Knight in Shining Boots [Ohno one-shot, By Request]

Aki-chan requested this fic aaaaaaaaaaaages ago but I only got round to writing it today because of my writing juice had not been replenished *glares at writer’s block* The title is totally random because I’ve no idea what to call it XD Douzo!

Knight in Shining Boots
An Ohno one-shot
by tashiichaan

TASUKETEEEEEEEEE!

Ohno blinked once, and twice, and thrice, at the text message. “Ehh… nani kore…” Ohno muttered.

Sleepily he moved his face closer to the screen of his phone so to read each Hiragana character carefully. He studied the TA-SU-KE-TE-E-E-E-E-E-E and more endless ‘E’s that seemed to stretch beyond the visible screen, and nodded. Nope, drowsiness didn’t cripple his intelligence.

But to be woken up at two in the morning for this?!

Yawning, he typed in a quick reply:

If you want to bug someone just because you’re still high on caffeine, go find Matsujun.

Send message. Ohno closed the lid, chucked his phone beside the table lamp, and happily buried his face in the pillow. His imagination was instantaneously filled with blessed visions of the yellowtail amberjack he had caught that day, delightfully a handful to reel in that the little bugger almost dragged Ohno off the boat. He even recalled bouncing around the deck and waving the struggling fish proudly like a little kid who just found the biggest lollipop in the world. Ohno smiled vaguely into the pillow at the thought, and —

Beep. Beep. You’ve received one message

Ohno groaned. He almost wanted to ignore it and relish in more fishery fantasies, but he just couldn’t ignore a message from the most important person in the world. In reluctance he stretched his hand out blindly and reached for his phone. He opened the message and it read:

I’m not even gonna push my luck with him. And this has nothing to do with my coffee addiction! THIS IS A MATTER BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH T.T

“Oh really…” Ohno remarked skeptically.

Stifling a large yawn, he blurrily punched in a phone number by perfect memory and put the earpiece to his ear. The phone rang only twice before it was picked up and his ears were met with squeals which went something like, “SATOSHI-KUN I LOVE YOU YOU’RE A LIFESAVER NOW COME SAVE MEEEEEE!”

“Aki-chan, sleep, NOW,” Ohno whined.

“I can’t go to sleep knowing that THING is somewhere in this house… it’s so irritating!” Aki whined in return. “I just can’t imagine the awful bacteria emitting into the air right n— OH MY GOD I SEE IT! IT’S COMING! IT’S COMING! IT’S— AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!”

Ohno put the phone a full foot away from his ear so Aki’s deafening shrieking wouldn’t kill the crap out of his eardrums. In the darkness, he stared at the screen with raised eyebrows, clearly perplexed by Aki’s unusual behaviour. A trickle of worry eased into his mind, and he wondered… what could really make Aki so distressed at an ungodly hour?

“I’M GOING TO GET KILLED!” came Aki’s shrilly and despaired voice from a foot away.

Ohno sighed at her exaggeration and glanced at the alarm clock. It read 2:14, and in another four hours he would be riding a boat from Tokyo Bay, off on another ambitious fishing trip to hunt more of the yellowtails. Till then, sleep wasn’t just a need, it was a MUST if he didn’t want to fall asleep on his stool and have the yellowtail drag him in joyous abandonment into the cold Pacific water.

And on the other hand, he had to deal with a woman freaking out about god-knows-what in the middle of the night, and it was clear she wouldn’t leave him alone until he rode off to the rescue.

“What do you want me do to?” he finally sighed in defeat.

There was no reply, but only a soft and muffled whimper that sounded as though fear stunted her ability to speak. Although, even without an answer, Ohno had a niggling feeling that he knew what Aki would tell him already. Supporting the phone on his shoulder, he grabbed his jeans from the cupboard and put it on.

Twenty minutes later, Ohno exited the elevator to the fourth floor and walked lazily towards apartment unit number 3. Glancing at the light gleaming through the slit below the metal door, he knew Aki was still awake. This better be good… he thought as he knocked.

He heard loud footsteps inside, rushing towards the door and then the door was abruptly flung open, almost knocking him squarely on the nose if he hadn’t leaned out of the way.

“Ah, sumimasen! I didn’t know you’re there…” the woman apologised politely.

“It’s me!” Ohno exclaimed, pushing the hood of his jacket off his head. He had put it on to avoid recognition on the streets, even if it were dead in the night. He wasn’t taking any risks to be seen by any paparazzi and heading suspiciously towards an unfamiliar area.

Aki, dressed in a flannel shirt that overwhelmed her small figure and pyjama pants, breathed loudly in relief. “Yokatta ne! Now, come be a man and save this damsel in distress!” she said, already pulling Ohno into the house and closing the door behind them.

“Do I have to?” Ohno yawned loudly, cupping his hand over his mouth.

“Like I said, you’re the best guy for this job,” Aki nodded. She grabbed a broom that was leaning against the wall and gratefully handed it to Ohno.

He stared at the broom, and then at her. “So you brought me all the way here to sweep your floor?” he groaned.

“No, you know I’m not that mean,” she smiled, kissing his nose affectionately.

“Uh huh…” He was still unconvinced as she forced the broom into his hands and gestured towards the kitchen. He walked into the kitchen half-heartedly, and then turned around and found Aki hesitating at the door, a look of fear etched in her face.

“There’s a rat,” she whimpered, pointing at the crack under the cupboards, “and it’s a very fat and stubborn one. I tried to chase it away but its teeth look scary and painful…”

Ohno would have laughed out loud if it wasn’t for her grim expression. He was so amused by her supposedly grave life-and-death situation that he didn’t have the heart to lash out at her for calling him out of his warm bed over a rat.

“Laugh at me all you want, but please just get rid of it?” Aki pleaded. She reached her leg out and gave his butt a prod.

“Okay, okay,” Ohno laughed, and went on all fours on the floor to peek at the crack. He scanned through the darkness, and caught a pair of small eyes glinting at him mockingly. A-ha!

Stealthily, he reached for the broom and poked it into the crack as deep as he could. He smiled triumphantly when he felt the tip of the broom hit something fleshy, and he hit it again and again just to coax the rat out, but he didn’t expect the little vermin to shoot out suddenly into the open in such wrath.

“Arghhhh!” he yelped, jumping to his feet and running away from the scorned rat.

Aki, in turn, screamed like there was no tomorrow and bounced onto the countertop. “Get it out! GET IT OUT!”

Regaining fast, Ohno noticed that the rat was making its way to the adjacent cupboards to hide. He quickly whacked the broom in front of it to block its way, but it turned left and ran with its small, pudgy feet out of the kitchen.

“OH MY GOD, DON’T LET IT GO TO THE LIVING ROOM!” Aki shrieked in terror.

Ohno ran after the rat and swapped it unceremoniously to the ganken with the broom. The rat landed on a slipper and quickly got back on its feet, which by then Ohno had already swung open the door and readied to fling the rat out. In the midst, he swore he saw the rat turn its head back and gave him a death glare before it frantically ran out into the night.

“It’s gone,” he panted as he closed the door gladly (even locking it as though he assumed rats could open doors). Then he went to the kitchen and stood in front of Aki, still propped on the countertop, and raised the broom in a victorious stance. “I did great, didn’t I?” he grinned.

“Hai, my hero,” she gushed. “You just saved me from a night of misery and distress!”

“I deserve a reward for getting out of bed at two in the morning,” he pouted, moving closer to her.

“And you shall get your reward.” Aki grabbed the front of his jacket and pulled him closer, pressing her lips to his and kissing the lights out of him. She earned a low, guttural moan deep in his throat, and he pushed her legs apart, standing between them and slowly bringing his arms around her. The passion heightened and their kiss grew more and more urgent, and then—

Ohno broke the kiss and said, “Thank you for the kiss, but can I have ramen instead?”

Breathing heavily, Aki stared at him with half-closed eyes. “You want ramen over a hot kiss?!” she wondered aloud in disbelief.

“Ramen is good,” he replied serenely. “Please?”

Aki sighed, and nudged Ohno aside so she could jump down. “Fine, since you’re so heroic tonight,” she grinned. “Wait till I tell everyone about your brave attempts to save me and my beloved kitchen!”

“Leave the boys out,” Ohno added with seriousness, “I will not be able to live through a day with their teasing.”

“Or what, you just don’t want them knocking on your door and begging you to chase rats out of their kitchens too?”

Ohno thought for a moment, and then shook his head. “That too, but no, and now that you reminded me, I’m going to shut off my phone the next time I go to sleep.”

In the end there was no ramen, but the damsel no longer in distress and her saviour curled together in bed, contentedly asleep in each other’s arms.

~