“What did the panda bear do to Aiba-san when he held the food? – Next guess, Katsumi-chan’s guess, douzo!”

An embarrassed Rina came from her guest seat to the front of the stage. Encasing her head was a big, bulky, itchy, black and white, fuzzy panda bear helmet; it had the cute round ears and glass eyes and everything. Tensai Shimura Doubutsen’s audience of young children called out Kawaii~. Rina approached a bubbly Aiba Masaki and the bald man in denim overalls named Shimura-san.

“I think the panda was mean…” she mused. The audience ehh-ed. Acting as a panda, Rina approached Aiba, who had a kabob of fruit in his hand. She kind of padded along lazily like a fat bear, sniffing around and acting cute. Then, she got close to him.

“Are?!” She pointed at something behind him in surprise.

“Eh?” His head turned, and she quickly swiped the fruit out of his grasp.

“Yatta~” She hopped away with a mischievous grin as the crowd laughed. It was a little ridiculous, but she supposed her stint in the Japanese entertainment culture wasn’t quite complete without having donned and danced around in some sort of animal costume. Now she knew what Ohno felt like while doing Uta no Onii-san.

Amidst all this media business, Rina still found time for her music; that was the reason she was in Japan in the first place, after all. She still attended her regular classes as usual at Tokyo Geijutsu Daigaku and practiced piano a few hours a day, as she was preparing for the summer concert auditions. Also, inspired by the experience by Yamashita Kousuke, she became interested in making her own music. With permission from Sho, Rina started tinkering around on his DJ-ing equipment. She liked all sorts of music, so it was one big experiment. The ToGeiDa cameras filmed her new pursuit curiously, but as the drama between her and Izumi had died down (it had now transferred to between Izumi and Shizuka once again), Rina was not followed around as much.

With Rina’s schedule and Ohno’s even more hectic Arashi affairs the two were often extremely busy, but they still tried finding time to spend with each other. Once, they went to the rented space that was transformed into Ohno’s personal art studio. The flat seemed to be one of the few things he had splurged on for himself; it was in a quiet, eclectic neighborhood with a large balcony overlooking a river. There were copious varieties of art products organized in shelves all around.

That day, Ohno was teaching Rina how to work with terracotta. She had learned some in her Sculpting class at school, but he gave her his own first-hand knowledge. At the spinning wheel they both crouched.

“Ahno, Rina-chan, you have clay on your face…” he said bluntly, and quietly pointed.

Rina wiped with her sleeve. “Is it gone now?”

“No, more to the... Here, let me-” He reached over and rubbed at her soft cheek, only resulting in smearing it more and making it look like war makeup. Ohno snorted. “Kawaii, ne.”

“Heyyy chotto~” she complained. In turn, she took a swipe at him and stained his nose with the clay. They got into a little friendly skirmish. Eventually, her little Daruma doll figurine was done. They put her creation in the oven, and sat back in satisfaction.

Sometimes they just stayed in, like this one night. They were at the Sakurai house once again (Ohno’s mother, for some reason, did not allow his acquaintances, not even the other members of Arashi, come over), on the couch and not quite paying attention to what was playing on the TV.

“Your hair is so soft…” Rina giggled as she playfully ran her hands through his hair. It was always styled up in a spiky manner, and couldn’t quite be messed up no matter how she ruffled it. Her face was temptingly close to his. He watched her unbelievably cute, silly smile with his own blissful one, and let her poke at his hair like he was a puppy. Deciding to be sneaky, Ohno suddenly leaned in and pecked her on the lips. It was only the slightest, softest touch, but it sent breathtaking sparks all the way to Rina’s toes. She paused to look into his eyes. Then, she ardently kissed him back. He slowly drew himself over her, planting ticklish kisses along her neck and collar bone, pressing against her. Lighthearted laughter came with the tentative, roving touches as they were splayed on the sofa.

Meanwhile at the Agency that same night, two men in particular had more things to attend to. One was Sakurai Sho, the other, Ikuta Toma. They bumped into each other as they were heading in the same direction.

“Oh, Toma-kun!” Sho greeted. They had been on very friendly terms ever since performing in the West Side Story musical together.

“Yo, Sho-kun. How have you been? What’s going on with you?”

“I’m doing great. Arashi is getting ready for our anniversary, that’s the main thing. Preparing lots of new things with the shows and the tour.”

“Good luck with that! You all work so hard. Ganbatte, ne.”

“Thanks. What about you, Toma-kun, what have you been up to?”

“A lot, actually. Work has been very active for awhile now, which is how I like it actually. I just picked up the script for the next Majo Saiban episode. Need to go talk to a photoshoot in an hour. Other than that… last night I had a nice dinner with Ohno-kun and Katsumi-chan. Ohno-kun told me about some of the stuff you guys are doing…”

Sho’s muscles stiffened slightly. This was fishy. Could he have misheard him? “EH? Ohno-kun… and Katsumi Rina-chan?”

“Yes, your cousin.”

“EH?” he repeated. His sharp brows knit tightly. “Her and Ohno-kun? At the same time?”

Toma raised his brow. “Err, yes…? Is that strange? I’m sure they’re together all the time, since they’re dating and all.”

Sho thought he felt his neck snap. It was like the wind had been knocked out of him. He looked like he was about to blow; his veins were sticking out, and his eyes and jaw were taught and absolutely shocked.

“WHATTT?! They’re DATING?!” he roared, making Toma jump back. This outburst turned several heads, but Sho didn’t care. In the speeding car, Sho muttered to himself that it couldn’t be true. Rina wouldn’t keep something like that from him; Ohno wouldn’t go behind his back like that! Then he thought back to all those times when the two had exchanged looks or brushed past each other… No. There had to be some other reasonable explanation. What then, was he expecting to find back at the house?

credit: leaky_sponge

Satomi heard the door being unlocked, and raced down the stairs in a panic. She caught Sho just as he was crossing the threshold of the foyer.

“W-wait!” Satomi stammered. By the look on his face and the way he was barging in, she knew that he finally knew. How was she going to distract him?

“Let me go.” he growled.

“Um – come upstairs first. I – I need help with my economics homework--”

“—Don’t cover up for them, Satomi. I know they’re back there.”

Sho barged past his sister to the center of the house and braced himself for the scandalous scene he was going to stumble across. Instead, upon marching into the living room, all he found was Rina curled up on the couch, quietly reading Northanger Abbey, a curious challenge as it was translated into Japanese.

She looked up from the novel with raised brows. “Doushita no, Sho-kun? Y-you’re home early…” She noted his fierce look and felt dread in her gut; she knew it had come.

“Where IS he?” Sho fumed. “Where’s Ohno?!”

Rina gently set her book on the coffee table and tried to catch up with him as he searched behind the chaise and the bookshelf; he forcefully threw back the curtains, but no one was behind them. “Sho-kun, Sho, look, sit – calm down. He’s – not here. He already left for the photoshoot location. Alright? He’s not hiding.” she sighed. It was about time Sho found out, although it was unfortunate he had had it told to him indirectly. The news must have been doubly shocking coming from an outside party. Sho turned and, some of his anger melting with her soft expression, felt slightly devastated. When he had rushed home, he thought he would go straight off and scold her, but he found that he didn’t have the heart. How was he supposed to react?

“Since – since when?” was all he could muster to say.

“About two months now.” she replied evenly.

“How has it passed by under my nose for so long?! Majide…?” Was he such a failure at love that he didn’t notice it amongst those around him? Was it because he was never home enough to notice much of a change? He sank into the armchair and covered his face with his hand. The stress had given him a headache. “I can’t believe this…” he muttered. “It’s not a good idea, Rina.”

“Why ever not? We’re – Ohno and I are doing great. You’re overreacting.” Rina frowned. “I’m sorry that it’s a little strange, that he’s your friend and your coworker and all but... It’s not like you have to worry. You know you can trust him, deshou?”

“You don’t know him like I do, Rina. He’s a good guy sure, but his bad side…” As if no one had a bad side? “But it’s not just a matter of that.” Sho crossed his arms, convinced he was in the right. “Do you really think you can handle being in a relationship with an idol? It’s – it’s an endless battle with privacy and last-minute cancellations. He’ll be gone constantly for days on end, he’ll be too tired to spend time with you when he’s back. This is only the slow part of our year, you know. Imagine how much you’ll be neglected once our tour kicks off. Is it really worth it?”

“Aren’t you talking about yourself?” she snapped. “We’re making it work. It’s hard, I won’t lie, but—“

Sho tackled with a cruel question. “—And what exactly are you planning to do once you have to go back home, hmm? Tell me. Have you forgotten that you’re not staying past summer?”

When Sho arrived on location, he had his anger under control, but everyone could see his tension. He stalked into the Arashi dressing room and locked the door behind him. No one was to enter or leave until this matter was taken care of. The four other members stared at this strange behavior.

“We need to talk. Now.” Sho ordered. He turned to Ohno with a furious look. “I know about you and Rina.” Nino, Jun and Aiba caught their breaths for a moment. Yabai, he finally found them out. They avoided getting involved as Sho continued his little rant. “Nothing like this has ever happened in ten years. I mean, I know that Satomi had a crush on Jun in our early years, but Jun had declined respectfully and nothing had come of it. But THIS – what IS this, Satoshi?!”

Ohno looked at the fuming man, ever unperturbed. “It’s not a bad thing, is it?”

“I just – how can you possibly— what if she doesn’t want—“ He didn’t know how to express his genuine concern. Ohno seemed to understand his feelings, however.

“Sho-kun, listen…” he said calmly but firmly. “I care about Rina a lot, I really do. I don’t know how she can be with an idiot like me, but somehow she is. We just fit each other, I can’t explain it… I’ll try to be the best I can for her, even if it isn’t much. Is that reason enough?”

Ohno rarely spoke up for himself, but this was a serious matter to him. They were awed by his sincerity, and how unabashed he was. Sho felt himself being swayed.

Aiba spoke up, and showing the direction his hentai mind wandered, turned the conversation to the more “adult” aspect of the relationship. “Ahno, maybe Sho-kun is troubled about the age difference, ne. It’s not THAT big of a gap, but… Maybe you two are expecting different things? As in…” He made a rude hand motion. The five of them were all mature enough not to snort at this implication. Sho’s eyes narrowed however.

“We haven’t slept together.” Ohno said point blank honestly. “I don’t even know if… for awhile at least… It’s up to her…”

“What, really…? I would have expected…” Aiba trailed off.

“Riida usually gets antsy if IT doesn’t happen after a month or two, ne.” Nino said knowingly and almost sardonically.

“I don’t know; the timing just hasn’t been right.”

“You just have to pursue… it…” Aiba bit his lip and trailed off again (trying not to giggle guiltily) as Sho gave him a death glare.

Sho was trying not to go haywire again – Ohno was a grown man, and Rina was a woman now, wasn’t she? It was their business, wasn’t it? But yet…

“Doesn’t that mean that she means a lot more to him, then?” Jun finally spoke, thoughtfully. “Their relationship is more than about the physical stuff. That’s commendable.” He nodded approvingly.

This examination by his band members did not seem to affect Ohno’s pride or manliness. He just smiled warmly as he thought of the happy relationship. In his opinion, it would be great if things proceeded further and that happened, but he was fine with how things were still simple and harmless. He had good self control, after all.

In the corner, Sho and Ohno quietly discussed further. Being so close, they were perfectly open with each other. The headstrong leader and the easy-going Riida switched roles for a moment. The other members didn’t know what had passed between them, but eventually Sho sighed, just barely resigning. “Just don’t do anything that… I would have to come after you for.” In other words, he better not hurt her.

The next morning, Ohno was up hosting Arashi Discovery radio just as he did every weekday as always. He sat there without any makeup and in sweats and with large headphones on. He sat across from his friendly co-host. Ohno started the trivia of the day.

“What is the English word for gaiyuu? A) Fishing, B) Foreign travel, or C) Space travel?” A few seconds of music. “The answer is… B) Foreign travel!...

“Ma, I’ve been to quite a few countries, ne. I’ve been able to go to all these places because of Johnny’s. I’m grateful for those opportunities. As a Junior, I’d go to Hawaii every now and then. And Arashi has had Asia-wide tours too. It’s been amazing to go to all these different locations. You feel wonderfully lost, ne.”

“Where else would you go see, if you could?” the co-host asked.

“Hmm, where else would I like to travel to? I think… America would be really cool. The mainland that is, not just Hawaii. Earlier this year Sho-kun, Sakurai Sho-kun ne, he visited New York for his movie. Yatterman… He told us about it, and it sounds like a very interesting place. There’s lots of art there that I’d like to see. One day, maybe ne. That would be amazing if Arashi toured all over the world! Johnny-san, yoroshiku ne~” Ohno laughed. He always had fun with his radio show, often not making much sense or speaking in strange intonations.

“Next, it seems that we have a caller!” the co-host transitioned. “She has a love-related question for us. Suge, na, we never get those! Isn’t this something? Maybe we’ll have to move Arashi Discovery to a late-night broadcast haha.”

“Mou, you’re like STBY-san…” Ohno chuckled, referring to Nino’s Baystorm radio co-host. “Ohaiyo gozaimasu! Ohno desu~”

“Ohaiyo gozaimasu. Sakurai desu.” Rina said quietly, assuming Sho’s family name.

Ohno recognized her voice right away, and was taken by surprise for a moment. He blinked, and continued casually. “What’s your question, Sakurai-san?”

“Ahno, my relative, who’s like an older brother to me, is being very overprotective of me. He was shocked that I was dating one of his friends…” Rina started bashfully. “I feel bad for not letting him know, but I think he’s still being ridiculous. And… I’m worried that the pressure will have an effect on my boyfriend.”

Ohno hmm-ed thoughtfully. It made him sad to hear her anxious. “Ma, that actually happened to me, ne, when my father’s employee started dating my sister. We’d known him for a long time, so it was quite a shock. “Since when?” I thought. Like, “So is THAT why he comes over so often?” Fufu~…”

Ohno couldn’t help but speak as if he were talking to her normally, face to face; that is, he lost his radio host voice and began speaking affectionately. Those fans listening in squealed in delight. “I wasn’t angry; it was just that my image of him had to suddenly change. Your relative is angry with you, right?”

“Nn. I hope that… my boyfriend will not be convinced to – well – I want us to keep trying.” Although she spoke as if he weren’t the one she meant, it was of course meant for him to hear. She was concerned.

“Listen, ne, umm – Sakurai-san. I’m sure that your relative is just worried for you. He cares about you, which I would be thankful for. Heh. But hopefully, if your boyfriend is a good guy, he will show that he’s worthy of your family’s support. Please be patient with him.” Ohno murmured earnestly. “He’ll try his best.” And of course, he was asserting this about himself.

Just by listening to his scratchy voice over the radio, Rina found reassuring strength. With every word, he was saying, “It’s going to be okay.” He was going to stick with her, steadfastly. At least that’s what he thought he meant.

Chapter 23 is just a peaceful interlude, a lead-in to the more important chapter 24, when “someone” finally finds out like you’ve all been waiting for XD

Despite the late night, they had to be back at work the next day. Rina was there with Arashi and the team at the J-Storm music studios. They were discussing the last details that needed to be put together for the upcoming filming of their latest single’s PV, “Ashita no Kioku.” There was still a question of wardrobe, missing props, the general atmosphere of the video…

“Hai, let’s take a ten minute break, shall we?” Satake manager-san clapped his hands together. “Oh, excuse me Katsumi-san, could you go fax these forms for me? They’re for the proofing staff. The numbers are all marked down… Yoroshiku…”

Rina took the wad of papers dutifully and went to the little closet of an office supply room located in the back. Only a few moments, the door opened again, and in stepped Ohno. They stared at each other for a few awkward seconds. The florescent light above buzzed.

He got right to it. “What exactly did I… say, or do, last night?” He didn’t quite remember too clearly, but he did recall how Rina had taken care of him.

She remembered how he’d told her, “AISHTERU, RINA!” He couldn’t have been serious in that drunken state. “Nothing of consequence.” she shrugged with a smile. “Did the medicine help?”

“Nn, I don’t have much of a headache at all.”

“Oh, good…” she murmured, turning back to the fax machine and feeding it another sheet.

Then suddenly, he embraced her from the back. His arms gripped her firmly but gently, as if he was scared that she would escape, that he would lose her. They stayed like that for a stolen minute, wordlessly. She could feel his warm chest move in and out against her. It was, in his own way, his apology.

Soon after the last of the PV planning, the five members needed to head over to the main Agency headquarters for more business matters. The complex wasn’t too far away (only a fifteen minute walk) and it was a nice spring day out, so they decided to head there on foot. Ohno and Jun went ahead first and the others would follow, staggering themselves by a few minutes each. One of the things you learned early on at Johnny’s – you needed to “spread the group out” in public so as to not draw attention.

Now, after all these years, Ohno still didn’t have too much of a mind to think of hiding from fangirls, for he didn’t see why he shouldn’t, if he felt like it, just walk out of his house and down the street in his pajamas to grab some eggs. No one would want to come up to him looking like he did first thing in the morning, he assured. He had walked out of J-Storm without a hat or sunglasses. Matsujun, who moved beside him fully covered with a baseball cap and aviators, sighed with a little endearing exasperation as he pulled the hood over his leader’s oblivious head. They were already getting stares as it was.

“Ne, Riida sa…” Jun said absently.

“Hmm?”

“I don’t know how I should start but… I really have to ask – is there something – between you and Rina-chan…?” Matsumoto Jun was a very observant and sensitive man, despite his cool exterior. Normally the five of them never discussed their love lives (it just wasn’t brought up…) but in this case Jun had to ask. “I’ve noticed that you two seem to have gotten really close. It’s not obvious, which I admire the professionalism of both of you by the way, but sometimes, if I’m not mistaken...”

“Iya, you’re right.” Ohno nodded calmly. “We’re dating.”

“O-oh. I see.” The man’s straight-forward admittance caught Jun off guard. “Well the thing is, I’m asking because I’m just – a little unsure about it. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a great girl, and naturally since she’s Sho’s cousin she won’t expose anything; I trust her. But… what if things go wrong?”

“Eh?”

“Like if unfortunately, worst comes to worst and say, you two break up. That might cause some bad tension between you and Sho-kun, right? You know how protective he is of her… It could disturb the group’s harmony.” Of course, Arashi’s wellbeing came first.

“That won’t happen.” Ohno said with simple faith.

Jun pursed his lips. “Another thing; you DO know that if you’re dating someone you’re supposed to report it to Manager-san, right?”

“Ma, ma, when there’s a good time.” he said nonchalantly with a wave of his hand. “Don’t worry.”

“You could at least tell Sho-kun, na. It doesn’t seem like he’s aware of it yet, or else he definitely would have said something.”

“Heh~ that’ll be tough.” Ohno squirmed. “Sho-kun can get pretty fierce…”

Wandering around the University’s neighborhood after Piano practice the one day, Rina found all kinds of eclectic boutiques, little food stands, and all sorts of odd places catering to the college art student. She passed by a large electronic store with rows of wide screen TVs on display. They were all tuned into some sort of music channel. A group of high school girls crowded around.

“Eeee! Niiinooo-kun, my ichiban! Kawaii!” one of them squealed. This caught Rina’s attention, and she stood behind them. Indeed, Ninomiya’s face came up across every single screen. Rina stared. He was rather cute, she had to admit.

“No, Sakurai-kun is the best!” another declared her devotion. Sho was now zoomed in on. This must have been one of Arashi’s music videos. It was still strange to see. “Just look at his shoulders!” A chortle came from Rina before she could suppress it. Her cousin’s sloping shoulders were being fawned over? She smiled to herself as Ohno then appeared on the screen, not missing a step in the dance. Rina walked on, leaving the girls to giggle over their favorites.

The end of April was drawing nearer. Ikuta Toma had had quite a whirlwind of a few months that didn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon; right after Voice, he was cast in the drama Majo Saiban. He enjoyed the success and recognition for his acting – he was one of the best in Johnny’s – and he was finally standing on his own merit. He was there at the Fuji TV station for another of several interviews he had scheduled that day; he would be promoting Majo Saiban. He navigated the building expertly, as he’d been there countless times now over the years.

As he turned one corridor, he saw the lovely face of Katsumi Rina. He saw her around the Agency sometimes, but hadn’t brought himself to speak to her. Word got around to him that she was related to Sho, which set the hurdle higher for him somehow (Again, only those “high up” knew about this cousin fact.) By the time he realized he was staring at her, she had already approached him.

“Ikuta-san, ohisashiburi desu!” she bowed shortly. “We’ve only met once but…”

He blinked. “Oh – Katsumi-chan! H-hisashiburi.” he stammered, recovering himself.

“I’m glad that you remembered me Ikuta-san, ne, since you must meet so many new people every day!”

He shook his head humbly. “So what are you doing here?”

“I just finished up with an interview. ToGeiDa stuff. And Ikuta-san?”

“Same here. I mean, an interview that is – for my show.”

“Yes, I noticed you changed your hairstyle.” It was now a curly golden brown. “That’s usually the sign of a new drama, deshou?” she joked.

He laughed; it was true. “My younger brother is a big fan of your show. I think you’re his favorite.”

Rina blushed. “O-oh, I’m flattered…” After a brief pause, “Ahno, Ikuta-san, do you have to be somewhere? You seem… antsy.”

He had in fact been fidgeting with his hair and smoothing out his clothes nervously since the beginning of their conversation. He locked his arms at his sides immediately. “Ah – no, no I’m free for a little while.” Why was he so flustered? He flushed; she was so cute, even though she was giving him a concerned look. He took a deep breath. “Actually, about being free…--”

A ringtone suddenly cut him off; the addictive melody for Arashi’s “Step and Go,” he recognized. Rina’s hand flew into her bag. “Excuse me, sorry—“ She retrieved her cell and answered it. “Moshi moshi?” As she talked with this person over the phone, she spoke in a hushed voice so that no one overhead, but her eyes shone. Toma wondered who it was.

“Guess what, Ohno-kun? Ikuta-san is right here beside me. Hai. Would you like to talk to him? I’ll pass you over. Here.” Rina handed her cell to Toma with a bright smile. She knew he was good friends with Ohno, so in turn she kind of felt fond of him herself.

Toma’s smile faltered – she knew Ohno-kun on that personal level? It sounded like she… He took her cell phone. “… Ohno-kun, we haven’t hung out in awhile! Yes, we should go out to eat sometime… I only have tonight off.” He paused for a long time. Then, his voice changed a little. “– Are you sure? – She wouldn’t mind?” He glanced uncertainly at Rina. “Well, if you insist.” Toma handed the phone back.

Ohno explained to Rina how he’d invited Toma to come with eat with them. It originally had supposed to be just a date just for Ohno and her, but Rina supposed it was fine. It was important that the two friends caught up. “Okay, well we’ll see you soon. Jya, ne~”

Later that night, Rina and Ohno had arrived at the restaurant first. It was just a small cozy ramen place. They were already seated, waiting for Toma to arrive. Their table was in a private nook.

“Hey, want to see fireworks?” Ohno asked randomly.

“Eh? Now?”

Ohno gathered his hands together and made a rolling rolling sound as imaginary crackers rose up. “Goro goro goro… Pwa~!” They burst in his hands, his fingers waggled and his arms extended up above their heads, and back – and sneakily wrapped around Rina’s shoulder. He just smirked at his cleverness while Rina burst out laughing. It was definitely a creative take on the old yawn and stretch move.

Just Ohno being adorably cocky lol.
credit: wannatee_1984

Ikuta Toma walked in to see this; he approached the table awkwardly. “Konbanwa.” he greeted.

“Toma-kun!” Ohno beamed. “Come, sit down already.”

“Shitsure shimasu.”

“It’s been awhile, na!”

“Yeah, it has. It’s great to see you again.”

“How did the rest of your interviews go?” Rina asked pleasantly.

“They went well.” Ikuta nodded shyly. He hid himself behind the menu. “So what’s good here…?”

credit: indoorlawnchair

They ordered, and the bowls of steaming noodles in soup arrived promptly. Rina sat back comfortably as the two chatted about the events of the past few months. Toma invited Ohno to his Majo Saiban premiere party coming up, and Ohno insisted that Toma make an appearance on one of Arashi’s shows to promote it. Eventually, the talk turned to more recent happenings.

“So… you two are dating, then?” Toma asked tentatively. His chest felt a little tight.

“Yup, we are.” Ohno then said, almost proudly. He beamed and scooted even closer to Rina, so that their sides were touching. She turned to him, and felt a little silly, but a new balm of happiness spread over her.

“Ah, sou. That’s great…” Even just the vast difference between the ways she said ‘Ohno-kun’ endearingly and ‘Ikuta-san’ courteously was evidence enough. Toma couldn’t deny the extra happiness that shone through while she talked to, or even just glanced, at Ohno. Toma was rather disappointed – yet another “too late/horrible timing” moment. This always seemed to happen to him, like Honey and Clover was his life’s story. At any rate, he was happy that his friend had found someone that complemented his character as Rina did.

credit: meimei25

After dinner, Toma went a separate way from the pair. Rina and Ohno silently walked hand in hand for some time. The sun was just starting to set. Then, Rina had an idea.

“You only have one hour to spare? Let’s go quickly.” She pulled him along to the local aquarium.

Ohno had mentioned that he hadn’t had time at all to go fishing; Arashi’s schedule has been so packed lately. He really missed the sea. Rina figured that with the time that they had, this was the best option. They entered the fairly deserted edifice (the aquarium was near its closing hour, so there were only a few stragglers around). The entire place was just made of glass walls filled with the deepest, glittering aquamarine blue water and colorful marine life. Schools of fish of all shapes and hues and funny faces, sea turtles, swirly anemones, brilliant corals, octopi, smooth sting rays, and looming sharp-toothed sharks. Ohno was of course fascinated by it all. He didn’t want to fish in it of course; he respected the beauty. Like a kid, he chased the fish this way and that, stared open mouthed as gigantic whales peacefully floated by.

The two walked along tranquilly (the dreamlike place just seemed to do that to a person) and found themselves in a sort of glass tunnel, and it was like they were underwater. Everything seemed to move slower. Ohno pulled her in, reveling in how wonderful she was, how she knew him so well. He leaned down and kissed Rina deeply. She closed her eyes, and felt her heart floating. At the same time, the blood in their veins rushed, and they sank into each other like waves retreating back into the safe, encompassing, lulling ocean wide.

---------------

Questions for readers:

Around when did the Dame Dame Arashi and Mannequin segments (in Himitsu no Arashi-chan) start? Did Ohno start getting really sunburnt around late May?
Accuracy of the timeline is very important to me lol.