Team Future, prompt 1: What’s wrong with being naked?
Title: The Naked Truth
Pairing/Group: Kanjani8
Rating: pg-13
Warnings: None
Summary: After struggling with himself and a lot of soul searching, Subaru finally finds his new path in life.
Notes: This was fun to write! Thanks for running this challenge again!
“Relax! Everything will be okay,” Hina tells him for the umpteenth time, and pats him on them back, but Subaru can’t stop his hands from shaking as he walks around the room. He’s unable to stop; it’s almost time for his first exhibition, and for a moment, just a brief one, he thinks he might have made the wrong decision after all.
It’s literally been years since the last time he has been on a stage, exactly two, and it doesn’t matter that this is a completely different kind of stage, it’s a stage nonetheless and he’s scared. Subaru sometimes thinks he might have gone crazy to have chosen this, there’s no other answer.
Then, he remembers the adrenaline he had felt when stripping off in front of a crowded arena, standing there together with the other members of the band. It had been strange, and he remembers how perplexed the staff had looked while they watched them all strip together, trying to understand what they were doing and, most of all, what they were supposed to do to stop them.
It had been fun, at the time. Subaru had felt like they were closer than ever, fighting for a common aim, trying to reach a common goal however they could.
What hadn’t been funny were the reasons for their actions and the consequences that came after, but it doesn’t matter anymore. It’s been two years, and it’s all in the past now, and Subaru doesn’t regret it one bit, at least not anymore.
Saying that he has never regretted their decision would be lying, because music had been his life, but it had been for a good reason and, at the time, no one could think of anything better, any other alternative anyway. Music had always been so important in Subaru’s life, but friendship has always been even more important. He tells himself that often, so it’s okay now. Subaru is glad that things went how they did; their act of rebellion had been the most important thing he has ever done. Standing up for someone he loves made him feel good and made him proud of his decisions.
Kanjani without Yasuda wouldn’t have been the same, anyway.
It’s okay that they’ll probably never again be able to set foot on a stage all together. It’s fine as long as they can all meet and tell their stories. It’s okay as long as their bond is still there. That’s what’s important.
When they had first been told about Yasuda’s suspension (after his cell phone had been lost and the pictures of he and his boyfriend with not so many clothes on had been leaked to the press), no one had known what to do. Maruyama had been the first one to voice his protest against Yasuda’s suspension, telling the higher up people in the agency that there was nothing wrong with being naked.
Their answer had been that the being naked wasn’t the problem. Not that they didn’t already know that anyway, but still. Everyone knew that the problem was Yasuda’s exposed homosexuality, but saying it aloud had sounded so awful and bigoted to them all, so they insisted in telling everyone who would listen that there was nothing wrong with being naked, hoping that their message would have been heard anyway.
In the end, after they had been told several times that although there was nothing wrong with being naked, the suspension would stand, Yoko had come up with a plan, and the next thing they knew, each of them had found himself undressing on stage.
Silly as it seemed now, back then they had all thought that it was the only way to rebel against Yasuda’s suspension, and so they carried on with their plan, suddenly undressing in the middle of every concert (but never in the same song, in order to confuse the staff that had been told to keep an eye on them). It had been silly and childish, but they had wanted to do something about Yasuda’s situation, and that childish act had been the only thing they could come up with, since words hadn’t been useful at all.
It hadn’t been long before they were all summoned for an urgent meeting, and after a long and exhausting session that had gone on for hours, Kanjani had been disbanded.
Hurtful as it had been, none of them have regrets about standing up for their friend, and now that years have gone by, everything seems to be falling into a new place, and somehow also a right place again, finally.
TV stations had been fighting to have Hina on their team, and Yoko had quickly found a job as radio host. Ryo’s acting career was going smoothly, while Ohkura had been modeling with the occasional acting job from time to time ever since Kanjani had been dissolved. Maruyama had been slowly but steadily making his own way in the entertainment business, he is now a regular on several shows, while Yasuda had finally managed to create his own brand of clothes and is now in the final stages of planning to open a small shop.
Subaru had been the one who experienced the most problems in finding a new path in his life: music is something he still loves, but somehow he had felt like that was a closed chapter of his life, and that it was time to move on and start with something else, something fresh. Going on with music without his band mates had seemed wrong, and they all knew that to continue playing after quitting the agency would have been difficult.
Then, slowly, Subaru had started to think back to when they had undressed on stage, about how he had felt back then; shy at first, more bold after the first time. He had started to think over it more and more often, asking himself if there was something wrong with it and making a list of pros and cons. He had never read that list after he had written it, and by now he’s not even sure if the pros outnumbered the cons or not. It’s not important now however, because he has decided.
“The clothes are damn tight,” Subaru whines, pulling at the hem of his vest, and Yasuda is soon after by his side, checking over the outfit with an irritated expression on his face as he looks for imperfections.
“That’s not possible,” he declares, passing his hands over the fabric. “I personally took all the measurements and sewed your clothes, they can’t be tight! They are designed to fit perfectly.”
“The trousers are fucking tight,” Subaru says again, and Yasuda looks at him, his brows furrowing.
“They’re exactly how they’re supposed to be.”
“It’s not that you’re going to wear them for too long anyway,” Ryo reminds him, grinning, and Subaru looks horrified for just a slight moment before he regains his composure, and Ryo smirks harder.
A couple of minutes later someone knocks on the door, and when a guy from the crew peeks inside, Subaru tenses.
“Two minutes and you’re on,” the guy announces, and Subaru nods, all the eyes in the room on him, searching for a reaction. When the door closes again, Subaru closes his eyes and breathes in deeply.
“We’ll be going then,” Yoko announces, and one by one they all exit the room, wishing him good luck and cheering him on. Hina pats Subaru’s back as he passes by, telling him they’ll be waiting at the end of the show, and Subaru smiles weakly and nods.
“I’ll see you later then,” he finally says, but Hina’s not there anymore.
Subaru waits behind the curtain, quickly peeking out from behind it: he can’t see his friends anymore, but the room is crowded and almost every table is occupied. He shivers in anticipation and takes a deep breath, waiting.
When the current act ends, all the lights go off, except for the small, red LEDs marking the edge of the stage and the platform, and white smoke appears before a deep voice sounds.
“Ladies and gentlemen! Setting foot for the first time on this stage, ‘Red Infinity’ is here to set your evening on fire! Let his charm seduce you. Give ‘Red Infinity’ a warm welcome!”
Subaru’s legs shake as the music starts playing loudly, and he tries to relax, takes in a few deep breaths. There’s nothing to be afraid of, he’s been on a stage before; he has played in front of bigger crowds, so he can do it. He can do this.
With a last deep breath, Subaru draws the curtain open and walks onto the stage.
The lights are blinding, and he needs a couple of moments to get used to them as he moves his body to the beat, stepping forward into their glare. He’s nervous, and he hopes that the shaking in his legs is not too evident for the audience who’s now looking at him curiously.
In the furthest corner of the room, Subaru sees his friends sitting at a table; Yoko is sipping from a flashy drink as he nods his head to the beat and stares at him, and Hina is cheering so loudly that his voice overcomes all the others. Then, Subaru sees Maru and Yasuda as they move uchiwas plastered with his face to the beat of the music, and he smiles, suppressing a laugh. That’s just what he needs to boost his self confidence.
His steps grow bolder, and he brings himself to the center of the stage with feline grace and slow steps, staring at the public with his dark eyes; the women sitting at the closest tables cheer and laugh, and Subaru winks at them as he pops open the buttons of his black vest, and the screams grow louder.
Any nervousness has faded away with each step, and Subaru’s not only comfortable in what he’s doing now, but he’s also having fun. He takes away the rubber band that is tying his hair back and shakes his head around sexily, letting his hair fly free, and he distinctly hears Ryo’s voice cheering for him as he does so.
When he looks again, Ohkura and Ryo are standing, staring at him and raising their thumbs when they notice he’s looking, and Subaru realizes that he’s really lucky to have friends like them, supporting him no matter what he chooses to do with his life.
Subaru walks to the pole in the middle of the platform and rests his back against it, sliding up and down as he pops the rest of the buttons of his vest open, and lets the small garment fall to the ground.
It’s true that Subaru doesn’t exactly have the ripped muscular body of a stripper, but his charisma and his charm are enough to have all the ladies in the room cheer for him and scream approval, and Subaru smiles to himself as he twirls against the pole. He walks to the edge of the platform and passes his hands over his chest with seductive moves before he slowly brings his hands to the thighs of his trousers. He mentally prays that everything will go smoothly, and he searches for Yasuda with his eyes.
Yasuda stands up on his chair, gesturing him to just rip the trousers along the seams with his hands exactly like he had taught him; with a last glance at his friends, Subaru forcefully pulls on the front of the trousers, and the fabric opens on both sides, leaving him standing only in his underwear.
The public cheers and roars, but Subaru doesn’t look at them long; his eyes shift back to that far away table in the corner of the room, to the faces of his friends and he stares at their expressions. Maru has a satisfied smile on his lips. It hadn’t been easy to find underwear in those exact seven colors, Maru had told him, and Subaru is really glad he managed to do so. He knew asking Maru to help him was the right choice.
Yoko looks moved, while Ohkura and Ryo are now cheering even louder as they laugh and point at Subaru’s underwear, and Subaru’s eyes are sparkling with happiness as he looks at them all, one by one. They’re all there for him, and Subaru has never been more grateful in his life for their support.
When the song ends, Subaru bows to the audience and quickly makes his way backstage, picking his clothes up along the way. When he draws the curtain closed behind him, he can still hear the crowd cheering for him and calling his name, and the adrenaline makes his legs shake again.
Subaru smiles as he takes a quick shower and gets dressed in his street clothes this time, savoring the success that is still ringing in his ears, the sound of the public’s excited voices .
--
Once the show is over and he steps out from backstage, the room is almost empty; it’s late at night, and his act had been the second last one of the evening, most of the people have gone home. Subaru walks to the table occupied by his friends, and when they see him walking towards them, Hina hurries to grab a chair from the closest table while everyone else clusters around him.
When he sits, Subaru is welcomed by several pats on his back, and everyone congratulates him, with some lightly mocking him and others being slightly more seriously supportive.
“Where did you even find that underwear?” Yoko asks him, and Subaru grins, glancing at Maru soon after. Yoko’s inquisitive eyes shift over to Maru then, and he repeats his question as he raises his eyebrows.
“It’s a secret!” Maru tells him, and then hurries to pour some beer for them all before Yoko starts to insist on an answer.
He takes his glass in his hand, raises it, and then clears his throat dramatically.
“To the new born star of stripping!” Maru yells, and everyone laughs, and clinks their glasses together loudly.
“To you guys,” Subaru adds soon after, and then he gulps his whole glass down, and slams it on the table.
When he looks at them, Subaru is smiling as brightly as he can. “After all, what’s wrong with being naked?”
Poll Team Future Prompt 1
Pairing/Group: Kanjani8
Rating: pg-13
Warnings: None
Summary: After struggling with himself and a lot of soul searching, Subaru finally finds his new path in life.
Notes: This was fun to write! Thanks for running this challenge again!
“Relax! Everything will be okay,” Hina tells him for the umpteenth time, and pats him on them back, but Subaru can’t stop his hands from shaking as he walks around the room. He’s unable to stop; it’s almost time for his first exhibition, and for a moment, just a brief one, he thinks he might have made the wrong decision after all.
It’s literally been years since the last time he has been on a stage, exactly two, and it doesn’t matter that this is a completely different kind of stage, it’s a stage nonetheless and he’s scared. Subaru sometimes thinks he might have gone crazy to have chosen this, there’s no other answer.
Then, he remembers the adrenaline he had felt when stripping off in front of a crowded arena, standing there together with the other members of the band. It had been strange, and he remembers how perplexed the staff had looked while they watched them all strip together, trying to understand what they were doing and, most of all, what they were supposed to do to stop them.
It had been fun, at the time. Subaru had felt like they were closer than ever, fighting for a common aim, trying to reach a common goal however they could.
What hadn’t been funny were the reasons for their actions and the consequences that came after, but it doesn’t matter anymore. It’s been two years, and it’s all in the past now, and Subaru doesn’t regret it one bit, at least not anymore.
Saying that he has never regretted their decision would be lying, because music had been his life, but it had been for a good reason and, at the time, no one could think of anything better, any other alternative anyway. Music had always been so important in Subaru’s life, but friendship has always been even more important. He tells himself that often, so it’s okay now. Subaru is glad that things went how they did; their act of rebellion had been the most important thing he has ever done. Standing up for someone he loves made him feel good and made him proud of his decisions.
Kanjani without Yasuda wouldn’t have been the same, anyway.
It’s okay that they’ll probably never again be able to set foot on a stage all together. It’s fine as long as they can all meet and tell their stories. It’s okay as long as their bond is still there. That’s what’s important.
When they had first been told about Yasuda’s suspension (after his cell phone had been lost and the pictures of he and his boyfriend with not so many clothes on had been leaked to the press), no one had known what to do. Maruyama had been the first one to voice his protest against Yasuda’s suspension, telling the higher up people in the agency that there was nothing wrong with being naked.
Their answer had been that the being naked wasn’t the problem. Not that they didn’t already know that anyway, but still. Everyone knew that the problem was Yasuda’s exposed homosexuality, but saying it aloud had sounded so awful and bigoted to them all, so they insisted in telling everyone who would listen that there was nothing wrong with being naked, hoping that their message would have been heard anyway.
In the end, after they had been told several times that although there was nothing wrong with being naked, the suspension would stand, Yoko had come up with a plan, and the next thing they knew, each of them had found himself undressing on stage.
Silly as it seemed now, back then they had all thought that it was the only way to rebel against Yasuda’s suspension, and so they carried on with their plan, suddenly undressing in the middle of every concert (but never in the same song, in order to confuse the staff that had been told to keep an eye on them). It had been silly and childish, but they had wanted to do something about Yasuda’s situation, and that childish act had been the only thing they could come up with, since words hadn’t been useful at all.
It hadn’t been long before they were all summoned for an urgent meeting, and after a long and exhausting session that had gone on for hours, Kanjani had been disbanded.
Hurtful as it had been, none of them have regrets about standing up for their friend, and now that years have gone by, everything seems to be falling into a new place, and somehow also a right place again, finally.
TV stations had been fighting to have Hina on their team, and Yoko had quickly found a job as radio host. Ryo’s acting career was going smoothly, while Ohkura had been modeling with the occasional acting job from time to time ever since Kanjani had been dissolved. Maruyama had been slowly but steadily making his own way in the entertainment business, he is now a regular on several shows, while Yasuda had finally managed to create his own brand of clothes and is now in the final stages of planning to open a small shop.
Subaru had been the one who experienced the most problems in finding a new path in his life: music is something he still loves, but somehow he had felt like that was a closed chapter of his life, and that it was time to move on and start with something else, something fresh. Going on with music without his band mates had seemed wrong, and they all knew that to continue playing after quitting the agency would have been difficult.
Then, slowly, Subaru had started to think back to when they had undressed on stage, about how he had felt back then; shy at first, more bold after the first time. He had started to think over it more and more often, asking himself if there was something wrong with it and making a list of pros and cons. He had never read that list after he had written it, and by now he’s not even sure if the pros outnumbered the cons or not. It’s not important now however, because he has decided.
“The clothes are damn tight,” Subaru whines, pulling at the hem of his vest, and Yasuda is soon after by his side, checking over the outfit with an irritated expression on his face as he looks for imperfections.
“That’s not possible,” he declares, passing his hands over the fabric. “I personally took all the measurements and sewed your clothes, they can’t be tight! They are designed to fit perfectly.”
“The trousers are fucking tight,” Subaru says again, and Yasuda looks at him, his brows furrowing.
“They’re exactly how they’re supposed to be.”
“It’s not that you’re going to wear them for too long anyway,” Ryo reminds him, grinning, and Subaru looks horrified for just a slight moment before he regains his composure, and Ryo smirks harder.
A couple of minutes later someone knocks on the door, and when a guy from the crew peeks inside, Subaru tenses.
“Two minutes and you’re on,” the guy announces, and Subaru nods, all the eyes in the room on him, searching for a reaction. When the door closes again, Subaru closes his eyes and breathes in deeply.
“We’ll be going then,” Yoko announces, and one by one they all exit the room, wishing him good luck and cheering him on. Hina pats Subaru’s back as he passes by, telling him they’ll be waiting at the end of the show, and Subaru smiles weakly and nods.
“I’ll see you later then,” he finally says, but Hina’s not there anymore.
Subaru waits behind the curtain, quickly peeking out from behind it: he can’t see his friends anymore, but the room is crowded and almost every table is occupied. He shivers in anticipation and takes a deep breath, waiting.
When the current act ends, all the lights go off, except for the small, red LEDs marking the edge of the stage and the platform, and white smoke appears before a deep voice sounds.
“Ladies and gentlemen! Setting foot for the first time on this stage, ‘Red Infinity’ is here to set your evening on fire! Let his charm seduce you. Give ‘Red Infinity’ a warm welcome!”
Subaru’s legs shake as the music starts playing loudly, and he tries to relax, takes in a few deep breaths. There’s nothing to be afraid of, he’s been on a stage before; he has played in front of bigger crowds, so he can do it. He can do this.
With a last deep breath, Subaru draws the curtain open and walks onto the stage.
The lights are blinding, and he needs a couple of moments to get used to them as he moves his body to the beat, stepping forward into their glare. He’s nervous, and he hopes that the shaking in his legs is not too evident for the audience who’s now looking at him curiously.
In the furthest corner of the room, Subaru sees his friends sitting at a table; Yoko is sipping from a flashy drink as he nods his head to the beat and stares at him, and Hina is cheering so loudly that his voice overcomes all the others. Then, Subaru sees Maru and Yasuda as they move uchiwas plastered with his face to the beat of the music, and he smiles, suppressing a laugh. That’s just what he needs to boost his self confidence.
His steps grow bolder, and he brings himself to the center of the stage with feline grace and slow steps, staring at the public with his dark eyes; the women sitting at the closest tables cheer and laugh, and Subaru winks at them as he pops open the buttons of his black vest, and the screams grow louder.
Any nervousness has faded away with each step, and Subaru’s not only comfortable in what he’s doing now, but he’s also having fun. He takes away the rubber band that is tying his hair back and shakes his head around sexily, letting his hair fly free, and he distinctly hears Ryo’s voice cheering for him as he does so.
When he looks again, Ohkura and Ryo are standing, staring at him and raising their thumbs when they notice he’s looking, and Subaru realizes that he’s really lucky to have friends like them, supporting him no matter what he chooses to do with his life.
Subaru walks to the pole in the middle of the platform and rests his back against it, sliding up and down as he pops the rest of the buttons of his vest open, and lets the small garment fall to the ground.
It’s true that Subaru doesn’t exactly have the ripped muscular body of a stripper, but his charisma and his charm are enough to have all the ladies in the room cheer for him and scream approval, and Subaru smiles to himself as he twirls against the pole. He walks to the edge of the platform and passes his hands over his chest with seductive moves before he slowly brings his hands to the thighs of his trousers. He mentally prays that everything will go smoothly, and he searches for Yasuda with his eyes.
Yasuda stands up on his chair, gesturing him to just rip the trousers along the seams with his hands exactly like he had taught him; with a last glance at his friends, Subaru forcefully pulls on the front of the trousers, and the fabric opens on both sides, leaving him standing only in his underwear.
The public cheers and roars, but Subaru doesn’t look at them long; his eyes shift back to that far away table in the corner of the room, to the faces of his friends and he stares at their expressions. Maru has a satisfied smile on his lips. It hadn’t been easy to find underwear in those exact seven colors, Maru had told him, and Subaru is really glad he managed to do so. He knew asking Maru to help him was the right choice.
Yoko looks moved, while Ohkura and Ryo are now cheering even louder as they laugh and point at Subaru’s underwear, and Subaru’s eyes are sparkling with happiness as he looks at them all, one by one. They’re all there for him, and Subaru has never been more grateful in his life for their support.
When the song ends, Subaru bows to the audience and quickly makes his way backstage, picking his clothes up along the way. When he draws the curtain closed behind him, he can still hear the crowd cheering for him and calling his name, and the adrenaline makes his legs shake again.
Subaru smiles as he takes a quick shower and gets dressed in his street clothes this time, savoring the success that is still ringing in his ears, the sound of the public’s excited voices .
--
Once the show is over and he steps out from backstage, the room is almost empty; it’s late at night, and his act had been the second last one of the evening, most of the people have gone home. Subaru walks to the table occupied by his friends, and when they see him walking towards them, Hina hurries to grab a chair from the closest table while everyone else clusters around him.
When he sits, Subaru is welcomed by several pats on his back, and everyone congratulates him, with some lightly mocking him and others being slightly more seriously supportive.
“Where did you even find that underwear?” Yoko asks him, and Subaru grins, glancing at Maru soon after. Yoko’s inquisitive eyes shift over to Maru then, and he repeats his question as he raises his eyebrows.
“It’s a secret!” Maru tells him, and then hurries to pour some beer for them all before Yoko starts to insist on an answer.
He takes his glass in his hand, raises it, and then clears his throat dramatically.
“To the new born star of stripping!” Maru yells, and everyone laughs, and clinks their glasses together loudly.
“To you guys,” Subaru adds soon after, and then he gulps his whole glass down, and slams it on the table.
When he looks at them, Subaru is smiling as brightly as he can. “After all, what’s wrong with being naked?”
Poll Team Future Prompt 1