Life In Full Bloom
(Nobuta wo Produce/Hana-Kimi crossover)
It was one of those days, the kind when there wasn't really anything better to do than sit on the phone and talk about nothing at all. Shuji and Nobuko were in college, now, and had found that once the pressure of exams had lifted, there were often gaps in their schedules. Akira was too, supposedly, but he often skipped in order to go places. Travel a bit.
"Does Nobuta like crab?" Akira's voice said thoughtfully, interrupting the momentary silence that had fallen over the line.
"Um," Nobuko said, shifting the phone on her shoulder. She had never really eaten crab. Maybe once, or twice, maybe at a wedding. She wasn't quite sure.
"Crab?" Shuji asked, voice cracking. "Oi, Akira, where are you, anyway?"
"Crab is delicious," Akira said, "I followed it on the beach. And it wanted to come home with me."
"Is it food or a pet?" Shuji said, sounding unnerved.
"Food," Akira said. "It said, 'Eat me! I am delicious.' And I thought I shouldn't eat crab all by myself. Unless Nobuta and Shuji would like a dog? They eat those here, too."
"…. crab is fine," Nobuko said quickly. She liked dogs. But not to eat.
"Okay---," Akira said, and suddenly there was a lot of background noise. "The crab and I are going to pay now."
".. maybe he's in Hokkaido," Shuji said. "Or Okinawa? Someplace strange."
"Mmm," Nobuko agreed.
"The crab's going on a plane with me," Akira announced. "I don't think it likes the crate."
"Oh, right," Shuji said, abruptly. "Nobuta? I want to ask you a favor. My little brother has a high jump meet over in Tokyo next week. Do you think you could go for me?"
"… high jump?" Nobuko repeated, trying to envision it. Koji Kiritani was not especially tall, as she remembered.
"High jump?" Akira echoed absently, apparently thinking the same thing.
"Yeah," Shuji said. "He tried out for the team this year. I can't go see him because it's the same day as my economics test."
"…..test," Akira said. "Ah, that one."
Shuji groaned. "You missed another test, didn't you? They're going to kick you out if you keep this up, you know--"
"Okay," Nobuko interrupted, having checked through her planner. "I think I can go."
"Ah, great, great," Shuji said quickly. "It's um, Thursday. At Ohsaka Gakuen."
"Shu-uu-ji-kun," Akira said loudly, speaking over the distinct sound of propellers starting up. "I'll be there for the next test, okay? Byebye, Nobuta, I'm bringing you delicious food soon--"
Abruptly, the propellers quit. Shuji exhaled noisily, and Nobuko cracked a smile.
"That guy," Shuji muttered, but he didn't sound very angry.
"Yes," Nobuko agreed. "Um, what's Ohsaka Gakuen?"
"Some fancy private school, apparently it has international campuses and everything.. Koji wants to go there for high school. He was really excited when he found out he was going to compete there," Shuji said distractedly. "I can find directions for you, I think."
"Mail them to me, maybe?" Nobuko suggested.
"Right, okay," Shuji said. "Thanks, Nobuta—ah, my roommate's coming back, I should go."
"Good luck," Nobuko put in, before he hung up. "For your test."
"Thank you," Shuji said, sounding a little surprised, just like he always did when she or Akira said something to remind him that they did, in fact, care about him. "Take care, okay?"
"I will," Nobuko promised, and clicked her phone shut.
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Her high school TV club had provided her with a recommendation in order to get a part-time job at a local TV studio near her college. She usually worked as a grip for weekend tapings, and sometimes helped out as an assistant technical director. It was good pay, but the best part about her job was being able to sort through the unused outside footage. It was fascinating to see what had been found, and hadn't made it onto the broadcasts.
Wednesday afternoon, Nobuko knocked on the door to her boss's office, and marched inside.
"I need a day off, please," she said, presenting him with the formal form. He accepted it, looking surprised.
"You don't usually take days off, Kotani-kun," he said. "Everything all right?"
She nodded. It would be difficult to explain why she was taking a day off, so she had written down her excuse as clearly as she could.
"Ah, Ohsaka? Really?" her boss said, reading the paper.
Nobuko settled for nodding again.
"Would you maybe be able to put some time in after all? We had a request for a story about the high jump meet, and if you're going to be there, would you mind getting some B-roll?" he asked. "Some of the athletes there are supposed to be big stars, Sano something or other…"
"You're going to Ohsaka Gakuen?" one of the office girls said as she passed by, nearly dropping the armful of papers she was carrying. "Kotani, you're so lucky!"
"Ah, I wish I could go, too.." another part-timer, who usually worked in the editing room, said enviously. "The students are hand-picked for attractiveness, did you know?"
"If only they were a little older.." the office girl sighed.
"Um, I guess I could shoot something," Nobuko said quickly. "Would handheld footage be all right?"
"Sure, sure," her boss said, beaming. "I've seen the way you handle a camera, Kotani. You have a steady hand and a good eye."
Nobuko nodded, and bit her lip to keep it from twitching into a smile as he clapped her on the shoulder and wished her good luck.
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Ohsaka Gakuen was enormous, and beautiful. It was the sort of place she would have liked to visit with Shuji and Akira, just to show them the walkways lined by trees and mossy statues. And it had its oddities, like the wagon by the side of the road that advertised things like 'Ikemen---Paradise: The Official Ohsaka Gakuen Photobook' in bright neon pink lettering.
But the girls at the studio had been right. Ohsaka's students really were attractive. For one panicked moment, Nobuko felt as if she was back in high school, a shy, unattractive girl surrounded by people who seemed to be impossibly cool. There was a group of boys in brightly coloured capes lingering near a fountain (magicians, maybe?), and another group by her loudly commenting on a boy's newly-bleached hair.
She reached into her pocket, and felt the little pig from Chile, which had somehow made it into her jacket that morning. She hadn't brought it anywhere for a while, but it seemed to be telling her to move along.
Nobuko took off her backpack, placing it securely between her feet, and put her hair into a ponytail like Mariko had worn for most of their last year of high school. A group of five girls passed by her, and the last one gave her a tentative smile before hurrying after the leader.
"Okay," she muttered. "Nobuta Power, enter."
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The competition hadn't started yet, but the bleachers were already filling with people. Nobuko moved from one spot to another to see which angle was best, climbing up to the top of the bleachers before going back down to the bottom of the steps.
She could see Koji, stretching patiently while waiting for his turn. He happened to look up at the bleachers, and she waved. Beaming, he jumped up and jogged over to where she was standing.
"Hi!" he said, looking up at her. "Nobuta, right?"
"Shuji sent me," Nobuko explained quickly. "He had a test today, but he didn't want to miss your jump." She showed him the small camera in her hands.
"He's such a dork," Koji said, but he seemed happy. "I'm glad you came to watch, too, Nobuta-san."
"Just Nobuta," Nobuko said firmly. "You look like you're having fun, Koji-kun."
"It really is fun," he said sincerely. "It's like—like flying. You can see the sky so clearly above you… Hey, did you see the main building yet, Nobuta?"
Nobuko shook her head no, and he sighed loudly. She thought that he was a lot more like Shuji than he probably knew.
"Man, it's awesome," said Koji. "There are three dorms, and they all meet up for special events.. the soccer team's won a bunch of championships this year, too. There isn't much of an academic record, but I don't really care about studying, anyway."
He grinned impishly at her, and Nobuko crookedly smiled back.
"Well, I should get back to the preparations.. make sure you get my good side, okay?"
Koji waved, and went back to the track. Nobuko went to the bleachers, making a note to stop by the school again later to film it for Shuji and Akira.
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Koji seemed to have many supporters in the crowd, who all cheered as he managed to jump as high as he possibly could. He missed the raised bar on his second jump, his ankle just grazing on the bar, but he didn't seem to be fazed by it at all. He rolled off the mat and leapt to his feet, and gave an exuberant thumbs up in Nobuko's direction. She zoomed in as the crowd cheered, and one of the girls watching next to her crooned "How cute!" and kept her eyes on him for the rest of the jump.
She climbed to the top of the bleachers again, just for the view. She could see the tops of the trees on campus, and the main building in the distance. Beyond that was the city, buildings reaching high and windows reflecting in the sun.
The sky really was blue today.
Remembering her assignment, she turned to the field, and panned across, catching the spectators and athletes alike, cheering wildly.
Good enough, she decided, and made her way back down the steps to watch the other high jumpers. Turning to leave, she accidentally bumped into someone and dropped her bag, clutching her camera more tightly to keep from dropping it, too.
"Ah!" said the other person, surprised. Nobuko looked up and saw an Ohsaka Gakuen uniform before ducking her head down.
"Sorry," she apologized, bowing automatically. "I didn't mean to knock you over.."
"No, no, it's fine," the boy said quickly. "It was my fault, I wasn't watching where I was going."
"You dropped your hat," Nobuko said, picking it up.
"Ah, I think this is your bag, right?" the boy said, presenting it to her.
They looked at each other for the first time.
The boy's eyes widened.
Nobuko's eyebrows rose a fraction of an inch.
The boy across from her didn't look like much of a boy. His hair was short, but his face was too round and too pretty to be a boy.
In fact, he almost looked like her.
And he was still looking at her. With her eyes. Only, these eyes were much more open (was that the right word?) than her own. Less shy, maybe. A Nobuta who was a lot like Shuji and Akira, without being much like Nobuta.
"Ah, Ashiya!" one of the boys from before cried, clapping a friendly hand on the shorter boy's shoulder. "Listen, we're going back to the dorm now, okay? Nanba-sempai has something to announce."
"Oh," Ashiya said, and smiled. "I'll be there as soon as Sano's done, okay?"
"Don't stay too long," the boy warned, smiling suavely at Nobuko and tossing his hair back before he left.
"Anyway," Ashiya said brightly, turning back to her. "Here's your bag, miss."
"Thank you," Nobuko said quietly, taking her bag back and handing over the baseball cap. "……..why are you at a boy's school?"
"EH?" Ashiya said loudly. "I mean—I don't know what you're asking, I'm a boy, obviously, I'm really masculine—"
"I was just wondering," Nobuko said hurriedly. "You don't have to tell me."
Ashiya fidgeted with the cap in her hands, mouth twisting. "Is it, um. You know… that obvious?"
Nobuko looked out at the track field. A crowd of giggling girls with permed dyed hair and too much makeup on was swarming around the returning Ohsaka Gakuen boys, who didn't seem to really mind the attention.
"Not really," Nobuko said truthfully.
"Okay," the girl said, sighing in relief. "No one else has found out yet, except Umeda-sensei, and Io-san, so I guess it's okay. It's only for a little while, anyway."
Nobuko nodded.
"Anyway! I'm Mizuki Ashiya, second year student, pleased to meet you," Ashiya said brightly, ducking her head.
"…. Nobuko Kotani," Nobuko replied, bowing back.
"So, um, who did you come to see?" Mizuki asked.
Nobuko scanned the field again. Koji was talking with a boy from another school, gesturing wildly. He looked a little bit like Shuji did when something particularly exciting happened.
"My friend's little brother," she said, and pointed to them. "He wants to come to this school."
"Ah, him? That's funny," Mizuki said, smiling. "We came to watch the boy he's talking to, Shin. He's my roommate's younger brother."
Nobuko's eyebrows raised again in surprise.
"How funny…" Mizuki mused. "You know, it feels like you're really similar to me. I don't think we've ever met before, have we? And we aren't related. Is that strange?"
"Yes," Nobuko said immediately. Her mouth twitched a little, a small smile threatening to appear. She had seen enough strange things to be able to appreciate them. "It isn't strange in a bad way, though."
"No, it isn't," Mizuki agreed. "Um, Kotani-san, would you.. not tell anyone I'm a.."
She trailed off, and looked around quickly. No one seemed to be paying attention to them.
"Please don't tell anyone I'm a girl?" she asked quietly. "I still have things I need to do here, before I can leave."
Nobuko nodded. "I won't tell anyone."
"I came for someone very special to me," Mizuki explained, looking out at the track field as another athlete prepared to make the high jump. "They helped me, and were hurt because of it, so I came to see if I couldn't repay my debt."
"I understand," Nobuko said. "I.. I also have people who are very important to me. Without them, I wouldn't be who I am today."
Mizuki burst into a wide smile. "Exactly, that's exactly it. I want to help Sano—I mean, my important person—with their dream. I'll do anything to help them to that point."
"I wish you luck," Nobuko said sincerely.
"Thank you, Kotani-san!" Mizuki said.
"Nobuta," Nobuko said suddenly. Nobuta was her secret nickname, but this girl was so much like her... "My friends call me Nobuta."
Mizuki looked surprised for a moment, then nodded. "Okay. Thank you, Nobuta."
"Mizukiiiii!" cried a voice from the field, and both girls looked over. Two boys were coming over, the one with bleached hair waving his arms enthusiastically at her.
Mizuki let out a small sigh. "I should have known they'd come to get me if I took too long…"
"They care," Nobuko said.
"They do," Mizuki agreed. "And they're my precious friends, too. Good luck to you, too, Nobuta!"
She smiled, and bowed quickly in farewell, and Nobuko bowed back, watching the other girl run down the bleacher steps.
It was time to go home.
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"My best friend!!" Nakatsu said tearfully, preparing to tackle her. "Sano came back already and didn't know you were waiting for him, so we came to get you, because Nanba-sempai was getting pretty mad. What took you so long?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to.. I met a friend," Mizuki said, and gestured to the serious girl carefully filming the walkway to the school.
"That one?" Nakatsu said, surprised, the tackle forgotten. "You mean, you met with agirl and didn't tell us?"
Mizuki winced. She had forgotten that, as a boy, talking to a girl was a much more serious affair.
"That girl.." Kayashima trailed off, thoughtfully putting his hands up. "Her aura is very soothing. It's almost the same as yours, Ashiya."
"Eh?!" she exclaimed, turning to him.
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It had been a long day. On the way home, Nobuko walked by the market and looked at the flowers on sale, bouquets of tulips and roses in full bloom.
In front of her door was a large crate marked 'FRESH THIS WAY UP' and a letter was nailed to the top.
Nobuko smiled.
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notes: A sort-of-not-really companion piece to Hallelujah Chance. Maki was too cute in both roles, and it made me want to write something with her characters in it right away… So is something forthcoming with Shuuji? Maybe, maybe not. I know Gokusen is a popular crossover choice, but I didn't watch Gokusen 2 (no MatsuJun equals a sad Alex) so… we'll see.