Disclaimer: I do not own NANA.
The Right Guy
Chapter 1
The Wrong Guy
Takumi was in the shower and Nana K. knew it wouldn't be long until he came out to have sex with her. Nana K. heard her phone ring and got up from her situps to answer it.
"Hi, this is Nana."
"Hachiko?" It was Nana O, and she sounded rather irritated. "It's getting late! I'm worried about you. Do you know what time it is?"
"Nana? Where are you calling from. Whose phone is that?"
"Mine," Nana O. replied proudly. "Mine all mine!"
Nana K. gasped. "You finally bought one?"
"Nah, Ren gave it to me," said Nana. O. "He forced me into it."
Nana K. laughed. "Oh really, that's great!"
"To be honest, I haven't got a clue how to use it. Like how do you text message?"
"Didn't it come with a manual?" Nana K asked her.
"It's way too long," complained Nana O. and she tossed it to the side. "I don't want to read it."
Nana K chuckled nervously. She wasn't surprised.
"I was waiting for you to come home and teach me what I need to know," Nana O. told her.
Nana K. looked in the direction of the bathroom. The water was still going.
"Really? Then you gotta come home quick and then teach me."
Nana K. groaned. "Where's Ren? Can't he teach you? He's the one who bought it for you."
"He just left," Nana O. said simply.
"Oh right. He's leaving for the tour early in the morning, isn't he?"
It was Nana K.'s turn to gasp. "Yeah, how'd you know that?"
The auburn Nana stood up, feeling nervous. "Because I remember Ren saying something about it yesterday, I guess."
"He did?"
"Yeah, I'm sure he did." Nana K. nodded, trying to convince herself.
"So where are you?" Her best friend asked. "When are you coming home?"
Nana looked down, feeling guilty. She couldn't tell her the truth. Not after what she was told about Takumi. "Yeah well you see, I'm sort of hanging out at a friend's place right now and I might stay the night."
"Oh," Nana O.'s voice became playful. "So you have some other friend that lets you stay over that I don't know about? Is it a boy?"
"No! I'm over at Jun's!" Nana K. claimed automatically. Maybe she should have gone there in the first place after she lost her job. Jun might have had advice for her.
Nana K. laughed out loud. "I'm just teasing. You don't have to freak out. All righty then, guess I'll just have to figure out the phone on my own. Say hi to Junko for me."
When Nana K. hung up, she replayed her roommate's words in her head. I'm worried about you. It's getting late. I was hoping you could teach me.
Nana Osaki didn't seem to be the person to be worried about people or needing help for anything. She was so independent. How often did Nana O. ask her for favors? Besides asking for aspirin the morning of a bad hangover and when she asked to allow Ren to call her on her phone, that was all. Now she was asking for help again. Her roommate needed her help figuring out her cell phone. It seemed like such a small thing, but Nana K. remembered how they met on the train. The punk rocker was impressed at how fast she could text.
Ever since Takumi kissed her in the car, she didn't feel right about being with him. She wanted to get out of the car immediately. They had conversation and dinner. Did they have to sleep together now? Was this really the right way to deal with Shouji? Takumi was the wrong guy for her to be with right now and she knew it. Maybe ever.
In truth, she'd rather be at home teaching her roommate the wonders of cellphone technology than having sex with Tamuki like some groupie. She just wanted Takumi's autograph. She didn't want to sleep with him. Nana quickly got back in her work clothes and put the fancy soaps and shampoo in her purse. She scribbled a note on the table.
Takumi,
Thanks for dinner. Sorry but I got a emergency phone call and I had to go. Good luck on the tour!
Nana
All right, maybe helping my roommate figure out her phone isn't exactly an emergency, Nana thought as she left the room but it will have to do. Maybe Nana knew I was about to make a huge mistake and decided to call me. Nana, thank you.
Nana ran to the elevator and ran in place waiting for it to ding. She didn't want Takumi to see her. He might drag her back to the room. She ran out of the lobby where someone was coming out of a taxi and she got right in, startling the previous passenger and the driver. When the driver started moving, she sat in the back of the seat in relief. She didn't have enough money to go all the way home so she had the cab take her to the train station.
–
"This is just stupid!" Nana O. exclaimed after reading the manual for the fifth time. "How am I supposed to make any sense of this?"
The apartment door swung opened. "Nana! I'm here!"
"Hachiko!" the cat-like Nana sat up from her bed just in time for her roommate to jump on her bed with her. "Hey, did Junko throw you out? What'd you do?"
"I—ah-she said that I should help you," Nana K. mumbled. She looked at her roommate's phone. "Oh, this is a lot like my sister's Nami's phone. I should be able to figure it out for you, no problem."
"Thanks, Hachi," said Nana O. as she stretched out on the bed. "That thing was giving me a headache. How was work today? How many times did Miss Sakagawi get on your case?"
Nana K.'s fingers twitched and she gasped. "Well...just once."
"Once? Well that's not too bad. You're improving, Hachiko."
Nana bit her lip as her roommate began stating the importance of putting more effort in work. In the middle of her speech, Nana K. looked up. "I got fired today."
"What, fired?" Nana O. looked at her in concern. "Why, what happened?"
"They said I slacked off too much," Nana K. admitted. "But I thought I was doing all right. I don't know what happened!"
Nana K. burst into tears and Nana O. put her hand on her shoulder. "From slacking? Yeah, that would get you fired for sure. Sorry to hear that, Hachi. But you didn't really like that job anyway. No wonder it didn't work out for you. Hey what you need is to find a job like the one you had at Sabrina. Remember how much fun you had working there?"
Nana K. stopped crying. "Yeah, I had so much fun. I can't believe Mr. Mizukoshi had to close it down."
"I think you're more upset he's gone," Nana O. teased. "You had quite a crush on him."
"How'd you know that?" Nana K. said.
"It was rather obvious," Nana O. told her.
The silly ring tone from Nana K.'s phone indicated she had a call.
"Weren't you going to change your ring tone?" Nana O. asked.
"I've been meaning to," Nana K. sighed, opening up her purse and a shampoo spilled out of it.
"Huh?" Nana O. mumbled, watching it roll.
"Hello, this is Nana!" Nana K. said, trying to be cheerful.
"Nana!" it was Takumi. Nana couldn't tell if he was upset or worried.
"Oh, hi," she looked at her roommate nervously, who looked back at her in concern. Did she recognize Takumi's voice. "You saw my note?"
"I did," said Takumi. "What was the emergency? I could have driven you."
Somehow Nana didn't believe him. "My friend needed help," Nana K. got up walked into the main room. Nana O. lingered at the doorway. She knew something was up. The raven-haired girl was watching her like a cat waiting at a mouse's hole. "But I got here fine. I didn't want to bother you. I know how how busy you are."
"Well all right," Takumi told her. "Goodnight, Nana."
"Goodnight."
Nana K. breathed a sigh of relief and she turned back to Nana O.'s room. Her roommate was staring at her with that "I-know-you're-up-to-something" look on her face. Nana K. tried to ignore it as she walked back into the room and attempted to figure out her cell phone. But she felt her roommate staring at her back.
"Junko had a deeper voice than usual," Nana O. said. "Or was that Kyosuke?"
"Uh...well you see..."
Nana O. groaned. "Hachi, what's going on? And what's with this stuff?" she picked up a shampoo bottle. "This looks like it came from an expensive hotel! You were with some guy, right?"
"Yes," Nana K. admitted. "I was with...Takumi!"
"Takumi!" Nana O. dropped the shampoo, startled. "Don't tell me you did it with him!"
"No, I didn't," Nana K. said. "You called at the right time. He was in the shower and I was waiting for him. I decided to come home after I hung up. I couldn't sleep with him."
"You did right thing, Hachi," Nana O. said. "Ren told me that Takumi doesn't even wear protection. You could've gottten a disease."
Nana K. gasped. "You're right! I didn't think of that."
"How did he find you anyway? Did he bump into you on his way to the hotel or something?"
Nana K. shook her head. "It was after I lost my job. I was just sitting outside having a coffee and he called me."
"He called you? How'd he get your number?"
"Ren gave it to him," Nana K. answered. "Takumi said he wanted to apologize for leaving so quickly yesterday."
Nana O. looked furious. "Ren gave him your number? What an idiot!" she grabbed her phone and pushed a button.
"Just now figured out how to call me?" Ren said playfully.
"Dammit, Ren, why'd you give Hachiko's phone number to Takumi!" she pointed at her naive roommate, who sat watching her stunned. "He just tried to have his way with her! What were you thinking?"
"He what?" Ren became serious. "Is Hachiko all right?"
"Oh she's dandy—how do you think she is?" Nana O. said smartly.
"I'm fine, Ren, really!" Nana K. raised her voice.
"She managed to get out of there before anything happened," Nana. O said. "But he called her again just now. I think he was trying to get her to finish what they started."
"Actually," Nana K. began but Nana O. held her finger up to silence her.
"You tell Takumi to back the hell of Hachiko or I'll rip him apart, you hear me, Ren?"
Ren started guffawing like a madman and Nana O. began to tell him off.
"This isn't funny, Ren!" she exclaimed.
"I know, sorry," Ren said. "I've just told Takumi so many times that sooner or later a girl would end up doing this to him. I never imagined it would be Hachiko. Don't worry, I'll talk to Takumi for you."
"Oh you'd better," Nana O. hissed and she hung up.
She hung up and turned to Hachiko. "Ren's going to fix the mess he made. Giving your number out like that wasn't smart. He should have known what Takumi was thinking."
"You didn't have to be so rough on him though," Nana K. said sadly.
"He'll get over it," Nana O. said, examining the soaps and bubble bath she brought back. "Hey you were smart to grab these while you were there though. I should have thought of this when I visited Ren's hotel room."
"Oh, did you guys have-,"
"Of course not!" Nana O. shouted, blushing. "I wasn't on the pill at the time. I didn't want to risk getting pregnant."
Nana K. giggled. "That's not what I was gonna ask though. I was wondering if you had room service brought up. I ordered duck and a bunch of other stuff when I had dinner with Takumi."
"So didn't just steal these but you ate and ran too?" Nana O. demanded and she smirked. "Way to go, Hachi. Bet Takumi wasn't expecting that."
Nana K. fell down on the bed, close to sobbing. "I didn't know that's what he planned to do when he called me. He was stuck in traffic just on the otherside of the street where I was at the time. I thought it was fate or something. I found his car and got in. Then on the way to his hotel room he kissed me. That's when I realized that I was making a mistake. Nana, if you didn't call when you did—I'd still be over there! How did you know?"
"I guess your demon lord told me," Nana O. said playfully. "Or woman's intuition."
"I wanted a distraction from losing my job," said Nana K. "I thought that Takumi was what I needed. What's wrong with me? I can't find the right job. I can't right the right guy. Maybe it wasn't right for me to come to Tokyo in the first place. I should have known it wouldn't work out for me and Shouji."
The tears welled up in her eyes and Nana O. watched her sadly. "Hey, don't say that. I'm glad you came, Nana. The train kept stopping and I began to wonder if coming to Tokyo was the right thing to do. I knew I wanted to come but I thought I'd never get there like that. I was about to turn back home and then you came over."
"Really?"
Nana O. nodded. "I thought I was crazy to be leaving home in the middle of a blizzard to sit on a train for hours. What makes someone do that? Determination. After you told me why you were coming to Tokyo I realized I wasn't the only crazy person on the train."
"Crazy?" Nana K. sat up. "Hey, that train was packed! We must've been all crazy!"
Nana. O shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe they were on trips. But you were the only one on that train that leaving everything behind to start over in Tokyo. So you're stuck here in Tokyo with me, Hachi. Besides, your mother said not to come back home anyway."
"Yeah she did," Nana K. sighed. "Nana, I wish I were more like you. You knew what your dream was and you went after it. I'm still trying to figure out what mine is."
"I thought your dream was having a big house with a yard?" Nana O. asked.
"What's the point if there's no one to share it with?" Nana K. wrapped her arms around her legs. "I wish I could sing or play something, so I can be in the band with you."
"You don't have to be in the band to be part of the band, you know," Nana O. said softly.
"I guess," Nana K. sighed. "I wish I had what you had, Nana. With Ren. I just want to be following my dream, doing something I love and having someone to love me. Nana, how did you meet Ren?"
"Nobu introduced us," Nana O. answered.
"Nobu?"
"Yeah, we were in school together. He invited me to a Brute concert-it was the band Ren was in before we formed Blast. After we saw him play, we went back stage to meet him."
"Was it love at first sight?" Nana K. asked eagerly and Nana O. laughed, shaking her head.
"No."
"But you must've felt something when you first saw him on stage!" Nana K. insisted. "I know I felt something when I saw Nobu playing!"
"Oooh, so are you saying you have a thing for Nobu now?" Nana O. teased, elbowing her roommate. Nana K. gasped and blushed.
"No, I mean, I was really moved when I saw him playing, and you singing," Nana K. explained. "It was like magic."
"Yeah, I felt something," Nana O. said, hooking some of her short black hair behind her ear. "But it wasn't love. More like jealousy mixed in with envy, and lust."
"What do you mean?"
"Hard to explain," Nana O. sighed. "I still don't understand it. Maybe I wanted to command the stage the way he did. Anyway, it was a while later when I saw him again. I was returning a CD to Nobu and he was talking with Yasu and Ren about forming a band. I was surprised to see him then ran the hell out of there after I gave the CD back to Nobu. Ren ran after me and asked me to sing for them. I couldn't say no."
"Wow, that's so cool!" said Nana K.
"I did eventually have feelings for Ren," said Nana O. "After a few shows. I think he fell for me first. I was a virgin when I met him. I was nervous at first. I didn't want to do it with a guy unless I was really in love with him. Then we moved in together." She caught her roommate grinning at her and she laughed nervously. "What is it, Hachiko?"
"I"m sorry—it's just so wonderful. You were so in love, and after being apart for all that time, you two found each other again. Maybe absence really does make the heart grow stronger!"
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Nana O. agreed. "I was prepared to end things with Ren after the Trapnest concert. But when I got to the room, he just hugged me and told me he missed me. Then I realized I really missed him too. I'm to proud to just move in with him and have things go back to they were, but I told him I was happy to see him every now and then so we can be together."
"I'm so glad things worked out for you Nana," Nana K. said with a smile.
"I'm sorry things didn't work out for you and Shouji," Nana O. said with a frown. "But you did the right thing today. Hooking up with Takumi wouldn't help you get over him."
"You're right," said Nana K. "But what should I do? I don't even know why he started seeing that other girl, or when he did it. I mean, did they know each other before I even came to Tokyo?"
Nana O. shrugged. "I don't know either. You'll just have to ask him that."
"I don't think I can do that." Nana K. sighed handed her phone back to her roommate. "Well, here, I've figured out your phone for you. This is how you text, and this is how you take pictures."
"Thanks Hachi," said Nana O. "Hey, you don't mind if I take a bath with these do you?" She picked up one of the shampoos she brought home.
"Sure, help yourself!" Nana K. said brightly. Nana O. went to the bathroom and Nana K. went to her bedroom to change in her pajamas. She never felt so happy to be sleeping in her very own bed that night.
To Be Continued