mission report for hikarinoniji
Mission report for hikarinoniji
Delivered by: mailnosecret
Title: 僕たちの☆ステージ | Bokutachi no☆Suteji!
Groups/Pairings: Hey! Say! JUMP | Yabu Kota/Hikaru Yaotome
Rating: PG
Warnings: Disclaimers apply.
Summary: It's the longest journey into the sound/I'm trying to feel the six senses deep down in me - Journey; BECK
Notes: Writing this has amused me to no end, especially the abuse of unicodes that has no significant impact at all and contrived lyrics that should be sounding japanese-y, idefk. Also enjoyed making up band names and song titles, obviously hugely inspired by BECK. Thank you to maplarojcan for bearing with me, tanteimiyuki for the genius, and kurushimii . NEKO by Youjeen is not fictional. It is the greatest song ever.
「Kill the Comet feat. CHIBA no.1 - en core heartcore
DON'T S-T-O-P!
とぶれぞ! とぶれぞ!
My ladies hot, are we not (OH!)
Come in if you're freshly dressed
とまらない move to my beat
We are K-I-L-L
da comet! Come meet!
You know what they say when you can’t make a living out of that one thing you are most passionate about? Try a hobby.
For Yabu Kota, his passion is music. He doesn’t just sing- quote, when he sings, the world stops to listen, unquote, in reference to Kato Shigeaki, his scout and former agent. Fortunately for him, this passion of his can definitely make him a living. Unfortunately for him, with all the preparations for his upcoming debut as Japan’s Next National Arts Treasure of The HeiSei Era Ever, he can’t even hold down a proper hobby, to scrape the sugar off, Yabu Kota doesn’t even have a semblance of a life.
However, if you’ll look closely at the root of the problem, it mostly stems from his lack of proper activity and schedule management (read: former agent Kato Shigeaki) whom, according to agency talks has been “temporarily deployed” to an exotic tropical paradise to quote, finally follow his heart, unquote, (source: Road Manager over all Mother Hen, Koyama Keiichiro). Some say that Shige supposedly eloped with a woman that may or may not carry the name Aragaki Yui.
And so, two and half months to his debut, Yabu Kota aimlessly floats to the recording studio, photo shoots, dance rehearsals (IKR), costume fittings, laborious sorting of set lists, et cetera, et cetera, all these while the impending dark cloud of doom hangs above his head.
「Single; Tomato Can Kick - JUNE JUNE ダイヤモンド (remix)
His mother always tells him: If one window closes, a door opens, or some other part of the house that is left open. Luckily, Yabu is skinny and stealthy enough to overhear (he doesn't eavesdrop, really, he just happened to pass by) a group of juniors from the agency hulking over a seemingly expensive Fender guitar.
"It looks so shiny--"
"Juri, don't touch it!"
"But it looks so shiny!"
"Taiga, tell Juri to not touch it! It's Shibutani-sempai's!"
"Juri, don't touch it."
"He's still touching it!"
"Dammit Casey--"
"Wait you guys," Juri hushes. "I'm having a vision-- of us, on a stage, and people screaming our name, our band."
Casey rolls his eyes and Shintaro looks up from his magazine. Taiga can only shake his head and say, "You totally stole that from BECK, you moron."
Yabu Kota didn't have a vision, he has a solution.
He uncomfortably shifts his weight on the metal stool as he watches two full grown men exchange expertise backgrounds, personal experiences, obscenities, and something about someone’s mother at each other. Yabu leans his head against the wall behind him for this was nothing new; he lets its coolness seep through his now aching head.
“Are you kidding me, Kame? Are you fucking kidding me?” Uchi Hiroki waves a thin white god have mercy-material (so thin that if you wear it, you'll catch a pneumonia) in front of Kamenashi Kazuya's face. “Yabu-kun doesn’t need this pathetic piece of shit you call a wardrobe!” He stoops down and retrieves, from what Yabu can make out, a sequin-studded chain mail.
Kamenashi sneers at the other man and cocks his head on the other side. Yabu notes how Kame's jaw tightens. “Get your head out of your ass and see how your barbaric poor man’s circus styling would do Yabucchi any good.”
“Excuse you, Kame, what this boy needs is flash and extravagance!”
“He’s debuting, you don’t want to make him look like a circus freak. He should go for refreshing and new.”
“More like fresh out of a stumble from the brothel.”
“Bitch please-“
He drowns the noise by plugging in his earphones and realizes how he’s the one who should be in a “temporary deployment” in an exotic tropical paradise with a soccer cable channel that’s on 24/ever. While he wishes he attended a university instead, Takizawa Hideaki, Over-All-Overseer-of-How-Things-Should-Be-Done-Smoothly-and-Obviously-Without-Fail (You can call me Tackey), graces them with his presence. Kame and Uchi both stop at mid-sentence, Uchi settles for rolling his eyes instead.
Takizawa studies Uchi's face and comments that at puberty, girls outgrow that phase. Yabu bites his lower lip to stop himself from laughing out loud.
“First order of business, gentlemen,” He says, not a wrinkle on his suit. “We are all aware of the unfortunate situation that we are all in." He nods, his face grave. "Kame, Akanishi mailed me," He takes out his sleek Blackberry and squinted at the screen. "It says, in verbatim: Tackey, please tell Kame that he's an asshole. Make him stop sending me these pants, they make my ass look bigger on TV. End of message. On that note Kamenashi-kun, please settle your differences right away. I don't know if Europeans like their men curvy."
Kame raises one perfect eyebrow and walks out of the room, trailed by a snickering Uchi (apparently, they are friends again). Yabu sighs in relief and traded his stool for a more comfortable couch, made ever more comfortable from the pounds of soft cloth Kame and Uchi have brought.
"Stylists. They have much bigger egos than Kanye West, Imelda Marcos and Lady Gaga combined. Though, I bet Uchi-kun would get first dibs on Gaga's closet."
Yabu laughs despite only knowing Gaga from the bunch of people Tackey mentions. "Tackey-san, I gather you received my mail?"
Tackey produces a printed paper from inside his neatly ironed jacket and waves it on the air. "I did more than gathering, Yabu-kun," He smiles, one that notably says, I get the job done, kid. "Tomorrow, you'll meet your band members.
「Stage Spork - Johnny, Leave the Lights On
Leave the lights on baby, I cannot see
the way she moves. Does she dive, dive, dive,
like we cry, cry, cry.
Leave the lights on Johnny, I cannot see
the way she smokes. Does she die, die, die
like might, might, might.
Fifteen minutes to the current meeting, Yabu is already resentful; he knows in his heart that it is hugely impossible to successfully debut at this point now that Kato-san has miraculously disappeared and that no one seems to understand the whole point of him going in to the jungle of show business.
He makes it clear from the very beginning.
I want to be famous. He says then, the shadows play on the smooth planes of his face as the hot afternoon sun bears its heat against the white blinds of Shigeaki Kato's office. I want to be so famous that a national holiday will be named after me. He huffs then, angrier than motivated, young and reckless and out of high school. He wasn’t like this before but everything's supposed to change.
Shigeaki Kato asks him what he can do, and so Yabu sings. And Shige thinks it is possible.
But somehow, that door, or window, or whatever it is that should open at any moment is slowly turning into a customized nightmare for Yabu Kota. Okay fine, Tackey sends a rugged and gangly teenager (I'm 18, hey!) that supposedly plays drums and a woman-looking-man that should be on the pages of fucking Vivi or Popteen instead of playing the keyboards.
Yabu's life is so hard. He clears his throat. "There seems to be a misunderstanding--"
The Vivi model approaches the keyboards, fiddles with the keys and starts to play a familiar song-- Youjeen's Neko. His fingers travel smoothly across the keys as the taller boy joins him on the drums. Yabu can only stand up, pausing in a mixed state of shock and awe. He sings along.
Happiness is calling on the other side of the window.
And my throat seems to be jammed shut.
I keep searching for something unknown.
I've shouted so loud, my voice has gone.
I am a grey cat.
"Hey, you're not that bad," The Vivi model claps him on the back, startling him. He opens his mouth even before he can think of what to say but closes it immediately before he can make himself look more stupid than he already is. "I'm Inoo Kei. People call me Inoo-chan. And you can touch my chest, I'm not really female."
"I'm Yuuto," The drummer looks up from where he's sitting and adeptly twirls the drumsticks between his fingers. "Don't worry, I go to school," When he beams at him, Yabu can't help but smile back. "Sometimes."
"Group dynamics are also important. Chemistry, they call it." Takizawa Hideaki speaks up from the other side of the studio. He straightens an invisible wrinkle on his suit and smoothly waves a goodbye.
When they are all sure that he's out of earshot, Yuuto says, "He totally stole that from BECK."
「The Wonderblocks - ひさしぶり。わすれないで」
It was you who told me that you wanted to fly
Beyond the cityscapes after dark
But it's always raining, and I couldn't come.
We can only say goodbye so I waited for clear skies
To see you again and tell you
Yes, I wanted to fly too.
It's been a while, how are you?
I did not forget that the scent of the rain
is bittersweet. Have you forgiven me?
He meets the fourth member of the group in a quaint pastry shop in front of the studio. He waits patiently, thankful for the idle time he has. Fortunately, the shop makes decent coffee. He lazily sips on his second cup of double espresso and sinks more comfortably in his chair. For a second, Yabu thinks it’s okay for the bassist to not show up as long as he can squander more time by lounging at the café, listening to some bossa nova music that he doesn’t even appreciate while planning an imaginary dinner with the rest of Jimmy Page and the Black Crowes.
When the bell on the entrance chimes, Yabu looks up. He sees him-the bassist, really it’s not so hard to figure out, hello: hair sticking out everywhere, heavily tinted raybans, and an instrument in tow are giveaways.
He stops short in front of Yabu’s booth as he removes his sunglasses. And then slowly, it dawns on Yabu Kota that the person-his bassist-who is standing in front of him, lips slightly upturned in an amused smile is also the same person-the same reason, why Yabu just fresh out of high school, went raging inside Shigeaki Kato’s office asking him to make him famous.
Yabu stands up, all tension building in the pit of his stomach. He wants to run but he reminds himself that those who run away are those who lose. So he stays. “Yaotome Hikaru.”
“Ah, how accidentally convenient,” Yaotome gives him the same crooked smile that Yabu fell in love with three years ago. “It’s been a while, Leader-chan.”
「Acoustic; The Cinnamon Filter - Special Season
Let’s skip class and go home
Hand in hand we will go,
To the future that’s waiting
To the future that we’re writing
Yabu Kota, 16, tall and of the slightly less built. He was average in every sense of the word. He didn’t have much friends, he also didn’t like going out as it showed on his perfectly pale skin. He was drifting through high school until that one afternoon when his class representative asked him to go write the headline news.
He came ten minutes earlier than expected (because really, he’s not even socially busy) and heard the lively strum of guitar inside the Journalism Club room. A boy with brown hair and crooked teeth, probably on his year but Yabu couldn’t place his name, was adeptly playing a dark almost worn out guitar. He was also singing.
“Destiny, hold my hand protect me from the world-“ He stopped and looked up when Yabu decided the atmosphere was awkward enough for him to close the door and walk away. He found himself staring.
“Oh shit-I mean, err, sorry,”
The boy chuckled, his pointed chin moved when he tried to hide his laughter. “It’s fine. Come on in. I’m Yaotome Hikaru from Class A. Yabu Kota-kun, right?”
Yabu nodded, moving away, then hesitating then moving right back again. “Err, yeah. Umm, should I go? Cause I just really need to write the bulletin quickly and I’ll be right out.”
“Do you know how to play?” Yaotome asked. “Come on,”
“I don’t know how to play,” He fidgeted as he replied.
"Anyone can play guitar” He gestured to his guitar. He smiled again when the taller boy blankly stared at him. “What I was playing earlier, it was Radiohead’s Anyone Can Play Guitar.” He patted the empty chair next to him. “I’ll teach you.”
「Acoustic; Midnight Bomb - 心」
My heart is an open wound,
I wear it on my sleeve for everyone to see
“That was a good run,” Yaotome Hikaru beams at Yabu as the taller man (still) grabs a bottled water from the snacks rack.
He ignores him and looks at Nakajima. “No, once again.” The tallest boy of them all (not to mention youngest) smiles and makes the count as he proceeds to make magic with his drums. They do it for another 5 rounds all care of Yabu-“Because I’m the leader and I said so,” with Inoo complaining how his wrists have grown an additional joint from playing continuously.
“Hey, Leader-chan, that was good enough don’t you think?” Yaotome calls out, sweat trickling down the sides of his forehead.
Yabu turns to him. “Am I misleading you Yaotome-san? Which part of this face says I give a shit about what you think? I don’t need you to tell me that it was good.” He smiles bitterly and grabs his duffel bag. “Let’s go home you guys, see you tomorrow.”
Inoo lets out a whistle and arches a perfect eyebrow at the bassist. “The Queen has left the building y’all.”
“Okay, we still kind of lack some essential elements-okay, okay we kind of suck.” Yabu sighs. He leans back at the ramen counter and reaches for a glass of water as massages the back of his neck. He peers at his childhood best friend who is currently shaking his head. “Okay, we officially suck, are you happy now?”
“My friend,” Ayukawa Taiyo begins. “When did I ever take pleasure from your demise?” He looks up and picks on Yamashita Shoon’s book whose face is buried deep into The Mind and the Psychology of Human Stress “I think you really have to get a guitarist. Someone who does lead. And be sure that you’ll be the one to choose because hell, Tackey-san might just unearth another one of your exes and you’d be on some reality show called Did He Really Go out with Him.”
“Your amount of reality show knowledge still bothers me Taiyo,” Shoon replies, swatting Taiyo’s hand out of the way. “Come on, I’m retired from Kota’s Infinite Bitching okay. I’m studying.”
Yabu laughs, probably his first laugh of the day, and the day is about to end. “Dude, you’re studying Economics, why are you on to the Psychology of Human Stress?”
Shoon puts down his book and grins at Yabu. “Good question. Actually, this is for me. Kind of self-help.” He points at Taiyo. “Against him.” Yabu laughs as Taiyo decides that Shoon will never get into his pants ever-well, tonight at least.
All three went home slightly drunk with Yabu suddenly gripping either side of his best friends’ shoulders as they drop him home. “Guys, guys, guys, guys, do you remember that transferee from before?”
“Who? The one who dated your sister?”
“The one who plays wicked guitars?” Shoon offers. Yabu smiles and nods. Shoon hopes that Yabu remembers this in the morning so he doesn’t have to call him and ask for a detailed transcript of this conversation.
「悪魔のポケット- Lock Out
When Yabu enters the studio and introduces the newest addition to the band, he garners mixed reaction from the group. Nakajima is basically hyped (as he is all the time, talk about natural high), he finally accommodates the new guitarist as he gives him the music sheets and sets up his guitar “DID YOU REALLY LIVE IN ENGLAND?” Inoo crosses his arms against his chest and points “Does Tackey-san know about this?” when Yabu shakes his head Inoo rolls his eyes (a total reminiscent of Uchi-san, by the way, also prettier) and murmurs something about “Such a diva, ugh, not even starting with a fucking payroll!”
“Okamoto Keito-kun right?” Yaotome approaches him.
“Ah,” Okamoto says as he takes in Yaotome Hikaru’s face. “Sempai! Ah, Hikaru-sempai, right?” He smiles at Nakajima and explains, “I was their junior. Yabu-sempai and Hikaru-sempai used to be in the sa-“
“Keito-kun,” Yabu speaks up from the microphone. “Let’s see if you still got it.”
It was spring and they were in their second year. It has been a year since Yabu picked up the guitar while Hikaru drifted over to bass. He said that the sound suited him more because it had more swag, whatever swag meant, Yabu thought.
They became close friends, fast friends. Yabu found the reason to smile often, while Hikaru found more reason to go to school (re: backstory; Yaotome Hikaru-kun, Most Likely to Drop Off of School and Be A Rock Star or A Young Father Instead).
“Oi, Kota, I still think that my English pronunciation is better than yours okay so I think this song-“ He slapped the lyric sheet on the table. “I should sing it.”
Yabu frowned as he picked up the paper. “You’re kidding right, you’re just as bad.”
“How dare you!” Yaotome flicked him on the nose as he pointed to his brown hair. “Do you know this is my natural hair color? It’s because my father is English.”
“Y-you’re mixed?” He stared at him in embarrassment. “Hikaru, I’m so sorry, I didn’t know,” His face once again fell on a frown when he saw his best friend covering his mouth as he tried desperately to stop himself from laughing. “The joke’s on me again, ugh so embarrassing, I hate you,” Yabu threw the paper at him as he buried his face on his hands, his face red up to his ears. “Don’t do that okay.”
“There, there,” Hikaru laughed again as he patted his friend’s head. “Ne, Kota, let’s be like this until the end.”
Yabu nodded without looking up. “Don’t tease me too much.” He murmured.
Inoo bites his lower lip and watches the two younger boys bond over a slightly rough cover of the Beatles’ Norwegian Wood. He listens as Keito rolls the English words quite loosely-perhaps he got rusty.
“Ne, Keito-kun, you were saying earlier about Yabu-kun and Hikaru?” He asks before Yuuto requests him to join them for a Son of A Preacher Man cover.
Keito walks over with a towel on his shoulder. “This is considered gossip right?” He smiles indifferently.
“Not if it’s not the truth,” Inoo returns the smile.
“Well, they were in a band together. Pretty hot shot when they were in high school. I was in middle school then, I remember coming to every single live they held in the school grounds. I didn’t know if they had an official band name but fans called them Rock Candy.” He shrugs and takes a drink from his water bottle. “It was because Hikaru-sempai would be chewing on a candy every encore. I heard they had plans of signing up with a record label after graduation. But Hikaru-sempai disappears and now Yabu-sempai is debuting with T&T Agency.”
Inoo looks back from Keito to Yuuto and then decides that it isn’t part of his problem anymore. “That explains the drama.” He continues to fix his fringe.
「The Wonderblocks - 永遠」
Our city is forever, like you
and your soul. Smile for me,
And I will sing your songs.
He sorts through his company e-mail, making sure he doesn’t miss any of Takizawa-san’s memo that is actually relevant to him. He sighs as he finds out that most are passive-aggressive memos to juniors (RE: On using the microwave in the pantry, YOU CAN’T USE THEM TO DRY YOUR FREAKING SOCKS), to known sempais (Nishikido-san) that frequent the “broom closet” and the liberal use of hair iron (Takaki Yuuya, hair stylist in training).
Yabu flags a message blue (from Daiki Arioka-kun) and drafts a message of thanks for filming, editing and uploading the band’s studio performance on Youtube. It’s for publicity, he doubts if Takizawa-san will apprehend him for doing so without the go-signal.
He hears footsteps coming in; he doesn’t bother to look up since it’s probably Inoo-chan complaining about an arrangement or Yuuto-kun who wants to go out and eat.
“Kota,”
Only none of them calls him by his first name.
“What do you want Yaotome-san,” His own voice surprised him-tired and rough.
He gives him warm ginger tea and a pack of unsweetened mints. “Here, you over did your voice today.”
Hikaru smiles when Yabu looks at him questioningly. “Take it, it’s not poisoned you worrywart.”
Yabu’s first kiss, he told Hikaru, was an accident. She was a year younger than him and they were on the sand box playing soldiers when he tripped over a red bucket and kind of landed on her lips. He was 7 and that was the last of it. (“I can’t believe you ruined a girl’s innocence!”)
Hikaru’s first real kiss, (real he said because it was when he was one, not drunk, two, he really, really, really, liked her) was on a New Year’s Eve and the fireworks were flaring up the sky.
“What happened to her?”
“She’s somewhere,”
“Don’t you miss her?” Yabu asks. His fingers were busy tuning a guitar that he bought with his and Hikaru’s combined allowance. He didn’t want Hikaru’s help at first but Hikaru said it was his birthday and Christmas gift. He came to realize it was fair enough.
“Not really,” Hikaru said and reached for him. “It’s because you’re here.”
It was Yabu’s first kiss and Hikaru’s second real kiss.
“I’m not asking you trust me,” Hikaru says, one warm night when the Kamenashi-san invites them for drinks, well, legal drinks for Keito and Yuuto but they really did try hard to pry a drunk Kame-san from a drunk Yuuto-kun. The band doesn’t need a scandal at this point. Inoo says he’ll volunteer a drug scandal or a porno scandal if the need for it arises. To which Takaki Yuuya-kun, the band’s official hair stylist (official being, Kamenashi-san assigned) scoffs, and says “Yeah, let’s make out and have a totally lesbian scandal.” Arioka-kun digs an elbow to his boyfriend’s ribs and looks apologetically at a very offended Inoo-chan. “It was the alcohol speaking!”
“I’m not asking you for anything Yaotome,” Yabu whispers.
“I know, not after what I did-“ He stops when he looks back and sees him as if he slapped him.
“What did you exactly do, Hikaru?” He fights back the tears that will soon fall.
“Left you.”
“You left me, after promising you never would.” He walks back and thinks maybe he needs a stronger drink.
「Meguro Sono -Danger, Danger
Live like you’re dying
Stop wasting, stop staring
Live like it’s the last time
I got danger, danger,
Baby you are danger, danger.
You give me danger!
You know there is trouble in paradise when you see boys huddled in a circle, their arms crossed, their eyebrows knit together and even the happiest camper, Nakajima Yuuto, has a face that you can’t even describe because it’ll break your heart.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is the part of Yabu Kota’s life that’s called: When the Shit Hits the Fan and the Shit You Have to Clean is on Tokyo Fucking Dome. Two weeks to debut instead of one more month. On the memo, Tackey-san says that it is for the spirit of Challenge. Yabu thinks that they should all just jump on the 35th floor of the building and leave the world peacefully as spirits.
“Oh God,” Keito says in English.
“Even God can’t solve this one,” Inoo banters. Hikaru is already is trying to spot a nearby paper bag just in case Yuuto goes to one of his anxiety attacks.
“Two weeks,” Yabu says for the first time. “Takizawa-san says we have two weeks until debut.”
“Yabu-kun, you are going to debut in two weeks,” Inoo reminds him. “You know we’re on the payroll just to be the supporting band but this is your gig. But as you see, without an actual debut song, there is nothing to perform.” He spreads his arms to make a point. “And the last thing we’ll know is that every agency is telling us ‘You’ve been voted off the island’, or ‘You’re not on the running to be the America’s Next Top Model’ or whatever.”
“Inoo-chan should stop watching too much reality shows,” Yuuto says. “But Yabu-kun, we can make a set list. We’ve been together for a few months now and we have a couple of “group” songs. You just have to make That One Song,”
“Yuuto-kun’s right, Leader-chan. Come to think of it, there’s Time’s Up for opening, then that love song Inoo-chan wrote-“
“It’s called Phonograph, genius,” Inoo quips.
“’Kay, Phonograph, then we’ll play Yuuto-kun and Keito-kun’s Burning, Aishiteruze. Then we’ll have your song as our finale.”
“Song status, Yabu-kun,” Inoo gives him a comforting pat at the back. “Song What Song,”
“When we make it out there, it will be our stage.” He reached for his hand, calloused from playing too much strings; dry from the weather; warm from holding his hand tight.
“I will be there, no matter what.” He smiled at him. His head nestled on the nook of his shoulder. “I promise, I’ll never leave your side.”
Hikaru wonders what could have happened if he never left. Probably they are still together, touring the world, seeing places, eating exotic food, waking up late, or even riding private jets. He watches his former lover sit on a corner, his eyes closed, and his hands tightly gripping a pen over a paper. Yaotome Hikaru knows that there is nothing on that paper but doodles and words that doesn’t add up to anything. He feels the other’s desperation. He feels his own desperation as he watches him fail. He can’t help him. Because he won’t let him.
“Give him a second chance,” Shoon says over the phone. Yabu gets the urge to put it down and throw it against the wall.
“I don’t believe in second chances, Shoon, you know that.” It’s 2 in the morning and the closest to productivity he can get is by finally catching up on a late rerun of the World Soccer Cup.
“Have you given him the chance to explain though?” Taiyo speaks on the other end with food in his mouth.
“Taiyo, get the fuck off the extension please and come to the bedroom.” Yabu hears Shoon turn off his table lamp.
“I can’t sleep with your freaking lights on Einstein,” Taiyo replies. He hears a soft click and he smiles because despite complaining he knows Taiyo already went over to Shoon’s.
“Taiyo’s got a point man. At least talk to him and stop acting like you’re on your midlife crisis, Jesus.”
「The Wonderblocks -Sandcastle
Walk slowly, let us watch the colors change
One foot in front of the other,
My hand in your hand, let’s keep going
And never look back.
Yabu decides that if he’s going to follow this path, he should leave all the baggage of the past behind. He asks Hikaru to stay after practice, earning an approving look from Yuuto and a suspicious lift of the eyebrow from Inoo, which Yabu swears that it is only Inoo who can do various fleeting emotions by just moving his eyebrows. Trés creepy. He should get it trademarked.
“So, we’re not gonna make out anytime right?” Hikaru sheepishly smiles at him and dodges when Yabu chucks an empty container of Chinese takeout at him.
“You never changed at all,” Yabu says, he sits on the couch with only the light from the dressing table illuminating the room. “Where did you go after graduation?”
“Here and there,”
“You didn’t visit your English dad?” Yabu smiles, the memory of them both are flooding his head. It’s overwhelming. It makes him want to cry.
“No, unfortunately Dad died that day. Graduation.” He sits beside the taller boy, nearer than he ever dared for the past months. “I was a train wreck then, I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to drag you into it either. So I decided to stay away, momentarily.”
“You never wrote, you never called-and you were going through all that and you never thought of sharing it with me, Hikaru, if I meant anything at all-“
“You meant everything. And I know I’m a jerk, you have all the right to be mad at me.” He takes him in his arms when he cries, all of it, all three years of it. “You’re still such a baby,” He tilts his face to him and wipes his tears. “Now, you have a song to write,”
Yabu kisses him gently.
The first time Hikaru heard Yabu sing was when he was sick to the bone and Yabu volunteered to look after him so his mother can go to work. Yabu probably thought he was asleep, but he wasn’t. He heard him clear like the summer sky. His voice melting through the four walls of his room as the chime on his window gently sounds off.
If he had enough strength, he would’ve got up and told him that his voice was a miracle.
「Yabu Kota feat The Rock Candies (WE NEVER SLEEP TOUR 2011; Ripping the Live Stage) - Today’s Sky
I didn't learn anything in school today.
The windows are shut, I cannot see the sky.
I look at you instead.
Let us bully the sun, hurry along, hurry along,
We only have some loaned time.
I gazed at the sky that I once longed for.
Today's sky will not be here tomorrow.
Hold my hand until then.
Let us bully the moon, come on, come on,
It doesn't have to be for too long.
Yabu Kota has never seen such chaos in his whole life, until today. This part of Yabu Kota’s life is now called: That Which Will Determine if He Really Is the Golden Boy of the HeiSei Era Ever. He watches as how Inoo threatens a junior to not touch his hair iron or he will bring down the thousand wraths of hell upon them. He spots Keito-kun complain to Kamenashi-san that his pants are too tight to be legal while Yuuto-kun talks to a wall and practices 200 and 1 ways on how to say “Ikuze!” Yaotome Hikaru, like he always does unwraps another lollipop. He doesn’t let it melt on his mouth; he butchers it through his teeth.
“Takaki-kun, I still think this is a hideous color,” Yabu brushes his hairstylist’s hand off as he takes the brush to arrange his fringe. Takaki rolls his eyes and skips to Inoo who now has sort of bouncy girly waves care of Tanaka Koki-sempai who volunteers to help with the production design. No one really knows what his real job description in the company is nor did Takizawa-san cares to elaborate but he’s sort of that creepy kind that will pass of to do the corporate dirty work (“I bet he’s a licensed mercenary” Yuuto says). But he’s awesome nonetheless.
Shigeaki-san decides to show up on the press conference the other day. He is now a married man. He beams at the rest of the band and tells Yabu that after the concert, it is only a matter of time that a holiday will be named after him and that even unborn children will get to know his name.
And then here they are. The curtains rise and the crowds cheer. Yuuto gets to say “Ikuze!” in the coolest way possible.
“I still can’t believe how you guys agreed to name the band Rock Candies. One, it’s so lame. Two, it’s Hikaru and Yabu’s band name before. And three, it doesn’t even acknowledge us.” Inoo says as he takes off his shirt.
“No one’s complaining, Inoo-chan,” Hikaru beams as he hands his bass to a staff. He motions for them to tune the strings.
“I am complaining if that’s not clear enough for you.” He grabs another shirt and throws him a dirty look. “Besides, you have brainwashed those two into hero-worshipping you,”
“You guys, we’re already at the encore and all you can argue about is the band name.” Keito counters. He pours water over his head and reaches for a towel.
“Inoo-chan can call it Jellybeans if he likes,” The staff hands Yuuto a fresh pair of drum sticks as the tallest member of the group struggles to get out of Kamenashi-san’s hand-picked jeans to change into a more comfortable pair of pants. “How about naming it after a super sentai show?”
Yabu steps out and blows a whistle through his middle and index finger. “Guys, it’s encore. I’m singing my debut song and you’re still bickering. The time to feed my ego is now.”
It is Hikaru who first approaches him. “Slay that audience with your voice.”
Yabu gathers them in a circle as he places his hand over theirs. “This is our stage. Let’s own it.”
“Onii-chan, you are very late, you know.” Yabu’s younger sister calls out to him. That brat can have a future in Manhandling 101.
“Stop nagging okay, you’re not Mom.” He pinches her nose and riffles her hair to which she replies with a quick slap on the arm. “Oho, you’re getting quick. Reflexes getting better from playing too much X-Box?”
She sticks a tongue out at him and turns it into a smile when she sees Hikaru entering through the door. “Good morning Hika-nii! Do you want some breakfast?”
“Umika-chan, you have gotten prettier the last time I saw you ne,” Hikaru greets back. Inoo trails after him as he gives Yabu’s a house another go-over.
“Oi, Yabu-kun, are you done putting your tampon on or are you ready to kick some Yokohama ass?” Inoo calls out. Yuuto laughs as Hikaru tries to cover Umika’s ears while Keito blushes to the roots of his hair when Umika gives him a wave as he enters. Daiki stands on the stair landing, capturing everything on video. Takizawa-san, through a memo (what else), announced that Arioka Daiki-kun is the official videographer of Yabu Kota and the Rock Candies.
Yabu comes out with a couple of traveling bags and music sheets. “Anymore things to say before we leave Inoo-chan?”
“I’m not wearing any underwear,” He deadpans.
“Oh good God,” Hikaru and Yuuto collectively groans.
“Hey, how come if my girlfriend says it, it’s sexy?” Inoo laughs as he runs after Daiki for a hug.
“I can’t believe you have a girlfriend Inoo-chan!” Daiki turns around aiming the camera at him.
“Yep, all eight inches of it!” He counters as Keito takes his turn to cover Umika’s ears-albeit his shaking hands.
“This is going on your documentary you dirty old man!”
Hikaru shakes his head and reaches for Yabu’s hand. This is their stage.
extra
On the making of their first PV, we can see Hikaru leaning in to Yabu for a kiss but is cut off with Yuuto who was on too much energy pills. The tall boy crashed on a seemingly expensive camera as Keito tried to catch him only to fall on the same pile with Inoo screaming bloody murder because apparently, Keito was wearing one of his lucky jackets. This is the part where Tackey-san calculates revenue versus damages.
Delivered by: mailnosecret
Title: 僕たちの☆ステージ | Bokutachi no☆Suteji!
Groups/Pairings: Hey! Say! JUMP | Yabu Kota/Hikaru Yaotome
Rating: PG
Warnings: Disclaimers apply.
Summary: It's the longest journey into the sound/I'm trying to feel the six senses deep down in me - Journey; BECK
Notes: Writing this has amused me to no end, especially the abuse of unicodes that has no significant impact at all and contrived lyrics that should be sounding japanese-y, idefk. Also enjoyed making up band names and song titles, obviously hugely inspired by BECK. Thank you to maplarojcan for bearing with me, tanteimiyuki for the genius, and kurushimii . NEKO by Youjeen is not fictional. It is the greatest song ever.
「Kill the Comet feat. CHIBA no.1 - en core heartcore
DON'T S-T-O-P!
とぶれぞ! とぶれぞ!
My ladies hot, are we not (OH!)
Come in if you're freshly dressed
とまらない move to my beat
We are K-I-L-L
da comet! Come meet!
You know what they say when you can’t make a living out of that one thing you are most passionate about? Try a hobby.
For Yabu Kota, his passion is music. He doesn’t just sing- quote, when he sings, the world stops to listen, unquote, in reference to Kato Shigeaki, his scout and former agent. Fortunately for him, this passion of his can definitely make him a living. Unfortunately for him, with all the preparations for his upcoming debut as Japan’s Next National Arts Treasure of The HeiSei Era Ever, he can’t even hold down a proper hobby, to scrape the sugar off, Yabu Kota doesn’t even have a semblance of a life.
However, if you’ll look closely at the root of the problem, it mostly stems from his lack of proper activity and schedule management (read: former agent Kato Shigeaki) whom, according to agency talks has been “temporarily deployed” to an exotic tropical paradise to quote, finally follow his heart, unquote, (source: Road Manager over all Mother Hen, Koyama Keiichiro). Some say that Shige supposedly eloped with a woman that may or may not carry the name Aragaki Yui.
And so, two and half months to his debut, Yabu Kota aimlessly floats to the recording studio, photo shoots, dance rehearsals (IKR), costume fittings, laborious sorting of set lists, et cetera, et cetera, all these while the impending dark cloud of doom hangs above his head.
「Single; Tomato Can Kick - JUNE JUNE ダイヤモンド (remix)
His mother always tells him: If one window closes, a door opens, or some other part of the house that is left open. Luckily, Yabu is skinny and stealthy enough to overhear (he doesn't eavesdrop, really, he just happened to pass by) a group of juniors from the agency hulking over a seemingly expensive Fender guitar.
"It looks so shiny--"
"Juri, don't touch it!"
"But it looks so shiny!"
"Taiga, tell Juri to not touch it! It's Shibutani-sempai's!"
"Juri, don't touch it."
"He's still touching it!"
"Dammit Casey--"
"Wait you guys," Juri hushes. "I'm having a vision-- of us, on a stage, and people screaming our name, our band."
Casey rolls his eyes and Shintaro looks up from his magazine. Taiga can only shake his head and say, "You totally stole that from BECK, you moron."
Yabu Kota didn't have a vision, he has a solution.
He uncomfortably shifts his weight on the metal stool as he watches two full grown men exchange expertise backgrounds, personal experiences, obscenities, and something about someone’s mother at each other. Yabu leans his head against the wall behind him for this was nothing new; he lets its coolness seep through his now aching head.
“Are you kidding me, Kame? Are you fucking kidding me?” Uchi Hiroki waves a thin white god have mercy-material (so thin that if you wear it, you'll catch a pneumonia) in front of Kamenashi Kazuya's face. “Yabu-kun doesn’t need this pathetic piece of shit you call a wardrobe!” He stoops down and retrieves, from what Yabu can make out, a sequin-studded chain mail.
Kamenashi sneers at the other man and cocks his head on the other side. Yabu notes how Kame's jaw tightens. “Get your head out of your ass and see how your barbaric poor man’s circus styling would do Yabucchi any good.”
“Excuse you, Kame, what this boy needs is flash and extravagance!”
“He’s debuting, you don’t want to make him look like a circus freak. He should go for refreshing and new.”
“More like fresh out of a stumble from the brothel.”
“Bitch please-“
He drowns the noise by plugging in his earphones and realizes how he’s the one who should be in a “temporary deployment” in an exotic tropical paradise with a soccer cable channel that’s on 24/ever. While he wishes he attended a university instead, Takizawa Hideaki, Over-All-Overseer-of-How-Things-Should-Be-Done-Smoothly-and-Obviously-Without-Fail (You can call me Tackey), graces them with his presence. Kame and Uchi both stop at mid-sentence, Uchi settles for rolling his eyes instead.
Takizawa studies Uchi's face and comments that at puberty, girls outgrow that phase. Yabu bites his lower lip to stop himself from laughing out loud.
“First order of business, gentlemen,” He says, not a wrinkle on his suit. “We are all aware of the unfortunate situation that we are all in." He nods, his face grave. "Kame, Akanishi mailed me," He takes out his sleek Blackberry and squinted at the screen. "It says, in verbatim: Tackey, please tell Kame that he's an asshole. Make him stop sending me these pants, they make my ass look bigger on TV. End of message. On that note Kamenashi-kun, please settle your differences right away. I don't know if Europeans like their men curvy."
Kame raises one perfect eyebrow and walks out of the room, trailed by a snickering Uchi (apparently, they are friends again). Yabu sighs in relief and traded his stool for a more comfortable couch, made ever more comfortable from the pounds of soft cloth Kame and Uchi have brought.
"Stylists. They have much bigger egos than Kanye West, Imelda Marcos and Lady Gaga combined. Though, I bet Uchi-kun would get first dibs on Gaga's closet."
Yabu laughs despite only knowing Gaga from the bunch of people Tackey mentions. "Tackey-san, I gather you received my mail?"
Tackey produces a printed paper from inside his neatly ironed jacket and waves it on the air. "I did more than gathering, Yabu-kun," He smiles, one that notably says, I get the job done, kid. "Tomorrow, you'll meet your band members.
「Stage Spork - Johnny, Leave the Lights On
Leave the lights on baby, I cannot see
the way she moves. Does she dive, dive, dive,
like we cry, cry, cry.
Leave the lights on Johnny, I cannot see
the way she smokes. Does she die, die, die
like might, might, might.
Fifteen minutes to the current meeting, Yabu is already resentful; he knows in his heart that it is hugely impossible to successfully debut at this point now that Kato-san has miraculously disappeared and that no one seems to understand the whole point of him going in to the jungle of show business.
He makes it clear from the very beginning.
I want to be famous. He says then, the shadows play on the smooth planes of his face as the hot afternoon sun bears its heat against the white blinds of Shigeaki Kato's office. I want to be so famous that a national holiday will be named after me. He huffs then, angrier than motivated, young and reckless and out of high school. He wasn’t like this before but everything's supposed to change.
Shigeaki Kato asks him what he can do, and so Yabu sings. And Shige thinks it is possible.
But somehow, that door, or window, or whatever it is that should open at any moment is slowly turning into a customized nightmare for Yabu Kota. Okay fine, Tackey sends a rugged and gangly teenager (I'm 18, hey!) that supposedly plays drums and a woman-looking-man that should be on the pages of fucking Vivi or Popteen instead of playing the keyboards.
Yabu's life is so hard. He clears his throat. "There seems to be a misunderstanding--"
The Vivi model approaches the keyboards, fiddles with the keys and starts to play a familiar song-- Youjeen's Neko. His fingers travel smoothly across the keys as the taller boy joins him on the drums. Yabu can only stand up, pausing in a mixed state of shock and awe. He sings along.
Happiness is calling on the other side of the window.
And my throat seems to be jammed shut.
I keep searching for something unknown.
I've shouted so loud, my voice has gone.
I am a grey cat.
"Hey, you're not that bad," The Vivi model claps him on the back, startling him. He opens his mouth even before he can think of what to say but closes it immediately before he can make himself look more stupid than he already is. "I'm Inoo Kei. People call me Inoo-chan. And you can touch my chest, I'm not really female."
"I'm Yuuto," The drummer looks up from where he's sitting and adeptly twirls the drumsticks between his fingers. "Don't worry, I go to school," When he beams at him, Yabu can't help but smile back. "Sometimes."
"Group dynamics are also important. Chemistry, they call it." Takizawa Hideaki speaks up from the other side of the studio. He straightens an invisible wrinkle on his suit and smoothly waves a goodbye.
When they are all sure that he's out of earshot, Yuuto says, "He totally stole that from BECK."
「The Wonderblocks - ひさしぶり。わすれないで」
It was you who told me that you wanted to fly
Beyond the cityscapes after dark
But it's always raining, and I couldn't come.
We can only say goodbye so I waited for clear skies
To see you again and tell you
Yes, I wanted to fly too.
It's been a while, how are you?
I did not forget that the scent of the rain
is bittersweet. Have you forgiven me?
He meets the fourth member of the group in a quaint pastry shop in front of the studio. He waits patiently, thankful for the idle time he has. Fortunately, the shop makes decent coffee. He lazily sips on his second cup of double espresso and sinks more comfortably in his chair. For a second, Yabu thinks it’s okay for the bassist to not show up as long as he can squander more time by lounging at the café, listening to some bossa nova music that he doesn’t even appreciate while planning an imaginary dinner with the rest of Jimmy Page and the Black Crowes.
When the bell on the entrance chimes, Yabu looks up. He sees him-the bassist, really it’s not so hard to figure out, hello: hair sticking out everywhere, heavily tinted raybans, and an instrument in tow are giveaways.
He stops short in front of Yabu’s booth as he removes his sunglasses. And then slowly, it dawns on Yabu Kota that the person-his bassist-who is standing in front of him, lips slightly upturned in an amused smile is also the same person-the same reason, why Yabu just fresh out of high school, went raging inside Shigeaki Kato’s office asking him to make him famous.
Yabu stands up, all tension building in the pit of his stomach. He wants to run but he reminds himself that those who run away are those who lose. So he stays. “Yaotome Hikaru.”
“Ah, how accidentally convenient,” Yaotome gives him the same crooked smile that Yabu fell in love with three years ago. “It’s been a while, Leader-chan.”
「Acoustic; The Cinnamon Filter - Special Season
Let’s skip class and go home
Hand in hand we will go,
To the future that’s waiting
To the future that we’re writing
Yabu Kota, 16, tall and of the slightly less built. He was average in every sense of the word. He didn’t have much friends, he also didn’t like going out as it showed on his perfectly pale skin. He was drifting through high school until that one afternoon when his class representative asked him to go write the headline news.
He came ten minutes earlier than expected (because really, he’s not even socially busy) and heard the lively strum of guitar inside the Journalism Club room. A boy with brown hair and crooked teeth, probably on his year but Yabu couldn’t place his name, was adeptly playing a dark almost worn out guitar. He was also singing.
“Destiny, hold my hand protect me from the world-“ He stopped and looked up when Yabu decided the atmosphere was awkward enough for him to close the door and walk away. He found himself staring.
“Oh shit-I mean, err, sorry,”
The boy chuckled, his pointed chin moved when he tried to hide his laughter. “It’s fine. Come on in. I’m Yaotome Hikaru from Class A. Yabu Kota-kun, right?”
Yabu nodded, moving away, then hesitating then moving right back again. “Err, yeah. Umm, should I go? Cause I just really need to write the bulletin quickly and I’ll be right out.”
“Do you know how to play?” Yaotome asked. “Come on,”
“I don’t know how to play,” He fidgeted as he replied.
"Anyone can play guitar” He gestured to his guitar. He smiled again when the taller boy blankly stared at him. “What I was playing earlier, it was Radiohead’s Anyone Can Play Guitar.” He patted the empty chair next to him. “I’ll teach you.”
「Acoustic; Midnight Bomb - 心」
My heart is an open wound,
I wear it on my sleeve for everyone to see
“That was a good run,” Yaotome Hikaru beams at Yabu as the taller man (still) grabs a bottled water from the snacks rack.
He ignores him and looks at Nakajima. “No, once again.” The tallest boy of them all (not to mention youngest) smiles and makes the count as he proceeds to make magic with his drums. They do it for another 5 rounds all care of Yabu-“Because I’m the leader and I said so,” with Inoo complaining how his wrists have grown an additional joint from playing continuously.
“Hey, Leader-chan, that was good enough don’t you think?” Yaotome calls out, sweat trickling down the sides of his forehead.
Yabu turns to him. “Am I misleading you Yaotome-san? Which part of this face says I give a shit about what you think? I don’t need you to tell me that it was good.” He smiles bitterly and grabs his duffel bag. “Let’s go home you guys, see you tomorrow.”
Inoo lets out a whistle and arches a perfect eyebrow at the bassist. “The Queen has left the building y’all.”
“Okay, we still kind of lack some essential elements-okay, okay we kind of suck.” Yabu sighs. He leans back at the ramen counter and reaches for a glass of water as massages the back of his neck. He peers at his childhood best friend who is currently shaking his head. “Okay, we officially suck, are you happy now?”
“My friend,” Ayukawa Taiyo begins. “When did I ever take pleasure from your demise?” He looks up and picks on Yamashita Shoon’s book whose face is buried deep into The Mind and the Psychology of Human Stress “I think you really have to get a guitarist. Someone who does lead. And be sure that you’ll be the one to choose because hell, Tackey-san might just unearth another one of your exes and you’d be on some reality show called Did He Really Go out with Him.”
“Your amount of reality show knowledge still bothers me Taiyo,” Shoon replies, swatting Taiyo’s hand out of the way. “Come on, I’m retired from Kota’s Infinite Bitching okay. I’m studying.”
Yabu laughs, probably his first laugh of the day, and the day is about to end. “Dude, you’re studying Economics, why are you on to the Psychology of Human Stress?”
Shoon puts down his book and grins at Yabu. “Good question. Actually, this is for me. Kind of self-help.” He points at Taiyo. “Against him.” Yabu laughs as Taiyo decides that Shoon will never get into his pants ever-well, tonight at least.
All three went home slightly drunk with Yabu suddenly gripping either side of his best friends’ shoulders as they drop him home. “Guys, guys, guys, guys, do you remember that transferee from before?”
“Who? The one who dated your sister?”
“The one who plays wicked guitars?” Shoon offers. Yabu smiles and nods. Shoon hopes that Yabu remembers this in the morning so he doesn’t have to call him and ask for a detailed transcript of this conversation.
「悪魔のポケット- Lock Out
When Yabu enters the studio and introduces the newest addition to the band, he garners mixed reaction from the group. Nakajima is basically hyped (as he is all the time, talk about natural high), he finally accommodates the new guitarist as he gives him the music sheets and sets up his guitar “DID YOU REALLY LIVE IN ENGLAND?” Inoo crosses his arms against his chest and points “Does Tackey-san know about this?” when Yabu shakes his head Inoo rolls his eyes (a total reminiscent of Uchi-san, by the way, also prettier) and murmurs something about “Such a diva, ugh, not even starting with a fucking payroll!”
“Okamoto Keito-kun right?” Yaotome approaches him.
“Ah,” Okamoto says as he takes in Yaotome Hikaru’s face. “Sempai! Ah, Hikaru-sempai, right?” He smiles at Nakajima and explains, “I was their junior. Yabu-sempai and Hikaru-sempai used to be in the sa-“
“Keito-kun,” Yabu speaks up from the microphone. “Let’s see if you still got it.”
It was spring and they were in their second year. It has been a year since Yabu picked up the guitar while Hikaru drifted over to bass. He said that the sound suited him more because it had more swag, whatever swag meant, Yabu thought.
They became close friends, fast friends. Yabu found the reason to smile often, while Hikaru found more reason to go to school (re: backstory; Yaotome Hikaru-kun, Most Likely to Drop Off of School and Be A Rock Star or A Young Father Instead).
“Oi, Kota, I still think that my English pronunciation is better than yours okay so I think this song-“ He slapped the lyric sheet on the table. “I should sing it.”
Yabu frowned as he picked up the paper. “You’re kidding right, you’re just as bad.”
“How dare you!” Yaotome flicked him on the nose as he pointed to his brown hair. “Do you know this is my natural hair color? It’s because my father is English.”
“Y-you’re mixed?” He stared at him in embarrassment. “Hikaru, I’m so sorry, I didn’t know,” His face once again fell on a frown when he saw his best friend covering his mouth as he tried desperately to stop himself from laughing. “The joke’s on me again, ugh so embarrassing, I hate you,” Yabu threw the paper at him as he buried his face on his hands, his face red up to his ears. “Don’t do that okay.”
“There, there,” Hikaru laughed again as he patted his friend’s head. “Ne, Kota, let’s be like this until the end.”
Yabu nodded without looking up. “Don’t tease me too much.” He murmured.
Inoo bites his lower lip and watches the two younger boys bond over a slightly rough cover of the Beatles’ Norwegian Wood. He listens as Keito rolls the English words quite loosely-perhaps he got rusty.
“Ne, Keito-kun, you were saying earlier about Yabu-kun and Hikaru?” He asks before Yuuto requests him to join them for a Son of A Preacher Man cover.
Keito walks over with a towel on his shoulder. “This is considered gossip right?” He smiles indifferently.
“Not if it’s not the truth,” Inoo returns the smile.
“Well, they were in a band together. Pretty hot shot when they were in high school. I was in middle school then, I remember coming to every single live they held in the school grounds. I didn’t know if they had an official band name but fans called them Rock Candy.” He shrugs and takes a drink from his water bottle. “It was because Hikaru-sempai would be chewing on a candy every encore. I heard they had plans of signing up with a record label after graduation. But Hikaru-sempai disappears and now Yabu-sempai is debuting with T&T Agency.”
Inoo looks back from Keito to Yuuto and then decides that it isn’t part of his problem anymore. “That explains the drama.” He continues to fix his fringe.
「The Wonderblocks - 永遠」
Our city is forever, like you
and your soul. Smile for me,
And I will sing your songs.
He sorts through his company e-mail, making sure he doesn’t miss any of Takizawa-san’s memo that is actually relevant to him. He sighs as he finds out that most are passive-aggressive memos to juniors (RE: On using the microwave in the pantry, YOU CAN’T USE THEM TO DRY YOUR FREAKING SOCKS), to known sempais (Nishikido-san) that frequent the “broom closet” and the liberal use of hair iron (Takaki Yuuya, hair stylist in training).
Yabu flags a message blue (from Daiki Arioka-kun) and drafts a message of thanks for filming, editing and uploading the band’s studio performance on Youtube. It’s for publicity, he doubts if Takizawa-san will apprehend him for doing so without the go-signal.
He hears footsteps coming in; he doesn’t bother to look up since it’s probably Inoo-chan complaining about an arrangement or Yuuto-kun who wants to go out and eat.
“Kota,”
Only none of them calls him by his first name.
“What do you want Yaotome-san,” His own voice surprised him-tired and rough.
He gives him warm ginger tea and a pack of unsweetened mints. “Here, you over did your voice today.”
Hikaru smiles when Yabu looks at him questioningly. “Take it, it’s not poisoned you worrywart.”
Yabu’s first kiss, he told Hikaru, was an accident. She was a year younger than him and they were on the sand box playing soldiers when he tripped over a red bucket and kind of landed on her lips. He was 7 and that was the last of it. (“I can’t believe you ruined a girl’s innocence!”)
Hikaru’s first real kiss, (real he said because it was when he was one, not drunk, two, he really, really, really, liked her) was on a New Year’s Eve and the fireworks were flaring up the sky.
“What happened to her?”
“She’s somewhere,”
“Don’t you miss her?” Yabu asks. His fingers were busy tuning a guitar that he bought with his and Hikaru’s combined allowance. He didn’t want Hikaru’s help at first but Hikaru said it was his birthday and Christmas gift. He came to realize it was fair enough.
“Not really,” Hikaru said and reached for him. “It’s because you’re here.”
It was Yabu’s first kiss and Hikaru’s second real kiss.
“I’m not asking you trust me,” Hikaru says, one warm night when the Kamenashi-san invites them for drinks, well, legal drinks for Keito and Yuuto but they really did try hard to pry a drunk Kame-san from a drunk Yuuto-kun. The band doesn’t need a scandal at this point. Inoo says he’ll volunteer a drug scandal or a porno scandal if the need for it arises. To which Takaki Yuuya-kun, the band’s official hair stylist (official being, Kamenashi-san assigned) scoffs, and says “Yeah, let’s make out and have a totally lesbian scandal.” Arioka-kun digs an elbow to his boyfriend’s ribs and looks apologetically at a very offended Inoo-chan. “It was the alcohol speaking!”
“I’m not asking you for anything Yaotome,” Yabu whispers.
“I know, not after what I did-“ He stops when he looks back and sees him as if he slapped him.
“What did you exactly do, Hikaru?” He fights back the tears that will soon fall.
“Left you.”
“You left me, after promising you never would.” He walks back and thinks maybe he needs a stronger drink.
「Meguro Sono -Danger, Danger
Live like you’re dying
Stop wasting, stop staring
Live like it’s the last time
I got danger, danger,
Baby you are danger, danger.
You give me danger!
You know there is trouble in paradise when you see boys huddled in a circle, their arms crossed, their eyebrows knit together and even the happiest camper, Nakajima Yuuto, has a face that you can’t even describe because it’ll break your heart.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is the part of Yabu Kota’s life that’s called: When the Shit Hits the Fan and the Shit You Have to Clean is on Tokyo Fucking Dome. Two weeks to debut instead of one more month. On the memo, Tackey-san says that it is for the spirit of Challenge. Yabu thinks that they should all just jump on the 35th floor of the building and leave the world peacefully as spirits.
“Oh God,” Keito says in English.
“Even God can’t solve this one,” Inoo banters. Hikaru is already is trying to spot a nearby paper bag just in case Yuuto goes to one of his anxiety attacks.
“Two weeks,” Yabu says for the first time. “Takizawa-san says we have two weeks until debut.”
“Yabu-kun, you are going to debut in two weeks,” Inoo reminds him. “You know we’re on the payroll just to be the supporting band but this is your gig. But as you see, without an actual debut song, there is nothing to perform.” He spreads his arms to make a point. “And the last thing we’ll know is that every agency is telling us ‘You’ve been voted off the island’, or ‘You’re not on the running to be the America’s Next Top Model’ or whatever.”
“Inoo-chan should stop watching too much reality shows,” Yuuto says. “But Yabu-kun, we can make a set list. We’ve been together for a few months now and we have a couple of “group” songs. You just have to make That One Song,”
“Yuuto-kun’s right, Leader-chan. Come to think of it, there’s Time’s Up for opening, then that love song Inoo-chan wrote-“
“It’s called Phonograph, genius,” Inoo quips.
“’Kay, Phonograph, then we’ll play Yuuto-kun and Keito-kun’s Burning, Aishiteruze. Then we’ll have your song as our finale.”
“Song status, Yabu-kun,” Inoo gives him a comforting pat at the back. “Song What Song,”
“When we make it out there, it will be our stage.” He reached for his hand, calloused from playing too much strings; dry from the weather; warm from holding his hand tight.
“I will be there, no matter what.” He smiled at him. His head nestled on the nook of his shoulder. “I promise, I’ll never leave your side.”
Hikaru wonders what could have happened if he never left. Probably they are still together, touring the world, seeing places, eating exotic food, waking up late, or even riding private jets. He watches his former lover sit on a corner, his eyes closed, and his hands tightly gripping a pen over a paper. Yaotome Hikaru knows that there is nothing on that paper but doodles and words that doesn’t add up to anything. He feels the other’s desperation. He feels his own desperation as he watches him fail. He can’t help him. Because he won’t let him.
“Give him a second chance,” Shoon says over the phone. Yabu gets the urge to put it down and throw it against the wall.
“I don’t believe in second chances, Shoon, you know that.” It’s 2 in the morning and the closest to productivity he can get is by finally catching up on a late rerun of the World Soccer Cup.
“Have you given him the chance to explain though?” Taiyo speaks on the other end with food in his mouth.
“Taiyo, get the fuck off the extension please and come to the bedroom.” Yabu hears Shoon turn off his table lamp.
“I can’t sleep with your freaking lights on Einstein,” Taiyo replies. He hears a soft click and he smiles because despite complaining he knows Taiyo already went over to Shoon’s.
“Taiyo’s got a point man. At least talk to him and stop acting like you’re on your midlife crisis, Jesus.”
「The Wonderblocks -Sandcastle
Walk slowly, let us watch the colors change
One foot in front of the other,
My hand in your hand, let’s keep going
And never look back.
Yabu decides that if he’s going to follow this path, he should leave all the baggage of the past behind. He asks Hikaru to stay after practice, earning an approving look from Yuuto and a suspicious lift of the eyebrow from Inoo, which Yabu swears that it is only Inoo who can do various fleeting emotions by just moving his eyebrows. Trés creepy. He should get it trademarked.
“So, we’re not gonna make out anytime right?” Hikaru sheepishly smiles at him and dodges when Yabu chucks an empty container of Chinese takeout at him.
“You never changed at all,” Yabu says, he sits on the couch with only the light from the dressing table illuminating the room. “Where did you go after graduation?”
“Here and there,”
“You didn’t visit your English dad?” Yabu smiles, the memory of them both are flooding his head. It’s overwhelming. It makes him want to cry.
“No, unfortunately Dad died that day. Graduation.” He sits beside the taller boy, nearer than he ever dared for the past months. “I was a train wreck then, I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to drag you into it either. So I decided to stay away, momentarily.”
“You never wrote, you never called-and you were going through all that and you never thought of sharing it with me, Hikaru, if I meant anything at all-“
“You meant everything. And I know I’m a jerk, you have all the right to be mad at me.” He takes him in his arms when he cries, all of it, all three years of it. “You’re still such a baby,” He tilts his face to him and wipes his tears. “Now, you have a song to write,”
Yabu kisses him gently.
The first time Hikaru heard Yabu sing was when he was sick to the bone and Yabu volunteered to look after him so his mother can go to work. Yabu probably thought he was asleep, but he wasn’t. He heard him clear like the summer sky. His voice melting through the four walls of his room as the chime on his window gently sounds off.
If he had enough strength, he would’ve got up and told him that his voice was a miracle.
「Yabu Kota feat The Rock Candies (WE NEVER SLEEP TOUR 2011; Ripping the Live Stage) - Today’s Sky
I didn't learn anything in school today.
The windows are shut, I cannot see the sky.
I look at you instead.
Let us bully the sun, hurry along, hurry along,
We only have some loaned time.
I gazed at the sky that I once longed for.
Today's sky will not be here tomorrow.
Hold my hand until then.
Let us bully the moon, come on, come on,
It doesn't have to be for too long.
Yabu Kota has never seen such chaos in his whole life, until today. This part of Yabu Kota’s life is now called: That Which Will Determine if He Really Is the Golden Boy of the HeiSei Era Ever. He watches as how Inoo threatens a junior to not touch his hair iron or he will bring down the thousand wraths of hell upon them. He spots Keito-kun complain to Kamenashi-san that his pants are too tight to be legal while Yuuto-kun talks to a wall and practices 200 and 1 ways on how to say “Ikuze!” Yaotome Hikaru, like he always does unwraps another lollipop. He doesn’t let it melt on his mouth; he butchers it through his teeth.
“Takaki-kun, I still think this is a hideous color,” Yabu brushes his hairstylist’s hand off as he takes the brush to arrange his fringe. Takaki rolls his eyes and skips to Inoo who now has sort of bouncy girly waves care of Tanaka Koki-sempai who volunteers to help with the production design. No one really knows what his real job description in the company is nor did Takizawa-san cares to elaborate but he’s sort of that creepy kind that will pass of to do the corporate dirty work (“I bet he’s a licensed mercenary” Yuuto says). But he’s awesome nonetheless.
Shigeaki-san decides to show up on the press conference the other day. He is now a married man. He beams at the rest of the band and tells Yabu that after the concert, it is only a matter of time that a holiday will be named after him and that even unborn children will get to know his name.
And then here they are. The curtains rise and the crowds cheer. Yuuto gets to say “Ikuze!” in the coolest way possible.
“I still can’t believe how you guys agreed to name the band Rock Candies. One, it’s so lame. Two, it’s Hikaru and Yabu’s band name before. And three, it doesn’t even acknowledge us.” Inoo says as he takes off his shirt.
“No one’s complaining, Inoo-chan,” Hikaru beams as he hands his bass to a staff. He motions for them to tune the strings.
“I am complaining if that’s not clear enough for you.” He grabs another shirt and throws him a dirty look. “Besides, you have brainwashed those two into hero-worshipping you,”
“You guys, we’re already at the encore and all you can argue about is the band name.” Keito counters. He pours water over his head and reaches for a towel.
“Inoo-chan can call it Jellybeans if he likes,” The staff hands Yuuto a fresh pair of drum sticks as the tallest member of the group struggles to get out of Kamenashi-san’s hand-picked jeans to change into a more comfortable pair of pants. “How about naming it after a super sentai show?”
Yabu steps out and blows a whistle through his middle and index finger. “Guys, it’s encore. I’m singing my debut song and you’re still bickering. The time to feed my ego is now.”
It is Hikaru who first approaches him. “Slay that audience with your voice.”
Yabu gathers them in a circle as he places his hand over theirs. “This is our stage. Let’s own it.”
“Onii-chan, you are very late, you know.” Yabu’s younger sister calls out to him. That brat can have a future in Manhandling 101.
“Stop nagging okay, you’re not Mom.” He pinches her nose and riffles her hair to which she replies with a quick slap on the arm. “Oho, you’re getting quick. Reflexes getting better from playing too much X-Box?”
She sticks a tongue out at him and turns it into a smile when she sees Hikaru entering through the door. “Good morning Hika-nii! Do you want some breakfast?”
“Umika-chan, you have gotten prettier the last time I saw you ne,” Hikaru greets back. Inoo trails after him as he gives Yabu’s a house another go-over.
“Oi, Yabu-kun, are you done putting your tampon on or are you ready to kick some Yokohama ass?” Inoo calls out. Yuuto laughs as Hikaru tries to cover Umika’s ears while Keito blushes to the roots of his hair when Umika gives him a wave as he enters. Daiki stands on the stair landing, capturing everything on video. Takizawa-san, through a memo (what else), announced that Arioka Daiki-kun is the official videographer of Yabu Kota and the Rock Candies.
Yabu comes out with a couple of traveling bags and music sheets. “Anymore things to say before we leave Inoo-chan?”
“I’m not wearing any underwear,” He deadpans.
“Oh good God,” Hikaru and Yuuto collectively groans.
“Hey, how come if my girlfriend says it, it’s sexy?” Inoo laughs as he runs after Daiki for a hug.
“I can’t believe you have a girlfriend Inoo-chan!” Daiki turns around aiming the camera at him.
“Yep, all eight inches of it!” He counters as Keito takes his turn to cover Umika’s ears-albeit his shaking hands.
“This is going on your documentary you dirty old man!”
Hikaru shakes his head and reaches for Yabu’s hand. This is their stage.
extra
On the making of their first PV, we can see Hikaru leaning in to Yabu for a kiss but is cut off with Yuuto who was on too much energy pills. The tall boy crashed on a seemingly expensive camera as Keito tried to catch him only to fall on the same pile with Inoo screaming bloody murder because apparently, Keito was wearing one of his lucky jackets. This is the part where Tackey-san calculates revenue versus damages.