CrossRoad – Present-Prologue
Crossing Paths
A perfect life.
People sought for it. People crave for it. Even if things won't work out the way they want...
Even if things get them down...
People strives hard, struggle just to live.
Even though they hurt others. Even though they crush their own morals to do so.
Just to live.
Just to have that so-called perfect life.
But... what is that "perfect life" means in the first place?
Is it wealth? Career? Status? Popular image?
Is it family? Friendship? Bond?
Happiness?
The meaning varies depending on people. How they are raised, educated and treated.
There are people who define it as wealth. Some rich people who think nothing of morals. They value money and status more than anything and will do everything to ensure they won't lose it.
They hate to associate themselves with low and middle class people, as they had dubbed themselves but do it sometimes to gain a popular image.
Discrimination.
Despite this, there are high class people who wants to live together equally with low and middle class people. They help voluntarily and sincerely.
These people are blessed and the ones who truly lived a perfect life...
...or not.
This story is about an eighteen-year-old woman who has everything and ended up with nothing.
Koizumi Mari.
She belonged in a high class family which includes a Police Chief for a father, a beautiful world-class photographer for a sister and a genius piano prodigy for a brother.
Her mother died five years ago in a plane accident. She was a famous interpreter, travelling around the world for her job. She stayed home every summer to spent time with them, which she was very thankful of.
Their family were famous for being a perfect family. Why?
They were rich, kind and honest. Her father pursued justice and helped people in need fairly. Her sister is a volunteer in a children school and taught them the art of photography. Her brother is a sponsor of many associations that protects children and women.
And her?
At 18, she was the top of her class. She was known to be the University's princess because aside from her intelligence, she is beautiful, with light amber eyes and shoulder-length dark hair; humble and kind as she taught her classmates and schoolmates with the lessons they were having difficulty with and sports-inclined, with her gracefulness and flexibility in dancing and singing.
Not only that, she was dating the University's soccer prince.
They were the "perfect couple" as the University dubbed. The whole campus shook with the news that they were finally together since they so much fit each other. The prince is handsome, with his lightly blonde hair and soft amber eyes. He was also kind and gentle to others, always seen smiling and laughing. He belongs to a middle class unlike the princess, who he fell in love with her at first sight. They became friends because they have few classes they shared. After six months of their meeting, the prince finally confessed and the princess accepted.
Her perfect life continued… until that night.
…
It was hot. She squinted her eyes.
It was weird. Did the air conditioner in her room act up again? It was just fixed two weeks ago if her memory served her right.
If it was, then why was she feeling so hot?
She removed her blankets without opening her eyes and stopped. She waited for some kind of air to reach her skin but there was none.
Her eyebrows furrowed.
Why?
She let out an irritated groan and willed herself to open her eyes.
Red. No, orange?
Eh?
She blinked and rubbed her eyes.
Under her door, she could make out an orange light. What was that?
Couldn't take the heat anymore, she stood up from her bed and walked to her door. As soon as she touched the handle, she winced in pain.
"Ouch!" she uttered. But why would her door handle emit such heat?
She stilled as she realized something.
Her eyes widened. "Don't tell me…"
She willed herself to open her door, ignoring the pain on her palm which she was sure will mark a burn later.
And her fears came alive.
The house was burning.
She bit her lip and wondered where her family members were. Wasting no time, she went to her bathroom with her blanket, opened her shower and drowned herself and the blanket in it. She prepared herself to go out of the hallway, in search of her family.
Her sister's room is next to hers so she opened the door without knocking as she shouted, "Nee-san! Wake up!"
Her sister opened her eyes and looked at her. "Hmm? Mari? What's wrong?"
The youngest shouted panicky at her sister, "The house is on fire!"
The sister sat up with eyes wide. "WHAT? HOW DID— AH, there's no time to ask about that…" she muttered and ran to her bathroom, mimicked Mari's actions from earlier, minus the blanket, and went to her next room which was their brother's.
They twisted the doorknob to find it lock. They both knocked on his door while calling out, "Onii-saaaan! Open the door!"
It felt like forever before the door opened and gasped. "What the—"
"Hurry up and let's go!" Satomi, the older sister, told him and he ran to the bathroom, drowned himself in water and shared the blanket with his younger sister.
"You two get out of here first…" Kento, the brother, said. "I'll get Dad."
"But it's too dangerous for you to go alone!" Satomi argued, worried.
"We're all going to die here if we stay here longer, Satomi nee." He said calmly, wrapping his arm around her.
"It's okay. You know I can take care of myself."
"But…"
"Go to the entrance now!"
Mari just stared at her older siblings, wondering what to do. She didn't want to leave her brother, but she knew he was right. They were all going to die here if they stay.
Satomi bit her lip.
"Just promise me you'll come out with Dad alive."
The man smiled. "I promise."
Satomi nodded and pulled Mari. "Let's go!"
The youngest met her brother's eyes and he smiled reassuringly. He showed her a thumbs-up before running opposite the hall where they were.
She blinked her eyes. Why did it feel like she was never going to see her brother again?
They ran towards the entrance where the fire was getting wider with each passing minute. They successfully made it outside and breathe a sigh.
Satomi looked at her younger sister and scanned her for injuries. "Are you okay, Mari?"
She nodded. "What about you, nee-chan?"
"I'm okay, but I can't help but worry about Dad and Kento." She replied, staring at the still burning house.
"Me too." Mari said, mimicking her sister. "But, how did our house end up like this?"
Satomi wondered about that too and look at her sister. She was about to answer her when she saw a laser light on her sister's forehead. She gasped and pushed her.
"Mari!"
The young girl was surprised and let out a gasp. She sat up and stared at her sister. She wasn't moving.
"Nee-chan?"
She felt a graze on her cheek.
And that was where she realized what was happening.
Gunshot?
"Nee-chan!" she shook her sister and she moved, trying to shield her and push her out of the way.
"Mari, hurry up and run!"
"But I can't leave you here!"
"You're going to or you'll get killed!"
Tears streamed down her cheeks. "But, nee-chan!"
Her sister smiled. "It's going to be okay."
She shook her head. She felt another graze on her leg and knew it was going to be difficult but they had to run before the person who was targeting them managed to kill them.
She guessed it was only one since if there were more than one, they were already dead since they were in the open space.
They lived in a city with large buildings around them so no one would be there at this time.
She dragged her sister's prone body in an alley to shield them from the sniper for a while.
She sat her sister on a concrete, leaning her back on the wall. She was breathing heavily and blood was coming out so fast from her back. She held back tears in this state of her sister.
Satomi smiled and caressed her younger sister's cheeks. "Mari… you have to go."
"Nee-chan…"
"You have to live. You know I cannot make it. I will just be a burden if I come with you."
She shook her head.
Her sister reached for her neck and removed her necklace. It was a heart locket. Mari knew her sister never removed it because it was very important to her.
"Here…"
The young woman widened her eyes. "Nee-chan?"
"If you ever find him… seek his help. If he sees this, he will surely help you."
"But nee-chan… I… this is very important to you…"
"That's why I'm giving it to you. I know… you're going to take care of this for me… and I know… that he's going to take care of you, in my place."
Mari was crying now.
"I love you, Mari. Promise me you're going to live happily… not only for yourself… but for us."
Satomi patted her head. When Mari didn't give a reply, she insisted. "Promise?"
Mari held back her tears and wiped them dry. She nodded. "I promise."
The older sister smiled brightly and patted her shoulder. "Now run along. Go to your prince."
The young girl nodded again and stood up. She was still hesitating but the stern look from her sister made her run fast.
As she ran, she kept on apologizing to her sister like a mantra.
…
Arriving at his apartment took longer than she expected… unlike her, he lived alone because his parents lived in the suburb of the country. He rented an apartment since it was close to their University.
She rang the door bell of his room since she forgot to bring the duplicate key with her. In that situation, everyone will forget.
Her heart was still beating fast against her chest. She didn't know if it was because of the adrenaline from running or the nervousness to tell him what had happened.
The door to his apartment opened and he looked at her like a deer caught in the headlights. She gave him a nervous smile.
"Hey…"
"Mari! What are you doing here?"
She thought she heard a somewhat panic tone in his voice but ignored it. He was probably really surprised to see her at this time since she never showed up in his place at this time.
"Something happened and I…" what she was going to say got caught in her throat when she heard a female's voice inside his room.
"Toma! Who is it?"
Not only that, she showed up in her vision with only a towel around her body. Now that she noticed it, Toma-kun was topless and only wore a towel down there.
She couldn't believe it. How could he?!
"Mari, let me explain please!"
"What's there to explain?" she stared at him calmly, something that Toma-kun never saw in her before. "You are going out with Yoshitaka-san? So, you're not satisfied with the princess and went out of your way to date the queen?"
"No it's not that!" She could see Toma-kun shaking his head. "No, please just…"
Mari shook her head. "We're through. I'm sorry to disturb you." She turned and ran to the elevator. She thought the prince would follow her… her prince that she couldn't believe she'd fall in love with… but he didn't.
Her tears ran down her cheeks speedily. Her body shook in as the elevator took her from 10th floor to the ground floor.
She couldn't believe it. She was betrayed just like that.
When she reached the ground floor, she ran as if her life depended on it. Well, in a sense it was true, since the sniper just shot a post lamp in front of her. Her eyes widened and she realized that it wasn't the time for her to deal with her broken heart. Her promise to her sister gave her strength to run faster.
She had to live.
She promised.
Running towards the intersection, thinking that no vehicles would drive at this time, she sprinted to the next street without looking so she failed to see a car coming to her.
All she felt was pain and everything went dark.
…
She woke up with a gasp. Her breathing was heavy. Her whole body was trembling. She sat up and scanned her surroundings.
She was in her room.
Right. She was safe right now.
She let out a shaky sigh. She stood up from her bed and went out of her room for some water. She was full of sweat and she was afraid she was going to dehydrate at this rate.
She drank a full glass of water and sighed. She couldn't sleep at this rate so she decided to get a fresh air for a while before going back to bed.
She opened the glass door towards the veranda. The room was located in the 30th floor of the building and she could see the lights coming from the buildings still in business. It was a beautiful sight. The wind was slightly cold but it calmed her down.
She couldn't believe she'd have such a dream again.
The woman leaned on the rail, breathing deeply. She opened her eyes and smiled.
A noise was heard behind her and she turned around to look at the source.
"Can't sleep?" the question was asked nonchalantly but the voice was tinged with worry, and she knew him for a while now to know the difference.
She smiled towards the figure walking towards her. "I just woke up from a dream." She replied, knowing that being honest with him was much better than lying. After all, she cannot lie… not to him.
She saw his eyebrows furrowed. "Nightmare?"
She shook her head. "A long time memory."
He nodded. "Did I know about it?"
She turned back to the sight in front of them. "Yes."
"I see."
They stayed like that for a while. The silence and his figure next to her gave her peace and calm… just like the time she got to know him.
"Mari." he interrupted the silence. She turned to him. "Hm?"
"You should take a rest now. After all, tomorrow is the day." He told her softly, eyes reading her body language.
He had always been like that.
She removed her hands from the rail. "You're right." She answered, but she didn't make any move. The man waited.
"Thank you, Sho-kun."
The man, Sho, smiled at her. "For what?"
"For everything."
Sho opened his arms, as if inviting her to come closer to him, and she did, drowning herself in his arms, in his scent, in his warmth.
"I know you're worried." He said as he held her tight. "But it's going to be fine. Everyone is with you. I am with you. There's nothing to be scared of and you know it."
She nodded against his chest. His warmth never ceased to calm her down.
"I know. I'm very grateful to everyone… to you."
She heard a sigh from above her head.
"Tell me… you dreamt of our first meeting, didn't you?"
She pulled away pouting at him. "Again? How did you know?"
He chuckled at her pout, finding it cute. "Of course, you always thanked me and everyone whenever you dream that."
She giggled. "You know me so well."
"Of course," he said, patting her head.
"Now come on and go back to sleep." He said, pushing her to the door. "If you want, I can sleep with you." He teased with a smile on his lips.
Mari's eyes shone. "Will you?"
Sho chuckled again and ruffled her hair. "Stupiiid."
…
The joint party of the three main agencies were going to start in five minutes. The owners were seated on one table with their respective secretaries and family members, talking about the future of each of their agencies. The International Music Competition ended successfully and these three agencies won the top three awards in the said competition. They created this party to celebrate their success. It was being held in a prestigious hotel with wide gardens for celebration.
In a private room wherein the talents of the agencies had to wait for their turns, because they were going to be introduced later on, there was Mari, wearing a blue gown with an off shoulder at one side, and her best friend who was fixing her long curled locks.
When her best friend finished, Mari looked from side to side, inspecting her straight hair, now curled at the end and in a tight high ponytail on one side. Her side bangs complimented her hairstyle and she couldn't help but grin.
"As expected from the best hairstylist in the world. You know, I wouldn't have thought you're an actress if it wasn't for your movies and dramas."
The woman behind her laughed. "I don't know if it's a compliment or sarcasm."
"You know I don't know sarcasm, Risa."
One of the country's best actresses, Naka Risa, who was wearing a bright green knee-length semi-gown and shoulder-length curled hair, put a hand on her hips and stared at her best friend through the mirror. "And you know that's a lie, Mari."
They both laughed until the door opened. "You're both loud. We can hear you from the hallway."
The two women rolled their eyes at the newcomer with the voice. "What?" he asked, right eyebrow rose.
"You're exaggerating, nii-chan." Risa remarked, sitting on the seat next to her best friend, both of them facing the newcomers who were wearing similar designed black suits, as they sat on the sofa in the room.
"Why are you guys here anyway?" Mari asked. "The Johnny's talents' waiting rooms are below this floor."
Mari was ignored. She shook her head and decided to question them one by one.
"Nino?"
The one who exaggerated earlier, Nino, was holding his precious DS and replied to her without raising his gaze, "I'm bored there."
"You're bored but you're not even looking at us right now." Risa said. "You should just stay in your green room while playing. You just changed places."
Nino shrugged and ignored the remark of his sister. Ninomiya Kazunari. Risa's half brother. They have the same mother and different fathers. They live separately of course because of work but they care about each other.
"What about Aiba-chan?" Mari continued. Unlike Nino, the man actually looked at her with a grin. "We thought you're nervous so we're here to cheer you up!" he said, giving her a thumbs-up. She suddenly remembered her dream, no, her long time memory… her brother…
"Mari? You okay?" her thoughts were cut off by a hand on her shoulder. She realized that she did it again.
"She really is nervous guys! What should we do?!" Aiba-chan yelled to the people in the room and Mari couldn't help but smile.
"No, Aiba-chan, I'm okay. Thank you for the thought though."
"But… you're spacing out, Mari-chan." Another man said, who was sitting next to Aiba before the latter stood up. He said it nonchalantly, like stating a fact. She giggled. "No, I'm really fine, Ohno-san. I just remembered something." She assured them.
The hand on her shoulder was still there, she noticed, and she looked at him with a gentle smile. "I'm sorry for worrying you guys again."
The owner of the hand patted her shoulder and nodded, moving back to the sofa and sitting next to Ohno.
"Well, whether that's true or not, Sho-kun's going to take care of it so you guys better not worry anymore." He said, making Mari blushed a little.
Aiba Masaki turned to him and nodded in agreement. "Ah, Matsujun's right. I forgot about that."
Risa laughed at that. Their friends knew the relationship between the two and they never failed to tease her best friend about it. She wondered if Sakurai-san got teased about it as well in a daily basis. If he was, she felt sorry for him.
"You guys…" Mari began but was cut off.
"…you know we're not like that... is what you're going to say again?" Matsumoto Jun, or also known as Matsujun told her. He began reading a book and replied to her without looking.
Mari sighed. "Is this why you're here? To tease me?"
"You know that's not true, Mari-chan!" Aiba said once again. "We want to be here for you. You know… since the time is near."
Ohno nodded. "We want to give you our support as much as possible."
"Everyone…"
Risa shook her head and stood up. "Okaaay~ no more sappy talks. I don't want to fix a messed-up make up since we only have less than three minutes before the announcement."
The men chuckled with Risa's remark. She was right. The time was finally coming.
The moment that they prepared for seven long years was going to appear into fruition.
They will make sure Mari's sweat, struggle and tears will not go to waste.
They were a witness of those, and they swore to themselves to help this woman to take back what was rightfully hers from the people who took it away so selfishly.
The door opened again and this time, Sho appeared. He looked surprised at his friends' presence in the room. He was also wearing a black suit, like the other men in the room.
"You guys, I've been searching for you." He said, talking about his friends.
Jun closed his book and raised one eyebrow towards him. "Really? Or do you just want to see your girlfriend before anyone else does?"
Sho blinked at him but one could see the traces of red on his cheeks. He looked towards Mari, who smiled at him. "It's time." He said, walking towards her.
They all stood up. Nino turned off his DS. Aiba stretched his arms, causing Matsujun to look at him weirdly. Ohno Satoshi nodded at her with a smile. Risa gave her a pat on the shoulder. Sho offered his hand to her and she reached out her own, grasping it.
"Let's go."
She nodded. "Hn."
…
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are all here to celebrate the success of Japan's three largest talent agencies in the International Music Competition. However, before we start the party officially, there is an announcement from Amuse Inc. Let us all welcome, Amano Ryo-sama!"
A round of applause was heard from the crowd. The owner of Amuse Inc., Amano Ryo, walked up to the platform and waved his hand. "Good evening, dear guests. I am happy to tell you that our talents have been growing each year. We train talents into perfection before they step into the world, just like the other two famous agencies present here. So for tonight, allow me to present a new talent that will have her debut tonight. She will be a solo idol, since she has what it takes to be one. She studied abroad for four years and trained under our agency for three years to finally achieve this opportunity."
Behind the curtain that will lead to the gardens, Sho could feel her arm shaking from his hold. He was going to be her escort when she appears… already discussed with the presidents and having their approval. Those two were always so close so it was pretty easy to request such a thing.
And he was ready to make them agree since he wanted to be by her side at this moment.
They'd been waiting for this. Everything was according to plan. Now, he wasn't sure what will happen after they get out there but he was sure he wouldn't leave her and be with her to give her the strength to take the first step in their plans.
"Mari, don't be nervous." He whispered, not looking at her. He felt a movement. "No, I'm not."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure. And…"
Sho turned to her and found the woman staring at him. "…you're here so I'm sure everything is going to be fine."
He smiled and nodded. "Yes, I'm here."
"…Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome, Amuse's new idol!"
The curtain opened and they walked on the red carpet towards the platform. Cameras and photographers were everywhere and Mari had to close her eyes for a moment to avoid hurting it but she couldn't. As they closed the distance, she could make out his and her wide eyes. They were both surprised and she held the urge to smirk at the look on her face.
Both of them, Mari and Sho, bowed to the agency owners and their family, presenting herself with a shy smile. She was truly embarrassed but Arashi trained her for this moment. Her posture showed self-confidence and turned to the two, the woman who, in a way, destroyed her once peaceful and perfect life; and the man, who broke her already broken heart.
The man stared at her like he had just seen a ghost. He had been told that she was dead and he mourned for her… for her family. He didn't know that she had been through so much that night, and yet, he left her to die. For what? Money? Fame?
He regretted it. Oh, how much he regretted his decision to not chase her that night. He should've. But he was weak. So weak that the woman… the Queen… managed to latch herself onto him. If only…
If only he knew…
The woman couldn't believe her eyes. Her father told her she was dead. She died in a car accident. However, it was, no doubt, her staring at her. She felt her blood boil as she noticed her fiancé looking at the woman. She knew he also realized it was her.
Cursed that woman, coming from the world of the dead. She smiled and calmed herself down.
No issues. She just had to bring her to the world of the dead once again.
And this time, for good.
Sho could tell that the two realized it was her; the woman who they betrayed and left to die.
He greeted them with a smile, trying to be polite opposite to the truth that he wanted to hurt these two… for ruining her life.
Well, he is an actor aside from being an idol.
"A pleasure to meet you."
"Sakurai Sho-san, what a pleasant surprise." Yoshitaka Yuuta, owner of the StarDust Inc., said with a smile. Sho reached his hand for a handshake, in which the owner accepted.
"He is close with her so we, Ryo and I, chose him to be her escort for tonight." Johnny Kitagawa informed with a little grin.
The Yoshitaka man nodded. "I see." He turned to the woman and reached for a hand. "A pleasure to meet you, miss?"
Sho grasped her hand tightly in his and Kitagawa Johnny glanced at her. She was reassured with their presence beside her and she found the strength to face these people who stole everything from her.
"A pleasure to meet you… my name is Koizumi Mari."
This is only the beginning.
The first step towards revenge had taken place.
The story of these four people, who had chosen a different path from one another, will meet; the four different paths that showed a CrossRoad.
Prologue ends here.
…
Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT THE STORY LINE.
Author's notes:
Yes, my first Arashi fanfiction series. This is originally a BleachxFairyTail Crossover. I changed the story a little to fit Arashi. But no worries, I'm going to rewrite this into the anime crossover after. I just really want to write an Arashi fanfic so yeah…
The owners of the agencies are made up aside from Johnny Kitagawa. Amuse and Stardust are really talent agencies in Japan but I don't know the owner's names so I made it up.
Read and Review please.
Thank you!
Regards,
Mari Kia Aishiteru, 11.06.2018
