TITLE: What's on TV? TV Asahi's Shining Summer Sights
AUTHOR: mikkimikka
PAIRING: MasaRen
SUMMARY: Masato and Ren stay home one evening and watch TV. Tonight's programming? Tsukimiya Ringo & Hyuuga Ryuuya go on a summer sightseeing day trip to Ishikawa Prefecture, Kanazawa City.
"What's on TV?"
Hijirikawa Masato looked up as his roommate entered the room dripping wet after his shower. A towel was hanging loosely from his hips and another towel was draped over his head as he patted it dry.
"Music Station," Masato replied looking back at the screen.
He felt it and saw from his peripheral Jinguji Ren basically throwing himself down beside him. The strawberry blond stretched on arm behind the couch and Masato leaned forward so they wouldn't touch.
"Tch, dramatic," Ren said at the movement.
"Please get dressed. Plus, I doubt Kurosaki sempai would appreciate you rubbing your butt all over his leather couch."
"Ah, but I'm clean," Ren pouted without moving.
He turned to look at the screen just as some singers were finished being interviewed.
"Up next, TV Asahi's Shining Summer Sights," he read out loud. "Oh yeah, I heard of that. Isn't that what Hyuuga sensei is working on?"
"Last I heard," Masato said, bending forward and picking up his tea.
He leaned back again, this time ignoring the fact Ren still had his arm stretched across the back of the seat.
"You going to watch it?"
Masato replied, "I don't know what it's about actually."
Just then a commercial came on for Suntory water. The two watched it in companionable silence as a woman hiked through a forest traversing a river by using a log as a bridge and eventually sitting along the banks on a boulder. As she lifted the bottle of water to her lips Ren spoke.
"She looks familiar."
"Maybe we've seen her at the station."
As the woman finished her drink the voice over told them to drink Suntory water. The logo flashed across the screen along with the slogan against a backdrop of sky.
"Ah, I know!" Ren said as the commercial went off. "Harudori Tsugumi-san! She's rising, huh? She used to be a Popteen model."
"I wouldn't know," dismissed Hijirikawa. "It's Tsukimiya sensei!"
Sure enough on the screen was Ringo sensei in a yellow sundress.
"Shining! Summer! Sights!" the voiceover was saying as it showed a series of shots of Ringo sensei and Ryuuya sensei.
The pair were traversing a historic district of a city. Then it cut to a scene of a shave ice with gold flakes on it and then a close up of Ringo sensei's eyes widening.
"Delicious!" he said.
Then cut to the next scene with Ryuuya sensei chasing his hat as it flew down the street. And then another scene of mountain scenery.
"It goes without saying for these mountains," Ryuuya said.
Then it cut to a scene of them in the train station pulling their luggage and then someone walking up to them with their body mosaiced out and a big question mark. Ringo gasped in shock.
"What!? Unbelievable!"
"Hyuuga Ryuuya and Tsukimiya Ringo's Summer Sights! Next."
And then it cut off there and went back to Music Station.
"Wow, that looks like they did a lot," Ren said.
Masato laughed lightly, "I kind of want to watch it. Who was that mystery guest?"
"Oh come on, Hijirkawa. Don't tell me you fell for their marketing?" Ren turned to his partner. "We work in the business, you know. Don't fall for their lies."
"But it looked fun," defended Masato, looking back at Ren with a soft smile. "And the gold flake shave ice. I wonder where they went."
"Hmm, yeah they never told us."
"Wherever it was, I've never been there. Let's watch it."
Ren chuckled, "Right, let me get dressed though."
He pushed himself off the couch and went to the go put his clothes on. As Masato watched the rest of Music Station he could hear Ren in the background blow drying his hair. By the time the blow dryer was off, it was another commercial. This time it was for hijiki. Ren plopped down again just as it was going off and was wearing a T-shirt and some shorts.
"Is it almost time?"
"A few more minutes," Masato replied.
"We should get snacks."
Masato crinkled his nose at the suggestion but Ren wasn't deterred. He got back up and went to the fridge and rummaged for a second before returning with two beers. Ren tapped Masato's shoulders with one of the cans.
"I still have tea," Masato said but he still took it.
Ren sat once more, opening the can with a pop. Masato repeated the action and they did a silent toast before drinking.
"I also have this," Ren said producing a bag of dried squid and another of kaki-pi.
"You're prepared," remarked Masato.
"It's my cheat day."
Ren's eyes were glued to the screen as he opened the squid. He took a piece and used to gesture at the screen.
"It's starting," he said.
Masato eyed the snacks rather than the screen, chuckling at his friend.
"Commoner snacks."
"Commoner snacks for commoner beer," replied Ren.
"True."
"Oh, it's variety format," Ren said about the show.
Sure enough, there was a panel of guests on the show. It was a few veterans on there including the girl from the commercial earlier.
"Eh, Harudori Tsugumi-san!" said Ren in surprise. "She's on the show with Hyuuga and Tsukimiya sensei."
"This week our travels took us to the center of Japan," Ringo sensei was saying.
The guests all looked intrigued at what he was saying.
"Can you have a guess at where it is by my clues?"
"Your clues are always impossible to guess," said Kitayama, a non-shining idol incredulously. "Ringo-san is a tease."
Ringo stuck out his tongue but didn't deny it.
"My clue, it's the place least touched by warfare or disaster in Japan."
"What do you think?" Ren said looking back at Masato. "An untouched place."
"That's tough. I need another clue."
Kitayama looked upset, "It's impossible."
Tsugumi laughed, "Kitayama-kun, you didn't even guess."
"It's impossible," Kitayama said. "How could I guess?"
"Give an easier clue," Ryuuya sensei said.
Ringo laughed, "Fine. It's in Ishikawa ken."
"There's an Ishikawa ken?" Kitayama said deadpanned. The camera zoomed in on his blinking.
"Are you daft!?" Ryuuya scolded.
Masato let out a snort of a laugh.
"Kanazawa then," Ren said beside him. "It's the only place in Ishigaki I'd think they'd visit."
"Let's take a look at our trip!" The panelists shrunk into a tiny box in the upper corner of the screen as it showed Kanazawa station's sign and a train pulling in.
"I knew it," Ren said.
The train stopped and Ringo and Ryuuya unboarded. They looked both ways rolling their luggage behind them.
"Woah, it's bigger than I thought, Kanzawa Station," commented Kitayama from the box as he looked on at the video.
"Yes, I almost got lost," said Ringo.
It showed him wheeling the luggage going the wrong way and Ryuuya tapping him and pointing out the right direction. The observers laughed.
"So cute," Masato said. "No wonder people like Ringo sensei's persona. I'd want to watch over him if he were my travel partner."
They entered the main part of the station and the camera panned around showing all of the different parts of the station including a massive and ornate arch.
"That's big!" commented Kitayama.
Suddenly the Ringo in the station gasped loudly surprising the other panelists. Tsugumi jumped a bit in her seat.
"What?" Ryuuya said, sounding alarmed by his companion's outburst.
Ringo pointed out with one hand while the other covered his shocked face. His mouth was a huge O. The camera the showed another person coming but their body was mosaiced and also a big question mark.
"Impossible!" Ringo gasped. "What? Unbelievable."
"That kid!" Ryuuya said once he saw who Ringo was pointing to. "*bleep* is our tour guide?"
In the box, the panel was going crazy.
"Ah who is it?" Kitayama was saying.
"I want to know! Their body shape, I can't tell with the mosaic," said Tsugumi.
"Wahhh," Kitayama said in interest as the Ringo ran to the mosaic as if to embrace them and then suddenly the video was cut off by a commercial.
"What!?" Masato said incredulously.
"You are way too into this," Ren laughed with a piece of squid hanging out his mouth
"They cut it off at the most important part," was Masato's reply.
The commercial was yet again the Suntory water.
"Hey," Ren said, to get Masato's attention.
Masato looked at Ren and saw the other with a peanut and gestured towards Masato's face.
"Can you catch this with your mouth?"
Masato flinched when Ren made as if to throw it.
"Come on, it's just a peanut," Ren said.
"Stop playing around," scolded Masato.
"Just one. Like this," Ren threw the peanut and he moved his head so that it landed right in his mouth. He then grinned at his mate. "Impressed?"
"Whatever. Let me try," Masato went to reach for it but Ren pulled the bag out of reach.
"Let me throw it to you."
In the background, some Japan agriculture commercial was ignored.
"You didn't let me throw it at you," countered Masato.
"I said throw it to you not at you," laughed Ren.
Masato just reached over and took some of the kaki-pi and ate it normally with a shake of his head.
"It's back on!" Ren said.
On the TV once again the mosaic-covered person was shown.
"What? Unbelievable!" Ringo was saying on TV!
Suddenly the mosaic was removed revealing Mikado Nagi from HEAVENS making Tsugumi and Kitayama gasp in surprise. Heavens Sky played in the background.
"Woah!" Kitayama said very vocally with an exaggerated expression.
"Cutie Nagi," cooed Tsugumi.
In the station, Ringo was the same.
"Cosmic cutie, Nagi!" Ringo said running up to Nagi in his heels.
Nagi was surprised as Ringo took the teen's hands in his.
"You're our tour guide?" Ringo asked.
Nagi nodded and Ringo let go of his hands.
"Yep! I, Mikado Nagi, will be the gracious host to you here in my own hometown," Nagi said looking proud of himself.
"That little runt, huh?" Ren said.
"Awww, so cute," Ringo said. "Where are we going to go? This station is so big I feel turned around."
"You didn't expect it to be this big, did you? In addition to the Shinkansen we also have JR and local lines and a total of 17 gates," Nagi said in an all-knowing tone.
"Wow, that's impressive," said Kitayama back in the studio.
"I didn't think it'd be that big," agreed Tsugumi.
"First come with me so we can send your luggage to the hotel," Nagi said.
He then lead the way through the station to a convenience store so they could forward their luggage and travel hands-free. It was fast forwarded through it but they were able to see they were using Kuroneko Yamato shipping services to send their bags.
"It's Kuroneko Yamato... ah! Ryuuya san's brother's name is Yamato," Tsugumi said in the corner of the screen.
As she said that a tiny little pic of Hyuga Yamato's head appeared on the screen on top of the clerk in the store's head. The little Yamato head had black ears.
"It'd be Kiiro Neko Yamato," joked Kitayama poking fun at Yamato's hair color.
The little Yamato head ended up changing to yellow ears.
Ryuuya joined in, "He likes pink. Momo Neko Yamato is best."
The Yamato head's ears turned pink.
"Cute!" said Tsugumi at just the thought.
Nagi and the others finished with the luggage and headed out.
On the screen appeared the words: "coming up" and showed scenes like Ringo and Nagi feeding koi and then gold flakes falling on top of shave ice.
Then that blasted Suntory water commercial appeared on the screen.
"Again a commercial," complained Ren.
Masato said nothing though he felt the same on the inside.
Ren got up to go to the bathroom leaving Masato alone to suffer through the Suntory commercial followed by a curry commercial. He watched it passively as he reached forward and drank from his can of beer. To his right was the dried squid and he picked up the package to observe it. It wasn't just normal dried squid. It was a spicy one with red pepper. Leave it to Ren to go for that one. Masato put the package down just as another commercial started.
Ren came back and slumped into the seat.
"Still commercial, what the heck?"
"You got the spicy squid," Masato said, holding up the bag.
"The good kind. The best kind," Ren said looking at Masato.
Masato just rolled his eyes and Ren couldn't help it but to lean in and kiss the corner of his lips. When he broke away he looked back at the screen in time to see the show come back on.
"First place Nagi took us was Kenrakuen as well as Kanazawa castle," Said Ryuuya.
The camera showed various shots of the garden and the castle.
"Wow!" "Beautiful!" came the voices of the observers on the panel.
"It's even better in real life," Ringo said.
"What was the best part?" asked Tsugumi.
Ringo seemed to think for only a moment before lighting up, "the big pond. It was so big and lovely. Plus Nagi-kun and I were able to feed the koi."
"I liked being able to see it in summer. This garden is one of the top 3 gardens in Japan and it really embodies the feeling of the 4 seasons. The flowers and greenery were like out of a painting," said Ryuuya as the camera panned to show beautiful shots of flowers, bushes, and the various scenery.
The camera then showed Ringo, Nagi, and Ryuuya enjoying the park and walking around. Nagi and Ringo were having fun pointing at various things while Ryuuya followed along.
"Hehe you look like a family," Tsugumi giggled in the box in the corner.
The Ringo, also in the box, didn't like that, "With this guy? Yikes."
"That's creepy," Ryuuya agreed.
With the Ringo on the screen though it showed him and Nagi buying fish food out of a dispenser.
"We were able to buy food from there to feed the koi in the pond," explained Ringo back at the studio.
"Cool!" Kitayama said as he watched them feed.
It was funny watching them feed because at one point Ringo leaned too close to the water edge and a Koi nibbled at the end of his hair.
"The garden was alive not just with wildlife but with azaleas and irises," said Ryuuya to the others on the panel.
The three were shown walking along a path looking at the flowers.
"So Nagi kun what's the significance of this place?" asked Ringo.
"Well, over there do you see that?" Nagi pointed in the background where it could be seen Kanazawa castle. "It was built as a garden for the castle back in the 1600s."
Tsugumi was shocked, "Woah it's so old!"
"Kanazawa is a very old city and unlike other places in Japan it wasn't affected at all by fighting in wars and very minimal natural weather disasters," explained Nagi. "Therefore many old places still exist here."
A voice-over began as the camera showed various other parts of the park including structures and waterfalls.
"Kenrokuen, originally a castle garden, was first opened to the public in 1875. It is one of the three great gardens in Japan in addition to Korakuen in Okayama prefecture and Kairakuen in Mito. At Kenrokuen one can observe perfectly the 4 Japanese seasons. Most famous here are the ropes that protect the trees from the heavy winter snow."
The panelists were physically and audibly in awe at the beautiful scenery they were presented with.
"It's amazing," Kitayama said. "How much is it to go. I want to go once for each season."
"Only 310 yen," said Ryuuya.
Kitayama was shocked, "So cheap!"
"We should go," Ren stated.
Masato agreed, "It looks nice. I wouldn't mind."
Nagi headed towards a castle gate. "This is the entrance gate."
In the studio, Kitayama commented on how big it is.
"Part of this castle was destroyed in a fire and rebuilt in the late 1800s," Nagi said. "But it was a very fortified and guarded location here situated on the mountain and guarded by multiple moats."
"This was very good planning," Ryuuya said.
They were able to explore the watchtower and other parts of the castle grounds. It showed the trio taking turns taking pictures of each other. Nagi and Ringo took a few selfies before convincing Ryuuya to join them. The resulting selfie ended up on the TV screen. The two younger stars were beaming brightly at the camera and Ryuuya had a more neutral expression though he smiled with his eyes. In the background was the Kahokumon gate.
"That gate is a reconstruction made entirely using traditional Japanese construction methods," Nagi explained proudly.
"He's so smart!" cooed Tsugumi.
"Whatever it's all scripted," scoffed Masato.
Ren quirked a brow at that, "Why the animosity?"
"You know as much as I do how manufactured these things are."
"True."
A narration of the palace pointing out history and fun facts continued before the screen panned towards the mountain with the caption showing the name of it.
"I wonder if we can climb that," Ringo mused.
"You want to do it?" Nagi asked without missing a beat.
Ringo was surprised, "Right now?"
"Why not?" beamed Nagi. "The castle is in the shadow of Mount Utatsu. If we climb up we'll be able to see the whole city. There are many places to bike around here if you like it," Nagi went on.
"Oooh we should have rented bikes!" cooed Ringo. "Next time."
Ryuuya quirked his brow, "You're saying there will be a next time?"
"Of course! We barely even scratched the surface!"
"He's right," nodded Nagi.
The screen then proceeded to show a scenic overview of the city from Mount Utatsu
"Kanazawa is the perfect city to experience fully Japan's 4 seasons without the crowds of more heavily traveled places," said the narrator.
"That looks amazing," Kitayama said from the studio.
The Ringo in the studio nodded in agreement, "It's like finding a hidden treasure in our own backyard."
"I never thought to go to Kanazawa," Kitayama shook his head and looked on with a bit of reverence.
"We always talk about Seoul, Bali, Hawaii," Tsugumi counted on her fingers. "But Japan is really amazing too."
"A little heavy-handed, huh Japan National Tourism Organization?" Ren scoffed.
One the screen Tsugumi and the others were still discussing the scenery.
"But it looks tiresome to climb up there," she lamented.
"When was the last time you hiked, Tsugumi san?" asked Ryuuya.
"Ah, I actually don't remember," she said inciting laughs from the panel.
"Don't you want to go?" asked Masato.
"Aren't you the one who said this is all scripted?"
"It is but the places still exists," replied Masato. A pause. "Oh, another commercial. How much longer is this? I'm getting sleepy."
"Then go to sleep," Ren nudged his partner. "No one is forcing you to stay up."
Masato sighed tiredly and let his body lean a little towards Ren's.
"Yeah, but I wanted to see the gold leaf shave ice. You said it yourself that I'm too into this."
"I'll get you shave ice tomorrow if you sleep now," Ren said.
"You can't bribe me with that. Besides, it's special gold leaf shave ice."
"Right, right, well your show is back on," Ren said just as the commercial ended.
On the screen, there was an old historic district. The area was shown in various angles showing off all wooden buildings with the wooden windows. The street was paved with stone and Ringo looked on in awe at his surroundings.
"I feel like I've been transported back in time," he said.
Suddenly a big gust of wind blew sending Ringo's hat right off his head and tumbling right down the street.
"Ahhh!" Ringo screamed. "My hat!"
He had to hold down his yellow sundress to keep it from blowing up as well. He couldn't chase after the hat.
"Come back!" called out Nagi running after the hat.
The camera cut to them chasing the hat over a bridge. Then chasing it again down an alley and finally Nagi trying to jump to get it out of a tree.
"I hate this!" Ringo screamed at the hat.
Ryuuya came strolling up to them with his hands in his pocket before pulling the hat from the tree branch. He brushed off some of the dirt and then plopped it back on Ringo's head.
Ringo was stunned for a second before screaming, "You could have helped earlier, you know!"
Ryuuya just laughed, his eyes crinkling in a genuine smile.
"C, cool," said Nagi in awe.
Ringo looked at Nagi then at Ryuuya
"Looks like you got a new fan," laughed Ringo.
"N,not true!" Nagi exclaimed jumping up and down.
Ryuuya just shook his head though his smile didn't quite fall.
"Let's go eat."
"Nagi's so cute," cooed Tsugumi in the little box.
"I'm not sure if it's tsundere or not," said Kitayama.
They entered a shop where the staff greeted them. Before the scene cut to a presentation of a delicious looking table of food.
"Located on the Sea of Japan, Kanazawa is home to the freshest of seafood from crab to urchin," stated the narrator.
The panel looked on in amazement as a pair of chopsticks picked up a piece of dark pink sashimi. The sashimi on the chopstick jiggled as if to emphasize its freshness before cutting to another scene with the chopsticks picking some rice with some salmon roe perched upon it precariously. Perfectly timed a circle of roe rolled off.
"That looks so good," lamented Kitayama and Tsugumi.
"Visiting Kanazawa's old town one is able to experience centuries old eateries with authentic culinary traditions preserved," went on the narrator.
It then cut to Nagi, Ringo, and Ryuuya in the eatery seated at the table. Ringo and Nagi gasped in excitement as their bowls of kaisendon were placed before them.
"What did you get, Nagi-kun?" Ringo asked.
A closeup of Nagi's bowl appeared. It was perfectly decorated with a heaping mound of ikura on a shiso leaf bed. Along with it were a generous helping of uni and 2 shrimp, sake, and maguro.
"I'm a seafood lover for sure," Nagi beamed as the camera showed his bowl. "But uni is my favorite as it tastes exactly like the sea. The perfect kaisendon for me is one with a lot of uni."
"I'm getting hungry," mused Masato.
The camera panned out to show the three at the table.
"How about you Ringo-san?"
The camera zoomed on Ringo's and Ryuuya's. The words on the screen labeled which bowl belonged to who. Ringo's bowl was full of hotate, uni and ikura. Ryuuya's was just packed like an actual mountain with every type of seafood imaginable. Everything seemed to be represented in his bowl.
"This is so cruel, eating this in front of us," whined Kitayama in the studio.
Nagi's chopsticks dug in and he lifted up some rice topped with uni. Ryuuya and Ringo did the same. When Ringo took his first bite the camera zoomed in on him as a look of bliss took over his face and he chewed and swallowed. He opened back his eyes.
"It's delicious."
"Freaking delicious," mimed Nagi as he took another bite of his.
"The sashimi looks so good," Tsugumi said as she watched the three eat.
"It was so supple and tender. It was as if the fish melted in my mouth," explained Ringo to the studio panel.
"The freshness was remarkable. It was as if I were in Tsukiji market before they opened," added Ryuuya.
"I want to eat it," Tsugumi said longingly. She looked at Kitayama, "Let's get kaisendon later, OK!"
The others laughed at her tone.
Kitayama countered, "That sounds more like a command than an invitation!"
"Why do they air this kind of thing so late at night," asked Ren. "We can't even eat that now if we wanted."
"Coming up," said the narrator.
Images flashed on the screen of the shave ice and the audience reaction as an old man lifted a giant sheet of gold.
"You can eat that!?" came Kitayama's over exaggerated gasp before a commercial came on.
Suntory water. Again.
"It looks like the shave ice is next," Ren noted.
"Good. Did you know that Kanazawa has gold leaf tea? They're basically the only place to produce it in the world. I bet that shave ice is made from the gold leaf matcha," said Masato.
Ren laughed, "You would know that."
He got up.
"Where are you going?" Masato asked, looking up.
"Getting more beer. One for the road or whatever."
Masato seemed to consider that for a moment as Ren walked off before he turned in the couch and called out.
"Bring me one too."
Ren opened the fridge and got two beers, the very last that he had, and returned back to his seat just as the commercial was coming off. Neither really paid attention to the narrator and the panel as they opened their cans, gave a final kampai of the night and drank.
He glanced at the screen only to see Japan agriculture being advertised again.
"What's the best snack with beer?" he asked after he lowered the can from his lips.
"Shishamo," Masato said without hesitation.
"Old man," teased Ren.
"Let me guess," Masato said looking around at the snacks they had. "You like dried squid?"
"You're right. Or those sausages at 7-11."
"You've been corrupted by commoner food," said Masato in a deadpan, but it was obviously a joke.
"Blame Shinomi. That's his favorite."
Ren reached into the bag of dried squid and stuck one in his mouth and another strand in Masato's.
"He probably thinks they look cute," noted Masato as he chewed.
Ren looked back at the screen, "Oh damn. We're missing it!"
Ringo, Nagi, and Ryuuya were listening to an old man explaining the process of creating the gold leaf. The old man was showing as the gold was being mixed to create the base for the gold leaf.
"This has been a tradition Kanazawa since the feudal times," the man said. "It was stopped at one point by the shogunate later in the Edo period but was revived here in Meiji period."
As he spoke about the process the screen showed the thing sheet being rolled by a machine mill. He explained that long ago they beat it with hammers.
"This gold is so thin it disappears if you rub it with your fingers," said the old man.
"WHAT!?" Kitayama gasped.
"No way! It must be a lie," Tsugumi said in disbelief.
Ryuuya was allowed to touch the gold in the facility and sure enough, it disappeared and the panel in the studio went wild.
"I was shocked too," Ringo said.
The old man in the mill continued, "We use it in many things including temples and shrines, handicrafts and of course we eat it."
"We can eat that?" Tsugumi asked. "What does it taste like?"
The tour ended and they were taken to a shop to try many confections with gold leaf. There were all sorts of traditional Japanese confections, wagashi, perfect to pair with matcha. The camera made a sweeping close up at all the delicate sweets including manju and kakemono covered with the gold in places. Then it showed the different famous gold leaf green teas and finally the shave ice: Kakigouri flavored with matcha and dusted with gold leaf flakes.
The three were at the counter when the attendant brought out the coveted treat to the "oohs" and "aahs" of both the studio audience and the 3 in the shop.
"Our gold tea is famous and only found in Kanazawa," the old man explained. "And this is out golden matcha shave ice with adzuki, dango."
Ringo and Nagi squealed and excitement as they were given spoons to try it.
"It looks so good," commented Kitayama in studio.
"I am not a person who loves sweets," Ryuuya said in reply. "But I love traditional Japanese desserts."
A close up was shown as the camera circled around the mountain of shave ice. Half of it had adzuki covering it and the other half was green matcha. Condensed milk was on top like a snow-capped mountain and thin curls of gold leaf sprinkled over the entire thing caused it to shimmer brilliantly.
Ren gave his approval, "it looks so pretty."
"I wonder if eating gold is wasteful," Masato mused.
"I wonder if it gives gold poops," Ren laughed.
"You're disgusting."
Ryuuya was first with his spoon digging into the matcha side of the creation. He removed his spoon and paused to show the camera what he had.
"You can really see the gold," he said as the camera zoomed in on it.
Then it zoomed out as he tasted it. He nodded showing his approval.
"It's a deep flavor of matcha but still very refreshing."
Ringo and Nagi tried it next.
"GOOD!" Nagi exclaimed.
"Delicious," Ringo sighed. "It's not too powerful. But also not so subtle you can't taste it. It's the perfect balance of matcha and ice."
"I feel like I can fly into heaven now," Nagi sighed.
"Yes, call HEAVENS!" Ryuuya said.
Nagi made a surprised gasp at that before he and Ringo fell into laughter and they collapsed over the table with their spoons in their hands.
"I can't believe they just did that," Ren groaned.
The footage cut back in the studio again with the panel.
"So Ryuuya, what do you think of our venture in Kanazawa," Ringo asked.
"Ishikawa ken is a place I've never been," said Ryuuya. "And it's a place I would have never thought to go."
The panel members nodded murmuring agreement as they followed along with his words.
"It was at the same time exactly what I expected but also surprised me with new charms I never imagined," he finished.
"I agree," Ringo said. "If you love history there is much to see but there is art, and architecture, lots of delicious foods."
He named it off on his fingers.
"There is so much to Kanazawa than we could show in one day trip."
"If you go back what do you want to see?" Kitayama asked.
"I want to eat shave ice again," Ryuuya said. "But also, I want to hike to the top of Mount Utatsu."
"For me, I want to try Kenrokuen in different seasons, not just summer. Also, there are many museums in Kanazawa we couldn't visit so I'd like to try. Also the sea! I want to visit the sea."
"I want to try too," nodded Tsugumi.
Kitayama chimed, "With Nagi as my tour guide I think it would be the best."
"He was so cute!" Tsugumi cooed.
"He is a good kid," agreed Ryuuya. "I suppose it makes sense to think Kanazawa has a kid like him."
"So what's next?" Kitayama asked.
Ringo's face lit up, "I want to go to the onsen!"
"Beppu it is!" Tsugumi decided for him.
"I've been to Beppu," Ren stated, looking at Masato. "How about you?"
"Of course. It's one of my family's favorite places to visit. I love their springs."
"To me, the best one is the mud bath. It's so relaxing," Ren said. "Think about it, us in Beppu drinking Suntory water just like in the commercial."
Masato let out a belly laugh and went to hit Ren with a pillow in the face. Ren had fast reflexes though and caught it before the impact. Masato hopped off the couch.
"I'm going to bed. I'm so tired. I can't believe I sat through that just for the shave ice."
"Aw, you know it was really for the beer and good company," Ren said standing up too.
"I can always have your company whenever I'd like though."
"So you admit I'm good company?"
Masato rolled his eyes and kissed Ren on the corner of his lip. When he pulled back he had a fond smile.
"Why must I always say it?"
He turned away.
As Masato disappeared into the bathroom to ready himself to bed Ren began gathering the cans and snacks to put away. He turned off the TV content with only the sound of his own movement. Their night wound down to an uneventful yet peaceful end.
-the end-
AN: Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated. This was a new format I never saw a fic like this before lol So let me know if you enjoyed it. This was written for Utapri Fic Writers Summer Festa on discord