After their Gold Symphony Tour, AAA started to rehearse for their new single, 'I'll Be There', through the help of their voice coaches.
"Okay, so we'll divide you into groups to teach you the tones thoroughly..." One of the voice coaches gave the instructions for their voice workshop. They practiced and practiced. After two and a half hours, AAA were given a break for rest.
"Ah! I'm really enjoying the song." Nissy said as he laid down on the floor.
"Oi Nissy, are you coming, we'll buy some food at the cafeteria." Hidaka asked.
"Ah yes, count me in!" He said as he got up and ran towards his friend. "Huh, where's Shuta?"
"I don't know. Maybe he's in the comfort room. Or he went ahead of us." Hidaka guessed. "Anyway, he can manage himself. He's old already. Haha!" The two of them then left the room with the others.
-----
"Ah... I hope he'll agree. Please. Please." Shuta thought as he walked rapidly towards the staff's room. He took a few breaths before opening the door. He bowed his head as he entered the room. The people there seemed to be very busy, not even noticing him. He silently walked to the cubicle of one of the staff members.
"Um excuse me..." Shuta said with a faint voice, trying not to catch everyone's attention but only the person in front of him. The staff turned his head to face Shuta.
"Oh, Sueyoshi-kun, what can I do for you?" The staff in charge of the group's multimedia matters asked.
"Um... Can I ask you a favor?" Shuta started to speak up, blushing. "Argh! This is so embarrassing..." He thought. The staff was just listening and waiting for him to continue.
"Well, um... When you edit our last concert's video, um... can you remove the part when I mentioned Chiaki's name in my answer to the last question?" He asked shyly. He tried to look away. "I know you understand why I'm doing this, right?" He then looked back at the staff personnel. "Please!" He finished, bowing his head while his hands were in a begging position.
"Hahaha, Sueyoshi-kun..." The staff said, thinking of what to say, "Hm. Okay. Don't worry, I'll try my best to do something about it." He continued, smiling teasingly.
"Ah yes, please. I'd really appreciate that. Thank you very much!" Shuta bowed his head and ran out of the room.
"Hahaha. I didn't expect him to accept my request without hesitation." He laughed in his thoughts as he walked towards their rehearsal room. When he got there, he opened the door. No one was inside.
"Hm, they must be at the cafeteria." He thought. He closed the door and started walking along the hallway. After a few steps, he got a view of his friends who were walking towards him.
"Oi Shuta!" Hidaka shouted. "Where have you been?"
"Ah I just went to the toilet." He lied.
"For that long? You must have really taken your time, ne? Hahahaha!" Nissy mocked. Naoya and the others laughed as well. Shuta blushed.
"Shut up!" He exclaimed. "Come on, let's go back to the cafeteria, I haven't eaten yet." He added as he placed his hand on Nissy's shoulder.
"Eh... I'm too lazy to walk back there again..." Nissy said. Shuta pouted his lips, then turned his face to Hidaka.
"Hidaka?" He asked, hoping his other friend will accompany him.
"Ah, eh, sorry, I'm too lazy as well. Hahaha." Hidaka answered.
"Hmp. Fine!" Shuta gave up. He knows he's not really comfortable to be alone with the other members so he didn't bother to invite them. He then continued walking, passing by his co-members.
"Shu-chan, I can go with you." Chiaki suddenly said, catching up with her distance from Shuta.
"Eh?" Shuta stopped walking. His cheeks blushed. The guys except him looked at each other in surprise. They were careful not to let the girls notice their chuckles.
"Mm. Thank you." Shuta said, trying to ignore the giggles he's hearing. He and Chiaki then continued walking. "Oh no, the staff members will see us together again." He thought worriedly.
"I'll be there for you..." Nissy started singing loudly to tease his friend while walking the opposite direction, back to their rehearsal room.
"Be my love... You are mine... I'm yours too..." Hidaka joined, imitating the girls' parts on the song.
"Argh! Shut up!" Shuta exclaimed in his thoughts, blushing. He then looked secretively at Chiaki to see her reaction, but her face seemed just neutral.
"How did you find the song?" She suddenly asked.
"Huh?" Shuta was surprised with her unexpected question. "I-I like it. The arrangement is cool. The meaning is also very deep." He answered.
"Me, too." Chiaki said. "Although I will only get to sing a few lines."
"Ah, that's alright." He said, placing his hand on her shoulder. "I hope we'll have a dance choreography for it." He said excitedly. Chiaki nodded her head, smiling. They then continued walking to the cafeteria. They met some staff members along their way.
"Hi Ito-san, Shueyoshi-kun..." They all greeted with teasing looks at Shuta. Shuta and Chiaki greeted back by bowing their heads.
"Argh! They're so many! I want to disappear right now!" He thought with a red face. When they finally got to their destination, Shuta ordered his food while Chiaki waited for him at the dining area. He paid for his food and went to his friend.
"Are you sure you don't want anything?" He asked, placing the tray of food on the table. Chiaki shook her head.
"No, I'm fine. I'm already full. Thank you." She answered. Shuta sat on the chair across her and started to eat his food. Chiaki just watched him.
"Be my love... You are mine... I'm yours too..." She unconsciously sang some parts of the song while still watching her friend as he eats his food. Shuta was surprised and coughed as he choked on the food in his mouth.
"Ah Shu-chan, are you alright?" Chiaki asked worriedly, not noticing that she's the reason why her friend choked. Shuta grabbed the glass of juice and drank it to ease his discomfort.
"Ah, I'm fine. Thank you." He said in between his coughs, trying to relax himself. "Haha. She surprised me." He thought. He then continued to eat his food.
"Um Shu-chan, can I ask you something?" Chiaki asked.
"What is it?" Shuta answered as he put another spoonful of food into his mouth.
"I don't know if it's just me, but why does everyone seem to be watching us?" She asked, blushing.
"Eh?" Shuta slowly looked around and found the other staff members, who were eating on the other dining tables, stealing some gazes at them and smiling with excitement on their faces.
"Iya! What the hell?! Everyone, please, get lost already!" He cried in his thoughts. "Argh. I should hurry and finish my food so we can leave already." He then looked at Chiaki.
"Hm. I don't think so." He lied. "Just don't mind them." He added. Chiaki just nodded her head. Both of them then returned to their rehearsal room after Shuta has finished eating. The group then spent the rest of the day practicing their vocals for their new song.
-----
"Thank you for your hard work!" The AAA members exclaimed as they bowed their heads to their voice coaches.
"Thank you and good luck, guys! Rest well!" The voice coaches also bowed their heads and left the room.
"Finally, we can rest now, everyone! Have a safe trip going home." Naoya said.
"Singing for almost a day is still tiring, ne?" Nissy added as he sat on the floor to take a rest. Naoya started walking towards the door with Shinjiro.
"We'll be going now. See you tomorrow!" Shinjiro said as he and the leader waved goodbye to everyone in the room, who also waved back at them.
"Let's go, Chiaki-chan." Misako invited her friend to leave as well. Chiaki got her things and they both walked towards the door.
"Goodbye!" Both of them said as they waved their hands. Shuta looked at Chiaki.
"Take care." He said, waving his hands back. Chiaki smiled at him.
"You, too." She said, blushing. Nissy noticed the two seemed to have their own worlds at that moment.
"Uno-chan, take care!" He exclaimed, imitating Shuta's words. He exaggerated his movements as he waved his hands. Misako laughed at him.
"See you tomorrow!" Misako waved her hand back at the guys. Hidaka then noticed he has no one to bid his goodbye with. But he still waved both of his hands to the girls. Misako and Chiaki then left the room.
Hidaka then looked at Nissy, who was now fixing his stuffs. The rapper's gaze then switched to Shuta, who was still staring blankly at the door where he got his last glimpse of Chiaki.
"Oi, Shuta, you're daydreaming. But it's almost night already." He chuckled.
"Eh? Ah no. Shut up." Shuta suddenly got back to his senses. He then continued fixing his things, making sure he won't leave anything behind.
"You seemed to be very serious with your feelings for Chiaki, ne?" The rapper said, not expecting any response from his friend. But Shuta spoke up.
"Ah, I think I'm falling in love..." He whispered, blushing. Hidaka and Nissy's eyes widened in shock. They looked at each other and then to Shuta.
"Shuta, you're serious..." Nissy said softly, still with a surprised expression on his face. Shuta finished fixing his things and then closed his bag.
"Hahaha! What's with your faces! It's not a mortal sin or something, right?" He laughed at his friends. Nissy and Hidaka then laughed with him.
"Did something happen?" Nissy asked suspiciously. Shuta then remembered the time he spent with Chiaki at her apartment and with her parents. His face flushed.
"I-it's none of your business." He whispered shyly. "Hm. Should I share it with them?" He suddenly reconsidered. He then picked up his bag from the floor and walked towards the door. He turned around to his friends. "Let's go." He invited.
"Oi Shuta share it to us! Don't be too greedy." Hidaka joked as he and Nissy followed him out of the room. The three of them then walked together going out of the building.
Upon exiting the building, Shuta halted his steps as his two friends automatically turned to their right since both of them were heading home that way. But they stopped as well when they noticed Shuta to be standing still.
"Ne, Nishijima, Hidaka..." Shuta started to speak up. "What do you think should I do?" He continued. Hidaka and Nissy looked at him, clueless.
"Shuta, what do you mean?" Nissy asked.
"A-actually I'm just struggling right now... with my feelings for Chiaki." Shuta answered hesitantly.
"Um, do you want to talk about it over dinner? Come on, the night is still young." Hidaka invited. Shuta just looked at his friends for a short while.
"Hm." He said, deciding if he will open up to his friends or not. "O-okay." He finally agreed, nodding his head. The three of them then walked down the road and dined in at a restaurant of their choice.
They ordered their food and sat at their assigned table. Nissy and Hidaka started to have a bite on their meals, while Shuta was just staring blankly on his. Nissy noticed him.
"Shuta, are you okay? You're really spacing out." Nissy said.
"Don't let your food get cold." Hidaka added. Shuta sighed. His mind was still full of his worries.
"A-actually..." He started to speak up. "After I accidentally revealed how I feel for Chiaki, I noticed that my feelings for her grew more." He said. "I'm not sure if it is because I started to be conscious on how I should treat her in front of everyone. But I'm pretty sure I felt something special when I was at her apartment after the concert." He continued. Nissy and Hidaka suddenly coughed as they choked on their food, surprised with what they heard.
"You what?!" Both of them exclaimed. Shuta's face turned red.
"Ah! Keep your voices down!" He said as he placed his index finger, pointing up, in front of his mouth.
"Ah, sorry, sorry!" Nissy said. "But why were you at her place?" He asked. Shuta then explained the story to them.
"Hm..." Hidaka said, thinking deeply after hearing the story. "So did anything happen?"
"Did you... Um... You know...?" Nissy became shy with his question.
"Oi what's with your questions?!" Shuta exclaimed, blushing. "Argh! Should I even continue opening up to them? It seems they will just misunderstand me." He thought. He was silent for a while.
"Oi Shuta!" Hidaka said, waiting for his friend's answer. Shuta looked at him.
"Well I know they're crazy, but I think I can still trust them." He chuckled in his thoughts.
"O-of course nothing happened between us..." Shuta then blushed. "B-but there came a time when I was tempted by the situation to kiss her." He tried to look away. "I-I almost kissed her, but of course, I stopped myself."
"Really?!" Hidaka exclaimed. He tried to imagine Shuta's situation and blushed. "Ah!!" He shouted. "B-but why did you stop?" He suddenly asked curiously.
"Oi, don't be stupid!" Shuta blushed, looking away. "Of course I... I want to respect her."
"Hm... I'm not surprised you stopped yourself, knowing your personality." Nissy said.
"But you're really great in controlling yourself." Hidaka said. "If I was in the same situation, I think I'd fall into the temptation. Hahahaha."
"But Shuta, how was Chiaki during that moment?" Nissy suddenly asked.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Shuta asked back, confused.
"I mean, what was she doing? Did she do anything to stop you, or did she tried to avoid the situation? Something like that." Nissy explained. Shuta was silent for a while.
"Hm..." He tried to recall the scenario. "I can remember we were staring at each other." He continued to dig in his memory. "Um, and she was just standing, staring back at me." He then blushed. "Huh?" He was suddenly surprised with his observation. "Chiaki was just standing that time... like she was just waiting there..." His face started to turn red. "C-could it be she wanted to kiss me, too?" He couldn't help his heart to flutter as he stared at his food, focused on his thoughts.
"Shuta, are you okay? You're spacing out again." Nissy said, disturbing his friend's thoughts. Shuta looked at him.
"Ah, y-yeah, I'm alright." He answered. "But anyway, my point is, during that moment, I realized that... I-I want to have an intimate relationship with her. I thought I am satisfied with just being friends with her, you know, this brother-sister kind of relationship that we have. But then I realized my heart wants more than that." He paused and smiled, still blushing. "She's stupid and careless, and I feel she needs someone like me to care and look after her. And..." He paused.
"And?" Nissy and Hidaka couldn't wait any longer for their friend's story.
"Um. I happened to meet her parents yesterday, and when I had a time alone with her father, he told me that he approves my feelings for her." Shuta finished.
"Wow, really? That's interesting! So many things happened, ne?" Nissy couldn't believe what he's hearing. Shuta nodded his head.
"But actually, earlier, manager-san reminded me of our dating rule. I confidently told him I'll choose Chiaki over AAA if ever, but then, now I realized I don't want to ruin Chiaki's career just because of... love." He continued. "Hahaha. Of course confessing my feelings to Chiaki doesn't already mean we'll date, right? I'm not even sure if she feels the same way towards me." He sighed, and then looked at Nissy and Hidaka seriously.
"Believe me, this is the first time I felt something like this, and I really don't know what to do. Please, I need your help." He let out another deep sigh. Nissy and Hidaka were silent, unsure of what to tell their friend.
"Shuta..." Hidaka said sincerely. "Only you can know what to do."
"Whatever your decision will be, we will support you, don't worry." Nissy added, smiling at his friend.
"Hm... I don't know anymore." Shuta said. "But thank you for listening, Nishijima, Hidaka." He smiled at them. "I guess they're right. It's only me who can know what to do." He thought. He then smiled to himself.
"Shuta, you're really cute when in love." Nissy said, giggling. Shuta blushed.
"Oh Shuuty's inloooove!" Hida suddenly teased.
"Oi stop that!" Shuta exclaimed. Nissy and Hidaka laughed at him. The three of them then continued eating their food.
"Ah! I'm so full!" Nissy said while lightly rubbing his tummy.
"Hahaha. It's because you ordered more than what you can eat." Shuta said. "Anyway, thank you again for listening. I really appreciate it." He said sincerely.
"Good luck, Shuta." Hidaka said. "Just do what you think will be best for the both of you, and everything will turn out good."
"And let's go home now. We still have rehearsals tomorrow. Hahaha." Nissy added. The three of them then paid their bill, walked out of the restaurant and parted ways.
-----
Months have passed since AAA's last Gold Symphony concert. Shuta decided to still keep his feelings for Chiaki to himself. But he continued to treat her the same way as before as her friend. AAA also continued to rehearse for their new singles and dance choreographies. Another day has come, which seemed to be just the usual day.
Shuta pressed the button on top of his alarm clock to stop the irritating noise coming from it.
"Ah... It's morning already..." He said, still sleepy. He lazily got up from his bed and did his usual routine in preparing for work.
He arrived at the Avex Building 15 minutes before the scheduled time, as usual. He went directly to their rehearsal room. But before opening the door, he noticed a note posted on it.
"Huh?" He read the note.
"AAA: Please proceed to the Audio-Visual Room."
"Hm, I wonder why..." He said as he started walking towards the mentioned room. "We only use the AVR when we review our recordings and music videos. But we haven't yet recorded anything new." He thought as he continued his walk, still thinking of other possible reasons. He arrived at the AVR and opened the door.
"Good morning." He said as he walked inside. Nissy, Misako, Naoya and Shinjiro were already inside.
"Shuta, good morning." Nissy greeted back. "Have you read the mail I sent earlier?" He asked.
"Huh?" Shuta responded as he walked towards an empty seat beside Nissy. He got his cellphone from his pocket. A mail notification from his friend was indeed flashed on the home screen.
"Shuta!!!!!! We'll view this morning our last concert's video!" Shuta's eyebrow wrinkled as he read the mail with confusion.
"Oi Nishijima, so what if we'll watch...our..." He slowly paused what he's about to tell his friend when he suddenly realized something. "Ah! My confession!" He thought as his heart started to beat faster.
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To be continued...
Hello! Thank you once again for reading my story! Did you enjoy this one? I hope I was able to relay with you what I intended for this part. I really see Shuta as the gentleman and sincere kind of guy so I really hope I was able to give you that impression in this story. Anyway, please share your thoughts and comments. I really appreciate them. And please look forward for the next part! :)
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