Arashi: Red Shift (05)
FANDOM: Arashi
PAIRING: Sakuraiba
RATING: PG
WORD COUNT: 2,281
DATE: January 22, 2010
NOTES: I don't own Arashi, nor do I know much about them - this fic is entirely AU and fictional. This is for arashic0804!
Chapter Four | Chapter Six
CHAPTER FIVE
In the end, Nino went out to buy food at a nearby Lotteria chain. He had went online to check if there are any Saizeriyas in the area, first, but he was out of luck. Somehow Saizeriya had always been Aiba’s choice of comfort food; it wasn’t something Nino had thought much about until then, when he was really wishing he could find a nearby branch.
He returned to find Aiba still sitting at the dinner table, staring into space. He set down their lunch on the table and told Aiba to eat. When he was satisfied that Aiba was listening to him, he said, “Tell me what happened.”
“Remember the restaurant I was telling you about, that I said we should go together one of these days? Well, I was going to get our lunch from there...” Aiba trailed off and looked at the burger Nino had placed before him. “I’m sorry I forgot to get lunch.”
“Forget about it, already,” Nino said impatiently. “What’s important is, how did you know Sho’s engaged?”
“Well, I went to that restaurant, and he was there, with Michiyo-san.”
“Michiyo? You mean, Akita Michiyo?”
Aiba gave Nino a strange look. “How many Michiyos do we both know?”
Nino shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s just, wow.” He said quietly, “I thought they’ve broken it off ages ago. I haven’t met with anyone from high school for awhile, but I really thought I heard something about them breaking up.”
“No.” Aiba looked miserable as he told Nino, “They seemed like they’ve never been apart. They looked so good together, really.”
“And they told you they were engaged?”
“Not exactly.”
“Don’t tell me you walked into him proposing.”
Aiba squirmed, trying to get rid of the thought of walking into Sho proposing to Michiyo. “Not that, either. Thank god.”
“So how’d you know?”
“Her ring. Michiyo-san was wearing an engagement ring.” He looked away, not wanting Nino to see the tears that was starting to come. He wouldn’t cry, he told himself. After all, it was over between him and Sho. It was just shock, finding out the way he did. That’s all. After all, he had worked together with Sho for the past week, so it wasn’t as if the man didn’t have a chance to tell him himself. “You know how she used to talk really loud, and how she always gestured her hands wildly when she talked? Well, I always end up looking at her hands, even back then, and that’s why I noticed her ring today.”
“She was probably just rubbing it in,” Nino muttered, unsure of who he hated more at the moment, Michiyo or Sho.
“No, that’s not it. I don’t think she even thought about it. She was just too excited. She was glowing. She was just so happy.” Aiba was remembering her expression when he walked into the restaurant, before she noticed him. Sho was laughing at something she said. He hadn’t seen Sho look so relaxed in the last few weeks they’ve worked together. Even though Aiba had tried his best to act normally, Sho had been polite, and cheerful, but never relaxed. It was like he was trying to pretend that their past didn’t exist, despite the fact that it was Sho who first said that it was best to get it all out in the open, and that they should try to be friends again. In the end Aiba had started to arrive to their sessions exactly on time and leave as soon as he was allowed to, just so that he would hardly have to talk to Sho.
Nino was still asking him questions, but Aiba just said, “I’m tired. Really, it’s not a big deal. I mean, we broke up a long time ago, so it’s not any of my business if he got engaged. It’s just a surprise, that’s all. I’m going to my room now.”
Aiba turned to leave, but was stopped by Nino, who said his name sharply. “Aiba.” Nino sighed, put down his burger on the plate in front of him, and walked up to his best friend. “You’ve never stopped being in love with him, have you?”
Aiba bit his lip, not knowing what to say. Nino just continued looking at him, as if waiting for a reply, so he finally said in a low voice, “I’d be pretty stupid if I said yes, wouldn’t I?” He looked like he was about to cry - he felt like he had been trying not to for so long. “I know it’s stupid to feel this way. He’s obviously forgotten about me.”
“You’re stupid,” Nino replied, moving forward to give his friend a comforting hug. “You’re really, really, stupid if you think that you could stop loving someone so easily.” When Aiba started to cry, Nino murmured, “You’re the most loving person I know. Don’t stop being you on account of that asshole, okay?”
})i({
The next morning, Aiba was rather withdrawn, and refused to speak of Sho any longer. Nino followed suit, and they tried to find neutral subjects to talk about, but spent most of the train ride to Nino’s parents’ place in silence.
When they arrived, almost all of their neighbors and friends were scattered around the Ninomiyas’ lawn, which seemed like an impossible feat to Nino and Aiba, since their house, while larger than most, was not really large enough to host such a large gathering. “Your family always go all out when it comes to celebrating birthdays,” Aiba said, smiling. “Somehow this year seem to be bigger than the previous ones.”
“At least it’s easier to avoid people in this crowd,” Nino said jokingly. “And speaking of people to avoid...”
“You guys finally made it!” Nino’s sister had noticed them arriving and rushed to greet them. “Ohno-kun and Matsumoto-kun are already here, somewhere. I think mom’s trying to matchmake them with some of the cousins,” she said, rolling her eyes at Nino. She gave Aiba a warm smile, continuing, “Aiba, unless you’re looking for a girlfriend, maybe you should avoid mom.”
Aiba smiled uneasily. “Thanks for the tip, Yukie-chan. I still have to wish her a happy birthday, though.”
“Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you!” She grinned. “So, how’s the recording going? When’s your first single going to be released?”
“We’re still stuck on the B-side. Sho’s arrangements aren’t bad, really, but it’s so -”
“Sho?” Yukie asked, puzzled. “You mean Sakurai-kun?”
“Yeah,” Nino answered, noticing that Aiba’s smile had faltered. “I haven’t told you yet, but he’s working with us for this album, like a collaboration thing.”
“But that’s so cool! Did you invite him over? The neighbors would freak! Mom would really love to see him again, and -”
“Nee-san,” Nino interrupted in a pained voice. “He can’t come; he’s busy. Anyway, it’s not like we’re friends anymore or anything.” His tone indicated that that was all he had to say about the subject, so Yukie decided not to pursue it.
“That’s too bad. Well, come on then. Let’s go meet the birthday girl... er, woman.” She grabbed Aiba’s hands and pulled him forward, while Nino followed behind. “Your mom’s here, too, Aiba. I’m not sure where exactly, but I did see her a few minutes ago.”
They found Nino and Yukie’s mother talking to Ohno, who looked as though he wished he was somewhere else. That was probably due to the petite girl who seemed to be clinging to his arm, rather than their mother, though.
“That’s Natsuki,” Yukie said darkly to Aiba. “She may be my cousin, but I think Momo’s smarter than her.”
Momo was the family cat. Aiba remembered that last year, he chased a bird while on the rooftop and fell off the roof. Thankfully, he fell into a bush and was only mildly injured.
“Masaki, you’ve grown!” Nino’s mother exclaimed in delight. She hugged him and Nino, then turned back to look at Aiba critically. “You’ve grown thinner, too. You should fatten up a bit - Yukie, take Aiba to get some food.”
“Mom, I need to get back to my boyfriend before the cousins eat him alive,” Yukie said, emphasising the boyfriend part.
“Oh, he’ll be fine,” her mother said, waving the matter away. “Although I don’t know why you can’t date someone like Masaki here.”
Yukie made a face. “Because it’d be like dating my brother?”
“Aiba’s mother hopes for the two of you to get together too, you know,” Nino’s mom continued, ignoring Yukie. “Which reminds me, I should inform her that Masaki’s here. Yukie, make sure they get something to eat.” She walked off, presumably to find Aiba’s mother.
“I wouldn’t mind something to eat,” Ohno said, extracting himself from Natsuki as gently as he could. His first impulse upon meeting the girl was to run in the opposite direction, but he didn’t want to hurt Ninomiya-san’s feelings, as she was convinced that they were perfect for each other. “Maybe you could show us where to go, and introduce us to your boyfriend?”
“I could take you there, Oh-chan,” Natsuki said, pouting. “I made one of the desserts; you should try it!”
“Putting the cherry on top of the cake does not count as making it,” Yukie said drily. “I think Ryoma is probably impressing the cousins at Grand Slam Tennis, in the living room. So let’s go have some refreshments first, and then I’ll introduce you to him.”
“Oh! I like tennis, so I think I’ll go there first and meet you later,” Natsuki said, and turned to leave.
When she was gone, Ohno looked gratefully at Yukie. “You have no idea how much I love you right now. But is it really okay, to distract her with your boyfriend?”
“It’s fine. If he’s the kind of guy who’d fall for Natsuki, I’d hardly think he’s the guy for me anyway.” She grinned wickedly at Ohno. “Plus, if he falls for her, then you’d be in trouble because my mom might try to fix me up with you, too.”
Ohno just laughed, while Nino groaned. “Believe me, she wasn’t always like this,” Nino said. “I don’t know why, but the last couple of months she has been on this constant matchmaking mode. I think it has something to do with our cousin Ami having a baby.”
Ohno started to ask how many cousins they had, but saw that Aiba was frowning, deep in thought. He turned to Nino, who just shook his head slightly, indicating that they should talk about it later.
“Where’s Jun?” Nino asked.
“Probably either getting creamed by Ryoma or getting it on with Miyuki. Now, that girl, I’m proud to call a cousin. She’s kind of a boy-magnet in our college, too, so she and Jun just might hit it off.” Yukie answered Nino lightly, so Ohno didn’t know whether she was being serious or not.
He frowned. “Maybe we should find him.”
“I’ll go and get him if you like; you guys should help yourselves to the food before mom decides to kill me,” Yukie said. She pushed paper plates onto their hands, and continued, “go on. Eat!”
She left them and headed towards the living room. Aiba put his plate back down, and said, “I’m not really hungry.”
“What is it?” Ohno asked. “You look like you were crying all of last night.”
Aiba didn’t answer him, so Nino said, “It’s that guy.” For some reason, Ohno knew exactly who Nino was talking about. Probably because he had been talking about Sho with that same venom in his voice for the last few weeks.
He looked at Aiba thoughtfully, taking in his gaunt appearance. He hadn’t told any of his friends how badly he wanted their album to work out right. But he couldn’t ignore how it had been affecting them. Nino was angry most of the time, and it didn’t help that the person he was angry at was also the person who was rearranging all of his songs. Aiba was obviously trying to avoid spending too much time in the studio last week, and it pained Ohno to see him looking so desolate. And as for Jun... well. He was pretty much the same, if you didn’t count the number of girls he’d picked up with his “I’m a rock star on the rise” shtick. Ohno had always felt responsible for the younger man, and this time it was worrying him more than usual. But right now, his biggest concern was Aiba.
“Aiba,” he said, drawing out his words, as if he wished he didn’t have to say it. “If this is all too much for you, we could stop.”
Aiba looked at him in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, we could forget about doing the album with Voyager. It’s not worth it, if it’s affecting you this way.”
Nino nodded. “I agree. We could go on as we used to - we did okay even without a major debut, so I think we’ll be fine. This way you won’t have to see him every day at work.”
“But the new single is going well, and we all know that it’s going to be big. You guys are okay with giving that up?”
“If it makes you feel better, then yes,” Ohno said.
“I’ve been dreading tomorrow,” Aiba confessed. “So I’m not exaggerating when I say that if we stopped, I’d be relieved.” He thought about it, and said, “yes, I actually would like to just forget about doing the album with Voyager.”
Right after he said those words, the three of them fell silent, thinking about the implications of their decision.
~to be continued~
Chapter Four | Chapter Six
Other warnings: I'm half-asleep right now, so I might regret posting this tomorrow. But right now, I just couldn't care less. arashic0804, I hope you like this one ^_^;;
PAIRING: Sakuraiba
RATING: PG
WORD COUNT: 2,281
DATE: January 22, 2010
NOTES: I don't own Arashi, nor do I know much about them - this fic is entirely AU and fictional. This is for arashic0804!
Chapter Four | Chapter Six
CHAPTER FIVE
In the end, Nino went out to buy food at a nearby Lotteria chain. He had went online to check if there are any Saizeriyas in the area, first, but he was out of luck. Somehow Saizeriya had always been Aiba’s choice of comfort food; it wasn’t something Nino had thought much about until then, when he was really wishing he could find a nearby branch.
He returned to find Aiba still sitting at the dinner table, staring into space. He set down their lunch on the table and told Aiba to eat. When he was satisfied that Aiba was listening to him, he said, “Tell me what happened.”
“Remember the restaurant I was telling you about, that I said we should go together one of these days? Well, I was going to get our lunch from there...” Aiba trailed off and looked at the burger Nino had placed before him. “I’m sorry I forgot to get lunch.”
“Forget about it, already,” Nino said impatiently. “What’s important is, how did you know Sho’s engaged?”
“Well, I went to that restaurant, and he was there, with Michiyo-san.”
“Michiyo? You mean, Akita Michiyo?”
Aiba gave Nino a strange look. “How many Michiyos do we both know?”
Nino shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s just, wow.” He said quietly, “I thought they’ve broken it off ages ago. I haven’t met with anyone from high school for awhile, but I really thought I heard something about them breaking up.”
“No.” Aiba looked miserable as he told Nino, “They seemed like they’ve never been apart. They looked so good together, really.”
“And they told you they were engaged?”
“Not exactly.”
“Don’t tell me you walked into him proposing.”
Aiba squirmed, trying to get rid of the thought of walking into Sho proposing to Michiyo. “Not that, either. Thank god.”
“So how’d you know?”
“Her ring. Michiyo-san was wearing an engagement ring.” He looked away, not wanting Nino to see the tears that was starting to come. He wouldn’t cry, he told himself. After all, it was over between him and Sho. It was just shock, finding out the way he did. That’s all. After all, he had worked together with Sho for the past week, so it wasn’t as if the man didn’t have a chance to tell him himself. “You know how she used to talk really loud, and how she always gestured her hands wildly when she talked? Well, I always end up looking at her hands, even back then, and that’s why I noticed her ring today.”
“She was probably just rubbing it in,” Nino muttered, unsure of who he hated more at the moment, Michiyo or Sho.
“No, that’s not it. I don’t think she even thought about it. She was just too excited. She was glowing. She was just so happy.” Aiba was remembering her expression when he walked into the restaurant, before she noticed him. Sho was laughing at something she said. He hadn’t seen Sho look so relaxed in the last few weeks they’ve worked together. Even though Aiba had tried his best to act normally, Sho had been polite, and cheerful, but never relaxed. It was like he was trying to pretend that their past didn’t exist, despite the fact that it was Sho who first said that it was best to get it all out in the open, and that they should try to be friends again. In the end Aiba had started to arrive to their sessions exactly on time and leave as soon as he was allowed to, just so that he would hardly have to talk to Sho.
Nino was still asking him questions, but Aiba just said, “I’m tired. Really, it’s not a big deal. I mean, we broke up a long time ago, so it’s not any of my business if he got engaged. It’s just a surprise, that’s all. I’m going to my room now.”
Aiba turned to leave, but was stopped by Nino, who said his name sharply. “Aiba.” Nino sighed, put down his burger on the plate in front of him, and walked up to his best friend. “You’ve never stopped being in love with him, have you?”
Aiba bit his lip, not knowing what to say. Nino just continued looking at him, as if waiting for a reply, so he finally said in a low voice, “I’d be pretty stupid if I said yes, wouldn’t I?” He looked like he was about to cry - he felt like he had been trying not to for so long. “I know it’s stupid to feel this way. He’s obviously forgotten about me.”
“You’re stupid,” Nino replied, moving forward to give his friend a comforting hug. “You’re really, really, stupid if you think that you could stop loving someone so easily.” When Aiba started to cry, Nino murmured, “You’re the most loving person I know. Don’t stop being you on account of that asshole, okay?”
})i({
The next morning, Aiba was rather withdrawn, and refused to speak of Sho any longer. Nino followed suit, and they tried to find neutral subjects to talk about, but spent most of the train ride to Nino’s parents’ place in silence.
When they arrived, almost all of their neighbors and friends were scattered around the Ninomiyas’ lawn, which seemed like an impossible feat to Nino and Aiba, since their house, while larger than most, was not really large enough to host such a large gathering. “Your family always go all out when it comes to celebrating birthdays,” Aiba said, smiling. “Somehow this year seem to be bigger than the previous ones.”
“At least it’s easier to avoid people in this crowd,” Nino said jokingly. “And speaking of people to avoid...”
“You guys finally made it!” Nino’s sister had noticed them arriving and rushed to greet them. “Ohno-kun and Matsumoto-kun are already here, somewhere. I think mom’s trying to matchmake them with some of the cousins,” she said, rolling her eyes at Nino. She gave Aiba a warm smile, continuing, “Aiba, unless you’re looking for a girlfriend, maybe you should avoid mom.”
Aiba smiled uneasily. “Thanks for the tip, Yukie-chan. I still have to wish her a happy birthday, though.”
“Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you!” She grinned. “So, how’s the recording going? When’s your first single going to be released?”
“We’re still stuck on the B-side. Sho’s arrangements aren’t bad, really, but it’s so -”
“Sho?” Yukie asked, puzzled. “You mean Sakurai-kun?”
“Yeah,” Nino answered, noticing that Aiba’s smile had faltered. “I haven’t told you yet, but he’s working with us for this album, like a collaboration thing.”
“But that’s so cool! Did you invite him over? The neighbors would freak! Mom would really love to see him again, and -”
“Nee-san,” Nino interrupted in a pained voice. “He can’t come; he’s busy. Anyway, it’s not like we’re friends anymore or anything.” His tone indicated that that was all he had to say about the subject, so Yukie decided not to pursue it.
“That’s too bad. Well, come on then. Let’s go meet the birthday girl... er, woman.” She grabbed Aiba’s hands and pulled him forward, while Nino followed behind. “Your mom’s here, too, Aiba. I’m not sure where exactly, but I did see her a few minutes ago.”
They found Nino and Yukie’s mother talking to Ohno, who looked as though he wished he was somewhere else. That was probably due to the petite girl who seemed to be clinging to his arm, rather than their mother, though.
“That’s Natsuki,” Yukie said darkly to Aiba. “She may be my cousin, but I think Momo’s smarter than her.”
Momo was the family cat. Aiba remembered that last year, he chased a bird while on the rooftop and fell off the roof. Thankfully, he fell into a bush and was only mildly injured.
“Masaki, you’ve grown!” Nino’s mother exclaimed in delight. She hugged him and Nino, then turned back to look at Aiba critically. “You’ve grown thinner, too. You should fatten up a bit - Yukie, take Aiba to get some food.”
“Mom, I need to get back to my boyfriend before the cousins eat him alive,” Yukie said, emphasising the boyfriend part.
“Oh, he’ll be fine,” her mother said, waving the matter away. “Although I don’t know why you can’t date someone like Masaki here.”
Yukie made a face. “Because it’d be like dating my brother?”
“Aiba’s mother hopes for the two of you to get together too, you know,” Nino’s mom continued, ignoring Yukie. “Which reminds me, I should inform her that Masaki’s here. Yukie, make sure they get something to eat.” She walked off, presumably to find Aiba’s mother.
“I wouldn’t mind something to eat,” Ohno said, extracting himself from Natsuki as gently as he could. His first impulse upon meeting the girl was to run in the opposite direction, but he didn’t want to hurt Ninomiya-san’s feelings, as she was convinced that they were perfect for each other. “Maybe you could show us where to go, and introduce us to your boyfriend?”
“I could take you there, Oh-chan,” Natsuki said, pouting. “I made one of the desserts; you should try it!”
“Putting the cherry on top of the cake does not count as making it,” Yukie said drily. “I think Ryoma is probably impressing the cousins at Grand Slam Tennis, in the living room. So let’s go have some refreshments first, and then I’ll introduce you to him.”
“Oh! I like tennis, so I think I’ll go there first and meet you later,” Natsuki said, and turned to leave.
When she was gone, Ohno looked gratefully at Yukie. “You have no idea how much I love you right now. But is it really okay, to distract her with your boyfriend?”
“It’s fine. If he’s the kind of guy who’d fall for Natsuki, I’d hardly think he’s the guy for me anyway.” She grinned wickedly at Ohno. “Plus, if he falls for her, then you’d be in trouble because my mom might try to fix me up with you, too.”
Ohno just laughed, while Nino groaned. “Believe me, she wasn’t always like this,” Nino said. “I don’t know why, but the last couple of months she has been on this constant matchmaking mode. I think it has something to do with our cousin Ami having a baby.”
Ohno started to ask how many cousins they had, but saw that Aiba was frowning, deep in thought. He turned to Nino, who just shook his head slightly, indicating that they should talk about it later.
“Where’s Jun?” Nino asked.
“Probably either getting creamed by Ryoma or getting it on with Miyuki. Now, that girl, I’m proud to call a cousin. She’s kind of a boy-magnet in our college, too, so she and Jun just might hit it off.” Yukie answered Nino lightly, so Ohno didn’t know whether she was being serious or not.
He frowned. “Maybe we should find him.”
“I’ll go and get him if you like; you guys should help yourselves to the food before mom decides to kill me,” Yukie said. She pushed paper plates onto their hands, and continued, “go on. Eat!”
She left them and headed towards the living room. Aiba put his plate back down, and said, “I’m not really hungry.”
“What is it?” Ohno asked. “You look like you were crying all of last night.”
Aiba didn’t answer him, so Nino said, “It’s that guy.” For some reason, Ohno knew exactly who Nino was talking about. Probably because he had been talking about Sho with that same venom in his voice for the last few weeks.
He looked at Aiba thoughtfully, taking in his gaunt appearance. He hadn’t told any of his friends how badly he wanted their album to work out right. But he couldn’t ignore how it had been affecting them. Nino was angry most of the time, and it didn’t help that the person he was angry at was also the person who was rearranging all of his songs. Aiba was obviously trying to avoid spending too much time in the studio last week, and it pained Ohno to see him looking so desolate. And as for Jun... well. He was pretty much the same, if you didn’t count the number of girls he’d picked up with his “I’m a rock star on the rise” shtick. Ohno had always felt responsible for the younger man, and this time it was worrying him more than usual. But right now, his biggest concern was Aiba.
“Aiba,” he said, drawing out his words, as if he wished he didn’t have to say it. “If this is all too much for you, we could stop.”
Aiba looked at him in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, we could forget about doing the album with Voyager. It’s not worth it, if it’s affecting you this way.”
Nino nodded. “I agree. We could go on as we used to - we did okay even without a major debut, so I think we’ll be fine. This way you won’t have to see him every day at work.”
“But the new single is going well, and we all know that it’s going to be big. You guys are okay with giving that up?”
“If it makes you feel better, then yes,” Ohno said.
“I’ve been dreading tomorrow,” Aiba confessed. “So I’m not exaggerating when I say that if we stopped, I’d be relieved.” He thought about it, and said, “yes, I actually would like to just forget about doing the album with Voyager.”
Right after he said those words, the three of them fell silent, thinking about the implications of their decision.
~to be continued~
Chapter Four | Chapter Six
Other warnings: I'm half-asleep right now, so I might regret posting this tomorrow. But right now, I just couldn't care less. arashic0804, I hope you like this one ^_^;;