[Arashi Fanfic] Love, Courage and Cherry Pie: Chapter 4
For Aivana. Next Chapter will have to wait til Friday, earliest. It'll definitely be up before Sunday, I promise.
Aiba had been away for more than two months now. In fact, only two members of the five which made up Arashi were 'active' during those months, and it was the Ohmiya pair. Apparantly, Sho, Jun and Aiba were granted a 3 month break,
Now that Tomohisa had finished his drama, and his degree, he had a bit more free time. Most days he'd message Yuuki during the day, and every second or third day, they'd go out for dinner together. Since the Ohmiya pair were left in Japan, with no 'official' duties these days, Tomo-kun would sometimes ask them to join in as well. It was a nice distraction for Yuuki: the Ohmiya antics made her forget all her worries for a while. When November came, the Jimusho announced that NEWS will have a concert tour starting mid-January, which meant that Tomohisa soon became busy with concert arrangements and other rehearsals. So the Ohmiya pair took it onto themselves to keep Yuuki company. They've come to like her, as they liked Hikari, and told her the "full" story about Sho and Hikari's relationship-including the full reason for Sho's disappearance during the last of the summer concert tour, and also the little incident involving a photograph which irked Johnny H. Kitagawa so much he pulled every single copy of the papers in question off the stands of Japan, and, indeed the world. The more Yuuki heard, the more guilty she felt for guarding Aiba's secret so closely. A part of her wanted Aiba to leave Hikari: yet every time her mind suggested that she berated herself for being so evil. After all, she was the only person who knew Aiba's torment.
As for Hisako, Yuuki met up with her almost every other weekend. It was a treat, because it was the only time Yuuki didn't feel as though someone was watching her, with her rather famous buddies. Hisako ran into Yuuki with the guys once, early in October, and so the identities of Yuuki's new friends were not completely unknown to her. Yuuki chose to spare her the details, especially those concerning Aiba. Not that she didn't trust her friend, of course; Yuuki merely felt that it wasn't her story to tell. And one person bearing it was more than enough.
Aiba was still in Canada. He called her almost every night, and most of the time the calls were silent: as though the mere knowledge that Yuuki was there was support enough for Aiba. Yuuki's heart broke a little every time he called: she felt the pain and torment the man was going through, but had no idea of how to make him feel better. Other times, Yuuki tried to cheer him up and told funny stories, like the various theories about relationships within the group, or other amusing events in her life. She even tried every 'Knock, knock' joke she knew. But it came to no avail; Yuuki could sense that the once genki Aiba was just too depressed to laugh at her jokes. Yuuki became more and more worried about him, to the extent that almost every spare moment she had, she thought about Aiba. Even when Ohmiya dragged her out for the night, thoughts of Aiba still hijacked her mind. And it showed.
"Oi, Yuuki-chan!" Nino waved his hamburger hands in front of her. "Are you with us?"
"Eh?" Her eyes were still a little dazed. "What's up?"
"Sheesh, you're almost as bad as this one over here, Yuuki-chan." Nino pointed at Ohno, who was obviously spacing out again. "We were-fine, I was wondering if you wanna head to Canada with us. I'm sure the others won't mind. Hikari's always happy to meet someone new."
Yuuki froze. Canada… Aiba…and Hikari. Her mind went into overdrive.
"Maybe not, Nino. I think I'll spend Christmas here. Who knows, if I'm lucky, my parents might even come and visit." She replied, the smile on her face failed to conceal her true emotions. Her eyes glossed over again: her mind drifted off once more.
Nino sighed. "Why am I stuck with all the spaced out people?" He whinged.
"Eh? What did you say?" Yuuki and Ohno said together.
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It was mid-November, and already Christmas was in the air. Winter break started, and Yuuki had more spare time on her hands than expected. Yuuki's parents decided to visit some relatives and friends in America very last minute, and so planned to spend Christmas there. She thought of travelling around Japan during the break, and had hoped to spend winter in Hokkaido, but Tomo-kun insisted on her staying around Tokyo, and promised that he'd spend a bit more time with her whenever he didn't have any work obligations. In fact, he went so far as to giving her two tickets to all the events he would be attending, but Yuuki only kept the tickets for Music Station Super Live and the Countdown concert-she feared that if she went to all of the shows, Johnny and the paparazzi would become suspicious, and the last thing she wanted was trouble. In the end, at Hisako's insistence, Yuuki was to stay with her friend's family over Christmas and New Year, because "Christmas is not meant to be spent alone." And since Hisako would be going to the events with her, it made better sense for two girls to travel together than each travelling alone.
A week into her break, Aiba called her, out of the blue. Tomo-kun was over for lunch, and since both didn't want to go out, the two were mucking around in Yuuki's apartment, watching various videos on her laptop. From Yuuki's calculations, it was around 2am in Canada-a rather strange time for Aiba to call. Yuuki went into her bedroom, and closed the thin paper door.
"Aiba-chan? What's up?"
"Yuuki? I… just wanted to talk to someone." His voice was hoarse and tired. "What time is it in Japan?"
"It's 3 in the afternoon. Are you alright? Why are you still up at 2 in the morning?"
"I… I saw her today, Yuuki-chan. Hikari…she was looking for me. She's been standing outside my hotel, every night, for I don't know how long. I…I didn't want to force her into anything, I didn't want to hurt Sho, so I'd just stay in my room, and watch her wait. She left all these messages on my phone, but I didn't listen to them. Not even one. I… I… " Yuuki could hear Aiba's voice tightening up. Tears were swimming in her eyes.
"Shh… it's ok, Aiba-chan. I'm not going anywhere. Take a deep breath and calm down ok, please?" Yuuki wished she could fly to Canada and hug him, at that moment. She bit her lip and tried to hold back her own emotions.
"I couldn't take it anymore. It hurt my heart so much to see her out there, waiting for me, every single night. I just couldn't. So I went out tonight, and walked around. I thought she'd be gone by the time I got back. But she…Hikari was there. She just stood there, outside the hotel. I just … I just froze. I knew I should have run away or something, and waited til she left…and then she hugged me. She asked me why I was ignoring her, did she do something wrong, and … and she thought that she'd never see me again."
He stopped. Yuuki was speechless. Tears flowed down her face, drop by drop. She waited for him to continue, not wanting to speak-she knew that her voice would betray her own emotions, and Aiba already had enough on his mind.
"I hugged her back. I didn't want to hurt Sho, but I couldn't help myself. I hugged her back, and told her the truth. That I thought I blew it. That I didn't want to destroy her relationship with Sho. And then… and then Sho rang. I could see it in her eyes, Yuuki. She still loved him, she still loved Sho. And I… I couldn't just take her away from Sho. I just couldn't. And I didn't want her to choose, either. I wouldn't have been able to bear it, whatever choice she made. I want to be with her, but I didn't want to see my best friend hurt, in any way."
Yuuki had slumped onto the floor now, her knees to her chest, her face wet from tears. Her entire mind was numb: she could only listen to Aiba's voice coming out of her phone.
"She said she couldn't get me out of her mind. That she was as confused as I was. It was enough for me. I asked her to stay with me."
Yuuki took a deep breath, and hoped that her voice was calm. "If that's enough for you, I hope you'll look after her, Aiba-chan. Look after her well."
With that, Yuuki closed her phone, buried her face in her knees and wept.
Outside the door, Tomo-kun stood, unbeknownst to Yuuki. He had heard her every word, his hand ready to knock on the wood frame, but froze momentarily when he heard her quiet sobs. He knelt down, quietly pushed open the door, and held Yuuki in his arms.
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The next day, Ohmiya were flying out to join the rest of the guys in Canada. Yuuki and Tomo-kun had the task of seeing them off-it was either that or be driven by Arashi's manager, Kato-san. And it seemed to Yuuki that the pair certainly preferred the former. Yuuki met Kato-san once, and remembered his piercing look of assessment, scanning her from head to toe. Just the memory made Yuuki squirm. But it seemed like Yuuki had his approval, as he didn't seem to have any qualms about Ohmiya and Tomohisa seeing the girl on such a frequent basis. Or so she was told by Nino.
"Ja, ittekimasu! Don't bully her while we're away now, Pi-chan!" Nino playfully instructed the youngest boy.
"The only one who ever bullies me is you, Nino." Yuuki laughed. Then, realising something, she searched through her bag. "Ano, Nino, mind doing me a favour?"
"Hm? What's up?" Nino smiled and asked.
"It's almost Aiba-chan's birthday, and I was wondering if you could give him this." She handed him a box and an envelope.
"Eh? How come Aiba-chan gets a present? Where's mine, Yuuki-chan?" Even Ohno turned his head, and looked at Yuuki expectantly.
Ignoring the jokes, Yuuki replied, "It's kinda important. Nino, onegai?"
Nino's smile faltered, and he gave Tomohisa a look before answering Yuuki. "Sure, should I tell him it's from a friend or a fan?" He asked, with an eyebrow raised and a mischievous smile.
"Whatever, Nino. Just give it to him, ok? Please don't be too hard on him when you get to Canada. You two take care. And don't boss Riida around. Itterasshai!"
Nino laughed. "Fine, I won't. Ittekimasu!"
Yuuki and Tomohisa smiled and waved goodbye to the Ohmiya pair, and laughed when Nino groped Ohno's arse as they made their way into the terminal.
"Hey…"
I'm letting you go, Aiba-chan. Yuuki thought, as her eyes followed Ohno and Nino, until they disappeared behind the automatic gates. I'm letting you go.
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"Yuuki," Tomohisa spoke, breaking the silence in the car. "Yuuki, is there something I should know?"
"Hm?" She turned.
"Why were you crying the other day? That time after lunch."
"Oh. That." Yuuki didn't know where to start.
"Was it-"
"It was-" Yuuki interrupted him. "It was nothing. Just that my parents called to say that they're safely in America, and I realised that they really won't be coming to Japan for Christmas. That's all."
It wasn't a complete lie- they did call that day, and apologised for not being in Japan with her. Yuuki wanted desperately to tell Tomohisa the truth, but couldn't bring herself to do it. The last thing Aiba-chan needs is betrayal. She sniffed and pushed aside all thoughts of Aiba.
Moments later-
"So how about dinner at my place?"
"You know how to cook, pretty boy?" Yuuki teased.
"Nope. But I know someone who does." He looked at his passenger.
"Omae…" Yuuki said as she playfully smacked his arm.
"You know, one of these days I'll be going back to Australia," Yuuki said, as she washed some potatoes. "I won't be in Japan forever, as much as I love it here. You should learn to cook at least some simple stuff."
"Yeah…but there's a conbini just downstairs. There's no point." Tomohisa retorted. "Besides, if I knew how to cook, would you still be here?"
"Nope." Yuuki replied, without as much as a thought.
"I thought so."
"But really, why don't you learn a dish or two? Even though conbini food is supposedly fresh and all, nothing beats a home-cooked meal. Or better idea yet, why don't you move back in with your family?"
"Chiba's too far from work and Uni. I'm better off here." He answered, "I save money and time by staying here."
"Oh, right. I forgot- the jimusho pays for this place. You're worse than Nino, you know. The prankster owns his place, at least."
"Maa…tuition's expensive."
"I'm sure you earn more than that, if you can afford to eat out every day, even if it's conbini food." Yuuki said. "Don't you have a vegetable peeler, or steel wool or something? It's so hard peeling potatoes with a cleaver." She set down the knife, and replaced the potatoes in the sink. "I wonder if the conbini sells steel wool…I'll be right back."
Yuuki wiped her hands and headed towards the genkan. She had only taken two steps when, without warning, Tomohisa grabbed her wrist, and pulled her into his embrace. In one swift movement, one arm wrapped itself tightly around Yuuki's shoulders, the other at the back of her head, her cheek landed against his shoulder. Yuuki's eyes widened in surprise, her arms hitting his chest softly in protest.
"Oi, let me go! What on earth are you doing?"
Tomohisa tightened his hold. Not a word was said, not even a sound was made.
"Tomo-kun? What's wrong?"
Still, he said nothing. Yuuki stilled, her arms circled around his torso, and hugged him back.
After what seemed to be an eternity, Tomohisa whispered into Yuuki's ear, in a voice that was barely audible.
"Suki dayo, Yuuki. Kimi no koto ga suki da."
Suki da yo, Yuuki. Kimi no koto ga suki da.
Yuuki froze. The words echoed in her ears. Her mind reeled.
"Of course you like me, silly. Why else would we be friends?" Yuuki gave a dry laugh, trying to make light of the situation, and tried to pull away. He can't be serious. He just cannot be serious.
"I mean it, Yuuki. I like you." Tomohisa said, his hands clutching her pale face. "I like you."
His face leaned in, his nose brushed against hers. No…this can't be happening. Yuuki thought. She stepped back, just before he could kiss her. Aiba's face flashed before her eyes.
"Let's…let's just take it easy, Tomo-kun." Yuuki said, with somewhat of an embarrassed smile. "This is just a bit too much for me to handle at the moment."
"Gomen."
Yuuki's heart softened. "It's not you, silly. I just… didn't expect it."
"So… will you be my girlfriend?" Tomohisa looked into Yuuki's eyes, with all seriousness. Confusion overtook her mind: a million things appeared, and Aiba's face came up the most-that faraway look he had when he first mentioned Hikari, his sad smile, his genki laugh... The two faces morphed into one, and Yuuki felt her heart pound against her chest. If this what they mean by doki-doki, then…
"…Yes." She whispered, "Yes, I will."