Note: Yabu is my first love of JUMP so I wanted to write something in which he was straight for a change. Don't worry Hikaru, and Takaki and Inoo and Jin and Chinen, and Daiki, and Yuto, and Ryutaro, and Keito, and Yamada, and Shoon, I'll give him back to you soon. ^_^. XD

~*~Angel Come To Me~*~

I still remember that day. It was bright, sunny, and warm despite the October air, and Hikaru was totally enthusiastic and hyper as we walked to school together. I however, for some reason unknown, was expecting something to go wrong. Maybe it was because I woke up that morning to find Hikaru's foot in my face; he stayed the night, and somehow managed to spill hot chocolate all over the extra futon we had, so he had to sleep with me. It's superstitious of me, but, if I don't wake up comfortable and well rested something always goes wrong.

I shared this concern with Hikaru and he merely laughed at me.

"You worry too much," he said. "It's a beautiful day outside! How can anything go wrong? Now if we were dull and gray than maybe I could understand your point of view."

I smiled. He was right. I was worrying way too much. I put the thought at the back of my mind and the two of us continued to school.

~*~

So far my day had been fine. Lunch was delicious, class was simple enough, and I only received one homework assignment, so my mind was at ease.

Things took a turn for the worst at practice.

Ya-Ya-Yah was going over a medley we would be performing on Shounen Club. After doing a run through of it, I set a video camera on top of the television set and recorded us performing it full out. I then played the tape and the four of us critiqued each other. We pointed out areas that were both good and bad, and no one got offended. It was a mark of how far we had come as a group. And I was proud of us.

Just as Hikaru and Shoon had begun to tease Taiyou about his newly found self confidence, someone entered the room.

"Good afternoon, to the four of you."

"Good afternoon, Staff-san."

"Johnny-san wants to see Yabu and Hikaru in his office."

Hikaru and I glanced at each other. I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach. Here it was.

'Staff-san' however, laughed.

"Don't worry," he said. "You're fine."

I was relieved. On the walk to the office I began to think about what we were summoned for. Could it be a drama, a new segment of Ya-Ya-Yah, an appearance on Music Station?

Hikaru and I sat down in the two chairs in front of Johnny-san's desk feeling nervous yet excited. What would he say?

He smiled at us.

"I've been thinking," he said. "And I've decided that YOU will debut."

I couldn't believe my ears. This was too good to be true!

"Really, Johnny-san?" I replied, my voice cracking. "Ya-Ya-Yah will debut?"

However, Johnny-san shook his head.

"No," he said. "Only the two of you will be Ya-Ya-Yah's part of the debut."

I was right. It was too good to be true. I had been lured into a false sense of security.

"Are you not happy?" Johnny-san asked.

"N-no, I am," I said quickly and Hikaru nodded furiously in agreement. "I'm just . . . shocked. That's all."

Johnny-san smiled.

"I can understand that," he said. "A debut is quite a huge thing. But, you must keep it a secret from your family and friends. I want it to be a surprise."

"What about Shoon and Taiyou?" Hikaru asked, struggling to keep his voice steady. "Can they know?"

"Of course," Johnny-san replied. "I'm sure they'll be happy for you. But they must keep it a secret as well."

"Who else is in the group, Johnny-san?" I asked. Talking continuously was the best way for me to remain calm.

"For now, that is also is a surprise," Johnny-san replied. "You'll know who your fellow members are when group activities begin."

I nodded.

"That's all," he said and Hikaru and I bowed as we walked out.

When we closed the door we simply stood in front of it.

"Kota, this is great right?" Hikaru said, quietly. "I mean I should be happy but –"

"– I know," I said. "I know exactly how you feel. For years we've been working towards this. And now that we have it –"

"– it's bittersweet," Hikaru finished.

I nodded.

"And more bitter than sweet," I said. "Now, we have to tell them."

Hikaru and I went back to the dressing room to see that Shoon and Taiyou were still practicing. That made me feel even worse that I had to be the bearer of bad news.

"So Kota, what did Johnny-san say?" Shoon asked.

I took a deep breath.

"He said that . . . that Hikaru and I would be debuting. He wouldn't tell us when this would happen, what the group name was, or who the other members were. But we're still not allowed to tell anyone outside the company."

For two seconds, Shoon and Taiyou showed signs of disbelief. Then, those looks changed into crest fallen faces for two more brief seconds.

Those crest fallen faces then changed quickly into smiles.

"Congratulations!" Shoon exclaimed.

"I'm very happy for both of you," Taiyou replied, grinning.

Hikaru and I simply nodded.

"Well, umm . . . let's go back to rehearsing," I said, and Taiyou hit the boom box once more.

It wasn't the same.

Sure our team work remained the same. But, now it was as if a giant wall were between us. I was so relieved when practice ended.

Usually, I walked home with Hikaru or someone else in the Jimusho. But today, I wanted to be alone. Hikaru could tell, and so he walked home with Daiki and Takaki. I didn't go home. I didn't want to. No one was home, and the silence would be deafening. So, my feet lead me to the park.

I sat down on the park bench and sighed, putting my head in my hands.

How could this happen?  And why didn't I stop it? As leader I should have said something. I should've told Johnny-san that it was unfair. For five whole years we had worked our butts off for this! Hikaru's voice was developing wonderfully and he was livelier than before. Shoon was our cool element and his dancing and acrobatics hyped our performances. And Taiyou . . . Taiyou was so much more confident. He no longer looked like he wanted to flee from the stage. We had come so far.

It was then that I realized I was crying. Two tears had fallen on my jeans. They were followed by another and another, and a sob. And before I knew it, I was bawling in the center of the park, not caring who saw me. I cried until my chest was hurting, and even then I kept going.

Ten minutes, I stopped and took a deep breath.

"Kou-chan?"

I felt my lungs drop into my stomach. I looked up to see Sato Nozomi, a friend of mine from my years in school. She was African American but born in Japan and lived in America for her first five years of elementary school. She moved back in our first year of middle school. I furiously wiped my eyes and said a soft "Hello Nozomi-chan.

Nozomi sat down on the bench next to me.

"You know, you don't have to pretend that you weren't crying, Kota," she said. "I still think you're a tough guy."

I chuckled.

"Do you want to talk about it? If you don't mind, I mean," she added quickly.

"Though I know I can trust you, I'm not allowed to discuss it. All I can say is that it's quite an emotional blow."

Nozomi nodded and her black hair shook slightly as she did so.

"I assume it has something to do with the Jimusho."

I nodded.

"And it's something you weren't expecting at all."

"Right again."

"Well then . . . you'll get through it."

I looked at her. She laughed.

"It sounds lame doesn't it?"

"Well . . . yeah," I admitted.

"I know. I suck at cheering people up. But, it's all you can do, isn't it? As long as I've known you, you've never let anything get you down, so don't start now. Get through it, and something good will come of it."

I nodded.

"So while you're waiting for it, be cheerful!" she exclaimed and I laughed at her change in mood.

"Thank you for listening, Nozomi-chan," I said, smiling.

"I'm just glad I could be of some kind of help," she said. "I'll always lend an ear to you Kota, even if you just wanna vent, okay?"

I smiled.

"I'll take you up on that offer," I told her.

She smiled and stood up, brushing her uniform skirt. She turned to me.

"Wanna get a milkshake?" she said. "I have a craving for one."

I smiled and stood up.

"Sounds good to me," I replied, extending my arm. She smiled and slid her arm through mine so that we were linked.

As we continued down the block, Nozomi led the conversation, and I simply listened, everyone once in a while commenting on the subject matter. Just listening to Nozomi talk a mile a minute made me happy. Her energy was infectious and before long I felt better.

I looked up at the sky. Hikaru was right; it was a beautiful day outside. I took another glance at Nozomi, who had a now launched into the topic of video games.

Beautiful indeed.

The End

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I hope you liked it!