[Arashi Fanfic] Love, Courage and Cherry Pie: Chapter 11
I can't stop. But this one was kinda fun to write.
"Hey, sorry I'm late!"
"Daijoubu daijoubu, this guy," Nino pointed to Aiba, "dragged me out early."
Yuuki giggled. "Where's Riida? Fishing again?"
"Probably." Nino replied. "Ne, Yuuki, if you're going out for cakes and stuff, wouldn't this guy-" he pointed to Aiba, "be enough? I hate sweets."
"Nope. Kato-san's orders." She smirked as Nino cringed. "Besides, we're going to Akihabara. You should feel right at home."
"Why do I have a bad feeling about this…" Nino mumbled. "Yuuki looks as though she stole my Himitsu solo outfit, a scarf from Jun, and one of Nakai's beanies."
"Maa, if it's Akihabara, it can't be all bad, right? And maybe Yuuki's just experimenting with looks." Aiba tried to console his bandmate. All he got was a glare in return.
"This isn't going to work. Like we'll get anything out of Yuuki by going to Akihabara. She'll probably make me buy her games or something, instead of telling us what kind of cake she likes." Nino whinged.
"What are you guys doing? Hurry up, we have trains to catch!" Shouted Yuuki from several paces ahead. "Don't make me drag you guys yo!"
Nino sighed, eliciting a giggle from Aiba. The older man turned his eyes to Yuuki, and smiled.
At least she seems to be happy, now that we're just friends.
Akihabara. Made famous by Densha Otoko, it was the mecca for otakus and gadget lovers all over the world. But that was not the reason for the visit today. Yuuki had a mischievous glint in her eye throughout the train ride, and had burst out fits of giggles at the most random times. The guys could only assume she had watched some Arashi videos that morning, something either involving Aibaland or board games. The reason only became clear once they got to Akihabara, after Yuuki dragged them, half running and half skipping, to a café. Not just any café, of course.
"No way." Nino muttered. "Maji ka yo? There's no way I'm going in there."
"Aww, come on, Nino-chan, I've always wanted to visit one!" Yuuki begged.
"No. There's a good reason as to why I've never gone to one, even though I come to Akihabara all the time." Nino argued back.
"Demo…I've always wanted to go to a café in Akihabara..." Yuuki pouted, with puppy eyes.
"Aah, Nino-chan, what's the harm? It's just a café." Aiba said.
Yuuki smiled. "Sou yo, it's only a café! Come on, Nino!" She grabbed one of his arms, and started dragging him towards the entrance, despite his protests.
"It's not just a café! It's a-"
Too late. The party of three were already inside.
"Okaerinasaimase, Goshujin-sama~"
"-Maids' café." Nino sighed in defeat. Yuuki had a huge Cheshire cat smile on her face, while Aiba's jaw dropped in shock.
"Oishii!" Yuuki squealed, as she took another bite of yet another piece of cake.
"Deshou? It's the magic spells which make the cakes delicious yo!" Mary, the 'maid', replied cutely. "Let's do the spell again, master!"
Nino buried his face into his hands. Next to him, Aiba was still in shock, and just stared at Mary. Yuuki, on the other hand, seemed completely oblivious to their discomforts, and continued to laugh, chat and eat away with Mary-chan. Two pieces of cake and a large coffee later, Mary finally left their table, and the two Arashi boys were, at last, able to return to normal, and remembered their "task".
"Ne ne, Yuuki-chan, which of the cakes did you like most? The green tea one? Or the tiramisu?" Nino asked, with unusual eagerness.
"Hmm… They were alright, but the tiramisu had gelatin, and I didn't really like the cream on the green tea one." Yuuki replied.
"Jikusho." Nino said under his breath, and leaned back into his seat.
"Ja, Yuuki-chan, what cakes do you like?" Aiba spoke this time.
"Hmm…" Yuuki pondered for a moment, and stared at Aiba. Her eyes lit up suddenly, "Ah! I've always wanted to try that cherry pie."
"Cherry pie?" Nino said, confused.
"Sou sou, that cherry pie on Shukudai-kun." Yuuki replied, enthusiastically. "You know, the one Aiba where skewered up the cherries on his fork! You know, right, Aiba-chan?"
"Eeh? I did?" Aiba said, his brows furrowed in thought.
"Baka. Of course you did." Nino cut Aiba off before he could give anything away.
"Demo saa, I hate anything with glace cherries. It's gotta be fresh cherries for me. With the most buttery shortcrust pastry. And deliciously smooth vanilla pastry cream. Mmmm…" Yuuki closed her eyes, as she imagined the taste of such a cherry pie in her mouth.
"Well, let's get going then." Nino interrupted her thoughts. She pouted in protest. "Don't you have work to do?" He reminded her.
"Oh yeah!" Checking her watch, Yuuki quickly grabbed her stuff and fled out the door. "You'll get the bill, right? We'll sort it out later!" Her voice drifted away as she ran.
"Well, I guess that's the cake sorted." Nino stated. "Now let's get out of here before someone recognises us."
"Eeh?" Aiba's eyes were still fixated on the door that closed behind Yuuki as she left. "Oh. Yeah, sure."
"Ne, Aiba-chan? Mind paying? I left my wallet at home today."
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Saturday morning, Yuuki had just finished her morning rituals when her mobile rang.
"Moshi moshi? Yuuki?"
"Ah, Hisako! Morning," Yuuki answered, "What's up?"
"Nothing much…Ne, Yuuki, you got anything planned for today?"
"Nope, not at the moment. Everyone's busy, so I was planning to go out to a couple of places and explore."
"Wanna watch a movie with me? My boss gave me a pair of tickets yesterday. They're re-screening the Arashi movies. You know, Pikanchi, Pikanchi Double and Kiiroi Namida."
"Wow. That…sounds great. I'd love to come." Yuuki replied.
"Great. I'll see you at 12, Ebisu Garden Place. We'll have lunch before going to the movie marathon. See ya then!"
"Bye."
Yuuki couldn't help but feel slightly suspicious about the phone call and the plans, but decided that she was reading too much into things again.
After Hisako hung up, she sent a message.
Plan is under way. Be ready for her at 8pm.
=====================================================
"Wow. That was…wow." Yuuki was almost speechless as she walked out of the cinema with Hisako. "I don't think I've ever spent so much time watching Arashi. Ever."
"Even though you know the guys?" Hisako teased, "You were in Canada with them, a couple of months back."
"Yeah, but that was different!" Yuuki defended herself. It was completely different.
"Ne, how about some massive karaoke? We haven't gone for ages!" Hisako said, as she looked at the time. "Come on, I know just the place."
"Chotto-Hisako, don't we need to register first?" Yuuki frowned, as Hisako dragged her inside. "Sure we can just-"
"Ah, found it. Room 998? It doesn't look-ah well, if they say it's right, it's right." Hisako said to no one in particular. "Come on Yuuki, open the door."
"Eeh? Me?" Hisako smiled and gave Yuuki a little push. "Yada yo…I've got a bad feeling about this…"
"Just open the freakin' door, Yuuki!" A voice shouted from inside.
"What? Was that Nino?" Yuuki turned and gave a puzzled look at Hisako, who merely smiled knowingly. Turning around, Yuuki pushed the door open, not knowing what to expect. The sight which greeted her was one she never expected.
The karaoke booth was covered in rainbow coloured streamers, with a large hand-painted banner stretched along the back wall which said "Tanjoubi Omedetou, Yuuki!", with a caricature of her drawn by Ohno. Tomohisa, Ohno, Nino and Aiba popped streamers at her as she walked inside, tears welling up in her eyes. She burst into tears when she saw a large cherry pie with a single candle, on the small coffee table in the middle of the room. It was the cherry pie she mentioned at the Maids' Café, the same one that was featured on Shukudai-kun, and had always wanted to try. The rest had to push and drag Yuuki inside, setting her down in the middle of the U-shaped lounge, right in front of the pie.
"Oh, stop crying, Yuuki. You're supposed to be shocked, not weeping." Nino teased as he handed her a tissue. Ever the prankster, he had his camera phone out-no doubt he was filming her most embarrassing moment. Ohno smiled at him lovingly, his arm snaking up to Nino's shoulders, and rested it there. Yuuki noticed this, and gave a little giggle; Ohno gave her a small wink in return.
"You guys even got me cherry pie…" Yuuki whimpered, tears flowing down her cheeks. "I love you guys."
"We know, we know. Now are you gonna stop crying so that we can sing the stupid song and cut the cake and eat it?" Nino asked, feigning annoyance. Yuuki nodded weakly, and started to roughly brush away her tears with the back of her hand, as the others burst into laughter. Hisako hugged her as Tomohisa lit the candle, and Aiba dimmed the lights. The occasional tear rolled down her cheeks as the gang sang her Happy Birthday. Yuuki closed her eyes, and made her birthday wish, before she blew out the candle.
I wish that love, courage and cherry pie will be with my friends, always.
The party hasn't finished. Yet.