[Fanfiction] Hadashi no Cinderella Boy [FINAL]
CHAPTER 6: Cinderella Boy ((part1))
It was after the Nagoya concert and Kato Shigeaki was tired, angry and depressed. After saying “otsukaresama deshita” to the staff, he headed off to the dressing room first to change. He didn’t even bother to talk to any of the other members. He was just so pissed by what happened on the MC part that day where they talked about his solo being “subtle” or poorly done. He knew that they were kidding but this joke wounded deeply and he couldn’t help but get mad.
Lately, he’d been the butt of jokes and he didn’t like it. Every concert MC, it seems that they picked one trait of Shige’s to insult, belittle or laugh about. First it was his hair that he had cut into a shorter, more rock star-like look that resembled Kusano’s old faux mohawk. In fact, that was where he got the idea. He’d been watching old videos and liked Kusano’s hair. He thought he looked pretty cool, but the rest didn’t seem to think so. They also insulted his style, belittled his talent and made fun of his performances or voice. They also said that he wasn’t popular, that there might be one, out of many, that liked him.
These jokes had hurt but he really didn’t let them know how much. He’d shake his head and bottle up everything inside and appear unfazed, with a smile on his face. He thought he could take it. After all, didn’t he dish as much dirt as they did? But he always stopped when the other person seemed uncomfortable and maybe that was a fault, because he was, as Yamashita Tomohisa said once, too nice.
Maybe the old Shige would actually forgive them but Shige had changed. He wasn’t as naïve as he was before and knew he had to be true to his feelings. He was more confident about his ideas and asserting himself and now knew how to defend himself. He wasn’t about to let people step all over him anymore. He wasn’t the joke of NEWS anymore. He believed that he already made his mark in the group and needed to be appreciated as an important member and he demanded it.
He still couldn’t believe they said those things. They knew that this was an especially sensitive subject for him. They knew how hard he worked on that song. They had seen him practice, and what they didn’t know was that Shige had been so proud of that solo. He thought that he did particularly well in it and that he looked really cool doing it. He was angry at them for insulting it and even more so for doing it in an MC where all the fans could hear. He didn’t mind being embarrassed in front of the fans, like they usually do during MCs. Mild jokes like those and exposing some fact about his personal life- as long as it wasn’t too personal- was acceptable. But insulting the thing he was most proud of was unforgivable and frankly, Shige had enough of the jokes.
He entered the dressing room moodily and sat down in front of his mirror, not even bothering to switch on the lights. He sat there in semi-darkness and dropped his head to his hands and sighed. He felt that all his efforts were for nothing. It seemed that even his best friend didn’t even defend him and instead deepened the wounds by offering more information as ammunition for teasing him.
Shige sighed and reached for the plush doll on the table and stared at it. Maybe they were saying it only to push him harder. Maybe he had to prove himself to them - especially to Nishikido Ryo, whose words were most important to him. Out of all the members of NEWS, he sought approval from Ryo the most.
“Shige should be popular as a stylist; it’s the one thing he’s good at.”
That statement was going around and around in his head, tormenting him as the audience had laughed. He had defended himself, but he knew it wasn’t enough. Now he let tears fall as he sat in the dark; there had to be some way to rectify this. There had to be some way to let Ryo know that he’s good enough to be in NEWS and not just someone who filled a spot. There also has to be a way to let the fans know that he was good. He stared at the doll again. It would take effort, but he wouldn’t disappoint. At least, he didn’t want to disappoint the fan who made him the doll.
He heard them coming from the hall and wiped his tears away. He turned on his make up stand’s lights and pretended to busy himself with taking off his stage make-up. He closed his eyes and calmed himself as Masuda Takahisa entered the room with Tegoshi Yuya.
Massu opened the door and almost squealed, thinking he saw a ghost in the dark but then he calmed down and switched the light on. “What the hell, Ge-shiko? Why are you sitting in the dark?”
“Nothing, didn’t feel like turning it on,” he lied as he stood up and opened his locker, looking for his towel and bath stuff.
“Keii-chan was looking for you earlier,” Tegoshi said as he collapsed onto a couch and opened his water bottle. “Otsukaresama deshita.” He smiled at Shige.
“Huh?” Shige said absently as he rifled through his bag for a clean pair of underpants.
“I didn’t get to say it to you earlier since you disappeared.” Tegoshi eyed him. Something was off with Shige. He wasn’t as energetic as he was in the concert. “Are you feeling ok, Shige? Not coming down with the flu or anything?”
“Oh, I’m just tired,” Shige smiled weakly at him and bowed. “Otsukaresama. I’m gonna go ahead and take a shower. It’s been a long night.”
Massu and Tegoshi nodded as they watched the retreating figure. Something was definitely off. Normally Shige would be energetic even after the concert, but now the life seemed to be drained away from him. Massu looked at Shige questioningly and the other boy shrugged. Maybe it was just as he said, he was tired. They had been dancing nonstop the whole day.
It was then that Koyama Keiichiro entered the room. He had looked for Shige in the backstage and was relieved to see Shige’s locker open. “So he’s here?” he asked the other two who were in the room.
Massu nodded and pointed to the showers. “I think he’s mad.”
“About the MC?” Koyama asked and watched as Tegoshi nodded. Koyama sighed. Koyama had long ago realized that Shige was sensitive to the subject of Kakao, but he didn’t realize how much until he saw the anger flash upon his best friend’s eyes when that topic came up. Shige was one that didn’t usually show his feelings, but at that moment, he knew that they had gone too far.
That was why he changed the subject for that MC and started talking about Yamashita Tomohisa’s new drama, Proposal Daisakusen and Ryo’s drama. He glanced at Shige, who smiled at fans but had different eyes. He was so worried when the boy disappeared after the show when he would normally be goofing around with Tegoshi and Masuda, or talking his ear off.
He headed towards the showers and listened to the rushing water. Shige heard him and seemed to turn up the water more. He shook his head and retreated to the room. He couldn’t stay in there forever anyway. He would eventually have to come out.
The dressing room was unusually quiet when Nishikido Ryo and Yamashita Tomohisa entered the room. Yamapi was talking on his cellular phone, as usual. Ryo took a step back and looked around oddly. “Did someone die?” he asked as he crossed the room and sat down on the couch.
“I think Shigeko’s mad,” Tegoshi said, pouting and stared at the shower’s door.
“Eh?” Ryo pouted. “What’s he bitching about?”
“We don’t know yet,” Massu replied to the older boy. “He didn’t say anything about it.”
“Then how do you know he’s mad?”
“We just have a feeling he is,” Tegoshi said, pouting.
“Who’s mad?” Shige said as he entered the room. The shower had done wonders for his mood and he felt a little better. At least good enough to pretend he was alright.
“You aren’t mad?” Massu asked as he blinked at the boy.
“Why should I be?”
“Just thought you were mad about the MC or something,” Koyama answered eyeing his friend. He seemed to be ok.
“I told you I was just tired,” Shige said as he put away his things. “Were you guys worried about me?”
“Who would?” Ryo answered back at him sarcastically. “You’re useless anyway, unless you’re doing hair and make up. You really should just join the make-up team.”
“Ryo-chan!” Koyama scolded. “Don’t mind him, Shige.” He hoped that his best friend would be alright with that. But his eyes said that it was too late.
Shige’s eyes flashed but he calmly closed his locker. He didn’t want to pick a fight, but he couldn’t let this one slide. It hurt too much. Why did Ryo like torturing him? “Is that right? I’m useless? My solo is boring and I’m ugly, ne?“ He laughed sarcastically. “I knew that already.” He then turned to Koyama and nodded. “I’ll go ahead to the hotel, Keii-chan. I’m tired. “
“Shige…” Koyama said quietly as he nodded. Maybe it was better to give Shige his time. He knew the boy liked privacy in his thoughts. “If you need me, you know where to find me.”
Shige smiled a little and nodded. “Oyasumi minna! Gomen if I’m not as good as the rest of you.”
With this Ryo snapped. “Quit the goddamn drama, Kato! What the fuck is your problem?”
“Nothing,” Shige said as he looked away from Ryo’s pissed off eyes. “It’s not important, right? It’s just Shige after all.”
“Then quit the drama,” Ryo growled. “You’re pissing me off with that drama queen act of yours. It’s not like you.”
“Then tell me, how do you really see me, Nishikido-kun,” Shige said as he stood in front of the door with his hand on the knob. Ryo didn’t speak and then Shige shook his head. “I knew it. Don’t worry, Nishikido-kun. I'll prove you wrong. You’ll see…” He said as he left the room.
Silence once again filled the room and Koyama broke the silence with his sigh. “Ryo, apologize to Shige tomorrow.”
“What should I apologize for? I was being sarcastic. It’s his fault for being such a drama queen,” Ryo said as he got his laptop bag and other things and looked at Yamapi. “I’m going ahead too. I promised Subaru I’d get this done tonight. See you at the room.”
When the other boy left, Koyama dropped his head on his make-up table in frustration. Why did he have to deal with such difficult beings?
***
The next day at the concert, Massu, Tegoshi and Yamapi watched Shige and Ryo banter with each other playfully onstage and pouted. It seemed that Ryo’s tongue had gotten sharper and Shige’s answers had gotten more defensive each time. You really don’t anger a sleeping lion, because it bites and Shige, who was usually calm, was now nearly insane with rage as he pretended that the conversation that they were having onstage was innocent bantering. Little did the audience know that this seemingly innocent bantering continued offstage with much more emotion and created a foul mood for the rest of the group.
Koyama had distracted them by discussing Proposal Daisakusen again and turned the conversation over to Masuda’s solo coming up. He was in a difficult position as the oldest member of NEWS; he was expected to fix this misunderstanding and return the peace to the group. But how could he when on one end, Shige was being difficult and Ryo was just as stubborn.
That evening, after the concert, Koyama had expected to find Shige in the hotel room they shared brooding or studying. But he found no one. He pouted and quickly texted the boy. Where did he go off to anyway? He waited a few minutes and, as expected, Shige responded. He was at the hotel gym and was burning off excess energy and was telling him to go to bed. Koyama shook his head; he figured that Shige was not ready to share yet and accepted that. Maybe soon he could talk to him and sort this thing out.
***
However, if Koyama knew where Shige really was, he would really be in awe. Shige wasn’t at the hotel gym; in fact he wasn’t at the hotel at all. He was still at the concert hall, practicing Kakao onstage. He had his IPOD set so that Kakao played exactly like how it would during a concert and he rehearsed alone. The stage lights were off and the only light was a sole light bulb way above the stage. However, he kept on rehearsing; he needed to get it perfect before each performance, as he played out ideas to make it better.
He was a man on a mission. He had to prove himself to someone important, as well as to himself and the fans and he had a lot of work to do. At this point, Shige was already past anger and understood that Ryo was probably saying these things to challenge him to do better. He knew about the boy’s sharp tongue and he should have understood first, but at that time, there was no chance and even now, Ryo had been avoiding him like a plague.
He started the song again, the melody becoming one with him as he moved with the sexy lyrics of the song. How could he improve this? How could he make this song even more convincing? How could he make it more entertaining? How? How? He did this every night at every concert hall they went to. This ritual had almost become a prayer to him. He would rehearse the song to near exhaustion whenever he had a chance. He kept this his secret. He wanted everyone to just be surprised by his excellent performance one day and they would soon appreciate him too. But until then, he had to work hard for it.