The 5 Bands Uchi Could/Should/Would Have Been In
Note- Disclaimer as usual, the people are real, some events are real but this is fictional. These are drabbles (or supposed to be drabbles, but I was told that drabbles are about 100 words and I can’t write only 100 words for the life of me)
I apologize because this is unbetaed with plenty of errors (grammar et al.) since english is one of the many languages in my head, can babble several but none well. If a masochist soul want to be sacrifice herself (because let’s not kid ourselves, this fandom is mostly just girls) I’d be happy.
The 5 Bands Uchi Could/Should/Would Have Been In
I.
When they received news that KAT-TUN debuted; they knew they never would. Yasu had sighed before grabbing the neck of his guitar and hurrying to the couch. His fingers played a melody that probably sounded marvellous in his head, but without his amp the mute metallic twang didn’t do it justice. Maru pulled his chair next to Ohkura and passed his arm around the drummer’s shoulders, for once his bizarre sense of humour failed to come up with any jokes.
The atmosphere was tense and Uchi found himself on his feet pacing before he even realised it. Debuting was next to impossible in Johnny’s and the quick fame they managed at the start of their career didn’t seem to hold up. Two members had already left the formation and the TV shows they had starred in were now things of the past. There was rumours of a band formation when they were on J3 but the show didn’t get good rating and all hopes were gone when Ryo joined News and Subaru went solo. Yoko was now an un-debuted actor like Toma, Murakami hosted just about ten variety shows.
And there was only one group to debut per year, it wasn’t an absolute rule per say but it seemed to be the case. And after a while, formations knew that they were forever doomed to be juniors. Angry tears welled up in Uchi’s eyes and he kicked hard the chair he had been sitting on.
“So unfair.” He grunted as his other three band mates stared at his hissy fit. Their manager was coming soon with their schedules for the summer, it was either another stage play or playing a few spare concerts as an instrumental band, good thing that Uchi had started to play the keyboard or he himself wouldn’t have a place in the band. Yasu had tried several time to teach him the guitar but with little success. It was Ohkura who suggested the keyboard that would perhaps accommodate him better.
The door opened and their manager step in with a relieved look on his face. Uchi scrambled next to Yasu who had placed his guitar against the couch, Uchi was finding comfort in the second eldest’s presence. All four stared with rapt attention to their manager.
“Good news everyone, you’ll be on tour all of this summer.”
“Are we doing Summary?” Asked Maru, excited that they weren’t fired. Being from the Kansai’s agency meant less work for them compared to their Tokyo’s counterpart. They all were more concerned about their future when Question? entered the scene.
“No. You’ll be performing with Shibutani-san this summer.”
“Subaru-kun? Really?” Yasu exclaimed, he had been giving guitar lesson ever since the two of them met. Uchi giggled covering his mouth with his hand when he saw stars in Yasu’s eyes. Yasu admired his sempai quite a lot.
“There is a 13 cities tour announced, after the release of his album. As you know, you’ll have to do more of an enka style but I’m sure you’ll be working hard.” Their manager concluded handing them a schedule for the tour. The next ten minutes past in a daze as Uchi imagined them on stage for a whole summer.
“Oy, Uchi, stop daydreaming.” Ohkura poked him as Maru and Yasu grabbed their instruments.
“Yosh! Let’s practice!” Uchi stood again and grinned at a slightly baffled Ohkura at his sudden energy. Maybe he would be allowed to perform a little as a back up singer.
They would never debut but that it didn’t mean they couldn’t have a future.
What if…Kanjani8 was never formed and V.West continued.
II.
Uchi was more nervous than he had been since forever. Even filming Ganbatte Ikimasshoi wasn’t as nerve wrecking, since Ryo-chan was with him. Actually, the filming was extremely fun because of it. Ever since Ryo joined News with Ohkura, Uchi had spent less time with his best friend. He, along with the rest of Kanjani8, supported them whenever the two had to go to Tokyo. The drama had given them to chance to work together and spend more time that was usually reserved for News. Uchi had missed two episodes because of his hospitalisation but as soon as he was back on his feet, he rejoined the cast. He had received a lot of attention for his acting and the roles were getting more and more interesting.
The next role had been a bit of a rumour getting around. Uchi knew that he was targeted along with a few others, Ryo included. He had auditioned three times, twice with Kame. The role was fun, if a bit stuck up, but it was a main role and with Kame playing a slightly eccentric character it was going to be a blast. Uchi wasn’t the least intimidated by Kame even if his reputation was growing fast. KAT-TUN was very popular but after all Uchi had spend a lot of time with him as juniors.
The surprise arrived a week before filming. Uchi and Kame weren’t auditioning to act together, they were competing for the same role. And said role was finally given to Uchi. He was a bit disappointed, after all, Kame was so easy to work with when you knew how and Uchi liked the people-pleasers attitude when it was in his advantage. The shock came when Uchi was told who was his filming partner and given a music sheet to learn by heart. He had been to the studio and recorded his part for the duo without seeing a hair of his now other half and now it was finally time to film the PV that would be used for the promotion of the series.
He was the first one to arrive on the set, the choreographer was showing him a few last details while a makeup artist touched up. He barely could function; he had to work with one of the most famous idol from Johnny’s. Someone he hadn’t work with much beside a few times on the same stage for the Shounen Club.
Yamashita Tomohisa appeared suddenly, right one time looking so flawless that even Uchi who was naturally blasé and not quite humble couldn’t help being in awe of him. Staff surrounded him immediately to prepare him for the shooting while Uchi bite his lips uncomfortably. He was feeling strangely shy, he knew so much about Yamapi yet his contacts were mostly indirect. Uchi decided to practice the steps some more before the director called them. He walked to one side and felt very silly to do the choreography alone and without music. When he glanced up he met Yamapi’s amused glance who was standing so still while people touch up his makeup and his wardrobe. Uchi was often reprimanded for fidgeting too much. When he was finally released the director approach
Yamapi and made their way toward Uchi who stood in fear.
“Ohayo gozaimasu,” The director bowed to Uchi who repeated the gesture to the two of them.
“I believe the two of you know each other. We’ll start in five minutes. Take your place please.” The director left with one last bow.
“Nervous?” Yamapi asked, though it was so obvious, Uchi felt the word was written on his face. He nodded once, not trusting to speak normally.
“Ryo-chan said I had to take good care of you or he would hurt me. Ohkura said he would help Ryo and make Murakami-kun give me the worst tsukomi Tokyo has ever known.” Yamapi declared while Uchi hung to his every word with wide eyes.
There was a silence between them as someone called that the shooting would start in four minutes, but neither of them moved from where they stood.
“Well, Ryo-chan said that he would hit me if I was being a brat to you.” Uchi admitted slowly, replaying the conversation he had on the phone when he learned about the news.
Yamapi stood a little straighter, glad that he wasn’t the only one that had a warning over his head.
“What did Ohkura say?” Yamapi asked, a bit smug after all he was the leader of News.
“Tacchon? Nothing, he’s on my side.” Uchi smiled, knowing that he was being a little bit of a brat right now, but it helped ease the tension. Yamapi looked at him a bit distraught, as if he had been betrayed.
Uchi felt that this wouldn’t be so bad, true he was still a little in awe of Yamapi but not enough to be unable to work. He put his hand on Yamapi’s shoulder before walking to his position in front of the camera.
“Si, oretachi wa itsudemo” Uchi sang watching Yamapi walking to stand next to him, there was a little bit of a competitiveness in Yamapi’s eyes.
They would work just fine together.
What if… Uchi had been Shuuji in Nobuta Wo Produce.
III.
When Nakamaru entered the dressing room, he could feel the tension in the air, the silence was a dead give away. Well, not exactly silence, there was a myriad of little electronic sounds but it was just as well. Jin was sitting on one end of the room with his ipod so loud that Nakamaru could pick up the song and beat box to it from the entrance. Koki was one end of the couch, his eyes firmly on his computer not glancing at Nakamaru’s arrival. His body was tense from anger or frustration. Junno was on the other side looking as frustrated and for once it looked like it wasn’t the PSP game he was playing that was the cause. Kame was sitting at his dresser, next to him was a DVD player showing their latest performance his face was expressionless and he was alternating his gaze from the screen to the mirror, adding a bit more eyeliner each time. And sitting by the door was Uchi, texting on his cell phone, he looked annoyed but he was the most approachable right now. Usually, Maru sided with Koki, who would often side with Kame, who would often pick on Junno, who would seek refuge to Uchi, who would bitch out to Ryo and the latter would tell Yamapi who would tell Jin. It was a never ending circle and though sometimes Maru was glad of the two members from News, sometimes he wished they could solve their problem on their own.
Koki looked like he was trying to kill his laptop it was surprising that Junno even dared to sit on the same couch.
Maru sat next to Uchi who glanced up from his texting.
“Okaeri.” Uchi acknowledged before returning his attention to his phone.
“What happened?” Nakamaru sighed softly so the conversation would be just between them.
“Jin told Kame looked like a dead racoon in eyeliner.” Uchi said loud enough for everyone to hear, his eyes never leaving his cellphone’s screen. Maru winced, glancing over his shoulder to see everyone else tensing. Apparently people from Osaka had no tact whatsoever.
“That’s it?” Maru asked when silence came back, he half expected another explosion but there was nothing.
“Well, there was a bit of yelling, Koki took Kame’s side, Junno took Jin’s. Then everyone yelled about other things. I didn’t keep track.” Uchi said, pressing “send” on his cellphone and looking at Maru with his full attention.
“You’re so full of yourself Uchi.” Kame said, startling them by speaking.
“Well, at least I know how much eye liner to put on.” Uchi snarked leaning against the wall, his chair stood on two legs.
“Oh you think you’re so cute.” Jin said jumping in the conversation, he had closed his ipod at some point but Maru couldn’t tell when.
“I am cute, I’m cuter than all of you.” Uchi had never known the meaning of humility.
“Just fucking go back to Osaka!” Kame shouted while Junno whimpered a little, it was obvious that he wanted to say something but couldn’t find what.
“Yeah go back! We’ll ask Ueda to rejoin Johnny’s.” Jin said, usually Jin was tolerant of Ryo’s other best friend but the problem with KAT-TUN was the there was three belle of the ball competing for the crown. Jin locked eyes with Kame who nodded in agreement.
“He sent me an e-mail saying that he missed performing.” Koki added, the atmosphere changed, it was still tense but it felt more like three against one instead of everyone being at each other’s throat.
“Hey, Naka-kun. Jin and Kame are talking again.” Uchi pointed out, smirking as if he had been responsible for it. Which in a way it was true, a lot of the fights ended up with them ganging on Uchi who was a lot tougher than he looked in front of them.
Of course, part of his backbone was the fact that Ryo AKA Dokkun was in a dressing room next door which was both a relief and a curse. Relief that Ryo help intervene in a lot of fights to keep things from being ugly. Curse that being around Ryo so much (they shared an apartment and train rides as KAT-TUN and News often had the same schedule) made Uchi as poisoned tongue as his best friend.
Their manager entered the room before another fight broke and they followed him to their dance practice. It wasn’t easy being the odd one out, Uchi reflected. When they were in a good mood, the others would often tease him for his kansai-ben. And when they performed on Shounen Club with Yoko and Hina, Uchi felt nostalgic and wished that Ueda hadn’t quit and left Johnny’s to find a replacement who was popular and whose family name started with “U”.
But they were a good group, Jin, Kame and himself sharing the leads, Maru with his beat box, Koki with his rap and Junno with his dancing.
And Uchi was the prettiest of them all.
What if… Uchi had been the U in KAT-TUN.
IV.
“You should have changed your name for Achi.”
“I told you a million time, I’m not going to change my name for Achi.”
“But then it would work! It would be spelt correctly. Come on!”
Uchi leaned his head against the cool window of the passenger’s side, his skin was a bit hot and he was sure he was going to be sick tomorrow. Yoko’s yapping didn’t help and he knew he should be grateful for the lift back home but all Uchi wanted right now was silence.
He had a lot to be grateful for to Yoko but sometimes Uchi just wanted to strangle his favourite sempai because for everything he had to be grateful for, he had something to whine about. Like the fact that his nickname was Diva-kun and Hime-chan, something that even the newest Kansai juniors called him. Uchi was trying to be as professional as he could now that he was back in a group but the reputation given to him wasn’t helping at all. However, the fact that he actually had a job was yet again because of Yoko.
Sometimes Uchi wished he had moved in another city and never had been a neighbour of Yoko’s.
When V.West was dissolved and Uchi lost his three band mates to Kanjani6, he had thought it had been the end of the world. He was demoted to be a simple junior, something he hadn’t much experience with as he had been thrust to be the lead singer as soon as he joined Johnny’s. At first, after “Another” he was supposed to join for another show when Weekly V. West ended, but some higher ups had sold the program to Channel 6 and as his health hadn’t been well after working so much; his place was given to Maruyama. Uchi didn’t hold any grudge towards his former bassist, he watched the show every week with his younger sister and performed as a back up dancer during the performance segments.
When Kanjani6 debuted and started to go on tour, Yoko had requested to have their own backup dancing group which he selected himself. Uchi knew that he had wanted Ohkura at first but the latter was now in Tokyo being Question?’s drummer. Uchi may be often accused of being too laid back but he loved the stage and his group was fun.
Subaru liked to treat them to dinner and since Uchi was the only legal one, Subaru could drink with him. Yoko was always kidnapping them to play all night long Monhan on their PSP, badgering Uchi to forget his pink Nintendo DS (which for his sake, had been a gift from his mother and pink was the only colour left when she bought it, had he had the chance to choose it would have been either the cobalt blue or the crimson red).
Uchi had greatly improved over his dancing now that he had grown up a bit more; he wasn’t the gangly kid who was almost skeleton. He wasn’t comfortable doing too many back flips but he could work with a more hip hop style. It allowed him to be on stage and that was what mattered.
“Hey, feel like doing a game or two tonight?” Yoko asked excited, ignoring the white bandage that
Uchi had on his forehead to help keep his fever down.
Uchi sighed, knowing he’d have to be a good kouhai and spend another evening playing with Yoko until dawn.
But he didn’t have to work tomorrow and thankfully his house was in walking distance of Yoko’s.
What if…Uchi had been in OSSaN.
V.
They hadn’t intended it actually but they were all on the same stage when the song played. Uchi and Kusano were not in the red sparkly costumes but in a black, white and bright blue contraption that seemed incredible for the mere fact that it wasn’t falling apart when they danced. But then again, Ryo was in a long silvery coat having just finished singing “Kanfuu Fighting” with Kanjani8.
When “News Nippon” started on the speakers, Uchi and Kusano started to sing almost automatically and though they were nervous and exhausted from performing so much at the Countdown. Their limbs followed the slightly modified choreography that they learned so many years ago. If was as if they had never left the band, only when Uchi twisted to the right that he dropped the hand holding his mic. Toma and Tottsu were waving at the crowd that had gone wild when Kusano and Uchi had joined in the song. It hit Uchi like he was dropped in cold water; this wasn’t reality. As much as he had want to rejoin his groups, and a little part of him still naively clung to the hope, the last few months performing with Chance had given him the opportunity to work again. Things weren’t like they were before, News wasn’t eight anymore, neither was Eito but the pinch in his heart was there and hurting now more than ever. His idol smile was fake but the tears weren’t, he turned away from where he knew the cameraman was to avoid being filmed but slammed directly in Yoko who along with the rest of the Eito had rejoined the main stage to sing. Every band were singing their debut song in chronological order and the next song was “Naniwa Iroha Bushi”.
“News Nippon” was nearly over and seeing an over enthusiastic Kusano jumping up and down next to Shige made Uchi smile a little over the bitterness. Yoko put his arm around him, his face handsome with dark hair and kissed Uchi on the cheek in a move that had nothing to do with calculated fan-service. Uchi crunched his nose and pretended to be mortified to having been kissed while Hina slapped him on the shoulder. Uchi realised that he was now suddenly in the middle of the group and all attempts to steer clear to the sideline were futile. Yoko and Hina had a firm grip on him and when he felt someone pushing him he turned his head to see Subaru prodding him to move. The first note of Naniwa started while the rest of News excluding Ryo moved out to the side.
“Wait a minute.” Uchi protested feebly as Hina grabbed his arm to place him in his former place on stage. Subaru moved in front and Yasu, his hands moving on his guitar, gave Uchi a smile so full of joy that Uchi felt his protest melt like ice under the sun.
“Oy! Toma-kun! We’re borrowing him for a few minutes!” Yoko called to Toma who standing next to Yamapi simply made a move that clearly said “go ahead”. The version was more rock than the first version they made and even more than what Uchi had been used to toward the end but he quickly found his footing. Ohkura was incredible at his drums and Uchi sneaked a peek when Yasu and Maru sang the rap part. The energy was high with thousand of fans screaming their heads off, for a moment in eternity they were 8 again. Uchi walked to the front as he and Ryo stood on either side of Subaru for the chorus of the song. Uchi saw from the corner of his eyes, Tottsu in his black, white and blue outfit doing back flips on the stage followed by the other three members of ABC.
The moment didn’t last long, barely over two minutes, a subtle flashing light that a technician waved indicated that the next band, KAT-TUN was ready. They ended the song and scrambled to the left side while Jin and Kame took the front stage and became entangled in this massive hug. Maru’s bass poked in Uchi’s side hard enough to bruise and before the suspension Uchi would have whined about but now he’d grown enough to not care about those futile things. They gradually all disentangled, not minding KAT-TUN belting their hearts out one bit (it wasn’t like they never heard them sing that song before) the technicians were busy around them, pointing out the next position they’d have be. The rest of News were already gone and Ryo was being told that he’d have to join them now. Ryo met Uchi’s eyes and raised his thumb to his best friend before running, disappearing under the stage.
Another stressed technician came and told that Kanjani8 had to follow them. Uchi felt his blood run cold and breathed in deeply, rooting his feet against the ground to keep from wanting to follow them when he couldn’t.
“We’ve giving him back.” Hina called softly at Toma who reappeared with Tottsu in tow. It was then that Uchi realised he had another performance to do.
“Ganbatte!” Yasu called, the ever thoughtful one, squeezing Uchi’s arm before exiting the stage.
“Ganbatte.” Ohkura called softly as Hey!Say!Jump! started their song. Subaru simply touched his arm before exiting.
“Ganbatte!” Yoko called engulfing him in a quick hug.
“Paaaaan!” Maru called so close to Uchi’s face their foreheads were touching, Uchi laughed at that and slapped the bassist’s back.
“Ganbatte.” Hina called in a tone that was so fatherly that Uchi knew that if he messed up, he would be tsukomied.
Kitayama slipped next to Kusano and all 5 of them waited for their cue to take the stage. They looked good, Uchi thought, he wondered briefly if they would be scolded for their behaviour by Johnny tomorrow. But then again, a lot of crazy things happened at Countdown, judging by the sempai’s behaviour, Tokio especially. And Chance was going to blow everyone’s mind Uchi decided, smiling widely at Toma who grinned back. The lights dimmed slightly and their debut song started. The energy wasn’t the same as News or Kanjani8 but it was there and Uchi sang with all his might as his voice was harmonised with 4 others.
What if inspired from
travelingpsycho's Chance taken without permission check out the story for awesomeness.
Chance
I apologize because this is unbetaed with plenty of errors (grammar et al.) since english is one of the many languages in my head, can babble several but none well. If a masochist soul want to be sacrifice herself (because let’s not kid ourselves, this fandom is mostly just girls) I’d be happy.
The 5 Bands Uchi Could/Should/Would Have Been In
I.
When they received news that KAT-TUN debuted; they knew they never would. Yasu had sighed before grabbing the neck of his guitar and hurrying to the couch. His fingers played a melody that probably sounded marvellous in his head, but without his amp the mute metallic twang didn’t do it justice. Maru pulled his chair next to Ohkura and passed his arm around the drummer’s shoulders, for once his bizarre sense of humour failed to come up with any jokes.
The atmosphere was tense and Uchi found himself on his feet pacing before he even realised it. Debuting was next to impossible in Johnny’s and the quick fame they managed at the start of their career didn’t seem to hold up. Two members had already left the formation and the TV shows they had starred in were now things of the past. There was rumours of a band formation when they were on J3 but the show didn’t get good rating and all hopes were gone when Ryo joined News and Subaru went solo. Yoko was now an un-debuted actor like Toma, Murakami hosted just about ten variety shows.
And there was only one group to debut per year, it wasn’t an absolute rule per say but it seemed to be the case. And after a while, formations knew that they were forever doomed to be juniors. Angry tears welled up in Uchi’s eyes and he kicked hard the chair he had been sitting on.
“So unfair.” He grunted as his other three band mates stared at his hissy fit. Their manager was coming soon with their schedules for the summer, it was either another stage play or playing a few spare concerts as an instrumental band, good thing that Uchi had started to play the keyboard or he himself wouldn’t have a place in the band. Yasu had tried several time to teach him the guitar but with little success. It was Ohkura who suggested the keyboard that would perhaps accommodate him better.
The door opened and their manager step in with a relieved look on his face. Uchi scrambled next to Yasu who had placed his guitar against the couch, Uchi was finding comfort in the second eldest’s presence. All four stared with rapt attention to their manager.
“Good news everyone, you’ll be on tour all of this summer.”
“Are we doing Summary?” Asked Maru, excited that they weren’t fired. Being from the Kansai’s agency meant less work for them compared to their Tokyo’s counterpart. They all were more concerned about their future when Question? entered the scene.
“No. You’ll be performing with Shibutani-san this summer.”
“Subaru-kun? Really?” Yasu exclaimed, he had been giving guitar lesson ever since the two of them met. Uchi giggled covering his mouth with his hand when he saw stars in Yasu’s eyes. Yasu admired his sempai quite a lot.
“There is a 13 cities tour announced, after the release of his album. As you know, you’ll have to do more of an enka style but I’m sure you’ll be working hard.” Their manager concluded handing them a schedule for the tour. The next ten minutes past in a daze as Uchi imagined them on stage for a whole summer.
“Oy, Uchi, stop daydreaming.” Ohkura poked him as Maru and Yasu grabbed their instruments.
“Yosh! Let’s practice!” Uchi stood again and grinned at a slightly baffled Ohkura at his sudden energy. Maybe he would be allowed to perform a little as a back up singer.
They would never debut but that it didn’t mean they couldn’t have a future.
What if…Kanjani8 was never formed and V.West continued.
II.
Uchi was more nervous than he had been since forever. Even filming Ganbatte Ikimasshoi wasn’t as nerve wrecking, since Ryo-chan was with him. Actually, the filming was extremely fun because of it. Ever since Ryo joined News with Ohkura, Uchi had spent less time with his best friend. He, along with the rest of Kanjani8, supported them whenever the two had to go to Tokyo. The drama had given them to chance to work together and spend more time that was usually reserved for News. Uchi had missed two episodes because of his hospitalisation but as soon as he was back on his feet, he rejoined the cast. He had received a lot of attention for his acting and the roles were getting more and more interesting.
The next role had been a bit of a rumour getting around. Uchi knew that he was targeted along with a few others, Ryo included. He had auditioned three times, twice with Kame. The role was fun, if a bit stuck up, but it was a main role and with Kame playing a slightly eccentric character it was going to be a blast. Uchi wasn’t the least intimidated by Kame even if his reputation was growing fast. KAT-TUN was very popular but after all Uchi had spend a lot of time with him as juniors.
The surprise arrived a week before filming. Uchi and Kame weren’t auditioning to act together, they were competing for the same role. And said role was finally given to Uchi. He was a bit disappointed, after all, Kame was so easy to work with when you knew how and Uchi liked the people-pleasers attitude when it was in his advantage. The shock came when Uchi was told who was his filming partner and given a music sheet to learn by heart. He had been to the studio and recorded his part for the duo without seeing a hair of his now other half and now it was finally time to film the PV that would be used for the promotion of the series.
He was the first one to arrive on the set, the choreographer was showing him a few last details while a makeup artist touched up. He barely could function; he had to work with one of the most famous idol from Johnny’s. Someone he hadn’t work with much beside a few times on the same stage for the Shounen Club.
Yamashita Tomohisa appeared suddenly, right one time looking so flawless that even Uchi who was naturally blasé and not quite humble couldn’t help being in awe of him. Staff surrounded him immediately to prepare him for the shooting while Uchi bite his lips uncomfortably. He was feeling strangely shy, he knew so much about Yamapi yet his contacts were mostly indirect. Uchi decided to practice the steps some more before the director called them. He walked to one side and felt very silly to do the choreography alone and without music. When he glanced up he met Yamapi’s amused glance who was standing so still while people touch up his makeup and his wardrobe. Uchi was often reprimanded for fidgeting too much. When he was finally released the director approach
Yamapi and made their way toward Uchi who stood in fear.
“Ohayo gozaimasu,” The director bowed to Uchi who repeated the gesture to the two of them.
“I believe the two of you know each other. We’ll start in five minutes. Take your place please.” The director left with one last bow.
“Nervous?” Yamapi asked, though it was so obvious, Uchi felt the word was written on his face. He nodded once, not trusting to speak normally.
“Ryo-chan said I had to take good care of you or he would hurt me. Ohkura said he would help Ryo and make Murakami-kun give me the worst tsukomi Tokyo has ever known.” Yamapi declared while Uchi hung to his every word with wide eyes.
There was a silence between them as someone called that the shooting would start in four minutes, but neither of them moved from where they stood.
“Well, Ryo-chan said that he would hit me if I was being a brat to you.” Uchi admitted slowly, replaying the conversation he had on the phone when he learned about the news.
Yamapi stood a little straighter, glad that he wasn’t the only one that had a warning over his head.
“What did Ohkura say?” Yamapi asked, a bit smug after all he was the leader of News.
“Tacchon? Nothing, he’s on my side.” Uchi smiled, knowing that he was being a little bit of a brat right now, but it helped ease the tension. Yamapi looked at him a bit distraught, as if he had been betrayed.
Uchi felt that this wouldn’t be so bad, true he was still a little in awe of Yamapi but not enough to be unable to work. He put his hand on Yamapi’s shoulder before walking to his position in front of the camera.
“Si, oretachi wa itsudemo” Uchi sang watching Yamapi walking to stand next to him, there was a little bit of a competitiveness in Yamapi’s eyes.
They would work just fine together.
What if… Uchi had been Shuuji in Nobuta Wo Produce.
III.
When Nakamaru entered the dressing room, he could feel the tension in the air, the silence was a dead give away. Well, not exactly silence, there was a myriad of little electronic sounds but it was just as well. Jin was sitting on one end of the room with his ipod so loud that Nakamaru could pick up the song and beat box to it from the entrance. Koki was one end of the couch, his eyes firmly on his computer not glancing at Nakamaru’s arrival. His body was tense from anger or frustration. Junno was on the other side looking as frustrated and for once it looked like it wasn’t the PSP game he was playing that was the cause. Kame was sitting at his dresser, next to him was a DVD player showing their latest performance his face was expressionless and he was alternating his gaze from the screen to the mirror, adding a bit more eyeliner each time. And sitting by the door was Uchi, texting on his cell phone, he looked annoyed but he was the most approachable right now. Usually, Maru sided with Koki, who would often side with Kame, who would often pick on Junno, who would seek refuge to Uchi, who would bitch out to Ryo and the latter would tell Yamapi who would tell Jin. It was a never ending circle and though sometimes Maru was glad of the two members from News, sometimes he wished they could solve their problem on their own.
Koki looked like he was trying to kill his laptop it was surprising that Junno even dared to sit on the same couch.
Maru sat next to Uchi who glanced up from his texting.
“Okaeri.” Uchi acknowledged before returning his attention to his phone.
“What happened?” Nakamaru sighed softly so the conversation would be just between them.
“Jin told Kame looked like a dead racoon in eyeliner.” Uchi said loud enough for everyone to hear, his eyes never leaving his cellphone’s screen. Maru winced, glancing over his shoulder to see everyone else tensing. Apparently people from Osaka had no tact whatsoever.
“That’s it?” Maru asked when silence came back, he half expected another explosion but there was nothing.
“Well, there was a bit of yelling, Koki took Kame’s side, Junno took Jin’s. Then everyone yelled about other things. I didn’t keep track.” Uchi said, pressing “send” on his cellphone and looking at Maru with his full attention.
“You’re so full of yourself Uchi.” Kame said, startling them by speaking.
“Well, at least I know how much eye liner to put on.” Uchi snarked leaning against the wall, his chair stood on two legs.
“Oh you think you’re so cute.” Jin said jumping in the conversation, he had closed his ipod at some point but Maru couldn’t tell when.
“I am cute, I’m cuter than all of you.” Uchi had never known the meaning of humility.
“Just fucking go back to Osaka!” Kame shouted while Junno whimpered a little, it was obvious that he wanted to say something but couldn’t find what.
“Yeah go back! We’ll ask Ueda to rejoin Johnny’s.” Jin said, usually Jin was tolerant of Ryo’s other best friend but the problem with KAT-TUN was the there was three belle of the ball competing for the crown. Jin locked eyes with Kame who nodded in agreement.
“He sent me an e-mail saying that he missed performing.” Koki added, the atmosphere changed, it was still tense but it felt more like three against one instead of everyone being at each other’s throat.
“Hey, Naka-kun. Jin and Kame are talking again.” Uchi pointed out, smirking as if he had been responsible for it. Which in a way it was true, a lot of the fights ended up with them ganging on Uchi who was a lot tougher than he looked in front of them.
Of course, part of his backbone was the fact that Ryo AKA Dokkun was in a dressing room next door which was both a relief and a curse. Relief that Ryo help intervene in a lot of fights to keep things from being ugly. Curse that being around Ryo so much (they shared an apartment and train rides as KAT-TUN and News often had the same schedule) made Uchi as poisoned tongue as his best friend.
Their manager entered the room before another fight broke and they followed him to their dance practice. It wasn’t easy being the odd one out, Uchi reflected. When they were in a good mood, the others would often tease him for his kansai-ben. And when they performed on Shounen Club with Yoko and Hina, Uchi felt nostalgic and wished that Ueda hadn’t quit and left Johnny’s to find a replacement who was popular and whose family name started with “U”.
But they were a good group, Jin, Kame and himself sharing the leads, Maru with his beat box, Koki with his rap and Junno with his dancing.
And Uchi was the prettiest of them all.
What if… Uchi had been the U in KAT-TUN.
IV.
“You should have changed your name for Achi.”
“I told you a million time, I’m not going to change my name for Achi.”
“But then it would work! It would be spelt correctly. Come on!”
Uchi leaned his head against the cool window of the passenger’s side, his skin was a bit hot and he was sure he was going to be sick tomorrow. Yoko’s yapping didn’t help and he knew he should be grateful for the lift back home but all Uchi wanted right now was silence.
He had a lot to be grateful for to Yoko but sometimes Uchi just wanted to strangle his favourite sempai because for everything he had to be grateful for, he had something to whine about. Like the fact that his nickname was Diva-kun and Hime-chan, something that even the newest Kansai juniors called him. Uchi was trying to be as professional as he could now that he was back in a group but the reputation given to him wasn’t helping at all. However, the fact that he actually had a job was yet again because of Yoko.
Sometimes Uchi wished he had moved in another city and never had been a neighbour of Yoko’s.
When V.West was dissolved and Uchi lost his three band mates to Kanjani6, he had thought it had been the end of the world. He was demoted to be a simple junior, something he hadn’t much experience with as he had been thrust to be the lead singer as soon as he joined Johnny’s. At first, after “Another” he was supposed to join for another show when Weekly V. West ended, but some higher ups had sold the program to Channel 6 and as his health hadn’t been well after working so much; his place was given to Maruyama. Uchi didn’t hold any grudge towards his former bassist, he watched the show every week with his younger sister and performed as a back up dancer during the performance segments.
When Kanjani6 debuted and started to go on tour, Yoko had requested to have their own backup dancing group which he selected himself. Uchi knew that he had wanted Ohkura at first but the latter was now in Tokyo being Question?’s drummer. Uchi may be often accused of being too laid back but he loved the stage and his group was fun.
Subaru liked to treat them to dinner and since Uchi was the only legal one, Subaru could drink with him. Yoko was always kidnapping them to play all night long Monhan on their PSP, badgering Uchi to forget his pink Nintendo DS (which for his sake, had been a gift from his mother and pink was the only colour left when she bought it, had he had the chance to choose it would have been either the cobalt blue or the crimson red).
Uchi had greatly improved over his dancing now that he had grown up a bit more; he wasn’t the gangly kid who was almost skeleton. He wasn’t comfortable doing too many back flips but he could work with a more hip hop style. It allowed him to be on stage and that was what mattered.
“Hey, feel like doing a game or two tonight?” Yoko asked excited, ignoring the white bandage that
Uchi had on his forehead to help keep his fever down.
Uchi sighed, knowing he’d have to be a good kouhai and spend another evening playing with Yoko until dawn.
But he didn’t have to work tomorrow and thankfully his house was in walking distance of Yoko’s.
What if…Uchi had been in OSSaN.
V.
They hadn’t intended it actually but they were all on the same stage when the song played. Uchi and Kusano were not in the red sparkly costumes but in a black, white and bright blue contraption that seemed incredible for the mere fact that it wasn’t falling apart when they danced. But then again, Ryo was in a long silvery coat having just finished singing “Kanfuu Fighting” with Kanjani8.
When “News Nippon” started on the speakers, Uchi and Kusano started to sing almost automatically and though they were nervous and exhausted from performing so much at the Countdown. Their limbs followed the slightly modified choreography that they learned so many years ago. If was as if they had never left the band, only when Uchi twisted to the right that he dropped the hand holding his mic. Toma and Tottsu were waving at the crowd that had gone wild when Kusano and Uchi had joined in the song. It hit Uchi like he was dropped in cold water; this wasn’t reality. As much as he had want to rejoin his groups, and a little part of him still naively clung to the hope, the last few months performing with Chance had given him the opportunity to work again. Things weren’t like they were before, News wasn’t eight anymore, neither was Eito but the pinch in his heart was there and hurting now more than ever. His idol smile was fake but the tears weren’t, he turned away from where he knew the cameraman was to avoid being filmed but slammed directly in Yoko who along with the rest of the Eito had rejoined the main stage to sing. Every band were singing their debut song in chronological order and the next song was “Naniwa Iroha Bushi”.
“News Nippon” was nearly over and seeing an over enthusiastic Kusano jumping up and down next to Shige made Uchi smile a little over the bitterness. Yoko put his arm around him, his face handsome with dark hair and kissed Uchi on the cheek in a move that had nothing to do with calculated fan-service. Uchi crunched his nose and pretended to be mortified to having been kissed while Hina slapped him on the shoulder. Uchi realised that he was now suddenly in the middle of the group and all attempts to steer clear to the sideline were futile. Yoko and Hina had a firm grip on him and when he felt someone pushing him he turned his head to see Subaru prodding him to move. The first note of Naniwa started while the rest of News excluding Ryo moved out to the side.
“Wait a minute.” Uchi protested feebly as Hina grabbed his arm to place him in his former place on stage. Subaru moved in front and Yasu, his hands moving on his guitar, gave Uchi a smile so full of joy that Uchi felt his protest melt like ice under the sun.
“Oy! Toma-kun! We’re borrowing him for a few minutes!” Yoko called to Toma who standing next to Yamapi simply made a move that clearly said “go ahead”. The version was more rock than the first version they made and even more than what Uchi had been used to toward the end but he quickly found his footing. Ohkura was incredible at his drums and Uchi sneaked a peek when Yasu and Maru sang the rap part. The energy was high with thousand of fans screaming their heads off, for a moment in eternity they were 8 again. Uchi walked to the front as he and Ryo stood on either side of Subaru for the chorus of the song. Uchi saw from the corner of his eyes, Tottsu in his black, white and blue outfit doing back flips on the stage followed by the other three members of ABC.
The moment didn’t last long, barely over two minutes, a subtle flashing light that a technician waved indicated that the next band, KAT-TUN was ready. They ended the song and scrambled to the left side while Jin and Kame took the front stage and became entangled in this massive hug. Maru’s bass poked in Uchi’s side hard enough to bruise and before the suspension Uchi would have whined about but now he’d grown enough to not care about those futile things. They gradually all disentangled, not minding KAT-TUN belting their hearts out one bit (it wasn’t like they never heard them sing that song before) the technicians were busy around them, pointing out the next position they’d have be. The rest of News were already gone and Ryo was being told that he’d have to join them now. Ryo met Uchi’s eyes and raised his thumb to his best friend before running, disappearing under the stage.
Another stressed technician came and told that Kanjani8 had to follow them. Uchi felt his blood run cold and breathed in deeply, rooting his feet against the ground to keep from wanting to follow them when he couldn’t.
“We’ve giving him back.” Hina called softly at Toma who reappeared with Tottsu in tow. It was then that Uchi realised he had another performance to do.
“Ganbatte!” Yasu called, the ever thoughtful one, squeezing Uchi’s arm before exiting the stage.
“Ganbatte.” Ohkura called softly as Hey!Say!Jump! started their song. Subaru simply touched his arm before exiting.
“Ganbatte!” Yoko called engulfing him in a quick hug.
“Paaaaan!” Maru called so close to Uchi’s face their foreheads were touching, Uchi laughed at that and slapped the bassist’s back.
“Ganbatte.” Hina called in a tone that was so fatherly that Uchi knew that if he messed up, he would be tsukomied.
Kitayama slipped next to Kusano and all 5 of them waited for their cue to take the stage. They looked good, Uchi thought, he wondered briefly if they would be scolded for their behaviour by Johnny tomorrow. But then again, a lot of crazy things happened at Countdown, judging by the sempai’s behaviour, Tokio especially. And Chance was going to blow everyone’s mind Uchi decided, smiling widely at Toma who grinned back. The lights dimmed slightly and their debut song started. The energy wasn’t the same as News or Kanjani8 but it was there and Uchi sang with all his might as his voice was harmonised with 4 others.
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