Mendol - Ikemen Idol!
Chapter 8
author's note: And at the end of this chapter is where we're gonna start wandering off into non-canon land.
"Do you think he'll keep quiet?" Hinata's voice rang out in the darkness. The girls were all sleeping in their futons, too wired to go to sleep.
"He will." Asahi said with more conviction than she felt. Jiro had looked stunned and kept shaking his head when Asahi was explaining to him and begging her long-time friend to not rat them out. He had said he needed time to absorb all of this and had left the Kamonohatsu house, uncharacteristically quiet.
"He better." Nami muttered.
"Anyways, are you feeling better?" Hinata turned over to look at Nami. Nami gave the girl a small smile. "Yeah, thanks to you. Gingerale does help."
"We better stock up." Asahi giggled. "Looks like Ray might want to make more food for her boyfriend."
"Shut up." Nami growled.
"Oooo..." Hinata giggled. "Nami and Ra~ay, under the desk. K-I-S-S-I-N-G-"
"You saw that?" Nami screeched, jumping up.
"You guys were kissing?" Asahi sat up, not wanting to miss an opportunity to tease Nami.
"CHIGAUUU!" Nami protested loudly. "She frickin' attacked me! I was frozen in terror! Anyways, why'd you run off, Hinata?"
The attention turned to her, the pig-tailed girl rolled over, avoiding her bandmates' questioning eyes. "Well... I thought you guys were having fun without me, so, I didn't want to disturb you guys..."
"Why would you think that?" Sensitive to Hinata's fragile nature, Nami sat down and scooted over to the loli. "It was supposed to be our party! Then those two idiots came and totally barged in on it."
"Yeah." Asahi nodded, feeling a little bit of irritation creep in. Stupid Ray wouldn't give her any cake! Though maybe that was a good thing, seeing how Nami turned out after eating the toxic creation... but Hinata had looked so happy finishing off that ugly monstrosity. "I wanna celebrate with people I made my CD with. The only other people I want with us is the rest of the recording crew, Marilyn and MAYBE shachou."
Silence reigned in the dark room and finally, it was broken by a little sob.
"Are you crying?" Nami gaped at the lump under the blankets that was Hinata.
"N-no." Hinata obviously was.
"Hey." Asahi got out of her futon now and sat beside Nami to join her in poking at Hinata under the blanket. "Why are you crying?"
"I-I-I've never h-had any f-friends." Hinata confessed, hoping that the two girls wouldn't think she was weird. "I was h-home-schooled w-when I was y-young and I was a w-weirdo."
"You're still a weirdo!" Nami blurted out and hissed in pain as Asahi punched her on the arm. "But we still like you!"
"Thanks." Hinata sobbed, half-laughing, half-crying. Her two bandmates exchanged a look, then on an unvoiced signal, they slipped into Hinata's futon, one on each side.
"What-"
"Tell anyone and I'll kill you." Nami grumbled, snuggling closer to Hinata.
"Snuggling is fun!" Asahi chirped and she and Hinata giggled while Nami continued mumbling about 'stupid bandmates'.
"Don't think about stupid things, okay?" Nami remembered quite well, the girl standing in the middle of the Indies' stage threatening to kill herself. "We're here for you and don't you forget about it."
"Nami's so sweet, isn't she?" Asahi giggled. "That's why she gets all the girls!"
"SHUT UP."
Heart fluttering in her chest, Hinata was so happy she felt like she could fly away! Kai and Riku definitely were idols that she loved, but if Asahi and Nami were idols... well, Hinata was pretty sure she would fall for them too! With that thought in her head and the sound of Asahi and Nami's good-natured bickering in her ears, Hinata fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.
I'm listening to your CD now! (*^_^*) hearing Kai's voice makes me feel so good inside!
Kai shuddered at the message she got from Ray, loosening his tie to get a bit more air. To make the Diva leave their house that day, Kai had to exchange her phone email and number with the long-haired beauty. Then, with the help of Katsuyuki-san, they had forced the woman to leave. Jiro, meanwhile, was not a problem. Or at least Riku kept reassuring his bandmates that he wouldn't be a problem.
"You sure?" Kuu leaned over to ask nervously again.
Riku was getting annoyed. Their questions were making her nervous! "I'm sure."
"Well, if you say so." Kai shrugged. "Come on, lets concentrate on the task at hand."
Right now, they were at TV Tohto again, arriving to get ready for a variety show called 'TV Junkie'. To get more time on TV to publicize their single, they would have to jump into a small pool of ice cold water with a bunch of other young idols! The ones who stayed in the water the longest would get more commercial time to talk about their work.
Saeko had jumped through a lot of hoops to get this done and she was coming across a lot of problems. Too many of them, in fact, to be normal. She was quite sure Sarukawa was behind all of it, too. He had been lurking around every time a problem had shown up but Saeko had smoothed it out with Marilyn helping out, unbeknownst to the boys. Persona didn't know their management had had to literally STAND OVER the production line to make sure their CDs came out at the right time, or make sure that the CD booklets and posters got printed out with no mistakes. They also didn't know that someone was deliberately shutting them out during publicity events, either. It had taken Saeko a lot of groveling to get this spot on 'TV Junkie' for the three... luckily, the boys' slim physique worked in their favour. The show needed losers and they thought Persona would give up on the cold water as soon as they got in.
But Saeko believed in the boys.
Even though she thought all three of them were moronic children some times and didn't even know who the great Ruby Gates was! All of his fifty-six singles had reached the number one spot on the charts, he's sold ten million albums and he'd instantly sold out concerts at Budokan for over a month! He's the man who had created legends in several areas of the Japanese music scene! The most amazing part was that he could make a woman reach ecstasy with his singing! This great man had finally come out of retirement and was going to sing again! Did the boys not understand how IMPORTANT Ruby was and how bad the disappointment would be if Ruby refused to sing after saying he would?
The boys from Persona's only reaction to this news was: "He's before our time."
Before Saeko could come down on them for their stupidity and ignorance of great figures in Japanese popular culture, she was interrupted.
"Why do I have to apologize?" The arrogant voice of one of Sarukawa's young idols echoed in the hallway as they came down a stairway towards them.
"Oi, Keigo." Sarukawa growled. This guy was infuriating! Ever since Sarukawa had started grooming the young Keigo to start a group similar to Animal Crush, the young boy had been incorrigible. And Sarukawa had poured so much time and effort into polishing him up, it was a shame to cut him loose to be picked up by some other agency. Besides, Sarukawa was thinking of pairing him up with Ray, possibly putting out a duet. But Keigo had just managed to offend the great Ruby Gates!
"Calm down, shachou." Katsuyuki-san was walking alongside Sarukawa. He thought Keigo had been unnecessarily rude, but it wasn't worth making a scene over.
"Sarukawa-shachou!" Saeko greeted the men coming towards them and her boys and Marilyn gave a polite bow.
"Ah!" Sarukawa pasted a smile on his face. Saeko was a bit of a headache but her body made up for the trouble she caused him. Really! The young idols she was grooming was managing to steal a lot of his own people's limelight and he was working hard to keep Persona under wraps!
As Saeko mined the men for information, Kai's eyes had locked on to Keigo, noting his VERY masculine good look. In torn jeans, black boots and a low-cut shirt, he REEKED the scent of man! THIS would get Kai's mind off Ray! Charging forward to grab Keigo's hand, the blonde shook it enthusiastically, giving his best smile.
"I'm Kai from Persona! Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!" Kai pumped Keigo's hand up and down enthusiastically and grinned again. The intensity she was giving off frightened Keigo a bit.
"Uh, hey there." Keigo gave a little smile, too taken aback to be rude.
"Keigo, right?" Kai grinned. "So we'll be seeing a lot of each other!"
Keigo was confused. "We will?"
Before Keigo could question further, Kai had ran back to his friends, full of glee.
"After dealing with Ray, I need to go for this!" Kai grabbed his compatriots close and whispered. "What's wrong with the occasional guy?"
"You've never even kissed anyone before." Kuu pointed out.
Riku grinned. "Except for Ray."
"Several times!" Kuu high-fived Riku.
"SHUT UP!"
As the boys giggled amongst themselves, Sarukawa tried to put his foot down on this issue. Give them an inch and they'll take a mile!
"We're going to Ruby's dressing room." Sarukawa's tone of voice left no room for negotiations.
But Keigo wasn't afraid at all and snorted at his manager's tone of voice and gave a derisive snort. "Why don't you just go alone?"
Disregarding the irrate man, Keigo sauntered off. Riku and Kuu wrinkled their noses at that scene. Arrogance was really unattractive on a man, especially when there was, in Riku and Kuu's humble opinion, absolutely nothing to be arrogant about! Sarukawa-shachou raced after his young star, flashing the people around a quick, confident smile that looked absolutely fake. It seemed as if Keigo just wasn't going to be reigned in.
"Oi, KEIGO!" The manager was fast losing his temper as he ran after the shaggy-haired young man. Something to his left caught his attention and he noticed Persona's Kai following along.
"Along for the ride!" Kai gave a thumbs-up.
"Shouldn't you be with Saeko?"
"It's fine, it's fine." Kai waved away the question. He had plenty of time! And Keigo seemed to have stopped! "We've caught up!"
He was standing outside the door, looking into a recording studio through the small window in the door.
"Whatchu lookin' aaaaattttAAAHHH!" Kai wordlessly screamed as she spotted Ray in another room behind the glass. Quickly ducking, he tugged at Keigo. "Yo, that's Ray!"
"I know." Keigo shrugged, then cast a look at Sarukawa-shachou. "Why hasn't she been introduced to me yet?"
This was one thing Sarukawa-shachou knew not to give way on, or else there'd be hell to pay.
"Nobody sees Ray unless it's for business or she approves it."
"We're going to be working together, aren't we?" Keigo's voice was demanding.
"No." Keiji smiled wryly, a little bit condescendingly. "She didn't approve it."
"I'm the fastest rising star in this agency!" Keigo tilted his head up a bit. "Why the hell won't she work with me?"
"Cuz she's crazy?" Kai only caught the last part of Keigo and Sarukawa-shachou's argument, too caught up in the pounding of his heart.
"She must be." Keigo nodded and patted Kai on the shoulder. "I need more people like you around."
Hearing that made Kai feel pretty good. "Osu!"
"No no no no no." Sarukawa chuckled, stepping in between Keigo and the door to Ray's recording studio. "Turn around and walk away, this isn't open to negotiations."
Keigo, of course, wasn't used to having people say no to him and reached around his manager to open the door, ducking under Keiji's arms but running straight into a huge man blocking the door.
"Sarukawa-shachou." Hiro nodded at the manager who smiled at the bodyguard. "What's this skinny guy doing here?"
"I'm here to see Ray." Keigo tried his best to look intimidating but it was hard when you had to look up at the person you were trying to intimidate. "Do you know who I am?"
Hiro chuckled. Oh, Ray was going to tear him a new one if THIS guy managed to get past.
"Don't know who you are and I don't think it matters either." Hiro folded his arms across his broad chest. "No-one gets to see Ray unless they're on her list. And you," Hiro gave him a sneer. "Are definitely, NOT on her list. Now get out of here before I have to embarrass you."
As Hiro talked down to this arrogant young man, the bodyguard suddenly noticed Kai off to the side. The guy was so tiny the bodyguard had barely seen him! "Yo! How's it going?"
"Uh," Kai blinked, taken off guard. "I'm fine. How are you?"
"Manners, too!" Hiro let out a deep laugh and grabbed Kai in a one-armed hug then gave Keigo another look. "Now, see? This is who gets to be on the list."
"THAT guy? What's he got that gets him on the list? I'm so much taller!" Keigo tried to push his way inside but Hiro was a rock and used one hand to push right back, sending Keigo onto his ass.
"Yeah, whatever." Hiro tsked, then moved aside to let Kai in. "In you go, bro."
"Thanks!" Kai beamed up at Hiro and walked in, while Hiro walked out, closing the door behind him so he could make sure that the annoyance left the premises. Kai's eyes adjusted to the dim lighting of the control room of the recording studio, making out the some-what familiar forms of Ray's entourage Kai recognized.
"Hey guys-ahhhh!" Kai slapped his hands against the side of his face, suddenly realizing he had just walked into the lion's den! WHY HAD HE COME IN?
"Kai!" Ray had spotted him through the glass and was jumping up and down calling him excitedly. Before he knew it, Ray had thrown off her headphones and burst through the door connecting the control room to the room Ray was singing in.
"Kai! You came to visit me!" Aware of the people in the room, it seemed that even RAY, the clingy, sexual-harassment woman knew better than to throw herself at Kai. Though she was REALLY pushing the personal space bondary by stopping bare CENTIMETERS away from the object of her affections, face flushed and smiling brilliantly.
"Uh, haha, yeah!" Kai took a nervous step back. "I ws just passing by, and, uh, I didn't mean to-"
"You're not bothering me at all!" Ray blurted out, a little bit afraid that Kai wouldn't visit her anymore and her hand shot out to grab his hand. "Come on, take a look at my new song!"
Kai shuddered as Ray pulled him forward and a sheet of music was thrust into Kai's hand. The Diva motioned for the technician at the workstation to start playing what they've recorded so far, wanting to share everything with Kai.
"Listen." Ray grinned. "What do you think?"
Kai, on seeing the music, immediately felt a bit of interest. This was the biggest selling star right now! How did she create her music? Kai had to admit he really wanted to know.
"It's really..." Kai frowned as he followed the lyrics on paper with the music but tried to smile when he saw Ray start to pout. "It's really... mainstream?"
Ray shrugged self-consciously. "It's what sells."
"I remember your first album was really good." Kai said distractedly, his eyes running over the lyrics. "It was... fuller. I think. And the lyrics were a little bit better."
"Well, what do you think I should do?" Ray asked, genuinely curious.
Kai shrugged, not noticing several musicians that were in the room glaring at him. Ray had never cared about THEIR opinion! What was so special about this short guy? "Well, I dunno, really. I'm just a rookie, right?"
"Indulge me a bit." Ray watched the young blonde nod and look over the music again. His long lashes fluttered against his cheek, the fierce expression he sometimes wore wasn't there but the way he bit his lower lip in concentration was soooo sexy...
"Okay, just a suggestion, but," Kai's voice shook the Diva out of her lustful thoughts. "Why don't you change some of the lyrics so it's more your style and the... pacing of your singing? Like the song seems like it's just plodding along on the same beat. I dunno. Do you know what I'm talking about? I dunno if it'll work, I mean-"
Ray had gently taken the piece of music from Kai and was looking over it carefully, singing the song in her head. If she changed it a little bit here, then the music right there... it was sort of like how she had wanted the song to sound like before she had been 'encouraged' to change it under Sarukawa-shachou's directions.
"Well, I gotta get out of here," Kai waved to Ray's entourage. "I gotta get back before shachou kills me."
"See you later?"
"Sure." Kai said automatically, then grimaced. His mouth really did work faster than his brain! Thank god his mouth wasn't the only thing that was fast as he quickly ducked Ray's grasping arms and ran out the door, slamming it behind him with a quick 'bye!' He then immediately bumping into Hiro.
"Yo." Hiro grinned at the small blonde. Hiro really liked the little guy! With him around, Ray was always in a good mood and a lot easier to manage! "Where you off to in a hurry?"
"Gotta get back to work." Kai looked up at Hiro then around hopefully. "Keigo gone?"
"Yeah.I scared him off." Hiro chuckled, wondering at the crestfallen look on Kai's face. Were the two young men, friends? Kai seriously needed to rethink his friendship with that rude guy, though. "And oh, hey, you come by any time, alright? You're on Ray's good list. The list that doesn't have to be renewed every day."
"She really has a list?" Kai's mouth was hanging open in disbelief. He thought Hiro had been joking!
"Yeah. That's our princess for you." Hiro said wryly. "So take advantage of it. Not many people get on her good list."
"Well, see you later-oof!" Kai was embraced in another one-armed hug that knocked the air out of Kai's lungs.
"Later, shortie!" Hiro gave the shortest member of Persona a thumbs-up, then slipped back into the recording studio. Kai started off back to the room they would be changing in when she bumped into Keigo again.
"Hey, I thought you had left-"
"How do you know Ray?" Keigo had been hiding around the corner, listening to the conversation the dimunitive singer had been having with Hiro.
"I was introduced," Kai shrugged. "She came out to see us when we were recording our single."
"Ray doesn't see anybody and she wanted to see Persona?" Keigo paced the halls, letting out a short bark of laughter. "What the hell is that?"
"And what the hell do you mean by that?" Kai bristled, not liking Keigo's tone of voice. Seeing that he had upset Kai, Keigo raised his hands in a placating gesture.
"Nothing, man. You know Ray doesn't just see ANYBODY, so I'm surprised is all. Anyways, lets exchange info." Keigo whipped out his cellphone, an idea forming in his head. Kai must be pretty close to Ray, so if Keigo wanted an introduction... he was SURE that Kai would be able to give him one sooner than Sarukawa-shachou! Keigo was also sure that as soon as Ray met him, she'd fall head-over-heels for him then they would come out to the world as the most perfect couple in the entertainment world, maybe even bigger than Angelina and Brad!
"Sure!" Kai, not realizing Keigo's intentions, immediately whipped out his own cellphone to exchange details. "I gotta go now though, mail me later, okay?"
'He's a bit of an ass,' Kai thought as he jogged to the changing room. 'But I need real men in my life! With Ray hanging all over me, I feel like I'm getting 'L' germs!'
It didn't take him long to find the room they had been assigned. Kai knocked on the door and waited for Riku. The defacto leader was already changed into a tracksuit and he cautiously opened the door, ushering Kai in.
"I saw the snake guy!" Riku blurted out as Kai started undressing.
"What?" Kai almost fell over, his pants pooled around his ankles, remembering very well their pursuit by this guy. "Did he recognize you?"
"I wouldn't be here if he did." Riku said sourly.
Something suddenly occurred to Kai. "Where the hell is Hinata?"
"Speaking of her... but no, she'll be fine!" Riku played with the zipper on his red tracksuit. "That guy's only looking for the two of us right? He shouldn't know about her."
"But if they met somewhere and he asked her about us," Kai was slowly building a picture in Riku's head. "and that bimbo told him the truth..."
"AH!" Riku could see it clearly in his head. He wsn't sure... but Kuu could be kind of careless some times... "I'm gonna go find her!"
Riku had bolted out of the change room with Kai not far behind him as they started their search for the elusive Kuu, brought them to a room where they spotted Saeko and Marilyn, talkng to each other quietly and looking very much like they were scheming.
"Are you sure it's okay to send Kuu to greet Ruby Gates?"
"Ruby's gay. And his favourite type of guys are the young, innocent-looking ones." Saeko said lazily. "I basically served Kuu up on a silver platter for Ruby. If Ruby 'eats' Kuu, Persona gains a huge upper hand."
That was all the boys needed to hear as Kai shoved the door open, infuriated.
"Is all of that true?" Riku's voice was dangerously calm. Kai, on the other hand, was raring to go.
"You're gonna let that old guy eat Hinata?"
"You two-"
"If that's what needs to be done for business, yes." Saeko said emotionlessly. "That's the entertainment world and that's me."
"You L!" Kai snarled. Riku didn't even bother, running out the door to find Kuu. Kai gave their management one last furious look before running out the door to follow Riku.
"You guys-!" Marilyn was SURE Saeko had a different plan. She had to... right? Marilyn's beloved Saeko wouldn't serve up one of their talents to be 'eaten'! "But if he takes the bait, won't he realize that Kuu's-" Marilyn lowered her voice to a whisper looked around nervously, you never knew who was listening. "-a girl?"
"When he gets to the point when he's about to take Kuu, we'll jump in and rescue him." Marilyn brandished a video camera that she had pulled out of nowhere.
"What?"
"You still don't get it?" Marilyn resisted the urge to laugh evilly. "I'll use the video to blackmail him. I'll make him say something in front of the media that'll give Persona a big push. We'll be selling like hot cakes, then!"
"Just as I would expect from you!" Marilyn clasped her hands together, knowing that her shachou wasn't the type of person to sell out her talents like that. Saeko would do anything to make sure that Persona would succeed. "You're so dark!"
"I'll call this:" Saeko paused for dramatic effect. "Mission Gaypossible!"
Meanwhile, Kai and Riku were desperately trying to find Kuu, running through the hallways towards Ruby Gates' dressing room. So focussed on their goal, Riku didn't slow down as they were taking a corner and crashed right into someone.
"Yo, watch it!" Kai bent down to help his friend up.
"Ah, sorry! Are you alright-ah!" The blonde photographer friend of Riku gave a tiny exclamation of surprise on seeing them. Since finding out Asahi and Riku was one and the same, the 'boys' hadn't really talked to Jiro at all. Riku was actually really dreading the next time they'd meet.
"Jiro!"
"Perfect timing, I was looking for you!" Jiro got up, dusting himself off.
"If it's about Persona, I don't care what you think!"
"I'll support you!" Jiro exclaimed fervently.
"Huh?"
"I was so moved by what happened... or... shocked." Jiro said, emotions chasing each other across his face until three triumphed. Pride, love and determination. "Anyways, for you to go this far... you really do wanna be an idol! You're amazing! So amazing! You're really-"
"Shaddup already!" Kai ran forward and body-checked Jiro out of the way. "Get the hell outta our way, we're in the middle of an emergency!"
"Right!" Riku nodded, remembering their task at hand and the urgency behind it. Running to Ruby Gates' room, they burst through the door, hearts freezing when they saw that the man in the room, they suppose was probably Ruby Gates, TOUCHING KUU!
"WAHHH!" As one, Riku and Kai tackled Kuu away from Ruby, the three landing in a heap on the floor.
"Owwww..." Kai hissed.
"What's with you two?" Kuu blinked at his two companions.
"Are you okay?" Riku grabbed Kuu, searching for signs of trauma. "He didn't do anything to you, right?"
"Yo, old man! What were you planning to do to him, huh?" Kai stood up, providing a physical barrier between Ruby and his friends.
"What... we were just gonna have some casserole." Kuu pouted. He had wanted chocolate casserole! The best casserole of all! "Right?"
Ruby didn't say anything, glad that his sunglasses hid his eyes. The older man with the long mane of wild hair was aged well and still exuded a aura of greatness around him, moving like a proud lion. Watching the three young men, Ruby was torn between fury and amusement at the small blonde's aggressive stance.
"Hey, I know!" Kuu almost jumped up and down in glee. "Why don't the four of us go together? It'll be fun!"
"That would be an orgy." Kai and Riku growled, frustrated with Kuu's innocence. Ruby, finally, took off his sunglasses.
"Sorry, but I'm not in the mood right now for... casserole." Ruby's voice was smokey and heavy, a true rock star's voice. Moving to the couch in his room, he sat down heavily and threw his sunglasses on the small coffee table. His room was filled with flowers and gifts from TV Tohto and important people in the entertainment industry. But his heart wasn't lifted by the beautiful colours and thoughtful presents.
"Why? That sucks." Kuu pouted.
"I'm seriously getting annoyed with you." Kai snapped at the clueless Kuu, though the blonde was relieved that there was no danger.
"Um," Riku fidgetted nervously. Here they were, in front of this great legend. He was confused though... after not performing for so long "Why aren't you gonna perform? I mean, your fans have been waiting for so long..."
"You guys are really rude." Ruby growled. He had had one upstart stripling insult him. He didn't need THESE three to have a go at him too!
"Sorry." Riku apologized, quickly soothing Ruby's ragged feelings. The man gave the three boys a sidelong glance. They looked truly repentant... and they hadn't meant any harm. Plus... they were cute.
"But I guess I should answer your question." Ruby sighed, feeling depressed. "My voice won't come out like it used to."
"Your voice?"
"They say that my voice has the power to make women reach ecstasy."
"We heard." Kai said with a mixture of awe and disgust.
"They say that one hundred percent of women reach ecstasy!" Kuu said gleefully, giggling.
"Now it's thirty percent... on a good day."
"Thirty percent is amazing!" Riku protested.
"Yeah-"
"It's not enough." Ruby said gruffly. "You guys sing. You should know that."
"...yeah." The three nodded, immediately knowing how Ruby felt, feeling sympathetic towards the great star.
"Sarukawa got me to go along with this, but right before it was supposed to start, I knew... I'm not as good as I used to be." Ruby spoke without any emotion, straight-forward and blunt. "I'm pathetic."
"Ruby-san."
"I finally decided." It was heart-breaking, just thinking about it, not being about to do what he loved the most... but Ruby couldn't bare the thought of not living up to his fans expectations. "I'm going to quit singing."
The weight of Ruby's statement pressed down on all of them.
"Are you really gonna quit?" Riku finally had to say something, not at all at ease with the older man's decision. "I don't think anyone can give up on something they love so easily. We failed so many auditions, but we never gave up."
Ruby stared at the boys, weary and a bit resentful. They were so young. They didn't know anything yet! Just small fry in a pool of sharks...
"We won't quit. No matter what we do or what happens, we won't quit." Riku announced. "We're finally where we wanted to be."
Ruby let out a little laugh. "That's so naive."
"Sing again!" The boy with the blue-streaked hair encouraged.
"Don't give up, old man-ow!" Kai yelped as both Riku and Kuu punched Kai in the arm.
"You should sing, Ruby-san." Riku said gravely. Looking at the three of them and the expectations in their eyes, Ruby had to turn away from them. He couldn't do it anymore. He just... couldn't. The boys stood there for a few seconds, not knowing what else to say.
"Come on." Kai nodded towards the door. "We got that ice cold commercial thing to do."
"Yeah..." Riku gave one last glance at Ruby, then followed Kai's lead. Kuu was the last one in the room, unsure.
"Are you sure?" Kuu asked that one last question before hurrying after his bandmates.
"What the hell, that looks so cold!" Persona, along with three other bands and a couple of solo singers, all vying to get more publicity time, stood at the edge of a small pool full of water and at LEAST twenty-five percent ice. A huge display over the pool showed that the water was at six degrees celsius, DAMN COLD.
"Do we have to?" Some of the other idols whined.
"Yeah," Kuu was giving Riku 'sad face'. "do we have to?"
"We do." Kai eyed the icy cold water in trepidition.
"Yeah." Riku looked up at the temperature on display. "It's only six degrees! We can do this!"
"Everybody ready?" The host laughed it up, disregarding the looks on everyone's face, whistle to his lips. "Readyyyyy... GO!"
At the shrill blast of the whistle, nobody jumped in, each looking at the other. The people filming in the studios laughed.
"You guys chicken?" A visual kei group growled at Persona.
"Whatever, who you calling chicken?" Kai snapped back.
"All of you are useless!" A young female singer sneered, though she was also standing high and dry.
"I don't see you jumping in." Kuu muttered. As the young idols argued amongst themselves, their managers were getting frustrated.
"Riku, Kai, Kuu!" Saeko's voice was heard from off-stage. The three looked over at their manager who made a whipping motion with her hands, eyes glaring murderously at them.
"What's she saying?" Kuu whispered, watching Saeko mouth something at them.
"I think..." Kai squinted, "I think she's saying..."
"I... will..." Riku gulped, reading Saeko's lips. "...kill... you... idiots..."
"Ready?" The host tried again, bringing his whistle up. "GO!"
At the sharp blast from the whistle, Persona, as one, jumped in. It was one thing to be cold. But it was ANOTHER thing to nurse their red bottoms after Saeko had set her whip on them! The other young idols jumped in too just a little bit after Persona, but almost immediately, most of the contestants climbed out again leaving only Persona, the young female idol who had called them useless, and the visual kei group in the waters.
"BLARGH!" Kai thrashed around in the water. It was cold! It was DAMN COLD!
"COLD!" Kuu's teeth were chattering! "C-c-c-cold!"
Only Riku remained silent, trying to move about as much as possible, hoping desperately it would keep him warm.
"I'm losing feeling in my toes!" One of the members of the visual kei group swam to the edge, pulling himself out. Unable to stand the water, the rest of his team followed.
"Aren't you g-g-guys cold?" The young female idol treaded water near the edge. "Why d-d-don't you g-get out?"
"S-shut up!" Kai hissed. As they argued in the freezing water, none of them noticed that Ruby Gates had slipped into the studio and was watching Persona with intense interest.
"Just g-give u-up!"
"NEVER!" Riku finally said something, throwing the girl a truly intense look. "I'm not giving up!"
As everyone laughed at Riku's answer, Ruby felt truly touched by these boys. They were so young... but that fighting spirit... when had Ruby lost that? When had he become disillusioned and discouraged? And Ruby Gates kept watching as their one competition finally dragged herself out of the pool while Persona swam in that freezing cold water, cheering triumphantly. They had beat the record previously set before!
They pulled themselves out of the waters after a few more seconds of swimming around and though their lips were blue from the cold, they were grinning at each other happily.
"And we have our winner!" The host grabbed Riku's hand and raised it in the air. The runner-up was already wrapped in a warm towel, smiling at the three young men grudgingly.
"You guys did alright." She gave them a quick bow.
"You were pretty good too." Riku smiled back.
"That's right, for a thirteen year old, she sure is spunky!" The host said cheerfully.
"What the hell-you're only thirteen?" Kai gaped at the young girl. She looked AT LEAST seventeen!
"Didn't you know? She's Matsui Jurina. She's quite popular nowadays." Kuu looked at her bandmates in exasperation. "Honestly."
As they bickered good naturedly and took a break to change out of their wet clothes, Ruby Gates slipped out of the studio, knowing what he had to do.
Saeko pursed her lips in disappointment. Mission Gaypossible had failed. Ruby hadn't taken the bait and the boys had ruined the only chance Saeko had had of getting Ruby in a compromising position. The schedule book she had in front of her was entirely empty except for this cold water commercial. She doubted that it would make much of an impact in sales, though. She needed more publicity but the door was firmly closed on them! Ruby would have knocked the door down, hell, the whole HOUSE if he had talked about them to the media in his highly publicized return to singing!
"Shachou!" Marilyn ran into Saeko's office, interrupting Saeko's melancholy thoughts. "It's Ruby Gates! He-"
"I don't want to hear a word about him!" Saeko said petulantly, slamming her schedule book closed. "He didn't eat them... Mission Gaypossible was a failure!"
"No, it was a success! He's on TV right now!" Marilyn picked up the remote control on Saeko's desk and flipped on the television.
"-think the thing that made me want to sing again was being able to meet Persona. They have the power to really make a person listen." It was the interview after the Ruby Gates performance. "They still aren't developed as artists, but they have something precious that they try to tell people. I'm really looking forward to seeing them from now on."
Ruby Gates looked directly at the camera, a smirk on his face. "Of course, I won't lose to them, either."
"There you have it!" The reporter said excitedly. "Japan is looking forward to a new Ruby Gates. What can we expect from you in the future-"
Saeko's cellphone ringing prompted Marilyn to put the tv program on mute while the president of Kamonohashi Talent Agency answered the phone call.
"It's been a whole, Kamon."
Saeko smiled, almost tenderly despite what she had been willing to do to the speaker on the phone. "Ruby Gates is the only one who I will let call me that."
"Correct." Ruby's deep, smoldering voice sent a thrill down Saeko's spine. Truly, Ruby hadn't lost his touch.
"I just saw you on TV. You're one hundred percent back. Congratulations."
Saeko could HEAR Ruby's smile through the phone. "When I saw those three in that ice cold water, something deep inside me was shocked and a ruby shower enveloped my whole body. And then I just had to sing."
"So you got it back. The old you." Saeko had seen Ruby Gates languishing and feeling the heat when he had reached the top of the mountain. The pressure of being a legend had gotten to him, so much so that singing had become a burden and he lost his nerve. She was glad he was back.
"You found some good guys."
Saeko allowed herself a small smile. Hearing something like that from such a big name in the industry made her so proud of her boys. Someone like Ruby, recognizing her talents as SOMETHING.
"They'll definitely be big. I guarantee it." Ruby Gates' voice held a promise. He was grateful for what Persona had done for him and he wanted Saeko to know he would back the group. Ruby would DEFINITELY smash through the barriers that had been set up to stop Persona from succeeding.
"Later." Ruby hung up casually and Saeko closed her flip phone. A few seconds later, the house phone suddenly rang.
"Hai," Marilyn picked up the phone, eyes still locked on to the TV program. "this is Kamonohashi Talent Agency...what? You'd like Persona to make an appearance? Alright. Alright... yes, I understand!"
Their other line rang, as calls started pouring in and Saeko looked at the phone happy and the flashing lights on her phone lines. They were going to be busy this month.
"You can't make excuses, you can't even say they're not popular enough now. I want Persona to replace the actors we have slated for next week's shooting." The tall woman with the short haircut crossed her arms, glaring at her manager who was glaring right back. "I don't care if you have some drama with their management. Now there's no excuse! It makes perfect sense-" The tall woman looked over to her left at a pretty girl lounging on the couch, watching something on her cellphone. "-right?"
"Hey," The girl on the cellphone grinned nervously, her dimples making her even cuter. "Leave me out of this."
"Stop looking at naked girls and help me out!"
"They're not naked," The girl on the cell mummbled, slouching down. "They have all their clothes on and they're all beautiful people that should be respected for more than their bodies."
The last girl in the office who was sitting off to the side and reading a textbook, looked over her book at the girl sitting on the couch in amusement.
"Your majesty," The girls' manager scowled, using the title sarcastically. "You cannot do as you please."
"This is the FIRST time I've asked for something like this. And you're just being stubborn because you have petty issues with their manager!"
"They're. NOT. PETTY. ISSUES!" The manager gritted out, tossing her long hair angrily over her shoulder.
"Then here's your chance to work it out! I get what I want and so do you." The tall woman ponted out. "Do something about it."
Their manager was quiet for a while. Then she retreated to the big leather chair behind her desk, her brow furrowed in thought.
"You know, the director isn't going to be happy about this. I'll have to go to the producer with this and get it okay'd."
"Persona's really hot right now. If you can guarantee their management okays this, I bet you the producer will be okay." The tall girl leaned forward eagerly. "In fact, I KNOW he'll be okay. I heard recently that he's been trying to get a hold of them and meeting with the writers to write roles for them into the show. So make it happen, Megumi-shachou!"
Ohori Megumi looked up at the tall woman wryly. "I never pegged you for a fan of Persona, Mariko-sama."
"I'm not." Shinoda Mariko smiled. The smile was honestly, not a very nice one. In fact, it was downright scary.
"Whatever, Mariko!" The girl on the couch sing-songed. "De-nial's not just a river in Egypttttt..."
"Yuko, don't make me burn your photobook collection of pretty girls." Mariko sighed.
Oshima Yuko let out a gasp, sitting up. "You WOULDN'T."
"She would." Megumi flipped open her phone, finding the number of the person she had not called in a long time, but had never really forgotten. But before she pressed the 'dial' button, she looked over her three main talents. "You're all okay with this?"
"They're fine." Mariko narrowed her eyes and shot Yuko a look. The girl on the couch gave a dimpled smile and a wink, before concentrating on the video in her cellphone again. Megumi, taking that as affirmation from Yuko to go ahead, focused her gaze on the relatively quiet girl sitting in the corner.
"Atsuko?"
Maeda Atsuko looked over the top of her book at the eyes that were trained on her. Then she shrugged and turned her attention back to her textbook.
"Do what you like."
Topic: [Mendol X AKB48] Ikemen Idol-[various parings]--Chapter 10[updated 30/9] (Read 20502 times)