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nilielhRating : PG
Pairing : Ohno/Nino
Disclaimer : fiction, yo!
Summary : On the day Japan was hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami, the Jimusho gathered all of its artist for a headcount. All were present except for one : Arashi's Leader, Ohno Satoshi, was missing.
Note : This took place during the 2011 earthquake.
“What is it with fishing that makes it enjoyable, anyway?” he asked. The question made Ohno look up from his magazine, at the very least, from where he’d been nose-deep in for the last half hour.
As usual, Ohno didn’t answer. He simply shrugged his shoulders in a way that he supposed Nino would understand even though Nino mostly didn’t. But that’s not something Nino would admit, would he?
“I just don’t get it,” he mused, eyes tracking the side of Ohno’s face – the sunburns that never seemed to leave Ohno’s skin, the now permanent scar on Ohno’s cheek he probably got from one of his fishing escapades – and wondering how someone whose work involved looking good in front of the camera could get away looking like a piece of burnt toast everytime he came home from spending his day off out in a boat.
“Course you wouldn’t,” Ohno mused back, “my hobby isn’t for people who gets dizzy by simply hearing the word ‘sea’,”
“You’re hilarious,” he muttered, kicking Ohno’s legs for effect. Ohno simply grinned and curled one elegant hand around his calf, then lifted it over Ohno’s lap, then the other, without missing a beat.
“You’re curious, aren’t you?” Ohno said, propping the magazine over Nino’s legs and using it as an impromptu handrest. “You know you’re always welcome to join if you feel like it,”
He sniffed. “And come home looking like you? Thanks but no thanks,”
“Ouch, that hurts,” Ohno mumbled, feigning hurt; Nino would have believed it if not for the fact that Ohno was grinning and one of his hands was absently squeezing Nino’s knee. Nino’s eyes followed the motion avidly, throat tight.
“Just stating a fact here, you know that, don’t you?” Nino breathed, feeling like he ought to apologize even though there was no need to. Ohno knew him well enough to know he was just joking, and for the life of him, he wondered how much of it them were simply lies to cover up what he truly felt for the other man.
“Harsh,” Ohno commented, not bothering glancing up as he flipped the page of the magazine he was reading. “Just so you know, my fans don’t care if my skin’s not as perfect as you and Matsujun’s. They even did a survey about it and the majority of those who answered said they preferred Ohno-kun with tan skin because he looks manly,”
He rolled his eyes to the heaven but smiled despite himself. “Manly, my ass,” he said, “you’re an idol, for crissake! You’re supposed to look idol-ish. With fair skin and nice bod. I’m not sure but I think the only reason you can get away with your burnt skin is because of your face but if not –“
“So you think I’m good-looking?” Ohno cut in, smiling like a cat that got the cream. Nino wanted to punch him or do something else with him he had to fight back the urge by pulling his legs back and grunting.
“Maybe,” he said, nose in the air as he grabbed his DS. “but only if you will lose the tan and the stubbles. Right now you look like that uncle selling ramen down my apartment block,”
“What a nice looking ramen seller you have there,”
“Shut up,”
Ohno grinned and simply grabbed his legs with a hum, putting them back over Ohno’s lap, patting his foot before curling his fingers around one of Nino’s calves. It’s that gesture that made Nino think of the word couple thrown between them somehow but the problem was, they’re not.
So fucking complicated, really.
“Shutting up,”
+
They spent most of the day trudging after their managers even though they’ve been told not to; it was evident in the way the four of them marched out of their temporary home after their managers, looking determined as fuck because none of them wanted to spend the day sitting around and waiting.
“Silver Wolf-san shooed me out,” Sho muttered angrily the second he was close enough for them to hear him, wearing a scowl so fierce it was frightening.
“Well, I would too if I’m the one to see you barging in someone else’s room scowling like that,” Jun mused; Sho shot Jun a look that spoke volumes, a look that would have made others cringe in fear but Jun simply arched one perfect brow at him.
“Very funny, Matsumoto,”
“Just telling the truth,” Jun shrugged, then, as if he couldn’t be bothered to ruffle Sho’s wounded ego, he continued with, “So what’s the situation? Are we allowed to interview the guy once they’re done threatening him or are we waiting here for nothing?”
Sho made a thin sound from the back of his throat and walked to sit next to Jun while Aiba nibbled on his fingernails – an obvious sign of distress, and one that Aiba hadn’t done in years, until now.
“Not sure if the guy’s capable of talking though,” Sho said, “from where I was standing before Wolf-san shut the door to my face, what I saw wasn’t all that pretty. The guy couldn’t possibly talk with all those craps attached to his face and body,”
“But I thought there were two?” he asked, finally finding the voice to ask. “Kiromoto-san said there were two survivors, right?” he said, glancing to his right to find Aiba nodding.
“Yes, that’s what Ki-chan said,” nodded Aiba.
Sho shrugged. “He isn’t there,” Sho said.
“What do you mean he isn’t there?”
“I mean he isn’t there,” Sho repeated, “as far as I know, he was there before we arrived but now they couldn’t find him. One of the nurses said the person left before he could be properly treated and that they haven’t seen him since. Matsumoto-kun’s manager was talking to the police when I leaned in closer to listen,”
Jun looked mighty spooked. “Why did he need to talk to the cops?”
Sho pursed his lips. “Not sure but it’s obvious that they think that this person was the one who could point us to where Ohno-san is, so they’re trying to gather all the help they could get to track this guy,”
“But why –“
“Simple. Think of it this way; that guy was one of the two people who saw our Leader alive, so it goes without saying that the guy knows where to go,” Sho grunted, clutching his phone tightly and looking at them one by one. “and our managers figured the same thing out that’s why they’ve called on the authorities’ help to track him down. I’m pretty sure they’ve just sent out a massive search to find this guy,”
“But what if he doesn’t?” he asked, unsure. “What if the reason he left was because of something else?” Sho looked pointedly at him.
“Yes,” Jun breathed, “makes me wonder why he ran off, to be honest,” Jun mused aloud, “surely, it’s not just because he was afraid his ass would be hunted off by our management for not bringing our Leader home safe and sound,” Jun said and his chest ached, remembering the reason why they’re here in the first place.
“No,” Sho muttered, checking his vibrating phone. “I don’t think so,”
“Maybe that was exactly what he was afraid of,” Aiba said. “Maybe, he’s scared the company’s going to sue his ass for not keeping Leader safe so he ran,”
“That’s just stupid,” Jun said, “the guy was probably in shock and he didn’t know what he was doing. For all we know, he could be anywhere; maybe in this hospital, maybe back to find his family, we won’t know for sure,” Jun said. “And correction, our Leader is safe, Aiba-chan. Keep that in mind,”
“Or maybe,” Sho breathed, frowning at his phone so hard before he locked it and shoved it back to his pants’ pocket. “that was intentional,”
“What?”
“Excuse me?”
Something rattled painfully in his chest the moment his gaze swept past Jun and Aiba to settle on Sho’s face. It was rather terrifying to figure out what that look on Sho’s face meant even though Sho hadn’t said anything yet.
But maybe, he didn’t need to.
Sho looked at them one by one. “What if the reason that guy ran off was because he didn’t want to be found?”
“Well, clearly,” Jun sniffed. “He wouldn’t have left as soon as he was sure he wasn’t going to drop dead if he had all the intention of staying and waiting till we find him, would he?”
“But what if that’s exactly what it is?” Sho said, “that he simply made sure he was fine before he took off knowing that someone was bound to find him here?”
“Sho-san, you’re not making any sense –“
“What if the reason our managers didn’t want us to come was because they have a suspicion that that guy wasn’t who we thought he was,” Sho said, “or that he was trying to act like he was someone else, someone we know?”
“Sho-chan –“
“What do you mean –“
“I asked the nurse to message me once she remembers even the tiniest details about that guy who was brought in together with the other one before he disappeared,” Sho said, taking his phone out once again and raising it up for them to see. “This is what she sent me,”
I’m not sure if this will help but as I said, it was difficult to make out his face because he wouldn’t let us take off his hat that almost covered half of his face but I do remember the person was wearing a necklace with a small fish pendant curved inside what seemed to be a letter S. I hope that helps.
Nino felt his heart stop. “No, that’s –“
“What the actual fuck?” Jun cursed.
“That’s our Leader’s necklace,” Sho confirmed, and Nino felt as if all his strength had been drained out of him that he was soon collapsed against Aiba’s side before he realized it. “I’m sure you remember him wearing that often. Still, I’m not saying that person was him, but we can’t rule that out. So that leaves us with two possible things: that it was Leader who was brought in together with that person or that’s another person with our Leader’s necklace dangling around his neck,”
Sho paused to breath, then, “But whoever that is, we need to find him, and we need to find him fast.”
