Seminar 101: Stagecraft Oneshot KoyaShige NC-17 Part 1/2
Title: Seminar : Stagecraft 101
Author: kaminikaku Omake: the wonderful and talented haruka21
Summary: When News gets together to celebrate Shige's role in Seminar, Shige discovers the truth in the saying "If you want to know if he loves you so ..."
Overall Rating: NC-17
Length: 8500 words
Pairing: KoyaShige
Dedicated: In honour of her birthday (much belated!) this is dedicated to the wonderful inala-chan who provides us all with gorgeous scans of half naked Koyama on a regular basis.....
Thanks: definitely to wrenne25 for her fabulous beta work on this one as her guidance and help was invaluable.
It had probably been Koyama's idea at first, but over the years it had developed into an expectation, almost a tradition. Whether it was for a single release, a drama role, an album, or as was the case for tonight, a stage role, the six of them would find a suitable date and time, and together they would go out to celebrate.
It was always the same place, a small karaoke box not far from the Jimusho. There were only a few rooms, only a small drinks menu, and not a huge selection of songs. Not that any of that mattered. The reason they chose it was because it was small and quiet, and gave them a chance to celebrate in peace. It was private enough that no one would remark on a lack of singing coming from their room, but the noise of them talking, drinking and laughing would raise no eyebrows. Private enough for them to relax, and have fun, and not worry about it making the pages of the next issue of Nikkei Sports.
It was also a tradition by now that if the occasion was to celebrate one of them being granted a solo opportunity that the person in question would get completely hammered. This was obviously a more regular problem for some of them, but they all had over the years nursed a hangover of doom following a night of celebration.
Which was why Shige was currently sitting on the couch, nursing his fourth beer, watching Yamapi and Ryo compete against each other for the winning title of which member of NEWS can balance the most number of yen coins on their edge in 15 seconds. To date, the competition was a draw, with no one having managed even one. Alcohol and fine motor skills were not necessarily things that should be combined in competition at this time of night.
He looked over at Massu, who was … taking off his shirt. That was different. Massu flexed his arm, causing the bicep muscle to contract, and Koyama to lean over and run his fingers over it. Before Koyama had a chance to say anything, Tegoshi leaned over to also stroke Massu's arm and say, “Massu is so strong! You work so hard, and it really, really shows. You must go to the gym so much ...”
Shige's eyes narrowed. He thought he saw where this was going ... and yes, there it was.
Tegoshi turned to Koyama, “Kei-chan, your muscles must be so strong as well, seeing you are always going to the gym. And you drink all those protein shakes.”
Tegoshi's fingers drifted from Massu's arm to Koyama's shoulder, drawing soft circles. “I wonder if you are even stronger than Massu now ...”
Tegoshi's train of thought was interrupted by a crash as an apparently overenthusiastic Ryo had knocked over two empty beer bottles, and one full one, sending cold beer all over the table and dangerously close to Tegoshi's knees. Koyama leapt to his feet, throwing paper serviettes over the table to clean up the mess, as Ryo and Yamapi clutched each other and laughed.
Shige sighed, tonight it would appear that the two older members would be the ones getting completely hammered in his place. Not that he was too concerned about it, because he did have an essay to write tomorrow, and other things he needed to do, but it might have been nice to be able to be the first drunk one tonight. All in the name of tradition of course.
Ryo caught his breath, nudged Yamapi in what he probably thought was a subtle move, and then called Tegoshi over. “Tesshi, come sit with us! We need our Tego-nyan!”
Tegoshi looked quite comfortable where he was, seated between Massu and Koyama, but he could not resist the call of Ryo for very long. Especially when Ryo added, “We'll tell you a secret!”
Tegoshi nodded, and got to his feet a little unsteadily before making his way around the table. Yamapi and Ryo waited and then together, pulled him down to sit between them, where he was given another bottle of beer, and secrets were whispered in his ears.
Koyama turned back to Shige, and noticed that his own bottle was empty. Before he could call for more, the door opened and a waitress quietly entered the room. The tray she carried was laden with bottles, and for a second Shige tried to work out how much they weighed, multiplying the number of bottles with the volume before he was distracted by Koyama trying to attract his attention again.
“Shige, you need another bottle. This is your night, remember! I promised to get you home safely, so drink up.”
“Kei-chan, Shige can stay with me if he wants! Remember I have a new place now. If you want to, you can stay as well! In fact, why don' t you ...” Before Tegoshi could continue offering, Yamapi pushed his index finger against his lips and said, “Shhh.”
Tegoshi quieted down, a question in his eyes. Yamapi had his leader face on. He raised his bottle towards Shige and said, “Congratulations Shige! Congratulations on your first leading stage role. NEWS is very proud of you.”
As the other members applauded, Shige smiled, the open genuine smile which made his eyes crinkle and his cheeks bulge, and bowed slightly to all of them.
Koyama patted him on the shoulder and said, “You know, you never actually told us what it was about.”
Shige hesitated, mind working madly for a few seconds before he said, “Nothing special. It's a new play, and I play this student who is interested in the Renaissance and the Medici family. It's set around a Seminar, so lots of talking I think.”
Ryo looked at him, then nodded. “A student huh? You will be able to handle that.”
Yamapi reached over to tap him on the shoulder. “If you need to talk to your senpai about how seminars in your final year work, you'll need to call Koyama. I'm busy.”
Shige's immediate thought of "With what?" seemed a bit unfair to voice, given the night was in his honour. Then again, it's not like Yamapi was busy filming a drama or anything, and didn't he mention earlier having tickets to the wrestling again for next week and that Koyama was going as well? Still, it seemed a little mean to remind Yamapi of the fact that he had a stage play and Yamapi had so much free time lately.
“Of course!” Koyama burst out beside him. “Shige knows he can call me at any time about anything.”
Shige turned to grin at him, the warmth in his tummy feeling nice, and caused purely by the beer he was sure. Koyama threw an arm around him continuing, “And Shige knows all about how seminars work anyway, he's a law student, he has to stand up and present in front of his classmates. And ...”
“Yes, yes we all know Shige is a model student, Koyama,” Ryo interrupted smoothly, “My next question is, who else is starring in this play?”
Shige glared at Ryo, before realising his mistake. The amusement in Ryo's eyes deepened as he realised that there was a story there. “Come on Shige, who else is in it?”
Shige valiantly attempted to deflect the question. “I think they are still finalising the casting.”
“Well, we know that Kato Natsuki and Kaku Chikako are in it as well, given they were at your press conference this morning.” Massu met Shige's eyes with a bland smile, then carefully picked up his bottle of beer, which, Shige thought, appeared to be the same one he had started the night with.
Given the state that Yamapi and Ryo had managed to get Massu in celebrating his Rescue role he could understand why he was holding back tonight, but, Massu was up to something. He could tell. Whenever Massu did that bland smile, innocent questioning tone and wide eyes, he was up to something.
“Kato and Kato!” Tegoshi giggled, apparently finding the idea of two Katos in the one play hysterically funny.
“Can she sing? Maybe you could do a song together and be a unit called Kato to Kato!” Yamapi was also apparently quite taken by the idea of two Katos on stage together.
Ryo said nothing, simply waited for Shige to finally look at him. “She's pretty. Really pretty. Is she also a student?”
Shige nodded warily, then took a gulp of his beer, hoping that the conversation would shift to something else. He really should have known better than to hope for that.
“Are you in love with her?”
The question shocked Shige enough to spit beer all over the table in front of him. “Of course I'm not!” Shige did not seem to notice the way Koyama's hand had clenched momentarily on his shoulder.
He turned to glare at Massu, the person who had asked the question, and was now sitting there gazing at him.
Massu blinked innocently, and then said, “I meant in the play.”
“Oh,” Shige took another gulp of beer, taking care to swallow this time. “In the play. Of course. Well, in the play I think she is interested in me ...”
He trailed off, as the more drunken half of his beloved group leaned over the table to pat his shoulder (or whatever part of his anatomy they could reach in Tegoshi's case) and congratulated him on his luck.
Ryo smiled and proudly said, “I am so proud. Our Shige-chan, playing a love interest on stage. Is she going to steal a kiss?”
Shige blushed, and stuttered, “Um, I don't actually know if she has to steal a kiss ...”
“I thought,” With a great sense of foreboding, Shige turned towards Massu, who continued, “I thought in the press conference this morning, they said that the play was focused on the romantic relationships of Loren. I thought they said that Loren was a sex addict, and he sleeps with lots of women during the play.”
Shige tried to make Massu stop talking with the power of his mind, with pleading eyes, with an almost frantic shaking of his head. Frozen in horror, he was not able to physically launch himself at Massu and make him stop talking. Of course, being frozen in horror, he did not realise that Koyama's grip on his shoulders had tightened considerably and he probably would not have been able to move anyway.
Massu finally stopped talking, and took another sip of his beer. Shige viciously hoped it was warm by now, and tasted terrible. With the most innocent look on his face ever in the history of the world, with a blink, a slight tilt of his head to the side, and the most sweet smile ever, Massu asked, “Shige, your character's called Loren, right?”
Shige decided in that moment he was never going to underestimate Massu ever again. Unable to decide whether he wanted to sink through the floor, run away, or bury his face in Koyama's shoulder and cry, Shige stayed still and bowed his head.
There was a stunned silence for ten seconds, before Tegoshi screeched, “They chose Shige to play a sex addict? Shige? Why not me?”
Yamapi and Ryo shared a look and then burst into hysterical laughter. Massu leaned back in his chair, hiding a smile behind his beer bottle. Koyama moved his hand down Shige's back, drawing comforting circles against the soft fabric of his shirt.
Shige did not need to confirm it. Now they all knew. He could not bear to look at Koyama. He was never going to live this down. They were going to tease him about this for months. He was never going to forgive Massu for this. He was never going to go out for dinner with him again and talk about anything that could possibly be used against him later. Never. Never. Never. Never again.
As Yamapi and Ryo's laughter finally calmed down, and Tegoshi's pout got wider and stronger, Koyama spoke, “It sounds like an interesting role. I am sure Shige will do a good job.” He bumped their shoulders together, as Shige still could not bear to look up. “Shige's an idol, right? He's popular, and the fans really do love him. Thousands of girls buy his uchiwa and his photos. He's good looking and cool and smart. If the character he's playing is anything like Shige, it's not going to be surprising that girls would fall in love with him.”
Not for the first time in the last ten minutes, Shige wished that he had gotten drunk tonight. Maybe then he could let the tears that threatened to spill down his cheeks do so and blame it on the alcohol rather than Koyama's words. Blame the hot twisting pain in his gut on too much beer rather than Koyama's words. Words that were meant to support him, to make him feel better, to make his friend happy. Friend. Only that.
Silence fell over the group, and Shige fidgeted slightly, wanting to break the silence but not sure how. It was embarrassing, now they all knew what the topic of the play would be, and he was not going to be able to ... he took another swig of beer, emptying the bottle in his hand. He blinked as a new one appeared in front of him, Massu leaning across Koyama to push it into his hands as he snatched the empty one from him. Not knowing what to to do with the bottle, he took another quick swig.
“Shige,” Yamapi's voice was quiet and calm and Shige turned towards him with a quiet desperation that he could not quite hide. “The play sounds like it will be a challenge. You should work hard for it. You know what it feels like to be a student, and to want to know about a topic so you research and write about it. Whatever the character is interested in, or obsessed by, you can portray that.”
Shige nodded, his eyes fixed on Yamapi. It was not often that Yamapi truly switched into Leader mode, but when he did, they listened. “You would not have been trusted with this unless you could do it. You can take the time to rehearse and learn the role. You know what it feels like to want something really badly. Apply that to the character.”
Shige nodded again, silently, fighting the urge to look to his right. He did know what it was like to want something. He knew what it felt like to be interested and thirsty for knowledge. If Yamapi trusted him enough to do this, he would do it well.
Ryo sat back, and smirked quietly, “Genius over there will be believable as a smart guy who girls fall over.” Shige blushed slightly, blaming it on the alcohol, then waited for Ryo to continue, because he just knew that there was going to be more. Ryo rarely let a comment go without a sting in the tail.
And he was right, “The major thing we need to worry about, and we should worry because it will reflect badly on the rest of us if he fails, is quite simply ...”
He paused, letting the tension build a little, and causing Tegoshi to finally crack and ask, “What? What would Shige fail at and make the rest of us look bad?”
Ryo sighed, and ruffled Tegoshi's hair. “Kissing, Tego-nyan. If Shige is playing a sex addict on stage, there is going to be kissing, and we need to know that Shige-san over there is up to the task, and will not do anything to undermine the reputation of NEWS as a group of hot idols who any girl would want to spend time with.” He spared Shige a glance, mirth bubbling up inside him at Shige's deer caught in the headlights look.
“Are you suggesting that Shige needs kissing lessons?” Koyama asked, and there was something in his tone that caused Shige to keep his gaze averted. Koyama sounded … troubled. Or maybe he was projecting, just a little bit.
Ryo raised his bottle in a quick toast towards Koyama. “Maybe not lessons, after all I am sure that Shige has kissed a girl before. I was thinking more along the lines of advice. After all, he knows what to do, the important thing is to make sure that what he is doing looks right.”
Shige blushed. Harder.
Yamapi sighed and then started, “I always find that ...” only to be interrupted by Ryo.
“No offence Pi, but you are not the guy to be giving advice here.”
“Huh? Why not?” Yamapi demanded, half outraged, half amused at Ryo's statement.
“The point is that Shige is meant to be a sex addict, Pi. Which would suggest he enjoys kissing. Which would mean he shows passion. Which would mean he grabs the girl, and bam!” Ryo cast Yamapi a mocking glance. “Passion. Need. Excitement. Urgency. All those things you have never show in any of your drama kisses.”
Yamapi looked at Ryo, opened his mouth and then closed it again. The rest of NEWS looked at Ryo in horror. How could he have said such a thing to Yamapi! Ryo sighed. “Pi, you know I am right. They haven't wanted you to kiss like that, so you don't. Shige can't have that hesitation, that softness. He needs it to be passionate.” Yamapi nodded once, unable to really argue with him. Ryo continued, “You should watch Last Friends. Try and find a rawness in you, an urgency. Just don't copy the violence. NEWS can only cope with one DV guy.”
“Hmm. I'm not sure that is actually the best solution Ryo-chan.” Five heads turned to look at Massu, who was thoughtfully spinning a beer bottle between his palms. “Last Friends would be an example of obsession and need. But, I think Shige would be better off working with someone who had experience in kissing on stage.”
Shige felt his heart stop. And then icy fingers crawled into his chest and curled possessively around it. And his stomach clenched. No. No. No. No. No. Massu wouldn't. He couldn't. He wouldn't.
Massu looked thoughtfully at his beer bottle, then over at Ryo, and only then turned to Koyama, who was sitting silently beside him, “You had to kiss a co-star on stage, didn't you Koyama?”
Massu would. He could. And he had done it. Shige was never going to forgive him. He was going to make sure he never had access to gyoza again. He was going to bribe Harajuku and Shibuya clothes stores to evict him on sight. He was going to ... oh hell, Koyama was nodding.
Koyama was nodding, because Massu was looking at him with those big wide eyes that made him look like a sweet little kitten who was just asking for a cuddle, and could not possibly have created havoc in the other room. That ... that ...
Shige stopped himself from burying his head in his hands, and fixed his gaze on Ryo. Ryo who was looking at Massu with something close to awe on his face. Shige did not have time to puzzle further about that, because Tegoshi jumped to his feet, swayed violently for a few seconds, and then leant across the table.
“Kei-chan has kissed lots of girls on stage. Well at least three that I can think of! And he looked good kissing all of them! And I kissed Kei-chan as well. Shige, let me and Kei-chan show you how to ...”
Tegoshi found himself moving slowly back down towards the floor, as Massu gently pushed his hand down on his head. “Tesshi, we know you are always ready to help out with the KoyaTego fanservice in a concert, but this time, Koyama needs to help Shige by himself.”
Tegoshi pouted. Massu ignored him. Ryo smirked at Massu and then leant heavily on Tegoshi's shoulder. “It's OK Tego-nyan. Most of Japan saw you climbing over Kei-chan and rolling around the stage in sequins and ruffles. We don't need to see it again.”
Shige looked into his beer bottle, distraught at the fact it was empty. Maybe more beer would have made this moment even slightly more tolerable. He missed the moment when Massu gripped Koyama's elbow, and caught his gaze.
“Kissing on stage requires a different approach, I think. How close you stand, how you look at each other, even how deep the kiss is.”
Koyama nodded, his mouth dry.
“You can help Shige with that, right Kei-chan?” Massu pondered for a moment. “You even had different types of kisses for the different shows you have done, so I am sure that Shige would be in good hands.”
Koyama stared at Massu, the words slowly sinking into his brain, as he realised just what Massu was suggesting.
Massu smiled, the gentle curved smile of support and encouragement that was always there when needed. He nodded at Koyama.
Koyama felt a grin curve his own lips. “I think I could do that.”
“Well then, do it. We don't have all night!”
Two shocked faces, and one visibly amused one turned towards Ryo. The smirk on his face grew wider, something Shige would have considered impossible if he had not seen it happen before his eyes.
“Show us how it's done!”
At that point, Shige gave up the pretense and buried his head in his hands. The night had started out with such promise. Alcohol, good company, a celebration in his honour, and now here he was, relatively sober, accused of not being able to kiss convincingly on stage, betrayed by his bandmate, and his kisses about to be rejected by his best friend. Forget member ai, for a moment he hated all of them.
Koyama laughed and Shige's ears picked out the nervous pitch easily. “I don't think us kissing in front of you guys is the best idea, Ryo-chan.”
Before Ryo could answer, Massu piped up, “Why not? If you can't kiss in front of four people, how can you be expected to kiss in front of hundreds in a theatre? And how much safer could you be than kissing in front of us? We won't tell anyone, this is a private room ... and ... seeing this entire lesson is to make sure NEWS is not embarrassed about having a member who fails at kissing on stage, who else is better placed to judge?”
Yamapi looked in awe at him, a grin spreading across his face, “I agree with Massu. As Leader of NEWS, I demand you guys do it. Start!”
Part 2 this way....
Author: kaminikaku Omake: the wonderful and talented haruka21
Summary: When News gets together to celebrate Shige's role in Seminar, Shige discovers the truth in the saying "If you want to know if he loves you so ..."
Overall Rating: NC-17
Length: 8500 words
Pairing: KoyaShige
Dedicated: In honour of her birthday (much belated!) this is dedicated to the wonderful inala-chan who provides us all with gorgeous scans of half naked Koyama on a regular basis.....
Thanks: definitely to wrenne25 for her fabulous beta work on this one as her guidance and help was invaluable.
It had probably been Koyama's idea at first, but over the years it had developed into an expectation, almost a tradition. Whether it was for a single release, a drama role, an album, or as was the case for tonight, a stage role, the six of them would find a suitable date and time, and together they would go out to celebrate.
It was always the same place, a small karaoke box not far from the Jimusho. There were only a few rooms, only a small drinks menu, and not a huge selection of songs. Not that any of that mattered. The reason they chose it was because it was small and quiet, and gave them a chance to celebrate in peace. It was private enough that no one would remark on a lack of singing coming from their room, but the noise of them talking, drinking and laughing would raise no eyebrows. Private enough for them to relax, and have fun, and not worry about it making the pages of the next issue of Nikkei Sports.
It was also a tradition by now that if the occasion was to celebrate one of them being granted a solo opportunity that the person in question would get completely hammered. This was obviously a more regular problem for some of them, but they all had over the years nursed a hangover of doom following a night of celebration.
Which was why Shige was currently sitting on the couch, nursing his fourth beer, watching Yamapi and Ryo compete against each other for the winning title of which member of NEWS can balance the most number of yen coins on their edge in 15 seconds. To date, the competition was a draw, with no one having managed even one. Alcohol and fine motor skills were not necessarily things that should be combined in competition at this time of night.
He looked over at Massu, who was … taking off his shirt. That was different. Massu flexed his arm, causing the bicep muscle to contract, and Koyama to lean over and run his fingers over it. Before Koyama had a chance to say anything, Tegoshi leaned over to also stroke Massu's arm and say, “Massu is so strong! You work so hard, and it really, really shows. You must go to the gym so much ...”
Shige's eyes narrowed. He thought he saw where this was going ... and yes, there it was.
Tegoshi turned to Koyama, “Kei-chan, your muscles must be so strong as well, seeing you are always going to the gym. And you drink all those protein shakes.”
Tegoshi's fingers drifted from Massu's arm to Koyama's shoulder, drawing soft circles. “I wonder if you are even stronger than Massu now ...”
Tegoshi's train of thought was interrupted by a crash as an apparently overenthusiastic Ryo had knocked over two empty beer bottles, and one full one, sending cold beer all over the table and dangerously close to Tegoshi's knees. Koyama leapt to his feet, throwing paper serviettes over the table to clean up the mess, as Ryo and Yamapi clutched each other and laughed.
Shige sighed, tonight it would appear that the two older members would be the ones getting completely hammered in his place. Not that he was too concerned about it, because he did have an essay to write tomorrow, and other things he needed to do, but it might have been nice to be able to be the first drunk one tonight. All in the name of tradition of course.
Ryo caught his breath, nudged Yamapi in what he probably thought was a subtle move, and then called Tegoshi over. “Tesshi, come sit with us! We need our Tego-nyan!”
Tegoshi looked quite comfortable where he was, seated between Massu and Koyama, but he could not resist the call of Ryo for very long. Especially when Ryo added, “We'll tell you a secret!”
Tegoshi nodded, and got to his feet a little unsteadily before making his way around the table. Yamapi and Ryo waited and then together, pulled him down to sit between them, where he was given another bottle of beer, and secrets were whispered in his ears.
Koyama turned back to Shige, and noticed that his own bottle was empty. Before he could call for more, the door opened and a waitress quietly entered the room. The tray she carried was laden with bottles, and for a second Shige tried to work out how much they weighed, multiplying the number of bottles with the volume before he was distracted by Koyama trying to attract his attention again.
“Shige, you need another bottle. This is your night, remember! I promised to get you home safely, so drink up.”
“Kei-chan, Shige can stay with me if he wants! Remember I have a new place now. If you want to, you can stay as well! In fact, why don' t you ...” Before Tegoshi could continue offering, Yamapi pushed his index finger against his lips and said, “Shhh.”
Tegoshi quieted down, a question in his eyes. Yamapi had his leader face on. He raised his bottle towards Shige and said, “Congratulations Shige! Congratulations on your first leading stage role. NEWS is very proud of you.”
As the other members applauded, Shige smiled, the open genuine smile which made his eyes crinkle and his cheeks bulge, and bowed slightly to all of them.
Koyama patted him on the shoulder and said, “You know, you never actually told us what it was about.”
Shige hesitated, mind working madly for a few seconds before he said, “Nothing special. It's a new play, and I play this student who is interested in the Renaissance and the Medici family. It's set around a Seminar, so lots of talking I think.”
Ryo looked at him, then nodded. “A student huh? You will be able to handle that.”
Yamapi reached over to tap him on the shoulder. “If you need to talk to your senpai about how seminars in your final year work, you'll need to call Koyama. I'm busy.”
Shige's immediate thought of "With what?" seemed a bit unfair to voice, given the night was in his honour. Then again, it's not like Yamapi was busy filming a drama or anything, and didn't he mention earlier having tickets to the wrestling again for next week and that Koyama was going as well? Still, it seemed a little mean to remind Yamapi of the fact that he had a stage play and Yamapi had so much free time lately.
“Of course!” Koyama burst out beside him. “Shige knows he can call me at any time about anything.”
Shige turned to grin at him, the warmth in his tummy feeling nice, and caused purely by the beer he was sure. Koyama threw an arm around him continuing, “And Shige knows all about how seminars work anyway, he's a law student, he has to stand up and present in front of his classmates. And ...”
“Yes, yes we all know Shige is a model student, Koyama,” Ryo interrupted smoothly, “My next question is, who else is starring in this play?”
Shige glared at Ryo, before realising his mistake. The amusement in Ryo's eyes deepened as he realised that there was a story there. “Come on Shige, who else is in it?”
Shige valiantly attempted to deflect the question. “I think they are still finalising the casting.”
“Well, we know that Kato Natsuki and Kaku Chikako are in it as well, given they were at your press conference this morning.” Massu met Shige's eyes with a bland smile, then carefully picked up his bottle of beer, which, Shige thought, appeared to be the same one he had started the night with.
Given the state that Yamapi and Ryo had managed to get Massu in celebrating his Rescue role he could understand why he was holding back tonight, but, Massu was up to something. He could tell. Whenever Massu did that bland smile, innocent questioning tone and wide eyes, he was up to something.
“Kato and Kato!” Tegoshi giggled, apparently finding the idea of two Katos in the one play hysterically funny.
“Can she sing? Maybe you could do a song together and be a unit called Kato to Kato!” Yamapi was also apparently quite taken by the idea of two Katos on stage together.
Ryo said nothing, simply waited for Shige to finally look at him. “She's pretty. Really pretty. Is she also a student?”
Shige nodded warily, then took a gulp of his beer, hoping that the conversation would shift to something else. He really should have known better than to hope for that.
“Are you in love with her?”
The question shocked Shige enough to spit beer all over the table in front of him. “Of course I'm not!” Shige did not seem to notice the way Koyama's hand had clenched momentarily on his shoulder.
He turned to glare at Massu, the person who had asked the question, and was now sitting there gazing at him.
Massu blinked innocently, and then said, “I meant in the play.”
“Oh,” Shige took another gulp of beer, taking care to swallow this time. “In the play. Of course. Well, in the play I think she is interested in me ...”
He trailed off, as the more drunken half of his beloved group leaned over the table to pat his shoulder (or whatever part of his anatomy they could reach in Tegoshi's case) and congratulated him on his luck.
Ryo smiled and proudly said, “I am so proud. Our Shige-chan, playing a love interest on stage. Is she going to steal a kiss?”
Shige blushed, and stuttered, “Um, I don't actually know if she has to steal a kiss ...”
“I thought,” With a great sense of foreboding, Shige turned towards Massu, who continued, “I thought in the press conference this morning, they said that the play was focused on the romantic relationships of Loren. I thought they said that Loren was a sex addict, and he sleeps with lots of women during the play.”
Shige tried to make Massu stop talking with the power of his mind, with pleading eyes, with an almost frantic shaking of his head. Frozen in horror, he was not able to physically launch himself at Massu and make him stop talking. Of course, being frozen in horror, he did not realise that Koyama's grip on his shoulders had tightened considerably and he probably would not have been able to move anyway.
Massu finally stopped talking, and took another sip of his beer. Shige viciously hoped it was warm by now, and tasted terrible. With the most innocent look on his face ever in the history of the world, with a blink, a slight tilt of his head to the side, and the most sweet smile ever, Massu asked, “Shige, your character's called Loren, right?”
Shige decided in that moment he was never going to underestimate Massu ever again. Unable to decide whether he wanted to sink through the floor, run away, or bury his face in Koyama's shoulder and cry, Shige stayed still and bowed his head.
There was a stunned silence for ten seconds, before Tegoshi screeched, “They chose Shige to play a sex addict? Shige? Why not me?”
Yamapi and Ryo shared a look and then burst into hysterical laughter. Massu leaned back in his chair, hiding a smile behind his beer bottle. Koyama moved his hand down Shige's back, drawing comforting circles against the soft fabric of his shirt.
Shige did not need to confirm it. Now they all knew. He could not bear to look at Koyama. He was never going to live this down. They were going to tease him about this for months. He was never going to forgive Massu for this. He was never going to go out for dinner with him again and talk about anything that could possibly be used against him later. Never. Never. Never. Never again.
As Yamapi and Ryo's laughter finally calmed down, and Tegoshi's pout got wider and stronger, Koyama spoke, “It sounds like an interesting role. I am sure Shige will do a good job.” He bumped their shoulders together, as Shige still could not bear to look up. “Shige's an idol, right? He's popular, and the fans really do love him. Thousands of girls buy his uchiwa and his photos. He's good looking and cool and smart. If the character he's playing is anything like Shige, it's not going to be surprising that girls would fall in love with him.”
Not for the first time in the last ten minutes, Shige wished that he had gotten drunk tonight. Maybe then he could let the tears that threatened to spill down his cheeks do so and blame it on the alcohol rather than Koyama's words. Blame the hot twisting pain in his gut on too much beer rather than Koyama's words. Words that were meant to support him, to make him feel better, to make his friend happy. Friend. Only that.
Silence fell over the group, and Shige fidgeted slightly, wanting to break the silence but not sure how. It was embarrassing, now they all knew what the topic of the play would be, and he was not going to be able to ... he took another swig of beer, emptying the bottle in his hand. He blinked as a new one appeared in front of him, Massu leaning across Koyama to push it into his hands as he snatched the empty one from him. Not knowing what to to do with the bottle, he took another quick swig.
“Shige,” Yamapi's voice was quiet and calm and Shige turned towards him with a quiet desperation that he could not quite hide. “The play sounds like it will be a challenge. You should work hard for it. You know what it feels like to be a student, and to want to know about a topic so you research and write about it. Whatever the character is interested in, or obsessed by, you can portray that.”
Shige nodded, his eyes fixed on Yamapi. It was not often that Yamapi truly switched into Leader mode, but when he did, they listened. “You would not have been trusted with this unless you could do it. You can take the time to rehearse and learn the role. You know what it feels like to want something really badly. Apply that to the character.”
Shige nodded again, silently, fighting the urge to look to his right. He did know what it was like to want something. He knew what it felt like to be interested and thirsty for knowledge. If Yamapi trusted him enough to do this, he would do it well.
Ryo sat back, and smirked quietly, “Genius over there will be believable as a smart guy who girls fall over.” Shige blushed slightly, blaming it on the alcohol, then waited for Ryo to continue, because he just knew that there was going to be more. Ryo rarely let a comment go without a sting in the tail.
And he was right, “The major thing we need to worry about, and we should worry because it will reflect badly on the rest of us if he fails, is quite simply ...”
He paused, letting the tension build a little, and causing Tegoshi to finally crack and ask, “What? What would Shige fail at and make the rest of us look bad?”
Ryo sighed, and ruffled Tegoshi's hair. “Kissing, Tego-nyan. If Shige is playing a sex addict on stage, there is going to be kissing, and we need to know that Shige-san over there is up to the task, and will not do anything to undermine the reputation of NEWS as a group of hot idols who any girl would want to spend time with.” He spared Shige a glance, mirth bubbling up inside him at Shige's deer caught in the headlights look.
“Are you suggesting that Shige needs kissing lessons?” Koyama asked, and there was something in his tone that caused Shige to keep his gaze averted. Koyama sounded … troubled. Or maybe he was projecting, just a little bit.
Ryo raised his bottle in a quick toast towards Koyama. “Maybe not lessons, after all I am sure that Shige has kissed a girl before. I was thinking more along the lines of advice. After all, he knows what to do, the important thing is to make sure that what he is doing looks right.”
Shige blushed. Harder.
Yamapi sighed and then started, “I always find that ...” only to be interrupted by Ryo.
“No offence Pi, but you are not the guy to be giving advice here.”
“Huh? Why not?” Yamapi demanded, half outraged, half amused at Ryo's statement.
“The point is that Shige is meant to be a sex addict, Pi. Which would suggest he enjoys kissing. Which would mean he shows passion. Which would mean he grabs the girl, and bam!” Ryo cast Yamapi a mocking glance. “Passion. Need. Excitement. Urgency. All those things you have never show in any of your drama kisses.”
Yamapi looked at Ryo, opened his mouth and then closed it again. The rest of NEWS looked at Ryo in horror. How could he have said such a thing to Yamapi! Ryo sighed. “Pi, you know I am right. They haven't wanted you to kiss like that, so you don't. Shige can't have that hesitation, that softness. He needs it to be passionate.” Yamapi nodded once, unable to really argue with him. Ryo continued, “You should watch Last Friends. Try and find a rawness in you, an urgency. Just don't copy the violence. NEWS can only cope with one DV guy.”
“Hmm. I'm not sure that is actually the best solution Ryo-chan.” Five heads turned to look at Massu, who was thoughtfully spinning a beer bottle between his palms. “Last Friends would be an example of obsession and need. But, I think Shige would be better off working with someone who had experience in kissing on stage.”
Shige felt his heart stop. And then icy fingers crawled into his chest and curled possessively around it. And his stomach clenched. No. No. No. No. No. Massu wouldn't. He couldn't. He wouldn't.
Massu looked thoughtfully at his beer bottle, then over at Ryo, and only then turned to Koyama, who was sitting silently beside him, “You had to kiss a co-star on stage, didn't you Koyama?”
Massu would. He could. And he had done it. Shige was never going to forgive him. He was going to make sure he never had access to gyoza again. He was going to bribe Harajuku and Shibuya clothes stores to evict him on sight. He was going to ... oh hell, Koyama was nodding.
Koyama was nodding, because Massu was looking at him with those big wide eyes that made him look like a sweet little kitten who was just asking for a cuddle, and could not possibly have created havoc in the other room. That ... that ...
Shige stopped himself from burying his head in his hands, and fixed his gaze on Ryo. Ryo who was looking at Massu with something close to awe on his face. Shige did not have time to puzzle further about that, because Tegoshi jumped to his feet, swayed violently for a few seconds, and then leant across the table.
“Kei-chan has kissed lots of girls on stage. Well at least three that I can think of! And he looked good kissing all of them! And I kissed Kei-chan as well. Shige, let me and Kei-chan show you how to ...”
Tegoshi found himself moving slowly back down towards the floor, as Massu gently pushed his hand down on his head. “Tesshi, we know you are always ready to help out with the KoyaTego fanservice in a concert, but this time, Koyama needs to help Shige by himself.”
Tegoshi pouted. Massu ignored him. Ryo smirked at Massu and then leant heavily on Tegoshi's shoulder. “It's OK Tego-nyan. Most of Japan saw you climbing over Kei-chan and rolling around the stage in sequins and ruffles. We don't need to see it again.”
Shige looked into his beer bottle, distraught at the fact it was empty. Maybe more beer would have made this moment even slightly more tolerable. He missed the moment when Massu gripped Koyama's elbow, and caught his gaze.
“Kissing on stage requires a different approach, I think. How close you stand, how you look at each other, even how deep the kiss is.”
Koyama nodded, his mouth dry.
“You can help Shige with that, right Kei-chan?” Massu pondered for a moment. “You even had different types of kisses for the different shows you have done, so I am sure that Shige would be in good hands.”
Koyama stared at Massu, the words slowly sinking into his brain, as he realised just what Massu was suggesting.
Massu smiled, the gentle curved smile of support and encouragement that was always there when needed. He nodded at Koyama.
Koyama felt a grin curve his own lips. “I think I could do that.”
“Well then, do it. We don't have all night!”
Two shocked faces, and one visibly amused one turned towards Ryo. The smirk on his face grew wider, something Shige would have considered impossible if he had not seen it happen before his eyes.
“Show us how it's done!”
At that point, Shige gave up the pretense and buried his head in his hands. The night had started out with such promise. Alcohol, good company, a celebration in his honour, and now here he was, relatively sober, accused of not being able to kiss convincingly on stage, betrayed by his bandmate, and his kisses about to be rejected by his best friend. Forget member ai, for a moment he hated all of them.
Koyama laughed and Shige's ears picked out the nervous pitch easily. “I don't think us kissing in front of you guys is the best idea, Ryo-chan.”
Before Ryo could answer, Massu piped up, “Why not? If you can't kiss in front of four people, how can you be expected to kiss in front of hundreds in a theatre? And how much safer could you be than kissing in front of us? We won't tell anyone, this is a private room ... and ... seeing this entire lesson is to make sure NEWS is not embarrassed about having a member who fails at kissing on stage, who else is better placed to judge?”
Yamapi looked in awe at him, a grin spreading across his face, “I agree with Massu. As Leader of NEWS, I demand you guys do it. Start!”
Part 2 this way....