Title: The Nakai Curse

Author: Kyoko_godaikun

Genre: Drama

Pairing: Hina/Maruyama

Rating: PG

Summary: Maruyama has a secret that he has only shared with one person in the group.

 

***********************

Kanjani 8 was filming an episode of their TV show. They had a food expert on their show. One that insisted on using the English names for some very common foods. Maruyama had finally graduated from just being a member of Kanjani 8 to being the co presenter with Hina.

Maruyama had gotten very confused during the program and his confusion had made him ask questions that were to put it mildly strange. He didnt' feel like it was his fault. He had been given a paper with back ground material for the show that he was supposed to study. The only problem was the paper was in kanji and Maru couldn't read Kanji.

The group was gathered around a table. The food expert was in the middle talking to Hina about different types of beans.

"What is this called?" Hina asked the expert.

"This is kidney beans." the woman told the group.

"Is there kidneys in kidney beans?" Maruyama asked.

The group stared at him; Ryo couldn't help but suppress a snigger.

"There aren’t any kidneys in kidney beans." She told him.

"Then why are they called kidney beans?" Maru persisted.

"Why don't we move onto chick peas," The guest suggested.

"Is there chickens in chick peas?" Maru asked.

Maru felt hands pull him away from his spot. Yoko whacked him over the head. He felt himself pushed to the end of the group beside Shota.

"Maru, keep your mouth shut!" Shota told him. "If you keep on talking we'll have to refilm the episode."

"I will,” Maru promised.

The guest began to talk to Hina and Subaru. Hina looked at Maru, sadness in his eyes. He was a professional, so he went on with the show as if nothing had happened. Maru knew his friend had to be angry. It had been Hina's intervention that got Maru the co-host position. He knew he had let down Hina.

Maru smiled as if being replaced as the co-host didn’t matter to him. He had lost his chance of being a co presenter. He hated himself and he hated his disability.

*****************

Maruyama knew he would be teased when he got back to the dressing room. So he smiled at the teasing, though he felt like crawling under the dressing room table.

"Are there kidney's in Kidney beans?" Ryo mocked.

"Maru, why on earth did you think that there are kidneys in kidney beans?" Shota asked.

"It sounded like there could be." Maru tried to ignore the teasing by his band mates as he shoved his things in his bag.

"My favorite is when you asked the guest if there was chicken in chick peas." Ryo snorted.

"Why do you have to be so stupid?" Yoko asked.

"You didn't even read the material that they gave us about the guest." Subaru chided. "You have to be prepared."

"Sorry, I was busy last night." Maru apologized.

"At least you didn't trip over everything." Shota told him. "So it wasn't a total disaster."

A PA came into the room and told them that the van was there. Everyone left, except for Shota, who waited with Maruyama.

"Are you coming?" Shota asked. "We're going to your favorite karaoke spot."

"No, sorry." Maru told him. "I don't feel like singing tonight."

"How will you get home?"

"I'll ask Hina for a lift." Maru told him. "I want to spend some time here going over the material for tomorrow's show."

Shota hesitated for a moment before nodding. "All right, see you tomorrow."

"See you," Maru looked down to his bag. He waited until the rest of the group left.

******************

While Maruyama was as smart as the rest of the group, he had never learned something as simple as reading Kanji. He had never really discussed it with the rest of the group. He really didnt' think it was there business. Besides, they would think of him even more stupid then they thought now. So instead of telling the group his problem he faked it. Usually his friend would tell him what he couldn't read.

Maruyama picked up the piece of paper that they had been given for the next days show. While he could make out some words, most of it looked like nonsense to him. He wanted to study it, though he would never be co host again.

He could hear the door to the bathroom open. Then Hina came into the room. "What are you reading?"

"I was trying to figure out what will be on the show we are filming tomorrow." Maru admitted. "But there's too much Kanji."

"Let me help you," Hina took the paper from him. He read it out loud to Maruyama.

Maru listened very carefully, usually if he could hear it once, he could remember. Hina was the only one in the group that knew about his problem, his disability as it had been called in school. It was the reason he was such a klutz and couldn't remember things.

"Do you need me to read it again?" Hina asked.

"No, I got it the first time." Maru smiled sadly. "Thanks for doing this for me."

"I'm sorry I couldn't help you with today's show." Hina told him.

'It's all right, you had work." Maru told him.

"You need to tell the group about your disability." Hina suggested. "I think they would understand."

"They think I am dumb now. They'll only think I'm stupid if I tell them."

"You don't know that."

"That's what everyone else had thought when they find out." Maru said ashamed. "Dyslexia, what kind of word is that? Look how everyone looks at Akanishi. We were in the same special class at school. I don't want to be seen that way."

"All right, if that's what you want." Hina decided.

"It's how it has to be." Maru told him. "It's all right. I'd rather everyone think I'm a forgetful klutz instead of someone who had to attend special classes all of his life because he was learning disabled."

"Your disability is what brought us together." Hina reminded him. "I earned extra money being your tutor."

"So is that all I am to you, a job?" Maru smiled at Hina. "Since I've gotten out of school I've forgotten to pay you."

"But you pay me every day." Hina put his arms around the younger man's waist.

"How is that?" Maru asked.

"You pay me with your love." Hina kissed him gently on the lips.

"No love is something I give you because I do love you." Maruyama told his lover.

"Love you too Ryuhei." Hina pulled away from him and took his bag. "Why don't you come home with me tonight? We could study our lines together."

"Sounds good to me." Maruyama couldn't help but smile at Hina. His lover, the only one that understood him.

Just then Maru realized someone was watching them. Shota was standing in the door of the dressing room. Hina stood between Maru and Shota protectively. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see if Maru had changed his mind about going out with us." Shota told him.

"What did you hear?" Hina demanded.

"Enough to know that we have to tell the rest of the group." Shota decided.

"I can't have everyone thinking I'm retarded." Maru told him.

"But what you have is a disability..." Shota told him.

"How would you know?" Maru demanded. "People making fun of you because you can't' read!"

"I can't read Kanji." Shota admitted. "Baru-Chan has to read my scripts for me."

"You expect us to believe it?"

Subaru came into the dressing room. "What's taking you so long?"

"I was telling them how I can't read kanji." Shota told them.

"Why would you do that?" Subaru asked Shota. "It's a secret."

"Maru's like me." Shota said softly.

"How can he be like you?" Subaru reached out, taking Shota's hand. "He's able to read Kanji. I've seen him."

"Hina's always told me what's on the paper." Maru admitted. "If I can hear it, I can usually remember it."

"I know you've always wanted me to hide my disability. That everyone would laugh at me. But I don't think that that's a good thing." Shota told his lover. "I think we need to tell the group about me."

"They might not understand." Subaru insisted.

"If we don't teach them about my disability, how will they ever be able to understand?"

"What about you Maru? Are you going to tell anyone?" Subaru said hostilely.

"Everyone thinks I'm an idiot, so I don’t' see what it would hurt to tell them." Maru decided.

**********************

An hour later, the members of Kanjani 8 sat in a private karaoke room. There were beer cans on the table, but as yet no one had drunk anything. Subaru, Shota, Maru and Hina sat on the same large couch.

"We have a secret." Shota told the group. "Ryuhei and I have a secret."

"What kind of secret?" Yoko asked.

"Don't tell me, you're running away together." Ryo smirked.

"Hush Ryo-Chan," Ohkura whispered to his friend.

"I wanted to tell you I'm sorry about today." Maru began. "It was my fault. I wasn't able to read the information paper about our guest."

"You mean you forgot?" Yoko guessed.

"No, I couldn't read it." Maru looked at his hands. "This is so hard to tell you...."

Maru felt Hina's hand on his arm. "Just tell the truth."

"What kind of truth?" Ryo demanded.

"The information paper was in Kanji. I can't read Kanji." He admitted. "I have a learning disability."

"I have it too," Shota told the group. "I can't read Kanji either."

"The Nakai curse," Yoko said.

"What?"

"It seems like since Nakai sempai came out about his not being able to read kanji that the agencies filled with those who can't read it." Yoko said.

"In Kanjani 8 there are just me and Maru who can't read Kanji," Shota said.

Yoko pulled something out of his jacket pocket and handed it to Maru. "This is my script for tomorrow. They type it up special since I can't read kanji."

Maru looked at the script which had been written in hiragana. "How did you get this?"

"You just have to ask and they'll give it to you." Ryo told him. “All of my scripts are made special for me.”

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't know you needed it did I?" He sneered.

"No more secrets." Ohkura decided. "If we need help, we should ask for it."

"Even if we're afraid?" Shota asked.

"Especially then." Hina took his hand. "Together we are stronger."

"You're right, we are." Maru decided.

"Let's party." Subaru opened a can of beer. "I think we all deserve it."

The group members picked up catalogs of karaoke songs and started going through them. Suddenly everything seemed to be normal between them.

Maru looked at Hina who smiled at him. "What do you want to sing first?"

"It doesn’t matter." Maru couldn't help but smile back.

Yoko picked out a song and as the tune began to play the rest of the group began to sing along. United, together.

No one noticed when Hina kissed Maru. The younger man only smiled and kissed his lover back.