MOST IMPORTANT PERSON
By Mizuki
I
'Oi, Shu-uji-kun?'
Kiritani Shuuji, a twenty-two year old college student now, looked up from his notebook, only to jerk back in surprise, almost hitting his head on the wall behind him. There was a guy standing so close to him that their faces were barely inches apart.
'Akira!' he groaned, exasperated. 'Move away!'
He made to shove the intruder out of his space, but Akira deftly caught both of his hands in a killer grasp.
'Shu-uji-kun,' he repeated, drawing out his name funnily. 'I've been thinking... Haven't we forgotten something?'
Shuuji blinked at his friend blearily. 'What-?'
Akira didn't move for a moment, staring Shuuji in the eye. Then he suddenly let go of his wrists and stepped away, shrugging.
'Whatever,' he said with a pout, before grinning and skipping down the hall, his arms flapping up and down. Shuuji watched him go with a wry smile, then shook his head and went back to his notes. It was often wiser to accept Akira as he was than to try to figure out the reasons for his behaviour. The madness and absurd of his daily life was simply a part of his personality, an engraved trait, something so incredibly Akira that Shuuiji had long ago learned to overlook all of his annoying sayings, little laughs and horrible clinginess.
'Kiritani-senpai?' he heard a feminine voice ask flirtatiously. It was Watanabe Chika, a girl he'd met on one of the many outings with his college mates. She was reasonably pretty and quite nice to talk to, but she didn't stir anything even remotely deep in his heart.
'Yes?' he said pleasantly.
'How long have you known Kusano-senpai?'
'Oh, Akira?' he confirmed with a smile. 'We were classmates in high school, actually.'
'Ah, I see,' she said, suddenly shy. Her change of expression immediately increased his interest.
'Why are you asking?' he said, trying to look indifferent and succeeding. The girl blushed adorably while smiling into her hand.
'I... I was wondering... if you could introduce me,' she managed finally, barely able to contain her embarrassed giggles. Shuuji watched her ministrations with a mixture of mirth and surprise. So Chika liked Akira! What an interesting new development, indeed. Maybe it was a great opportunity to finally bring that idiot out of his self-induced singleness?
He smiled sweetly at Chika, his mind busy with formulating a plan.
He only hoped it was going to work.
II
'A... double... date?' Akira asked incredulously.
Shuuji nodded with a grin.
Akira, hardly believing his ears, sat back on his cushion. When his voice finally returned to him, the only thing he was able to say was, 'Akira, shock!'
'Ou, I was shocked too,' Shuuji was saying. 'But Chika is a nice girl, you'll like her.'
I doubt it, thought Akira morosely. She's not Nobuta.
But instead of telling that to Shuuji, he merely grinned and happily made his trademark finger sign. 'Kon!'
Shuuji, obviously satisfied, started fleshing out the details of the date.
Akira wasn't interested, though.
Nobuta, Nobuta, Nobuta, his mind chanted, obsessed. No-bu-ta. NO-bu-ta. No-BU-ta. No-bu-TA.
Nobuta trying to smile. Nobuta crying. Nobuta looking up from under her bangs. Nobuta making the 'Nobuta power, enter!' dance. Nobuta hugging Shuuji.
His stomach clenched. Not good. That last image was no good. Must erase.
OK. Nobuta making the 'Nobuta power, enter!' dance. Nobuta rescuing that grandpa. Nobuta's hand on his cheek. Nobuta, Nobuta, Nobuta.
He vaguely heard Shuuji call his name.
'Oi! Akira! Are you listening? Oi!'
Duh. Of course he wasn't.
Because how could Shuuji think that this Chika girl could compete with Nobuta?
No girl could compete with Nobuta.
Never, ever. Wan.
III
'Wah! What a sweet little piggy!' crooned Hayashi Kana while twirling a small brown figurine in her hands. 'Oh, it has only three legs! How weird! Where did you get it, Kotani-san?'
Nobuko bowed her head so that her hair obscured most of her face. 'A… friend.'
'A friend from high school?' When Nobuko nodded, Kana put the little pig back on its place on Nobuko's shelf. 'What was her name?'
'Shuuji,' answered Nobuko quietly.
Kana blinked in confusion. 'Shuuji? But that's a boy's name!'
Nobuko nodded. 'Ou.'
'Does that mean…? Your boyfriend?!'
Nobuko felt her cheeks heat up. 'No.'
Her new friend looked at her with wide eyes. 'I don't understand.'
'Shuuji… was… my friend… in high school,' she stuttered as an explanation. 'He… gave me that pig… As a good luck charm.'
Kana smiled. 'Ah, I see. Do you still keep in touch?'
'No.' As soon as the word left her mouth, Nobuko felt a prickling sensation in her chest and behind her eyes. It had been five years since the two of them had left Tokyo. At first they had communicated regularly and sent each other little presents, but as the years passed, the letters and text messages became few and far between. Especially from Shuuji. Akira had still written to her from time to time, even after Shuuji had stopped. But even he gave up eventually.
Almost two years had passed since she received his last message. She had re-read it so many times that it had permanently engraved itself into her mind: Nobutaaa! Do your best at college:3 Nobuta Power! Kon!
He hadn't written since.
It was actually more painful than Shuuji's silence. She had, somehow, expected him to forget about her in time. It was different with Akira – in her mind he was supposed to be always texting her weird things, like made-up words, maniacal laughter or smileys.
'Kotani-san?'
She jerked in surprise. 'Hayashi… san?'
'You looked a little spaced-out.'
'Oh.'
'What were you thinking about?' Kana pressed with a raised eyebrow.
'Nothing,' she said hastily, ducking her head. She felt Kana's gaze boring into her, but she kept her eyes down.
'Right,' said Kana cheerfully, before changing the topic.
Nobuko listened with only half of her mind. The other half was trying in vain to figure out why her stomach ached more when she thought of Akira, than of Shuuji.
IV
'Shu-uji-kun.'
'Hmm?'
'Do I really, really, really have to go to that date?'
Shuuji frowned. Why was Akira being so reluctant? It was only a date, not a marriage!
'A promise is a promise,' he said resolutely.
Akira pouted in what was appearing to be the beginning of a very long sulk. 'Che,' he muttered, poking the book in front of him with his index finger.
They were at Shuuji's place, as of now unsuccessfully trying to study. College wasn't only about having fun, after all.
Akira didn't look as if he had any intention of learning anything tonight, though. In fact, he looked as if he was about to cry.
'Akira,' Shuuji began seriously. 'What's up?'
The other man popped his lips. 'Nothing.'
'There has to be something,' said Shuuji, beginning to lose his patience. 'You wouldn't be like that otherwise, right?'
Akira shook his head. 'Nope.'
'No, you wouldn't, or no, there isn't?'
Akira pondered the question. 'There is something, but I'm not gonna tell you.'
Shuuji groaned in frustration, but there was also a nagging worry growing bigger by the minute. 'Akira…'
'Nope. Not telling.'
'Why not?'
'Just because. Ahaha! Kon?'
He went back to his books, all the time making weird laughing noises, ignoring Shuuji's worried glances. Shuuji, on the other hand, decided to let it temporarily go, resolving to watch his friend more closely in the days to come.
V
Akira was bored. No, scratch that. He was both boredand annoyed. This Chika girl was a chatterbox. The only thing she did was talk, talk, talk. About the weather, about the food, about college, about herself, about many other stupid, irrelevant things. He didn't want to listen to her anymore. He wanted silence. Blissful, warm, comfortable silence, very occasionally interrupted by a whispered word or phrase. A half-grimace, half-smile, not this idiotic ear-to-ear grin this Chika threw at him every two seconds.
In other words, he wanted Nobuta.
Where was she now? Still in Tokyo? Was she doing great in college? Did she have a lot of friends?
Friends. Nobuta had a lot of new friends now. She was no longer that lonely girl bullied by everyone and laughed at. She had friends – girl friends, even – and she didn't need him anymore.
That's why he'd stopped messaging her. He'd felt as if he was pestering her, like he was trying to make her like him more than she did.
More than Shuuji.
'Kusano-senpai?' Chika asked, dragging him away from his dark thoughts. 'Are you all right?'
He scowled. 'No, I am not all right.'
She blinked. 'Kusano… senpai?'
'Akira!' Shuuji threw from the other side of the table, where he sat with his date, a girl Akira didn't even know the name of. 'Be nice!'
'Why should I?' he asked, glaring at his hands. 'It's not as if I even want to be here.'
Chika gasped in horror.
'Akira!' Shuuji yelled angrily. 'Why are you like this? Chika is a very nice girl - !'
'She's not Nobuta,' he answered simply.
There was a crash as Shuuji spilled his drink all over his lap.
'Nobuta…' he repeated in a strangled voice.
'Ou,' nodded Akira. 'Nobuta. Nobuta, Nobuta, Nobuta. Always Nobuta.'
'I… I thought…'
'That I've forgotten?' he asked idly.
'No!' Shuuji protested. 'No, I just…'
'Mou, I think I'm gonna go home now,' said Akira, standing up suddenly. 'Ja.'
He left, his hands flying up and down in a pitiful resemblance of a happy-walk.
VI
The roof of the building was deserted, of course.
It wasn't the same roof, or even the same building, but Nobuko still liked to come here and look up to the sky, imagining that somewhere out there Shuuji and Akira were happy.
There were times when she wondered how it would be like if Akira had stayed with her in Tokyo. Would they still come to the roof after classes? Would they go to college together? Would he still make her so warm inside?
But she always remembered that Shuuji had needed Akira much more than she had. She'd made friends with Uehara Mariko and she was popular in class 2-B, but Shuuji had moved to a completely new place and had to start things anew. It was only fair that he got to keep Akira for himself.
She felt a sharp pain in her chest as sudden tears welled in her eyes.
It was so horribly lonely without them here…
VII
Shuuji paced the length of his room. Four steps, turn. Four steps, and turn again. And again and again.
'Argh!' he groaned, clawing at his hair.
It seemed that Akira still had it in him to surprise him. Loving Nobuta had been one thing, but continuing to love her after growing up and pining after her for so long was definitely something else.
And, contrary to what Akira believed, Shuuji hadn't forgotten Nobuta. She still had a very important place in his – dare he say it – heart and nothing could change the fact that she was the one responsible for making him a better person. The thing was, people met each other, influenced each other, then parted ways, never to meet ever again. It was like that with him and Nobuta. Besides, she had probably moved on as well, had become a different person.
But when he remembered Akira's defeated expression when he had been repeating Nobuta's name, he wondered if moving on was in fact the better option.
Maybe there were some things in life that were just too good to leave behind? Was Nobuta something like that to Akira?
Then why hadn't he kept in touch with her? Why hadn't he made his move? What was stopping him?
More importantly, did Nobuta feel the same way about Akira?
He thought back on what happened five years ago. About that sudden comforting hug he'd received from her on that playground. About the picture of that time being something Akira desperately wanted to forget. About that day when Nobuta had told them that she couldn't decide which one of them was her most important person…
Would she, now, after all of those years, be able to decide? Would she choose Akira? Would she choose him? Or neither?
There was only one way to find out.
He picked up his mobile, praying to whatever deity was listening that she still had the same number.
VIII
'Akira, get up!' Shuuji demanded, poking him in the ribs. 'We haven't got the time!'
'What for?' Akira asked from the floor, playing idly with his piggy good luck charm from Chile.
Shuuji rolled his eyes in exasperation. 'I told you not to ask any questions. Come on, just pack up and let's go!'
'I don't wanna,' he muttered. 'Right, piggy? Akira not wanna go, kon!'
'Trust me, you do!' Shuuji snapped while hauling him bodily to a standing position. Akira let him do it, though both of them knew that he could easily stop him if he really wanted to.
'Where are we going?' he asked, watching as Shuuji threw his belongings into a rucksack.
'You'll see when we get there,' said Shuuji noncomically.
'Che,' said Akira. 'You're being very… mystery-ly-iously… you know?'
'Yeah, I know,' came the reply. 'Will you just get a move on? We can't be late!'
Akira kissed his fingers and grinned.
'Right-o!'
IX
Nobuko tightened her fists. An old lady glanced at her briefly before going back to staring disapprovingly ahead.
They were the only people on the platform. Nobuko was silently glad that there was no one else here to witness her reunion with her two best friends.
When Shuuji had contacted her a couple of days ago, she could hardly believe her eyes. Did he really want to meet? Were the two of them really going to come back to Tokyo, just to see her?
At first she'd been really happy. She was going to see Shuuji and Akira again! But when she thought more about it, she started to fear the day they were to arrive.
If she hadn't managed to express her feelings five years ago, now she was more confused than ever. Why was she disappointed that it had been Shuuji, not Akira, who had contacted her? Weren't they both on the same level for her?
It was all so impossibly weird. It wasn't that she didn't want to see Shuuji, she only wanted to see Akira more. Why was that?
She heard the tell-tale sounds of an approaching train and felt her heart sinking into her stomach. She watched the vehicle come to a stop next to the platform and then held her breath as people started stepping off.
She spotted Shuuji first. He hadn't changed much. Must have gotten a bit taller, though. And his hair was a bit shorter.
And then she saw Akira, the same lovable Akira, waving his right hand with the two middle fingers connected with his thumb, his eyes wandering around before stopping on her.
'Whoa!' he shouted across the platform. Heads turned and the old lady tutted before making a bad comment about young people these days.
Nobuko watched as he flew at top speed towards her, his eyes wide with wonder. 'NOBUTA!' he roared.
He stopped right in front of her, seemingly at a loss for words.
'Nobuta, Nobuta, Nobuta! Ahaha!'
'Hello… AKIRA,' she said, as always using too much force on his name. She then turned to look behind him. 'Shuuji.'
Shuuji smiled, joining them. 'Hello.'
'Nobuta!' said Akira happily.
Then she did something they'd never seen before.
She smiled.
X
Seeing Nobuta smile convinced Shuuji that it had been a good idea to come here. Not to mention the happiness positively radiating from Akira. Or the goofy expression on his face when he saw her smile. Or the way he'd yelled 'Whoa, embarrassing!' and put his hands over his eyes so that he could still see from between his fingers.
Yes, it was definitely worth it.
Now, ten minutes later the three of them were sitting around a table, sipping coffee. Akira was chatting animatedly, wildly gesticulating and stealing glances at Nobuta every two seconds. She, on the other hand, stayed mostly silent, watching them both from under her fringe.
But something was different. It took Shuuji some time to notice it, but when he finally did, it was all he could see.
Whenever Nobuta looked at Akira, her features were relaxed and the corners of her lips slightly upturned, as if she was gathering the courage to smile. Her dark eyes held so much warmth and caring that Shuuji was no longer uncertain as to who was Nobuta's most important person, after all.
Soon he was pushed almost completely out of the conversation, not at all unwillingly. He sat back and watched them, smiling. His secret smile turned even bigger when he saw the faint blush bloom on Nobuta's cheeks as Akira's stare became too obvious.
This idyllic reunion was suddenly interrupted by a feminine voice calling, 'Kotani-san! What a surprise!'
Shuuji could have happily throttled the intruder. It was a pretty girl with short, spiky hair standing in every direction. Nobuta introduced her as Hayashi Kana.
'This is Kiritani Shuuji,' said Nobuta quietly. 'And Kusano… Akira.'
The last word was said so softly that Shuuji wondered if Akira would start squealing with happiness.
The girl, though, didn't even notice, too busy staring at Shuuji.
'Your name is Shuuji?' she pressed with a smirk. 'Kotani-san told me all about you! You were her boyfriend in high school, weren't you?'
Three things happened at once. Shuuji's eyes widened and shot first towards Nobuta, then to Akira. Nobuta's expression was alarmed and she was slowly shaking her head, as if to protest, but it seemed that Akira's focus was only on the Kana girl. Shuuji's heart fell when he saw his friend frown, then scowl, put his cup of coffee forcibly on the table and stand up.
'I think I've had enough,' he said to no one in particular, turned on his heel and walked off, his posture rigid and hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans.
The girl blinked in confusion. 'Did I say something wrong?'
Shuuji ignored her. He turned his attention to Nobuta, whose expression he could only describe as crestfallen. She was looking after Akira, but didn't move from her place. He suddenly felt angry.
'What the hell are you doing?' he snapped and her eyes turned to him. 'Go after him!'
For the longest of moments she looked torn, but then she nodded seriously, stood up and started running.
Shuuji watched her go, hoping that everything would be fine, then remembered the girl. He shot her a glare.
'Don't go saying things like that when you don't know what you're doing,' he said darkly.
To her credit, she seemed guilty. 'Sorry… But Kotani-san mentioned you so fondly that I just assumed…'
'Well then, never assume again. I was never Nobuta's boyfriend.'
She nodded thoughtfully. 'And him…?'
He took his time to answer. 'He always wished he was.'
XI
It hurt like hell. Or even more. It was like that photo, but ten times stronger. A photo was one thing, but saying someone had been your boyfriend was another. How had the two of them kept it a secret from him? And why was this happening to him?
He kept walking, not caring about anything anymore. His chest was on fire, and so were his throat and eyes. But he was not going to cry. This went beyond crying.
Suddenly he thought he heard someone call his name. But he just walked faster, wanting to be as far away as possible. But then…
'AKIRA!'
He stopped, not believing his ears. He turned around and saw Nobuta running towards him, her black hair flying.
Nobuta, Nobuta, Nobuta… She looked beautiful, running like that, like an avenging angel or something. Nobuta…
She came to a halt in front of him. Her face was red, her expression anguished.
'Why did you… go?' she asked, panting.
He stared at her, not knowing what to say. 'I… I'm not strong enough,' he managed finally. 'I thought I was… But not anymore.'
'What... about?'
Akira thought that he might as well say the whole truth. 'About you and Shuuji. I can't take it anymore.'
Her eyes were wide. 'I don't understand.'
Angry, he kicked a stone that lay next to his foot. 'What's there not to understand? I loved you since the very beginning, but you chose Shuuji!'
There was a very long moment of heavy silence.
'Akira…' she said softly. 'I didn't choose Shuuji.'
'But you said he was your boyfriend!'
'I… didn't. Hayashi-san is wrong.'
A glimmer of hope, immediately squandered by a recurring memory.
'And the… and the hug?'
She looked surprised. 'You know?'
'Yes!' He was quickly moving towards despair. 'I saw a picture!... You hugged him, even though I told him that I…'
Suddenly she was against his chest, her arms behind him, squeezing so tight that he lost his breath. He stood still, shell-shocked and stiff, staring ahead with round eyes.
Nobuta…?
'I'm sorry…' she murmured into his shirt. Her shoulders shook. 'Akira, I'm sorry.'
'Nobuta…'
But it seemed that words were no longer necessary.
XII
Nobuko felt her heart swell when Akira put his arms around her and buried his face in her hair. She'd never felt this way, so safe and at peace with both the world and herself, free of doubts and certain of her feelings. It had been different with Shuuji all those years ago… She'd been afraid that she was acting like a fool, that he would laugh at her, that she was doing something stupid…
But now she knew it was all right.
'Akira…' she said, trying to get his attention. But he only hugged her tighter. 'AKIRA!'
'Huh…?'
She pulled away and her insides clenched at his panicked expression.
'Akira… My most… important person…'
His eyes widened and he opened his mouth as if to say something…
'It's you.'
She was rewarded with the most beautiful grin she had ever seen.
Then his hand touched her cheek, pushing away strands of hair.
'Nobuta?'
She looked up.
'Will you… will you smile for me?'
When she complied, it came effortlessly.
XIII
Standing not very far away and watching the scene with some degree of pride, Shuuji turned away just as Akira started leaning down. Smiling to himself, he walked back to the café, knowing that his help was no longer required.
After all, it was now painfully obvious who would get the charm against evil if Nobuta ever broke another tree branch.
A/N: Here it is! Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed :) I'm a big Akira/Nobuta fan and after seeing that there aren't any stories for this pairing here I decided to write one myself. It's of course painfully sappy and fluffy, and probably full of mistakes, since I'm not a native English speaker (I'm Polish) and I don't have a beta.
Also I would like to say that this was somewhat of a writing experiment. I always tend to give a lot of insignificant details, so I decided to, for once, focus on the important things instead. Hence the minimalism in description :)
Once again thank you for your time :) Reviews will be very much appreciated:)
Love,
Mizuki