[multi-chap] You thing you know me - Chap. 13/14
Title: You think You know Me
Author: Saana-chan (meXD)
Pairing: Sakuraiba (main)
Special starring: Tackey
Rating: my usual PG - NC-17
Genre: humor, angst, fluff, romance - a lot of angst in this chap
Summary: Sho thought being an idol’s manager can’t be that hard. All you have to do is arranging schedules and keep everything in order. That was till he was assigned to be the manager of one Aiba Masaki…
Disc.: last time I checked I was just a poor fangirl while Sho and Aiba belonged to each other XD
Note: changed the ages, in this Tackey, Ohno and Jun are older than the others…
Chapter 13: In which all the bad things happen…
“Aaarrrghh!”
Aiba threw his manga away which landed at the other end of his dressing room with a loud thud. He couldn’t concentrate on it though it really wasn’t astrophysics report just a plain sports manga. Yet he was unable to concentrate on it. And he didn’t like the reason behind it. It was none other than Sho. The manager just kept appearing in his thoughts no matter how much he tried to push, no, erase him from his mind, he just could not. But what was probably even worse that it was the only place where he saw him. Well, almost. He was still his manager - though Aiba thought it won’t last much longer than a few months from now - and he did his job without any mistakes but didn’t try to make contact with him personally anymore just what was necessary. And it bothered Aiba. Sometimes he tried to convince himself that this is what he wanted but had to admit that he couldn’t fool himself. Not anymore. Without noticing it he raised his hand to touch the necklace hidden under his T-shirt.
A short knock came from the door followed by Sho’s voice from the other side of the still closed door.
“Aiba-san! The van is waiting for you to take you to the theatre”
The young idol quickly let go of the pendant as if it was burning him and turned to Sho, well to the door which behind he was.
“I know that!” he shouted annoyed thought the manager’s leaving footsteps died already in the hallway.
Aiba pouted but grabbed his bag nevertheless and stormed out the dressing room…
“I don’t like you”
“Sho-chan?”
“I never liked you”
“Sho-chan?!”
“How could anyone like someone like you? You’re a stupid, selfish brat who thinks about himself only… who thinks he has the right to crush others under his feet just because he feels like that… You’re a horrible person!”
“No… Sho-chan… Don’t say that!...I will change just…”
Sharp pain struck in his chest as the other continued.
“I just played with you cause I was bored with this hateful job. And now I have the gratification to see you feeling the same you made everyone else around you feel…”
“No… no…”
“No!”
Aiba woke up with a shout, crying and clutching his fingers over his chest as the pain from his dream didn’t disappear with the awakening yet it became more intense and it made hard to breath. Aiba’s eyes were widened in panic. No matter how hard he tried no air reached his lungs… Then after what seemed to be an eternity the pain subsided and he could breath properly again. But the panicky feeling didn’t disappear with the pain.
“What was it?... The dream and… It was scary…” Aiba murmured still gasping and tears flowing down on his face. “It was like… I don’t wanna die…” he sobbed.
Once his crying stopped finally he slowly laid back in his bed curling up in a small ball and fisted his hand over his necklace. But as he closed his eyes to go back to sleep those scary images and feelings came back all at once.
“Sho-chan!” he shouted and started crying hard again…
“Masaki!”
At the other part of the city Sho woke up with a start immediately sitting up. He was sure he heard Aiba calling him, so loud and clear as if he was right next to him. But of course he wasn’t. Without thinking twice Sho grabbed his phone to call him but stopped just before he pressed the green button. After all, Aiba still hated him… Plus it was the middle of the night and he was just imagining things… Right?...
“It’s just your mind playing tricks on you, Sakurai!” he scolded himself and putting back his mobile on the bedside table he laid back to sleep but he was still worried for Aiba somehow so peaceful dream avoided him till the morning…
Sho’s worries stayed with him the next day too so he decided to check on the young idol personally to be sure he’s okay. That way he’d be able to put his worries at ease. He remembered that Nino ordered him to stay away from Aiba and he tried, he really did, but he had to admit - at least to himself - that he couldn’t, he didn’t want to. He didn’t want that job he thought his dream was. But it wasn’t anymore. No. Now in his dream there wasn’t career or high salary. Yet there was a boy with pouty lips and beautiful eyes… Therefore he had to know if he was okay, that his worries were just silly…
“Sho-kun? Johnny-san’s calling for you…” Tackey said popping his head in Sho’s office.
“Hai! I’m coming!” Sho answered immediately then glanced at his watch.
‘His dance practice starts in five. Hopefully he will be still there after I’m finished with Johnny-san…’ he thought then sighed as he headed to his boss’s office. It was obvious why he was summoned there…
“Hey, Oh-chan!” Aiba greeted his dance instructor smiling and did his best to sound cheerful despite the huge weight on his chest that seemed to try crushing out the air from him. The pain from last night came back a little after he got up. At first it was just like a faint memory of the night’s terror but as the hours passed it slowly got stronger and stronger. By now it made him breathing a bit heavier than normally.
“Oh, hey, Aiba-chan! Can we get started?” Ohno asked smiling.
Aiba nodded smiling back at his instructor and stood in front of the mirrored wall…
An hour passed till the pain grew so strong that Aiba couldn’t bear it anymore and clutching his fingers over his chest he fell on his knees.
“Aiba-chan! Are you okay?” Ohno asked worried and rushed to the idol.
“My chest… feels a little funny…” he panted trying to smile but his face contorted in pain as it became harder to breathe.
“Try to calm down, breathe! I’ll call someone to help…” Ohno said but just as he wanted to get up to head for the door it opened…
By Sho…
“Masaki!” he shouted panicked taking a few steps to him when he spotted the boy on the floor.
At his voice Aiba raised his head to look at him.
“Sho-chan…” Aiba breathed out the shadow of a true smile run over his lips before everything fell into darkness in front of his eyes.
“Call for the ambulance!” Ohno yelled at Sho just when Aiba lost consciousness. “Sho-kun!”
“H-hai!” Sho stuttered pulling out his phone to call the help.
It seemed to take ages till the ambulance arrived. During the whole time Sho held onto Aiba’s hand while Ohno ran to inform the management.
“I’m his manager. I have to go with him!” Sho said to the paramedic firmly, obviously not accepting ‘no’ as an answer.
“Okay, get in” the paramedic nodded and let Sho in the ambulance car after Aiba.
“I’m sorry, sir, but you can’t come any further. We have to take to the operating room” the doctor said when they reached the hospital.
Sho looked down at Aiba’s pale face and felt tears gathering in his eyes. He nodded slowly.
“Masaki… hang on there!” he whispered and let the boy’s hand slip from his as they pushed him away toward the surgery. “Hang on there! Masaki!” Sho shouted out crying not caring that patients and nurses spare weird glances at him for this.
“Sho-kun?”
At the cautious voice behind his back Sho freeze then turned around slowly to look at Ohno’s confused face.
“Oh…no-…kun?” Sho choked out as he quickly tried to wipe away his tears.
His thoughts were full with Aiba but somewhere in the back of his mind he knew he just busted himself, no, themselves, their once upon a relationship. Still he couldn’t care less, he felt even relieved in a way cause deep down in his heart he felt he was betraying Aiba with keeping their relationship as a secret, as if he would’ve been ashamed for being with him. And maybe Aiba was feeling this too and that was why he was so angry. Cause Sho did betrayed him…
“Sho-kun?...” Ohno asked again stepping closer and took Sho’s elbow to lead him to a chair making him sit down. “Johnny-san ordered you to stay here to handle the media if that’s necessary though he’ll speak with the hospital’s directory to handle Aiba’s case with special secrecy. Also you have to call immediately if the doctors tell you about his condition” Ohno said and Sho nodded silently.
“I have to go back now. Junior’s practice…” the dance instructor said after a few minutes of silence.
“Okay” Sho said on a monotonous tone.
“Anou… Sho-kun… I know it’s none of my business but you should be more careful…” Ohno commented as he got up.
“More careful? About what?” Sho pretended not knowing what Ohno was referring but avoided to look at the older man in the eye.
“We both know that you know exactly what I’m talking about so quit pretending” Ohno scolded him and sat back next to Sho. “You like him, don’t you?”
“I love him” Sho admitted without a second of hesitation. “I know I should’ve not feel like this but…”
Ohno smiled softly.
“It’s out of our power that who’s the person we fell in love with…” a small, sad smile played on Ohno’s lips when he said this. “But I don’t think anyone has the right to tell you who you can or can not love…” he added firmly. “Still… you have to be more careful… Johnny-san might not like the idea of you two being together…” Ohno warned the young manager.
‘Not that he had to worry about that…’ Sho thought bitterly.
“How did you know?” he asked instead.
“I see things, you know, Sho-kun… Though it was easier than that. You called him ‘Masaki’ just now, and earlier in the practice hall too… You never called him anything else than ‘Aiba-san’. That’s why I told you to be careful”
And with that Ohno was gone…
Nothing happened for hours…
Well, nothing that’d made Sho feel better and help him get rid off his fears about Aiba’s condition. But other things…
Sho was so deep in his thoughts that he jerked startled when a schoolbag landed with a loud thud on the seat next to him.
“Why the fuck none cared to contact me?”
“Nino…miya…san…” Sho jumped up quickly blinking at the skinny guy.
“Yeah, that’s my name, I know that quite well, thank you very much. Now care to tell me finally why that is when I went to pick up Aiba-chan I had to know from Ohno-san that he collapsed four fucking hours ago?” Nino stomped his feet glaring at Sho.
“Ah, that…” Sho scratched his nape. Obviously he had other problems and things to think about than finding out who should he contact. “Sumimasen deshita!” he said bowing deeply to Nino.
“Mattaku… The only thing you’re good at is apologizing…” Nino tsked crossing his arms over his chest. “Okay, whatever, it’s not actually important right now… What’s with Aiba-chan?” he asked picking up his bag and sitting down putting the bag in his lap.
Sho looked at him and the otherwise bratty expression now was nowhere to be seen on his face yet he seemed to be truly concerned for his friend’s safety. The manager sighed and shook his head.
“Don’t know anything yet. He’s in the surgery ever since…” Sho said sitting back to his seat.
Nino just nodded silently. After all what was there to say at this? That it was Sho’s fault? It obviously wasn’t - even if in Nino’s eyes every bad thing that happened to Aiba was Sho’s fault. That he was an incompetent manager for not knowing? Well, obviously he wasn’t but Nino couldn’t escape the fact that right now Sho wasn’t sitting there as ‘the manager of super idol Aiba Masaki’ but as ‘the man who loves Aiba Masaki, the person’…
More time passed without knowing anything and in the end Nino fell asleep lying down on the plastic seats. Sho took off his suit’s coat to cover the sleeping boy with it. As he wanted to return to his seat the light above his head went off signaling the end of the surgery and soon a doctor and a nurse approached him.
“You’re the one who brought in Aiba-san, aren’t you?” the doctor asked him.
“Yes, I’m his…” Sho almost said ‘lover’ but held it back just in time. “I’m his manager and also his guardian. How’s Aiba-san, sensei?” he asked doing his best to seem collected and professional.
“He’s stable now though the operation was long. He had spontaneous pneumothorax. It’s nothing irregular, instead it’s rather often in young men’s case that has to exercise a lot…” the doctor answered on a reassuring tone. “He’ll have to stay here for a few days of supervision but if there’re no complications during this time he can go home on the end of the week”
Sho sighed relieved at the news.
“Arigatou gozaimasu, sensei!” Sho said and bowed deeply.
The doctor nodded smiling and left. As Sho rose he noticed that the nurse was still there obviously wanted something from him.
“Can I help you?” he asked politely.
“The patient had this on him. I thought it might be something precious to him so it’s better if I give it to someone who belongs to him…” with this the woman gave a slim silver chain to Sho with a way too familiar pendant hanging on it.
Sho felt as if someone hit him hard knocking out the air from his lungs.
“This… was on him?” he managed to choke out staring at the necklace with wide eyes.
“Hai” the nurse nodded. “Shitsureishimasu…” she added then bowed and left Sho alone.
The manager sat back to his seat weakly still staring shocked and disbelieving at the jewel in his palm.
“What happened?” he heard a sleepy voice from his side and he quickly closed his hand over the necklace to hide it.
“Aiba-san’s surgery ended successfully. He’ll recover fully just needs a few days of rest now” Sho answered. “You should go home now, Ninomiya-san. You have classes tomorrow in the morning if I’m not mistaken. You can visit Aiba-san in the afternoon and I’ll stay with him till that. I’ll call you a taxi…” Sho said.
Nino must have been too sleepy otherwise he’d never agree on what Sho told him - let alone him being alone with Aiba for half a day! - yet now he just hummed something incoherent before drifted back to sleep till the taxi arrives…
Later Sho couldn’t decide that it was the longest or the shortest night of his entire life. While he was sitting next to Aiba’s bed he thought morning will never come and his life will remain as dark as the hospital room where his beloved was laying pale and motionless. Yet before he realized light poured though the windows chasing away his nightmares about a world where Aiba will never wake up - though his rational self believed what the doctor said that Aiba will be completely fine in a few days.
“I’m sorry, Masaki… for everything…” Sho said silently reaching out for Aiba’s cold hand but just as his fingers touched his skin the boy stirred in sleep. A frown appeared on his face.
“Don’t…” he mumbled but the rest of his words were inaudible.
Sho immediately pulled back from his side though Aiba didn’t wake up. He lowered his head bitterly. Even while he’s unconscious he couldn’t stand his touch. Should it be the answer for his questions? Is this the final answer he has to accept?
“Forgive me, Masaki, but I can’t…” Sho mumbled then put the necklace on the bedside table and left the room…
A/N: hey, minna! so, more angst came in this chap, was it good or bad? I promise I won't torture our lovely couple too much after this ;) look forward fot the last chap+epilogue ^-^