Privileg Supernutzstich, a German one, his pride and joy) through the hall and up the wooden stairs.
He had expected to have one of these noisy roommates who wants to chat in the morning, most likely the type to be standing in the hallway while doing so, and then joins to watch TV with you in the kitchen without being asked; but he doesn't get to see his roommate for the first two days.
In the bathroom is a towel, a cheap bar of soap, and a bottle of shampoo along with a worn out toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste which looks empty. Other than that, his roommate is practically invisible the first two days. Not that Jun minds. Maybe it is just a coincidence.
The only proof that his roommate is indeed alive is the growing number of empty ramen cups (mostly kimchi flavor) in the kitchen, and the piano Jun heard playing on the second day when he stepped into the apartment from his first design and sewing classes. He silently closed the door and listens briefly. It sounded nice and made Jun smile absentmindedly when he climbed the stairs to his room.
~
Nino had thought it would be much easier: moving off campus, finding a roommate and sharing the costs. Never in hell would he pay that amount of money just to move into a tiny room, sharing a moldy bathroom with a lot of other students and a kitchen where you wouldn’t even want to boil water.
Other students must have liked the idea, because he got practically no applications for the room upstairs (and honestly, the ones who did apply were freaks). He panicked a week before the term started and had nightmares about exploding costs. He hired an agency, paid the fee with a lot of teeth gritting but they informed him within three days that another student would be interested in the room, all ready to sign the contract because he is as desperate to find a place in Tokyo as Nino is to find a roommate. But shouldn’t they arrange a meeting first? Of course Nino said there’s no need, let him sign and come. That, he squints at the kanjis on the paper, Matsumoto Jun, fashion student, first year. It’s just fine.
That was three days back.
So far Nino hasn’t seen his roommate, but it must be some sort of maid because the first thing he had done turned out to be the dishes in the kitchen and cleaning the table. Nino is surprised to see a clean kitchen when he wants to build up his cup ramen tower but oh well. Interestingly, his roommate didn't touch the waste.
His roommate might be invisible, but not soundless. There is a noise in the hallway when he plays the piano that one afternoon. That’s it, though. (Well, he hogs the bathroom from time to time, but Nino can live with that as long it is not in the morning when he has to get ready himself.)
Nino records it as a coincidence, not minding too much. So far Matsumoto seems to be a pretty good catch.
However, all too soon, the Not Crossing Paths develops into Avoiding Each Other Like Hell. Including listening at doors, actually counting the minutes spent in the bathroom (up to 33 minutes, honestly!?) and recognizing footsteps--oh the haunting footsteps; in the hallway, on the stairs along with the sound of opening or closing doors. Nino knows them all. His roommate must know, as well.
After three more days Nino feels paranoid. Every time his roommate moves above him he involuntary glances up or stops his game. The result is that he never needed so long to finish a damn game. And when Nino is about to leave his room and he can hear a noise, any kind of noise up there, he closes the door again and waits.
~
Jun feels haunted.
On the one hand he wants to know who his roommate is because... it is his roommate, for once. And when he looks at the cup ramen tower in the kitchen which glows at him whenever he steps into the kitchen and grows proportionally to Jun's anger about it, he really would like to know to whom he owes the colorful, rotten piece of art. It itches him to no end, but never in hell would he take out the trash of others.
On the other hand...
He hears a noise from the hallway, a key being inserted into the lock of the front door and Jun hurries up the stairs with his mug of hot water that is supposed to be tea. Some water splashes on his fingers and he curses as he closes his door.
They seriously missed their timing to meet.
~
Nino plays the very first notes on his piano, for the first time in his new room. It has been too long, almost a week since he played and it feels good, actually. He isn’t one of these passionate players, but with the keys under his fingers, dipping softly at his touch, he gets that familiar feeling. The sound isn't as bad as he thought it would turn out in the room. His digits soon slide across the keys effortlessly and he can feel a smile creeping up until--
Rrrrraatatatatatatatatatattttt.
Abruptly Nino stops.
The noise stops too, shortly, but begins again.
Rrrraaaatatatatatatatattttt.
Nino looks around and tries to figure out where this noise is coming from when he looks above him.
Noooooooo, he thinks. What the hell?
Rrrrraaaaatatatatatatatatatttt.
What is this?
Nino has not even the slightest idea what could produce such a noise.
He also can't believe his luck and asks himself why he chose the room downstairs. (Of course he knows that he can't heave the piano up there but any sort of thing that produces this noise shouldn't be able to get upstairs, either!)
Rrraaaaaatatatatatatatatatttttt.
Wonderful.
~
Jun doesn't mind doing the dishes for the Cup Ramen Piano Guy, really. He likes doing the dishes. It calms him, somehow, but the hell he won't take out his trash. And by now it reeks. (Jun is waiting for the flies!). At this point there are two cup ramen towers and Jun is soon about to lose his patience.
He completes brewing his black tea and contemplates about leaving a post-it but decides against it. It is still too soon to show his OCD tendencies and he wants to lead a peaceful life here. He didn't even speak to his roommate or caught a single glimpse of him. So post-its could be kind of weird.
He picks up his mug and goes to his room again. Setting it onto his window board to let it cool down a bit, he sits to finish his piece for the class tomorrow.
Thumb, thumb, thumb.
He stops dead, holding his right foot over the pedal of his sewing machine.
What the hell?
He steps on the pedal again and sews the seam until--
Thumb, thumb, thumb.
He stares at his floor. Is this guy knocking on the ceiling?
He continues his work, changing the yarn to the dark blue one, sewing a second seam, neatly parallel to the first one.
Thumb, thumb, thumb.
Idiot.
So this is their first conversation. Great.
~
Nino stands on his chair, knocking on the ceiling with his fist, feeling completely stupid but really, this noise is getting on his nerves. It doesn't matter what this noise is anymore (Nino just can't figure it out), but when it’s been going on for three consecutive days, it matters. He wonders if their neighbors are deaf or something that they didn’t complain so far.
He doesn't have a broom to knock, because till now he didn't bother to buy one--having one of those dust pans must be enough. So he finds himself balancing on tiptoes on his chair in order to reach the damn ceiling. The noise stops for a brief moment and Nino already thought his roommate got the message but then it starts again and Nino knocks again. It stops and Nino stops. And it starts again and Nino is knocking furiously.
This...
Rrraaaaaatatatatatatatatatataattt--tttt.
... meant war.
The next day he goes to buy a broom.
He can't believe he's spending money on this and is feeling even more stupid standing in the store where a clerk wants to advise him. He asks for the one with the most solid stick but the clerk is looking at him so confused that he settles for the cheapest one.
(He feels even more stupid on the train.)
When he returns home his roommate isn't there, at least Nino thinks so. He can’t tell by the shoes in the genkan because there are just too many.
Other than that he hasn't seen anything lying around so far. Neither in the bathroom nor in the hallway. His roommate must bring his stuff from his room each time which creeps Nino out--but each his own. There is just awfully healthy looking food in the fridge, a coffee maker and lots of tea in the kitchen.
He settles on his piano, in hope to get some practice done. Sakurai-sensei is all for the basics and accurate timing while Nino is more the freelancer. They clash at times because Nino likes to pick on the young teacher too much, like playing ‘Get wild’ in three different ways in order to find his own style. He can see how Sakurai-sensei clenches his teeth at times and thinks how hilarious it is. He barely touched his keys when--
Rrrraaaaatatatatatatatatatattttt.
Nino groans and smashes his keys. He hurries to grab his broom, right next to the piano, and knocks with it on the ceiling.
The noise stops for a short time, but not long enough to let Nino feel any kind of victory.
~
Jun hears the annoying knocking from his roommate again. It appears louder than before.
Damn him.
Well, he can't help the fact that he is studying fashion creation, for God‘s sake, it means you have to sew things. That Cup Ramen Piano Guy must be really dense.
He shoves his glasses higher onto the bridge of his nose, his mouth set into a grim line, and continues to sew senseless patterns onto the fabric just for the heck of it.
~
The first time Nino actually gets to see his roommate, he is stepping out of their apartment into the hallway while Nino is heading towards it. To be honest, Nino expected a girl, albeit the shoes in the genkan... It's indeed a guy who looks like he just stepped out of Brooks Brothers, with his white shirt, his square bow tie and his colorful square pants.
It's Matsumoto Jun. Suddenly the name clicks.
It’s Matsumoto Jun.
Nino can't believe it. The Matsumoto Jun from school days. The one with the cheeks and the toothy grin in elementary school. The one from the school’s baseball team. The one who scored the Valentines gifts several years in a row. Just why is he in Tokyo?
Matsumoto meanwhile bows his head a little in acknowledgment but no recognition when he passes by him.
Asshole, Nino thinks and knocks with his broom even harder the next time Matsumoto carries out one of his noise sessions.
~
After two weeks Jun thinks he lives with a kind of maniac. The knocking should break the floor soon. He actually has had a different image of piano players. Something close to sensible, pleasant, calm and creative. His roommate is just... weird. Besides the ramen cups which already build up a third damn tower on top of the other two, it is kind of traveling up the wall (oh, the post-it is coming soon!), he also seems to be a game addict according to the noises from his room when he is not practicing.
And there Jun thought pianists have a sensitive soul. Screw that. This guy seems more like an agitator or a jerk (who happens to play the piano nice enough).
~
So he lives with Matsumoto Jun. A reckless Matsumoto Jun. A Matsumoto Jun who hogs the bathroom. At seven in the morning. Nino's time.
Surely, it must be some kind of revenge for the broom knocking. And he is certain that Matsumoto must have timed it when Nino usually uses the bathroom in the morning because today, when he wants to use it, the door is locked. And he needs to pee.
He stares at the closed bathroom door from his door frame in disbelief for 10 minutes, in anger for 20 minutes, in impatience for half an hour. Goddammit!
He can hear constant water running and splashes and rubbing and--Wait, is Matsumoto doing his laundry at seven in the morning?
After 45 minutes he knocks at the door. (He has a feeling that it's the only form of communication he will use with Matsumoto).
The splashing stops.
"I'm coming..."
The splashing continues.
Nino stomps off into his room, sitting down on his bed and desperately concentrates not to pee into his pants.
Five minutes later the door unlocks and opens. There is a muffled ‘Sorry’ and hurried steps on stairs and Nino thinks that Matsumoto is really, seriously annoying. He settles for that and hurries to the bathroom.
~
Damn it, damn it, damn it.
He is so late! He really shouldn’t experiment with the colors as much as he did. It took him all night. The result was that he couldn't finish his piece for class in time (but the bright crimson red spots on the turquoise blue died fabric were breathtaking).
The knock on the door had startled him.
"I'm coming!" He had shouted and rinsed the scarf for a last time.
He arrives at class with a half dried scarf and receives some scowls from Ohno-senpai. Jun becomes smaller along with the drying process of his piece.
He feels so guilty for the rest of the day--because it has been the first time that he really hindered the other when he really did not intend it--that he decides to make it up to his roommate, however invisible but lousy and noisy he is.
He takes out the trash in the evening (he has to go three times and curses a lot) and prepares a Japanese potato salad, while humming to 'Baby I'm a Fool' playing on the radio. His roommate is nowhere to be seen so he spares a bowl for him and sets it on the counter with a post-it note. He really thought his first post-it note would turn out differently, though.
He yawns when he makes his way up the stairs. He is lacking sleep due to his Midnight Morning Washing Experiments. It was worth it, without question yet he decides to call it a day.
~
When Nino arrives at home he has actually prepared a whole speech. Something close to: We need to work this out somehow or the revenge would never stop. It sounds like some Hollywood movie... but he is ready to face his special roommate. Well, he would but only darkness and complete silence welcomes him.
He hides, that bastard, Nino thinks while kicking off his shoes and let them be because he reckons Matsumoto is anal about such things, too.
He throws his stuff into his room and goes to make himself some tea. It’s the first thing he does when coming home next to observing the developing cup ramen towers which he is kind of proud of.
The first thing he realizes is that the towers are missing. He scowls. Does Matsumoto have any idea how difficult it was to balance--Okay, he must admit that it began to get disgusting. The second thing he notices is the white china bowl on the counter with a post-it attached to it.
Sorry for this morning.
A small change from all the instant ramen (?)
Jun M.
Nino raises his eyebrows and looks around himself. The silence, the trash, the note, the food.
Matsumoto wants to make it up to him--just when Nino intends to settle things, Matsumoto beats him to it. Bloody brilliant.
(Also Matsumoto has actually written his name in letters. Strange.)
Nino shrugs, books it as a victory on his side, picks up the salad and heads to his room.
The salad is fresh and delicious. He can't help but sigh at the taste since it's been a while he had something fresh to eat.
Between some occasional bites, he spends a blissfully quiet evening with his salad and some random piano practicing.
~
Jun wakes up to soft piano music and smiles into his cushion. He closes his eyes again, dozing off to the melody of 'Hey Jude'.
~
The next day is the first Sunday Nino spends at the apartment and not at his mom's (who would just complain that she isn't getting any thinner despite doing aerobics and these tirades just get old...). It is also the first morning that he sees Matsumoto inside their apartment. He is in the kitchen when Nino wants to make himself his usual corn-mayo-bread in the microwave.
For the first time Nino does not really have the urge to run and hide in the bathroom or something. Instead he leans against the kitchen's door frame and watches how Matsumoto prepares his coffee. Boiling water, reaching up to the board for his coffee caddy (his shirt rides up his impossible slim hips and Nino wonders for a glimpse of a second how a guy can have such hips. And really, he shouldn't stare at the exposed skin like he totally is) and snatching a spoon from the utility sink.
When Matsumoto bends down to get the milk from the fridge, however (and Nino can see other things through the light sweat pants), Nino clears his throat.
Matsumoto jerks up to that and hits his head at the open cup board door. Nino laughs the same time Matsumoto curses and turns around.
Nino pushes himself from the door frame, a little surprised that the Matsumoto Jun is wearing huge glasses which makes him look like a dork, like the kid he was back in school. But certainly the real surprise is on Nino's side.
"Morning," he greets casually.
Matsumoto looks at him, startled, surprised, a greeting already on his lips when he looks at Nino, his eyes wide while holding his head.
"You're--You're Ninomiya Kazunari." Matsumoto blurts out.
Nino's eyes widen slightly in surprise as he ducks he head. Matsumoto remembers his name?
"Yeah," he answers, somehow taken aback.
"I'm Matsumoto Jun! You went to Izumi High School too, didn't you?" He bows slightly and smiles one of these Nice To Meet You Again smiles.
Nino stares at him and can't come up with a reply. He can't say, 'Not only high school!' because he doesn’t want to admit that he even remembers Matsumoto back to their elementary school days. It would sound stupid and stalkerish. He also can't say, 'Really?' because it would be a blatant lie and everyone knew Matsumoto back then.
The silence already stretched out to be the awkward kind and he must have stared oddly at Matsumoto because he sees how Matsumoto's smile struggles and his eyes dart around before they settle on the boiling water.
"Right," Nino hears him mutter. "Do you want some coffee?" Matsumoto asks, smile apparent again.
Nino is still staring at him, his thoughts not catching up with the situation while looking at that smile. That smile which developed from a toothy and too big one into a handsome, winning one, even with the glasses. Nino can't say he dislikes it. Finally, he snaps out of his daze.
"Sure," he says easily enough and goes for his mug.
He sits down on the old kitchen sofa while Matsumoto gets the coffee, milk and sugar. He accompanies Nino at the table and adds a little milk while asking what Nino is doing. A stupid question, considering the piano, but Nino can see that Matsumoto just wants the conversation to flow. He has to give him credit for that.
And indeed, the talk is pleasant enough that Nino talks about his favorite music pieces (Take Five), his addiction to games ("That's why the curses," Matsumoto throws in, laughing into his coffee), his ambition to create game soundtracks and his money saving strategy. However, he resists the urge to show Matsumoto his saving box with the counting strokes.
Nino starts to feel comfortable over his third coffee, although his heart is racing already from all the caffeine but he does not want to stop talking to Matsumoto.
"So, seriously, what are you doing up there?" He asks finally, because he can't help it and is curious.
"Sewing," Jun answers over his mug.
"Sewing?"
"Yeah, I study fashion creation at the Bunka."
That explains the clothes.
"And the noise?"
Matsumoto raises an eyebrow, it looks haughty for a moment.
"My sewing machine?"
"Your sewing machine?"
That is a sewing machine for heaven's sake? Nino groans inwardly. He can't go against that.
That is as far they touch the Rrrattatatattt Knocking Battle but Jun greatly explains his studies (and that he just studied at the Bunka because of Kenzo) and his sewing machine and his classes and that he needs to sew and all that.
It's not an apology but it's not a blank explanation either.
"You need to show me a piece of yours sometime," Nino says, finally, honestly impressed by the eagerness and passion Matsumoto has for the subject.
It is not an apology on his side, either.
Matsumoto raises both of his eyebrows but changes into a smile soon.
"Sure."
~