yun_miyake | The Shadow in Your Eyes (one shot)

Title: The Shadow in Your Eyes

Pairing: Ohmiya

Length: 9976 words

Genre: Romance, Friendship

Rating: PG

Summary: Ohno’s work at the magazine publisher was boring and he knew it wasn’t something he really wanted to do in his life. When he thought that his monotone life would go on forever, he met a man who taught him to be more optimist.

Note: This work is unbetaed and considering that English is my third or fourth language, so you will find so many error grammars in this fic.

Written for sk1726 I hope you like it and thank you for giving me so much freedom in writing your prompt.

Working for a weekly magazine printing company had never crossed Ohno’s mind, not even the slightest, but here he was, creating the illustration for the newly received articles. His tasks were expanded from editing the photos to making the illustration, mainly for the weekly short story. He glanced to his co-worker, Sho, who was editing the short stories they had just received from the writers, his keyboard sound heard too loud for Ohno’s liking, but maybe because he started to feel tired and hungry.

“Sho-kun, how about lunch?” Ohno asked his friend.

“Not before I finish this one,” Sho answered briefly, locking his gaze on the computer screen.

Ohno rose from his seat and walked behind Sho’s chair, looking at Sho’s computer screen where he typed many notes on his desktop.

The weekly magazine they were working for, Untitled, was gaining more popularity for the recent years. The weekly short story series got positive responds from the readers, more than what they had predicted. With the presence of smart phone, they thought that releasing a weekly short story in a magazine was a stupid idea, but the people loved it. It was originally Sho’s idea, that was why he was responsible to become the editor.

The owner of the company was Sakamoto Masayuki, a man in his late 40s, a strict and high demanding person, a hard-worker, and so difficult to please. Ohno and Sho were the veteran employees; they had been working at the magazine since it released its first edition ten years ago.

Sho finally saved his document and both of them walked out from their cubicle. They stepped through narrow corridor between working desks which were full of piles of papers, old edition of magazines, newspaper, notes, cardboard, and unused sketches. Ohno always wondered why the strict and discipline Sakamoto wasn’t bothered by the fact that their office had turned into some kind of war zone. If they were in their bad luck and the fire flared, all of them would die immediately.

“Any suggestions of what will we eat today?” Sho asked when they already exited their office.

“Ramen?” Ohno replied, stretching his arms.

“No more ramen,” Sho said, shaking his head. “You’ve been eating them like forever.”

“Italian food?” Ohno mentioned when his eyes caught the newly opened restaurant across the street.

“That restaurant wasn’t there yesterday.”

“Because it has just opened today,” Ohno said impatiently, walking ahead of Sho.

“Are you sure? I guess there are too many people inside,” Sho said, tailing him.

“I’ll order take away, if we can’t get any seats,” Ohno replied.

“Alright,” he heard Sho’s reply.

There were already many people inside the restaurant; a young waiter welcomed them with a broad smile on his lips, leading them towards their table at the back of the restaurant. It was rare that Italian restaurants opened for lunch, most of them only served dinner.

Sho reached the menu book as he sat on his chair, meanwhile Ohno looked around. The restaurant wasn’t as fancy as the other Italian restaurants he had been to. The interior was simple, but it gave a pleasant atmosphere.

“I’ll eat pasta, how about you?” Sho handed the menu book to Ohno.

Ohno took the menu book and scanned through the menus quickly. They had mini pizza which looked delicious. It would be perfect for lunch, so Ohno decided to order it. The prize was quite cheap, almost the same as the prize in a family restaurant.

He put the menu on the table and looked at the guests this time. Aside from salary men, the place was full of middle-aged women. They were whispering about something with their friends and focusing their attention at the man who was standing three tables away from them. The man was wearing the same white uniform like the other waiters, he was tall with broad chest and stylish hairstyle. He had a nice figure and handsome face, no wonder the ladies had become excited by seeing him. Ohno glanced at Sho whose eyes also followed the man.

“Do you think he’s the owner of this place?” Sho mumbled a question.

“Perhaps,” Ohno replied.

He was right as the man started to greet his guest with a happy smile on his lips.

“Thanks for coming on our opening day. I’m so happy to have you here,” the man was shaking hand with a middle-aged lady. His smile was so wide as if nothing he wanted more than to greet his customer at the moment. The man shifted closer, stopping two tables away from Ohno and Sho. He greeted a person who seemed to be his old friend.

“Nino! You came.”

“I’m so happy for you, J. Congratulation.” Ohno heard the reply from the man called Nino.

“What do you want to eat? I’ll make something special for you.”

“I’ve already mentioned my order. The kind-hearted waiter had read the menu for me.”

“Oh, okay, that’s perfect,” the man called J said. “You don’t need to pay.”

“I’ll pay, don’t be silly.”

“Well, if you insist, but let me treat you on your next visit,” J said cheerfully. “I’ll talk to you later. Enjoy your lunch, Nino,” he finally moved to the other tables. That was when Ohno saw the person called Nino. He was wondering why he needed the waiter to read the menu for him and he didn’t need a long time to find out.

The man was looking ahead with blank gaze – he was blind. He was probably at the end of his 20s, the childish part still remained in his handsome face. There was something squished Ohno’s stomach as he looked into the man’s face – a pity, an empathy, or perhaps something else he couldn’t name. What disturbed Ohno the most was the unfortunate that the man couldn’t even see how good-looking he was. His hair fell naturally on his forehead, his face contour was perfect as if somebody had drawn it for him, he had a nice nose above his pretty red lips. In other words, the blind man was just too painfully handsome.

A run of thoughts came into Ohno’s mind; was the man blind since birth or perhaps he was involved in an accident and lost his sight? What kind of job he did in that kind of situation? How he lived his life in his blindness?

Ohno never really paid attention at the people with disability, he had no disable family or friends. Even though he watched basketball game with paralyzed athletes, but he never paid enough attention at them. But now, the sight of this particular blind man had awakened something in him.

“Satoshi, your order has come,” Sho said.

“Oh, it looks delicious,” Ohno averted his gaze from the man and ate the food without really paying attention on how it tasted.

The blind man was still there when they left the restaurant. Perhaps he could feel Ohno’s stare at him that he turned his head to Ohno shortly when he passed the table. Ohno felt a wave of guilty, he sped up his steps towards his office, trying to get rid of the man’s expression from the back of his head.

***

A week had passed. Ohno was rechecking the illustration for the upcoming edition when the newbie, Kitayama brought him a folder.

“Sakamoto-san told me to hand you this,” Kitayama said with a nervous smile.

“Thanks,” Ohno took the folder and opened it.

It was the new proposal from a writer who wished his story to be published in the weekly short story edition. Ohno scanned the story; it was about Kappa in the modern city of Tokyo. Ohno recognized the hand-writing which belonged to Fujigaya, the man was responsible in receiving the first story draft from the writers.

For Sakurai-san and Ohno-san

Sho was still out for a meeting with the client at the moment. Ohno read the story and found the writer’s name at the last page ‘Ninomiya Kazunari’.

He had a feeling that he had heard the name before, but where. He recalled the blind man’s face whom he saw a week ago. The handsome waiter called him Nino; was it possible that his full name was Ninomiya?

“It can’t be,” Ohno mumbled to himself. Besides, a blind man wouldn’t choose a profession as a writer. Ohno knew that the recent technology had let the disable person to work like normal people. There were computers which designed specifically for the blind, with the sound indicated the words they were typing.

He pushed away the thoughts about this Ninomiya and continued his editing. It was when Sho returned to the office that Sakamoto summoned both of them to his room. Sho read the new story quickly and brought it with him to Sakamoto’s office.

“I need a favor from both of you,” Sakamoto said with a serious tone. “I’ve just gotten a very interesting story from a new writer. But before publishing it, I need you both to meet him in person at his place.”

“Are we talking about this Kappa story?” Sho asked, showing the script in his hand.

“Yes,” Sakamoto replied. “It’s been a while since we got a fresh writer. I want to make sure that he is committed to what he was doing.”

“Why don’t you ask him to come to our office?” Ohno asked. It was strange to come to the writer’s place and not the other way around.

“You’ll know why. I got the address, it’s not far from here. If you both can finish everything on time, his story will be in our magazine by next week.”

Ohno turned at Sho who gave him an encouraging smile. They knew that Sakamoto wanted the story to be published quickly.

“Here’s his phone number. Let’s say, you’ll be meeting him tomorrow’s afternoon, after lunch?” Sakamoto said with a smile in his face. His tone indicated that he wanted both of them to do it as soon as possible.

Ohno and Sho left the office room and returned to their cubicle. They reread the story once again; it was written with simple words, but the contain was able to awaken their curiosity. Ninomiya had just sent three parts of his story and they were very interesting that Ohno and Sho couldn’t wait to read the continuation.

Ohno put down the script and made a phone call to Ninomiya; if Sakamoto wanted them to meet the writer, the faster they contacted him, the better.

Ninomiya picked up the phone on the third rang.

“Ninomiya Kazunari here, how may I help you?” a voice was heard from the other line.

Ohno clutched his phone tighter; it was the exact same voice like what he heard at the Italian restaurant a week ago.

“Ninomiya-san,” he mentioned the name calmly, trying to suppress his trembling voice. “I’m Ohno Satoshi from Untitled Magazine. We have received your email and we’re interested in publishing your story.”

“Really? Wow, that’s terrific,” Ninomiya replied with clear excitement in his voice.

“We plan to pay a visit to your place to explain a few things. Are you free tomorrow’s afternoon after lunch?” Ohno asked.

“Oh, I’m sorry Ohno-san, I’m still teaching in the afternoon. Can we meet in the evening? Around six?”

Ohno glanced at his calendar, he was free tomorrow evening. “Alright, that will be nice. I’m looking forward to meeting you.”

“Thank you,” Ninomiya said.

Ohno hung up and wrote in his agenda. He had said yes without really thinking that six o’clock in the evening was no longer office hour. Sakamoto should give him an extra payment this time. He told Sho about tomorrow’s schedule, but the latter said the he had something to do in the evening that he couldn’t go with Ohno. He hesitated, Sho was always the one who did the talk and finished the contract. Talking about business with the client was never Ohno’s forte, but he couldn’t just cancel his meeting with Ninomiya tomorrow, it would be very unprofessional.

***

Ohno walked towards Ninomiya’s address which was located four stations from his office. It was a simple apartment in Tokyo’s downtown area. The building was rather old and it looked more like a dormitory than usual apartment. When Ohno entered, a middle-aged security welcomed him and asked his intention. He fished his name card from his brief case and handed it to the man.

“Nino-kun lives at the room number 302,” the man said with a kind-hearted smile on his lips. “He’s a nice kid,” he continued.

“Thank you,” Ohno said. He inhaled deeply before stepping forward towards the room number 302. It was located at the third floor, he used the stairs instead of the elevator because it was occupied by two men who were riding wheelchairs.

He found Ninomiya’s name and rang the bell; the door fluttered open a few seconds later, Ninomiya looked blankly at Ohno’s face.

“Aiba-san?” he confirmed.

“I am Ohno Satoshi, the one who made a phone call to you yesterday,” Ohno said.

“Oh,” Ninomiya said, smiling at Ohno’s shoulder. “Sorry, I thought you were Aiba-san. He told me that he would come at this hour to repair my washing machine. Please enter, Ohno-san,” Ninomiya opened the door wider and gestured Ohno enter the room.

Ohno hesitated for a moment and followed Ninomiya inside. The apartment was tiny, but it was well-arranged. The furniture such as microwave, stove, water heater, and the air conditioner were equipped with digital voice to help Ninomiya in living an independent life.

Ninomiya seemed already remembered his furniture arrangement that he had no difficulties when he gestured Ohno to sit down at one of his sofas and took the coffee can from his fridge.

“I’m sorry, I can’t serve you hot drink. Aiba-san said it’s too dangerous for me,” Ninomiya said with an apologetic smile.

“It’s okay Ninomiya-san, thank you,” Ohno said, trying not to stare at Ninomiya’s face too much. It was inappropriate, regardless that the man couldn’t see him.

“Let’s get to the point,” Ohno said. “Er-,” he confusedly fished the script from his briefcase. “Thank you for sending your story to Untitled Magazine. We are very happy to publish it, but before that, we need to make sure of a couple of things,” Ohno paused, he knew he wasn’t as good as Sho in facing their clients, but Sho wasn’t here to back him up.

“What is it?” Ninomiya asked.

“Er-, we just want to make sure that you’re committed to write the story until the end.”

“I have finished most of it,” Ninomiya said. “You can read it if you want,” he added.

“Oh, that’s nice,” Ohno said, smiling, but then he remembered that Ninomiya couldn’t see his expression.

“I’ve been writing it since months ago,” Ninomiya stood up and walked towards the working desk at the other side of the room.

Ohno followed him; Ninomiya’s height was almost the same with him. He wore a simple white shirt above a pair of jeans. He was pale like plants which were put inside a room without enough sunlight. His dark hair was a little bit wavy and they covered half of his upper ears and forehead.

Ninomiya clicked his computer and the guidance voice was heard. He opened the folder where he saved the story and showed it to Ohno.

“I almost finish,” the man said again, happily.

“It’s good news,” Ohno said. He couldn’t help himself from smiling as he looked into Ninomiya’s face.

The door opened, revealing a tall man with plastic bag in each of his hand. He looked at Ohno with suspicious gaze before approaching him. He stood tall before Ohno and introduced himself quickly.

“I’m Aiba Masaki, “The caretaker of this apartment, are you Nino’s friend?”

“Aiba-san, he’s someone from Untitled Magazine,” Ninomiya said, standing up from his chair. “He’s here to inform me that the magazine has agreed to publish my short story.”

Aiba looked at Ohno from head to toes as if making sure that he was really someone from the said magazine.

“Nice to meet you, Aiba-san,” Ohno said, bowing at the man.

Aiba seemed convinced as he smiled at Ohno and briefly explained that he was here to take care of the occupants of this apartment. All of them were persons with disability, but most of them could take care of themselves. Ninomiya’s case was different, because he couldn’t see, it would be harder for him to do grocery shopping or cooking by himself.

“It doesn’t mean he can’t do those stuff, but I just don’t want him to hurt himself,” Aiba said, giving Ninomiya a soft gaze.

“I’ve told you a million times that I’m fine, I can do it by myself,” Ninomiya said.

“I know, but Matsujun will kill me if something happens to you, Nino,” Aiba said, shaking his head.

Ninomiya laughed; his laughter somehow sent a prickle to Ohno’s stomach.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, you can continue your discussion. I’ll put the grocery in the fridge and go,” Aiba said, turning around on his heels and returned to his plastic bags. “I’ll repair your washing machine tomorrow,” he added.

“Where were we?” Ohno asked, scratching his head.

“I showed you my story,” Ninomiya answered, groping his mouse pad; the computer made a guiding sound on which page was he at the moment.

“Perfect. I’ll inform my boss and will contact you again,” Ohno said, noting everything on his agenda.

“Sound good,” Ninomiya said.

Ohno nodded at himself and got ready to leave Ninomiya’s apartment. The man walked him towards the elevator, his white cane made a regular rhythm as it guided Ninomiya’s steps along the corridor.

“Did you visit the Italian restaurant a week ago?” Ninomiya asked when Ohno was about to enter the elevator.

“Yes, but how did you…?

“Never mind, thank you for your visit, Ohno-san,” Ninomiya smiled at him while bowing lowly.

Ohno left the apartment building; he turned around once again and took a look at the third floor, he had a feeling that Ninomiya was standing beside his window, watching him with his blank gaze. Perhaps, the man could see the world without his eyesight – something like sixth sense power. But then, Ohno reminded himself that there was no such thing. Ninomiya probably had been blind for long enough that he could feel someone’s presence around him without seeing them.

He had a strong urge to meet Ninomiya again. After seeing that the blind man was more capable than what he had guessed, he knew that what he felt for Ninomiya wasn’t a pity – it was something else.

***

“How was the meeting?” Sho asked Ohno.

They had finished their morning briefing with Sakamoto and the other staffs on the next day. Ohno had explained the details on his meeting result with Ninomiya, but he knew Sho asked him about something else.

“He was the same blind man we saw at the Italian restaurant,” Ohno answered briefly.

“Really?” Sho turned on his computer and thought for a while before asking another question to Ohno.

“When will you meet him again?”

“I don’t know,” Ohno shrugged. “Perhaps after his story is being published. Maybe we need to bring him a copy.”

Sho gave him a weird smile as Ohno spoke. “You look energetic, it’s rare,” he commented.

“Summer will come soon, Sho-kun. It means I can fish as long as I want without catching a cold,” Ohno said, avoiding his friend’s gaze.

“Having a crush on a client is not a sin, you know,” Sho said while leaving his cubicle towards Sakamoto’s office.

Ohno rolled his eyes and turned on his own computer. He needed to create the illustration for Ninomiya’s story since they would include it on the next edition of Untitled Magazine. He blamed Sho that he couldn’t concentrate on his work; he wasn’t particularly falling in love. He was just interested in Ninomiya’s life, because he led the life which was different from everyone else. He couldn’t imagine if he was the one who couldn’t see his own reflection in the mirror.

Did he know that he was so good looking?

Did he know that he owned a very nice smile?

Did he realize that Ohno couldn’t get his eyes off of him?

Ohno shook his head and forced himself to focus on his work instead of thinking of Ninomiya. It wasn’t right, he never felt this way towards a client, he should control himself, no matter how good-looking Ninomiya was.

Besides, there was no guarantee that Ninomiya was single. That Aiba guy mentioned someone named Matsujun who seemed very protective over Ninomiya. Maybe that Matsujun was Ninomiya’s boyfriend; someone who could love him the way he was.

Ohno gave up, he couldn’t come up with something to create an illustration at the moment. He rose from his seat and headed outside. He took lunch break earlier and decided to buy something at the nearest convenient store. He bought a sandwich, a bottle of soft drink, a pack of cigarette, and brought them towards the nearest park.

He had just walked a few steps when he saw a familiar figure appeared from a building in front of him – no other than Ninomiya. He tapped the side walk with his white cane as he stepped forward.

“Ninomiya-san!” Ohno approached the man, feeling something had sparked inside his chest.

“Ohno-san?” he confirmed.

“Yes, it’s me. Are you going for lunch?”

“Yes, I’m heading to a park. It’s nice to inhale fresh air once in a while,” Ninomiya smiled and Ohno was almost sure that his feet had floated a few centimeters from the ground.

“We can go together,” Ohno said without thinking any further. “Er-, I mean, if you don’t mind.”

“Sure,” the man answered.

Ohno couldn’t believe this kind of coincidence could happen. Perhaps when he thought too much about someone, the universe would help him finding the said person.

He helped Ninomiya walk by holding his hand. They sat down sat side by side at the park bench, enjoying the last sunshine of spring before the hot summer came to Tokyo.

“Is your office nearby?” Ninomiya asked.

“Yes, very close,” Ohno replied. “Are you working nearby here too?”

“I teach at the special school for blind children. It’s nearby my apartment. I was attending a meeting just now.”

“It must be tough, coming here by yourself,” Ohno mumbled but then he regretted it, he shouldn’t have said something offending.

“Not really. I got used to it,” Ninomiya waved it off. “I’ve lost my sight since I was fifteen. I was involved in an accident, not really an accident when your classmate attacked you on purpose.”

“I’m sorry,” Ohno said. He wasn’t prepared to hear it, he thought that Ninomiya was blind since birth. It would be better that way – perhaps – than losing your sight because of some careless classmate.

“Never mind,” Ninomiya said. “Nobody bullied me anymore since I turned blind.”

Ninomiya said it as if his blindness was something, he should be grateful for. Ohno felt a slight of anger inside his chest; Ninomiya could have led a wonderful life if he was normal. He could become a full-time novelist or perhaps a university lecturer.

“Are you free this weekend, Ohno-san?” Ninomiya asked him after a series of silent.

“Yeah,” Ohno answered.

“Can I ask you for dinner?”

“Sure,” Ohno answered immediately. He beamed, if only Ninomiya could see how happy his face was at the moment.

“I’ll be waiting for you at the Italian restaurant nearby here, a place calls Buono, the one you visited last time,” Ninomiya said, turning his head at Ohno. Their gaze met; Ohno flashed a broad smile at the man, not really care that Ninomiya couldn’t see it.

Spring sunshine shone on Ninomiya’s face; his flawless skin looked more beautiful under the bright daylight. He got two moles under his chin which made him even more handsome. Ohno looked at the pretty face, wishing that he could see it for as long as the time permit. But his lunch-break was almost over and Ninomiya’s words before they parted sent another speculation to him.

“I’ll introduce you to J, he wants to know the illustrator who’s working for my story.”

Ohno had no chance to ask who was this J because Ninomiya said he needed to get back to work. Ohno took the man to the nearest bus stop and helped him boarded the vehicle before returning to his office and found Sho whose expression was very bright as if he had just won a lottery.

“Nice lunch,” he mumbled happily, but Ohno was sure that Sho didn’t refer the words for him. It seemed that he wasn’t the only one who had a crush on someone.

***

The anticipated weekend had come; Ohno chose his outfit carefully – something he rarely did. He usually wore the old denim shirt over a simple black T-shirt when he wasn’t working. Tonight, he chose a blue navy cardigan above his beige shirt, a pair of jeans and newly bought sneakers. He checked his reflection in the mirror, making sure that his hair was nicely combed. He chuckled at himself when he remembered that the man, he would be meeting tonight couldn’t see his appearance, but something in Ninomiya had made Ohno more aware of himself.

He waited for Ninomiya at Buono restaurant. It was still thirty minutes earlier, but Ohno didn’t want to be late for his first dinner with the man. He was nervous like hell, no matter how he told himself that it was just a casual meeting; it didn’t mean that he would meet Ninomiya’s parents to announce their wedding or something.

“We’re not even dating,” Ohno thought.

A handsome man whom he saw talking to his customer on the first opening day of the restaurant approached Ohno’s table. Instead of asking his order, the man sat down across from Ohno.

“Are you Ohno Satoshi-san?” he asked.

“Yes,” Ohno replied. How did this man know his name?

“I’m Jun, Nino’s friend,” he said, extending his hand to shake Ohno’s.

“Oh,” Ohno hesitated. “Nice to meet you.”

“Thanks for becoming Nino’s friend,” Jun said. “Nino is a nice and optimistic person, please take care of him.”

Ohno grinned awkwardly, he was glad that Ninomiya had already considered him as a friend, regardless that they only met twice and all they were talking about was about work.

“He wouldn’t have asked you for dinner if you’re not a good person,” Jun continued, handing him the menu.

“I’m…”

“Call the waiter once you decide what you want to eat, okay,” Jun flashed a broad smile at him while leaving him towards the kitchen.

Ohno flipped the menu while thinking of Ninomiya – how everyone around him seemed to love him sincerely.

Ninomiya came a few minutes later; a waiter escorted him to Ohno’s table. He looked fresh in his soft blue cardigan, he gave Ohno a smile as he said his greeting.

“Sorry for being late,” Ninomiya mumbled.

“Don’t worry, I arrived ten minutes earlier,” Ohno replied.

“Have you met J?” Ninomiya asked. “I bet you’ve seen him when you were here before.”

“Do you mean Jun-san?” Ohno confirmed.

Ninomiya nodded.

“He greeted me just now,” Ohno said, looking to the kitchen, but Jun couldn’t be seen.

“He’s a very good cook, he sometimes visits me and make me dinner,” Ninomiya said with a soft expression in his face.

“He’s a nice guy,” Ohno agreed. “And good-looking guy too.”

Ninomiya didn’t reply to that. He looked down at his fingers as if thinking of something.

“Er-, what do you want to order?” Ohno asked after a series of awkward silence.

“I don’t really remember the menu, could you read them for me?”

Ohno tried hard to pronounce the difficult menus and he knew that Ninomiya didn’t understand any of it, just like him.

“I’m sorry, Ninomiya-san” Ohno mumbled.

“Need some help?” Jun approached their table, giving Ohno a brief smile before touching Ninomiya on his shoulder. “How are you, Nino?” he asked.

“Great,” Ninomiya replied. “Thanks to Ohno-san’s Untitled Magazine. It gives me more encouragement to write.”

“He has talent,” Jun said to Ohno. “He’s just too shy to admit it.”

“You’re right,” Ohno agreed. “I think Ninomiya-san can be a full-time writer in near future.”

“Oh, please,” Ninomiya shook his head. “And you can call me Nino. I don’t like formal conversation, right J?” he turned his head to Jun who patted Nino’s shoulder to convey his agreement.

“Nino,” Ohno heard the word came pass his lips. He felt as if he was allowed to walk closer to Nino’s doorstep and it made him happy.

Jun took the menu from Ohno’s hand and explained briefly about the dinner course; both of them ended up ordering the same menu. Ohno tried not to look at Nino’s face too much, it seemed unfair that he could see Nino as long as he liked, but not the other way around.

Nino was the one who started the conversation, asking Ohno general questions like where did he live, how long had he been working for the magazine, what did he do on his off day, his hobby, his favorite food, his favorite movie, and so on.

“Have you had dinner with the writer for the magazine before?” Nino asked, leaning forward as if he could sense Ohno’s awkwardness.

“No,” Ohno replied. “I’m not good in socializing with other people.”

Nino chuckled lightly, groping Ohno’s hand. “You have pretty fingers, Ohno-san.”

“T-thanks,” Ohno stammered. He could feel the warmth crept to his face as Nino touched his hand. The man’s fingers were short and too pale for Ohno’s liking.

“Can we meet like this again? I mean out of professional matter,” Nino asked.

Ohno was about to answer, but Jun came with their order. He looked at their intertwined hands and smiled widely.

“Please enjoy the dinner,” Jun said, winking at Ohno before leaving their table.

The food was delicious, so did the wine. It had been years since Ohno had dinner with someone, he didn’t like going out and preferred enjoyed time alone in his apartment on weekends. He was surprised at himself that he accepted Nino’s invitation without thinking twice. He glanced at the man who ate his food without fail, regardless that he couldn’t see it. He wasn’t a handicapped who needed pity from his surroundings, but Ohno couldn’t erase the empathy feeling in the back of his head. Perhaps he accepted Nino’s invitation because he had no heart to decline it, because he pitied the man.

They ordered dessert and ate it while talking about Nino’s story. He told Ohno that he had written some stories before this but had no encouragement to send it to the publisher.

“Nobody wants to buy books from a blind writer,” Nino said. His tone was light, but Ohno could hear bitterness in his voice.

“Have you ever tried to find a donor?” Ohno asked.

“I have,” Nino nodded, looking ahead as if collecting his memories from the past. “But I’m afraid to see the world again. I don’t want to see the faces of the people who lie to me, who look down on me, who consider me as a nuisance. It’s better this way.”

Ohno didn’t know how to react to Nino’s answer. If he were in Nino’s position, he would have looked for a donor as soon as he turned blind. He couldn’t imagine living in the darkness for so long, couldn’t even see his own reflection, couldn’t even enjoyed the morning light.

“I sound like a pessimistic,” Nino said after a series of silence. “But I’m happier this way.”

“You didn’t sound like that at all,” Ohno replied. “You’re more optimistic than I am.”

Nino chuckled lightly and reached to Ohno’s hand again. They left Jun’s restaurant around eight in the evening. It needed some time to persuade Nino to accept Jun and Ohno’s suggestion that Ohno should accompany him to his apartment.

They walked hand in hand as if it was the most natural thing to do. Nino’s white cane hit the sidewalk with steady rhythm, it sounded like the Nino’s personal clock, counting second per second. Ohno wondered what was Nino thinking at the moment; Ohno’s mind meanwhile was still on their previous conversation, imagining Nino as a normal person.

Nino’s head rested on Ohno’s shoulder when they boarded the train towards his apartment. The scent of his shampoo reached Ohno’s nose and it calmed him down in the weirdest way possible. He squished Nino’s hand softly, wishing that their train would never reach its destination.

***

Nino’s story was published on the second week of May edition. The respond from the readers was positive, they even sent the letter to Untitled, congratulating Nino for writing such an interesting story.

Ohno was the one who deliver the copy to Nino’s apartment. They could actually send it via post, but Ohno wouldn’t throw away the opportunity to see Nino again. He inserted the magazine to his briefcase and went to Nino’s place right after work.

He found Jun there, loading groceries to Nino’s fridge. The man greeted Ohno with his usual broad smile and gestured him to sit down.

“Nino, you have a visitor,” he announced.

Nino who was still typing something on his computer, turned his head to the door. Ohno walked across the room and touched his shoulder lightly.

“Ohchan?” Nino confirmed.

“Nobody calls me with that name, but yes, it’s me,” Ohno said, pulling another chair and sat down beside Nino. “I bring you the copy of the magazine.”

“Thank you,” Nino replied. He clicked save button on his computer and turned his chair to Ohno; their knees brushed each other, but Nino seemed not to mind it.

“We received a fan letter too; do you want me to read it?” Ohno fished the letter from his briefcase

“Sure,” Nino nodded.

“Wow, your story must be popular among readers that you already got a fan letter, Nino,” Jun said, approaching Nino’s working desk and standing behind him.

Ohno read the letter and saw Nino was beaming as he finished it.

“You should have sent your story earlier,” Jun commented, giving Nino a soft squish on his shoulder.

Nino chuckled softly and reached Ohno’s hand like what he did in Jun’s restaurant. He thanked Ohno for everything he did.

“I only created the illustration,” Ohno mumbled shyly. He looked at Jun who gave him an encouraging nod.

The three of them went to a nearby bar that night. Jun told Ohno that he and Aiba accompanied Nino once in a while for a drink. Jun and the bar owner exchanged greetings; it seemed that they had known each other for quite long time. Ohno and Jun ordered a glass of red wine, meanwhile Nino had a glass of cocktail.

Jun did most of the talk; from the way he spoke, Ohno knew that he was a passionate person. He briefly mentioned about his hard effort to open his own restaurant. He was a huge fan of Italian cuisine and had worked at Italian restaurants for years before opening his own.

“He’s the best chef you can expect,” Nino complimented the man who shook his head humbly.

They got a surprise appearance in the middle of their drinking session in the form of Sho. Ohno was about to ask what was Sho doing there, but Jun welcomed him warmly which somehow gave Ohno a clue that there was something between them.

“Matsujun invited me to join you guys,” Sho said to Ohno.

They talked for some times before naturally split themselves. Ohno was now sitting at the sofa with Nino across from him. The man’s eyes were looking blankly at the dim room while humming softly along with the background music.

“Ohchan, I’m sorry that we drag you here. You must have something to do for your work tomorrow,” Nino said.

“Nah, my work is not that busy. It’s quite boring, you know,” Ohno gave a sip to his wine, it always felt easier to talk with alcohol in his nerve system. He never discussed about his work with someone; he basically hid it deep in his mind.

“Don’t you want to change a job? I mean, if you’re good at creating illustration, maybe you can become a freelance,” Nino replied.

“To be honest, I’ve thought about it, but I haven’t got a chance to realize it.”

Ohno had talked about it with Sho a few times, but starting a new thing wasn’t that easy. He had been working for Untitled for ten years, he was afraid to leave his comfort zone. There was no guarantee that his illustration would sell well if he became a freelance. He sipped his wine and finished it in one gulp; he glanced at Nino who did the same.

The clock had pointed half past midnight when they arrived at Nino’s apartment. Ohno supported the man the best he could while switching the lights on. Jun didn’t mention that Nino was not a strong drinker. Three glasses of wine and a small shot of whiskey had drunken him that he couldn’t even walk by himself.

“I’m sorry, Ohchan,” Nino apologized when Ohno helped him to sit at the couch.

“Don’t mention it. Do you want something? Water?”

“No,” Nino shook his head. “But could you read something for me?”

“Reading?”

“Yes,” Nino’s eyes focused on Ohno’s shoulder. “Are you going to leave soon?”

“No, I’ll stay if you want me to,” Ohno said. His head was still sober enough to read something.

“You’re so nice, Ohchan,” Nino mumbled and lay down on the couch, closing his eyes. “J told me that you’re very handsome,” he added.

“T-thanks,” Ohno stammered. He never categorized himself as handsome, perhaps Jun complimented him because he wanted to encourage Nino. “Er-, what do you want me to read?”

“You decide.”

Ohno rose off of the couch and searched for books on Nino’s desk. He found a pile of comics and took one of them. He opened the page and saw a hand writing ‘property of Aiba Masaki’.

“Does Aiba-san read for you?” Ohno asked.

“Once in a while, he’s busy helping the other occupants,” Nino answered. “I haven’t found any braille version of comics, so I depend on him in this matter.”

The comic was One Piece latest edition which entitled ‘Wano Kuni’. Ohno started reading; he had never read for someone else in his entire life. He tried to adjust his voice to the characters, but it heard so weird. He ended up reading the comic with rather flat tone and when he finished, Nino was sleeping peacefully.

“Not bad, huh?” Ohno whispered to himself. He took a blanket from Nino’s bed and covered the man with it.

The digital clock on Nino’s table showed one am; the train and bus had stopped operating in this hour. There was no choice for Ohno than staying here; he leaned his head to the couch and fell asleep in no time.

*** 　

Ohno had no chance to meet Nino for the next two weeks. Work had become busier since the publication of Nino’s story. Sakamoto wanted a special edition with more colorful illustration pages, he had been rejecting Ohno’s design for four times, telling him that they were too mild.

“I want a more mysterious nuance; can you do that for me?”

“Alright,” Ohno replied lazily. It was Friday and he was so damn tired; what he wanted the most was to go home and take a long bath.

It was strange that his brain won’t move under the pressure; he couldn’t produce something nice if he was too stressed, but the deadline was waiting for him – the stupid special edition on Monday morning.

Ohno rested his head on the table, closing his eyes for a while. He was the only one remained in the office; Sho had left an hour earlier after finishing the complicated editing. He wondered what Nino was doing at the moment, perhaps he was enjoying a plate of pasta at Jun’s restaurant while talking about their plan on weekend. If he couldn’t finish the illustration which Sakamoto wanted, it meant there would be no weekend for Ohno.

He recalled Nino’s words about going freelance. He had not enough encouragement to do that anyway, he had been doing this job ever since he graduated high school. Was it the right time to quit and try his luck out there?

Nino had proven him that there was nothing to be afraid of; that man was full of life, regardless his condition. The only thing he was afraid of was seeing the world again.

Ohno ran his fingers through his hair, he had just realized that he missed Nino – too much even. He had fallen in love in the strangest way possible towards the man; but he didn’t know how to confess his feelings. Nino wasn’t normal, no matter how Ohno tried to deny the fact. It would be uneasy to build a ‘normal’ relationship with him. What if Ohno suddenly grew tired of Nino’s blindness? What if he said something that offend him? What if Nino decided that they weren’t fit each other?

“What am I doing?” Ohno ruffled his own hair.

Perhaps he had to stay away from Nino, he was afraid that he would hurt the man in the end. Maybe what he felt for Nino wasn’t something he truly wanted.

He tried to create something new, but his head was full of Nino and his own endless doubt. He decided to go home and would work on weekend instead.

***

The weekend came, but Ohno still couldn’t finish the illustration. His stomach was empty as he had nothing to eat since morning; he stepped outside of his apartment and took a subway towards Jun’s restaurant. Maybe by enjoying delicious lunch, he could finally find an inspiration.

Jun’s restaurant was crowded on weekend, the only seat left was nearby the restroom. Jun was busy at the kitchen, Ohno could see him through the glass wall which separated the kitchen and the hall. He ordered a plate of spaghetti alle vongole and a glass of wine.

He checked his phone while waiting for the food and found two new messages from unknown number. Ohno clicked the message open and read it quickly. It was from Aiba.

‘Ohno-san, are you busy today? Sorry all of a sudden, it’s about Nino. Can you accompany him for this weekend? I have something to do out of Tokyo until Monday. My colleague will replace me for the time being to take care of the occupants here, but I can’t trust Nino to her. I’ll be very grateful if you say yes.’

The message ended with a cute emoticon and a long ‘thank youuuu’. The honest answer would be no, but it had been a while since he met Nino – his damn work could wait until tomorrow.

Ohno replied Aiba’s message with a short yes and went straight towards Nino’s apartment after finishing his food. He had no time to greet Jun since the man was still occupied with his work at the kitchen.

Nino always said that he was more than capable to take care of himself, but Ohno agreed with Aiba this time that the man actually needed a company which probably had nothing to do with his blindness. Or perhaps, it was Ohno who needed it at the moment.

Nino opened the door for Ohno almost immediately; he looked blankly at Ohno before calling his name.

“Ohchan?”

“How did you know?” Ohno entered the apartment with some kind of relieve feeling. Nino’s small room seemed to become some kind of oasis after two weeks of chaotic mood.

“I just knew,” Nino said, guiding Ohno towards the living room. “Sometimes, I recognize people from their warmth. You have a special warmth around you, don’t you know that?”

“Really?”

“Yes,” Nino smiled at him. “A kind of warmth I really like.”

Ohno watched Nino’s face as the man spoke, he felt a pang inside his chest. He was such a coward for lying to himself – he should have been braver than this. He reached towards Nino’s hands and squished them softly.

“Let me warm you then,” he said.

Nino squished back while asking Ohno about the weather outside. He told Ohno that he hated summer and couldn’t wait for the autumn to come. Ohno had forgotten how easy it was to talk with Nino. He listened to the man’s monologue and responded when needed; they listened to the late-spring rain outside while holding each other’s hand. It was for the first time Ohno finally able to put the thought about his unfinished work aside.

They spent the rest of the weekend together. Ohno read a few volume of One Piece for Nino, cooked dinner, and prepared the bathtub for both of them. It felt as if they were living together for a long time already. The thought sent a prickle to Ohno’s stomach, maybe it was time for him to end his hesitation.

He approached Nino who was sitting on the couch while listening to music through the earphone. The man turned his head to Ohno and gave a code for him to come closer.

“Do you know this song?” Nino handed the left side of his earphone to Ohno.

Ohno plugged the thing into his ear, the song was Utada Hikaru’s ‘Play a Love Song’, her voice fulfilled Ohno’s head and before he knew it, he pulled Nino close to him and kissed the man’s lips. Nino’s blind eyes widened in surprise, but he didn’t make any attempt to push Ohno away. His fist tightened around Ohno’s collar and unexpectedly, he cried.

Ohno pulled away, but Nino’s hands kept him on his place. He buried his face on Ohno’s chest, sobbing quietly.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled.

Ohno awkwardly caressed Nino’s hair. Maybe he had done something awful to Nino by kissing him, he was about to apologize when he heard Nino’s whispers.

“I wish I could see your face.”

“Believe me, you’d better never see it,” Ohno said jokingly, but at the same time, he felt warm tears on the edge of his eyes. He wanted Nino to see again and he was sure that Jun and Aiba also thought of the same thing. There was still a vast chance for Nino ahead and all of them would be easier to realize once he turned to normal again.

“I love you, Nino, the way you are,” Ohno heard his own words.

“Thank you, Ohchan. But I don’t want to become a nuisance for you,” Nino lifted his head from Ohno’s chest. His eyes were bloodshot, tears wetted his cheeks, but it didn’t make him less handsome. Ohno wiped the tears with the tip of his thumb and cupped Nino’s face; he had never seen someone as beautiful as Nino in his whole life and it would be very stupid if he let him go.

“You’re never a nuisance, not for me, not for Jun-kun or Aiba-san. You’re so brave and strong, Nino.”

Nino chuckled awkwardly. “I’m not brave enough to see the world again.”

“I’ll be by your side when the time comes,” Ohno pulled Nino closer to his embrace. He never made any promises in his life, but he felt that it was necessary now. He didn’t know how to help Nino, nevertheless if he tried, maybe he would be able to do something for the man.

“You are very kind, Ohchan” Nino said. His fingers touched Ohno’s face and traced it from his forehead to the bottom of his chin.

Nino leaned closer this time and gave Ohno a kiss on his lips.

“It’s my first time to kiss someone,” he said shyly. “I mean, who would’ve kissed someone like me.”

“Sssssttt,” Ohno put his finger on Nino’s lips. “Never say that you’re not worth, Nino.”

“Thank you,” Nino whispered a reply.

They slept under the same blanket that night. Nino crouched in Ohno’s embrace and slept soundly. Ohno meanwhile, stayed awake as the sleepy feeling didn’t come at all, he looked at the ceiling and all of a sudden, the idea for mysterious illustration came to him. He slowly freed himself from Nino and stepped carefully towards Nino’s working desk. He made a quick sketch on the blank paper and made five pieces in total. When he finished, the clock had pointed to three in the morning, he yawned and rested his head on the desk.

***

Sakamoto was satisfied with Ohno’s latest design. The crazy week had ended, Ohno and Sho finally could enjoy their free-of-deadline lunch at Jun’s restaurant that day. It was already two in the afternoon when they arrived, the restaurant wasn’t as busy as the lunch-peak-hour. They sat at the front table where they could see Jun’s figure beyond the glass wall. The chef recognized them immediately and waved cheerfully towards their direction.

“He accepted my invitation for a date this weekend,” Sho said casually.

“A date?” Ohno looked at his friend’s face, unable to believe what he had just heard.

“Yes, a date,” Sho confirmed.

“I wonder why Jun-kun said yes.”

“That’s rude, Satoshi,” Sho punched Ohno’s upper arm softly.

Jun approached their table with the order. He flashed a broad smile at Ohno. “It seems that you’re the one who could change Nino’s mind after all these years,” Jun said.

“It wasn’t me, it’s all in Nino’s,” Ohno replied.

“What is it?” Sho looked back and forth from Jun and Ohno.

“It’s about your poor sense in choosing clothes, Sho-kun,” Ohno said, but he spoke directly to Jun. “Get ready for his fashion illness, Jun-kun.”

“I will,” Jun winked and left their table.

“If my date fails, I’ll put poison in your coffee, Satoshi,” Sho hissed.

Ohno only laughed. Somehow, he felt a lot of happier compared to last week and he was convinced that it had something to do with Nino.

The last part of Nino’s story was published in the end of June. The magazine had never been sold better than that. Sakamoto had invited Nino as the honorable guest and threw a small party for him. Ohno knew that Nino didn’t like crowds, but he attended the party to respect Sakamoto and the whole staffs of Untitled magazine. Both of them sat at the far corner when every official speech and addressing had ended.

“Summer is coming,” Ohno said, handing Nino a glass of wine and carefully helped the man to wrap his hand around the glass.

“You know I hate it,” Nino said, bringing the glass to his lips and sipped the wine.

“I wonder if we can live together from now on,” Ohno sipped his own wine while looking into Nino’s eyes. “I think it’s the right time to start a new thing, if something good happens in summer, maybe you’ll start liking it”.

“You visit me almost every day in my apartment,” Nino replied. “It feels like we’re living together already.”

“It’s different,” Ohno put down the glass and took Nino’s hands. “I’m not good in persuading, just say yes, Nino.”

Nino laughed. “Aiba-san will be mad at me if I move out.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Ohno said, gripping Nino’s hand tighter. “So, is that a ‘yes’?”

Nino nodded slowly.

After the party, Ohno talked to Sakamoto to convey his intention to quit the job and went freelance. Some publishing companies had contacted him to create illustrations for their upcoming projects. They offered good payment and agreed with Ohno’s term and condition that he couldn’t accept a permanent contract.

It was all because of Nino that Ohno finally find his guts to start a new thing. Nino also dedicated his time to write a book this time. Both of them could work from home or whatever they felt convenient; mostly they stayed home and drowned to their own work for hours before enjoying late lunch together. Everything seemed to work they wanted to be and it was two years later that the big change finally happened.

Nino’s first book had already launched and it was sold very well. One of his readers was an ophthalmologist who eventually was the best in his field. He was touched by Nino’s story and offered to seek for a donor for him.

Nino wasn’t convinced at first, but with the encouragement from Ohno, Jun, Sho, and Aiba, he finally agreed. It wasn’t easy to find a perfect donor for him, though. Nino had been blind for a long period of time and there was a possibility that his surgery would fail. After six months of nervousness and anxiousness of waiting, the big day finally came.

The surgery took place in Tojo Hospital which located three hours from Tokyo. Ohno, Jun, Aiba, and Sho booked rooms in the nearest hotel to make their commuting more convenient. Sho also quitted his job in Untitled and now worked as a free journalist, sometimes he helped Jun in his restaurant when he was free from work.

All of them gathered in Nino’s room; the surgery would be at four in the afternoon, around an hour from now. Ohno was as nervous as Nino was, but he tried to hide it to give moral support for the man. He and Jun convinced Nino that everything would be alright and that he would get his vision back a few days later.

“I hope you still remember how I look like,” Jun said, patting Nino’s shoulder in brotherly way.

“What if he doesn’t like my face?” Ohno asked which gained laughter from Sho and Aiba.

“Don’t worry, Satoshi-kun. You’ve turned more handsome recently,” Sho answered and shifted his gaze to Nino. “If you don’t like his face, you can ask him for plastic surgery.”

“That’s very rude for the standard of an old friend, Sho-kun.”

All of them laughed.

The door opened and two nurses entered the room with the stretcher.

“Ninomiya-san, it’s time,” one of them said.

“Good luck, Nino,” one by one, they hugged Nino briefly. Ohno took the last turn and held Nino’s skinny body a little bit longer.

“See you, Nino.”

Nino nodded, he was pale but managed to smile at all of them before shifting towards the stretcher. The four of them walked behind the nurses until the two of them disappeared beyond the operating room.

***

It was dark.

Bandage was still wrapped around his head. He heard whispers in his left and right side. He didn’t know how long had it passed since he entered the operating room. He tried to move, groping his side and someone touched his skin – a familiar touch.

“Nino, you’re awake.”

It was his Ohchan’s voice, always calm and relaxing.

“Ohchan,” Nino called the man’s name, gripping his hand tighter.

“The surgery was successful, Nino. You’ll be able to see again,” Jun’s voice was heard from the other side of the bed.

“We can play catch ball again,” Aiba’s voice was heard.

“I can buy you books that you like,” Sho said.

Nino only nodded. He wasn’t that fully ready to see the world again; it had been fifteen years. The world had changed so much that maybe he couldn’t recognize it as the same place anymore.

But above all, the prospect of seeing Ohno’s face was the one who made him nervous the most. Jun had described how Ohno looked like, that he had a nice nose, a pair of sleepy eyes, hair that always stick everywhere, and sun-tanned skin. It was strange that he had been living with Ohno for almost three years but it would be the very first time for Nino to see him.

The doctor would unwrap the bandage three days from now and Nino would need a month to fully recover from his surgery. It was the longest three days in his life. Ohno stayed by his side all the time, reading comics for him or just held Nino’s hand to comfort him.

When the day finally came, Nino couldn’t sleep the night before. He was scared that something went wrong and his excitement would vanish when the doctor announced that he was permanently blind.

The doctor slowly unwrapped the outer bandage, then the second layer and finally two cottons which attached to Nino’s lids.

“Open your eyes, Ninomiya-san,” the doctor said.

Nino did as he was told, he opened his eyelids slowly, afraid of the eternal darkness that he got used to see, but it wasn’t – he saw blur shadows in front of him, the doctor who wore white uniform, two nurses were behind him.

“Can you see us?” the doctor asked.

Slowly, Nino nodded.

“Nino,” Ohno leaned closer and reached his hand, but his face was still in blur lines.

“His sight will get better in a few weeks,” the doctor explained. “For the time being, what he sees are only blur objects.”

“It’s great, thank you, Toma-sensei,” Nino saw four of his favorite people bowed to the doctor.

“I can’t wait for another great book, Ninomiya-san,” doctor Toma said, patting Nino’s shoulder friendly. “It seems that you still have many things to talk about. We’ll excuse ourselves now.”

Nino saw three blur figures went out of the room; four other people got closer and hugged him at the same time.

“Welcome back, Nino,” Jun said, wiping his own tears as he pulled further from Nino.

Nino somehow recognized Ohno who leaned closer. Even though his face was still blur, Nino could see that the man was really handsome, just like how Jun described him to be. He let Ohno wrap his arms around him; it spoke better than words. He knew that Ohno loved him sincerely and it didn’t matter how he looked like; Nino had fallen in love with him because of his great personality.

***

After spending fifteen years in darkness, Nino must admit that he had to adjust himself to his brand-new life. He used eye mask all the time to help him fall asleep at nights and he still denied looking into the mirror, no matter how hard Ohno tried to convince him that he would be amazed by his own handsomeness.

Sometimes, he woke up in the middle of the night, asking whether all of it was just a dream. It was real, everything was real. He needed three months to get used to his ‘new’ sight and he started to write again. Ohno had presented him with a new computer with a huge screen and the newest windows.

Nino finally had guts to look at his own reflection at the same time he started writing. A complete different face looked back at him; he had gotten older, but there were some parts that didn’t change. He still had two moles under his chin, a perfectly shaped nose (like what Jun always told him), thick dark hair which fell naturally to his forehead, and pale skin.

“You are always handsome, Nino,” Ohno said from behind him, hugging him.

“I know,” Nino replied, chuckling, but at the same time, he felt his eyes glistened. “Thank you for showing me the way, Ohchan.”

Ohno’s lips touched his exposed neck and whispered to him. “You are the one who show me the light.”

Nino turned around and held Ohno tightly. It was his coincidence meeting with Ohno that changed his life. Maybe they were destined to be together and Nino was happy to know that Ohno loved him unconditionally and he was also the one who made Nino believe in other people again.

Everything would be alright, now and onward.

The End

The Shadow in Your Eyes (one shot)

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