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Ai Nante	By : SujiChan Category: J-Rock/J-Pop & K-Pop > NEWS Views: 981 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Absolutely fake. I do not know anyone from NEWS or anyone else in this piece of fiction, nor do I make any money off it.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
Part 6: The Near Past

Tegoshi came down the stairs, and smiled at his mother as she set breakfast on the table. “You have a lesson tonight, right? You’re going to meet Sensei Warukaa?”

His mother nodded. “Yes, just like usual.”

He sat, and poured himself a glass of soymilk. “Has she talked about me?”

“What?” She sat down slowly, startled. “Should she?”

He gave a somewhat dramatic sigh. “So she hasn’t mentioned that for a few weeks I’ve been chasing after her?”

“Chasing?” She blinked.

He nodded, serving himself some onigiri. “Yeah. I like her, but she thinks you’d object because you’re her student. I tried to tell her that it’s our feelings for each other that matter,” he sounded casual, and hadn’t glanced up yet to gauge her reaction.

“You like her?”

Tegoshi smiled. “I do. And you’ve often said what a kind and generous person she is, and that you think she needs someone to love her. Well, I’m that someone.”

“Oh, but… what if she doesn’t feel the same?” his mother asked, still startled by the whole declaration.

“I know she does or she wouldn’t have kissed me back,” he replied, put his hands together, bowed his head as he said ‘grace’, and then began to eat. He could hear his grandmother chuckling in admiration, and he peered curiously at her. She winked at him. He had to fight not to smile.

“You kissed her! Yuya…”

Tegoshi straightened and arched a brow. “Grandmother was 6 years older than grandfather was. Sensei Warukaa had been trying to avoid me, but I like her, and I tried to forget about her, but I can’t. I feel it here,” and he put a hand to his chest. “I kissed her, and she didn’t push me away, but she’s been avoiding me again because she doesn’t want to insult you. I’m not asking you to talk to her. This is a battle that I have to win on my own.”

“Battle?” his mother repeated, blinking again.

“Yeah. Grandmother once told me that getting grandfather to admit he loved her was like fighting a war, but she won him over one battle at a time.” He smiled at his grandmother who grinned before she lifted her tea and sipped at it. “Well, I’ve been winning one battle at a time too, and the final one is coming soon. All I want is to know if you’d accept Sensei, no, Dani and I being together? And I want you to know that even if you don’t I’ll still want to be with her. I can’t stop how I feel.”

His grandmother turned to her daughter-in-law. “He’s not proposing to her, but even if he is we should think of his happiness. If I’d not followed my own heart and married the man I love you wouldn’t have Yuya today.”

He was so grateful for his grandmother’s support that he leaned impulsively across the table and kissed her cheek. She flushed and laughed. He gazed inquiringly at his mother who nodded, and he kissed her cheek next before he rushed out, calling goodbyes and saying he’d see them later.

Later that day, during a break in practice, he approached the one person he knew would not ask too many questions or broadcast their conversation. “Do you have a minute to talk privately?”

YamaPi glanced up, and after a moment nodded. “Sure. I want to get a little fresh air so walk with me.”

Both males walked to the exit after YamaPi said they were going out to get some air. Being the end of September it was still mild out, but with the promise of autumnal crispness in the air. It was a parking area, really, that they walked around, part of it empty at the moment.

Tegoshi saw no one was around, really. “How do you handle fans, Johnny’s, and a girlfriend?”

YamaPi was startled, but hid it by shoving his hands in his denim’s pockets and kicking at a stone to send it skittering a few feet away. “What do you mean? Johnny’s comes first because if you piss him off you won’t find any other kind of work in this field. With Johnny’s first it makes the fans happy because they get what they want. Your free time you divide between family and girlfriend, making sure you spend holidays like Christmas and her birthday with her.”

Nodding Tegoshi filed that information away. “What I mean is, how do you keep your private life private so fans don’t bother her or your appeal as a Johnny’s isn’t lowered because you have a girlfriend.”

“Ahhh,” YamaPi nodded, and stopped walking. He dropped his head back, lifting his face to the sun, his eyes shut and his lips pursing for a moment as he thought how best to answer.

Tegoshi watched him, thinking that the man had a nice profile, one that many fans screamed over. This simple stance of the leader of NEWS was a fabricated one, but so ingrained that it was almost natural now. YamaPi knew how to stand or how to position himself to best advantage so the fans would get what they wanted. Some of it he’d been doing for so long that Tegoshi knew it was automatic now, even when there wasn’t a camera or fans about.

“Timing,” YamaPi suddenly blurted. He dropped his head forward again, and glanced at his younger companion. “Don’t make a date to bring your girlfriend shopping in Shibuya during their busiest hours. Don’t make dinner plans with her for a family type restaurant during their busiest meal times. Have a late dinner, or an early one and then later on stop at a stand to eat late. Make a picnic meal and go to the beach. If you want to buy her something she sees in the shop and likes then make the shopping trip a group thing. Invite friends so it just looks like a bunch of pals shopping to others, and later treat her to the gift during that picnic at the beach or something. Take her to an onsen, or some out of the way place. You’d be surprised of the amazing places that even we, native Japanese, aren’t familiar with. That amazing little shop on the outskirts of Nagoya that makes… the best candies in the country! I don’t know, but they’re there. And it’s a date that can be a full day one or overnight one depending on the distance. Those are special dates. For holidays you can walk hand in hand late at night down the street, and almost no one will recognize you. You can cook a meal together, see a movie, or just walk and find a nice little dark corner to stop and steal a kiss. Those are things lovers cherish. We don’t sing about it for nothing, Tesshi.”

Tegoshi blinked. He was right. Snow Express was about riding the bus late at night and cuddling close at the back of it while it snowed outside. Kiss was about walking in the park and stopping at a bench they’d sat at forever, and sharing a kiss. Sayaendou was about clandestine meetings in dark corners to spend time alone away from prying eyes. He nodded, beaming. “Thanks.”

“So, a girlfriend?” YamaPi grinned as one brow arched curiously.

Blushing, Tegoshi shook his head. “Someone I like. But just in case.”

“Just in case,” nodded the older male. “C’mon, our break’s over.”

“Really, thanks. It helped a lot,” Tegoshi bowed to him before they started to walk back.
…………………………

The Present

“How come you never gave me that kind of advice?” Ryo complained.

YamaPi snorted. “Because you’re so cool I figured you’d know,” he teased. “You never asked.”

“Oh.” Ryo flushed, nodding. “I guess I never did. Good advice though. Maybe you’re not a bad leader after all!” he teased.

The others laughed, and Masuda bent to feed more wood to the fire. Sparks shot up into the dark above them, and they all glanced up to watch. “It’s kind of like that, isn’t it?” Shige suddenly blurted. He felt the others look at him curiously so he elaborated. “Relationships and sparks flying up into the sky. They can burn so bright, but they sometimes try to reach too high, and they burn out. Or maybe not so much relationships as love.”

There was a heavy moment of silence as everyone let those words sink in. Masuda and Koyama gave Tegoshi sideways glances, trying to gauge his reaction to Shige’s statement. The youngest of the group was nodding, frowning as he still stared at the sky above them.

“But sometimes that first bright burn is enough,” Ryo added. “I mean, sometimes a spark can land elsewhere and start a fire that can burn a long time. So it’s never the end, is it? It may not be the same original fire, but it’s a new one. A new path, a new love, a new relationship. In the end, you can go on, still burning, and still bright, and find something new that will last longer, be more powerful.”

“Whoa, Ryo Chan the philosopher!” Koyama teased, but pleased with the other’s viewpoint. It would give Tegoshi hope.

Ryo blushed. He was often the coldest of the group verbally, but he had a big heart. He was often shy, and blushed easily. He believed in love, and when he found that special someone he wanted the love they shared to be beautiful and powerful and everlasting. He was, in essence, a romantic. “Shut up!” he shot, but grinned a little to show he wasn’t upset.

“I think you’re both right,” Tegoshi suddenly spoke. “But some sparks, when they burn out, fall back into the fire, and I’d like to believe that they get new life, burn bright again, and learned from their mistake so they don’t try to fly up again.”

Shige nodded, impressed with the younger male’s viewpoint. “Interesting. I think you may be right.”

YamaPi cleared his throat. “So what happened at the market?”
…………………………

The Near Past

It coincided perfectly. Tegoshi had a day off, and around ten am his cell rang. “Hello?” he answered, at first not recognizing the number that came up. He’d been sitting at his desk, bent over his homework. He didn’t have much to do on it. Not chasing after Dani so much meant he had more time to devote to it. Or rather, he made himself devote time to it to stop himself chasing after Dani.

“Sensei Warukaa left about five minutes ago for the market.”

Tegoshi blinked, and then realized who it was. “Thank you!” he leapt up, ready to run out. He had to stop to make certain he had his wallet before rushing out. “Thank you very much!”

It didn’t take long to drive to Dani’s, park, and then run to the market which was only a few streets over. Among the majority of ebony haired heads her blond one was like a beacon. He weaved his way through the crowd, nodding politely and excusing himself as he did so. She hadn’t seen him yet, distracted as she was by the herbs a vendor had on display. He stopped right beside her, his gaze admiring the form fitted denims that accentuated her curves, and the long sleeved white cotton knit top she wore. It was the first day of October, cooler out now, as though the weather knew it was a new month, and acted appropriately.

Dani felt someone beside her, lifted her head, and stared up at him. How had he known where to find her? How had he known to come now? How did he always know how to break through her defences and touch her heart? She couldn’t look away from his eyes, and she saw the tenderness and hope that lit them. His smile was bright, broad, showing that he was so happy to see her. Her heart pounded louder and louder, the power it generated growing stronger and stronger until it shattered the fragile armour she’d tried so hard to keep erected against him. The rest of the world evaporated. There was only Tegoshi, with those beautiful eyes and that amazing smile.

She leaned forward, her forehead falling against his collarbone, the only part of her to touch him. She was defeated. She couldn’t lie to herself anymore, or to him. She didn’t want to resist anymore. “Yuya,” she whispered. He smelled so good, clean and male and with a hint of crisp cologne that made her think of cold winter nights and snuggling against him for warmth. “I like you,” she confessed.

His heart exploded. His eyes fell shut, and he tipped his head down so his chin rested on the top of her head. They touched in no other way, and it was okay because this was good. It was enough. It was everything.

“Do you still want the ginger?” the vendor interrupted them.

Dani stepped back, blinking. She’d forgotten they were in a crowded market. Her behaviour was quite bold for the public. She bowed, apologizing and finishing her purchases. She flushed in pleasure when Tegoshi took her hand and walked with her through the market, both of them taking their time and admiring stalls, or pausing to make purchases. When she was done they walked back towards her apartment.

“How did you know where I was?” she asked, a cloth bag of purchases in one hand, her other hand in Tegoshi’s larger one. He carried a second cloth bag of purchases.

“The shop owner. She’s been helping me by making sure you get the things I leave you, and today she called to tell me you were at the market.” He felt no remorse for the fact that he’d had her landlady as his ally.

She nodded. That made sense. “I think it’s time I explained to you why I tried so hard to stay away.” She led the way up the stairs, and unlocked her door. “Come in. I’ll make tea and something to eat.”

He removed his shoes like she did, and followed her to the kitchen. Not wanting to be in the way he unpacked the bags and set the purchases on the counter while she filled a kettle with water. “Oh, hold on. I’ll be right back!” He had pulled out a small wrapped box. “I got this as a thank you for the shop owner. I’ll just run it down to her.” It wasn’t much, but it was a gift of gratitude.

Dani put the groceries away as the kettle boiled, and smiled when Tegoshi returned a few moments later. “Do you need help?” he asked, standing near the door, looking awkwardly shy suddenly.

She shook her head. “No, thank you. Come sit down, and we can talk.” She had poured the water into the pot of tealeaves, and set it on a tray with two cups. There was also a plate with finger foods. She carried it to the kotatsu table, and knelt carefully as she placed it in the centre.

Tegoshi watched her, unable to take his eyes off his new ‘girlfriend’. He was afraid that if he looked away it would fade away, like a dream does when you wake up. She liked him! She’d confessed to it only a little over an hour ago. It still amazed him.

She blushed, and pushed that one recalcitrant lock of hair back. She had her hair in a regular ponytail today. “You’re staring,” she told him, her hands clasping together on the table.

“I’m afraid if I stop looking at you this will stop being real,” he admitted. “Did you really say you like me? Are we really together now?”

Her blush deepened, and she unclasped her hands and reached out to touch one of his. “I did say I like you. I know I’ve been giving you a hard time lately, and I’m sorry,” she bowed to show the sincerity of her regret. “That first night, after I found out you’re an actor and singer I felt… shocked. I was attracted to someone who was the son of a student, and not just any someone, but someone famous! I had no right to aspire to being with that kind of person.”

“Dani…”

She held up her free hand to halt him. “Wait, let me finish please or I won’t be able to.” He nodded so she glanced down at their joined hands, watching the way her thumb stroked his knuckles, a caress as much out of affection as out of nervousness. “I came home and did a search of your name on the Internet, and it also led to Johnny’s Entertainment. I’d heard of JE, of course. Who hasn’t? One of the most powerful men in Japan. There were all kinds of rumours going around, and I don’t want to know which are true and which aren’t, but it scared me.”

“What if he found out that one of his entertainers liked an American? The whole appeal to Johnny’s is that his boys are single as well as talented and good looking. What if he didn’t like me wanting to be with you? That led to questions of how much we liked each other, and you were so persistent, and I kept thinking if you defied him would your life be ruined, and it be my fault?”

Now he interrupted, moving to the side of the kotatsu closest to her, and turning her to face him, his hands on her shoulders. “No, no! Why didn’t you talk to me about this? I could have told you that it would be okay…”

“But would it only be words?” she demanded, frowning at him. “Would it really be okay? And if it weren’t, would you walk away and choose your life? And before you answer that know that I would never do anything to jeopardise your future. If I were the cause of your career being ruined I’d never forgive myself. I would rather leave than hurt you in any way.”

“Listen to me,” he urged her, afraid that her train of thought would make her change her mind about them. “It will be okay.” When she shook her head he let go of her shoulders to frame her face in his palms, making her look at him. “I talked to YamaPi about how to keep a relationship private, and how to balance work and love and family. He had some very good advice. He’s dated a lot, and it’s not been a problem.”

Her eyes were wide and hopeful. There was a pale pink flush to her cheeks, and her lips were slightly parted and dark pink. “We’ll be fine,” he whispered. His gaze fell to those lips, and he struggled within himself: wanting to kiss her, to know again the feel of those lips against his, and the ingrained propriety of not being so bold.

Dani caught at the unbuttoned denim jacket he was wearing, and tugged him closer, lifted her face, and caught his bottom lip between hers. “Sorry, but I’ve wanted to do that since the night you kissed me,” she whispered against his mouth.

He smiled against her lips. His hands slid to the ponytail, and worked at removing the elastic until the locks fell free. The elastic fell, forgotten as he buried his hands deep in her hair, and pulled her back into another kiss.
………………………
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Ai Nante