Title: How to Fly
Rating: R (just for safety...)
Member/Pairing: Aiba and a little bit of Ohmiya here and there
Author: hippiefox

Notes: First Aiba fiction! As always, comments, constructive crit., suggestions etc. are always welcome! Hope you enjoy!








Spring, 1996


"Moving to Tokyo... are you sure you want to do this?"
"Yes... no... well yeah, I guess I do."
"You don't sound sure to me."
"Ah... don't make me feel bad... it's not my decision."
"Don't lie! You sent in the application!"
The two young school kids walked slowly side by side. It was their last day together... one paused and looked up to the other with an unreadable expression.
"It... probably sounds... incredibly cliché... but... I guess I won't have another chance to tell you."
The taller kid had stopped by now and was looking at the childhood friend worriedly. Never in their friendship had they been serious in their conversations. They met each other's eyes and felt the light Spring breeze flutter between them.
"Nani?"
"I... I really... I really do... love you."


***********************************************************




Chapter 1
"Would you slow down? It's still going to be open when we get there." Sho said to the rushing Aiba next to him. Aiba glared at him through his sunglasses and only quickened his pace, making Sho grumble to himself and just letting the starving Aiba go off on his own. Everyone knew that there was no stopping a hungry Aiba.
"Hurry up, Sho-kun! I haven't eaten all day!" Aiba whined loudly as he trotted across the sidewalk and stopped in front of very frilly and exotic lingerie shop. Sho, always cautious, looked both ways despite the "walk" signal and then rushed across the street.
"Aiba-kun? What... are you doing?" Sho asked curiously. Aiba's attention was drawn away by someone inside the lingerie shop. He had his hands cupped around his eyes and his face pushed up against the glass.
"Look! That salesgirl! Does she look familiar?" Aiba whispered, jabbing his finger at the glass and pulling Sho closer with his other hand. Sho looked around at the crowds of people giving them awkward stares as they passed and laughed nervously.
"Aiba... we're going to look like perverts..." Sho hissed anxiously. Aiba, however, shushed him and continued staring into the shop all the same.
"The one hanging up underwear... have we seen her before?" Aiba whispered more to himself than Sho. Sho, thankful he and Aiba were in "disguise", tugged on Aiba's sleeve roughly.
"Come on! I know it was fun the first time we tried... but twice is pushing it!" Sho begged Aiba, his voice breaking slightly. Aiba turned around and faced Sho, his expression clearly determined to remember the girl.
"If you would look at her, we can go away quicker! Look!" Aiba said, shoving Sho towards the glass and joining his side to point out the girl. Sho followed Aiba's finger and spotted the girl he was talking about. It didn't take more than one glance to know that Sho had never seen her before. Her long, obviously dyed, dark blonde hair was molded into giant curls down her back and her long bangs swept over the side of her face. Sho rolled his eyes, no wonder Aiba had spotted her through a shop window... she was just the type he would always drool over in the magazines.
"I've never seen her... can we go?" Sho asked, crossing his arms and standing further away from the shop, pretending he didn't know Aiba. Aiba held out his hand to shush Sho and kept staring in the window, trying his hardest to remember where he'd seen her... that and of course to admire that way her fashionable shirt and jeans fit her so nicely.

"Sumimasen... Hayashi-san?" another salesgirl had approached Aiba's target and tapped her lightly on the shoulder. She turned around with her arms filled with underwear and listened to her coworker with raised brows.
"There's... been complaints... um..." the younger girl nodded her heads towards the shop window and bit her lip. Hayashi-san looked straight at Aiba and groaned loudly, handing over the delicates to the younger girl.
"We need to talk to Kimie-san about getting curtains. I always have to drive these guys off... I'll be back, don't mix those up." Hayashi-san instructed firmly, quickly straightening out her snug shirt and pulling her hair over her shoulders.
"Oh... oh! Sho-kun! She's coming!" Aiba exclaimed happily, waving Sho over. Sho peered through the window from where he stood and noticed that the girl didn't look too happy at all. Sho lunged forward and grabbed Aiba's arm, pulling him away roughly, but before they could make an escape, the shop door opened fiercely.
"Oi! You're making my customers very uncomfortable! Next time, I will call the police on you two perverts." Sho and Aiba froze in their spots, too scared of the girl to try and talk back.
"Ano... what's your name?" Aiba bravely asked after a few intimidating moments, prying Sho off of his arm. Hayashi-san put both of her hands on her hips and glared at Aiba. Sho never thought he'd be so scared of a girl nearly half his size and of a simple glare.
"You two aren't the guys from before... and you..." Hayashi-san pointed to Aiba, looking him up and down.
"You sound familiar..." Hayashi-san finished quietly, stepping closer to the two idols. Sho stepped back subconsciously but Aiba grinned brightly and stepped closer to the girl.
"I should sound familiar! Though... it's been almost... twelve years, ne?" Aiba replied with a few giggles. Sho stood back and watched silently... waiting for the girl to hit Aiba or to yell at them, further embarrassing them in public either way. The girls' face softened from her thoughtful scowl and soon turned into a big smile, which she covered with one hand and pointed at Aiba with the other. Aiba burst into ecstatic giggles as Hayashi-san circled him in amazement, and in a total loss for words.
"Masaki-chan!? Oh my... look at you!" the girl laughed happily. Aiba took off his sunglasses and held out his arms.
"Ta da! See?" then, the girl and Aiba hugged each other tightly, still giggling and drawing attention from the passing people and even from the slow moving traffic behind them. Sho, knowing now that the girl was safe to be around, walked slowly next to them and tapped Aiba's shoulder.
"We're still in public..." he whispered in Aiba's ear, but it had no effect.












***Notes!!***
hopefully this chapter didn't drag...
usually i update almost everyday, but this one might take a little more time since i'm still working out the plot and i've got "snowflake" to work on as well :P

chapter 2 we'll see a little more detail about this girl

thanks for reading!

its not draggy at all..i really like it so far, cant wait for updates!

oh YATTA!!!!!!!!!!!!

YE@H!!!!!!!!!!!!

aiba fic aiba fic aiba fic~ this is going to be another happy one?

i love your fics and i could learn a thing or two about fic-writing before i continue mine...

thanks for the hard work!

and hentai aiba *laughs* + sensible sho = sakuraiba

*back studying*

Awww... masaki chan~ They must have been so close...

hehe... I guess his best friend is turning into his dream girl~

Sho.. always the one to keep his members in check ^o^

Thanks for the update ^.^

It's a very good start and it's very interesting! Ganbatte on updating it! XDDD

waiting 4 u update~~


ganbatte~~

Uwah, no, it was not draggy at all! It was wonderful! *_*

I can't wait for the next update! *stalks you outside your house*

Yay....an Aiba fic!
And no it wasn't draggy at all...don't worry about it.
Ganbatte!

pan01: yay! so glad you liked it enjoy this chapter as well!
jl2020: i always write happy fics! well, happy fics with drama :P but i always have happy endings lol thank you so much, it's very flattering to hear that and yes, our sakuraiba pair~ looove them enjoy this chapter!
mcmugsocute: they were very close! hopefully they can build up their friendship again hehe, aiba didn't expect for her to grow up looking like one of the magazine girls :P sho, we can always count on him lol hope you like this chapter!
matsujundaisuki: thank you, thank you! haha, this one might take time to update xD i've got one too many fics going lol enjoy!
~fIrEfLy~tenshi: thank you! i'll update as quick as possible! hope you like this chapter!
shodrive: good lol i'm glad to hear that! lol here's an update! you can stop stalking me now xD
niji_22: hehe, hope you like it! thank you so much! enjoy this chapter








Chapter 2
"Gomen. I didn't mean to yell at you two... but there's been these guys that keep looking in the store." Hayashi-san said as she blew softly over her teacup to cool it down. Aiba and Sho were sitting in the ramen shop across the table from Hayashi-san, waiting patiently for their food to arrive. Sho still didn't know who this girl was, but apparently by the way Aiba was openly and animatedly talking to her, she must be a good friend. Sho leaned forward a little and interrupted their chatter about past times.
"Sumimasen... Aiba-chan... who is she?" Sho asked quietly. Aiba and the girl started to laugh and Aiba put his arm around Sho's shoulders.
"Oh! This is Ai-chan! Hayashi Ai-chan... this is Sakurai Sho." Aiba introduced them quickly with a smile.
"Right, right... I thought I recognized you, News Zero, right? My sister watches it all the time." Ai said with a smile and sipped her drink cautiously. Aiba straightened up in his seat in surprise.
"Akina-san is here too? You two live together?" Aiba asked curiously. Ai nodded and held out her left hand, only holding up her ring finger.
"Oyama Akina, now. I live with her, her husband, Taku and my nephew, Taiyou." Ai said proudly as Aiba stared at her in disbelief. Sho was completely lost and could do nothing but sip his drink and listen quietly, hoping to catch more information on this girl. Aiba leaned back in his seat, totally blown away by the news.
"Akina-san... she always picked on me for being such a noisy crybaby! And she said that babies made her sick!" Aiba giggled at the memory. Ai joined in the laughter and shook her head.
"I think she's changed the most after meeting Taku. That loud, bossy personality of hers disappeared when he came around... and Taiyou-chan is almost six now and he's probably the most intuitive kid you'll ever meet." Ai said softly. Sho cleared his throat quietly, trying not to seem rude... but also wanting to be included in the chatter. Ai looked over to him and gasped.
"Masaki-chan... you're leaving Sakurai-san out! Ah, I guess that's my fault... you two probably have stuff to talk about." Ai said softly. Aiba held out his hands in attempt to stop Ai from leaving.
"Sho-kun's fine! He's just grumpy because he hasn't eaten! Stay and talk please?" Aiba pleaded, ignoring Sho's irked stare. Sho turned from Aiba and smiled at Ai, nodding his head.
"It's okay, we're... not really doing anything. Close friends need to catch up." Sho said sincerely. Ai smiled at him and looked back to Aiba, who seemed positively ecstatic that she was staying.
"What have you been up to? Twelve years have passed, you've got to have something interesting! How's okaa-san and otou-san? Are they still in Chiba?" Aiba asked quickly. Ai laughed and shook her head.
"Well... we moved up to Hokkaido a year after you left, stayed there for a few more years... my mom and dad decided that they missed home, so we moved back to Chiba. By then, Akina was engaged to Taku and planning to move to Tokyo..." Ai was cut short when the waitress came with their food. Sho eagerly took his, followed by Aiba and then Ai.
"Are you engaged?" Aiba asked through a mouth full of noodles. Ai laughed and started to blush a lovely shade of pink. Aiba and Sho both paused and watched her quietly as she poked at the noodles with her chopsticks in embarrassment. She looked up at Aiba's curious eyes and smiled.
"I've actually been dating someone for about two years..." Ai said slowly on purpose, letting the suspense get to Aiba.
"Who? Do I know him?" Aiba asked in a whisper, leaning in closer. Ai nodded and giggled again.
"We both know him, Masaki-chan." Ai said, eating more of the noodles and eyeing Aiba, waiting for him to guess. Sho looked over and could tell that the confused and thoughtful frown on his face meant that he was thinking of all the people that he and Ai knew.
"I... don't know... who is it!?" Aiba exclaimed desperately, his hands laced through his hair in desperation. Ai snorted into her ramen and pointed at Aiba's face.
"Why do you look so desperate!? Okay, I'll give you one hint... worms." Ai said, holding up one finger. Sho was utterly confused and hoped that Aiba knew what she was talking about.
"A scientist!" Aiba guessed loudly.
"You know a scientist?" Sho asked Aiba sarcastically. Ai laughed and shook her head.
"Okay, I'll tell you... Hino Yukio." Ai said softly. Sho watched Aiba's expression go from confused, to remembrance, to shock.
"Hino Yukio? Hino Yukio!?" Aiba nearly shouted. Ai rased her brows at him and nodded. As Aiba continued to stare at Ai in disbelief, Sho leaned forward.
"Ano... Ai-san... who's he?" Sho asked quietly. Ai looked to Sho and took a breath to answer him, but was cut off by Aiba.
"He used to bully us! He's not a nice person at all! He made me eat worms once... and then he made Ai-chan lick a frog!" Aiba exclaimed loudly, obviously still hurt from the horrible experience, but Ai simply smiled.
"Yukio-kun's changed a lot, Masaki-chan. Taiyou-kun looks up to him actually... and Yukio-kun is the next person in line for his otou-san's company, he's working as an assistant right now though." Aiba's mouth had fallen open and he had the deepest scowl of bewilderment that Sho had ever seen.
"You kissed him? What about all the germs you said he had!?" Aiba asked in a childish whine. Sho laughed into his ramen and Ai reached over and patted Aiba's head.
"Masaki-chan... that was in fourth grade." she said softly. Aiba crossed his arms and leaned back into his chair, a scowl still on his face. Ai looked to Sho for help, but all Sho could do was pat Aiba on the back.
"He only likes you because of your hair... and your kinky underwear shop." Aiba mumbled, although it was still loud enough for the older couple behind them to hear. Ai rolled her eyes and sighed.
"Masaki, things change. Look at you! You're in Johnny's! You have millions of fangirls and all you can think about is my hair and underwear... apparently. Yukio-kun's changed, once you meet him again, you'll know." Ai said as she finished up her lunch. Aiba's head snapped back to Ai.
"I'm not going to meet him again!" Aiba exclaimed, further interrupting the couple behind them.
"Well, once Akina gets word that you're here, you're not going to be able to escape. And you have to meet Taiyou-kun, you and him are... around the same mental age." Ai said playfully, snickering to herself as the insult went right over Aiba's head and making Sho laugh to himself. Aiba crossed his arms again and huffed, glaring at Ai.
"Fine..." Aiba mumbled. Ai smiled and leaned over, planting a kiss on top of Aiba's head.












***Author's Notes!***
hopefully this chapter clears everything up a little more
hehe, ai-chan's dating their childhood bully :P
how will aiba act at the dinner???

chapter 3 is still a work in progress and will be up asap!
thank you to everyone reading/ commenting! enjoy!

I can imagine Aiba was crying so hard while eating that worm! haha over reacting Aiba, as usual =P thanks for the update!

Aiba chan should beat the former bully! ^_^

YAY! Aiba-centric! I like it! Keep it up!

Ooo... dating the childhood bully??

Oh aiba... haha..you just can't believe it ne~ itz okay... I think it'll be okay when you meet him again

thanks for the update ^.^

matsujundaisuki: xD poor chibi aiba forced to eat an animal lol thanks for reading! enjoy this chapter!
Mishi: haha, aiba beating soomeone up xD i cannot picture aiba doing that lol but don't worry, things will happen! thank you! enjoy this next chapter!
mcmugsocute: it's quite a surprise... especially when he thought the bully still had cooties lol enjoy this chapter!







Chapter 3
Once the three had paid for their lunch, they walked slowly back to Ai's shop. Of course, it was Aiba and Ai who were leading, chatting loudly and rapidly, while Sho hung back. He had no more questions as to why this girl and Aiba had gotten along so well in their childhood, they were both probably the most noisy in their class.
"So, tomorrow night. Don't forget, okay? I put the address in your phone so you'd remember... oh, and don't worry about dressing up, it's just dinner." Ai explained excitedly and trying to control her grin.
"Right. I won't forget... but, are you sure?" Aiba asked nervously, his mind obviously focused on meeting his childhood bully again.
"It's fine, Masaki-chan. You're bigger than him anyway!" Ai said, playfully punching Aiba's arm. Aiba rubbed his arm and nodded.
"Eh... if you say so..." Aiba mumbled. Ai shook her head and turned to Sho.
"It was very nice meeting you, hopefully I can meet everyone else soon." Ai said with a warm smile.
"I'm sure that Aiba-chan will invite you somewhere with us." Sho said happily. Ai smiled and said good-bye, then let herself into her shop.
Sho studied the quiet Aiba with a smirk.
"Come on, we're supposed to be meeting for a quick interview today..." Sho put his arm around Aiba's shoulders and lead him down the street.

When Aiba and Sho reached their resting room, they were met by Ohno and Nino, who apparently must have thought they were alone. Being so used to their makeout sessions, Aiba and Sho let themselves in and sat on the opposite side of the couch.
"We don't mind the kissing part... just don't make the noises, okay?" Sho asked loud enough voice that the two broke apart.
"MatsuJun had the courtesy to leave us alone, why don't you two do that too?" Nino asked angrily. Ohno, who had looked like he was running out of air anyway, patted Nino's leg softly while he caught his breath.
"Aiba? Are you okay?" Ohno asked quietly, noticing Aiba's quiet behaviour and daydreaming stare.
"No, no I'm not. I have to go and meet my childhood bully tomorrow night! And not only that, but he's also dating my best friend!" Aiba exclaimed suddenly, burying his face into the couches' arm.
Nino and Ohno glanced over to Sho, who was staring at the distressed Aiba.
"You're dating his childhood bully? Why would you do that to Aiba-chan?" Nino asked grumpily, scowling at Sho. Sho looked over to Nino in confusion and slightly blushed.
"I'm not..."
"No! Ai-chan!" Aiba said miserably, standing up and pacing the room.
"Ai-chan?" Ohno asked, looking between Sho and Nino. Sho leaned forward to explain.
"She's Aiba's childhood friend from Chiba-"
"There's more from Chiba?" Nino interrupted rudely, still sour from having his makeout session taken away.
"She's actually... not like Aiba at all. She's actually a lot like you." Sho said to Nino. Ohno laughed and scooted closer to Sho to hear more about the girl, oblivious to Nino's pout.
"How'd they meet?" Ohno asked curiously. Sho shrugged and looked over to the still pacing Aiba.
"Aiba, tell us how you and Ai-chan met." Aiba stopped pacing and studied the two eager faces and a glowering Nino.
"Ai-chan?" Jun had reentered the room and joined everyone on the couch, looking up at Aiba.
"She's Aiba's friend from Chiba..." Ohno told Jun in a whisper. Aiba looked around at his friends and sighed.
"Fine... but don't laugh, okay?" Aiba asked, knowing everyone would be laughing anyway, once the story was over.

It was Aiba's first day of third grade. Normally he wouldn't be nervous at all, since he was always a very friendly kid. But he remembered what his grandmother had told him, and that was to not worry about anything.
"You're in my way..." Aiba turned around and saw a girl his age standing behind him, her hands on her hips and frowning at Aiba.
"Gomen!" Aiba said frantically and moved out of the way from the doorway. The girl stalked past him and entered the classroom. Aiba followed her excitedly.
"I'm Aiba Masaki, we're in the same class!" the girl turned around and stared at Aiba.
"I know... why are you so nervous?" she asked, looking Aiba up and down.
"I'm not..." Aiba mumbled. The girl frowned at him curiously and then pulled out the chair next to her at the round table. Aiba smiled and sat down quickly.
"I'm new at this school... you're the first one to talk to me." the girl said happily, her cold demeanor disappearing. Aiba giggled.
"What's your name?" he asked excitedly.
"Ai." the girl said simply, tapping her fingers on the table.
"Ai-chan? Ai... chan?" Aiba said to himself. Ai laughed and nodded.
"Masaki-chan... do you have friends?" Ai asked curiously. Aiba looked at her and shook his head no.
"Not really, everyone tells me I'm too loud sometimes." Aiba said in a strangely proud tone. Ai patted his head gently and giggled.
"You are loud and you look like you're clumsy... do you get in trouble often?" Ai continued to ask, starting to take a strong liking to Aiba.
"Eh... I don't really want to talk about it..." Aiba mumbled softly. Ai smiled brightly.
"Masaki-chan? I don't get into trouble often... I'll help you be good in class, okay?" Ai offered warmly. Aiba grinned widely and nodded in acceptance.

"She was completely lying. She got into more trouble than anyone else!" Aiba exclaimed.
"But did she help you?" Sho asked curiously. Aiba shook his head roughly.
"No! She took me down with her!" he said miserably. Nino and Jun laughed loudly at Aiba's embarrassment. Ohno stared at Aiba and smiled.
"I bet she was always protecting you though, right?" Ohno asked softly. Aiba smiled to himself and nodded, remembering all the times Ai would stand up for Aiba when he was trouble or did something stupid... which was often...
"She always did... Ai-chan always stayed by my side..."












***Author's Notes!***
hehe, a little hint of ohmiya
and a little glimpse of chibi aiba and evil-chibi ai-chan :P

chapter 4 is dinner time! and time for aiba to meet his former bully, yukio! how will things go? will yukio get along with aiba since aiba's so close to ai?

thanks to all who are reading/ commenting! hope you enjoy!

awww... u pick out the good in ppl ^.^ good that you were there to remind aiba that ai-chan helped him out in difficult times too! hehee

ooo.. dinner with the bully...

thanks for updating ^o^

HAHA it's just so funny, I've just read Snowflake a while ago with OhnoxSora fluffs and now I got a making out Ohmiya! LOL I don't mind though... Thanks for the update! XD