#kxzya

This was one of the days when the idol wore a stubborn frown without realizing it himself. The happenings of the past few hours played in his mind on a merciless repeat. Usually he had no problems ignoring the rude reactions he received from the audience members, but during days like these where he was getting punished by the lack of sleep the night before .. he can't help being affected. Easily irritated. Lucky for him those around him treated his short fits of anger as a comic relief and it became part of the entertainment during the filming of the variety show.

He was lost in thoughts and at first walked past the entrance of his regular escape spot. It was pretty late at night in the middle of the week, he knew that he didn't have to worry about the place being overly crowded. Perfect. He paid no attention to the few figures lingering around the bar, scattered, some enjoying some time purely for themselves while others were in the middle of a chit chat session with a partner, colleague or a friend.

“Izuhara-sensei.”

The gentle voice and the hand on his shoulder snapped him out of his slumber. His gaze wandered in confusion until he realized he was in his office and a pair of judging eyes were staring at him. It was an unusual sight to find the doctor in such condition during his night shift so the head nurse didn’t give him too much of a hard time due to her genuine concern.

“How unprofessional of me,” he sat up properly and shut the file resting on his desk hastily. The shift had been a long one that night, various accidents caused by the slippery roads kept the hospital staff busy. The stress caused by Satoru’s secret side business didn’t exactly help.

“Get yourself together, Izuhara-sensei,” the nurse told him firmly yet in her gentle tone as she offered him a small cup of black coffee. “Drink this up and get out there while wearing that charming smile of yours. You still have a long night to go,” she told him and spared the formalities. The only nurse who got away with scolding the doctor from time to time when needed. Satoru wasted no time as he gulped down the hot beverage and gave the cup back to the nurse who smiled at him as he stood up and adjusted his white long jacket.

“Alright. Lead me to our next case,” he led Ayano out of his office and the colleagues walked side by side down the corridors, the doctor’s hands casually in the pockets of his jacket.

“It seems like we have a self inflicted accident. This patient arrived with a fractured arm and a strong scent of alcohol,” she led the way to one of the beds covered by a curtain. “From what we could understand from his slurred attempts of speaking it sounds like his name is Kazuya. We have taken the x-ray and treated the arm. We still need some information from him and I figured you would be more successful in communicating with someone in such a state,” she drew the curtain aside.

Satoru froze on spot and found himself staring at the patient, for the head nurse it must have looked like he’d seen a ghost. He was snapped out of it by the nurse who nudged his arm with her elbow and he cleared his throat.

The aftermath of the concert had started to die out with the green room becoming a calmer surrounding. One of the idols was sitting on the couch in his own world, fresh from the showers and changed into his normal clothes. Abnormally quiet and reflecting. Few wrong steps here and there, accidentally adding his own lyrics to a couple of songs, he didn’t dare to look but he was sure he was gaining judging glances from MatsuJun especially. Of course during the MC Aiba playfully pointed out his mishaps, trying to turn it into a skit to make Sho feel better. But this time he couldn’t help feeling guilty. There was a reason for him spacing out as badly as he did and that reason wouldn’t stop bothering him nor confusing him. He sighed in frustration and ruffled his own hair, frowning as he sat back and shut his eyes. There it was again. The image of the guy and the smile .. Why did that image keep returning to haunt him?! He’d only met him once. They did have a nice conversation and he felt surprisingly comfortable around such stranger. But for him to appear in his mind relentlessly and even distracting him, this wasn’t normal when it came to his friends. 

There might have been a hint of surprise in Satoru’s eyes the moment the cold steel pressed against his throat but just as quick as it had appeared, it was replaced with a more sinister glint. The doctor grinned at his old friend. “Now this is what I was expecting to see from you. Some guts. After all the business is unforgiving and swallows the weaker ones without mercy,” he squinted while the tone of his voice had lowered to something slightly threatening. Without even realizing it, he was starting to sound like the very same person who’d paid him a so-called friendly visit earlier in the middle of his work day, at his office. 

The fog dissipates, and you are left in a clearing, a forest. However, something picks at your mind. You clearly have a vague memory of being asleep, so how did you end up in a forest in the next moment? Not to mention, you don’t even remember how you got there. The temperature suddenly drops, and you feel someone, or something approaches you from behind. Something glows, and the glowing figure is hiding behind the tree, seeming to be inviting you to play with her. Her figure as beautiful as a distant memory in spring, and those of first snow fall. You have met the woman in white.   

The door shut and the light turned on. The keys barely made it to their target, carelessly thrown onto the desk in the small hallway. One of the shoes ended up sideways next to its partner while the coat returned to its regular place on the stand.

The fridge door opened and greeted its owner with an awkward emptiness. A six pack of beers on the lower shelf. Three days worth of microwave ready dinner on the middle one.

The TV came to life. The volume was much louder than the idol remembered, with cursing under his breath he crouched down to awkwardly reach for the remote which ended up underneath the coffee table after being accidentally dropped. The TV continued yelling as the idol peeked underneath the table and under the couch, trying to spot the missing battery which escaped on its own adventure somewhere on the floor.

Finally the sports caster’s voice lowered to a bearable volume and the irritated idol was able to flop onto the couch with a deep sigh, the fixed remote resting on the table next to the can of beer.

Shoji turned his attention away from the soccer highlights. He gazed at the empty space next to him on the wide couch. He snapped himself out of his daydream with a laughter and shook his head at himself, he threw his legs to rest against the cushions, filling the empty space and holding himself back from overthinking.

Yet he failed to stop the strange feeling growing in his chest once he fully concentrated on the screen and the familiar sports caster flashing his usual smile. Had he always been this handsome? Wait, what was he thinking? Shoji was surprised by his own thoughts and shook his head to try to shake them off. He reached for the remote, an unusual action when the news were far from over, to hastily change the channel.