Warning: None! :]
Author’s Notes: I’m back with a long chapter in the span of one week! 8D Hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I can’t believe I’m already on chapter sixteen. @__@ Thanks to all the readers who stuck with me all this time! ♥

Chapter 16: Buying Time

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Heaven:

the only friend that will always be there for us;

Heaven:

the only place to run to when we’re tired of everything else.

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“Aren’t you thankful?”

‘No, I’m not.’

Nino paused at the question and at the thought which just flashed through his mind. What was happening to him? He felt as if he was falling deeper and deeper into the clutches of the core of humanity: blissful ignorance and greed for more knowledge. A scream seemed to scratch the insides of his throat, but the café echoed with the quiet clatter of glass plates. He stared at Jun for a moment, before his eyes fleeted to Aiba.

“Very,” Nino mumbled, his agreement barely making its way through the noise. His eyes were locked onto the taller man next to him. Aiba’s eyes gave way to no emotion; fear, anxiety, pain, and everything of the sort seemed to vanish from his world. He was merely blank and just the slightest bit surprised.

“Well,” Jun clapped his hands in what seemed as delight, “I’ve reserved a spot for us to eat lunch together. It’s not here of course.” His nose sniffed upright in indignation at the thought of eating at such a small and filthy place (which was in fact, not filthy and small at all). “Shall we leave then?”  Without stopping for an answer, Jun promptly exited the cafe, leaving the rest to trail after him.

Nino hung in the back of the group awkwardly.

‘This is just like middle school,’ he thought to himself dismally. Looking ahead, Sho and Ohno talked in near-silent tones, and Aiba started to approach Jun. ‘Aiba-san?’ Nino picked up his pace slightly so that he might hear their conversation.

Aiba and Jun now walked side by side, flashing smiles at one another. Nino could only detect the fake, polite ones, all of the genuine and friendly ones flying over his head. His ears perked up with great strain to try to catch their words.

“…came back…” Aiba’s voice foggily penetrated his thoughts.

“He doesn’t…”

“…don’t you…”

Nothing Nino picked up made any sense to him, but he suspected that they were talking about him anyways. Giving up, Nino turned his eyes to the sky, the summer blue paint covering any signs of clouds. Looking around, he felt as if he’d walked this same road before. He flipped through his memories of Japan quickly, finding not a hint of the semi-familiar street.

“Kanpai!”

Nino stopped awkwardly, the other four not noticing his jerked halt. His head pounded lightly with overflowing memories.

“Hey, we made it, Aiba-chan!”

“Yeah, no need to cry.”

“It’s three years, and we’re still here, huh?”

“Riida, you sound like you aren’t talking about yourself!”

“It’s really like a dream…”

“Our…third year anniversary?” Nino whispered aloud to himself. Seeing the group walk farther and farther away, he picked up his pace to a trot, not wanting to be left behind. The trees, concrete, and buildings seemed to wash over with the color of nostalgia and the scent of the past. Nino pumped his legs a bit faster, his heart racing more than it should have been. He wanted to reach out a hand and pull them back where he was forever living: the past. The future carried no meaning for him anymore; Nino just wanted to go back to when they were still young, together, and a group as one being.

His unspoken wish would never come true, partly because he would never speak it and partly because they wouldn’t be able to return to those times. Ohno’s familiar back finally became a bigger size, but it seemed stiff with tension. Slowing down, Nino looked at the four with suspicious eyes.

“Where were you?” Sho asked. “We were waiting for you here, you know?”

Nino wanted to yell at Sho, hit him, and ask him why he’d let Jun take all of them. Hadn’t he been against Jun this whole time?

“Sorry. I was…thinking,” Nino gritted through his teeth hesitantly.

But honestly, who was he to speak? Nino was the one who wanted to know the whole truth, and he knew that Jun was the only way to get it. So why was he so afraid? Why was he so irritated with the thought that Arashi was finally standing with one another again? His mind screamed with confusion and pain, contradicting thoughts battling each other fiercely.

“Nino, you okay?” Ohno’s comfortable murmur brought the actor out of himself.

‘This isn’t right,’ a voice whispered in Nino’s head. ‘Something’s wrong. It shouldn’t be like this.’ Nino couldn’t help but agree with the statement, “yeah” escaping his lips to answer Ohno’s question and to agree with the voice.

Finally noticing the large double doors in front of him, Nino realized that they were already at their destination. Jun opened the oak doors slowly, as if enjoying the creaking sound underneath his palms. The four followed him through the large building, their footsteps echoing in the empty building. Strange, that no one else would be here on a weekend. Nino tried to shrug off his suspicion, only wanting to go home at that point.

Where was his home?

‘Too many questions,’ Nino moaned in his head. They made their way to a small corridor, finding an escalator down.

“The restaurant’s underground?” Aiba asked, impressed. Jun clicked his tongue and nodded for an answer, holding his hand out to signify the others should go first.

Sho went first without any hesitation, stepping onto one of the gliding steps. Ohno was next, but he hesitated, his eyes shining with fear. He watched the steps go further and further down, their motion never stopping. Their path repeated smoothly.

“Scared you’re going to fall, Riida?” Jun almost sneered.

The nickname tagged at the back of the question seemed sticky with disdain and mockery. “It’s a long way down, isn’t it?” Ohno stared at Jun with so much ferocity that he thought his eyes were going to burn up and explode. Hints of contempt were hidden in the older man’s coffee eyes, but Jun showed no sign of backing down or fear on his face. “We’ll catch you if you fall,” Jun taunted irately.

Ohno curled his hands into tight fists, his fingernails digging painfully into his skin. His whole body trembled with unspoken anger, and his eyes were frozen on Jun’s disturbingly handsome face.

“Just like they did.”

Aiba grabbed Ohno’s wrist, stopping him from doing anything irrational. Sure, his hand was nowhere near Jun’s face, but it might as well be with the disgust flickering in his eyes. Jun’s whisper was still suspended in the air moments after, seeming to ward off all bitter feelings.

“Don’t, Oh-chan,” Aiba mumbled, putting his arm around the shorter man’s shoulders. He tore the intensity from Jun and Ohno’s stare, and stepped onto the escalator, Ohno’s arm tightly locked in his own. Nino watched the two descend with helpless eyes.

Jun turned to look at the actor with a pleased gaze, as if the previous conversation hadn’t just occurred.

“After you, Mr. Hollywood!” Jun exclaimed jubilantly, almost bouncing off the heels of his feet.

Nino mutely stepped onto to the steps, letting them take him down to the restaurant. The need to know everything was now completely lost, exhaustion taking over its place. But questions still tickled the back of his mind, and new realizations still set in his thoughts.

He’d never once seen Ohno shake with anger like that. No, he’d never seen Ohno seriously mad at one person. And Jun would never press someone’s buttons and fears that hard; it had always been for fun and games. Stepping lightly onto solid ground, Nino joined the three in their wait for the last member.

Once the group was complete again, Jun made his way over to the waitress who stood at the front desk, murmuring his name to her. She nodded once and promptly led them to a large white, circular table. Other customers paid them no mind as they passed by, low overhanging lights casting shadows of their faces. Taking a seat in a comfortable, black leather chair, Nino looked at the other four who were situating themselves in their spots.

Walls were painted with an intimate red, and yellow-orange lamps glowed warmly in the small space. The noise was made up of quiet chatter, forks on food, and orders being taken by the waiters. Menus placed promptly in their hands were covered with exquisite and foreign words, Japanese katakana written in small manuscript underneath.

“Ah, Sho-kun, can I talk to you for a moment?” Jun asked, standing up from his seat. Sho cast a nervous glance at Nino, nodding his head hesitantly. The two walked around the corner and out of sight, leaving the other three to wonder.

Nino had half a mind to follow them, but he knew that would end up in futile efforts, more questions, and double the exhaustion.

‘You give up too much these days,’ the voice scolded in his mind. Nino ignored it, turning to Aiba and Ohno instead.

“So how have you been?”

Nino intended to make his time in Japan worthwhile and useful. Talking to two of his closest friends seemed like a good idea. Maybe they’d even go back to the past somehow.

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“Yes?” Sho questioned when Jun stopped walking. The other man turned to him with a crafted smirk on his face.

“I’d like to buy Nino’s dinner.”

Silence set in the crevices of their clothes and shoes.

“E-excuse me?” Sho stuttered, looking at Jun like he’d gone mad.

“I’d like to buy Nino’s time in which he has dinner. Well, for the rest of the day to put it simply. It’s lunch right now after all.” Jun squinted his eyes in a half smile, staring at Sho.

“And the catch?”

Jun’s lips formed a tight frown, his thick eyebrows furrowing in mock hurt.

“There is no catch, Sho-kun. I merely get a dinner date with Nino.”

“And?”

Jun chuckled bitterly.

“I don’t understand why you can’t just take these words at face.”

“I’ve learned to not trust a pretty face,” Sho sneered suddenly. Whether the hurt shown on Jun’s face was genuine or fake didn’t matter.

“Well, if you’re going to put it that way,” Jun replied leisurely, “I get to do anything, say anything, and have all power over what happens. You don’t get to interfere.”

Sho paused in frustration. Could he let Nino crash and fall as they all had? Would he himself be able to relive seeing someone else go through that pain? But what power did he hold to keep the boy from learning the truth?

“Why are you asking for my permission?” Sho shook his head in confusion.

“Afterwards, I’ll leave him completely alone unless he decides to come to me. If you want me to, I’ll even disappear back to Europe.”

Stuck between two chairs, Sho stared helplessly at his trembling hands. The opportunity to shatter Nino was in his hands, but the power to grant the actor’s wish also laid in his decision. The strength of faith seemed to flow back to the newscaster slowly and tentatively. Sho thought that his own being also needed a fresh change, one of trust and belief. He wanted to stop doubting everything that revolved around his world, and maybe Nino could be the one to revive his hopes.

Sho clenched his fists tightly, closing his eyes in defeat.

“O…okay.”

Jun put his hands together in glee, beaming at Sho with a perfect smile.

“Thank you, Sho-kun,” Jun said.

Sho was still shaking from his decision.

“Just don’t…” Sho hesitated. What shouldn’t Jun do that he could still control? “Just don’t kill him.”

Jun merely gave a cynical grin, his eyes already twinkling with excitement.

“Oh, we’ll see.”

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