[multi-chapter] Destiny Calls [Ohmiya] [04/10]
Title: Destiny Calls
Pairing: Ohmiya
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Romance, mystery, suspense
Summary: Plagued by dreams in which he sees the same man die over and over again, Nino is trying to do the impossible, to escape fate that has chosen him of all people to be a life saver.
Previous chapters: 01 | 02 | 03
A/N: Short chapter for now, but the next will be longer again :) For my complete fic list click here :)
“All difficult things have their origin in that which is easy, and great things in that which is small.”
- Lao Tzu
Dream 4 - Shards
Ninomiya Kazunari wasn't usually prone to overthinking. Only a little while ago, when he had been composing music for an ad agency every now and then, he had let himself be guided purely by inspiration. He had never sat in front of a blank page, thinking about what he should do. He had simply done it. But he finally had to admit that he had reached a point at which he couldn't just do things anymore.
Because if he would - it would happen again. He would blindly try to safe someone who might not even be in danger. And in the end he would only endanger himself, most likely even get himself killed.
'I could renounce my self-imposed duty... and let him die the next time. But... do I want that? Can I do that?' A question he had long ago answered for himself with his actions. He had saved the man of his dreams the first time. And the second. And now he wouldn't be able to just break out of this vicious circle, he knew.
There remained the question of what he would do with that knowledge. Should he carelessly give himself over to his duty, hoping that it would one day end? Maybe he should just talk to the man next time, explain everything, like Jun had advised him to do.
But something stopped Nino from doing it. A fear, buried deep within him, that only came out to play every now and then, but was too strong for him to completely suppress it. It was always hovering just out of sight. He wasn't afraid of the man, he was afraid of the consequences. Afraid of what might come to light if he let himself get involved with him.
But no matter how long he thought about it that night, he couldn't stop himself from dreaming.
'I'm dreaming.' A thought that came to him right away and made everything easier. He knew that he only had to let himself be led by the dream, that he only had to follow the urge within himself, it would lead him directly to the man of his dream. He had experienced it so many times before. Every time there was this pull that drew him to the man.
That's why it didn't take long until he saw the familiar face, the brown hair and the crouched posture of the man. There he was - maybe fifty meters away, maybe even less - looking at different hooks in a big shop window. Sammi's Fishing Equipment was written above it in big letters.
For a short moment Nino contemplated approaching him. But he didn't want to find out if there would be consequences for the real world, for the real man; so he didn't approach him, he just stood there and watched. He watched the man's face, reflected in the window, saw the light in his eyes and the small smile on his lips. Then he saw a truck racing straight towards the small shop, saw it hit the man from behind and throw him through the window.
"A shop for fishing equipment?" Jun asked warily. Since Nino had blindly run out onto the street the day before, Jun took the whole thing more seriously.
"Not because of that guy again, is it? Nino, you know what nearly happened."
Yes, Nino remembered that vividly. He had only lain awake half the night thinking about it. And now he felt an all encompassing tension within himself - worse than that he had felt after he had dreamed about the man's death for the first time - that just wouldn't let go of him anymore. As if it was a cruel animal that had latched onto his heart with its claws.
"Do you want an answer?" Nino tried to ask coolly. Jun grimaced.
"Honestly, Nino, you shouldn't do this."
A customer interrupted them. Nino saw Jun turn to him angrily and took the opportunity given to him.
"See you tomorrow," he called out to his friend and hurried out. He could hear Jun say something else, but he didn't want to understand the words. What good would they do anyway? He was in way too deep by now, there was no way he could just stop.
Saving lives wasn't a job you could quit.
Luckily it wasn't hard to find a specific shop in this day and age. He just had to enter its name into his cell phone and it showed him how to get there. Yes, modern technology made life a whole lot easier.
He sat on a small bench across the street from the shop and waited. While he sat there, he realized that this time he didn't even know when it would happen. The only clue he had was the time of day. It had been light out, he remembered, but the sun hadn't stood high in the sky anymore, it had already started its slow descent. Late afternoon, maybe. Nino looked at his watch, it was just gone noon. Thus he had more than enough time to find a way to prevent the accident.
'I should get him away from the shop window very soon- no, better yet, not let him reach it at all. If he doesn't get close to the window, he should be safest,' he decided, distractedly biting his pinky finger. A sign of nerves he had never noticed before. Or was this whole situation changing him?
He waited an hour, then another and another. The man of his dreams was still nowhere to be seen. Again and again Nino looked at the small sign above the shop, only to reassure himself that he was waiting in front of the right shop. But it was this very one. It had to be this shop. But despite his certitude, he grew more restless by the minute.
'Will I be able to stop him from getting himself killed while at the same time avoiding a conversation with him?' he asked himself as he remembered the questioning look the man had given him the second time he had saved him. Sure, who wouldn't be surprised if this was happening to them? Nino knew that he couldn't avoid the man's questions forever. But still he kept trying; just a little longer, until it would become impossible.
Suddenly someone touched his shoulder and Nino jerked involuntarily. Quickly he turned his head to the side, only to be surprised to look directly into two deep brown eyes.
'Damn it,' was the only thought in his head when he saw who was standing in front of him, smiling uncertainly.
"You...," the man of his dreams began nervously, but Nino sprang to his feet at once.
“No. You shouldn't... But you should be...," he tried to explain what he didn't understand himself at that moment. For a second they just looked at each other before Nino took a step back. The man's hand automatically slid off his shoulder with the movement.
"What should I be doing?" he pressed immediately and Nino could see a strange glimmer in his eyes. Whatever this meant, it surely couldn't be good for Nino or the situation. The growing tension within him seemingly confirmed it.
"...standing at the shop window." Nino swallowed. He could see something change in the man's expression, could see a mix of surprise and fear steal over his features, distorting them grotesquely. Not in a bad way, no, it just made him more interesting,
"How do you know...?"
"Let's forget the how for now, alright? We have to get out of here!" Nino hurriedly replied, because he could not only feel the tension. Foreboding had crept in, as well, explained by the setting sun. And the truck in the distance.
Nino reached for the man's hand, pushing away thoughts of how warm and dainty it felt in his, and pulled him down the street. Puzzled brown eyes watched him, but Nino didn't stop. Neither did he stop for a new question that bubbled up in his stomach, just waiting to rise to his head and force him to deal with it. He didn't think about the fact that there could be other people in danger, that he could be saving them in a few minute's time.
A loud crash made him pause. He had felt the man's shock clearly through their connected hands, wanted to stop him from looking back, but it was already too late. The man's eyes were wide with shock, staring at the truck that had buried itself in the shop window he had originally wanted to peruse.
"Not again...," he breathed, trembling, making Nino shiver, "You saved my life again."
And even though Nino couldn't make heads nor tails of the situation, even though he himself was caught in the tangled weave of his thoughts, the only thing he got out as they were staring at the shards of glass surrounding the truck was:
"Maybe that's my purpose."
next chapter
Pairing: Ohmiya
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Romance, mystery, suspense
Summary: Plagued by dreams in which he sees the same man die over and over again, Nino is trying to do the impossible, to escape fate that has chosen him of all people to be a life saver.
Previous chapters: 01 | 02 | 03
A/N: Short chapter for now, but the next will be longer again :) For my complete fic list click here :)
“All difficult things have their origin in that which is easy, and great things in that which is small.”
- Lao Tzu
Dream 4 - Shards
Ninomiya Kazunari wasn't usually prone to overthinking. Only a little while ago, when he had been composing music for an ad agency every now and then, he had let himself be guided purely by inspiration. He had never sat in front of a blank page, thinking about what he should do. He had simply done it. But he finally had to admit that he had reached a point at which he couldn't just do things anymore.
Because if he would - it would happen again. He would blindly try to safe someone who might not even be in danger. And in the end he would only endanger himself, most likely even get himself killed.
'I could renounce my self-imposed duty... and let him die the next time. But... do I want that? Can I do that?' A question he had long ago answered for himself with his actions. He had saved the man of his dreams the first time. And the second. And now he wouldn't be able to just break out of this vicious circle, he knew.
There remained the question of what he would do with that knowledge. Should he carelessly give himself over to his duty, hoping that it would one day end? Maybe he should just talk to the man next time, explain everything, like Jun had advised him to do.
But something stopped Nino from doing it. A fear, buried deep within him, that only came out to play every now and then, but was too strong for him to completely suppress it. It was always hovering just out of sight. He wasn't afraid of the man, he was afraid of the consequences. Afraid of what might come to light if he let himself get involved with him.
But no matter how long he thought about it that night, he couldn't stop himself from dreaming.
'I'm dreaming.' A thought that came to him right away and made everything easier. He knew that he only had to let himself be led by the dream, that he only had to follow the urge within himself, it would lead him directly to the man of his dream. He had experienced it so many times before. Every time there was this pull that drew him to the man.
That's why it didn't take long until he saw the familiar face, the brown hair and the crouched posture of the man. There he was - maybe fifty meters away, maybe even less - looking at different hooks in a big shop window. Sammi's Fishing Equipment was written above it in big letters.
For a short moment Nino contemplated approaching him. But he didn't want to find out if there would be consequences for the real world, for the real man; so he didn't approach him, he just stood there and watched. He watched the man's face, reflected in the window, saw the light in his eyes and the small smile on his lips. Then he saw a truck racing straight towards the small shop, saw it hit the man from behind and throw him through the window.
"A shop for fishing equipment?" Jun asked warily. Since Nino had blindly run out onto the street the day before, Jun took the whole thing more seriously.
"Not because of that guy again, is it? Nino, you know what nearly happened."
Yes, Nino remembered that vividly. He had only lain awake half the night thinking about it. And now he felt an all encompassing tension within himself - worse than that he had felt after he had dreamed about the man's death for the first time - that just wouldn't let go of him anymore. As if it was a cruel animal that had latched onto his heart with its claws.
"Do you want an answer?" Nino tried to ask coolly. Jun grimaced.
"Honestly, Nino, you shouldn't do this."
A customer interrupted them. Nino saw Jun turn to him angrily and took the opportunity given to him.
"See you tomorrow," he called out to his friend and hurried out. He could hear Jun say something else, but he didn't want to understand the words. What good would they do anyway? He was in way too deep by now, there was no way he could just stop.
Saving lives wasn't a job you could quit.
Luckily it wasn't hard to find a specific shop in this day and age. He just had to enter its name into his cell phone and it showed him how to get there. Yes, modern technology made life a whole lot easier.
He sat on a small bench across the street from the shop and waited. While he sat there, he realized that this time he didn't even know when it would happen. The only clue he had was the time of day. It had been light out, he remembered, but the sun hadn't stood high in the sky anymore, it had already started its slow descent. Late afternoon, maybe. Nino looked at his watch, it was just gone noon. Thus he had more than enough time to find a way to prevent the accident.
'I should get him away from the shop window very soon- no, better yet, not let him reach it at all. If he doesn't get close to the window, he should be safest,' he decided, distractedly biting his pinky finger. A sign of nerves he had never noticed before. Or was this whole situation changing him?
He waited an hour, then another and another. The man of his dreams was still nowhere to be seen. Again and again Nino looked at the small sign above the shop, only to reassure himself that he was waiting in front of the right shop. But it was this very one. It had to be this shop. But despite his certitude, he grew more restless by the minute.
'Will I be able to stop him from getting himself killed while at the same time avoiding a conversation with him?' he asked himself as he remembered the questioning look the man had given him the second time he had saved him. Sure, who wouldn't be surprised if this was happening to them? Nino knew that he couldn't avoid the man's questions forever. But still he kept trying; just a little longer, until it would become impossible.
Suddenly someone touched his shoulder and Nino jerked involuntarily. Quickly he turned his head to the side, only to be surprised to look directly into two deep brown eyes.
'Damn it,' was the only thought in his head when he saw who was standing in front of him, smiling uncertainly.
"You...," the man of his dreams began nervously, but Nino sprang to his feet at once.
“No. You shouldn't... But you should be...," he tried to explain what he didn't understand himself at that moment. For a second they just looked at each other before Nino took a step back. The man's hand automatically slid off his shoulder with the movement.
"What should I be doing?" he pressed immediately and Nino could see a strange glimmer in his eyes. Whatever this meant, it surely couldn't be good for Nino or the situation. The growing tension within him seemingly confirmed it.
"...standing at the shop window." Nino swallowed. He could see something change in the man's expression, could see a mix of surprise and fear steal over his features, distorting them grotesquely. Not in a bad way, no, it just made him more interesting,
"How do you know...?"
"Let's forget the how for now, alright? We have to get out of here!" Nino hurriedly replied, because he could not only feel the tension. Foreboding had crept in, as well, explained by the setting sun. And the truck in the distance.
Nino reached for the man's hand, pushing away thoughts of how warm and dainty it felt in his, and pulled him down the street. Puzzled brown eyes watched him, but Nino didn't stop. Neither did he stop for a new question that bubbled up in his stomach, just waiting to rise to his head and force him to deal with it. He didn't think about the fact that there could be other people in danger, that he could be saving them in a few minute's time.
A loud crash made him pause. He had felt the man's shock clearly through their connected hands, wanted to stop him from looking back, but it was already too late. The man's eyes were wide with shock, staring at the truck that had buried itself in the shop window he had originally wanted to peruse.
"Not again...," he breathed, trembling, making Nino shiver, "You saved my life again."
And even though Nino couldn't make heads nor tails of the situation, even though he himself was caught in the tangled weave of his thoughts, the only thing he got out as they were staring at the shards of glass surrounding the truck was:
"Maybe that's my purpose."
next chapter