まいどあり

I could feel the heat of the sun against my skin

2008-06-12T04:56:16Z

Title: I could feel the heat of the sun against my skin
Author: maido_ari || amaikoryori
Pairing: Yamashita Tomohisa || Kato Shigeaki
Genre: vignette
Rating: PG
Word Count: 322
Summary: There was nothing he could do but act as the sun to the dark cloud
Author’s notes: I love misticloud’s writing. If you have not read The Love That Chases then I wonder where you have been all this time. It’s amazing! This is set probably at the end of Over and Done with

There were a few things that he found beautiful in the world. One of them was seeing the waves crash and burn before dissolving into foam. Another was seeing the radiance of the sun after several days of endless rain. He liked the rain, but he preferred the sun. Albeit inebriated, he sought control of his senses and wrapped an arm around the younger man who sat there, broken sobs emanating from his lips and tears falling in succession down the curve of his cheek.

It hurt him, not as much as it hurt Shige. He could not imagine the pain that must have gone through the younger man’s life in terms of love. The feelings of unrequited love were already quite painful as it is. At first, he thought that his love for Shige would be simple and unreciprocated, but he took his chance. He did not just have one hallelujah chance.

Looking at the person in his arms, he should have whispered, “I’ll do my best not to make you cry,” but he didn’t. He just pulled him ever closer. He couldn’t promise something as big as that. Even though he was a bit of a romantic at heart, Yamapi was also a realist. He tried to hold onto sobriety, just so he could provide that bit of comfort.

Shige’s hand found its way in his. It was a bit smoother in comparison to his, but somehow, it felt right. He did not want to question that. He wanted to imagine a life with Shige. It would not be easy but he knew he had nothing to lose and everything else to gain.

His other hand tried to wipe the tears off Shige’s face. Shige leaned ever-so-slightly against his fingers.

“I don’t want to hurt anymore…”

And I just want to love. Let me love you… because being loved by you would be the most amazing thing in the world.

=OWARI=

Lemon and vodka leave an unforgettable feeling in your lips.

2008-06-11T16:02:08Z

Title: Lemon and vodka leave an unforgettable feeling in your lips.
Author: maido_ari || amaikoryori
Pairing: Nishikido Ryo || Kato Shigeaki
Genre: vignette
Rating: PG-15
Word Count: 571
Summary: Silent observations and glimpses of the future
Author’s notes: This is for misticloud, whose writing is beautiful and inspiring. ♥ I promised that I would write something for her. This is set sometime in the arc of The Love That Chases.

There had been an unexplainable jealousy that had wedged itself in the comfort of Ryo’s heart. Slowly it flowed, like syrup but somehow, it was not as sweet. He sat there in silence, listening to the soft, mellow jazz that flowed through the room in its melodic serenade. Yamapi had developed a taste for more mature surroundings, but the purpose had been the same.

To Ryo, this bar was just like any other. It was another kind of mating ground, with women scantily dressed and giggling like courtesans from the past, making eyes at men who walked by. He ignored them, and focused on the task at hand, watching and waiting almost patiently for everything and nothing. The moments ticked by, slow and tedious as the formation of icicles in winter as Ryo took a sip of his drink. Scotch was masculine and quite soothing. It did nothing to dissipate the feeling of envy that suddenly crept again.

Yamapi had laughed softly in Shige’s ear. The sound was just as melodic as his singing. Ryo took notice of that, wondering why it had taken him this long to realize how he felt for the younger man whose hand was encased in the gentle hold of Yamapi’s own. Shige looked so relaxed, just as he had been at his university and yet, there was an obvious difference in the way he acted with Pi and the way that he acted with his schoolmates.

In the back of his mind, Ryo wondered why he suddenly felt obvious pain when the image of a domestic scene came to existence. His mind processed the image of breakfast, hot coffee steaming on the table. It was much like the scene in that bar, only Yamapi would have been less inebriated and a lot more focused on Shige.

Ryo wondered if regret tasted as sweet as scotch, and he wondered if he imagined the cat that suddenly materialized before him, sitting humanlike on the barstool. Wagahai was always quite confident. He looked more content than ever, although Ryo wondered if the cat seemed to be a bit blurrier in his vision. Was this the beginning of the end?

Wagahai lifted a paw effortlessly, but did not say a word.

Ryo extended a hand to touch, probably an attempt to comfort the cat that did not need much comforting.

His eyes widened when he noticed that it was tangible, just for a minute, before it felt as though he had been caressing air.

Wagahai pointed his nose in the direction of Shige and Pi, before hopping off the stool.

Ryo wondered if he had been imagining things.

He sipped on his scotch and watched them again. He wondered what it would be like if it was him in Pi’s place, with the taste of lemon and vodka being close to his lips. He wondered if the taste would be sharp, although in his mind, the feeling of utter contentment and joy would have numbed the taste.

For now, it was just the innocent and simple touch of hands. He wondered how Shige’s hands felt like.

He sipped on his scotch and placed the glass on the table, before leaving the bar silently.

Jazz played melodically in his mind as he walked to his car.

He looked up and saw the streetlamps block out the beauty of the stars. He wondered if it was a premonition for the future.

=OWARI=

COLOURFUL

2008-04-27T10:01:19Z

Title: Colourful
Author: maido_ari || amaikoryori
Pairing: Aoi Yu || Uchi Hiroki
Genre: Vignette
Rating: PG?
Disclaimer: Not mine. In any form except for this work.
Word Count: 859
Author’s Notes: This is for enerirenie and emeraude_jade, my two sisters. ♥

It was a paradox, he supposed, as he watched her flit about the teahouse in her delicate cream-coloured silk kimono. She was childlike in appearance, and yet she seemed to possess a certain maturity that he could not put his finger on. She was just as beautiful as she appeared on-screen.

Hiroki had an eye for beautiful things. His mama and his sister had taught him how to appreciate them, and of course, how to treat women in general. Despite this training of sorts, he wondered why his heart had gotten lodged in his throat when they had first met.

===

Yu had given him one of her sweet smiles as she bowed and introduced herself.

“Uchi-san, I hope that you would look after me as we work together.”

She was so polite and sweet. She reminded him of the princesses in the fairytales that his mama had read to him as a child. Her hair even fell down her shoulders in a delicate wave.

He wondered if she was real.

He opened his lips, but was surprised that nothing had escaped. Not a single sound, except for a soft squeak.

Tilting her head slightly to one side, Yu had giggled softly. Sakurai Sho had been the same, she supposed. Were all Johnny’s boys like this? They seemed so confident, and she had expected some cockiness from them. Meeting Hiroki’s gaze, she caught the hint of defiance within them.

“I… I’m Uchi Hiroki, and I am pleased to be working with you, Aoi-san.”

Again, there was a formality that was tinged with slight awkwardness, but somehow, it faded away as they started filming. Only just…

===

“I want to drink beer~~”

He heard her squeal with girlish excitement as he saw the grin that plastered itself on her face. He grimaced a bit, wondering whether the producers knew about the absolute irony within that actual statement.

===

As they finished reading the script for the first episode, Yu skipped to where Hiroki had been enjoying a decent cup of coffee. It was not so bad, he supposed.

“I want to drink beer~~” Yu whispered into his ear as she slipped daintily into the seat in front of his.

“W-where did that come from?” His accent returned as he raised his eyebrow in mock-annoyance.

“How could I play a character, when I haven’t really taken to drinking beer or any form of liquor?”

“Point taken.”

“So,” he wondered if she knew just how powerful that twinkle in her eyes was. “I was wondering if you could do me a favour.”

His eyes widened even more if possible. “N-No. You do remember that I got myself suspended because of that?!!?!?”

He was convinced of her evilness when he heard the sweet, “Exactly,” that came from her lips.

===

He had taken her to the apartment that he had been renting in Tokyo, making sure that no one else saw them entering at the dead of night. It was easier that way, in private… although it was innocent, he wondered why he felt nervous about this.

Five bottles of beer later, when they were giggling about absolutely nothing, he forgot about his fears.

“U…Uchi---kun~~~~” She giggled, falling against him as she reached for the bottle. “I---- like beeeeer~~”

Hiroki took note of her flushed cheeks and that adorably wide grin. In the back of his mind, he wondered what she would be like with her hair draped along his pillow and falling over his sheets.

He swallowed as he tried to control his urges with difficulty. With her face so close to his, and the knowledge that neither of them would remember in the morning, he eased her head from his shoulder and tilted her chin up slightly before pressing his lips to hers.

She tasted like beer, but there was a hint of sweetness in the kiss.

It was perfect.

===

Hung-over, he was thankful that he did not need to work the next day.

He noticed that she was gone, as were the bottles of beer that had littered his floor the previous evening.

Hiroki wondered if he was feeling disappointment.

===

Yu liked watching the sunset. In her exquisitely expensive cream-coloured kimono, she sat on the tatami mats, a cup of green tea by her side. Another cup sat beside her, cooling down considerably as she waited for her co-star.

That was how he found her, the pinks, purples and oranges playing in the sky and being reflected on her face. It was beautiful, and he did not want to ruin such a picturesque moment.

She turned to face him, a serene smile on her face. “Uchi-san, would you like to join me?”

He nodded, sitting beside her.

“The colours look lovely, do they not?”

“They do…”

Perhaps, when they see those colours again, he would try asking her if she wanted to have dinner… properly this time. Images from the previous time had flooded into his mind, although they were blurry.

He wanted something to remember, and maybe, she felt the same way.

He gazed at the colours and smiled before sipping his tea. It was bittersweet.

=OWARI=

feel my soul

2008-04-22T05:56:24Z

TITLE: Feel my soul
AUTHOR: amaikoryori || maido_ari
PAIRING: Aragaki Yui || Kato Shigeaki
GENRE: something sweet and fluffy; vignette
RATING: G
DISCLAIMER: LesPros and Johnny’s Entertainment hold the rights to these idols. The title was taken from a track from YUI’s “From me to you” album. The premise/plot is mine.
WORD COUNT: 600
AUTHOR’S NOTES: This is for emeraude_jade, who is simply sweet. This is a companion fic to Pulling on my heart, my wish on a wing in Shige’s perspective.

He sat on the swing, rocking it gently as he leaned his chin against the crook of his companion’s shoulder. She sat on his lap looking at the heavens, a scarf snug against her neck and her hair being ruffled by the gentle breeze. A melody of some sort seemed to play in the background, but that was merely his imagination. It stopped after a few minutes, probably had been the ringtone of a passer-by’s phone.

“Do you believe in wishing?” he asked her, forgetting about paper cups that sat beside a small bouquet of daisies, which used to be filled with warm chocolate.

“Through stars?” she murmured in response, snuggling to get comfortable.

“Yes.”

She thought for a minute, before giving him a soft, “No… I never had.”

“I tried though... when I was younger.”

He wondered if it was disappointment that he felt. Somehow, he had the impression that she was a romantic, the type who sang in the showers or wished on stars. He concluded that people were romantic in different ways. He wondered whether his admission sounded weak, as he felt rather than saw her amusement.

“I would never have pegged you to be the type, Kato-kun,” she teased, laughing softly at him. “Did your wishes come true?”

He thought about his answer for a minute, before wrapping his arms around her and whispering against her neck, “What do you think?”

Yui blushed in the darkness. There were no fireflies as it was a cold autumn night. It would have seemed appropriate to have them around.

===

He was the kind of person who saw the beauty in the smallest things. He tried to show it through the artistic photographs that he took, focusing on the beauty of a single leaf on a tree before it fell to the ground or on the long, tedious journey of ants.

He was the type who saw his self as insignificant. He often blended into the background, observing. He knew more about people that way.

Shige found it awkward to be with girls. People suspected that there was something wrong with him, as he would stutter a bit when speaking with them. They thought he had a phobia. As a teenager, his male peers thought he was either asexual or homosexual, which was bizarre because he liked girls. It was just a challenge to talk with them. He had gradually gotten over the stutter.

He was the kind of person who took his time in showing people his true emotions. It was easier to be constrained at times.

===

He wondered when he had felt envy for the rather strange neighbour who seemed to stalk the one girl he was sure he wanted to be with. Perhaps, that was when the short love notes started. With notes, it was easier to express his emotions. They were always left unsigned, although he sprayed a bit of cologne. It was subtle.

He would hide and watch her from a distance, delighting in her smiles and the way she would try to look for her admirer.

It had taken all of his courage before he had asked her to meet him…

… And he had been late, albeit by a few minutes.

===

“I think that your wishes came true,” he swore he could hear a slight touch of envy in her voice.

“P-perhaps… you could say that, because I know there’s nothing else I would trade for t-t-this…” The stutter had returned, but he did not care so much.

Upon hearing her soft gasp of girlish surprise, he smiled in contentment.

=OWARI=

rhapsody in blue

2008-04-20T14:00:00Z

TITLE: Rhapsody in Blue
AUTHOR: amaikoryori || maido_ari
PAIRING: Aragaki Yui // Tegoshi Yuya
GENRE: forbidden love?
RATING: PG-15
WORD COUNT: 679
AUTHOR’S NOTES: I blame the awesome Miss saihara because she keeps on planting bunnies in my mind and if you have not read anything she’s written, you’re missing out. I tried writing in Yuya’s POV, idk… it popped out. Rhapsody in Blue was composed by Gershwin. It is beautiful. Seriously though, there is a serious lack of Tegoshi and Yui love. >(

I felt her shift closer to me, the sheet falling down her body and resting over her hip. I should not have stayed awake, but she had just returned from England.

The ring on her finger glistened in the moonlight that streamed through the tiny crack in between the curtains. It was cheap, and I had bought it for her when we were ten. I promised myself that I needed to buy her another one… Another one that would match the one I would wear around my own finger in the future.

She shifted closer to me again. I swallowed, trying to erase the thoughts that suddenly entered my mind, thoughts that would somehow erase just how beautiful and innocently poignant this moment was. I heard her whisper my name in sleep and I smiled, running my hands through her hair.

I wondered if it would last forever. Was it always going to be like this forever?

===

Our mornings started out like every other. There would always be tea on the table, with soft brioche rolls and some butter. We had a preference for tea with a little milk and sugar, much like the British students of our grandfather.

It would only be the two of us in the house yet again. Our aunt often left early. She may be our guardian, but she left us alone to do as we wished. We were like children to her, but she did not want to be too overprotective. It was the best arrangement.

Our classes at the academy did not start until around half-past ten. We were able to enjoy our breakfast together.

My fingers brushed against hers innocently as we both reached for the small porcelain bowl that held the sugar. She giggled.

“That was something that didn’t happen when I was in England.”

I smiled, and let her have the bowl first. Our grandfather had taught me that I was to treat all women well.

I let Yui make me a cup of tea. She usually placed a little bit too much milk, and a little bit too much sugar- today was no exception. I still drank it, although I managed to hide my reaction behind a smile. I preferred tea with lemon at times.

I watched her from beneath the fringe of hair that covered my forehead. When our parents had died in that fatal crash, I promised myself that I would protect her. I would protect my sister… although a part of me wondered, how much was she my sister, and how much was she the only woman I could ever see myself being with?

“Yuya?” I looked up, and met her gaze with mine.

“Perhaps, next time, you could come with me to England?” She looked hopeful, as though I would reject her tiny request.

I reached over and ruffled her hair, just enough to muss it up. “You know I could never say no.”

“I’m glad.”

===

Outside the privacy of the suite that our aunt had devoted to us, it was a different world. I knew that, and so did she.

“Yui…”

With her violin slung across her back, she all but glided towards me, a touch of perfume on her skin. She knew just what I wanted. She was the only one who could read my emotions and occasionally my thoughts.

I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her closer. Moments like this were not necessarily rare, but they were always treasured. I didn’t want to live like our grandfather who devoted his life to his instrument. I wanted a balance.

“Yuya…”

I heard her whisper before I silenced her with a touch of my lips.

===

I felt her shift closer, although this time we were both awake. Her long hair was tangled through my fingers, the blanket hiding our bodies from view.
Matching rings were on our fingers, just as I had promised myself. It was white gold, although it was much simpler than the ring that I bought her when we were ten.

It showed forever.

=OWARI=

pulling on my heart, my wish on a wing

2008-04-20T09:29:09Z

TITLE: Pulling on my heart, my wish on a wing
AUTHOR: amaikoryori || maido_ari
PAIRING: Aragaki Yui || Kato Shigeaki
GENRE: Vignette
RATING: G
WORD COUNT: 664
AUTHOR’S NOTES: This is for my darling sister, enerirenie who has immensely irresistible skills of coercion. Written for the prompt, PLAYGROUND, this was inspired by song sung by Olivia inspi’ Reira. The song is entitled Wish and could be found here

Sitting on a swing, she looked up, her eyes meeting a starless sky. She rocked back and forth, graduating from deliberate slowness to sudden dynamism that she felt she could fly.

Yui did not believe in wishing on stars.

She tried it once as a little girl. She had been five and naïve. What she had wished for was a new doll. She waited minutes for the doll in a Victorian and Rococo-inspired dress with lace and peach satin. Minutes turned to days and days turned to weeks and months. The doll did not come.

For her birthday, she waited expectantly, childlike innocence on her features. The box, immaculately wrapped came, but within the box and its layers of tissue paper was a music box. She liked it, and it had managed to make her forget about her desire for a doll for a few weeks, until she saw the coveted plaything sitting daintily in a shop window.

Wishing on stars had brought her slight disappointment. It tasted bitter in her lips, although she did not realize it at the time. Instead, she played with the music box over and over. The melody was familiar. Rhapsody in Blue by Gershwin played softly.

Her feet played against the ground as she sat on the swing and just looked up. The stars looked beautiful, almost majestic in the midnight sky. She felt so insignificant and somehow, so lonely. She did not believe in putting her wish on balls of gas that existed millions of light years away. As she looked at the stars, she wondered if she had been too hasty in removing that chance, in removing that wish that seemed to echo in her heart.

She closed her eyes and made her first wish, opening them and laughing almost self-depreciatingly at herself.

Wishes never came true in one moment. She should have learnt that by now.
===

It was a childhood game of sorts, where girls and even boys at times, would pluck petals from an innocent flower and chant about whether an unsuspecting individual loved them or not. Her friend Risa had given her one single yellow daisy, giggling slightly as Yui looked at it in question.

“It’s pretty,” Yui had murmured, taking the proffered bloom and twirling it nonchalantly through her fingers.

Risa waited a moment before sighing and wondering whether there was something wrong with Yui.

Alone in her room, Yui twirled the daisy before succumbing to curiosity.

He loves me…

He loves me… not…

Wondering if a boy was just going to appear in front of her, she closed her eyes innocently and counted to five, wondering how that faceless figure was going to look like.

Opening her eyes, she just blinked and took her textbooks out of her bag.

These were innocent games.

===

She found herself sitting in the swings again that evening, much like how she would have done as a child. She rocked back and forth, just sitting there. She looked at the stars and at the bouquet of daisies that she had bought a few hours before.

She looked at her watch. It was becoming late and it was becoming colder by the minute. Just a few minutes more, she begged time to stop or slow.

That had started out with a few innocent handwritten notes that she had received in the mail. They had been anonymous and sweet. They smelled like men’s cologne, with the subtle hint of sandalwood.

In her heart she hoped that it did not come from that scary otaku who lived just a couple of blocks away. He was mysterious and she suspected that he stalked her.

She looked at her watch again. Just a few minutes more…
And then he came, bearing an extra scarf and a couple of cups of hot chocolate in hand, which he knew Yui preferred to coffee.

She smiled, standing up gracefully, yet shivering slightly in the chill of the air.

“I knew you’d come.”

=OWARI=

MAGNUM OPUS

2008-03-18T05:30:13Z

TITLE: Magnum Opus
AUTHOR: amaikoryori // maido_ari
PAIRING: Nishikido Ryo // Kato Shigeaki // Hachiko (spider)
GENRE: fluff, most probably.
RATING: G
DISCLAIMER: Johnny’s Entertainment owns the rights to these boys. The original of this story was written by partypaprika.
WORD COUNT: 543
AUTHOR’S NOTES: A remix of partypaprika’s Bring your pet to work day. The quote was taken from Charlotte's Web.

Since you said ‘Salu’-what… does this mean that you are my friend?

Ryo had been certain that he had seen a spider web in a dim corner of Shige’s room. Despite the younger idol’s attempts at maintaining a neat room, there were certain times in the semester it was a mess of paper and books. He had only visited it once with the rest of NewS, but Ryo had a photo-perfect memory. It had been weeks later, but he was certain that Shige would suspect him of putting that innocent arachnid in his apartment. He had to smirk at the mental image. If he really were cruel, he would have placed a caterpillar on Shige’s bed.

Shige had no idea that Ryo liked spiders. There was something about those creatures that he loved. Perhaps, the fact that they were small and could easily scare the living daylights from people and animals alike. Admitting that he had issues with height was another story… but he did love them.

He had met the spider when she was still fairly tiny. Ryo was certain that Shige would not notice her until she was a bit bigger. In the back of his mind, he named her Hachiko, because he was unoriginal and eight legs were characteristic of this species. He hoped that Shige wouldn’t kill her.

The next time that they met, Hachiko was a bit bigger. Shige, being fairly ignorant had named it Hachirou. The prodigy could be a bit… ignorant at times.

“I love spiders! I’m going to name her Hachiko.” There, it was official. His new friend of sorts had a name. He supposed that Shige was more than just slightly surprised because he was forming a closer alliance with Hachiko. The expression on the younger idol’s face was priceless.

During breaks, he set off, building a small fort. He was sure that Shige thought he was more than just slightly strange. It was better to keep that, probably. After all, no one would understand of this admiration for this tiny--- or rather, not so tiny--- spider. If they squashed her, those juniors would pay.

After rehearsals and photo sessions, he found Shige looking almost like a defeated girl who had been cheated on and dumped by her boyfriend.

“We’re going to find Hachiko.” If not, those juniors had better find him an egg sac full of Hachiko’s eggs… wait, those would be at Shige’s house, right? “Stop looking like a freshly-dumped girl.”

Shige’s sputters did not deter him from his quest. His little… no, their little Hachiko was quivering in one of the dim corners. If she could talk or smile, perhaps, she would thank Ryo for saving her. He almost petted her when she settled on Shige’s bag, but thought against it. It would show Shige another side of him… and perhaps, it wasn’t that time yet.

“I’m going to find those kids that almost killed our precious Hachiko.”

Shige stared stupidly at him and Hachiko before uttering an awkward word of thanks, but not before Ryo grabbed the bag from him and smiled at him for a second.

“That’s why you’re going to make me dinner at your place tonight.”

Free food and a spider… what more did Ryo want, really?

=OWARI=

SUB-ROSA

2008-03-15T12:28:08Z

TITLE: Sub-rosa
AUTHOR: amaikoryori // maido_ari
PAIRING: Kitagawa Keiko // Masuda Takahisa; mentions of Sawajiri Erika and Tegoshi Yuya
GENRE: call it a work of art… or maybe a slight AU
RATING:
WORD COUNT:
AUTHOR’S NOTES: For my sis, enerirenie who is the most fantabulous sister in the universe and beyond. This is another chapter in my never-ending Rainbow Canon series.

They only saw him as the second half of a greater whole. Tegomasu seemed to be only one entity at times. Takahisa was often with Yuya. They had been inseparable since Tegoshi had entered their agency. It seemed as though they had no secrets between them. That had been the biggest façade that Johnny’s agency seemed to possess- one of them anyway.

Takahisa smiled as he walked to his flat. Although he and his “other half” were close to the point that they washed each other’s underwear on an occasional basis, they had secrets.

Secrets lay at the foundation of society. In this world, sometimes secrets were needed to survive.

Keiko was his little secret. Perhaps, she was his not-so-subtle secret, as her expensive perfume lingered on his clothes, and he had discovered the mark of her lipstick on his collar once. As he had discovered recently, she was more than just slightly possessive.

He smiled when he fingered the silk ribbon that he had pulled off her braided hair that day. It smelled of her shampoo. She used Tsubaki by Shiseido. It was a guilty pleasure of hers. The smell of jasmine was tantalizing and seductive.

They had met late that evening in Shibuya. With her eyebrow raised, Keiko glared at him almost affectionately as she felt his hand warm against her wrist.

“Where are you taking me?” It was snowing and cold. All she had wanted to do was to go home and take a nice warm bath.

“I’ve almost forgotten how you look like. Let’s take purikura together.”

“Just buy Seventeen magazine.”

He laughed softly as he pushed her into a booth gently, and slipped some coins into the machine, but not before he removed the red silken ribbon from her hair.

“You don’t model for them as often anymore,” he mused, before deviating to how he preferred having her hair loose.

Instead of glaring at him, and murmuring soft words in Kansai-ben, she had just smiled at the camera, blowing kisses into it every now and again. Keiko tried to stop herself from blushing when he leaned in to kiss her cheek, whispering something about men from Tokyo being just as insatiable as men from Kobe. He pulled away and looked at her in surprise, gaping a bit when his mind registered the not-so-subtle taste of jealousy. Of course he was not her first love, but it didn’t matter to him, as long as she remained with him.

As they exited the booth, a small sheet of photos in their hands, they passed a couple of schoolgirls who had been huddled over the latest copy of Duet, squealing over their favorite Johnny’s boys. Her manager had told her about the dangers of being involved with Johnny’s not-so-tiny harem of pretty boys. She had brushed off the rumors of her so-called affair with Matsumoto Jun. Unfortunately he wasn’t her type. When it came to Takahisa however, it was a different story.

Although she would deny it later amidst his soft laughter and the slight touches of his gentle fingers against the skin of her nape, she pulled on his hand and tangled her fingers against his. Perhaps it was slightly romantic, walking that way as the snow fell.

He blushed as she pressed a soft kiss against the side of his neck. It had been uncharacteristically daring of her to do so, particularly when she was normally the more cautious one in their relationship of sorts. He retaliated with a stolen kiss on her lips. It was merely a brush of lips, nothing more, but it made her heart beat ever so quickly for a moment.

Takahisa was competitive beneath the cheerful exterior. With Keiko, it was a different kind of competition. It was calculated, but the rewards came to both of them. Keiko admitted to herself that she rather enjoyed the thrill sometimes. He seemed like the boy whom her mother would approve of, but there was a side to him that only she seemed to bring out.

She rather liked that.

Keiko loved having this arrangement. In their industry, their lives were placed in the open. With Takahisa, she could be herself, going from glamorous, to just your average girl-next-door with the glasses and textbooks at her feet. She loved keeping him secret, although Erika seemed to suspect something was up.

“Why does your cardigan smell like a guy’s cologne?” The singer’s eyebrows were raised as she held Keiko’s brown cardigan daintily between her index finger and her thumb. “I wanted to borrow it, but if my significant other smells the hint of another man’s cologne on the clothes I was wearing, he would throw a fit.”

At this, Keiko could not control her laughter. “You mean that Nishikido Ryo would throw a fit, because he is possessive.”

“You Kansai-jin and your ideas of ownership…”

“You aren’t denying that you are dating him then?”

“Shut up Kiitan. I’m not the one with the mystery paramour who is still a secret even to your best friend…”

Sub-rosa in essence was a secret. It wasn’t her fault that she wanted to preserve this… although Erika could understand as she was dating a Johnny. Wasn’t Emi also involved with a certain Matsumoto Jun, whilst Megumi was meeting Yokoyama Yu under the guise of ‘just eating out with friends’? Why did the Stardust girls have strong connections with the Johnny’s?

It must have been charisma, or perhaps just sudden attraction, but it was something that Takahisa could not explain, not even to his best friend. When the younger one arrived home, he looked at him and pursed his lips thoughtfully.

“Massu has a girlfriend, ne?”

Takahisa blinked. “I don’t have one.”

“I think he does,” Yuya sat down on Takahisa’s bed, looking more like a smug feline than an idol. “And he isn’t telling me about her.”

“Why are you acting like some sort of detective?”

“You’re being defensive. In Psychology, our lecturer said something about….” At that, Yuya trailed off with several Psychological theories that seemed to just go over Takahisa’s head. It seemed like Yuya had more on his mind than those strangely erotic lyrics that were saved on his computer.

Takahisa found himself looking into Yuya’s eyes, which seemed brighter and more expressive than usual.

“Just promise me that you’ll tell me when you get a girlfriend, ne? Shige has one, I know… because I saw them. And I asked Yui-chan about it.”

“Yui-chan?”

“Aragaki Yui-chan. I bumped into her and invited her to spend the day with Okaasan and I.”

“I see…”

“But Massu, promise me that you’ll tell me.”

He ruffled the younger man’s hair. Yuya was like his younger brother, but it didn’t mean that he could keep a few little secrets here and there.

Perhaps one day, he could tell Yuya about how much he loved Kitagawa Keiko. For now, it would remain below the rose.

“Let’s eat gyoza later, alright?” was what he said instead.

=OWARI=

SEVENTEEN

2008-03-09T01:13:09Z

TITLE: Seventeen
AUTHOR: amaikoryori // maido_ari
PAIRING: Masuda Takahisa // Kitagawa Keiko
GENRE: fluff, probably.
RATING: G
WORD-COUNT: 667
AUTHOR’S NOTES: For enerirenie, like most of my other works…

At seventeen, some people forgot about how simple childhood should have been. Keiko remembered hers perfectly. She remembered dressing up in pretty dresses with hems that ended up being caked in mud, because her younger brother had taunted her about being a slight tomboy who masqueraded in lacy clothes. They had laughed amid the teasing, jumping into puddles that represented dreams that seemed to escape their grasp. They had been children, happy and smiling.

There were some things people did not know. They didn’t know that Keiko had cried in fear as the earth had shaken when she was around nine. They had no idea how she hid beneath a blanket under the table, trembling against the equally shaken form of her brother as their parents sought to protect them. Apparently, the quake had been strong enough to destroy more than just a few buildings. The Great Haishin Earthquake had taken the lives of her friends. She had been nine. Her friends should have laughed with her as they played hide-and-seek. Instead, her parents had not covered her eyes. They knew that Keiko was a strong girl, although compared to the earth their daughter was just as vulnerable as the rest of them.

As an idol, people often forgot that Keiko could be human, beneath the fiery exterior that she placed. They were more open about their emotions in the Kansai region. They had a different perception to the serious front placed by those who lived in Tokyo. There were a lot of things that people did not know. Her… she would not exactly call it a relationship with Ma--- Takahisa… Her alliance with the cherub-cheeked Johnny’s boy was something that she didn’t think she needed to tell people exactly. She liked to think of him as her little guilty pleasure.

He waved his hand in front of her face, laughing softly as she blinked. She had been caught off-guard, staring into space for around five minutes. He ignored the slight frown that came on her face, as well as the soft growl that escaped her lips. She had no idea what she saw in him. They were opposites in a sense… although opposites did attract.

“What were you thinking of?” he had asked her softly, brushing a lock of hair that had covered her eyes from his. He had never mentioned how he loved her eyes, and the honesty that was in them. Kansai honesty scared him sometimes he had to admit.
“Schoolwork,” she lied smoothly through her teeth, although he knew. With her, things were deep and it would take time for him to find out everything.

“It’s that time of year again, isn’t it?” He liked how she was his own little guilty pleasure. At seventeen, he had known that there was something about her that he couldn’t just ignore. It was the same now. A few years later, nothing had changed.

There was another thing people didn’t know. Being in love was simple, and yet, so complicated. A secret… well, he couldn’t say that she was in a relationship with him. Not openly anyway. People did not need to know about this, how they met at Yokohama to ride the Ferris wheel at dusk despite the obvious winter chill.

He removed her hand from where it rested in the pocket of her trench coat and held it in his. It was the small teasingly innocent touches that made him smile and made her shiver, though she would die before she admitted it. She was proud, and so was he, though people didn’t know.

“Your sister… is she okay?”

“She is. And your brother?”

“He’s alright too…”

Small talk hid the truth, but it kept things ever so simple. Perhaps, in the future, they could find a way to make it less complicated, and to make this more than just a small, secret guilty pleasure. This… whatever this was… It was almost like jumping into puddles at the age of six. It was happiness.

-OWARI-

evergreen

2008-01-26T14:46:46Z

TITLE: Evergreen
AUTHOR: maido_ari // amaikoryori
PAIRING: Yamashita Tomohisa // unnamed person
GENRE: romance, general
RATING: G
DISCLAIMER: Yamashita Tomohisa is not mine. No profit is derived from this.
WORDCOUNT: 297
AUTHOR’S NOTES: For my darling forgottenpolish I fail because I only typed this up now. A belated Happy Birthday! ♥

Love was one thing that people perceived generally to be everlasting. It was a feeling that so many people craved, and experienced in various forms throughout their lives. It was a delight that some described to be the worst drug that ever existed on the face of the earth because it caused people to do crazy things; foolish things.

Love came in different forms. Artists showed it in all of its splendor, glory and romance. The Beatles said that all that the world needed was love. Although he sang about all of its preciousness and beauty, all Tomohisa had ever known was a love that was as bittersweet and tender as chocolate and tobacco.

Even as a child, he had seen the tears of his young mother over her devotion for his traitor of a father. He had received the purest form of love from her, the only woman he knew he could admire because of everything she had sacrificed for him and Rina.

There was another one. That person was the one he longed to sing for and wanted to sing about. The person he loved was someone he knew he could crave for every given moment. It was not the same addiction for chocolate, cigarettes or drugs. It was a desire to share everything about himself and gain everything about that person.

He smiled as he watched the sun rise for another day. It was another day to share with his most beloved person, no matter how one-sided or unrequited the love he felt was.

Tomohisa gazed at the photographs on his dresser and at the person sleeping beneath the sheets of his bed and smiled. He knew that he had everything worth living for.

Everything was perfect. He was in love.

Everything was evergreen.

-OWARI-

ophelia

2008-01-26T13:33:34Z

TITLE: Ophelia
AUTHOR: maido_ari // amaikoryori
PAIRING: Tegoshi Yuya // Yamashita Sakura (original character)
GENRE: romance; angst
RATING: PG-15
DISCLAIMER:
01. The recognizable people in this work are not mine.
02. The other characters are my own creation.
03. No profit is derived from this.
WORD COUNT: 1438
AUTHOR’S NOTES: This is for enerirenie because I owe her so much stuff; emeraude_jade because she loves this series.

My dearest Ophelia, what’s the reason…?
My dearest Ophelia, will you trust in me no more?
--- OPHELIA; L’arc~en~ciel

===

A bright flash startled her from her alcohol-induced reverie. She stared almost blankly at the shards of glass as they pierced through the air, beautiful pieces of deadly arsenal brushing against her creamy skin. It did not hurt at first, but, as she looked down at her arms, her mind registered the pain.

Blood, ruby-red rivulets tracing down her skin mocked her with the notion of death. She did not fear death, but knew that dying from this… dying from something as trivial as a broken heart and a drunken car crash removed all self-respect from her system.

She had just turned nineteen. She had everything to live for. She had become one of the most popular U-20 idols in the circuit, much like her mother. Aiko had also become a popular U-20 idol. Akira and Haruto were on their way to becoming the next big thing for Johnny’s Entertainment. Koume was slowly making her way into the entertainment industry, with Akira following her every move as though entranced. Yui’s daughter was beautiful, with expressive eyes and a sweet smile. On the off-side, Haruto had also developed an interest in young Kato Koume, who seemed to be the only one who didn’t see him as the Sexy Osaka Man Jr.

Sakura had everything to live for. She had a boyfriend who doted on her, as well as a family who loved her. A couple of days ago, she had discovered that she was pregnant; only to meet her boyfriend’s shocked face in almost uncomfortable silence.

As the piercing noise from the crash entered her every being, at first she felt frightened. Was she going to die?
Memories flooded her mind as she thought of him, eyes fluttering closed in a dreamlike state. She saw a fairytale future for both of them, with a family of their own; with him at her side as their children played on soft carpets and the television playing tribute videos of NewS. She had always envisioned children as beautiful as him, with her eyes and his smile. If they had a daughter, she wanted to name her Sakuya, her name and his combined.

As she drifted off, she wondered whether this would become a reality. She wondered whether a future with him would be accepted. She just wanted to be with the man she had loved forever. She wondered, but, as the bright lights stopped entering the space of her mind, her heart seemed to stop.

Fairytales were never a reality.

===

The hospital smelled germ-free and fresh. Looking almost flawless with the constant sanitation and the almost excessive cleanliness. The closed doors along the corridors never seemed to indicate whether it was life or death that existed for the person lying on the crisp sheets of the bed.

Outside one of the doors, Tomohisa swallowed his pride before he opened the door slightly to see his daughter on one of those beds, machines linked to her body beeping to indicate the status of her health. Each beep was slow and almost painful. A mask was placed over her nose and over lips that normally smiled brightly. It was to assist with her breathing. Her flawless complexion was marred with small cuts on her forehead and a large white gauze bandage on the curve of her cheek.

Tomohisa thought that she was still the most beautiful thing in the world. He wondered what caused her to break down that way. The doctors told him that she had a high level of alcohol in her system.

And that she was pregnant.

His gaze traveled to the man who sat by her side. His usual confident smile was replaced by a look of utter defeat and uselessness, sorrow and heartbreak. He thought he saw regret. Tegoshi was only human, after all.

“I… I was going to… ask her to marry me,” he whispered to no one in particular, although Tomohisa knew that it was meant for him. “Dammit Pi, why did this have to happen?”

He sat beside the younger man, tears stinging his own eyes. “You’ve really… fallen in love with my daughter?” Tomohisa thought that he could see the beginnings of a smile seem to fade as the reality struck again.

“If I had not been in love with her… would it have been enough to save her?” Yuya gazed at the pale figure who lay comatose in front of them, her hand safely encased in his. Tomohisa said nothing as he heard Yuya whisper, “I wanted to ask her… just as she turned nineteen. But…”

“I was too late.”

Yuya wept, defeated and weary as he clung to her hand, as though it would rouse her from her dreamless sleep.

“I was too late.”

These words seemed to haunt Tomohisa as he was taken back to the last time he had been with Maki. He had been a young idol at the time, foolishly in love with her. She had disappeared from his life for about a year. During that time, he had been a broken man. Jin could attest to that. Before she returned to him, he had been a man with no definite future in sight, because a future without the woman he loved seemed bleak. She had returned later, a child in her arms. Sakura had been his beloved child.

He knew how love seemed to make people do foolish things. His daughter had not been immune to that. He knew that he had to be strong for himself; for Maki; for Tego and most definitely, for her. But, seeing her pale, almost lifeless skin seemed to weaken his resolve.

===

Yuya stayed with her. The hospital let him stay for as long as he wanted, although visiting hours had been over hours ago. Their grounds had been compassion. His desire had been to be with the woman he loved as she lay in between life and death.

He looked like a wreck, as he had not slept for days. He held her hand tightly in his as she lay silently. He wondered how he had found it so easy to let her go.

“We’re having a baby,” she had exclaimed, eyes sparkling as she seemed more beautiful as each word escaped her lips. “It’s been growing in me for a couple of months… I wonder if it will be a boy or a girl…?”

He had sat, dumbstruck as he looked at her in disbelief, with sharp eyes. He had not uttered a single word. That had not been the reaction that she wanted.

“You… don’t want this?” She had whispered, tears brimming in her usually bright eyes. “You…”

She didn’t complete her sentence, remaining by his side for only a few minutes to gauge his reaction before the tears came. “I… I should go,” she had stood up and walked slowly out the door.

His one regret had been not rising up and following her. It had been weeks since he had seen her, engulfing his existence with work and refusing to see her or answer her calls. The news had struck him by surprise. He had not taken them well. He had been scared, more for her sake than his. But, from hindsight, he knew that he had been selfish and cold.

The last thing she had remembered had been his reluctance and his denial of their love. The last thing she could remember was that he pushed her away… that he had pushed the idea of a family with her away. He hated himself for it.

He cried as he begged her silently to come back to him. Soon, the tears had dried up, but his heart still longed for her. They said that a person never appreciated what he or she had unless it had been taken away from them. He knew that this was no lie.

If he had not been selfish, would she be in his arms, laughing and kissing the side of his lips? Would their child have been safe?

She had miscarried their child, from the intake of alcohol to forget about the pain of rejection, and from the impact of two cars colliding into each other. The driver of the car that had hit them had survived with a few cuts and bruises. The person driving the car she had been in had died. Sakura lay comatose in the hospital room, in between life and death.

It had been because of his selfishness.

He wondered if she would ever forgive him should she have woken up from the coma.

History had repeated itself somehow, in the worst way possible.

-OWARI-

a sense of the familiar

2008-01-01T10:36:27Z

TITLE: A sense of the familiar
AUTHOR: maido_ari // amaikoryori
PAIRING: Sawajiri Erika // Nishikido Ryo
GENRE: romance, fluff, slight AU
RATING: PG
WORD COUNT: 703
DISCLAIMER: 001. THE PEOPLE FEATURED HERE WHO ARE KNOWN IN THE JAPANESE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY DO NOT BELONG TO ME. I swear, I gain no profit---!
AUTHOR’S NOTES: This is for noble_scarlet, because I think she is fabulous. I am not sure if this was what you had in mind… but I hope you like it.

The memory of her first love had been like a dream. She had been fifteen at the time. A little young, but she had managed to attract men who were both so much older than her, and boys who seemed to think that she would fall for their youthful charms. Even as a child, she had been intrigued by the idea of danger.

The scent of vodka and sparkling rose-colored wine melded with the air as glass bottles fell to the concrete pavement slowly, breaking into a million little pieces as she looked on in fascination. Her blood had fallen from her delicate fingers as she picked up the bigger pieces, wincing as the glass cut through her skin. The copper scent of blood seemed to be in perfect harmony with the liquor. They said that virgin’s blood smelled differently. Apparently it was sweeter. To her, this was nonsense. Perhaps, it was because she forgot how her blood smelled like when she was more innocent.

Walking down the street years later, amidst the streetlamps and the scent of heavy alcohol dripping from the lips of salarymen who had just finished a hard day’s work, she wondered if there was such a thing as destiny. The fairytale ideal of a prince charming seemed to be enveloped by much romance that she found it almost too sickeningly sweet and disgusting. She preferred to think of herself as different from most women. She was extraordinary.

And yet--- somehow, with the memory of broken glass sparkling in the artificial lights as she picked them up one by one, the most personal side of her just watched and waited. Perhaps, her more logical side had been in denial, however, like most women, perhaps she desired love as well.

Walking slowly, she had been carrying a paper bag that contained a couple of small bottles of vodka. People assumed that she liked Russian vodka with the slight touch of lime. On the contrary, she was more attracted to sweet drinks. This time, she had guava-flavored vodka in smaller, stylish glass bottles. Presentation seemed to play a large role in whatever she did. She was always immaculately dressed and was also a perfectionist in the small things that she did.

Despite being careful, the silence of the night was threatened by soft curses in the Kansai dialect, as the paper bag fell to the ground. The sound of glass breaking did not faze her, although it had roused the attention of the drunkards around her somewhat.

She watched as the paper bag fell and cracked open. Glass glittered in the small rose-colored puddle. The sweet scent of alcohol and the fantasy that it had brought her had been marred by the reality.

She bent down in an attempt to act like the model citizen and reduce the attention that she was receiving. A warm hand rested over hers, causing her to look up. Her hazel eyes lined with soft make-up gazed almost blankly at the warm ones of her companion.

She wondered if she imagined the warm tingle that came up her spine. It scared her a bit, as she had always tried to maintain some semblance of control over her emotions.

“I’m sorry,” he told her, pushing her hands away as he used the remains of the bag to pick up the glass. “I’ll make it up to you.”

“It is perfectly fine,” her voice sounded slightly stilted, cold and more polite than normal. “It is only a couple of bottles that I could replace.”

His eyebrow raised in a questioning arch as he pulled her up with his free hand. “No, I insist.”

The soft clink of glass falling down the garbage bin marked an end to all of her questions.

He took her to a bar and ordered a drink for her, something sweet and girly, a contrast to his stronger beverage.

She learned that his name was Nishikido Ryo, and told him that her name was Sawajiri Erika.

As she sipped on her drink, she wondered if déjà vu existed and if it was this easy to fall in love--- that is, if she was in love. Which she certainly was not--- at least, not yet.

=OWARI=

enlightenment

2007-12-30T13:27:07Z

TITLE: Enlightenment
AUTHOR: maido_ari // amaikoryori
PAIRING: Horikita Maki // Yamashita Tomohisa; Sawajiri Erika // Nishikido Ryo; Aragaki Yui // Kato Shigeaki
GENRE: humor
RATING: PG
WORD COUNT: 733
DISCLAIMER: 001. THE PEOPLE FEATURED HERE WHO ARE KNOWN IN THE JAPANESE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY DO NOT BELONG TO ME. I swear, I gain no profit---!
AUTHOR’S NOTES: This is for all of the people who read my works. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

In some of the articles that had come about within the infamous tabloids published in Japan, it is clear that porn is so accessible to Japanese and non-Japanese youth alike. Imagine Sawajiri Erika; Horikita Maki and Aragaki Yui's amusement--- or lack thereof, when they found porn in the homes of their respective others. The idea was not something those girls enjoyed, but the expressions on the faces of their--- partners seemed to generate rather animated chats over delicate cups of tea.

===

The first incident--- Yamashita Tomohisa and Horikita Maki

Maki looked at Tomohisa and tried to ask him with a serious face.

"Tomochan... you have no secrets from me, right?"

His response was quite straightforward. "No... I'll never keep anything from you." He wondered what had possessed his normally docile girlfriend to ask such a question. He had assumed that trust had been a part of their relationship.

"I make you happy, right?"

"Yes you do."

Her questions made him more and more nervous by the minute. It may have been the fact that she looked really wide-eyed and innocent as she asked those five words with a straight face.

"Then..." She held up a magazine delicately in her fingers.

His eyes widened as his mind tried to formulate a response to her query as soon as he realized just which magazine she had in her possession.

"What is this?"

===

The second incident--- Nishikido Ryo and Sawajiri Erika

On the other side of Tokyo, in Nishikido Ryo's apartment, a similar scene was taking flight. This time, it was between a rather jaded Stardust girl and the Johnny she refused to call her boyfriend or lover. They had an "arrangement", which seemed to imply that he should not have questionable reading material in his possession. By questionable, it meant Leah Dizon's photobook. Why should he possess that, when she had released a whole series of photobooks of her own; and when he was already sleeping with the living, breathing version.

The fact that her--- well, whatever Ryo was--- had a crush on the voluptuous Eurasian girl had been such a thinly veiled secret.

"Nishikido. What is this?" She asked less than delicately, slamming a well-loved Leah Dizon photobook on the table.

"That is...?" He swallowed. Erika was rather scary when angry. Scary, and beautiful. He had no escape from this one--- not when he knew that she could be rather possessive. Would it make a difference if he told her that he had copies of all of Erika’s photobooks and looked at them on a regular basis?

===

Unfortunate for Kato Shigeaki, thick law books did not make hiding places for less--- academic pieces of literature. Aragaki Yui had been moving the heavy books onto Shige's bookshelf when a thin magazine with scantily-clad girls slipped out from within one of the books.

She blinked and turned to Shige, who seemed to be engrossed in something. She frowned for a minute, before pasting a rather sweet smile on her face as she walked to his desk and placed the magazine down. When she saw his eyes widen and his cheeks blush a bright red, she knew that she had made her point.

"Shige-kun...? Anou..."

"This fell out."

The lawyer-in-training had no argument to back himself out of this situation. Unfortunately, the law books did not give any information as to how one could reason with a rather annoyed girlfriend.

===

The verdict--- Horikita Maki; Sawajiri Erika and Aragaki Yui

There was nothing scarier to men than the scorn of women. As three Johnny’s sat in a bar with beers in hand, wondering how they would be able to face their girlfriends again, three rather influential young women sat in a café, delicate china cups in hand.

“Yesterday---“ Maki started softly. “I saw a magazine in Tomohisa’s apartment. He said that he stopped reading them.”

“I saw him with that photobook again.”

“I had no idea Shige-kun was into those sorts of things… Maki-chan, Yamashita-kun said that on the same radio show as Shige-kun and Nishikido-kun, ne?”

Upon realizing this, the eyes of the three girls widened, before they settled into a rather bemused silence.

“Why am I not surprised?” Erika said softly, a statement masked in the guise of a rhetorical question.

Maki and Yui realized what she had been implying and nodded in agreement.

Men could be such perverts. How pathetic.

=OWARI=

one way road

2007-12-29T11:22:49Z

TITLE: One Way Road
AUTHOR: maido_ari // amaikoryori
PAIRING: Aragaki Yui // Kato Shigeaki
GENRE: romance, fluff
RATING: PG
WORD COUNT: 552
DISCLAIMER: 001. THE PEOPLE FEATURED HERE WHO ARE KNOWN IN THE JAPANESE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY DO NOT BELONG TO ME. I swear, I gain no profit---!
AUTHOR’S NOTES: This is for emeraude_jade; firebeat and dr_crgirl. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

A lone crystalline tear traced against the soft curves of her cheek after it played against her lashes. Her eyes closed as his finger gently wiped the tear away.

“You’re crying,” his soft baritone whispered the obvious, cradling the crying girl in his arms, as if to shelter her from whatever thoughts frightened her.

There was a slight pause as she rested her head on his shoulder, smiling slightly as she watched the lights of the cityscape flicker a bit as they sat beside the window. Dressed comfortably in warm flannel and in his dark blue sweater, which was a couple of sizes too large for her, she looked very much at home in his arms. A smile curved on his lips as he watched her, instead of the lights. It was a couple of hours before he needed to leave for the annual New Year’s Countdown.

He hated the fact that he had to leave, because he knew that no one should be alone when the clock struck twelve and the new year was ushered in. Although he knew that she would be safe and snugly covered by warm blankets as she watched the Countdown Spectacular from her television, it was not the same as actually being there beside her. Often, he wished for the opportunity to spend time with her as a “normal” couple--- whatever normal actually was.

For now, the scent of her perfume melded with the subtle one of his aftershave.

“I am just so happy…”

She was one of those people who seemed to be engulfed by emotion. It was one of the reasons that made him fall further in love with her. His mind seemed to have this never-ending list of reasons.

“I wish I did not have to go…”

“You do know that I will be watching you.” Her fingers gently slipped beneath his shirt and traced against his skin. “Even though I hate having to share you with the whole world.”

He laughed softly as he gently played with her silky hair. “You’ll be in my mind the whole time.”

“I’d better. Otherwise…”

As she paused and fumbled a bit for words to say, he slipped his hand into his pocket, feeling smooth, slightly cool metal brush against his fingers. He smiled, slipping the ring onto her slim hand.

“Just so you won’t miss me too much…”

Her eyes widened as she looked at him with bright, innocent eyes. “Are you---?”

“Will you?” He answered her question with his own, blushing slightly when he realized that the denouement had occurred in a manner that was unplanned… She was a couple of years younger. He was only twenty, but he wanted something that would last a lifetime.

He wanted to have her for more than a lifetime.

Looking at his watch discreetly, he wondered if he imagined the pace--- it seemed as though hours were passing by, instead of mere minutes.

She bit her lip as she looked at the delicate ring on her finger. “I…”

She saw him looking even more nervous and scared than usual.

“Yes.”

That was the only answer he needed. He tightened his embrace around her. They remained in comfortable silence before she realized something.

“You’re crying…”

“I know,” he whispered, brokenly against her lips. “I’m just so happy.”

=OWARI=

walk the line

2007-12-24T03:32:33Z

TITLE: Walk the Line
AUTHOR: maido_ari // amaikoryori
PAIRING: Uchi Hiroki // Sawajiri Erika
GENRE: romance, fluff
RATING: PG
WORD COUNT: 847
DISCLAIMER: 001. THE PEOPLE FEATURED HERE WHO ARE KNOWN IN THE JAPANESE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY DO NOT BELONG TO ME. I swear, I gain no profit---! 002. I do not own the Johnny Cash song where the title was taken from.
AUTHOR’S NOTES: This is for enerirenie, who is so much awesome. Merry Christmas dear!

I keep a close watch on this heart of mine
I keep my eyes wide open all the time
I keep the ends out for the tie that binds
Because you're mine, I walk the line
- Walk the Line; Johnny Cash

===

The music in the bar was soft. Beats of jazz played softly and melded beautifully with the dimmed lights. It was ironic that Christmas Eve was spent alone, with a single glass of vodka sitting delicately as she watched the display of British singers singing a range of Christmas carols on television, although their voices sounded rather faded against the rich tones of jazz.

London was different from Tokyo. It seemed to be just as cold, although people seemed to possess more Christmas spirit in the trendy British city. This was more of a vacation to her than a hiatus. The management of her agency had taken necessary precautions in order to ensure that she did not get humiliation from the paparazzi. There were only rumors that a younger girl named Kaji would replace her.

A soft smirk came on her face. They would not be able to replace her that easily. She had generated a bigger impact on the audience and on her fans, so Kaji--- much as she liked the girl--- could not really make an impact that would ruin her career. For now, she was in London. She had been invited by a friend to see his concert, and she enjoyed it immensely.

She sipped on her vodka, very much aware that someone was watching her. She gave him a once-over.

“I’m sorry,” she said, knowing fully well who it was. “But you are not my type, unfortunately.”

“I thought you went for sexy Osaka men?” His voice was as smooth as honey, but it did not faze her.

Her soft laughter bubbled from her lips. It was genuine amusement from her side. “You believed that rumor? Oh my god, you’re seriously mistaken.”

“Mistaken? I really did think you two---“

“Were engaged to be married?” He noticed how her tone had reverted from amusement to just random teasing. Hardly anyone had seen that side of her, believing her to be such a moody drama queen. Seeing her with no masks or veneers that hid her genuinely sweet nature seemed almost unnerving, especially combined with a bright smile and light-colored make-up that made her eyes look more hazel than brown.

He raised his eyebrow. To her, he was effeminate, and yet held just enough masculinity that appealed to most girls. But, she was not like most girls. She didn’t go for men like him usually. She wondered if she imagined the attraction in his eye. Perhaps… she had been away from the male species for too long.

“Married? To Ryo? You have to be kidding…”

At his words, she raised an elegant eyebrow of her own. “I thought he was your best friend.”

“He is.”

“Oh, I get it,” she smiled, thinking of a good comeback. “You have a crush on him!!! That is so adorable!”

His expression was even more priceless than she had envisioned in her mind. It looked like a cross between disgust and slight fear combined with humor.

“That is the most insane idea that popped into your head, Princess. He kissed Subaru. Onstage, I might add.”

“So, you’re jealous of your bandmate?”

“How many times do I have to repeat that I do not have a crush on him?”

He tried not to look at the way her slinky black dress dipped a bit as she leaned forward to whisper in his ear. Hiroki may look feminine and occasionally act feminine as fanservice, but he did admit that he liked breasts, and women with a strong temper. His mama had a strong temper. People had occasionally commented on his Oedipus complex, but he admired women who had similarities with his mama.

“The same number of times I have to repeat that I am not Ikeuchi Aya and never will be.”

“Oh…”

“Besides…” He noticed how she sounded slightly nervous as she slipped daintily off her barstool and leaned close to him. He swallowed at the feeling of her lithe form pressed against his. “I think that you prefer it that way.”

His arms wrapped around her as the jazz flowed through the bar. They ended up not saying much more than their earlier exchange of words. Usually, they talked a lot, but only because talking was just another form of foreplay. Somehow, the lack of words made the moment more tender and showed that this was deeper than just lust on both of their parts.

In his mind, he knew he was in love with her, and that he would probably tell her when the time was right.

Minutes later, she whispered, “How did you know…?”

His boyish smile, and the slight kiss on her forehead preceded his answer. It was simple. “Mama told me that no one should be alone for Christmas… especially not you.”

Apparently, Erika had made such an impression on the one woman who mattered the most to Uchi Hiroki (other than herself, of course).

“Sou ka.”

“And I think that I rather missed you,” his fingers moved possessively over the curve of her shoulder.

“You just want sex.”

“Am I that obvious?”

“Yes.”

=OWARI=

i dream of kisses and perhaps, waking next to you tomorrow

2007-12-24T01:25:55Z

TITLE: I dream of kisses and perhaps, waking next to you tomorrow
AUTHOR: maido_ari // amaikoryori
PAIRING: Aragaki Yui // Kato Shigeaki
GENRE: romance, fluff, slight AU
RATING: PG
WORD COUNT: 1713
DISCLAIMER: 001. THE PEOPLE FEATURED HERE WHO ARE KNOWN IN THE JAPANESE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY DO NOT BELONG TO ME. I swear, I gain no profit---!
AUTHOR’S NOTES: This is for emeraude_jade, who reminded me that I am missing one more person in the triad. ♥ Merry Christmas. I apologize if it is a bit choppy…

The temperature fell as the days slowly crept by and escorted the winter season closer.

A solitary figure snuggled against warm blankets and peach-colored flannel sheets as the sunlight peered through her window. She usually disliked waking up late, preferring to greet the day with a smile and some dance exercises. For some reason, she wanted to stay beneath the sheets, bunched into a small fabric cave of her own making.

Winter was a beautiful season. As the snow fell on the asphalt pavement outside her apartment, she stood up and shook the sleep from her head, moving briskly to make her bed and complete the necessary chores before she left home.

She lived alone. In Tokyo, where most of the work for her industry seemed to be found, it was a large contrast from the closeness with the extended family she had left in Okinawa. In Okinawa, people seemed more open. Sometimes, she missed being cocooned in warm hugs and being asked to sample her aunt’s cooking. She would brush these innocent desires off, just so she could focus on her job.

She loved her job, but not as much as she loved her family. With her family, there was safety, security and, of course, love.

Love. A small girlish smile appeared on her face at the thought. Girls seemed to dream about attaining love at some stage in their lives. She was one of those closet romantics--- the ones who hoped for that happy ending. It became an even more powerful urge once the image of the ideal came closer to her. She was one of those girls who dreamed about falling in love. Her films always seemed to touch on innocence and purity of love, to the point where it was almost ingrained in her imaginative mind.

She wondered if it was normal to feel envy and the desire to attain love in its purest form, where forever seemed to be the underlying promise to conversations spoken and unspoken. And yet, as she dreamed--- she wondered if it was normal to feel a corresponding fear of the unknown and of the future.

===

The snow fell lightly on the asphalt pavement as she walked alone in Shibuya. Around her, lights seemed to sparkle prettily, as though it was a scene in a romantic film or drama. With Christmas carols playing in almost every area, it seemed almost planned. She laughed softly as she walked, hearing the soft taps that her high-heeled boots made on the sidewalk. Perhaps working in the entertainment industry made it almost impossible to just focus herself on reality--- or maybe it emphasized the fact that she would always be a dreamer.

Something that people didn’t realize was the fact that if they continually walked with their heads in the clouds, they would bump into brick walls, or streetlamps. Yui had been aware of this fact, but somehow, she found herself mesmerized by the image of true love and the idea that winter confessions seemed so romantic. It never snowed in Okinawa, so to her, confessions on the beach did not seem as romantic. The snow and the way it managed to reflect light as it fell in small sparkling entities made a scene seem as though it had been copied from either a manga or an animated film.

Caught up in her dream world, Yui did not realize that there was a frozen puddle at her feet. Unfortunately, leather boots with stiletto heels and ice never seemed to be a good combination. It was purely her luck that a pair of strong arms caught her before she collided with the pavement as she slipped.

“You might need to be careful, Aragaki-san…” a familiar baritone slipped through her ears as she looked up and met twinkling eyes.

“K---Kato-kun,” she whispered softly, looking slightly embarrassed. “Thank you… for…”

“It’s okay. Ne, are you alone? Did you want to get something warm to drink? You look slightly pale…”

He sounded more confident than she remembered. He seemed like such an awkward youth when they had worked together for Papa to Musume.

“I would like that. Very much.”

Her mind seemed to register that perhaps, the display of chivalry was also another thing she should add to the romance that she desired. Men did not seem to deliver the image of the Prince Charming whom she had in her head. She had rather high standards, which seemed to indicate that unless her mental list had been completed, she was set for a painful disappointment.

===

As she lay in bed that evening, wrapped up in a cocoon of warm blankets and sweaters, she wondered if she imagined the slight blush on his cheek when he asked her if it would be alright for him to walk her home.

“I… think I could manage it,” she had whispered at first. “But, it would make me happier if Kato-kun walked me home.”

She wondered why her heart beat so quickly when her hand had suddenly slipped into his as they walked.

===

“Shige is in love,” Koyama Keiichiro reported to the rest of NewS before they practiced for one of their upcoming concerts. “He has a nice glow around him, ne?”

The rest of the band suddenly looked at Shige, who was trying to read his lawbooks in peace--- although the sudden attention made him drop them. Two heavy-looking volumes fell to the floor in two loud thumps.

“I am not in love…”

“Is it a girl?”

“Of course it is a girl, Koyama. I don’t think I like what you’re implying--- it’s disgusting!” His words mirrored the ones that he had said during a joint interview with Kei for a magazine.
Ryo gave the younger man a look, and made a rather teasing remark in Kansai-ben. “It’s about time. I was beginning to think you were either gay or asexual.”

Shige glowered at Ryo’s comment. “I… am…”

“Not gay, apparently,” Tegoshi chirped sweetly as he planted himself on Shige’s lap. The fanservice somehow became more and more ingrained in his actions as each day passed by.

“Who’s the lucky girl?” Tomohisa asked, leaning against the wall in a matter that would otherwise be defined as cool.
“She is---“

“Pretty?” Massu interjected, before nibbling on some gyoza. He had forgotten to eat breakfast at home, so he had bought some food on the way to the agency’s building.

“She is, very attractive…” Shige was beginning to feel as though this was some interrogation. His inner lawyer just ensured that an outward image of collectedness was evident.

“Her name is…?” Tegoshi asked, poking the owner of the imaginary cat on the side. “You haven’t mentioned her name, just that she was pretty.”

With five pairs of eyes staring intently at him and nimble fingers attempting to poke the information out of him, Shige found it difficult to hide things any longer. Especially when his best friend looked at him as though he had hidden something very important.

“Oh, you’ve met her,” he said instead, thanking whatever gods were out there when the choreographer arrived for practice. Although he liked Yui, he was not certain that he was ready for his friends to know whom he was interested in dating.

“We have?” Kei asked as he pulled Tegoshi off Shige’s lap, before pulling Shige off the armchair. “Shiiiige… who is she?”

“Not telling, kimochi-warui-kun.”

“Who are you calling kimochi-warui-kun?”

“You, Koyama…”

“Sometimes I wonder why you are my best friend.”

“Because you love me.”

“You two are so married,” Ryo interjected as he pulled Shige away to his side of the room. “And all this mushy talk is making me sick. Let’s practice.”

“Yes Boss.”

Ryo smiled.

===

Neither of them had been willing to take things quickly. It had been after their third date that they had even managed to express affection lightly. The Yokohama Ferris wheel, which mimicked the London Eye had been the most ideal location. With the snow falling, and the lights of the cityscape sparkling below them, Shige had captured her lips with his.

Being quite inexperienced, both of them had fumbled, laughing as their noses brushed against each other, before their lips had touched in a perfect embrace.

They had not spoken about the future, but their affections were innocent and there was the promise of hope and of love. It had been unlike the sudden attraction that had brought Nishikido Ryo and Sawajiri Erika together. It was more like a slower form of attraction, in comparison to the immense connection that Yamashita Tomohisa and Horikita Maki had experienced.

Thoughts of their friends were far from their minds as they looked at the scenery below. It was silent and serene. It was as though they embodied the cliché of being the only two people on the planet that mattered. It was, in a word, perfect.

===

Shige knew that it had become intimate when he had arrived at her apartment one morning, her hair braided loosely as she padded to the door in her pajamas and a blanket in tow. Looking slightly sleepy, she had pulled him into her bedroom, before lying down and inviting him in. It was not as though she wanted to have sex with him. To her, it was important that both of them had enough rest. Working in Japan’s entertainment industry was difficult because they had hardly any time to spare for themselves.

Sleeping was also more intimate to Yui than actual sex. In sleep, one was vulnerable. Sharing this side of herself to Shige showed her trust. Somehow, he understood, and snuggled against her, the denim of his jeans brushing against the flannel of her pajamas.

The evening found them still entwined in sheets and blankets, her head resting against his chest and his arms wrapped protectively around her.

===

“I think…” She had whispered hesitantly one evening. “I am falling for you.”

With his lips resting lightly against hers, he smiled.

“I know,” he said, his breath hot against her skin.

Together, in this innocent stage of their relationship, they dreamed of things that were more than kisses. They dreamed of more mornings together. Of a future, with bright-eyed intelligent children and of a love that will endure forever.

=OWARI=

mistletoe and holly

2007-12-21T07:02:46Z

TITLE: Mistletoe and Holly
AUTHOR: maido_ari // amaikoryori
PAIRING: Yamashita Sakura // Tegoshi Yuya
GENRE: romance, fluff, slight AU
RATING: PG
WORD COUNT: 1055
DISCLAIMER: 001. THE PEOPLE FEATURED HERE WHO ARE KNOWN IN THE JAPANESE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY DO NOT BELONG TO ME. I swear, I gain no profit---!
AUTHOR’S NOTES: This is for enerirenie, because you’re awesome and I love you! Merry Christmas.

“It is done… I suppose, it is best if you forgot about me.”

He had never been able to forget how well she had fit inside his arms as they snuggled together. At first, he thought that he had just had sex with the eldest daughter of one of his closest friends. He still could not erase the warmth of the memory of her body fit snugly against his, not even weeks later. He had started to envision it more than a one-night stand.

Watching her as she spoke softly with Massu during their agency’s pre-Christmas get-together, she seemed different. It was difficult to see her as just his bona fide niece, not after they had spent a few moments engulfed in ecstasy. Dressed in a simple pink dress, she reminded him of her youth.

She refused to see him alone at times, although she visited with her younger brother. She acted as she would normally act, smiling and happy. She did not blush or look at him any differently.

Distance somehow made the heart turn fonder, as the cliché stated. He was not physically separated with her, yet he could feel an invisible wall come between them. It seemed unnatural somehow. They had always shared a connection of sorts even when she had just been an infant.

It pained him.

===

Mistletoe hung over the glass windows and doors silently, boughs of holly sparkling beside them. A glass full of sparkling apple juice in one hand and champagne on the other, she made her way to him. He seemed uncharacteristically reflective that night. He was normally the life of the party.

“Tegoshi-jisan,” Sakura murmured, handing him the champagne. The sparkling drink in her other hand made her feel slightly more adult. Aiko was flirting with one of the juniors in the corner, much to her amusement and to the annoyance of Aiko’s father. Nishikido Ryo was not the most patient man when it came to his daughter and to her beaus.

“Saku-chan,” he responded, taking the liquor from her. It seemed bubbly and equally as sweet. Did he expect her to act any differently? They were not dating or engaged. They may have made love only once, but those moments replayed themselves in his mind as he dreamed.

He wondered if she felt the same way. She was becoming as good as her father when it came to hiding true emotions in front of the camera.

“It’s almost Christmas,” he heard her voice whisper, although they were pretty much alone in that corner. “I’m glad. It’s always a happy time during this season.”

He just hummed his ascent, sipping on the champagne.

Caught up in his memories and his thoughts, he was surprised when he felt her lips press against his cheek.

He looked at her in query, wondering what had provoked her to do such a thing. It was not as though he minded much.

She pointed up, lips painted a pale pink curving in a sweet smile.

“Mistletoe.”

===

He exited the doors of a jewelry shop days later, wondering what had possessed him to purchase two rings. It was the trend for couples to wear jewelry that matched. It was a subtle form of ownership.

The saleslady that had sold him the two rings--- the smaller one, white gold with diamonds inlaid in the smooth metal--- had guaranteed his privacy. The rings that now rested in inner pocket within the lining of his blazer seemed to burn through the satin fabric. They reminded him of what he had both lost and gained the night he spent with her.

For the first time in his life, he wanted someone so badly. This feeling could not compare when he had felt the same for her mother seventeen years ago. It was undeniable that as a youth, he had a small crush on Horikita Maki. She was everything a man would want. He had gone beyond that once she had said I do during her wedding to Tomohisa. As a man, he wondered if it was normal to feel this way for her daughter.

The rings in his possession, he tried to keep his hopes up. It was almost Christmas after all.

===

She wondered if it was ironic that she was spending Christmas Eve alone, looking at the store displays in the trendiest areas in Shibuya’s shopping district. Her eyes lined impeccably with make-up that glittered slightly seemed rather sad, although she masked it with the smile that curved on her lips.

She may have acted as though nothing had changed, however everything had been altered once his arms had curled around her vulnerable form in afterglow. She had cried that night, slow tears that escaped her eyes as he left her bed. She could do nothing more than act as though everything was normal.

Why did her heart seem to break? She felt incomplete, more so now than after her tearful confession.

She felt warm fingers tangle with hers, looking to her side, and blushing slightly when she realized who had been beside her.

”T---Tegoshi-jiisan…”

A gentle look on his face was directed at her as he pulled her away from the jewelry display.

“Come with me… please?”

She found that she could not refuse.

===

His ring was already on his finger. Hers was still in his pocket. They had gone from Shibuya to Yokohama. Parking his car, he stopped the engine as he whispered, “Please wait for me outside.”

Walking to the metal grilles, she leaned against it as he approached her.

“Tegoshi-jii?”

He turned her so that she faced him gently. A boyish look came on his features as he fished in his blazer pocket. He always seemed to favor this style. It suited him.

“I…” He started, when he met her questioning look. He found himself speechless and incoherent. Instead of using words, he just walked that one step closer to her, meeting her lips with his.

The kiss was soft and hesitant, but she melted into his arms as it slowly became more passionate.

“Tego---“

He slipped the white gold ring onto her slim finger.

“Please… call me Yuya. I am only human… but if you will have me, I am yours.”

Her eyes filled with soft tears as she wrapped her arms around him.

=OWARI=

the ghost in my room

2007-12-07T06:09:00Z

TITLE: The ghost in my room
AUTHOR: maido_ari // amaikoryori
PAIRING: Yamashita Sakura // Tegoshi Yuya
GENRE: vignette; angst?
RATING: NC-17
DISCLAIMER: 001. JE owns the rights to the idols that I used in this story.
002. No profit.
003. Some characters are mine. As is the plot.
AUTHOR’S NOTES: For enerirenie because she makes me spazz over random things.

Moonlight filtered through the thin curtains of her room. It was late--- she had school the next morning, but her mind seemed to be clouded with too many thoughts that prevented her from sleeping.

A ghost haunted her. It was not your conventional ghost--- the type that died and haunted people who were close to them. It was more like, a constant nagging thought, really. She sat up, and gazed at the poster of the man whom she had admired for as long as she could remember.

It seemed insane to develop this sort of obsession. She knew he would not give her a second glance--- not as a woman, but only as his surrogate niece or daughter figure. Soft tears formed in the corner of her eyes as she wondered why she felt something so strong for a man who seemed to have the world at his feet.

Unrequited love was the most painful.

She walked to her desk and found a small pink envelope. Her father had given it to her, telling her that it had been from him.

He normally gave her notes, usually written on different sheets of paper, with different envelopes to match. They always were small, and were filled with short messages like: I hope you do well in your test this week. We have a recording soon. Will you be coming by to visit your favorite uncle? I promise I’ll have a present ready for you. Yuya always spoiled her, with attention and presents, even as a child.

===

“Tegoshi asked me to give this to the number one member of his fanclub,” Tomohisa had teased his daughter, handing her the envelope.

“Really Papa, I am the only member of his fanclub that he knows.”

From where she had been sitting, Maki stood up and sat beside her daughter, a sweet smile on her face.

“Your Papa is just jealous that you aren’t a member of his fanclub.”

Sakura had to laugh at her mother’s words. “But ‘Kaachan, I am--- it’s just difficult to become the number one member when you’re that person, ne?”

Her younger brother, Akira just laughed at the corner, playing with his phone.

“Ne, ‘Tousan, I’m thinking of joining Johnny’s… you don’t mind much, right?”

“I think I mind, Akira…”

“Really ‘Tousan, you told me that you wanted to spend more time with me…” Akira pouted, making their father laugh.

“Fine, be a Johnny.”

“I’ll be better than you, ‘Tousan.”

“You’d better be.”

===

Tabloids suspected he was a playboy. Others suspected that he had a secret affair with a person from the same gender. Bluntly speaking, they suspected he was gay--- perhaps, with Masuda Takahisa.

Sakura just laughed at those rumors. None of them were true, although she did lean more towards the idea of Yuya--- no, Tegoshi being a playboy. He had that image, still maintaining an almost effeminate appearance with age. Thirty-seven was not that old.

Maybe being seventeen is just too young.

She walked along the sidewalks of Shibuya alone. Usually, she would be with Aiko. Unfortunately, Aiko was in Osaka with the rest of her family, visiting her relatives.

Like this, people did not pay much attention to her--- just that she looked beautiful. If you asked her, she would deny that fact, telling them to look at Aiko instead. She thought Nishikido Aiko was stunning.

As she walked, deep in thought, her schoolbag in hand, Sakura smiled when she realized that she had the best solution to her problem.

===

Dressed in a black slinky slip of a dress, with matching stilettos and wearing make-up, she made believe that she looked older than seventeen. Entering one of the most popular bars in the Shinjuku district one Friday evening, she felt at home in the dimmed lights and soft music.

Her parents were both away, filming yet another drama together. Aiko was visiting her aunts in Osaka, whilst Akira was playing with the second Nishikido child, Haruto. The two were just as close as their fathers.

In the bar, she moved alongside the dancers, making her way to the counter. Ordering a peach vodka cocktail, the only drink she had been familiar with, she tapped her fingers along the countertop.

The beverage sparkled teasingly in the light. It looked immensely appetizing. Ready to take a small sip, she felt a firm hand hold her wrist and prevent her from drinking the cocktail. Familiar aftershave entered her senses and made her heart beat quicker. He had seen her… him, whom she had wanted to escape; Him whom she wanted so badly to hate.

“You’d better put that drink down,” he whispered, releasing her wrist. “I don’t think it’s the best course of action for you to take.”

“But I want to drink it…”

“You’re a few years too young. Come, I’ll take you home.”

From the back, she heard the familiar voices of her surrogate uncles. She swallowed when she realized the risk of her being recognized.

“Ne, Tego, you’ve always held a fondness for the younger ones,” Kusano called out teasingly.

They only saw the curtain of her hair, and the way it sat nicely on the curve of her back.

“I’ll take her home,” Yuya turned around and smiled at them, knowing his statement could be taken the other way.

“Yes, you do that,” Kusano told him, obviously slightly tipsy. Shige who sat beside him just laughed.

Taking her hand in his, he took her out of the bar, and escorted her to his car.

The drink sat on the countertop, forgotten.

===

Inside the car, she waited for a lecture. Instead, all she received was a silent drive home. She wondered what he had been thinking, the smile still deceptively on his face.

“Tego-jii?” She whispered as he walked her to the front door of her home.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell your father. I doubt he’ll be that lenient with you…”

Her eyes lowered to the ground, almost in shame and embarrassment.

“I just wanted to feel…”

“Grown-up?” He laughed softly as they went in. “All of us wanted to feel that at some point.”

She frowned. “You don’t understand…” They stood in the entrance hallway, looking at each other. Even with the stilettos, she was still shorter than him.

“You don’t understand… I wanted to forget…”

“Wanted to forget what?”

“This…” At that, she stood on her tiptoes and pressed a soft kiss on his lips. He froze in shock. This girl--- his friend’s beautiful little girl--- he did not realize how quickly time passed since he had cradled her in his arms as a toddler. She was a young woman, who apparently wanted him. He couldn’t help but respond, gently kissing her back and running his fingers through her hair.

Pulling away, she whispered, “Just this once. It will only be this once. And then, you could forget all about me.” He saw soft tears forming in the corner of her eyes. He kissed them away softly.

“If that is what you want… then that will be what I will give you.”

===

He had no idea when they ended up in her bedroom, with his warm body encasing hers protectively. Their clothing lay on the floor, as he touched her skin lightly with his fingers. Left in her underwear, she shivered as he pressed soft kisses on the crook of her neck and on her collarbones, licking on lightly.

He did not realize he was touching her more intimately in a room that was covered with framed posters of himself and his bandmates. He expertly undid her bra as he shared a deep kiss with the young woman below him. The lingerie joined the rest of the clothing on the floor as he slowly trailed soft kisses along the curve of her throat and on her breasts, suckling lightly on her nipple.

Yuya heard her soft whimpers and only registered at the back of his mind that Maki and Tomohisa were both away for the rest of the week.

He moved his lips downward, slowly raising her hips so he could lick along the apex of her thighs, before he rubbed along the sensitive skin. He had heard bits and pieces from his bandmates and seniors--- how to pleasure women and to ensure that he was gentle during a woman’s first time.

She was engulfed with a soft heat that came from the core of her being--- as though being with him completed her. She wanted him, whimpering his name as she felt desire.

He watched the reactions on her face and reveled in the sound of her soft whimpers and whines for more. Capturing her lips with his, he pulled away and whispered an apology, before putting a condom on and slowly entering her.

His lips swallowed her soft gasp of pain as he waited for a minute for her to grow accustomed to him. He thrust lightly against her at first, feeling tightness and a velvety heat envelop him. His soft groans of pleasure combined with her soft moans and whispers of his name--- “Yu---ya---“ came out as a sigh as she reached ecstasy at the second point that evening, with him gasping “Sakura,” in honeyed tones.

Sated, he rested against her, smiling in pleasure, although minutes later, he felt a slight guilt when he realized what he had done. Looking at the ceiling then at the walls, he realized that the room was filled with framed posters of NewS and of himself. He realized that perhaps, she had been serious…

When she felt him freeze for a second, she untangled herself from him, after snuggling adorably in afterglow, soft tears flowing down her face.

“It is done. I suppose now, you could forget about me.”

=OWARI=

all i want for christmas

2007-12-05T07:45:34Z

TITLE: All I want for Christmas
AUTHOR: maido_ari // amaikoryori
PAIRING: TABLO // BoA [ANYBAND]
GENRE: romance; drabble
RATING: G
DISCLAIMER: NOT MINE
AUTHOR’S NOTES: For noble_scarlet because she is FAB.

Although he had been a member of her fanclub, Tablo had no idea what to get Asia's princess of pop for Christmas. She had the capability of buying anything that she wanted... and people gave her things that ranged from jewellery to designer bags and even electronics. He was stumped. Should he probably write her a song? It seemed like the perfect idea, but he knew that it would be difficult writing a love song that did not scream I want you desperately.

It was the morning of Christmas Eve--- Notebook in hand, he sat down on the bench, snowflakes falling over his head. It seemed like a scene in a movie. The only thing missing was the heroine, running breathless as she apologized for her lateness... or for having broken up with the hero. Either way, it still resembled something from fiction.

Uninspired, he looked to the sky for guidance, before closing his eyes.

He felt soft gloved hands on his cheeks. Eyes fluttering open, his eyes met eyes lined slightly with kohl.

"Tablo? What are you doing out here in the cold?"

"I---" he paused. Should he tell her that he was perhaps, trying to write the most sentimental love song in history, in hopes that she would sing the melody and he would rap loving words? He thought it was impossible.

"You---?" She looked at him curiously. He was acting really strange.

Changing the subject, he looked at her as she sat down on the bench beside him. "I was wondering--- what you wanted for Christmas."

She bit her lip thoughtfully, smiling when she thought of an answer. It seemed cliched and undeniably frank, but it would have to do, for now.

"Let's see--- All I want for Christmas is---"

"Yes?" He asked, as she paused dramatically, before her control was reduced into girlish giggles.

"It sounds almost crazy, but all I want for Christmas is you."

=OWARI=

daydream

2007-12-04T06:15:06Z

TITLE: Daydream
AUTHOR: maido_ari // amaikoryori
PAIRING: Horikita Maki // Nishikido Ryo
GENRE: angst
RATING: R
DISCLAIMER: NOT MINE
AUTHOR’S NOTES: This is a companion of sorts to Destination Nowhere by enerirenie and the canon started by honeymilk_tea. I love you both.

She opened the newspaper, finding a small, neatly folded tabloid within pages of current events and world news. She sipped on her tea as she opened the tabloid pages curiously. Usually she ignored them, as they pursued things that had not been her business; however, the name on the headline surprised her. The dainty china cup dropped almost dramatically on the floor. Cream-colored tiles were stained with the light green of the tea that she had enjoyed prior to then. Her eyes widened when she saw Tomohisa's name printed in bold black font, his picture juxtaposed against Sawajiri Erika's photograph.

Maki knew that their relationship had been ambiguous at best. She had been the one he had sought when he needed a warm form beside him. She knew how he tossed and turned in the night, waking up and holding her close, before nuzzling her neck to remind himself that he was not dreaming--- that she had been beside him all the while. Maki tried imagining that she had captured his heart, but knew that with Tomohisa, there were no promises of tomorrow. He reminded her that commitment was a luxury, best enjoyed by people outside their industry. Soft tears flowed down her cheeks, unwanted. He repeated that he loved her, after they made love over silk sheets. Love was but an empty promise that he could not seem to give her. She wondered if this was infidelity.

===

She was the last person he imagined he would see in a secluded bar in the heart of Shinjuku, sipping on a glass of martini as naturally as she would drink her tea.

She wore a wig, long and curly, that he had to squint before realizing that it had been her. Slipping into the empty barstool beside her, he looked at her suspiciously before, "Brown does not suit you." He ordered a drink--- something strong, as he watched her fiddle with her martini glass.

She had been elegance. What more could one expect from one of Vogue's women of the year? "I felt like a change," she replied, playing with the maraschino cherry in her glass.

“I heard rumors of you dating Yama--- Yamashita. Are they true?”

“He does not believe in commitment.”

“Then why are you drinking?”

“Because I have my own sorrows to drown.”

It started off with a meeting in the bar, an attempt to talk about the infidelity of their significant others. It had only been a matter of time before she had become tipsy. Maki could not hold her alcohol well. Neither could he, drinking a couple of shots of the strongest drink in the house. It had been mere minutes before he had pulled her hand roughly to rest against his.

“What--- what are you doing?” She asked as she found herself in a secluded corridor in the bar, with him looking at her almost predatorily.

He did not respond, only capturing her lips with his. The kiss was neither gentle nor extremely rough. There was passion, and raw energy; she could almost feel it crackle against her skin.

She felt his fingers moving up her leg, making her skirt ride up as he deepened the kiss.

She swore that he tore her underwear, black lace tangling against his hand almost playfully.

His lips pulled away from hers reluctantly, the sound of the zipper of his pants being pulled down melding with the soft music in the bar.

===

She sighed against his lips; her legs lazily tangled against his. They had collapsed on the floor in a frenzy of ecstasy and risk.

“We should not--- have done this.” Ever the pragmatist, she wondered whether or not her actions were appropriate. “I am not your re-bound girl.”

“Then what am I? Your tool for revenge?”

“You are the drug that I’ll take only once.”

“It is the same with me.”

“Do you love her?”

“Love is not the word I’ll use.”

Both of them knew that this was not the last time they would see each other. The lace of her lingerie in his hands seemed to remind them that danger was addictive. This was not love--- this was an outlet for rage. Maki knew better than to ask him for love. Ryo knew that repentance did not come freely.

Their affair was nothing more than an expression of lust and slight anger--- the need for a warm body to lie beside their own. There was no love, no passion… just the selfish need to erase the past. She knew he imagined Erika. He knew that she envisioned the man who had betrayed his trust.

They had no commitment to each other--- but somehow, they felt the need to seek each other out.

===

The irony of the matter was that she had been the one to find him, face down on his floor, blood flowing from his wrists.

“Ryo---Ryo--- Wake up! Oh god…” She all but shrieked, uncharacteristically frantic. They had enough familiarity between them to use their given names.

She tried to stop the bleeding, her cream dress being stained by the ruby red of his blood. He was still breathing--- only just. Maki wondered if he loved Erika that much that he wanted to escape the world.

Calling an ambulance, she felt sorrow and envy and regret creep up all at once.

Blood was a stain that was impossible to remove--- as was love.

===

Tomohisa found her sitting on the bench outside Ryo’s room, in a bloodstained dress.

“Maki--- I’m---“

“Sorry?” She laughed hollowly, the sound seemingly foreign to her very personality. “That sounds almost hilarious coming from you.”
“I’m sorry,” he repeated, kneeling in front of her as he attempted to wipe the tears that suddenly sprung to her eyes.

“Sometimes, being apologetic is not enough.”

And sometimes, dreaming about love is not enough.

=OWARI=

talk; play; love

2007-12-04T05:15:10Z

TITLE: Talk; Play; Love
AUTHOR: maido_ari // amaikoryori
PAIRING: TABLO // BoA [ ANYBAND ]
GENRE: romance
RATING: PG
WORD COUNT: 1340
DISCLAIMER: ANYBAND is not mine. No profit from this work of fiction.
AUTHOR’S NOTES: TABLO// BoA is currently my new favorite OTP.

”What is your first impression of Tablo from Epik High?”

“I thought that he had been rather shy--- but quite clever and I noticed that he was also very charismatic. In fact, when I first met him, the first thing I asked was if we could take a photo together.”

===

She smiled when she spotted him, looking curiously at the various displays in the head office of Samsung.

“Hi… you are Tablo, right? I’m---“

“BoA,” he mused, smiling shyly at her. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

She returned his smile. “I think you’re sweet--- would it be alright if we take a photo together? I have a feeling we’ll be good friends~”

He murmured, “yes,” not because he was being polite and did not want to crush her excitement. As her fan, his mind all but blanked, focusing on her and how she seemed to maintain a sweet demeanor even toward someone she had met for the first time.

As for her, she knew that he would not be able to refuse her tiny request. It was a simple photograph, which she wanted to have to remember the first time that she met him. People who had never been too close to her never understood her enjoyment for preserving memories. First impressions were important, after all.

Holding her phone, she leaned close to Tablo and smiled into the lens of the camera. He swallowed inwardly as he caught a whiff of her perfume. At the press of a button, she had a photo of the two of them, meeting for the first time, smiles on both their faces.

“It looks like a nice photo,” she commented, moving off him as she spotted Junsu walking down the corridor. She smiled at Tablo before walking to the other SM entertainment idol, giving him a warm hug as she approached him.

His heart beating slightly quickly, Tablo wondered whether she felt it--- that spark… he tried to imagine how it would be, working so closely with her.

===

“I am actually a rather big fan of BoA, so I was extremely shy--- but rather thrilled at the same time. I think that her music is quite powerful and very attractive.”

===

He had not been kidding when he thought to himself that she was the melody that constantly played in his mind. He had known about BoA since she had started her musical career. He bought all of her albums and singles. He had even joined her fanclub.

At one point, he believed that meeting her would be a dream. Once he broke into the Korean music industry, he wondered if meeting her would only be a matter of time. He wondered what he would say to her… whether she would be as sweet in person as she seemed on TV.

Working with her, he found that his impressions of her as a fan were exactly the same as the way she acted around people she knew. She always had a smile on her face, and passion in her eyes as the cameras rolled.

He tried not to embarrass himself around her--- although, filming the scene for the CM wherein he entered a manhole, he found it hard not to show his tiny quirks--- like, being afraid of bugs, for instance.

He captured her attention, not only from the confidence he seemed to feel towards himself. She had heard his music and had also heard of his achievements. He was intelligent, graduating from an American university. He had style and a certain finesse that seemed to appeal to her.

From the way he played the guitar on set, to the way he started rapping, she wondered if it was normal to feel lightheaded when he was around. She dismissed it as girlish admiration, and had placed herself in her work, not realizing that she worked twice as hard whenever he was around.

===

Mixing with the people walking along the busy street, he wondered whether it had been his imagination. Unlike Junsu, who had hugged Bora as freely as he hugged the rest of his band members in DBSK, he had hesitated in hugging the female dynamo that had captured Korea and the rest of the world with the strength of her voice. She was the melody that flowed through his mind, like a song on constant playback; who stood in front of him and saluted, pausing for a moment as if she waited for something more--- a hug, perhaps.

Tablo just stood there, watching her. He had been awkward and unused to open displays of affection. Hugging Korea’s golden girl would have seemed appropriate, but somehow, it did not feel right--- not in front of the cameras. He settled for a small salute, his eyes fixated on the almost disappointed way she looked down and turned around. Unlike Literature, the subject of women had not been something he considered himself to be confident in.

She turned around, looking at him for a final moment, before walking away. Her eyes somehow held the suggestion of something more--- something that she could not tell him in words--- not in front of the camera or in a crowded set anyway.

The camera captured her expression and his, simplifying the emotions that raged between them. It seemed like a rather unhappy, yet ambiguous ending for this story--- the heroine walking away from the stalwart knight because somehow, they were not meant to be together. The cameras played on this. Their emotions, which had been real had been transfixed into something more superficial.

They had been filming that CM to advertise products for Samsung.

Remembering this, he felt somehow used and manipulated. There had been something between them--- something indescribable and strong. He was accustomed to that aspect, but he had not been expecting to feel so strongly for her. It was beyond the admiration of a fan--- and the slight desire to pursue something other than friendship.

It had taken them several takes to get the CM perfect. Each time they did that scene, the same emotions--- the same intensity seemed to be present.

===

He tried to deny it, but he knew that he missed it when they had gotten the scenes to be perfect. He missed hearing her voice, melding with his and Junsu’s as they sang. He missed the way Bora’s piano playing strengthened her voice.
Tablo tried to fantasize that she had been singing for him--- only for him. Even during the concert that ANYBAND had performed for the benefit of their mutual fans, he tried desperately to cling to this fantasy.

BoA was undeniably beautiful when she sang. She placed her energy into painting perfection with the strength of her vocal talent. He tried not to lose his concentration, focusing instead on the crowd as they cheered for them. He smiled as she caught his eye, winking discreetly at him as they prepared for the next song.

His fingers tangled with hers at some point during the concert, caressing her skin. They pretended that it was fanservice, and tried to ignore the way their hearts suddenly beat quicker.

Once they went backstage, Junsu and Bora tried not to laugh at how obvious their bandmates were acting.

===

“Would you---“ he murmured hesitantly, when he called her, one evening after the ANYBAND concert.

“Would I?”

“If you are available--- would you--- want to go out…?”

“With you?”

“Yes”

“I think I would like that.”

===

”If music did not exist in the world, what would you do?” the interviewer asked the four ANYBAND members in excited tones.

“I would die,” Tablo murmured, knowing that music was his life.

“And I would save Tablo,” BoA said sweetly, sounding ever so innocent as she answered the question.

===

Her lips pulled away from his slowly, hesitantly. His eyes remained closed as he whispered, “You’re my divine--- you’re my everything.”

She laughed softly. “You stole those lines from our lyrics.”

“I know--- but I cannot help it if it’s how I feel.”

=OWARI=

time slip

2007-11-28T14:13:22Z

TITLE: Time slip
AUTHOR: maido_ari // amaikoryori
PAIRING: Tegoshi Yuya // Yamashita Sakura (original character); Yamashita Tomohisa // Horikita Maki
GENRE: romance
RATING: PG-15 for implications
DISCLAIMER:
001. The Rainbow Canon is my creation--- it uses people from real life, but some of the characters are mine.
002. Johnny’s Entertainment; Sweet Power; Stardust hold the rights to the people who do feature in this story.
AUTHOR’S NOTES: This is for enerirenie because she sustained her flailing while she had been at work and I decided to bombard her with plenty of drabbles that were not linked, but were short and teasing and causes her to go “OMG ARIIII YOU MUST WRITE MOAR!!!” The fact is, she asked me to guess and I am bad at guessing games so I wrote drabbles to distract her? HAHAHA! This is also for noble_scarlet by proxy--- because she used my universe in the future--- and you know what? She managed to characterize Aiko so well--- I am so pleased and OMG this is becoming longer than the fic itself. HAHAHA!

Lilac and pink paint lined the walls, beneath the posters of various bands that hung side-by-side on the walls of the otherwise girlish room. Old posters, most of them collector’s items were there, some of them framed with simple white frames--- others, with black. It did not matter much to the sight, just that most of them consisted of one man.

Her friends thought that it was sweet that she admired him so much. You have a cool uncle, they told her. Only her best friend Aiko knew the truth. Even then, the other girl had been quite concerned.

“Sakura---“ Aiko had murmured softly during one of their sleepovers. “He is Tegoshi-jisan. He is old--- and perverted…”

“No he isn’t,” Seventeen-year-old Sakura had insisted, painting the younger girl’s toes yellow and pink. “And youdorememberwhatItoldyou---“

“Well, he’s perverted and old--- and YOU FUCKING SLEPT WITH HIM!!!”

“Shush! Do you want my whole house to hear you?” Sakura hissed, even though neither of her parents was at home at that moment, due to work commitments.

“Your parents aren’t even home. Still, I cannot believe you slept with Tegoshi-jisan. That just sounds so--- WRONG!”

Sakura merely smiled and whispered, “Well, he is good in bed…”

“EEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWW!!! Mental image YAMASHITA!” Aiko shrieked, threatening to push over the bottles of nail polish and spill them.

===

He entered his daughter’s room for the first time in a very long time, looking at the posters that hung on her walls, somehow feeling a hint of pride that his only daughter supported his music. It surprised him a bit that she had chosen to hang up posters that ranged from group shots of NewS to solo shots of Tegoshi. He raised an eyebrow and wondered if it was innocent admiration for Tegoshi, the musical genius. He knew how fond she was of the younger man, even as a child. He wondered a bit if it was healthy.

The envelope on her desk had been pink, and had the faded scent of male cologne. It somehow reminded him of a letter he once sent to Maki when he had been courting her. The only difference had been the fact that this time--- it had their daughter’s name on it. Nothing more.

It had not been in Tomohisa’s nature to open his daughter’s mail. Nor was it his business. It had just been filial concern. That was all.

The letter lay in his hand, concealed by the envelope. He did not need to open it to realize his worst nightmare.

His daughter was in love--- with someone he knew nothing about.

It dropped back on her desk, as he wondered what he did wrong and why she did not inform him.

===

Sakura found the letter on her desk, unopened. The familiar cologne making her smile as she gently and carefully opened the envelope and read the letter he had written. She may be younger than him, but she had inherited her mother’s perceptive nature.

It had been a simple letter telling her that he would be going on tour with the rest of NewS sometime soon--- and that she may have already known that. Did she want a souvenir? He wrote how he would miss her, but he would be thinking of her often. Perhaps, if she wanted, they could spend time together.

His courtship was still slightly clumsy--- but she didn’t want anything more than simple words or just cuddling in his room as they watched TV.

She realized for a moment that perhaps she needed to talk with her father about something--- not the fact that she was in love with his band mate… but the fact that she wanted to be a gravure idol, much like her mother and her Auntie Rina.

===

“Papa~”

“Saku-chan…”

“I want to talk to you.”

His daughter sounded so grave--- so serious, he wondered if anything was wrong. Before he could ask, she beat him to the chase.

“I want to be a gravure idol.”

Those words, together with the knowledge that she may be going out with someone behind his back scared Tomohisa, as he had missed several months of her life because Maki had not told him of her pregnancy. Although they had forgiven each other for that mistake and miscommunication, it still haunted Tomohisa. His worst fear was losing his most treasured daughter and the woman whom he shared his life with.

She looked at her father hesitantly. “Papa?”

His words were a stern, firm, “No.”

Her eyes filled with tears as she ran from his study.

===

Yuya found her on his doorstep, in tears. Ushering her in, he was somewhat glad that Massu had gone out. Although Massu was his best friend, he wasn’t sure he was ready to tell him about his relationship with Sakura.

He led her to the couch, a comforting arm around her shoulder.

“Saku-chan?” He kissed her forehead gently as he tried to stop her tears. “What’s wrong?”

“Papa---“ She sniffled. “Papa won’t let me---“

“Yamashita-kun won’t let you---?”

“He won’t let me be a gravure model.”

Yuya all but choked on air. The thoughts in his mind were endless--- they ranged from innocent thoughts to others that would certainly cause Yamashita Tomohisa to murder him in his sleep, using a blunt knife. Although photobooks were tastefully taken at times, there were photos that left the imagination running rampant and uncontrolled.

“Yuya---?” She blinked at him, her eyes slightly red because of her tears.

He blushed like a nervous schoolboy. At thirty-seven, he had not believed that it was possible to feel like this for someone who had grown up in front of his very eyes.

“It’s nothing,” he murmured, taking her into his arms and trying to make her calmer.

===

He had no idea how he was going to explain this to Massu when he arrived--- Sakura, naked in his bed, covered only by a thin sheet of Egyptian cotton; their clothes on the floor with a used condom lying somewhere near the door.

He sighed as he traced soft patterns on her back, with her giggling softly because it tickled.

His phone rang--- he knew who it was and why he had been calling. He picked it up from its place on the bedside table.

“Yamashita-kun?”

“Is Sakura there?”

“Yes she is--- I’ll take her home, although she told me why she ran away---“

“I don’t think she wants to see me…”

“Look, just give her time--- I mean, Maki-chan did photobooks when she was younger than Saku-chan.”

“I know--- but, it’s not just that… Sakura’s dating someone.”

Yuya’s heart suddenly started beating faster. His mouth felt dry as he murmured, “Really. Do you know who she’s dating?”

“No… I saw a love letter on her desk.”
He let out a sigh of relief in his mind. At least he wasn’t about to get murdered yet.

“Sou ka…” He inserted the most appropriate amount of cuteness in his tone. “She’s at that stage of her life. Just trust her, ne, Yamashita-kun~”

“I guess so--- I’ll see you later Tegoshi… Thank you.”

He closed his phone.

“Our secret is still safe Yuya---“ Sakura whispered, turning to face him.

“For now.”

He felt her lips curve into a smile before being covered by his own. For now, their secret still remained secret. All that remained was that tiny slip of time that would cause everything to crumble. Until then--- All he needed was the comfort of her arms and the love in her eyes, and he was content.

===

He entered Sakura’s room, wondering how to handle his daughter. He saw the letter on her desk, beside the opened envelope. It didn’t bother him, although at a glance, he realized that the penmanship looked awfully familiar. He recognized the curves of kanji and the name written on the bottom of the letter with the familiar smiling emoji.

Tegoshi Yuya

He sat on her bed, with his face in his hands.

Time had slipped.

This was the start of reality.

=OWARI=

pandora's box

2007-11-27T02:33:28Z

TITLE: Pandora’s box
AUTHOR: maido_ari // amaikoryori
PAIRING: Yamashita Tomohisa // Horikita Maki
GENRE: romance, bittersweet, vignette
RATING: G
DISCLAIMER: Johnny’s Entertainment and Sweet Power take care of the legalities necessary for these two idols in the Japanese entertainment scene. I only own the plot
AUTHOR’S NOTES: HAPPY BIRTHDAY japwannabe. I am sorry if this is so sad.

Light shone against her creamy skin, making it seem more luminous on camera. Her eyes gazed at another direction, with tears threatening to escape them at any moment. With the pose, her neckline dipped just so, giving the impression of her physical maturity.

She was on the threshold of womanhood--- and yet, she felt as though she had lived through the harshest trials of life both within the camera’s lens and outside it. There had been times when she felt that people allowed her to experience just a sliver of what they had defined as “real life”. Other times, she perceived it to be a fantasy.

A tear fell down her cheek, unnoticed, after the camera had taken photo after photo. Memories of the previous day filled her mind, threatening at times to overwhelm her during the course of the photo shoot. It was still too fresh--- too raw, despite happening a few months ago.

He told her how he loved her. She thought he was being cryptic. He never told people that he loved them, unless he truly meant it--- however, it had been in the way he murmured those sweet words that she had thought that it had been the best idea for her to end it.

Attachment to him just made her feel like she had made the worst decision of her life. Enter regret and longing. Enter tears as she slept, flowing down the planes of her face as she dreamt of memories that she deluded herself, were hidden in her own little mental box.

The lenses had captured her womanly sorrow--- a new tenderness that she had allowed only one person to envisage until that day.

===

Perhaps it had been her cryptic message for him. Jin had bought him the latest copy of VOGUE, which featured her. Jin had not known of the break-up, just that Maki had been too busy with work, that she had no time to see Tomohisa. He attributed Tomohisa’s sadness to something else--- something more superficial.

He flipped through the pages, ignoring the tasteful images of women posing in expensive haute couture and ending up looking at her. She looked pale--- but that may just have been because of the lighting. Gold suited her, making her resemble the goddesses that walked through Olympus. His eyes ran through the shot of her face, as his finger stroked the smoothness of the magazine’s page. He tried to imagine that it had been her--- soft skin, the curve of her smile and her eyes, sparkling with life, instead of paper.

He remembered the night he told her that he loved her. He had been serious. She thought he had been playing games with her.

A few days later, he received a call from her, telling him in soft, blunt tones that they needed to break it off--- that it was becoming almost unhealthy for them to be together. Perhaps, friendship may have been best.

But he knew he could hear her crying, just as he choked back his own tears. Maki could not hide her true emotions from him.

He wondered if she thought of him. He knew that she may have been right--- it may have been obsession disguised as love.

As he looked at the photograph again, he wondered if he could turn the clock back and kiss the taste of regret away from her rosy lips.

=OWARI=

dreamcatcher

2007-11-15T03:01:40Z

TITLE: Dream catcher
AUTHOR: maido_ari // amaikoryori
PAIRING: implied Tegoshi Yuya // Horikita Maki; Yamashita Tomohisa // Horikita Maki
GENRE: slightly AU
RATING: G
DISCLAIMER: 001. Only the plot is mine as well as a couple of original characters. 002. NOTHING MORE SAVE WHAT I STATED IN 001 IS MINE
AUTHOR’S NOTES: For enerirenie---

The sun shone brightly, masked slightly by the shade of reddening maple leaves that indicated the appearance of autumn. They predicted a cool winter that year. Inside the studio, the temperature was warm. There was minimal furniture--- small couch in the corner with a couple of foldable plastic chairs on the side. There was a full-sized mirror on two adjacent walls. A stereo sat in the far corner of the room, unplugged.

It felt empty, especially to the solitary person in the room. His lips, usually curved in a bright smile were uncharacteristically somber in mood. Despite seeming like the social butterfly that people painted him to be, he felt lonely. It may have been the fact that a couple of his band members had suddenly welcomed two rather beautiful children into the world. He had not imagined such an event to occur--- not yet. He had expected them--- all six of them to have families at similar times. Change was something that he did not take lightly. He was a creature of habit and routine.

Yuya was not sure whom he envied more--- Yamashita-kun or Nishikido-kun, although sometimes, he had to admit, he craved whatever the former had. It was no secret how he admired Yamashita-kun. In reality, he supposed he wanted to be him and to have what he had. At first, it had been mainly about the style and the popularity. When Yuya had discovered his own identity as an artist, his desire to be like Yamashita-kun had lessened.

That had been before he met her--- before he met Maki. She had been sweet smiles and bright, sparkling eyes that haunted his dreams. She resembled sunshine flooding into his carefully constructed world.

He wondered vaguely what would have happened had he met her first.

===

There was something about light pink cotton fabric and white lace dresses; ribbons of the same color and tiny shoes that fit almost awkwardly on dainty toes. He noticed something vivid in the serene features of the tiny figure in his arms. Her lips had curved into a sweet smile reminiscent of her father’s. As for her eyes--- Yuya bit back his reactions, for the baby’s eyes were brighter and more beguiling than her mother’s. They said that usually, when a good-looking couple had children, the child was normally a girl. The genes forged to create something more beautiful to improve the race.

He wondered if it was true.

He heard the child’s soft giggle. It had been a year since they had been aware of her presence. Her name was Sakura. Yuya thought it suited her perfectly. He wondered if it was normal for children not to speak for this long.

He heard a small gurgle that could resemble a word. He smiled at the little girl in his lap.

“I’m one of your uncles… but you could call me Yuya.”

Sakura just blinked at him, before trying to mimic what he was saying. It came out in an adorable babble--- incoherent, but he understood.

“Yu---ya.” He tried again.

Yamashita-kun and Maki-chan had been trying to get their child to say something. Papa… Mama… Sakura… However, nothing sounded coherent. They attributed it to their child’s way of being a late-bloomer. Yuya thought they were being silly.

“Yuh---yuh---“ Sakura was trying so hard. Yuya wondered why they couldn’t see past the incoherency. Perhaps new parents had an inbuilt filter that only allowed them to see the best aspects of the new addition in their lives.

“Let’s try another word, ne, Saku-chan? Could you say Te---go for me?” He waited for a childish babble or something to escape her lips. Sakura just seemed to go silent. He must have done something wrong?

He sighed before singing the lyrics of Ai nante--- it was slow and filled with romance-induced angst. It was probably inappropriate to sing to a toddler.

Sakura must have sensed that something was wrong. Her eyes looked into the rather melancholy ones that gazed at her. She tried standing up on his lap, and touching his face. It took some effort, although she had already taken her first steps. After a few minutes, she felt his lips curve into a smile.

“Te---“ bubbled from her lips slowly. “Go---“ Her eyes sparkled with innocence that only came from children. “Chi---“ the final syllable was spoken, with a childlike chi instead of shi; almost a sigh, as though it had exhausted her.

Her “uncle” looked back at her, almost in shock, as she beamed at him. Her lips spoke her first word.

“Tegochi”

Yuya looked up and stood, the infant in his arms. “Yamashita-kun…” He looked almost like a deer caught in the headlights--- it had been as though he had taken something that belonged to Yamashita-kun and Maki-chan.

Tomohisa took his daughter from Yuya’s arms and smiled. “Thank you for taking care of her---“

“Tegochi,” Sakura completed her father’s sentence, to the surprise of both men. A soft giggle followed the one-liner.

===

That evening, when their child was safely tucked in bed, Tomohisa slipped into his bed and wrapped his arms around his fiancée. Maki snuggled against him, feeling the autumn chill.

“Sakura-chan said her first word today.”

Maki looked almost crestfallen when she whispered, “I missed it…”

Tomohisa pressed a soft kiss on her nape. “I missed it too… Tegoshi was the one who had been in the room with her while I was in a meeting with management.”

“What was her first word?”

“Tegoshi.”

Maki had to stifle a smile. It seemed almost ironic that her beloved child’s first word had been the surname of the man whom she suspected had developed feelings for her. She wondered, in her heart--- had she not met Tomohisa--- would she have chosen the adorable almost effeminate member of NewS?

===

As his eyes closed, trying not to picture her beguiling eyes in his mind, he swore that he would protect her dreams--- and the dreams she had for the child that he wanted so badly to be his.

=OWARI=

omurice

2007-11-14T09:48:59Z

TITLE: Omurice
AUTHOR: amaikoryori // maido_ari
PAIRING: Aragaki Yui // Kato Shigeaki
GENRE: drabble
RATING: G
DISCLAIMER: 001. JE holds a majority of the rights related to NewS and Kato Shigeaki. 002. Les Pros Entertainment holds the rights to Aragaki Yui. No profit generated from this.
AUTHOR’S NOTES: This is related to Awkward.

Slim fingers chopped onions slowly, trying to prevent her eyes from tearing up as a result of the onion’s juices melding with the air. It had been futile and had forced her to put the knife down and close her stinging eyes for a few minutes. She did not mind so much--- the onion had been a small hurdle. Everything else had been chopped. The egg had been beaten to a creamy yellow consistency.

She heated the pan, putting some butter in and allowing it to melt before she added the onions and a touch of garlic and chopped chili. Adding some chicken, some mushrooms and peppers, she smiled as delicious scents started to fill the kitchen. Once the onions were slightly clear, she added the rice. Ketchup flowed from the bottle, dyeing the white grains of rice into a slightly saffron color.

Scooping the rice into an empty bowl, she made sure nothing was left on the pan before she added some oil and placed the egg in, ensuring that it was spread evenly to ensure that everything cooked to the perfect consistency. Once the egg was less liquid, she carefully spooned some rice onto the top of the egg. It had to be neat once she placed it inside a bento.

Smiling once she finished plating, she placed a small ketchup heart in center. She remembered how he had told her that he used to dislike omurice. It had been because of his mature outlook on life. Now, it was different. Omurice reminded him of his childhood and how pleasant it had been to dream.

She did not know what else to make--- what he wanted in his bento had been a mystery, hence the omurice. It may not be cooked the way he liked it, but she was willing to take a chance.

She had developed a rather strong attraction towards the youth.

Yui had no idea when her feelings had started to develop--- had no clue why he suddenly made her heart beat quicker and her cheeks redden each time she was near him.

With the bento in hand--- omurice on the bottom compartment, and vegetables on the top--- she walked up to him before they started filming for their scene--- their final scene together.

“Yui-chan…” He looked at her, almost quizzically. “What’s this?”

“I--- It’s a bento,” Yui whispered, slightly shy yet slightly confident all at the same time.

“I could see that.” His lips were curving into one of his infamous cat-like grins. She wished that her emotions were not written all over her face as she tried to find an escape.

“I hope you like it.”

She rushed out of his trailer, looking flushed as she tried to find a place to hide. His quick steps made it impossible for her to escape, as did his hand on her wrist.

Turning around to face him, her eyes widened when she felt his lips against her cheeks.

=OWARI=