late is better than never... :D
Sep. 13th, 2010 08:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
angelshill late post is late post... but at least it's not never, right? lol
anyway, i had to leave my trustee computer when we traveled to my eldest sister's place in another region because it was my nephew's third birthday... it was a pretty eventful day and i had fun playing with my nephew again but it also meant that i was unable to continued with this story...
my nephew's growing old *cries happily* (and i'm getting older... not really... :D)
and now...
TITLE: Baby Steps
CHARACTERS: Arashi members, NewS members, Horikita Maki, Inoue Mao, Oguri Shun, Ikuta Toma, and a whole horde of other Johnny's and female Japanese actresses
PAIRING: Yamashita Tomohisa/Horikita Maki; Matsumoto Jun/Inoue Mao; others
RATINGS: PG
DISCLAIMER: The only thing i own in this story is the plot...
Prologue / Chapter1/ Chapter2/ Chapter3/ Chapter4/ Chapter5/ Chapter6/ Chapter7/ Chapter8/ Chapter8.5/ Chapter9/ Chapter 10
Chapter 11
“You sure this would work?” Shun asked the moment Matsujun ended the call.
Matsujun looked up, a mischievous grin on his face; Kame, Toma, and Shun were all watching him all through out the conversation with Yamapi. They all knew how the call went, especially since it was set on loudspeaker.
“Of course it would!” Toma chuckled. “Didn’t you hear how concerned Pi sounded?”
“Yeah, he sounded particularly anxious when Jun said that she’s with Sho-kun…” Kame added. “Besides, from what he’s told me, he’s already realizing that he he’s feeling something… I think he just doesn’t acknowledge what those feelings meant…”
“Well, he better acknowledge it pretty soon…” Shun sighed, reaching for his phone and putting it on his pocket. “Horikii’s entering her third month now… I don’t want her being burdened by what Yamapi may or may not feel for her for the rest of her preganancy…”
“Oh, he will...” Matsujun laughed, confidently. “Jealousy is a very curious feeling… It might do wonders for Yamapi even if it would only run for a small span of time…”
Kame laughed. “Come to think of it, I don’t think I ever saw Pi get seriously jealous over a girl before…”
“I did…” Toma laughed. When everyone turned to him questioningly, he continued. “Remember when Horikii did that marriage ranking thing in one of your shows?” looking at Matsujun. “Well, we were at my apartment back then… I was betting him that she’d choose either Nino-kun or Sho-kun because of the shows thing but Pi said he wasn’t interested. But when she chose you in the end, he suddenly blurted out ‘Baka! She should have just chosen Nino-kun because of their upcoming show! What did she have to choose Jun for?!’ and then he stormed out. When I went to see him, he was at the kitchen, gulping down a bottle of beer like it was just water!”
“He did huh…” Matsujun grinned as the others chuckled.
“Does Sho-kun know you’re using him to make Pi jealous then?” Kame asked after a while.
“Yep…” Matsujun laughed. “He even said he’d try to ask Maki-chan what she really feels for Pi tonight…”
“Really?” Toma exclaimed. “I’m a bit curious what she’d tell him…”
Matsujun simply smiled, remembering what Mao had told him about it back when they were at the beach.
“What’s Yamashita-kun’s plans?” Mao asked out of the blue. They’ve already finished the snack Shun had provided them; the picnic set neatly packed a few steps away from them. They were just lying on their backs on the sand, watching as darkness slowly enveloped the skies.
“Huh?”
Mao chuckled. “I know that you know what’s going on… That’s why you suddenly went to Maki-chan’s place that day…”
“Oh, you mean that day you spent the whole time I was in Maki-chan’s hiding in the kitchen?” Matsujun grinned, glancing at Mao.
Mao softly punched his arm, feeling the blush creep up to her cheeks. “We’re not talking about that… And you didn’t answer my question…”
Pushing himself to a sitting position, Matsujun turned to face her.
“What do you want to know?”
Mao looked at him, then sighed, before her eyes transferred to the skies again.
“Maki-chan is like a sister to me already… As a big sister, I’d like to be assured that the guy taking my little sister away would be able to make her happy… I’d want to know what Yamashita-san can and will do for her…”
“Yamapi will do everything to prove himself…” Matsujun smiled. “The same way I’d do everything to prove myself to you…”
Mao smiled, fighting of the blush that threatens to rise once again. “Yamashita-kun proving himself would not be enough in their situation…” she said. “Not to make Maki-chan really happy, that is…”
“He can make her happy, you know…” Matsujun assured.
Mao smiled bitterly. “Not when he doesn’t love her and he’s just feeling responsible…”
Matsujun stared at her in amusement, reading between her lines.
‘Maki-chan loves Pi then…’ he told himself before he chuckled and said “Don’t judge him just yet… Anyway, why are we even talking about them right here and now?”
Mao grinned, shaking her head as she realized what he meant. She suddenly looked at her wrist watch and exclaimed “Look at the time! It’s getting really late … We better go back!” before pushing herself to her feet and hitting away the sand that clung to her clothes.
Before she could really move away though, Matsujun reached out and grabbed her hand.
“Can you tell me something before we go?” he asked, looking at her with pleading eyes. “For my birthday?”
When Mao nodded, Matsujun felt himself swallowing hard.
“Have I lost you?” he asked.
Mao smiled, extracting her hand from his grip before she reached out and grabbed the blanket they used for their picnic. Before she straightened up though, she said “I wouldn’t be here if you had…”
“I’m more curious on who’s side Sho-kun is…” Kame said, snapping Matsujun out of his reverie.
Matsujun caught Toma’s eye as they both laughed. “Like the rest of us here…” Matsujun said.
“Horikii’s side then…” Shun chuckled, making everyone laugh.
“What I want to find out is who had this idea…” Matsujun said when the laughter died down.
“Huh? Isn’t this yours?” Toma asked.
Matsujun shook his head. “Some of the specifics, yes… But the idea was already there when Johnny-san talked to me…”
He was just about to leave along with the others when Johnny said he wanted to talk to him. He was about to get nervous but as it turned out, he just wanted to talk to him about Yamapi’s situation.
Johnny said he wanted to ease in to the minds of the fans the prospect of Yamapi and Maki being together before they finally reveal it to the public, most probably to make it a bit easier for everyone involved.
That was when Matsujun suggested sightings of the two, either together or alone, with other JE boys, like Arashi, since Maki has recent and on-going projects with them.
“I’m curious though…” Shun said. “Why would your company president go to you to help out Yamapi?” he asked.
Toma laughed. “Because I heard he found out that there’s a running bet in the whole jimusho on Jun-kun getting married within the next two years or not… And that he’s working on being allowed to get married… The ratio is very much on Jun’s favor… ”
“Yeah?” smirked Shun, seeing the confused look in Jun’s face. “What’s the ratio?”
“92 to 1…”
----------
“Waaah… This day is really fun… I never expected to have this many reunions…” Maki chuckled, tuning to Sho a few minutes after Endo Keiichi excused himself to the men’s room.
“Reunions?” Sho asked.
“Yep! We had some sort of a HanaKimi reunion during your concert with Shun-kun and Toma-kun there… And now it’s Tokujo Kabachi’s turn, you, me and Keiichi-kun…”
Sho smiled, putting down his utensils before he turned to fully face Maki. “I heard you’re soon going to have a reunion in Nobuta wo Produce… Just without Kame-kun and this time, it’s permanent…”
Maki froze momentarily, taken aback by what Sho just said, before she shook her head. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised… Does everybody know?”
“In the jimusho? Maybe…”
Maki chuckled. “And the reason you invited me for dinner is because you wanted to interrogate me about it…” she said.
Sho leaned on the back of his chair and smiled. “One of it… I really wanted to catch up with you…” he said. “But yes… I wanted to see how you’re coping…”
“I’m fine…”
“No morning sickness? Food cravings? Pregnancy related illnesses?” Sho asked.
“None actually…” Maki chuckled. The last time she felt those symptoms were about two weeks ago. “I think I had those when I still didn’t know that I’m, you know… I haven’t been feeling those lately…”
“Been drinking your vitamins?” Sho asked. “I read that you’d need plenty of vitamins… Fruits too… And you’d need plenty of rest and relaxation… I also heard you shouldn’t be tensed much… And yeah, you should drink lots of milk and eat plenty of vegetables... And you should exercise too… Do you go to your check-ups regularly?”
“I do Sho-kun…” Maki laughed, amused at how the newscaster/idol sounded, like a mother. “My doctor is making sure I do everything I should do… And then there’s Mei-chan, Keiko-chan, Erika-chan, and Mao-chan… And my manager had already arranged for me to have a lighter schedule…”
“They all know too, huh…” Sho asked. When Maki nodded, he asked “How about Yamashita-kun?”
“What about him?” Maki asked, facing Sho fully.
“How is the relationship between the two of you?”
“It’s fine… I mean, since he’s the father, it has to be, right?” Maki shrugged.
In truth, she’s quite happy at how the gap between the two of them had decreased ever since Yamapi said he wanted them to start over. Yamapi would be sending her messages like “Have you eaten already?”, “Don’t forget to drink your vitamins…” and other such reminders. He’d also be sending her greetings and the like. It would always make her smile, even if what he’s doing may technically be categorized as something a good friend or a brother would do.
Besides, it helped them become friendlier now than they were for quite some time already. It was almost as if they were back in their Nobuta wo Produce days, except that she’s a lot less shy now as compared and he’s a lot less serious than how he used to be.
When she saw that Sho looked a bit concerned with her reply, she chuckled. “He’s doing his best… Things are a whole lot better between us now, actually.”
“But it’s not enough that it’s fine, right?” Sho asked.
“It’s a start…” Maki shrugged. “It’s a whole lot better than how we were when this situation started…”
When Sho didn’t reply, she thought that he had let go of the topic. But the next words that came out from his mouth shocked her, not only because he was still continuing with the topic but because of what he actually said.
“Do you love him?”
“What?!” she managed to blurt out.
“I mean, you probably feel something for him since you wouldn’t be in this situation if you hadn’t…” Sho explained. “But what do you really feel at this point?”
Maki shrugged, looking away from Sho and noticing that Endo is walking to their table.
“It doesn’t really matter…” she said.
She heard Sho sigh.
“Yeah… You do love him…”
----------
Sho couldn’t help but smile as he dialed Yamashita’s number Matsujun had provided for him.
Endo had invited him and Maki to an exclusive club where some of his other friends were gathered after their dinner. He didn’t really want to go since he is tired but Endo had coerced Maki to going (Endo pointed out that she never goes when he—Endo—is the one inviting her but would go when the others—Sho—does the inviting), he decided to go along too since she’s his responsibility for the night.
He was dreading telling Matsujun about it really, specially since he knew that Matsujun is out drinking with Shun and Toma and that all three guys would probably bite his head off for allowing Maki to be in such an environment in her pregnant state. He was already explaining that he knew that it wasn’t really a very good place to be in but he had no choice and that the club is no that bad when Matsujun said “Nice timing! Call Pi… Tell him to pick Maki-chan up…”
“What would be my reason why I can’t drive her home myself?” he asked.
“You’re intelligent Sho-kun, you’d think of something…” Matsujun chuckled. “It wouldn’t be hard to convince Pi …”
When Matsujun talked to him about the possibility of helping out in Yamapi and Maki’s situation, he wasn’t all that willing, more so because he’s not really one who’s good with those kinds of stuff. But it didn’t take him long to realize that he’s given a unique opportunity to help a couple of friends. His curiosity got the better of him too since Matsujun said that Maki’s feelings for Yamapi is much more than what she’s showing.
From what he’d seen earlier, it seems like Matsujun was right about that. He didn’t need Maki to say it directly, from the way she became reminiscent when Yamapi was mentioned to how she blushed and smiled, she had provided him with the right answer to his question.
And he couldn’t help but grin after hearing how relieved Yamapi sounded after he introduced himself. Pi and Maki might not be in a very bad situation like he originally thought.
----------
When the night’s rehearsals finally came to an end, most of the members of NewS made the wrong move of letting their guard down.
It wasn’t really that they always have to be on guard when they are together but some things just tend to happen when they do, like Ryo snapping at anyone who makes a mistake that would lead them to doing things over, to Yamapi glaring (though at no one in particular) every now and then. It’s not really that unusual, considering that Ryo is in another one of his sleep-deprived state and that Yamapi has become increasingly weird recently.
When things go right though, and mistakes are lessened, the others are rewarded with a relieved sigh. This wasn’t the case when they were preparing to leave for the night.
It wasn’t really bad when it started. In fact, Yamapi sounded very much relieved when he received that phone call.
“Oh, Sakurai-kun! I was planning to call you but I couldn’t get your number…” Yamapi exclaimed when Sho introduced himself from the other line. “Is everything okay?”
With the passing of the seconds as Yamapi listened to what Sho was saying from the other line, Yamapi’s relief gradually decimated as something akin to panic took its place.
Unfortunately, this was the scene that greeted Koyama, Shige, Tegoshi and Masuda as the four entered the green room boisterously after their bath (Ryo was already in the room and about ready to leave) which immediately sobered them.
“Why? What happened?! Is everything all right?! Where’s Maki-chan?!” Yamapi almost yelled at the phone. A few seconds of silence as Sho attempted to reply to his questions, he sighed “No! I’ll pick her up.”
Without even so much as a glance to the others occupying the room, Yamapi grabbed his bag and stormed out the room. Before the door closed though, they could all clearly hear him saying “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
Koyama, Shige, Tegoshi and Masuda caught each other’s eyes in confusion the moment Yamapi left the room but they held themselves back from doing or saying anything, Ryo was still there, with his back on everyone as he fixed his bag. When he turned around though, it was to everyone’s surprise.
“Who wants to bet against me that Pi would be there in less than five minutes?” he grinned.
----------
“I don’t know why you even went there with Sho-kun…” Pi muttered as he maneuvered his car away from the club where Sho and Maki was.
The moment he heard Sho say club, his imagination went overdrive, especially when Sho said the Endo was drunk and Sho had to take care of him. He was imagining Maki being made to drink or maybe even drunk and that she had to lean on Sho to support herself, maybe Sho even hugging her by the waist to prevent others from seeing that she is already drunk (something they all know would be bad even if she’s off age already). It was only after that that he remembered that drinking would be bad for Maki and the baby. The first images made his insides churn, which, now that he’s calmed enough with Maki sitting next to him, was a bit weird, while the last worried him.
It was all naught though when he entered the VIP parking area and saw Sho, Maki and Endo there, chatting normally, Endo not looking that much drunk and Maki looking fresh as always.
“I didn’t want to…” Maki said in a sleepy voice. “Endo-kun was really persuasive… Sho-kun was just kind enough to accompany me even if he was really tired.”
Yamapi saw her stifling a yawn as she said that by the corner of his eye and he couldn’t help but smile. Whatever he was feeling while on his way to the club were all gone the moment Maki sat on the car next to him.
“Are you sleepy?” he asked.
Maki stifled a yawn once again with a small shrug and a smile. “It was a long and fun day… Arashi’s concerts really are great.”
“So it seems…” Yamapi answered.
Ever since Nino invited them for Arashi’s concert, he was already contemplating on inviting Maki to one of their upcoming concerts. The scale wouldn’t be as huge (or as explosive) as Arashi’s but it was something he was really working hard on and he somehow wanted Maki to see that side of him. He somehow felt like he wanted to share that with her.
He hadn’t had the chance to invite her though. He was just about to tell her when he took a glance and saw that her eyes were closed, she seemed to be sleeping. Parking the car on the side for a while, he removed his jacket and covered her with it. Maki didn’t even stir which made him even more smile.
----------
Taking one last peek at Maki on her room, Yamapi was just about to close her door when he heard the vibrations emitted by her phone he had just placed on her side table.
When they arrived at her place, he tried waking her softly but when Maki opened her eyes, he saw that she wasn’t really awake. After a bit of contemplation, he decided that he’d just carry her, seeing that Maki was really tired.
After much effort (centered mostly on the difficulties opening doors with a sleeping woman in his arms), Yamapi was able to place Maki softly on her bed. Removing her heels, he covered her with a blanket, he even contemplated on changing her clothes to make her more comfortable but he decided against it especially since the room was making him remember much more clear images of what happened the last time he was there. He did loosen a couple of buttons of her shirt and unbuckled her jeans. He ended there before something else happens.
He glanced at Maki immediately, worried that the noise would wake her up, he hurriedly entered the room and grabbed the phone. He pressed the answer button right outside her bedroom door, this time, without too much contemplation. It was a good thing the one on the other side of the line is a familiar voice.
“Yamapi-kun? Is that you?” asked Keiko in a slightly amused and slightly shocked voice. “Why are you with Maki-chan in this hour? And where is she?”
“We’re in her apartment…” Yamapi whispered. “I just picked her up. She’s sleeping right now.”
“And what are you doing while she’s sleeping?”
Yamapi felt himself blush at Keiko’s insinuation. “I was just about to leave…” he defended.
“No, don’t do that…” Keiko said. “Mei-chan insisted that Maki-chan shouldn’t be left alone in her apartment these days… You know, some complications of her pregnancy might happen...”
“So, who’s coming?”
“That’s actually why I called…” Keiko said. “I was supposed to go there but something came up and I have to be at work ‘til about 4 am... Unfortunately, Mei-chan, Erika-chan and Mao-chan all have work tonight too…”
“So you’re telling me that I should spend the night here?!” Yamapi exclaimed, glancing towards Maki’s sleeping figure.
“You would?!” Keiko cheered from the other line. “That’s great then… Look, I have to go, the director’s calling. Thank you very much Yamapi-kun!”
Yamapi couldn’t help but scowl at the phone when Keiko ended the call right after that. Turning towards Maki, he closed his eyes and massaged his temples with his left arm.
‘You can do this Pi…’ he told himself as he re-entered the room to leave her phone on the side table again. Before he turned his back though, he saw himself turning to Maki, bestowing her with a lingering gaze. He felt himself smiling.
Shaking his head a bit, he turned around and left the room, telling himself ‘Yeah Yamashita. This is going to be a very long night…’
~~~~
So thats' chapter 11! as always, critics and reviews are greatly appreciated! (i mean, seriously guys... tell me what you think... :D)
anyway, i had to leave my trustee computer when we traveled to my eldest sister's place in another region because it was my nephew's third birthday... it was a pretty eventful day and i had fun playing with my nephew again but it also meant that i was unable to continued with this story...
my nephew's growing old *cries happily* (and i'm getting older... not really... :D)
and now...
TITLE: Baby Steps
CHARACTERS: Arashi members, NewS members, Horikita Maki, Inoue Mao, Oguri Shun, Ikuta Toma, and a whole horde of other Johnny's and female Japanese actresses
PAIRING: Yamashita Tomohisa/Horikita Maki; Matsumoto Jun/Inoue Mao; others
RATINGS: PG
DISCLAIMER: The only thing i own in this story is the plot...
Prologue / Chapter1/ Chapter2/ Chapter3/ Chapter4/ Chapter5/ Chapter6/ Chapter7/ Chapter8/ Chapter8.5/ Chapter9/ Chapter 10
Chapter 11
“You sure this would work?” Shun asked the moment Matsujun ended the call.
Matsujun looked up, a mischievous grin on his face; Kame, Toma, and Shun were all watching him all through out the conversation with Yamapi. They all knew how the call went, especially since it was set on loudspeaker.
“Of course it would!” Toma chuckled. “Didn’t you hear how concerned Pi sounded?”
“Yeah, he sounded particularly anxious when Jun said that she’s with Sho-kun…” Kame added. “Besides, from what he’s told me, he’s already realizing that he he’s feeling something… I think he just doesn’t acknowledge what those feelings meant…”
“Well, he better acknowledge it pretty soon…” Shun sighed, reaching for his phone and putting it on his pocket. “Horikii’s entering her third month now… I don’t want her being burdened by what Yamapi may or may not feel for her for the rest of her preganancy…”
“Oh, he will...” Matsujun laughed, confidently. “Jealousy is a very curious feeling… It might do wonders for Yamapi even if it would only run for a small span of time…”
Kame laughed. “Come to think of it, I don’t think I ever saw Pi get seriously jealous over a girl before…”
“I did…” Toma laughed. When everyone turned to him questioningly, he continued. “Remember when Horikii did that marriage ranking thing in one of your shows?” looking at Matsujun. “Well, we were at my apartment back then… I was betting him that she’d choose either Nino-kun or Sho-kun because of the shows thing but Pi said he wasn’t interested. But when she chose you in the end, he suddenly blurted out ‘Baka! She should have just chosen Nino-kun because of their upcoming show! What did she have to choose Jun for?!’ and then he stormed out. When I went to see him, he was at the kitchen, gulping down a bottle of beer like it was just water!”
“He did huh…” Matsujun grinned as the others chuckled.
“Does Sho-kun know you’re using him to make Pi jealous then?” Kame asked after a while.
“Yep…” Matsujun laughed. “He even said he’d try to ask Maki-chan what she really feels for Pi tonight…”
“Really?” Toma exclaimed. “I’m a bit curious what she’d tell him…”
Matsujun simply smiled, remembering what Mao had told him about it back when they were at the beach.
“What’s Yamashita-kun’s plans?” Mao asked out of the blue. They’ve already finished the snack Shun had provided them; the picnic set neatly packed a few steps away from them. They were just lying on their backs on the sand, watching as darkness slowly enveloped the skies.
“Huh?”
Mao chuckled. “I know that you know what’s going on… That’s why you suddenly went to Maki-chan’s place that day…”
“Oh, you mean that day you spent the whole time I was in Maki-chan’s hiding in the kitchen?” Matsujun grinned, glancing at Mao.
Mao softly punched his arm, feeling the blush creep up to her cheeks. “We’re not talking about that… And you didn’t answer my question…”
Pushing himself to a sitting position, Matsujun turned to face her.
“What do you want to know?”
Mao looked at him, then sighed, before her eyes transferred to the skies again.
“Maki-chan is like a sister to me already… As a big sister, I’d like to be assured that the guy taking my little sister away would be able to make her happy… I’d want to know what Yamashita-san can and will do for her…”
“Yamapi will do everything to prove himself…” Matsujun smiled. “The same way I’d do everything to prove myself to you…”
Mao smiled, fighting of the blush that threatens to rise once again. “Yamashita-kun proving himself would not be enough in their situation…” she said. “Not to make Maki-chan really happy, that is…”
“He can make her happy, you know…” Matsujun assured.
Mao smiled bitterly. “Not when he doesn’t love her and he’s just feeling responsible…”
Matsujun stared at her in amusement, reading between her lines.
‘Maki-chan loves Pi then…’ he told himself before he chuckled and said “Don’t judge him just yet… Anyway, why are we even talking about them right here and now?”
Mao grinned, shaking her head as she realized what he meant. She suddenly looked at her wrist watch and exclaimed “Look at the time! It’s getting really late … We better go back!” before pushing herself to her feet and hitting away the sand that clung to her clothes.
Before she could really move away though, Matsujun reached out and grabbed her hand.
“Can you tell me something before we go?” he asked, looking at her with pleading eyes. “For my birthday?”
When Mao nodded, Matsujun felt himself swallowing hard.
“Have I lost you?” he asked.
Mao smiled, extracting her hand from his grip before she reached out and grabbed the blanket they used for their picnic. Before she straightened up though, she said “I wouldn’t be here if you had…”
“I’m more curious on who’s side Sho-kun is…” Kame said, snapping Matsujun out of his reverie.
Matsujun caught Toma’s eye as they both laughed. “Like the rest of us here…” Matsujun said.
“Horikii’s side then…” Shun chuckled, making everyone laugh.
“What I want to find out is who had this idea…” Matsujun said when the laughter died down.
“Huh? Isn’t this yours?” Toma asked.
Matsujun shook his head. “Some of the specifics, yes… But the idea was already there when Johnny-san talked to me…”
He was just about to leave along with the others when Johnny said he wanted to talk to him. He was about to get nervous but as it turned out, he just wanted to talk to him about Yamapi’s situation.
Johnny said he wanted to ease in to the minds of the fans the prospect of Yamapi and Maki being together before they finally reveal it to the public, most probably to make it a bit easier for everyone involved.
That was when Matsujun suggested sightings of the two, either together or alone, with other JE boys, like Arashi, since Maki has recent and on-going projects with them.
“I’m curious though…” Shun said. “Why would your company president go to you to help out Yamapi?” he asked.
Toma laughed. “Because I heard he found out that there’s a running bet in the whole jimusho on Jun-kun getting married within the next two years or not… And that he’s working on being allowed to get married… The ratio is very much on Jun’s favor… ”
“Yeah?” smirked Shun, seeing the confused look in Jun’s face. “What’s the ratio?”
“92 to 1…”
----------
“Waaah… This day is really fun… I never expected to have this many reunions…” Maki chuckled, tuning to Sho a few minutes after Endo Keiichi excused himself to the men’s room.
“Reunions?” Sho asked.
“Yep! We had some sort of a HanaKimi reunion during your concert with Shun-kun and Toma-kun there… And now it’s Tokujo Kabachi’s turn, you, me and Keiichi-kun…”
Sho smiled, putting down his utensils before he turned to fully face Maki. “I heard you’re soon going to have a reunion in Nobuta wo Produce… Just without Kame-kun and this time, it’s permanent…”
Maki froze momentarily, taken aback by what Sho just said, before she shook her head. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised… Does everybody know?”
“In the jimusho? Maybe…”
Maki chuckled. “And the reason you invited me for dinner is because you wanted to interrogate me about it…” she said.
Sho leaned on the back of his chair and smiled. “One of it… I really wanted to catch up with you…” he said. “But yes… I wanted to see how you’re coping…”
“I’m fine…”
“No morning sickness? Food cravings? Pregnancy related illnesses?” Sho asked.
“None actually…” Maki chuckled. The last time she felt those symptoms were about two weeks ago. “I think I had those when I still didn’t know that I’m, you know… I haven’t been feeling those lately…”
“Been drinking your vitamins?” Sho asked. “I read that you’d need plenty of vitamins… Fruits too… And you’d need plenty of rest and relaxation… I also heard you shouldn’t be tensed much… And yeah, you should drink lots of milk and eat plenty of vegetables... And you should exercise too… Do you go to your check-ups regularly?”
“I do Sho-kun…” Maki laughed, amused at how the newscaster/idol sounded, like a mother. “My doctor is making sure I do everything I should do… And then there’s Mei-chan, Keiko-chan, Erika-chan, and Mao-chan… And my manager had already arranged for me to have a lighter schedule…”
“They all know too, huh…” Sho asked. When Maki nodded, he asked “How about Yamashita-kun?”
“What about him?” Maki asked, facing Sho fully.
“How is the relationship between the two of you?”
“It’s fine… I mean, since he’s the father, it has to be, right?” Maki shrugged.
In truth, she’s quite happy at how the gap between the two of them had decreased ever since Yamapi said he wanted them to start over. Yamapi would be sending her messages like “Have you eaten already?”, “Don’t forget to drink your vitamins…” and other such reminders. He’d also be sending her greetings and the like. It would always make her smile, even if what he’s doing may technically be categorized as something a good friend or a brother would do.
Besides, it helped them become friendlier now than they were for quite some time already. It was almost as if they were back in their Nobuta wo Produce days, except that she’s a lot less shy now as compared and he’s a lot less serious than how he used to be.
When she saw that Sho looked a bit concerned with her reply, she chuckled. “He’s doing his best… Things are a whole lot better between us now, actually.”
“But it’s not enough that it’s fine, right?” Sho asked.
“It’s a start…” Maki shrugged. “It’s a whole lot better than how we were when this situation started…”
When Sho didn’t reply, she thought that he had let go of the topic. But the next words that came out from his mouth shocked her, not only because he was still continuing with the topic but because of what he actually said.
“Do you love him?”
“What?!” she managed to blurt out.
“I mean, you probably feel something for him since you wouldn’t be in this situation if you hadn’t…” Sho explained. “But what do you really feel at this point?”
Maki shrugged, looking away from Sho and noticing that Endo is walking to their table.
“It doesn’t really matter…” she said.
She heard Sho sigh.
“Yeah… You do love him…”
----------
Sho couldn’t help but smile as he dialed Yamashita’s number Matsujun had provided for him.
Endo had invited him and Maki to an exclusive club where some of his other friends were gathered after their dinner. He didn’t really want to go since he is tired but Endo had coerced Maki to going (Endo pointed out that she never goes when he—Endo—is the one inviting her but would go when the others—Sho—does the inviting), he decided to go along too since she’s his responsibility for the night.
He was dreading telling Matsujun about it really, specially since he knew that Matsujun is out drinking with Shun and Toma and that all three guys would probably bite his head off for allowing Maki to be in such an environment in her pregnant state. He was already explaining that he knew that it wasn’t really a very good place to be in but he had no choice and that the club is no that bad when Matsujun said “Nice timing! Call Pi… Tell him to pick Maki-chan up…”
“What would be my reason why I can’t drive her home myself?” he asked.
“You’re intelligent Sho-kun, you’d think of something…” Matsujun chuckled. “It wouldn’t be hard to convince Pi …”
When Matsujun talked to him about the possibility of helping out in Yamapi and Maki’s situation, he wasn’t all that willing, more so because he’s not really one who’s good with those kinds of stuff. But it didn’t take him long to realize that he’s given a unique opportunity to help a couple of friends. His curiosity got the better of him too since Matsujun said that Maki’s feelings for Yamapi is much more than what she’s showing.
From what he’d seen earlier, it seems like Matsujun was right about that. He didn’t need Maki to say it directly, from the way she became reminiscent when Yamapi was mentioned to how she blushed and smiled, she had provided him with the right answer to his question.
And he couldn’t help but grin after hearing how relieved Yamapi sounded after he introduced himself. Pi and Maki might not be in a very bad situation like he originally thought.
----------
When the night’s rehearsals finally came to an end, most of the members of NewS made the wrong move of letting their guard down.
It wasn’t really that they always have to be on guard when they are together but some things just tend to happen when they do, like Ryo snapping at anyone who makes a mistake that would lead them to doing things over, to Yamapi glaring (though at no one in particular) every now and then. It’s not really that unusual, considering that Ryo is in another one of his sleep-deprived state and that Yamapi has become increasingly weird recently.
When things go right though, and mistakes are lessened, the others are rewarded with a relieved sigh. This wasn’t the case when they were preparing to leave for the night.
It wasn’t really bad when it started. In fact, Yamapi sounded very much relieved when he received that phone call.
“Oh, Sakurai-kun! I was planning to call you but I couldn’t get your number…” Yamapi exclaimed when Sho introduced himself from the other line. “Is everything okay?”
With the passing of the seconds as Yamapi listened to what Sho was saying from the other line, Yamapi’s relief gradually decimated as something akin to panic took its place.
Unfortunately, this was the scene that greeted Koyama, Shige, Tegoshi and Masuda as the four entered the green room boisterously after their bath (Ryo was already in the room and about ready to leave) which immediately sobered them.
“Why? What happened?! Is everything all right?! Where’s Maki-chan?!” Yamapi almost yelled at the phone. A few seconds of silence as Sho attempted to reply to his questions, he sighed “No! I’ll pick her up.”
Without even so much as a glance to the others occupying the room, Yamapi grabbed his bag and stormed out the room. Before the door closed though, they could all clearly hear him saying “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
Koyama, Shige, Tegoshi and Masuda caught each other’s eyes in confusion the moment Yamapi left the room but they held themselves back from doing or saying anything, Ryo was still there, with his back on everyone as he fixed his bag. When he turned around though, it was to everyone’s surprise.
“Who wants to bet against me that Pi would be there in less than five minutes?” he grinned.
----------
“I don’t know why you even went there with Sho-kun…” Pi muttered as he maneuvered his car away from the club where Sho and Maki was.
The moment he heard Sho say club, his imagination went overdrive, especially when Sho said the Endo was drunk and Sho had to take care of him. He was imagining Maki being made to drink or maybe even drunk and that she had to lean on Sho to support herself, maybe Sho even hugging her by the waist to prevent others from seeing that she is already drunk (something they all know would be bad even if she’s off age already). It was only after that that he remembered that drinking would be bad for Maki and the baby. The first images made his insides churn, which, now that he’s calmed enough with Maki sitting next to him, was a bit weird, while the last worried him.
It was all naught though when he entered the VIP parking area and saw Sho, Maki and Endo there, chatting normally, Endo not looking that much drunk and Maki looking fresh as always.
“I didn’t want to…” Maki said in a sleepy voice. “Endo-kun was really persuasive… Sho-kun was just kind enough to accompany me even if he was really tired.”
Yamapi saw her stifling a yawn as she said that by the corner of his eye and he couldn’t help but smile. Whatever he was feeling while on his way to the club were all gone the moment Maki sat on the car next to him.
“Are you sleepy?” he asked.
Maki stifled a yawn once again with a small shrug and a smile. “It was a long and fun day… Arashi’s concerts really are great.”
“So it seems…” Yamapi answered.
Ever since Nino invited them for Arashi’s concert, he was already contemplating on inviting Maki to one of their upcoming concerts. The scale wouldn’t be as huge (or as explosive) as Arashi’s but it was something he was really working hard on and he somehow wanted Maki to see that side of him. He somehow felt like he wanted to share that with her.
He hadn’t had the chance to invite her though. He was just about to tell her when he took a glance and saw that her eyes were closed, she seemed to be sleeping. Parking the car on the side for a while, he removed his jacket and covered her with it. Maki didn’t even stir which made him even more smile.
----------
Taking one last peek at Maki on her room, Yamapi was just about to close her door when he heard the vibrations emitted by her phone he had just placed on her side table.
When they arrived at her place, he tried waking her softly but when Maki opened her eyes, he saw that she wasn’t really awake. After a bit of contemplation, he decided that he’d just carry her, seeing that Maki was really tired.
After much effort (centered mostly on the difficulties opening doors with a sleeping woman in his arms), Yamapi was able to place Maki softly on her bed. Removing her heels, he covered her with a blanket, he even contemplated on changing her clothes to make her more comfortable but he decided against it especially since the room was making him remember much more clear images of what happened the last time he was there. He did loosen a couple of buttons of her shirt and unbuckled her jeans. He ended there before something else happens.
He glanced at Maki immediately, worried that the noise would wake her up, he hurriedly entered the room and grabbed the phone. He pressed the answer button right outside her bedroom door, this time, without too much contemplation. It was a good thing the one on the other side of the line is a familiar voice.
“Yamapi-kun? Is that you?” asked Keiko in a slightly amused and slightly shocked voice. “Why are you with Maki-chan in this hour? And where is she?”
“We’re in her apartment…” Yamapi whispered. “I just picked her up. She’s sleeping right now.”
“And what are you doing while she’s sleeping?”
Yamapi felt himself blush at Keiko’s insinuation. “I was just about to leave…” he defended.
“No, don’t do that…” Keiko said. “Mei-chan insisted that Maki-chan shouldn’t be left alone in her apartment these days… You know, some complications of her pregnancy might happen...”
“So, who’s coming?”
“That’s actually why I called…” Keiko said. “I was supposed to go there but something came up and I have to be at work ‘til about 4 am... Unfortunately, Mei-chan, Erika-chan and Mao-chan all have work tonight too…”
“So you’re telling me that I should spend the night here?!” Yamapi exclaimed, glancing towards Maki’s sleeping figure.
“You would?!” Keiko cheered from the other line. “That’s great then… Look, I have to go, the director’s calling. Thank you very much Yamapi-kun!”
Yamapi couldn’t help but scowl at the phone when Keiko ended the call right after that. Turning towards Maki, he closed his eyes and massaged his temples with his left arm.
‘You can do this Pi…’ he told himself as he re-entered the room to leave her phone on the side table again. Before he turned his back though, he saw himself turning to Maki, bestowing her with a lingering gaze. He felt himself smiling.
Shaking his head a bit, he turned around and left the room, telling himself ‘Yeah Yamashita. This is going to be a very long night…’
~~~~
So thats' chapter 11! as always, critics and reviews are greatly appreciated! (i mean, seriously guys... tell me what you think... :D)
