Prompt 2: You're Pretty Like A Woman - Team What-If
Title: To Care for Kizuna
Rating: PG
Pairing: Surprise!
Summary: The first episode of Shounen Club Ultra, hosted by Koyama Keiichiro, is being taped. The guests are Shuji to Akira, who are ready to talk about the last five years since they debuted. What if Shuji to Akira was not a temporary unit, but was acually the intended debut group?
Prompt: You are pretty like a woman.
Warnings: Nothing really... apart from the fact that the prompt took this fic in a wildly different direction than I was expecting!
Notes: Thanks to my beta for handholding and advice, and to the mods as well. The prompt sparked the idea, but current events and what if events conspired to change it greatly.
19 July 2010.
There was a real sense of excitement and anticipation in the television studio. Koyama Keiichiro smiled and gave a quick bow of appreciation to the stylist who was giving his hair one last check, making sure the long copper strands fell perfectly about his face.
On the couch beside him, his two guests were also experiencing their final touch ups, and the director was encouraging the makeup artists to finish up.
Koyama took a deep breath, as the count down began.
“Five, four, three, two, one. Go!”
He looked into the camera, gave a welcoming smile, and then began reading his cue card.
“Good evening, everyone. I am Koyama Keichiro, and welcome to Shounen Club Ultra. This is a new show, in fact, tonight is the first show, and we will be talking to members of Johnny's Jimusho about their careers, their friendships and how they feel about being an idol. With this show we hope to continue the work begun in Shounen Club Premium, and will work hard to make this show a success. So, at the end of tonight's show, we will give you an address where you can send in guest requests and suggestions, which we will gratefully receive. Please help us to make this show a good one, and let's all do our best.
And now, on to our first guests.” He grinned suddenly. “They need no introduction, but as that would put me out of a job...” He waited for the muffled laughter in the studio to subside. “Let's not keep our viewers guessing any longer. Our guests debuted in 2005, when they released the theme song to the drama they were then starring in. That song went on to be the biggest selling single of 2005, no small feat given it was released only a few weeks before the end of the year! That song was Seishun Amigo, and their name was Shuji to Akira. Please welcome them!”
As Koyama and the studio audience clapped, the camera panned back to show the two guests sitting comfortably beside each other. They smiled, both raising hands and bowing in appreciation and finally the applause died down.
“Let's start with Shuji. Kame-chan, Seishun Amigo was a huge hit, as was Nobuta wo Produce. In fact the year 2005 was a huge acting year for you. You started off with Gokusen 2, starring alongside your fellow KAT-TUN member Akanishi Jin, which was a ratings smash. You won a few awards for your role as Odagiri Ryu. Then you took over the role of Kindachi from Matsumoto Jun, and after that you starred as Shuji in Nobuta. When it was decided to release Seishun Amigo as well you must have wondered if there was anything else left to do that year?”
Kame laughed. “It was a very full on year. Just hearing you list all those things makes me feel tired! 2005 was a very important year, and I am very grateful for the opportunities it gave us. Gokusen was the first acting job I really had, and thanks to the support of everyone in that cast, I came to feel that acting was something I could pursue seriously. Then when the offer to be in Nobuta came along, I felt almost like lightening had struck twice, as again it was a great character and cast, and then being given the opportunity to release the drama theme song was amazing.”
“And tiring no doubt!” Koyama said.
“Really tiring.” Kame nodded. “We were still filming when we released that single, and doing that as well as all the end of year music shows to promote the single... well I think there was about six weeks where we had no more than 3 hours sleep a night.”
“That must have been very hard for Akira-kun. Everyone knows that he sleeps like the dead and becomes very grumpy if woken up early,” Koyama joked.
Akira smiled to acknowledge the truth in that, while his Shuji chuckled. “Actually, I was the one who kept falling asleep on set. Whenever they left me alone for five minutes I would nod off, and wake up a bit later to find my legs cramping ...and sometimes a huge coat draped around me if someone had taken pity on me.”
“Actually, Kame-chan, I have it on good authority from Horikita Maki that Akira here would shush people and give you his coat when you were asleep.”
“Really?” Kame turned to smile at his neighbour. “How nice of him!”
Koyama laughed. “Sorry, sorry I seem to have embarrassed Akira!”
“That would be just about impossible,” said Kame.
As Kame's companion jokingly elbowed him, Koyama said, “2005 was also a big year for our Akira. Along with his starring roles in Nobuta wo Produce and Gokusen, he also had a supporting role in Anego. Tell us Jin-kun, what is your most vivid memory around Seishun Amigo?”
Jin spared a quick glance at Kame before grinning. “Learning the dance that went along with the song. We had two hours to learn it, and filmed the PV on the same day. They made me stand on the left because I kept turning the wrong way and kicking Kame in the butt. Finally the director yelled at us to switch sides, and even though Kame argued it should be him on the left because we were Shuji to Akira, not Akira to Shuji, we had to change.”
“Really?”
“Yes.” Jin nodded. “And then they kept us in the same formation for the CD cover, and I swear Kame's eye has twitched every time he has looked at it since.”
Kame glared at him and Jin gave him an innocent smile.
“The scale of Seishun Amigo, the number of sales, and the audience reaction must have been surprising. Why do you think it was so popular?”
“The two of us, obviously.”
Kame smacked him on the shoulder, not even bothering to turn to look where he was hitting, before trying to answer the question. “It was a good song, with a catchy rhythm, and it was a song that people could sing at karaoke, as a solo, or in pairs, or as a group. It came out at the end of the year, when people were a bit more nostalgic as well, and I think it was those things which made it so popular.”
“And obviously, your drama was popular as well, which I am sure helped.” Eager to smooth things over, and keep the momentum going, Koyama asked, “Were you worried about acting together again so soon after Gokusen? Was it hard to play school boys again so soon?”
Kame shrugged. “I think it was easier for both of us on set, as we had worked together before and it was not as scary. So there was no problem with acting together. In terms of the characters, well they were such different characters, for both Jin and I, that it was fairly easy to find a different approach for them. Ryu was so quiet and intense, while Shuji was always putting on a show and trying to be who he thought he should be. They were so different.” He turned towards Jin. “Yours were a bit more similar.....”
“Mmm. I suppose. Hayato was loud and did not really think before he acted, Akira was quieter but he showed his feelings more openly.”
“And Akira was a bit of a baka.”
“I suppose.”
“That's probably why you found him easy to play. You just channeled Bakanishi.”
Jin sent him a very unimpressed look, as Kame tried not to laugh. Koyama lost the battle, and when Jin turned his glare onto him, asked quickly, “Is it true that Yamapi gave you the nickname Bakanishi?”
Jin sighed in long suffering. “Yes it is true. He thought it was clever that Baka and Akanishi both had the same sound, so he put them together.” Seeing that Kame was turning purple from the effort of not laughing out loud, Jin tried to steer the conversation in a different direction. “Did you know that Yamapi also auditioned for the role of Akira?”
Jin felt Kame stiffen beside him as Koyama looked startled, and the audience giggled. “Really? Yamapi auditioned for Akira?”
“Yes, he did. They even drove us to the audition together in the same car. I think everyone expected him to get it instead of me.”
Koyama stared at Jin. “Wow. I really cannot imagine Yamapi as Akira. He's so......”
Jin smirked at him. “Not someone who could act like he was drunk on soy milk?”
Kame and Koyama laughed, and the audience clapped in agreement. Jin raised his hand in the famous Akira gesture, middle and ring finger down, and index and pinky pointing up. With a wink, he made his hand talk as he used the famous Akira voice to do “Chuu! Chuu!”
Koyama laughed in delight and demanded that he do it again, and Jin did, this time resting his fingers against Kame's cheek. “Shuuuuu-ji kun! Chuu! Chuu!”
“Bakanishi.”
Jin gave Kame his patented Akira kicked puppy expression and leaned against Kame's shoulder. “Akira Shock! Shuji-kun doesn't love Akira anymore.” His bottom lip trembled as the soft chorus of “cu-u-te” from the audience swelled around them.
Kame shrugged him away, glared at him and said, “Annoying.” Their eyes met, and for a moment it was like five years had melted away.
“Was Yamapi upset that he did not get the role?”
Koyama's question dragged them back to the present. Jin shrugged and said, “He was annoyed for a while. He did not talk to me for a few weeks. I could understand why though, it would have been a big deal for him if he had been given the role.”
“What about you Kame-chan? What would have been different having Yamapi as Akira?”
“It would have been less … comfortable. I am sure that working with Yamapi would have been fine, and he would have been an interesting Akira. I knew Jin much better, and Gokusen was so much fun, so I was glad that he got the role.”
“It would have made the release of Seishun Amigo really difficult as well! Just imagine...” Koyama broke off and cast an uncertain glance towards the producer. Seeing no objection, he hurriedly continued, “Yamapi was already debuted as News of course, but you would not have been, Kame-chan...”
Kame and Jin shared a look. Kame licked his lips and said quietly, “That would have been an awful situation. I am not sure … I mean...”
Jin saw the call for help in his eyes, and responded, although he only managed to make things worse, by bringing up the one question that they had always been told never to address. “As it was, things were hard enough with both of us debuting as Shuji to Akira. If it had been only Kame debuting, I … I like to think that I would have been happy for him, but I think I would have been very upset.”
Kame nodded. “We were together for so long before Nobuta came along, and we had always assumed that if we were going to debut, we would do it together. When it actually happened, it was so different to what I had imagined. We were told that Shuji to Akira was debuting, and that KAT-TUN was going to disband, well I didn't want to believe it. It felt … unfair. It felt like we were betraying the other four members, even though it was not our decision.”
“Really? That's interesting,” Koyama said. “When News debuted, it was really unexpected. They didn't tell us why we were there, or what we were doing, we just got called in for a photo shoot, which ended up being our single cover! They told us that same day that we were releasing a single, and that we were a group. It took us a long time to feel like we actually were a group though.”
“We had the opposite situation. We were already a group, and then we were broken into parts. Obviously, the other members were disappointed, as we had all been working towards the goal of debuting as a group. When we found out that was going to be impossible, it was hard,” Jin said.
From the corner of his eye, Koyama saw the producer frantically waving at him, telling him to move the questioning in another direction. He pretended not to notice, and encouraged his two guests to recall their earlier days in KAT-TUN. “Was it Koichi-senpai who put KAT-TUN together as a group?”
“Yeah, Koichi-senpai put us all together as a dancing group, to support him in Pop Jam. It took us a while to settle in, and we had a few fights along the way, but when it counted, we always worked together,” Jin said.
“Koki really did not want to be a part of KAT-TUN. He was already a senpai to us, and when they wrote KAT-TUN on the dressing room door, he used to rip the second “T” off the door, to show he was not happy.” Kame smiled. “He got used to it. I think it was our concerts that made him change his mind. We really all had to work hard to pull together our first concert Oyakusama wa Kamisama. We did eleven shows in one day for that.”
“I don't remember anything after the seventh show,” Jin interrupted. “It was crazy. We seemed to be running in circles. At one point I forgot not only the words to the song, but the fact I should have been singing as well. I just stood there, listening to the music, wondering what I was meant to be doing.”
Kame laughed. “I kept track of which number show we were doing by drawing a circle on the mirror with my lipstick. Otherwise, I would have been lost too.” He took a deep breath. “We weren't debuted, and there were lots of people who told us that we had to make the most of that opportunity, because undebuted groups never got concerts. After that concert, and the support we received from our fans, we were invited onto Music Station a few times, and we were allowed to have more concerts.
“Kaizokuban,” Koyama said. “You guys really worked that Pirate theme.”
“The ship was so cool. When we realised it actually moved, we were really impressed, and we got the costumes to evoke a pirate theme too,” Jin said. “We talked a lot about what direction we wanted to go, and what we wanted to do.”
“And at that point, you did not know it was the last concert you would do as KAT-TUN,” Koyama said.
“No.” Kame bit his lip, obviously searching for words. “No, at that point we did not know.”
“I don't think that would have mattered,” Jin said. Kame turned towards him, and Jin held his gaze. “Remember, we all worked really hard on that concert, and made sure it was the best show we could put together. So even though it ended up being our last concert as KAT-TUN, we had tried our best to give our fans a show to remember.”
There was a pause, and then someone in the audience started to clap. Soon, the entire audience was clapping, and the three idols sitting in front of them were visibly touched by the show of support for what had been a junior group.
“Do you keep in touch with the other members? Do you know what they are doing?” Koyama asked.
“Well, yes we do. I am sure you all know where Junno and Koki are at the moment, right?” Jin asked, as he looked at the audience.
“Yes, Junno is currently in Three Dance Kings with Tsubasa-kun and Massu. 3DK was put together when Koichi-senpai took Endless Shock to Broadway last month,” Koyama replied. “Massu told me yesterday that the show is running really smoothly, and that he is really enjoying the chance to concentrate on dancing, especially with Junno and Tsubasa as both of them are so talented.” He grinned. “Even when all of News rehearses together, and works hard, I don't think we ever quite manage to reach the dance standard that Massu would like. The other thing that they have in common of course is their acrobatic ability.”
“Junno loves being on stage. I think that is where he is happiest.” Kame paused, then smiled slyly. “Either there, or telling puns to unsuspecting people. I can't be sure.” Koyama wagged a finger in reproach at him, and he continued, “Koki is happy concentrating on acting at the moment. I am sure you have all seen him in Shigotonin? He is also doing a lot of stage work, last year he was in Dream Boys with me. I might also have something to announce later about this year's show.”
“Really? Well, we will look forward to that. Can I ask was it awkward at first?”
“Having Koki in Dream Boys? No, not at all. Maybe a bit in the very beginning, but don't forget we were all in Dream Boy together when it starred Tackey. I value Koki as a very close and dear friend, and apart from our seasons of Dream Boys, we have also starred in a drama or two together. Even though we are no longer in the same group, we are still friends.”
“What some of you may not know, is that Koki writes songs,” Jin said. “Well, not songs so much as raps, and then he records them under a pen name. He's very good, he just wants them to stand on their own merit.”
“That pen name wouldn't happen to be JOKER, would it?” Koyama asked.
“Maybe,” Jin smirked.
“So Junno and Koki are still working in the industry. Do you keep in touch with Ueda and Nakamaru?”
“Well, I have not seen Ueda for a while now,” Jin said. “Remember, he left the Jimusho about a year after we debuted. He is still working in the industry though...” he looked at Kame, obviously seeking permission to say more. Kame nodded, and Jin continued, “At the moment, Ueda is working as a composer and lyricist with a few visual kei bands. He actually wrote four songs on Gackt's last album.” There was a stunned silence in the studio, and then the sound of mixed disbelief and scattered applause. “Now you should all try and work out which ones were his!”
Kame waited for the whispers to die down a bit. “Nakamaru is actually still with the Jimusho. He is! He just decided to change direction a bit. Instead of performing, he decided he wanted to go to University, and he majored in environmental science. He is now working with the Jimusho looking at how to change things so that we are more sustainable. Remember the 2009 countdown uchiwas? The ones that were for each group, rather than individual members? They were his idea, he said that it was silly and a waste of resources to make so many different uchiwa for one performance.”
The audience clapped, and Koyama smiled at them. “It sounds like the other KAT-TUN members are doing well. Let's get back to what happened after Nobuta. If 2005 was a big year for you both, how about 2006? Your second single, Signal, was released, and sold very well. You also had a lot of individual activities, like drama roles and 24 Hour TV as well. Kame?”
“The first half of the year was a bit strange, because after we had spent so much time together the previous year, we had different dramas and did not see each other as much. I was in Sappuri in the first half of the year, and then in Tatta Hitotsu no Koi with Koki in the second half of the year.”
“After Nobuta, I played a young salaryman in Anego, and after that came Kurosagi. While I was filming Kurosagi, you were filming Yuuki, right?”
Kame nodded. “I remember 2006 as a constant shift between shooting locations. When we did 24 Hour TV it was almost nice to be at the one place for an entire day! Until you have done 24 Hour TV it's hard to explain how tired you can be, and yet you can still have so much energy to spend.”
“News hosted 24 Hour TV last year, and there were six of us, and we were all exhausted. I find it really hard to imagine how it was possible with just the two of you doing it!”
“We were running on adrenaline for the second half of it. At one point we were alternating an hour on and an hour off. Kame can fall asleep anywhere, so he was coping like a zombie, but towards the end I just wanted to be left alone in a corner to sleep.”
“Now, Jin, you mentioned that you filmed Kurosagi in 2006. Of course, you also released Daite Senorita as the theme song for Kurosagi. How did it feel releasing a solo single?”
“It was odd. In less than a year, I had gone from being one of a six member group, to one of a duo, and then a solo artist. I was very happy to have the opportunity to release the solo single, and I think in the long run it worked out quite well, as it has allowed both of us to have solo activities.”
Koyama snuck a look at the producer, who was reading something on his phone. If he asked something that they did not want him to ask, he could always feign ignorance, and they could edit the question out. The cue card just said, “2006” after all. “It does seem strange that two of you were allowed to debut as a duo, and then except for Signal and 24 Hour TV, you were working independently for almost all of 2006. Is that why you decided to study in America?”
The sound of a phone hitting the floor was the only audible noise. “Ummm,” Jin replied quite at a loss for words.
Koyama pushed a little bit harder. “It was such a surprise, you were both working so hard and were so popular. What made you decide that was the right time?”
“I had always been interested in the language, and I wanted the chance to study it properly.”
“Yes, I can see that, but there must have been a reason why you chose to go at that time.”
“It seemed like a good opportunity. I did not have a drama lined up, and we had already released two singles...”
Kame laid a hand on Jin's arm. “It really was a case of timing. Jin had released Daite Senorita as a solo single, and I had been offered a role in Tatta Hitotsu no Koi. When Daite Senorita was successful, they saw an opportunity for me to release Bokura no Machi de as a solo single as well. I was booked through the end of the year with the drama and the single, and Jin was free. There was a window for him to go, and he did.”
“It was a dream opportunity, and I was lucky that the Jimusho and Kame supported me. When the press reported that I was on hiatus, it sounded like I was not planning on coming back, and it confused people. I really meant I was going to be on haitus from this industry for six months. Only while I was learning English better,” Jin said.
“So there was never any question about your coming back?” Koyama asked.
“I always intended to come back,” Jin replied. “Always.”
“How did you feel when you first heard that he was leaving, Kame?”
Kame paused, searching for the right words, and mentally cursing the experience that Koyama had gained interviewing people over the years. This time it was Jin who turned to look at him in a show of support. “As I said it was a case of good timing. I was happy that he had the opportunity to go.”
“You weren't upset that he was going? After all, it meant that you would not be able to release anything as Shuji to Akira while he was gone.”
“I wasn't upset.”
“Honestly?”
“I was....a bit worried, I suppose. I knew that I was going to be busy, so I was not worried about not releasing a Shuji to Akira single, but I knew that I would be busy keeping things going here while he was gone. I was worried about filling a gap. I knew that he really wanted to do it, and I wanted to support him in that. I missed him of course. I … I almost wished that I had the same opportunity, a chance to take a break and concentrate on something like that, and I knew he was coming back. So, no I wasn't upset that he was going. Besides, he made up for being away.”
Jin buried his face in his hands for a few seconds. “That's true. He almost sent me bankrupt with demands for baseball merchandise.”
“A small price to pay for keeping me happy,” Kame said smiling sweetly.
Seeing that Jin might have had something to say in reply which would really cause problems, Koyama jumped in with, “I see. So, Jin after you came back, the two of you had your first concert tour and album. Who planned the concerts?”
“We both did. We wanted to take everything we had learned from our concerts with KAT-TUN and make a show that would show the fans a good time. We wanted to make it fun, and make it memorable.”
“We also wanted to show the fans who we were, both as solo artists and as a duo,” Kame said. “That's why on our album there were songs that were solos, but also songs that we sang as a duet. The same thing holds true for our concert tours. We perform both solo songs and duets, because Shuji to Akira is both of us....individually and together.”
“So the idea is to have a concert that is effectively three concerts in one; Kamenashi Kazuya, Akanishi Jin and Shuji to Akira, all on the same night.”
Kame and Jin nodded.
“We both have strong ideas on what we want to do as solo artists, but we also agree that Shuji to Akira is both of us, so we can basically plan our own sections, and then work together on the duets,” Kame confirmed.
“Do you prefer performing as a solo performer or as a group?” Koyama asked.
Kame and Jin looked at each other, unsure how to answer that question. The audience was strangely quiet, waiting for their response.
Koyama pushed harder. “Given a choice, would you rather be solo or a group. If you could only hold concerts as a solo or as a group, which would you prefer?”
Kame started to say, “That's not a fair question ...”, when Jin interrupted him.
“It depends,” Jin replied. “I know why you are asking this. It's not a secret that I listen to a lot of western music and my favorite genre of music is hip hop. What I like to write for my own songs is influenced by that style. If I have a solo concert here in Japan, most of the songs would be in English and would be western style. I have just finished three concerts in LA, where all the songs were in English. I wrote most of them, they were my style and they were solo work. What you really want to ask is if I am planning on going solo now, right?”
Koyama nodded. “I think that is the question that most people have been asking lately.”
“I have no intention of going solo at the moment.” Jin stated clearly. “Is that clear enough?”
“Why do you say at the moment?” a voice called out from the audience.
“What?” Jin asked.
Slowly, a young woman stood up. “Why do you say “at the moment”? If you want to go solo, do it. Don't make promises to stay and then not keep them.”
Koyama shot a worried glance at Jin. He had not expected the line of questioning to go quite this far. Yamapi had mentioned that Jin was feeling the pressure of other people's expectations and he had thought this might be a good way to help him make a definite statement about his intentions, but it now looked like things had backfired. Quite badly.
“I am being honest. I promised when I came back from my hiatus that I would not lie to our fans. I have no intention of going solo at the moment. That may change in the future, I cannot say that I will never go solo because I don't know what I might need to do in the future.” Jin replied. “It is not a decision I would ever make lightly. It is also not only my decision. There are two of us in Shuji to Akira. If the two of us were going in different directions, and we could not keep the group together, then both of us need to make the decision. We would both need to want to go solo.” Jin looked straight at her, his words honest and measured. “That is why I say at the moment.”
Kame looked at Koyama, and then said clearly. “We are lucky that we have Shuji to Akira as our group. When one of us has a solo activity, the other can also do something solo or have a break. We can come back to the group and be stronger because of that solo work. Jin was given the opportunity to have solo concerts in LA. I performed in Dreamboys last year. Jin filmed Bandage, and I filmed Gokusen. We both have solo activities, and we have still released singles, and albums and done concert tours as Shuji to Akira. If Jin did go solo, I would still be Kamenashi Kazuya and I would still be working as an actor, and a singer and a dancer. That would not change. We can both have a solo career and be in a group, because we both support the other's dreams.”
“It's lucky that the group can encompass both of your dreams,” Koyama said.
“Please also understand that there are certain things that only Shuji to Akira can do,” Jin said. “I prefer hip hop and R&B, but for instance, it would be very hard to have a hip hop song as a drama theme song.”
“Is that why your drama theme songs have mainly been Shuji to Akira duets?
“Yes,” Kame replied. “Drama theme songs normally have to fit a specific sound, and it sounds better when we do them as a duet.”
“Keep the Faith for Yukan Club would have sounded very strange if it was only me singing it,” Jin said. “LIPS needed two voices to cover the tempo, it was too harsh on Kame's voice alone, neither of us sing rock like that. And One Drop, well you need two voices to cover harmonies like that, otherwise it would have been very flat.” He looked at the audience. “Just because I prefer western music, does not mean I won't or can't appreciate Japanese music. I can only sound like Shuji to Akira when I sing with Kame. So, in order to sound like this I need to sing with Kame. I have no intention of stopping.”
Applause rang through the studio once again, and Koyama clasped his hands together in gratitude. He could see the producer making wrap it up motions, and he did not look entirely happy. Even if he got into trouble with management for asking questions and leading them in the wrong direction, the reaction had been what he had hoped. No matter what made the final cut of this show, it would filter out, and people would be reassured. He looked at Kame who was playing with his skull ring, a smile curving his lips. There would still be enough for a decent first episode. Although, if they were really annoyed at him asking controversial questions, they should have given him Arashi as the first guest.
“Thank you for your honesty, Jin. We are almost out of time, but we have enough time for one or two more questions. The first question I want to ask you both is about song writing. Do you both enjoy it?”
“Of course,” Kame replied. “I don't have a chance to write songs as often as I would like, but when I get the chance, it's great. I write the words first, and then fit the music to the words and emotions.”
“I am the opposite, I tend to write the music first and then the lyrics come together. Finding the way to say things in song, that's something I want to do better. I also really like collaborating with other people on songs, especially the lyrics. Last year I was able to release a single with Crystal Kay. I think it worked out very well, but it was a challenge to write the lyrics and find a tone for both of us to sing. ”
“And JOKER?”
“JOKER may occasionally help with a rap or two, they definitely fit into my style of music,” Jin laughed.
“Have you ever thought about writing a song for the other member to sing?”
Kame and Jin looked at each other, shaking their heads. “We have tried to write songs together for Shuji to Akira, but it's hard to find time when we would both be able to concentrate on it. I think it is easier for other people to write music for us in that instance,” Kame said.
“I would actually like to try and write something for Kame to sing as a solo, but as most of my music has English lyrics, it's a bit difficult.”
“Maybe for your next concert solo, you could write something for Kame,” Koyama suggested.
Jin grinned. “Maybe I could. I'll just have to guess what look Kame is going for next year. He's already done vampires, chairs and geisha....”
“It was not geisha, it was samurai.” Kame glared at him.
“Sorry,” Jin apologised with a sly smile. “It's just that you are pretty like a woman when you wear a kimono. Am I right?” Jin threw the question at the audience, who applauded enthusiastically.
Unable to argue without appearing ungracious, and knowing that Jin had checkmated him, Kame forced as sweet a smile as he could manage, and then said, “Write me a song, and then I'll stage around it.”
“Fine.” Jin smirked. “I'll write you an awesome song.”
“Excellent, that sounds like a plan. We will all look forward to seeing Kame's solo in the next concert tour!” Koyama said jovially, as Kame and Jin turned to him with identical expressions showing their realisation that they had been played. “And this leads nicely into what we hope will become a regular section on Shounen Club Ultra. You will remember that Shounen Club Premium dug up old performance footage to embarrass our guests? We have come up with our own twist on that.”
Kame smiled, and Koyama noticed his left eyelid was twitching. Jin looked up and quietly begged, “Please not the leopard catsuit?”
“Now, now, don't worry. We have here a special clip just showing how beautiful both of you can look, thanks to the magic of drama filming. Please watch!”
Kame and Jin turned to the monitor in dread, as the clip began, and then both hung their heads as the audience laughed. Jin tottered towards the camera with puffed out cheeks, his long wig framing his face and his dress swishing around his knees. Kame tilted his head, his short bobbed wig drawing attention to his cheekbones as he strutted towards the bar. The images froze, and zoomed in to show how beautiful they both were.
“I think you are both pretty as women,” Koyama said, enjoying the glares sent in his direction.
“Yeah, I'd do him.” Jin said nonchalantly, turning towards Kame.
“Jin!” Kame stuttered, a blush sweeping over his cheekbones. The audience clapped in appreciation.
“What? I am hot as a girl!” Jin said with a smirk.
“Actually Jin, you said that you would do Kame!” Koyama clarified, as Kame looked like he wanted to crawl under his chair.
“Did I? asked Jin innocently. “Well … Kame is hot as well. I'd do the girl version of him too!”
“Idiot!” Kame slapped him on the shoulder, even as his face threatened to catch fire.
Koyama stepped smoothly into the breach, distracting them with a question. “So, what is up next for both of you?”
“Well, we released an album last month, and we have a dome tour starting next week, which I hope you can all attend. I will then be returning to America for a solo tour later in the year.”
“From October, I will be performing in Dream Boys in Tokyo and Osaka. Also performing will be Koki, and Yamapi. It should be interesting having Yamapi in Dream Boys, as he has just finished filming Ashita no Joe, but he has never done a live stage show before. If you get a chance, please come and see the shows.”
“We wish you both the best of luck, and I am sure everyone is looking forward to your next activity, whether they are solo or group.” Koyama smiled at the corner. “Now, everyone please welcome Shuji to Akira with their debut song, Seishun Amigo!”
Jin and Kame walked over to the set, and took up their positions. The music started, and as easily as it always had been, they slipped into their roles. The harmonies were effortless, and the audience were quietly singing along with the well loved words. The second chorus started, and they both turned, the familiar choreography perfectly in sync, until suddenly Kame did not turn as expected. Jin spun and kicked to the left, while Kame paused and then kicked him hard in the butt. The cameras zoomed in on the evil smile adorning Kame's face while Jin's expression showed outrage. The audience loved every second of it.
Poll Team What-If
Rating: PG
Pairing: Surprise!
Summary: The first episode of Shounen Club Ultra, hosted by Koyama Keiichiro, is being taped. The guests are Shuji to Akira, who are ready to talk about the last five years since they debuted. What if Shuji to Akira was not a temporary unit, but was acually the intended debut group?
Prompt: You are pretty like a woman.
Warnings: Nothing really... apart from the fact that the prompt took this fic in a wildly different direction than I was expecting!
Notes: Thanks to my beta for handholding and advice, and to the mods as well. The prompt sparked the idea, but current events and what if events conspired to change it greatly.
19 July 2010.
There was a real sense of excitement and anticipation in the television studio. Koyama Keiichiro smiled and gave a quick bow of appreciation to the stylist who was giving his hair one last check, making sure the long copper strands fell perfectly about his face.
On the couch beside him, his two guests were also experiencing their final touch ups, and the director was encouraging the makeup artists to finish up.
Koyama took a deep breath, as the count down began.
“Five, four, three, two, one. Go!”
He looked into the camera, gave a welcoming smile, and then began reading his cue card.
“Good evening, everyone. I am Koyama Keichiro, and welcome to Shounen Club Ultra. This is a new show, in fact, tonight is the first show, and we will be talking to members of Johnny's Jimusho about their careers, their friendships and how they feel about being an idol. With this show we hope to continue the work begun in Shounen Club Premium, and will work hard to make this show a success. So, at the end of tonight's show, we will give you an address where you can send in guest requests and suggestions, which we will gratefully receive. Please help us to make this show a good one, and let's all do our best.
And now, on to our first guests.” He grinned suddenly. “They need no introduction, but as that would put me out of a job...” He waited for the muffled laughter in the studio to subside. “Let's not keep our viewers guessing any longer. Our guests debuted in 2005, when they released the theme song to the drama they were then starring in. That song went on to be the biggest selling single of 2005, no small feat given it was released only a few weeks before the end of the year! That song was Seishun Amigo, and their name was Shuji to Akira. Please welcome them!”
As Koyama and the studio audience clapped, the camera panned back to show the two guests sitting comfortably beside each other. They smiled, both raising hands and bowing in appreciation and finally the applause died down.
“Let's start with Shuji. Kame-chan, Seishun Amigo was a huge hit, as was Nobuta wo Produce. In fact the year 2005 was a huge acting year for you. You started off with Gokusen 2, starring alongside your fellow KAT-TUN member Akanishi Jin, which was a ratings smash. You won a few awards for your role as Odagiri Ryu. Then you took over the role of Kindachi from Matsumoto Jun, and after that you starred as Shuji in Nobuta. When it was decided to release Seishun Amigo as well you must have wondered if there was anything else left to do that year?”
Kame laughed. “It was a very full on year. Just hearing you list all those things makes me feel tired! 2005 was a very important year, and I am very grateful for the opportunities it gave us. Gokusen was the first acting job I really had, and thanks to the support of everyone in that cast, I came to feel that acting was something I could pursue seriously. Then when the offer to be in Nobuta came along, I felt almost like lightening had struck twice, as again it was a great character and cast, and then being given the opportunity to release the drama theme song was amazing.”
“And tiring no doubt!” Koyama said.
“Really tiring.” Kame nodded. “We were still filming when we released that single, and doing that as well as all the end of year music shows to promote the single... well I think there was about six weeks where we had no more than 3 hours sleep a night.”
“That must have been very hard for Akira-kun. Everyone knows that he sleeps like the dead and becomes very grumpy if woken up early,” Koyama joked.
Akira smiled to acknowledge the truth in that, while his Shuji chuckled. “Actually, I was the one who kept falling asleep on set. Whenever they left me alone for five minutes I would nod off, and wake up a bit later to find my legs cramping ...and sometimes a huge coat draped around me if someone had taken pity on me.”
“Actually, Kame-chan, I have it on good authority from Horikita Maki that Akira here would shush people and give you his coat when you were asleep.”
“Really?” Kame turned to smile at his neighbour. “How nice of him!”
Koyama laughed. “Sorry, sorry I seem to have embarrassed Akira!”
“That would be just about impossible,” said Kame.
As Kame's companion jokingly elbowed him, Koyama said, “2005 was also a big year for our Akira. Along with his starring roles in Nobuta wo Produce and Gokusen, he also had a supporting role in Anego. Tell us Jin-kun, what is your most vivid memory around Seishun Amigo?”
Jin spared a quick glance at Kame before grinning. “Learning the dance that went along with the song. We had two hours to learn it, and filmed the PV on the same day. They made me stand on the left because I kept turning the wrong way and kicking Kame in the butt. Finally the director yelled at us to switch sides, and even though Kame argued it should be him on the left because we were Shuji to Akira, not Akira to Shuji, we had to change.”
“Really?”
“Yes.” Jin nodded. “And then they kept us in the same formation for the CD cover, and I swear Kame's eye has twitched every time he has looked at it since.”
Kame glared at him and Jin gave him an innocent smile.
“The scale of Seishun Amigo, the number of sales, and the audience reaction must have been surprising. Why do you think it was so popular?”
“The two of us, obviously.”
Kame smacked him on the shoulder, not even bothering to turn to look where he was hitting, before trying to answer the question. “It was a good song, with a catchy rhythm, and it was a song that people could sing at karaoke, as a solo, or in pairs, or as a group. It came out at the end of the year, when people were a bit more nostalgic as well, and I think it was those things which made it so popular.”
“And obviously, your drama was popular as well, which I am sure helped.” Eager to smooth things over, and keep the momentum going, Koyama asked, “Were you worried about acting together again so soon after Gokusen? Was it hard to play school boys again so soon?”
Kame shrugged. “I think it was easier for both of us on set, as we had worked together before and it was not as scary. So there was no problem with acting together. In terms of the characters, well they were such different characters, for both Jin and I, that it was fairly easy to find a different approach for them. Ryu was so quiet and intense, while Shuji was always putting on a show and trying to be who he thought he should be. They were so different.” He turned towards Jin. “Yours were a bit more similar.....”
“Mmm. I suppose. Hayato was loud and did not really think before he acted, Akira was quieter but he showed his feelings more openly.”
“And Akira was a bit of a baka.”
“I suppose.”
“That's probably why you found him easy to play. You just channeled Bakanishi.”
Jin sent him a very unimpressed look, as Kame tried not to laugh. Koyama lost the battle, and when Jin turned his glare onto him, asked quickly, “Is it true that Yamapi gave you the nickname Bakanishi?”
Jin sighed in long suffering. “Yes it is true. He thought it was clever that Baka and Akanishi both had the same sound, so he put them together.” Seeing that Kame was turning purple from the effort of not laughing out loud, Jin tried to steer the conversation in a different direction. “Did you know that Yamapi also auditioned for the role of Akira?”
Jin felt Kame stiffen beside him as Koyama looked startled, and the audience giggled. “Really? Yamapi auditioned for Akira?”
“Yes, he did. They even drove us to the audition together in the same car. I think everyone expected him to get it instead of me.”
Koyama stared at Jin. “Wow. I really cannot imagine Yamapi as Akira. He's so......”
Jin smirked at him. “Not someone who could act like he was drunk on soy milk?”
Kame and Koyama laughed, and the audience clapped in agreement. Jin raised his hand in the famous Akira gesture, middle and ring finger down, and index and pinky pointing up. With a wink, he made his hand talk as he used the famous Akira voice to do “Chuu! Chuu!”
Koyama laughed in delight and demanded that he do it again, and Jin did, this time resting his fingers against Kame's cheek. “Shuuuuu-ji kun! Chuu! Chuu!”
“Bakanishi.”
Jin gave Kame his patented Akira kicked puppy expression and leaned against Kame's shoulder. “Akira Shock! Shuji-kun doesn't love Akira anymore.” His bottom lip trembled as the soft chorus of “cu-u-te” from the audience swelled around them.
Kame shrugged him away, glared at him and said, “Annoying.” Their eyes met, and for a moment it was like five years had melted away.
“Was Yamapi upset that he did not get the role?”
Koyama's question dragged them back to the present. Jin shrugged and said, “He was annoyed for a while. He did not talk to me for a few weeks. I could understand why though, it would have been a big deal for him if he had been given the role.”
“What about you Kame-chan? What would have been different having Yamapi as Akira?”
“It would have been less … comfortable. I am sure that working with Yamapi would have been fine, and he would have been an interesting Akira. I knew Jin much better, and Gokusen was so much fun, so I was glad that he got the role.”
“It would have made the release of Seishun Amigo really difficult as well! Just imagine...” Koyama broke off and cast an uncertain glance towards the producer. Seeing no objection, he hurriedly continued, “Yamapi was already debuted as News of course, but you would not have been, Kame-chan...”
Kame and Jin shared a look. Kame licked his lips and said quietly, “That would have been an awful situation. I am not sure … I mean...”
Jin saw the call for help in his eyes, and responded, although he only managed to make things worse, by bringing up the one question that they had always been told never to address. “As it was, things were hard enough with both of us debuting as Shuji to Akira. If it had been only Kame debuting, I … I like to think that I would have been happy for him, but I think I would have been very upset.”
Kame nodded. “We were together for so long before Nobuta came along, and we had always assumed that if we were going to debut, we would do it together. When it actually happened, it was so different to what I had imagined. We were told that Shuji to Akira was debuting, and that KAT-TUN was going to disband, well I didn't want to believe it. It felt … unfair. It felt like we were betraying the other four members, even though it was not our decision.”
“Really? That's interesting,” Koyama said. “When News debuted, it was really unexpected. They didn't tell us why we were there, or what we were doing, we just got called in for a photo shoot, which ended up being our single cover! They told us that same day that we were releasing a single, and that we were a group. It took us a long time to feel like we actually were a group though.”
“We had the opposite situation. We were already a group, and then we were broken into parts. Obviously, the other members were disappointed, as we had all been working towards the goal of debuting as a group. When we found out that was going to be impossible, it was hard,” Jin said.
From the corner of his eye, Koyama saw the producer frantically waving at him, telling him to move the questioning in another direction. He pretended not to notice, and encouraged his two guests to recall their earlier days in KAT-TUN. “Was it Koichi-senpai who put KAT-TUN together as a group?”
“Yeah, Koichi-senpai put us all together as a dancing group, to support him in Pop Jam. It took us a while to settle in, and we had a few fights along the way, but when it counted, we always worked together,” Jin said.
“Koki really did not want to be a part of KAT-TUN. He was already a senpai to us, and when they wrote KAT-TUN on the dressing room door, he used to rip the second “T” off the door, to show he was not happy.” Kame smiled. “He got used to it. I think it was our concerts that made him change his mind. We really all had to work hard to pull together our first concert Oyakusama wa Kamisama. We did eleven shows in one day for that.”
“I don't remember anything after the seventh show,” Jin interrupted. “It was crazy. We seemed to be running in circles. At one point I forgot not only the words to the song, but the fact I should have been singing as well. I just stood there, listening to the music, wondering what I was meant to be doing.”
Kame laughed. “I kept track of which number show we were doing by drawing a circle on the mirror with my lipstick. Otherwise, I would have been lost too.” He took a deep breath. “We weren't debuted, and there were lots of people who told us that we had to make the most of that opportunity, because undebuted groups never got concerts. After that concert, and the support we received from our fans, we were invited onto Music Station a few times, and we were allowed to have more concerts.
“Kaizokuban,” Koyama said. “You guys really worked that Pirate theme.”
“The ship was so cool. When we realised it actually moved, we were really impressed, and we got the costumes to evoke a pirate theme too,” Jin said. “We talked a lot about what direction we wanted to go, and what we wanted to do.”
“And at that point, you did not know it was the last concert you would do as KAT-TUN,” Koyama said.
“No.” Kame bit his lip, obviously searching for words. “No, at that point we did not know.”
“I don't think that would have mattered,” Jin said. Kame turned towards him, and Jin held his gaze. “Remember, we all worked really hard on that concert, and made sure it was the best show we could put together. So even though it ended up being our last concert as KAT-TUN, we had tried our best to give our fans a show to remember.”
There was a pause, and then someone in the audience started to clap. Soon, the entire audience was clapping, and the three idols sitting in front of them were visibly touched by the show of support for what had been a junior group.
“Do you keep in touch with the other members? Do you know what they are doing?” Koyama asked.
“Well, yes we do. I am sure you all know where Junno and Koki are at the moment, right?” Jin asked, as he looked at the audience.
“Yes, Junno is currently in Three Dance Kings with Tsubasa-kun and Massu. 3DK was put together when Koichi-senpai took Endless Shock to Broadway last month,” Koyama replied. “Massu told me yesterday that the show is running really smoothly, and that he is really enjoying the chance to concentrate on dancing, especially with Junno and Tsubasa as both of them are so talented.” He grinned. “Even when all of News rehearses together, and works hard, I don't think we ever quite manage to reach the dance standard that Massu would like. The other thing that they have in common of course is their acrobatic ability.”
“Junno loves being on stage. I think that is where he is happiest.” Kame paused, then smiled slyly. “Either there, or telling puns to unsuspecting people. I can't be sure.” Koyama wagged a finger in reproach at him, and he continued, “Koki is happy concentrating on acting at the moment. I am sure you have all seen him in Shigotonin? He is also doing a lot of stage work, last year he was in Dream Boys with me. I might also have something to announce later about this year's show.”
“Really? Well, we will look forward to that. Can I ask was it awkward at first?”
“Having Koki in Dream Boys? No, not at all. Maybe a bit in the very beginning, but don't forget we were all in Dream Boy together when it starred Tackey. I value Koki as a very close and dear friend, and apart from our seasons of Dream Boys, we have also starred in a drama or two together. Even though we are no longer in the same group, we are still friends.”
“What some of you may not know, is that Koki writes songs,” Jin said. “Well, not songs so much as raps, and then he records them under a pen name. He's very good, he just wants them to stand on their own merit.”
“That pen name wouldn't happen to be JOKER, would it?” Koyama asked.
“Maybe,” Jin smirked.
“So Junno and Koki are still working in the industry. Do you keep in touch with Ueda and Nakamaru?”
“Well, I have not seen Ueda for a while now,” Jin said. “Remember, he left the Jimusho about a year after we debuted. He is still working in the industry though...” he looked at Kame, obviously seeking permission to say more. Kame nodded, and Jin continued, “At the moment, Ueda is working as a composer and lyricist with a few visual kei bands. He actually wrote four songs on Gackt's last album.” There was a stunned silence in the studio, and then the sound of mixed disbelief and scattered applause. “Now you should all try and work out which ones were his!”
Kame waited for the whispers to die down a bit. “Nakamaru is actually still with the Jimusho. He is! He just decided to change direction a bit. Instead of performing, he decided he wanted to go to University, and he majored in environmental science. He is now working with the Jimusho looking at how to change things so that we are more sustainable. Remember the 2009 countdown uchiwas? The ones that were for each group, rather than individual members? They were his idea, he said that it was silly and a waste of resources to make so many different uchiwa for one performance.”
The audience clapped, and Koyama smiled at them. “It sounds like the other KAT-TUN members are doing well. Let's get back to what happened after Nobuta. If 2005 was a big year for you both, how about 2006? Your second single, Signal, was released, and sold very well. You also had a lot of individual activities, like drama roles and 24 Hour TV as well. Kame?”
“The first half of the year was a bit strange, because after we had spent so much time together the previous year, we had different dramas and did not see each other as much. I was in Sappuri in the first half of the year, and then in Tatta Hitotsu no Koi with Koki in the second half of the year.”
“After Nobuta, I played a young salaryman in Anego, and after that came Kurosagi. While I was filming Kurosagi, you were filming Yuuki, right?”
Kame nodded. “I remember 2006 as a constant shift between shooting locations. When we did 24 Hour TV it was almost nice to be at the one place for an entire day! Until you have done 24 Hour TV it's hard to explain how tired you can be, and yet you can still have so much energy to spend.”
“News hosted 24 Hour TV last year, and there were six of us, and we were all exhausted. I find it really hard to imagine how it was possible with just the two of you doing it!”
“We were running on adrenaline for the second half of it. At one point we were alternating an hour on and an hour off. Kame can fall asleep anywhere, so he was coping like a zombie, but towards the end I just wanted to be left alone in a corner to sleep.”
“Now, Jin, you mentioned that you filmed Kurosagi in 2006. Of course, you also released Daite Senorita as the theme song for Kurosagi. How did it feel releasing a solo single?”
“It was odd. In less than a year, I had gone from being one of a six member group, to one of a duo, and then a solo artist. I was very happy to have the opportunity to release the solo single, and I think in the long run it worked out quite well, as it has allowed both of us to have solo activities.”
Koyama snuck a look at the producer, who was reading something on his phone. If he asked something that they did not want him to ask, he could always feign ignorance, and they could edit the question out. The cue card just said, “2006” after all. “It does seem strange that two of you were allowed to debut as a duo, and then except for Signal and 24 Hour TV, you were working independently for almost all of 2006. Is that why you decided to study in America?”
The sound of a phone hitting the floor was the only audible noise. “Ummm,” Jin replied quite at a loss for words.
Koyama pushed a little bit harder. “It was such a surprise, you were both working so hard and were so popular. What made you decide that was the right time?”
“I had always been interested in the language, and I wanted the chance to study it properly.”
“Yes, I can see that, but there must have been a reason why you chose to go at that time.”
“It seemed like a good opportunity. I did not have a drama lined up, and we had already released two singles...”
Kame laid a hand on Jin's arm. “It really was a case of timing. Jin had released Daite Senorita as a solo single, and I had been offered a role in Tatta Hitotsu no Koi. When Daite Senorita was successful, they saw an opportunity for me to release Bokura no Machi de as a solo single as well. I was booked through the end of the year with the drama and the single, and Jin was free. There was a window for him to go, and he did.”
“It was a dream opportunity, and I was lucky that the Jimusho and Kame supported me. When the press reported that I was on hiatus, it sounded like I was not planning on coming back, and it confused people. I really meant I was going to be on haitus from this industry for six months. Only while I was learning English better,” Jin said.
“So there was never any question about your coming back?” Koyama asked.
“I always intended to come back,” Jin replied. “Always.”
“How did you feel when you first heard that he was leaving, Kame?”
Kame paused, searching for the right words, and mentally cursing the experience that Koyama had gained interviewing people over the years. This time it was Jin who turned to look at him in a show of support. “As I said it was a case of good timing. I was happy that he had the opportunity to go.”
“You weren't upset that he was going? After all, it meant that you would not be able to release anything as Shuji to Akira while he was gone.”
“I wasn't upset.”
“Honestly?”
“I was....a bit worried, I suppose. I knew that I was going to be busy, so I was not worried about not releasing a Shuji to Akira single, but I knew that I would be busy keeping things going here while he was gone. I was worried about filling a gap. I knew that he really wanted to do it, and I wanted to support him in that. I missed him of course. I … I almost wished that I had the same opportunity, a chance to take a break and concentrate on something like that, and I knew he was coming back. So, no I wasn't upset that he was going. Besides, he made up for being away.”
Jin buried his face in his hands for a few seconds. “That's true. He almost sent me bankrupt with demands for baseball merchandise.”
“A small price to pay for keeping me happy,” Kame said smiling sweetly.
Seeing that Jin might have had something to say in reply which would really cause problems, Koyama jumped in with, “I see. So, Jin after you came back, the two of you had your first concert tour and album. Who planned the concerts?”
“We both did. We wanted to take everything we had learned from our concerts with KAT-TUN and make a show that would show the fans a good time. We wanted to make it fun, and make it memorable.”
“We also wanted to show the fans who we were, both as solo artists and as a duo,” Kame said. “That's why on our album there were songs that were solos, but also songs that we sang as a duet. The same thing holds true for our concert tours. We perform both solo songs and duets, because Shuji to Akira is both of us....individually and together.”
“So the idea is to have a concert that is effectively three concerts in one; Kamenashi Kazuya, Akanishi Jin and Shuji to Akira, all on the same night.”
Kame and Jin nodded.
“We both have strong ideas on what we want to do as solo artists, but we also agree that Shuji to Akira is both of us, so we can basically plan our own sections, and then work together on the duets,” Kame confirmed.
“Do you prefer performing as a solo performer or as a group?” Koyama asked.
Kame and Jin looked at each other, unsure how to answer that question. The audience was strangely quiet, waiting for their response.
Koyama pushed harder. “Given a choice, would you rather be solo or a group. If you could only hold concerts as a solo or as a group, which would you prefer?”
Kame started to say, “That's not a fair question ...”, when Jin interrupted him.
“It depends,” Jin replied. “I know why you are asking this. It's not a secret that I listen to a lot of western music and my favorite genre of music is hip hop. What I like to write for my own songs is influenced by that style. If I have a solo concert here in Japan, most of the songs would be in English and would be western style. I have just finished three concerts in LA, where all the songs were in English. I wrote most of them, they were my style and they were solo work. What you really want to ask is if I am planning on going solo now, right?”
Koyama nodded. “I think that is the question that most people have been asking lately.”
“I have no intention of going solo at the moment.” Jin stated clearly. “Is that clear enough?”
“Why do you say at the moment?” a voice called out from the audience.
“What?” Jin asked.
Slowly, a young woman stood up. “Why do you say “at the moment”? If you want to go solo, do it. Don't make promises to stay and then not keep them.”
Koyama shot a worried glance at Jin. He had not expected the line of questioning to go quite this far. Yamapi had mentioned that Jin was feeling the pressure of other people's expectations and he had thought this might be a good way to help him make a definite statement about his intentions, but it now looked like things had backfired. Quite badly.
“I am being honest. I promised when I came back from my hiatus that I would not lie to our fans. I have no intention of going solo at the moment. That may change in the future, I cannot say that I will never go solo because I don't know what I might need to do in the future.” Jin replied. “It is not a decision I would ever make lightly. It is also not only my decision. There are two of us in Shuji to Akira. If the two of us were going in different directions, and we could not keep the group together, then both of us need to make the decision. We would both need to want to go solo.” Jin looked straight at her, his words honest and measured. “That is why I say at the moment.”
Kame looked at Koyama, and then said clearly. “We are lucky that we have Shuji to Akira as our group. When one of us has a solo activity, the other can also do something solo or have a break. We can come back to the group and be stronger because of that solo work. Jin was given the opportunity to have solo concerts in LA. I performed in Dreamboys last year. Jin filmed Bandage, and I filmed Gokusen. We both have solo activities, and we have still released singles, and albums and done concert tours as Shuji to Akira. If Jin did go solo, I would still be Kamenashi Kazuya and I would still be working as an actor, and a singer and a dancer. That would not change. We can both have a solo career and be in a group, because we both support the other's dreams.”
“It's lucky that the group can encompass both of your dreams,” Koyama said.
“Please also understand that there are certain things that only Shuji to Akira can do,” Jin said. “I prefer hip hop and R&B, but for instance, it would be very hard to have a hip hop song as a drama theme song.”
“Is that why your drama theme songs have mainly been Shuji to Akira duets?
“Yes,” Kame replied. “Drama theme songs normally have to fit a specific sound, and it sounds better when we do them as a duet.”
“Keep the Faith for Yukan Club would have sounded very strange if it was only me singing it,” Jin said. “LIPS needed two voices to cover the tempo, it was too harsh on Kame's voice alone, neither of us sing rock like that. And One Drop, well you need two voices to cover harmonies like that, otherwise it would have been very flat.” He looked at the audience. “Just because I prefer western music, does not mean I won't or can't appreciate Japanese music. I can only sound like Shuji to Akira when I sing with Kame. So, in order to sound like this I need to sing with Kame. I have no intention of stopping.”
Applause rang through the studio once again, and Koyama clasped his hands together in gratitude. He could see the producer making wrap it up motions, and he did not look entirely happy. Even if he got into trouble with management for asking questions and leading them in the wrong direction, the reaction had been what he had hoped. No matter what made the final cut of this show, it would filter out, and people would be reassured. He looked at Kame who was playing with his skull ring, a smile curving his lips. There would still be enough for a decent first episode. Although, if they were really annoyed at him asking controversial questions, they should have given him Arashi as the first guest.
“Thank you for your honesty, Jin. We are almost out of time, but we have enough time for one or two more questions. The first question I want to ask you both is about song writing. Do you both enjoy it?”
“Of course,” Kame replied. “I don't have a chance to write songs as often as I would like, but when I get the chance, it's great. I write the words first, and then fit the music to the words and emotions.”
“I am the opposite, I tend to write the music first and then the lyrics come together. Finding the way to say things in song, that's something I want to do better. I also really like collaborating with other people on songs, especially the lyrics. Last year I was able to release a single with Crystal Kay. I think it worked out very well, but it was a challenge to write the lyrics and find a tone for both of us to sing. ”
“And JOKER?”
“JOKER may occasionally help with a rap or two, they definitely fit into my style of music,” Jin laughed.
“Have you ever thought about writing a song for the other member to sing?”
Kame and Jin looked at each other, shaking their heads. “We have tried to write songs together for Shuji to Akira, but it's hard to find time when we would both be able to concentrate on it. I think it is easier for other people to write music for us in that instance,” Kame said.
“I would actually like to try and write something for Kame to sing as a solo, but as most of my music has English lyrics, it's a bit difficult.”
“Maybe for your next concert solo, you could write something for Kame,” Koyama suggested.
Jin grinned. “Maybe I could. I'll just have to guess what look Kame is going for next year. He's already done vampires, chairs and geisha....”
“It was not geisha, it was samurai.” Kame glared at him.
“Sorry,” Jin apologised with a sly smile. “It's just that you are pretty like a woman when you wear a kimono. Am I right?” Jin threw the question at the audience, who applauded enthusiastically.
Unable to argue without appearing ungracious, and knowing that Jin had checkmated him, Kame forced as sweet a smile as he could manage, and then said, “Write me a song, and then I'll stage around it.”
“Fine.” Jin smirked. “I'll write you an awesome song.”
“Excellent, that sounds like a plan. We will all look forward to seeing Kame's solo in the next concert tour!” Koyama said jovially, as Kame and Jin turned to him with identical expressions showing their realisation that they had been played. “And this leads nicely into what we hope will become a regular section on Shounen Club Ultra. You will remember that Shounen Club Premium dug up old performance footage to embarrass our guests? We have come up with our own twist on that.”
Kame smiled, and Koyama noticed his left eyelid was twitching. Jin looked up and quietly begged, “Please not the leopard catsuit?”
“Now, now, don't worry. We have here a special clip just showing how beautiful both of you can look, thanks to the magic of drama filming. Please watch!”
Kame and Jin turned to the monitor in dread, as the clip began, and then both hung their heads as the audience laughed. Jin tottered towards the camera with puffed out cheeks, his long wig framing his face and his dress swishing around his knees. Kame tilted his head, his short bobbed wig drawing attention to his cheekbones as he strutted towards the bar. The images froze, and zoomed in to show how beautiful they both were.
“I think you are both pretty as women,” Koyama said, enjoying the glares sent in his direction.
“Yeah, I'd do him.” Jin said nonchalantly, turning towards Kame.
“Jin!” Kame stuttered, a blush sweeping over his cheekbones. The audience clapped in appreciation.
“What? I am hot as a girl!” Jin said with a smirk.
“Actually Jin, you said that you would do Kame!” Koyama clarified, as Kame looked like he wanted to crawl under his chair.
“Did I? asked Jin innocently. “Well … Kame is hot as well. I'd do the girl version of him too!”
“Idiot!” Kame slapped him on the shoulder, even as his face threatened to catch fire.
Koyama stepped smoothly into the breach, distracting them with a question. “So, what is up next for both of you?”
“Well, we released an album last month, and we have a dome tour starting next week, which I hope you can all attend. I will then be returning to America for a solo tour later in the year.”
“From October, I will be performing in Dream Boys in Tokyo and Osaka. Also performing will be Koki, and Yamapi. It should be interesting having Yamapi in Dream Boys, as he has just finished filming Ashita no Joe, but he has never done a live stage show before. If you get a chance, please come and see the shows.”
“We wish you both the best of luck, and I am sure everyone is looking forward to your next activity, whether they are solo or group.” Koyama smiled at the corner. “Now, everyone please welcome Shuji to Akira with their debut song, Seishun Amigo!”
Jin and Kame walked over to the set, and took up their positions. The music started, and as easily as it always had been, they slipped into their roles. The harmonies were effortless, and the audience were quietly singing along with the well loved words. The second chorus started, and they both turned, the familiar choreography perfectly in sync, until suddenly Kame did not turn as expected. Jin spun and kicked to the left, while Kame paused and then kicked him hard in the butt. The cameras zoomed in on the evil smile adorning Kame's face while Jin's expression showed outrage. The audience loved every second of it.
Poll Team What-If