Chapter 10
Tadaima~
Nino took a deep breath as he straightened his tie in front of the large mirror. To say that he was nervous would be an understatement. He was scared, and nervous, and he didn't know what to do. Taro sat in a carseat next to him watching him curiously, and that didn't really make Nino feel better. "I wish you would stop staring at me," he told him. "I'm going to court today for your sake, so don't look at me like I'm an alien. It scares me."
Taro didn't listen and just continued to stare at Nino until finally he ripped his tie off out of frusteration and threw it across the room. "This damn tie is getting me nowhere!"
Taro groaned sadly, and when NIno looked over he saw that Taro looked like he was about to cry. "Oh come on," Nino said. "Don't you get upset too." He quickly picked up Taro and rocked him back and forth a little to prevent any cries he was going to give off. "I know I'm upset too, but you don't have to cry because then I'll cry." Then he started singing. "'Zutto boku no takaramono sa okashii kurai kimi ga suki. Itsuka kimi ga waraeru nara, boku wa kokoro kara te wo furu yo'." Nino felt Taro get heavy then, and he knew that he had fallen asleep hearing Nino sing.
"Oi." Nino turned his head around and saw Ohno standing at the door quietly. "Is he asleep?"
Nino nodded and went to put him back down. "He seems to like it when I sing."
Ohno came over and stood next to him after picking up his tie off the floor. "By now he probably thinks you're his dad. Are you sure you're not going to adopt him?"
"I'm sure," Nino answered. "He'll be happier with someone else that will take care of him."
"Do you really believe that?"
Nino frowned before smiling at his best friend. "I'm sure," he said. "It'll be really hard to say goodbye, but it's something I have to do."
Ohno didn't say anything, but instead he stood in front of Nino, put his tie around Nino's neck under his collar, and began to tie it for him. Nino loved how Ohno took care of him like that. He was fully capable of tying his own tie, but whenever he needed a moment to calm down, Ohno was always there to help him calm down and to take care of him. Nino loved him for it, and he always felt a little bit warmer whenever Ohno was around.
When Ohno was done, he carefully went over to Taro and picked him up gently so that he fit into his arms. Taro didn't stir, and Nino imagined how warm Ohno was and how comfortable he was. "I feel sorry for him," he said suddenly, making Nino look from Taro to Ohno.
"Why?" Nino asked.
"Because," Ohno explained. "His mother didn't want him, so he was abandoned, only to be found by someone else who only has his interests in heart, and he's going to be given away again. It's sad the situation he's going through."
Nino frowned and began moving his fingers through Taro's small black hair. "But at least he's getting a family that will love him," he told him. "It's better than staying with his mother. It's a happy ending."
"I'm not saying that your decision's bad," Ohno confirmed looking at his friend. "I think it's great, I just feel bad that Taro has to move so much." After a few minutes of silence, he spoke up again. "Can we look after him today while you're gone?"
Nino nodded. "Yeah. Just be careful with him."
--
Nino was the first one to arrive at the judges' office. A few minutes after he introduced himself and sat down in a chair before the large oak desk, Ichige-san walked in and bowed before sitting down, excusing herself for arriving late.
"Let's just get to business," Judge Tanihara told the two once she sat down. "I am here to decide whether or not Ichige Rina-san should continue to have custody of her son, Taro."
"Anou," Nino spoke up nervously. "Taro isn't his real name. It's the name I gave him when I found him. I don't know his real name."
"Oh that's right," Judge Tanihara said. "Excuse me, I forgot about that. I've heard everyone call him Taro that I just forgot it wasn't his real name."
"His name is Shoichi," Ichige-san told him.
The judge looked down at some papers. "Actually, it says here on his birth certificate that his name is Shinichi."
Ichige-san looked taken aback at that statement.
"Now," the older man continued. "I want this meeting to take as less time as I can allow. I don't like long meetings, and I'm sure you two don't either. On Monday, I"m going to announce my decision about whether or not baby Ichige should go to his mother or to his caretaker. I want to take the time to hear from you two why you think you should have custody."
Nino let Ichige-san begin. "He's my son," she said. "I have every right to have him and raise him. It makes sense for his mother to raise him, not some famous Johnny's idol who doesn't know what he's doing half the time!" Nino wanted to laugh because that statement immediately made him think of Aiba. "I am his mother, and no one else should raise him but me."
Judge Tanihara looked at Nino. "Ninomiya-san, why do you think you should gain custody?"
"I believe that her son deserves better than what Ichige-san can give him," Nino said honestly. "I mean... I've been with him for a while, and everyday it seems that he becomes more and more amazing. He watches me like I've never seen anyone watch me, and he's so curious and seems so happy all the time. He's trying to teach himself how to smile, and it's fun to watch because I've never seen anyone struggle with smiling before. He deserves to have a family, and I want to try and give it to him. I want to try and find him a family so that he can be raised and so that he can grow up normal like he should."
"But it's not right that you should be the one to give it to him," Ichige-san spoke up looking at Nino. "Who are you to say that I won't provide him a home? A family? You don't know anything about me!"
Nino avoided looking at her and continued to look at the judge. "If you believe that I'm wrong in that, I'll respect you're decision."
"You have no right to take my son from me!" Rina pounced again. "You're just a kid who doesn't know anything about being a parent, and you think you can win? You're just as stupid as I thought."
--
"How'd it go?"
Nino sighed and sat down on the couch in the lounge, where the four other Arashi members surrounded him. "I lost," Nino said answering Ohno's question. "I'm convinced of it. I'm not related to Taro in any way, so how can I possibly win a battle that's not mine to fight? Besides, I have no idea how to win."
Everyone was quiet when they realized he was right. "But at least you tried," Sho replied. "At least that's better than doing absolutely nothing at all."
"You can't give up yet!" Matsujun exclaimed. "Not yet. You still have a few days. You can only give up when you hear the judges' decision on Monday."
"Right," Ohno said.
"Besides," Aiba smiled. "He might say we can have him! You never know."
Ohno put his arm around Nino to comfort him. It was usually what Nino did to him to help Ohno, but in times like this, Nino liked it when Ohno did it. It showed that he actually cared about him, just like everyone else did.
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so... I had a hard time writing this chapter.
not because it was hard (it wasn't really all that hard), but because the news about Aiba-chan really bummed me out.
I was NEARLY FINISHED with this chapter, and I was like 'yes! I'm gonna finish this today~ or hopefully by tomorrow!!' but the next day was the day I found about about Aiba-chan being in the hospital, so I didn't feel like writing this.
I wrote up my next chapter for 'Tears of Falling Stars' though... its a depressing chapter and I was in the mood. I couldn't get Aiba out of my head...
also, I started a new story with Ohno-chan~
and started an Arashi one shot collection
http://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/54206/a-5x-arashi-collection-arashi
thats what I did....
chapter 10 of 'Tadaima' is up and ready for comments~!!! tell me what you think, if you like it, if you hate it, all that fun stuff.
just because everyone loves Ohmiya =D
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