Reality as I see it

[NOT FIC] Just a little update~

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 15:47:35 GMT

Sorry sorry sorry!

This isn't a fic update, but I just want to let you all know that I just finished my JLPT exam today, so I'll be working on TWH sometime this coming week. Hopefully, if I work fast, there'll be an update this coming week itself. At the very latest, expect a TWH update sometime next week before I go off on holiday again on Friday for the weekend.

Also, since Christmas is coming soon, I was thinking of sending out cards for those of you who want to get a card from me. It's just kinda my way of saying thanks for all the support and comments you take the time out to leave me.

Comments are screened, so just leave me a comment with your mailing address if you want a card~ <strike>and a little something extra included in it (^_~)</strike>

[Akame] The Way Home (Multi-Chapter) ~ Chapter 10

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 07:42:35 GMT

Title: The Way Home (Chapter 10)

Pairing: Jin/Kame, Kame/OC

Rating: G.

Disclaimer: Do I look like an old man who owns a company full of sexy young boys to you? For the record, no.

Summary: Kamenashi Kazuya is on the receiving end of a backlash from his guest appearance on Mr. Brain. An accident happens that robs him of his memory. Now in a new place with a new name, will he find his way back? Will AT-TUN ever see him again?

A/N: Flashbacks are in italic.

Jin’s heartbeat pounded in his ears as his feet pounded the asphalt. Indignant cries rang out behind him as he pushed his way through the crowd, but he paid them no attention. The sun was beginning to set, and he had wasted another day not seeing Kame.

As he pushed past the last group of passengers, he emerged from the east gate of the train station. He took a deep breath before breaking out into another sprint.

Disgruntled commuters glared at him until he turned the corner. As they turned their gazes away, the familiar pounding of footsteps made them raise their eyebrows as Jin came back from the corner to run in the completely opposite direction.

“I’m Jin. Where the hell is the house?” they heard him snap into the cellphone he had pressed to his right ear. “I’m on my way. Keep Kame there!”

“Jin? Kame?” a few of the teenage girls eyes widened when they heard the names. “Akanishi Jin?! Kamenashi Kazuya?!” they screeched, reaching for their mobile phones.

~*~

“Marry me!” Koki exclaimed, eyes closed in bliss as the flavours exploded in his mouth.

Ryu laughed heartily and playfully smacked the KAT-TUN rapper on the head. “I’m getting married, but not to you,” he shook a finger at Koki’s hopeful expression.

Groaning dramatically, Koki threw himself onto Ueda, who shoved him to Maru. The beatboxer tsked, but allowed Koki to continue with the dramatics.

“Yucchi! He rejected me! Why?! Aren’t I good enough? I’d worship the very air he breathed. His one smile would be enough to sustain me for a year without sunlight.”

Ryu laughed out loud at Koki, while the other looked slightly disturbed. “Oh, Koki. You’re so amusing,” Ryu said, spooning another helping of fried rice onto Koki’s plate.

While Koki attacked the fried rice, Ueda and Maru exchanged glances. The beatboxer cleared his throat hesitantly. “Uhm, Ryu?”

“Mm-hmm?” Ryu answered distractedly, plating Junno’s second helping of rice.

Maru hesistated for a second before asking, “Do you know KAT-TUN?”

Ryu looked at each of them in turn with a confused look. “Huh?”

“I mean, have you seen us? On TV? Heard our songs?” Maru hurried to elaborate.

Ryu scratched the back of his neck. “Well, I don’t want to offend you or anything, but no. As you can see, I don’t have a TV here, and I pretty much forgot everything from before my accident.”

“Oh.” Maru turned to Ueda, making faces to get him to follow on with the conversation.

Ueda turned away from Maru’s face charades, clasping his hands on the table. “There’s something we need to tell you, Ryu.”

“You’re not idols?” Ryu guessed. “Because it’s totally fine. I really don’t mind you guys staying here. I didn’t let you stay just because you’re idols.”

Maru looked slightly annoyed. “We are idols. Don’t we look like idols?”

Ryu weighed his thoughts before answering, “Honestly, no? I thought idols were supposed to be all,” he waved his hands around vaguely, “sparkly and sexy?”

Junno, Ueda, Maru and Koki shared a grimace. “Say that again after you’ve seen one of our concerts,” Koki muttered. “I was spitting silver glitter for over half an hour after one of our shows.”

An amused grin tugged at Ryu’s lips. “The effect was pretty?” he asked, sitting next to Junno.

Maru nodded slowly. “I guess. For the audience, anyway.”

“So, you really are idols?” one corner of Ryu’s lips curved upwards. “Real life idols?”

Four heads nodded simultaneously. “Ah! Spring onions taste horrible when you blend them into a juice,” Junno exclaimed, poking at the slices of spring onions in his rice. Silence fell over the table as everyone blinked at the acrobat in confusion.

“Alright. So what was it you wanted to tell me?” Ryu brought the conversation back on track.

Maru elbowed Ueda, who stared at Koki, who kicked Junno under the table, who smiled nervously back at Maru.

Raising an eyebrow, Ryu watched the exchange with interest. “Do you guys always do this telepathic thinking thing?” he asked curiously.

Four pairs of eyes blinked back at him. “Eeeew!” they chorused, causing Ryu to laugh aloud.

~*~

Jin gasped as he slowed his pace. Pressing his back to the wall, he took several large gulps of air. He doubled over and let his breath out harshly.

“Just a little bit more,” he thought, straightening back up. Taking a deep breath, Jin broke into another run, completely unaware that he was being followed from behind.

~*~

“KAT-TUN,” Ueda stated. “Do you know what it means?”

Ryu shook his head slowly. “You can’t spell ‘cartoon’?”

“No,” Junno pouted. “Our group name is made up of the initials of our surnames. It shows how there are six of us, not one more, not one less.”

“So, K?” Ryu guessed, pointing at Koki.

“T,” Koki answered. “My surname is Tanaka.” He added under his breath, and out of Ryu’s earshot, “Though I’d love to be Kamenashi Koki, I seriously don’t want to be hacked into a million pieces.”

“I’m the other T, Taguchi,” Junno offered, flashing Ryu a dazzling smile.

Ryu nodded. “Alright, so Ueda would be U, and Maru is… N. Nakamura, right?”

“NAKAMARU!! MA-RU!!” Maru felt like tearing his hair out. Even with amnesia, Kame had to mess up his name.

Ryu chuckled. “I know, man. Just messing with you.”

Maru let out a whine, which resulted in Ueda patting him consolingly on the back. “Live with it. They’re going to do this until you die.”

“So we have T-T-U-N, correct?” Ryu pointed to each of them in turn. “Who are K and A?”

“A is Akanishi. He’ll be along soon,” Ueda answered, casting a quick glance to the clock.

“K is Kamenashi. Kame for short,” Koki continued, and a silence fell over the four.

Something tugged at Ryu’s memory, and he frowned in thought. “Kame… Kame… Kame,” he repeated the name. It sounded familiar, yet completely foreign at the same time.

Four pairs of eyes stared at him hopefully. Was it working? Was he remembering something?

“Ah! I remember!” Ryu exclaimed, causing them to sit at the edges of their seat. “You called me Kame when we first met!”

The four slumped back down into their chairs. Well, it was a little too much wishful thinking if they expected Kame to suddenly remember everything.

“I did,” Ueda affirmed, looking straight at Ryu. “I thought you were him.”

“Why would you think that?” Ryu asked, clearly confused. “I’m just a simple school teacher. There’s nothing idol-like about me.”

“Besides, seeing how close all of you are, I’m sure you’d have known in an instant I wasn’t him,” Ryu continued.

Maru leaned his weight onto the table, pushing his empty plate away. “You see, it’s a little complicated. Kame disappeared some time ago. We have no idea where he had gone.”

“Disappeared?” Ryu repeated, stacking the empty plates together on the table. “Like, into thin air kind of disappeared?”

“Yeah, he just vanished one night from the recording studio without a word. We found his mobile phone on the ground. We were so worried,” Koki continued, watching Ryu closely.

An involuntary shudder ran through Ryu. His frown deepened. “What happened after that?”

Junno’s reply was interrupted by the sound of the front door slamming open. Five heads whipped to the direction as they jumped up in surprise.

~*~

PART TWO

[Akame] The Way Home (Multi-Chapter) ~ Chapter 10 (II)

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 07:25:39 GMT

Jin panted as he forced his protesting body to run the remaining few meters.

There it was. The house that Koki had described to him. Well, Koki sent a picture to him, but that was definitely the house.

With renewed strength, Jin pushed open the gate and dashed into the compound. He could see five figures seated around a table through the porch. Behind him, the gate swung shut.

The fastest way into the house would be through the porch. Unfortunately, Jin was functioning purely on adrenaline at the moment.

He rushed to the front door, not bothering to knock at all. Thankfully, the doorknob turned easily enough, and Jin threw his entire weight against the door.

Stumbling into the house, Jin stared back at the five people who were staring bewilderedly at him.

Suddenly, his attention was focused solely on one person. The one person who he had missed for so long. The one person who’s disappearance had turned his world upside down.

The one person who could make everything alright again.

So many times, Jin had dreamed of this moment. So many times, as he wrapped his arms around that slim body, he would disappear into thin air. So many times, Jin had woken up with tears in his eyes and his heart broken anew.

Jin lunged at him, enveloping hjm in a bruising hug. If he held on strongly enough, Jin was sure. This time, he would not disappear again. This time, he would stay by Jin’s side and everything would be alright again.

“Kazu,” Jin breathed, holding the younger man even closer in his embrace. “Kazu.”

~*~

Ryu’s eyes widened in shock as he was almost barrled over by a man who had just barged into his house. The only thing keeping him from toppling over was the man’s arms around him.

His first instinct was to push the stranger away. Yet, his body refused to move. He stood rooted to the spot, and after a heartbeat, he raised his arms and returned the stranger’s embrace.

“It’s alright now, it’s alright,” he whispered softly, patting Jin lightly on the back. He did not know what was alright, but it seemed to be the most appropriate thing to say.

Ryu felt a sense of familiarity, a sense of being protected, cherished, as he was held in Jin’s embrace. He felt himself relax into Jin’s arms, feeling every breath Jin took.

“It’s alright now,” he repeated. “You can let go now.”

“I won’t let you go. I’ll never let you go again,” Jin replied, steeled conviction in his voice. His arms tightened further around Ryu, almost to the point of bruising the slighter man.

Ryu winced a little as he felt Jin’s arms tighten. “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be right here. Come, sit with us at the table,” Ryu coaxed.

“Jin, let him go,” Ueda said softly, putting a hand on Jin’s arm.

Koki reached over an placed a palm on Jin’s back. “It’s alright, Jin. Let him go.”

“If,” Jin forced the words out of his mouth, hi voice barely a whisper next to Ryu’s ear, “if I let go, will you disappear? Will you go away?”

Jin trembled as he asked the questions, fearing the answer the younger man would give. “Will you leave me, if I let go?”

“It’s alright. I’ll be here. I’m not going anywhere,” Ryu soothed.

A weight lifted from Jin’s heart. He let out a breath of relief. “Do you promise?” he asked.

“Promise me,” he pleaded. “Promise me you won’t leave, if I let go.”

Though he was not really sure why, Ryu knew, at this time, that his answer would be extremely important. He knew, he could not lie to this person. If he gave his word, he would hold on to his promise.

“I promise,” Ryu answered. A small smile crept onto his face as he continued, “I pinky promise.”

His answer brought smiles to the faces of the others.

~*~

“We’ll be Number One in Japan!” Kame proclaimed, raising his hand as high to the sky as he could reach.

The clouds drifted past his open fingers. He shielded his eyes from the sun with his palm, a determined look in his face.

The rest of KAT-TUN lounged around the park, watching the youngest member of their group make that proclamation. They had just been kicked out of rehearsal by the dance choreographer.

“Yeah, number one back dancers,” Koki snorted. “Who are we kidding, Kame? We’re never going to debut.”

Maru nodded, his head bowed low. “I’ll be satisfied with not getting yelled at at every dance practice.”

“I’ll be satisfied with keeping this job,” Junno added, pulling out a blade of grass.

Ueda gazed into the distance, where children were laughing merrily on the swings. “I’ll be satisfied with a steady rise in salary.”

Jin just rolled over and pouted at the ground.

“Come on, guys!” Kame frowned, turning to his terribly unmotivated group members. “Put some spirit into it. I know we can do it!”

At the unconvinced looks he was getting, Kame rolled his eyes. “Think of it this way. If we become the top, we’ll make all those people who looked down on us, who yelled at us, who thought we weren’t good enough, eat their words.”

When Kame put it that way, the wheels in their minds started to turn. Ooh, revenge sounded oh-so delicious. Smiles started to form.

“We’ll become number one, and we’ll show them all,” Kame continued, watching as a feeling of motivation washed over the group. His smile widened.

He closed his palm around the sun, and he reached his other hand back to the others. “I promise you. First, Japan. Then, the world!”

“I pinky promise you,” Kame swore, smiling brighter than the sun he held in the palm of his hand.

~*~

“Ryu, I want to show you something,” Koki spoke up, once they were seated at the table again. He walked over to the living room, retrieving something from his bag.

The hairs on the back of Ryu’s neck prickled. There was something in the air, a feeling of quiet tension. The calm before a storm.

As if feeling his anxiety, Ryu felt a hand squeeze his. He looked over to see Jin give him a reassuring smile.

After managing to convince the older man that he was not going to disappear or leave, they had gathered around the table again. Jin had adamantly refused to let go of his hand, and a bewildered Ryu agreed uncertainly.

Koki returned to the table, holding two magazines in his hands. He placed one in front of Ryu.

“What’s this?” Ryu asked, staring at the front cover of the glossy magazine. Smiling back at him were Jin, Koki, Maru, Junno and Ueda.

“That’s us,” Maru answered.

Ryu frowned. “I thought you said there were six of you?”

“This was taken after Kame’s disappearance,” Junno explained.

Raising his eyes, Ryu looked at each of them intently. He gauged their expressions, not liking the secretive atmosphere at all.

What were they hiding? Why were they so hesitant about Kamenashi? The very mention of Kamenashi’s name would trigger a flood of sadness. Ryu could feel it hit him like a wave every time that name was mentioned.

“And?”

“This,” Koki said, placing another magazine in front of Ryu, “is KAT-TUN, with Kame.”

Ryu’s eyes widened and a gasp left his lips. One the magazine’s cover, six men were smiling brightly. One of those men sent his thoughts reeling.

It was him. Ryu raised a hand and touched the face on the magazine. The face that he saw every day in the mirror as he brushed his teeth. His face.

“What is this?” his voice came out in a whisper. He looked up at Koki. “Is this a joke?”

“It’s not,” Ueda replied, uncrossing his arms and placing them on the table. “This is Kame.”

“You are Kame.” Maru said next. “That’s you.”

“It can’t be,” Ryu shook his head disbelievingly at the magazine. At the face that smiled back at him.

“It is you, Kame!” Koki insisted, flipping through the magazine. “Look! It’s you! It’s all you!”

“No, that’s not me.”

“Yes, it is. It’s you, Kame-chan,” Junno reached over and placed his hand on Ryu’s clenched fist.

Ryu’s gaze snapped up. “I’m Kanzaki Ryu. You’re mistaken. All of you.”

“Would five people misidentify someone they’ve known so closely for eight years?” Ueda asked, challenging Ryu’s gaze.

“I’m Kanzaki Ryu,” Ryu’s voice hardened. “My name is Kanzaki Ryu. I’m a teacher and I have a fiancé-”

“You’re Kamenashi Kazuya. You’re 23 years old. You’re the third son of four. Your brothers are terrifyingly protective of you. You love baseball. You can’t stand tomatoes. You are an idol in Johnny’s Jimusho. You’re Kamenashi Kazuya and I love you,” Jin cut Ryu off, looking imploringly at him.

Ryu shook his head. “I’m not! I’m Kanzaki Ryu!” he insisted.

“I’m Kanzaki Ryu!” he repeated, squeezing his eyes shut. The name Kamenashi Kazuya kept repeating in his mind, and Ryu felt hopelessly loss.

“I’m not Kamenashi Kazuya!” he shouted, bolting for the door.

“Kame!”

“Kame-chan!”

“KAZU!”

Ignoring their calls, Ryu ran out the door and through the compound to the gate and threw it open.

A sea of people holding microphones, cameras stopped him dead in his tracks. He was overwhelmed by all the flashes and people yelling at him.

“Kamenashi-san!”

“Kamenashi-san! Why did you go on hiatus?”

“Have you been here all this time?”

“Is KAT-TUN gathering to plan your comeback?”

Ryu could not answer, only take a step back for every step the reporters advanced on him. Fear suddenly gripped him as the flashes and the questions continued.

The last thing he remembered before everything became black was strong arms circling him. Protecting him.

*~*~*~*~*~*~* Yay! KAT-TUN is whole again!!! … Kinda *~*~*~*~*~*~*

A/N: Before anyone chops my head off, PLEASE forgive the lateness of this chapter. I was horribly lazy after getting back from Hokkiado. And of course, not being around for so long meant that work had piled up considerably.

~~But that’s just as excuse. Because I was whining for 2 weeks about not being in Hokkaido anymore.~~ I wanna go back!!!!

Oh well… It’s up! It’s up! I felt kinda rusty with this chapter, so I hope it’s alright! Do let me know your thoughts on the reunion!

[Akame] The Way Home (Multi-Chapter) ~ Chapter 9

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:51:06 GMT

Title: The Way Home (Chapter 9)

Pairing: Jin/Kame, Kame/OC

Rating: G.

Disclaimer: Do I look like an old man who owns a company full of sexy young boys to you? For the record, no.

A/N: Flashbacks are in italic.

“He’s my brother! We have a right to know!” Yuichiro shouted, shoving Koki into the nearest wall. Kame’s mother was crying with relief at the doorway, held comfortingly in the arms of her husband.

Moments ago, Koki had turned up at the Kamenashi residence, informing them of Kame’s latest news. As he put Ran into her carrier, Yuichiro had fetched his jacket.

When told that he could not see his brother just yet, Yuichiro had thrown a fit. Koji and Yuya were trying their best to keep Yuichiro from tearing Koki apart from frustration. “Yui-ni!” Yuya pleaded, tugging at his brother’s arm.

“I’m sorry, but even I don’t know the details,” Koki said, trying to loosen Yuichiro’s grip on his collar. “All I know is, Ueda and Maru found him, but he’s not the Kame we know.”

“Where is he?!” Yuichiro shouted, bringing Koki closer before shoving him back into the wall. Koki’s vision blurred for a second from the impact. Ran barked nervously in her carrier.

“Yuichiro, stop it!” Koji shouted, finally able to physically pull his brother away from the dazed KAT-TUN member.

“Maru said, Kame doesn’t remember any of us. And he calls himself Kanzaki Ryu. So, instead of freaking him out with everyone swarming him at once, it’s better to familiarize Kame with all of us slowly, a few people at a time,” Koki choked, sliding down to sit on the floor.

“So bring him back here, where he has family,” Yuichiro was breathing heavily, but at the same time as stunned as the rest of his family at the knowledge that Kame had no memory of any of them.

Koki shook his head to clear out the remaining stars he was seeing. “We will. But we can’t rush this. We’re only afraid he’ll pull another disappearing act on us, since we have no idea what happened the previous time. If he panics and disappears again, who knows when we’ll find him again?” Koki reasoned with the Kamenashi family.

“We’ve informed Johnny-san of the current situation, and he agrees that we should take things slowly. We have no idea how Kame will react if he’s suddenly surrounded by people he thinks he doesn’t know,” Koki continued.

“I’m really sorry,” he bowed deeply. “But give us some time. We’ll definitely bring him back. We’ll bring Kame back.”

A gentle hand on his shoulder brought his gaze to Kame’s mother’s tear-stained face. “Koki-kun, please bring my son back to me? Please bring my Kazuya back?”

Tears welled up in Koki’s eyes and he sobbed out, “I promise. I want him back too.”

~*~

“Where the hell are you?” Ueda hissed into his mobile phone. “You should have been here an hour ago.”

The line crackled, drowning Jin’s voice out. The howling wind grated at Ueda’s ears, causing him to wince and hold the phone away from his ear. He sneaked a peek at Ryu, who was laughing in the kitchen with Maru.

They had managed to convince the younger man to let them stay the night, citing horrible hotel beds and Maru being terrified by scary flushing sounds in the middle of the night. Ryu had laughed heartily and called the eldest a wimp before bringing them and their luggage to his home.

Ayase-san had popped over with some homemade stew. She was surprised by the presence of the other two men, before commenting on how the price of property around the area would rise from the number of handsome young men moving in.

A red-faced Ryu shooed the laughing elderly woman away good-naturedly. Though, he came back over with a bigger pot of stew, since Ayase-san thought the portion she brought over earlier would not be enough for three grown men with healthy appetites.

While Maru offered to help Ryu in the kitchen, Ueda sat on the porch, furiously keeping tabs on where the other KAT-TUN members were and their expected arrivals. They needed to find out what happened, and fast. Ryu had mentioned that his fiancé would be back in four days.

If his suspicions were right, Ueda would like to break the news about his identity to Ryu before Kyoko had the chance to return. Right now, Kyoko had more of Ryu’s trust than anyone else. Ryu was likely to believe her over them if they came to a point where it was her word against theirs.

The situation was complicated, and Ueda really wanted to know as much as possible before saying anything to Ryu. Having the other members here would really help things, especially Jin. Seeing Jin might jumpstart some of Ryu’s memories, or so they hoped.

Ryu had showed some signs of the Kame they knew from what little time that they had spent together today. When Ueda had playfully thrown a jab at the younger man, Ryu had instinctively ducked to avoid the blow before counter-attacking with a right hook. Ryu looked as stunned as Ueda at the maneuver.

Both Maru and Ueda recognized the move from when Kame was training for One Pound Gospel, as he would sometimes shadowbox around the set.

“I… strong winds… can’t… delay… ferry… soon…” Jin’s words came through brokenly. Ueda gave an exasperated sigh. From what he understood, the flight had been delayed due to strong winds, and Jin would be taking the ferry.

“Alright, but get here as soon as possible!” he hissed into his phone, snapping it shut as Ryu entered the living room.

“Ueda-san, was that a girlfriend you were talking to?” Ryu teased, seating himself next to the older man. He handed over a mug of warm tea, which Ueda accepted with a nod of his head.

The U of KAT-TUN shook his head. “Nah, she wishes,” he answered before joining Ryu in laughter.

“Oh, someone seems to be very popular,” Ryu winked. Somehow, being with these two people felt very strange to Ryu indeed. On one hand, they had been perfect strangers before this morning. And yet, Ryu felt perfectly at ease teasing them and talking to them as if he had known them his entire life.

It was a very strange feeling indeed, but Ryu found that he did not mind it at all. In fact, this day felt the most comfortable since he had awoken from his accident and subsequently lost his memories.

Ueda nodded gravely, taking a sip of his tea. “Like you could only dream about.”

“Yeah, well, you have the advantage of being an idol, unlike me,” Ryu retorted, sipping his tea as well.

“You’re popular with two and three year-olds now… Work your way up the age ladder,” Ueda suggested, almost spitting hjs tea out at Ryu’s indignant expression.

Maru came out from the kitchen to see the two of them tussling around, laughing like two children.

~*~

Jin cursed as he hopped into the taxi. The weather had taken a turn for the worse. In addition to the strong winds that grounded the flights, a heavy rain had started to pour down on the little island.

As the taxi sped to the ferry, Jin clasped his hands and prayed.

“Wait for me, Kame. Please, please don’t leave me again.”

~*~

The dachshund whined as she tugged at her collar. Koki, for fear of the dog injuring herself, picked up his pace. As they rounded the familiar street corner, Ran let out an excited bark.

Forced to release his hold on the leash, Koki watched as Ran sped into the compound of the house he knew so well. Weeks of filming Hisatsu Shigotonin in this very same place gave him a sense of familiarity. Maybe he should pop by next door and say hello to elderly Ayase-san.

Laughter and giggles met Koki as he stepped into the compound of the house. The sight he saw almost caused him to cry. He settled for a few manly sniffles and wipes his sleeve across his eyes.

Ran was bouncing excitedly and lapping Kame- no, Ryu’s face. Ryu was laughing and trying to get a hold of the dog. Unfortunately, Ran’s size meant she could slip out from his grasp easily. When Ryu leaned down to try to scoop her up in his arms, she leapt gracefully onto his shoulders.

Ryu looked absolutely amazed that he had a dog draped across his shoulders. The awed expression on his face made Ueda and Maru laugh.

“I’m sorry, is she yours?” Koki was shaken from his thoughts. Kame- no, Ryu was smiling warmly at him. Koki opened his mouth to answer, but could not find his voice. The lump in his throat would not subside, making tears collect in his eyes.

Koki groaned as he flopped across the couch. After three weeks of performing Dream Boys, the lethargy was catching up on him. Kame came in soon after, with Ran running daintily at his heels.

As soon as she saw the rapper, she gave a happy bark and bounced over to lick him on the face. Koki grunted and turned the other way.

Ever since he made that bet with Jin, Koki could not get the kaninchen dachshund to stop pestering him for treats. Granted, he had cheated by discreetly rubbing his palms with her favourite carrot paste. Jin had thrown a fit when she responded to Koki’s calls, completely ignoring her half-owner.

“Are you going to give her a treat, or do you want to make her sad?” Kame asked, amusement evident in his voice.

Koki groaned. “I’ll give her a treat as soon as my limbs decide they want to move.”

Ran whined pitifully, pawing at Koki’s arm. “You’ve spoilt her once. She’s never going to forget that,” Kame warned, throwing his towel into the laundry basket before heading into the shower.

When the splashes of water on tiles met his ears, Koki dragged himself off the couch to rummage through Ran’s things that Kame kept in one of his many Burberry bags.

Ran barked twice as Koki spooned out some carrot paste into a disposable plate. Koki ruffled her ears as she lapped up the treat.

“No, she’s not mine,” Koki answered, shoving his hands into his pockets. “She likes you,” he said after a few moments.

Ryu beamed at him. “Seeing how she’s made herself comfortable on me, I’d say she more than likes me. What’s her name?”

“Ran,” Koki answered. The dog looked at him once before turning her attention back to Ryu, barking once happily.

“I had a dog named Ran once,” Ryu said, a look of sadness crossing his features. Koki had to physically stop himself from going over to give his group member a comforting hug.

“Had?” he asked.

Ryu nodded slowly. “My fiancé said my Ran died sometime ago from old age. I don’t remember her at all.”

Koki raised an eyebrow as Ran growled. She hopped nimbly off Ryu’s shoulders and settled on his lap instead. She refused to let Ryu scratch her behind the ears a few times before relenting and resting her head on his thigh.

“I’ve never seen you around here. Are you new to the neighbourhood?” Ryu asked, scratching Ran’s head as she padded on his thigh, giving him a mini massage.

Koki and Ueda exchanges quick glances. On the phone, they had decided to tell Ryu the truth. No sense in lying to him if they wanted him to believe their words. Before any of them could answer, a voice piped up from the fence separating the two gardens.

“Ara! Tanaka-kun!” Ayase-san exclaimed, pointing a finger at the latest addition on Ryu’s property.

“Ayase-san!” Koki exclaimed.

“AYASE-SAN!” Ryu’s stern voice pierced the evening air. He stood with his hands on his hips and a frown on his face. “What are you doing?”

“I heard something,” Ayase-san mumbled, looking everywhere but at her neighbour.

Ryu crossed his arms in front of his chest, a gesture the members of KAT-TUN were familiar with as a displeased Kamenashi Kazuya. “I don’t mind you eavesdropping, but could you please refrain from climbing fences at your age?”

Ayase-san laughed, turning to leave. “Alright, Ryu-chan. Have a good evening, boys,” she said before disappearing back across the fence.

“Geez… What am I going to do with that old lady,” Ryu huffed, settling back on the porch, Ran wagging her tail as she settled back into the folds of his legs.

“She’s still as energetic as I remember,” Koki mused, a nostalgic smile on his face.

Ryu cocked his head to the side. “Do you know Ayase-san?”

“I was here sometime ago,” Koki explained. He held out a hand. “Tanaka Koki, KAT-TUN member.”

Instead of bowing or shaking Koki’s hand, Ryu found himself grasping the outstretched hand and pulling Koki into a hug.

Koki was not sure who was more taken aback by Ryu’s actions, him or the younger man. Nevertheless, he brought his arms around the slimmer frame and hugged Ryu tightly.

When he finally released the younger man, Ryu had an embarrassed look on his face. “Sorry, I don’t really know why I did that,” a sheepish Ryu said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Koki waved off Ryu’s apologies. “We’ve done worse.”

“We have?” Ryu looked at Koki weirdly. His eyes narrowed suspiciously.

The three older men collectively facepalmed before Maru announced in a rather loud voice, “Ka-I mean, Ryu-kun, I think the food’s done.”

“Oh! The food!” Ryu hurried back into the kitchen, Maru in tow.

Ueda practically clubbed Koki over the head. “You idiot! What the hell was that?!”

“This is the first time I’ve seen him in almost three months! You should be glad I haven’t tackled him to the ground,” Koki snapped back, rubbing his sore head. Kame’s headrubs always felt better.

All arguments were on hold as Ryu called out, “Dinner!” from the dining area. “Coming,” both men answered simultaneously.

Ueda gave Koki a warning shake of his finger one last time before they headed in to taste Kame’s cooking in a very long time.

~*~

PART TWO

[Akame] The Way Home (Multi-Chapter) ~ Chapter 9 (II)

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:45:18 GMT

“Imagine that. Three idols in my house,” Ryu mused, nursing his fifth beer. The others were sprawled across the living room, beer cans in their hands.

Koki raised his head from its position on the armrest of the couch. “What’s so weird about that?”

“How many people have idols dropping in randomly to their houses, located in the middle of nowhere in Kyoto?” Ryu wondered aloud, making the other three freeze.

“I mean, what are the odds?” Ryu continued, oblivious to the rising panic the other three were feeling. “Simple me. Kanzaki Ryu.”

Maru opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by Ryu’s alcohol-induced monologue.

“Kanzaki Ryu. Sounds weird, don’t you think? I don’t think it sounds like me. I don’t seem like a Kanzaki Ryu, do I? Kanzaki Ryu sounds like a boring clerk. I don’t look like a boring clerk,” Ryu went on, shuddering at the mental image he got of himself shuffling papers in an office.

“I think you look hot in a suit,” Koki offered, causing Ryu to erupt into giggles. “What?”

“I think,” Ryu pointed to Koki, mischief in his eyes, “someone likes me.”

Koki almost choked on his beer. “What?!”

Ryu clapped his hands as he sang, “Koki likes me~ Koki likes me~”

“Koki likes me~ Koki likes me~” Kame sang, causing the rapper to blush furiously.

“I do not!”

“Do too!”

“Do not!”

“Do too!”

“Do not!”

“Do too! …. Dammit!”

Kame burst out laughing before draping his arms around Koki from the back. “You like me,” he stated.

“Fine. I like you,” Koki grumbled, a wide smile betraying his act of annoyance. He extracted the boneless heap that was Kame from his back and dumped him onto the couch.

An exhausted Kamenashi Kazuya was as bad as a drunk Kamenashi Kazuya. A bigger handful too, if he was drunks and exhausted. That was, until he fell asleep.

By the looks of things, Kame was well on his way to dreamland, curled up on the couch, despite the loud karaoke around him.

Koki sent Jin a text telling them where they were, knowing the A was waiting impatiently for Kame to finish his aftershow outing with the cast and staff of Dream Boys.

Within a few minutes, Koki handed a sleepy Kame over to Jin, who took the youngest home for some well-deserved rest.

For the third time that night, Koki found his eyes misting from the memories Kame’s reappearance evoked. He reached over and ruffled the snoring boy’s hair, eliciting a sleepy mumble. Ran snuggled under her master’s arm, laying her head close to his.

“So, what are we going to do?” Maru voiced out, keeping his voice low so they would not disturb the sleeping man.

Koki shrugged. “What can we do? He doesn’t have a clue who we are.”

“But it’s him, right? Definitely him? I’m not wishfully hoping?” Ueda asked, staring straight into Koki’s eyes.

The rapper stared right back. “Unless you can find me someone else who looks exactly like him that doesn’t mind love confessions from another guy,” he deadpanned. “Oh, and cooks exactly like Kame as well. And sings like him. And Ran loves as much as she loves him. And-”

“Alright, I get it. It’s him,” Ueda massaged his temples. He really should not have taken that eighth can of beer Ryu opened for him.

“Back to the question. What do we do?” Maru repeated.

A moment of silence lapsed before Koki spoke up, “We wait for the others to come. Then, we tell him everything. We get our Kame-chan back.”

~*~

Ryu cracked his eyes open. The birds were chirping. Usually, he’d be happy to hear them, but this morning the sound grated on his nerves and he wanted nothing more than to shoo them away.

A lapping on his cheek woke him up completely. He was greeted by the sight of a happy Ran, padding excitedly as he propped himself up on his arms. He stretched over the expanse of the floor and yawned.

“Good morning,” Maru called out cheerfully, making Ryu wince. He reached over and petted Ran a few times. The dachshund yipped and licked the palm of his hand.

Hauling himself off the floor, Ryu grimaced as his joints protested the treatment they received the night before. His lower back hurt like hell, and every muscle in contact with the hardwood floor ached.

“What did you guys give me last night?” he grumbled as he plodded into the kitchen. Ueda and Koki were also awake, both holding mugs of coffee.

Koki handed a mug over to Ryu. “We had the same thing you had. More cans too,” he smirked behind the mug.

Grabbing the offered mug, Ryu growled. He took a big gulp and started to feel the caffeine begin to work its magic.

Something caught the corner of his eye. He turned to see a bright smile directed at him. Blinking a few times, he pointed to the new person in his kitchen.

“Another one of our members,” Ueda explained, refusing to elaborate.

Ryu blinked again at the man. “How many of you guys should I be expecting?”

“K A T T U N?” Maru offered.

Ryu nodded. “Means there’s another one besides this guy?”

Four heads nodded, and no one mentioned that Ryu had subconsciously included himself into KAT-TUN.

“And you’d be?” Ryu turned his attention back to the smiling man.

“Iriguchi, deguchi, Taguchi desu…” Junno’s smile faltered at Ryu’s raised eyebrow.

Ryu turned to leave the kitchen, the other three following closely behind. “Way too early for this,” he muttered, settling into the couch.

Maru, Ueda and Koki hummed their agreement, leaving Junno to whine, “Guys~”

*~*~*~*~*~*~* Ooh... Longer than usual. Value for money? *~*~*~*~*~*~*

A/N: I mentioned this to a couple of people already, but I’ll just say it again.

There will be no updates in the coming two weeks. I’ll be going to Hokkaido on Sunday and I’m trying to stay as far away from any sort of communication possible by the people at work. This will include the internet.

Hopefully when I get back, I’ll have time to write out the next chapter before the week is through. So, the next update will probably be in three weeks, at the earliest.

How are things progressing? Believable? More explanations? Thoughts?

[Akame] The Way Home (Multi-Chapter) ~ Chapter 8

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 10:06:04 GMT

Title: The Way Home (Chapter 8)

Pairing: Jin/Kame, Kame/OC

Rating: G.

Disclaimer: Do I look like an old man who owns a company full of sexy young boys to you? For the record, no.

A/N: Flashbacks are in italic.

“Kame,” Ueda breathed, unwilling to blink in case Kame vanished again.

Without any indication of recognition, Ryu turned to Hiroto, brushing the child’s uniform of unseen dirt. “Are you alright, Hiroto? Does it hurt anywhere?”

Hiroto shook his head. “I’m fine, sensei. The big uncle was like a soft pillow,” he answered, pointing to Maru, who was still sprawled on the asphalt.

Turning immediately into a bow, Ryu faced the two stunned members of KAT-TUN. “I deeply apologize for my student’s clumsiness. Please forgive him. He is just a child.”

Ryu winced in anticipation of a punch as his arm was gripped. When none came, he gingerly opened one eye.

Staring in disbelief at his member’s wince when he instinctively grabbed his arm, Ueda was at a loss of words. Both men stared at each other for a few seconds.

“Kame, don’t you recognize us?” Maru exclaimed, scrambling up to his feet.

Ryu stared at them, not understanding what was going on. The taller of the two was looking at him with something akin to hope in his eyes. The other, who had his arm in a strong grip, looked both afraid, and yet, relieved.

“I’m sorry. You must have me mistaken for someone else,” Ryu began, watching as Ueda and Maru’s eyes widen in disbelief. “My name is Kanzaki Ryu, and I am a teacher here,” he said, gesturing to the kindergarten they were standing outside of.

“Kanzaki…” Ueda found his voice first, even though it trembled. “Ryu?”

Ryu nodded, giving him a smile. “That’s my name, last I checked.”

Ueda shook his head. Then, he reached over and placed a hand on Ryu’s cheek. “You look exactly like him. You smile like him too,” his voice came out in a whisper.

Ryu shifted uncomfortably. He looked to Maru for any indication of what he should do. Unfortunately, the oldest member of KAT-TUN was still staring at him wordlessly, so Ryu decided to just stay still.

Luckily, the chime sounded. Ryu broke away and bowed. “I’m sorry, but we’ll be late. I’m sorry again for the accident,” he said, ushering Hiroto through the gate.

Ueda and Maru stood rooted at the spot for another few minutes after they left. Both were silent, deep in their own thoughts.

“That-“ Maru began.

“-was definitely Kame,” Ueda finished. He received a confirmation nod from the older man.

“I don’t know how, or why, but there has to be a reason he’s pretending not to know us,” Maru mused.

Ueda set his lips into a determined line. “We’ll get to the bottom of this. One way or another.”

~*~

Ryu looked on absently as his class concentrated on learning living skills, working with building blocks and learning to coordinate pouring one jug of water into another.

Ever since he left those two strangers at the gate, he had felt restless. He often found his thoughts wandering back to them.

He could not put a name to what he was feeling, and it was frustrating. This often happened when he found himself alone at home, and he was relaxed. There would always be thoughts ghosting at the edge of his memory, whispers of words said by unknown shadows, or memories of a touch.

Try as he may, Ryu could never grasp a hold of those memories. Every single time he tried to concentrate, the feelings and sounds would slip through his fingers.

This time, it was the same. It was not a solid, definite memory, but Ryu could feel it. Those two strangers had stirred something in his mind, and he wanted to know what it was.

~*~

“Goodbye, sensei!” Erika called out as she ran out of the school compound into her father’s car.

Ryu smiled widely as he waved goodbye to one of his more affectionate students. He bowed respectfully to her father, who waved goodbye before driving off.

“Kanzaki-sensei?” a familiar voice called out.

Ryu turned around to see the two strangers he met this morning standing at the side of the gate. “Ah! We met this morning!” he exclaimed.

The shorter man with hair dyed brown nodded. “Yes, we did. My name is Ueda, and this is my friend Nakamaru,” Ueda introduced themselves.

Ryu bowed. “Pleased to meet you, Ueda-san, Nakamura-san.”

“It’s Nakamaru!” Maru snapped instinctively.

His eyes widening, Ryu immediately apologized. “I’m so sorry, Nakamaru-san!”

Maru panicked, waving his arms frantically at Ryu. “No, no! I should be sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you!”

Ryu looked up at the flailing man before trying to stifle his laughter with his hand. When Maru frowned, Ryu burst out laughing.

Despite himself, Maru found a grin creeping onto his face at Ryu’s amusement.

It felt so good to hear Kame laugh again, Maru wanted nothing more than to give the younger man a big hug.

Ryu finally managed to stop his laughing after a few moments. He bowed once again, but this time, he had a smile on his face. “I’m sorry for laughing, it just seemed hilarious at the time.”

Maru waved of Ryu’s concerns. “Don’t worry about it. I get that all the time.”

“Kame- I mean, Kanzaki-sensei,” Ueda cleared his throat at the side. Ryu turned his attention to him.

“That’s the second time you’ve called me that,” he said, a thoughtful expression on his face. “Who is this Kame person?”

Ueda took a deep breath. “Kame is our close friend. We lost him some time ago. And you look very much like him,” he said, watching for any reaction on Ryu’s face.

Ryu’s face fell. “I’m so sorry to hear that,” he said. A sense of loss and sadness washed over him. He did not know this Kame person personally, but hearing Ueda say that he was gone evoked an overwhelming sadness in Ryu.

Maru blinked a few times before stuttering out, “Oh, wait wait! He didn’t mean that Kame was dead, just that Kame is kind of… somewhere we don’t exactly know where right now.”

Ryu’s mouth formed an ‘O’ of confusion. “Oh?”

Ueda’s hand flew to his mouth in surprise as well. “Oh. Oh! You thought he was… I mean, no, he’s not… he’s…”

Once again, Ryu found himself laughing heartily at the expression on Ueda’s face. He himself was surprised at how comfortable he felt in the presence of these two strangers.

“Can we have a coffee?” a frustrated and tongue-tied Ueda decided to just blurt out.

Ryu gave them a winsome smile. “Of course. Just give me a few minutes to clean up the classroom. I know of a very nice coffee shop down the road.”

Maru and Ueda nodded in sync with each other, earning them another burst of laughter from the kindergarten teacher.

When Ryu went back inside to tidy up, Ueda and Maru hung around at the gate.

~*~

PART TWO

[Akame] The Way Home (Multi-chapter) ~ Chapter 7

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 07:10:16 GMT

Title: The Way Home (Chapter 7)

Pairing: Jin/Kame, Kame/OC

Rating: G.

Disclaimer: Do I look like an old man who owns a company full of sexy young boys to you? For the record, no.

A/N: Flashbacks are in italic.

“Kanzaki-sensei~” the two-year-old with the pigtails wailed, tears streaming down her face. Using her little hands to rub at her eyes, she stood still in the middle of the playground.

Ryu hurried over to the distraught child. “Erika-chan? What’s wrong?” he asked in a concerned voice, checking the child for any scrapes or bruises. “Did you fall down? Does it hurt anywhere?”

Little Erika cried louder as she held her hands out. Ryu immediately scooped her up into his arms and rubbed soothing circles on her back. “Tell me what’s wrong, Erika-chan?”

Hiccupping, Erika pointed to a little boy running full speed around the playground. “Hiroto-kun called me names,” she gulped, breaking into fresh sobs. “He said I was ugly!”

Sighing, Ryu called little Hiroto over. Children’s problems were so trivial, yet it impacted them in such a strong way.

“Hiroto, it’s not nice to call people names,” Ryu began, setting Erika down on the ground. The girl hid behind his leg, still sobbing quietly.

Making an annoyed face, Hiroto refused to look at Ryu. “Hiroto,” Ryu warned. He knelt down to the child’s height, knowing it would make him less intimidating. True enough, Hiroto looked back at him a little guiltily.

“Did you call Erika names?” Ryu asked, refusing to jump the gun and automatically accuse Hiroto without proof.

The boy nodded slowly, his gaze cast downwards. He shuffled his feet, kicking at a few pebbles.

“Why did you do that, Hiroto?” Ryu prodded. This time, his voice was gentle, and he peeked upwards to catch Hiroto’s gaze.

Hiroto mumbled something intangible before avoiding eye contact again. “Can you repeat that, Hiroto? I couldn’t hear what you were saying,” Ryu asked nicely.

“Erika-chan wouldn’t play with me,” Hiroto answered, louder this time. He looked up at Erika, a pout on his face. His eyes shone with hurt.

Little Erika stepped out from behind Ryu. “I want to play dolls with Maki-chan today, Hiro-kun.”

“But you always play catch with me,” Hiroto whined. “Now you don’t want to play with me anymore.”

Erika shook her head. “I still want to play with Hiro-kun. But I want to play dolls today.”

Hiroto’s pout got bigger and he crossed his arms across his chest.

Realizing it was the proper time to intervene, Ryu cleared his throat. “Hiroto, will you listen to me?”

The little boy thought for a moment before he nodded, waiting for Ryu to continue.

“Hiroto, you must understand that Erika wants to do different things sometimes. It doesn’t mean she doesn’t care about you anymore,” Ryu said, watching the boy for a reaction.

“Sometimes you want to play soccer with Haruto and Miroku too, right? And Erika doesn’t play with you then?”

A slow nod from Hiroto.

“So, today, Erika wants to play dolls with Maki. Is that different from the times you play soccer without her?”

Hiroto opened his mouth to protest, but shut it immediately. “But I still play catch with Eri-chan,” he mumbled.

“And Erika will still play catch with you. She just wants to do something different today. Can you understand that?”

Hiroto nodded reluctantly. “As long as we can still play catch together.”

“Now, what should you do? You made Erika very sad by calling her names,” Ryu looked at Hiroto expectantly.

The boy shuffled forward until he stood in front of Erika. “I’m sorry I made you sad, Eri-chan. I shouldn’t have called you ugly and made you cry.” His head hung low, Hiroto fidgeted nervously. “Can we still be friends and play catch together?”

A smile broke out on Ryu’s face as Erika gave a surprised Hiroto a hug. “I forgive you, Hiro-chan. Let’s play catch tomorrow, okay?”

Hiroto nodded happily, returning Erika’s hug. Ryu, too, was surprised when the two children turned to him and gave him a hug as well.

“Thank you, Kanzaki-sensei,” they chorused before running off to their respective playmates. Ryu watched them go with a wide smile on his face.

“You’re so ugly!”

Ryu whirled around, but no one besides him showed signs of hearing the exclamation.

“Why do Jin and Pi spend all their time with you? You’re so ugly you make me want to puke!”

Jin? Pi? Who’re they?

Ryu’s thoughts were suddenly swarmed by indistinct voices and sounds. Names he did not recognize, voices he had never heard before. As the sounds grew louder, Ryu felt his head throb.

A sharp pain lanced through him, and he clutched his head in agony. He bit down on his lip to keep from crying out.

“Sensei!” a few of the children rushed over to him, tugging at his pants and his shirt. “Sensei, are you alright?”

As the children called out to his, the voices subsided. Ryu took a shuddering breath, willing his body to relax. He forced himself to look at the children and reassure them with a smile.

“Sensei is alright. My head just hurt for a little while,” he said, patting them on the head. “Thank you for caring for me.”

The children nodded and smiled back at him. “You’re welcome, sensei. Do you want water? My mommy always drinks water when her head hurts,” Akira chirped.

“Thank you, Akira. I will drink some water later,” Ryu smiled at the most outspoken boy in his class. “For now, all of you, back to class. Your parents will be here soon, so go wash your hands and get your things,” Ryu clapped his hands twice.

Whines and protests greeted his instructions, but the children obediently filed back into the classroom to get ready for home. An amused Ryu watched as the children went about their business, chatting happily to each other.

“How are you settling in, Kanzaki-sensei?” a voice came up from behind.

Ryu turned around to see the school headmistress. The elderly woman stared the kindergarten several years ago after her husband passed away. It was a wonderful way to fill her time, and she was much adored by the staff and children alike for her kind nature.

“Very well, Mori-san,” Ryu answered, bowing respectfully. “I feel very much at home here. Thank you for giving me this opportunity, even though I do not have any credentials and I currently have this condition.”

Mori-san dismissed his worries with a wave of her hand. “It doesn’t matter to me how well educated you are, or how well your memory is. All that matters when dealing with children is your heart.”

She smiled at him, wrinkles all crinkling up, as she took his hand and patted it reassuringly. “And I have seen how pure your heart is, Ryu.”

“Thank you,” Ryu replied, smiling shyly at Mori-san’s words.

~*~

Jin kicked off his shoes. The sand felt soft and fluffy. The waves rolled gently, creating patterns on the sand. A gentle breeze blew as he strolled down the beach.

“I want to see the sunrise!”

Jin groaned as he tried to pull Kame back under the sleeping bag. “It’s too early, Kazu. And it’s cold,” he whined, flailing for Kame.

“But I want to see the sunrise,” Kame insisted, and Jin heard the zip of the tent open. Several crunches later, all was quiet again as Kame left the tent, and Jin.

Grumbling incoherently, Jin dragged himself out of the mess of sleeping bags. He stumbled out of the tent, eyes bleary and unfocused.

A little further down the beach, Kame sat facing the ocean. The sky was still dark, but it was beginning to get brighter.

Jin flopped down next to the younger boy, dropping his head onto Kame’s lap. “Well? Where’s the sunrise?”

Kame’s boisterous laughter made a smile creep onto Jin’s face. “You have to wait for it, silly,” Kame said, smoothing down Jin’s messy hair.

The older boy relaxed into Kame’s touch. Soon, his eyes closed and he was about to drift off to sleep again when Kame’s voice woke him up.

“Jin, wake up! The sun!” Kame whispered urgently, shaking Jin’s shoulder. “The sun is rising!”

As he sat up and opened his eyes, Jin was met with the most intense and beautiful shade of purple he had ever seen. The sun’s rays reached out across the sky, piercing the purple colour with streaks of gold.

Jin felt his breath catch in his throat. “It’s beautiful,” he breathed, in complete awe of nature’s beauty.

Kame murmured an agreement beside him. Jin glanced at his side, watching in fascination as the purple colour painted Kame’s skin a beautiful shade of pink. The tips of Kame’s hair caught the golden rays of the sun, giving him an almost ethereal look.

Then, Kame turned to him and gave him a heart-melting smile. “I’m glad I got to see it with you, Jin.”

Jin could only nod in answer, not able to speak words. Kame turned back to the scenery, and Jin mutely did the same. The colours of the sky changed as if a painter was brushing on different layers of colours over a canvas. The companionable silence continued between Kame and Jin, broken only by the quiet shift of Jin’s hand over Kame’s.

Both boys stayed that way until the sun had risen past the horizon. Then they went back into the tent to get some sleep, only to be woken up by the staff half an hour later.

Caught up in his memories, Jin did not notice that the sun had set. The stars were twinkling in the Okinawa night sky by the time he pulled himself out of the past.

Breathing out a sigh, Jin walked back to the small beachfront home he had rented for the week. Tomorrow, he would go to the market. Kame did like all the trinkets they saw at the flea market there previously.

Perhaps he would find something for Kame, just like he found that ring. Perhaps, if he was lucky, he would find Kame.

~*~

“Passport?”

“Check.”

“Money?”

“Yeap.”

“Everything packed?”

“Yes, Maru. Can we go now?”

“Did you lock your doors and turn off the gas?”

“Yes and yes. We’re going to miss our flight if we don’t go now!”

“Alright. Your phone is fully charge, right? So Koki and Junno can contact us if there’s anything?”

“For the last time, yes, Maru! Let’s go! I even gave our hotel reservations to Manager-san and Johnny-san. They can find us if they want to.”

“Good. What about-”

“Aargh! Shush and let’s go!”

~*~

PART TWO

[Akame] The Way Home (Multi-chapter) ~ Chapter 6

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 03:31:39 GMT

Title: The Way Home (Chapter 6)

Pairing: Jin/Kame, Kame/OC

Rating: G.

Disclaimer: Do I look like an old man who owns a company full of sexy young boys to you? For the record, no.

A/N: Flashbacks are in italic.

“Kowai kara kakkou tsukete

Kokode hanasenakatta kotoga aru

Boku ga koko de waraieru no wa

Kimi ga itakara,” Jin sang, closing his eyes and losing himself to the song.

“Akanishi! How many times are you going to make the same mistake, you worthless little brat!” the choreographer screamed.

Jin’s head bowed down low, tears already beginning to fill his eyes. He kept quiet, well aware of the other juniors staring at him.

“Stop looking at me! Stop staring! I’m not worthless!” he thought, his fists clenching. Despite his confident outlook, Jin had a very fragile self-esteem. He wanted to show the others that he was not chosen solely on his looks.

He wanted them to realize that there was something more to him. That Johnny-san did not give him a chance out of pity. He wanted to prove them all wrong.

But it seems he could not do anything right. In his overzealousness to prove himself, he often tried too hard, resulting in mistakes. His frustration at himself would then cause him to make more mistakes.

He was about to yell at the choreographer that he quit this stupid agency when he felt someone hit him lightly on the head.

“Bakanishi,” Kame’s voice was gentle and soothing. “I didn’t honestly think you’d remember the steps that I made up last night.”

Jin’s eyes widened as the choreographer turned his attention to Kame. The younger boy squeezed his hand discreetly as the choreographer yelled at him for not taking work seriously.

Jin sneaked a glance at Kame, finding the younger boy with an indulging smile on his face. Ever so often, Kame would nod at the choreographer’s words, appeasing the man slightly.

Suddenly, getting yelled at did not seem so bad after all, Not when it was with Kame. Jin found a small smile creeping onto his face as well. He’ll prove it to them. He’ll prove them what Akanishi Jin is capable of.

“Bokura no koko de hajimatta story
Kono yane no shita
Ima mo wakachiau.”

“Where is everybody?” Maru checked his watch for the hundredth time. Next to him, his mother was pacing back and forth nervously.

Another five minutes passed before they saw another boy run towards the building. The boy looked younger than Maru, and his eyebrows were unbelievably thick.

“Am I late?” the boy asked, panting a little as he jogged up the stairs to the foyer of the building where Maru and his mother was.

Maru shook his head. “Besides us, you’re the only other person here.”

“Are we at the right place?” the boy looked worried, bowing quickly at Maru’s mother.

Maru shrugged, turning to his mother. She gave him a lost look. Suddenly, she spotted a security guard turning the corner. “I’ll go ask them.”

The two boys were then left alone, giving each other awkward smiles while they waited for Maru’s mother to return.

Maru saw the boy open his mouth to say something, but was beaten to it by a loud shout.

“We’re at the wrong place!” Maru’s mother came running back around the corner. “We have to go now! We’re going to be late!”

Without waiting for the boys, she started running down the stairs. Both boys exchanged bewildered looks before chasing after Maru’s mother.

“I’m Kamenashi. Pleased to meet you!” the boy beamed at him, hardly breaking a sweat as they sped through Tokyo.

Returning his smile, Maru replied. “I’m Nakamaru. Yoroshiku ne!”

“Kono hikari kimi no yasashi sa wo
Konnani mo kanjiteru
Dore dake wo toki ga sugi nagaretemo
Kaeru bashou wa kimi ga kanaderu NEIRO,” Jin did not even notice the other voices joining him in the chorus.

“Sabishikute yureru yoru wa
Itsumo kimi ni aitaku naru
Kimi ga egao kureru kara
Mata genki ni naru.”

Flopping over on his stomach, he stared out the window, loneliness settling in his heart. Spacing out, a face popped up in his mind. A person he owed so much to. But a person he had hurt deeply as well.

A shrill ringing startled him. His heart pounded as his eyes caught sight of the caller ID flashing on his mobile phone. Hesitating for a moment, he finally flipped the cover open and took the call.

“Hello?” he answered in English, thanking every God he knew that his voice held.

A few moments of silence passed on the other end. Jin was getting anxious to hear anything, even the sound of a breath. He held his breath, straining to hear any possible sound coming from the other end.

“Jin?”

He let out a relieved breath. “Yes?” he said, again in English.

“It’s me, Kazuya,” the voice on the other end said unsurely. It was as if Kame was not sure if he should speak in Japanese or English.

“Oh, hey Kazu!” Jin reverted back to Japanese. “How are you? We haven’t talked in a while. Is everything alright there?”

“You! Are you even studying there?” Kame’s voice took on an accusatory tone.

Jin sputtered. “Of course I am!”

“Have you seen the papers recently?” Kame continued to berate him through the phone. “There are picture of you partying splashed all over the tabloids. It’s such a pain in the ass for us over here.”

Jin was quiet for a moment. “I’m sorry.”

Kame’s sigh was heard on the other end of the line. “Just… Just come back with an acceptable level of English, alright? Show them you are doing your best there.”

“Alright. I’ll make you proud, Kazu. You’ll see,” Jin promised.

They spent another few minutes catching up before hanging up. As soon as the line was cut, Jin felt completely alone again.

That only lasted until he received a picture message from Kame. The younger boy had taken a portrait of himself giving Jin the thumbs up sign with one hand. His other hand held a horrible looking drawing of a turtle with the words ‘Ganbatte’.

Jin burst out laughing, feeling a burden lift off his shoulders. He was looking forward to classes tomorrow. He’ll learn something new and tell Kame all about it.

“Sekai de ichiban taisetsuna
Kono shunkan ga ikiru
Michishirube”

Junno stared hard at the blank piece of paper. He tapped the tip of his pencil onto the paper. He scribbled some words. He doodled. Finally, he gave a frustrated yell and threw the pencil onto the table before storming out of the room to get a cup of coffee.

Five pairs of eyes blinked at his departure before turning back to their own work. Kame, who had been talking quietly on the phone, looked guiltily at where Junno had sat earlier. Taking a few quick steps, he strode over to the table.

Peering at the paper, two words caught his eye. ‘Shiawase’ and ‘Fuan’. Happiness and anxiousness. A soft smile found its way onto Kame’s face.

At the end of the day, Koki and Maru high-fived and declared their collaboration song was half finished. Ueda and Jin scoffed, boasting that they only had to write it out neatly again.

Junno sat quietly, a dejected look on his face. Kame approached him.

“Junno, I’m sorry about today. The others have almost finished and we haven’t even started anything yet,” Kame apologized.

Junno shook his head and beamed at Kame. “It’s not your fault, Kame-chan. With Manager-san sick, and you having to take over the planning of the concert until he gets back, I just feel guilty that I couldn’t help more.”

“How about we go for dinner together? We can talk about our song then. I’ll even switch off my phone,” Kame winked at the most cheerful member of the group, who now looked the gloomiest of them all.

“Okay,” Junno agreed happily, stuffing his things into his bag. “But I have to tell you, Kame-chan. I haven’t the faintest clue how to write a song.”

Kame smiled reassuringly back at his group member before they headed out together.

The next morning, Kame paced nervously in the meeting room. When Junno entered with a loud greeting and was told to shut it by various members, Kame stopped his pacing. Instead, he stared at the ground, his brows furrowed.

“Good morning, Kame-chan,” Junno greeted him. Kame just waved hesitantly. “Sorry about last night,” Junno continued. “You had to listen to all my problems. And we couldn’t work on the song too.”

“That’s just it,” Kame said. “Listening to you, I had an inspiration.” He bit his lower lip nervously.

Junno had a questioning look. “What is it, Kame-chan?”

Wordlessly, Kame handed over a piece of paper. “I finished it last night,” he said simply.

Junno took a few moments to read through the words, finally looking up to Kame with a neutral expression.

“I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have! But I couldn’t help it!” Kame said in a rush. “After listening to you, it just came to me! It’s your private business, I shouldn’t have-”

“Nonsense!” Junno scolded the youngest member, earning him a wide-eyed look. “It’s wonderful. I can’t wait to record this!”

“Huh?” Kame eloquently replied. “You mean, you’re not mad at me?”

“Of course not! This will be our little secret. Our-“ Junno sneaked a glance at the title of the song, “Special Happiness.”

“Kono hikari kimi no yasashisa wo
Konnani mo kanjiteru
Mata itsu ka kono michi ni mayottemo
Kaeru bashou wa kimi ga kanaderu NEIRO.”

KAT-TUN moved to their places on the stage, forming a line amidst the swirls of dry ice.

PART TWO

[Akame] The Way Home (Multi-chapter) ~ Chapter 6 (II)

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 03:25:16 GMT

“Dare mo kimi to wakara naku temo
Kimi no oto kikoeru yo
Koko de hajimete deatta hi wo
I still remember.”

“Stop thinking so much about it,” Ueda said, even before Kame could mutter a ‘hello’ into the phone. “It’s not your fault, so stop thinking about it.”

Kame’s gaze lowered to the ground, ignoring Yamapi’s concerned look from the side.

“Nod your head if you understand and accept what I just said,” Ueda said after a few moments of silence from Kame.

He could not help it. Kame chuckled a little, turning his head and looking around. “Are you spying on me somewhere? You can’t see me nod through the phone.”

An amused chuckle was his reply. “I don’t have to see it to know it.”

“That’s… kinda scary, Tat-chan,” Kame teased. But he nodded anyway.

“Good boy. Now that you understand, stop beating yourself up about it. We don’t blame you, so don’t start blaming yourself,” Ueda sounded satisfied.

Kame nodded again. “Alright, Tat-chan.”

A few moments of silence enveloped the two friends again.

“After you’re done with this, come back to us. We’re waiting for you,” Ueda’s quiet voice broke the silence. “Come home. The kids are acting up. Maru’s going crazy. I’m about to kill the others.”

This time, Kame burst out laughing. In the background, he could hear some indignant protest and what sounded like Maru wailing.

“I never left, Tat-chan,” Kame smiled. “I’ll see you guys later. Bye.”

After he hung up, Kame put away his phone. He turned to see Yamapi looking a little bit worried. He gave the older man a reassuring smile and bounced over.

For now, he was still Shuuji. And he would be Akira’s Shuuji for another few weeks, but after that, he was Kame again. KAT-TUN’s Kamenashi.

“Kono hiroi sekai no katasumite
Kimi to deaeta kiseki
Kizutsuite kiesouni nattemo
Kaeru bashou wa bokura no NEIRO zutto.”

“Let’s make this clear. I don’t like any of you,” Koki said, his voice determined. He stared down the other five boys in the room, putting on his most intimidating look.

He could see four of them cower visibly. And he could hear Domoto Koichi sigh in the background. Only one person looked at him with an amused expression.

Koki could feel his hackles rise. “Wipe that look off your face. I just said I hated you.”

Kame nodded at him, but the small smile was still there. “It’s okay, Koki. I’m sure you’ll like me after you get to know me.”

For a few moments, Koki could only gape at the youngest member of their newly-formed group, KAT-TUN.

“Hello, my name is Kamenashi Kazuya. Most people call me Kame. Just call me whatever you feel comfortable with. Pleased to meet you,” Kame’s voice snapped Koki out of his shock.

Out of reflex, he returned Kame’s greeting bow. “Tanaka Koki. Pleased to meet you too.”

“… Dammit!” Koki swore. “I’m supposed to hate you!”

Kame’s laughter rang out in the room. Reaching over he took Koki’s hand in his and led him over to the others. “Come meet my friends, Koki.”

Despite his initial misgivings, Koki found that he warmed up quickly to Kame. The younger boy’s smile, his sometimes not-funny jokes, his huge eyebrows. Koki found that he actually liked having Kame around.

Kame’s hand-holding habit took a little getting used to, and the tension he felt from Akanishi from time to time was also unnerving. But in the end, he was a big softie. And with Kame’s encouragement and never-ending prods, he got to know the others too. And he started to like them too.

“I’m glad I met you, Kame-chan,” Koki said suddenly, one day out of the blue, years later. “If it wasn’t for you, I would have quit. If it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t have made such wonderful friends.”

The seagulls cried above, and the director yelled for everyone to take their places. Feeling embarrassed by his words, Koki fixed his gaze onto the ground.

Next to him, he heard a rustle of clothes as Kame stood up. A hand appeared in his line of vision, palm open. He looked up to see Kame beaming at him.

“You’re welcome, Koki.”

“Kono hikari kimi no yasashi sa wo
Konnani mo kanjiteru
Doredake no toki ga sugi nagaretemo
Kaeru bashou wa bokura no NEIRO
Kaeru bashou wa kimi ga kanaderu NEIRO.”

“Kame, please come back to us,” each member made a silent wish as they finished the song.

~*~

One by one, the members walked off the stage. Not a word was exchanged, and each was lost in his own thoughts.

“Good job, guys. That was a splendid performance,” the enthusiastic manager clapped them on the backs. His enthusiasm was not dampened by the fact that he received no response from his charges.

After passing their microphones to the staff waiting off camera, Jin and the others filed back into their seats. The rest of the program passed by quickly, with KAT-TUN only answering questions when Tamori-san addressed them directly.

As they changed back into their street clothes, Jin threw his bag onto the dresser in frustration. This caught the attention of the others.

“What the hell are we doing?” Jin gritted out, his hands balling into fists. “What in the fucking hell are we doing?”

“Jin,” Ueda approached from behind, resting his hand on Jin’s shoulder.

Throwing Ueda’s hand off, Jin turned to them, anger flashing in his eyes. “He’s out there! Out there God knows where! And what the hell are we doing?” he shouted, trembling from anger. “We’re singing on TV! Singing!!”

“You think any of us feels better about this?” Koki shouted back, kicking the chair nearest to him and sending it flying across the room. “Because we don’t! You’re not the only one hurting here!”

“Well, you didn’t lose someone important to you, so how the hell would you know how much it hurts?” Jin fired back.

Koki saw red, and he grabbed Jin by the collar, slamming him against the dresser mirror. Things clattered onto the floor. “Fuck you! Kame’s important to all of us! How dare you say that!”

“Koki! Jin!” Maru and Junno tried to pry them apart. “Stop this.”

“ENOUGH!” Ueda’s shout stunned everyone in the room. The other four members turned to him.

“Stop this nonsense. Honestly, if Kame saw this, he’d beat the crap out of all of you,” Ueda continued, stuffing things into his bag with more force than necessary.

The room fell silent. Koki offered a hand to Jin. Grasping the hand, Jin pulled the rapper into a hug. “I miss him so much, Koki,” Jin’s words were muffled by Koki’s clothes.

“We all do, Jin. We all do,” Koki consoled the older man. “Just… have faith. Have faith in Kame-chan.”

~*~

Maru groaned as he rolled across his bed. His phone had been ringing persistently despite his best efforts to ignore it.

Work was exhausting. Not physically, but it took a toll on him mentally. It felt completely different without Kame.

Turning up at the studio, having their pictures taken, appearing on Music Station. There were so many places and times that he would turn a corner or glance at and expect to see Kame there.

When Jin went to America, they were not sure when he was going to return. There was obviously some anxiousness, but this feeling was different. Maru could not put his finger on it; it just felt different.

It was as if Kame was there with them, but he was not. And thinking too much about it exhausted him to no end. He should really ask for a vacation soon.

After the Music Station performance, Jin had put in a notice that he was going to Okinawa for a week. The island held a lot of memories for them, and Jin hoped he would stumble upon Kame there.

The ringing of his phone pulled Maru out of his sleepy daze as it rang for the umpteenth time. Slapping his hand haphazardly on the side table, he grabbed the offending device and picked up without even opening his eyes.

“Yucchi.”

“Ueda?”

“I need a break.”

“Okay. Take a week. Jin’s taking one.”

“Come with me.”

“Eh?”

“You know I hate to travel alone.”

“Where are we going?”

“Kyoto.”

“Any reason why?”

“A gut feeling.”

“Alright.”

“Thanks, Maru.”

“No problem. You’re paying for the food while we’re there as compensation of my sleep.”

“Right. Bye.”

“Bye.”

Maru tossed his phone back onto the side table.

Kyoto. Kyoto sounds nice, he thought as he drifted back to sleep.

*~*~*~*~*~*~* Kyoto. What destiny awaits them there? *~*~*~*~*~*~*

A/N: Uhm…. Ryu doesn’t appear in this chapter. Sorry! But he does appear in the next! So please don’t kill me!

Also, the next time I take *checks calendar* three weeks to put up a chapter, feel free to push me down a flight of stairs. Death threats are great too (^_^) Sorry for keeping you waiting! *deep bow*

[HayaRyu] Old Habits Die Hard (Drabble)

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 08:12:24 GMT

Title: Old Habits Die Hard (Drabble)

Pairing: HayaRyu

Summary: Hayato finds out that no matter what age he is, he’ll never get rid of certain habits.

Disclaimer: Do I look like a rich old man who owns an entire agency of shiny, pretty, and sparkly young boys? The answer is no.

A/N: I found the speculations about Hayato as a lorry driver in Gokusen The Movie so amusing, this HAD to be written. Please note that this was written ages ago, but I just procrastinated in posting it up (^_^;)

“And?” Ryu tapped his book on his desk, one eyebrow raised in anticipation.

Hayato gave a defeated sigh and turned back to the young boy. “I’m sorry I scared you,” he said, earning him a nod of approval from Ryu, “-so badly you peed in your pants,” he continued, a grin breaking out.

“Ow!” Hayato whined when Ryu’s book connected with the back of his head. He rubbed the spot and pouted at the redhead. Oh wait, Ryu’s hair was black now.

The bell rang, and Ryu turned to his class. “I’m sorry for the disturbance, but that’s it for today. Go home and read up on the next chapter. We’ll discuss it tomorrow.”

As the students of 3-A left the class, they gave their teacher a smile, and gave Hayato a suspicious and slightly terrified look.

Hayato leaned over the teacher’s desk and grinned up at Ryu.

“You, on the other hand, are going to fix that gaping hole in the wall,” latter said, gesturing to the broken wall. Hayato’s lorry was covered in cement dust, slightly dented but standing proudly in the middle of the mess.

“Why?” Hayato gaped. “I told you why I did it!” he tried to defend himself.

“And why was that again?” Ryu asked sarcastically, putting his books back together.

Hayato huffed. “My Ryu-sense tingled.”

“Because you thought that boy wanted to grope me,” Ryu rolled his eyes, dusting some of the dust off his shoulder.

Hayato wrinkled his nose. “No, I knew he wanted to grope you. He was leaning all the way over your table. Of course he wanted to grope you.”

“Hayato,” Ryu said, a slight edge in his tone. “I asked him to lean over so he could see me correct his mistake.”

“So? He still leaned in too far,” Hayato made a face. “He practically had his face in yours.”

Ryu raised an eyebrow. “So you decided to drive through a wall?”

“Your class is at the end of the corridor. Running here would have taken too long,” Hayato answered simply, shrugging his shoulders.

“WHAT IN HEAVEN’S NAME-“ a shout came from the entrance of the class.

Hayato and Ryu’s head whipped around to find Sawatari-sensei and Yankumi gaping at the lorry that Hayato had driven through the wall into the classroom.

“YABUKI?!” Yankumi was the first of the two to regain speech.

Hayato grabbed Ryu and pulled him down quickly for a kiss before whispering, “Gotta run. I’ll see you at home later.”

With a quick “Ja ne!” and his signature goodbye peace sign, Hayato hopped into the driver’s seat and drove off, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake.

“COME BACK HERE, YOU NO-GOOD DELINQUENT!” Sawatari-sensei hollered after the disappearing lorry.

Ryu sighed. He wondered again for the umpteenth time why his bond with Yabuki Hayato had to be so strong that he was willing to do anything for and forgive the idiot unconditionally.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ owari ~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N: This is not crack, by my understanding of crack. It’s not serious, either. So, uhm… I don’t know. It’s just something I needed to get out of my system. If you liked it, yay! If you didn’t, gomen ne!

[Akame] The Way Home (Multi-Chapter) ~ Chapter 5

Sat, 08 Aug 2009 07:56:52 GMT

Title: The Way Home (Chapter 5)
Rating: G.
Pairing: Jin/Kame, Kame/OC
Disclaimer: Do I look like an old man who owns a company full of sexy young boys to you? For the record, no.
Summary: Kamenashi Kazuya is on the receiving end of a backlash from his guest appearance on Mr. Brain. An accident happens that robs him of his memory. Now in a new place with a new name, will he find his way back? Will AT-TUN ever see him again?

His head hurt. There was a roaring in his ears. The throbbing of his skull made him feel like he was going to pass out.

Jin slowly cracked an eye open, despite every fiber on his being protesting the action. Pushing backwards, he rested his head on the headboard. The early morning light came in through the opening of the curtains.

Taking in his surroundings, Jin heaved a sigh. Koki was curled up in a single seater in one corner of the room, snoring softly. Yamapi and Ryo were tangled in a heap on the floor next to the bed.

“I’m so sorry, guys,” his voice came out softly. Fresh tears blurred his vision. “I’m sorry.”

Yamapi mumbled incoherently, shoving Ryo’s face away with his knee. The Osakan grunted and retaliated with a kick to Yamapi’s shoulder. Both men groaned as they slowly began to wake up to the sound of quiet sobbing.

Jin had his face covered with the palm of his hands. He felt utterly defeated. Not only was Kame gone, but now he had become a burden to those around him. So distracted was he by his thoughts, he barely noticed when Yamapi and Ryo sat next to him on the bed.

“Don’t be sorry, mabudachi Jin,” Yamapi said, his voice cracking. His eyes brimmed with tears, his heart breaking anew at the anguish his best friend was going through.

“No one blames you,” Koki spoke up, joining the little group on the bed. “We just want you to take better care of yourself. Kame-chan would kill us if you lost any weight,” he attempted a joke, managing to pry a small smile from Jin.

“Fat Jin~ Fat Jin~,” Ryo sang as he and Yamapi entered KAT-TUN’s meeting room. All heads turned sharply at their guest.

Stopping in their tracks, they took in the tense atmosphere in the room. Kame was staring down one of the senior management officers of Johnny’s Jimusho, with one hand on the table. It looked as though he had just slammed the table. Jin was standing beside him, one hand on Kame’s arm. The rest of KAT-TUN stood behind their youngest member, not a smile in sight.

The man held Kame’s gaze and he gestured vaguely in Ryo’s direction. “Even Nishikido thinks so,” he stated matter-of-factly.

“Nishikido doesn’t mean half of what he says,” Kame said through gritted teeth. “If Nishikido meant everything he said, he’d be dead twenty times over by now.”

“Oi, I’m here, girly boy!” the Osakan snapped. A decisive thump of Kame’s hand on the table silenced him. He knew it was not the right time to be snarky, not when Kame had that expression on his face.

“Akanishi is not fat. He doesn’t need to go on a diet. If Johnny-san has a problem with that, he can talk to me,” Kame ground out, finality in his voice. “And if you ever, ever come at us like that again, you can start looking for a new job.”

Yamapi and Ryo’s eyes bulged. Jin had actually gotten a warning for being fat?! He’s probably the only person in Johnny’s Jimusho who was not dangerously underweight. Well, him and Yamapi. But Yamapi never got a warning!

“Remember how Johnny-san had to personally come down to apologize to Kame-chan?” Koki continued, laughing freely now.

Jin found himself joining in the laughter. “And he even treated us to dinner. All-you-can-eat buffet too,” Jin smiled, his gaze dropping to his hands that were clasped together on his lap.

“Never piss off girly boy,” Ryo chipped in, thinking back to the times when his remarks about Ueda had gone overboard. An angry Kamenashi Kazuya could out-snark him any day of the century.

Jin stared at his pinky ring. His features hardened. “I’ll find him.”

“Jin?” Koki ventured.

Jin looked up at them, one by one. There was renewed determination on his face. “He’s always been there for us. He’s always the one to look out for us. This time, it’s my turn to do something for him. I’ll find him.”

Yamapi, Ryo and Koki were silent as Jin held his pinky ring to his chest. “I’ll find him and bring him home. Home where he belongs. That’s our undeniable ‘kizuna’.”

~*~

“Kyoko-chan, hurry up or you’re going to be late,” Ryu hollered, flipping the omelette over. Breakfast was almost ready, and Kyoko had a total of 15 minutes to eat everything and rush to the train station to catch the train to Tokyo.

Kyoko had explained that she had to fulfill the last three months of her contract before she could quit her job and move permanently to Kyoto. Ryu, thinking the commute was ridiculous, had suggested that they move back to Tokyo temporarily for as long as she was still under contract.

It came as a surprise to Ryu when Kyoko had vehemently disagreed. She gave the reason that she would like for Ryu to recover in a less stressful and hectic environment.

So now, they had a standing agreement. Kyoko would commute to Tokyo on Monday morning and stay there until Wednesday evening. Then, she would come back to Kyoto and travel again back to Tokyo on Thursday morning before coming back on Saturday mornings.

Ryu had reluctantly agreed to the arrangement, but had relented under Kyoko’s insistence. In the end, he could not say no to her, not when she was the one who was working hard for the both of them.

Ryu had just finished plating the dishes when a frazzled Kyoko hopped onto her seat and began to wolf down her food.

“Slow down, you’re going to choke,” Ryu said with a worried frown.

Gesturing vaguely and mumbling something in between mouthfuls, Kyoko quickly finished up her meal. Grabbing her bag, she gave Ryu a quick goodbye kiss on the cheek before dashing out of the house. “I’ll call you later!”

Ryu chuckled and stared at the messy remnants of Kyoko’s breakfast. Sighing, he picked up the plates and placed them in the sink, deciding to wash them after he was done with his own breakfast.

Picking up the newspaper, he scanned the headlines and sipped his morning coffee. They had begun to subscribe to Asahi Shimbun a few days ago, after Ryu complained about not knowing anything about what was going on in Japan since his accident.

“Who’s Prime Minister now?” Ryu asked, giving Kyoko a pointed look. “Because I have no idea if we have a Prime Minister or a President.”

“Alright, alright. We’ll get the daily. But no tabloid stuff,” Kyoko had stressed, only to be met with Ryu’s confused look.

“I read the tabloids?!” he asked in disbelief. “For real?”

“N-no, I-I just meant,” Kyoko stammered. “I just meant that we don’t have the finances to indulge in those sorts of things,” she explained hurriedly.

Flipping past the business section, Ryu came to the classifieds. Scanning through the advertisements, he stared thoughtfully at one that caught his eye.

~*~

“Good morning,” Kyoko greeted as she hurried into the building. She bowed quickly before heading over to the desk she shared with two other junior staff members.

“Go over to KAT-TUN’s meeting now! Make sure you take notes so we can arrange for their needs,” her supervisor barked, disappearing as quickly as he appeared.

Kyoko grabbed a pen and a notebook. “Yes, sir!”

Pressing the elevator button impatiently, she was surprised to see Akanishi Jin and Tanaka Koki in the elevator when the doors opened.

She bowed once before scurrying inside, making sure to keep her head ducked.

The two men were quietly talking, but she strained her ear to listen in on their conversation.

“Are you sure you’re up to this?” Koki said in a low tone, concern evident in his voice. “We can ask for a longer break. Johnny-san won’t mind.”

Jin shook his head. “I’m fine, Koki. Maybe with less time on my hands, I won’t think so much.”

“You can’t just drown yourself in work. It never works for Kame-chan, and it sure as hell won’t work for you,” Koki reprimanded.

Jin gave a long sigh. “I’m not giving up. But we still have to keep up appearances to the public.”

The elevator gave a soft chime and the doors opened. Kyoko held the door open as the two men went past her with a nod of the head. “Thank you,” they each said as they left the elevator.

Following them out, Kyoko found herself staring at their backs. Koki, who would usually burst into any room with a loud welcome full of energy, looked like he aged decades in the two weeks that Kame had left. His shoulders were slumped; his whole posture spoke volumes of exhaustion and worry.

Jin looked even more exhausted, his head kept downwards as he shuffled his feet. A fleeting thought that Akanishi looked very lonely and lost went across Kyoko’s mind. The aura around him was different from the times she had seen him up close.

As they entered the meeting room, Jin noticed that she was following them. He gave her a small smile as he held the door for her. Kyoko nodded her thanks and took her place somewhere at the back of the room.

“Good of you to join us, Tanaka and Akanishi,” their manager said, all business-like. “I’ve just handed out your schedules for next week.”

Each member glanced at the sheet of paper. It was not as heavy as their schedules were before, and they suspected Johnny-san had made sure they had enough time to rest. A few photoshoots here and there, along with their regular filming of cartoon KAT-TUN.

“A word of caution. Do not mention Kamenashi unless it is absolutely necessary,” their manager warned. “We need the attention to his hiatus to blow over.” He raised an eyebrow in warning to the members of KAT-TUN, reminding them not to say anything unnecessary, especially with so many staff members around.

Jin scoffed, painfully aware that management, sans Johnny-san, could not care less what had happened to Kame. They only needed him back to complete KAT-TUN. Then, sales will soar again and with their coffers full, all would be right again in the world of Johnny’s Jimusho.

“The fans are starting to get restless, so you’ll be making a short appearance on Music Station’s Autumn Special next week. You’re slated to sing ‘NEIRO’, so make sure you have the lyrics memorized properly. Nakamaru, you’re in charge of Kamenashi’s parts in the song,” the manager continued to give out instructions.

Kyoko stood at the back of the room, taking notes as she was supposed to, but keeping a close watch on the five KAT-TUN members’ faces. A flash of sadness or some other emotions would cross their features whenever Kame’s name was mentioned.

Even so, their willingness to return to work without their youngest member’s presence made Kyoko narrow her eyes in anger.

You don’t care about him as much as everyone thinks, she thought, looking straight at Maru. The eldest of KAT-TUN was flipping through the schedule, a frown of concentration on his face.

“I have to put in more effort. For Kame. To show him that we can take care of ourselves. It’s different without you, Kame, but I’ll hold the fort until you return,” Maru made a silent resolution to himself.

Kyoko turned her attention to Taguchi, who was missing his usual sunshine smile. The acrobat of KAT-TUN was sitting back in his seat, barely registering their manager’s words. His attention was focused on the extra set of schedule in the middle of the table. The set that was automatically photocopied for Kame when the preparations of the meeting was done.

“Kame… We miss you a lot. You should know that. Where are you?” Junno’s thoughts wandered, memories of Kame’s smile, Kame’s laugh and Kame’s suggestions filling his thoughts. The meeting seemed so cold and devoid of familiarity without Kame’s presence.

‘Special Happiness’…bah! You don’t even look the least bit concerned, Kyoko mentally spat out. The grip on her pen tightened.

Her fury, though, was reached its peak when she laid eyes on Jin, who had exchanged glances with Ueda.

Not even a month has passed and you’re already making eyes at the next available person, she fumed. This just proves how right I was. He doesn’t deserve to be treated like this by any of you. He’s mine now, and I’ll make him happy.

“Meeting adjourned! We’ll have people to pick you up at 8am tomorrow for the photoshoot,” the manager clapped his hands, signaling the end of the meeting.

Staff members bustled around, each going about their own business to prepare for KAT-TUN’s work tomorrow. Kyoko stood up with the rest of them, heading out of the room, not sparing another glance back at the five idols.

~*~

“How are you holding up?” Ueda approached Jin, speaking quietly. He snuck a glance at the remaining staff members in the room.

Jin gave a rueful smile. “Not too good. But I have hope. We’ll find him. I know it.”

Ueda clapped Jin on the shoulder before heading over to their manager.

“Hey,” Maru said, taking a seat next to Jin. Koki joined them. “I just wanted to say I’m sor-“

“I’m sorry,” Jin cut Maru off, bowing deeply. “I lost my temper. And it wasn’t even your fault. I’m so sorry.”

Maru was startled for a moment. “No, no. I should be the one apologizing! I should never have doubted Kame,” he hurriedly said, grabbing Jin by the shoulders to pull him back into a standing position.

The two stared at each other for a moment before embracing. A few seconds passed before Jin cleared his throat.

“You can let go now. It feels weird hugging you.”

Maru released Jin only to smack him on the head. “Omae^[1], it’s no fun hugging you either.”

The familiar jibes left the two members grinning at each other. A hit on the arms was retaliated with another.

From the side, Ueda let a small smile creep onto his face. No matter how dire the situation, if they were together, they will overcome anything. Now, all they had to do was get back their missing member, and they could be together as a complete group.

~*~
PART TWO

[Akame] The Way Home (Multi-Chapter) ~ Chapter 4

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 01:55:20 GMT

Title: The Way Home (Chapter 4)

Rating: G.
Pairing: Jin/Kame, Kame/OC

Disclaimer: Do I look like an old man who owns a company full of sexy young boys to you? For the record, no.

All eyes in the room turned to Jin. He returned their gazes confidently. “That is NOT Kamenashi Kazuya. I know it’s not.”

“Jin.” Yamapi felt helpless. Everything was a mess. And the only person with the answers had just said in his own words that he was abandoning them.

“But it was his voice, Jin,” Maru tried, knowing it would take more than a telephone recording to convince Jin.

“It’s not him. Kazu wouldn’t do this. Not to you, not to me. Not to us,” Jin stood up, anger flashing in his eyes.

Maru tried again. “But-“

“I’m with Jin on this,” Koki interrupted. “This isn’t like Kame-chan at all.”

“I know. I know it’s completely out of character for Kame,” Maru began. “But what if this is what he really wants?”

“What are you saying?” Jin’s eye narrowed.

Maru bit his lower lip. This was going to be hard, but Jin had to see this whole mess from another perspective, even if it meant Maru getting the living daylights punched out of him. “I’m just saying-“

“Are you telling me that Kazu has been living a lie all these years? That this isn’t where he wants to be? That he doesn’t want us? That he’s not happy here?” Jin almost spat out the words, his voice rising steadily with each word.

Junno put a restraining hand on Jin’s shoulder, only to have it brushed away. “Jin, this isn’t Maru’s fault.”

Throwing his hands up in the air, Maru looked around helplessly. “I don’t know! I don’t know anything anymore! I don’t want to believe that it’s Kame, but it’s his voice! I can’t deny that, and you can’t deny that either!”

“Think what you want. I refuse to believe that Kazu has been lying to us all these years.” With that said, Jin threw open the door and stormed out.

“Akanishi!” Ueda called to no avail.

Koki gave them a nod. “I’ll take care of him,” he said before running after Jin. Yamapi and Ryo bowed slightly before giving chase as well.

~*~

“How long will you be staying here?” the kindly old woman asked. She smiled at Ryu, stopping her gardening.

Ryu returned her smile, squatting down to help her pull out some weeds. “A long time, I hope.”

A slight frown crossed her features. “But I was told you were renting this temporarily.”

“Renting?” The confusion on her face was mirrored by Ryu. “We bought this house,” he explained. “My fiancée and I.”

“I haven’t had an actual neighbour in years,” the kindly old woman commented. “They always rent this house out for drama filmings. Sometimes the staff people come weeks in advance to get the house ready.”

Ryu cast a glance at the house he called home. “Drama filmings?”

“Yes,” the old woman smiled. “Have you seen the drama ‘Hisatsu Shigotonin’? They filmed it right here. That actor, what’s his name… ah! Tanaka Koki-kun! Such a handsome young man. Very well-mannered too.”

“I’m sorry. I haven’t heard of the show or the actor,” Ryu replied.

“How could we afford this?” Ryu asked, staring at the large property.

Kyoko smiled and shrugged. “We bought it with your inheritance. You said you wanted a nice, relaxing home.”

He stood up and bowed low. “Please excuse my rudeness. I’m your new neighbour. My name is Kanzaki Ryu. Pleased to meet you.”

The kindly old lady laughed and stood up to return his bow. “You’re such a fine young man. My name is Ayase Kumiko. Pleased to meet you too.”

They spent the afternoon talking and Ayase-san introduced Ryu to the other residents of the neighbourhood.

Though most of the residents were retirees, Ryu found that he felt very comfortable in their company. The women were taken by his handsome face and delectable manners, while the men laughed heartily at his jokes and made him promise to join them for activities.

At the end of the day, Ryu returned home with a warm feeling in his heart and a wide grin on his face. As he prepared dinner, Ayase-san’s words came back to him.

“But I was told you were renting this temporarily.”

Ryu stopping stirring the pot of curry as his thoughts traveled.

Kyoko told him that this house belonged to them.

But Ayase-san had told him that the real estate agent had come by a few days ago to inform her of the new filming to be taking place in this house.

It seemed odd, but Ryu pushed his thoughts to the side as he heard the door slide open and Kyoko calling out, “Tadaima!”

“Okaeri!” he returned, turning the heat down low to keep the curry simmering. He stepped out of the kitchen, meeting her out in the living room. “How was the drama?”

Kyoko dropped her things on the floor before giving him a hug. “It went well. I’m happy it’s over.”

Ryu returned the hug awkwardly. Though he knew it hurt Kyoko that he was so distant, he personally still felt a distance between them. They may be engaged, but Ryu could not remember enough to be completely comfortable with her to show her the affection she wanted from him.

~*~

“Another!” Jin slurred, slamming the shotglass on the counter. His head lolled left and right as the bass resounded through the club.

Koki, Yamapi and Ryo exchanged looks. They had given up trying to stop him after the tenth tequila shot. Perhaps it was better this way. Perhaps Jin could finally get some rest if he drank himself numb.

“Another!” Jin called out again. He drank another six shots before collapsing onto the counter.

Yamapi paid the bartender as Koki and Ryo carried the unconscious Jin out of the club. They barely stepped out when Jin lurched forward and grabbed Koki by the collar.

“I don’t want to go home,” he begged. “Please. I don’t want to go home.”

Koki patted Jin on the shoulder. “Okay, Jin. We won’t take you home. We won’t take you home.”

At Koki’s assurance, Jin slumped back unconscious. Ryo looked at them. “Where to?”

“Somewhere he won’t be reminded of Kame-chan, I guess,” Koki replied.

Yamapi took out his car keys. “There’s a hotel down the road.”

~*~

“Mou~ Just look at you,” Kame frowned, stumbling slightly as Jin rested his full weight on his smaller frame. Jin knew Kame would not be overly excited about being woken up at four in the morning by a very drunk Akanishi Jin knocking random melodies on his door. “Was it necessary to drink so much?”

Jin was elated despite Kame’s complaints. He could not help it. Nobuta wo Produce wrapped up filming earlier in the afternoon. Finally Kame would be all his again. “Kazu-chan~” he sang, giggling into Kame’s shoulder.

His grin widened when he heard Kame give a mock long-suffering sigh. “Yes, Jin?”

“Kazu-chan,” the elder exclaimed, grinning so widely his eyes were mere crescents.

Jin felt Kame’s body tremble as he chuckled before he got dumped unceremoniously on the bed by the younger man. “What am I going to do with you?”

“Kazu-chan,” Jin rolled around, tangling himself in the sheets. Grabbing Kame’s pillow, Jin hugged it close to his chest. “Kazu-chan!”

“I’m here, Bakanishi,” Kame rolled his eyes, making a move to snatch his pillow back. Jin’s grip on the pillow tightened. A whine left his lips.

“Jin, let go of my pillow,” Jin felt Kame tug at the pillow.

Jin tugged back. “No, not letting Kazu-chan go. Want Kazu-chan to stay. Forever and ever,” he mumbled, burying his face into the pillow. He let all the words he always wanted to say, but never had the courage to, leave his lips. If Kame did not feel the same, Jin could always blame the alcohol in the morning.

“Kazu-chan. Forever,” Jin muttered, feeling a cold towel being placed on his forehead. “Kazu-chan.”

Yamapi sighed, taking a seat on the edge of the hotel bed. He shook his head as Jin continued to mumble Kame’s name in his sleep.

Reaching out, he gently stroked Jin on the head. Soon, Jin stopped tossing and slipped into a deep slumber.

“Kame-chan, where are you?” Yamapi whispered, a single tear rolling down his cheek. He felt Ryo and Koki come up behind him. A reassuring squeeze on each shoulder rejuvenated his will to be strong for his best friend.

~*~

Johnny-san slumped down into his chair. An exhausted sigh sounded in the empty room. Raking his hair with his fingers, Johnny-san loosened his tie with his other hand.

A soft knock sounded. “Come in,” he called out.

The door creaked open. Domoto Koichi stepped in, giving the president a polite bow. “Johnny-san. I saw some policemen leaving.”

“Come, sit with me,” Johnny-san motioned to the seat opposite his.

Koichi grabbed a bottle of mineral water and handed it to Johnny-san before sitting down. “What did they say?”

“They’re calling off the investigation. Kame is no longer considered a missing person,” Johnny-san shrugged, looking much older than his actual age.

“I know Kamenashi, Johnny-san,” Koichi’s lips thinned. “He’s a responsible kid. He would never run off like this.”

“I know, Koichi. I know. I wish we had an idea what was going on,” Johnny-san said. He took a sip of water.

~*~

“Ryu-kun~” Kyoko shook the sleeping man lightly on the shoulder. “Wake up, Ryu~”

A soft groan escaped Ryu’s lips as he turned over and hid his head under the covers. “Another 5 minutes, Jin.”

Kyoko’s hand froze, her heartbeat speeding up. Did he just say….. Without warning, she pulled the covers off.

Ryu’s eyes slowly opened. He blinked a few times at the sudden brightness. “Kyoko-chan?” he said, voice raspy with sleep. Bringing a hand to rub the sleep out of his eyes, Ryu’s vision focused on Kyoko, who had a worried expression on her face.

“Is everything alright?” he asked, sitting up quickly. He watched as various emotions flitted across her face. “Kyoko-chan?”

“Did you,” she began, taking a nervous breath. “remember something?”

Ryu looked at her in confusion. “Remember something? Like what?”

“Like some other people,” she prodded. “Names or faces that are new?”

Ryu took a second to think. “No, just you and the people around here. Oh, and Satou-sensei. Why? Did something happen earlier?”

“No,” she forced a smile. “No, it’s just that you called out a name in your sleep. That’s all.” Turning quickly, she was surprised when Ryu caught her by the wrist.

“Who’s name did I call out?” he asked curiously.

Kyoko shook her head and patted his hand. “You called out your dog’s name, that’s all.”

“What was her name?” Ryu asked further. “Why isn’t she here with us?”

“Her name was Ran. She died of old age a year ago,” Kyoko was beginning to find making up lies a breeze these says. She no longer felt panicked when faced with Ryu’s questions.

Ryu released her wrist. “Oh. I guess I must miss her a lot then.”

“You two were inseparable,” Kyoko said, standing up. “Now, go wash up. Breakfast will be ready when you’re done.”

“Thank you, sweetie,” the words left Ryu’s lips by reflex. His eyes widened and he stared at Kyoko, who stared right back at him.

She blushed a little, turning quickly and disappearing into the kitchen.

Back in the living room, Ryu was still slightly stunned at the affectionate way he addressed Kyoko. Though he had called her ‘sweetie’, the term did not seem to fit their relationship. Ryu could not put his finger on it, but he felt in his gut that he did not usually call her ‘sweetie’.

Sighing, he rubbed his temples tiredly. All this uncertainty was playing tricks on his mind, and he would rather recover his memories soon, if only so that he could give Kyoko the recognition she deserved.

Putting away the futon, Ryu padded over to the bathroom. He picked up the blue toothbrush and squeezed the still-full tube of toothpaste. Once again, the feeling of how new everything was washed over him.

Pushing the thoughts from his mind, Ryu made a decision. It was not fair how things were to Kyoko. He had to make an effort, if not for himself, then for her. He owed her too much.

From this day forth, he would be a new person. His past, if it returned, would be something he treasured. His life was here and now. With Kyoko.

But from today, he would stop chasing after shadows and start living his life again. He is Kanzaki Ryu. And he is engaged to Toda Kyoko. That is all he had to know.

His mind made up, and with a purpose and renewed zest for life, Ryu stepped into the kitchen.

“Good morning,” he said before placing a small kiss on her cheek. His smile widened when she blushed and set the plates of breakfast on the table.

“Good morning,” she returned.

*~*~*~*~*~*~* to be continued *~*~*~*~*~*~*

A/N: Okay, so I think some explanation is necessary. Ryu, who was feeling at a loss after losing his memory, has now come to a decision. What is past is past, and he now wants to rebuild his life again.

This is how I think real life Kame would be, because he seems to be such a determined person. I can’t see Kame being moody and generally without a purpose in life for long, so he comes out of this lost maze by deciding to live in the present. And that’s why he’s making an effort to be there for Kyoko and their ‘future’ as husband and wife.

I hope I managed to explain it….

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. If you think this is too out of character for Kame to just push his past aside and forge ahead, if this is also how you view RL Kame.. anything at all.

MUSES! WHERE ARE YOU?!

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 09:20:14 GMT

Okay. So memoryloss!Kame is being a bit difficult... especially since it's very tiring to think like psycho!Kyoko. It WILL be posted up some time next week, but I need a break from it for now.

And so! I need some help!

Throw some random words at me because I want to write fluff/crack word drabbles.

Thanks!

[Akame] The Way Home (Multi-Chapter) ~ Chapter 3

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 13:32:05 GMT

HAPPY GOKUSEN DAY~!!!

Dear Kame, may you ~~finally~~ be acknowledged for your awesome acting and your hard work all these years. Forget the hater, enjoy your moment. Have a wonderful premier and have faith in yourself. Otsukame~

*chuu*

Title: The Way Home (Chapter 3)

Rating: G.

Disclaimer: Do I look like an old man who owns a company full of sexy young boys to you? For the record, no.

<<< PREVIOUS CHAPTER

NEXT CHAPTER >>>

The doorbell rang incessantly, prompting Ryo to rush to the door and throw it open. “Shut it! You’re going to wake him up,” he hissed, glaring at Ueda and Nakamaru.

“How is he?” Maru pushed his way in, concern evident in his voice. “Is he hurt?”

Turning the corner, he carefully opened the door. The room inside was dark, and he could see a figure breathing steadily on the bed.

“Idiot was damned lucky,” Ryo grumbled. He ran his fingers through his hair, exhausted. “Pi managed to grab him in time.”

Ueda raised an eyebrow. “And what about Yamapi?”

“He got mad, gave Bakanishi a punch before hugging him and thanking the gods,” Ryo chuckled lightly. His laughter stopped abruptly as he raised weary eyes to the other two KAT-TUN members. “How did things get so fucked up?”

Ueda and Maru had no answers, so they remained quiet.

The silence was broken by the ringing of the phone. Fearing it would wake Jin up, Ueda dashed to it and picked up the receiver.

“Hello?”

“Get you asses back to the Jimusho right now!” Koki’s voice could be heard yelling. “Kame left us a message!”

Ueda’s eyes widened. He quickly hung up, running into the bedroom to shake Jin roughly awake.

“Tat-chan? Wha-“

Ueda hauled the sleepy Jin off the bed. “We’re going to the Jimusho. NOW. Kame left a message.”

No one was surprised when Jin was the first out of the house.

~*~

“Here’s our room,” Kyoko said, sliding open the door to the master bedroom. Inside, Ryu saw a spacious king-sized bed, and an attached bathroom. “It’s not much,” Kyoko stared. “But it’s home.”

Ryu nodded absently. “Home,” he echoed, stepping into the room.

“Do you want to get a shower? It must have been a tiring journey,” she said, opening closet and drawers before finding what she was looking for.

A fluffy towel was placed in Ryu’s hands. “Thank you,” he smiled at her.

Smiling shyly, she turned away from him. “I’ll get the tub ready for you,” she said, disappearing into the bathroom.

Ryu looked around the room. They had taken a quick tour of the house, but Ryu could not help but feel detached from it. Kyoko was telling him that this was their home, but he did not feel at ease here.

He thought the familiar surroundings would help him. That it would at least reduce some of the anxiety he felt. Not know who he is, not knowing how he should be, not knowing where he belonged; all these things were taking a toll on him mentally.

Kyoko is his fiancée, but he felt no love towards her. He just felt a sense of familiarity to her, because she was the one who has been by his side since he woke up and lost his memory. He felt gratitude towards her, because she cared for him through his current condition.

Lifting the towel, Ryu took a deep breath. It smelled nothing like him. It smelled like a store-bought towel. His heart sank. Nothing felt familiar in this environment, which he should have felt most at home in.

“It’s ready,” Kyoko’s voice called out to him. Ryu pulled away from his thoughts to smile at her.

“Thank you,” he said, not missing the concerned look on her face.

She fidgeted a bit. “Are you alright?” she asked hesitantly.

“I’m just,” Ryu paused for a moment, trying to find the right words to express himself. “I feel out of place here,” he said, shrugging. “This should be home, but I don’t feel like I’m home. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Kyoko took a few cautious steps closer to him. She reached out and rubbed his arm gently. “I don’t know exactly how you feel, but I think I can understand,” she began, looking up earnestly into his eyes. “It may seem awkward now, but you’ll grow to like it here.”

Ryu nodded. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I was expecting a little more from myself. I thought being home would put my mind more at ease,” he replied. He took a step away from her, heading to the bathroom. “Thank you.”

Kyoko watched silently as the door to the bathroom closed. “You’ll find it so much better here, Kame. You’ll see,” she whispered.

~*~

Ryu picked out several carrots and added them to the shopping cart. Kyoko was ahead, looking at some potatoes.

They were at the local convenience store, just down the road from their house. Ryu had been surprised to find their kitchen completely bare, and Kyoko’s panicked look did not escape his notice.

She explained that they did not stock up on food because they had spent the weekend in Tokyo, and were worried about the food going bad. Accepting the explanation, Ryu suggested they go grocery shopping.

“How about these?” Kyoko asked, showing Ryu several potatoes.

Ryu looked at them critically before shaking his head. “They’re too soft. And the skin doesn’t look too good.”

“Oh,” Kyoko answered, disappointment in her voise. She placed the potatoes back into the pile.

Smiling a little, Ryu said, “You don’t do much cooking, do you?”

“I never really had to cook,” Kyoko pouted, miffed that Ryu was now laughing heartily at her.

“So, I’m the cook?” Ryu asked, a twinkle in his eye.

Kyoko looked a little sheepish. “You’re the better cook. There’s a difference.”

Both of them shared a smile as they continued their shopping.

After half an hour, they stood at the check-out counter. The cashier scanned each item.

“Pasta?” Kyoko asked, a frown on her face.

Ryu shrugged. “I just picked it out of reflex. I thought maybe you liked it and I unconsciously remembered it.”

“I don’t eat pasta,” Kyoko said, taking the pasta out and telling the cashier apologetically that they did not want that item.

Frowning a little, Ryu thought over his action. As they went past the dried foods section, he had automatically picked out the pasta. He himself was not really fond of it, because Italian cooking usually incorporated tomatoes into their recipes.

He had looked over at Kyoko, who was then looking for the snack aisle. It crossed Ryu’s mind that perhaps Kyoko was the one who liked pasta, and he had chosen it out of habit of cooking it for her.

Chalking it up to his fuzzy memory, Ryu pushed it to back of his mind.

Kyoko was waiting for the cashier to ring up their purchases, all the while attentive to the female cashier’s looks at Ryu. She knows, her mind panicked. She knows who he is! Wait, of course she knows! Who doesn’t know Kamenashi Kazuya! Stupid stupid! Coming to the conbini like this!

As her thoughts raced, Kyoko’s eyes noticed the tabloids neatly lined up next to the counter. The front page had ‘Where has he gone?! Kamenashi’s whereabout unkown!” in bright, bold letters. Kyoko’s palms began to sweat, her heart pounding. She was close to running out when the cashier finally told her the total of their purchases.

Paying quickly, she called out to Ryu, who was moving towards the tabloid magazines.

Ryu followed Kyoko out into the parking lot, surprised at her urgency to go out. “Are you alright?” he asked.

“I’m fine,” she answered. “I just felt a little cold in there. The air-conditioning was quite strong.”

Ryu nodded, taking the groceries from her. Both walked back to their house, deep in their own thoughts.

~*~

When they got home, Ryu took the groceries to the kitchen to put everything away. “If I’m the one cooking, I should at least know where the things are,” he told her, seating her on the couch in the living room.

Kyoko smiled gratefully. Turning on the television, she flipped the channels absent-mindedly. She needed to get everyone to forget about Ryu. She knew the Johnny’s would be searching for them. Even though they were far from Tokyo, Johnny-san had connections, and he would not be pleased that one of his biggest stars had gone missing.

Chewing her lip, she barely noticed the entertainment news coming on. Ryu could be heard bustling around in the kitchen, cutting vegetables and humming a little tune. Kyoko glanced in his direction warily before turning her attention to the broadcast.

‘Good evening. No news yet on the whereabouts of Johnny’s Jimusho idol, Kamenashi Kazuya. Stakes outside his apartment and family home have revealed nothing. No comments are being given by the other idols from Johnny’s Jimusho. This begs the question, “Where has he gone?”. Our trusted sources from the Japanese Immigration Department have also confirmed that he is still in the country. After his sudden hiatus was announced, fans have reacted in shock. Most would like him to come forward and give a few words.’

Switching the television off, she quickly went into the master bedroom. Thankfully, she had her laptop with her. Turning it on, she typed quickly.

“Ryu.”

Ryu turned around and smiled at Kyoko. “Be patient,” he teased. “I’m cooking as fast as I can.”

Laughing at the whiny voice he adopted, Kyoko placed her laptop on the kitchen counter. “I need a favour from you.”

“I have an audition coming up. Just a small part in a drama,” she explained, avoiding eye contact with him.

Whistling, Ryu looked at her with admiration. “My fiancée is an actress. Who’d have thought?”

“I’m not an actress, silly,” she said quickly. “It’s just some side money. They always need extras.”

“Well, then they don’t appreciated what’s right under their noses. I’m sure you’re a great actress,” Ryu smiled.

Kyoko laughed and hit him lightly on the arm. “Stop playing. I really need some help here.”

“Okay okay,” Ryu joined in her laughter. “What do you need me to do? I can’t do your make-up,” he warned, his eyes twinkling.

“I need you to run a few lines with me. Just so I can, you know, have some practice.”

Ryu nodded. “Okay, I can do that. I just have to read the other person’s lines, right?”

Kyoko nodded, praying that Ryu would not suspect anything. “Yeah, you just have to read some lines.”

“Alright. After dinner then. We’ll have our own show,” Ryu smiled reassuringly. Kyoko returned his smile, grabbing the chopsticks and scooping the rice while Ryu plated the dishes.

~*~

Setting her phone on the table, Kyoko discreetly pressed the button to start recording. Showing the page of ‘script’ with her lines on her laptop, they went over the lines several times.

After they finished, Ryu lay sprawled on the floor of the living room. “You’re going to do great tomorrow,” he said, confidence in his voice. “I know you will.”

“Thank you,” she replied, feeling a twinge in her heart. She was beginning to feel guilty, especially after Ryu delivered a rousing performance earlier. Even with his memory loss, he was able to show so much depth of emotion when he read the lines.

Kyoko felt guilty for robbing him of the chance to perform and showcase his talents to the world. She looked quietly at Ryu, who was wriggling around, looking for a better position.

“This is the best,” he stretched. “A full meal, lovely company and a pleasant evening.” He tilted his head and stared at her gently.

In a flash, her doubts were relieved. Ryu’s words had reaffirmed her conviction that this was much better for him. She smiled. “This really is the best,” she agreed.

Later, after some idle chatter, they decided to call it a night. Ryu stood uncertainly in the doorway to the bedroom.

“Listen, I,” he began, rubbing the back of his neck. “I really don’t know how to say this,” he continued.

“What’s wrong, Ryu?” Kyoko asked, moving away from the bed to stand before him.

Ryu gestured vaguely. “I know this is unfair to you. But please don’t be upset.”

“What are you saying?” Kyoko could feel her heartbeat speed up.

“I don’t think we should be sleeping in the same room. Well, at least not for now,” Ryu looked at Kyoko’s disappointed face. “I don’t mean that I don’t want to,” he hurriedly added. “It’s just that I feel like I should, you know, get better and remember more before we, you know…”

Kyoko kept quiet as he trailed off. She was disappointed at his request, but she was also charmed by his gentlemanly gesture.

“It’s alright,” she gave him a small smile, turning back into the room to retrieve the spare futon in the closet. “I understand.”

Ryu let out a relieved breath. “Thanks for understanding. You’re a very special girl,” he said, taking the futon and covers from her.

She carried the pillow and followed him out to the living room. They set everything up and Ryu lay down to rest.

“Good night,” she said, turning off the lights.

“Good night,” Ryu replied.

~*~

The next morning, on the pretense of going to the drama shoot, Kyoko left Ryu in the house.

Running to the train station, she stopped off at Nara. Once there, she picked a random public telephone booth.

Bringing up her courage, she dialed the Johnny’s Jimusho hotline. With the current situation, she was very sure the phone lines would be too busy.

Just as she predicted, the central answering machine picked up. Placing her phone carefully to the receiver, she played the recording on her phone before hanging up abruptly.

~*~

“I am leaving now. Please don’t look for me. This is something I have to do. I appreciate your concern and support all these years. I will pray for your happiness. Do not wait for me. Goodbye.” Click.

The room was eerily silent. No one knew what to say. No one knew how to react.

“That can’t be Kame,” Jin’s voice echoed in the room.

*~*~*~*~*~*~* HAPPY GOKUSEN PREMIER DAY!!! *~*~*~*~*~*~*

A/N: Eeeps… Trying to patch holes in this plot is so difficult. I think I’m gonna turn into a very successful psychopath idol kidnapper after this fic (@_@)

This chapter probably sucks. I didn’t have the time to read it over because I was rushing for the Gokusen premier day.

On another note, comments are becoming less after each chapter. Minna-sa, are you losing interest?

Bonus of the day!

Teacher!Kame wallpaper~
Click to grab (^_^)

[Akame] The Way Home (Multi-Chapter) ~ Chapter 2

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:23:32 GMT

Title: The Way Home (Chapter 2)

Rating: G.

Disclaimer: Do I look like an old man who owns a company full of sexy young boys to you? For the record, no.

<<< PREVIOUS CHAPTER

NEXT CHAPTER >>>

“It’s been five days! All you can tell me is that he hasn’t left the country?!” Johnny-san slammed the phone back into its cradle. Frustrated, he threw a paperweight across the room, feeling slightly satisfied at the dent it made on the door.

Two timid knocks on his office door re-ignited his frustration. “What is it?!” he snapped.

Koki poked his head into the office. “Johnny-san…” he began.

Johnny-san let out a small sigh, calming his frazzled nerves. He motioned for Koki to come in.

“I’m sorry if I startled you, Koki,” he apologized as Koki picked up the paperweight and placed it back onto his desk. “I just can’t believe the level of incompetence of the police. It’s been five days!”

Koki reached over and gave the old man reassuring pats on his hand. “Johnny-san, you look terrible. You really need to get some rest. Mary-san came to us, crying. She says you haven’t gone back home since it happened.”

“I can’t, Koki. What if I go home and they find him? What if I’m not here when they have some news?” Johnny-san said, sinking further into his chair.

Koki shook his head determinedly. “If there’s a call, one of us is always here. We’re taking turns to stay around just in case there’s any news. Jin is staying home in case Kame-chan shows up there. You need to rest, Johnny-san. What do you think Kame would do if he came back and saw you like this?”

“Drag me kicking and screaming into his car and drive me home, all the while lecturing me about my heart condition?” Johnny-san smiled a little. “That’s what he would typically do. And cook me a healthy dinner while he’s at it.” Despite the situation, Johnny-san let out a chuckle, picturing the youngest member of KAT-TUN’s frown whenever he found out that Johnny-san has strained himself more than necessary.

Giving the elderly man a gentle smile, Koki helped him out of his seat. “So, you have to stay healthy. If not for Kame, then do it for us. We need you. We need an anchor, or we’d just fall apart. We’re barely holding on as it if. Everyone’s trying to stay positive, but we just…” he trailed off, shoulders slumping.

Koki took in a ragged breath. “I wish…” his voice broke, and he let Johnny-san envelope him in a hug.

“He’ll be back, you’ll see. Kame will be back,” Johnny-san whispered, not sure if he was reassuring Koki or himself.

~*~

Ryu let Kyoko lead him slowly, his eyes closed. “Can I open them yet?” he grinned.

“For the hundredth time, not yet,” she replied, pretending to be annoyed, but Ryu could hear the smile her voice.

Ryu sighed dramatically, refusing to move from his spot. “I’m not taking another step until you let me open my eyes.”

“Stop being such a baby,” she laughed, tugging lightly on his hands. “We’re almost there.”

Grinning from ear to ear, Ryu shook his head. “Not until I open my eyes,” he repeated, blowing off a few strands of hair that had fallen over his eyes.

“Honestly,” she laughed again, “I don’t know how they put up with you.”

Ryu cocked his head to the side, a questioning look on his face. “They?”

Alarmed at her slip, Kyoko’s mind and heart raced. “I-I…” she stammered, unsure of what she should say.

“You mean my family?” Ryu continued.

Kyoko almost breathed a sigh of relief as Ryu gave her the perfect opening for a lie. “Yes, you told me how they were always exasperated by you when you were younger.”

“Why haven’t they come to see me?” Ryu sounded sad, his smile lost.

Kyoko stepped closer to him, squeezing his hand. “They passed away some time ago. You told me they were in an accident when you were just 18.”

Ryu let his head fall a little. “I feel so guilty; guilty for not remembering them.”

“It’s okay, I’m sure they don’t blame you,” she said, cupping his face with her hands. “They’d be so proud of you.”

“I hope so,” Ryu said, a slight regret still in his voice. He looked up, a shaky smile on his face. “I’m sure they’re at peace too, since I’m safe in your hands.”

“Yes, and you’re definitely a handful,” she replied, closing his mouth with the palm of her hand before he could protest. “And no, you can’t open your eyes yet.”

Her laughter rang out as she pulled him along the path. Ryu let himself be led, though he did turn back for a moment as a feeling of loss overcame him.

~*~

“You are going to finish this food and then you’re going to sleep in the bed,” Ryo said sternly, placing a plate of fried rice in front of Jin.

Ignoring the Osakan, Jin’s focus remained on the television. He flipped through the channels, looking for news programs.

“Jin, please,” Yamapi said, picking up the newspapers strewn all over the floor. “You have to eat.”

Ignoring Yamapi as well, Jin continued to flip through the channels.

Frustrated, Ryo grabbed the remote control from Jin’s hand and turned the television off.

“Hey! Give that back!” Jin yelled, spurting from the couch to retrieve the remote control.

Ryo, who was tackled by Jin, fell onto the floor as the both of them grappled for the remote.

“Give it back! There could be something on the news!” Jin said, desperation in his voice. “They could have found an injured man! Someone could have turned up at a hospital!”

Yamapi dragged Jin off Ryo, trying to avoid getting hit by Jin’s flailing arms. “Jin, stop this,” he pleaded, completely at a loss. He had no idea how to deal with Jin right now.

Jin, who had never looked so broken. Jin, who looked so lost and alone. Jin, who was clinging on to any possibility of hope, real or imaginary, of Kame just waltzing back through the door at any moment.

“Get a grip on yourself!” Ryo yelled. The sound of a slap resounded through the house. Ryo was breathing hard. “If Kame saw you like this, he’d be disgusted.”

Releasing Jin from his grip, Yamapi watched as his best friend dropped to his knees.

Jin’s shoulders shook as he covered his face with his hands. “But he’s not here to see me. I don’t know where he is,” Jin’s words came out in sobs. He looked up at Ryo, tears spilling. “Where is he? Why won’t he come back to me?”

Seeing Jin in this condition, Yamapi and Ryo hugged him tightly. The three friends cried softly in each others’ arms.

“Kazu,” Jin sobbed, “Please come back to me.”

~*~

“Okay, we’re finally here,” Kyoko giggled, bringing Ryu to a stop. “Keep you eyes closed!”

Ryu rolled his eyes, though the effect was dampened by the fact that Kyoko could not see it. “We’re here and I still can’t open my eyes?”

“Just a moment,” she said, letting go of his hands and situating herself behind him. She clasped her hand over his eyes.

“Are you ready?” she whispered into his ear. “Open them.”

Slowly, Ryu felt her slowly open her hands. He blinked a few times. He was still having trouble adjusting to bright conditions; most times they irritated his sensitive eyes.

In front of them, stood a cosy traditional wooden Japanese house. Sakura trees lined the small pathway that led to the main entrance. A small koi pond rippled with the movement of the fish under the water.

“This is beautiful,” Kame breathed. He turned around to face Kyoko, who was beaming at him.

“Do you like it?” she asked, looking down shyly.

Ryu stepped closer to her and smiled gently. “I love it. But why were we in Tokyo when we stay here in Kyoto?” he asked, asking a question he had wanted to ask since he was discharged from the hospital that morning.

“Goodbye, Kanzaki-san,” the kindly doctor said, bowing to Ryu. “I hope you will regain your memory soon. I’m sorry I couldn’t help more.”

Ryu smiled at his doctor. “Thank you, Satou-sensei. You nursed me back to health.”

Both men exchanged smile, before Ryu gave the doctor a hug. “Thank you again, sensei.”

“Stay healthy and make sure you take good care of your little lady. She looked so worried while you were out of it,” Satou-sensei clapped Ryu on the back.

Ryu gave the doctor one last smile before joining Kyoko, who was waiting for him outside the clinic.

“All set?” she asked as the door closed behind him. Ryu smiled and nodded.

Ryu looked at Kyoko. “So where are we heading to now?”

“Home,” she answered him simply.

Ryu chuckled. “You realize I have no idea where home is?”

“Kyoto,” she replied, a nervous look on her face as she pulled him towards the train station. She helped him put on a pair of sunglasses. “To protect your eyes.”

Ryu stopped in the middle of the street. “Kyoto?!” his voice went up a pitch. “You mean we don’t live here in Tokyo?”

Kyoko began to notice a number of passersby throwing Ryu curious looks. “No. Hurry up, we’ll miss the train,” she said, grabbing his hand and pulling him away from the gathering crowd.

Ryu was too shocked at Kyoko’s revelation to notice the people around him, much less hear the whispers of ‘Ne ne, he looks exactly like KAT-TUN’s Kamenashi, doesn’t he?’.

This time, Kyoko was prepared with all the answers. She had spent the time it took them to reach the house to plan out her story. She knew she could not hesitate or be unsure.

She did not do this much, only to have Kame realize her ruse and go running back to his old life. Kame deserved so much better. And she knew in her heart that she could give him the happiness and love that he apparently did not get from his former life as Kamenashi Kazuya.

She even worked overnight on the phones to rent this house, get it stocked with clothing and general necessities to make her story credible. It was times like this that she was thankful for her connections from her job.

“We were there to clear up our old apartment. You slipped on a step just after we handed the keys back to the owner,” she lied.

Ryu looked amused. “Not very coordinated, am I?” he joked, turning to look around the place.

“Shall we go in?” Kyoko suggested. Her smiled got bigger as Ryu extended his hand out to her. Hand in hand, they stepped into the house.

~*~

“How is he?” Ryo whispered to Yamapi, watching the younger man emerge from the bedroom.

Yamapi shrugged, yawning. “Asleep. He’s exhausted.”

“And he should be,” Ryo grunted. “He hasn’t slept in days.”

Flopping onto his stomach on the couch, Yamapi raised an eyebrow at his best friend. “That’s an understatement. He’s spent every waking moment watching the news, reading the papers, stalking the internet for Kame-sightings. And when he finally dozes off, he does it here on the couch.”

Ryo rubbed his temples. “You should get some rest too. You’re due back at the set in two hours. I’ll stay here with Jin.”

“Ueda said he’ll come over at six,” Yamapi informed Ryo, burying his face into one of the cushions. He closed his eyes.

Ryo watched the younger man feign sleep. After so many years of friendship, he knew when Yamapi was really asleep and when he was just pretending to sleep in order to please them.

“He’ll be alright, you’ll see. And when he comes back, I’m gonna beat the crap out of him,” Ryo said out loud, watching Yamapi from the corner of his eye.

The younger man’s shoulders shook a little as he chuckled weakly. “One puppy-eyed look from him and you won’t be able to do anything but smile like an idiot, Ryo-chan. Doesn’t matter how pissed off you are at him for making you worry so much,” Yamapi teased.

“Well, he deserves it. And I’m not worri-“ Ryo was cut off mid-retort as Jin raced out from the bedroom.

“JIN?!”

Yamapi’s panicked call was ignored as Jin rushed out of the house. Ryo and Yamapi did not think twice before giving chase.

~*~

Kazu! Kazu! Wait for me! Jin thought as his feet pounded the pavement. Passers by gave him strange stares, some yelling at him when he pushed them aside.

“JIN!” Yamapi yelled from further behind in the crowd. “He’s heading towards the train station,” he called out to Ryo.

Ignoring his friend’s calls, Jin sprinted into the station. He looked wildly around at the crowd. Kazu! KAZU!

Finally catching up to Jin, Yamapi grabbed him by the elbow. “Jin!”

“Help me find him, Pi! He’s here somewhere,” Jin begged, pulling Yamapi along as he searched through the crowd.

“What are you talking about, Jin? How do you know he’s here?” Ryo panted, eyes darting to every commuter’s face.

Jin continued through the crowd, eyes searching frantically. “He told me. I saw him. He begged me to help him. He was right here!” Jin was becoming panicked and slightly hysterical, pulling random strangers and pushing them away after he saw their faces.

“Jin. Jin, listen to me,” Yamapi said, taking a firm grip on Jin’s arms. “Look at me and listen!”

“He’s here. He told me-“ Jin muttered, but looked at Yamapi.

Yamapi held Jin’s head firmly in the palm of his hands. “It was a dream, Jin. It was just a dream.”

“It’s not a dream. Kazu was calling out to me. It’s not a dream,” Jin argued, trying to break free from Yamapi’s hold.

Strengthening his hold, Yamapi forced Jin to look him in the eyes. “It was a dream, Jin. Now, we’re going to go home, and you’re going to get some rest.”

“No. I have to- Kazu- He…”

“You are going to get rest. We’ll wait with you for any news, alright? At home,” Yamapi said firmly.

Anger coursed through Jin’s body. “Wait?! All I’ve been doing for the past five days is wait. I’M SICK OF WAITING! WAITING ISN’T GOING TO BRING KAZU BACK HOME!!” he shouted, shoving Yamapi away before running out of the station.

Ryo managed to catch Yamapi before he fell. “Damned idiot!” he cursed as they gave chase again.

As they exited the station, they caught a glimpse of Jin running across the road, completely ignoring the red light at the pedestrian crossing.

Tyres screeched. Jin turned in time to see a truck hurtling towards him, emergency brakes working to stop the vehicle’s momentum.

“JIN!!”

*~*~*~*~*~*~* DON’T KILL ME!! *~*~*~*~*~*~*

A/N: So uhm….. any thoughts on how this is developing? Good? Not good? So-so? Feedback is great ~~craved~~ appreciated.

[Akame] The Way Home (Multi-Chapter) ~ Chapter 1

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 03:54:08 GMT

Title: The Way Home (Chapter 1)

Rating: G.

Disclaimer: Do I look like an old man who owns a company full of sexy young boys to you? For the record, no.

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He could hear a buzzing sound around him. Noises were muted; he felt as if he was underwater.

His head felt like lead. His eyelids refused to open, and he was not really sure if he wanted to open them.

The noises started to get louder, and he could sense the light getting brighter.

Slowly, he cracked one eye open. Wincing at the sudden brightness, Kame quickly closed his eyes. A groan escaped his lips as his head pounded, threatening to burst out of his skull.

“You’re awake,” a voice came from his left.

Once again, he opened his eyes gingerly, letting them get accustomed to the glare of lights. “Where am I?” he croaked.

“You’re in a clinic,” the voice answered. A glass of water was placed at his lips. The refreshing liquid slid down his throat, making him feel much better and cleared his head a little bit more.

Kame slowly turned his head to his left, where the voice came from. His head was protesting all it could to the movement, pounding faster and harder than ever.

“What happened?” he asked the pretty looking girl next to him. She was not beautiful, or gorgeous, but Kame felt a slight familiarity to her.

She had some tears in her eyes, and she gave him a small smile. “You fell and hit your head,” she said softly, looking down and taking a shuddering breath.

“Who are you?” Kame asked next, watching with curiosity as her head snapped back up and she stared at him with a wide-eyed look.

“Before that, who am I?”

~*~

Ueda held Jin back while Taguchi did the same with Koki. Nakamaru, who was not restrained, flew at the manager and grabbed him by the collar.

“Kame is missing and this is what you want us to do? You want us to stay home, not talk to the press and keep it a goddamned secret?!”

The elderly man grasped Maru’s hands, trying unsuccessfully to dislodge them. “That was the message I was told to relay to you,” he said, a slight fear in his eyes.

KAT-TUN was known to be a group of hot headed young men. Fights were rampant when they were younger, though they had mellowed out in the past few years.

Still, there were traces left. Sometimes heated words would be exchanged over the pettiest things. Nothing violent had happened since he took charge of the group four months ago, but he still did not want to leave anything to chance.

“What about Kame?! He could be anywhere. We need to know he’s alright,” Jin yelled, struggling against Ueda’s hold.

Koki managed to throw off Taguchi. In seconds, he also had his hands on their manager. “He could be hurt! He could have been kidnapped! We need everybody to be out there, looking for him!”

The poor manager was shaken violently with every sentence Koki yelled at him. He threw the group a helpless look.

“You’re right. He could have been kidnapped.”

At the sound of the grave voice, everyone’s attention immediately shifted to the door. Johnny-san stood there, looking very old and very fragile.

“And what if he really was kidnapped? Do you think the kidnappers would keep him alive when his face is plastered all over the news and everyone in Japan is on the lookout for him?” the old man said, seating himself on a chair. He rubbed his temples tiredly.

The five remaining members of KAT-TUN were silent, never having thought of that possibility.

“We can’t just do nothing, Johnny-san!” Jin pleaded.

Johnny-san gave them a sad smile and beckoned to them. The young men formed a semi-circle around him.

“I’ve informed the police. They’ve agreed to keep the investigation very low profile, but it’s at the top of their priority. His family has also been notified, and they will co-operate fully with the police. They have my number. His brother Yuichiro has promised to call me immediately if they hear anything from anyone,” he said, looking at each member in turn.

“I promise you. I’ll do whatever it takes, no matter how long it takes. We will get Kame back. He, like all of you, is like a son to me. And no one, no one messes with my family.”

Jin, Koki, Taguchi, Ueda and Maru could only nod at Johnny-san’s assurance.

~*~

“Is it permanent?”

The elderly doctor looked back at the couple. “I can’t really say for certain. It could be. Or you could regain your memory. The human brain is too complex for me to give you a definitive answer. ”

“If there’s no danger to his life, I’d like to bring him home to recuperate, doctor,” the girl said to him.

Weighing the options in his head, the doctor nodded. “He can leave in the morning. Perhaps some familiar surroundings will help his memory. Though I would suggest getting check-ups at a larger hospital. There’s only so much I can do here in this small clinic.”

“Thank you, doctor,” the young man said to him.

Giving them a small nod, he excused himself.

“So,” Kame said, turning back to the girl. “I guess we’ll have to rely on your memory for the both of us now.”

She returned his small smile, patting his hand gently. “It’s alright. We’ll make new memories.”

~*~

“We would like to apologize to all our fans,” Ueda said, a multitude of flashes going off. “We sincerely hope you let Kame have this short break. And we hope you will be welcoming him back with open arms, just as we will when he is ready to come back to us.”

“That was KAT-TUN and Johnny’s Jimusho’s representative’s announcement at today’s emergency press conference. Just a few minutes ago, it was announced that member Kamenashi Kazuya of the popular group, would be on an indefinite hiatus. No reason was given for the sudden decision, though there are speculations that this is due to the drastic drop of ratings when he recently guest starred in his sempai, SMAP’s Kimura Takuya’s drama, Mr. BRAIN. There was no comment given to the press by Kamenashi. The whole of Japan and KAT-TUN fans are in shock. This is the second sudden hiatus a member of the group has taken in the recent years. Last year, member Akanishi Jin left for six months to study English in America. It still remains to be seen how this will affect KAT-TUN, and Kamenashi’s fanbase-”

Walking into the room, she immediately froze. Her attention flitted quickly between the television and Kame, who was fast asleep.

Her heart pounding, she quickly turned off the television. It took her several moments before her breathing and heartbeat returned to normal.

She stared adoringly at Kame, tracing his jawline with her finger. He stirred a little before giving a small sigh and settling back into a deep slumber.

“You look so peaceful now. I’ll make sure no one hurts you again,” she whispered, kissing him softly on the forehead.

~*~

Jin stepped into the apartment, mentally and physically weary. He locked the door, threw his keys on the coffee table and collapsed onto the bed.

Reaching over to Kame’s side, he held the pillow close and inhaled the fresh fruity scent of Kame’s shampoo.

Turning to look back out the bedroom door, Jin only saw the darkened hall. Usually, Kame would be standing at the door, arms crossed and a pretty frown on his face.

Usually, Kame would be telling him to go get showered before dirtying the sheets. Usually, Kame would then give up after he whined and pleaded. Usually, Kame would just roll his eyes and join him in bed.

But now, nothing was as it usually was. There was no Kame to tease. No Kame to make sure he was not a complete slob. No Kame to prepare him a meal made with love. No Kame. No Kame at all.

A deep loneliness hit Jin right in the heart. A sob escaped his lips as he gripped Kame’s pillow closer and cried himself to sleep.

~*~

“Kanzaki Ryu,” she said, writing the name out for him. “That’s your name.”

“I’m Kanzaki Ryu?” Kame, now Kanzaki Ryu, asked. He looked back at her for confirmation.

She nodded with a smile. “Yes, and I’m Toda Kyoko. Pleased to meet you.”

Ryu laughed as he grasped her outstretched hand. “Pleased to meet you too.”

“So, are we new acquaintances?” Ryu mused, the corner of his lip twitching up into a smile.

Her smile faltered a little. “We’re engaged. I mean, we were engaged,” she said softly.

Ryu reached over and took her hand in his and kissed it lightly. Taken aback by the affection, she gazed at him.

“I’m sorry I don’t remember,” he murmured, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb.

She forced a smile. “It’s alright. Your health is all that matters right now.”

Ryu nodded, giving her hand another kiss. “I may not remember anything, but I know you’re a kind person. And I know that I will come to love you again,” he said, gazing deeply into her eyes.

Kyoko leaned down and hugged him tightly. “I’ll always be here for you,” she whispered, as his arms circled around her as well. "Let's go home."

*~*~*~*~*~*~* look there! *runs away to write the next chapter* *~*~*~*~*~*~*

IMPORTANT NOTE: From this chapter onwards, memoryloss!Kame will be referred to as Ryu. I know it’s a little confusing, but…. if I used Kame and Ryu alternately, I think it would be even more confusing (for you and for me ^^;).

A/N: Yeap, you guessed it! I glued Kanzaki Hiroto/Kanzaki Shizuku and Odagiri Ryu to form Kanzaki Ryu. Since AD girl is a crazy fan, I thought she’d use Kame’s drama characters as a basis for his new identity.

And yes, because she is crazy, she glued Toda Erika and Koizumi Kyoko’s names together to get Toda Kyoko.

I hope this cleared up some confusion you may have had earlier while reading.

~~Prods and pokes!~~

Another thing I noticed when I was re-watching KAT-TUN in Okinawa… Probably someone has mentioned this before somewhere, but since I'm looking forward to buying this GORGEOUS white watch from Fossil, this little bitty caught my eye when I was watching the episode.
Everyone should be familiar with Jin’s white wristwatch now, right? I think Kame’s wearing a similar watch, though the face is black… Wonder if it’s the same? Though in another part, Jin’s watch looks bigger. Either that, of Jin’s wrist looks thinner than Kame’s….. Thoughts?

White watch with black face

JinJin.... the other black flowery dude is Tat-chan...

Now, am I just imagining this?

[Akame] The Way Home (Multi-Chapter)

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 03:43:18 GMT

Title: The Way Home (Prologue)

Rating: G.

Disclaimer: Do I look like an old man who owns a company full of sexy young boys to you? For the record, no.

A/N: This plot bunny has been bashing my head in for the past few weeks. I guess the push came with the news about Kame’s apparent super power of destroying ratings. Plotbunnies went batshit crazy on me. I don’t have everything written out yet, but I promise to write it up as soon as I can!

“Kame, stop reading all that rubbish,” Nakamaru admonished, forcefully taking the mobile phone from the youngest member’s hands.

Kame looked up, the eyebags under his eyes evident. “I just want to know what went wrong,” he argued, reaching for his phone, only to have Maru bat his hand away.

“Nothing went wrong. There’s just a bunch of idiots out there,” Jin chimed in, grabbing Kame’s phone from Maru.

The A flopped himself down next to the K, waving the phone enticingly in front of his face.

“Give it back,” Kame pouted. He held his hand out expectantly.

Jin shook his head. “Not until you promise to stop reading these stupid tabloid rumours.”

Reluctantly, Kame nodded his head. He did, however, give a small smile as Jin placed his phone back into his hand.

“You’re too obliging to him,” Maru complained. “You know he’s going to read those comments as soon as he gets the chance.”

Jin raised an eyebrow. “Of course he won’t. He promised me,” he turned to Kame. “Didn’t you, Kame?”

Looking up from pocketing his phone, Kame gave an affirmative nod.

“And Kame never breaks his promises to me,” Jin added, hugging the younger man close to him.

“Just get a room already,” Ueda was heard muttering, even though he hid his smile behind the score sheet of the new single they were recording.

Koki threw a bottle of water across the room, to which Kame deftly caught. “Yeah, stop taunting me with what I can’t have, Akanishi.”

Jin stuck his tongue out, as Kame hit him lightly over the head. They exchanged smiles, while Koki made gagging noises.

“Kamenashi-kun, it’s time,” their manager’s voice cut into the room. The elderly man gestured to his wristwatch.

Kame nodded, his smile immediately lost. “I wish they’d stop making me guest in all these dramas. You’d think they’d learn their lesson from Mr. Brain,” he sighed, getting up.

“Hey, we’ll get you after the filming, alright?” Koki consoled, giving Kame a tight hug.

A small smile found its way back on Kame’s face. “Thanks. See you guys later.”

“You’d better be hungry. We’re going for ramen,” Jin winked, tugging on Kame’s hand slightly. “Promise?”

He smiled and nodded. “Okay.” He leaned back down and gave Jin a quick kiss.

“Kamenashi-kun,” the manager’s voice came again.

Kame pulled away from Jin, giving him a rueful smile. “Just let me take a quick toilet break before we go, okay?”

At the nod he received, Kame jogged quickly out to the corridor. Jogging lightly down the hallway, he noticed that a lot of the recording studios were empty, probably due to the late hour.

“Kamenashi-kun,” a feminine voice called out hesitantly.

Slowing down, Kame took note of a girl, not much older than himself, standing near the staircase that led down to the ground floor. He vaguely remembered her as one of the ADs that arranged KAT-TUN’s transport from one location to another.

“Yes?” he answered with a smile. He went closer, noticing that she was wringing her hands and appeared very nervous.

“Can I help you?” he said gently, stopping in front of her.

She bit her lower lips, avoiding his gaze. “Why don’t you just leave?” her voice came out in almost a whisper.

“I beg your pardon?” Kame stared at her, slightly taken aback by her question.

“They’re all so mean to you. They say things, and you just let them,” she continued, tears on the verge of spilling. “Doesn’t it hurt?”

Kame gave a small sigh. “Unfortunately, it comes with the job,” he answered. “It hurts, but what doesn’t break you makes you stronger, right?”

The girl looked up to see Kame giving her a sad smile. “You look so sad,” she commented, taking a step closer to him.

“I’ll take that sadness away from you,” she said, reaching out and grabbing Kame by the wrist. “I’ll take you away,” her grip tightened. “I’ll take you where they can’t hurt you anymore.”

His eyes widening, Kame instinctively pulled his hand back. The girl would not let go. Instead, her grip became tighter as she pulled him back strongly towards her.

Caught unawares by her sudden tug, Kame stumbled towards her. Out of reflex, she let go of his hand and stepped to the side to avoid him.

Kame could not catch his balance, and the momentum propelled him towards the stairs. He only managed to gasp before slipping off the top step, falling downwards.

The girl watched in horror as Kame rolled down the stairs, landing in a heap at the bottom. Panicking, she ran down to check on him.

As a small trail of blood trickled down his forehead, Kame tried to pull himself into a seating position. The last thing Kame saw before his vision blurred was her face, asking him if he was alright.

She watched as Kame’s eyes closed and he fell unconscious. She reached for his mobile phone, which had dropped out of his pocket during the fall.

Keying in the emergency number, her finger hesitated above the call key. She glanced unsurely at the phone and at Kame’s almost-peaceful face.

Suddenly, a determined look crossed her face. The phone was closed and tossed to the side.

“I’ll take you away from all the sadness and hurt,” she whispered, caressing his face.

~*~

“What’s taking Kamenashi so long?” the manager muttered, checking his watch for the umpteenth time.

Ueda frowned. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this. It’s not like Kame to take so long.”

20 minutes had passed since Kame left for the restroom. By now, the other members were getting worried as well.

Taguchi entered the room, rubbing his stomach. “Ugh, that’s the last time I’m ever eating at that restaurant,” he complained.

“Did you see Kame?” Maru asked, his brow creased.

Taguchi looked around the room at the faces staring back at him expectantly. “In the toilet? No, I was the only one in ther-“

Jin was the first to rush out of the room, his feet and heart pounding as he ran down the hallway to the toilet.

“KAZU!” his voice echoed in the tiled room as he threw open the door. Silence was the only reply he got.

Whirling back around, he saw the other KAT-TUN members checking the rooms along the corridor. Calls of Kame’s name were repeated as they frantically tried to locate their youngest member.

Jin grabbed his phone and speed-dialled Kame. The line connected.

Everyone became silent as Kame’s ringtone was heard faintly. Jin lowered the phone from his ear.

Oshiri kajiri mushi~ Oshiri kajiri mushi~

They exchanged glances. Straining their ears, they slowly made their way to the stairs that led to the ground floor.

In the darkness, they made out the faint flickering of a cellphone display. The lighted phone was ringing and vibrating on the floor below them.

Rushing down the stairs, Jin grabbed the phone. His name was flashing on the display.

“This is Kame’s phone. Kame?” Jin looked around wildly. Nothing stirred.

“KAME?!”

*~*~*~*~*~*~* look there! *runs away to write the next chapter* *~*~*~*~*~*~*

Incessant pokes and prods help me write faster (^__^)

[Akame] Of Cuddles and Wannabe Spies (Crack)

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 05:54:00 GMT

Title: Of Cuddles and Wannabe Spies

Disclaimer: Do I look like a very rich old man who owns an agency full of hot, shiny, sparkly young boys to you? The answer is no.

Summary: Kame finds out about the low ratings of Mr. Brain. He's not too happy, but decides to write a letter to his fans.

A/N: All this fuss about a little drop in ratings. If Kame was that lethal to ratings, he should be classified as a new superhero. Kamenashi Kazuya, Ratings Destroyer!

~*~*~*~

Dear fans ,

As you all should know by now, the ratings for the third episode of Mr. Brain dropped.

I wonder why? Kimura-kun says it could be because everyone couldn't stand the sight of his lion mane. It think his hair looks fabulous, don't you?

Oh, I think he just read over my shoulder. It's a bit difficult to breathe with Kimura-kun smothering me in this bear hug. Am I even typing correctly?

Oh well...

My mobile just rang. Oh! A mail from Ryo-chan!

Eh?

Ryo-chan is holding a studio hostage. Apparently, he standing in front of a camera, sending death glares at the crazy people who made the ratings drop. Oh, Ryo-chan is so sweet, isn't he?

..... I've flipped all the channels, but I still can't find Ryo-chan's death glare.

Oh! Another mail!

Ryo-chan says the TV station won't let him go on air. Something about mass deaths by Glare-of-Doom.

It's OK, Ryo-chan! I still like your Sexy Osaka look~

Koki thinks the counter is faulty. That's probably why the ratings were all loopy.

Jin and Pi ran off earlier, wearing their Miroku and Kurosagi costumes. I wonder where they went. I heard Jin yelling something about "fixing the stupid calculator that broke Kazu's heart", whatever that is.

I'm rambling, aren't I? But I guess that's why you all love me, right? I love you too *chuu*

You know, I started off feeling really down and depressed, but it's really hard to keep feeling this way. Especially when I'm cuddling with Kimura-kun. Nakai-kun won't stop taking pictures (<_<;)

I hope he doesn't plan on blackmailing us like he does with KinKi Kids.

Fukuyama-san just called!

...........

Fukuyama-san, I really don't think going to 'those' places is going to help me feel better.

Thank you for the thought, though.

Oh, how sweet. The juniors filled KAT-TUN's room with flowers. Everyone's so nice, ne?

Maru, bless his motherly heart, is arranging them and calling our manager to send them to my house. I don't have so much space!

I think Tat-chan dragged Taguchi off somewhere to kill a lot of people with his jokes.

Oh, look at the time! I have to go! Johnny-san is taking me to Shibuya. This time, I'm not going to let him pay for my things!

Until next time, everyone!

This is Kamenashi Kazuya , Ratings Destroyer! *please insert suspenseful background music here*

~*~*~ owari ~*~*~

A/N: I have a feeling I'm going to burn in hell for this. Or at least get myself on the hit list of a million fangirls. *disappears to make funeral arrangements*
Putting emoji into LJ is such a pain in the butt

[Akame] Lip (Drabble)

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:46:11 GMT

Title: Lip

Summary: The reason behind Jin's lip fetish.

Disclaimer: Do I look like a very rich old man who owns an entire agency of young, shiny, sparkly and ghei pretty boys? The answer is no.

A/N: Just a very short drabble written while watching 'Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?". It has nothing to do with each other.... I think.

Jin frowned as the interviewer batted her eyelashes at the group and Kame put on the charm. The youngest of the group leaned further towards her a with just a small smile, Jin saw the girl blush furiously, stammering on her question.

His mind was no longer on the interview, the cameras or the staff around the small room. He was completely focused on Kame, and Kame alone.

The girl giggled as Kame gave her another indulgent smile. It registered vaguely at the back of Jin's mind that she was asking about their perceived sexy bad boy image.

A friendly banter typical of KAT-TUN broke out, with Koki being the most vocal.

Again, Jin's attention was focused on Kame. He was glad he invested in a number of fedoras. They covered his eyes well enough that no one really knew where he was looking. Plus, it looked cool. Best of all, Kame loved it.

Kame, letting action speak louder than words, winked and blew a kiss at the camera. Jin was quite certain the interviewer would explode into a million hearts right there.

As the youngest cocked his head to the side and gave a shy smile, Jin caught the sight of Kame's jawline and the line of his neck.

Unconciously, he ran his tongue over his lips.

~*~*~*~ owari ~*~*~*~

A/N: Uhm....... Yeah. No idea, really, of how this came about... It just........ happened ^^;

[KinKi Kids] Mou Kimi Igai Aisenai (One-Shot) 1/3

Sun, 24 May 2009 14:46:07 GMT

Title: Mou kimi igai aisenai

Pairing: KoTsu

Summary: AU. Koichi is looking to break into the music scene. Okada has the perfect person to guide him, Domoto Tsuyoshi, the most sought-after music producer in Japan.

Disclaimer: Do I look like a very rich old man who owns an entire agency of young, shiny, sparkly and ghei pretty boys? The answer is no.

A/N: This was originally a birthday fic I wrote for aikata, ♥CY-chan♥. She requested AU!KinKi with cameo!Okada. I came up with this. It's looooong.... because I *heart* aikata. Enjoy~ ♥

“We’re going to make you… a SUPERSTAR!”

Koichi shook his head as he replayed the conversation he just had with his manager. The agency was just not satisfied with his fully-packed stage plays anymore.

If there was an avenue to make more money, why should they not exploit it? Besides, he would be able to experiment and experience new things, giving him an outlet for his incredible creativity.

At least, that was the reasoning they gave him. Truth of the matter was, Koichi was happy where he was now. He had a successful stage play and several well-received dramas. He really doubted he needed to be an idol with a music career too.

Koichi’s co-star in his current drama, Okada Junichi, watched from the corner of his eye as Koichi sighed for the umpteenth time and continued to poke at his bento.

“Something bothering you?” Okada asked, picking his bento up to sit next to Koichi on the couch.

Koichi sighed again, before turning to Okada with pitiful eyes. “Jun-chan~”

“Whoa! Don’t use those eyes on me! I’m not your girlfriend,” Okada exclaimed, bouncing to the other end of the couch.

Despite his moody thoughts, Koichi cracked a smile at his friend’s reaction. Even though this was their first time working together, they noticed similarities in their characters. Both were reserved and kept to themselves most of the time. Because they had scenes together on most shooting days, they often found the other sitting quietly around the set.

Koichi had been the first to start up a conversation with the younger man. After he dropped a plate of teriyaki chicken on Okada’s lap, that is. The conversation had progressed in a few sentences from “I’m sorry!” to “Take off your pants and give them to me!”.

From that day, the two men had struck up a quick friendship. Koichi found a calmness to their conversations that he would never get from his best friend, Nagase Tomoya. Nagase was randomly wise at times, but he would be generally very hyper and preferred to do things, rather than talk about it.

“So?” Okada tried again, knocking his shoulder against Koichi’s as he stole a prawn tempura from Koichi’s bento.

Koichi put a few more pieces of tempura into Okada’s bento. “Manager-san, or rather, President-san wants to make me the biggest idol Japan has ever known. I’m supposed to start recording a debut single next week,” he grumbled.

“Oh? Have they decided on the song?” Okada chewed on his tempura, discreetly putting a few pieces back into Koichi’s bento.

Shrugging, Koichi put his food down on the low table. “Don’t know yet. They’re looking for the perfect song. Something classy, something sexy, something me, apparently.”

Okada smiled. He put his food aside and slung an arm around Koichi’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll get you the proper song. Something reminiscent of the Edo Era, or at least the Taishou Era.”

At Koichi’s sullen look, Okada rolled his eyes.

“Look on the bright side,” he said, catching Koichi’s eye. “At least you won’t have to wear fluorescent sparkly clothes,” Okada winked.

Koichi groaned and fell sideways across the couch. “Don’t remind me of the wardrobe horror you forced me to see at your concert!”

“It’s a concert, we have to be flashier than usual,” Okada defended. “And it was a V6 concert, so you should have expected the sparkly.”

Koichi rolled off the couch at the call of his name to standby for his scene. “Yeah, keep telling yourself that. You’ll believe it one day, Mr. Flashy Pink Man.”

Laughter followed Koichi out of the room as he dodged a cushion thrown by a pouting Okada Junichi.

~*~*~

Okada yawned and jumped on the spot, trying to generate heat in the freezing winter air. He grinned evilly as he watched Koichi run along the pathway dressed only in a T-shirt and shorts.

Peep! Peep!

Okada distractedly fished his mobile out from his pocket. “’lo?”

“What are you doing?” the voice on the other line asked, not bothering with formalities.

Okada grinned wider. “Watching your one true love run in the winter cold wearing nothing but a T-shirt and shorts.”

The other person sputtered and hung up.

Okada could only shrug as Koichi ran by, the latter raising an eyebrow at the maniacal grin he was sporting.

“Who was that?” Koichi panted, quickly bundling into the winter jacket the staff held out to him.

His questioned went unanswered, however, as the director motioned him to review the scene. Koichi quickly jogged over, and nodded his understanding at the director’s instructions.

Peep! Peep!

“Yeah?” Okada answered, knowing exactly who was on the other line without even looking at the caller ID.

“He’s not my one true love,” the voice said curtly. “And we’re having dinner tonight at the usual yakitori place.”

Okada gave a small smile as the caller hung up abruptly again, most probably to prevent him from saying a single word.

As the staff reset the camera equipment, Koichi jogged back to Okada. “So when do I get to meet her?”

“Meet who?” asked a confused Okada, his brows furrowed.

Koichi sneezed once before nodding towards the mobile in Okada’s hand. “The girl that’s making you grin like a pervert.”

“I do not grin like a pervert!” Okada exclaimed, punching Koichi on the shoulder. “And that wasn’t a girl.”

Koichi’s laughter stopped abruptly, his eyes widening. “Why, Jun-chan. I never expected you to swing that way. Could that be why you never ask girls out for dates?” Koichi teased.

Muttering under his breath, Okada shot Koichi a death glare. “I don’t date girls because I’m shy. You know I can’t ask anyone for their numbers. And I like staying at home just fine.”

Okada was surprised to find a finger pointed directly at him, making his eyes cross from their proximity.

“You didn’t deny liking guys!” Koichi practically yelled, catching the attention of half the crew, who gaped at the two actors.

His face turning a burning red, Okada smacked Koichi on the head. “I like girls! Stop spreading rumours about me!”

“I can see it now. Tomorrow’s tabloid headlines! ‘Okada Junichi is gay?!’” Koichi said in a loud voice.

Okada turned a deeper shade of red. “I am not!”

Koichi found himself in the line of another smack to his head. “Ow! Okay, okay. You’re straight! You’re straight! No need to give me a concussion!” he yelped, rubbing his sore head.

Silence settled over the two men, Koichi rubbing his head with a pout while Okada stared at his winter boots.

“So? Who was that?” Koichi ventured, stopping himself from teasing Okada again.

Okada huffed, looking back at Koichi. “He was someone I wanted you to meet. But now I’m really having second thoughts.”

“Someone you want me to meet?” a curious Koichi asked.

Okada nodded. “Yeah, he’s my best friend. And a music producer. I thought it’d be great if the two of you met, so he could run some ideas over with you about your debut single.”

Koichi perked up. “Oh? An expert, is he? So when do I get to meet him? The agency still hasn’t found the right song for me yet.”

“I’m meeting him for dinner tonight. If you promise to behave and not spread anymore rumours about me,” Okada raised a warning eyebrow, “you can come along.”

Koichi nodded. “Your wish is my command, Okada-sama,” he bowed with a flourish.

“Meet me at the parking lot after the shoot. We’ll go together,” Okada gently smacked Koichi on the head. “And stop being such a drama queen!”

Koichi grinned, jogging back to his position as the director waved him over for another shot. He missed the mischievous grin on Okada’s face, and the slightly evil glint in the younger man’s eyes.

~*~*~

The bell tinkled as the door to the yakitori restaurant slid open. “Irrashaimase!” was called out by the staff.

Koichi stepped inside, followed by Okada. Both men scanned the room, even though Koichi had no idea who they were meeting, so it was rather pointless for him to look around. But he figured he would be able to spot a guy who looked vaguely like a music producer.

“Jun!” a voice called out from the back of the restaurant. Okada and Koichi turned to the voice.

Okada raised his hand in greeting, but Koichi felt the whole world screech to a sudden halt as he took in the face.

This can’t be! It can’t be him!

The shock on his face was mirrored by the other man. Koichi felt his heart stop, then it began to hammer away a million miles a minute just seconds later.

“Koichi? Koichi!” Okada’s voice startled him. He turned to find Okada gesturing for him to follow.

Mutely, Koichi switched to auto-pilot and obediently followed his co-star, sitting down opposite the man he was so shocked to see.

“Koichi, this is Domoto Tsuyoshi. Tsuyoshi, this is Domoto Koichi,” Okada did the introductions, noticing that both Domotos were not paying any attention him, their gazed fixed on each other.

Okada suppressed the enormous grin that was threatening to show on his face. “Oh, what am I talking about? You know each other right? From Ningen Shikaku!”

Finding himself at the receiving end of silence yet again, Okada suddenly wondered if this was such a brilliant idea after all. He knew for a fact that Tsuyoshi had a crush on Koichi, even before the kissing scene of Ningen Shikaku.

And even after they went their separate ways at the end of the drama, Tsuyoshi had always been keeping tabs on Koichi’s progress and news. There were newspaper clippings of accolades and awards Koichi picked up through the years for his roles in dramas and his stage play.

He had spent endless hours teasing Tsuyoshi over his obsession over the guy that stole his first kiss. Tsuyoshi would always get embarrassed and sputter indignantly, his mind too occupied with thoughts of Koichi to form a proper retort.

However, Okada never talked to Koichi about Tsuyoshi. Perhaps the older man had forgotten Tsuyoshi. After all, it has been years since they acted in that drama.

Okada shot worried glances at the two men, who were still staring at each other in silence. “Uhm….”

A sudden loud burst of laughter at the other end of the restaurant snapped Koichi out of his daze. His hand automatically shot out across the table. “Domoto Koichi. Pleased to meet you.”

As soon as the words left his lips, Koichi wanted to retract his hand to smack his forehead.

Baka! Jun-chan just introduced you. And you acted in the same drama! You even kissed him! But wait, what if he doesn’t remember me? Then why is he staring at me like he just saw a ghost? Maybe I traumatized him with the kiss? Am I a bad kisser? I can’t possibly be a bad kisser…

“Domoto Tsuyoshi. Pleased to meet you too,” a hand grasped his lightly and shook it firmly.

Koichi’s vision focused again at Tsuyoshi’s gentle smile. He immediately broke out into a smile of his own. At the side, Okada breathed a sigh of relief.

“How have you been? Sorry, but after Ningen, I really haven’t any idea of what you’ve been up to,” Tsuyoshi asked, diverting his gaze to his glass of water.

Okada frowned, “But you’ve been reading every article he’s OUCH!”

Koichi blinked confusedly as Okada disappeared under the table. “My foot, ow!” he heard Okada whine.

Tsuyoshi gave him a smile as he nodded encouragingly, and completely ignoring his best friend under the table.

“I’ve done some acting, but I’ve mainly concentrated on my stage play for the past few years,” Koichi said, peeking discreetly under the table to see Okada rubbing his foot with one hand and smacking Tsuyoshi’s leg with the other.

Looking back up, Tsuyoshi still had that smile on his face, and seemed oblivious to the abuse his leg was going through.

“Oh? What’s your stage play called? Maybe I’ll drop by one day to see it,” Tsuyoshi said, taking a big gulp of water. He could feel his heart beating at his suggestion, and his face heat up.

Baka! You’re being too forward! You’ll scare him away like that. Who would offer to attend ‘SHOCK’ after only meeting the guy for 2 minutes? Baka! Baka! And dammit, get back up here, Okada!

Koichi suddenly felt a little hot under the collar. Tsuyoshi coming to see his show? Perhaps he should seriously think about extending the flight of stairs and maybe add in a few more flying stunts. Yeah, that should impress him.

“It’s called Endless ‘SHOCK’,” he answered nonchalantly, taking a sip of his water too. “It’s starting up again in two months. Let me know when you’re free, I’ll get you tickets.”

“He rolls down a flight of stairs. You sure you want to see that?” Okada’s head popped up.

Tsuyoshi’s eyes widen considerably. “Is that true?”

Koichi gave a sheepish grin. “If you ever need lessons on falling down stairs the right way, give me a call?”

“Doesn’t it hurt?” Tsuyoshi’s concerned look made Koichi feel like grinning like a happy idiot.

He settled for shaking his head. “Not really. It does feel sore, but the most I get are a few bruises if I land oddly.”

Tsuyoshi’s eyebrow furrowed. “Why do you still do it?”

“It looks great?” Koichi answered, taking another sip of his water. “Sorry, I need to go to the men’s room for a bit,” he excused himself.

The other two men watched as Koichi made his way to the other end of the restaurant, taking a left turn and disappearing around the corner. Mere seconds later, he re-emerged, walking in the opposite direction.

“Just what the hell are you trying to do here? Why did he suddenly appear?” Tsuyoshi hissed, fixing a glare at Okada.

The younger man shrugged. “I thought you’d want to catch up. You know, at least talk to the guy?”

“I don’t need you playing matchmaker.”

“I’m not playing matchmaker! I’m just doing what you want to do, but don’t have the guts to do,” Okada argued, frowning at his best friend. “How hard could it be to go ‘Oh, hey! Fancy meeting you here! How’ve you been since we last kissed?’”

“Don’t remind me about the kiss!” Tsuyoshi felt his cheeks heat up. “And it was mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. It wasn’t supposed to be a kiss.”

Okada felt like banging his head against the table, but rolled his eyes instead. “Your lips met. I call that a kiss.”

“For the last time, Okada Junichi, it was not a-“

“Sorry, am I interrupting something?” Koichi’s voice interrupted Tsuyoshi. The older Domoto had just come back from the gent’s to find the other two in a heated whispering competition.

Okada turned to Koichi with a bright smile. “No, of course not. I was just telling Tsuyoshi here about your interest in venturing into the music industry. He seems to have the perfect song for you.”

Koichi’s eyes lit up, and he turned a hopeful gaze to Tsuyoshi. “Really? Because the agency is having a horribly hard time finding a song for my debut.”

Tsuyoshi wanted to just completely avoid having any sort of contact with his former co-star, for the sake of his own sanity. He knew that if they were to work in close contact, and Koichi were to look at him a few more times with that absolutely adorable look on his face, it would not be long before he blurted his feelings out to the older man.

“Yeah, and Tsuyoshi was saying how he’d like you to go over to his studio to have a quick listen to the track,” Okada answered, keeping the wince off his face when Tsuyoshi’s foot connected with his knee.

Koichi looked thoughtful for a moment. “Can you do Thursday? I don’t have any filming on Thursday.”

“I,” he began. One look at Koichi’s earnest face, and Tsuyoshi resigned himself to his fate. “Sure, come by around 11 and we’ll go over the track.”

Koichi genuinely beamed at him, before bouncing to sit next to him. In his mind, Tsuyoshi knew he was just setting himself up for an emotional rollercoaster. But he realized it did not matter in the least, when Koichi smiled like that.

“What the title of the track? How does it sound like? Is it easy to sing? I’m hopeless at memorizing lines, so I have a feeling I won’t do much better at lyrics,” Koichi prodded Tsuyoshi, his eyes shining.

Panicking suddenly, Tsuyoshi realized that in spite of what Okada had said, he really did not have a song in mind for Koichi. “Uhm…”

Nodding encouragingly, Koichi kept his gaze on the increasingly uncomfortable Tsuyoshi.

“I’ll show it to you on Thursday. It’ll be a surprise,” he settled for saying, hoping to buy himself some time.

Koichi’s expression visibly fell, but he nodded reluctantly.

“Good things come to those who wait,” Tsuyoshi consoled him, giving the older man a wink.

~*~*~

“Excuse me,” Koichi smiled at the young lady behind the reception counter.

The lady blinked a few times. In a moment of realization, Koichi removed his bucket hat. The lady squeaked in recognition. “Domoto Koichi!”

“I have an appointment with Domoto Tsuyoshi-san,” Koichi said politely, immediately autographing the notepad she held out to him.

“Domoto-san is in Studio 2. He’s expecting you,” she said, clutching the notepad to her chest. “Here, I’ll show you to the room.”

Koichi bowed politely as she rushed out from behind the counter and began to lead him down the long corridor. “Thank you.”

As they stopped outside a room, she opened the door for him. “Studio 2, Domoto Koichi-san.”

“Thank you,” he bowed again, entering the dark room. When she closed the door behind him, Koichi took note of his surroundings.

The room he was in had a lot of equipment and buttons and knobs on a panel. Above the panel was a small window looking into another room.

In the next room, Tsuyoshi was sitting at the piano, playing a slow tune, completely oblivious to his surroundings. Koichi found he could not tear his gaze away from the figure playing the piano, swaying lightly.

He wanted to announce his presence, but could not bear to interrupt the mesmerizing sight of Tsuyoshi. So, he stood, quietly enjoying the performance.

~*~*~

TO PART 2

[KinKi Kids] Mou Kimi Igai Aisenai (One-Shot) 2/3

Sun, 24 May 2009 14:36:54 GMT

BACK TO PART 1

Tsuyoshi let his fingers dance over the ivory and ebony keys, feeling the music. He had been waiting for Koichi to arrive, but had felt too restless. To calm his nerves, he had gone into the recording booth to play the piano.

As he reached the end, he opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was Koichi, standing in the other room, staring at him. All the jittery nerves he had managed to calm down came back with double the force.

Hurriedly, he stepped back into the other room. “You’re here.”

Koichi rubbed the back of his neck nervously, having been caught red-handed staring at Tsuyoshi. “Uhm, yeah. Sorrry I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t bring myself to interrupt you. I hope it’s alright?”

Tsuyoshi nodded hurriedly. “It’s fine. I’m just not used to having someone watch me play,” he admitted, dropping his gaze to the floor.

“Why not? You were mesmerizing,” Koichi blurted out, slapping a hand over his mouth as soon as the words left them.

Wide eyes met each other a Tsuyoshi looked up at Koichi’s sudden words. Both men then cleared their throats and shuffled awkwardly.

“Can I,” Koichi asked timidly, “see the song?”

Relieved at the change of topic, Tsuyoshi let out a breath and waved Koichi into the recording booth.

Koichi followed obediently, standing off at the side as Tsuyoshi ruffled through some music sheets on the piano.

“I got the DVD to your Endless SHOCK performance,” Tsuyoshi said distractedly, picking up some sheets before putting them off at the side with a frown. “Where did I put them?”

“Your voice is actually in the minor pitch, rather than major,” he continued, stopping a moment to look at Koichi.

The elder nodded his head. “Tatsuro-san told me that too, when I met him previously.”

“Tatsuro-san?” Tsuyoshi cocked his head to the side.

Koichi nodded again. “Yamashita Tatsuro-san. I met him several years ago. He wanted me to sing one of his songs. I think it was called ‘Garasu no Shounen’.”

Tsuyoshi’s eyes widened considerably. “Garasu?” He wanted you to sing Garasu?”

“Yeah, well, not just me. He said it worked best as a duet and he had the perfect person to sing it with me. Someone he said he couldn’t imagine singing the song with if it wasn’t me,” Koichi gave an embarrassed grin. “Sorry, did I sound too arrogant?”

Shaking his head quickly, Tsuyoshi held up the music sheets he found. At the top was the title, ‘Garasu no Shounen’.

“That song…”

Tsuyoshi gave a little laugh. “Hi, I’m the other person?”

Koichi’s jaw dropped for a moment before he smacked his forehead and began laughing. “You were the other person? I can’t believe it!”

“Hey, I’m no slacker when it comes to singing,” Tsuyoshi pouted.

“No, no! I didn’t mean it that way!” Koichi hurriedly added, but grinned again when he spotted the mischievous look Tsuyoshi was sporting.

Koichi made a thoughtful face. “Though I’d have to be the main singer and draw all the attention for us to succeed.”

“Hah! I’ll have you know I’d probably be the one with the bigger fanbase, since you’re so much like an old man,” Tsuyoshi countered, grinning from ear to ear.

The older Domoto sputtered indignantly. “I’m not an old man. Who told you that?”

At Tsuyoshi’s wink, Koichi grumbled, “Okada Junichi, you’re going to get it from me tomorrow.”

“Well? You feel like taking up this song now?” Tsuyoshi waved the music sheets in front of Koichi.

Koichi thought for a moment before he shook his head. “Let’s keep it for later. It doesn’t feel right.”

Tsuyoshi nodded understandingly. “How about a ballad then?”

“A ballad sounds good,” Koichi smiled.

~*~*~

“…aisenai,” Koichi sang, his eyes closed.

Tsuyoshi was in the studio, fiddling with the knobs and buttons. He looked up as Koichi finished the line.

“I missed the cue! Again!” Koichi growled in frustration, clutching his hair. Tsuyoshi continued to watch as Koichi fell into a heap below the microphone.

Shaking his head, Tsuyoshi stopped the recording and stepped into the recording booth. “Koichi-san, I’ll help you with the tune. Come over here to the piano.”

“Don’t wanna,” Koichi’s muffled voice was heard. He buried his head into his arms and lay on his stomach.

Tsuyoshi sighed and sat down cross-legged next to the older man. “Koichi-san?”

A mumble was his answer. Koichi shifted and peeked at Tsuyoshi.

“You have to finish this in two weeks. Let’s get to work, shall we?” Tsuyoshi offered a smile and a hand.

Koichi rolled over onto his back. “What’s the use? They won’t let me use the song anyway,” he grumbled, staring at the ceiling.

“We don’t know that yet,” Tsuyoshi coaxed, slightly amused at the childish behaviour Koichi was displaying.

Koichi made a face. “They said they want me to sing that dance number. ‘Lose Control’ or whatever it was.”

“What’s wrong with that song? I thought it was quite catchy when you showed it to me,” Tsuyoshi asked.

‘You didn’t choose it for me’ didn’t make it past his thoughts.

“It makes me look like a piece of meat. And have you seen the choreography?! Atrocious, I tell you. I’m never letting KABA-chan choreograph anything ever again,” Koichi ranted, rolling in place. “He-I mean, she kept making me point to my…. you know, there,” Koichi pouted.

He wanted to say more, but a quiet chuckle stopped him. “What’s so funny?” he frowned at Tsuyoshi, who was hiding his smile behind the back of his hand.

Shaking his head, Tsuyoshi took a few moments to calm his laughter. “No one would think of you as a piece of meat if they were looking at you now.”

“That’s because I’m not a piece of meat,” Koichi protested, thumping his fist on the floor. “If I’m going to do this idol singing thing, I’m sure as hell going to do it right.”

Tsuyoshi grinned. Koichi had unwittingly provided him with the opening he needed to get on with the recording.

“That’s the Domoto Koichi I remember. Now, let’s show them your determination, shall we?”

Koichi blinked at the hand that was once again outstretched to him. Gingerly, he took the hand and let himself be hauled up to his feet.

~*~*~

“How are things going?” Okada asked, flopping down onto his bed.

The voice on the other line paused for a moment. “It’s going well. He’s a better singer than I expected. And he’s very focused on his work, so there shouldn’t be any problems.”

Okada sighed and rolled his shoulder. “Why would I want to know about him and work? I want to know the juicy details about you and him. Has anything happened so far?”

“There’s nothing, and there won’t be anything between us, Jun. You know that as well as I do.”

Rolling his eyes, Okada settled on his skateboard, wheeling himself towards his window. “You’re gloomy, but I never thought you’d be as gloomy as this, Tsuyoshi. You’re giving up even before you’ve tried anything.”

“It’s complicated, Jun,” was said quietly. “It’s been so many years. It’s just not meant to be.”

“Just go with the flow. And be more direct. No one can resist you,” Okada reassured. “Especially not with those puffy cheeks of yours,” he added cheekily.

An indignant huff was heard before Tsuyoshi cut the line with a curt “Bye.”

~*~*~

Koichi doubled over from shock when he flopped onto his bed. It was three in the morning and he had just finished filming for the night.

Incoherent groaning was heard before Nagase Tomoya’s head popped up from under the covers. “Ko-chan?”

“Nagase! What the hell are you doing in my bed?!” Koichi all but shrieked.

Nagase got up slowly, giving Koichi a good look at his tonsils as he yawned to his heart’s delight. “It’s our dinner night. You weren’t here. I got sleepy,” came the summarized answer.

Both men looked at each other for a moment before shuffling out into the living room. “I’ve got leftovers,” Koichi offered, rummaging through his refrigerator.

“Coffee, for now,” Nagase replied, grabbing his mug from the cabinet and proceeding to make himself a cup.

While Nagase made the coffee, Koichi busied himself with reheating the food in the microwave.

“How are you doing?”

The question caught Koichi unawares, and he just shrugged. “What do you mean?”

Nagase resisted the urge to smack his best friend on the head, less he accidentally made Koichi any more dense than he already was. He draped an arm over Koichi shoulders and stared into the other man’s eyes.

“Ko-chan, you can’t tell a lie to save your life,” Nagase stated matter-of-factly. “Now, how are you doing?”

Breaking eye contact, Koichi mumbled an answer. “Okay, I guess.”

“How okay is okay?” Nagase pressed. He knew Koichi was uncomfortable with the current arrangement.

He had been the one Koichi poured his worries out to after the kissing scene in Ningen Shikaku.

“What’s wrong with me, Tomo?” Koichi held on to Nagase’s arms, a pleading look in his eyes. “It wasn’t natural! What’s going on?”

Nagase was at a loss. He truly had no idea what was going on. He only knew he had never seen Koichi look so torn and desperate. Not only that, Koichi looked as if he had not slept a wink the night before.

“What happened, Ko-chan?” Nagase asked worriedly, sitting Koichi on the grass. “Tell me what happened.”

“I-I…. I don’t know!” Koichi wailed, leaning back onto the tree trunk.

“Tell me everything!” Nagase pressed on, knowing he had to get answers soon, before the bell for the first period rang.

Koichi fidgeted with the cuff of his sleeve, attention completely focused on them. “I liked it. I liked it more than when it was Emi-chan,” he mumbled out.

His eyes widening, Nagase finally understood. They had laughed about it the day before, when Koichi had shown him the script and the part where he had to kiss his co-star. Emi was Koichi’s crush back in middle school. She was also the first person Koichi ever kissed.

“You don’t mean-“ Nagase was cut short as Koichi clamped his hands over his ears and stubbornly refused to face the matter.

“Even after all these years,” Nagase began, gently leaning his head on Koichi’s.

To his surprise, Koichi pulled away. “I never got over it, alright?” he said in a frustrated tone. And then a quieter “Are you disgusted?”

Nagase sighed, wrapping his arms around Koichi from behind. “I could never be disgusted with you. And you’re not doing anything wrong, so don’t beat yourself up about it,” he said quietly, giving Koichi a reassuring squeeze.

Released from the embrace, Koichi was forced to turn around by Nagase. He looked at his best friend, only to find conformation of his words.

“There’s nothing wrong with preferring men. And there’s nothing wrong with having a decade long crush,” Nagase said, earning him a chuckle.

Patting Koichi gently on the head. “If you ask me, he’d be completely insane not to fall head over heels in love with you.”

“Or he could just be normal,” Koichi retorted, finding it hard not to be influenced by Nagase’s positivity.

“Bah, normal is over-rated. Why do you think I’m here in the middle of the night?” Nagase waved it off.

Now it was Koichi’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “Lover’s quarrel?”

“Let’s just say she gets unnecessarily jealous,” Nagase shrugged. “Of you.”

Koichi stared at the taller man in shock. “What did you say to her?”

His reply was a shrug and a wave of the hand. “Just that you look absolutely adorable when you’re freaked out by me staring at you from the toilet.”

“NAGASE!!!”

Nagase winced at the backhand Koichi dealt to his upper arm. “I was just telling the truth! Women are supposed to like honesty, aren’t they?” he whined.

“Not when you say things like that!” Koichi gave Nagase another backhand for good measure.

Nagase rubbed his sore arm. “But it’s true!”

The two men looked at each other for a second before bursting into laughter. It took them a few minutes before they caught their breaths.

“That’s better. You’re always more handsome with a smile on your face,” Nagase said, draping his arm over Koichi’s shoulder again as they watched the food turn around in the microwave.

“Don’t worry. Things will work out. Good things happen to good people, right? Just be yourself, and everything will sort itself out.”

Koichi smiled at his friend’s comforting words.

“Hey, wanna know how the microwave heats up your food?”

~*~*~

The initial awkwardness between the two men melted away as they spent more hours working together.

Koichi found he welcomed the refreshing pace Tsuyoshi took to working. He had always been more detail-oriented and did everything properly.

Tsuyoshi, on the other hand, did things more on feeling. That was not to say that he slacked off. The work was still top-notch, but he would change things and make Koichi sing a line differently just by listening to it. When Koichi questioned him, he would just shrug and say it was a gut feeling.

In Koichi, Tsuyoshi was exposed to a fresh perspective to his love for music. Usually, everyone would just agree with him on any of his suggestions. This had less to do with them being shy than it had to do with them being overwhelmed by his reputation as a music prodigy. Koichi would often question his decisions, and he would be able to see how the same piece of music could be interpreted differently.

As they settled into a relaxing friendship, neither found it in them to willingly disrupt the delicate balance they achieved.

The casual camaraderie they shared was usually the highlight of their days. Both men began to have a deeper understanding for each other and look forward to the few hours they would share in the recording studio.

~*~*~

Okada watched in amusement as Koichi frowned and tried to sneak in a piece of carrot onto Tsuyoshi’s plate.

When he got no reaction, Koichi sat back with a satisfied smile. As he turned to call the waitress, the piece of carrot was quickly deposited back onto his plate.

Okada rolled his eyes, not missing the confused frown crossing Koichi’s face when he turned back to continue with his supper.

“Honestly, just pretend I’m not here,” he said, and the two Domotos blinked at him.

“A-ah, I wish I had a girlfriend,” he stretched his arms behind his head. “Watching the both of you makes me feel like settling down.”

Tsuyoshi’s scowl spoke volumes, and Okada could not resist teasing his best friend further. “Am I right, Tsuyoshi?”

“You’re settling down?” Koichi asked, the ends of his lips curving upwards as he studied Tsuyoshi’s face. Tsuyoshi’s eyes widened in panic, and he hurriedly denied everything.

Okada looked around for the nearest wall, so that he could either smack his own head, or Koichi’s head, against it. His gaze, however, landed on a vaguely familiar man who was trying to hide behind an ornamental plant.

Paparazzi?, he thought, wondering if he could use the situation to his advantage.

Before he could think of anything else, the man noticed he had been spotted and made a beeline for their table.

“Ko-chan!” a loud voice boomed across the restaurant. “You went on a date without telling me!”

Whipping his head around quickly, Koichi had only seconds before he found himself engulfed in the embrace of one Nagase Tomoya.

“Nagase,” Koichi’s muffled groan was heard. “What are you doing here?”

Nagase released Koichi from the embrace to beam at him. “Stalking you, of course.”

Tsuyoshi stared curiously at the exchange, and more importantly, the large smile that adorned Koichi’s face.

His eyes met Okada’s across the table, but he looked away quickly.

“Tsuyoshi-san, this is Nagase Tomoya,” Koichi introduced, keeping a hand on Nagase’s arm to stop him from saying anything unnecessary.

Bowing slightly, Tsuyoshi was shocked by the unexpected hug. “I’ll have you know that Ko-chan here is a very innocent boy. If you’re planning to date him, I won’t allow any intimacy until the fifth month. And no teaching Ko-chan any naughty stuff like bondage or weird kinky stuff, you hear me?”

“Nagase,” a low growl interrupted Nagase’s rambling.

“And he likes strawberry milk, so make sure you always have that stocked somewhere. And he’s ticklish just behind the ears, so use that to your advantage but don’t let him know I told you that.”

“Nagase Tomoya,” Koichi threatened again, his face going beet red.

Okada sat back to watch the show unfold. Tsuyoshi kept nodding after Nagase’s every sentence, his gaze flitting over to Koichi every once in a while.

“He’s horrible in the mornings, especially if he hasn’t gotten enough sleep. So I’m setting a midnight curfew on your dates. No staying over at each other’s place. Oh! And he likes to sleep nake-,” Nagase was cut off abruptly when Koichi’s hand clamped over his mouth.

“Tomoya, that’s enough,” Koichi’s eerily calm voice whispered into his ear, causing the hairs on the back of Nagase’s neck to rise.

As he turned to Tsuyoshi to apologize for Nagase’s behaviour, Koichi found his line of vision blocked by Okada.

“Does that mean my best friend is allowed to take your best friend out on a date?” Okada asked.

~*~*~

“Sorry about that,” Koichi said uncertainly, slowing his car outside Tsuyoshi’s apartment building. He had offered to send Tsuyoshi home as an apology for the way the evening played out.

After Okada’s sudden question, Tsuyoshi had stormed out of the restaurant, stomping his way towards the nearest bus stop. Not even the pouring rain could slow him down.

Koichi had hurried off quickly after him, grabbing an umbrella from a convenience store they passed. All his calls and apologies were ignored by Tsuyoshi as the younger man continued determinedly to his destination.

It took all of Koichi’s pleading and puppy eyes to convince Tsuyoshi to be dragged away, soaking wet, from the crowded bus stop into Koichi’s car.

The ride back was silent and awkwardly tense. Koichi was quite certain he spent more time looking at Tsuyoshi from the corner of his eye than keeping his attention on the road.

Tsuyoshi had spent the entire ride staring steadfastly out of the window, not uttering a single word.

“Why are you apologizing?” Tsuyoshi finally spoke, his gaze still fixed outside the car.

Koichi rubbed the back of his neck uncertainly. “I’m not sure. But you’re not happy, and I feel bad.”

“That automatically makes me the bad person, right?” he said, smiling sheepishly when Tsuyoshi turned to him.

Tsuyoshi’s gaze softened. “I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. It wasn’t your fault to begin with,” he offered a small smile.

Relief swept through him as Koichi broke into a wide grin. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise!” the older man chirped.

With the tense atmosphere gone, Tsuyoshi made a thoughtful face. “Then, it’s dinner on you.”

Koichi nodded. Tsuyoshi decided to push his luck.

“I want seafood.”

A nod.

“In Nara.”

A pause before a slow nod.

“With black beer.”

A blink.

A bemused Tsuyoshi could see the thoughts racing through Koichi’s mind. Where was a good place to eat seafood in Nara? And what exactly is black beer?

“I’ll work out the details. You just have to make yourself, and your wallet available. Deal?” Tsuyoshi offered his hand.

Koichi did not hesitate to grasp it in his own and shake it firmly. “Deal.”

TO PART 3

[KinKi Kids] Mou Kimi Igai Aisenai (One-Shot) 3/3

Sun, 24 May 2009 14:33:24 GMT

BACK TO PART 2

The incessant hammering on his door finally got to Tsuyoshi after half an hour. Throwing the door open, he glared at his uninvited guest. “What?”

“I did it for-“ Okada was cut off as the door slammed shut in his face. Sighing, he brought his hand up to continue banging on the door.

Finally we’re getting somewhere, he thought as the neighbour’s lights came on. He gave an apologetic smile as the elderly man poked his head out before disappearing back into his house.

A few minutes later, Tsuyoshi’s door opened again. This time, it stayed open as Tsuyoshi apologized profusely to his neighbour over the intercom.

Okada stepped into the apartment and closed the door behind him as Tsuyoshi hung up. Ignoring his best friend, Tsuyoshi walked back into the apartment.

Toeing his shoes off, Okada followed suit, knowing he would have to talk some sense into Tsuyoshi.

“You’ve got two minutes before I ask you to leave,” Tsuyoshi said, picking up his guitar.

Okada sighed as he sat opposite Tsuyoshi on the sofa, watching him strum a few chords for a few moments.

“One minute left,” Tsuyoshi murmured, frowning when the melody did not quite match.

“He likes you too.”

Tsuyoshi’s strumming stilled, and silence flooded the room. “Jun, it’s not funny anymore.”

“Does it look like I’m joking?” Tsuyoshi looked up into Okada’s serious face, searching for a hint of movement or even a twitch. He found none.

“I’m serious. I talked for a bit with Nagase after you left. Seems Koichi’s been pining after you all these years too,” Okada smiled wryly.

Tsuyoshi stubbornly shook his head. “It can’t be. He would have said something,” Tsuyoshi bit his lip.

“Unfortunately, he’s as big of a baka as you are. Maybe even more dense,” Okada mused. “At least that’s what Nagase says.”

“We’ve spent the past week working together. There’s nothing there,” Tsuyoshi insisted.

Okada fought the urge to roll his eyes. “As if you’d even notice. You were probably spending so much effort trying to mask your feelings, you wouldn’t have noticed anything short of him jumping into your lap.”

“Jun! Don’t talk about him like that,” Tsuyoshi admonished, frowning. “Koichi-san doesn’t just jump on someone’s lap!”

Okada snickered. “That’s true. He’s so low tension, it would be too much of an effort for him.”

“Junichi,” Tsuyoshi warned, one eyebrow raised.

Okada shook his head. “Oh god, you’re both so gloomy it isn’t even funny anymore!”

“We’re not gloo-“ Tsuyoshi was cut off as his doorbell rang. “Who could that be?”

Both men made their way to the door. As Tsuyoshi peeked out to the corridor, he found his vision blocked. Blocked by a very big chest, to be exact.

“I’m sorry! Take my best friend back! I didn’t mean to ruin everything!” Nagase’s wail boomed out into the hallway, his arms clutching Tsuyoshi’s shoulders.

Tsuyoshi’s elderly neighbour poked his head out again, this time a displeased scowl clearly on his face. “Flaming gay idols,” he muttered before slamming the door shut.

Alarmed, Tsuyoshi grabbed Nagase and hauled him into the apartment, making a mental note to buy a gift for his neighbour tomorrow.

“What’s this all about?” Tsuyoshi asked, hands on his hips.

Nagase made a pitiful face, clapping his palms together in front of his face in apology. “I’m so sorry! It was all my fault! Please don’t be mad at Ko-chan! He’ll kill himself! Well, not exactly. He’ll kill me first, then kill himself. I didn’t mean to make him sound like a crazy pervert! He’s really cute and innocent! I’m sorry!! He even sets his HDD recorder to record everything remotely related to the words ‘Domoto Tsuyoshi’!!”

Blinking through Nagase’s rant, Tsuyoshi took a breath. “And it matters what I think of him because?”

Now it was Nagase’s turn to blink at Tsuyoshi, but in confusion. “Because Ko-chan likes you. Of course it matters what you think of him,” Nagase stated matter-of-fact.

“Told you so,” Okada muttered smugly from behind.

“But,” Tsuyoshi began. “But why?”

Nagase shrugged. “You’re gonna have to ask Ko-chan that. I know him well, but not that well.”

Tsuyoshi was quiet for a few moments. Then he looked up and met Nagase’s gaze. “You’re not pulling my leg?”

“Defnitely not.”

“You’re sure about this?”

A nod.

“We’re going on a date to Nara. Wait for my good news,” Tsuyoshi said, determination shining in his eyes.

A smile of wicked glee made its way onto Nagase’s face. “You’ve forgiven Ko-chan? You’re the best!”

Okada watched with amusement as Tsuyoshi was once again engulfed in a bear hug by Nagase.

I hope Koichi knows what he’s getting himself into. There’s nothing scarier than Domoto Tsuyoshi going towards his goal with full confidence.

~*~*~

Koichi waved goodbye to Nagase, who stood on the train platform with Okada. The two men were grinning a little too widely for his comfort.

And just the fact that Nagase had bought him his favourite food this morning made it even more suspicious. Okada had sounded too sweet when he called to say that he’ll pick him up on his way to Tsuyoshi’s.

Oh, well. At least I don’t have to worry about them plotting anything. It’s just Tsuyoshi and me now.

Koichi decided to ignore the alarm bells in his head and turned back to his traveling partner.

“So where are we headed?” Koichi decided to start off with some light conversation.

Tsuyoshi turned away from the scenery. “To Nara, of course. You do remember our deal, right?”

“Of course,” Koichi answered with a smile.

Tsuyoshi relaxed back into his seat, tapping his finger on his chin. “So, I was thinking.”

Koichi nodded, also settling back into his seat. “Yeah?”

“About what Tomoya-baby said,” Tsuyoshi mused, a slight glint in his eyes as he kept his attention away from Koichi.

Koichi’s eyebrows furrowed. “Wait. Who’s Tomoya-baby?”

Turning to the older man with an incredulous look on his face, Tsuyoshi all but laughed out, “Your best friend? Nagase Tomoya?”

The gape that Koichi gave him finally made Tsuyoshi laugh out loud. To avoid embarrassing Koichi, he hid his laughter behind the back of his hand.

“Nagase? But-but-but…. You were still mad at him from that dinner!” Koichi pointed an accusing finger at the younger man. “How did he become Tomoya-baby?!”

Tsuyoshi made a thoughtful face. He decided to spare Koichi the torture of having to think too much. “He came over to my place with Jun after you left.”

“HE WHAT?!” Koichi shouted, catching the attention of the other passengers. Noticing the annoyed stares, Koichi bowed quickly a few times in apology.

Poking Tsuyoshi in the ribs, Koichi hissed, “What did he do now?”

“Oh,” Tsuyoshi squirmed away from Koichi’s attack, “He told me some very interesting things about you.”

Koichi’s frown deepened. “For example?”

“You like~ me,” Tsuyoshi teased, grinning at Koichi.

Koichi sputtered a bit before stalking off to an empty seat at the other end of the carriage. Crossing his arms across his chest, he stared out of the window.

Not really expecting Koichi to react like that, it took Tsuyoshi a few moments before he went over to Koichi.

“Koichi-san?” Tsuyoshi tested the water.

Koichi ‘hmph’ed and turned his back to Tsuyoshi. The younger man resisted rolling his eyes.

“Koichi-san,” he tried again, poking Koichi on the shoulder.

Not getting any response, Tsuyoshi sighed and faced forward instead.

“Ningen Shikaku,” he said quietly. “It was Ningen Shikaku for me.”

Curiosity got the better of Koichi and he peeked over his shoulder. Tsuyoshi was staring forward with a small smile on his face.

“How about you?” the question took him by surprise and he turned back to the window.

A poke on his shoulder made him peek back. “Oi, I’m trying to confess here. At least let me tell it to your face,” Tsuyoshi said, fake annoyance in his voice.

Koichi turned to Tsuyoshi, but his attention was focused on his lap.

“So,” Tsuyoshi continued, this time a bit more nervously. “uhm-you know, that was when-“

“Ningen,” Koichi interrupted, looking up at him.

Tsuyoshi gave the older man a soft smile. “We sure took our time, didn’t we?”

Koichi shrugged. “We could still… you know.”

“I’d like that,” Tsuyoshi hesitantly took Koichi’s hand in his. “What about you?”

“Okay,” Koichi returned his smile. “I’d like that too.”

Tsuyoshi grinned, giving Koichi’s hand a little squeeze. “So, our first date is a weekend away? Moving fast, aren’t we?”

“We’ve got years to catch up on. A little speed can be forgiven, right?” Koichi winked, settling down into his seat.

Tsuyoshi settled in as well. “I guess,” he said, and Koichi could hear the smile in his words.

Both men were drifting off to sleep when their mobile phones rang.

“Video call?” they said at the same time, checking the caller ID. Both answered at the same time.

“Hello?”

“Ko-chan~”

“Yo, Tsu!”

The two Domotos exchanged a look as they turned back to their mobiles. “What do you want?”

“Ohmigod! They’re talking in sync now!” Nagase practically squealed, ignoring Koichi to talk to Okada, who was standing next to him.

“And they look sleepy! Did we interrupt something?” Okada’s wide grin was turned away from Tsuyoshi’s view.

“Are they holding hands?” Nagase asked, prompting both him and Okada to try to peek through the screen and giving Tsuyoshi and Koichi a very good view of their eyeballs.

Koichi and Tsuyoshi simultaneously cut the line and turned off their mobile phone.

“Think they’ll be mad?” Tsuyoshi asked, closing his eyes and relaxing again.

Koichi closed his eyes as well. “They’ll get over it,” he grinned.

~*~*~

“Oi! He hung up on me!” Nagase’s indignant voice echoed down the platform.

Okada slung an arm around Nagase’s shoulder. “If he hangs around Tsuyoshi long enough, you’d better start getting used to it.”

“Let’s go get some yakiniku,” Okada consoled Nagase. “Then we start planning their engagement party for when they get back.”

Both men grinned widely as they made their merry way from the platform.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* owari *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N: I kinda like intefering!Okada and adorably-blunt!Nagase. How about you? (^_^)
Feed this writer with comments, please? ♥

SPOTTED! Akame in Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift

Sun, 03 May 2009 14:31:31 GMT

Okay, so I'm exaggerating a bit. They weren't really IN Tokyo Drift. It was more like their DoCoMo ad was in the background in the movie.

Basically, thanks to blue_orbs for mentioning this to me. I never had any idea they were in the background. ~~And I can't believe I spent an entire movie staring at the background ^^;~~

Okay, this IS a bit blurry, because the camera was moving a bit fast, but we've seen these ads so many times, it's ridiculous if there's any doubts about it being Jin and Kame.

Jin's DoCoMo ad

And behind Jin's ad is.....

BACK TO BACK AKAME!!! ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

OK, so the quality is really blur when I put it in LJ... I don't know why... *kicks LJ* but it's probably because I fail at LJ.

If you want something clearer, then here are the links to my Photobucket that I uploaded the pics to:

Jin: Clearer version
Kame: Clearer version

Edit: If you're going to watch the movie to spot it, the time is 12:48 - 12:58
Happy Spotting the Akame!

[KinKi Kids Drabble] Home

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 09:16:34 GMT

Title: Home

Summary: Tsuyoshi tries to find his true self in the cut-throat world of the entertainment industry. What he finds in that ‘home’ really isn’t that far away.

Disclaimer: Do I look like a very rich old man who owns an entire agency of young, shiny, sparkly and ghei pretty boys? The answer is no.

A/N: Another drabble that popped up in the shower. Oh, and happy birthday, gally04 ! It didn’t really start off as a birthday present, but would you accept this as a birthday present? ^^;

Note: Written in Tsuyoshi’s POV

The lights are blinding. The sounds overwhelming. The screams, the cheers, the entire vibe of the crowd pulls me in.

I smile, and I wave. I reach over and pull him into a hug. And the crowd roars.

I can hear his laughter in my ear, feel a few solid pats to my back. Then we separate and grin.

We do this. Because we were told to.

It makes the fans happy. And when the fans are happy, the jimusho is always happy.

Somewhere along the way, I became another person.

I thought like I was supposed to, did as I was told. Smiled and was the apple of everyone’s eye.

The quintessential idol.

It scared me.

Johnny-san understood. He gave me his blessing.

All I have to do now is tell him.

I have to do this, I tell him. For me. It’s important for me to find my ‘home’. To find myself.

He is shocked, but he understands as well. He, too, gives me his blessing.

And thus began my journey to find myself. My true self.

Of course, I couldn’t completely break away from him. We are a duo.

But I was afraid of being too dependent on the security of our relationship. Too afraid that I would be lulled back into the comfort of what we have.

Too afraid that I would give up the journey to find my ‘home’.

I kept him at a distance.

I saw the hurt in his eyes, but I was determined. Things got pretty rough, and the cracks showed for the world to see.

And yet, I couldn’t give up the journey. I had to forge ahead.

It was a long journey, I dabbled in a lot of things. I saw a lot of things. Had many different experiences.

Too afraid that I would lose my determination, I kept my gaze steadfastly forward. Never turning back.

Even then, I never felt alone. There was always a presence behind me. It comforted me.

When I got weary, I could lean back. I felt the presence silently supporting me. The burdens would seem bearable again, and I could continue.

When my determination faltered, I would feel a small push from behind, urging me on.

I am thankful for the presence, but I will not look back. I have too much to risk.

I am now coming to the end of my journey. I have seen what I am capable of.

I have found a direction. I have rediscovered the person I once was, and who I really am.

I have found inner peace.

From all my experiences, I realized that I was never a different person.

The real me was just quietly residing in the louder, more flashy public persona of me.

I was myself all along.

Now, I realize that turning back doesn’t mean defeat. It doesn’t mean I have given up on my true self.

I will always be me. As long as I know, in my heart, who I am.

As I prepare to turn back, I am nervous.

What will I see? Who will I see? Will I be accepted back by everyone?

The comforting presence once again envelops me. It’s alright, it tells me. Turn around.

I take a deep breath and turn.

I see him, and he has a smile on his face.

Realization hits me. He was with me all along. He supported me, even when I kept him at arm’s length.

Now, I know. The journey to find myself has come full circle.

Okaeri, he says, the smile still on his face.

Tadaima, I answer, my own smile shining back at him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* owari *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Again, I’m trying out another style of writing that I’m not usually fond of using. It was hard… but hopefully it turned out alright. Feedback is always loved!

[One-Shot] PiKazu! I Choose You!

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:56:38 GMT

Title: PiKazu! I choose you!

Disclaimer: Do I look like a very rich old man who owns an agency full of hot, shiny, sparkly young boys to you? The answer is no.

Summary: Ryo and Pi are sick of Jin being in denial over his oh-so-obvious obsession over one Kamenashi Kazuya. Ryo and Pi are bored too. So, Ryo decides to make Pi execute his brilliant match-making plan.

A/N: A crack-ish extension of the PiKazu drabble from Especially For You. This is especially dedicated to akame_hime for her lovely present. I hope you like it~

“Pi, I’m bored,” Ryo muttered.

Yamapi made a sleepy sound of acknowledgement, burying his head deeper into Massu’s stomach. Finding it too hard for his liking, he grabbed the pillow that Shige had over his head and placed it between his head and Massu’s rumbling stomach.

“Gyoza~”

“I’ve got cookies, Massu. Really yummy cookies,” Koyama mumbled, throwing an arm over Tegoshi’s chest, making the latter fidget across Ryo’s lap.

“Are you listening to me at all, Yamashita Tomohisa?” Ryo glared at his best friend.

Yamapi sleepily hugged his pillow tighter. “Yes, Ryo-chan.”

Ryo was about to throw something at Yamapi to wake him up so he could make him un-bored when the door to NEWS’ room slammed open.

“Pi! I’m not having dinner with you and Ryo-chan tonight,” Jin yelled.

“Going for dinner with your boyfriend, Fat Jin?” Ryo seized the chance to distract himself from his sleeping group members.

Jin stomped in. “I don’t have a boyfriend, shortie. I like girls.”

“So what’s all this clinging to Kame called?” Ryo retorted, noticing that Yamapi had one eye cracked open.

They were both well aware of Jin’s obsession with everything related to Kame, even if the idiot was still in complete denial after all these years. Jin’s incredible mood swings when Kame hooked up with that older woman had really tested their patience.

At one point, they were tempted to shove Jin and Kame into a closet to get the baka to come to terms with his feelings, but decided against it when Kame had taken up boxing for his drama.

TTUN were more than willing to help out, especially Koki. All their efforts amounted to was Junno getting kicked repeatedly, Koki getting his hair style mysteriously changed by different stylists and Nakamaru becoming AD repeatedly and doing death-defying stunts for cartoon KAT-TUN.

No one dared to mess with Ueda. And Ueda was not particularly interested in participating in anything Ryo was a part of, regardless of how brilliant Ryo thought his plans were.

“It’s called me and Kame,” Jin answered matter-of-factly. “It’s unexplainable.”

“It’s called denial, Bakanishi,” Yamapi muttered, closing his eyes again. “Get in into your thick head.”

“I still don’t get why you guys think I’m in love with Kame,” Jin mused, helping himself to Koyama’s cookies on the dressing table. “You’d think I’d know if I was in love with Kame.”

“That’s because your IQ is lower than Massu’s gyoza,” Ryo replied, moving his arms just in time to avoid Massu’s open mouth.

“Gyoza~” Massu mumbled, his mouth making chomping actions.

Jin took a look at the dogpile that was NEWS, and shook his head. “Thank God KAT-TUN doesn’t have orgies like this,” he muttered, shuddering.

“Yeah, we know you’d just like to have Kame and Kame alone,” Yamapi sighed, sitting up after realizing that he would not be able to get any sleep with Jin around.

Jin rolled his eyes. “For the last time, I’m not in love with Kame. Never was, never will be.”

“Then all that jealous rage when he was with that,” Yamapi wrinkled his nose, “woman?”

Jin scoffed. “I wasn’t jealous. I just didn’t think they were right for each other. And I was right, wasn’t I?”

Seeing an opening, Ryo joined in the conversation. “So who would be right for Kame? In your opinion.”

Tapping his finger on his chin, Jin pursed his lips in thought. “Kame needs someone who spoils him. Someone to take care of him, because the idiot puts himself after everyone else. Someone who gets along with his family. Someone who likes him for being him. Oh! And someone who’ll get Ran-chan the perfect boyfriend,” Jin ticked off each quality on his fingers.

“Don’t you spoil him?” Ryo asked, raising an eyebrow. “You eat all his tomatoes. You drive him everywhere. You insist on paying for everything when you’re together. And you even buy him girly magazines.”

“And you’re the one who drags him out from his house to eat something, especially after he’s had a long day of work and would rather stay at home and not eat,” Yamapi joined in.

Jin opened his mouth to retort.

“And don’t get us started on how much your families are practically like in-laws,” Yamapi quickly cut in.

“You liked him when he had those horrendous eyebrows. I think that sums it all pretty well,” Ryo chipped in. “Are you sure you’re not describing yourself?”

Jin huffed. “Pi does all that for Kame too. I don’t see you thinking he and Kame have a relationship.”

“AKANISHI JIN! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE BACK IN REHEARSAL 15 MINUTES AGO!!” a bellow was heard down the hallway.

Giving a loud squeak, Jin hurriedly dashed out of the room, his profuse apologies to Kame fading as he ran after his angry group member.

“He’ll never learn,” Yamapi sighed, flopping back down on Massu’s stomach. The younger boy gave a light ‘oof’ before resuming his quiet snoring.

Ryo had a gleam in his eyes. “Yes, he will, Pi. Yes, he will.”

“How?” Yamapi yawned.

Ryo cackled quietly to himself. “You’re buying a puppy.”

“EH?!”

~*~*~

“Shu~ji-kun,” Yamapi sing-songed as he flapped his way into KAT-TUN’s room. He had been outside the door for half an hour, waiting for them to take a break from rehearsing their new dance steps.

Kame looked up and smiled at their guest. “Yes, Akira-chan?” he laughed as Yamapi flopped himself on the floor next to Kame and hugged him from behind.

Yamapi pointedly ignored the death glares Jin was throwing at him behind his back. TTUN snickered at the side, relaxing and enjoying the show.

Everyone knew how devastated Jin was when he was not chosen for Nobuta wo Produce. Yamapi and Kame patching up their friendship and becoming close again was also a blow to Jin. Now he had to share Kame with his other best friend, and Jin had spent weeks sulking.

Even now, he would bristle at any mention of Nobuta wo Produce or the names Shuji or Akira. It was something Yamapi usually took advantage of when he wanted to annoy Jin.

“Do I spoil you?” Yamapi asked. Kame gave him a weird look before nodding.

“Do I take care of you?” Yamapi rested his chin on Kame’s shoulder. “I don’t know what I’d do without you,” Kame replied, gently bumping his head on Yamapi’s.

TTUN discreetly looked at Jin’s reaction from the corner of their eyes. Yamapi was pushing it, and they really did not want to have to explain how JE’s golden boy got mauled to death in their rehearsal room.

“Do you like me as much as I like you?” Yamapi continued, resisting the urge to shudder at the murderous aura Jin was emitting at him.

Kame made a thoughtful face, pausing for a few moments before grinning widely. “I think I like you more.”

"Help me pick out a puppy?" Yamapi beamed, only to hear Jin choke on his water at the side.

Kame tilted his head curiously. "A puppy? What for, Pi-chan?"

"I thought Ran could get a boyfriend! She's a pretty lady, I'm sure she'd love the company," Yamapi looked imploringly at Kame. "I even have the name picked out!"

Kame laughed lightly. "A boyfriend for Ran-chan? That sounds like a great idea. What's his name?"

"PiKazu!" Yamapi said. A fountain of water erupted behind him. "Like Pikachu, except way cooler!"

Kame wrinkled his nose at Jin. "Jin, can you not spit your water out like that? It's unhygienic."

Yamapi would have cackled, but he knew better than to push his luck.

"It's a date then, Kame! I'll see you after work!" Yamapi called out as he left the room, deciding it was suicidal to push his luck by staying in there any longer with a fuming Akanishi Jin.

~*~*~

“Sorry I’m late,” Kame panted as he jogged over to Yamapi. “Jin kept messing up his steps so we ended late. Then he looked completely sad for some reason, so I stayed with him for a bit.”

Yamapi smiled widely, opening the passenger door to his car for Kame. “Don’t worry about it. I know how Jin can get sometimes,” he winked at the younger boy.

Kame gave Yamapi a grateful smile and hopped into the car. As they exited the building, Kame noticed Jin walking with his head down at the side of the road. The A of KAT-TUN had his shoulders sagged downwards and was dragging his feet as he walked.

“Pi, can we just do this another day?” Kame suddenly asked, giving the other boy an apologetic look. “I can’t just leave Jin like that.”

Yamapi looked over Kame’s shoulder and gave a smile. “Tell you what. We’ll bring Jin along. He’ll cheer up.”

Kame reached over and gave Yamapi a hug. “You’re the best, Pi!”

Stupid Ryo, Jin thought, kicking a stone. Kame’s out with Pi and Ryo, the insensitive best friend, had to go take my car to see Uchi. I hate them. Kame~

“Jin!”

Snapping his head up, Jin was surprised to see Kame waving to him from Yamapi’s car. “Kame?”

“Jin, hop in!” Kame hollered over the sound of traffic. He waved Jin over.

“Kame!” Jin yelled, running to the car with a smile on his face. Quickly hopping into the back seat, Jin gave Yamapi’s hair a quick ruffle. “Hi to you too, Pi!”

Yamapi looked up from his mobile. “Hey, Jin!” Quickly hitting the send button, Yamapi kept his phone back into his pocket.

~*~*~

“Everything’s going as planned,” Ryo read the text he received. Grinning from ear to ear, he slipped his phone back into his pocket.

Yokoyama exchanged glances with Junno. “I don’t like the look on Dokkun’s face.”

“Boys, let’s go,” Ryo waved the small crowd of JE idols to the exit. “The moment we’ve all been waiting for is going to arrive soon. Follow me if you want to witness history.”

~*~*~

Jin stood at the corner of the pet store, pouting. The parrot next to him squawked. “Baka! Baka!”

Glaring at the parrot, Jin was about to swat the bird over the head when Kame’s squeal caught his attention.

“You’re so cute!” Kame cooed to the West Highland White Terrier puppy^[1] flopped down on the floor. The puppy’s ears perked up and he looked at Kame curiously.

Holding his hands out to the puppy, Kame started to baby-talk. “C’mere… Come to Daddy~”

Yamapi laughed out loud. “You can’t do it like that, Kame-chan~,” he put his hands on Kame’s shoulder. “You should say-“

“PiKazu! I choose you!” Kame’s boisterous laughter filled the store as they both said out the famous line from Pokemon.

The little puppy yipped and bounded happily over to the two laughing boys. It wagged its tail as Kame scooped him up.

“You’re definitely a keeper,” Kame nuzzled the puppy’s fur. The furball licked Kame’s face happily and yipped again.

Yamapi shot a quick look at Jin, and immediately recognized the look on his mabudachi’s face. Perfect. One more little push…

“Do you like your new daddies?” Yamapi scratched the puppy behind the ears. “I think our baby likes us, Shuuji-kun,” Yamapi gave Kame an indulgent smile.

“THAT’S IT!!”

All attention was turned to one Akanishi Jin.

“Jin?” Kame asked, concerned by Jin’s sudden outburst.

“This-“ Jin gestured vaguely, getting frustrated. “This is all wrong!”

“Jin, we’re just choosing a puppy,” Yamapi drawled, draping an arm over Kame’s shoulders.

“Get your hand off him, Pi!” Jin snarled.

Yamapi held both hands up in front of him. “No need to get possessive, mabudachi.” At the back of his mind, he was thinking, Ryo-chan, you’d better be ready to get me out of here before I lose a limb.

Kame held the whimpering puppy to his chest. “Look what you did, Jin. You scared PiKazu.”

Turning his glare to Kame, Jin stomped over. “It’s all your fault!”

“My fault?!” Kame sputtered.

“Yeah! YOU! You and your endless list of wrong relationships. And all that crying when they don’t work out. And letting Pi and Ryo and Koki get their grubby paws on you,” Jin ranted.

Yamapi tried very hard to suppress a grin, inching away from the two. Kame just looked confused.

“Things would never be wrong if you chose the right person to be with in the first place. Then you wouldn’t have to buy Ran-chan a boyfriend. And you wouldn’t have to go on this date with Pi. And then I wouldn’t have to be here watching you go on a date with Pi,” Jin continued, not really knowing what he was saying, his mouth working faster than his brain.

“The right person? Who’s supposed to be the right person? How the hell would I know who’s the right person for me?” Kame challenged, becoming defensive due to Jin’s sudden accusations.

“Are you blind?! Of course it’s me, Kazu!” Jin grabbed Kame’s shoulders in frustration, giving the younger boy a quick shake. “If you just open your eyes and look at me! I’ve been here forever! And you keep screwing with my mind! I don’t know if I like you or want to kill you! Gods!!”

Kame blinked a few times as Jin released him to run a hand through his hair and stalk back to the now silent parrot.

“Jin, did you just say you-“ Kame started, realization dawning in his eyes.

Jin whirled back to face Kame. “Didn’t you hear me the first time? I like you, okay? And I don’t like it when you’re all nice and close to the rest of them, alright? I like you. I like you. I like you, dammit, I really like you!”

Suddenly, Jin clapped his hand over his mouth, shock evident in his eyes. Kame could barely make out the muffled “Omigod. I like you?!” Jin squeaked out.

Kame sighed and cocked his head to the side. “Finally figured it out, Bakanishi?”

“Kame, I like you!” Jin exclaimed, rushing back over to envelop Kame into a hug. “I like you!”

“Took you long enough,” Kame’s muffled reply was heard.

Cheers erupted throughout the store, as the other idols poured out from the back of the store. “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” they began chanting, clapping along with wide grins on their faces.

Kame gave them a half-hearted glare before Jin gently tilted Kame’s face to his. “We can’t disappoint the audience, right?” Jin said, a twinkle in his eyes.

A slight blush made its way to Kame’s face. “Don’t use that on me,” he admonished with a pout.

“You know you want to,” Jin laughed. Suddenly, he cleared his throat nervously. “Can I?”

Kame turned to the puppy. “What do you think?”

The puppy was happy that all the attention was finally back on him. It gave a happy yip and wagged its tail.

Jin beamed and gave Kame a chaste kiss on the lips. Cheers and wolf whistles filled the store.

*~*~*~*~*~*~ owari ~*~*~*~*~*~*

Omake:

“PiKazu!”

“Shut up, Pi! That’s not his name! And you! Stop answering everyone! Your name isn’t PiKazu or KoKame or RyoKame or Kameno or Kamemaru! And it sure as hell ain’t JohnnyNashi!”

“Jin! Stop yelling at the dog. He’s terrified! Come to Daddy, you poor baby.”

“But Kame~”

“No buts! I’m not calling him KaJi ^[2]. He’s not a fire disaster .PiKazu is a cute name.”

“Kame~”

“Enough. You’ve got a dog called Pin. I can very well call him PiKazu.”

Notes:

[1] This is what PiKazu looks like~ Adorable, isn’t he?

(grabbed off the Internet)

[2] KaJi – 火事 which means fire, as in a fire broke out in the house and it burned down. Or there were two fatalities in the pre-dawn fire in that house.

A/N: Yay! Finally finished something!