ıllı ιηғιηιтү sнιғт ıllı [private rp]

[froot oops]

Cute Haninozuka/Kensuke Ryans, Kyandiice DeLuna/Etsumomo, and Atomic Phart/Hisui Mitsuo's
private RP chronicles and shenanigans. Invitation only, bluh bluh bluh.

You know how this forum works, you're smart. I believe in you.






[ the story thus far ]

01. intro to infinity

The afternoon settles into evening, the sky is dark
and the city lights are bright.

After the success of their first chart-topping single "Party Down", the new Japanese idol group Infinity Shift has been hard at work producing their next hit track; another long day at the studio has come to an end and the trio are now heading to their favorite hangout to unwind before heading back home to rest, then rise, and do it all again.

02. i want to take off my pants and jacket

Infinity Shift is in the middle of photo shoots for their next single, "My Happy Ever After," which has a fairytale motif. Etsu is the main and is featured as the princess, while Kensuke and Mitsuo are opposing princes of 'light' and 'darkness' who vie for her love. Anyway, Etsu and Mitsuo hate wearing the costumes for different reasons and Kensuke's the only one who reeeally enjoys dressing up and mugging for the cameras.

[Cute Haninozuka]

"Aaaahhh, another day. Another single" a blonde young man sighed happily as he walked out the revolving doors of the record company alongside a tall and darker haired man. "Man am I ready to unwind! I feel like we made the magic happen in that recording studio. This single will definitely be a hit for sure don't you think Mitsuo?" he grinned happily as he walked forward toward their favorite hang out to relax.

Usually being so excitable, Kensuke always looked forward with a positive outlook that the world. Being 5'8 in height, lean and being an American, he felt as though he was god's gift to humanity to make the world more beautiful with his instrument and looks. (And he never lets his friends forget it)

"You think I could drink their kegs dry this time? I swear last time I was close. You were there! You saw it! I was close!"

[Kyanselas]

The sole female spun one extra time through the revolving door for the hell of it before stumbling out with a laugh and skipping to catch up with her two friends and "colleagues". Etsu had an extra bounce to her step as she fell into step with Kensuke and Mitsuo, "It might've been if half of it hadn't ended up on you rather then in you." The cheerful teasing was followed by a playful ruffle of that blond hair he adored so much. "Let's drink until we drop! WOO! Drinks on Mitsuo!" The 5'6'' female jumped forward with another laugh and skipped ahead of them in enthusiasm. It had been a long day, but when you were doing something you loved--- it was kinda hard to hate your job. Besides, there was a bunch of cute tipsy girls awaiting her! Life was good!

[froot oops]

The slightly taller of the two boys walked with his hands in his pockets, gaze fixed straight as they left the company building. "It's not done. I don't want to call it a 'hit' just yet," Mitsuo said about the track they'd just been working on for the day. He seemed a little more pensive than his bandmates, their work still weighing on his mind rather heavily. "But, it is coming along really well," he added on. He wouldn't want to work on something he wasn't proud of, after all.

He rolled his eyes as Kensuke boasted of his drinking prowess (whatever), but couldn't help but laugh when Etsu reminded everyone of his last attempt to drink everyone under the table. "Seriously, you were drenched," he shook his head as he glanced over to watch Etsu ruffle the American's precious blonde locks. Goofballs...

Mitsuo scoffed when she declared the drinks would be on him, "No way!" he protested without hesitation, despite being the youngest of the trio. "I'm not buying drinks if Ken's just going to be wearing them." So wasteful!

[Cute Haninozuka]

Mitsuo was right; the song wasn't ready yet. However, the enthusiastic blonde was still optimistic."You're right but still. There's the seeds of brilliance in there that will blossom into the top 5 on the charts hands down!" He was confident nevertheless, thanks to the talent he felt blessed to work with along with.

Kensuke beamed as he retorted "Hey! I made it look amazing and you guys know I do; even when I'm inebriated and passed out on the bathroom floor, I still make it look like the lasted trend" Kensuke flipped his side bangs out of his hair to drive the effect of his perfection.

When Etsu ruffled his hair, Kensuke eyes winced while attempting to push her back to no avail. When she wanted to do something, nothing or no one would stand in her way. (Except maybe if you begged and pleaded.) He learned to accept the horrible punishment of having his perfect golden locks ruined. "Etsuuuuuuu, you know how long it takes to get my hair flawless like thiiiiiis. Why do you keep doing thiiiiis. You're ruining god's gift to the world by messing with my haiiiirrrrrr. Now the harvest won't be as good cause you pissed off jesuuuuus " he whined incessantly as she continued to ruffle his head. After the torture was over, he fixed his hair with a couple strokes. It was now less than perfect. Unless Kensuke ran home to his bathroom to put in emergency hair care products, its going to remain messy.

His mood instantly changed when their charismatic female band member was excited to drink. The sin of messing with his hair was instantly forgiven. He placed his arms around both his friends and cheered. "WOOOO!!!! YEAAAH!!! Let's have so much fun we can't tell the difference between shapes and numbers!!!"

When Mitsuo objected to the idea, Kensuke gave another hearty smile. "Well, I guess we can't use the excuse of you being the youngest to buy us unlimited alcohol as a form of initiation anymore" (Even though Etsu and Kensuke never had to go through it themselves and don't intend to) "...I'll pay for it this time! It'll be my treat! After all, I want to celebrate how good I feel on this track. Soooo, DRINKS ON MeeeeEEEEeeeeEEE!!!" the idol sang happily as he marched towards the bar.

"And maybe we'll get to see what Mitsuo looks like when he's drunk off his a**!!! But not too drunk since we still need to go into the studio tomorrow. But drunk enough to have fun and responsibly wake up! It ain't Friday yet ha ha" Kensuke shouted into the sky with joyful enthusiasm.

[Kyanselas]

Etsu scoffed loudly, "Top five? Try top slot!" It was easy to see that the three of them shared their confidence in their work. They had worked their butts off with their first album, and despite just meeting before that and being different in so many ways, the three of them had hit it off rather quickly. It was probably why their first single had been such a hit too. Other then the fact that they were just plain awesome. Nothing could compare. Nothing.

Even drunk off their asses and making complete and utter fools of themselves. Or at least two-thirds of the trio.

"Well if you're truly bothered by it, I can go ahead and fix it for you?" More girlish laughter followed this statement; they all knew she'd ruffle his hair whenever she damn well pleased at any part of the day. At least she was nice enough to control that urge when his godly looks were needed on the shining stage. "Maybe a cute pigtail here and some braids there..." While not directly messing with his partially fixed hair, she still poked at his head to make a point.

It was easy to tell when they were coming closer to their destination, the sound of music trailing from the fancy neon-colored double doors that was heavily guarded by the usual buff bouncer's. Being friend's with the owner, and STARS had its perks though as the bouncer's inclined their heads to the three and immediately pulled aside the velvet rope barrier to let them in without question. A few patrons outside hissed angerly as they were let in so easy, but a majority of the guests waiting for that slim chance of sneaking in seemed to recognize them just as they were slipping past their outreached grasps... so close.

"I'm gonna have to take my coffee with a shot of aspirin in the morning, because tonight's going to be good!" Especially if they didn't drink all of Mitsuo's drinks for him and let the male let loose as well. Never happened, but she was confident it would---- eventually. The club was large, exclusive, full of neon life and music, the bar was the die for, and they kinda had their own kickass personal upstairs seating and minibar. It wasn't packed to the point of being annoying, but enough that the three wouldn't be recognized unless you stopped to actually look at them. Excluding the manager who seemed to have the keen ability of pinpointing them out the moment they stepped into the building.

[froot oops]

It was amazing how about 80% of the words that flew out of Kensuke's mouth barely seemed like coherent sentences. Was it his accent? No, despite being American and a native English speaker, his Japanese was very good. Could it possibly just be his voice? But, he was an idol, a large percentage of his livelihood depended on having a pleasant voice...

What was it then? How could he use so many words yet have so little meaning? Why did Mitsuo only hear noise akin to really flamboyant mosquitoes when Ken spoke...? Oh, right! Because Mitsuo found him annoying.

He seemed to have this revelation every day they were together, because somehow during work he ended up forgetting Kensuke was the definition of obnoxious to him. Damn the older boy's talent, good nature, and dependable work ethic (no wait, don't damn those, those were good things -- he wouldn't work with either of them if they didn't have those traits).

At least Etsu, full of moxy and energy, had a handle on the chatterbox Kensuke. The Taiwanese boy watched as she teased their band-mate about his precious hair yet again, smiling slightly. "Yeah, man, you should definitely let Etsu give you a new style. I think extensions would be good on you," he suggested with what appeared to be genuine interest in his physical appearance. "Really long ones, so I can strangle you with them." Okay, he just couldn't resist joining in on the teasing.

He shook his head when the blond smiled at him. "That's not going to happen," he said, about buying the drinks and about getting smashed. Someone had to stay sober to make sure they would get home all right and so no one would start some scandal-worthy shenanigans in public... may as well be the kouhai, right? It was better than having to be followed and babysat by PR representatives.

Mitsuo wanted to tell Kensuke to make up his mind when he had been going on about getting bombed, then was trying to remind them to drink 'responsibly'. He was the one who needed to be reminded that the most before he ended up drowning in a keg! "Hěn fán," he sighed under his breath, because none of it really mattered. As long as his senpais were able to perform the next day, they could go hog wild for all he cared.

Ignoring the sounds of irritated patrons standing in wait outside the club, and the people who seemed to recognize them at the last second, he disappeared into the loud building along with his band-mates. The music was thumping, the floor beneath their feet felt alive, the air was sweet and warm, and a bold and colorful decor surrounded them; even without drinks, the almost overwhelming atmosphere took over his senses and gave him a sense of ease. It became harder to hold onto his thoughts, which he liked, as he let Kensuke and Etsu lead the way to their private lounge that overlooked the people on the dance floor below.

"We're not pulling an all-nighter," he said to the pair once they were upstairs. From where they were, conversation would not drown in the music, so they were able to talk comfortably. However, that was all he felt the need to remind them of, since he was also totally ready to just chill out and relax after their long day at the studio.

They would celebrate the night away when, not if, their next single topped the charts again.

[Cute Haninozuka]

Estu's proposal to give the blond a new look was politely declined as he laughed nervously while holding both his hands up in a pitiful defense just in case she would anyway. "Ah ha...yeah though I think we all know I'd make a beautiful girl if I put my heart into it. I'm fine with being a man for now. Though whenever I'm ready I'm sure to let you know ah ha ha....."

Shocked by Mitsuo's genuine interest in his hair, his emerald eyes glanced over to the younger man. Smiling, his eyes began to sparkle at the compliment. "You really think so Mitsu?! Oh you flatter you! I never thought you had an opinion on my hair! <3 < 3 <3 "

He was actually happy...until he heard the contempt afterwards. Of course Mitsuo wouldn't care about the glory of his hair. That was alright. At least it looked like the younger idol was having fun; even at his own expense. Kensuke couldn't help but smile and laugh along with the three of them. "Thaaaanks Mistu. A true brother ha ha"

"Hey, have some faith. Except for Etsu. This girl is gonna hit those bottles harder than an Ak-47 bullet to its intended target. Or me whenever I see a sexy casserole. You know I'm gonna be hitting the floor running to that." The mere thought of a casserole left him biting his index finger in 'joy' as he thought about it. "Maaaaan, especially when its covered in cheese...good god that'll drive me crazy as heeeeell"

Thank goodness they were already at the nightclub with loud music drifting him further from his own thoughts; otherwise the blonde was going to need a private moment to get over the imagine of a casserole with cheese.

All of the angry looks from people waiting in line went over Kensuke's head. Happily, the star flashed his celebrity smile while waving to them. There was no such thing as negative attention. After the bouncer let them in, Kensuke threw up a peace sign to the people who did recognize them and try to touch them as the three head inside the building. Man did he love working with the crowd whenever he's given the chance!

Stepping inside the club was like stepping into a beautiful neon colored world where good times and good music never stopped flowing. As they cut through the crowds to go to the bar, Kensuke couldn't help but always think how the Japanese had the club scene down to an art. Compared to America, Japan's ability to use neon was much better. Everything fit together like a carefully crafted puzzle. Paired with amazing Japanese and American music that was popular enough to make it over seas. Yes. This was his scene.

Entering the lounge, Kensuke spared no time in grabbing one of the seats at the bar and ordering a drink right off the bat. "One strawberry daiquiri please. I'm wanna start slow and see where it takes me." he gave a flirtatious grin to the bartender. "Who knows? It might lead to a little somethin somethin..." he winked as he turned on the confident charm.

"Don't worry Mitsu. We're professionals. We work hard. Thus we play hard" the blond proceeded to fist-bump Etsu while making an explosion noise when he moved his fist back.

Next he moved his fist to Mitsuo with a big grin, waiting (and praying) not to be left hanging. "You're an amazing singer who puts 110% just like we do. You should relax just the same. Even though the means to get there is different. You're our comrade nonetheless! Put it here!" he meant every word. The talent both Etsu and Mitsuo brought to the group was irreplaceable and a great asset to their unique sound. No one would be able to replace the other.

[Kyanselas]

A child at heart. That's what Etsu was. No. A child that refuse to grow up, work a boring desk job, or be ordered around by some lowly a*****e that she called boss and had to pretend she liked to get anywhere in life. Yeah, ******** that blue-collar life. Music was her life, and she didn't have to sacrifice any freedom to do what she loved. Perhaps the two of them had proven themselves trustworthy enough for her to not lash out immediately at the mention of it not being an all-nighter though. "But Mitsuo!" Why yes, she just whined. Like some little bratty kid whose big brother(despite the age reversal) just denied her her right for a cookie from the cookie jar. Metaphorically speaking, the cookie just happened to be a s**t-ton of alcohol though. "We worked so hard today though, and even went overtime!" A few hours would never be enough!

As if the lightweight wouldn't pass out before then...

Following the two up the stairs, her attention immediately fell on the minibar and the grin returned. "AK-47? Try a rocket launcher!" She laughed and claimed a seat next to Kensuke, making sure to spin on the rotating stool a few times and stopping just in time to return that classy-as-hell fistbump with the flamboyant blond and proceeded to tune out his weird fetishes that she wanted absolutely nothing to do with. If she didn't hear about any of it, it didn't actually happen. Or so she kept telling herself, but there were moments when you simply couldn't ignore that particular weirdness. It was beyond weird, even in her standards. Those were low, by the way.

Speaking of low standards, apparently she needed to remind Kensuke of how partying was supposed to get started."Forget the strawberry daiquiri, start it off right!" Etsu made sure the current bartender stationed in their private lounge(until their normal one---and friend/the manager had time to come up and relieve the poor guy from that duty) had heard her and she had successfully stopped the catastrophy from being made. "Rainbow shots!"

And while she wasn't getting directly involved with their fistbump, she still flashed the younger male a grin from over Kensuke's shoulder. "More like... you're stuck with us, no matter what." Said with all the love in the world of course.

[froot oops]

While Etsu and Kensuke were quick to take seats at their own private bar, Mitsuo sauntered up casually and sat down beside the purple-haired girl. It wasn't the first time this particular 'tender had served the idol group, so he didn't even have to ask before a bottle of ginger ale was slid over to him. "Thanks," he nodded, picking up the bottle to have some of his non-alcoholic beverage.

"We work hard every day," the dark-haired boy retorted. All-nighters should be for special occasions. "And we have to work hard tomorrow." A part of him considered lying and letting the pair believe they pulled an all-nighter at the bar (though he knew they'd be ready to be dragged home within a few hours), but he decided it would be better to at least try to put his foot down rather than appease his senpais.

With half-lidded eyes, Mitsuo watched as Kensuke ordered one of the girliest drinks ever (an appletini was probably the only thing more girly), then proceeded to flirt with the bartender -- that's what it looked like anyway, but he and Etsu knew that it was more likely Ken would end up taking his frozen drink somewhere private to... stuff. With it.

"Ugh," he shook his head, cursing his own thought process while Etsu was wisely ignoring their band-mate's weird fetishes and also wisely ordering up some shots in place of frozen summertime treats.

Mitsuo was about to zone out as he stared at the neon lights that surrounded the small bar, but was pulled back into reality by Kensuke talking to him for some reason. "What..." he looked at the blonde as he said kind things to him and appeared to be waiting for a fist bump. He looked at Etsu when she piped up cheekily, resisting rolling his eyes at her words, then stared at them both.

They were his senpais, but they hardly felt like such -- not because he disrespected them, but because he actually felt... really relaxed being with them. As the youngest member of the group, he often felt like he had more to prove so people would look at him and see he was capable, but Kensuke and Etsu did a good job of reminding him that no, he had nothing to prove. They reminded him he was just as valuable to the group as any of them.

Though their playful and sometimes downright irresponsible natures sometimes bugged the ever loving hell out Mitsuo, he looked to the both of them for security. They were like his older siblings.

"Piss off, both of you," he said with a small laugh, placing his hand over Kensuke's waiting fist to push it away lightly as he shook his head. "Hurry up and get blackout drunk so I can drag you both home," he brushed them both off casually as he looked away.

He cared for and appreciated his band-mates, but that didn't mean he was easy. Tch.

[Cute Haninozuka]

He wasn't surprised that Etsu would bash the mighty daquiri. “Hey, don't bash the daquiri. It's an incredibly manly, yet refreshing man drink of manliness. When I said I wanted to start slow. I meant it......honest” the self appointed god among men pouted innocently as the bartender put a couple glasses in a line and began to mix various liquors together in a shaker.

Kensuke couldn't help but smile from Mitsuo denying the fist bump. “Maybe one day Mitsu” he grinned as he watched the alcohol change colors as it was poured down the line. He did want to wake up the next day without a hang over.

A middle aged woman walked behind the mini-bar and patted the young bartender on the shoulder as a signal to relieve the poor guy from any more further advances from Kensuke. “Good evening guys. I see you are already set to party hard.” she smiled warmly at them. “Though be sure to ease up some for poor Mitsuo. Poor boy is going to get premature grey hairs from the havoc you guys are going to do.” She poured another glass of ginger ale with ice and passed it over to Mitsuo with a 'I'll help you if you need' look.

Kensuke took a yellow shot and downed the liquid in a single gulp. “Hey Ritsuko. Of coooooourse nooot. We're just relaxing after a long day.” he smiled as he began to down the next two shots.

Ritsuko smiled and laughed. “Ha ha, alright then.” The woman proceeded to supply any more alcohol the band would need.

After a couple more lines of shots, Kensuke began ordering harder liquor as his face began to turn lightly pink as a result. "I'm.....I-I'm gonna go...go down there. See that? Down there. I'm gonna go there....aaaand......aand...And have more fun and......dance...WITH PEOPLE! You guys should come too...." he swayed from side to side in his seat with a dopey grin on his face.Thanks to the amount of energy the alcohol seemed to give to the blond, he ordered an appletini to take out of the bar to proceed downstairs to the dance floor and dance in the crowd to the beat of the club music.

When he got to the dance floor, the boisterous idol squeezed himself into the crowd of dancing people. Noticing a dancing brunette waving her hands in the air, he tapped her on the shoulder and he flashed her his thousand watt smile; asking her to dance. The girl melted right away from his idol charms and happily agreed to dance with the bold american. With the beat of the music, Kensuke danced and got closer to the brunette. It wasn't long before his lips met hers and he was making out with her in the middle of the dancing crowd.

*********

After a couple hours long hard partying, Kensuke was sitting on a couch with his head drooped over. The collar of his shirt was pulled askew with lipstick marks along his neck, collar, cheek and lips. The woman left her number in his shirt pocket and had left 20 minutes earlier. "uuuugggghhhh...." he groaned as he felt the room make as much sense as the images you see in kaleidoscope scope. "Etsuuuu.....Mitsuuuuu" he called weakly as his he tilted over from the loud bass of the club music pulsing through the room.

Squinting his eyes, Kensuke tried to scan the room for any sign of his band mates. "Guuuys?....Guuuuuys" he whined like a lost child.

[Kyanselas]

Etsu, being the lightweight she was, preferred downing her liquor in smaller doses and letting the alcohol go through her system much slower than her band mate. She loved the warm fuzzy phase, and being dangerously borderline between not-really-sober and completely wasted. Ritsuko, that pretty a** manager, might’ve had a tiny bit of influence on the momentary hold-up on drowning herself. She wasn’t Etsu’s type for sure, but the female singer still had a rather high respect for the woman and always had to remind her just how pretty she was before she made a complete and utter fool of herself.

Not that that lasted very long.

So not too long after Kensuke had disappeared, and after a minor disagreement over how jumping from the second floor railing onto the dance floor was unsafe and out of the question(no matter how dramatic), the purple-haired female had also disappeared to god know’s where.

Unlike the sex machine on the dance floor, Etsu preferred to be on stage when she was drunk just as much as she did when she wasn’t drunk. Using one of the many platforms in the middle of the dance floor to show the world how it was really done. Somehow, and luckily, being drunk didn’t restrict her ability to dance. Which is how one third of Infinity Shift would exhaust herself out that night. Line was drawn when the girl fell off the platform half-into the arms of a couple of just-as-drunk guys next to it, a laughing mess. “Ahhh snap… I coulda died just then!” More laughter as she slumped on the poor fella’s who were taking the opportunity as the perfect excuse to get laid easy.

“Hahaha, maybe you should lay down then, girly.”
“Yeah, come on.. we’ve got a place nearby.”

“Your place?” They were already leading her through the crowd of dancing people though. “Are you trying to hit me up? But you guys are dudes…” While she wasn’t stopping them from pulling her through the crowd, she turned to walk backwards and pat at their chest roughly. “Yeeeah… you don’t have boobs…” She pouted. “I like boobs…. they’re squishy… and soft… like pillows---woooh!” She was almost knocked to the floor by some of the dancers at the edge of the floor. Again she laughed at her own clumsiness, even as one of the guy’s pulled her back up and started leading her toward the exit again.

“Oh don’t worry, we’ve got some back at our place.”
“Oh you dooo?”
“Yeah, you’ll like them.”
“Yaaay, I like boobs… OH!”

They had exited the building, and Etsu’s sudden realization caused her to pull from them and turn back to walk back inside. “I should tell Kenny! He likes boobs too!” She was back inside before the two males trying to lead her away could stop her. And the two hulky bouncer’s awaiting outside were quick to stop them from following the regular back inside. As if this wasn’t the first time this was happening…

Etsu somehow managed to find the drunk Kensuke half-passed out on the couch and shook him roughly. “Kennny, some guys said they had boobs back at their place… let’s goooo…” Then paused.”---hey, where’d they go?”

[froot oops]

"Don't do that, Ritsuko-san," Mitsuo shook his head as the manager, and in a lot of ways their unnofficial 'guardian', took pity on him and tried to get Etsu and Kensuke to ease up for his sake. "You'll make it worse," he said quietly, almost mouthing the words at the older woman so the others wouldn't hear him. She'd slid the cool glass of ginger ale over to him just in time though, as he'd already finished his first one; he smiled slightly to her in thanks.

Ritsuko laughed warmly at his discouragement as she poured the colorful liquor in shot glasses along the bar top with an expert hand. "I suppose they don't need the extra help, do they?" Her smile was refined and mature, but somehow still mischievous, and was met with a wry 'hell no' smile from Mitsuo.

When charmingly drunk Kensuke went off to break some hearts on the dance floor and Etsu followed suit (after being talked down from jumping off the private lounge's railing), Ritsuko waved them off pleasantly while Mitsuo just shrugged their departures off casually. The best time to cause trouble was when you were young, so it was better that the troublemakers of Infinity Shift did so under her watchful eye; she was their age once upon a time, after all...

When Mitsuo tired of ginger ale, Ritsuko supplied him with a virgin Cuba Libre... or in other words, a coke... and idle, but pleasant, conversation. The dark-haired boy held his glass in his hands, eyes fixed on the older woman as she talked, but gaze drifting elsewhere whenever he spoke; he watched the other club patrons pass by the private lounge, certain handsome types catching his attention more than the fair ones.

She did not miss this observation. "So, when are you going to get out there?" she asked as she casually fixed herself a drink of her own.

"Hm?" Sharp green eyes distractedly looked back in her direction. "Oh, uh... probably in a few minutes." Etsu was a lightweight and Kensuke was annoying toastier than a campfire and annoying, so the young idol figured he'd go out looking for them after finishing his coke.

Ritsuko laughed that warm, yet somehow teasing, laugh of hers again. "That's not what I meant, Tsu-kun. I know I'm not the one you want to be chatting up right now." She glanced over towards the door knowingly, where she could see a tall, dark, and handsome man having a good time just outside. Mitsuo said nothing for a moment as he followed her gaze back to where he'd been staring before, but he had been thinking about how the door had framed that stranger like a painting...

"There's no time for that," the dark-haired idol said dismissively, looking down at the chilly glass in his hands. He had to be ready to fetch his band-mates so they could go home at a relatively sane hour... and beyond that, there was so much on his plate already. He had school and his career to think about.

Where he expected to hear the lady manager's laugh again, there was a soft scoff. "You're young. You have all the time in the world right now," she said, almost sounding as if she was gently scolding him. ... he didn't really appreciate it, so he bit his tongue for a few more moments.

"Thank you for looking after us again, Ritsuko-san," Mitsuo said, looking her in the eyes before knocking back the rest of his cola as if it were an actual shot. He placed the glass on the bar top with a heavy thud as he stood up. "Good night."

Her farewells were drowned out by the music again when he left the lounge. As he closed the door behind him, he found himself face to face with the attractive stranger he'd been stealing glances at for most of the night. Maybe the man had known and that was why he always stayed in view, because he'd flashed the idol a killer smile when their eyes met...

That small moment of attention made the Taiwanese boy's heart beat hard. Maybe we could talk for just a minute... He wanted that minute to last the whole night.

"Excuse me," Mitsuo said tersely, his expression aloof as he moved past the tall stranger coldly. He didn't have the whole night, and neither did Etsu or Kensuke. Refusing to look back as he made his way down the stairs, he missed the surprised expression on the other man's face, and he in turn missed that small, regretful frown on the idol's.

The crowd was big, but not terribly dense, and Mitsuo was thankful for that. With minimal having to grope through strangers, he'd found his band-mates collapsed on a couch together; Kensuke was clearly unconscious and Etsu seemed to be on her way to lala land as well, though she was still talking to the sleeping blond. About boobs. Lots of boobs. And guys?

"I don't care, I really don't," Mitsuo said to himself in an effort to stop himself from asking Etsu what had happened. He sat down on the couch beside the drunken duo, taking a moment to bring out his phone so they could text their personal driver to come pick them up.

"All right, come on," he said to them, though mostly to Etsu since she was still conscious. He slipped his arm underneath Kensuke before standing up, holding his arms over his own shoulders so his body was leaning against his back. Like a backpack. A drunk, annoying backpack.

With Etsu managing to follow by his side, the trio made their way outside where one of the bouncers from before escorted them to their waiting private vehicle. They then made it back to their shared condo without incident, unless you count stopping by a late-night taco place for some food to help sop up the alcohol from two drunk bellies and trying to stop a half-asleep Kensuke from cuddling a burrito an incident. Yeah.

~

The clock dared to say it was fifteen past 3AM when Mitsuo was finally in the quiet sanctuary of his own bedroom, showered and full of nachos he had to eat super fast before Kensuke tried to flirt with them. He looked at his bed longingly, but passed by it to take a seat at a small desk in the corner of his room. He switched on the desk lamp and opened his journal.

"Journal," he began to write in hanzi as the light shined on the white pages. He wrote of what had happened that day, from morning to night, sprinklings of his own personal commentary throughout. "I wonder what would happen if our roles were switched," he began to write his entry to a close, "What would they do if I had left? Would they look for me?"

His pen stilled and Mitsuo stared down at the pages with a tired thoughtfulness for a few moments before resuming his writing. "No," ... he wouldn't be able to leave without them, drunk or sober. He needed to be with them. "They would just draw dicks on my face."

And then he went to bed.

[froot oops]

On one hand, having pictures taken of yourself seemed to be one of the easiest jobs an idol could do; on the other hand was the brutal reality of hot white lights and bright camera flashes, being told how to vaguely pose with weird directions ( "be fierce!" "give me a look!" "pretend your mother is here!" ), and uncomfortable clothes.

Mitsuo, personally, hated the last part the most because they just made every other aspect of the job worse. He picked at his snug cuffs miserably and pulled at the collar of his fancy, expensive and sweltering princely blouse. He would much rather be in the studio recording tracks; though he'd still have to make himself 'presentable' by idol standards by wearing trendy clothes given to him (more like loaned to him) by their company, they were for street wear and much easier for him to tolerate. If he could have his way though, he'd be wearing some sweatpants and an oversized hoodie... he would flip a coin to decided if he went commando (it was summer, after all).

But, no. He was in the brightly lit photography studio, staff buzzing all around and some little lady pulling him down so she could freshen his make up and stop him from trying to undo the buttons on his fancy dark vest.

"This seriously sucks," he groaned in irritation, unable to look around for his band mates to check if they were suffering as much as he was since that make up artist had a firm grip on his shoulder. He certainly hoped so (it formed camaraderie, or something).

[Kyanselas]

Etsu wasn't in any better of a situation. If not only worse since she was the one in the ******** dress. In reality, the dress was that big of a problem, she really had no problem with them... except that this one was layered more then hell itself. The style was actually rather cute(in her regards to 'cute' anyway--- she had made sure she had her say in the outfit. She was supposed to be a princess that didn't need saving--- or prince's. Plus, Japanese. So naturally, the classic ballroom blue dress that Cinderella was supposed to wear had gone through more then enough alterations.

Didn't make it any less hot to wear though.

At the least she had finished with the shoot quickly and was patient enough to deal with the groping hands so she could make a fast escape to the area they were supposed to do group shots in. Cinderella indeed, running around with layers of skirts trailing behind her--- like heck was she dropping a shoe though. That's why she wore boots.

Etsu was admittedly surprised that she and Mitsuo were the first ones there, "Am I to assume Kenny is so in love with himself that he couldn't bare to step away from his solo shoots to join us?" Having passed by the snack table to get there, she handed a water over to the taller idol with a small amused smile---it was definitely laced with misery and a touch of I-want-to-get-the-hell-out-of-here. "So glad this is the last of today's work." If it would ever end, that was.