Come On! Koibito! 5/21
While chaos would perhaps be a bit of an overstatement, the party had kind of dissolved into madness. Most of the contestants were crowding Jun like there would be no chance to ever see him again. It didn't take long for Nagase to realize that, as things were going, there was no way each one of the contestants was going to get screen time.
"I don't know why they thought this was going to work," Ohno sighed, shifting the camera off his shoulder and onto the other, the whole time keeping it on Nino's face.
"This is different? Doesn't the opening party kind of look like this every year?" Nino looked around, watching the camera people trying to film as each man tried desperately to get closer to the bachelor. The only people not a part of the mob were he and Ohno, who were watching from a distance, Aiba and Yoko, who were eating over at one of the refreshment tables and another man and his camera man, who seemed to be taking the same role as team ohmiya.
"Well," Ohno looked in the way Nino was gazing, towards the crowd Nagase was trying to push himself through, signaling the camera men to kill the feed, "we usually have the same set up, for sure, but it's more regulated. You don't see much of it from the final cut but Nagase makes sure that the bachelor circles around, meets everyone of the contestants at least once. If he didn't, how would the public at home know who to vote for?"
"That's a good point," Nino agreed, watching Nagase almost trip over a lost scarf and then kick the offending article of clothing as hard as he could (which, it being a scarf, didn't do much). "So what's going to happen now?"
"I don't know. He'll probably just try and set things up like they were every other season. We all know the drill. It won't take long."
The two watched Nagase give the group a speech, each one of the contestants backing away a little at the strength of Nagase's voice. One even covered his ears and Nagase threw his hat at him. Nino laughed and Ohno elbowed him to be quiet. It was always best not to attract attention when the PA was in this kind of mood. After the speech was finished, each member of the camera crew took their charge away, except for a singular couple that stayed with Jun. They must have been first.
Ohno and Nino continued to relax in the corner by the refreshment table, a companionable silence settling between them. It had only been a few hours but Nino felt comfortable with the man who was going to be like a second pair of eyes for the next few months. It was probably for the best, he kept assuring himself, as they were going to be in quite close quarters. Getting along would be key.
But he couldn't get too comfortable, couldn't let his guard down with the man too much. There was the obvious problem of Ohno's camera and the worry that the voters would see a face of Nino that he didn't want. He'd have to create a character, a Ninomiya that the people would want to root for, a normal guy that they'd feel would ground Jun or something like that. He couldn't have footage going against that if he wanted to stay in the show. Television was all about appearance. Aiba might be able to be his normal, happy self all the time and still enchant the audience but Nino was different. He wasn't a super interesting person and he'd have to come up with a way to convince the audience at home that he was. That, in theory, shouldn't be that hard.
There was the other problem, however, that there was something about about this Ohno guy that just intrigued Nino and that, honestly, worried him. It wasn't lust and it was definitely not love but it was the beginnings of something, a stomach flip flop that made Nino wince when he thought about it. He'd laughed at Aiba's immediate taking to the host but was he any better?
Stealing a glance at Ohno, who was currently trying to nonchalantly grab a strawberry off the table to eat without Nakai, who was sitting nearby, noticing, a small smile played at the edges of Nino's lips and he sighed. It may be a long three months but he could do it. Enchant Jun and the viewers. Win the money. Go home. That was the plan. He could be civil, kind even, to pretty cameraman in the meantime. But he couldn't lose his head. It could happen. It was doable.
"You should probably mingle," Ohno spoke up after awhile, encouraging Nino. "You're going to be with these people for awhile; you might want to get to know them."
"Eh," Nino shrugged, "I'll meet them soon enough. I'd rather hang with normal people like you."
Ohno smiled but didn't say anything.
"Speaking of normal people," Nino continued, not missing a beat, "who's that guy over there? He seemed to have the same idea as me about mob control." Ohno followed Nino's eyes to the man across the way who was also chatting up his camera man.
"Tsuyoshi-kun?" he muttered to himself. "Who's Tsuyoshi-kun with again?" Ohno's eyes went up and to the left as he tried to recall which contestant his friend had been paired with. Nino smiled at the sight, amused at the way Ohno's tongue popped slightly out of his mouth as he thought. He grabbed a strawberry from the table and popped it in his mouth to quell what he was telling himself were only nervous butterflies.
"Oguri!" Ohno came up with the name all of the sudden, face beaming, proud of himself for remembering. "Oguri Shun."
"Oguri Shun, huh?" Nino gave the other man another appraising look. "I think we might just get along."
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"I'm Aiba Masaki," Aiba grinned and enthusiastically shook Jun's hand. "It's super awesome to meet you."
"Um, it's good to meet you, too," Jun replied, obviously slightly taken back by the sheer energy Aiba seemed to radiate but not put off by it. "What do you do, Aiba?"
"I work at a pet shop," Aiba replied, slightly abashed. "I know everyone else has much flashier jobs but--"
"No," Jun interrupted, "working in a pet shop's not bad at all. I'm sure it's very rewarding."
"It is!" Aiba brightened right back up, images of puppies and kittens clearly dancing before his eyes. "You can play with dogs all day, you know, as long as you do all the cleaning and man the register when you have to. It's kind of perfect. And there's so many adorable animals everywhere. Plus the owners are so nice and supportive. They gave me as much time off as I needed. Isn't that awesome?" A flash of realization came over his face and he spun around to face Yoko. "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Tanaka!"
Yoko and Jun both laughed softly, Aiba completely focused on waving at the camera. He spun around quickly enough, though, and caught Jun's eye again.
"So~oo," Aiba began in a sing-songy voice, "what do you like to do, Matsujun?"
"Matsujun?" Jun blinked.
"I'm famous for making up nicknames," Aiba replied with a knowing smile. "Isn't that right, Pi?" he called towards the crowd. A man talking to another contestant turned around, a confused look on his face.
"I still don't know how you got that from my name, Aiba!" he called back, turning around to see his friend laughing at him. He punched him in the arm, muttering 'Shut up, Toma.'
"See? Everyone loves my nicknames~" Aiba smiled cheerily, seemingly unaware of the confused stares everyone nearby was giving him. It seemed to Jun that this might be a normal situation for Aiba. He was certainly unfazed by it.
"Anyway," Aiba continued, "you never answered my question. What do you like to do?"
"Oh, um," Jun paused to think for a second, "I guess I enjoy listening to music and reading. Cooking. Stuff like that."
"Cooking!" Aiba exclaimed and Jun took a step back. "My parents own a restaurant!"
"They do?" Jun smiled.
"Yep!" Aiba replied. "They have a Chinese food restaurant and it's basically delicious. You should try it sometime!"
"I'll have to," Jun agreed, seeing out the corner of his eye Nagase signaling him to move along. Aiba must have noticed it too, as he looked over at Yoko and gestured towards the snack tables. Yoko nodded.
"You have to go meet other people, don't you?" Aiba asked in a playfully sad tone. Jun had to smile.
"I do," Jun replied. "It was very good to meet you, though."
"You too!" Aiba saluted.
"See you around, Aiba," Jun smiled before walking towards the next contestant.
Aiba grabbed Yoko by the arm and retreated towards the snacks again, grabbing some chips off the table. It wasn't that he was hungry so much as he needed something to be doing, the nerves of the encounter still trying to work themselves out.
"Matsujun's pretty," Aiba confided to Yoko. Yoko just nodded, shifting his camera on the other shoulder while taking a few extra chips out of Aiba's hand and popping them in his mouth. Aiba made an annoyed face at Yoko before grabbing some more. Clearly he was in more need at the moment. He just hoped he hadn't sounded too ridiculous when he had been talking to Matsujun. Although he was pretty sure he had.
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Nino obviously knew his turn was next. Ohno was watching the other man as he nervously gnawed on a strawberry, taking longer to eat the fruit than Ohno thought was humanly possible. His eyes darted around the room, looking anywhere but where Jun was talking with another contestant, some aspiring singer named Akanishi Jin. Jin seemed to be making some kind of impression, as Ohno noticed his shirt constantly moving lower and lower down his body, exposing more and more shoulder. He wasn't sure if Akanishi was doing that to seem sexy or if he just got his sweater a few sizes too big.
He turned towards his suddenly skittish new charge, trying to think of something to get him talking. It had only been a little while but Ohno had already realized that Nino was at his most charming (at least, for the camera) when he was chattering. Nino was clever, that was for certain, and all his little asides to Ohno that night had already earned him the title of favorite contestant in Ohno's mind. He just wanted to make sure that the nation knew that. Not only could Ohno use the money that being on all season would bring him, he was having a good time looking after Nino.
"A week's lunch Akanishi's out in the next two weeks," Ohno nodded towards the young man that now seemed to be almost clinging to Jun, who did not look too impressed at the younger man's impression of a leech. Nino blinked, Ohno's comment bringing him back to reality (as Ohno had counted on) and narrowed his eyes at the pair, contemplating.
"You're on. That Jin guy's pretty. People like pretty."
"People like pretty but people hate clingy." Ohno spoke from experience. Well, cameraman experience. "And overly slutty," he added, as an afterthought.
The two watched Jun and Akanishi talk for a little while, Nino sliding away from the snack table and closer to Ohno, Ohno noticed. He was beginning to figure that Nino required some sort of physical proximity at most times to make him comfortable. This wasn't really a problem, however, as Ohno really didn't mind people in his personal space. In his line of work, personal space was a thing of the past.
"You're just jealous!" a cry came from across the room and Ohno and Nino both stretched out their necks to get a better look at the scene that was unfolding. Akanishi had removed himself from Jun's arm and was pointing at the now vaguely bewildered man with a scandalized look on his face. "You're just jealous that I'm young and beautiful!"
"What are you talking about?" Jun asked after a second, confusion and annoyance clearly reflected on his face as he took another look at the man who was trying to pull up his sweater in a show of false modesty. Ohno had met Jun a few times prior to this night and while the young man had always been fairly polite and proper, it was obvious that he wasn't someone to mess with. Ohno was curious just how far Akanishi would go.
"You put on airs like you're some big guy and you're nothing. You're just insecure and sad." Akanishi was obviously pulling things out of nowhere as he'd only met Jun possibly ten minutes prior. It was clear that he hadn't thought through his argument very well and Jun looked disgusted.
"Is this because you tried to kiss me and I turned you down? Because that's just sad." Jun was looking at Akanishi like he was some sort of pathetic animal. On closer inspection, Akanishi did kind of look pathetic.
Seeing that there was no clear way to win to this argument, Akanishi took the easy way out and just dashed off, towards the production tents. Jun blinked after him, annoyance still marked on his face but his body relaxing. The contestant might complain but Keisuke-kun was his handler and Ohno was pretty sure that he'd speak up for his true nature. Akanishi probably wouldn't be on this show much longer.
"You're going to owe me lunch," Ohno smiled over at Nino. Nino didn't respond, however, a nervous frown painting his usually vibrant features duller. "Oh come on," Ohno tried to encourage him. "How could you look bad after that?"
Nino smiled a small smile and gave Ohno a little nod. A second later, he had composed himself and was once again the charmer that Ohno had been filming all night. The older man wasn't quite sure how he did that but it was certainly impressive, if a little off-putting. Sure, charming Nino was charming but nervous Nino was adorable. He'd have to tell him that later.
"Sorry about that outburst," Jun apologized as he walked over, his few minutes with Nino now on. "I have no idea what caused that." Jun still looked a little mad. Nino didn't seem to mind, however, and just shrugged, shaking Jun's hand.
"Eh, it happens. Sometimes you just have all beauty and no brains. The poor guy couldn't help it if he'd traded his judgement capacities for extra luxurious locks," Nino smirked. Jun laughed.
"Good point. Who am I to judge someone that beautiful?"
"Obviously we are merely graced to be in his presence. I can't believe you didn't realize the great privilege he granted you by actually leeching himself to your arm. But alas, the moment has passed."
"If we could but turn back the hands of time, eh?" Jun smiled, clearly enjoying the easy back and forth with Nino. Ohno smiled as he tried to get the best shot possible of Jun's wide grin. Had to make sure the audiences at home saw how well Nino was doing. "But enough about him. I didn't catch your name."
"Oh, sorry about that," Nino apologized quickly. "Ninomiya Kazunari, but just Nino is fine."
"Nino," Jun repeated. "I like that. Short, simple, easy to remember."
"And easy to yell when in distress and looking for a savior. Just ask Aiba."
"Are you and Aiba close?" Jun asked, obviously curious as to how this seemingly normal guy and the hurricane of energy that was Aiba were related.
"We've known each other since we were young. Currently, we live together. Everyday is an adventure, let me tell you." Nino's face seemed to say it all, a mixture of affection, weariness, and past trauma. Jun laughed again, obviously imagining the different scenarios the two of them must have seen. It was a pretty amusing mental image.
"You'll have to tell me about it some time. I'm sure you have some great stories." Jun's attention was quickly diverted by a flailing Nagase behind Nino, pointing at his watch and making 'move along' hand motions. Jun sighed. "I think I wasted too much time with that idiot earlier. I'm sorry that I have to go so quickly." He really did look sorry.
"Don't worry about it," Nino assured him, waving off the apology with a look of confidence. "You'll be seeing a lot of me over the next few months. We have plenty of time to talk."
"If you say so," Jun smiled, waving a goodbye and moving on to the next group a little ways past them. The instant Jun was away, Nino exhaled deeply and stuffed a strawberry in his mouth, worry draining from his body like water out of a bathtub. It was quite a sight to see.
"You think I did okay?" Nino asked Ohno, nerves peppering his low voice and little green strawberry leaves sticking out of his mouth. Ohno couldn't help smiling, thinking once again that this Nino would have no trouble winning the contest in a heartbeat.
"You did great, especially with that set up by Akanishi. Who wouldn't fall in love with you after that?"
Nino beamed, a deep grateful smile that Ohno wasn't sure he deserved and grabbed another strawberry from the table, stuffing it in Ohno's mouth this time, laughing at the surprised "mmff!" that escaped from him. Ohno made sure that he caught every instant of Nino's glee at surprising him, positive that if this made the air, there was no way Japan wouldn't fall in love with him.
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After Sho had excused all the contestants back to their cars and Jun had left himself for his luxury suite the show had been renting for him, all the PAs and staffers retired to one of the production tents. If there was one thing that had become tradition over the seasons, it was the meeting that everyone had after the welcome party. When Kimura, the last attendee, entered the tent, Sho smiled, turning to face the assembled crew.
"Hello, everyone, and welcome to Season Five's official first meeting of the Betting Union!" Sho announced, leading the crew to cheer, cans of beer being passed around the tent. The raucous crew quieted somewhat, taking sips of beer and eating the end of the refreshments. There was an easy camaraderie in the air, almost everyone having been on staff for all five seasons. Everyone knew what was coming next.
"Okay," Sho started, pulling up a new document on the laptop on the table behind him and labeling it "Season Five BU". "First off, who's playing this year?"
Not very many people raised their hands, as most of the crew was aware that the stakes rose every year and last year was pretty damn high. In the end, only Sho, Nakai, Taka, Kimura and Nagase decided to play for real, the rest of the staff settling down as 'advisors', or, as Nagase called them, 'back seat drivers.'
"First person voted off?" Sho asked, turning from the computer and clearly expecting people to answer one by one. However, all four of them answered at once ("Jin!") and Sho chuckled, marking down five votes for Akanishi Jin on the blank document.
"Biggest mental breakdown?" was the next question.
There were three votes for Jin (Nakai, Kimura, Sho), counting that night's meltdown as possibly the biggest of the season. Taka thought that Tegoshi had hidden depths and by hidden depths, he meant lots of issues. Nagase was worried about Kamenashi but Sho was pretty sure that was simply because Yoshinori-kun had a history of getting stuck with the weirdest charge.
"And the biggest question and everyone's favorite," Sho smiled, "who's going to be the final three?"
"I call Mizushima, Ikuta, and Yamashita," Nakai said. "They all have likable personalities, seem easy-going. Plus, they're all good looking in different ways. I think the girls will go for them."
"I agree with Ikuta," Nagase thought aloud, "but I don't know about the other two. I'm going to say Ikuta, Okura and that Aiba kid. Different energies. People like gaps between options and those three are all totally different."
"I like that Aiba guy," Sho said, an amused smile on his face. "He's a character but he's fun."
"You just like him because he took a shine to you," Nakai laughed. "What'd he try to give you? A frozen strawberry?"
"I think we should watch that guy. He better not have more illegal chemicals on him," Nagase worried.
"He's fine," Sho shrugged. "Just enthusiastic. I'll go with him, too. Aiba, that Koike kid, and Oguri. Oguri seemed to get along well with Jun."
"The Koike kid? Really? He just seems annoying." Nagase sighed.
"My turn!" Kimura jumped in, enthusiastically. "Ummmm," he trailed off, obviously not having thought it through. His eyes lit up again in a second, though, and he continued the thought. "I'm going to say Taguchi, Mizobata, and that Ninomiya guy. I like him."
"He's such a black sheep," Nakai scoffed. "That's why I paired him with," Nakai's eyes narrowed at Nagase, "Ohno." Nagase just winked at Nakai. Nakai grumbled something about arrogant assholes and took another swig of his beer.
"I don't know," Kimura mumbled. "There's something likable about him. I think he'll actually go far."
"Me too," Taka agreed. "He's going in my three, too."
"Not you, too," Nakai complained. "I don't want that twit Ohno sticking around that long."
"Oh, whatever," Taka waved Nakai off. "I'm going to go Ninomiya, Aiba and Oguri."
"Okay, do I have everyone's bets?" Sho called over his shoulder, typing Taka's names into the computer.
"I think so," Kimura called back. "What are we betting for this year?"
"We have to raise the stakes," Nagase implored. "It's not exciting if we don't."
"Agreed," Nakai nodded. "I say, hmm, 100,000 yen?"
"That's a little high, isn't it?" Sho complained.
"You make enough," Nakai grumbled.
"Be a man, Sakurai," Nagase thumped Sho on the back.
"All right," Sho reticently agreed.
"Then it's on for another year!" Kimura smiled. "Best of luck to everyone!"
"Now go clean this place up," Nagase growled.
Sho's stomach was still sunk. He better have picked the right people; he did not want to be out that much cash.
~
Sorry chapter five took a little while, you guys. Aiba's section was just not agreeing with me but I think I finally made it somewhat salvageable. I also tried to make this chapter a little longer than the last few. I don't know if I really succeeded but at least I tried? xD I know I mentioned offhand a lot of characters in this chapter but they've all been added to the cast list so if you forget or want to double check, all the names you've heard so far are there. But don't worry; if they were mentioned offhand, they probably aren't that important. ;D Once again, thanks so much for reading you guys! I'm so happy you like it. ♥
Eta; CONTEST: Thanks to an ingenious idea by camaronzin! Let's have our very own Betting Union! Place your own bets for the top three and the ultimate winner. Whoever gets closest will get a fic (and maybe a few of the runner ups). Remember that there's a cast list here, if you need it. Let the games begin!