The Blues Club
The concert had gone well, there was a few things that needed work on; they had new songs that weren’t broken yet. But Maru felt happy about tonight. He gave his all and with the rest of Kanjani8 they gave a great concert for the fans. His hair was still wet from the shower he just slipped out, as much as the warm water relaxed his shoulders and back, his self was asked elsewhere. His stomach was screaming in hunger; reminding him of Yasu’s offer to eat together.
They said they’d met in the hotel’s lounge bar after a change of clothes and it seemed that Maru’s fear of being late were unfounded. Yasu was nowhere to be found, probably choosing which clothes to artistically mismatch. Maru took the first comfortable chair to sit, the one closest to the elevator so when Yasu would exit, they’d bolt to the restaurant. Jumping and singing took a lot out of him, especially with the diet he undertook prior, he was proud to win the bet but right now shabu shabu or ramen or anything comestible was calling to him.
A stray thought entered his brain: usually there was some snacks in bar or lounge in hotels, especially western style like this one. Maru glanced a last time at the elevator, checking in case Yasu wouldn’t appear magically like a fairy. When the elevator opened to reveal a little old couple, Maru rose to hunt for something to nibble on.
He checked every counter and from what he could see on the other customers’ table he saw only drinks. Maru was tempted to order a beer when he heard a voice that he could recognise anywhere.
"Hey guys, what’s going on?" Maru asked, the last five members of Kanjani8 were all sitting at the farthest corner of the lounge, their chairs forming a circle.
"You’re not invited!" Cried Hina, drink in one hand and the other raised as if he was poised to tsukomi.
Huddled next to him, Subaru gave Maru a disgruntled look; something Maru haven’t seen in a few months. Ryo looked as dejected next to Ohkura who was drowning his beer with gusto. Only Yoko looked mildly sympathetic.
"I’m not invited?" Repeated Maru slowly, no one had mentioned anything about going out except Yasu when they rode the elevator together earlier.
Maru frowned, trying to read the atmosphere, he usually was invited. He was the other one out of Eito to be invited to join Recomen the most.
"You’re not invited to hang out with us." Subaru stated coldly, pouring to Hina and himself another glass of sake.
Now, it was a little strange to see Subaru like that and more than a little hurtful. Usually Subaru liked to play the recluse during concert, staying to sleep in his hotel and ordering room service. Maru often hanged out in his room and as far as he remembered, he had done nothing wrong.
Or had he?
Maru glanced at Ryo, usually the one that Maru got in fights the most. Their personalities clashed often however after nearly a decade together they always got over it. Ryo right now looked a little down and checked his watch a few times repeatedly. Ohkura looked like he lost his best friend and offered no help elucidating this mystery.
"Why? What did I do?" Maru asked, he leaned forward a little against Yoko’s chair, the latter looked like he received news that he was without a job. That wasn’t possible, was it? The single had done well, the concerts were always sold out.
"It’s not what you did!" Hina bellowed, uncaring if other patrons turned to look his way, he was used to it after all. Subaru nodded vigorously.
"Eh?"
"Oh for fuck’s sake, Yasu invited you to eat out." Ryo blurted, his hands signing wildly narrowly missing Tacchon’s face who for once in his life ducked at the last second.
"And?" Maru was really lost now, why was this a problem now? He went out to eat with Yasu plenty of times before. Last night, Ryo, Yoko, Ohkura and him went to eat soba after the concert and Yasu joined them for a beer afterward.
"He said he couldn’t eat with me! I invited him and he said no!" Hina cried out, while Subaru mumbled something like “Me too”.
All Maru could say was…
"Oh."
Now he got it, his mind flashed back to when Yasu was in the middle of 818 and was so much overworked he had barely time to sleep. Subaru had started to act like a jealous girlfriend and bitched about Yasu for a month. Hina and Maru had found it funny, provoking Subaru a little, but as soon as the show was over, everything had gone back to normal. Now, Yasu was always doing one hundred things and refused dinners. It was a pattern that had been going out for years, they joked about it in their MC. Hina had commented about it this week, and come to think of it, Yoko had too, and Ryo.
"He never refused you! He said no to me, then he went out to eat with you! Why?" Hina rambled on, his tone too aggressive for Maru’s liking.
"I don’t know it just happened!" Maru tried to calm out the irate Ossan. Hina just threw him an angry look and sunk back in his chair.
Maru wanted to find something else to retort, something that would prove to them that Yasu did that to everyone, that he didn’t have a preferential status. However, as far as he dig in his mind, he couldn’t remember when exactly did Yasu refused his offer to eat out as a proof. But in all their years together, Yasu must have said no.
Subaru started to complained to Hina and Yoko but Maru’s mind was elsewhere. He needed to find a diversion, something to calm out the tempers. He turned his head to check if Yasu had gone down or not, maybe the culprit himself could balm the emotional wound on his band mates. But there was no Yasu in sight.
He finally got his wish and caught sight of a familiar figure entering the lounge.
"Uchi ! Guys, it’s Uchi!" Maru cried out, relieved for the distraction. He turned to the others nursing their drinks and only Ryo became more animated as Uchi turned the corner to join them.
"I invited him." Ryo said waving at his best friend.
"Oh, like you said in the MC a few days ago," Maru started to say amicably.
"Again. Ryo interrupted."
Maru winced, that meant Ryo has been refused by Shota twice this week alone.
"Hey guys." Uchi said, leaning against the backrest of Ryo’s chair, standing right next to Maru.
"Hey, Uchi, has Yasu ever refused to you?" Subaru cried out, Hina slapped his shoulder as several other patrons had turned from the loud outburst.
Uchi threw a confused look at Maru who nodded yes, hoping the younger one would get the message.
"Probably." Uchi drawled, looking as confused and nervous as Maru felt.
"He said no, again!" Yoko complained.
"Who does he think he is?" Asked Subaru, almost giddy that Yoko had joined in the whining.
"What’s going on?" Uchi asked to Maru.
"They’re all mad because Shota refused to go out to eat with them, and they made a club, except I’m not in that club because Shota always goes out with me." Maru explained, trying to make something coherent for Uchi, he wondered briefly if Ryo had mentioned anything prior in a phone call.
"You’re in the club Shakkun! I bet Yasu broke your heart too." Yoko said rising his glass to Uchi, twisting in his seat to do it as properly as he could now that he was a little drunk.
"Maybe it’s a bit harsh to form a club like that, I mean, Yasu is not refusing you because he doesn’t like you, he just plans too much sometimes." Uchi said, offering his opinion, saying everything Maru wanted to but couldn’t really.
"He doesn’t like me!" Hina shouted back.
"He doesn’t like Murakami-kun." Ohkura confirmed with a little smirk.
Maru felt like he was on Janiben, and without Yasu defending himself it felt awkward.
"Yasu loves you all. You just have to work harder at changing what you want to change in your relationship and cherish the moments you have with him."
6 pairs of eyes turned toward Uchi, though known for his special way of answering, it didn’t sound like the words came from his brain.
"You sound like Yamapi." Yoko said, his tone of voice didn’t indicate if it was a good or awful thing to sound like.
"When did you last hung out with Pi?" Asked Ryo, his tone too full of different meanings for Maru to discern.
"When I was in News." Uchi snarked softly so only Ryo could hear, the others pretended not to.
"Uchi is right, Yasu has always been this way. With everyone, if it bothers you that much, complain to him, not to his back." Maru defended, stressing on the word everyone even if he still couldn’t find a time when Yasu said no to a date together.
Ryo nodded, while Ohkura stood and pushed in a chair for Uchi to sit on between him and Ryo. The three Ossans looked a little bit ashamed of themselves, but Maru only hoped his words pushed some sense into their dense brains. And now, Maru felt even more hungry. Ohkura started to list off a numbers of places he wanted to try out, bouncing ideas with Ryo while Uchi listened with attention. Hina and Yoko turned down some places Tacchon was naming and started to reminisce about the last time they had gone.
Maru turned and watched as the object of their conversation bounced in the room, with a large smile on his face. The rest quietly sobered and stopped talking as soon as Yasu was within sight.
"Maru-chan are you ready?" Yasu’s question lost all intonations as he eyed Uchi sitting next to Ryo.
"Everyone is here? Is this a surprise? Uchi!" Yasu’s eyes had began to water a little at the sight of their absentee member.
"Yes!" Uchi bellowed as always hating being on spot to answer quickly.
"The eight of us together." Yasu said in one breath, breaking into a blinding smile.
"Yes, it’s a surprise!" Maru repeated as the atmosphere quickly lifted.
"Let’s go eat together, all of us! It’s been so long." Yasu smiled and Maru knew that all was forgiven.
Maru watched as Yasu pulled on Subaru’s sleeve to get him and Hina to stand on their feet. Subaru groaned a little before a smile won his face, a smile reserved especially for Shota. Hina looked like he in good spirits, as if he hadn’t been sulking like a 4 year old a mere 5 minutes ago. Ryo was walking between Uchi and Tacchon blushing as the two youngest seemed to be ganging against him. Yoko put his arm around Maru’s shoulders and they waited until Yasu, Subaru and Hina followed the first three before closing the group.
Yoko strangely for once didn’t say anything, he just squeezed Maru’s shoulder as if reminding him that he was indeed included.
As if there was any doubt. All for forgiven in Eito land.
For now.
They said they’d met in the hotel’s lounge bar after a change of clothes and it seemed that Maru’s fear of being late were unfounded. Yasu was nowhere to be found, probably choosing which clothes to artistically mismatch. Maru took the first comfortable chair to sit, the one closest to the elevator so when Yasu would exit, they’d bolt to the restaurant. Jumping and singing took a lot out of him, especially with the diet he undertook prior, he was proud to win the bet but right now shabu shabu or ramen or anything comestible was calling to him.
A stray thought entered his brain: usually there was some snacks in bar or lounge in hotels, especially western style like this one. Maru glanced a last time at the elevator, checking in case Yasu wouldn’t appear magically like a fairy. When the elevator opened to reveal a little old couple, Maru rose to hunt for something to nibble on.
He checked every counter and from what he could see on the other customers’ table he saw only drinks. Maru was tempted to order a beer when he heard a voice that he could recognise anywhere.
"Hey guys, what’s going on?" Maru asked, the last five members of Kanjani8 were all sitting at the farthest corner of the lounge, their chairs forming a circle.
"You’re not invited!" Cried Hina, drink in one hand and the other raised as if he was poised to tsukomi.
Huddled next to him, Subaru gave Maru a disgruntled look; something Maru haven’t seen in a few months. Ryo looked as dejected next to Ohkura who was drowning his beer with gusto. Only Yoko looked mildly sympathetic.
"I’m not invited?" Repeated Maru slowly, no one had mentioned anything about going out except Yasu when they rode the elevator together earlier.
Maru frowned, trying to read the atmosphere, he usually was invited. He was the other one out of Eito to be invited to join Recomen the most.
"You’re not invited to hang out with us." Subaru stated coldly, pouring to Hina and himself another glass of sake.
Now, it was a little strange to see Subaru like that and more than a little hurtful. Usually Subaru liked to play the recluse during concert, staying to sleep in his hotel and ordering room service. Maru often hanged out in his room and as far as he remembered, he had done nothing wrong.
Or had he?
Maru glanced at Ryo, usually the one that Maru got in fights the most. Their personalities clashed often however after nearly a decade together they always got over it. Ryo right now looked a little down and checked his watch a few times repeatedly. Ohkura looked like he lost his best friend and offered no help elucidating this mystery.
"Why? What did I do?" Maru asked, he leaned forward a little against Yoko’s chair, the latter looked like he received news that he was without a job. That wasn’t possible, was it? The single had done well, the concerts were always sold out.
"It’s not what you did!" Hina bellowed, uncaring if other patrons turned to look his way, he was used to it after all. Subaru nodded vigorously.
"Eh?"
"Oh for fuck’s sake, Yasu invited you to eat out." Ryo blurted, his hands signing wildly narrowly missing Tacchon’s face who for once in his life ducked at the last second.
"And?" Maru was really lost now, why was this a problem now? He went out to eat with Yasu plenty of times before. Last night, Ryo, Yoko, Ohkura and him went to eat soba after the concert and Yasu joined them for a beer afterward.
"He said he couldn’t eat with me! I invited him and he said no!" Hina cried out, while Subaru mumbled something like “Me too”.
All Maru could say was…
"Oh."
Now he got it, his mind flashed back to when Yasu was in the middle of 818 and was so much overworked he had barely time to sleep. Subaru had started to act like a jealous girlfriend and bitched about Yasu for a month. Hina and Maru had found it funny, provoking Subaru a little, but as soon as the show was over, everything had gone back to normal. Now, Yasu was always doing one hundred things and refused dinners. It was a pattern that had been going out for years, they joked about it in their MC. Hina had commented about it this week, and come to think of it, Yoko had too, and Ryo.
"He never refused you! He said no to me, then he went out to eat with you! Why?" Hina rambled on, his tone too aggressive for Maru’s liking.
"I don’t know it just happened!" Maru tried to calm out the irate Ossan. Hina just threw him an angry look and sunk back in his chair.
Maru wanted to find something else to retort, something that would prove to them that Yasu did that to everyone, that he didn’t have a preferential status. However, as far as he dig in his mind, he couldn’t remember when exactly did Yasu refused his offer to eat out as a proof. But in all their years together, Yasu must have said no.
Subaru started to complained to Hina and Yoko but Maru’s mind was elsewhere. He needed to find a diversion, something to calm out the tempers. He turned his head to check if Yasu had gone down or not, maybe the culprit himself could balm the emotional wound on his band mates. But there was no Yasu in sight.
He finally got his wish and caught sight of a familiar figure entering the lounge.
"Uchi ! Guys, it’s Uchi!" Maru cried out, relieved for the distraction. He turned to the others nursing their drinks and only Ryo became more animated as Uchi turned the corner to join them.
"I invited him." Ryo said waving at his best friend.
"Oh, like you said in the MC a few days ago," Maru started to say amicably.
"Again. Ryo interrupted."
Maru winced, that meant Ryo has been refused by Shota twice this week alone.
"Hey guys." Uchi said, leaning against the backrest of Ryo’s chair, standing right next to Maru.
"Hey, Uchi, has Yasu ever refused to you?" Subaru cried out, Hina slapped his shoulder as several other patrons had turned from the loud outburst.
Uchi threw a confused look at Maru who nodded yes, hoping the younger one would get the message.
"Probably." Uchi drawled, looking as confused and nervous as Maru felt.
"He said no, again!" Yoko complained.
"Who does he think he is?" Asked Subaru, almost giddy that Yoko had joined in the whining.
"What’s going on?" Uchi asked to Maru.
"They’re all mad because Shota refused to go out to eat with them, and they made a club, except I’m not in that club because Shota always goes out with me." Maru explained, trying to make something coherent for Uchi, he wondered briefly if Ryo had mentioned anything prior in a phone call.
"You’re in the club Shakkun! I bet Yasu broke your heart too." Yoko said rising his glass to Uchi, twisting in his seat to do it as properly as he could now that he was a little drunk.
"Maybe it’s a bit harsh to form a club like that, I mean, Yasu is not refusing you because he doesn’t like you, he just plans too much sometimes." Uchi said, offering his opinion, saying everything Maru wanted to but couldn’t really.
"He doesn’t like me!" Hina shouted back.
"He doesn’t like Murakami-kun." Ohkura confirmed with a little smirk.
Maru felt like he was on Janiben, and without Yasu defending himself it felt awkward.
"Yasu loves you all. You just have to work harder at changing what you want to change in your relationship and cherish the moments you have with him."
6 pairs of eyes turned toward Uchi, though known for his special way of answering, it didn’t sound like the words came from his brain.
"You sound like Yamapi." Yoko said, his tone of voice didn’t indicate if it was a good or awful thing to sound like.
"When did you last hung out with Pi?" Asked Ryo, his tone too full of different meanings for Maru to discern.
"When I was in News." Uchi snarked softly so only Ryo could hear, the others pretended not to.
"Uchi is right, Yasu has always been this way. With everyone, if it bothers you that much, complain to him, not to his back." Maru defended, stressing on the word everyone even if he still couldn’t find a time when Yasu said no to a date together.
Ryo nodded, while Ohkura stood and pushed in a chair for Uchi to sit on between him and Ryo. The three Ossans looked a little bit ashamed of themselves, but Maru only hoped his words pushed some sense into their dense brains. And now, Maru felt even more hungry. Ohkura started to list off a numbers of places he wanted to try out, bouncing ideas with Ryo while Uchi listened with attention. Hina and Yoko turned down some places Tacchon was naming and started to reminisce about the last time they had gone.
Maru turned and watched as the object of their conversation bounced in the room, with a large smile on his face. The rest quietly sobered and stopped talking as soon as Yasu was within sight.
"Maru-chan are you ready?" Yasu’s question lost all intonations as he eyed Uchi sitting next to Ryo.
"Everyone is here? Is this a surprise? Uchi!" Yasu’s eyes had began to water a little at the sight of their absentee member.
"Yes!" Uchi bellowed as always hating being on spot to answer quickly.
"The eight of us together." Yasu said in one breath, breaking into a blinding smile.
"Yes, it’s a surprise!" Maru repeated as the atmosphere quickly lifted.
"Let’s go eat together, all of us! It’s been so long." Yasu smiled and Maru knew that all was forgiven.
Maru watched as Yasu pulled on Subaru’s sleeve to get him and Hina to stand on their feet. Subaru groaned a little before a smile won his face, a smile reserved especially for Shota. Hina looked like he in good spirits, as if he hadn’t been sulking like a 4 year old a mere 5 minutes ago. Ryo was walking between Uchi and Tacchon blushing as the two youngest seemed to be ganging against him. Yoko put his arm around Maru’s shoulders and they waited until Yasu, Subaru and Hina followed the first three before closing the group.
Yoko strangely for once didn’t say anything, he just squeezed Maru’s shoulder as if reminding him that he was indeed included.
As if there was any doubt. All for forgiven in Eito land.
For now.