In Another World - Part Two
Title: In Another World
Author: shatteredtenshi and kira_shadow
Rating: PG
Genre: AU, General for now (?), slight Romance maybe
Fandom: JE
Pairing: Kitayama Hiromitsu x Fujigaya Taisuke
Warnings: Unbeta-ed...RP-style collab...hopefully it's not really chessy?
Notes: Yet another collaboration!!! AU this time...so it might be interesting? Multi-chaptered!
Summary: In a world where Fujigaya Taisuke and Kitayama Hiromitsu didn't meet through being in Johnny's Jimusho together...
Part One
In Another World
By Shattered Tenshi and Kira Shadow
Part Two
Taisuke shuffled on his feet, tilting his head up to look at the building. Why was he here again? Nibbling on his lip, he took a small step forward before moving back to where he was before. They didn't have any rehearsals with the Juniors quite yet since there was still time before the show starts, so why was he here in front of the Johnny's building? Did he want to see Kitayama that much?
Shaking his head, Taisuke denied the question. That can't be. He was probably just curious. Just curious about how they were doing and wanted to see them rehearse...?
He sighed. That sounded stupid. He should probably leave. Turning, he started to walk away from the building when somebody rushed out of the building and literally bumped into him. He gave a small yelp and fell down on to the ground on his behind. Feeling the slight burn at the heel of his hand, Taisuke winced when he realized he had scraped his skin.
"Ah, I'm so sorry! Are you alright?"
Taisuke looked up at the hand that was offered to him, which led him to staring at a face with a sheepish grin on it. He blinked. The other had...some sort of cat-like features, he thought. "I'm...fine..." He took the offered hand and stood up. He wrinkled his nose when he looked at his hand though. At least it didn't look so bad.
"You scraped your hand! We should go get you a band-aid."
"E-eh?" Before Taisuke could give a proper reaction, the other had already grabbed his wrist and tugged him into the building. When the front desk offered nothing, he was then dragged even further into the building. "A-ano, where...are we going?"
The other turned his head and grinned at him. "The rehearsal room. I'm sure someone has band-aids in there..."
And soon, they were barging into a room while the other yelled out, "Oi, does anyone have a band-aid?!"
"Yokoo didn't you just le- Oh hello there?" Hiro smiled at Taisuke, while somebody in the background had scrambled off to find a band-aid. There weren't too many of them still there, some had gone to eat lunch outside, some had gone to another room to eat or sleep... "Look what the cat dragged in~" That earned him a whack by the other.
"Alright, I'm leaving again...don't worry you'll get your lunch soon..." And with that, Yokoo was out of the door again.
Being left with the other, Hiro asked curiously, "What brought you here? You're a little too early for rehearsals, aren't you? Enbujo rehearsals don't start until the end of the week..." And was it just him or did Taisuke seem rather nervous? How intriguingly cute~
Blinking in surprise when he was pulled into the room and was suddenly faced with Kitayama, it took a while for Taisuke to come up with a response. "I...I was...just passing by outside?" He wondered if he sounded like he was lying or not. "Then...the person who just left bumped into me...and..."
It was then that someone handed him the band-aid he needed. Mumbling his thanks, he took from whoever it was that gave him it and blinked at it. He then looked at his whole hand. This was going to be a bit awkward to put on...
Taisuke gave a sheepish, yet shy smile to Kitayama. "A-ano...do you think you can help with the band-aid...?"
"Sou ka? Ah well..." Hiro looked at Taisuke's hand. "Let's go clean that up a little first, shall we?"
Taisuke furrowed his eyebrows and wondered if Kitayama believed him. He couldn't really tell. He nodded his head. "Un..." He had kind of forgotten about that step. It would be bad in a small scrape lead to some sort of infection or something.
Hiro took Taisuke's hand and held it under running water carefully, cleaning it out as well as he could and then drying it just as carefully before putting the band-aid on. "Let me apologize for Yokoo in his behalf? He usually isn't that brash...but uhm...our practice went on longer than we thought and we're hungry...and yeah, he went to buy the food since it's his turn..."
No, no, his heart was not beating faster than usual. Taisuke suppressed his blushing as best as he could and nodded his head. "That's okay..." he mumbled. He touched the band-aid on his hand before giving Kitayama a small smile. "Thank you..."
"No problem...and now that you're here...have you had lunch? Otherwise you can join us for a little while and well...get a feel for working with us? I saw you on the list for the supporting dancers for the upcoming stage show, ne?" Hiro smiled and led Taisuke back into the rehearsal room.
Taisuke shook his head. "I had a late breakfast this morning...so I didn't have lunch yet..." He smiled and nodded his head once. "Un, I'd like that...working with you guys..." It was good that this was one of his day-offs so to say and he had time to practice with them.
"We can share the lunch Yokoo's buying...I was getting fed by some of the little ones anyway~" Hiro grinned and just then a few of the younger boys grouped around him, curious about the newcomer.
One of them asked bluntly, "He's pretty! Is he Hiro-nii-chan's boyfriend~?"
Taisuke turned red immediately at the younger boy's words. The other boys quickly became excited and another tugged on his shirt sleeve. "Really? Are you?"
Shaking his head, he stuttered, "I-I'm not his b-boyfriend...!" He was still half regaining from the shock of the boy's bluntness as well.
Laughing, Hiro tried to calm the 'mob' down. "Iya, iya, iya...Taisuke-kun is a friend of mine...he'll be with us for Enbujo this year."
Some of the boys sounded almost disappointed at that. "Eeeh~ and here I thought Hiro-kun finally found someone...this is the first time you bring someone to practice! So he must be special~!"
"Ah, well...he ended up here by...accident?" Hiro looked at the other.
Resisting the urge to rub his cheeks in attempt to fade out his blush, Taisuke nodded his head in agreement. "Un...I had to get a band-aid." He showed the younger ones the band-aid on his hand and immediately, the one who was pulling on his sleeve took his hand gently.
"Ah...that must hurt...you should be careful..." the boy said in a slightly chastising voice.
Taisuke blinked before giggling softly. "Hai...~"
"So~ do you think it would be alright for Taisuke-kun to start practicing with us today? We'll see more of him soon but, you know...he might be worried about working with little kids~" Hiro teased the younger boys playfully.
"We'll show him what we can do!!" the mob dispersed again and Hiro laughed.
Turning back to Taisuke he winked, "At least they'll focus better than before the break now, hopefully? I'll ask our dance instructor for permission as well. We aren't doing anything too fancy today anyway...even though...I do have some skating practice scheduled..."
Taisuke laughed delightfully when the kids went away. "They’re really cute~" He tilted his head at Kitayama. "Were they not concentrating that well before?"
When the other mentioned skating, Taisuke's eyes sparkled slightly. "Skating? Ah...I remember seeing you do that for a performance... I haven't skated in a while..."
"They are particularly giggly today...Sensei's getting headaches..." Hiro sighed and then raised an eyebrow. "You know how to skate?"
"Ahh...I sort of understand that..." Taisuke nodded his head. The younger students he taught at times can get quite excited and giggly at times as well, so he had a hard time trying to make them focus on the lesson. "Un~ I can skate~"
"Awesome! Then I'll have a practice partner today~" Hiro smiled brightly. "We're an uneven number so one of us always has to go double..."
Smiling shyly, Taisuke said, "Well, if you guys don't mind me joining you guys skating, then sure, I'll be your partner..."
"I'm sure the other guys won't mind...besides, Yokoo will be happy that he doesn't have to do doubles this time..." Hiro waved it off. "Mh...and I'm sure we'll find a pair of skates your size, too."
"I'll look forward to it then~" Taisuke said with a smile.
Then, speak of the devil, Yokoo came back into the rehearsal room, calling out, "Oi, Hiro, lunch time!" He made his way towards them and raised an eyebrow when he saw Taisuke. "Yo, you still here?"
"He's a friend of mine. You weren't at the last Music Station or you would've met him...this is Fujigaya Taisuke. He'll be with the extra dancers for Enbujo. Taisuke, this is Yokoo Wataru, the guy who ran you over~ Itai!" Hiro had earned himself a swat on the back of his head.
"You still want that food, right?"
"Hai, Yokoo-chan!"
"...you're lucky we have a guest..."
"Yay~"
Tilting his head curiously at the two's interaction, Taisuke giggled. "Nice to meet you, Yokoo-kun. You can call me Taisuke or Tai-chan is fine too."
Yokoo grinned toothily at Taisuke. "Oh, I didn't apologize for bumping into you yet, right? I'm sorry." He lifted the take-out bags in his hands. "At least I have food as a peace offering?"
Now laughing, Taisuke smiled at Yokoo. "It's okay. You did manage to help me get a band-aid after all," he said, showing his hand to the other. "But food is always good~"
So they sat down and had lunch together and Hiro introduced the 'skating group' to Taisuke. "Usually it's just the seven of us skating...so you'll be joining us...we're roughly divided into Chibis-"
"YOU'RE the most chibi here, yo!"
"Shut up, NIka, you know Senga looks shorter than I do..."
"...I don't get your logic..."
"Then just shut up! Anyway...The little ones and us, the elder ones...You'll be joining us three~ Yokoo you already know, then Iida Kyouhei and me..." he indicated the more silent boy next to Yokoo. Then went on to the younger 4 in their circle, "And that brat over there is Nikaido Takashi."
"Usu~"
"Then Senga Kento."
"Hi~ Nice to meet you!"
"Tamamori Yuta."
A curt nod.
"And Miyata Toshiya"
"Hello~"
Hiro turned back, "And well...that's it..."
Laughing in amusement, Taisuke nodded his head and gave them all a bright smile. "Nice to meet you all~ I'm Fujigaya Taisuke~" He tilted his head. "I guess we'll be seeing each other quite a bit starting next week then."
"Sou ne..." Hiro nodded and then continued, "It's really awesome you can skate, though...maybe Takizawa-kun will leave that skating part in after all...since we'd be even now...The question that remains is whether you'll be allowed to join us as a single non-Johnny's dancer...like...you know? Not because of us but because others might be jealous or something because we get the more...major parts after all and you'd get into more spotlight..."
Wrinkling his nose, Taisuke said, "I'm not sure...we'd probably have to ask for permission I guess..." He fiddled with the hem of his shirt. "I can only say for part of my group who'll be in the show will be fine with it...but I'm not sure about the other part..and I guess my instructor would have a say in this as well..."
"Yeah...it also depends on how good you are, not that you pull down our level~" someone teased.
Hiro snorted. "Be careful or he'll kick your ass, yo!"
Taisuke huffed. "Don't underestimate me~ It's been a while since I've skated, but I'm not bad! You'll see later~" He grinned at the group. Other than dancing, skating was definitely something else he had confidence in.
"You should hear him sing, too...It's a waste he's a dancer, really~" Hiro smiled at Taisuke.
Blushing, Taisuke lowered his head shyly. "I'm not that great..."
"I heard you. You're good!" Hiro insisted.
Taisuke blushed darker. "T-thank you..."
Yokoo laughed and reached over to pat Taisuke on his back. "You're cute. Don't worry, if Hiro insists like that, then I'm sure it's true."
"If you'd come to karaoke with us next time, you'd hear him..." Hiro nodded. A voice called out to them. "Ah, that's sensei...now, let's go ask, shall we?"
Nodding his head, Taisuke made a sound of agreement. He got up and followed Kitayama, just a bit timidly since he wasn't quite sure what to expect. He'll let Kitayama do the talking.
Hiro explained the situation to their sensei and it was no problem at all. He told Hiro to proceed as usual and he'd come up and join them later-on to supervise the training if necessary. "Alrighty...Let's find you a pair of skates and go to the other gym...there we can skate in peace...we'll warm up and then we can teach you the routine and whatever you'll need for it~"
"Hai~" Taisuke followed Kitayama again and soon, they managed to find a pair of skates that would fit him.
Once they were inside the other gym, Taisuke quickly put on his skates and started to test them out, just skating in small circles. A bright grin appeared on his face. Skating really is a lot of fun after all. It's been too long since he had done this. He wondered if he should buy himself a new pair of skates so he would skate more often. The old pair he had was probably too small anyways.
The whole group just warmed up for a little while, all by themselves or more like all in a row...
"Let's do a chain now~!" Hiro called out and promptly Iida held onto his hips, Yokoo held onto Iida's and so forth until it reached Taisuke. "Wave~" Hiro crouched down and the wave ran through the group and back.
Taisuke giggled and held on to Miyata's hips who was last in the line and followed along, crouching down when it was his turn to do so. He had never really done something like this before, but since he didn't have problems crouching down on his skates, it wasn't that hard to follow along, though his timing might have been a bit off. It was still fun, and it was something that he wouldn't have been able to do unless there was enough people to skate along with him.
They went through some other warm-up exercises before splitting up into pairs. "Ok...let's do twirling first and then pulling your partner through the 'gate'..." He skated over to Taisuke. "I'll be counting on you because I guess I'll take the riskier part...since I'm shorter."
Biting back a giggle, Taisuke nodded his head. "Alright. Twirling is fine...but I don't know how well I'll do with the other ne," he admitted. "I've never really tried doing that before..."
"Keep yourself on your legs and balanced and don't pull me too forcefully or I'll crash..." Hiro instructed and then skated to the side. "We'll take turns and you can watch for a bit until you feel a little bit more confident?"
"Okay..." Taisuke nodded his head as he repeated Kitayama's advice in his mind. He'll probably have to watch a few times before he would become comfortable in attempting to do the trick.
So Hiro took turns with Yokoo and Iida first before going over to either Nikaido or Senga, depending on who was doing what. After that he skated back over to Taisuke. "You think you'll be okay with that now?"
Taisuke furrowed his eyebrows in concentration as he watched the others taking turns, trying to imagine some stimulations his mind at the same time. He nodded his head slowly when Kitayama skated back towards him. "I think...un...we should try to see I guess..."
"Well, yoroshiku onegaishimasu~" Hiro smiled.
"Yoroshiku~" With that, Taisuke skated a bit further into the middle of the room so they had more spaced before readying himself, repeating Kitayama's advice in his mind once more. "Yosh, ready~"
"Okay!" Hiro looked into the other's eyes, signaling that he trusted Taisuke and then extended his hand.
Swallowing slightly, Taisuke smiled at Kitayama slightly before extending his own hand as well. Alright, he can do this, he can do this...
"I trust you." Hiro voiced his thoughts and grabbed Taisuke's hand.
Tugging Kitayama towards him slightly, they then performed the trick together. It was a bit nerve-wrecking, but Kitayama trusted him, so he should trust himself as well. Somehow they got through it, somewhat successfully since Taisuke nearly slid and fell, but they managed to do it.
His heartbeat sort of pounding in his ears from the nervousness, Taisuke grinned at Kitayama. "I...we did it!"
"We did~" Hiro smiled encouragingly. "See? Now let's try again?"
His eyes sparkling with excitement now, Taisuke nodded his head eagerly. "Un, let's try again~"
After trying a few more times, Taisuke definitely became better at the trick and the movements became a lot smoother. He gave Kitayama a childish grin. "How was that?"
"Perfect!" he smiled at the other and was about to say more when somebody playfully shoved him and he found himself right in Taisuke's arms, clinging to the other in order to keep himself from falling.
"Kyomoto-chan was right, totally boyfriend..."
Hiro - despite himself - blushed.
Taisuke's eyes widened in surprise when he suddenly found himself an armful of Kitayama. His face turned a dark red and he blinked down at Kitayama, still holding on to the other. "A-are...you okay...?" he managed to stutter out.
Hiro just nodded and when he found his ability to speak again added, "Hai...and...I'm sorry about all the teasing...I guess they like getting their revenge on me..:" He laughed a little.
"Revenge?" Taisuke tilted his head and blinked at Kitayama curiously. His cheeks were still red though, his arms still around Kitayama.
"I like teasing them, too?" Hiro admitted and blinked up at Taisuke.
He...felt rather comfy in the other's arms somehow.
"O-oh..." Taisuke nodded his head slowly. His mind started to wander off for a second, until another voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Oi, you two lovebirds! Are you finished with your small talk yet?"
Yelping, Taisuke blinked down at Kitayama before letting go of the other immediately, the blush rushing back to his cheeks. "S-sorry..."
"We...should keep practicing until sensei comes...come on..." Hiro skated away again a little bit. "Ne...do you know the move 'New Christina'?"
Repeating the name in his mind, Taisuke shook his head when it didn't ring any bells. "No...what's it like?"
"I'll show you...we're still teaching the younger ones anyway but you can try, too..." Hiro motioned for the other's to be a little more careful and then did the move, tracing a circle with one leg while resting his weight on the other a bit...it was a tough act balance wise.
Taisuke's eyes sparkled once again as he watched Kitayama perform the move. "Ah, that looks cool~" He slid one leg outward slightly and tried to imagine himself doing it. "That's hard ne...balance is important..."
"Yeah...maybe you should take off the skates and try to just balance yourself in that position first..." Hiro suggested. The rest of the group - or just the younger boys - followed suit. This was serious training...
"Mh...alright..." Taisuke nodded his head and took off his skates. Crouching down, he tried to balance himself in that position, one leg out, one hand on the ground. He swiped his leg around as well, trying to get the feel of the movement as well. He furrowed his eyebrows when he got slightly off balance. It really was a difficult trick.
Hiro tried to help Taisuke, adjusting his position a bit here and there. "Try to hold it like this?" he let go of the other again and smiled before going over to help Nikaido, who was already complaining again.
Smiling shyly back at Kitayama, Taisuke nodded his head. "Un..." The balance did feel better, but he wondered how he would do on his other leg. Though he quickly realized it was a bad idea since his other hand had a band-aid on it so putting weight on it definitely wasn't good. He switched back to his original side.
"Doing good there...do you want to try it still on the skates now?" Hiro asked, crouching back down to Taisuke again.
"Un!" Taisuke nodded his head. His feel of balance was getting pretty good, so it was probably a good idea to try it on skates now since he supposed it was going to feel totally different.
While Taisuke put on his skates again, Hiro skated over to look at the others again. It was their goal...to do this formation with all sev- eight of them on stage sometime. Eight... His eyes went back to the other on the far side of the room. He'd only known Taisuke for less than a month and yet the other felt so...right in his life. As if he'd always belonged there...as if a space Hiro hadn't realized had been there had now been filled...
"Yosh," Taisuke muttered to himself as he finished putting on his skates and stood up. He took a deep breath, wondering how he'll fare now that he has the wheels under his feet. Skating with a group of people was something he wasn't used to, but somehow, looking at how everyone was practicing right now, he felt as though he fitted in perfectly.
Smiling happily at this thought, Taisuke started to skate slightly before crouching down and swiping his leg around. Perhaps he went a bit too fast and he immediately frowned when he felt himself losing balance. Luckily, he saved himself before falling in an unfashionable manner.
Skating over again, Hiro offered his hand to Taisuke. "You might try with some help first? Just like Ice Skating...I'll give you the swing you need to do the circle and to keep you a bit more balanced? Just like twirling earlier just...with a bit more difficulty?"
Taking Kitayama's hand, Taisuke nodded his head slowly. "Alright..." He stood back up properly and smiled at Kitayama childishly. "Help me then~"
"You trust me, ne?" Hiro looked up into the other's eyes.
"Un," Taisuke said, nodding his head and looking back into Kitayama's eyes. "I trust you..."
"Very good~" Hiro smiled and took Taisuke's hand. He balanced both of them first and then gave the other the signal to start crouching down.
Getting Kitayama's signal, Taisuke started to crouch down and slid one leg out as he drew a circle on the floor with the other's help. It was a lot easier to focus compared to when he was doing it on his own, and he wondered if it because Kitayama was there with him.
Even though this was still difficult, they managed and Hiro slowed down a little bit, so Taisuke wouldn't 'fly' away once he let go. "I'm letting go soon...alright? Then you can try doing it on your own. I'm sure you'll be able to..." he encouraged the other. Truth be told, he hadn't seen anyone learn the moves so fast...maybe it was because the other already had experience with skating...
"Eh?" Taisuke looked up at Kitayama and for a moment, he felt a bit nervous about the other letting go, but then he nodded his head slowly. Kitayama can't hold on to him forever after all. "Un...okay...I'll be fine..." he mumbled in an attempt to convince himself as well.
"You'll do fine!" Hiro reassured and then slowly let go of the other. This really was precision work.
Absorbed in their training, none of the boys in the gym had noticed their instructor coming in and watching them from the door...
Feeling Kitayama letting go, Taisuke took a deep breath and relaxed himself before concentrating once again as he moved again so he had a bit of momentum. Then he started to circle slightly again, letting his leg draw a circle once more. Alright, his balance felt pretty good...
Hiro just watched the other practice and didn't notice Iida coming up to him at first until the other spoke. "He's good...you actually found someone this time, didn't you?" the other smiled. Looking back Hiro contemplated the double meaning but let it slide - for now.
"Yeah...I think I did..."
Not satisfied with his first attempt, Taisuke stood up and let himself shake the tension from his body before skating a bit and sliding down again for a second attempt. This time, things went a lot smoother. When he stopped, he quickly scrambled up with a bright grin and waved at Kitayama. "Hiro, I did it!~"
"I saw! Omedettou! You really learn fast!" he complimented the other and gave him a short hug. Hiro pulled away the instant he heard their instructors voice.
"That was a really good job for your first time, Fujigaya-kun...We've lacked an 8th man for a while...welcome on board? It's regrettably just for the time being I guess...?"
When Kitayama hugged him, a blush appeared on Taisuke's face. He was contemplating on whether to return the hug when he heard another voice. Smiling shyly at the instructor, he bowed his head slightly. "T-thank you..." He nodded his head. "It's not like I can join Johnny's now..." he said wryly, rubbing the back of his neck.
Hiro looked at the other, "Why not?"
Wataru petted Hiro's head when he skated over, "Yeah, why not? Hiro here hasn't been with us for too terribly long either...and he still made it up real fast..."
Taisuke blinked. "Y-you...mean...I can?" He turned a bit red and lowered his head shyly. "I...I just always thought people should enter Johnny's when they're younger...and...and I'm already in university..." He fiddled with the hem of his shirt.
"Usually people enter young...but I don't think Johnny-san would say no...you've got so much talent...!" Hiro agreed and put a hand on Taisuke's shoulder. He wanted the other to stay...he...somehow he wanted the other to be more involved in his life...and...
...he wanted to be more of a part in Taisuke's life as well.
If he needed to...he'd go and talk to Johnny himself and play out his trump card. It was funny...how he was willing to use it for someone else and not for himself...like others would probably have done...
Glancing at Hiro's hand on his shoulder, Taisuke then looked at everyone else in the room who had pretty much stopped practicing and had their attention on him. "I..." His cheeks were tinted a light red. He had never regretted turning down that audition chance years ago, but now, having met these people, he realized that he really did want to become part of their group and know these people better. There was something about being with them that felt right, as if he belonged there.
Then there was Kitayama... He shifted his gaze back to the older one. He...he really wanted to get to know Kitayama more.
A small, shy smile playing on his face, Taisuke whispered, "How should I join then...?"
"Show what you can do during Enbujo. Maybe Takki will notice you and then it will be easy to convince the chairman, really...he's going to come and watch. Make sure you're noticed..." the instructor told Taisuke.
Hiro added, "Well, if he's going to be the only one who doesn't belong to JE skating among us Johnny-san is bound to notice..."
Taisuke smiled brightly. "Un~ I'll be practicing hard then~"
Yokoo laughed and patted Taisuke on his back. "We'll be waiting for the day you join us then, Tai-chan!" He grinned and looked at the other members who all smiled or grinned back.
"Definitely! Maybe our group will get a name then...?" Currently they still hadn't one and just appeared as 'Johnny's Jrs' most of the time, whenever they appeared together. Usually Hiro would be with others or by himself...but he liked being with this group. This was where he felt at home the most. Taisuke...just seemed like the last missing piece. The piece that would complete the puzzle...complete their circle...
The other just fit in so well....
Nikaido snorted. "I don't know if I should look forward to that or not...knowing the patterns of the group names we usually get...they always stand for something that's..." He didn't finish his sentence and snorted again.
"Eh?" Taisuke tilted his head in confusion. After all, he didn't follow Johnny's too closely, so he wasn't quite sure what Nikaido was referring to.
"We'll tell you about it later, Taisuke-kun..." Miyata said, giving him an amused grin.
"Al...right?" Taisuke blinked and glanced at Kitayama, still feeling confused.
"...well as long as it isn't something like G.A.Y. - Gorgeous Artistic Youths or something it's going to be alright?" Hiro commented dryly.
Taisuke blinked his eyes. "E-eh?" That...was definitely an awful group name to have. "I...I hope not..."
The instructor chuckled. "Alright you guys. Don't you guys have something better to do then discussing possible group names? Get going!"
"Hai!" Hiro mock saluted. "Ne...does that mean we get to do the skating part? Now that we can go with the formation...since we've got even numbers..." he asked and prayed inwardly that the answer would be 'yes'.
"I will have to tell Takizawa-kun first of course...but I think he'd like that...if you want to, you can go get the flags and practice a little bit with those...ah no, I'll ask one of the other boys to bring them...you remember the choreography?"
Wataru raised his hand, "I do. I'll make sure they learn it properly now."
"Okay. I'll check back on you guys later then. And don't slack off!"
With that the instructor left.
Turning back to his group, Hiro asked, "I remember some...who else besides Wataru and Senga still remembers more of it?" Nobody..."Okay then I guess Wataru should refresh our memories a bit?"
Taisuke shuffled on his feet slightly. That was a part that didn't involve outside dancers and while he might be working with the group on roller-skating, he wasn't sure about the other dance parts. "I...um...will watch from the side?" he said in a small voice. He started to shift away from the group.
"Watch? Nononono...you're going to join us! That's what sensei asked you to do!" Several pairs of hands grabbed Taisuke to pull him back. "You'll be with us. End of story."
"E-eh?" Taisuke yelped in surprise as several of them started to drag him back towards the center of the room. "B-but...I..." He blinked. When he received all the glares though, he ducked in his head slightly in embarrassment, his cheeks turning red. "O-okay..."
Skating practice lasted for another half an hour before there was another short break. Hiro grabbed his things; he'd have to go to the final rehearsal for a TV performance at the station's studio. "You can either stay with the rest or come with me, Taisuke...I don't care~"
Taisuke glanced at the others before looking back at Kitayama, smiling shyly. "I'd...I'd like to come with you..." Not because he knew Kitayama just a bit longer than the rest of them, but...but he just felt like sticking with the other, if Kitayama didn't mind, that is.
"Alright. Get your things and then let's go? I have mine in the changing room...I'll meet you down by the door!" Hiro smiled and walked off towards the direction of the changing rooms. When he was out of the gym, Nikaido approached Taisuke.
"You seem to like him na, Taisuke-kun..."
"Un~ Okay~" Taisuke started to gather his things, which wasn't a lot since he never had expected to do any practice today, and looked up when he heard Nikaido's voice. "E-eh?" He blinked. A blush immediately appeared on his face, though he wasn't quite sure which way the other had meant. Was it...the more innocent meaning? "W-why not...? Hiro is nice..." he mumbled. "We're friends..."
Nikaido chuckled and smirked slightly. "Oh sure...but are you sure you don't like him more than that?"
Taisuke's eyes widened before his face turned even a darker red. "I...I..." He lost his words again. Lately, the only reason he seem to lose the ability to speak seem to be Kitayama, whether directly or indirectly.
"Maybe you're not just the one we were looking for but also the one Hiro was looking for for a long time..." Nikaido commented cryptically before walking back to the rest of his group.
Author's Notes: I swear, one day, I'll respond to comments properly. DDD= I don't seem to do so well with replying comments lately. Just so you know, all that replied, your comments were much appreciated! ♥ I'm glad all of you thought the idea was interesting ne~ Mh...I wonder did anyone of you expected not all the members of KissuMai would be in JE? Maa...KissuMai pwns as a group, so I definitely didn't want to pull members out of JE. X3 If Taisuke successfully joins JE, we have 8-person KissuMai! ♥
I...don't know what to say. =S I think I used too many of my words earlier on in my long comments on my friend's entry or something.
And and as a preview, there is something XDD //flails// worth looking forward to next chapter. X) At least I think so.
We hope to live up to expectations, ne, Kira? =)
Comments are love na~
Part Three
Author: shatteredtenshi and kira_shadow
Rating: PG
Genre: AU, General for now (?), slight Romance maybe
Fandom: JE
Pairing: Kitayama Hiromitsu x Fujigaya Taisuke
Warnings: Unbeta-ed...RP-style collab...hopefully it's not really chessy?
Notes: Yet another collaboration!!! AU this time...so it might be interesting? Multi-chaptered!
Summary: In a world where Fujigaya Taisuke and Kitayama Hiromitsu didn't meet through being in Johnny's Jimusho together...
Part One
In Another World
By Shattered Tenshi and Kira Shadow
Part Two
Taisuke shuffled on his feet, tilting his head up to look at the building. Why was he here again? Nibbling on his lip, he took a small step forward before moving back to where he was before. They didn't have any rehearsals with the Juniors quite yet since there was still time before the show starts, so why was he here in front of the Johnny's building? Did he want to see Kitayama that much?
Shaking his head, Taisuke denied the question. That can't be. He was probably just curious. Just curious about how they were doing and wanted to see them rehearse...?
He sighed. That sounded stupid. He should probably leave. Turning, he started to walk away from the building when somebody rushed out of the building and literally bumped into him. He gave a small yelp and fell down on to the ground on his behind. Feeling the slight burn at the heel of his hand, Taisuke winced when he realized he had scraped his skin.
"Ah, I'm so sorry! Are you alright?"
Taisuke looked up at the hand that was offered to him, which led him to staring at a face with a sheepish grin on it. He blinked. The other had...some sort of cat-like features, he thought. "I'm...fine..." He took the offered hand and stood up. He wrinkled his nose when he looked at his hand though. At least it didn't look so bad.
"You scraped your hand! We should go get you a band-aid."
"E-eh?" Before Taisuke could give a proper reaction, the other had already grabbed his wrist and tugged him into the building. When the front desk offered nothing, he was then dragged even further into the building. "A-ano, where...are we going?"
The other turned his head and grinned at him. "The rehearsal room. I'm sure someone has band-aids in there..."
And soon, they were barging into a room while the other yelled out, "Oi, does anyone have a band-aid?!"
"Yokoo didn't you just le- Oh hello there?" Hiro smiled at Taisuke, while somebody in the background had scrambled off to find a band-aid. There weren't too many of them still there, some had gone to eat lunch outside, some had gone to another room to eat or sleep... "Look what the cat dragged in~" That earned him a whack by the other.
"Alright, I'm leaving again...don't worry you'll get your lunch soon..." And with that, Yokoo was out of the door again.
Being left with the other, Hiro asked curiously, "What brought you here? You're a little too early for rehearsals, aren't you? Enbujo rehearsals don't start until the end of the week..." And was it just him or did Taisuke seem rather nervous? How intriguingly cute~
Blinking in surprise when he was pulled into the room and was suddenly faced with Kitayama, it took a while for Taisuke to come up with a response. "I...I was...just passing by outside?" He wondered if he sounded like he was lying or not. "Then...the person who just left bumped into me...and..."
It was then that someone handed him the band-aid he needed. Mumbling his thanks, he took from whoever it was that gave him it and blinked at it. He then looked at his whole hand. This was going to be a bit awkward to put on...
Taisuke gave a sheepish, yet shy smile to Kitayama. "A-ano...do you think you can help with the band-aid...?"
"Sou ka? Ah well..." Hiro looked at Taisuke's hand. "Let's go clean that up a little first, shall we?"
Taisuke furrowed his eyebrows and wondered if Kitayama believed him. He couldn't really tell. He nodded his head. "Un..." He had kind of forgotten about that step. It would be bad in a small scrape lead to some sort of infection or something.
Hiro took Taisuke's hand and held it under running water carefully, cleaning it out as well as he could and then drying it just as carefully before putting the band-aid on. "Let me apologize for Yokoo in his behalf? He usually isn't that brash...but uhm...our practice went on longer than we thought and we're hungry...and yeah, he went to buy the food since it's his turn..."
No, no, his heart was not beating faster than usual. Taisuke suppressed his blushing as best as he could and nodded his head. "That's okay..." he mumbled. He touched the band-aid on his hand before giving Kitayama a small smile. "Thank you..."
"No problem...and now that you're here...have you had lunch? Otherwise you can join us for a little while and well...get a feel for working with us? I saw you on the list for the supporting dancers for the upcoming stage show, ne?" Hiro smiled and led Taisuke back into the rehearsal room.
Taisuke shook his head. "I had a late breakfast this morning...so I didn't have lunch yet..." He smiled and nodded his head once. "Un, I'd like that...working with you guys..." It was good that this was one of his day-offs so to say and he had time to practice with them.
"We can share the lunch Yokoo's buying...I was getting fed by some of the little ones anyway~" Hiro grinned and just then a few of the younger boys grouped around him, curious about the newcomer.
One of them asked bluntly, "He's pretty! Is he Hiro-nii-chan's boyfriend~?"
Taisuke turned red immediately at the younger boy's words. The other boys quickly became excited and another tugged on his shirt sleeve. "Really? Are you?"
Shaking his head, he stuttered, "I-I'm not his b-boyfriend...!" He was still half regaining from the shock of the boy's bluntness as well.
Laughing, Hiro tried to calm the 'mob' down. "Iya, iya, iya...Taisuke-kun is a friend of mine...he'll be with us for Enbujo this year."
Some of the boys sounded almost disappointed at that. "Eeeh~ and here I thought Hiro-kun finally found someone...this is the first time you bring someone to practice! So he must be special~!"
"Ah, well...he ended up here by...accident?" Hiro looked at the other.
Resisting the urge to rub his cheeks in attempt to fade out his blush, Taisuke nodded his head in agreement. "Un...I had to get a band-aid." He showed the younger ones the band-aid on his hand and immediately, the one who was pulling on his sleeve took his hand gently.
"Ah...that must hurt...you should be careful..." the boy said in a slightly chastising voice.
Taisuke blinked before giggling softly. "Hai...~"
"So~ do you think it would be alright for Taisuke-kun to start practicing with us today? We'll see more of him soon but, you know...he might be worried about working with little kids~" Hiro teased the younger boys playfully.
"We'll show him what we can do!!" the mob dispersed again and Hiro laughed.
Turning back to Taisuke he winked, "At least they'll focus better than before the break now, hopefully? I'll ask our dance instructor for permission as well. We aren't doing anything too fancy today anyway...even though...I do have some skating practice scheduled..."
Taisuke laughed delightfully when the kids went away. "They’re really cute~" He tilted his head at Kitayama. "Were they not concentrating that well before?"
When the other mentioned skating, Taisuke's eyes sparkled slightly. "Skating? Ah...I remember seeing you do that for a performance... I haven't skated in a while..."
"They are particularly giggly today...Sensei's getting headaches..." Hiro sighed and then raised an eyebrow. "You know how to skate?"
"Ahh...I sort of understand that..." Taisuke nodded his head. The younger students he taught at times can get quite excited and giggly at times as well, so he had a hard time trying to make them focus on the lesson. "Un~ I can skate~"
"Awesome! Then I'll have a practice partner today~" Hiro smiled brightly. "We're an uneven number so one of us always has to go double..."
Smiling shyly, Taisuke said, "Well, if you guys don't mind me joining you guys skating, then sure, I'll be your partner..."
"I'm sure the other guys won't mind...besides, Yokoo will be happy that he doesn't have to do doubles this time..." Hiro waved it off. "Mh...and I'm sure we'll find a pair of skates your size, too."
"I'll look forward to it then~" Taisuke said with a smile.
Then, speak of the devil, Yokoo came back into the rehearsal room, calling out, "Oi, Hiro, lunch time!" He made his way towards them and raised an eyebrow when he saw Taisuke. "Yo, you still here?"
"He's a friend of mine. You weren't at the last Music Station or you would've met him...this is Fujigaya Taisuke. He'll be with the extra dancers for Enbujo. Taisuke, this is Yokoo Wataru, the guy who ran you over~ Itai!" Hiro had earned himself a swat on the back of his head.
"You still want that food, right?"
"Hai, Yokoo-chan!"
"...you're lucky we have a guest..."
"Yay~"
Tilting his head curiously at the two's interaction, Taisuke giggled. "Nice to meet you, Yokoo-kun. You can call me Taisuke or Tai-chan is fine too."
Yokoo grinned toothily at Taisuke. "Oh, I didn't apologize for bumping into you yet, right? I'm sorry." He lifted the take-out bags in his hands. "At least I have food as a peace offering?"
Now laughing, Taisuke smiled at Yokoo. "It's okay. You did manage to help me get a band-aid after all," he said, showing his hand to the other. "But food is always good~"
So they sat down and had lunch together and Hiro introduced the 'skating group' to Taisuke. "Usually it's just the seven of us skating...so you'll be joining us...we're roughly divided into Chibis-"
"YOU'RE the most chibi here, yo!"
"Shut up, NIka, you know Senga looks shorter than I do..."
"...I don't get your logic..."
"Then just shut up! Anyway...The little ones and us, the elder ones...You'll be joining us three~ Yokoo you already know, then Iida Kyouhei and me..." he indicated the more silent boy next to Yokoo. Then went on to the younger 4 in their circle, "And that brat over there is Nikaido Takashi."
"Usu~"
"Then Senga Kento."
"Hi~ Nice to meet you!"
"Tamamori Yuta."
A curt nod.
"And Miyata Toshiya"
"Hello~"
Hiro turned back, "And well...that's it..."
Laughing in amusement, Taisuke nodded his head and gave them all a bright smile. "Nice to meet you all~ I'm Fujigaya Taisuke~" He tilted his head. "I guess we'll be seeing each other quite a bit starting next week then."
"Sou ne..." Hiro nodded and then continued, "It's really awesome you can skate, though...maybe Takizawa-kun will leave that skating part in after all...since we'd be even now...The question that remains is whether you'll be allowed to join us as a single non-Johnny's dancer...like...you know? Not because of us but because others might be jealous or something because we get the more...major parts after all and you'd get into more spotlight..."
Wrinkling his nose, Taisuke said, "I'm not sure...we'd probably have to ask for permission I guess..." He fiddled with the hem of his shirt. "I can only say for part of my group who'll be in the show will be fine with it...but I'm not sure about the other part..and I guess my instructor would have a say in this as well..."
"Yeah...it also depends on how good you are, not that you pull down our level~" someone teased.
Hiro snorted. "Be careful or he'll kick your ass, yo!"
Taisuke huffed. "Don't underestimate me~ It's been a while since I've skated, but I'm not bad! You'll see later~" He grinned at the group. Other than dancing, skating was definitely something else he had confidence in.
"You should hear him sing, too...It's a waste he's a dancer, really~" Hiro smiled at Taisuke.
Blushing, Taisuke lowered his head shyly. "I'm not that great..."
"I heard you. You're good!" Hiro insisted.
Taisuke blushed darker. "T-thank you..."
Yokoo laughed and reached over to pat Taisuke on his back. "You're cute. Don't worry, if Hiro insists like that, then I'm sure it's true."
"If you'd come to karaoke with us next time, you'd hear him..." Hiro nodded. A voice called out to them. "Ah, that's sensei...now, let's go ask, shall we?"
Nodding his head, Taisuke made a sound of agreement. He got up and followed Kitayama, just a bit timidly since he wasn't quite sure what to expect. He'll let Kitayama do the talking.
Hiro explained the situation to their sensei and it was no problem at all. He told Hiro to proceed as usual and he'd come up and join them later-on to supervise the training if necessary. "Alrighty...Let's find you a pair of skates and go to the other gym...there we can skate in peace...we'll warm up and then we can teach you the routine and whatever you'll need for it~"
"Hai~" Taisuke followed Kitayama again and soon, they managed to find a pair of skates that would fit him.
Once they were inside the other gym, Taisuke quickly put on his skates and started to test them out, just skating in small circles. A bright grin appeared on his face. Skating really is a lot of fun after all. It's been too long since he had done this. He wondered if he should buy himself a new pair of skates so he would skate more often. The old pair he had was probably too small anyways.
The whole group just warmed up for a little while, all by themselves or more like all in a row...
"Let's do a chain now~!" Hiro called out and promptly Iida held onto his hips, Yokoo held onto Iida's and so forth until it reached Taisuke. "Wave~" Hiro crouched down and the wave ran through the group and back.
Taisuke giggled and held on to Miyata's hips who was last in the line and followed along, crouching down when it was his turn to do so. He had never really done something like this before, but since he didn't have problems crouching down on his skates, it wasn't that hard to follow along, though his timing might have been a bit off. It was still fun, and it was something that he wouldn't have been able to do unless there was enough people to skate along with him.
They went through some other warm-up exercises before splitting up into pairs. "Ok...let's do twirling first and then pulling your partner through the 'gate'..." He skated over to Taisuke. "I'll be counting on you because I guess I'll take the riskier part...since I'm shorter."
Biting back a giggle, Taisuke nodded his head. "Alright. Twirling is fine...but I don't know how well I'll do with the other ne," he admitted. "I've never really tried doing that before..."
"Keep yourself on your legs and balanced and don't pull me too forcefully or I'll crash..." Hiro instructed and then skated to the side. "We'll take turns and you can watch for a bit until you feel a little bit more confident?"
"Okay..." Taisuke nodded his head as he repeated Kitayama's advice in his mind. He'll probably have to watch a few times before he would become comfortable in attempting to do the trick.
So Hiro took turns with Yokoo and Iida first before going over to either Nikaido or Senga, depending on who was doing what. After that he skated back over to Taisuke. "You think you'll be okay with that now?"
Taisuke furrowed his eyebrows in concentration as he watched the others taking turns, trying to imagine some stimulations his mind at the same time. He nodded his head slowly when Kitayama skated back towards him. "I think...un...we should try to see I guess..."
"Well, yoroshiku onegaishimasu~" Hiro smiled.
"Yoroshiku~" With that, Taisuke skated a bit further into the middle of the room so they had more spaced before readying himself, repeating Kitayama's advice in his mind once more. "Yosh, ready~"
"Okay!" Hiro looked into the other's eyes, signaling that he trusted Taisuke and then extended his hand.
Swallowing slightly, Taisuke smiled at Kitayama slightly before extending his own hand as well. Alright, he can do this, he can do this...
"I trust you." Hiro voiced his thoughts and grabbed Taisuke's hand.
Tugging Kitayama towards him slightly, they then performed the trick together. It was a bit nerve-wrecking, but Kitayama trusted him, so he should trust himself as well. Somehow they got through it, somewhat successfully since Taisuke nearly slid and fell, but they managed to do it.
His heartbeat sort of pounding in his ears from the nervousness, Taisuke grinned at Kitayama. "I...we did it!"
"We did~" Hiro smiled encouragingly. "See? Now let's try again?"
His eyes sparkling with excitement now, Taisuke nodded his head eagerly. "Un, let's try again~"
After trying a few more times, Taisuke definitely became better at the trick and the movements became a lot smoother. He gave Kitayama a childish grin. "How was that?"
"Perfect!" he smiled at the other and was about to say more when somebody playfully shoved him and he found himself right in Taisuke's arms, clinging to the other in order to keep himself from falling.
"Kyomoto-chan was right, totally boyfriend..."
Hiro - despite himself - blushed.
Taisuke's eyes widened in surprise when he suddenly found himself an armful of Kitayama. His face turned a dark red and he blinked down at Kitayama, still holding on to the other. "A-are...you okay...?" he managed to stutter out.
Hiro just nodded and when he found his ability to speak again added, "Hai...and...I'm sorry about all the teasing...I guess they like getting their revenge on me..:" He laughed a little.
"Revenge?" Taisuke tilted his head and blinked at Kitayama curiously. His cheeks were still red though, his arms still around Kitayama.
"I like teasing them, too?" Hiro admitted and blinked up at Taisuke.
He...felt rather comfy in the other's arms somehow.
"O-oh..." Taisuke nodded his head slowly. His mind started to wander off for a second, until another voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Oi, you two lovebirds! Are you finished with your small talk yet?"
Yelping, Taisuke blinked down at Kitayama before letting go of the other immediately, the blush rushing back to his cheeks. "S-sorry..."
"We...should keep practicing until sensei comes...come on..." Hiro skated away again a little bit. "Ne...do you know the move 'New Christina'?"
Repeating the name in his mind, Taisuke shook his head when it didn't ring any bells. "No...what's it like?"
"I'll show you...we're still teaching the younger ones anyway but you can try, too..." Hiro motioned for the other's to be a little more careful and then did the move, tracing a circle with one leg while resting his weight on the other a bit...it was a tough act balance wise.
Taisuke's eyes sparkled once again as he watched Kitayama perform the move. "Ah, that looks cool~" He slid one leg outward slightly and tried to imagine himself doing it. "That's hard ne...balance is important..."
"Yeah...maybe you should take off the skates and try to just balance yourself in that position first..." Hiro suggested. The rest of the group - or just the younger boys - followed suit. This was serious training...
"Mh...alright..." Taisuke nodded his head and took off his skates. Crouching down, he tried to balance himself in that position, one leg out, one hand on the ground. He swiped his leg around as well, trying to get the feel of the movement as well. He furrowed his eyebrows when he got slightly off balance. It really was a difficult trick.
Hiro tried to help Taisuke, adjusting his position a bit here and there. "Try to hold it like this?" he let go of the other again and smiled before going over to help Nikaido, who was already complaining again.
Smiling shyly back at Kitayama, Taisuke nodded his head. "Un..." The balance did feel better, but he wondered how he would do on his other leg. Though he quickly realized it was a bad idea since his other hand had a band-aid on it so putting weight on it definitely wasn't good. He switched back to his original side.
"Doing good there...do you want to try it still on the skates now?" Hiro asked, crouching back down to Taisuke again.
"Un!" Taisuke nodded his head. His feel of balance was getting pretty good, so it was probably a good idea to try it on skates now since he supposed it was going to feel totally different.
While Taisuke put on his skates again, Hiro skated over to look at the others again. It was their goal...to do this formation with all sev- eight of them on stage sometime. Eight... His eyes went back to the other on the far side of the room. He'd only known Taisuke for less than a month and yet the other felt so...right in his life. As if he'd always belonged there...as if a space Hiro hadn't realized had been there had now been filled...
"Yosh," Taisuke muttered to himself as he finished putting on his skates and stood up. He took a deep breath, wondering how he'll fare now that he has the wheels under his feet. Skating with a group of people was something he wasn't used to, but somehow, looking at how everyone was practicing right now, he felt as though he fitted in perfectly.
Smiling happily at this thought, Taisuke started to skate slightly before crouching down and swiping his leg around. Perhaps he went a bit too fast and he immediately frowned when he felt himself losing balance. Luckily, he saved himself before falling in an unfashionable manner.
Skating over again, Hiro offered his hand to Taisuke. "You might try with some help first? Just like Ice Skating...I'll give you the swing you need to do the circle and to keep you a bit more balanced? Just like twirling earlier just...with a bit more difficulty?"
Taking Kitayama's hand, Taisuke nodded his head slowly. "Alright..." He stood back up properly and smiled at Kitayama childishly. "Help me then~"
"You trust me, ne?" Hiro looked up into the other's eyes.
"Un," Taisuke said, nodding his head and looking back into Kitayama's eyes. "I trust you..."
"Very good~" Hiro smiled and took Taisuke's hand. He balanced both of them first and then gave the other the signal to start crouching down.
Getting Kitayama's signal, Taisuke started to crouch down and slid one leg out as he drew a circle on the floor with the other's help. It was a lot easier to focus compared to when he was doing it on his own, and he wondered if it because Kitayama was there with him.
Even though this was still difficult, they managed and Hiro slowed down a little bit, so Taisuke wouldn't 'fly' away once he let go. "I'm letting go soon...alright? Then you can try doing it on your own. I'm sure you'll be able to..." he encouraged the other. Truth be told, he hadn't seen anyone learn the moves so fast...maybe it was because the other already had experience with skating...
"Eh?" Taisuke looked up at Kitayama and for a moment, he felt a bit nervous about the other letting go, but then he nodded his head slowly. Kitayama can't hold on to him forever after all. "Un...okay...I'll be fine..." he mumbled in an attempt to convince himself as well.
"You'll do fine!" Hiro reassured and then slowly let go of the other. This really was precision work.
Absorbed in their training, none of the boys in the gym had noticed their instructor coming in and watching them from the door...
Feeling Kitayama letting go, Taisuke took a deep breath and relaxed himself before concentrating once again as he moved again so he had a bit of momentum. Then he started to circle slightly again, letting his leg draw a circle once more. Alright, his balance felt pretty good...
Hiro just watched the other practice and didn't notice Iida coming up to him at first until the other spoke. "He's good...you actually found someone this time, didn't you?" the other smiled. Looking back Hiro contemplated the double meaning but let it slide - for now.
"Yeah...I think I did..."
Not satisfied with his first attempt, Taisuke stood up and let himself shake the tension from his body before skating a bit and sliding down again for a second attempt. This time, things went a lot smoother. When he stopped, he quickly scrambled up with a bright grin and waved at Kitayama. "Hiro, I did it!~"
"I saw! Omedettou! You really learn fast!" he complimented the other and gave him a short hug. Hiro pulled away the instant he heard their instructors voice.
"That was a really good job for your first time, Fujigaya-kun...We've lacked an 8th man for a while...welcome on board? It's regrettably just for the time being I guess...?"
When Kitayama hugged him, a blush appeared on Taisuke's face. He was contemplating on whether to return the hug when he heard another voice. Smiling shyly at the instructor, he bowed his head slightly. "T-thank you..." He nodded his head. "It's not like I can join Johnny's now..." he said wryly, rubbing the back of his neck.
Hiro looked at the other, "Why not?"
Wataru petted Hiro's head when he skated over, "Yeah, why not? Hiro here hasn't been with us for too terribly long either...and he still made it up real fast..."
Taisuke blinked. "Y-you...mean...I can?" He turned a bit red and lowered his head shyly. "I...I just always thought people should enter Johnny's when they're younger...and...and I'm already in university..." He fiddled with the hem of his shirt.
"Usually people enter young...but I don't think Johnny-san would say no...you've got so much talent...!" Hiro agreed and put a hand on Taisuke's shoulder. He wanted the other to stay...he...somehow he wanted the other to be more involved in his life...and...
...he wanted to be more of a part in Taisuke's life as well.
If he needed to...he'd go and talk to Johnny himself and play out his trump card. It was funny...how he was willing to use it for someone else and not for himself...like others would probably have done...
Glancing at Hiro's hand on his shoulder, Taisuke then looked at everyone else in the room who had pretty much stopped practicing and had their attention on him. "I..." His cheeks were tinted a light red. He had never regretted turning down that audition chance years ago, but now, having met these people, he realized that he really did want to become part of their group and know these people better. There was something about being with them that felt right, as if he belonged there.
Then there was Kitayama... He shifted his gaze back to the older one. He...he really wanted to get to know Kitayama more.
A small, shy smile playing on his face, Taisuke whispered, "How should I join then...?"
"Show what you can do during Enbujo. Maybe Takki will notice you and then it will be easy to convince the chairman, really...he's going to come and watch. Make sure you're noticed..." the instructor told Taisuke.
Hiro added, "Well, if he's going to be the only one who doesn't belong to JE skating among us Johnny-san is bound to notice..."
Taisuke smiled brightly. "Un~ I'll be practicing hard then~"
Yokoo laughed and patted Taisuke on his back. "We'll be waiting for the day you join us then, Tai-chan!" He grinned and looked at the other members who all smiled or grinned back.
"Definitely! Maybe our group will get a name then...?" Currently they still hadn't one and just appeared as 'Johnny's Jrs' most of the time, whenever they appeared together. Usually Hiro would be with others or by himself...but he liked being with this group. This was where he felt at home the most. Taisuke...just seemed like the last missing piece. The piece that would complete the puzzle...complete their circle...
The other just fit in so well....
Nikaido snorted. "I don't know if I should look forward to that or not...knowing the patterns of the group names we usually get...they always stand for something that's..." He didn't finish his sentence and snorted again.
"Eh?" Taisuke tilted his head in confusion. After all, he didn't follow Johnny's too closely, so he wasn't quite sure what Nikaido was referring to.
"We'll tell you about it later, Taisuke-kun..." Miyata said, giving him an amused grin.
"Al...right?" Taisuke blinked and glanced at Kitayama, still feeling confused.
"...well as long as it isn't something like G.A.Y. - Gorgeous Artistic Youths or something it's going to be alright?" Hiro commented dryly.
Taisuke blinked his eyes. "E-eh?" That...was definitely an awful group name to have. "I...I hope not..."
The instructor chuckled. "Alright you guys. Don't you guys have something better to do then discussing possible group names? Get going!"
"Hai!" Hiro mock saluted. "Ne...does that mean we get to do the skating part? Now that we can go with the formation...since we've got even numbers..." he asked and prayed inwardly that the answer would be 'yes'.
"I will have to tell Takizawa-kun first of course...but I think he'd like that...if you want to, you can go get the flags and practice a little bit with those...ah no, I'll ask one of the other boys to bring them...you remember the choreography?"
Wataru raised his hand, "I do. I'll make sure they learn it properly now."
"Okay. I'll check back on you guys later then. And don't slack off!"
With that the instructor left.
Turning back to his group, Hiro asked, "I remember some...who else besides Wataru and Senga still remembers more of it?" Nobody..."Okay then I guess Wataru should refresh our memories a bit?"
Taisuke shuffled on his feet slightly. That was a part that didn't involve outside dancers and while he might be working with the group on roller-skating, he wasn't sure about the other dance parts. "I...um...will watch from the side?" he said in a small voice. He started to shift away from the group.
"Watch? Nononono...you're going to join us! That's what sensei asked you to do!" Several pairs of hands grabbed Taisuke to pull him back. "You'll be with us. End of story."
"E-eh?" Taisuke yelped in surprise as several of them started to drag him back towards the center of the room. "B-but...I..." He blinked. When he received all the glares though, he ducked in his head slightly in embarrassment, his cheeks turning red. "O-okay..."
Skating practice lasted for another half an hour before there was another short break. Hiro grabbed his things; he'd have to go to the final rehearsal for a TV performance at the station's studio. "You can either stay with the rest or come with me, Taisuke...I don't care~"
Taisuke glanced at the others before looking back at Kitayama, smiling shyly. "I'd...I'd like to come with you..." Not because he knew Kitayama just a bit longer than the rest of them, but...but he just felt like sticking with the other, if Kitayama didn't mind, that is.
"Alright. Get your things and then let's go? I have mine in the changing room...I'll meet you down by the door!" Hiro smiled and walked off towards the direction of the changing rooms. When he was out of the gym, Nikaido approached Taisuke.
"You seem to like him na, Taisuke-kun..."
"Un~ Okay~" Taisuke started to gather his things, which wasn't a lot since he never had expected to do any practice today, and looked up when he heard Nikaido's voice. "E-eh?" He blinked. A blush immediately appeared on his face, though he wasn't quite sure which way the other had meant. Was it...the more innocent meaning? "W-why not...? Hiro is nice..." he mumbled. "We're friends..."
Nikaido chuckled and smirked slightly. "Oh sure...but are you sure you don't like him more than that?"
Taisuke's eyes widened before his face turned even a darker red. "I...I..." He lost his words again. Lately, the only reason he seem to lose the ability to speak seem to be Kitayama, whether directly or indirectly.
"Maybe you're not just the one we were looking for but also the one Hiro was looking for for a long time..." Nikaido commented cryptically before walking back to the rest of his group.
Author's Notes: I swear, one day, I'll respond to comments properly. DDD= I don't seem to do so well with replying comments lately. Just so you know, all that replied, your comments were much appreciated! ♥ I'm glad all of you thought the idea was interesting ne~ Mh...I wonder did anyone of you expected not all the members of KissuMai would be in JE? Maa...KissuMai pwns as a group, so I definitely didn't want to pull members out of JE. X3 If Taisuke successfully joins JE, we have 8-person KissuMai! ♥
I...don't know what to say. =S I think I used too many of my words earlier on in my long comments on my friend's entry or something.
And and as a preview, there is something XDD //flails// worth looking forward to next chapter. X) At least I think so.
We hope to live up to expectations, ne, Kira? =)
Comments are love na~
Part Three