Tipsy Love
Author : Me :D
Beta : The sweet death_note13 ♥
Pairing : Akame
Rating : PG-13
Disclaimer : I own nothing but the plot ~
Genre : Romance, a bit a angst.
Summary : Kazuya has one bad addiction. Jin is an instructor in a center for people with health problems and bad mental state. How will the addiction acts upon the two of them ? Will a man without strength be able to change his mental state and discover a whole new addiction called love ?
Author's note : Hehe! It's my first oneshot ~ Please be sweet! I don't like the ending so maybe i should work on a Sequel already (yeah I can see the "what ?! no smut!" thing in your eyes duh!). So i'll try to, maybe, figure something out. Anyway, i'm off to bed! Have a nice time!
TIPSY LOVE.
The street was crowded. Clouds were everywhere, like a ticking bomb over the salary man's heads. Tokyo is a huge city. Each person is only a tiny little part of the human presence in the island. One's goal is the same as his neighbors’. There's only one within four millions of men, women.
No wonder Kazuya felt so empty.
It was 4 A.M, and he was trying to walk down the alley leading to his house (he wasn't sure if it was the good street though). His evening had been calm and filled with clouded memories of countless glasses scattered around the bar of his brother's pub. The sound of glass, and the noisy people around him, telling it was just okay to drink too much, since tomorrow he wouldn't even remember a thing, and gather the courage to speak to the beautiful lady watching him with deep, dark envy. Like a vivid dream printed in the poor boy's mind, he could only remember some parts of that big, insane moment of his life. Another one.
Life could be so useless sometimes. He hated how he just wanted to jump out of the first window after these evenings of false happiness and joy. It's not like he couldn't do anything about it though. He loved it; every aspects of it. Only, the aftermath of it was just hell.
As he passed by a little store, he finally recognized the big, white building in front of him.
''Finally...." Was all he could say before he opened the big door, (after almost five minutes of looking for the good keys.) He'd always wondered why he had so many, since his apartment had only two locks.
It's not like he cared right now anyway.
As soon as he entered the stifling flat, he felt it.
The nausea.
He ran to the toilet and emptied himself in the cabinet. He felt everything leave his stomach. Like a tornado twirling his organs, a fire burning his lungs, everything was going out in an endless spurt. This was the worst for Kazuya. When reality dawned upon him. When alcohol left him. When gloom took the place of giggles and glassy smiles.
He couldn't stand up, he just couldn't. How many more days will he have to live to finally realize that he was ruining everything? But he couldn't do anything.
He was simply addicted.
~*~
Just as the alarm clock rang in the big room, Jin woke up from his deep slumber.
He simply hit the little noisy cube and got up, feeling his stomach growling. When the doorbell rang he wondered just who could come here this early. He just had time to shower, and he hoped he'll be able to, or else he'll be cranky all day, again.
The doorbell rang a second time, and right now Jin wanted to chop whoever's head was behind the bloody door.
"I’m coming!" Jin yelled as he almost crawled to the door
"Hurry up, fat ass!" could be heard from behind the door. And now Jin knew whose head was going to be cut and served as a dinner tonight.
Yamapi. The bloody, noisy and "manbooby" Yamapi.
"What the...?" Jin said as he opened the door, facing a way-too-smiley Yamapi in a tuxedo.
"Am I hot? I think I am, but I’m not sure, what do you think?" The young guy said. He was young, and had a cute face, surrounded by thick brown, curly hair.
"It's 6.30 A.M., I’m fucking late, and you came all the way here to ask me if you're hot or not? Seriously man, you've got a problem." Jin cried as he was already going back to his room.
"But you think I am? I mean, hot" Yamapi tried again. Jin just looked at him and went back to the bathroom, yelling an "I think you should get the fuck out!" before closing the door with a light thud.
Akanishi Jin was a rather normal person. He'd just finished university and passed his license in group psychology, specialized in group and behavior therapy. He had finally found work in a big society where he could help and advise people.
He was an open-minded and outgoing person. Always smiley and listening to other's problems. Maybe that's why he decided to make it his job.
Offering better lives was worth getting up at 6 A.M. everyday. That's what Jin thought.
Unfortunately, he was the type of man who was always mistaken for a player. His look had always been his biggest problems.
The reason of his poor and mediocre love life.
Yamapi was in the kitchen, trying to eat something that resembled to a piece of cake (quite old, if you ask Jin) and singing a very old enka song when Jin came back, hair still wet and completely dressed. He was wearing a pair of jean shorts and a white tee-shirt, showing his bulging features.
"So tell me, why are you like this?" Began the latter as he took a mug and poured some of the fresh coffee Yamapi just made for both of them.
"Got an Interview today; a big bank from Switzerland. Gotta get this job!" Retorted the young man as he took another sip of the hot, black liquid.
"Oh, and that is why you decided to come this early. Well just to let you know, I have a life, and I do have work. So I’ll be going." Answered Jin. His work was at the very end of the city, and since his car was being fixed by a friend, he had to go by train.
"But, but, that's why I came! My interview is like what....5 minutes from your job? Want me to give you a ride?" The tuxedo man sang, still sipping his coffee.
"Well....I guess you're quite useful sometimes." Jin uttered as a 'thank you' before grabbimg his keys. "But we still have to go, moron." He added.
"How dare you speak like that to your super-hot-in-tuxedo best friend!" Yamapi yelled as he faked indignation.
"Let's go?" Jin winked at his pouty friend. "If you're a good boy, I’ll even buy you some ice cream! Chocolate flavored! Your favorite ~" He added.
"Fuck off, bastard" Was all he heard before Yamapi tried to kick Jin out of the flat.
~*~
After months and months of nagging and badgering from his two best friends, Kazuya had finally decided that he needed help. That he didn't have enough will to stop this vicious cycle.
His friends had already enrolled him in a special program that was supposed to be one of the most efficient programs among all these group discussion available nowadays. At first they wanted him to go to a psychiatrist, but he immediately declared that that was "for mentally handicapped people" and preferred a weird group where you talk to people with the same problem as you.
It has been two years, and he was still as addicted to alcohol as he was in the past. It had begun in high school during parties, and it became more and more frequent. Now he couldn't go home without buying some of that precious liquid, or even stop in a pub to drink until he blacked out.
"So it's your first day now…are you nervous" Tanaka Koki, Kazuya's best friend asked. They were in a café near the emplacement where Kazuya had to go. The latter was drinking a cafe latte with a gloomy face.
"Well....I don't know. I don't expect anything from this. You forced me to go." Kazuya answered. He had a fucking huge headache, and he couldn't even think clearly, he wondered when the last time he was able to do so was, anyway.
"Mou Kazu-chan! You have to try at least! You need help! We’re all trying to cheer you up….but we won't be able to do it forever. Someday, you'll loose all your friends if you don't stop this." retorted Koki, while trying to figure out what exactly was wrong with his friend. He never really understood how he began drinking so much. But at first, he didn't want to believe that Kazuya was addicted. He thought it had something to do with youth, or even challenge, rebellion. He only discovered it when he saw his best friend trying to kill himself with sleeping pills and some whiskey caramel. He was begging Koki to let him end his life. That he wouldn't be able to stop. That's when he knew Kazuya was in big trouble. Since then he had try everything, even weaning. But he failed miserably. Most of their friends didn't want to hang out with them anymore, mostly because Kazuya was always drunk, and when he was he able to completely ruin an evening. Koki and Kazuya's other best friend, Nakamaru Yuichi, had then decided that he would go to these group therapies. Just to try.
"I know. I’m doing this for you." Kazuya almost whispered, but Koki heard it anyway, and as he smiled brightly at him, Kazuya felt like maybe this was worth spending some time in there.
"Glad to know that there’s still some sense in that big head of yours." Koki laughed, and he knew Kazuya had no intentions of stopping, but it was his last card, and he had to believe in it.
"So I’ll be going. I hope I won't be surrounded by psychos." Kazuya snorts. He wasn't really in the mood today, so no chit-chat for him.
He left his friend and went straight to the building, wondering what on earth was he doing.
~*~
"Ok guys! That's it for today!" Jin yelled at the men in front of him. His third meeting was for emotionally shocked people. This was the most difficult one, because they were not really talkative. Sometimes even Jin felt uneasy around them.
Now he had to go to the next meeting. Jin hated to admit it, but this one was the most delicate.
The Alcohol Addiction meeting.
The room was empty as he came and proceeded to place the chairs in circle, as he usually did. Everyone could talk to others and participate in a big discussion.
Contrary to what one might think, this wasn't the usual whiny group discussions that people saw on television. In his groups, Jin always tried to talk a little about the problem, and a lot about other things, because dwelling on misfortunes was not his forte, and also didn't really help people.
He even tried to organize little trips, or even walks in Tokyo. That was why his program was one of the most appreciated by his boss and he was rather proud of him for that.
He often had visits of people coming back to him and thanking him for his help when they needed it the most. That was pure bliss for Jin.
As people entered the room, Jin was reading the list of person registered for today. A new program meant a new group of alcoholics were here.
"So, to begin with, my name is Akanishi Jin, and I’ll be your instructor during this program. I know this might be a little "weird" for some of you, but this won't look like anything you’ve seen on TV" Jin began. He was pretty confident in this, and had already prepared a whole month of activities and talks for his new "friends".
"First, I’m just going to ask you to do a little introduction of yourself, just to feel at ease. I know it's difficult to talk in front of strangers, so no need to talk a lot, a simple thing will do, we'll have plenty of time to learn about each other." Jin continued. Everybody was silent and listening to him, as usual.
"So, who would like to begin?" asked Jin. To his surprise, one man lifted his hand. He looked like he was in his 40 and was wearing shorts with a green shirt.
"So, my name is Itaka Yoshi. I've been drinking since the age of 20....I haven’t been able to stop since then. I realized, after I lost my wife and son, that I needed to stop this. I’m quite the violent type"
Jin nodded. He'd seen this case to many times. He asked someone else.
"My name is Sugawara Yukari, and I began drinking last year. I’m 24 by the way. I work in a pub, so it's pretty easy for me to drink non stop....I think I’ll be fired if I don't stop, and my parents can't stand the idea of me drinking shots and shots of alcohol. I’m quite lost to tell you the truth."
Everybody was listening with attention to what the others had to say and they almost all talked once, one after another, smiling, blushing and trying to explain their situation to everybody, knowing they won't ever be judged by people like them.
When it as Kazuya's turn, the last one, everybody turned to him. He suddenly felt so small that if he could he'd have dug a hole and hid in it.
"I…have nothing to say. Sorry" Kazuya tried. He knew he should have say something else, but he couldn't.
"Come on, I’m sure you can come up with something. Your name, if you know it, that is." Jin said, and everybody laughed a little at the comment. It wasn't said in a mean way, but rather in a friendly gesture, though Kazuya didn't like it at all.
"Kamenashi Kazuya. Happy?" He shot back. Jin was a bit surprised to see such behavior but he didn't flinch.
"Very much so." He simply said, and began talking about their first little walk near the Yokohama bay with big enthusiasm.
~*~
"And then? I mean, you ran and......fell into the pool?" Jin was laughing so hard. Today was the "funny memories" session and everybody was enjoying some iced tea with a, big, brown chocolate cake made by one of the member.
"Well....it moved suddenly, I was so scared! I ran off and the next thing I knew....I was in the water....and it was freaking cold!" The old man declared. Everybody laughed again and Jin continued after he swallowed another piece of the delicious cake.
"What was it finally?" He asked.
"......My son...playing hide and seek..." Answered the old man, clearly embarrassed by the ridiculous situation.
Jin burst out laughing and everybody followed, while the old man felt himself blush at his own past stupidity.
Only one person was in a corner and was trying to think about everything except what he had been avoiding for the past week. It was hell for him, and he was trying so hard not to break and go in the nearest bar to get wasted again. Jin saw it and went near the young boy as everybody was laughing at someone's story.
"Not feeling well?" He tried calmly. Jin knew that some people couldn't support this as easily as others, and he saw that Kazuya just needed to drink right now.
"Why do you care?" Asked Kazuya, frustrated. "You just have to entertain us, make us forget what we shouldn't do...how I’m feeling doesn't have anything to do with you." He spat.
"Well...I do care about all of you. I need to know how you all feel, so I can help better. That's why I’m here." He said. He was talking as if a 5 year old boy was facing him. He tried to be as gentle as he could, but honestly he was getting tired of Kazuya's behavior already. He ignored him at first, thinking that maybe the young boy was just going through a hard time. But as days passed, his mood was getting worse and worse, and Jin just wanted to wake him up from his living dream.
"I’m not a retard you know, stop talking to me like my teacher at kindergarten did. I know why I’m here, and if you want to know, I stopped drinking the day I entered the group." Kazuya reluctantly admitted.
"You know, sometimes I feel like you're here because someone forced you. You won't get anything out of this if you don't even want to be here in the first place. I may help people, but I’m not a magician. I can't change people's mind and way of thinking. If you're not going to help us and talk, then don't, but you're wasting your time here. When people try to forget about their addiction, I can almost hear you think about what alcohol you'd like to drink and how you'll get drunk again." sighed Jin. Every time men like Kazuya came, they left after 10 days, and went back to clubbing and alcohol as soon as left the center. Jin knew this type of guy. Young people wasted their lives for some ridiculous, sour beverage.
As if it made some sense in Kazuya's head, the young boy became suddenly calmer.
"It's not that I don't want to change...but I’m really not doing it for me...I don't want to lose people around me...but I’m not strong enough to stop by myself." he whispered.
"That's why I’m here. If you want to change, then that's a good start." Jin smiled. So he wanted to change after all. He nudged him a little. "Come on, smile! Everybody's trying hard, no need to ramble, just try to participate. And I swear, this cake is just heaven!" he continued.
Kazuya smiled and tried to ignore the warm feeling going through his body when Jin was already cutting himself another piece of cake.
~*~
"So yeah...basically, the idea is that we go camping near Saitama." Jin began. Everybody had just arrived and he was already preparing the little trip that was happening in a few days.
"I know it's sudden, but I got the idea yesterday. I know I suck. But we'll have fun! And we need to evaluate everybody's situation. And I thought that camping would be a great idea!" Jin tried to cheer everybody, and some people were into it. Some of them couldn't go because of work, but almost everybody was ok with the idea.
Kazuya was a bit reluctant. Camping has never been what he liked the most, even when he was a member of the scouts when he was younger. Since then he’s completely forgot how to live without a real bathroom, a bed and all the commodities.
"So hmm...Kamenashi-kun, are you coming?" Jin asked with a bright smile. Kazuya felt suddenly uneasy and out of control, he just nodded. Jin smile was even brighter then the sun and he couldn't help but smile back shyly.
"So yeah, here's the list, please write your name down, and then we'll proceed to the preparation." Jin went to the little black board on the wall and explained to everybody how everything was going to happen.
Kazuya just sat low in his chair, wondering what the hell he agreed to do.
~*~
"You said what?" Koki and Yuichi were both shocked when Kazuya announced them that he was going on a little camping session.
"I didn't have a choice...everybody was staring at me...I just....nodded? And this is part of the program. I haven't drunk anything in two weeks now...I’m on the verge of breaking down. I think I need some fresh air." He sighed.
"Well...from that point of view....sounds pretty decent to me." Koki said and Kazuya took another sip of his soda.
"So, how are you feeling...going without alcohol...isn't it too hard?" Yuichi asked cautiously. It had always been a tense topic between them since Kazuya had never admitted that he had problems. Now that he was following the program, he was always clean, and even if his mood was not the best, at least he didn't feel like shit all day and night.
"Don't ask me...you don't want to know. I told you, I’m going to break down soon..." Kazuya leaned his head on the wooden table. Why was it so hard? He felt like no one could understand him. Not even his best friends. It looks so easy to stop from an exterior point of view, but in fact, it's even harder than trying to stop smoking. Hell on earth.
As he came back home that day, he tried so hard not to think about the bottle of whisky, untouched, in the kitchen.
~*~
"You did what?" Yamapi asked, dumbfounded. Jin had just announced him that he was going to camp with the group. He was more than surprised to see his best friend in such a high mood.
"I want to go camping with them. The boss didn't lie when he told me people where even harder to handle this month. Everybody's on the verge of collapsing." Jin whined.
"Well, you know one month is not enough for most of them" Yamapi concluded. He had never been a pro in these things, but he certainly knew that alcohol was a tough topic. Even tougher than when he tried to stop his addiction to candy.
"I know, the program lasts one month, but everybody comes regularly to ask for advice. They almost all have my phone number. I follow them all, don't worry." Jin answered as he went to the oven to take his freshly made pasta.
"Any rebels? There's always one 'tough' guy who acts all posh and cold." Yamapi snorts.
As he asked that, Kazuya's face appeared almost immediately in Jin's head, but he brushed it away.
"Nope, everybody's good to me~" He sing-sang.
Yamapi laughed. Jin has always been everybody's professor, father, brother, friend. He was really kind when it came to his 'patients' and he knew these people were lucky to have such a good person taking care of them.
"Ok, my fat friend, I gotta go, Swiss banks don't joke with money!" He took his dark blue jacket and went to the door, yelling ‘good luck’ to his friend before closing it.
Jin sighed again and proceeded to go to the living room to eat in front of another stupid television show, before falling asleep.
Part 2