Mie Tachibana @ LJ

For Him [Yama 5/6]

2019-07-07T03:12:37Z

Waking up without the familiar warmth and scent of Sho beside him alerted Satoshi for all of five seconds as it did most of the time. He would lie back down, relish in the residual coziness of the bed for a little while, and finally get up.

Sho's Kaizen talk practice had wrapped up earlier than Satoshi expected. They had spent the night putting up the painting and reminiscing about their first year in that house. They also found the lamp Sho mentioned and it now replaced their plain bedside lamp.

He usually hummed while making the bed. Sho must have heard, since he called out a greeting.

"I tried eggs again." Sho immediately said once Satoshi entered the kitchen, his sleepy face still a little damp from washing. It was hard to imagine what time Sho had gotten up and gotten ready as he was already in his suit sans blazer.

Satoshi blearily walked to him, wanting to feel Sho close and also wanting eggs that were not burnt for breakfast. He smoothly slid a hand over Sho's on the handle of the pan. Sho winced but was unable to move away quickly enough.

"Both of us will get burned!" he let the pan go so Satoshi can take over. With a flick of his wrist, the not-so sunny side ups landed with a soft plop.

"Showoff." Sho scoffed. Satoshi laughed and set the plate of eggs in front of him. Sho removed Satoshi's apron, pushed his sleeves further up his arms and sat down to have some toast.

This part was one of the two highlights of Satoshi's day. Sho usually hurries through breakfast, but he eats everything as if it was gourmet. His cheeks puff when he stuffs his mouth and from time to time, especially when it's Satoshi who cooks, he'd moan about how good the food is. Or he would just moan. That was always nice.

"How's life in Jupiter, sir?" Sho said thickly. Satoshi blinked at him, trying to register what seemed to be a Chinese word.

Satoshi tried to repeat the word but Sho waved a dismissive hand, laughing a little. "You were staring at me like an alien studying a human who's doing this strange habit of stuffing his face."

"I like when you stuff your face." Satoshi smiled.

"No dirty talk at the table!" Sho scolded, but Satoshi had no clue where that idea came from. Sho's eyes betrayed the fact that it simply amused him. "Sleepy from my Kaizen talk? You said you could handle it. And I might be home early so I was hoping for a round two."

That was Sho's way of asking Satoshi to talk about his thoughts, the latter knew. Sho was just being considerate of whether Satoshi wants to talk or not.

And mostly, he does. But Satoshi can't exactly tell Sho he was still about to prepare another present.

"Are you back to Earth yet?" Sho peeked at Satoshi through aligned fists, as if staring through a telescope.

"I was thinking...there's no real way to find a 'perfect hiding spot'." Satoshi told him honestly. He couldn't think of anything else to cover up his problem.

"Well, why not?" Sho looked genuinely curious.

"If you find it, then it's not so perfect after all." Satoshi took one piece of toast from the pile that Sho had made. At the very least, Sho wouldn't die of hunger without Satoshi cooking for him.

"I disagree," Sho's brows furrowed thoughtfully. Satoshi was just surprised that the conversation continued at all. He was more used to getting dismissed as weird. Sho never put Satoshi's thoughts away from discussions.

"If it's to be a hiding spot, it has to be visible when looking for a place to hide. Otherwise, it cannot even qualify as a hiding spot." Sho added.

"Oh," Satoshi didn't expect a deep explanation, but Sho's determined look did not let up. Satoshi watched as Sho stood up to put his plate in the sink.

"But then, if it will be a perfect hiding spot, you can theoretically find it and it'll still be perfect for hiding..." Sho pushed his sagging sleeves back up his elbows, Satoshi simply enjoyed the view. Sho caught him staring again and stared right back.

Satoshi sat up in attention but Sho wasn't done with his lecture. "I think Plato said something about that, though."

Half the time, Satoshi had no idea what Sho would talk about when he would begin babbling about philosophical or scientific things. He still loved listening, anyway. Sho was often passionate about the things he knew and believed in, and it was so refreshing to hear someone standing up for their thoughts instead of falling back into the comfortable norms of society.

Satoshi stared so intensely that Sho stopped talking and with a small chuckle, took Satoshi's toast then stuffed into the latter's open mouth. Satoshi was startled but took a crunchy bite anyway. He completely didn't notice when his jaw had dropped while gazing at Sho.

"I guess it doesn't help to analyze it." Sho patted the breadcrumbs off off the corners of Satoshi's busily chewing lips and round cheeks.

Sho continued speaking as he unrolled his sleeves. "But I had strict parents so I got pretty good at hiding stuff in plain sight." he grinned.

Satoshi nodded knowingly.

Sho was definitely good at keeping secrets. Satoshi still didn't know how Sho managed to get a Joël Robuchon cake in time for his birthday. Satoshi can't even read the name of the chef nor the cake, much less figure out that it was all that rare until their neighbor, the bubbly chef Masaki, pointed it out as limited edition.

"Hiding in plain sight." Satoshi repeated, looking around the house.

"So..." Sho bent down so his face was very close. "You can't

possibly

hide anything from me."

There was a playful little glint in Sho's round eyes and Satoshi accepted the challenge.

"I have nothing to hide," he said with a smile that made Sho's eyes grow wide. He really hasn't got anything to hide, not yet anyway. Two can play Sho's mind games, as long as Satoshi has had breakfast.

The doorbell made them break the staring contest. Satoshi cursed in his mind, and for a moment considered switching off the intercom.

"I'll get it as I leave." Sho said, with a little smirk. Satoshi knew that his every move will from now on be watched closely. Everything he would do from then would be a clue now that Sho's curiosity had been piqued.

Sho put on his blazer and took his suitcase. The doorbell chimed again even as Sho quickly strode off to the door.

Satoshi looked at the kitchen counter and noticed something important that Sho had forgotten. He took out a banana case and pulled a banana from their bunch.

"Oh, Matsumoto-kun. Good morning," Sho's voice came from the entryway. Satoshi hurried over with the banana now in a case to see their neighbor, the handsome production designer.

Jun Matsumoto looked a little disheveled with his brown waves not pushed back as was usual, but he still looked like he was rocking a new trend. He raised a platter with a foil covering in his hands.

"Aiba-kun forgot to give you guys this and now he's too shy to, he said." Matsujun was never happy in the morning.

"Woah, what is it?" Sho took the platter from Matsujun.

"Paella. I made it, actually." Matsujun brightened up a little. "Aiba-kun doesn't do much western dishes."

"Oh," Sho said as he and Satoshi peeked at what seemed to be a platter of orange rice with seafood toppings inside.

"How much is this again?" Satoshi asked. Matsujun waved a hand dismissively.

"You guys get it for free as long as you tell me if it's good or not."

"Oh but that's-" Satoshi and Sho exchanged looks but Matsujun interrupted.

"I insist." he gave them a nod of finality. "You've helped Aiba-chan with his menu with all the stuff he's been making us all try. Or you can thank us by coming by for a beer sometime. Like this week or so."

"Yeah, that'd be quite nice." Sho had on a cordial smile that Satoshi knew was his sales pitch face.

"But you have a thing to do the whole week." Satoshi said quickly so Sho didn't need to think of an excuse. Perhaps it wasn't visible, but that salesman smile only ever appeared when he had to do something he didn't want to.

Sho put a fist on his forehead and it looked somewhat theatrical to Satoshi.

"Ah, yeah." Sho had on what Satoshi recognized as the practiced look of regret. "Why'd you have to remind me of these boring things."

Satoshi chuckled in spite of himself. Sho was a little too good at secrets.

"I can go, though." Satoshi asked permission with his eyes.

"Yeah, he can have a shot for me, right?" Sho nodded.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry if I insisted. Aiba-chan also wanted you guys to try a bunch of stuff that might go well with beer and all that." Matsujun said with a shrug. "Just come by or catch up, or not. Thanks anyway."

Satoshi could hear the fondness in how Matsujun switched from talking formally about his roommate to using an endearing nickname. He was very supportive of his chef friend's upcoming restaurant.

When Matsujun had said his goodbye and left, Sho turned to Satoshi with a soft gaze.

"I figured you're quite busy this week." Satoshi explained as he took the platter from Sho and exchanged it with the banana case. "It's a given that we'll be out on our anniversary but for now, I'll pop up with them and give you some quiet time. They'll also rest the daily invites if one of us turned up once."

"Jeez, don't make me sound so antisocial." Sho laughed, but this was his way of thanking Satoshi anyway. "Thanks for the banana. Almost forgot."

"You should get going so you don't miss your train." Satoshi reminded him. "We can have this tonight."

"You better leave some paella for me. I might be able to get off work early." Sho checked his watch at least thrice but seemed hesitant to move.

"Sure,

amore

." Satoshi snorted.

"That's Italian." Sho scoffed. "Paella is Spanish."

Satoshi stepped up and was about to retort but got stopped when he felt Sho's lips on his forehead. He stepped back and blinked for a moment in confusion as Sho laughed cheekily and said, "I'm off, put the paella inside!"

Satoshi could only grab thin air as Sho's long strides took him all the way to the end of the hall. He would have chased Sho all the way, feeling the heat spread from his forehead and all the way to his neck.

He was never gonna get used to these ambushes, but he likes it even if he knew that Sho hurried away to end the moment as quickly as he could. Satoshi himself has other pressing matters to attend to, so it couldn't be helped.

When he heard the elevator bell, he slipped back inside with his hands supporting the paella platter. He hurriedly put on shoes and skipped over to the unit across.

When he rung the doorbell, he was surprised when the door immediately opened.

"Oh! If it isn't Ohno-kun! Not on the morning shift at the convini?" Toma Ikuta greeted happily. From behind, Matsujun peeked.

"Is something wrong with the

paella

?" he came closer.

"Come in, Ohno-kun! There's breakfast, Aiba-chan made a lot of stuff. I heard you like bread." Toma ushered Satoshi inside.

Satoshi liked how their house was designed. Most of the larger furniture and the wall accents were in monochrome but there would be a pop of color in random places, most noticeable of which were the square pillows that adorned the couch.

Perhaps the best part was that the house always smells pleasantly of fresh food.

"N-no there's nothing wrong with the

paya

." Satoshi hurriedly said with a bow. "Thanks for letting me in."

"What's up? Must be urgent that you'd come in your pajamas." Matsujun gestured to their living room.

"Oi! Teacher Toma, you left your stupid socks in the bathroom again!" Nino came into the room with a bright yellow toothbrush.

"Well look at the time! Gotta go and inspire the future of our country!" Toma winked and hurriedly left before Nino could see him.

"He left, Nino. Let it be." Matsujun said dismissively, but he was smiling a little. "Sorry for the mess, Ohno-kun. What did you need?"

"What could world famous artist O-sama possibly need from us, plebs?" Nino grinned, briefly entering and exiting bathroom. "Maybe some clothes, uncle exhibitionist?"

"Oh, sorry." Satoshi finally noticed that he was still in pajamas.

Matsujun once again gestured to their fashionable monochrome couch. Satoshi finally sat and said, "Do you know how to make banana roll cake?"

"You don't like the paella?" Matsujun looked at the platter and then back at him.

"No, I do. I just thought. I want to bake something as a present...and I don't know how to bake anything that isn't bread." Satoshi looked at the paella platter again and realized that he was hungry. "I just forgot to put this down." He added.

"Why don't you have J make it?" Nino sat down across them, curled in the corner of the long black couch.

"Oh I..." Satoshi wondered how to not sound like a snob by refusing.

"He wants to make and give the present." Matsujun spoke with a knowing nod. "So it has to be him. Yeah, I'll help."

"Thank you." Satoshi breathed easy. He realized how much he had been relying on Sho to speak for him all this time. How Sho translated Satoshi's thoughts into actual words, he wasn't sure. He guessed that reading minds through body language was taught at business school.

"You called?" Masaki peeked from the kitchen. He immediately smiled wide when he saw Satoshi.

"Sweets loving buddy!" Masaki took two steps before retreating back to the kitchen, stumbling slightly in his excitement. "I've got some pastries from somewhere..."

"Aiba-chan, Ohno-kun needs our help." Matsujun gestured for Masaki to join them.

Masaki was immediately back at the living room, but with a basket of pastry. "You can have this. Someone gave them to me, but I have two more. How can we help?"

Satoshi looked from Masaki's eager round eyes, Matsujun's curious brows and Nino's Cheshire cat grin. He was so far past his comfort zone of discreetly asking for advice and favors that he suddenly felt like shrinking from their gaze. He had no clue how to deliberate his request.

However, he had to try.

For him

.

"I need to make banana roll cake." Satoshi said with a nod. "Please teach me."

"Aw, I don't know how to make banana roll cake!" Masaki gasped. He grabbed Matsujun's sleeve and tugged a little. "Maybe you can?"

"I'm too clumsy for something that delicate but, I can help." Matsujun nodded back.

"Eh, I think if you saw how it's done, you could figure it out, like the pancake art thing." Nino shrugged. "You're

the

O-sama after all, you just watched how it's done on Youtube and did it."

Satoshi was bewildered at being called a king, so he just looked at Nino.

"I don't mean we aren't helping. I mean, we'll help you learn it." Nino went on, slowly. "We're just probably not gonna be able to teach you because none of us bake."

Satoshi blinked at him, trying to imagine what situation would have him learn without being taught. He immediately pictured out meditating under a waterfall.

"Well don't worry about it!" Masaki was on his feet again, looking quite pumped. "I'll help you even if I don't know what to do! You've done a lot for my restaurant."

"Hey, I owe you for the character design thing." Nino gave Satoshi a small salute.

"This house? You basically designed the concept for it." Matsujun interrupted before Satoshi could retort. "We owe you. And in a way, Sakurai-kun too."

Satoshi could only shake his head.

When Matsujun and the trio were just moving in, he had a completely different set of furniture in mind, but due to a lot of confusion he got all of them in only blacks except the pillows-lavender, lime green, yellow and soft pink.

Satoshi had simply remarked at that time that color splash in real life looked brilliant, and later made the color splash painting of Sho asleep. He didn't mean it as advice.

"Okay, stop. This is cheesy." Nino got up and threw a pillow right at Masaki's head. The latter immediately protested by throwing it back but Matsujun caught the pillow and gave them both a stern look, which Nino ignored as he stretched catlike on the couch and spoke. "Just let us know when."

"Today." Satoshi said, a little too quickly. Nino and Matsujun had an identical look of surprise.

"Sounds urgent. Deadline is?" Matsujun asked calmly.

"Well, tonight..." He sighed. "It's hard to hide things from smart people."

"Oh, it's for Sho-chan! Yeah, he's good at guessing." Masaki bounced back to the couch beside Matsujun, but didn't take a seat. "Have I told you the time he guessed what I was going to talk to him about? He's really smart."

Matsujun cleared his throat. "I don't have a shoot today, the other two are busy. Let's get to work. I'll need your kitchen."

"But that'll leave evidence, won't it?" Nino raised an eyebrow.

"He needs to physically remember how to make it in his own kitchen...just in case." Matsujun looked at Satoshi. "Well, that's what I'd do. That okay with you?"

Satoshi nodded slowly, like a child pressured into sneaking out past bedtime. It was going to be a lot of trouble, but it was all going to be worth it.

For Sho.

It was quite late in the afternoon when Matsujun came over just as Satoshi got home after a short trip to the grocery store to buy ingredients.

They put the ingredients and tools down on the dinner table and Satoshi watched as Matsujun pointed to every item for the second time.

"That's actually more than enough bananas for the recipe." Matsujun looked at the wooden banana holder. It was considerably larger than average, looking more like a miniature coat hanger with bunches of bananas hanging by twos on the arms.

"And, I've never actually seen that kind of banana holder." Matsujun said, taking the banana bunches.

"Oh, we made it." Satoshi said fondly. "We eat a lot of those together."

Matsujun chuckled. "You guys love bananas a bit too much. You should hang out with Aiba-chan."

"Yeah..." Satoshi trailed off, thinking of a more complicated time when they didn't much think of health and nutrition.

"Get mashing, I'll show you how the batter is made." Matsujun handed the bunches of bananas over. Satoshi never expected Matsujun to take the reins so readily but it was preferable for him at the moment. Or rather, in general.

"You guys health nuts?" Matsujun peeked at Satoshi as he put flour and butter into a bowl. "I kind of am, so we could like...share notes."

"Kinda." Satoshi considered this for a moment. "Or maybe not so much. We just really like bananas, I suppose. And I love strawberries. We love oranges..."

"What's with bananas?" Matsujun wasn't quite done with his interview, but all in good heart, as he was chuckling.

"About three years ago I think, I got kleptomania." Satoshi tilted his head, trying to recall the long word that Sho used. It was in English, but it could have been any other language and Satoshi would not have recalled it any better.

"You...what?" Matsujun paused, raising his well-maintained brows. He was holding the electric mixer in one hand and the metal whisk in the other.

"Ka...kaleido....uh..." Satoshi racked his brain. Matsujun's reaction clearly meant that he said it wrong.

"How about," Matsujun made a vague gesture with the whisk, urging Satoshi to continue mashing. "describe what happened."

"It's a lack of some vitamin." Satoshi looked at the partially mashed bananas. "The thing bananas have."

"Vita—wha—you mean like, potassium?" Matsujun's eyebrows couldn't possibly go any higher. Satoshi nodded vigorously at the familiar English word.

"So like, hypokalemia?" Matsujun said.

Satoshi gave him a finger gun salute. "Yes! I think."

"Ohno-san," Matsujun said between giggles. "Potassium isn't a vitamin, and bananas aren't its primary source."

"Close enough. But bananas are perfect so we like them." Satoshi held out the mashed banana bowl and Matsujun approved it with a nod.

"Hang on, how many years ago? Because I recall that you weren't around much after we moved here and you said that comment about color splash." Matsujun replied, handing the batter and the mixer to him. "I wanted to thank you, but Sakurai-kun said you were hospitalized."

"Yeah it was a bit after that I think?" Satoshi tilted his head. "I fainted or something, so I was hospitalized. It wasn't so bad...I felt a little dead but I wasn't."

"You know, that was probably Sakurai-kun's worst year too." Matsujun gestured for Satoshi to pour the batter. When Satoshi didn't quickly understand the motion, Matsujun took the bowl and did it himself. "I'd greet him, he wasn't...well, as nice as he is now."

"He wasn't nice to you?" Satoshi accepted the pan when Matsujun handed it. He then opened the oven and let Satoshi place the pan in.

"Not that he was rude." Matsujun waved a free hand. "He was just out of sorts. I thought he was a grouch and a slob. Of course he isn't but...you know. First impressions matter."

Satoshi snorted. Matsujun doesn't know the state of Sho's seemingly disaster-struck desk.

"He was not one for much small talk, is what I mean. Which is okay. I mean, I probably annoy him." Matsujun shrugged lightly as he laid wax paper down. Satoshi was pretty sure he never had wax paper.

"No you don't." Satoshi said quickly. "He likes you guys. He just...he—"

It was then he learned that he was not as good at explaining Sho's behavior.

"I get it. He likes to keep to himself. Nino's like that too." Matsujun smiled warmly. Satoshi was immediately glad Matsujun was more equipped to understand people. Satoshi would have gone on a possibly nonsensical tangent about Sho being an islet one has to swim to, or about "brain trains".

"People like him and Nino...they're very good at presenting themselves in the way that they prefer to be seen." Matsujun said slowly. Satoshi guessed that he was choosing his words carefully. "But really, Sakurai-kun was a mess."

Satoshi fell silent. In his point of view, Sho was his strength that time. He wasn't in pain that he couldn't tolerate, but it was hard for him to be bedridden and completely unable to work nor help Sho.

"He visited me every day." Satoshi remembered. "He would ask me to listen to his practice presentations." It only hit him then that Sho never looked like a mess when seeing him. And even made Satoshi feel useful by making him listen to those presentations.

Yet Satoshi knew Sho could have gotten anyone else for that.

Satoshi fiddled with the oven mitt in his hands. He chuckled all of a sudden, making Matsujun look up.

"How did I get so lucky?" Satoshi asked Matsujun and this made the latter burst into giggles.

"I think both of you are." Matsujun said with a serious nod, and this made Satoshi's cheeks feel hot. He was spared from answering when Matsujun got up to see the cake.

Matsujun's phone on the table started vibrating, interrupting Satoshi's attempt to respond.

Matsujun excused himself and answered the call, walking over to the entryway. Satoshi squatted in front of the cake, imagining the happy noises Sho would make when he would eat it; how his cheeks would puff and he would moan and all that.

Satoshi sat watching the cake bake. It fascinated him how gradual and gentle the change was. The smell was wonderful too. He thought about making a strawberry cake roll next.

Sho had once told him about the times he would be alone in his house waiting for his mother. He would eat cake rolls then.

Satoshi looked up to the clock subconsciously. It was a quarter to six...

Then it hit him.

I might be home early so I was hoping for a round two.

I might be able to get off work early.

Sho usually came home around six in the evening when he would be early.

Satoshi looked at the half-baked cake. "Oh...no..."

He made a mad dash to Matsujun at the entryway, just as Matsujun ended his call. "I think Sho's gonna be home early," he said hurriedly.

Matsujun's eyes went wide. "What. The cake isn't done—oh wait, shouldn't see me here."

"What should I do with the cake?" Satoshi glanced at the clock again and was reminded of a time Sho came earlier than six when Okada would drive him home.

"Here, I sent you the recipe." Matsujun's thumb tapped about on his smartphone so fast Satoshi didn't even notice. "Return my stuff tomorrow and—"

"I'm home—eh?"

Satoshi, Matsujun and Sho stood in the entryway frozen in their spots for a few seconds.

"Matsumoto-kun!" Sho greeted him with a bow as he closed the door.

Satoshi had no idea what to do with his hands nor his face for that reason, gaping like a fish out of water.

Matsujun smiled at Sho. "Sakurai-kun, just the person I need."

"Oh, how can I help?" Sho seemed to be in a good mood as he smiled and raised both brows expectantly. Satoshi helplessly looked at him and then at Matsujun.

"I was just asking Ohno-kun if you're home and all that." Matsujun smoothly replied. Matsujun was perhaps on Sho's level of keeping secrets but Sho in his good mood seemed to have his guard down.

"Oh, what is it?" Sho asked again, and Satoshi decided to let Matsujun handle it. He took Sho's suitcase.

"Aiba-kun has a thing he needs about tax? And we're not quite sure what's going on, would you be able to lend us a hand?" Matsujun pocketed his smartphone.

"Oh, yes, sure. Wait, now?" Sho replied.

"If you're not too busy?" Matsujun offered. Satoshi almost sighed aloud in relief.

"Matsumoto-kun, I uh..." Sho's tone surprised Satoshi. This was Sho mustering his courage. "I came early to...well, so we could kinda...spend time together..." He gestured vaguely to Satoshi.

"Oh," Matsujun's own perfectly maintained brows shot up. Even Satoshi was surprised. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."

"But you could tell Aiba-kun to email me whatever papers he has on the matter and I'll help him." Sho shuffled on his feet. Honesty makes him awkward, perhaps, or the directness of it. Satoshi still couldn't believe his ears. "I've just kind of had a long week. And I'm excited to try your paella!"

"Right, of course." Matsujun looked excited about this. "The drink invite stands, by the way. Next week perhaps."

He looked at Satoshi and then at Sho. "We'll be across the hall." Matsujun said with a few little nods as he left.

"Did you let him in?" Sho turned to Satoshi as he locked the door after Matsujun.

Satoshi's stomach dropped. The cake's scent was undeniably good. He had absolutely failed. It was all over.

"I..." Satoshi gripped the handle on Sho's suitcase.

"You should have shown him your painting!" Sho said happily as he came in. Satoshi followed, dragging his feet. His mind was blank and he had no such talent for making things up that Sho and Matsujun had. "Matsumoto-kun loves paintings—oh, are you baking?"

"I am," Satoshi could only tell Sho the truth. There really was no

perfect

hiding spot.

Sho hurried to the dining room and kitchen. "It's a cake!" he cried happily as Satoshi put Sho's suitcase down on a dining chair.

"Sorry...it was supposed to be a surprise." Satoshi began sheepishly.

"I'm plenty surprised! I knew you made simple bread—which I love, by the way—but I didn't know you could bake! Is that why you didn't let Matsumoto-kun in?" Sho was watching the cake in the oven. Satoshi came beside him and shook his head. "He helped me with everything. I can't really bake..."

Sho looked at Satoshi, biting his lips. Satoshi's heart must have stopped for a moment, but Sho spoke. "That's banana cake, isn't it?"

Satoshi nodded.

Sho laughed and took a seat. "And you bake too!" He slid a hand over his face, biting his lips again. Satoshi examined him. It seemed that Sho was stopping himself from smiling. "I lose, I totally lose."

Satoshi shook his head. "You can do a lot of things too! You—"

"No, I mean—" Sho waved a hand. "I was with aniki just now and we were talking about perfectionism. He said I'm too much of a perfectionist."

"Oh," Satoshi sat down too. He was not sure where the conversation was headed.

"And I tried to disagree, I said, no, I'm simply aiming for the best, not necessarily perfect. But he says, 'oh but you fell in love with perfection, didn't you? You can no longer settle for less.' He sees right through me, I tell you." Sho said in between little chuckles and snorts.

Satoshi didn't immediately catch up so he laughed along. Sho looked at him, amused. "He means you."

"Because I baked a cake?" Satoshi snorted. "That's perfection?"

"Why not?" Sho grinned.

"I didn't even finish the cake on time. And I had a lot of help anyway." Satoshi said quietly.

"Yeah but it's for me, you know how I love eating." Sho chuckled lightly. "Is it done yet?"

"I still have to roll it." Satoshi said, getting up to check the cake again.

"Hey maybe...I can help?" Sho tilted his head.

Satoshi looked at the table, where a bowl of icing sat. He grinned widely and burst into laughter. "Yes, please do."

Satoshi let Sho take his phone and look at the recipe Matsujun sent so he could take the cake out of the oven. He set it on the table and looked at the familiar blue thing Sho was holding out.

The blue apron with a hand drawn tuna.

Satoshi grinned and put it on.

"Matsujun told me," he said as he tied the apron into a small bow. Sho picked up the icing in the bowl and looked at him.

"I didn't think he knew how to bake a cake, either." Sho replied.

"No, I mean he told me about that time." Satoshi came closer. "When I had...high...high-per-"

Sho looked absolutely bewildered.

"Hyp-oh, hypo-calendar." Satoshi gave Sho a spatula.

"Hyp—ohh!" Sho burst out laughing, almost fumbling with the icing bowl. Satoshi caught it on the other side. They stood with only that small silver bowl between them.

"Hy-po-ka-le-mi-a." Sho repeated slowly and Satoshi nodded with each syllable.

"That's what I said," he added. "You never left my side then. Even if it was really bad for you. And if I recall, the house was pretty clean even if I was gone for quite a while."

"It wasn't all that amazing," Sho didn't meet his gaze and instead, stuffed the spatula into the icing, scooping the ones that stuck on the bowl. "Not like there was a lot to clean or something."

"Thank you." Satoshi would have wanted to meet his gaze but telling him while only being a bowl apart may be enough for now. "For taking care of me."

"Likewise," Sho said before meeting his eyes.

Satoshi came closer to lay a quick kiss on his lips, but instead, he felt something soft and rather...fluffy.

Sho cracked up, making Satoshi open his eyes and see his blurry reflection on the fish tank across him. Sho had made him kiss the icing-filled spatula.

"Alright, Santa, let's roll this cake." Sho said enthusiastically, tasting some of the icing all over Satoshi's mouth by sampling it with a finger.

In retaliation, Satoshi took some off and smudged it on Sho's hair as he was unable to dodge. It was war, but it ended fast when they realized they still had a cake that didn't even get rolled. That was the only time they ever had cake and Kaizen talk for dinner.

For Him [Yama 4/6]

2019-07-07T03:06:25Z

Conversation flowed comfortably in the mornings when Satoshi's and Sho's working hours started at the same time. Neither one was in a hurry or too bleary to talk. Besides, they had a little bit of planning to do about their Hawaii trip.

Satoshi himself was by no means a morning person, but he never dared to pass up the chance to see Sho transform from sluggish and sleepy to all perked up and professional. It was almost the stuff of magical girls.

The thought of Sho Sakurai jumping into an impossibly sparkly background and having his clothes magically change made a little grin creep up onto Satoshi's face over his bowl of miso soup.

"Do I want to know?" Sho said, noticing immediately. Satoshi wondered how long he had been observed.

"Maybe I'll draw it." Satoshi snorted before eating a mouthful of rice. Sho still had his eyebrow raised but was chuckling a little.

"We need more fish food, by the way." Sho reminded Satoshi before taking a bite of broiled fish. Satoshi snorted at the irony of this and Sho pouted.

"Seriously?" Sho couldn't exactly keep his expression angry either, and this made Satoshi crack up louder. "I feel like there's an invisible person whispering jokes to you sometimes."

Satoshi shook his head. "You said, 'get fish food' while eating fish." This was as far as he could explain before he started snorting into the back of his hand.

Sho closed his eyes for a moment, as if he would have slapped his face had his hands been free. Instead, he wolfed down the rest of his breakfast and gulped it down with some tea before declaring, "Weirdo."

Satoshi almost choked on his laughter.

Sho immediately had a cup of water to hand to him. Satoshi gratefully took it and looked up to thank Sho.

There was something pensive about the higher than usual angle of Sho's eyebrows. Both he and Sho were prone to zoning out, but Sho's look was a little more conflicted than usual.

Satoshi puckered his lips. That immediately snapped Sho out of his reverie.

"It's like that time I was looking for lip cream and you offered your own lips." Sho finally slapped his forehead and Satoshi chuckled. Sho still looked a little concerned, however.

"What is it?" Satoshi recovered and asked Sho at last. The latter immediately turned to put his dishes into the sink and started to wash.

"You're on morning duty, right?" Sho was suddenly very intensely rubbing soap on the bowl. Satoshi grinned and came closer.

"Mm." he said, right on Sho's arm. Sho didn't move away, but started rinsing the bowl a little too aggressively.

"If you're not gonna work on something tonight," Sho began soaping the same bowl. He nearly dropped it when he realized. "Let's go to Kato's Sweets."

"Oh," Satoshi looked up quickly. Sho was usually thrown off by the overly adorable decor and the bubbly owner of the mentioned cake shop. They both enjoyed the cake rolls there, but only Satoshi has actually tried everything on their menu.

Sho finally met his gaze. His eyes were a little excited, but his brows were unsure.

"Awesome." Satoshi smiled. He walked off to the fish tank they had on the counter so Sho didn't have to hide his reddening cheeks. Satoshi felt like fist-pumping or jumping but Sho was still washing the same bowl, eyes fluttering from the bowl to the tap in uncertainty.

Whenever Sho stepped out of his comfort zone of absolute privacy, he kept his hands and eyes busy. Satoshi instead made faces to the fish tank, soundlessly screaming in excitement. They have been together for five years and yet, the concept of going out was still pretty exciting for him.

"We haven't actually gone out in a while." Sho finally washed other dishes.

"Oh―uh, yeah," Satoshi finished mouthing

it's a date!

to the oblivious quintet of goldfish.

There was a clang of things falling into the sink and Satoshi quickly turned and rushed over.

"Well, yeah, it is. Obviously, jeez." Sho said a little too quickly for authentic irritation. Satoshi bit his lips, now knowing that he wasn't actually quietly talking to the fish.

"You know what, leave those to me. You still have a train to catch." Satoshi said as Sho was about to soap the same plate twice.

"Thanks," Sho said distractedly, handing the soapy sponge and running off to the bathroom. Satoshi watched the whole time until the door closed.

"It's a date and he said it is." Satoshi told the fish matter-of-factly. Only one goldfish looked up at him for a second but turned away quickly. Satoshi scoffed smugly at them in response.

He listened to the running faucet in the bathroom and went into the spare room to fetch his uniform.

The blue-and-white striped uniform was stowed in the built-in closet at one side of the window-lit room but Satoshi first headed to the little toolbox that hid in plain sight right under his drawing table that was across Sho's desk.

As he pulled out the box, he recalled fondly the night Sho decided to buy the drawing table, even if it was such a bother to get delivered and assembled in the small room.

He used to borrow Sho's desk for when he would do some sketches and linearts, but Sho pointed out that it was very bad for his already terrible posture. Satoshi still used Sho's desk when he felt like doodling and while Sho was away. He was fond of looking at Sho's things and sometimes arranging them neatly because Sho was a bit of a mess.

Now, Satoshi moved some papers and folders and put the toolbox down on the desk, looking through Sho's things expertly. He carefully pulled out Sho's planner from the desk drawer and turned to the daily plans. Sho may be pretty private but he never had problems with Satoshi looking through his things.

"If it's meant to be secret,"

Sho had once said,

"I wouldn't leave it where it can be uncovered. Go nuts."

Sho had a planner at home, their personalized calendar where they both note their appointments, a planner app in his smartphone and a desk planner at work, but he can't stack his papers neatly nor stuff them nicely into his suitcase. He was as much a mess with his stuff as he was with his thoughts-too much to do and too much to think of.

Satoshi didn't often look into it, but he was curious as to why Sho suddenly had time to spare for a dinner date. It was crucial to Satoshi's own plans that Sho would be occupied for the day.

Satoshi glanced at the toolbox as he riffled through the planner. A red and yellow mark caught his eye and he looked at the page.

On the date of their anniversary, there was a red star and a yellow circle drawn beside it. That yellow circle was a new code that Sho never had in his older entries, but Satoshi was mostly excited about the fact that it had a special mark at all. He then turned a few pages back and ran his finger across the high quality paper, looking over Sho's tasks for the current day.

In Sho's rather angular and bold handwriting, there was a note about his co-worker Okada's "Kaizen talk" and some other reports. The first part of the talk was right after his lunch hour and the second part was right before the end of his work day. Urgent things were marked with red, but this was marked with black.

Satoshi's smile faded. Okada is Sho's favorite senpai since high school. They even ended up in the same university. Sho always looks forward to working with the guy. Satoshi never had a problem with Okada, but he sometimes felt that he may be stopping Sho from hanging out with his senior and his other friends.

Unlike Satoshi whose current job as an artist didn't require him to meet a lot of people outside of work, Sho had friends from university and the company that he met from time to time. Satoshi's social life was basically just Sho and their four overly friendly neighbors. He had art contacts, clients as well as fishing buddies but no one with a significant history with. Sho was more than enough for Satoshi.

Sho is everybody's friend and Satoshi liked that about him, as he did with all the sides of Sho. However, things were a little different after Satoshi moved in with him about three years back. At first, he only moved in Sho's apartment but to accommodate his art stuff, they decided to move to the unit across as their first official home together.

Remembering this, he opened the toolbox.

Inside were the pieces of a miniature version of their bedroom, the first night they moved in. There was a miniature clay Satoshi and a miniature clay Sho lying on either side of a miniature fish bowl with a solitary foil-paper goldfish on top of the cardboard wall panels and window squares. It was yet to be assembled into the vivid scene of their first night officially living together.

Satoshi wanted to bring back the memories of their third year together, when they finally relocated into their apartment across Sho's old bachelor pad. There was, however, a small twinge of guilt he had for seemingly taking Sho all to himself—away from his university and work friends, possibly away from his family and perhaps even his hobbies

Sho had made it a point to express how he loved his alone time and had done so fairly often. Ironically, he was also the one who came up with the idea of moving in together and Satoshi was simply happy to be with Sho daily.

But Sho had changed since then. He no longer went on small weekend trips to some far province. He no longer met up with work friends and no longer passionately pursued a certain position at work. Sho always talked about those things in the years before.

But that night two years ago at their new shared bedroom, among the boxes of Satoshi's things, they laughed about scenarios of living together. They joked about possible decor but also seriously discussed the payments. They had sat side by side on the floor with only the fishbowl tucked in the small gap between their hips.

Satoshi looked at little clay Sho and remembered: Sho's tired eyes and slightly parted lips, how he shut his eyes and crinkled his nose when Satoshi wiped the sweat off his angled brow. He didn't want to, but he instantly recalled what Sho said then.

"I gave it up for better things."

Sho's voice echoed in his head. It was the one line that kept Satoshi up at night, wondering if he was worth all the changes Sho had made. He could only make little presents as thanks, but he'll never be able to give Sho that dream job, and perhaps many other things Sho wants.

Satoshi closed the toolbox and put Sho's planner back to its place. It was still too early in the morning to think of these things.

By the time the two had finished preparing, the fish had been fed and the dishes had been washed. Sho was in his suit and Satoshi was in his striped convenience store uniform. Sho still seemed a little fidgety, having adjusted his tie three times until Satoshi helped him with it.

He didn't ask any questions, letting Sho plan out his sentences. Satoshi smoothed the suit over Sho's sloping shoulders, buying time. Sho was always careful with his words now, but he used to be pretty fierce when he was in university. Especially in high school, that is.

Sho's actual first words to Satoshi was, "

Aren't you too short to fish for tuna?

"

"Actually I—wait, what are you grinning about now?" Sho demanded. Satoshi shook his head, hands still on Sho's shoulders.

"I just remembered the first thing you told me." Satoshi answered, letting go to open the door and let Sho out first.

"Not again," Sho rolled his eyes as Satoshi locked the door behind him. Not that he doubted Satoshi, but he checked if the door was properly locked at least thrice.

Satoshi nodded at him so they could get going together. Sho took a deep breath as they walked and Satoshi imagined the speed and number of Sho's train of thought.

He learned the phrase "train of thought" from Sho a couple of weeks back and he couldn't help but picture out how everyone must have a different kind of "brain train".

Satoshi's own "brain train" would be a peaceful and slow express train, and Sho's would be the entire railway system of Tokyo.

He quickly pictured out Sho in a train conductor uniform until the elevator bell summoned him back to reality. He tucked the mental image away for later use.

Satoshi was in the process of stepping into the elevator when Sho roughly pulled him back out, grabbing him by the elbow while pressing the elevator call button again to keep the doors from closing.

Satoshi was shaken but it would be a lie to say his heart didn't make an excited little jump at Sho's sudden rough action.

"Do you—are you—lunch at home?" Sho said urgently. Satoshi blinked at his questions, boggled by the mess of words.

Ding!

Satoshi briefly glanced at the gaping elevator doors and then back to Sho's somewhat frenzied eyes. He could tell it was taking a considerable amount of mental strength and not physical strength to hold on to Satoshi's slender arm.

"Are you having lunch at home?" Sho said again, letting him go and pressing the elevator call button once more.

"Yeah," Satoshi replied with a blank face. Sho was stalling for something else and he was trying to pinpoint what it could be. Sho had always known that Satoshi never has lunch out when his work would end early.

"I want to thank you for the presents." Sho said hurriedly, yet again pressing the elevator call button. As his eyes darted from Satoshi to the elevator, it seemed as though he was making it up as he went. "So maybe we could have lunch together too?"

It clicked in Satoshi's "brain train" at last. "You don't have to, I'm the one who has to thank you."

"Oh, psh, don't-don't be sentimental now," Sho said quickly, looking everywhere but Satoshi's eyes. Satoshi had expected this kind of reply and another jab at the elevator call button. He had to help Sho make a more firm decision.

Satoshi pushed Sho into the elevator, quickly pressing the ground floor button before Sho can collect his thoughts and press the hold button.

While Sho—a member of school sports teams and top ranking student since preschool—had quick thinking and fast reflexes, Satoshi could predict Sho's every move just by watching his eyes or shoulders. He could tell when Sho was having trouble making up his mind.

"Geez, I wanted to say something," Sho huffed.

Satoshi snorted a little and spoke. "But anyway, maybe Okada won't be too happy if you skip on his Kaizen talk or something. It's right after lunch isn't it? You'd end up late if you come home."

Sho's already sloping shoulders couldn't possibly droop even more. It almost made Satoshi laugh because Sho's shoulders were just as expressive as the rest of his face. It was basically as easy to read as the bold letters on their calendar and on Sho's planner.

"Alright," he said with such melancholy that Satoshi almost took back his words. As much as he wanted Sho to come home for lunch, he had something important to do.

The unfinished room replica, clay Sho, clay Satoshi and the foil-paper goldfish waited innocuously under his drawing table.

"So you checked." Sho had no arguments.

"It's alright. We have our dinner date." Satoshi said quietly. "I think I'll go see Aiba-chan about his restaurant. And you said you'd tell me all about Kaizen and the five X strategy. If you miss the talk, how will you practice giving your version of the lecture?"

"Five S." Sho snapped, but he heaved a long and rather sad sigh, looking at the elevator's display screen. Satoshi followed his gaze, realizing that they have just arrived on the floor before the last. There was a little stab of emotion in Satoshi's chest. Sho was willing to skip something important just for him and he had refused.

To his surprise, Sho turned and kissed his cheek in one quick motion. When Satoshi's "brain train" caught up with what happened, he looked at Sho and wished with all his might that he wouldn't wake up if it was a dream. The spot where Sho's lips touched his cheek radiated warmth that spread to the rest of his face.

There was a little smile on Sho's lips, and Satoshi was entranced. "For luck," Sho said, turning to him. Satoshi wasn't going to let Sho off with being cheeky. He stepped closer—

Ding!

Sho had stepped forward and out of the elevator, making Satoshi stumble awkwardly but catch himself neatly. He immediately ran out of the elevator, tagging alongside Sho's long strides.

"Well you did promise you'll help me practice the whole Kaizen and 5S talk thing." Sho shrugged. "You're in for a sleepless night."

Satoshi grinned. "Bring it."

They stepped out of the apartment unit and went separate directions. Sho walked off to the station, leather shoes making an elegant

tap, tap, tap

on the walkway. Satoshi stopped going the other way for a second, just to watch Sho walking away.

He stored the mental image of the contours of Sho's athletic build in the back of his mind. He'll need it sometime. For art, of course.

***

Clay Sho was leaning on the cardboard door with a little plastic fish bowl right at his hip. His face had been painted in; the angled brows, the round eyes and the plump lips. Satoshi had just finished painting Clay Satoshi's face and was just about to add the little clay man to the scene when the doorbell snapped him right out of his concentration.

He looked at the door angrily, having dropped Clay Satoshi in his surprise. The house was always as quiet as a cemetery without Sho and his hundred topics a minute.

The doorbell chimed again, mocking him and his silence.

Straightening his convini uniform and getting up, he scratched the back of his head and dragged his feet to the door. When he looked at who was knocking through the intercom, he sighed.

Holding a tablet and wearing a black shirt with a Miku Hatsune print as well as jeans and fluffy black bunny slippers, Nino looked more like a teenage couch potato than a senior independent game developer.

"Yes?" Satoshi said, hoping that he pulled off the Sho style "pokerface voice".

"Can we talk? I need some advice," Nino huffed, showing him what looked like a three dimensional character clad in red.

Satoshi doodled a character once, a version of Sho that fit Nino's heroes and villains themed fighting game. Nino liked it so much that he made Satoshi the official character design consultant.

Through the intercom, he stared at a "dark lord Sho" in his red leather vest and pants. If real Sho would dress that way, Satoshi would probably not be able to handle himself.

"Come on, you're gonna love this dark lord guy when you see him." Nino insisted, making Satoshi jolt back to reality.

When he swung open the door, Nino strolled right in with a grumbled greeting. Satoshi was quite fond of his neighbors despite their habit of barging into his house. Even though he was perhaps two or three years older, they put no pretenses around him, never trying to get on his good side or something. It was relaxing for him.

Nino flipped the tablet and unfolded a keyboard from under it. To Satoshi's surprise, it was actually a laptop, even if Nino was poking the screen minutes ago.

"Don't look too confused, uncle." Nino teased. "By the way, that's the thing Aibasshi was talking about? He wouldn't shut up about 'picture painting paint' something-or-other."

Satoshi followed Nino's gaze to the painting in the living room.

"It's as good as he says. And way better than only seeing pictures of it." Nino nodded thoughtfully. "To me it looks like a couple looking at a sea of goldfish."

Satoshi smiled and said nothing more.

"So anyway, was hoping you'd name the doodles you made? You're the official consultant and all." Nino strode off to the couch with his eyes on the laptop as he typed something on it. Satoshi dashed over quickly, moving the room replica away even though it was far from Nino's path.

The latter looked up, eyes widening. "Sorry, did I...?"

"No, no," Satoshi said, looking at the interior. Nino stood up and took a peek.

Clay Satoshi was right on top of Clay Sho.

"Well...that's kinky," Nino grinned. Satoshi snorted and put his clay version in its proper place.

"New project?" Nino watched as Satoshi put the miniature on the table.

"It's a present." Satoshi said softly, as if any louder would wake the clay couple.

"For Shoyan?" Nino pointed to Clay Sho.

"How did you know?" Satoshi's mouth hung open.

"The camouflage print pants and that red plaid shirt." Nino chuckled. "J called it a disaster combination."

"He loves those, don't be mean." Satoshi defended, but still laughed.

"No but, I met him maybe last night or the night before, on my way home." Nino went back to his acrobatic laptop. Satoshi could never imagine Nino going any further than the convini at the end of the road so it didn't make much sense to him that Sho and Nino met outside at all.

"He was worried you're overworked from making something. A statue or something." Nino removed the keyboard from the laptop and handed the monitor to Satoshi. This time, Satoshi was distracted by the fact that the tablet that had a keyboard was in fact a tablet to begin with.

"Oy," Nino nudged the tablet and Satoshi took it gingerly. Nino went on, "The other day, you asked us to help with pancake fishes and some stuff, what about those?"

Satoshi looked at the dark lord Sho in the tablet. "I gave him the pancakes. And the statuette. I gave him that painting too. Was he...not happy about it?" He almost didn't recognize his own voice with how hollow it sounded.

"Not really, I'm just asking." Nino tilted his head thoughtfully.

"He's worried." Satoshi observed every detail of the dark lord Sho character, especially the slight curls of his sideways fringe and the round eyes.

"Dunno," Nino reached over and poked something on the screen to display five other characters. "He doesn't seem upset. Last Toma saw him, he looked kind of giddy."

"Giddy?" Satoshi took a moment to remind himself that it wasn't a negative word.

"Yeah, wouldn't stop grinning. Almost didn't see Toma until he jumped." There was a bit of a laugh in Nino's voice, like the audience before a punchline. "Toma's not a small guy and he had to jump so Shoyan could notice him. Why he just

had

to be noticed, heck if I know."

Satoshi could imagine it and thought it was rather endearing.

"Then of course he snapped into 'your friendly neighborhood business dude', when Toma finally came to him." Nino poked one of the characters' portrait. A petite man wearing a mostly blue outfit slid into view. "So I'd say he's just about normal. Not that we can easily tell what's in his head."

Nino was right. Sho often misunderstood people as much as people didn't understand him. He was like an islet on his own, but Satoshi would swim back and forth from the mainland if that is what it took to reach Sho.

"You spoil him." Nino was on his feet, looking into the room replica again.

"He spoils me," Satoshi said simply.

Nino looked at him pointedly.

Satoshi put the monitor down. "He gave up his job for me once."

"Mr. Work-Is-Life gave up work for you?" Nino's eyes widened again. "No kidding, he really does spoil you, then. But how?"

"Two years ago, he was given a promotion. He would have been on the same rank as his favorite senpai but he chose to give it up so we can stay in this city." Satoshi recalled, putting the monitor down as Nino sat with him again. "I was just starting out as freelancer so all my contacts are here. He would've been assigned abroad."

"Never thought I'd hear about the noble and great Sho Sakurai choosing his heart." Nino nudged Satoshi by the knee. The thought of it made the heat rise in Satoshi's neck and ears.

"Yeah but—" Satoshi began too quietly that Nino spoke over him.

"The mysterious and famous "O" chose not to reveal his identity and never takes projects that would drag him out the country." Nino held his hand out to the room replica like a show host. "True love, folks. Or maybe narrow-minded co-dependency because you two could've earned a buttload abroad."

Satoshi nudged Nino, somehow feeling a little lighter. Nino was right. Sho did pretty much the same thing he did when he refused the overseas offer he received after making the statue that was displayed at the mall.

"Now enough of that saccharine stupidity before our blood sugar goes up." Nino tapped the screen. "What's a good name for the kick-specializing, red-leather wearing villain dude?"

"Red Slash!" Satoshi chimed.

***

Retro and vintage elements made Kato's Sweets popular among people of different kinds as opposed to places that cater mostly to women. In retro lettering, the signboard bearing the shop's name shone in neon pink light.

The employees had a thematic uniform for every day: 70's on Mondays, 20's on Wednesdays, 50's on Fridays, and something else Satoshi can't quite tell on other days.

The owner, a young man just about Satoshi's height can be seen at the counter, waving at Satoshi as he came closer. Before Satoshi could wave back however, he spotted Sho at a table in the corner.

The summer sunset gave the shop a pleasant pinkish orange glow and Sho looked as if he were the source, with light in his cheeks and hair, and with his loose fitting shirt like a whispy candy cane colored cloud.

Satoshi wasn't sure when exactly he had entered the shop and imagined Sho to be a giant marshmallow, but Kato was suddenly right at his face, happily greeting him with a shrill voice.

"Yes, yes. I'm here!" Satoshi jokingly punched Kato and fumbled with the box in his hands. Kato just laughed.

"Someone's waiting for you!" He said while bouncing on his heels excitedly, ushering Satoshi closer to where Sho was seated.

"I know, I know, jeez." Satoshi pretended to be pestered but he likes Kato well enough to be on a playful mood with him. He made sure to deflect Kato's push and handed him the box. "Could you, maybe...do me a favor?"

"This is pretty huge for a ring." Kato examined the box after taking it. Satoshi immediately grabbed his wrist before he could shake it. "It's not a ring, don't shake it!"

"Sorry!" The bowl-cut lad made a small bow. "When do I give it?"

"After the orders. Now go!" Satoshi held Kato by the shoulders and forcefully rotated him on the retro-printed hardwood floor. He gave Kato one good push before the bowl-cut haired store manager ran off to the kitchen.

When Satoshi turned, Sho was peeking at him with a knowing little smile. "What're you both yelling about?"

"Ha," the sound was out of Satoshi's mouth before he could even conceptualize Sho's sentence. Sho just laughed, gesturing for Satoshi to sit.

Finally seated across Sho, Satoshi had a good look at the other man. His white cotton shirt had large red stripes and was of thin material, with very wide sleeves that tapered just below Sho's elbows. His hair was a little windswept but still neatly patted down over his brows. Everything about him looked gentle.

"You look like a pillow," Satoshi chuckled.

"You look like a beach towel," Sho scoffed.

Satoshi's eyes widened. "I'm wearing stripes too!"

His own shirt was also white, a round neck with medium sized stripes in different shades of blue.

"Did you check my wardrobe for what's missing again?" Sho raised a brow as Satoshi fiddled with his nose shyly. He had done that once, just to mess with Sho.

"Did not. It's a coincidence this time." Satoshi retorted, feeling the heat in his ears rise. Sho signalled for a waiter and turned back to Satoshi.

"What were you talking about to the shop owner earlier? You guys seem to be good friends." Sho spoke, his face in a calculated curious look. Satoshi has memorized so well that if Sho really didn't understand something, his brows would furrow, not rise.

He was being tested. Satoshi blinked at Sho.

"Oh," he whispered. Sho's brows rose even more. There was still that knowing little smile on his face as he propped his chin on his hand with an elbow on the table. His arms and hands were projecting a relaxed look, but Satoshi could see the tenseness in Sho's shoulders and raised brows.

Sho was suspicious. He would have crinkled his nose randomly if he was really relaxed.

This made Satoshi chuckle and rearrange his sideswept fringe so his hands had something to do. He loved that Sho kept track of all the people Satoshi knew, but he also felt a little unsure about whether it was really alright for him to enable that potentially unhealthy habit.

"What?" Sho was still half-smiling, but his question was serious.

"I asked him for a favor." Satoshi could never lie through his teeth to Sho, and it would never work with him on high alert anyway. Sho could read Satoshi's blank expressions just as well.

Sho nodded and hummed as the owner himself came with a box.

Satoshi flashed his eyes at Kato and the box.

"Hi, so this is um—" Kato smiled at Sho and finally caught Satoshi's look. The store manager froze.

"What is it?" Sho looked at the box with laughing eyes. He was playing coy so blatantly, with the dramatically eager look, eyes blinking a little too much and the salesman smile ever present. He was teasing Satoshi's botched surprise.

Satoshi grabbed the box and said to Kato, "I'll have the usual cake and drink. He'll have a slice of banana cake roll and a tall iced caffe latte, extra milk."

Kato blinked his long-lashed eyes at them for a moment then nodded happily. Satoshi released a breath he unknowingly held and Sho looked at him, this time with his mouth hanging open slightly.

"Slice of banana cake roll? More like a slice of dominating psychic," Sho said with a grin.

Satoshi couldn't keep himself from grinning at the comment. It wasn't much, he could even guess what Sho would have ordered from the restaurant across the street.

"So..." Sho's eyes trailed to the box. Satoshi pushed it toward him.

"Open it." Satoshi said, watching the rise of color in Sho's cheeks.

"This is a little too big for a ring." Sho pulled the box closer and Satoshi snorted.

"Unless it's for my neck or something." Sho said coolly as he glanced into Satoshi's eyes in a moment so fast that Satoshi almost didn't catch it. In the next quick second when he visualized what Sho meant, the latter had begun opening the box.

"Oh, this is..." Sho's expression was surprisingly unreadable. His lips quivered but his brows were relaxed. There was a glint in his eyes that made him look tearful, but he didn't blink as much as he would have if it were really tears.

"Our room, but the first time we called it that way." Satoshi helped.

"Yeah," Sho was smiling sincerely now. "It has your boxes of stuff. Oh and that quirky fishing rod lamp thing! Where is that now?"

"Look there," Satoshi reached in and pointed to one corner of the room, at what looked like a fish tank but had little colored balls. "Remember that little experiment?"

"Ah, merging the sea and space! Putting planets in the aquarium!" Sho shut his eyes and laughed. "It was so hard to clean, we had to give it up."

"I think we can pull it off now that I'm not as busy." Satoshi sat back down. "I mean back then I had the food models thing,"

"Oh, please. You're doing commissions left and right. Our fish tank is fine as it is." Sho was looking at the box so contentedly that he didn't notice their order arriving until Satoshi pushed Sho's cafe latte into his field of view.

"You even remembered the clothes we were wearing." Sho sounded impressed.

"Yeah but you're able to confirm it so that means you remembered it well too." Satoshi said with a nod.

Sho looked into his eyes and for a moment, Satoshi stopped moving. Or it seemed as though the world did.

Sho's eyes softened and he smiled, taking a table napkin from the holder and wiping off the icing that Satoshi didn't even notice at the corners of his mouth.

Satoshi chuckled. "Guess I'm pretty useless without you."

"Please, you're the best at laundry and dishes. And cleaning the bathroom." Sho shook his head, now cradling the replica on his lap. "And cooking. That's basically everything."

"I'm not very good with calculating taxes. Not even budgeting!" Satoshi argued, watching as Sho took out their clay replicas.

"You barely spend money so it's not an alarming thing. Besides, I like doing these calculations, you know that." Sho let the clay couple sit side by side near his glass and took out his phone.

"Well, I like cleaning the bathroom because...because you look very relaxed when you're in the bath." Satoshi said honestly.

"We should change that broken doorknob." Sho rolled his eyes. "And seriously, watch your sugar intake. We still have banana cake roll at home."

Satoshi snorted. "You're one to talk. You were sneaking around the house last night. Were you hiding something sweet?"

Sho looked more surprised than he expected, cautiously putting the replica back on the table. "You were awake when I got home?"

"I wasn't, but I could hear you walking about everywhere." Satoshi observed Sho. He was putting the clay couple back in their positions. "What were you up to anyway?" he asked, but doubted that he would get an honest answer outright. Sho did stick to the truth, but in his own time.

"I can't find our power tools!" Sho said a little too loudly and quickly, making Satoshi wince.

"It's in the other room. Under the shelf," Satoshi said simply. Sho began wolfing his cake. "You put it there," Satoshi continued.

"Would've asked you if you were up, but I completely forgot so I went about looking." Sho's drink was quartered in one sip and a big gulp.

"Why do you need power tools?" Satoshi reached out with a table napkin when he saw the little droplet of cafe latte near Sho's lip but the latter was fast enough to wipe it himself.

"Because...I murdered someone and I needed to break their joints to stuff them in a bag." Sho replied with a smug little grin.

"Sometimes I wonder if you really do those things because you sound so prepared." Satoshi chuckled. Sho will tell the truth when the time would come. He let it rest.

Sho doesn't really keep something quiet for too long to Satoshi anyway.

"When we're married, I apologize in advance if you get dragged into a 2am body-hiding plan." With a finger, Sho took a bit of the cream at the side of his glass and licked it off. For a second, Satoshi gazed at him dazedly, with the words simply bouncing off the walls of Satoshi's mind.

When we're married—

"When?!" Satoshi blurted. "Not if-"

"Woah, someone's too eager to hide a corpse." Sho chuckled. "If you don't watch your sugar intake, it could be yours, you ninny. Kato-san told me you've tried everything on the menu."

"Wai—no, I mean yeah—not at the same time," Satoshi was shaken by the leap in their topic. "If we're gonna talk health, you might wanna lessen the nightly alcohol then."

"But it's nice and warm on the inside." Sho whined mockingly, paired with an exaggerated pout that only emphasized his lips.

"Hey, I know something nice and warm on the inside." Satoshi said and braced himself for a possible impact. To his surprise, none came and Sho simply grinned as he sipped his cafe latte.

When their eyes met, there was an instant electric pulse that ran within Satoshi. Sho was still holding his straw although he had stopped drinking, and there was that small knowing smile Satoshi so loved on him.

"Shall we go to bed?" Satoshi was at his stupidest when Sho has that look.

"You're ready for an all nighter?" Sho leaned closer, again daintily sipping from his cafe latte. It was almost finished and Satoshi felt himself gulp along.

"Good." Sho leaned back. "Prepare your pen and paper for my Kaizen talk tonight."

Satoshi fell face first on the table.

For Him [Yama 3/6]

2019-07-07T02:53:23Z

Signatures have been looped and crossed, and smiles have been faked. Sho knew he had closed on a good deal. While he really didn't have much to do the rest of the day, he had to buy a few travel essentials for the Hawaii trip.

While he is aware that strolling around in malls is a very teenager thing to do, and not for a grown man in a suit, he also wanted to see how many establishments used scarily realistic fake food now that the travel shopping was done.

The painstakingly handmade plastic food gained popularity among foreigners in the last few years. Sho noticed some tourists taking pictures of the replicas but not actually going into shops. He would have scoffed and called it ignorant a couple years ago, but since he learned how much work those replicas took, he had become oddly proud of it.

As he passed one such shop display of food replicas, two young men were struggling to take a picture together, one of them holding an expensive looking camera.

Sho briefly wondered if they were tourists, but the shorter lad said "oh my god," in English.

"Do you need help?" Sho offered in English. The boys looked at each other and nodded at Sho, the taller boy handing over the camera.

"Oh, um," The taller boy looked unsure for a moment and called out to his friend, who was ready to pose. To Sho's surprise, he spoke in Japanese.

"Wait, how do I say―"

"Oh, are you Japanese?" Sho glanced at them both.

The smaller boy came closer as the taller boy nodded and apologized for the confusion while chuckling.

"We're trying to make a photography portfolio. But we also want some wacky pictures." the taller boy said grinning eagerly.

"Are you featuring the food replicas? I know who made them." Sho said, hoping that there wasn't too much pride in how he spoke. The lads looked thrilled.

Sho took some shots of them in poses that he can only describe as "brimming with youth" then they both prepared to take notes on their phone about the origin of the food replicas.

"Can you show us on a map?" The taller boy requested, showing Sho a map of Tokyo on his smartphone.

"Do you mind if I record your instructions and information?" the English-speaking boy added.

"It's here." Sho double-tapped a location on the map and added proudly, "All the ramen replicas are made by a retired replica maker formerly from that shop. He also made that statue at the main entrance."

They told him that the ramen replicas were the most interesting ones and that they've also taken photos of the statue, then gave Sho their thanks. Sho's grin never left his face as he said goodbye and went on his way.

Although it would have been a longer turn, he never exited and entered the mall at any other part than the place where the statue was.

It was glorious in its gold sheen, standing in the soft sunlight at the center of a fountain. Two human figures in dynamic poses circled by a fish, trailing water. It never ceased to amaze him that the person who made such a beautiful work of art was also the sleepy-looking little man who lived with him.

As if he sensed that he was being thought of, Sho felt his phone alert him of Satoshi's incoming call.

"Hi," Satoshi's voice was as languid as it was quiet. Always sounding like he just got out of bed when talking over the phone.

"Did you know I'd be out by lunch?" Sho might have sounded snappy, but they have a rule about calling when the other was at work. But anyone who saw him pick it up might have guessed it was a lover by how he smiled fondly at the screen and continued to grin through the call.

"Of course. You posted your schedule on our calendar and on your home office desk." Satoshi said quickly. "Sorry, is it a bad...time―?"

Satoshi's question faded as Sho chuckled. "Alright, alright, stalker. What is it? Take out requests?"

"No, I cooked so please come home and eat with me."

"No accidental showers this time?" Sho practically bounced all the way to the taxi line in no time. Satoshi's laugh was such a refreshing sound in the hustle and bustle of the mall.

"Unless you want it." He responded. Sho bit his lips, trying to contain the heat rushing to his face so as not to alert the few others in the taxi line. Satoshi probably sensed it as he laughed at Sho's silence.

"Wait, guess where I am." Sho said, looking at the statue again.

"On your way home, I hope." Satoshi said.

Sho couldn't contain the laugh as he took his phone away from his ear for a moment and took a quick picture of the statue. He sent it and told Satoshi. After a pause, Satoshi laughed too.

"You like that piece way too much!"

"Obviously! It looks grand!" Sho felt his smile drop when he began wondering why it was the art work that he was most fond of looking at, among Satoshi's other work. Was it because it was a piece of Satoshi that was in a bold location but only he knows its meaning? Perhaps.

"And you get to see it a lot?" Satoshi guessed. Sho cursed in his mind and then took it back, briefly convinced that Satoshi read his mind yet again.

"You—I—No, pff. What!" Sho hammered his fist to his forehead in embarrassment, unwittingly swatting his face with his suitcase. People were definitely staring now, so he bowed and lowered his voice.

"Whatever, I'm on my way." He said and he put down the call even if he wanted to listen to Satoshi's laughter a little more.

Satoshi could have been famous three years ago, when he and Sho had been walking at the park and Sho came across his boss and a client who was looking after a seven-year-old daughter.

As the boss, the client and Sho decided to talk business, the little girl took Satoshi by the hand and dragged him away to play. Sho wanted so much to just watch them, the slouching little man and the bubbly little girl.

After a while, the girl and Satoshi had become quiet, playing with some clay that she pulled out of her little pink purse. But something about the clay made her a little too happy that she stole her father from the small business talk and showed him what looked like an almost perfect omelette rice replica.

Even Sho was surprised. That client so happened to be a food replica company president. His daughter had an eye for sculpting talent as much as he did.

That was only the start of Satoshi's replica making job after getting scouted by a kid.

Within several months, he had made those memorable ramen replicas that was in high demand at the time. He was so talented that despite his lack of English speaking skills, he was taken to demonstrate for tourists at a shop in Asakusa. It was there that an art collector commissioned him, and later, Sho's own boss did.

Satoshi refused to be identified, and instead went by "O" in his pieces. O's mall statue and the painting that was commissioned gained some popularity online, but also its mysterious creator.

Yet there he was, opening the door in his house clothes—an old shirt and boxers—and a blue apron with a disfigured tuna. The mysterious artist was just a slouching man with a dumbstruck grin saying, "Welcome home!"

"I know I said you must be a fish in your past life," Sho said, carefully removing his shoes, "but now I'm convinced that you're more like a dog."

"Hey." Satoshi put his hands on his waist indignantly. "I am a good dog."

"Doofus." Sho managed, poking Satoshi on the forehead and trying not to imagine Satoshi on a leash as he loosened his tie. He knew more than anyone that Satoshi was a little more untamed than a cute little domestic pup.

Satoshi seemed to have caught Sho's look anyway because he guffawed. "Seems you want something?"

"Don't imply strange things." Sho suppressed a giggle and hung his blazer.

When he entered the dining area, there were three bowls of food out, one looking a little different.

"That's a replica!" Sho grabbed the fake oyako-don in surprise. "I was just reminiscing about your past job like, two seconds ago. Do you read minds?"

Satoshi looked a little smug. "Yeah...? Yeah, maybe I do."

"Yeah? What do I want right now?" Sho challenged him.

Satoshi grinned and snorted into the back of his hand. Sho hit him softly on the head.

"Lunch! I want lunch." Sho gestured for Satoshi to sit down. Satoshi wheezed one last time and raised a palm.

"Why?" Sho had a strange feeling he knew what was coming.

Satoshi walked into the spare room and Sho covered his face in his hands to breathe for a brief second.

Satoshi came out with a tall box.

"Oh my god." Sho said in English with a big slap to the forehead.

"Oh my god." Satoshi echoed excitedly in his best imitation. He handed the box to Sho who resisted every urge to question how many presents were prepared.

"I know you'll love this one." Satoshi nearly sat on the air as he to grab a chair. Sho didn't miss this small scene and cracked up a little, still cradling the box.

"The box." Satoshi made a small gesture, but there was a touch of finality in his tone. Sho quickly obeyed, lifting the lid gingerly.

"Oh my god." Sho gasped. This time, it was real.

Once the lid came off, the sides of the box dropped to reveal a replica of the mall statue. It was just as mesmerizing as its bigger counterpart. The details were all the same: the two figures hand in hand, the fish leaping in a curve around the two.

"That better go to your office desk." Satoshi propped his elbow on the table, grinning happily.

Sho set it on the table, marvelling how exactly the same every detail of it was with the mall counterpart. "When did you make this?"

Satoshi's head bounced from left to right in thought. "Some time back."

Sho pursed his lips. Satoshi had ongoing projects, and Aiba's restaurant was the newest. Satoshi wasn't a man with lots of time to spare.

"Thank you." Sho managed, turning the statuette around. "I can't even imagine dividing your project time for this."

"I make the time," Satoshi said with a sagely little nod and a thoughtful pout. "I mean, it's not much, really."

Sho didn't notice when exactly he had put his hand on his mouth. Perhaps seconds earlier, based on the quick shift in Satoshi's expression to that of concern.

Satoshi made time for him just for the statuette. And for a man who seems to jump on the first thing on his mind, he had to go out of his comfort zone to do some planning and even some trickery of sorts to pull off three days worth of surprises.

"That's exactly how you looked at the bigger one." Satoshi smiled softly this time. But when Sho looked up to meet his gaze, he had diverted to the statuette, too. Sho turned it around slowly with one hand. "I don't think I could've made something this cool without you, though so it's kind of a very belated and like, not so equal thanks."

Sho said nothing, just watching the humans and the fish. The scene seemed to change with every angle, like a whole story was being told.

He felt Satoshi's eyes on him so he looked up again but Satoshi was back to rotating the statuette. This time, Sho just looked at him.

"A lot of things. Really. I think I might be worth a lot less overall if not for you." Satoshi mumbled with his quiet voice and let the statue go, looking up to Sho.

Their eyes finally met. There was something about Satoshi's gaze that was so longing and slightly tired. Sho wanted to say that Satoshi was so much more than he could use words to describe. He prepared a breath but Satoshi spoke up immediately.

"So thank you for being my art." Satoshi said it with both his soft voice and his somewhat sad looking eyes.

"...don't prepare a eulogy for me just yet." Sho smiled back and stood up to pull the art piece into the middle of the table. "This stays here because I don't want to flatter my boss thinking I'm passionate for art because of him."

It didn't quite sink in Satoshi's mind yet, based on the bewildered look on his face. Sho reached over and prodded Satoshi's cheek to snap him out of it.

"This one's mine." Sho said, relieved when Satoshi smiled again. "So I'm keeping it here, close to myself."

"Right on the table?" Satoshi was standing up too, at least until Sho pushed his oyako-don closer so they can start eating.

"Yeah, right where I like to do my favorite thing. Which is eating." Sho sat down and pulled his own oyako-don serving closer.

"Among other things that can be done on this nicely sturdy table," Satoshi snorted and added under his breath while positioning his chopsticks. Sho flashed his eyes and jutted his chin in mock annoyance, unable to contain the heat in his cheeks.

That look of pure-hearted acceptance mingled with a healthy helping of desire on Satoshi's face, Sho could live with for the rest of his life. He knew his answer by then. What he wants Satoshi Ohno to have is none other than himself.

For Him [Yama 2/6]

2019-07-07T02:34:10Z

Five years in a relationship with Satoshi was only equaled by Sho's five years in his current company. He got in thanks to his shining credentials but it didn't hurt that his upperclassman from his university's baseball team was there too and practically bragged about Sho like a doting father.

Junichi Okada was now chief trainer and was finishing up the day's lecture to newly hired employees after Sho represented his own department in the orientation. Okada was thrilled to be joined by Sho at last in the orientation, and so were some of the trainees, after hearing so much about the star employee of the marketing department.

He was not such a star employee in his head, however. In the front row at Okada's motivational lecture, Sho was a little too nostalgic to pay enough attention to his senior.

Perhaps it was Okada's deep voice and passionate speech that took him back to his university days, but it was truly Satoshi's sticky note doodle next to Sho's omelette rice breakfast that set his thoughts into the past.

Satoshi had gone to his part time work at the convenience store by the time Sho woke up that morning, and had cooked breakfast. The doodle, which to the artistically challenged Sho was more of a miniature masterpiece on its own, was actually a sketched and simplified version of his graduation celebration photo where the two of them were together with some of their mutual friends.

Sho and Satoshi stood awkwardly next to each other in the original photo, surrounded by some others. Sho remembered how he gathered the extras to be in the picture with them as Satoshi asked someone else to take the photo. In retrospect, Sho had realized that Satoshi meant for it to be a picture of only the two of them.

And yet, the simple drawing captured Satoshi's serene smile and Sho's broad grin. "Thanks for being my dream," was written at the bottom. Sho was amazed at the dedication Satoshi had put and had briefly wondered if he had his schedule set to the earliest possible time for the rest of the week. With his phone, Sho took a picture of himself eating the beautiful omelette rice and sent it to Satoshi with his thanks.

Satoshi worked at the convenience store just so he could have time outside their house to clear his thoughts and see people. This inspires him to do art. He was talented enough to live off his work if he really wanted to.

And Sho could always drop by the convenience store to personally thank him back but he had decided he wasn't ready. He had nothing to give back to Satoshi.

He dodged their neighbors, the jolly young men from the adjacent unit, and was stuck thinking of the past since then.

"To sum it up," Okada said, making Sho look up from his own lap. "Teamwork is essential in Kaizen, and trust is integral to teamwork." Okada was walking a little closer to the side of the stage Sho was at.

"It's important to be open to your co-workers and not just sensitive to their needs, but direct with your own." Okada gave Sho a little wink, as it was similar to one of his pre-game pep talks.

"Like in your own personal lives, the key to a smooth relationship with our clients is having a direct approach. More on Kaizen, tomorrow." he added.

Sho was a little hung up on his senior's words. Perhaps there was something he needed to open up about with Satoshi.

At the graduation celebration drinking party that the sticky note doodle reminded him, Satoshi had hugged him in front of so many people. No one much cared since they all thought Satoshi was drunk, but Sho politely reminded him to not be too excited anyway.

Sho didn't have to explain that he wasn't much of the physical type since Satoshi never hugged him in public after that night. He thought he'd hurt Satoshi's feelings then. He was quite the opposite of Sho especially with touch, after all.

"Are you mesmerized?"

Sho was hurled right back into reality by the gentlest pat on the shoulder and Okada's quieter "off mode" voice.

"A little. It's just like the old days." Sho congratulated Okada on the training session and they made their way outside the hall as well.

"Ah, you see that lad over there? Reminds me of you." Okada looked at a lanky trainee with a messy bowl-cut brown hair. The trainee saw them approaching, making his eyes widen before he bowed and Okada simply patted him on the head once he got close enough.

"Back when I gave you a similar advice about life. Back when you needed me." Okada went on, giving a wink and a wave to the confused trainee as they went on their way.

"I still do, of course." Sho smiled.

Okada chuckled and they turned left at a corner. "When I watched you do your presentation, I knew you've grown up."

"I still have a long ways to go." Sho said, a little embarrassed to be praised. He was too distracted during his own presentation, trying to figure why Satoshi would draw that particular awkward night. Sho couldn't even recall if he really did well in the presentation or not.

"Just a little bit more, really." Okada's brows furrowed in thought. "But you were a tad stiff at the shoulders today. Didn't let go of the papers you held except for one gesture: holding out your right hand to the screen."

Sho realized this and hung his head in regret. Okada laughed and ruffled his hair just like he always used to.

"Maybe my topic about openness hit a nail somewhere?" Okada helped Sho straighten his blazer and they continued walking.

"No it's just...someone's important day but I don't know what present to get." Sho tilted his head in defeat. "When someone has always given you excellent gifts, you'd want to give something of worth, too."

"You make it sound like a competition!" Okada patted Sho on the back and then resting his hand on Sho's shoulder. "Think of what you want the other person to have, not what you want to give. It's for that person's happiness, not for you to comply to a tradition..."

Sho felt his lungs release a long breath. There it was, an answer to his dilemma. It only took one sentence to ask for help, but Sho had to muster his guts to even admit that it was a problem. Now he just needed time to concentrate on a practical answer.

"That's actually a good idea." he said, his mind immediately racing.

Okada chuckled. "You owe me a drink."

Although it felt like a solution to Sho earlier, on the train ride home, it felt like a whole new question all of a sudden. What does he want Satoshi to have anyway? Other than a bit of a stubble, that is.

Even if he had known Satoshi for ages, he was never satisfied with what he could give to a man whose mere existence was the best present Sho could ever hope for. And on top of that, Satoshi does have moments when he seems to read minds.

When Sho took a whole troubled hour worrying about looking great for his first major company presentation, Satoshi had made a whole two-tier bento for him to bring. And gave him a blue handkerchief and necktie set, too. Sho didn't understand the point of the two at first, but Satoshi said blue was the soothing color of a calm sea and sunny skies and that he noticed that Sho only started panicking about his presentation when looking at a mirror.

Sho looked at his reflection in the glass on the door at the other side of the train. The gentle blue of his now favorite tie stood out on the dreary chromes all around. The color never really calmed him, but the memory of Satoshi's warm hand and feather-light voice did, the day of his first presentation.

He snapped out of his thoughts when the doors opened and the blue slid out of view. He stepped out and remembered that he hand-painted a purplish-gray tuna on a blue apron as thanks for Satoshi's good luck presents.

He almost slapped a hand right to his face in his embarrassment, recalling again how ridiculous the mutant tuna looked, his sloping shoulders wincing at the imagined contact. His face still contorted in the shame of it, he somehow remembered how Satoshi looked so delighted to have it.

Sho didn't notice he was grinning like an addict on a high from the memory of Satoshi's smile until he saw the familiar tall and lanky figure of his neighbor.

"Sho-chan?" Masaki Aiba looked at him with the excited smile of a dog greeting his master. There was a convenience store plastic bag in his left hand and a smartphone in the other.

Sho never really understood how he became friends with the guy, but it wasn't something he was against. Aiba and his roommates always had some nice dishes to share for some reason.

"Oh, hi Aiba-kun." They exchanged short bows as they headed for the elevator. "What's up? Oh and thanks for the gyoza from last time."

Please don't rant, please don't rant,

Sho realized what he said when the words were out of his mouth. He and Aiba entered the elevator, the perfect place to have a conversation.

Aiba was talkative, and an animated conversationalist. As much as he was fun to talk to, he was also a deep listener and Sho always thought he'd be fun to drink with. But Sho didn't want to chat at the moment.

"Is Oh-chan a painter?" he asked, round eyes blinking innocently. "I smelled paint."

Sho almost rolled his eyes. "He's not that kind of painter."

"What kind?"

"The kind that paints walls."

"Oh," Aiba reactivated his phone. "I didn't smell wall paint. I smelled "painting" paint. Like, picture painting paint."

Sho was about to interrogate him to find out how he can smell through the metal doors when Aiba showed him a picture from his phone of what looked like the unfinished interior of a restaurant.

"I wanted an artist to paint some dragons on this wall." Aiba grinned, gesturing with his fist, and making the cans clunk in his plastic bag. "I think my restaurant could be a cool place that way."

Sho's eyebrows shot up in surprise and realization just as the elevator bell chimed.

Ding!

"Tell him for me, please?" Aiba said happily, glancing at the picture and then back at Sho, his long strides taking him almost halfway across the hall in a few steps.

"Yeah, sure." Sho was still surprised. He wondered why he had never known much about their neighbors despite having hung out with them a few times. Then he quickly added, "He might be busy this week and at the weekend he's got a trip. He can probably meet with you to settle a schedule."

With a smile to rival a child in a candy store, Aiba nodded. "No rush, you guys are just across the hall and I don't need the painting done yet. Have fun on your Hawaii trip!"

For a moment, Sho was confused as to why Aiba even knew about the Hawaii trip for the weekend but Aiba reached his door first and wished Sho a good night. Sho got to their unit and, deciding to ask if Satoshi had told the neighbors about their trip, swung the door open.

Aiba was right, there was a faint smell of "picture painting paint" indeed. It still didn't explain how Aiba smelled that from outside but Sho quickly became occupied with the fact that Satoshi must have made a new painting.

"I'm back." Sho hollered once he finished changing to slippers. There was no response.

In the living room, he found Satoshi wearing a deep blue yukata, soundly napping with half his body on the floor and his head propped on the couch.

Near him, just by the wall, was something draped clumsily with an old curtain.

It was definitely a painting.

With Satoshi in a yukata, Sho knew what memory was being evoked this time.

In their first year being officially "together"—the word Sho had insisted on using—they actually spent much less time with each other. In fact, Sho didn't really know when their relationship started until he coincidentally saw Satoshi at the summer festival that year, standing out in a blue yukata.

They didn't really plan to meet. Sho had come with Okada and other friends from work, all of whom left with other people. It was when he had become alone that he had seen Satoshi in the quiet path going up to the temple.

Satoshi was for some reason sitting on a rock at the side of the path. He had a small goldfish in a plastic bag right on his head and was muttering to himself until Sho had come and had called out his name.

Sho remembered how Satoshi had simply looked up at the sound of his first name, how it had lit up his face brighter than the full moon did. But looking up had made the goldfish roll onto the ground, its bag bursting at one side, spilling the little fish onto the stone steps.

Sho had been on the case faster than Satoshi could stand up. He had quickly put the fish in the mineral water bottle he was bringing.

Satoshi had thanked him, and had said he was happy that Sho came. Sho had apologized, assuming he had forgotten to meet up. Satoshi had confirmed that it was purely coincidence that they met there.

"I said that if I caught a fish, I'd definitely see you, too. Miracles happen." Satoshi said then. Sho wanted to say that it didn't have to be a miracle for them to meet, but Satoshi had quickly interrupted his thoughts.

"Look over there!"

Satoshi had pointed to the sky, where a sudden swipe of silver appeared and faded. Followed by another, and yet another.

"Meteoroids?" Sho then had an odd feeling of déjà vu. As if they had that conversation already.

Satoshi's brows furrowed for a moment in thought and then he had responded. "Yeah, that's the word I think. Falling stars? And those."

Two stars looked pretty close together in the sky.

"I don't recall seeing those there..." Sho had checked the surrounding constellations briefly then and Satoshi chuckled lightly.

"It was just like this when we first kissed a year ago." he said, his voice a far away whisper.

Looking back, Sho wanted to hit his past self in the head for not remembering. For not treasuring that night enough.

But in that year, Satoshi didn't let Sho think these guilty things. He had stood on the higher step of the stairs, gently pulled Sho close by the hands and kissed him again, wishing him a happy anniversary right on his lips.

The flustered five-years-ago Sho had no idea how to respond. Sho in the present couldn't even recall what happened next.

He pulled his thoughts to the present and removed the awkward draping on the painting.

"Wait—"

Sho yelped at the suddenness of Satoshi's voice, turning too violently around and dragging the painting and the drapes with him as he tripped over his own feet.

It was too fast, but he had caught the painting just in time to land in Satoshi's arms.

"I wanted to show it dramatically," Satoshi snorted, "but maybe this is better."

"Sorry!" Sho said, getting up and quickly making the painting stand again. It didn't seem damaged in the unfortunate tangle.

In fact, it was majestic.

It was abstract, with beautiful strokes and blobs of color, but Sho can see it cleanly. A goldfish in a water bottle, in the backdrop of a starry summer sky, complete with the two stars Sho couldn't name and the meteoroids. Sho and Satoshi were in the foreground, colored blocks of maroon and navy respectively.

"I remember this night," Sho said, not taking his eyes off the painting, but feeling the weight of Satoshi's stare right on the back of his head.

"Our second kiss." Satoshi took the drapes from Sho's hand and threw it aside. When he came close once more, Sho had lifted the painting up and walked off to an empty wall.

"I'd be glad to see it every day. It's beautiful." Sho let the canvass rest on the wall and admired it a little more while Satoshi came close again.

"Thanks for being my dream," Satoshi said, his voice ever so light.

"Oh man, this really puts my stupid tuna painting to so much shame." Sho chuckled, unable to hold the shame any longer.

"On my apron?" Satoshi looked from Sho to the direction of their kitchen where the mentioned apron was. "But I love it!"

Sho looked at Satoshi as he hurriedly got the apron from where it was hanging and put it on. Sho could barely hold down a laugh.

"Don't mock me, I know the tuna is terrible!" Sho rolled his eyes and rubbed his temples in a comically overdone way, but was laughing quietly at himself.

"No, that's not what art is about." Satoshi stomped closer with a cartoonish pout, hands on his waist. "It's all about the thoughts and feelings in making it."

Sho stopped laughing. Satoshi still looked really goofy, but his point was more than valid. It was eye-opening.

"I know you hate your drawings, and people make fun of you. But you still drew for me, and that," -Satoshi pointed to the disfigured tuna- "This! Is art. Real art."

Sho's lip quivered but he tried not to look too touched. "And you said you didn't want to be famous. You speak like a famous person already."

Satoshi furrowed his brows in mock focus, gesturing for his imaginary crowd to keep cheering him on.

Sho did, at least in his mind, as he laughed out loud and clapped in amusement.

For Him [Yama 1/6]

2019-07-07T01:32:34Z

Breakfast has been the first thought on Sho Sakurai's mind every time he woke up, since he and Satoshi Ohno started living together. This was for him, the most noticeable and comforting thought about the whole ordeal of sharing a life and a home with someone. Breakfast wasn't just the most important meal, and it was no longer the most hectic one either. It was a small happiness of being together in a whole new day.

When he opened his eyes and did not see Satoshi, he immediately took in the scent of fried eggs. Satoshi wasn't a morning person, but weekends meant Sho got to sleep in. Satoshi used to deactivate all the alarms Sho would set in his insistence of sticking to his body clock but that was years ago when they were new to cohabiting. Now, Sho lets himself get spoiled, especially on Sundays.

Automatically, Sho reached over to the side table to check his phone. It was Sunday before his anniversary and they had planned to leave for a quick Hawaii getaway to celebrate. He ran through the itineraries and schedules they were planning as he noticed a face hover into his peripheral view.

Satoshi was peeking from the foot of the bed and this startled Sho a little. "Hi," he said softly as Sho blinked for a second to make sure he wasn't still dreaming.

"How long have you been here―?" Sho began, sitting up, putting his phone away and rubbing his eyes.

"Five years!"

Sho looked up at Satoshi even while his eyes were still a little blurry. "What?"

"Well, four if you mean living with you. Three if you mean this apartment unit." Satoshi was climbing into the sheets, still in his sleepwear but had on a blue apron with a hand-drawn disfigured tuna. Sho pretended he did not see his abomination of a painting attempt and softly poked Satoshi's forehead.

"I meant how long have you been in this room, you dolt." he said. Under his finger, Satoshi shut his eyes and wrinkled his nose in an exaggerated way that made them both laugh.

"A few seconds." Satoshi came closer to snuggle, but Sho was already getting up. "I've been checking you. I wanted to bring you breakfast in bed."

Sho choked on his feelings for a moment, making a sound that was between a gasp and a chuckle. "Did you accidentally spill paint on my papers again? Or is it some weird thing you're 'just trying out' that went the way things always go―"

Satoshi frowned. "No, no, I want you to feel special."

"I already do." Sho chuckled.

"No, I mean, with me. Like, not at work and stuff, although yes, you're pretty special there too, I mean...lots of people think you're special but I want you to feel special with me." Satoshi went on, getting up and helping Sho tidy the sheets.

"Yes, that's what I meant. But even then, breakfast in bed? That's...yeah, pretty nice." Sho walked off to the washroom and he heard Satoshi follow.

Satoshi often randomly does thoughtful things like slipping sticky note doodles in his files and, once in a while, some very affectionate things like breakfasts in bed. The former, Sho had gotten used to over the years but the latter was still taking a bit of adjustment.

"I know these things are kind of weird for you but it's almost our fifth." Satoshi watched Sho fondly as he washed his face.

"Oh, no, it's alright, I meant nice—nice. Not just 'nice'." Sho with all his achievements under his belt found himself absolutely robbed of words from the twinge of emotion in Satoshi's voice. He turned to his partner, still with his hair sticking out in varying directions. "You know? I do appreciate it."

"I know." Satoshi grinned and, on tiptoes, flattened Sho's hair. "So you better let me give you breakfast in bed."

"But we just fixed it." Sho said. Satoshi looked at the bed for a second and said, "Yeah, we did."

"Do you smell―" Sho began but Satoshi had gone back to the bed with a thoughtful hand on his chin and another on his waist. "Maybe you can sit on top of the sheets and―"

"The thing you're cooking!" Sho dashed to the kitchen on his long legs while Satoshi was still in the process of reacting.

The sunny-side ups were blackened beyond salvation even as Sho tried to flip them over. This only resulted in him breaking the yolks and butchering the eggs further. Satoshi caught up just as the second yolk broke, took the pan and spatula and seamlessly flipped the eggs. The smoke finally alerted their emergency sprinkler and in seconds, they went from groggy young men to pathetically soaked Dumb and Dumber. With burnt eggs and a possibly ruined pan.

Sho felt his anger rise but Satoshi's tinkering laugh interrupted his thoughts.

"I mean, I've always wanted to see you drenched in the rain―" he said between gasps, with his hand clutching Sho's shoulder as he doubled over, "―so I got my anniversary wish! That and our Hawaii trip."

Sho laughed despite himself. "You might want to hold something else. My shoulders are too sloped for support."

This immediately launched Satoshi into a renewed wave of giggles. Sho wasn't done, not wanting Satoshi to stop. "And hey look, you've finally copied my egg recipe!"

"Still, wouldn't change a thing." he wheezed.

Three or four emotions welled into Sho's eyes for a moment, before he could control them. It was five years of this, messy but happy relationship of laughter, burnt eggs and horribly painted tunas. He blinked them away as Satoshi took his hand and pulled him up.

"Let's clean up, change and have my breakfast in bed, alright?" Sho put the eggs into the trash bin and the pan into the sink.

Satoshi considered this for the moment and pointed to the living room. "Couch," he replied, knowing how Sho felt about keeping the bed tidy after waking.

Sho on the other hand, remembered the heated night Satoshi said the same word in a breathless yet unexpectedly commanding tone. He bit his lip and nodded, hoping Satoshi doesn't read minds.

***

Having no other responsibilities to attend to, they took time in putting things back in order. Satoshi insisted for Sho to shower and get dressed and the kitchen will be good as new. Instead, when Sho came back, the sink looked pretty clean but the mercifully waterproof floor was still a little damp. There was a mop in the corner, beside the counter where some dish towels and paper towels were stowed. At the stove, repeatedly saying "hot, hot, hot―" was the little man who caused it all. Minus his pajama top, but with a towel draped over his shoulders.

"That's not going to make it any cooler," Sho said, mechanically gathering the towels and examining the mop to see if it was soaked.

As Sho opened his mouth to remind his breakfast cook to put a shirt on, Satoshi immediately grabbed the towels, took them out of Sho's hands and placed them on the counter.

"Oh," Sho managed as Satoshi pulled up a chair and ushered him to sit. Sho tried not to make it too visible that the chair was still completely wet and had soaked right through the sweatpants he put on. He watched and nodded as Satoshi gestured for him to stay seated and quickly went back to his cooking.

"Ehh," Sho peeked a little bit past Satoshi's petite frame. Besides the fact that Satoshi hardly obscured anything from view, there was an empty bowl of batter at the side and the smell of pancakes were enough hints for Sho. In support, he still gave Satoshi cues that he was curious about it. Satoshi glanced at him and their eyes met for an odd second.

"Well, don't ruin the surprise," he said with a tone that pointed out common sense. Sho chuckled an apology but continued to watch. The damp pajama bottoms clinging to Satoshi's shape was enough breakfast anyway. That and the bare back.

"I wonder what's cooking," Sho said aloud with a sing-song voice.

"Fish," Satoshi answered. "But it's a surprise."

"I hope you didn't fish for tuna again because we still have some yellowtail from the last time you went." Sho chided absently as he propped his chin on his hand, resting his arms on the damp table. "And you better stop escaping to the sea and have started packing. Or at least planning what to bring."

"It was albacore tuna, not yellowtail tuna, and I gave them to Matsujun already." Satoshi said busily. He went on while his arms moved about carefully, "Packing isn't so hard, we'll only be in Hawaii for two days so I don't really need a lot of things." For a pancake, it looked to Sho as if it was taking a little too long with some odd manoeuvers.

"Still, you know. Planning ahead." Sho replied, now genuinely curious. He watched as Satoshi took the spatula and his movements were followed by the sound of a perfect pancake landing. The scent wafted anew, hanging in the air and making Sho's stomach growl. It was audible enough to make Satoshi chuckle.

Satoshi got a plate and slid his new creation on it. He turned and laid a placemat on the table in a succession so smooth that he could be dancing. He also laid down a fork and a knife but Sho had to reverse their positions beside the plate as quickly and quietly as possible so Satoshi could continue with the surprise.

And it was more worth it than Sho expected.

"What in the―? How did―? Ehh!" He was again at a loss at the sight of Satoshi's "fish".

It was definitely a pancake, but it looked like a painting. A pastry-scented sepia print of two curving fishes, a dark and a light one.

"You know what this is, right?" Satoshi pulled up a stool and looked at Sho with the face of a puppy after fetching a ball.

"Koi!" Sho said, a little overwhelmed by the graceful art but also by how good it smelled.

"And?" Satoshi nodded eagerly. Sho was a little stumped but he blurted his first thought.

"Pancake!"

Satoshi reached over and turned the plate around, letting Sho watch. He rotated it again and Sho finally understood.

"Yin and yang." He said, keeping his eyes on the fish, a little more mesmerized when he noticed the differently colored spots on the fishes' heads.

"Yin and yang." Satoshi nodded and smiled softly. Sho still kept his eyes on the fish.

"This is too pretty to eat, but I love it." He managed to say, using one finger on each hand to rotate the fishes again.

They didn't need to mention the relevance of the yin and yang koi fish because it was a near and dear memory of their first meeting. During the school trip when they were teens. At the aquarium where Sho was babbling to his friends about his fish knowledge from the books he read the night before. His bookish knowledge was thwarted by the fishing experiences of a sleepy looking boy from the other class, with a long middle-part fringe.

Satoshi's sleepy looking eyes always glistened when he talked about fish.

"Thank you for completing me." Satoshi said quietly. "Now have some breakfast."

"Man, this is so dramatic." Sho whined, laughing awkwardly. Satoshi just chuckled and handed him some butter and syrup from the counter.

"It's also an apology because practicing that is where all the eggs went. You were kinda mad yesterday and I had to kind of lie." Satoshi mumbled.

"Wait how many times did you practice?" Sho looked from Satoshi's sheepish expression to the pancake art and back.

"Once. I let Aiba-chan and Nino eat it." Satoshi nudged the butter closer to Sho. "Of course I can't let you try it if it's not perfect."

Sho took the butter and grinned. "Still. Wouldn't change a thing."

Satoshi, with a recognizable look in his eyes, stood up to come closer but Sho hurriedly got a chunk off the darker fish tail and swallowed. Satoshi nearly stumbled.

Sho let out a long whale call of satisfaction. "This is incredible! I'm in a pancake sea!"

The image of a sea of pancakes immediately made Satoshi laugh, as if on cue. Sho laughed with him and took another bite, trying not to imagine what would've happened if Satoshi came closer first. To keep it that way, Sho sliced a piece and stuffed it into Satoshi's laughing mouth.

He too, made a long whale noise.

"It is!" Satoshi said excitedly. "Pancake sea!"

Before the laughter died down from Sho, he knew he can't possibly reciprocate the thoughtful gesture. He had planned on taking Satoshi out on a fishing date but he quickly realized that this would be the second or third year in a row he did. Satoshi wasn't done, he was for sure planning something grand to have started with an amazing present days before their actual anniversary.

But how can one compare to perhaps the most loving old goof Sho ever knew?

[Fic] Be Mean

2017-07-21T03:11:36Z

Be Mean
(to me!)

A Yama Oneshot of 3,344 words

(with some BDSM references)
(Inspired by the DNCE song of the same title)

Suited up and ready for work, Sho Sakurai is a proven head-turner. That is, for men and women alike. Satoshi Ohno has found himself often sketching Sho's soft features which balanced out the sharply defined angles of his bone structure; those high cheekbones, that firm jawline, those arched brows...

Sho was a busybody, though. They may live together but Satoshi understood little of Sho's work. Just that it had something to do with business, that's why he's often on the phone or watching some boring news show with lots of charts and graphs going on. These were the times that Satoshi takes a break from his art commissions, sits near Sho and sketches him. Even when idle, Sho's movements are measured, controlled. As if he's always ready to have a presentation. Satoshi didn't mind at all since this made for some really interesting poses and expressions.

Strong, dominating.

Satoshi wanted more and more for Sho to turn that attention to him. He longed for it. Already, Sho displayed his ability to put things and people into place when he suggested that he'd be the one to manage Satoshi's freelance art business. Satoshi knew well that Sho was already pressed for time as it is in his own job, but he selfishly agreed. Sho loves to work and now Satoshi is part of his work too. Sho would speak with him gently but firmly, "No, don't accept this request." or "This project would be great for you."

Like a good boy, Satoshi always says, "Yes." And he tries not to say, "Please command me more." That might not exactly be what Sho had in mind.

But he couldn't help but wonder what it would be like for Sho to really command him. To boss him around. Sho seemed bossy over the phone with his assistant and other associates. "Have this done by tomorrow," he would say. Or, "I want this on my desk by the time I'm in."

That last statement made Satoshi bite his lips. He would have no problems sitting on Sho's desk if he asks. Especially with that kind of tone.

But Sho was gentle to Satoshi. Firm with things like rules, but still pretty gentle with touch. Sho isn't at all very physically affectionate, unlike Satoshi. Not that Satoshi minds, since he gets a peck or a pat from time to time. From a person as emotionally guarded and physically aloof as Sho, it was already a pretty big deal. Although he knows and respects Sho's boundaries, so to get what he wants, he has to play by Sho's terms: giving hints.

Despite how tactfully frank he is, Sho is rarely straight to the point with what he wants for himself from others. Satoshi had become a master of Sho's complex hints and body language so he knows he can play this game. He just has to start somewhere.

He sat beside Sho on the couch as the latter was busy typing while talking on his phone which was tucked between his ear and shoulder. While waiting for the conversation to end, Satoshi began sketching as usual, except he was drawing from imagination: Sho holding a belt.

"Something's odd about you today," Sho said, glancing at Satoshi for a moment before going back to his boring graphs.

Satoshi shook his head and shifted in his seat to draw better. Sho chuckled a little. "I know you're drawing me again. No need to be so secretive about it. I'd like a superhero suit this time. Like Yatterman."

Sho in a full body latex? The thought immediately stopped Satoshi from drawing, thinking or speaking and it got pretty hot around his neck and cheeks. Sho simply kept himself busy with his work.

"You're so busy lately," Satoshi said, weighing his words. He has to engage Sho in a mind game to lure him into the role he wants Sho to take.

"Oh, don't worry. I always have time for your art." Sho smiled at Satoshi for a moment and went on.

"No, but my point is, ar-aren't you suffering from that?" Satoshi wasn't sure if this was the right direction. It made Sho laugh, though.

"I do like being very hands-on in my work. It's not like I feel like I'm punished." Sho shrugged. "If anything, I like having a lot to do. You know me, I like being in control of things."

"Well," Satoshi twirled his pencil in his fingers. "What about people?"

"Being in control of people?" Sho raised an eyebrow at him. Satoshi just stared back blankly, hardly daring to breathe as if it would affect Sho's response. "I don't particularly mind since it's my job. I hope my underlings don't mind that I'm always barking orders...but what can I do? I'm running a business and that's just how it goes. They'll be rewarded if they do as told anyway. "

Satoshi wasn't sure if that was a definite yes or no. He knew it wouldn't be easy, but Sho seems to lean on the side of enjoying being in control. Satoshi considered his next move, feeling pretty close to checkmate.

"Pain for the price of pleasure, right?" Sho smiled and went back to his boring graphs, making Satoshi's eyes go wide again.

"Pain? Pleasure?" He echoed, accidentally breaking the lead of his mechanical pencil.

"Yeah," Sho said distractedly, looking up when the news was displaying something about the stock exchange. Satoshi was always fascinated with how many thought processes could run in Sho's mind, but he was too distracted by what Sho had said. Did he just put "pain" and "pleasure" in one sentence? Was I thinking out loud or something?

"Did you know...the source of the neurons that modulate pain and pleasure are in the same areas of the brain? Like the amygdala, pallidum and the nucleus accumbens...something or other. I read it while I was at the doctor's office." Sho snorted and went back to his graphs while Satoshi sat frozen. It wasn't odd that Sho was randomly spurting out big science words that Satoshi didn't know, but of all the topics in the world, why pain and pleasure?

Satoshi knew the mind games have just started.

***

Attempt 1

Their shared apartment was a fairly big one and was renovated to include the spacious studio-type room right next door. That was where Satoshi's artworks were, in various stages of creation. There was a closet in one corner and it had a futon, some blankets, shelves full of art tools and materials, as well as a locked leather trunk.

Satoshi's collection has been stashed away neatly since moving in with Sho. It was time to put them to good use. He'll have to go slow, not wanting to shock Sho or something. Shock is one thing, perhaps surprising Sho would put him into a corner where he still has an option to say no. Satoshi thought this plan was pretty clever, though he was quite nervous playing mind games with the likes of an intellectual person like Sho.

Satoshi prepared himself and came in Sho's room, turning off the lights. He laid on Sho's cozy bed, careful not to disarrange the sheets too much as Sho was quite sensitive about it. He meant to be ready at least an hour before Sho came home, just to run the scenario in his head without getting too excited.

It wasn't until a little past an hour that Satoshi heard a key turning the lock in the doorknob outside. There was the telltale rattling of the key getting stuck. Satoshi got up with a start, realizing he had dozed off while waiting. He tried to look in Sho's mirror in the corner to fix his hair, but it was no use in the dark. He could hear Sho come in, busily removing his shoes.

Satoshi hopped back to the bed, unable to decide how to pose. He fumbled open the first two buttons of his shirt instead, hearing Sho call out for him. Sho was definitely getting closer as there were sounds of things being laid on the table. Sho's humming grew louder and finally, the door handle clicked and turned. Satoshi took a readying breath.

"Hey there, Sho-" He began.

"WHAT THE-!" Sho jolted away and tripped over his own feet. He stumbled and Satoshi quickly got up to assist him, still blinded by the sudden light after an hour of darkness. Instead, his foot got caught in Sho's legs and he fell too.

It took them both a full minute to realize that they were face to face. Satoshi could see himself in Sho's eyes as they both blinked at each other.

"W-welcome home," Satoshi said awkwardly, distracted by Sho's slightly parted lips.

"That really shocked me, ugh. What were you hiding here for?" Sho groaned as Satoshi helped him up. Satoshi's mind was still blank when Sho looked surprised again. "What the?"

Sho grabbed Satoshi's left hand, revealing the handcuff closed on it. Now even Sho was speechless as the two of them tried to form coherent sentences instead of their confused noises.

"What in the-why're you-what happened?" Sho blurted, both hands holding Satoshi's locked up wrist and examining the handcuff. "This-this is real, this is metal, this isn't a toy-were you arrested or something? Is that why you were hiding?"

"N-no, I was just..." Satoshi racked his brain, but he was just feeling all kinds of things from how Sho was very concerned. His face, flushed with worry. His hands, gently trying to loosen the cuffs. Satoshi found it adorable. Added to the feeling of abject failure from ruining his own plan, he had very little to say at all. "I was just doing...something." he managed.

Sho gave him a certain look. Satoshi knew what it meant: he was processing several possible "hidden messages" from Satoshi's words. While Satoshi was an expert on Sho's nonverbal cues, the latter was the kind of person that drew implied meanings. It was not the first time Satoshi used that excuse on Sho. He had once brought a pile of what looked like old metal junk and explained it away as "just doing something" which was now a work of art that was auctioned off at a very high price.

Sho tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. Satoshi guessed that Sho recalled the same incident. Sho's eyes wandered to Satoshi's hastily unbuttoned and quite crumpled thin white shirt. "Were you napping on my bed after painting again?"

"Well I-" Satoshi began, but Sho let go of his handcuffed wrist and rubbed a spot on Satoshi's collarbone with his thumb. "Paint." Sho frowned disapprovingly. "Shower first before taking a nap. And don't wear something this thin, even if you're indoors. You might still catch a cold. And I told you not to take naps after three in the afternoon. It'll disrupt your sleep."

"Sorry," Satoshi said sheepishly, still feeling the sensation of Sho's thumb on his collarbone even though Sho had turned to flatten his bed sheets. He straightened up and put a hand on his waist. "Don't say 'sorry'. You didn't do anything wrong."

Satoshi nearly apologized again, but Sho raised a hand. "Come on, wash your hands and let's eat. I brought pizza." He relaxed and sighed, but he was smiling a little. "And off with those handcuffs."

Satoshi nodded. He may have failed but Sho had really put him in place. He watched as Sho took off his blazer and unbuttoned his cuffs while walking to the kitchen. "I'm really okay with you sleeping there but I will really punish you if you get paint on the sheets."

It was not much of a defeat after all! Satoshi grinned.

***

Attempt 2.

Even more fired up from his first attempt, Satoshi plans to be bolder this time. He bought an entirely new paraphernalia that would only be for Sho. It came in a package that looked pretty innocent and didn't make any sounds so it wasn't hard to have it delivered. But it didn't matter too much because Sho was out for most of the day and Satoshi was left alone at their apartment.

That evening, Satoshi waited until both he and Sho were lounging by the living room before bedtime. Sho was busily talking with someone on the phone and from his tone and words, Satoshi guessed that it was a client. With his convincing powers and the combination of wit and tact, Sho often wins clients over. This time, it sounded like a more difficult case, as it had Sho pacing back and forth with his free hand on his waist.

Satoshi fidgeted with the thing behind his back. He was bouncing his knee and biting his lower lip while waiting for Sho's call to end. When it finally did, Sho drew a sigh and slumped back onto their couch relaxed his head on the backrest. When Satoshi opened his mouth to speak, Sho lifted a hand to signal him to stop. This made Satoshi freeze and wait with his mouth still open as Sho heaved a deep breath and exhale, calming his features. It was a sight to behold for Satoshi, but he still sat as if Sho's gesture had frozen him. He continued watching Sho.

Sho finally turned to him and chuckled a bit, lightly pushing Satoshi's chin shut. Satoshi let himself fall over backward as if from Sho's little push and this made Sho laugh again until Satoshi really did fall off the couch, failing to catch himself. Sho was quickly ready to help but Satoshi was laughing nervously, hoping he hadn't ruined his chance yet. He waved Sho's worry away and sat back on the couch, never letting go of the thing he was hiding behind him.

"Wait, what's that? Behind you. What are you hiding?" Sho searched Satoshi's eyes.

"Well I got you something," Satoshi said as he revealed a custom made riding crop made with a black leather grip. It was styled to look like a katana handle and even had very small sakura-style decorative metalwork that Satoshi himself made. There were red accents on the grip that gave it a subtle look of elegance. It was Sho's turn to be slack-jawed.

"Uooaa~ Really, a riding crop? For me?" Sho looked amazed, looking from the riding crop to Satoshi with fascination. Satoshi couldn't stop grinning at Sho's excitement and began to feel the heat rise under his collar. He bit his lower lip and let a light chuckle bubble out of him. "Yeah, do you like it?"

"It's really thoughtful of you." Sho accepted the riding crop and examined the handle, feeling it with his fingers and caressing it in his closed palm. The gesture made the heat spread to Satoshi's cheeks but Sho was too busy admiring the riding crop. "You really...you really did listen when I was ranting about my boss."

Satoshi's eyebrow twitched.

He doubted his hearing again. He was beginning to think that Sho knew what the riding crop meant but he was sure it wasn't supposed to involve Sho's boss.

"Just now, he's insisting on going horse riding again! I already told him I didn't know much and going with me won't be fun. Truth is, I'd love to try since it sounds pretty cool and the boss might just appreciate me more... I just don't know where to start and well, I almost gave up." Sho clasped the riding crop in his hand and gave Satoshi a little wave as if it was a wand. "Thanks for this, now I feel more determined."

Satoshi opened his mouth to talk, then closed it. He tried again but he settled for a non-committal noise.

"You're probably one of the people who really do get me." Sho's expression looked so content that Satoshi decided to drop all attempts to explain himself. "Actually, the only one."

Satoshi melted. He lived for these sentimental moments of praise from Sho. He realized too late that he had lost control of the dumb grin on his face and the light chuckling because Sho nudged him on the cheek with an open palm.

Slap! The sudden impact on his foot made him wince. He looked at Sho in confusion.

"Did it hurt too bad?" Sho asked, his lips and tone had concern but his eyes were amused. He was still holding the riding crop readily and Satoshi realized he had just been hit on his foot.

"N-"

"Good, because your face was weird and that was the ceremonial first use of the riding crop from me, the owner, to you, the giver." Sho stood up and was lightly swatting his palm with the crop. He laughed and strode off to his bedroom. "I think I'll go check if I have some appropriate clothes."

Everything that just happened was a little too much for Satoshi to figure out. Was it a victory? It sure did not feel like a defeat, but Sho wouldn't be tying him up and demanding to be called master just because he was excited over a riding crop. Satoshi put his face in his hands, his lips creeping into a grin again. Sho had just hit him with a riding crop. Perhaps he was almost there.

***

Attempt 3

It was time for an important decision. When Sho would return from his horse-riding trip, Satoshi would move for the finale. If it still didn't work, it would be time to think of a new strategy. Satoshi hoped it wouldn't come to that as he didn't have a plan B and was absolutely wanting. There was a bit of thrill from the mind games but it wasn't his field.

That evening, he looked into his leather trunk, examining some of the remaining tools he can use. He figured the harness and the spreader bar would be too aggressive and might scare Sho. Ropes were alright but Satoshi wanted something more stylish and daring. Something he could wear that would immediately tell who's taking what role.

He took out a gag and a collar, surveying each on either of his hands. He won't be able to explain himself or at least say something cool if he was gagged. He won't be able to speak at all. The collar would be a better choice and he grinned dreamily as he got up and headed back into the apartment.

Sho was in the living room, arranging some files before stuffing them into his suitcase. His hair was damp and there was a towel on his shoulders, right over the pajama top that Satoshi had bought him for his birthday. Though his eyes were busy running through the paperwork and checking the news, he took a moment to meet Satoshi's gaze.

"Looking rather inspired," Sho commented, grinning a little as Satoshi chuckled and shook his head. "Okay, maybe a little." Satoshi shrugged and noticed the towel on Sho's shoulders were slipping. This made him laugh.

"What?" Sho stopped all movement but the towel fell anyway and Satoshi caught it neatly. Sho slumped and rolled his eyes. "Oh, haha. My sloping shoulders."

"What? I like your shoulders." Satoshi put the towel back where it fell from.

"Please." Sho raised an eyebrow and his eyes caught the collar in Satoshi's hand. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Well," Satoshi held the collar and was arranging his thoughts when Sho took it from him gently. "I...have a proposal."

Sho ran a hand over the buckle. "Are we...?" He looked at Satoshi with a searching look. "Together...?"

Satoshi couldn't contain his smile and it spread on his rather hot cheeks. He made a noise or two and a vague gesture with his hands with a couple nods. Even without the gag, it turns out that he can't speak anyway.

"A puppy?" Sho said, sounding delighted. "We're getting a puppy together?"

Satoshi blinked at him.

"That's why you insisted for us to get this apartment? Because they allow pets!" Sho continued examining the collar and Satoshi could only stare. "Yes but-"

"This is kind of a nice collar." Sho looked quite satisfied as he sat down. "It's kind of a big step in our relationship, I think."

Satoshi sank into the couch beside Sho, resting his head on Sho's arm. He was defeated by his own hesitation to cross Sho and to come off as forceful. He wanted Sho to want it too but he resigned to another set of steps in the future. Perhaps it was too early for them. Perhaps in time, Sho would understand.

"What are you laughing about?" Sho said suddenly. Satoshi didn't even notice the mirthless chuckle he heard was his own. "No, I just think it's a big step in our relationship. We should take many big steps."

"One at a time." Sho smiled. Satoshi was content that Sho wasn't moving away like usual. "Let's go to bed now so we can go check the petshop in the morning." Sho got up, making Satoshi fall face-first into the couch.

"Oh come on," Sho chuckled. "Don't be lazy. Sleep in my bed."

The words were magic. Satoshi wasn't banned from sleeping next to Sho, but the latter was often too busy when Satoshi wasn't. And when Satoshi was busy and fueled by his art muse, he would sleep in his studio. This was a rare occasion and he was eager to take what he can get.

Satoshi was immediately on his feet. "We should have gotten a dog a long time ago!"

***

Satoshi woke up in a very warm bed from some wonderful dreams the next morning. He had a new artwork in mind, something to sum up his experiences in trying and failing the mind games with Sho. He might not need his collection in a while, so he might just incorporate them.

When his eyes had adjusted to the light in the room, he saw that Sho had gotten up already. This could mean that he had made breakfast before Satoshi could. He snorted at the thought of the strange looking food Sho ends up making. There was no scent of breakfast yet so he guessed he could help out.

He shifted in the bed but was unable to pull himself up. Confused, his eyes followed where he felt the restraint.

His hands were shackled to the bed.

___________________________________
END!

Sho Sakurai as Probably Amazing Dom
Satoshi Ohno as Self-Proclaimed M

Dedicated to:
the wonderful people responsible for the haven that is arashikink.tumblr.com
My Yama shipping sisters Maki makitachibanana and Aimi tachibananaaimi
and
the Sho to my Ohno, Megu jaricchi

Disclaimer:
This story is intended for entertainment purposes only.

[Fic] 星のとなりの空け者～マサキ～ (Fools Among the Stars: Masaki) 4/4

2017-07-07T03:42:53Z

星のとなりの空け者～マサキ～

Fools Among the Stars: Masaki

Part Two
***************
ManboP x Yama

A Yama fanfiction adaptation by Mie Tachibana
*****************

Mortals live very short lives, hence they have given their best to build and research and try until they're almost a century old. Few of them reach that number at all. They're given a slow world so they could enjoy their pitifully short existence to the fullest, and yet some don't even try.

Non-mortals live excruciatingly long, even for their own sake. They don't push for discovery for they have all the time to learn. They don't strive for achievement for they have unique capabilities and powers right at their disposal. To balance this, they were given the fast world.

Satoshi's eyes grew wide when Masaki told him this.

"But I'm a god." Satoshi had finally sat up, his expression rather frenzied. "He's...we're...we're both gods."

"Yes," Masaki still didn't look at him, feeling so awful to be the bringer of bad news. "Gods can exist on both sides, just as kappa can, so time is different for us, too."

"Well!" Satoshi saw the riverbank at last. "Then it should be fine."

"I suppose," Masaki sighed as they both got off the plate. It shrunk to a normal size and Masaki put it back on his head. "But these worlds...they're not meant for gods, you know? You're supposed to go back to the sky from time to time..."

Satoshi wasn't listening. He had bypassed the laws and the natural order. For Sho's sake, Satoshi knew that he couldn't be stopped.

The riverbank on the non-mortal side looked more idyllic than the side Satoshi had been accustomed to. He had put his heart and soul into muscle training, obsessing over how strong he got. He had tried to swim through the river every day but never got too far, always rescued by Ryuhei. He was camped out just by the riverbank on the other side. He turned and found that he couldn't see the mortal side riverbank anymore.

"Where is he?" Satoshi asked Masaki, who was walking briskly through some tall grass.

"You'll see," Masaki muttered.

"Hello?" a weak voice croaked from the clearing. Masaki stopped walking instantly. Satoshi bumped right on the kappa's back.

"Watch it," Satoshi said angrily as he stood back up and came in the clearing.

"Satoshi?" the weak voice croaked.

Sitting on a rock in the clearing was an old, withered man. He had the glow of a sky god and the kariginu of one. He could have been anyone, an elder sky god. But Satoshi knew those eyes anywhere.

"Sho..." He came closer, tears filling his eyes.

"Satoshi," Sho replied.

"I'm sorry," Masaki whispered with a sad bow. But then, he heard laughter.

Sho was laughing. "Look at you!" He said, beaming at Satoshi as he got up, wobbling on his old knees rather dangerously. Satoshi smiled solemnly and took him by the hand to help him. "Your arms are tougher!" Sho felt Satoshi's shoulders and torso for a moment. "Have you been working out?"

"You have no idea." Satoshi chuckled as Sho touched his face.

"Your face hasn't changed that much," Sho bent slightly to take a good look and Satoshi grinned, his eyes looked dazed. "Still grumpy looking...still roundish...still darkish...like an acorn," They laughed at this and Masaki just gaped at them. "But you look thin! Have you been eating? Did you eat already? I wasn't allowed to even send you a bento."

"Yes, I have and don't worry about it." Satoshi looked incredibly delirious and happy. He gazed fixedly at Sho. "But I guess I'm hungry."

"Would you like me to cook?" Sho said happily. This time, Satoshi laughed too.

"Oh come on, I'm still a bad cook sure, but you'd eat anyway!" Sho lightly hit Satoshi's head.

"You haven't changed at all," Satoshi breathed.

"What!" Masaki blurted. "Yes he has! Are you both not seeing each other clearly right now?"

Sho let Satoshi go and clasped his pale and wrinkled hands on Masaki's. "Thank you, Masaki the kappa. Thank you so much. You can have my company. My house, everything. Take what you want. You've done for us a favor we can't return."

"But..." Masaki looked at Sho's lined face. He surely was still as beautiful as the rumors say, but he had clearly aged a whole lot more than Satoshi. Masaki looked uncertainly to the latter.

"Yes, thank you so much for bringing us together again, despite it all." Satoshi put his arm around Sho's shoulder. "I'd make anything for you, just ask."

"Wait, wait." Masaki put a hand on each of their shoulder. "Why? You both were banned from each other. You got cheated half a lifetime of separation thanks to the curse and your own little distractions. Yet why is it like everything's just gonna be okay?"

Sho and Satoshi looked at each other and laughed again. "Silly kappa." Sho said. "We're brought back together thanks to you!"

"It's because we love each other." Satoshi answered serenely and Sho hit him lightly again. "The way you say it makes it kind of embarrassing."

"Oh come on, who're we hiding from?" Satoshi replied, leaning languidly on Sho who stepped away with a chuckle.

"B-because...love?" Masaki sobbed. "Love?!"

"Y...yes." Sho's eyebrows shot up in alarm and Satoshi froze like a deer in the headlights as Masaki messily cried.

"Love!" Masaki suddenly blurted out. "Yes, love. Your love knows no boundaries!"

"Yes, I suppose you can say that." Sho took a step away from Masaki and Satoshi automatically covered him.

"I'm actually not a kappa." Masaki raised his arms and formed a gesture close to his face and his kappa features faded. A brightly colored and glittery suit materialized on him, with a feathered boa on his shoulders. "I'm a legendary god of love, I go by the name Mr. Funk!" he announced.

There was a flash of lightning and Masaki the Kappa fully transformed into a god of love, his body radiating a soft glow. Satoshi and Sho gaped at him in shock.

"As a kappa in disguise, I waited for something beautiful like this to come from the divide between mortals and non-mortals. Someone to break the limits for this purpose!" He was still crying messily. "Mortals and non-mortals are both too afraid to leave their little bubbles of existence for others. Not a lot of people would take risks for love!"

"Yes, but we're neither." Sho pointed out from behind Satoshi. "We're gods-"

"STILL!" Masaki cried, a wave of pink light and warmth flashed from him. "You both are an example to behold. And for that, I bless your love and lift your curse. The seventh day of the seventh month shall henceforth be the time of wishes made in honor of yours."

"Thank...Thank you...I guess." Sho and Satoshi exchanged looks. They were both startled when Masaki grabbed their hands.

"And from here on, you will always be together. Here and in all your parallel lives." Masaki nodded sagely at them.

"The what?" Satoshi's mind was absolutely left behind.

"You will be tested from time to time. Sometimes, one of you will pass away first, but if the other is dedicated and never resentful, you will always have this blessing." Masaki let them both go and they realized they were glowing.

"Wait-wait-what-?!" Even the very articulate Sho was lost for words.

"I shall put you both among the stars now, to dance forever in the sky!" Masaki announced happily as the couple held hands and glowed more and more brightly...

~~~

Summer in Tokyo, late 90's.

Two teens in yukata looked idly at the sky as they shared some cotton candy.

"Hey Satoshi, did you see that?" the one in red yukata pointed to the sky at a suddenly brightened pair of stars.

"Yeah, what's that?" the one called Satoshi followed the other's gaze, accidentally dropping a bit of cotton candy on his blue yukata. "Sho-kun knows more about stars and everything."

"It's not like I memorized star maps as a hobby or something, come on." Sho laughed. "Didn't you paint something about Tanabata back then?"

"It was a sketch." Ohno smiled.

"It's as good as pro. I'm telling you. Art college will be great for you." Sho shrugged.

~~~

Summer in Yokohama, en route to Tokyo, 2015

"Sakurai, what's that?" a petite man in an expensive suit pointed to the sky in front of his luxury car as he leaned forward from the backseat.

"That?" his assistant called Sakurai peeked. "Oh shachou. That's a traffic light."

"No, jeez! The stars!" the company president huffed impatiently.

"Is shachou..." Sakurai leaned closer to the company president behind him and peered through his glasses intensely. "...an idiot?"

The company president's eyebrows joined and he jutted his chin angrily.

"That's a binary star system. They 're pulled together by each other's gravity. That particular pair is rumored to only be seen by star-crossed lovers." Sakurai smirked.

"Wha-!" Shachou gaped for a moment, trying to form words."Are-are you implying we're something like that?! You're fired! Absolutely fired!"

星のとなりの空け者
END

Starring:

Sho Sakurai as Sho the sky god
Satoshi Ohno as Ohno the water god
Masaki Aiba as Masaki the Kappa "Mr. Funk"

Notes:

Ending scenes look familiar?
Look up 粘着系男子の15年ネチネチ A Clingy Boy's Fifteen-Year Pursuit
and 世界一難しい友情 World's Most Difficult Friendship

This is a fantasy romance-comedy and there's a little drama at the end.
The story is loosely based on the Tanabata legend and a song trilogy by 家の裏でマンボウが死んでるP of the same title.
More information here.

The god of love, sky god and water god are part of my own universe for this story and is not derived from any myth or existing work.
The yokai have been adopted to this world and are more like metahumans than monsters.

[Fic] 星のとなりの空け者～マサキ～ (Fools Among the Stars: Masaki) 3/4

2017-07-06T08:04:45Z

星のとなりの空け者～マサキ～

Fools Among the Stars: Masaki

Part One
***************
ManboP x Yama

A Yama fanfiction adaptation by Mie Tachibana
*****************

Yokai were not exactly known as the most organized of creatures. They were the complete opposite of humans who were able to form civilizations and societies. These non-mortals don't even have the patience nor the attention span to be able to arrange a group of words in alphabetical order.

And yet, a yokai company was making quite some fuss in the regions just close to the River. A company! No one has ever been able to put Yokai into such a discipline. They started work at eight in the morning and ended at four. They lined up and took turns when needed. They even used meal stubs properly!

At the head of it all is their boss, the sky god with bright eyes and puffy lips. He was usually seen seated with his back straight, fanning himself languidly despite the constantly irregular rain. It was more of a habit than anything. He was preoccupied with overseeing the work of the yokai company. He checked all their salaries and bonuses, consulted the new board of directors for new projects and promoted equality and hard work.

All this started when a group of yokai started following him around when he taught them how to tie their shoes. Now, Kazu the kitsune headed the Yokai Resource Management and was in charge of finding more employees. Jun the ame-otoko was very creative and talented and was put in charge of Research and Development. Hardworking and determined Toma the choochin-obake was put in charge of marketing. Everything was functional and logical and this made Sho incredibly satisfied.

"Attempting to cross the River in this rain...that's crazy." That was all he could say about the River.

At that very River, Masaki the kappa was listening to his very good friend Kazu the Kitsune. "You're telling me that there's an actual yokai company?" He said, eyebrows raised. "And you want me to join?"

"Come on, you need a new job." Kazu shrugged coolly. " We don't have a kappa in the company, you guys are pretty hard to find around here when you're not swimming through the River."

"I'm not a slave to cash like you," Masaki said simply.

"Yeah. Clearly." Kazu gestured vaguely to Masaki's humble abode. It was very humble indeed. The most humble that an abode could be. "You're a slave to sleeping under the starry skies in your unfurnished, roofless...do you call this a house?"

"Hey!" Masaki leaned in. "I like this place. And for the record, I'm a kappa! I don't need a roof!"

"You wish you had one." Kazu sat back in response to Masaki's closing the gap. "These irregular storms have been so bad, we've had to keep Nure-Jun indoors. And Rai-Toma, too. Because electricity is expensive." Masaki huffed at Kazu's nonchalant talking about their ame-otoko and choochin-obake friends.

"Fine. I need something to do anyway. I'm bored out of my wits since no one is interested in going to the mortal side anymore." Masaki stood up and Kazu followed suit. It used to be Masaki's job to swim back and forth the different sides of the riverbank, being the only one who could. "And recently hearing about the banished sky god makes me so sad. I don't know the extent of his punishment, just that he was chucked here."

"Who knows, maybe he made a pretty nice life here like my boss did." Kazu straightened up his obi as Masaki gathered his tanzaku resume and his last cucumber. "Your boss is a sky god?" Masaki asked as he and Kazu walked.

"Oh come on, gods aren't so uncommon around here. They don't really mind showing up on our side of the River." Kazu's tail swished idly behind them both. "And besides, wouldn't the banished one be busy on this special day?"

~~~

Kazu wasn't kidding, their office was as opulent as those that wealthy mortals lived in. It was a pretty big traditional style house, its quaint and peaceful gardens being maintained by busy yokai. There were others doing laundry and even polishing the floor.

"Masaki! Finally, you're joining!" Jun the ame-otoko said impatiently but hardly suppressed a smile. He stood at the gates, drenched from head to toe with a personal rain cloud hanging over his head, complete with lightning flashes. Only Jun could wear a hat so ridiculous, Masaki supposed it was another of his friend's fashion adventures. Jun walked with Masaki and Kazu into the house and they were followed by some yokai servants cleaning up after Jun's cloud. "I just knew you wouldn't give in so easily. But you belong with us." he spoke rather smugly.

Thanks, Nure-ahem-Jun." Masaki realized how quickly Kazu's dumb nicknames stuck to people. "Though I might have to go back to the River from time to time."

"No need!" Kazu chimed, patting Jun's shoulder. "We can send for rain anytime. Jun is pretty popular."

"Anyway, go have your interview. Toma and the boss are waiting inside." Jun lead Masaki down a passage in the well-kept traditional house.

"Wait...today? But it's a holiday, isn't it? The seventh day of the seventh month?" Masaki followed anyway.

Jun chuckled. "We can take breaks but our boss doesn't need them, he says. Go right in."

The interview room was dimly lit by Toma, glowing peacefully as he stood beside a busy figure with sloping shoulders and fancy garb. It was definitely a sky god in the flesh, but Masaki had an odd feeling about it.

"The interview will be conducted by the sky god boss, Sho." Toma introduced. Masaki nearly stumbled in surprise.

"You're the banished one!" Masaki gasped.

"I prefer 'the sky god' since everyone seems to have gotten used to it," Sho replied rather coldly, not even looking up from his paperwork. "And try to not be rude, your friends being my staff shouldn't mean that you're getting this job so quickly."

Masaki came closer to look at him. The sky god looked up at Masaki and his eyes grew wide.

"You're a...kappa," Sho said quietly. Toma looked pretty surprised to see Sho put his writing brush down and Masaki just nodded. "We've never had a kappa employee before." Sho wrinkled his nose and cleared his throat, regaining his composure.

"That's because most of us left." Masaki put his tanzaku resume on Sho's table. "I stayed because I have friends here."

"Friends...that's nice." Sho took a look at the tanzaku but his eyes weren't moving. His already slanted eyebrows had met, and he seemed to be trying to recall something. To Masaki's and Toma's surprise, Sho stood up and walked over to the potted bamboo in the corner. Multiple tanzaku hung from there already.

"Yes, I promised these guys I'm not leaving suddenly," Masaki explained, gauging Sho's reactions despite the latter having his back turned.

"Promise..." Sho looked out the entrance. It was raining pretty hard now, but he could normally see the River from right there. "Crossing the River...in this rain...that's just...crazy."

"Not really." Aiba looked out the entrance too. "That was my job back then..."

"Yes but I'm too busy for-!" Sho turned sharply at this statement but was startled when a loud boom of thunder echoed. He tripped and knocked the bamboo pot and a glittering object fell out.

"Boss, careful." Toma quickly tried to help him up but Sho didn't budge, seeing the little shell that fell out of the plant pot.

Sho picked it up and felt the delicate craftsmanship of each color and groove on the little conch shell. It was a good luck charm that Satoshi the water god once gave him.

No goodbyes, they had promised.

"Sa...satoshi." He whispered. Masaki and Toma looked at each other and Sho shot up, suddenly dashing outside. "Sa-SATO-!"

His voice was defeated by another loud clap of thunder. Some of the other yokai were alarmed from hearing their boss shout and they gathered. Masaki and Toma were right by him already. Sho grabbed Masaki by the shoulders, his grip was strong and his eyes looked a little red.

"Find him., Sho said. "You can do it, right? Find Satoshi! And you'll have the job and all the cucumbers you want!"

"I...I prefer natto-"

"JUST FIND HIM!"

~~~

The River hasn't changed one bit. Its currents were still cruel and many things have been lost in it since time began.

Masaki the kappa wasn't particularly bothered by this at all. He took off the plate on his head and threw it into the water where it grew large enough to hold him. He then balanced himself and cruised calmly across, as if he was simply sliding his way. No one should ever mess with the kappa's plate.

"NEW CHALLENGER!" a voice broke from the other side. Masaki winced as a hunk of muscle nearly toppled him off his plate-raft.

"No. No, you can't be-!" Masaki gasped. His first job in his unofficial work was turning out to be the absolute worst. He hasn't even signed for health insurance yet. They might have called themselves a company, but Sho's group could use a better hiring process.

"I, SATOSHI-CHALL'NGE-YOU-K'PPA- INTO-A DUEL!" The voice was coming from the petite and yet incredibly muscled blond who was bobbing up and down the water, his spiky hair and steroid level muscles emitting a bright light and his eyes were pale blue. And yet, no matter how strong he looked and how vicious the seeming aura around him was, he was struggling to stay afloat in the currents of the river, barely able to choke out his words.

"Who the actual what now?" Masaki blurted. "Are you a Saiyan or something?!"

"This ISN'T MY FINAL FORM!" Satoshi blasted out of the water with a power scream. Masaki braced himself and successfully evaded Satoshi's incoming attack.

"If I beat you, I'll be the strongest and most muscular!" Satoshi prepared to launch himself.

"Wait! Shouldn't you be trying to cross the river?!" Masaki tried to reason with him. "Someone's waiting for y-"

"Nothing is more important than muscle!" Satoshi went for a fast barrage of punches right after leaping out of the water. It was certainly the full strength of a water god. But even water gods didn't belong in that River. Masaki was getting impatient with his delivery mission.

"Fine! I will fight you!" Masaki's plate grew into a fighting ring. Satoshi in his all his huge muscles clambered up on it and did another battle cry as he lunged.

"Swift as a coursing riveeeeeeeer!" Satoshi missed. He turned and attacked again.

"With all the force of a great typhoooooon!" He still missed. It was as if the kappa was an illusion. Satoshi raged on.

"With all the strength of a raging FIIIIRE!" Satoshi felt his fist graze something. A cucumber fell near his foot, sliced.

"How dare you...my cucumber..." Masaki's voice broke with emotion, ignoring the charging Satoshi.

"Mysterious as the dark side of the-"

"THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO LAST ME UNTIL PAYDAY!"

It was a one hit K.O. from Masaki.

"Now if you'll excuse me," Masaki said. He grabbed Satoshi by the ankle out of the water. Satoshi scuffled, weakly trying to get up. "I have a delivery to make." the kappa added.

"Sh...Sho..." Satoshi murmured, unable to support himself on his limbs over the slippery surface of the plate. He flopped to his back. "If I'm muscled enough...I can...I can beat the kappas..and cross..."

"You're crossing with me now." Masaki sighed as the plate slid over the water. "But don't blame me for the time you've wasted."

"Time?" Satoshi tried to look at Masaki's face.

"Don't you know? Time flows differently on the different sides of the River." Masaki continued the voyage, not looking at Satoshi. He never liked how oblivious people can be about the River...

つずく！
To be continued!

星のとなりの空け者
マサキ (4/4)
Please click here to go to the next chapter!

Starring:

Sho Sakurai as Sho the sky god
Masaki Aiba as Masaki the Kappa
Jun Matsumoto as Wet Jun (Jun the ame-otoko)
Toma Ikuta as Toma the choochin-obake
Kazunari Ninomiya as Kazu the kitsune

And

Satoshi Ohno as Ohno the water god

Notes:

Nure-Jun (Wet Jun)
Jun's name is also the kanji for "moist".

Rai-Toma
Light (Raito) + Toma

tanzaku
a piece of paper where a wish is written on Tanabata; it is then hung on a bamboo

kappa and cucumber (and natto)
cucumbers are kappas' favorite food, natto (fermented soybeans) is a good gift for kappas too

"NEW CHALLENGER!"
heard in Tekken 6 onwards when someone joins the game to fight the player

"This isn't even my final form!"
DragonBall reference in honor of Arashi's generation, particularly because it's Ohno's favorite

"Are you a Saiyan or something?!"
another DragonBall reference, and yes, Ohno's in Saiyan form

Satoshi's battle cries:
Swift as a coursing river
With all the force of a great typhoon
With all the strength of a raging fire
Mysterious as the dark side of the (moon)
Yes, it's To Be a Man from Mulan.

[Fic]星のとなりの空け者～智～(Fools Among The Stars: Satoshi) 2/4

2017-06-19T14:26:07Z

星のとなりの空け者～智～

Fools Among the Stars: Satoshi

***************
ManboP x Yama

A Yama fanfiction adaptation by Mie Tachibana
*****************

First impressions usually failed Satoshi. With his downward drooping eyes and punk-ish cut, he seemed like a mortal bum but he was a pretty popular water god, especially among the young rainbow gods who often worked with him in the rain department. He was the coolest senpai to them, and the yankii look just added to it, especially when he would be choreographing waves and crafting corals. Everything he made was beautiful, including his minute movements. It was hard to tell if he was passionate or the opposite since his expression rarely changed from the bored look he often had. That is until his sky god colleague was replaced.

"I'm Sho." said the new rain department employee as they bowed to each other. Satoshi grinned, thinking that was the most fitting name for a sky god and that he might just make an entire reef if Sho asked.

It was turning out to be the best job ever until the quality of their rain got worse. It got to the point that they've created too many storms in certain places and too few in the others, quickly becoming part of the many problems causing climate change on a massive scale. They were promptly banned from the rain department and tossed to far away corners of the two sides of the great river between mortals and non-mortals.

For Satoshi, this was practically death. There was no silver lining to the punishment, even if they were told they could meet on the seventh day of the seventh month. It usually rained in the seventh month, anyway.

"On the bright side, senpai," Ryuhei the bubbly water god spoke while bounding beside him, "There's not a lot of work to actually do!"

"Whatever." Satoshi snapped. He had begun to actually like having work to do with Sho around. He still stood by the thought that if they were given enough time, they could have corrected their own mistakes. Now he was relegated to a corner in the mortal world, an island country where he was in charge of a waterfall with Ryuhei the lively water god of the waterfalls in the area and two young rainbow gods who sat not too far, busy chatting and working. Satoshi disliked being a supervisor to them, not that he minds having virtually nothing to do, he just wasn't too fond of calling the shots. Even in the rain department, it was usually Sho who made the decisions.

"Don't be such a gray-ahem." Ryuhei stopped himself short of saying "gray cloud" as soon as Satoshi glared daggers at him. "I mean, what's the worst that could happen?" he immediately diverted.

"I wouldn't dare say it." Satoshi lifted some mist into the air: their mundane task of the day. There was laughter echoing from where the two rainbow gods sat and Satoshi looked over to them with a jutted chin. "Are you both done with that yet?"

"We're running out of sunlight, senpai." Yuri, the smaller of the two drifted up to the faint rainbow that hung above the waterfall. He tossed the wisps of colored light into the arch and it glowed a little more into visibility. "That's the last of it," the other one, Ryousuke added. "Yuri and I could get some more if we fly high enough but there seem to be gray clouds out."

"I think it's about to r-" Ryuhei was looking at and observing the sky but Satoshi bumped on him lightly.

"Don't you dare jinx it." He growled.

"Rain! Incoming rain! " a thick voice boomed. They all looked up to see a sky god swoop down to join them. It was Junichi the sky god, Satoshi's former colleague at the rain department whom Sho replaced. He landed beside Satoshi and added, "All gods in the field are being recalled to HQ. This rain will become a storm, a pretty big one."

"What are you doing here?" Satoshi asked grumpily. Sure enough, he felt a piercing cold droplet of rain on his nose and shoulders.

"I thought I should send you guys the message," Junichi said lightly. "And it's been ages since I saw you! You even have your own team now!"

"You worked with senpai before?" Yuri looked excited, hearing the talk though his hard work was slowly fading from view. "What was it like?"

This just made Junichi laugh. "I'd tell you all about it if you come with me after my shift. Now that I've warned you that rain is scheduled, and now that the rain has come, I'm quite done here. We need to return before the storm starts."

"You guys go ahead." Satoshi sighed. He didn't want to be around the others at the moment as the day he had been waiting for was now completely destroyed. He rubbed his temples with one hand over his face, it was also an attempt to cover his eyes in case it had gotten tearful. It was hard to tell in the pouring rain. "I have...some things to do a last minute checkup of."

"You can check it after the rain department is done here," Junichi advised with a nod. "Or you can tell us what to check and leave it to us."

"You're back in the rain department?" Satoshi looked at him in surprise. Sho replaced Junichi after the latter was placed in the daylight department.

"Yeah, they moved me back after some rainbow kid freaked about me touching him." Junichi shrugged. "It was cleared up but they still moved me." He then added with a friendly pat on Satoshi's shoulder. "Higher ups move us whenever they please. It's not your fault nor Sho's fault that I was recalled from the promotion."

There was a loud boom before any of them could say anything else. It was an excellent quality of thunder accompanied by a carefully measured flash of lightning. That was clearly leftover work of Sho and Satoshi. He felt a twinge of guilt and longing that made his hand automatically clutch his chest. His lip quivered and he marched off.

"Senpai!" The rainbow gods called in unison, sounding alarmed. He jumped, his agile and powerful legs rocketing him to a nearby branch like a cat. He surveyed the river and the waterfall. If only it was as easy to fly over the river between the mortal and non-mortal world.

Another boom, but this time it was much louder. It was too quick to hear nor see anything more, Satoshi just felt a strong force knock him off the branch and he was thrown to the ground.

"What in the-?" he tried to say, but it came out as a cough.

"Are you okay?" Ryuhei was standing over him, holding the tree he was previously standing on. With the feel of cold mud in his hands, Satoshi realized that he was nearly crushed by half a huge tree.

He was more confused that Ryuhei was holding the tree like it was just a sack of rice. He was certainly exerting effort, but rain gods shouldn't be that strong. Ryuhei grimaced and tossed the weight in a clear area as Junichi swooped down with the two rainbow gods in his arms.

"Watch where you're running, Satoshi!" Junichi yelled over the strengthening rain and winds, his thick arms wound around the rainbow gods who were tucked to his sides. "Your cute kohai duo nearly got crushed flying after you!"

"I'm...I'm sorry-" Satoshi was still confused as Ryuhei helped him up. "Did...did you just lift the tree...?"

"Well, it's just half a tree." Ryuhei waved his hand modestly. "I wasn't thinking. I know you could've run in time, but I acted on my own, I'm sorry."

"This guy packs some muscles. Just like I do!" Junichi said happily, letting the rainbow gods go and giving Ryuhei a slap on the back. Ryuhei nearly fell over and stumbled onto Ryousuke but laughed it off.

"Muscle..." Satoshi caught a glimpse of the waterfall and its connecting river in the distance. The flow was strong, but he could definitely picture Ryuhei and Junichi being able to swim through it.

He had hope. He could swim across the river to meet Sho!

"P-please-" he approached Junichi. "Please teach me how to grow my muscles!"

The other four looked at him uncertainly until Junichi grinned. "Sure! Now let's get out of this storm first!"

つずく！
To be continued!

星のとなりの空け者
マサキ (3/4)
Please click here to go to the nex chapter!

Starring:
Satoshi Ohno as Satoshi the water god

With
Junichi Okada as Junichi the sky god
Yuri Chinen as Yuri the junior water god
Ryosuke Yamada as Ryousuke the junior water god
Ryuhei Maruyama as Ryuhei the water god

And
Sho Sakurai as Sho the sky god

Notes:

[Fic]星のとなりの空け者～翔～ (Fools Among the Stars: Sho) 1/4

2017-06-18T18:53:04Z

星のとなりの空け者～翔～

Fools Among the Stars: Sho

***************
ManboP x Yama

A Yama fanfiction adaptation by Mie Tachibana
*****************

Any description of Sho was usually preceded by superlatives. The sky god is the most intelligent and beautiful of his sky brethren and is the best at many things. He wove the best clouds and made the best thunderbeats. His dedication to his job was both scary and spectacular and so was his fully booked schedule.

But on his first day assigned to rain department, he was awestruck by the sleepy-looking water god, Satoshi. That was the beginning of the end.

Before Satoshi, the only water gods Sho has ever seen were the ones assigned to make rainbows. They were all just rowdy children, though. There was never one with hair in short brown spikes and a nonchalant stubble. Sho the best of the best of the sky gods knew that he wanted to see more of Satoshi since then. And boy did Satoshi love seeing him too.

They would talk for hours while making rain. Sho did most of the talking and Satoshi did most of the listening, but either way, rain production slowed by a couple percent when the two of them were assigned to it. It was love, though. So they ignored the first, second and third reprimand and they were banished to the opposite sides of the great river between mortals and nonmortals.

But because Sho was the best sky god and Satoshi was the most talented water god, they were permitted to meet but only on the seventh day of the seventh month, unless it was time to make it rain.

Sho sighed at his schedule. The old boss was really testing him, scheduling rain on such a day. He was no longer permitted to work with or even speak to the rain department so all he could do was to walk away angrily. Sometimes he hated that he was in love. He hated that he started it all. Yet he had no one to blame but himself. He picked up a worn-out umbrella and whacked the surrounding bamboos hard, just wanting to let his feelings out.

The bamboos gladly whacked him right back, making him angrier. He threw the umbrella and ran until he didn't recognize his surroundings.

As if the universe conspired against him, he was lost in the nonmoral country.

There was no one but a gloomy-looking ame-warashi in the corner. Those guys worked under the rain department but were not part of them. The ame-otoko simply sent signals to where rain should be. Sho huffed passed the ame-otoko and ran into what felt like a wooden post.

"Oh, fire's sake!" Sho cursed, having stumbled into a puddle did not help his mood. "Watch it, living landslide!"

"S-sorry." the wooden post was actually a tall person who was glowing slightly. A choochin-obake who was standing in the rain in the middle of the road. "I couldn't tie my shoelaces and my friends told me to wait here."

Sho blinked. "Your what?"

"Yes, yes. It's my fault I forgot how the mortals did it." the ame-otoko scoffed as he turned to face them. His wet hair was slicked back and his angry look made both Sho and the chooshin-obake wince.

"No one else among the elders know about shoelaces..." a kitsune came into the clearing. "Who's this?" he added when he stopped beside the choochin-obake and he looked up to Sho.

"I'm Sho, a sky god." Sho relished in his own title, especially since the ame-otoko and the the choochin-obake gasped.

"You're the one who got banished." the chooshin-obake blurted. The kitsune didn't even flinch when he hit the choochin-obake on the head with one of his nine tails. "Call me Kazu. This is Toma, and the other one is Jun. We've got these new shoes, but we're not sure how mortals closed them."

"I know quite a lot about mortals since I can see them every day..." He bent down and tied Toma's shoelaces. "See?"

There was silence, except for the pitter-pattering of the rain by the time Sho straightened up. Toma looked ecstatic and even the grumpy-browed ame-otoko called Jun looked amazed.

"You gotta teach all of us how you did that!" Toma said, practically bouncing but was careful not to move his feet as if the shoelaces might suddenly untie.

"If you teach us your ways, we'll be your followers, for sure." nodded Jun the ame-otoko with a big grin.

"Oy, oy..." Sho chuckled. He didn't think that nonmortals were this...simple.

"Well..." the kitsune named Kazu looked pretty surprised but took a few seconds to articulate himself. "We're kind of indebted to you, sky god Sho."

Sho grinned. "It's nothing! Come on. Here's how."

つずく！
To be continued!

星のとなりの空け者
智 (2/4) Click Here!

Starring:

Sho Sakurai as Sho the sky god
Jun Matsumoto as Wet Jun (Jun the ame-otoko)
Toma Ikuta as Toma the choochin-obake
Kazunari Ninomiya as Kazu the kitsune

And

Satoshi Ohno as Ohno the water god

Notes:

This is a fantasy romance-comedy and there's a little drama at the end.
The story is loosely based on the Tanabata legend and a song trilogy by 家の裏でマンボウが死んでるP of the same title.
Links will be in the last part.

The sky god and water god are part of my own universe for this story and is not derived from any myth or existing work.
The yokai have been adopted to this world and are more like metahumans than monsters.

ame-otoko (literally: Rain Man)
yokai who summons rain (the ones who make rain are sky gods and water gods in this world)
yes, he's better as a vampire or something
but Jun's name could be read as "wet"

choochin-obake (literally: Lantern creature)
yokai of a lantern
in this world, they appear human except they glow in the dark
it's almost a name pun because Toma is a constellation or something OTL

kitsune
come on, you just want me to call Nino a fox

[Fic] A Clingy Boy's Fifteen-Year Pursuit Disclaimers and Info

2017-06-18T08:36:58Z

Notes:
(and a hint to a future project)

Mixi (Second Stage onwards)

a popular Japanese social networking service. It was huge back in the day.
Not so different from Facebook, Satoshi posted his work on his profile and "maxed out" the MyMixi counter, basically he went viral.

"combative patient" (6th year, Second Stage)
patient that is violent or possibly harmful
I began to hint at his unstable mental health here.

yukata (Third Stage onwards)
a kimono of light material, often worn at traditional Japanese inns and during summer festivals
Boys don't usually wear yukata on such festivals but hey. It's yama, we know they'd look great. :)

goldfish scooping, balloon scooping, ring toss (Fourth Stage)
typical games in a Japanese summer festival

Orihime, Hikoboshi (Fourth Stage)
the star-crossed lovers of the Tanabata legend
Long story short, Princess Orihime and Hikoboshi the cowherd get to reunite once a year on a summer festival called Tanabata. Based on the actual stars Altair and Vega.
This is the topic of my next Yama fic.

chapter names
the names of the chapters are derived from the Japanese version of the Kübler-Ross model of the five stages of grief:
1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance
If you reread the Stages, you might feel these things with Satoshi. Or you might see how I attempted to hint on it with the poetry at the beginning of each stage. I tried. OTL

camellias (Fifth Stage)
in the flower language means "longing" or "waiting", depending on the colors

Author's note:

What started out as a fun little project made a surprising turn for me. This is by far my most emotional fanfic, clearly it's not my style as you might notice from my main project Mets Men (action/sci-fi/dystopia) and Mr. Lonely (romance-comedy/low fantasy)

We've all experienced loss in some way, so I wanted to write a story of a path to heal in the hopes that Satoshi's fifteen years will help you along your own path. :)

The original creator of this story is a dynamic duo known as ManboP (details in Disclaimers) and I plan to adapt other ManboP works into Yama. Stay tuned!

Disclaimers:

This story is based on this song and music video of the same name.
Produced by: 家の裏でマンボウが死んでるP
(YouTube | nico nico douga)
Lyrics and Info, please click here

[Fic] 粘着系男子の15年ネチネチ【ファイナル】(A Clingy Boy's Fifteen-Year Pursuit 5/5) Finale

2017-06-18T08:20:32Z

A Clingy Boy's Fifteen-Year Pursuit-Finale
粘着系男子の15年ネチネチ【ファイナル】

A Yama Fanfiction adaptation

Satoshi Ohno knows he's being clingy but if it'll take him an eternity (or fifteen years) to reach Sho Sakurai in some way, so be it!

Fifth Stage

Sunrise, moonrise, winter, spring
rainbows that tomorrow's storms bring
daylight, starlight, summer, fall
rivers flow from mountains tall

...just you and I through it all.

The Sixteenth Year

It was a night to remember, indeed.

Satoshi Ohno has just announced a book tour for his latest poetry collection: 15 Years. Just when everyone thought he had fallen off the planet, he emerged just a month ago with renewed passion and a serene vibe that people didn't see before. And a potential exhibition for some fascinating paintings that depict summer festivals.

He has finally come out from living with his parents for some time, spending most of his recovery by painting and writing. But that year, he was more candid. He finally spoke about the subject of his poetry.

The past year ended with the tragic death of his goldfish and the realization that even if he got himself another one, the time he spent with the past goldfish is long gone. At the very least, he had that time at all. Such it was with all things in the past. Another goldfish would be a totally new life. There was no replacing, no hiding, no erasing anymore. Just gratitude that it all happened.

At the press conference, some people got confused. Satoshi Ohno was writing about a deceased pet all this time? But with his book selling thousands nationwide plus a promising art career to boot, Satoshi Ohno's name was there to stay in every household and every MyMixi.

But not his own heart.

He now had a habit of wearing a blue kimono to formal events. Blue, like the sea, he would say. In truth it was blue for the sky, but Satoshi would rather keep that to himself. Like the special poetry he still writes and sends regularly, it was now exclusive for Sho Sakurai.

He gave his farewells to his parents at the dinner after the conference. He had spent the entire week moving into an apartment with a nice view of the temple and of the sea. The new place was basically a one-room, but that was good, so sunlight could pour in and shine into the house plants near aquarium in the corner. And his paintings sometimes glittered in it. Sho's red yukata in his painting looked nice that way, too. He took a small unlined journal with him and walked off to the temple with a pink envelope in hand. There were three times in a year he did a special poem now: Sho's birthday, Christmas and the anniversary of Sho's passing.

His kimono billowed in the gentle night breeze as he looked up to the sky and smiled to the stars for the first time in sixteen years. He stood on the steps of a certain temple as he gazed at the stretch of the starry display just as he had done all those years ago, when he and Sho shared something special and secret.

The pain in his heart was an old would but the memories with it were once again sweet. Coincidentally, camelias had grown near that very tree Sho stumbled onto. It was as if nature somehow knew Satoshi had not given up, that he was still waiting for a response. Death is not the end. Satoshi had learned that it was just part of a new reality. It was time he continued on Sho's dream for him. It's his dream now too.

The new resting place of his two goldfish was under the camelia bushes, beside the tree. He walked by nightly just to say hello. After that, he would walk off to send his poetry of the day. Satoshi didn't think it was such a lonely prospect anymore. If there was a heaven, Sho might just be laughing at the ridiculousness of being pursued by poetry for sixteen years...and counting.

Satoshi will just keep on writing his love, though for now there's no reply.

***

おわり
End.

Fourth Stage
「抑うつ」Please Click Here

Credits:
Starring
Satoshi Ohno as 粘着系男子/Clingy Boy
Sho Sakurai as Probably Laughing Boy

Adapted By:
Mie Tachibana

Special Thanks to:

To Maki and Aimi, my precious Yama shipper sisters; thank you for all your support as always
To neko_kirin3104, whose Yama work will always be my favorite
To gemplee and agustin1982; thank you for taking time to share your thoughts all the way

and
to all those who loved and lost

Notes, Author's Notes, Disclaimers and Future Projects
Please Click Here

[Fic] 粘着系男子の15年ネチネチ(A Clingy Boy's Fifteen-Year Pursuit 4/5)

2017-06-17T14:23:09Z

A Clingy Boy's Fifteen-Year Pursuit
粘着系男子の15年ネチネチ

A Yama Fanfiction adaptation

Satoshi Ohno knows he's being clingy but if it'll take him an eternity (or fifteen years) to reach Sho Sakurai in some way, so be it!

Fourth Stage

He was the sky
of beautiful blues
and I am the sea
reflecting his hues

I'd lift waves when he cries
but we can never touch
my tears, my tricks, and all my tries,
now none of them means much

The TwelfthYear

A fire could happen again and Satoshi would not be removed from his seat. He had gotten exhausted of reassuring people that he was alright. He did not have time for anything else and anyone else. At that point, he was going with the only thing he knew and remembered. Sho Sakurai and the goldfish.

Like a robot, he still sent his poetry to Sho but it was a battle and he was losing. He knew he shouldn't act as if pursuing Sho would help him recover his memories. But it was the only thing that helped. He could recall that it was Sho who tutored him when he nearly flunked. It was Sho who always shared food with him. And something about Sho that summer evening.

Sho in a fashionable looking yukata. It was red. Sho smugly declared that he was stealing Satoshi's favorite color that night. Satoshi hadn't bothered to correct him, that he liked red and its intense color family on Sho. His own favorite color was blue, like the sea and the sky.

He picked up the poetry compilation he had published. He could recall a little of the year he published it. When he did book signings and smiling to the inexperienced pansies whose hearts he had reached instead of Sho's.

He read the poems, noticing the difference in style. He looked into the internet for the ones he had on Mixi back then. It was all different too. As well as the other poetry compilations. He wondered how many of them Sho read.

"I could read your poems all day! And watch your..."

Sho's voice echoed in his head. What was it Sho wanted to watch? The goldfish?

Satoshi turned to look at the goldfish. He didn't get a response from it either.

***

The ThirteenthYear

Painting. Satoshi had forgotten about painting. He had scrambled all over the house, pulling out his dusty paint tools, the yellowing pages of his sketch pads and the old doodles. Some of the sketch pads had odd pairs of drawings side by side: a fair enough looking art and one that didn't make much sense other than if you assumed a left-handed two-year-old did it on his right hand. Satoshi's laugh echoed in his empty house, recognizing the art style.

Sho was the worst at drawing, cooking, and dancing. The things Satoshi excelled at.

Sho was great at public speaking, sports, and academics. Everything Satoshi can't handle.

They were the perfect team. Satoshi remembered.

Every time Satoshi finished his poem of the day, he painted. Only so he could keep the darker thoughts away.

***

The Fourteenth Year

Escape was impossible.

At times, he would sit beside his desk, under the window frame, hugging the little glass bowl. He would look into the fishbowl for hours, asking all the questions that he felt would break his skull soon. He was perhaps going insane, trying to get a response from both Sho Sakurai and the goldfish had been futile all this time. The voice he heard replying was his own now. How long had he been muttering to himself? How long had he been sobbing in that corner?

How long has he been writing?

The goldfish had no reply. Neither did Sho.

Sometimes, when Satoshi dug up another old poem he had written years prior, something about Sho comes to mind and it was comforting. When the warm moment of remembering was over, Satoshi would look over to the goldfish and how it coldly ignored him. He could almost feel the goldfish mocking him.

He'll never respond, the goldfish would say. There are many fishes in the sea.

Satoshi didn't care how many fishes there were. He could fish a million but there's only one Sho. He might have yelled this once or twice, likely not in a coherent way. He wasn't sure if he still knew how to talk, after not using words that way for perhaps a year now. Words were always written into poetry, folded into a pink envelope and sent.

There are many fishes in the sea. His family had also said this once. He had not spoken to them since.

He knew he was nothing but a fish in a bowl. The goldfish swam and swam in its bowl as he wrote and wrote in his house. They were perhaps two of a kind. He didn't bother turning the heat up in his tub so sometimes he could put the goldfish in with himself, so at least the two of them would have company for a little while. Two fishes in one big bowl.

Sho was not a fish in the sea. Sho was his sky. Sho was his soul.

***

The Fifteenth Year

Satoshi Ohno has remembered everything.

The goldfish bowl was in his hands and he felt his grip loosen. He had finished the painting and went to check on the motionless fish. Then he remembered everything.

Summer, fifteen years ago. They were teenagers, a pair of particularly stupid ones when they got together. They've spent an entire week hatching the most idiotic shenanigans out of nowhere. They had met only four years prior but it was like they were each other's perfect pair. All the cliches were hilariously true. Neither of them cared how they were teased by their other friends and even had a laugh whenever one of them crossdressed. Sho looked great in a dress but Satoshi was better at being in-character, they agreed.

One night, Satoshi's mother had insisted for him to go to the local night festival after she found an old yukata of his father's. His father said to get rid of it since it was old and none of the kids wore them anyway. His mother and sister insisted, just for the pictures. He obeyed, thinking of getting food and perhaps a goldfish. He came to the festival with his sister but she left with her boyfriend and friends.

Satoshi wandered about, getting his face stuffed with as much food he could afford. He finally found the goldfish scooping stall and patiently watched as the line of people tried their luck. He still had choco banana to eat anyway.

"Satoshi-kun?"

Yes, that was it. Sho's face, Sho's voice. Sho in the red yukata. That summer night they didn't plan to meet.

"Orihime in a red yukata!" Satoshi joked. "I'll catch you a fish!"

He used to joke around with Sho often. Sho would meet those with quick-as-a-whip tsukkomi lines. But that time, Sho just laughed.

"I suck at this, so go ahead, Hikoboshi!"

Sho paid before Satoshi could think of money. He then squatted close to the small tub to catch one of the agile little fishes with the flimsy paper scoop.

"I lost a bet with my sister, so I'm wearing this. But I get to steal your favorite color!"

"Ah, sisters," Satoshi replied then, eyes identifying the easiest fish to catch. Sho laughed again.

"You too? I expected red since you always said I look pretty great in red."

Satoshi didn't reply, too engrossed. He should have looked Sho in the eyes then and told him he looked beautiful. Satoshi in the present recalled that, his fingers quivering and the goldfish bowl slipping ever so slightly.

He actually caught a goldfish that night. They did a high-five and Satoshi nearly dropped the fish. They laughed and laughed because red is a lucky color but Satoshi will always be too tennen. They went around, conquering the games until people began to quietly judge and glare at how well they worked together. Sho just happened to be surprisingly good at ring toss and with the balloon fishing, Satoshi was just as great. They were full by the time they've explored the whole place and decided to take a walk going down from the shrine, happily recounting their winnings as they ate cotton candy.

"Hey, which school are you going to?"

"I don't know, I don't think I'll go to college," Satoshi replied. He had no thoughts of the future because his head was quite satisfied with the present. Just being with Sho, laughing and eating. "You're going to Keio, aren't you?"

"Why don't you come with me?"

Satoshi snorted as Sho nudged him on the shoulder. "Me?!"

"They have a literature department! You'd do great with your poetry and stuff. Man, you should let people read those."

Satoshi of the present remembered he kept the poetry a secret because he was never sure of it. Words just came to him in his mind that if he said would sound pretty stupid. Written down, they looked nice. Sho never laughed at it.

"Yeah! I could read your poems all day! And watch your painting. You paint like a pro. Maybe you should go to art school instead. What's nearest to Keio? Let's dorm."

Satoshi now wished he said yes. That would have changed everything.

"You gotta name our goldfish." Satoshi held up the plastic bag with the tiny orange fish.

"Call it 'our goldfish' until you agree to go to college and dorm with me."

"That's a stupid thing to call the goldfish." Satoshi tried not to sound as petulant. He really didn't like conversations about college.

"I promise I'll think of a name. But you gotta promise we'll share a place when we both go to college."

"I don't think I'm suited for college, that's all."

"Then I'll make you!"

"I don't want to go!" That was the first and last time Satoshi raised his voice to someone. The shock and hurt on Sho's face was clear under the moonlight.

"But...we're us. It can't just be me." Sho said hesitantly. "You know?"

They looked at each other for a while, and there was nothing but silence as Satoshi searched Sho's eyes.

"We gotta stick together," Sho added firmly. "You and I. We're a team. You don't mind me even if people say I'm intimidating. And you won't come out of your shell and show people how not boring you are, but I'll help."

"We...get each other." Satoshi stepped closer. Sho didn't seem to mind. He grinned. "Exactly."

And Satoshi kissed him. He could remember Sho's warm, pillowy lips and the smell of cotton candy, fifteen years later.

Sho tumbled backward to a tree, immediately breaking the kiss. Satoshi has drawn Sho's face enough times to know that the latter's shock was not tinged in the slightest with displeasure. Still, Sho nudged him hard, also making Satoshi stumble and almost drop the goldfish.

"I was going to!" Sho blurted. "Set the mood first, will you!" He kept nudging and Satoshi kept laughing until Sho was, too.

"You think you're boring and predictable," Sho said quietly. "Then you pull off stuff like that. I wish more people will know about just how cool you actually are."

Tears were hot in Satoshi's eyes, recalling this moment fifteen years later. That wish has come true, now that Satoshi was a pro poet.

But the younger Satoshi refused the compliment. It didn't matter to him what other people thought. He opened his mouth to protest, "But then you sai-"

Then Sho kissed him. To hell with the future. It was that moment that mattered. That fleeting moment of pure happiness and contentment.

The most beautiful things in life bloom then fade.

The fishbowl fell and shattered near his feet. For the first time in fifteen years, he allowed himself to cry, to curl up and howl into the night.

"Sho, Sho..." Satoshi whimpered.

The day after the festival, Sho had texted. "I'm off to check out an apartment for you, me and OT (ore tachi)!"

And Satoshi, who woke up late, was texting him back when he saw the news on TV, behind his mother's horrified face. Son of a politician, the victim of an accident.

Eighteen-year-old Sho Sakurai was pronounced dead.

Satoshi's soul died that day.

***

Third Stage
「怒り」Please Click Here

Fifth Stage (Last Stage)
「受容」Please Click Here

Credits:
Starring
Satoshi Ohno as 粘着系男子/Clingy Boy
Sho Sakurai as Satoshi's Soul

Adapted By:
Mie Tachibana

Dedicated to:
Aimi and Maki

Disclaimers:
See First Stage

[Fic] 粘着系男子の15年ネチネチ(A Clingy Boy's Fifteen-Year Pursuit 3/5)

2017-06-17T04:21:51Z

A Clingy Boy's Fifteen-Year Pursuit
粘着系男子の15年ネチネチ

A Yama Fanfiction adaptation

Satoshi Ohno knows he's being clingy but if it'll take him an eternity (or fifteen years) to reach Sho Sakurai in some way, so be it!

Third Stage

It takes two to tango
a step forward and a step back
Perhaps you've adjusted
to the finesse that I lack

The Seventh Year

"Bouncing back" was perhaps not the most accurate way to say Satoshi has recovered, what with his level of potential energy...or his lack of it.

Either way, he has recovered. Probably more than a hundred percent.

He promised his writing muse and Sho, that he would take better care of himself now. After the nightmare that was being in the hospital for quite a long time, he didn't want to encounter any more trouble that would impede him from writing. He was stable with all other resources like food and money, but health is more of a variable.

Sho wasn't completely a health nut but he knew a good deal about it. He knew a pretty good deal about just everything. He was like a mother at times, taking one look at Satoshi and identifying things like, "you lack sleep," or "you haven't eaten".

Satoshi's mind wandered to those days. He was thoroughly spoiled by Sho being so caring and situationally aware. Satoshi, on the other hand, would probably end up in a hospital before he'd know he was sick.

That year, instead of taking bold all-nighters, he used bold similes and metaphors.

Sho Sakurai is like Extreme Ironing, a mundane task done to the highest level.

Sho Sakurai is like inner product space, complicated stuff containing more complicated stuff.

***

The EighthYear

Cozy in his earnings from having compiled a poetry book, still doing magazine entries and absolute frugality, Satoshi wants nothing more in life than Sho's response. But in his excellent health, he had begun to think a little differently.

He took care of himself in the hopes that Sho wasn't ignoring him for being so reckless in the past years. Sho usually dove into situations head-first from what people see. Satoshi knew that Sho was more than an impudent yankii who did as he wanted. He did his thinking behind the scenes, outside of the spotlight. It looked spectacularly like a last-minute success but it was the product of thinking ahead.

That was something Satoshi was never able to catch up with: Sho's mind. It ran like a wagon on a slope, hence his ability to talk about anything with anyone. Satoshi's only good with listening, but Sho would always say that's his best point.

"You're like...an ideal dad." Sho once laughed.

But just being himself wasn't enough to make Sho respond. He tried bold metaphors last year, completely different from his usual writing style. If he had been more engaging and interesting, would Sho have liked his company a lot more? Would he have made Sho laugh more? If Satoshi was more something perhaps Sho would respond.

So Satoshi stuck to his new plan from last year.

Sho Sakurai is like winning 16 sumo battles in a row, unbelievably amazing.

Sho Sakurai is like an AMPA glutamate receptor, causing funky brain stuff Satoshi didn't really know about.

***

The NinthYear

Satoshi Ohno? Who is that?

Satoshi himself had no idea. While it started as a bit of identity crisis, it went on to be a total wipeout after he responded to his name at some alley. To his horror, he found himself in a hospital

Sho Sakurai was all he could say, but they knew it wasn't his own name. Even he himself knew it wasn't his name, just that he lived his entire being for the one called Sho Sakurai.

The bandages on his head didn't say anything about how some hater cornered him and hit him on the head. That's what people told him. He didn't care. What's important is that he mustn't miss a day of poetry. He insisted on writing and nearly escaping once, in his desperation.

One of the things he remembered vividly was that he was hospitalized before too, and he pulled off writing then. And Sho Sakurai was a man who was always on time. Satoshi must be on time too. He has to write. And Sho will probably respond.

***

The TenthYear

He had gone back to a semblance of normalcy. Family and other supporters helped him get back on his feet and all, but he managed himself just fine. He wanted to be alone more than anything so he could continue writing. Perhaps if he went on writing every day in his old poetry style, Sho Sakurai would respond. Sho Sakurai was all that mattered now. Sho Sakurai was on top of all his memories.

Satoshi pondered. What could he do, what could he give, to get Sho Sakurai to respond? He now recalled that he has everything a bachelor could want. He recalled Sho Sakurai loved poetry. Sho Sakurai's name was written with the most beautiful combination of kanji he could ever think of. He recalled something about a goldfish so he bought one. What was the name?

Sho Sakurai had something to do with the goldfish. Sho, a goldfish and a breezy summer night.

***

The Eleventh Year

Satoshi Ohno had wealth, fame and absolutely nothing. He gave away his wealth and covered up his fame. People think he has stopped writing. Some say he's dead. Sometimes, Satoshi agrees with the later.

He is nothing without Sho. There is nothing without Sho.

He has never stopped writing, though. But this time, his audience is one specific man.

He was close to figuring something out. He consulted the goldfish as he felt some kind of pull to it. He guessed that he used to do it often since it felt pretty natural to stare at the fishbowl and remember bits and pieces.

Two boys, a goldfish and a breezy summer night.

A bet they lost, yukatas they wore.

What else? The goldfish never answered and Satoshi understood. There was an old goldfish. Maybe if he reconnected to the first goldfish, he will remember. Maybe if he remembered, Sho would finally respond at last.

But where was the goldfish? What was the name?

Second Stage
「怒り」Please click here

Fourth Stage
「抑うつ」Please click here

Credits:
Starring
Satoshi Ohno as 粘着系男子/Clingy Boy
Sho Sakurai as Satoshi's Everything

Adapted By:
Mie Tachibana

Dedicated to:
Aimi and Maki

Disclaimers:
See First Stage.

[Fic] 粘着系男子の15年ネチネチ(A Clingy Boy's Fifteen-Year Pursuit 2/5)

2017-06-17T02:15:44Z

A Clingy Boy's Fifteen-Year Pursuit
粘着系男子の15年ネチネチ

A Yama Fanfiction adaptation

Satoshi Ohno knows he's being clingy but if it'll take him an eternity (or fifteen years) to reach Sho Sakurai in some way, so be it!

Second Stage

Can you hear the thunder over the skies?
Can you see the lightning flash before your eyes?
Can you feel at all, this storm that's coming?
The sounds of a heart that's burning

The Third Year

High time for a different strategy, Ohno decided.

He did save all he needed from that fire a year ago, but he lost everything he wanted to keep. Shelter, food, and clothing are human needs but can all be replaced anytime. What he can't buy even from the nearest, most well-stocked Daiso would be the little things: photographs with and of Sho, study notes he had borrowed from Sho (which he didn't need but he just wanted to ask for), and a couple other memorabilia.

He nearly lost the lucky shirt, too. Now it was a lucky collar.

He still had his companion goldfish, however. It made the moving to a new house pretty bearable. The goldfish moved fishbowls too, so Satoshi wasn't alone in his misadventure. He wrote his poems in front of his peaceful roommate, sometimes telepathically asking for ideas which oddly came anyway as he stared. Perhaps he was a fish in the past life.

Perhaps Sho forgot about him already.

Sho promised to name the goldfish with him, after all. Sho forgot. Sho always forgets things. Not the things that mattered anyway. He was the textbook definition of meticulous, planning his day to the minute. Satoshi's name was never on the planner for reasons he didn't bother to ask about. If they were going to be together, they should be open. Sho was just never open enough, no matter how much he talked. It frustrated Satoshi to think.

He wrote about it nonetheless.

It was all he knew to do at this point. However, since it was time for a new strategy, he was posting his poetry online. No fire can burn his work off the internet. It was both a loud and a quiet call. He never mentioned Sho's name but for sure it'd catch the other boy's attention. Letters and internet posts. Who can forget or ignore that? In fact, everyone loved his poetry. His daily poetry on Mixi broke the system.

Sho wasn't everyone, though.

***

The Fourth Year

Satoshi was the talk of the town on the internet. He didn't really care about fame, he didn't need it. It was Sho's attention he was trying to get. Then again, Sho was trendy himself. Always a step of two ahead of his peers in things like news and fashion. Satoshi could swear by now that Sho was ignoring him. The other boy sometimes gave people the silent treatment to prove a point which is usually "I'm right".

Satoshi didn't care who's right and wrong. Wrong is to forget a promise to name a goldfish until it died. That was Sho's fault. Satoshi had to use an empty grave marker. In honor of the goldfish and the ideas it had telepathically given Satoshi, he decided to dedicate his life to writing. He took an offer from a magazine and earned a cozy amount from his work. That should annoy Sho, how idly Satoshi spends his time. He still wrote poems and sent them daily but he didn't need to break a neck over work like the average salaryman. Sho probably will, since he loved being busy. That should work, Sho was loudest when he's displeased about something.

Satoshi is quietest when he is.

***

The Fifth Year

Better than planned.

Since Sho was ignoring him, Satoshi accepted fame. This time, it would definitely be hard to not notice. Satoshi Ohno was a big name now that he had become a professional poet. While being vocal was still something he wasn't a master of, he could now pull out lines from his poetry from the top of his head. It was the goldfish, perhaps. The goldfish had blessed him.

What he never saw coming were the fans.

The very same people who maxed out the MyMixi counter were young women. He dismissed it as a feeling of kinship they must have when reading his work. They must also be waiting for a boy to respond to their pathetic cries. Maybe one or two of them were pining after Sho as well. Sho was always the popular one. He was like a manga character who jumped out of the pages with his handsome features, interesting personality, and everything. It was the latter part that made Satoshi so determined.

Besides, he was always with Sho. There's a side to Sho only he knew.

***

The Sixth Year

Seconds and minutes and hours were passing since Satoshi's poetry time.

He had a very important schedule to keep, just like Sho. He didn't care all that much about the people who were expecting him to stay on schedule, like his agent and his editor. There was only one time-sensitive person he cared about-Sho!

And yet they held him down in the van. The noise was confusing but his writing muse thankfully never left. That muse, the goldfish, was swimming in and out of sight as the people around him not to fight because he would be alright. He knew it was a lie. He would not be alright if he didn't get to write for Sho that day.

Words, he needed words. But all that comes from his mind were for Sho, and these things are reserved. So he made sounds. Pleas. Until something sharp went in his arm and he felt drowsy. It was a moment after the first time he heard "combative patient" used to describe himself.

He wasn't trying to be violent. He was just trying to reach Sho.

When he woke up, that was the first thing he had in mind. The noise of the television in his ward was ranting about a pro poet known for his daily poems and nearly crashing Mixi who was in a car accident. Perhaps that would call Sho's attention. He always cared about the news. He saw a pen at his bedside and started writing on the sheets, having nothing else to write on. Maybe a hospital blanket would make a big enough package for Sho to notice...

First Stage
「否認」Please click here

Third Stage
「取引」Please click here

Credits:
Starring
Satoshi Ohno as 粘着系男子/Clingy Boy
Sho Sakurai as Snobbish Boy

Adapted By:
Mie Tachibana

Dedicated to:
Aimi and Maki
and neko_kirin3104 for being an influential Yama writer

Disclaimers:
See Fifth Stage.

[Fic] 粘着系男子の15年ネチネチ(A Clingy Boy's Fifteen-Year Pursuit 1/5)

2017-06-16T18:14:15Z

A Clingy Boy's Fifteen-Year Pursuit
粘着系男子の15年ネチネチ

A Yama Fanfiction adaptation

Satoshi Ohno knows he's being clingy but if it'll take him an eternity (or fifteen years) to reach Sho Sakurai in some way, so be it!

First Stage

I'm awake in a world of sleep
scuffling in seas waist deep
Perseverance! I vow- 'till forever, from now
for naught will be reached should I weep.

The First Year

Words never came easily to Satoshi Ohno, but his life had already been flipped over. He never said much unless spoken to, and boy did Sho Sakurai speak to him a lot. This confused and sometimes annoyed Satoshi back then, when things were simpler. Now that life decided to tangle and implode upon itself, the silence without Sho was oddly deafening.

So Satoshi wrote. A poem for each day was carefully folded and tucked into neat pink envelopes and sent to Sho. He was a busy guy, always sought out by a dozen other people he had important things to do with. Satoshi didn't mind coming in last on that list, as long as he was on it. He was always patient and Sho always thanked him for it.

Perhaps, Satoshi said to himself that year, he would just have to be extra patient.

***

The Second Year

Speaking still is not Satoshi's favorite thing to do. Even with Sho, he did most of the listening. The daily poetry writing helped him get thoughts into words now, however.

A year of poetry and Satoshi never once thought of giving up. He was aware of how ridiculous the idea of pursuing a boy with poetry is. There was very little to differentiate him from a stalker or an obsessed weirdo. Not that it mattered to him. He was determined to get an answer.

On one such evening, as he wrote his twenty-fourth poem of the year, he was very engrossed. It was one of two times he made extra special: Sho's birthday. He had coffee, a thesaurus and an energy bar on his desk. It was way past the last mealtime, he had only taken a break for the loo and a shower.

Whether it was day or night was not very clear. Just that it was getting so hot that he was coughing. It didn't help that someone seemed to either be cooking or smoking nearby.

When he looked up to drink coffee to clear his throat, his house was on fire.

Adrenaline kicked in, perhaps sharpened by caffeine. He grabbed his poetry tools and his goldfish in a bowl and stumbled out.

He had no injuries, but it was very cold in January even in front of a house fire. Not that it mattered. He had all he needed, the birthday poem, the goldfish and the collar on the shirt that Sho said suited him well. It was a lucky shirt -or a lucky collar- indeed...

Second Stage
「怒り」Please Click Here

Credits:
Starring
Satoshi Ohno as 粘着系男子/Clingy Boy
Sho Sakurai as Busy Boy

Adapted By:
Mie Tachibana

Dedicated to:
Aimi and Maki

Disclaimers:
See Fifth Stage

Arashi x Mean Girls

2016-08-04T04:42:05Z

If you dropped by to read my work, I'm very grateful. My emotional state is doing well with your kind comments.
Here's a funny as I take a break.

(^_^)

[Fic] 世界一難しい友情 (World's Most Difficult Friendship)

2016-07-29T06:14:37Z

Hotel CEO Ohno was petite, but his voice was clear and firm. "You're fired." he declared to his assistant. Ohno's eyebrows were furrowed and his cheeks were puffed, giving him the overall look of a child with a tantrum if not for his designer suit. He was aware that his being a head shorter than his assistant affected any effort he had to look threatening so he made sure to poison his tone with coldness. "Absolutely fired." he added.

However, Sakurai's face remained serene. His moody boss packs a dangerous temper but he was more amused of how easily he could work up Ohno. While the latter was a formidable bussinessman, Sakurai knew and understood that Ohno is the kind of person that can't be left alone for too long.

Just now, Sakurai had caught him turning down an important orientation for a security system update so he gave his boss a rhetorical question to ponder: "Is shachou an idiot?"

Sakurai knew he wasn't really fired, anyway. Ohno needed him.

Ohno knew this too, even when he saw the smug glint in his assistant's bright round eyes. Sakurai was the most reliable person in the company. And the company was Ohno's world.

Stubbornly, he argued that he didn't need an orientation because he was present at the meeting for the approval of the security updates to begin with. Sakurai reminded him that it was his company's own policy to have yearly checks and refreshers on the security system.

"I do know you have other things to do, so I spoke with the IT manager if we can get a better schedule. He'll come now." Sakurai walked behind the cozy leather boss chair where Ohno sat. He bent down to use Ohno's laptop, showing him an email memo.

"There you go." Sakurai straightened up. Ohno realized he had caught a pleasant whiff of woody floral musk from his assistant, probably the reason female employees like having him close by. That, or Sakurai's naturally pouty lips that were often curled into a smirk.

Ninomiya, IT Dept, 9:20

3

Before Ohno could request a different time, there was a knock on the door. "Enter." he sighed in defeat.

"Good morning, shachou." came the gentle voice of the tall bartender Aiba. If you don't look closely, he and Sakurai looked alike with their arching eyebrows and round eyes. He bowed low and stayed at the doorway, checking over his shoulders as he held the doorknob.

"Yes? Come in." Ohno gave him a nod with a welcoming smile. He was fond of this world-class bartender whom he and Sakurai met at a bar in Ginza. Aiba was talented, cheery, hardworking and pure-hearted as he was shy so Ohno figured he had something important to say if he was still fidgeting at the door.

"Well, shachou..." He entered, still holding the doorknob awkwardly. Ohno gave Sakurai an uncertain look, but Sakurai once again had that glint of smug amusement behind his steel frame glasses, intentionally not meeting his gaze. Ohno considered for a moment that his assistant may be an S, then said to Aiba, "Yes? What is it?"

"This is the dessert chef I referred last month." Aiba smiled a little too eagerly as he gave way for another man to enter.

Ohno had to blink for a moment. The chocolatier looked like a model with his angular features framed by short coffee brown hair. "I'm Matsumoto Jun."

He was about as tall as Aiba and his uniform didn't hide the lean but muscular physique. In his hands was a small tray with a platter of small chocolates and a glass of wine.

"Come in. Both of you." Ohno once again looked up to his assistant. Sakurai's face had a calm little smile. "So you met in Paris?"

"Yes, and there are some things we make that work nicely together." Aiba gestured to the tray in Matsumoto's hands.

"I made a little something." Matsumoto laid the tray on Ohno's desk. The president looked impressed and took the wine glass in his hand, sniffing it peacefully. Before he could ask about it, he was interrupted by another voice.

4

"Shachou-oh." A shorter man stood uncertainly at the door. He nearly walked right in and he blinked behind his glasses at the people in Ohno's offfice. "Should I come back another time?"

"Come in, Ninomiya-san." Sakurai spoke for the startled CEO.

"Eh? Ninomiya?" Aiba blurted.

"Ah." Matsumoto looked surprised.

"Aiba-shi? J?" Ninomiya said, looking at the two with his eyes as wide as they could go. "It's been years!"

"Yeah!" Aiba said, practically bouncing on his heels toward Ninomiya. Sakurai chuckled discreetly as Aiba went on. "I'm so happy I saw Jun-kun recently and he lives with Toma-kun here too!"

Matsumoto put a hand on Aiba's shoulder. "Maybe later, Aiba-kun." Aiba looked at Jun's serious face then at the president and his assistant. He shrunk between his two friends and held his hands together sheepishly.

Ohno and Sakurai exchanged looks. "It's alright. It's good for employees to be good friends with each other." Ohno said with a nod and Sakurai nodded with him, looking like a proud mother.

"Oh, yes, shachou. I could come back for the security updates later if you prefer." Ninomiya said, stepping closer to the door and making Aiba glance sadly at him.

"Actually, Ninomiya-san, Matsumoto-san is a new employee and Aiba-san was not present during the orientation for the restaurant staff. We had sent him on a seminar in Paris at the time. It could save time to have it for everyone now."

"Eh?" Ohno caught something. "Didn't you...were you not present at the meeting?"

"I follow where shachou would go." Sakurai said with an almost condescending voice. Almost. "I was with you at the meeting, but when you had a conference on the day of the orientation, I went with you too."

"Oh. Yes, of course." Ohno felt a little stupid for forgetting. He glared at Sakurai, realizing that he had walked into that trap. He figured Sakurai must be really just getting on his nerves for the sake of it so he did his best not to lose. He scoffed and jutted his chin. "I was just checking if you remember."

It was true, though. Sakurai was mostly teasing, watching Ohno's cheeks grow red. That was sort of his pastime.

Ninomiya cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Yes, yes. Carry on." Ohno waved an impatient hand, realizing too late that he was still holding the glass of wine. He had splashed Sakurai right at the crotch.

5
"Oh." Ohno's eyes lingered where the fine wine went as Sakurai stepped back, his expression still as calm as if this happened far too often. Of course, it really did. "S-sakurai-kun. I'm sorry about that." He stood up uncertainly. "I'll take care of that. I mean your slacks. I mean, having it washed. No, I'll replace it."

"Ah." Aiba croaked as Matsumoto hurriedly felt his pockets for a towel. He found one and walked over to Sakurai before realizing he can't exactly wipe the assistant. Matsumoto stiffly handed him the towel, hoping he played it cool.

"That won't be necessary." Sakurai stepped away from Matsumoto and made a courteous bow. "I'll change, I'll be right back. Carry on, please."

"Eh?" Aiba suddenly said. "S-sakurai-san?"

"Yes?" Sakurai stopped at the doorway, still looking pretty sure of himself for a man with wine on his crotch. Aiba briefly wondered how he pulled it off and asked. "Were you...a student council president?"

Matsumoto and Ninomiya looked at Aiba in surprise. He went on. "At our school, the student council president...was named Sakurai...wore glasses and said 'carry on' with that posh Tokyo accent, just like that. I mean, I think it's common here in Tokyo..."

"Yes." Sakurai said with a charming smile. "At the same high school as all of you here. Even shachou, the shy and quiet head of the baking club from long ago."

He disappeared with a light chuckle as everyone gaped at the door.

"H-he was-!" Ohno was the most surprised. His long gone high school days of avoiding the scary student council president came flashing back to his memory. "Sakurai-kaichou?!"

続くかも?!

Disclaimer:

This is a work of fiction and is not intended for profit nor copyright infringement.

Cast
Satoshi Ohno as Tsundere President
Sho Sakurai as Seme Butler/ Assistant
Masaki Aiba as Puppy-like Bartender
Jun Matsumoto as Model-like Dessert Chef
Kazunari Ninomiya as Megane IT Dept. Head

[Fic] Mets Men [Log 2.1: The Overseer]

2016-07-21T18:26:13Z

Weather reports speak of a sunny day, something that the arid wastelands of Kanto has no use for. Even the nights were dry; cold but still dry. Nevertheless, sunlight powered the Tokyo Dome where the research on cyborgs was ongoing. Project Digitalian was led by a man known only as the Overseer. The project was so well-kept that his team was only of his own clones.

The Overseer adjusted his glasses and signed a letter to an important government official. He looked up to his first two clones, together called Version I. It was time for their final reports before they all called it a day.

"I'm sure we only need one person for the job." 1-1 shrugged. The Overseer wasn't surprised that they had the exact same idea so he nodded quietly. 1-1 or Ichinoichi was mentally identical to him, after all. The Overseer needed someone to make his exact same decisions if ever he wouldn't be able to and that was the role of his first successful clone. To make sure Ichinoichi would not falter, he was also boosted physically. He was taller and with a slightly muscular physique.

"That's true, but I know the minister is testing us." Ichinoni spoke. The Overseer knew that fresh perspectives on situations were absolutely necessary in brainstorming solutions. His second successful clone was genetically engineered to be female with faster reflexes. "It's a good idea to show him what we have and send 3 to 5 of the Alphas to the mission." she finished and both Ichinoichi and the Overseer nodded.

The Overseer sighed. He found his first two successful clones somewhat boring sometimes, with how they had all the same thoughts he did. It was certainly useful, like being in two places at once. That didn't make it any more interesting to him, however.

"I agree." The Overseer nodded. "If we do something flashy, they'll cough up the dough more. Prep the other 5 Alphas, the ones who didn't go out the last time."

"Understood." Ichinoichi and Ichinoni replied as a knock on the door behind them made the Overseer look up.

"Enter." he ordered. "Ichinoichi, Ichinoni, you're dismissed. But as usual, report to me when the cyborgs are ready for the mission."

"Yes, Overseer." The other two bowed and turned to leave, looking like mirror images, specially in the unisex uniforms. The Overseer sat back on his white leather office chair as three more clones came in.

Version 2 clones were created from Version 1. They were altered slightly, making them look and act different from himself. While the Version 1 pair was in charge of the Alpha group of cyborgs for Project Digitalian, Version 2 looked after Beta and the newly created Theta.

"You look like you've had a good day." Ninoni said, putting a hand on her waist. Cloned from Ichinoichi, she was the most outspoken and empathic. "You'll be disappointed to know your cyborgs in Theta West are pretty much okay. As always. Nothing new to report."

"Nothing incidental occured between twenty-two hundred hours and now." Ninoichi said with his quiet voice, his back hunched and his gaze on the Overseer's table. "Theta Assassins followed the recommended training schedule and diets." Contrasting Ninoni's passion was Ninoichi's strict work ethic and intellectual viewpoint.

"Yeah, same for Beta." Ninosan hesitantly glanced from Ninoichi's smug expression to the Overseer's slightly bored one. He fiddled with his hands under the oversized sleeves of Ichinoichi's coat which he was borrowing. It was a new habit of sorts, as the Overseer noticed. The other day, Ninosan was using Ichinoni's lab coat. He wondered if Ninosan was attached to them somehow, like older siblings. It was quite interesting.

"I honestly think Beta's Eighters are ready to do missions." Ninoni pointed out. "We don't even need to touch the topic of my T-West. They're still skinny and lacking in the physical strength department. They're fast, though. Not as fast as BA2, but good enough."

"That's Bionic Arms II." Ninoichi corrected Ninoni. He was usually sensitive about using correct terms. He went on. "And they pass my standards in fighting, but not quite in survival. Pardon my speaking out of turn. Eighters' teamwork is impeccable but take them on individually and they don't reach expectations. This pattern is present with the Assassins and the Westers as well."

"That's fine. Anyway, it's true." The Overseer said, grinning a little in spite of himself. While Version 1 was to him, pretty much the same as being in two other places at once or discussing with voices in one's own head, Version 2 was more like having very intelligent children. This may also be because they were designed to be biologically younger to last longer and succeed Version 1 when the time came. The potential of Version 2 endlessly fascinated him, specially that of Ninosan who was created very differently. "What about your action plan on this?"

"I'm beefing the T-West with protein." Ninoni slapped a fist to an open palm. "I have scheduled core training for them for tomorrow but have them do combat training individually for now."

"You mean Theta West. And, I've set the Assassins on an intensive individual training, focusing on their weaknesses." Ninoichi put a digital tablet on the Overseer's desk and opened a graph. "There has been an average of 15% improvement in their overall skills since."

"All good news then." the Overseer nodded. He was getting a little too cozy again. He liked a good challenge, a completely new development. None happened so he took it as a good sign, but it was not as interesting as he hoped. He had a little side project on his own though. Nothing official, but one with the most potential, in his opinion. "What about you then, Ninosan?"

"Me?" Ninosan repeated, looking flustered and glancing at his fellow clones.

"Yeah, you. What've you done with the Eighters and the BA pair lately?" Ninoni encouraged him although her tone sounded demanding.

"Bionic Arms." Ninoichi pointed out.

"Ninoni, Ninoichi," The Overseer leaned forward and folded his arms on his desk. "Thank you for your reports, you're dismissed. I'll talk to Ninosan first, you two go to bed."

The three clones exchanged looks. Ninoni and Ninoichi nodded and turned to leave. Ninoni gave Ninosan a friendly pat as she turned.

The Overseer could tell that the clones figured out his secret mini experiment with Ninosan. They thought what he thought, so it wasn't hard to imagine they don't mind it happening. Ninosan was set aside for a completely new research, as is evident in his early stages. He was quite often pulled aside after everyone's reports. "Have a seat, there's quite a lot I'd like to hear from you." he gestured to the seat in front of his desk and observed Ninosan's slumped shoulders.

Ninosan was conceptualized around the same time Version 1 was formed. When Ichinoichi and Ichinoni gained consciousness for the first time, the Overseer had a new idea. If he could create two copies of himself that are only slightly different from him, perhaps with a little tweaking, he could make a completely different person.

His masterpiece was to be something less like a clone but more like an artificial person with his own mind, his own personality. The chip he installed in Ninosan's brain had no presets, no memories. The rest of his clones shared the same memories as he did. He let Ninosan meet with the other researchers as a representative, becoming the only clone exposed to the outside world. The other researchers for Project Digitalian thought him to be a fairly young prodigy, thinking he was the real Overseer.

"Where do I start?" he asked, sounding a little tired.

"With the Beta group." The Overseer leaned back on his chair, feeling at ease with his favorite creation. "You've been quite busy."

"Yes, I'm just...supervising them. As I should be." Ninosan's slumped shoulders rose to a half-baked shrug before falling back into their lower than usual place.

"Quite dilligently too." The Overseer stood up and paced idly, passing behind Ninosan. "You've stayed up looking after them and their families at the Kisarazu facility. You keep their diet healthy but you've snuck chocolate in several times when their serotonin and endorphin levels drop. You're doing an excellent job keeping them happy. Happy cyborgs work hard, am I right?"

Ninosan said nothing and seemed to be fiddling with his hands again, putting them inside his oversized sleeves. The Overseer looked on with wonder at the little habit. Ninosan completely developed his own personality and mannerisms based on his environment and this delighted the Overseer. He squatted in front of Ninosan to try and meet his downcast gaze.

"Something about those guys make you happy." The Overseer spoke with a smile. "That's why you're working hard too."

Ninosan turned his head away slightly. The Overseer stood up with a chuckle. "You never cease to amaze me."

He sat down on the other chair in front of his desk. Sitting across Ninosan made their similarities more pronounced, the obvious difference was that the Overseer wore a stiff looking suit and glasses while Ninosan wore a large lab coat over his uniform. When lined up next to each other, the Overseer and his clones looked like siblings with him as the eldest. The Guard-bots couldn't tell them apart though they had top notch facial recognition programming. Normal people could perhaps differenciate them based on how humans could recognize each other beyond the physical features of the face but in the totality of what makes a person. The human mind was still the most advanced computer in the Overseer's opinion, but he already felt godlike for having created an artificial person. Not just an artificial intelligence, not just a clone, but a lab-grown human.

"Does watching them make you feel happy?" The Overseer leaned on one armrest, studying Ninosan.

"They're fascinating." Ninosan murmured, his hands still in his sleeves. "The way they see the outside, full of hope and longing. Also because they don't know that they're about to be turned into fighting machines like Alpha."

"The outside?" The Overseer chuckled a little. "You even sound like them now. Everyone on the 'outside' just calls it wasteland. Then again humans learn to appreciate what they're deprived of...and those men and boys are still human in the end."

"But you don't think so. And the government doesn't think so. That's why they're locked in here unless they've become mindless like Alpha." Ninosan's voice was low but it quivered with anger, the hard look on his face was something the Overseer never saw in his clones. "And when they're mindless, when they can't decide to be otherwise, are they really anything other than fighting machines?"

"They're criminals." the Overseer lowered his voice as well, but he smirked. He has truly outdone himself, creating a clone that challenged the reality of the world around him.

"They're humans that clung to human nature when they got pressed into a corner!" Ninosan was breathing hard, his hidden hands shaking. "This country abandoned them so they tried to make out what's best for their lives!"

"They're selfish then. Selfish humans." the Overseer leaned on the armrest again, casually crossing his legs and raising his eyebrow.

"How are they selfish to want freedom?!" Ninosan was on his feet. The Overseer was impressed that he could no longer fully understand how deep his creation was thinking. "The Eighters-if Tokyo City stopped pretending to own all of Honshu just to capitalize its resources, the Eighters wouldn't have had to start a revolution!"

"They were terrorists and they killed people."

"They were desparate! They wanted to free their city!"

"Ikuta killed people, too. He wasn't even desparate. He had no people to free."

Ninosan fell silent, but his hands finally separated and fell on his sides. "Ikuta hunted down murderers because his family was slaughtered and robbed when he was young. And Ohno...never killed anyone."

"Conspiracy." the Overseer scoffed. "He was a bounty hunter."

"I've read the discarded report of Agent Taboo on his investigation about Ohno." Ninosan stepped closer to the Overseer, making him look up cautiously. "All of his confirmed targets are alive, keeping their noses clean. Agent Taboo was on to something that I think I understand now too. He knew something. That's why his reports were discarded and that's why he disappeared."

"And what's that?" the Overseer cocked his neck at Ninosan. "That Ohno is innocent? Fine, he hasn't killed. But his targets are keeping clean because he must have threatened them, that's still a crime. I'm not even in charge of who gets into project Digitalian. I have nothing to do with why they're here at all! I don't give it a thought."

Ninosan said nothing and stared down at him coldly, unnerving him. "What!" he said impatiently. Ninosan was far too smart for his liking now.

"You don't really care. You don't think of them as people." Ninosan said in a low tone.

"Them having killed people and me having had one scientific breakthrough after the other? Please. I'm going beyond." the Overseer stood up so their identical eyes met. "The only reason you're able to think is because of me. The reason you're able to feel is because of me. You exist because of me!"

"You created all of us so you can play god." Ninosan accused him. The Overseer laughed. It was true, Ninosan was far more human than his clones. "Maybe I did. But you still got to live off it." the Overseer sighed, breathless from laughing. "I did it because I wanted to know if I could. And I could! And I started Project Digitalian because I get to do what I dream of and be paid to. I wanted happiness, which I now have. Searching for happiness is what makes us human. We don't only 'survive', we pursue greatness."

"No. Soul makes a human." Ninosan's cold glare was something the Overseer never taught them to have. "You have no soul."

The tense silence pressed their ears for a moment. The Overseer had gone from exited to learn of Ninosan's real mental capacity to a chilling feeling in the pit of his stomach that his experiment went wrong.

"What are you planning to do?" he finally spoke.

"I'm going to set them free." Ninosan said with quiet conviction. His hands no longer shook under the sleeve, he seemed to have calmed, like a wise man sitting with an inquisitive child.

"These people have nowhere to go anymore." The Overseer sat down, needing to take a breather. "They'll go back to their homes or whatever, but they'll never be the same."

"That's not for you to decide." something glinted in his hand, still hidden by the long sleeve.

"You can try to stop me, but you're weak." The Overseer sneered. "You're physically inferior to the other clones, specially Version 1."

"But I'm human." Ninosan's calm expression unsettled the Overseer. "There's something I can be strong at."

The Overseer realized what Ninosan held when it was plunged into his chest. He never got to flinch, not even react. Ninosan stabbed him with the accuracy of an expert even though he had made sure his favorite experiment would not learn any sort of weaponry.

"Anatomy. That's my strength." Ninosan muttered as he pocketed his knife.

He had to act fast. He dashed to the Overseer's desk and accessed the laptop. He attached a flash drive and went straight for the facilities' controls.

First, he shut down the power. The lights were out for the few seconds it took for the generator to run. He took down the security at the Kisarazu facility so the families could escape. He copy-pasted a detailed explanation of what they should do and sent it to the families of Beta and Theta who were in that facility.

He then shut down the generator. When the lights came back, he knew he had three left. Enough time to pull up the digital blueprint of the facility to mark the escape route for both Theta and Beta. But he had no means of overriding the program that sent the Overseer's messages to all the cyborgs. Instead, after shutting down the next generator, he locked Alpha in their part of the facility, the North Wing.

Ninosan imagined that the cyborgs would be surprised to discover that the facility was underground. It was so that it would be easier to hide from locator systems. He shut down the next generator. He knew the other clones would be on the way by then.

Shutting down another generator, he began working on the Guard-bots. He disabled their combat functions but he had no means of accessing all of them at once. He had do it per floor.

Ninosan heard a commotion and knew the other clones were coming. He set the last generator to shut down on a countdown and sent instructions to Beta and Theta. Almost there...

The door flew open and Ninosan jumped away from the laptop in alarm. He shut it close and raised his hands automatically at the sight of guns.

"You..." Ichinoni and Ichinoichi entered, both armed with pistols aimed at him.

"I! He-!" Ninosan had nothing to say. He was devastated for not being able to shut down the combat mode of all the Guard-bots but he knew Beta and Theta could make it somehow.

"What have you done..." Ichinoichi's gaze was locked on Ninosan, and so was the aim of his pistol. Ichinoichi used his free hand to check the Overseer's pulse but Ichinoni interrupted. "The wound. Artery. He's dead."

Before any of them could react, the lights went out and the last generator switched off. The darkness blinded Ichinoichi and Ichinoni, but Ninosan had already plotted his path. He dodged past them, small enough for them not to notice and quick enough to be out the door as the other two tried to shoot him.

He ran as quick as he could and was intercepted by Guard-bots. The droids scanned him for a moment and detected Ichinoichi's lab coat. They paused, allowing Ninosan to go to one and he clambered right on top of it. Behind him, Ichinoichi and Ichinoni found their way and shot. Their aim wasn't perfect for they were never trained to use guns. They were armed for security purposes but the Overseer didn't think they needed to learn something he couldn't do. The shots fired immediately sent the Guard-bots on combat mode, preparing to apprehend the two clones.

"No!" Ichinoichi yelled, seeing Ninosan in the corner of his eye, being protected by a Guard-bot that zoomed away.

Ichninoni acted fast, pulling out her identification card and managed to scan it on one of the Guard-bots. They immediately stopped.

"That brat." Ichinoni spat, pushing away the Guard-bot. "He used your coat! These droids think you're him and if we set the droids after him, they might capture you instea-"

A loud explosion from the top floor caught their attention. "The cyborgs." Ichinoni realized. "The Alphas might destroy them. We have to salvage what we can of the facility. And we have to reprogram the bots to differentiate Ninosan from the rest of us."

Ichinoichi stormed away angrily and Ichinoni followed suit. They would have to fix what Ninosan did to the facility first before they could manage to catch him, specially with him hijacking Ichinoichi's identity.

_______________________________

Continued in Part 2: 2-3

Cast:
Kazunari Ninomiya (The Overseer/2-1,2-2,2-3)
Kenichi Matsuyama (1-1)
Risa Naka (1-2)

Disclaimer:

This is a work of fiction and is not intended for profit nor copyright infringement.

Picture sources and other info and disclaimers click here.

[Fic] Mets Men Data and Disclaimers

2016-07-21T15:41:03Z

Disclaimer:

This is a work of fiction and is not intended for profit nor copyright infringement.

Thank you for reading Mets Men, my first sci-fi/ action-adventure story. If the name doesn't give it away already, this fanfiction was inspired by these commercials by Kirin Mets. It also has various references and shoutouts, all of which will be explained here. If I missed something, please let me know in the comments.

Johnnys and Associates
Sho Sakurai, Satoshi Ohno, Jun Matsumoto, Ninomiya Kazunari and Masaki Aiba are members of the boyband Arashi. Arashi, Kanjani8, NEWS, V6, Hey! Say! Jump!, J-West and Toma Ikuta and all their projects (photoshoots, movies such as Eight Rangers) are all part of Johnny's and Associates. I have no ties to any of them and my story only uses their names and appearances as character basis.

Kirin Mets
This fanfiction was written based on the Mets Men CM series. It was written for free entertainment and I have no intentions to plagiarize their work. Big-No, MJ-II, Ayber, Metty, their gadgets and New Mets City are all property of Kirin. The information I used for their character is from here and for their equipments, here. I also took some of the images from this site.

Platina Data
The images for The Overseer/2-3 (Ninosan) are from Platina Data, a 2013 film directed by Keishi Ohtomo and produced by Julie K. Fujishima and Minami Ichikawa from the novel by Keigo Higashino. This is where I got the edited pictures.

Men's Non-no
The images used for Agent Taboo and the Mercenary in the prologue are from Men's Non-no's April 2016 photoshoot. This is where I got the pictures.

Other disclaimers

The titles of Log 1 (Escape the Facility, Survive the Wasteland) and the title The Overseer are shoutouts to Bethesda's Fallout series.

This is the Guard-bot in its passive mode and this is the Guard-bot in combat mode. The extra humanoid Guard-bots gif is my creation, taken from the movie Sucker Punch, directed by Zack Snyder.

Toma's, Okada's and Eight Ranger's pictures were found in google long ago, I don't have the sources anymore. If you happen to know, please inform me.

This is some additional data about the Mets Men characters.

[Fic] Mets Men [Log 1.2: Big-No: Survive the Wasteland]

2016-07-21T12:22:12Z

Ohno held hope in his heart. They'd be there. They'd all catch up. There was a voice in his head that said the complete opposite but he focused on tuning it out by putting his energy on walking. When he felt he was ready, he ran. He didn't stop until he saw a road. He heard a car rushing close and realized that it was the police. He hid quickly as a line of police cars zoomed past, sirens blaring. His breath was shaky and so was his hand on his mouth. When the road became quiet, he peeked out of the shadows and followed the opposite direction to where the cars went.

It was no longer as difficult to figure out what to do when he came into the city. It was past midnight by then so there were a few people still out on the streets. He decided to walk to his apartment which was on the outskirts of the ghetto. Even in the area surrounding it, people avoided gazes and questions in order to not get in trouble. He didn't stand out as much as he worried he did, but he ducked into the darker parts of the street anyway.

Ohno's apartment was empty and cold, as he expected it to be. Even his sister's things were gone and he wondered if she was assisted in packing. They both lived on just one travel bag each to make sure that they could displace themselves easily if needed. He realized that there were no bills in his mailbox, a result of his being under Project Digitalian for a little over a year. It was a mere one-room but his sister always kept it tidy even back then, despite her health condition. Ohno checked under the loose flooring where he hid their cash savings, relieved to find it still there under a first aid box. He wasted no time in taking out the first aid kit and tending to his wounds. He was glad that he didn't get badly injured except for some cuts and bruises but he wondered what state the others would be in. Then he had an idea.

Ohno would never come back to the apartment because he knew would be hunted soon. He disposed of all the things they had left such as toiletries, cleaning materials and kitchen utensils. It wasn't so hard since his sister's things were with her and his own was just a few pieces of clothing and his big box of tools from his mechanic side job. After changing out of his uniform, he burned it and changed into his own clothes and gathered their small appliances, all of which were second-hand and bought broken. His photographic memoryhad helped in getting most of them fixed, he had simply read manuals off the internet a lot. He left the apartment still hiding in the last shadows of the night. He hurried to the junkyard to sell all the functional repaired appliances. He had helped the shop owner countless times before, fixing this and that.

"You're alive!" The junkyard owner greeted. This made Ohno hurry along to him even more and remind him to be quiet. "I heard that popular police kid Taboo got you, I was sure you were a goner."

Agent Taboo. There wasn't a day that passed that Ohno didn't think of the guy. Didn't help that Toma was caught by the same person. According to Toma, the agent was a white knight: by-the-book lawful good guy who didn't see him as a threat but as a person who had troubles, like everyone else. Toma was talked into surrendering by Taboo and Ohno couldn't wrap his mind around Toma's strange respect for the other man. It was that agent that got Ohno and his sister into the mess he was now just trying to clean up for her sake. She shouldn't have to suffer because Taboo needed his paycheck.

"He disappeared, you disappeared. Then some monsters come up in Chiba, that's the word." Junkyard owner went on, peering at the box of appliances Ohno held.

"Monsters? Who-what?" Ohno was absolutely confused. The junkyard owner gestured to his shed but Ohno politely refused.

"Aw." Junkyard owner looked at him. "You're on the run. Taboo still after you?"

"I don't know. I thought you said he disappeared?" Ohno asked, looking around impatiently. "I'm just here to sell these and use your exit."

The junkyard was at the edge of the city and no one much knew of the gaping hole that scavengers had made at the pathetic welded wire wall that enclosed the area. The owner has reported the lack of security, but it wasn't like anyone listened to anyone from that corner of the city. Ohno planned to use the same hole for his escape.

"Taboo kid news got quiet after he got you." Junkyard owner took out his wallet and handed Ohno a wad of bills, a sad smile on his wrinkled face. "I know you're a good kid, fixing all my stuff for free and all that even though you needed the cash. Now take this and run the hell out. You never passed by here. Just the scavengers."

"Thank you." Ohno bowed and put the box down. He hurried off, ready with a plan to buy time for himself. He needed to go to Kisarazu immediately.

On the way back to the apartment, he picked up a good number of leaflets. A few from spas and bath houses that were brothels at night, some from a bookshop and a convenience store and many from the streets-mostly classifieds. He posted some travel brochures on the wall and put the leaflets everywhere, marked some of the classifieds and left them in his apartment. This way, he could stall whoever is after him and make them consider all sorts of possibilities. With one last look, he closed the door and left for good.

He used some of his cash to buy a cheap secondhand Navigator from one of the street vendors of suspicious looking, possibly stolen gadgets. Across the street, someone left a motorbike unsupervised. It was almost dawn by then but he didn't spare a single second, expertly and yet discreetly hot-wiring it and he drove straight into the junkyard and past it.

Behind him, Tokyo City shrunk steadily into the desert horizon as the sun rose. Ohno turned his back on the city that both raised him and condemned him.

Ohno didn't need to enter Chiba City's gates to get to Kisarazu. It was but a ghost of the idyllic small town. The soil was parched and the roads were broken. Both Tokyo City's and Chiba City's territories became smaller, leaving ghost towns like Kisarazu in its wake. No one came to those areas anymore, except for the raiders and scavengers that attacked the junkyard. Those who got lost in the wilderness of the deserted roads and towns never came back.

Nearing Kisarazu, an oddly familliar building came into view. Its architectural design was unmistakably the same with the main facility of Project Digitalian but even from the outside, it looked desolate. The glass walls were broken and some of the dry soil stained the floor as if it was sand. Ohno went in, his bionic arm at the ready for whatever he would find. He saw a directory at the front desk and a list of names he didn't recognize. And finally, "Ohno Mina, 3F Rm.6".

The halls and doors looked identical to the other facility and Ohno wondered if his sister also followed a strict schedule. He made sure to pick up some spare parts and other handy things he could use, like surgical tools and first aid supplies. He needed all the resources he could get.

Her room was as empty as his apartment, but it had every sign of a struggle: messed sheets and foam on the bed, more of the dry soil everywhere, the door off its hinges. What really worried Ohno is that his sisters things lay abandoned in a closet. It was as if she ran in fear of something or was taken away. Frantic, Ohno checked some of the other rooms. He found them in the same state and wondered if he was too late in the end. But why would the cops wreck the place? These civillians can't fight back effectively, can they?

He found a room that did not have a counterpart in the other facility and he went in. It seemed to be a control room; one side was lined with big screens and in the middle was a chair with a panel of knobs, buttons and a keyboard. Most of the room was damaged as well and dry soil was everywhere. Ohno tried his hardest with the control panel and managed to activate one of the screens. The video quality was bad but it was a footage of strange zombie-like people destroying the glass walls. The damage had it looped so Ohno was unable to make sense of what was happening. What he did understand was that the zombie-people were the ones who attacked, not the police.

He needed to investigate, but he couldn't stay. He would have to find a place to stay and return to check for signs of his fellow cyborgs.

He couldn't enter Chiba so he decided to scout the wasteland around it. The other towns had inhabitants still, catering to travellers of all sorts. Just like his past neighborhood, they avoided gazes and asked no questions. Before getting to one such town, he put together a scanning software chip from one of the facility doors and protective goggles he found in the researchers' lab. He couldn't program it to follow a different procedure but it did a conspicuous and thorough scan on people. He figured it may come in handy, shielding his eyes from dust and smoke while detecting human life nearby.

After about a week, he found New Mets City. Its security was lax as it seemed to be established by rejects of Chiba and Tokyo, like a detached ghetto. They had no wall, no checkpoint. Its territory was small but the population density was big despite its exposure to the desert. He left his motorbike hidden near an abandoned shack at the edge of the city because the streets were full of civillians. He hid his bionic arm with the red cape he wore, avoiding everyone's gaze as we walked into a pub.

He placed an order and hung his head, drumming his non-bionic fingers on the bar. He was preoccupied but his goggles kept his guard up. It continuously scanned the customers. When the barkeep served him, he asked quickly. "Excuse me, but can you tell me something about that building in Kisarazu?"

"Don' know much on it, lad." The barkeep said, shaking his head. "Just to keep away. There's talk of monsters. Karakara monsters."

Ohno's eyebrows furrowed and he leaned closer. "What's that? Karakara? Like...dry?"

"Before I go an' tell you..." The barkeep nodded at Ohno's hidden arm. "You got some explainin' or I take you for a snitch and kick your ass out."

Ohno looked down uncertainly. The barkeep was probably housing other criminals or someone he's affiliated with that he has to keep secret and just wanted to look out for them. Ohno considered that he probably had a price on his head by then so he knew it would not be smart to be identified.

"Hey it's you!" an unfamiliar voice called behind Ohno. He didn't dare turn, trying to think of an escape plan.

_______________________________
Continued in Chapter 2: The Overseer

Cast:
Satoshi Ohno (Project Bionic Arm)

Disclaimer:

This is a work of fiction and is not intended for profit nor copyright infringement.

Picture sources and other info and disclaimers click here.

[Fic] Mets Men [Log 1.1: Big-No: Escape the Facility]

2016-07-21T10:21:42Z

Almost twelve months into Project Digitalian and Ohno was still not as good in combat as any of his fellow cyborgs. At the very least, he's good enough to pass the standards. He had just gotten used to his new bionic arm, but combat was a different thing entirely. He had to relearn how to balance, how to walk and how to use the functions of his bionic right arm. This rendered his three years of experience as a mercenary somewhat useless.

The other sub-projects of Digitalian were separated into different parts of the facility. Project Bionic Arms and Project Bionic Senses were in one area and were called the Beta unit, the symbol was embroidered on their pale blue uniforms. Their first year would be spent on training and they followed an austere schedule and a set of rules in which going outside the facility was impossible. Their part of the facility was called the East Wing and was patrolled by Guard-bots. The building itself was maintained by a person known only as the Overseer. Most doors opened only when it was scheduled to and all rooms were under surveillance. The only humans Ohno ever saw was his fellow Beta unit cyborgs.

His partner in training was Ikuta Toma, the prototype of the Bionic Arms project. Both Toma's arms were bionic but he was once a serial killer who targeted criminals. He was captured only three months ahead of Ohno by the same agent. They were together most of the time: technical training in the morning, where they studied the functions of their arms, first aid and the like and physical training in the afternoon. Toma was cold and ruthless in combat but was mild-mannered and easy to amuse when they weren't sparring.

Though at first, Ohno was cautious of them, he eventually warmed up to the boisterous group called Eighters. They were terrorists from another city and were all from the Bionic Senses project. Their sight, smelling and hearing was keen and they moved much faster than average humans. Ohno felt intimidated by their skill and teamwork whenever he passed by their training arena and saw them handling firearms or melee weapons. They all went by the name of the color of their jumpsuit (except for the one in violet, whom they affectionately call Nasu*).

They were all pretty rowdy when supper time came. Laughter and jokes were their means of dealing with their longing for their loved ones. They lined up at the pantry door as usual and it did a quick scan of their body, displaying what diet would be appropriate for them. When his turn came, Ohno's name and data flashed on the small screen next to the door. He was a little happy to have grown a little over 3cm in a year. Since the operation, his weight almost doubled because of the bionic parts installed on him. His meals were usually to help him increase his height and build. He was naturally petite so his build didn't change that much, however he did feel like he can endure longer and tougher fights.

He was expecting the scent of freshly cooked meals, but when the pantry door opened and he was stepping in, everything suddenly went dark. With absolutely no light and without even the usual hum of machinery, they were quiet for a moment and Ohno stood frozen at the doorway. "Guys?" Blue's voice came from inside.

The lights went back on as if nothing happened. The open pantry door started beeping so Ohno stepped inside and it finally slid shut. They exchanged bewildered looks and Nasu stood up.

"That never happened before." he said, looking at the lights. He was an electrician before he turned to crime so he took it upon himself to scrutinize the lighting fixtures. Ohno watched him as he sat down for his meal and took a pair of chopsticks for himself.

"Power cut?" Orange asked Nasu, standing up as well. He peered at whatever Nasu was examining and Blue's eyes followed.

"Did you guys see what happened to the door just now?" Black interrupted before Nasu can explain. "When the lights were out, the door didn't close."

"I was thinking that." Nasu said, walking to the door and taking a closer look at it too as Ohno, Blue and Orange watched. "I don't think that was a power cut. High security places like this have an automatic generator."

"So...we're running on a generator now, right?" Orange was still confused. Ohno watched as Nasu bent down. He looked closely at the door too. It was an automatic sliding door with no visible switches.

"The way it works, if the power fails, the security fails." Blue said and Nasu who nodded. "That's why high security buildings have at least four generators."

They all looked at each other, thinking the same thing: if a power cut happens long enough, they could escape. They couldn't discuss it at all, not even with gestures, certain that the Overseer was observing them.

Is he testing us? Ohno looked from Nasu's concentrating eyes to Black's little malicious grin.

"Well! I've got steak for dinner, so I'm not going anywhere." Yellow said with a shrug. He began to eat, expectantly raising his eyebrows at the rest of them.

"The Overseer would not like to hear complaints." Green agreed, catching Yellow's eyes.

"You guys are so hyped to leave." Toma said in the middle of slurping ramen. "This isn't so bad."

"I have little brothers waiting for me." Black put his empty plate in the cleaning bin.

Ohno tried not to think of his sister and Toma looked at him. "You're excited to leave too?"

"Aren't you?" Yellow asked. Black looked at Toma with a raised brow and Toma glanced at Ohno once more before speaking. "Well..." he trailed off, standing up to put his plate away but Orange interrupted. "I actually don't get it. Don't we get promoted to Alpha unit when we complete this training?"

"You didn't listen to the orientation, I'd bet." Green scoffed, handing Toma his empty plate. "We do missions when we pass. So we'll get to go outside by then. Alpha unit has been at it for a year now."

"What kind of missions?" Toma said excitedly as he washed his hands.

"Dunno." Green shrugged, standing up. "Smells fishy."

"I suppose we're under the police." Red said darkly with his eyes to what was left of his ramen. He was once a cop himself and he understood how the system worked. "We'll be police dogs."

To their surprise, Toma burst out laughing. It wasn't strange for Toma to laugh at the little things but they didn't quite expect him to find their situation funny. "Oh, the irony." Toma sighed. "I went from criminal to licensed criminal."

Green snorted at his dark humor and Blue looked sad. Black turned away and Orange looked uncomfortable. Ohno patted Toma at the back as he sighed wistfully.

"That's enough." Nasu put away the last plate and glanced at the clock. "It's time for bed."

Sure enough, the pantry door opened with a long beep and they filed out after putting their plates in the cleaning bin. As they headed for the elevator, the lights flickered again, but stayed on. They all looked at each other, exchanging uncertain looks. Red huffed and jabbed at the elevator call button. "Behave, kids, didn't the Overseer tell you?"

"Opportunities come when you least expect it." Black insisted as they settled in and the doors closed.

"That's enough, guys." Green looked from Red to Black. "We'll somehow discuss freedom another time."

The elevator doors opened. The moment they all got out, the dormitory hall became completely dark. Only the light from the idle Guard-bots can be seen. Blue gasped and grabbed Green in surprise. Toma and Ohno exchanged unsure looks although they couldn't quite see in the sudden darkness. The only thing visible were the green blinking status lights on the Guard-bots that stood at the ready. The Beta cyborgs stopped walking down the hall.

"See?" Black said smugly, turning to the rest. "It's an opportunity."

"No!" Red grabbed Black's wrist. "Are you crazy? There are Guard-bots everywhere!"

"We've trained so hard!" Yellow argued. "We can take them!"

"Please proceed to your respective dormitory rooms." The Guard-bots detected their presence and chimed in one voice. Yellow made a move to attack but Orange tackled him. They fell with a dull thud. "Don't!" Orange warned. It proved to be a smart move when the lights went back on again.

"Please follow your schedule." The Guard-bots said. Their blinking green lights became a steady blue light. It was a warning before they start apprehending anyone.

"Yellow, Black." Nasu stepped closer to them his voice carefully measured, observing the Guard-bots. "I said there are at least four generators." Orange helped Yellow up. Nasu looked at the group, holding up four fingers. He put one down. The rest looked at each other and nodded. Toma smiled excitedly. "Bedtime! Let's go, Ohno-kun." He grabbed Ohno's hand and waved at the Eighters.

"Good night! See you guys tomorrow!" He gave them a thumbs-up as he went off to the room at the farthest end of the hall. Because their bedtime was scheduled, the dorm rooms were already open.

"Y'all behave." Red said, waving back to them as he entered his dorm with Black. Their door sealed itself as soon as they did.

"Make sure you're ready." Nasu said as he and Orange entered their room next to Red and Black's. The little beep from the door meant that the system noted their presence and sealed the door.

"I'm sleepy now." Green grumbled, heading in their room. "You're always sleepy." Yellow pointed out. "Come on already. Dibs the shower." Green yawned, wrapping an arm over Blue's shouders.

"Hey. Hey Green. Don't just doze off-" Blue protested. Yellow took one last look at the Guard-bots and went in. The lights shut down again and the door didn't even close behind him.

Ohno and Toma looked around, blinded by the sudden darkness. "It's almost time." Ohno said. He considered packing, but he didn't have much worth bringing. He looked at his pale blue uniforms and felt Toma's hand on his shoulder.

"You have a sister waiting for you, right?" Toma asked quietly.

Ohno nodded. "And you?"

The light came back on, making them squint a little.

"Well, it was super fun training together." Toma sat on his bed, the lower of the bunk. "Do you have anywhere to go?"

"Well, home..." Ohno trailed off and he realized something. He looked at Toma.

"Yup. S-rank criminals." Toma nodded. "We have nowhere to go. I like the Eighters and I think they're really good at combat but I wouldn't underestimate the SPF. Specially the agent who got us. Maybe you guys can get out. I don't know if you'll get far."

"What are you saying?" Ohno turned to Toma who avoided his eyes. Toma laid down with his arms folded under his head, his feet were on the floor.

"You can't help your sister from the grave." Toma continued to speak to the upper bunk. "If you stay, they won't persecute you, won't they? If you go, they'll hound on you for sure."

"Toma...Are you staying?" Ohno asked, coming closer. Ohno didn't realize until then that Toma has never spoken about his life outside apart from how he was arrested. He was usually cheery and listened to everyone's tales without talking about himself.

"I don't have a family anymore, so this place has been kinda fun." Toma shrugged. He looked at Ohno at last. "But you have someone out there. So I'm helping you guys."

"My sister...is a great cook." Ohno said, turning back to his things, awkwardly arranging and rearranging his pile of mundane uniforms. "I know you love eating so why don't you come?"

Toma sat up and raised his eyebrow. "What...?"

Ohno faced him again and nodded. "I'll need some help. I want to go back to being a mechanic so...I could use an assistant. That is, if you're interested. I mean, you could stay and eat with us everyday too. I think we have to move out though. And I'll need help with that..."

Toma laughed happily. Ohno turned to him, unable to form the words to successfully convince Toma to come with him. He opened his mouth to speak as Toma got up but they were interrupted by the sound of the door unlocking and sliding open.

The little screen in one corner of the room blinked and displayed a message. It was usually where the Overseer sent them messages and reminders.

"'Meeting at pantry.' That's what it says." Ohno read. His stomach seemed to have fallen in a pit. The Overseer was definitely testing us. He was testing our loyalty.

Toma got off the bed. "Let's go?"

"Hey!" Blue was peeking in. He hasn't even changed from his jumpsuit and he held an assault rifle carefully in his hands. "Pantry! The Overseer calls for everybody!"

Ohno and Toma followed Blue and found everyone on their way to the elevator. Surprisingly, they carried the weapons they specialized in and somehow the security system didn't detect it.

Nasu gestured for the three to hurry and when the doors finally closed, Black spoke.

"One more powercut." he whispered. Blue nodded but Orange's face went pale. "But the overseer-"

"It wasn't him." Green patted Orange on the shoulder to quiet him. Orange gaped at Green, looking confused.

"Thought so." Yellow agreed and Blue looked from him to Green before exchanging puzzled looks with Orange.

"We don't even know the Overseer." Toma pointed out.

"It's pretty obvious." Red was the first to step out. The others closely followed, keeping their guard up as they marched to the pantry. They were more vigilant than usual, taking note of every beeping and whirring Guard-bot that patrolled hall. "The Overseer's messages are always computer generated complete sentences. He can'tve just suddenly changed. Something's up."

"What if it's a trap?" Ohno said quietly, glancing at Toma.

"Then we fight." Blue replied, sounding determined. "I'm not going to be a police dog."

They were surprised to see that the pantry door was wide open. Ohno stepped in first and was taken aback by the sight on their schedule screen. The blueprint of the entire facility was displayed there with a path highlighted to an exit at the highest floor. In the North Wing, there were several dots marked with an alpha symbol. They were scattered in a section labeled 'Dormitory Alpha'.

"That's us..." Yellow pointed to a different group of black dots. They were huddled two floors below Dormitory Alpha, to the south part of the building.

"No, dingus." Black huffed. "That's theta unit, judging by that symbol. Never knew they existed."

"So, that's us." Green pointed the other group of black dots with a beta symbol. Their dots were gathered at the place labeled 'Beta Pantry' and the highlighted path glowed.

"And our escape route just so happens to be conveniently marked?" Toma traced the highlighted path. He sounded suspicious. "To the highest floor?"

"This could be our only chance." Nasu said quietly, his hands were balled into fists. "I want to give it a shot."

A message popped up on the screen and it read: "Overseer is dead. Follow path to exit, avoid alpha unit. They will be alerted to your escape. Families are in Kisarazu facility."

They exchanged looks. Orange and Toma looked confused. Red, Nasu and Black nodded at each other, determination in their eyes.

Yellow grinned excitedly as Green yawned. Ohno looked from the message to his companions. "Who's behind this? Are you all sure we'll go through?"

Nasu patted Ohno's back. "We've been stuck in here for too long. We're ready to gamble our way out." He sounded resigned but he gave Ohno a small and hopeful smile.

"I don't know for sure if this is for true, but I can't sit my ass here any longer." Orange added, turning to the door.

Another message appeared. "Warning: All Systems Shutdown in 10..."

"Those who don't want to come, I'll remember you all as brothers in the afterlife." Red said, taking out and preparing two modified katana from their scabbard on his jumpsuit.

"I'm coming." Black grinned, preparing his double-barrel shotgun. "Rendezvous at Kisarazu if we get separated."

"9...8...7..."

Green flexed his neck and readied a 50 cal handgun in one hand and a modified katana in the other. Blue hoisted his assault rifle nervously. Orange swung his electrobat, unfazed by the cackle of energy of its activation.

"6...5...4..."

They could hear the beeping Guard-bots coming closer to check on them through the open door. Yellow aimed his submachine gun at them. Nasu did the same with his combat shotgun.

"3...2...1...0."

The lights went off and with a roar, Toma charged head on to the bots, ripping one apart. Ohno sprinted past, hammering his bionic arm on every approaching Guard-bot and side-stepping out of the way so that the gunners can shoot. Red and Green dashed forward, slicing the incoming reinforcement bots. Orange crushed the last one.

"Clear!" Nasu yelled. "Let's move! Move!"

"West!" Ohno instructed. His photographic memory was one of his biggest advantages in becoming a gifted mechanic. He calibrated the powerglove by memorizing several different weapon diagrams. As a mercenary, he used it to memorize faces, locations and maps. By looking closely at the projected blueprint earlier, he was able to memorize their path.

They followed Ohno down a hall to a closed door which Toma rammed through. More Guard-bots were coming down the stairs and Toma just kept running, pushing the bots away with the door as the gunners destroyed them from behind.

The next hall was almost swarming with Guard-bots. They were in full combat gear as well, having been alerted to the emergency. Ohno figured that somewhere on another side of the building, the theta unit was probably fighting their way out as well.

"Duck!" Yellow's voice was barely audible but when they all managed to crouch, he ran forward, shooting wildly. Their ears were ringing from shooting in a closed space but they were able to hear Red's voice. "Follow!" He, Orange and Green backed Yellow up as the gunners reloaded. Ohno tuned in to Toma's movements and mirrored him, flanking the bots on either side before destroying them. Hardly pausing to breathe, they kept running and were once again barred by Guard-bots.

"Stairs! Top floor is next! Almost there!" Ohno called out as they battled. Some of the Eighters roared, fueled with determination. Blue tackled Ohno out of the way as he nearly got shot but there was no time for gratitude. When the last Guard-bot was taken care of, he busted the door open to the top floor and they were greeted by an unnerving silence.

They expected a rooftop or at least the scene from a high place when looking out the windows and were surprised to see a field of solar panels in the clearing of a forest right outside. It was a spacious lobby with tall glass walls and chrome pillars, its modern architecture combined arcs and lines for economical use of space that struck a polished and innovative image despite the situation.

There were LED screens in some pillars and even a front desk to one side. Ohno, Toma and the Eighters were prepared for Guard-bots and the like but not for the lone man in the middle of the moonlit lobby. He stood among what seemed to be what was left of other cyborgs. The smell of burnt materials and melted steel was strong but not as much as that of blood. This made the Eighters tread very carefully. It was hard for Ohno and Toma to see with just the light of the moon from outside, but they can tell from the man's stance that he was different.

"Theta unit?" Nasu called out, aiming his shotgun but only lightly touching the side of the trigger.

They readied themselves as the man turned, his pale face was unimpassioned and was splattered with grease and blood like his well-built arms and chest. His eyes had a similar bionic gleam but his movements were so carefully measured that it was more machine than man. On his bloodstained uniform was an embroidered alpha symbol over the name "Okada". The sight of the Alpha cyborg made the hairs at the back of Ohno's neck stand. Blue stepped back and Red furrowed his brows.

The interval was brief. In a blink, Toma pushed past them and was engaged in a swift but intense battle with the Alpha cyborg. Some of the Eighters called out his name and jumped into action, careful not to injure Toma. Ohno charged but was caught unaware by a sudden explosion that threw him ten feet away. His landing knocked the air out of his lungs as he rolled to a stop. His ears were ringing from the blast and his vision doubled from the impact but he can tell by how it sounded that the Theta unit arrived too, chased by other Alpha unit members.

There were about twelve Alpha cyborgs, dressed in white uniforms with gold trimmings. They were faster, more brutal and seemed to be dead-set on obliterating beta and theta. What was most alarming was that they seemed to be fighting bare-handed at first, but their arms rearranged into weapons in a swift movement. The Theta cyborgs were in pale red and looked to be in their early twenties. Some of them had bionic legs, some possibly had other inconspicuous robotic parts but none of them were trained in firearms yet. But what they lacked in power, they covered with endurance and teamwork. They launched continuous attacks that complemented each other. But Apha cyborgs easily overpowered them all, tossing the Theta cyborgs like they were lifeless dolls.

They blasted at the Beta cyborgs with their plasma powered weapons, damaging various parts of the building at once. Nasu protected Blue and ended up getting tackled by another Alpha. Black's arm was hit by a plasma blast and Red rushed to aid him.

"We'll never beat them!" Ohno heard Red's sharp voice above the noise of firing. "We have to get out of here!"

Ohno finally recovered and realized that the lobby was then mostly rubble and fire. He noticed an Alpha charging to his direction and he rolled out of the way, luckily avoiding him. A flash of pale blue passed and the Alpha was pinned down, his prepared shot of plasma hit the last glass wall.

"Toma-" Ohno called out in shock as the Alpha struggled to throw him off.

"Run! Ohno-kun! Run!" Toma's voice called out.

Ohno wanted to fight back but another Alpha was running to him. He ran blindly to the direction of the broken glass walls. He wasn't fast enough as the Alpha named Okada rammed right on to him. The sloping terrain made them stumble and roll for a while before hitting what felt like a tree. Ohno felt the air punched out of him but he got himself up quickly and ran, wacking every thin tree that blocked him in the hopes of stalling his persuer. Okada whipped the felled trees out of the way with his arms as he dashed.

Ohno knew it would be a fruitless fight if he tried to go against Okada. From what he saw in the lobby, the Alpha cyborgs were not just part machine by the limbs or senses. It seemed their entire body had some kind of modification. Ohno couldn't think of a strategy, all he had in mind was that he had to get away, he had to live. He didn't even turn back, he just ran. He heard a strange sound and instinctively ducked. A plasma blast shot where his head would have been. He felt as if his heart stopped, seeing the beam of light burn a nearby tree. It could have been him. He wasn't able to process Okada's next attack. He just felt himself pinned down and punched repeatedly. Dazed, he saw Okada's arm rearrange into the plasma blaster once more and he was unable to budge no matter how he scuffled. He closed his eyes, thinking of his sister and her carefree laugh whenever he made a funny face. The smell of her chawanmushi, her best dish. The quiet suffering in her bloodshot eyes as her health became worse. He apologized over and over, feeling his own tears begin to form.

It took him a moment to see that Okada had frozen in place, not charging the blaster-arm. He looked up and got up, his arm returning to normal. Ohno hardly dared to breathe, as if Okada would surely go away if convinced of his playing dead. Miraculously, Okada did turn away, running back into the forest going to the facility. From where he lay half conscious, Ohno saw the pillar of smoke from where he guessed the facility was. He wondered if the Eighters managed to survive, after all he did see Black badly injured. He worried the most for Toma. Ohno hoped that Toma got away somehow.

When he caught his breath and his sight had readjusted, he flipped himself over and tried to get up on all fours. He was glad that he broke no limbs in the encounter with Okada. If the Alpha cyborg hadn't left suddenly, Ohno was sure he'd have died. Leaning heavily on a nearby rock, he got up. Though he staggered at first, he put one foot down after the other. In mind, he remembered what Black said: "Rendezvous in Kisarazu if we get separated."

_____________________________________________

Continued in Part II: Survive the Wasteland

Cast:
Satoshi Ohno (Mercenary/Project Bionic Arm)
Toma Ikuta (Ex-Serial Killer/Project Bionic Arms prototype)

Eight Rangers (Eighters):
Shingo Murakami (Nasu)
You Yokoyama (Black)
Subaru Shibutani (Red)
Ryuuhei Maruyama (Orange)
Ryo Nishikido (Yellow)
Shota Yasuda (Blue)
Tadayoshi Ohkura (Green)

Junichi Okada (Alpha cyborg)

Cameo:
V6 (Alpha cyborgs)
Hey! Say! Jump! (Theta Assassins)
J-West (Theta West)

Disclaimer:

This is a work of fiction and is not intended for profit nor copyright infringement.
Picture sources and other info and disclaimers click here.

[Fic] Mr. Lonely [Chapter 1: Gimme The Night]

2016-05-04T12:13:17Z

The edamame was beginning to sparkle. Sakurai Sho realized he may be 10% past tipsy.

Make that 20%, give or take. His thoughts had gone soft, and he felt himself simply ranting to his new assistant. At this point, the assistant's name is already pretty hazy in his memory. Sho was only slightly aware by then of the soft lights and noises of the izakaya. He gulped down the contents of his glass and put it down. His assistant automatically filled it again, dexterously pouring beer.

"Sure, marriage is to be celebrated. It's lovely but it doesn't affect me much now." Sho wasn't so sure if his new assistant was listening but it didn't matter to him anymore. He was a little guilty, not wanting to be the kind of boss who forces a subordinate to go drinking. He knew he should at least remember the name of his new assistant, but that thought was swirling along with his opinions on marriage at the moment. "I realized the importance of giving time for myself."

"I think so too, yeah." His assistant spoke. What was his name? Ai...? Sho tried hard to remember.

"Mm, I have like a routine now. Finish work, drop by the convini, buy drinks and well, I don't want to be interrupted."

"Interrupted?" Ai-something replied. What was the kanji? Field? Pine? Temple?

"Yeah. I've had enough relationships to know." Sho suddenly found this funny. He felt old from that statement though he and his assistant had the same age. Sho chuckled "Hell, I've had enough of relationships."

"No way!" his assistant cried out with too much passion that it shook Sho awake from his 30%-past-tipsy state.

"Aiba-kun?" he said, realizing that he had remembered the other's name.

"Don't worry, shachou." Aiba said with determination. "Everyone is somebody's dream."

"Humm. You're a good man. Full of hope." Sho said with a sad smile.

As far as Sakurai Sho knew, that was where his memory of that night ended.

For Ono the minor god of infatuation, his night has just begun.

"Sheesh, he's probably the most bitter guy I have to work on." Ono grumbled. He listened to the entire conversation earlier, feeling more and more unenthusiastic about his new project. His superior, the god of love, entrusted the hopeless human to him as his promotion exam. Should he be able to make this human become infatuated, Ono passes his exam and becomes a rank higher: minor god of affection.

Ono watched as the assistant hoisted Sakurai Sho up and both got in a cab. Ono rode with them, taking the front seat. He wasn't visible to humans unless he chose to, so he continued observing his target's companion.

Aiba looked worried and gave the cab driver the needed instructions. Ono can see the intentions of humans so he can tell that this man was sincere. Aiba wasn't looking after Sho because of work relations, he was genuinely concerned.

Ono followed as Aiba constantly checked on his boss as he passed through the sliding doors to Sho's condominium. Sho was a little awake by then so Aiba was asking him a barrage of questions. This being the first time he had to carry his boss to his house, Aiba had no idea where to go.

"Shachou? Which floor?" Aiba tried, looking at Sho's face. Sho was still processing the events, half-asleep. Ono pressed the correct number as Sho looked up. "Huh, you got it right."

"Eh?" Aiba looked up too. "I did?" He seemed a little spooked but Sho patted him on the shoulder with a small "Thank you."

Ono smiled. "This could work." The assistant was kind of pure-hearted and caring. Sho already felt indebted and relieved around his assistant and Ono is quite sure he can work on those feelings to become infatuation.

When the elevator opened, Aiba helped Sho out and asked which room they would go to. As Sho struggled with his thoughts, Ono stealthily snatched Sho's wallet from his back pocket and dropped it. The sound alerted Aiba who checked the ground immediately. He saw the wallet and the key that fell out from it. There was a number on the key so Aiba didn't wait for Sho to straighten his thoughts (and to stop rambling about stock exchange) and went to the corresponding door.

"Shachou, this is your home." Aiba opened the door for Sho and gave him his key. "Will you be alright?"

"I guess, yeah." Sho said drowsily.

"You need his help." Ono told Sho. While gods can't bend human will, they can use the power of suggestion. This relies on their influence on every individual. Ono didn't have much on Sho yet, but he had to keep on trying. "You want to thank him. Give him some tea."

"Good," Aiba replied, looking uncertain. "I'll see you tomorrow, shachou."

"Yeah, but don't you want to have some tea?" Sho said, sounding surprisingly sad.

"Thank you, shachou. It's just, I have a long way to go." Aiba bowed deeply.

"Tell him he can stay!" Ono told Sho excitedly. Sho just nodded. "Okay, I understand. You live in Chiba, right? Sorry to keep you out late."

"It's alright, um." Aiba hesitated for a moment and handed Sho a paper bag. "You can eat this if your head hurts too much for breakfast in the morning. It's best to have something in your stomach." Sho took it, his face blank. "Thank you."

Ono couldn't believe it, the turn of events was much better than he'd hope. He made up his mind. He'll nurture their feelings into infatuation.

Aiba bowed again and when he stood up, he had a small smile. "I'll see you tomorrow, shachou."

Ono the minor god of infatuation fist-pumped. He knew is final exam was going to be easy.

However, Nino the yoosei was awoken from slumber by the scent of deep sadness.

"I have a bad feeling about this." he sighed.

___________________________________________
Continued in Chapter 2: It's not a Lie!

Cast:
Sho Sakurai (The Most Bitter Man In The World)
Masaki Aiba (The Assistant)
Satoshi Ohno (Ono the Minor God of Infatuation)

Introducing:
Kazunari Ninomiya (Nino the Apartment Fairy)

Disclaimer:
This is a work of fiction and is not intended for profit nor copyright infringement.

Notes:
Yoosei-"fairy"
Minor God of Infatuation - from my own pantheon. a rank below minor god of affection and is under the God of Love.
Edamame - type of beans (here, eaten as a snack)
shachou - Company president

I tried to draw Shibayama and Samejima

2016-05-04T11:36:19Z

I'm quite fond of Sekaichi Muzukashii Koi. I'll talk about my feelings on another post.

This is the scene where Shibayama asks "Was that a pun? No 'moo' talk of milk?" and Samejima was all stfu to her. It's kinda cute and funny.

[Fic] Mets Men [Prologue]

2016-04-29T16:12:26Z

Prologue: Taboo

Lights zipped along the highways of Tokyo City and Ohno looked on. The summer breeze made his poncho flap slightly. His foot rested on the parapet as he surveyed the city from the top of the apartment building. The setting sun gave him a soft shadow and bathed the sky in a faint orange, but he paid no notice and his mind focused on the tiny beeps of the little gadget in his hand.

He looked at his Navigator, the GPS tracking application marked a small red dot on the map in the screen. This told him that his client was across the street from where he stood. Being a muscle for hire, his life was always on the line so he had to be extra careful with clients. He often observed them from afar first.

He was right to stay vigilant. He aligned the Navigator's camera to his client's location and zoomed in. The client was in a light brown leather jacket, sitting on a motorbike. When Ohno was a mechanic, he would have admired the motorbike. But bankruptcy and the deaths of his parents changed him. What he now saw in the motorbike was a red flag: the client is likely not a civilian.

Ohno knew that it was a limited edition model that was only distributed to certain companies and agencies, the police being one of them. Ohno watched as the client got off to activate his own Navigator. Several hover screens glowed in front of the client and Ohno couldn't make out what it said.

A rhythmic digital chime distracted Ohno. His client was calling him. Ohno pressed the little button on his earlink and his Navigator displayed a small reminder that the call was active.

"Hello, Ohno-san?" the client's deep voice came clear. "I'm at the corner of Sakurazaka intersection now."

"Good." Ohno said, still observing the client and his hover screens. They seemed to display a graph of some kind. "I'm on my way, actually."

"Alright, it's not a problem." The client replied. Ohno took this as another red flag. Although there were a few exceptions, clients often disapproved of waiting in public by themselves. People who hired mercenaries usually stayed hidden. Perhaps, Ohno thought, it's because they've made keen enemies of law breakers and enforcers at the same time.

"Across Ohda Apartments, is that right?" The Client went on. Ohno was even more suspicious. His shoulders are too relaxed for a person who is supposedly unsure of where he is, or his shoulders are sloping. Ohno considered this.

"Yes. I'll hang up now." He told his client.

"You're already close by, right?" The client's voice was too calm.

Ohno figured it out. He was being tracked. The fake client was stalling. He turned on his heel quickly and replied. "Yes. I can see you from here, so I'll hang up."

He switched off his Navigator and walked to the east side of the building. He threw the Navigator into the alley where it fell with a crash, but he was no longer looking. He ran to the west side and jumped to the fire escape staircase. He didn't bother with the ladder and jumped off the last platform and ran to a pile of discarded machine parts and boxes that were pushed to a mesh wall. He clambered on the boxes and jumped to the other side of the wall.

The moment the mercenary Ohno had dropped the call, special agent codename Taboo knew that he had run away. Taboo's back up won't show up until he has sighted the S-class criminal Ohno Satoshi.

Taboo hurriedly announced the situation to his radio, got on his police-issue motorbike and sped off. He knew the city like the back of his hand and made a detailed action plan that was playing out well. Ohno's location clearly read that he was in Ohda Apartments, so Taboo was sure he's not too far yet. The agent's advantage was that he knew that Ohno used a powerglove. When worn, it could emit blue flame as a chemical reaction. Originally produced for military and police, the weapon was banned a long time ago for being difficult to control, but some were smuggled in the black market.

Taboo hooked his Navigator to the motorbike to scan the vicinity for traces of the chemical used on the powerglove. He hoped he could apprehend Ohno without a fight or the mercenary may try to use the weapon. Taboo can't quite imagine how the powerglove could be handled if even the special police force was unable to calibrate it for safe use. Perhaps Ohno was just very talented.

The special police force was allowed to shoot S-rank criminals on sight if needed, but after analyzing the profile of Ohno Satoshi, Taboo knew that it was society that pushed him to this kind of life. There were no confirmed murder cases by Ohno, which means he could apply to the agencies that help ex-inmates find an occupation. Taboo had read about the fraud case that made Ohno's family bankrupt and the hospital records of Ohno's sister showing an incurable disease. Taboo hoped Ohno would surrender peacefully so he could be given a second chance.

His scanner finally picked up a hint and Agent Taboo sped east to a smaller road. As he drove, the chemical traces spiked levels and he knew Ohno had activated the powerglove. He tried to skid to a halt but saw a flash of blue just up ahead of him. Taboo ejected himself from his seat and tumbled into a landing, the impact was lessened as he rolled on the pavement. A nearby explosion momentarily deafened him and he shielded his face from debris with his arm.

From the distance, Ohno shielded himself as well, frustrated that his fake client was able to follow him quickly. His intuition was right, it was definitely an agent from the special police force. By the smell of the flames, he could tell that the motorbike was destroyed but the rider had gotten off in time.

He broke into a run again, but he heard the sirens up ahead. His thoughts stopped for a moment. He heard the policeman call his name and recite his rights, but Ohno can only think of his sister.

He took a deep breath and raised his powerglove wielding hand, charging its energy.

"Stop!" Agent Taboo called.

Ohno turned and swiftly swiped his hand, a blast of flame shot from his hand and went straight for the Agent. Taboo didn't even flinch as the flame was dissipated by a barrier.

Taboo swung his shocksaber and went for a defensive stance. The electricity cackled every so often as he came closer to Ohno. By using a weapon that was essentially for self defense, he wanted to show that he meant Ohno no harm. The shocksaber worked like a tazer and could knock someone out with a tap, or render someone unable to move.

The mercenary's eyebrows were furrowed as he raised his hand to charge his glove for another blast. He thought of his sister again as he readied himself. He'll never be able to help her if he went to jail.

"Surrender peacefully, Ohno." Taboo said carefully.

Ohno knew it was all over for him at this point. He would have to kill the agent to escape. It was the agent’s life or his sister’s safety. In a flash, he sprinted to the agent, all the while charging the powerglove to dangerous levels. Agent Taboo barely had enough time to prepare the energy barrier of his shocksaber as Ohno jumped. He managed to sidestep out of the way and hit Ohno with the shocksaber.

Ohno fell to the ground, his powerglove fizzing into deactivation as he was unable to move his limbs. It wasn't the time nor place to be, but Taboo was impressed at whatever Ohno did to the weapon.

"Ohno Satoshi, surrender peacefully and we can appeal to find support for your sister." Agent Taboo said quietly as sirens blared nearby. Ohno's vision was hazy and the smell of the asphalt was the only thing he could think of.

"Sister." Ohno managed. His whole body was numb from the shock from the agent's weapon.

"Orders were to keep this one alive." A voice came from behind Agent Taboo.

"He's alive." Taboo replied, sounding exhausted. “Wait, you’re going to tranquilize him?”

"You'd better explain everything properly in your report..." Ohno heard the other voice was saying before he felt a sharp pain on his forearm and his consciousness faded.

True to his superior’s orders, Agent Taboo detailed everything about the arrest of Ohno Satoshi in his report. The special police force chief had sent for him to discuss the said report making Taboo slowly doubt himself.

When he finished, the chief nodded knowingly. “Exceptional as always, Sakurai-kun.”

Sakurai bowed. “I just did as I was ordered, chief.”

“You aced all your exams.” The chief went on, sounding like a proud father talking about his own son. His face was stern under all the lines, his eyes had a critical stare. “And more importantly, your arrest of two S-rank criminals effectively makes your track record better than your peers.”

“Only because I’m under your direction.” Sakurai replied. He was beginning to feel the weight of the chief’s stare.

“An agent like you is one in a million.” The chief leaned his elbows on his desk. “And that’s why I need you for my special team.”

“I’m glad to be of service, sir.” Sakurai bowed again. He felt good being praised by the chief himself, but if it was this much, it began to make him feel uncomfortable.

“Do you understand what this means for you?” the chief looked at him closely. Sakurai blinked in confusion.

“I...pardon me, chief.”

“I’ve handpicked you for Project Digitalian.” the chief took a moment to type on his keyboard. A series of images, muted training footages and charts flashed on the floor to ceiling screen behind the chief.

“Cyborg… Body modification…” Sakurai read from the screen, feeling his stomach drop.

“We’re rounding up S-rank criminals and re-training them.” The chief had turned his chair to see the screen too. “You remember Ikuta Toma?” He pointed to a wavy haired-young man in the screen.

“Is he a cyborg now?” Sakurai’s voice went a little hoarse in his shock.

“The process starts after the criminals are turned in.” The chief intertwined his fingers and sat back. “We give them a choice to sign up for the project, which will grant them full pardon for their crimes and financial support for their direct dependents. This is continued support, as long as their contract is active.”

“What happens if they breach the contract?” Sakurai watched a video of Ikuta receiving physical therapy. His bionic arms moved so lifelike that if not for its bulk, it seemed as if Ikuta was just wearing a special sleeve.

Ikuta Toma was the first S-rank criminal he captured. Ikuta was, in Sakurai’s eyes, another product of the government system’s inadequacies. An orphan from his early teens, unable to complete his education, unable to get and stay employed. It was a common formula. But Ikuta was a genius, and he used his skills to murder killers. Sakurai wanted to help the young man. There were agencies that find employment for criminals in places like factories. He wondered if this is what Ikuta really wanted.

“They go back to being a criminal.” The chief said gravely. “With what they do, it’s next to impossible to let these people back into society. So we give them a place to go.”

“How can someone like me be of help for this?” Sakurai said quietly as if he didn’t know already. Although Ikuta was from a different background from Ohno, it was highly likely that he’ll be recruited too. Sakurai narrowed his eyes, brows furrowing. He technically trapped Ikuta and Ohno into becoming cyborgs. While that on its own didn’t seem so bad, power like that is often simply abused. The possibility of Ikuta and Ohno being used like weapons is too high and Sakurai knew he put them both in that situation.

“You’ll be assisted to arrest other s-rank criminals. That will be your job.” The chief stood up and walked over to where Sakurai stood, his eyes still on the screen, lips sloping to a frown.

“It’s a task I can only entrust to you.” the chief patted Sakurai’s shoulder with his wiry hand. “I’d like you to think about it, first. Give us an answer in a week, but discuss the project to absolutely no one.”

“Yes, chief.” Sakurai said with a bow.

“You may go. Thank you, Sakurai-kun.” the chief gave his back a clap and went back to his chair. Sakurai stopped, realizing something.

“Just one question, chief.” Sakurai turned to the chief. The display was deactivated and the room was back to its calm blue lighting.

“What’s the purpose of Project Digitalian? I mean, should we really be arming S-rank criminals?”

“That’s lesson two.” the chief spoke in a low voice, his eyes narrowed.

Sakurai already made up his mind, even as he walked out of the office and out of the building. He doesn’t believe one man should have this kind of power. It smelled of a private army. Now that he was told about it, they were giving him the choice to either agree or be silenced for good.

His resignation letter was sent to the Special Police Force after a week. That was the last time Agent Taboo was heard of in Tokyo City for two years.

In the research facility for Project Digitalian, Ohno Satoshi was given the options, too. He was first told of how severely injured his right hand was from the damage of the powerglove. It would take time and money to have his entire right arm recover completely. Time and money that he could be using for his sister.

Ohno sat taciturn, his eyes darting from his bandaged hand to the other.

"Through our project, we give brilliant minds like yours bodies that are modified to become stronger. Faster." the aged representative of Project Digitalian spoke with the voice of a counselor but smiled the way haggling salesmen do. "Think about it carefully before you sign the contract."

"I do have a question first." Ohno said, resigned. "Do you know where my sister is?"

When the representative recited his complete address, Ohno knew the choice was decided before it was given to him. They knew his address, where his sister was. She was hostaged without her knowing. Perhaps if he behaved, he could get on their good books and keep her safe. He didn’t dare think of what would happen otherwise.

"Sign me up."

Continued in Chapter 1: Big-No

Cast:

Sho Sakurai (Agent Taboo)

Satoshi Ohno (Mercenary)
Cameo:
Toma Ikuta (Cyborg)

Disclaimer:

This is a work of fiction and is not intended for profit nor copyright infringement.

Picture sources and other info and disclaimers click here.

Mie Tachibana @ LJ

For Him [Yama 5/6]

For Him [Yama 4/6]

For Him [Yama 3/6]

For Him [Yama 2/6]

For Him [Yama 1/6]

[Fic] Be Mean

[Fic] 星のとなりの空け者 ～マサキ～ (Fools Among the Stars: Masaki) 4/4

[Fic] 星のとなりの空け者 ～マサキ～ (Fools Among the Stars: Masaki) 3/4

[Fic]星のとなりの空け者 ～智～(Fools Among The Stars: Satoshi) 2/4

[Fic]星のとなりの空け者 ～翔～ (Fools Among the Stars: Sho) 1/4

[Fic] A Clingy Boy's Fifteen-Year Pursuit Disclaimers and Info

[Fic] 粘着系男子の15年ネチネチ【ファイナル】(A Clingy Boy's Fifteen-Year Pursuit 5/5) Finale

[Fic] 粘着系男子の15年ネチネチ(A Clingy Boy's Fifteen-Year Pursuit 4/5)

[Fic] 粘着系男子の15年ネチネチ(A Clingy Boy's Fifteen-Year Pursuit 3/5)

[Fic] 粘着系男子の15年ネチネチ(A Clingy Boy's Fifteen-Year Pursuit 2/5)

[Fic] 粘着系男子の15年ネチネチ(A Clingy Boy's Fifteen-Year Pursuit 1/5)

Arashi x Mean Girls

[Fic] 世界一難しい友情 (World's Most Difficult Friendship)

[Fic] Mets Men [Log 2.1: The Overseer]

[Fic] Mets Men Data and Disclaimers

[Fic] Mets Men [Log 1.2: Big-No: Survive the Wasteland]

[Fic] Mets Men [Log 1.1: Big-No: Escape the Facility]

[Fic] Mr. Lonely [Chapter 1: Gimme The Night]

I tried to draw Shibayama and Samejima

[Fic] Mets Men [Prologue]

Prologue: Taboo

[Fic] 星のとなりの空け者～マサキ～ (Fools Among the Stars: Masaki) 4/4

[Fic] 星のとなりの空け者～マサキ～ (Fools Among the Stars: Masaki) 3/4

[Fic]星のとなりの空け者～智～(Fools Among The Stars: Satoshi) 2/4

[Fic]星のとなりの空け者～翔～ (Fools Among the Stars: Sho) 1/4