Arashi Fanfic: Snapshot - Chapter 3

And I'm back for my third fanfic installment! I hope you'd like this chapter. And so.. I'll just post this and leave to go somewhere and run an errand.. I really have to get internet access at home so I can post without worrying about anything..

Rina looked nervously at Jo as she shifted from her sitting position for the 'ump'-teenth time. Arashi and Johnny were already an hour and thirty minutes late and the rumors about Jo hating late comers are no rumor at all.. And Jo's face was a picture of utmost disapproval as of the moment. "Um.. Jo-chan.." Rina started only to receive raised right eyebrow as a reply. "Um.. Why don't you take a coffee or something to.. Erm.. Calm down.." At her suggestion, Jo simply nodded and stood up, leaving the area. 'Jo not speaking.. This is bad.. I prefer her to shout at me rather than keep quiet.. I don't have any idea what's in her mind..' Rina thought for herself as she took her mobile phone once more and contacted Johnny.

About 30 minutes or so away from Liason, Johnny picked up his phone and immediately fell into several fits of apologies. "I'm so sorry, Rina-kun.. The traffice is really bad and.." He stopped in midsentence and lowered his head in defeat. "Jo's quite irritated, neh?" He asked then gave another affirming reply. "Please do tell Jo we're sorry.." And he hanged up. He looked at Arashi who were sleeping soundly in their seats. 'They're positively exhausted.. I sure hope this meeting would go well..' He thought. Ten more minutes passed and Johnny finally gave in the urge. He leaned over his seat and talked to their ever-trusted 65-year-old driver. "Nato-san, can't we go a bit faster?" He asked only to get a shocked look from Nato.

"We're already going 10 miles an hour, Johnny-san.. That's dangerous.." At this reply, Nato shook his head. "People now-a-days.. Always in a hurry.." He then clucked his tongue then resumed on his 'safe' driving, leaving Johnny in a pool of nerves and anxiety on how Jo would react on this.

Thirty minutes passed as Jo walked along the hallways of the building. She got some of the needed booklets she would be using to study what theme would befit Arashi and Sakura's requirements. Her eyes landed on the nearest vending machine. 'Good thing there's something here that can calm me down..' She thought as she stopped in front of the machine and deposited several changes. 'If I knew it would end this way, I wouldn't have declined the meeting with Miata company..' She thought as she forcefully placed in the last change, causing the machine to sway a bit from her force.

She was referring to her other job as part time photographer. She was hired by Miata to take photos for their newest ad, concerning their new mobile product and a certian female model who would be suited for the said product. She chose her favorite drink; a canned coffee latte would always calm her down. She plucked the top off and started sipping the cold beverage. 'I know Arashi is busy and I definitely can understand if they were late for 45 minutes.. But.. Kami-sama! An hour and a half!' She took another sip of her coffee as she stopped by the window and glanced at the sight outside of the building. The garden outside was calming for Jo. Deciding that Rina would call her if Arashi and Johnny would arrive, she leaned her back on the wall and continued to glance outside of the window as she sipped her coffee, waiting for Rina's call.

Arashi finally arrived into the premises and was literally running like the wind towards the elevator, ignoring the surprised look they got from other people. "This is sooo embarassing.." Ohno complained as he stopped inside the elevator, panting since they ran from the 5th basement carpark and decided not to wait for the elevator to the studio lobby. "We're late and tired and sweaty.."

Johnny made a hand movement which indicated that they should stop complaining since there's nothing more they can do.. They're already late. He pressed 10th floor and waited impatiently as the elevator door opened once more. As soon as they stepped out, they fixed themselves and arranged their messy demeanor. Johnny lead the way as Arashi followed. Being the observant one that he is, Jun's eyes darted from one hall to another, as if memorizing the route to take just in case this Jo-person turned out to be the type who would eat people alive. He was about to turn on the last corner when his eye caught on something.. Or rather, a certain someone. Jun was known for his attitude of liking things which he finds amusing, beautiful or cute. He stopped dead on his tracks as he saw the figure leaning near the window looking outside.

The girl was wearing a simple white t-shirt and blue jeans. She donned on leather flat-strapped slippers and her hair fell on her left shoulder. There was nothing special with the way the girl dresses but it seemed like there was something about her which made Jun want to stay for a while. Since she was standing by the wall, Jun can only see from her side. He cannot clearly see her face since her raven hair was covering it. 'I wanna see..' He childishly thought as he moved a wee bit closer but stood at the wall which hid him from her sight. She was carrying booklets of sorts as she drank from her canned beverage. It was as if the heavens heard his plea, the girl raised her left hand and removed the hair which was obscuring her face and placed it over her right shoulder. Jun blinked as he saw her face.

The soft light from the florescent lamp above flattered her complexion. Her physique was normal for her age. Not too slim but not fat either. If Jun would have his way, he would gather his courage, get closer to her and pinch her cheeks. 'Eh?' Jun inwardly thought as images of him pinching her cheeks came into his mind. 'What the heck was that?' He asked himself as he shook his head to clear his thoughts. He looked at her as she raised the can to her lips and drained the liquid inside the can. Afterwards, she quickly dettached herself from the wall and threw the can into the bin. Jun was caught by surprise as she quickly turned around. Good thing that he was able to hide out of sight as she did so. She then passed him unnoticed, tucking the booklets close to her as she did so. "Whew.." He mumbled to himself as he released the breath he didn't realized he was holding. "I hope I can see her again while I'm working with Liason.."

"Maybe you can and maybe you can't.. She's quite kawaii, neh?"

Jun nodded absent-mindedly. "Hai.. She's really cute and.." He was cut short as he realized that he was finally speaking with someone. He quickly turned around to see Aiba grinning like an idiot at him. "You.. Saw.. Everything?" Jun asked, pointing at Aiba, who in turn, continued to grin stupidly and nodded.

"E-ve-ry-thing.." He slowly replied, implying that he had been there for quite some time now. "I never thought MatsuJun would hide and stare at a girl before.. OUCH!" Aiba was cut in mid-sentence as Jun gave him a sounding bop on the head. "Baka! That hurts!" He demanded as he rubbed at the aching spot on the back of his head.

Jun gave him a deadly glare. "Tell that to others and I'll do something a lot worse than that.." He threatened Aiba, receiving a frown from the older person. He then blinked as he realized something he should realize beforehand. "What are you doing here anyway?" He asked him.

"Baka.. The others went ahead.. I was going to borrow your phone and saw that you're not behind us.. So, I went back to find you.." He explained. "And.. I saw you here, drooling.." He was stopped mid-sentence as he saw Jun's glare. "Anyway.. Come on. Johnny's gonna get into a fit.."

It took them less than a minute when they saw Johnny glaring at them. "Come on." He simply said as he knocked three times and opened the door. What greeted him was a guy around his early twenties. "Ah.. We're so sorry we're late." He simply implied as he walked in and signaled Arashi to follow. They did what they were told to. The studio was typical. From the looks of the place, it seems like it was the receiving area since it had magazines, photo decorations, couches and a flat screen TV to entertain guests. As Arashi got in, Jun's eyes landed on the woman he saw before. Aiba smiled at this and whistled 'Happiness'. True enough, he was elbowed on the stomach by Jun who heard this. She was looking through the booklets she had before and looked up as soon as Johnny came in. "I'm Johnny.. I've already talked to your secretary about our arrival." He continued as he reached for the hand of the guy in front of him, who happened to look strangely unsure of what's happening.

As Johnny was talking, Jun noticed that the girl cutely blinked. She looked at the exchange between the two people. A woman with multi-colored hair appeared into the room and saw the whole exchange. "Ahh.." Johnny started as he took the woman's hand into a vigorous shake. "And you must be Rina. You are as charming as your voice suggested.." He crooned. Leave it to Johnny to flatter women. "I was introducing myself to Jo here." He started, indicating the person who he shook hands before. "And of course, this is Arashi." He introduced as the boys gave a polite bow. As soon as Jun straightened up, he caught the amused smile the girl gave. It was as if the whole scene was too interesting for her to take in.

Rina looked around, now looking as unsure as the guy before. Her eyes once again landed on the figure of the girl standing behind the person Johnny presumed as Jo. The girl simply shrugged and returned her attention to the booklet she was looking. She was scanning at the pages but for Jun and the rest of the Arashi gang, she was just doing it for the sake of doing something. It was quite obvious that she's listening to the conversation since her eyes held a glint of amusement and the corner of her lips started to move a wee bit upwards. "Um.. That's real good to hear and we are very glad that we finally able to meet demo.." Rina was stopped by Johnny once more.

"I know we have a lot of things to talk about but I cannot help but marvel on these photos here.. You, Jo.." Indicating again to the guy in front of him. "Really have eyes for nature.." Johnny then took a booklet from the girl's hand and smiled. "Ah.. 'Chocolat'.. Haruka gave me a copy of this and my boys are definitely awed by your works!" He added before placing the book once more into the pile the girl had. "Oh, you're the trainee right? Rina did mention that they have a trainee in Liason.." Johnny started and he was a bit shocked to find the girl turning her back at him, shoulders shaking as she braced her hand over the desk nearest to her. Her shoulders were moving slightly as she raised her right hand to cover her mouth. Johnny, not wanting to be pissed at such small act, decided to continue the conversation. He gave a cough to clear his throat then continued the conversation. "Um.. I hope the tasks they give you are not difficult.. And you're name is..?" Johnny asked and to the surprise of the whole group, the girl suddenly laughed. Her laugh was something Jun finds amusing. She was really laughing uncontrollably, holding her stomach in the process. "Did I said something funny?" Johnny asked, a bit irritated at the action of the trainee, who in turn, if possible, laughed even harder.

Rina was caught in the middle. She was trying to decided what action to take. One, to calm Johnny who looked like he was about to throw a fit or, calm the trainee who was laughing like there's no tomorrow. At the same moment, Makoto arrived into the room, carrying a folder. He stopped midway as he saw Arashi then beamed at them, giving a polite bow, which Arashi returned. It was obvious that he was restraining himself from jumping at them. The manner he looked at them made Nino hide behind Sho. He walked past them with such poise but his face held a look of surprise at the scene which greeted him. He shook it off and walked towards Rina, giving her a piece of paper. "These are the invitations for the wedding party we have to shoot next week." He simply said then moved towards the only laughing person in the room. "I've been looking all over for you, Jo-chan!" He demanded as he opened the folder. "You forgot to sign this one. Good thing I saw it before I head to Narita!" He added. "Tomi, hold this for me." He simply instructed the guy whom Johnny presumed as Jo and gave him a certain pile of documents. He then continued to stride until he was in front of the laughing trainee. "Now, will you sign this for me, JO-CHAN?!" He asked impatiently as he pushed the documents in front of the presumed trainee. "And why the heck are you laughing?!" The question caused Jo to fall into more fits of hysterical laughter.

A resounding "EEEHHH?!?!" filled the room. All came from Liason's newest clients.

Jo continued to laugh for a second more before composing herself. "I think you do have met Rina." She started, nodding at the woman who Johnny correctly assumed as Jo's personal secretary. Rina smiled and gave a small bow of acknowledgment. "This person here.." Placing a hand over Makoto's back. "Is Liason's fashion coordinator and graphic designer. Makoto Fumisaka. Mako for short." The person gave a girly like wave to Arashi which made Nino shiver visibly and it's not from delight. "As you can surmise, he's a she so, take my advice and do stay away unless you want to get harassed." At this, Mako gave a strong nudge on Jo's side then frowned. Arashi smiled at the action, seeing that the two of them are close enough that they can openly joke in front of clients. "The person Johnny-san talked to was Tomi Kobayashi, Liason's trainee and.." She gave a small bow and smiled. "I'm Josephine Anne Sashika. Some people call me JA but I prefer to be called as Jo.. Don't let my name fool you. Though I think it'll be too late for apologies.." She explained, laughing a bit as she recalled their expressions. "Yoroshiku!" She greeted and gave another polite bow.

"WHAAAA.." Johnny commented and Arashi was stunned into silence. "I.. I.. I can't.. They.. They said.. You're too young!" Johnny said. The only thing Jo can comprehend was the last sentence. At this scene, Jun was the first one to recover from it and laughed. Soon enough, the others followed suite.

"You looked really young for a professional.. The Jo Sashika we were expecting was a guy with glaring eyes and bad temper." Jun admitted, receiving a nudge from Ohno. Jun then realized what he said is very unbecoming for an Arashi member. Realizing his mistake, he took an apologetic bow then bit his lower lip. "Gomen.. I have this habit of telling people what I think.."

Jo smiled at this and shook her head. "It's quite alright.. Well, what you said are true in some areas.." She admitted. "I do tend to get easily irritated and I'm very frank so no need to worry on what I might think.. I'm a very open person." She assured them. "But.. On the young professional thing.. I think you guys became professionals earlier than I did.. So.. No need to be surprised.." She complimented them. "But.. Really.. Your expressions are priceless.. If only I had my camera with me, I would've captured that moment!" At her retort, they all laughed. Rina and Tomi relieved that Jo was able to regain her light mood.

As they all controlled their laughter, Jo smiled. "I have to admit I was positively pissed from the fact that you made us wait for two hours.." She stopped as she saw Johnny and Arashi's face fell. "But.. All was forgotten since you got me into this really great mood." She admitted. "Welcome to Liason and I hope we can all work together without any problems." She then looked at Jun. She was a bit surprised that he was not simply looking at her but merely staring. She brushed her thoughts off, thinking that he was just surprised from the fact that Jo was actually a girl. She gave him a small smile which he returned in a good natured manner. "Shall we get started?" She finally asked them as she opened the door to the area's conference room.