Rent-A-Friend [1/4]
Ohno wasn't exactly sure what he had been expecting when he'd picked up the phone in the first place but looking at the slight young man in the doorway with the cocky smile, he wasn't entirely positive he had made the right decision. There was something about the way he wore his scarf, the way he had his foot tilted just a bit to the left, the way his eyes were shining with a kind of mischievous light that was making him begin to question his own idea.
"Ohno Satoshi?" the man asked, although it was clear that he already knew very well that it was, indeed, Ohno in front of him. Ohno only nodded, not entirely sure how to greet this stranger but it turned out not to matter, as the man had decided to take the lead anyway.
"Oh-chan!" He grinned, almost like he'd flipped a switch in his brain and reached forward to ruffle Ohno's hair before walking past him, right into the room. Ohno turned slowly, watching the man drop his bag on the ground before launching himself onto Ohno's couch. Noticing a lack of response, the man's head turned back to where Ohno was standing, a knowing grin on his face at Ohno's stiff posture. "What, you're going to act like you don't know me?"
"Um," Ohno thought for a second, "I know you're probably going to start the act right now and that's fine and all but I," he paused, slightly embarrassed, "I don't even know your name." Ohno ducked his head, knowing that he was probably going about this all wrong and the cocky young man was going to laugh at him and this was all such a very, very bad idea why did he even think this would work?
"The agency didn't give you any details, huh?" was the actual reply he received. Ohno glanced back up to see the man rubbing the back of his head in an annoyed manner, as if he had to deal with this all the time. Maybe he did. "They're getting really lax about their methods over there. I'll have to complain to Jun next time I'm in."
Ohno wasn't entirely sure what the other man was talking about but he realized that he'd been standing by an open doorway for the past minute or so and, with a quick glance out to make sure there wasn't anything left in the hallway, Ohno shut the door and made his way over to where the man sat on his couch, looking for all intents and purposes like he belonged there. Ohno realized, belatedly, that that was probably the point.
"Well, let's get this started correctly, then," the man smiled at Ohno, reaching out his arm to shake his hand. "I'm Ninomiya Kazunari. You can call me Nino most of the time and Kazu when I embarrass you. Which I will, just to warn you now." Ninomiya--Nino smiled at Ohno's confused face.
"I can already tell," he explained to Ohno's wide eyes, "that you're the type that needs someone to balance their tension. You're totally mellow, right? And every once in awhile you get really fired up about stuff but for the most part, you're almost silent. People have to prod you to get words out. Am I wrong?"
Ohno blinked. How had Nino figured that out from talking to him for all of five minutes, if that? His astonishment must have shown on his face because Nino simply laughed, poking him in the side in a not unfriendly manner.
"You're transparent!" he chuckled. "I mean, come on, I've been here ten minutes and I'm pretty much the only one that's talked! It's fine, that's what I'm here for, but give me some credit; I know what I'm doing." Ohno simply nodded, causing Nino to laugh again, muttering something about illustrating the point. Ohno honestly didn't know what to say, swept away in the whirlwind that was Ninomiya.
"Okay," Nino began after a second, "might as well get started. Don't want to waste any time. Something easy first, you think? Let's, hmm, let's figure out our backstory. Just a simple one; I'll add anecdotes later." Ohno merely blinked, taking all of it in but not able to react. Nino was going a mile a minute and he was just trying to keep up. "So, alright, we're childhood friends who've known each other since, say, third grade? when my family moved to town and you were instructed to show me around the school."
"I wouldn't be in charge of that," Ohno cut in, finally feeling as if he had something to contribute. "The teachers didn't like me much since I kept doodling in class and not paying attention."
"It's fine," Nino waved off Ohno's worry. "They made you do it because they figured it'd be a punishment, keep you away from your beloved pencils--pens? (Ohno shook his head) pencils for awhile. Anyway, I started hanging around you since I didn't know anybody and of course, you quickly fell for my charm and a fast friendship was born."
"Did we go to school together all the way through high school?" Ohno asked, easily drawn into the lies Nino was so deftly weaving.
"Oh yeah, we did. Even though neither of us were too good at school, we made sure that we were always at the same one, even if it meant kind of cheating on tests. On my part only, if you want." Nino winked. "But then, after graduation, you got these lofty ideas of moving to Tokyo to study art."
"I went to the art college outside of Setagaya," Ohno nodded in agreement.
"And left me all alone in," he paused, "where are we from again?"
"Kanagawa."
"Leaving me all alone in Kanagawa," Nino finished with a fake sniffle. "Of course, I tried to make it work, working part time at a bunch of different places, from the conbini to the karaoke place to the grocery store but it just wasn't happening. Remembering the example of my best friend who chased a dream to Tokyo, I grabbed my guitar and followed you."
It was a good story, bordering on moving and Ohno felt the need to give some sort of show of approval but Nino gave him a look to let him know that he wasn't finished, winking as if the best part was yet to come.
"Now, I had lost contact with you a couple of years prior and I had no idea where you were except that you studied art. I also had almost no money on me so I took to playing guitar on street corners to pay for my meals. I tried to spend the night in internet cafes and such but it was beginning to bleed me dry so I took to living in a park around Yoyogi.
Now, I know it sounds horrible and it kind of was but I liked my cardboard house and I liked the freedom being homeless granted me. I didn't really complain, only made sure I worked hard at saving the money I made from playing and singing. It was a tough life but I was making it work.
So one day, out of the blue, I decided to walk, just see where it took me, and I ended up at a Family Mart 30 minutes west of Harajuku. I was hungry as I hadn't eaten in a day or so and had gone in to grab an onigiri or something. Well, lo and behold, who should be standing there, by the bread of all things, than my long lost Oh-chan!" Nino smiled as brightly as if this fantasy was happening in front of them. The enthusiasm rubbed off; Ohno smiled too.
"You, of course, were delighted to see me but upset to see the state of disarray I had fallen into. Being the kind and loyal human being that you are, you decided right there and then to take me in, get me back on my feet. You're a stand up guy, you know." Nino winked at him. "So, anyway, you take me back to your place, clean me up, get me a job with some old college acquaintance and are basically my saving grace. I'm eternally grateful to you but at the same time, will never ever show it because I'm too guarded. You know, because of my past hardships and stuff."
"So now you live somewhere nearby and have a real job and stuff?" Ohno asked.
"Oh yeah, you totally put me on the straight and narrow. Have a good job, apartment of my own, the works. And of course, I'm totally a fanboy of all your stuff. Hell, I'm more excited for your gallery opening than you are half the time. You're completely embarrassed by how much I praise your stuff but secretly, you love the attention."
Content with his story, Nino sunk back into the couch, a smile on his face and a quiet kind of pride in his eyes. Ohno took a few seconds to think about what he heard before he smiled back.
"I really like the story," Ohno began. "It's impressive. Really. But I don't think you have to paint me as such a humanitarian. I'm not that great, you know. Just a painter that got a lucky break."
"Maybe so," Nino shrugged, "but Ninomiya Kazunari from Kanagawa doesn't think so. He's your number one fan. So you have to be the Ohno Satoshi that that he believes in. Can you do that?" Nino looked him dead in the eye and Ohno almost blushed from the intensity of the gaze before nodding once.
"Good," Nino reverted back to the easy going guy that he had been a second before, "glad that's settled. So, now that we've got the basics down, why don't you show me to my room? I want to get all set up before we start talking about creating a real history."
"Um," Ohno blinked confusedly, "Your room?"
"Yeah, my room," Nino answered, as if it were obvious. "I need to become your best friend in the universe in a week. You think we're going to get that done in a single meet and greet? Oh no, my friend. I'm moving in until after this gallery opening." Nino stood up and grabbed his bag.
"So, where are you putting me?"
-------
Ohno Satoshi had been content with his life. He grew up in a small household in Kanagawa, full of family love and sisterly pestering. He went shopping with his mother and always folded the paper just the way his father liked it before setting it next to his chair before dinner. He even loved his sister, even if she did steal his dessert half the time.
He started doodling in his notebooks at school at an early age which had fostered a love of art that never was just a hobby and became some kind of a passion. As passionate as Ohno could be about anything, anyway. What pocket change he could acquire quickly went from candy and comic books to pencils and notebooks as he grew up. Even his father, who had always expressed a wish for Ohno to follow him into the "family business" (which Ohno had always thought simply meant wearing a suit), soon came to realize that maybe there was something more to this art thing than a mere fancy of his son.
When Ohno applied to a few art colleges around Tokyo, his parents didn't say anything. They didn't particularly encourage him, worried to get his hopes too high before any good news came out of it, but when the acceptance letters came back, his father helped load the boxes into the back of the family car and his mother packed him at least a week's worth of lunches into marked tupperware containers. Even his sister looked a little teary-eyed when they drove away but that might have been because she had gotten stood up by her date the night before.
College was hard. Ohno hadn't had any formal art training, getting in more on natural talent than on any kind of technical skills but he was a quick learner and was constantly impressing his professors with new things that would seemingly come out of nowhere.
The only downside was that when Ohno wasn't working, trying to catch up to the class, he was sleeping, trying to catch up on health and the one/two combination didn't do well for his friend-making opportunities. It wasn't that Ohno wasn't friendly; he just didn't have that natural charm that others seemed to possess in abundance and he never really knew how to start a conversation.
Which is how Ohno Satoshi graduated without making a single friend.
That might be a bit of an overstatement. It wasn't that people didn't like Ohno (although there might have been a little bit of resentment here and there); it was simply that they didn't really know him and everyone was busy all the time. Ohno said hi to people in class and waved to people in the hallways but that was always as far as it went.
Not that he particularly minded. He had other things to do, a sudden interest in fishing that was taking up his non-art periods, and no pressing need for human contact. He called his family once a week, said hi to Hiromi at Lucky's when he went grocery shopping and emailed his professors when needed. He didn't really see the need to go beyond that.
Life continued much the same after graduation as it had during school. Ohno worked on his art projects most of the night and sent samples out to various galleries during the day. It wasn't but a month or so before a private gallery in Meguro informed him that they'd like to display a few of his pieces, just to see what the reaction would be. Ohno had gotten himself yakiniku that night to celebrate. He went alone.
The pieces must have gone over well because sooner or later, more galleries started asking for a painting, a figure, anything he wanted to send over. The money wasn't exactly pouring in but it wasn't trickling either and Ohno began to think that maybe he'd made the right decision when he'd packed up the van and driven over to the big city.
The good news had come about two and a half years after graduation. A gallery that was actually rather near to his place would be honored if they could have an exhibition of his works. Nothing huge: just a couple of rooms and a cocktail party at the opening. They'd send invitations out to some of the nearby art critics, a few of the other galleries and, of course, have flyers out all week. The exhibit would last a month or so.
Ohno let himself go fishing for the whole weekend to celebrate.
It was when the gallery called a few weeks before the opening that Ohno had realized his dilemma. During a quick q&a they were doing for the "about the artist" section, they asked him who was coming to the opening. And that's where Ohno blanked.
He had told his parents and while they were very excited for him, they were terribly sorry Satoshi but mom had gotten tickets for the two of them about a year ago for a vacation to Hawaii. Hawaii! Surely he understood? Ohno did.
His sister told him she was awfully proud of her little brother but she was also eight months pregnant. Ohno understood that, too.
Which led him to an awkward pause on the phone with Sakurai, who had been so nice to offer him this opportunity. He blundered an 'I'll get back to you' and the man agreed easily enough. He asked Ohno's hobbies afterwards and both men quickly forgot the awkwardness as Ohno began to describe the way the ocean lit up with the dawn when you were fishing for tuna. Sakurai made appreciative noises over the phone.
That didn't solve the problem of what Ohno was going to do, though. He couldn't look like some kind of social outcast (although he clearly kind of was) if he was going to make a name for himself in this business. But without a clear friend in Tokyo to introduce him to people and without resorting to something sketchy like a host club or such, what was there to do?
Fate answered one Sunday afternoon two weeks before the opening while Ohno was checking his email. A small pop up ad appeared before his eyes and he let out an annoyed grunt, dragging the small black arrow up towards the red circle to close it when he actually found himself reading the advertisement.
Bored at parties? Need to impress someone at the office? Need a family member for a big event? No problem!
CALL 1-800-RENT-A-FRIEND!
*We are not a host club. We retain the right to refuse service to anyone.
He thought about it once. He thought about it twice. And then he found his fingers dialing a number and a nice young man named Matsumoto telling him someone would be over within the week. And with one last, worrying glance at the telephone, Ohno had sealed his fate, for better or for worse.
-------
Life with Nino wasn't something that took much adjusting to, somewhat to Ohno's surprise. His routine hadn't changed at all, just had a bit added to it. Whereas his old days would be spent painting, eating and watching fishing programs on the television, his new schedule seemed to be paint, eat, watch fishing programs on television and answer any of Nino's questions, something that didn't really take much effort.
Nino's apparent process, if it could be called that, was to spend every waking moment observing Ohno. He claimed that it would let him be better able to make up actions and stories that would suite their "friendship", should something come up. While this had sounded silly to Ohno at first, it actually somehow seemed to be working. Nino, despite only having lived with him for a few days or so, was blending in quite well to his surroundings.
Nino would get up in the morning reluctantly. That was the one rule he had given Ohno when they had begun: "No matter what I say or what I do, always wake me up in the morning." These words of warning proved to be helpful as Ohno discovered his very first day. He had found Nino sprawled across the bed, his leg in a position that could not be comfortable, seemingly not breathing. Ohno had employed name calling ("Nino? Niiiino?"), reluctant poking, shaking and finally actually sitting on the younger man before he heard a groan of life and a quietly upset "okay, okay, I'm up."
Once Nino was awake, however, life was fairly nice. Nino would sit next to or behind Ohno as Ohno went about his daily activities, either writing something down in his notebook or playing his DS. Both seemed equally as important to the younger man and Ohno honestly couldn't find a reason to complain.
-------
"What's your favorite color?" Nino asked as he flipped on his DS one afternoon. Ohno picked up a a brush from the sink and walked over towards the canvas.
"Blue," he responded, not thinking all that much. Nino nodded and went back to his game.
-------
"If someone said," Nino asked lazily from the couch, head reclined against a pillow and feet up against the back, as Ohno watched some guy named Suzuki catch a tuna on television, "that you could either never see your family again or never paint again, which would you choose?"
"Why would someone do that?" Ohno asked, confused, throwing a glance over to the pile of paints that sat waiting in the corner. Nino shrugged.
"I would never paint again," Ohno said with an air of finality. He glanced over to catch Nino's eye; the younger man looked approving. "You never said anything about figures, after all," he added with a smile.
Nino chuckled and Ohno felt a spark of warmth in his stomach he attributed to hunger.
-------
"Least favorite childhood memory," Nino mumbled from the couch. Ohno had thought he'd fallen asleep, it had been so long since the younger man said anything.
It took Ohno a long time to think up an answer to that, painting a large yellow sun on the center of his canvas as he thought, weighing option against option. There was the time the kid at school had put his desk in the hallway. There had been the time his sister forgot to get him on the way home from school and he had ended up lost for a few hours before his mother found him and scolded him. There had been the time when he had gotten sick on a family vacation and had to spend the whole week in the hotel room.
When he finally decided on one (the time his sister had put a spider in his sandwich and hadn't informed him until after he ate it), he turned around to find an unconscious Nino, the man having lost the battle with sleep while Ohno was pondering his answer.
With a silent chuckle and a small smile, Ohno covered Nino in a blanket from the edge of the couch, tucking in a few odd edges to make sure he was as warm as he could make him. A hand reached out to brush a strand of hair off of Nino's face of its own accord; Nino let out a sigh and shifted in his sleep. Ohno drew his hand back, giving it a glance of confusion before sighing and heading back to his easel.
-------
"Childhood pet?" Nino asked offhand, looking through his wardrobe that he had laid out on the couch. The gallery opening was coming in two days and the last details were beginning to iron themselves out. Sakurai had told Ohno that he should wear a suit, at least, but Nino wasn't quite sure what he should wear, confiding in Ohno that he'd never been to an art gallery before.
"Not really," Ohno shrugged, arranging a few of his figurines into a box for easier transport down to the gallery. Sakurai had been helping him set up the past few days, taking paintings down to the studio and setting them up across the place. It was a great space; the light was spectacular. Ohno simply wished that it wasn't taking so long to get everything done. For some reason, he found that lately, when he was at the gallery, he found himself wishing he was back home.
Nino never came to the gallery.
"Oh wait," Ohno thought back, a sudden memory coming to him. "I was supposed to take care of the class turtle back in second grade." He paused, remembering how that turned out. "I still say that he simply didn't want to eat."
Nino laughed in response, reaching down to grab a tie and holding it against his chest, testing the color against the shirt. He turned to Ohno with a smile, made an inquiring noise. Ohno just shrugged and Nino gave him a look that wasn't really serious.
"What about you?" Ohno asked, grabbing some bubble wrap from the counter. "Did you have any pets?"
Ohno had already packed in all the figures before he realized that Nino hadn't answered, that in fact movement had ceased from his section of the couch. He turned around, a curious gaze on his face to find Nino giving him an unreadable look. Suddenly his new friend seemed very far away.
"I can't answer that. I'm not allowed to reveal personal details about my life."
The words were rote, no sense of emotion in them and Nino spoke them thusly. The younger man's face was hard, but there was something in his eyes that Ohno couldn't quite make out.
"Oh," Ohno murmured. "I suppose that makes sense." Nino nodded quietly and turned back to looking at ties.
Ohno's stomach felt like it normally did in choppy waters but he couldn't come up with a reason why. He taped the box closed and headed down to the gallery. Nino would be home when he got back. For some reason, though, the thought didn't make him feel much better.
~
It's been so long! I hope you guys remember me. (笑) I've been working on this series for quite some time now but it's only now coming together. I hope you enjoy it and I promise that I won't go so long without updating again. ♥
PS: Is everyone reading all the entries for the ohmiyaday Valentine's Contest? Because they're all amazing.