Title: The Art of Manipulation
Author:
dephiPairing: still none, but will eventually be Ryoda, and more to come.
Rating: PG
Disclaimer : Owning the plot but not the characters
Summary: What would happen when a manipulative guy meets his own kind? And what if it happens to an idol? Then what would he do when he meets the "Mr right" for him? Read on and you would know the answers ;)
Notes: Beta-ed by
annatanhe. This chapter is specially dedicated to
creamy_amande,
hanny2luv, and
allboutp for their belated b'day present. The length is longer than usual... XDD
The hallway of Johnny's Jimusho was crowded as it always was during busy hours, people walked in many directions, inside and outside numerous rooms. It was nearing normal lunch hour yet it did not seem like the activities would be paused anytime soon.
Tegoshi exited his group's room and walked through the hallway with a smile on his lips. His steps were steady as he hummed Ai Nante with his soft high pitched voice. Greeting a few people, colleagues, workmates, or juniors, he walked straight until he reached a set of stairs and walked along it, as the stairs led to an open roof section of the building.
His lips curled into a smirk as he shoved his hand inside his pocket, taking the small rectangular looking phone. He pressed a combination of numbers before touching the green button and putting it to his ear. Tegoshi waited for the person on the other line to pick up while doing a quick scan around the area. Busy hours was the best time for him to be himself and do a few personal stuff without worrying about anyone knowing it, such as playing pranks. He had never done anything like this in the past but as he was getting more and more attached to this group, another personality was developed inside him. You would neither want to know nor believe what kind of personality it was.
'Hello?' The soft voice heard from the other line distracted Tegoshi until the wide smile faltered a little, though it started forming again, this time was even wider than before.
"Tat - chan~" he chanted the nickname playfully.
A sigh was heard from the other line and Tegoshi couldn't help but giggle, seeing how Ueda was not expecting a call from him. "Speechless?"
'Not really. I have quite expected it actually.'
"Then why the sigh, Tat - chan?" Letting out another fit of giggles, Tegoshi leaned against the cold wall while waiting for the answer which finally came after awhile. 'Because I can feel that you were plotting something fishy from your tone, Tegonyan.'
"Well, I might be or I might not."
'Stop teasing me and spill the beans right away. What do you want from me now?' The tone used showed Ueda's obvious annoyance which was Tegoshi's real objective. This time, though, he decided to remain silent for awhile while choosing the words he would say carefully. Being together with the older guy for this past year made him realized how explosive Ueda could be sometimes especially when any wrong words were used while conversing. Of course, that did not really mean that Tegoshi would stop teasing him because in fact it was one of the favourite things he enjoyed doing.
He let out another chuckle then coughed before turning his attention back to the call he made. "Well, I was just wondering how far you have progressed, Tat - chan. After all, I am worried about you."
There was another moment of silence before Tegoshi heard a heavy breath. 'Well, if you truly care and worry about me, you won't challenge me like this, my dear Tegonyan.'
"Why don't you try thinking more positively, Tat - chan? Who knows if it might bring you a fortune. Don't you believe me?" He pouted although Ueda was obviously unable to see him. "I'll take it as you haven't made any progress, yes?"
'You know how I hate to admit it.' Unexpectedly the answer came immediately and surprised Tegoshi a little though he somehow managed to maintain his calmness. 'I haven't made my move just yet. I'm taking my time. There is more than enough time to accomplish it so you'd better prepare everything as I will definitely succeed.'
"Really? Then I really should prepare everything, right Tat - chan?" he purposely mocked the older guy before he spotted a figure near the door. His lips slowly curved into a smirk while the phone was still pressed against his ears which have started to feel hot due to the length of the phone call. "Oh my, Tat - chan, you know what, I'm going to add a point for you~"
'Point? What do you mean, Tegoshi?'
"So cold. You usually call me Tegonyan, right?" another pout was formed before a grin replaced it. "And stop acting like you know nothing. You'd better make your moves soon or you'll get too many points which will position you as the loser, Tat - chan~" This time round, without waiting for the other's response Tegoshi cut the call and shoved the small phone inside his pocket before walking inside the building again through the unlocked door, approaching a certain tall thin guy. "Nakamaru - san~"
And the poor guy slowly turned around, completely clueless of what kind of devil had been waiting for him.
####
"What did you mean by t-" click.
Ueda moved his hand, and stared at the yellow phone in annoyance. Quickly, he threw it inside his pocket while making a mental note to confront Tegoshi, later.
Well, that was what he always intended to do though at the end Ueda couldn't bear scolding the younger man. Sometimes he wondered whether it was him who was too weak, or it was just Tegoshi who was too tricky for him to handle. Nevertheless, it was him who accidentally dragged Tegoshi into this. Well, it was not actually him but Ueda preferred to think it that way.
A sigh was released from his parted lips while he slowly leaned against the cold white wall along the hallway. Now when he put further thoughts into it, Ueda realized how wrong his decision had been, making a deal with the devil himself, yet he was not in the position to take everything back. The money was not the thing, his pride was the thing put on stake currently and he couldn't afford losing it. No matter what, he would win the challenge, although he knew that Ryo was against him. This would be hard, but worth trying.
"Oh, the donkey is daydreaming."
Speaking about the devil -- he thought before he slowly moved his head in search for the source of the annoyingly familiar husky voice. Ueda was too used to hearing this voice until he could tell who owned it without even looking.
A strained sigh left his mouth when he was proved right. "Nishikido Ryo..." he murmured the name of the guy whose height was shorter than his by approximately a centimeter (thankfully).
Ryo let out a snort while he stared at Ueda with the same intimidating look before doing a quick scan around, noticing how it was only the two of them who were around. "Skipping your work, eh?"
As he had gotten used to it already, Ueda was not that affected by Ryo's comment anymore, though there was still a slight annoyance he felt inside his heart which he decided to ignore. "I think that suits you better, Nishikido. If I didn't recall it wrongly, there is a guy inside this agency who is too busy with his two groups until he barely has time for himself." he commented then turning to Ryo with a smirk growing on his lips, "Oh, isn't that you, Nishikido?"
"Oh, I'm glad that your brain works just fine this time, Ueda - sama." Ryo's reply came unexpectedly fast, not to mention how he didn't seem to be affected by Ueda's earlier mock, if that could be categorized as one.
Biting her lower lip, Ueda forced a smile on his face to hide his annoyance. Nishikido Ryo was overly famous for his poisonous tongue while it was not an exaggeration to say that Ueda was way too experienced in that, though that didn't mean that he could counter that easily. "It always works just well. It's just that Nishikido - sama's thoughts are too high to be understood by normal people."
"Well, you should learn how to understand it." A smirk which was too apparent to be ignored was seen widely on Ryo's mouth.
"You!" Not being able to hold his annoyance, which was initially caused by Tegoshi's call but Ryo's appearance made it even worse than before. Ueda glared at Ryo with his big round eyes which were way bigger than its usual size. It seemed like the first step he needed to take was to discover how he could fight against Ryo's mouth. Otherwise, he would never succeed.
####
It was around the same time yet it took place at a whole different corner of the building. Arashi's dressing room was crowded despitethe absence of the leader. With or without Ohno, the room was always the same although that didn't mean that they forgot his existence. It was just hard to realize that the said man would suddenly disappear without a trace then make his appearance again later without any of them noticing that he had actually gone away for awhile.
That was just how Ohno is for Arashi's members: an important existence yet it was hard to follow his steps. It was not unusual to find any of the 4 idols with their mouth opened widely because of their leader's unexpected-and-surprising acts.
Meanwhile, the oldest member of Arashi was walking along the hall alone, looking as relaxed as ever. His soothing face remained the same no matter how people greeted him, only a smile would be given.
That was how people saw him though unfortunately nobody knew that Ohno was not as free as people thought he was. In fact he was doing a few quick scans around while looking for a possible target. Compared to the other 4 challengers, he was quite picky when it came to choosing targets. In Ohno's eyes, not everyone was worthy to be his target. He needed challenges so he won't just pick random people.
To be honest, Ohno himself didn't know what brought him to join the game. All of a sudden he found it interesting and he just joined it. Well, that didn't matter much, right?
"Ohno - kun."
His head moved slowly until he met his greeter who was getting closer- he couldn't help but raise his head slightly as he found that the other guy was taller than him. His face expression was still the same though his lips slowly curled into a small smile.
Gotcha...
"Uchi - san." His voice came out as a murmur before he bent his body a bit, giving a little bow which made Uchi a bit uneasy, especially when Ohno was his senior. He was supposed to bow to his senior instead as a good junior.
"O-Ohno - kun. You shouldn't have called me that formally." It was Uchi who gave off a bow this time with a worried face. The fact that Ohno was way older than him, not to mention that he debuted way before him - were enough to make him respect Ohno.
"It's alright, Uchi - san. I don't see what's wrong with formalities." The soothing smile he had simply made Uchi even guiltier than before. Maybe 'guilt' was a bit exaggerating but the uneasy feeling he had won't fade off easily, especially when Ohno kept on harping about it.
Uchi rubbed his sweaty palms with his sweater while attempting a laugh nervously, setting his attention at the older yet shorter man. "O-Oh, you didn’t have to, Ohno - kun." He secretly bit his lower lip.
Ohno said nothing and stole glances at his hand watch instead, noticing that it was nearing lunch hour. Doing a quick scan around the hall, he took another notice that people had started to leave their rooms, pausing whatever working activities earlier. He then turned to Uchi once again and smiled. "Have you had your lunch, Uchi - san?"
Uchi, looked confused, stared at Ohno until he realized that it was rude and slowly shook his head once. "N-not yett..." he stuttered.
"Let's have lunch together?"
Without the tall guy realizing it, Uchi's eyes grew wider as it didn't leave Ohno. "E-Eh?" There was a moment of silence before he opened his mouth again once the decision was made. "A-Alright! Let's have it together."
"Sushi? I know a fancy restaurant near here, but..." another glance was stolen from his watch. "...I have to return in 30 more minutes. It should be more than enough for a simple lunch I guess."
"I-It's alright. I-I'll buy and send it to Arashi's room. That way, Ohno - kun won't have to worry about it." he forced a laugh and before Ohno was able to say anything else, he left the place, to buy the sushi set.
He thought that it was the best choice to make but what he didn't know was a small unseen smirk appearing and disappearing in an instant on the Arashi's leader's face. Slowly the neither-young-nor-old leader took his cell phone and typed a short text before sending it to two numbers.
Sushi treats from an ex. +1 for both NEWS and 8.
####
The youngest and cutest player accidentally saw the scene and realized that he was the only witness. It had been a few days since the game was started yet he hadn't planned out anything. Nothing had caught his interest yet so he could plan anything yet.
But then it was till he accidentally saw it. People would find it usual for the two guys to send retorts to each other. At first it looked scary, but as the same thing was repeated over and over, they couldn't not get used to it. Some even saw it as an interesting scene to enjoy.
Chinen was one of them. Plots immediately came to him when he saw that and he knew; he had to pull off a prank. It was a coincidence that nobody other than him and the two guys of course, were there and it was purely accidental that an opened door was near them.
He started counting down mentally and when it reached zero, he ran in an instant and pushed both adults inside the room without any preparation (and without being able to see who the culprit was). Locking the door with the key he apparently brought in hand, Chinen succeeded in keeping Ryo and Ueda together in the room.
There were too many coincidences happening in this case. Who knows if Chinen had actually planned it carefully? Nobody did. With a smirk forming on the cute face, Chinen left the scene after throwing the key on the floor, ignoring the protests which could barely be heard from outside.
So, how long would it take till they get saved?
####
Yoko was having an unexpected nice conversation with Tackey and Matsujun when his phone rang. Reading through the message, Yoko twitched his brows in anger before it was drawn together.
Ohno...
He really hadn't thought that his group would be the first victim of Ohno's intelligence, moreover he targeted Uchi. This put him on a bad position and Yoko knew well that he had to think of something if he didn't want to be the loser, not to mention that he had made an alliance with Tegoshi. It would be useless if he failed to protect his own group.
"What's happening?" Tackey's voice was heard.
Yoko raised his head and shook his head, shoving his negative thoughts away. "Nothing." That was what he said but then he was just lying about it. Turning to the other man he was conversing with, a sudden idea struck Yoko.
"Hey, Jun~"
####
The curtain is now open as all members of the cast have been revealed and the game has just begun yet so much has been plotted and it seems like a nice little drama would unfold. At the end, who will take the title as king?
E/N: First of all, to the 3 girls for whom I'm dedicating this chapter, I;m sorry that I'm not able to make separate posts. RL and a few other things consumed me and I just can't... ><
I was thinking about making something new, but then, the same problem arise... :(
Oh well, I hope that I didn't make them too OOC, especially Ohno. I'm trying to keep his character as much as possible,r eally I am trying. *praying*
I don't know when I'll be able to update again and I'm not going to give any hope since I fail on keeping my promises, but probably (and I remind you, probably) it'll be in 2 weeks time... :)
So, thanks for reading, and comment? They always make my day especially when RL starts to hate me... :(