Magical Storm: Chapter 6

[matsu1nino]

Title: Magic Storm
Pairing: Matsumiya, hints of other pairings
Genre: AU, Dark Fantasy
Disclaimer: Arashi is not mine.
Summary: In their fifth year at Hogwarts, amdist the buzz and excitement of the upcoming Tri-Wizard Tournament, Jun discovers just how far he will go to salvage his relationship with Nino.
Author's Note: Was very tempted to wait longer before posting tonight's chapter. I hope you got your heart ready for this.

Chapter 6

Excitement reigned throughout the walls of Hogwarts castle the night of the Yule Ball. Students were expressing much anticipation as they moved across the courtyard and down the corridors to the Great Hall where the ball was being held.

Clad in his sleek black and well-fitting robes lined with purple silk, Jun was the picture of sophistication and elegance, or at least would have been if not for the blatant irritation marking his features as he waited in the Gryffindor common room. He tapped his foot impatiently as his gaze constantly drifted to the portrait entrance. He was honestly surprised it was taking Ohno so long to get dressed when it was usually himself who took the most time getting ready. Finally his friend appeared at the top of the stairwell, a finger caught in his bowtie that was very messily done up.

“Sorry, slight complication” he explained even though the issue seemed pretty clear. Despite wearing a necktie every school day for the past five years, Ohno still struggled to figure out the difference of how to knot them. Jun rolled his eyes and assisted his friend, making short work of the bow before dragging Ohno out of the common room. They should already be down at the Great Hall by now. As a champion, Jun knew he was required to be there a little earlier as they were to lead the dancing. He hoped Mao was aware of this and waiting for him.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, he was pleased to see Mao was indeed already waiting with Yuriko beside her. The Hufflepuff girl gave a smile and sauntered over in her sleeveless white gown.

“You look nice” Jun complimented while Ohno bowed politely at the two girls.

Yuriko looked around, hair falling behind her to reveal the floral design stitched into the scarlet neckline of her one-shouldered dress. “Eh, where’s Ninomiya-san?” she asked as Mao took Jun’s arm.

“He should be here soon” Ohno answered on Jun’s behalf, having seen the way Jun narrowed his eyes at the mention of Nino.

As if on que, said Slytherin rounded the corner of the corridor with Aiba and Sho closely behind him. It seemed Ohno was not the only one who was having minor wardrobe malfunctions. Aiba’s pant legs stopped a good few centimetres above his ankles to give the appearance that he’d outgrown them, despite his protests that it was the intended style.

Nino paced forward, grabbing Yuriko’s arm somewhat rougher than he meant to and tugged her inside the hall without so much as a word. Though as he passed Jun, a viciously stony glare set upon his features.

“Come on” Jun muttered more to himself than his partner. “Let’s get this over with.”

He led Mao to the area where the champions and their dates were waiting. With the others already lined up, Jun and Mao took their place behind Sakamoto and a girl Jun did not recognize. He assumed it was one of the Beauxbaton girls. As they lined up, the other champions turned briefly to acknowledge their fellow competitor joining them. Takeuchi smiled sweetly at Jun, her eyes seeming almost iridescent under the millions of fairy lights decorating the hall.

There was no time to be distracted by her as the doors opened soon after and the champions strode into the gallery. All eyes were on the three pairs as they took their positions, the musicians readying themselves to begin playing. Jun placed his hand upon Mao’s waist, maintain just the slightest distance between them that would allow for graceful moment. The classical ballad of the strings ricocheted through the hall as the champions danced, stepped and swirled in synchronization. Jun lifted Mao with ease as he twirled upon his heel, placing her back down in time to step together as a heavier bass undertone was added to the song. It was at this moment that others in the room began to join in the dance.

Aiba practically ran to the centre of the ballroom with his Becky right by his side. His movements were clumsy and uncoordinated, made worse by his flagrant overexcitement. Regardless of continuously stepping on Becky’s toes and mismatching his steps with hers, both were grinning almost idiotically the whole time. From the corner of his eye, Jun spotted a pretty young woman drag a whining Sho up out of his chair to join the other dancers. She was unfamiliar but not all that difficult to imagine in a Beauxbaton uniform. Her elegant movement certainly matched that of the performance the girls had given upon their arrival, in spite of the awkward stiffness of her partner as he tried to keep from slipping or bumping into anyone else.

Nino observed the dancers and his friends as they were dragged away one by one to the subsequent humiliation that was sure to come by stepping foot on that dancefloor, fully aware that Yuriko was tugging on his arm to try and coerce him to dance as well. The space beside him became emptier as he caught sight of Ohno walking hand in hand with someone who looked an awful lot like the third year Hufflepuff Ishihara Satomi. Finally Nino caved to Yuriko’s demands and allowed himself to be led to a vacant space between the pairs, to which the two of them quickly fell into a similar rhythm of steps and twirls. It wasn’t long before he decided to retire to the back of the hall close to the exit.

Jun was admittedly a little relieved when Mao’s heel slip on the polished floor and broke. He offered his shoulder for her to lean on as she hobbled away from the crowd of dancing people, inquiring if she had hurt herself once they had taken a seat near the refreshments table. Mao shook her head with a sheepish smile and removed her other shoe.

She sighed, knowing there was no way she could spend the remainder of the evening with only one functioning shoe. She murmured her apology before trotting barefoot out of the hall. Jun leant back against his seat, guessing she would be back later once she had changed shoes but knowing it would likely be some time before he saw his date again. All in all, the night was turning out to be a huge disappointment. Jun had hoped that he would at least be able to enjoy the evening with his boyfriend, regardless of whether they were each other’s dates or not. Instead he was sitting at a table alone.

Sho hurried over to the refreshments table with his face looking rather flushed. He noticed Jun on his own nearby, approaching him with two drinks in his hand.

“Where’s your date?” he asked between breaths. He wasn’t used to such vigorous dancing.

Jun looked up at him and shrugged. “Mao broke her heel. She’s gone to get a different pair.” Sho nodded understandingly as he took a seat beside him. “Who’s the girl you’re with?”

Sho followed his gaze to where it was resting on his partner. “Keiko-chan” Sho said with a slight sigh. Jun was clearly shocked to learn he’d managed a date on his own after all his other failed attempts. They had met in the library. Sho had been searching for an advance Defences textbook when he ran into Keiko, who at the time had been helping Takeuchi research the second task. As they got to talking, one thing led to another and Sho blurted out the invitation. Truthfully Sho was just as stunned she had agreed to go with him as his friends seemed to be.

Sho looked up as Keiko waved him over. Grinning, he bid Jun farewell and went to re-join his date, handing her one of the drinks he had been holding.

Alone again, Jun allowed himself to become lost in his thoughts once more. He failed to notice Takeuchi-san leave the dancefloor with her partner. Spotting her fellow champion sitting alone, she excused herself from her date and walked over to him.

“What’s someone like you doing here sulking all alone?” she said in a pouty almost teasing tone. “Shouldn’t you be enjoying yourself?” Jun opened his eyes, surprised to see her standing in front of him. He quickly got to his feet.

“I wasn’t sulking” he denied.

Takeuchi smiled. “Sure you weren’t. What happened to that pretty girlfriend of yours?”

“Shoe emergency” he replied, “and she’s not my girlfriend.”

“How come? You look good together.”

Jun hesitated to find an appropriate response. This was the first proper conversation he’d held with the Beauxbaton champion. The only other verbal contact they’d had with each other had been polite words of wishing each other good fortune before the task. It wasn’t any of her business to be asking him such questions and while a part of Jun was telling him not to answer, it was nice to have someone show interest like this. Though that feeling may have had something more to do with the fact that the person showing interest in him was his boyfriend’s obsession.

“Let’s just say she’s not my type” he said, running a hand through his hair. Takeuchi didn’t press the matter further. Jun prayed for a change the topic as he poured them both a drink.

“How are you coping? You know, with the tasks and everything” she asked, taking a sip from the glass he offered her.

Jun tipped his head questioningly. “What do you mean?”

“You just seem rather young to be competing in such contests.” Jun opened his mouth to argue with yet another person judging his capabilities when Takeuchi cut him off. “Don’t get me wrong, from what I’ve seen you’re handling the physical aspects of the challenges superbly. It’s the psychological side that has me worried. You’ve seemed disconcerted.”

Jun was taken aback a little by the level of concern he heard in her voice. Unlike the worry he’d seen from his friends and even some of his professors, which had been centred on his safety, Takeuchi was showing a strangely kind concern that focused on his state of mind. It made Jun wonder just how long she had been watching him to notice his suffering.

“I’m fine” he assured, shrugging off all contradictions of his proclamation.

Takeuchi nodded acceptingly, “In that case may the best champion win.” Her hand grazed his jawbone and she leant in to him, her lips touching ever so lightly against his cheek. Jun was momentarily stunned by the unexpected gesture. Without thinking, he turned his head into the kiss. Jun heard Takeuchi gasp against his mouth but his mind was too far gone to draw it back. The kiss only last for a few seconds but with the heat and intensity Jun had managed to create by bringing their lips together, it was enough to draw out all perceptions of time.

Nino stared ahead at the scene playing out before him. His whole body had frozen, his feet cemented to the floor even as his legs threatened to give out. There was a stinging at the back of his eyes as his vision started to blur, a catch in his throat that restricted his ability to breathe like a fist tightening around his throat. Choking back the tears threatening to fall at any moment, he forced himself to spin around and rush out of the hall.

Jun drew away from Takeuchi with a gasp as the realization of what he was doing set in. He stared blankly ahead of him. Her kiss had been nothing more than a social peck on the cheek, a polite gesture between two champions that held no romantic insinuation whatsoever, yet he’d transformed it into something lewd and utterly vile. Already the guilt was building within him. It felt as though he’d just been punched repeatedly in the stomach. He wanted to throw up but there nothing but dryness in his throat. Takeuchi was faced away from him, her fingers brushing over her bottom lip. She too seemed stunned about what had just occurred between them.

“Takeuchi-san, I…” Jun started, trying to find the right words. His voice broke a little in his attempt to articulate an apology of some sort. Takeuchi shook her head in a casual dismissal of the incident but her eyes revealed how distant she was. Bowing to her, Jun retreated to the nearest exit of the hall that led him out into the courtyard. Breathing in the cool refreshing air, he leant up against a pillar and buried his face in his hands. He really couldn’t believe he had done that.

---

Aiba caught sight of Nino fleeing from the Great Hall, panic arising at what could have caused him to leave in such a hurry. He whispered a quick apology to Becky and ran out after him. He managed to catch up with his friend midway down the passage that led from the Great Hall to the lower levels of the castle. Nino whipped around as Aiba caught him, pounding on his chest with his fists as he struggled to breathe. Aiba wrapped his arms around the body that was trembling violently.

“Nino” he tried to make his voice reach his friend who was in such obvious distress. “Nino, what happened?”

“I hate him” Nino cried against Aiba’s chest. He continued to repeat those words even as they turned to indecipherable weeping. There was nothing Aiba could think of to say in return. He held Nino closer, rocking him gently as he racked his brain for what could have possibly happened. In all the years they’d known each other, Aiba had never seen Nino cry. He knew his little friend hated showing that supposedly weak side of himself to others. To see him now, so broken and fragile like a lost child, made worse by the fact that he looked so much smaller in his arms, Aiba was at a loss as to what to do.

Comments

[nekom1ya.livejournal.com]

OMG I WAS RIGHTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!! AAAAHHHH BUT I HATE TO BE RIGHTTT TT______TT why oh why do I have to be right....
I just didn't expect that it was jun who initiate it D: I don't know how I feel about that.... my heart is shattering into pieces, it feels soo soo heartbreaking ugggghhhhhh..... aiba-chan please please comfort him.. and jun-kun get yourself together please.. please go to your bf and explain it.. but tbh idk how he can explain this one cause he initiated it ;( that's a bit cruel... I feel so lost somehow and so sad.. sobs... TT___TT