@ kaotic.anjel: W-wow. Thank you so much! I didn't think anyone would like it that much. xD

@ Mishi: MR. SPARKLES will come sooner or later. ROFL, I can imagine Ohno's head just singing on Nino's bedroom wall.

@ yuli: Questions, questions, haha.

@ wani84000: Thank you so much for reading! The mystery beings~ haha

@ clarielejsg: Creeps? Is that a good thing or a bad thing? xD

@ g_ann93: Well...you never know if you're going on the right track, huh? lol

@ shida: OMGILOVESAKURAIBA. It's one of my many lives, haha.

@ hanazawahyuuga: Haha! What is the truth, and what are the lies? <s>Do I sound like the Da Vinci Code? xD</s>

@ emiri-chan: Aaah, I love your writing style. Especially Koe. ;A;

@ minna-san: Thank you so much for reading! I really appreciate it! The next update should be some time...tomorrow? I hope. :]

i love your story *___* I'm looking forward to your next update~

i wonder what happened between the other members after nino left? why is sho lying? poor nino....poor aiba....what happened to nino's beloved ohno? poor ohno.... plz update soon cant wait to c what happened next

This...is.... Oh I like this.
WHAT ARE YOU DOING SHO?! Don't cry aiba!!!
...Riida, Jun, where are youuuu? (Riida, find Nino...)
This is good. But sad. And it makes me want to keep reading....Even though I don't normally like future broken up arashi fics. But this one is different...*starts watching thread*
I kinda want to find out what Nino did over the years...and how successful he is. (from people's reactions to him, very..?)

Okay, I better retreat back into study hell...

Okay, so before reading this <s>horrible, lame, short</s> chapter, I want to apologize. I haven't updated in what feels like forever, and I feel horrible. I probably won't be able to post up a REAL, DECENT chapter until next week. I've been having guests at my house for the past couple of weeks, and I barely have any time at home. Well....here's the <s>really bad</s> chapter I managed to type up in like...half an hour. Feel free to throw things at me. T^T I wanna throw something at myself, too.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To believe in miracles is to believe in anything.

To believe in anything is to believe in lies.

To believe in lies…

is to be vulnerable to pain.
___________________________________________

“He lied to you.”

Aiba’s voice invaded Nino’s thoughts.

“Nino…I’m not lying.”

Who was telling the truth? Who was lying?

Why was this happening in the first place?

A couple beeps brought Nino and Aiba out of their void.

Nino fumbled clumsily for his phone, taking it out of his pocket. Flipping it
open, he read a text message from his manager.

“Meet in the café in two hours, don’t forget,” Nino mumbled aloud. He turned to stare at Aiba.

Both men were still on the ground, and Aiba still had tears flowing down his face. His eyes were plagued with red lines, and his body would never stop shaking. His cheeks were stained with awkward pink blotches, and nothing could calm him down.

“Aiba-san. Aiba-san, listen to me,” Nino ordered. He, himself, had not even calmed down. The actor’s mind whirled like a tornado, never stopping for a moment to catch a breath. “I want you to wait for me at that café.” He pointed his index finger at a small shop in the distance. Camera crew loitered around it lazily.

“W-wh-“

“Don’t ask questions. If anyone asks why you’re there, say you’re with me. Okay?” Nino told him ferociously. He had a scowl on his face. “I’ll be back in about a half hour.”

Aiba’s tears stopped, and his eyes turned to look at Nino with confused eyes.

“Don’t leave that place at anytime.”

Nino gave him a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder, only to disappear into the moving crowd in seconds.

Aiba had no choice but to make his way to the café.

Tsukiiii, we can wait. Don't push yourself too hard. But thanks for the short chapter ^______^ I feel so sad for Aiba. He won't stop crying, awww!

my poor fumi...
he cant stop crying...
just take ur time to update...I think all of us can wait...
Ganbatte for ur next chapter...

i read this a while ago and i was just passing though when i saw some updates ^^
i'd like to see where this is going; so full of mysteries already

don't push yourself too hard, take it easy

Warning: Language
Author’s Notes: This means song lyrics. ‘This’ is a flashback. “This” is what a character’s thinking. It’s a bit confusing, but it’s the only way it’ll make sense. >.<

Chapter 5: It Should Be
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Time really is cruel.

It took me away from you.

It took you away from me.

And when we met again,

We were no longer the same.
______________________________

Sho was startled out of his paperwork as his office door slammed open.

“Sho-kun, what the hell is going on?”

An angry and panting man stood in his doorway. Nino’s fists were clenched so tightly that his skin looked like it was about to break. His breath came in rugged pants, and his eyes burned through Sho’s skull.

“What are you ta-“

“Don’t give me that sh**.”

Sho cringed as Nino cussed at him.

“Please use decent language in this offi-“

“Why did you lie?” Nino whispered. Silence dropped down like a curtain call.

“What did I lie about?” he choked out guiltily. He refused meet Nino’s gaze. His legs shook nervously underneath the table, and his hands would never sit still. Sho’s heart beat slowly, each time echoing in his own ears. He felt like he was suffocating.

“Aiba-san…he’s not a salesman.”

Sho’s mind went blank. His knees would’ve collapsed from underneath him if he wasn’t sitting on a chair. His eyes stared at the ground hollowly.

“Aiba….san?” His whisper was left alone in the air.

A single memory ran through his head.

‘Masaki…what’s wrong?’

‘Don’t touch me.’

‘W-what happened?’

‘Stop…just STOP!’

‘I just wanna know wh-‘

‘SHO-CHAN. JUST SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP.’

‘Masa-‘

‘LEAVE ME ALONE. I DON’T NEED YOU.’

Tears burned his eyes painfully, bringing Sho back to the present. He could see Nino’s skinny figure behind his desk.

“You wanna know why I lied to you?” Sho mumbled to the air. His eyes met Nino’s, and the younger instinctively backed away.

The newscaster’s eyes were almost blood-shot. Tears dangled dangerously on the tips of his eyelashes, and his eyebrows were knitted together to make a furious look.

“I’m trying to protect you.”

The actor’s mind was in a state of chaos. Thoughts were mashed together, and sentences ran head-on into each other. His fists had long been released from their anger, and they now were open in shock.

“F-from what?” Nino’s voice wavered like a child’s.

“The truth.”

Nino felt a fire started to burn inside of him.

“The truth? The truth, Sho-kun? You’re protecting me fr-“

“You don’t understand what the f*** happened when you were gone.”

Sho’s voice cut coldly through Nino’s sentence. Nino could feel his throat close in on itself.

“I-I w-wanna know…w-what happened.” The young actor could only choke out a short sentence.

Silence hung in the air, waiting for the final blow. The two friends stared each other down, waiting for the other to crack. Seconds turned into minutes, and time slowly ticked by.

Sho broke the void by opening a drawer in his desk.

He shuffled around, looking for something. He opened every single drawer, putting his hands deep into each one. Taking out a small slip of paper, he inspected it, flipping it back and forth.

Coming from behind the desk, Sho walked up to Nino with the sheet of paper. He looked at Nino, and then the paper, trying to decide on something.

“I cant believe I’m doing this,” the newscaster whispered underneath his breath.

Handing over the piece of paper, Nino took it hesitantly. He flipped it over, only to see in bright and bold letters, NEWS.

“A…concert ticket?” Nino saw Sho gulp nervously.

“Tonight. At five. Be in Tokyo Dome.”
________________________________

Aiba leaned back in his chair nervously. The staff in the café obviously gave him strange stares. He wasn’t supposed to be here in the first place.

He saw the employees of the café leaving for the day, getting their paychecks from the owner. The camera crew was setting up their equipment, and the make-up staff was on stand-by. Reporters stood excitedly to the side, waiting for the star to appear.

The clock struck one o’ clock, and at that exact moment, Clint Eastwood walked through the door.

All the reporters took out their cameras hurriedly, rushing to take as many pictures of the American director as they could. He smiled friendly at the crowd, waving to a person here and there. As soon as the cameras stopped flashing, the whispers stopped rushing, and the people calmed down, he spoke.

“Today, we’ve gathered here to discuss our new Hollywood movie, “Sketch”. A young man loses the love of his life. She’s left behind a single sketch that she’s labeled Tokyo. And playing this young man will be played by the one and only, Ninomiya Kazunari.”

Nino walked through the door elegantly in a suit. His star smile was plastered to his face beautifully, and his slim figure made its way to the front.

Aiba couldn’t do anything but stare.

“Nino…you’ve grown up so much,” the model whispered sadly to himself.

The actor took his place next to Clint, smiling at everyone in the café. He took the microphone from one of the staff and began to speak.

“Maa….first off, I’m home.”

The small crowd broke out into laughter. They took pictures, creating strange, unnatural lights in the room.

“I’m honored to work for Clint once more. I left Japan to work for him, and I came back to Japan working for him. He really is a great director. He’s really helped me so much in my acting career that I established in America.”

Nino’s voice drowned out as Aiba let his thoughts wander.

“Arashi’s break-up should’ve been prevented. We could’ve been on our tenth year.” Aiba clenched his fists in frustration. He couldn’t build a time machine to go back, even though he wanted to. He wanted to see everyone again.

“If only…that…hadn’t happened. If Jun was still here….if Nino didn’t leave in the first place.”

The model could feel the tears start to well up in his eyes. His heart beat painfully with every memory that remembered.

‘Jun-kun…’

‘Aiba…I need this. Please.’

His head pounded, and he could feel his inner self screaming at him.

“YOU IDIOT. This is all your fault, you know. If you hadn’t been STUPID, Arashi would still be together. You guys would still BE FRIENDS. YOU WOULD STILL TALK TO EACH OTHER. THEY WOULD STILL LOVE YOU.”

“Aiba-san…Aiba-san!”

Aiba looked up, startled. He saw warm, chocolate eyes staring at him.

“A-ah…s-sorry, Nino. I d-didn’t mean to cry. I w-was just t-thinking about h-how you’ve g-grown up s-so much.” The model flinched at his obvious lie. He and Nino both knew that he was lying through his teeth, but neither one revealed it.

“You’re such a baby,” Nino teased lightly.

“S-sorry.” Aiba managed a weak chuckle. “Is it o-over already?”

“Yeah…it ended a while ago. You weren’t paying attention?”

Aiba looked around the café, shocked to see almost everybody gone.

“What were you thinking about?” Nino asked him kindly. Aiba noticed the sweet, sugary tone in Nino’s voice. He was obviously trying to get at something.

“H-how much you’ve g-grown up. I thought I told you, N-nino.” A frustrated tone coated the edge of Aiba’s sentence, and Nino knew better than to keep pushing him.

An awkward silence fell between them as they became lost in their own thoughts. One’s about the past, the other’s about the future.

“Why don’t we go drinking sometime?” Nino offered. It was a simple suggestion tossed to the wind without much meaning.

“Tonight?” Aiba’s voice had hesitation and speculation tinted in it.

“Ah…not tonight. I have somewhere to go.” Nino patted his pocket for reassurance that his ticket was still there.

“Ah! Why don’t you call me when you’re free then? I still have the same number.” Aiba was slowly getting his original personality back.

Nino took out his cell phone, double-checking that he still had the model’s number.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Aiba freeze. Turning to meet his face, he saw where Aiba’s gaze was concentrated at.

The small, glass dolphin swung back and forth slowly.

“Y-you…y-you kept it?” Aiba whispered in shock.

Nino fidgeted uneasily. He wasn’t the type for these kinds of emotional things.

“Y-yeah. Why wouldn’t I?”

Seconds ticked past the two as the stared at the fragile charm. It swung back and forth, hypnotizing them into the past.

Nino snapped out of the void when he saw the time on his cell phone. A bright “16:09” glared back at him.

He cursed underneath his breath.

“Crap. Aiba-san, I have to go now.” Nino rushed to pack his things and was about to run out the door when he saw the man’s look.

“Nino…”

“I’ll be in touch, Aiba-san. Don’t worry. I’m not gonna leave this time.”

Nino flashed the man one last smile before running to his hotel.
___________________________________

Using his elbows to shove his way politely into his seat, Nino sat down with a huff. He’d forgotten how crowded concert venues were when they were full. His black jeans tightened as he leaned back in his seat.

Around him were other celebrities and comedians that he couldn’t recognize.

He pulled his cap over his head, making himself invisible to the people around him. He listened to the excited chatter of the crowd. Nino could feel sadness wash over him as he realized that he could only be part of the audience now.

Raising his hat slightly, he could see girls rushing to get to their seats. They held different shapes and forms of signs that read a person’s name, and almost each girl carried a small pen light that would light up during the concert. He felt his throat close in when he saw the thousands of people in the endless rows of seats.

He always saw those people from the stage, not from a spectator’s seat.

As the audience began to fill in the seats, the lights dimmed slowly.

Screams arose in the stadium, making Nino flinch from the high pitch. The pen lights were turned on excitedly and waved around viciously. All the audience’s eyes were stuck to the stage in the middle.

A guitar began its way across the venue, filling everyone’s head. A bright flash on stage caused the screams to go up a pitch.

Six figures appeared on the glass, and they began to sing into their microphones.

Ashita kara mata nichi getsu ka, hora sui moku mawatte kin do.

The energy they emitted from the stage reached the audience, making all the fans jump up and down. The music made the whole stadium vibrate.

In the corner Nino was sitting, all the celebrities, idols, and comedians had smiles plastered on their faces as they waved their pen lights happily. No one noticed the small tears that gathered in Nino’s eyes.

“That should be us up there. Arashi. We should be singing. We should be dancing. We should be making these people happy.”

He clenched his fists in frustration.

“Is this what Sho-kun wanted me to feel?”

Taking a deep breath, Nino knew he shouldn’t have those kinds of thoughts. He shook himself out of his self-pity and tried to enjoy himself. He bobbed his head to the beat of the music, getting himself in the mood.

Song after song passed, and the fans slowly began to lose their vigor.

“Saa…if everyone would like to have a seat.”

The six on the stage slowly wandered around closely on the glass floor. A man with long black hair began to speak.

“Once again, this evening, WE ARE NEWS!”

“Eh…for today’s MC, since Keii-chan is sick, we-“

“Oiii. You make it sound like some weird, horrible disease!” a man with brown hair whined playfully.

“We’ve decided to have a very special person perform for us today while we can take a breather.”

The lights began to dim as the six made their way off the stage.

No one was prepared for the dancer who would grace the stage next.

Thanks so much for the update TSUKI!! But like I said in aim, I want Juuuuuunnnn!!!! XD

Who's the dancer?? Oh-chan?? I mean, he's the best dancer ne?? Hmmm.

BOO NEWS haha j/k XD

But what happened between Jun and Aiba?? Gaahhh.

So many questions!!!

Ahhh! Update! Yay!

OMG. What's going to happen next? I still wanna know what happened that Sho's not telling him and why is Sho being so secretive and...and...What really happened and I just know the farther this story goes the more I'm going to cry. *sigh* So addicted.

yay update im really loving this story
I really wanna know what happened between aiba and sho,
now i'm also really curious as to what happened between aiba and jun will be looking forward to your next update

yay an update! :P


oooh, so sho was protecting nino huh? did jun or ohno decide to have a solo career or something?

this is a great fic. keep it up!

who's the dancer??
OHNO?
SHO?
not Aiba... LOL
and OF COURSE NOT Nino! *bangs head on the wall*
JUUUUN? Ehh he's overseas, right??

OMG!

Thanks for this chapter!