Arashi Fanfic 2: "Kagami" --- Chapter 4
Author’s Notes:
Another chapter before I go on my hiatus…
Thanks for reading, Minna-san… XD
Title: Kagami (The Mirror)
Summary: A young woman comes back to Japan to take over the family business, and in the process, she meets the man she’s meant to be with. But is she smart enough to figure out which one he is?
Disclaimer: A fanfiction on Arashi-sama.
Rating: PG to PG-13 (just in case).
IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER/S, PLEASE CLICK THIS LINK TO TAKE YOU TO THE MAIN PAGE OF THIS FANFIC…
Chapter 4:
Jun sat at the dining table and felt uncomfortable being next door. It was only him and Sayako-chan having breakfast since the owner of that very same apartment had said she already ate. Then she had promptly buried herself in front of the computer screen on her desk while her niece laid down the food on the dining table.
The apartment had an extra room, but it wasn’t used as a work space. Instead, her office was separated from the rest of the room by two mahogany book cases on either side of an organized table full of files, printouts and a laptop. This allowed the person sitting there a view of the entire room, from the entryway up to the end of the living area. And as Jun sat with his back to her, he had to fight the urge to turn around and check if she was looking his way.
Sayako had prepared their breakfast. And it was really good. But what was even more amazing was the kind of conversation Jun was having with the young girl. She had been nervous at first, but when she got more at ease with him, she started plying him with questions and giving a lot of feedback on Arashi and his own individual work. And some of her comments made him doubt if he was really talking to a thirteen year old.
“I’m serious, you all are so interesting as individuals, but as a group, you guys are amazing!”
She looked like she was an expert on the subject, and maybe she really was.
“How so?”
“Well, it all started last year when my school friends got interested in Johnny’s groups and they were all arguing about who was the best. I didn’t really care at first, but then you know how these things get, right? I remember that your sister brought home a video of SMAP-san which made you interested enough to apply to the Jimusho. In my case, I ended up bringing home videos of different Johnny’s groups just to fully understand what my friends were talking about.”
“So you compared all the debuted Johnny’s groups and decided we were the best?” Jun looked at her skeptically. He knew they weren’t the best singers, and maybe not even the best dancers.
“Hai! Hontou! In physical appearance, all of you hold your own as totally kakkoi bishounens. And in terms of talent and skill, all of you are really good. I don’t mean just as TV hosts or singers or dancers or actors but the whole package. And best of all, love for your group is so evident in all of you. Your personalities don’t overlap but really mesh well, and that speaks volumes about how good you are together.”
Jun got pretty embarrassed with the fervor of Sayako’s speech. She really was a devoted fan.
Being an idol was one of his passions. But talking about their accomplishments sometimes made him feel awkward. It felt good to be praised for your work. But it sometimes made him feel the pressure, like all his efforts were no good unless someone appreciated them. He sometimes envied others with normal careers because you didn’t need an audience to be a good doctor, or lawyer or businessman. All you had to do was give it your best and you either succeeded or you failed. But an idol couldn’t just do his best, he had to appeal to his fans and win people over. It was not about being popular at one point in your career but rather maintaining and sustaining it.
“Matsumoto-san, you went all serious on me again.” Sayako tried to lighten his mood as she sensed that she was the one who had said something to put him deep in thought.
“Iie, I was just a bit overwhelmed by what you said.”
And in an attempt to change the mood. “You want some ice cream? How about you, Ba-chan? You want some, too?”
Sayako got up and began clearing the plates. Then she stood over the refrigerator and looked inside, enumerating several flavors and taking out the chocolate for herself and pistachio for her aunt. Jun got curious over the pistachio and tried that as well.
“Ba-chan’s weakness is ice cream. She likes to try many different flavors from time to time.”
Jun glanced at the woman sitting behind stacks of files and realized she wasn’t all too pleased that Sayako had revealed that about her. Three bowls were placed on the dining table.
“Sayako, would you mind passing that bowl to me?”
“Eh? Ba-chan, you always say ‘eat ice cream at the dining table ‘coz it’s messy,’ ne?”
Looking at her niece, she realized that there really was no excuse out of this one. She stood up and sat opposite Matsumoto, pulling her bowl closer to her as she began to scoop some ice cream. She worried over what to say for small talk now that she no longer had her paperwork to hide behind. Luckily, Sayako solved that for her with another question.
“Matsumoto-san, you wouldn’t mind if I wrote a paper about Arashi, would you?”
Jun cocked an eyebrow as he was once again surprised by what Sayako had to say.
“You mean like an essay? Something about how you met one of us in person for your school newspaper or something?”
“Ah, actually, no. More in the lines of my research paper for Behavioral Psychology. I’m writing about group dynamics being directly or indirectly related to individual personality types. There are lots of material on it, but I thought it would be fun to do a personal case study in application.”
It was probably one of those moments when the silence was so deafening that you could probably hear a pin drop. Jun looked sharply at the young girl as he tried to deduce whether all this was just an elaborate joke to her or if she was really serious. And if she was serious, that would mean her IQ was off the charts. To be honest, he had already realized that she wasn’t just any other ordinary thirteen year old last night when she manipulated him into agreeing to have breakfast.
“Sayako-chan is academically at college level. She just chooses to stay in middle school.” After saying this, the aunt looked fondly at the niece. It took a lot of courage to reveal just how intelligent she really was to one of her idols, and she hoped that whatever Matsumoto thought of it, he was enough of an actor to muster up a favorable reaction.
“Sugoi, Sayako-chan.” And true enough, Jun looked at her not like a freak, but like she was another impressive idol herself.
“Actually, Matsumoto-san, my Ba-chan skipped one level, and she told me that it affected how people perceived her, so even though she could have probably moved up another level or two, she stayed where she was.”
It seemed the TBH family produced geniuses. Jun wondered if he should allow himself to feel intimidated. He was only a high school graduate after all and he hadn’t really cared one way or another for academics.
“Sayako-chan, are you one of those people who can calculate long mathematical problems in their head in a matter of seconds?”
Sayako looked at Jun and smiled impishly. “I’ve stopped doing that. Frankly, for me, math is boring. And being good at it freaks people out. I’m more interested in sociology and psychology than in math anyway. And that’s another reason why I refuse to be accelerated. I’d miss all the fun of growing up.”
It was a few heartbeats later before Jun started laughing.
“Baka!” The insult made Sayako smile. Because being affectionately called ‘stupid’ by Do-S Banchou simply meant he liked and accepted you.
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She was getting pretty impatient. It was almost lunchtime and instead of concentrating on her work, all she could do was stare at Matsumoto’s back and wonder when the hell he would leave. Or maybe he was staying over so long just to piss her off.
He and Sayako were totally engrossed in video games and it annoyed her that her niece was already getting on so well with the one member of Arashi who was said to be polite but distant towards people he met for the first time.
But then he was dealing with Sayako, a developing master of the human psyche - if her professors were to be believed. Too bad that Sayako was reigning in her fangirl persona and concentrating on putting Matsumoto at ease with her as opposed to last night’s lapse in proper decorum.
Suzana was supposed to arrive at any moment now with the edited interview for Monday’s News Zero broadcast. She had asked her best friend to get some take out on the way -- good enough for four people just in case Matsumoto was still here.
She and Sayako were supposed to be working this morning, her with TBH stuff, and the younger girl with her homework, both the middle school and the advanced kind. Of course going to the office was not possible. No way was she leaving her niece here when a stranger came over.
Okay, maybe he wasn’t exactly a stranger. But he was definitely still in the strange department.
Who else but a strange man would wear designer labels just to go next door and play? It made her wonder just when exactly Matsumoto Jun looked his worse. Because even when he did, he carried it off with such flair that it looked like a fashion statement, rather than a wardrobe malfunction.
She hadn’t informed Suzana that Matsumoto was at her apartment, or that they were neighbors. She was still hoping that he would leave before lunchtime and to tell Suzana now would mean two fangirls instead of just one would be fawning over him in her apartment.
“So Sayako-chan, do your friends at school know how smart you really are?”
“I try not to say anything, but I realized that sooner or later, something about me gives it away. Like maybe how easy their lessons are for me and stuff. But mostly, they don’t seem to mind, some even ask help with homework.”
Jun noted that she used the words ‘their lessons’ which spoke to him about how isolated this girl probably felt sometimes. He had felt that a lot growing up, and maybe that’s why he could really relate to her and see how he was before.
“Ano… Matsumoto-san…?”
“Hai?” Jun’s gaze was fixed on the screen, his fingers moving rapidly on the game controller.
“I’m a big fan, but outside of that, I think we could say we’re now beginning to be friends, right?”
Jun had given up trying to second guess this woman-child’s thinking process, but he had to admit that he felt definite affinity and affection for her even though he hadn’t known her before yesterday.
“Hai, we are.”
He didn’t see Sayako beaming at his response.
“So friends can tell each other stuff, right? What I mean is, can I tell you something?”
“Hmmm…” Jun wasn’t really concentrating on the conversation, he had his hands full trying to block Sayako’s attacks. She’d probably give Nino a real challenge if they ever played against each other in this game.
Sayako took Jun’s semi-grunt as a yes to her question. So, taking a deep breath, she let out what exactly had been bothering her.
“Please don’t get mad, but I really hope you change your hairstyle soon. I don’t mean to be rude, but your hair is just too permed. It’s just, well, it’s too long to be Domyouji’s hair, and too curly to be Momo’s. It just… it makes you look… off.”
Those words took Jun by surprise - a feeling he should probably get used to around this girl and her aunt. He had glanced sharply at the young girl as she began talking and totally forgot to concentrate on the video game. In the background, he heard his character die.
But then Sayako had him beat anyway.
Jun put down the controller and realized that there was another sound he could hear - that of smothered laughter. And it was coming from her.
Ignoring Sayako’s apprehensive expression, Jun turned and faced an amused one peeking at him from a file folder.
“Is she taking lessons from you now?” Jun directed a pointed look towards the woman pretending to be calmly working at her desk.
Sharp eyes met his over the distance of the room.
“Don’t look at me.” She raised her chin a slight notch. “I’m not the one here who looks like a poodle.”
Almost directly after uttering those words, she gasped at her indelicacy and put both hands over her mouth as if to contain herself. But it was already too late.
“Ba-chan!!” Sayako was a bit in shock over her aunt’s comment.
Jun had stood up, looking menacing as he approached the source of his current irritation.
She began backing away and moved to the opposite side of her desk, closest to the door.
“So now I’m a poodle…” Jun’s voice was clipped as he began advancing.
“Gomen, gomen… Matsumoto… gomen…”
She looked pretty scared as she circled the table with Jun trying to block off all her exits. She had her reasons for being prejudiced against Matsumoto, but calling a man a poodle was definitely pushing it too far. She knew it, and he knew it. So with his present temperament, there was only one thing left to do.
“Sayako-chan, gomen.” With those words, she made a mad dash for the entryway, opening the door to a startled Suzana who had her finger poised to press on the doorbell. With her only exit blocked, Matsumoto was easily able to catch up to her, yanking on her arm and whirling her around.
Who knows what Jun would have done to her if he hadn’t been distracted by a voice that spoke in surprise --- a very familiar deep male voice.
“EHH?! MatsuJun?!!”
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To be continued in the next chapter
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Author’s Notes:
Okay… so I’ll probably be buried in work for the next three days before my trip. Which means I won’t be updating again until after I get back.
Hope you liked this chapter, Minna-san… and comments would be truly appreciated.
Arigatou! XD