Mercurial Dreams – Chapter Eighteen

First off – THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE COMMENTS TO CHAPTER 17! I was so shocked to see such enthusiastic response, seeing as I haven’t update this story in 2 years. I thought it would be abandoned! Those who commented – Rachel, Kitty, erifin, and Yuuki – reading your comments made me flail like a little girl attending her first Arashi concert. They totally made me day. So here’s Chapter 18 dedicated to you guys! <3

In answer to Yuuki’s comment:
No, I’m not gonna be cruel and end this story so quickly! There’s actually quite a few more chapters to go. I’m estimating we’ll go beyond Chapter 25, maybe until Chapter 28? There’s still A LOT more drama to come, you haven’t seen the best part yet… *ebil laugh*

ADDITIONAL NOTE:
I have evolved a lot as a writer during the 2-year hiatus in writing this story. I’d like to say this upfront that future chapters will include the occasional swearings and mature themes. I know it’s a little weird – this story started off G-rated. I hope to give this story a new perspective with more realistic elements, so please let me know how this new direction is! Constructive criticism would help greatly.

Okay, enough with my ramblings. Enjoy this chapter!

Author: tashiichaan
Rating: T
Genre: Romance, angst, humour
Featuring: Sakurai Sho
Banner designed by: tashiichaan
Story Summary: Hiroki never holds expectations for anything. She never expected to be promoted just 6 months into her job; she never expected her housemate to be a little more sane; but of all those damned unexpectations, she didn’t expect to find herself drawn into the life of Sakurai Sho. She didn’t expect to fall in love with him. And it all starts with a can of Coke.

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Mercurial Dreams
Chapter Eighteen

- Five weeks later -

“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight! Step it up – three, four, five…”

Arashi and the Juniors were, once again, spending a weeknight at the dance studio, rehearsing the complete choreography for the summer concerts. Arashi had already held seven sold-out concerts in Tokyo and Nagoya for the past one-and-half-months. They were phenomenal among the fans and widely-publicised in the media, hence everyone was anticipating the long-awaited trip tomorrow morning, in which they would head off for concerts not only in Osaka, but also in Hiroshima and Fukuoka. Their head choreographer was stricter than usual; he was particularly vehement that everyone perfected their steps before going on stage where he couldn’t supervise them.

“Aiba, straighten your arms when you lift them up!”

“Aah, wakarimashita!”

“Fujiwara-kun, lessen the weight on your legs!”

“Hai!”

At the opposite end of the studio, Hiroki was distracted from her work. Sitting cross-legged on the pinewood floor and leaning against the wall, with the laptop on her lap, she was secretly watching them. She marveled at how perfect and synchronised their steps were, which came as no surprise since they had been practising the same set of dance moves twice in the past three hours. They were concentrating deeply on their steps, a strain of seriousness in their sweaty faces, and their dedication impressed Hiroki greatly.

And then she yawned loudly.

“Damn, I need to finish this report,” Hiroki said to herself. She pinched her cheeks to keep her awake and then continued tapping on the keyboard, her eyes glued to the document.

Since Arashi had kicked off their summer concert tour, all representatives for the group in numerous departments had been unbelievably busy, especially the PR department. Due to countless meetings with other departments and several media representatives, and with an impossible amount of work on top of that, Hiroki couldn’t keep up with her usual flexi-hours/flexi-places work schedule anymore. Everyday, she would be the first to arrive at the Shibuya office at 8AM, starting off immediately by calling numerous parties, setting up interview dates, arranging conferences with the press, and then doing full-length reports that was the most tedious. She would end up being one of the last to leave the office, only to continue her work at home, and then squeezing four hours of sleep, maybe five on a good day, before continuing the daily ritual all over again.

Admittedly, Hiroki went through everyday moving around like a zombie, but she didn’t deny that she felt exhilarated. She loved the challenges she faced and the hard work she put into proving her capabilities as a qualified agent for the company.

Today wasn’t any different from her new working ritual, except that Sho had insisted she come for their dance practice after she left the office. He revealed nothing, but in that mysterious tone of his, he only said he would tell her later. And Hiroki couldn’t possibly say no to him.

Suddenly Hiroki’s vision blurred. Looking at the computer screen for hours and hours on end had been causing dizziness and sometimes, headaches. Sighing in exhaustion, she leaned her head back and closed her eyes as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Hiroki?”

Hiroki opened her eyes and caught a blurry image of Tegumi sitting down next to her. She offered a paper cup to Hiroki. “Hot ocha for you,” she said.

Hiroki gulped down the hot liquid, which warmed her insides and jolted her awake. “Thanks, I needed that,” she smiled weakly. She scanned the studio, finally noticing that everyone had finished the second set of dance steps and were taking a break.

“You look like you haven‘t slept in a year,” Tegumi said. Her eyebrows were creased with worry. “It’s already nine o’clock. Why don’t you go home and rest?”

“I can’t, I need to finish up this report and send it out by ten,” Hiroki replied.

“Hiroki!”

At her name being called by that deep voice, Hiroki perked up. Instantaneously she straightened her back at full attention, just as Sho strode over with a friendly smile. He waved at Tegumi and sat down in front of Hiroki, wiping his face with a hand towel and then draping it around his neck. His hair and his black tank top were completely drenched, and at this distance, Hiroki could distinctly smell the salty scent of masculine sweat.

What’s funny: Hiroki didn’t find it revolting at all.

“You guys are doing great,” Hiroki said in an awe-inspired voice.

“Really?” Sho grinned.

Hiroki nodded and sipped the ocha delicately, hiding the irresistible smile forming on her lips. Nowadays, his close presence around her always did that – making her smile like a crazy idiot, and making her giddy from that smile of his. Oh god, she felt like a whirlwind of emotions every time he was around her; like it was the most volatile PMS-equivalent mood swing, except in the total opposite of the spectrum. She was definitely going crazy.

Sho leaned over and peered at the laptop screen, upside down. “Lots of work?” he asked curiously.

Temporarily distracted by Sho’s exposed nape, Hiroki trembled slightly and coughed, and accidentally placed her elbow on the keyboard. “Oh, erm… sort of,” she stammered, and tried to concentrate on the screen. She stared in horror at the long jumble of gibberish her elbow had typed out.

“Look, remember that treat I promised you last month?” Sho asked, and Hiroki vaguely remembered, and nodded. “After practice, I’m going to film NEWS ZERO. So… I was thinking… if you come along for the shoot, you and I can go out for a drink after that. Supper, maybe?”

Hiroki eyed him wordlessly, her hands frozen midway of typing out the words ‘substantial agreement’. Her brain tried very hard to interpret those words. Is Sakurai Sho asking me out on a date…?

Sho misinterpreted Hiroki’s silence as irked disapproval, and he coughed in embarrassment. “Of course, if you think it’s too late or —”

“No, no, no,” Hiroki interrupted him. Then she broke into a grin. “I… I’d love to.”

Sho brightened to such blinding joy, it looked as if he could embrace her in a bear hug. He nodded as solemnly as he could, then got onto his feet and practically skipped over to the others. When he was at a safe distance away, Tegumi looked weirdly at Hiroki.

“What?” Hiroki snapped.

“Is there something between you two?” Tegumi inquired, her eyebrows arched high.

“No!” Hiroki immediately retorted.

“Then why did Sakurai-san have this really-really-really happy smile on his face when you agreed to go on a date with him?”

“It isn’t a date!” Hiroki fumed, but it was a big fat lie. Her entire face was reddening to a darker shade of red, and she pretended to be concentrating fully on her report.

Tegumi sighed and patted Hiroki’s hand. “Fine, if you‘re not gonna tell me, I‘m sure Aiba-kun can.” She slid away giggling at Hiroki’s appalled expression.

Dance practice ended half an hour later, shortly after Hiroki finished her report – finally – and e-mailed it to respective parties as well as adding a CC to Ishida. Just then, Sho approached her, carrying his jacket and his bag. He had already showered.

“Ready to go?” he asked.

Hiroki nodded, and Sho held his hands out to pull her up to her feet. “Let me go grab my stuff,” Hiroki said, and she quickly trotted over to the table, grabbing her bag and her coat. She stood there momentarily to soothe the warm, tingling sensation in her hand where Sho had clung onto seconds ago.

Hiroki followed Sho into a white van parked outside the dance studio. Before stepping in, she heard the other members of Arashi wolf-whistling at them. Annoyed, Sho stuck his head out of the van and glowered at them. A very-excited Aiba gave Sho two thumbs-up, and Jun grinned like a proud father. Nino loudly and unabashedly questioned if Sho needed a condom, to which Jun and Aiba overheard and started howling in laughter. Sho (who thankfully didn’t hear the word ‘condom’, or he would‘ve gone apeshit) just rolled his eyes and bellowed at them to “GO HOME ALREADY!”

Unfortunately, Hiroki did catch Nino’s comment, and she lowered deeper into the seat, hiding in utter embarrassment.

During the ride the duo didn’t talk much, mostly because Sho was reading through his script with immense concentration. When Hiroki casually asked what it was, he answered absent-mindedly, “My script for the segment I’m presenting,” and he was silent again. Disappointed, Hiroki sat back in her seat and left him alone.

At the studio, Hiroki sat obediently on a sofa in Sho’s dressing room, quietly watching as a stylist and a hairdresser worked on his outfit and hair. Sho stood unmoving with his eyes on the white ceiling, reciting his lines in a soft, monotonous voice, as the stylist helped him put on a pressed black jacket and a grey tie. In a daze, Hiroki couldn’t help but feel compelled to Sho – the formal suit gave him an appearance of sophistication and smart appeal, and she felt attracted to this new side of Sho she had never seen before.

“Hey.”

Snapping out of her thoughts, Hiroki raised her eyes. Sho stood towering over her, buttoning up his sleeve and straightening his jacket. His tie was loose and it draped uselessly around his collar, and he had a pleading look in his eyes that Hiroki thought it looked so familiar…

“Do you know how to tie a necktie?” he asked sheepishly.

Hiroki blinked. “You don’t know how?”

Sho nodded, and Hiroki couldn’t help but giggle. She stood up and moved closer to Sho and deftly twisted the tie into a knot. “You didn’t have to untie it when the stylist already got it all done,” she reprimanded playfully. “There.”

Sho studied his reflection in the mirror, and grinned proudly at the perfect necktie. “Thanks.”

He lowered his eyes to her, and they were both silent. This was the closest they were together – and the only time they were alone – since that day in the parking lot; that time felt like a long time ago. There was a prolonging moment of awkward silence between them as they gazed at each other with unreadable eyes. They stood very close to each other, not moving an inch closer nor further, and if Sho bent his head a little, his plump lips would touch hers. Poised and indifferent, a wave of desire passed through them, and Sho slowly tilted his head to her… and suddenly Hiroki coughed loudly.

“I’ll wait for you here,” she stammered. She took a small step backwards to keep a breathing space between them.

“O… okay.” And without another word, Sho left the dressing room.

Once the door closed behind him, Hiroki’s legs literally shook, her knees finally gave out and she fell back on the sofa. The thickened air began to diminish in Sho‘s absence, and she took a few deep breaths to clear the haze in her mind. As she nervously licked her dry lips to moisten them, her breath quickened as a single phrase repeated itself in her mind: Sho almost kissed her.

They could have kissed.

With trembling hands she touched her chest and felt her heart throb with overwhelming heat. The butterflies in the pits of her stomach were in full frenzy.

“Sumimasen…”

Hiroki jumped in surprise at the unexpected voice. A young girl, who looked no older than maybe fifteen years old, poked her head round the ajar door.

“Would you like to go watch the filming?” she asked. “I’m sure the cameramen wouldn’t mind as long as we stayed at the back.”

“Oh… okay.” Hiroki quickly got up and followed the girl out of the dressing room, silently grateful to escape the dressing room. The silence would drive her insane.

“I’m Mae, by the way,” she introduced herself with a toothy grin. “My sister is a newscaster for the show.”

“Your sister?”

“Kobayashi Mao, my onee-chan,” Mae replied with pride. “She let me tag along today, but she made me promise not to talk to Sakurai-san… which sucks big time! I want to meet him so badly.”

Hiroki chuckled. “At least you’ll get to watch him up close,” she said with empathy.

“I can’t wait to tell my friends about coming on the set of NEWS ZERO – they’ll be soooooo jealous!” Mae piped. She stopped in her tracks in front of a steel door and put her ear to it. She was silent for a moment, and then she looked at Hiroki with excitement. “I can hear Sakurai-kun’s voice! Let’s go in.”

As Mae quietly opened the door, Hiroki heard that voice very clearly and once again, the butterflies in her stomach gave her a jolt.

“…the price hike has recently been approved by both the World Food Programme and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan to meet the demands of…”

Hiroki and Mae slipped in and blended themselves among the crewmembers flocking the back of the studio. They moved around to find a spot for a better view between the cameras, and then she saw him. He was standing behind a silver podium in the middle of the set and pointing at the large screen behind him, currently elaborating on the rising prices of food in the country. From his straightened back to his stiffened body, Hiroki could tell he had on his serious and indifferent face.

“Isn’t he just so kakkoii?” Mae squealed.

“You’re supposed to be paying attention to the news report, not him,” Hiroki whispered back, but inwardly she knew she was contradicting herself. She vividly recalled underestimating his intelligence when she first met him, but now she would happily take back her word. The maturity and wisdom he exuded intrigued her so much that she felt a trickling sense of admiration.

Mae and Hiroki stayed until the end of filming, and once the director yelled, “Cut!”, Mae bounded forward to congratulate her sister. Hiroki suspected Mae just wanted an excuse to get closer to Sho. Hiroki, however, waited patiently at the back, watching Sho with alighted eyes as he bowed to his fellow newscasters and walked over to Mao to speak with her. Hiroki could see Mae was almost fainting with awe and delight.

Suddenly, Sho caught Hiroki gazing at him. Hiroki blushed deeply, but Sho just smiled and nodded his head at her direction. She felt her heart race with roaring happiness, and a smile tugged at her lips.

Sho bowed to Mao and wished her well, and Mao bowed in return before walking off, with Mae trailing behind her and tittering excitedly to her sister. Sho was right behind them – he was heading towards Hiroki.

Then, it happened out of nowhere: Mao tripped over an unsecured wire on the floor. An alarmed cry rang across the studio, and Hiroki watched with widened, horrified eyes as Mao fell forwards…

…only to be caught by Sho. He held his arms out by reflex and pulled Mao to his chest.

There was a loud commotion. Afew crewmembers rushed forward to help Mao, and a man with authority – Hiroki assumed was the director – started yelling to no one in particular, demanding why the wire wasn’t taped to the floor. The crewmembers began scrambling around to sort out the problem, while a few held back to make sure Mao was alright. She appeared shaken, but she was not hurt.

Hiroki, however, was stunned. She could only stare at Mao, who was still wrapped in Sho’s protective arms. Sho asked if she needed him to check her leg, and Mao shook her head; it was apparent that she was recovering swiftly from the shock. Sho seemed comfortable holding Mao’s waist, his face full of concern, and realisation struck Hiroki that she saw that same expression back when Sho had soothed her headache.

Above all, what left Hiroki in such a bewildering state of silence and disbelief, was the look she saw in Mao’s eyes as she gazed up at Sho – it was something… was it a spark of affection?

Are… they…?

Hiroki didn’t even dare ask herself that question. The disappointment was tremendous and so devastating, it wracked her apart. She just knew she didn’t want to be here any longer. She had to get away – quick – away from him before her hopes were crushed any further.

She spun around and ran from the studio. She stumbled back to Sho’s dressing room to grab her things, and she left the building. Alone.

~