I do not own any of the songs. They belong to their respective artist(s).
Boys sing in BOLD
Girls sing in ITALICS
Both genders sing in BOTH
Hikari was almost bouncing off the waiting room walls and Daiki watched in mild fascination. "Hikari-chan, how much sugar have you had?" He asked curiously.
"None!" She chirped. "Not enough, I can tell you now! Might crash later, I really hope we don't wait too long, I really want to do something!"
A knock at the door and it opening, showing an assistant and the man was already talking. "Nanami-san, Yajima-san, we're… ready for you…?" He jumped as Hikari tackled him into a hug.
"Sweet! Let's go, Daiki!" She cheered, coming back and tugging him after her.
"H-hai…" Daiki smiled apologetically at the bemused man, letting her tug him on.
-AA-
Tomochika grinned as she listened to her best friend sing, the platform she and Daiki were on spinning until the piano bench was closest and Hikari slid off the piano top, bowing with Daiki at the end as those already there applauded.
Kenta Todoroki, the male host, stepped forward. "I see you've gotten more mature, Hikari-san," he greeted.
A laugh left her friend. "Only a little, sunbae-nim."
"Oh?" Chiyo Higurashi voiced, looking between them. "You two know each other?"
"Only a little." Kenta nodded to Hikari as she and Daiki fell into place beside Tomochika. "Hikari Nanami's how I got classified as "That Glitter Guy!" on "A Kitsune's Love.""
"And he's why I love glitter," Hikari said with a playful wink. "They can support that."
Tomochika and Daiki nodded. "Don't forget Saotome-shishou," she teased her friend.
Chiyo perked up. "Glitter wars?"
"Too many," Daiki muttered and the girls laughed. "I'm Daiki Yajima. Let's have a good time."
Shaking his head, Kent motioned to a platform on the other side. "We have three more guests," he announced. "Only this time, they're from the rivals of Shining Agency, Raging Agency!"
The three still applauded, Daiki absently tugging Hikari back as she bounced too much in front. Tomochika watched curiously as three boys appeared.
"First up is Eiji Ootori!" The lone brunet smiled softly and bobbed his head in greeting.
"Next is Shion Amakusa!" The boy with white hair gave a simple nod, face composed.
"Finally, we have Yamato Hyuga!" The last boy… honestly, he reminded Tomochika of a stuffed bear, with his hair all spiky. Chancing a look at Hikari, she clearly thought something similar.
Introductions were made quickly and the hosts were soon asking them a few question, with Hikari's questions last, knowing she had family in the Nami Agency.
"So why did you choose to go to the Shining Academy?" Chiyo asked, settling on a stool on the set.
"At first, it was because I wanted to go with my cousin, but then it became a way to get away from my Gran's farm." Hikari huffed a small chuckle. "Her chickens don't really like me that much and have gotten out of the pen a lot, so I figured I'd be much safer at the Academy."
"You're scared of chickens?" Yamato asked, eyebrows up in an unimpressed animals.
"Have you ever been chased before? It's like being chased by a small fluffy demon with a beak. I'd rather be stuck in a pen with an alligator." She shrugged. "My chances would be gone quicker, less pain."
Tomochika laughed and Daiki asked, "What about Ringo-sensei?"
"I'd rather face the chickens." They all shook their heads at her quick response.
"Shining-san, when bringing you up, mentioned you're half Korean." At her nod, Chiyo continued. "Are there any games we could maybe play?"
Hikari hummed. "Well, a simple one could be "Word Chain." You say a word and take the last syllable to make a new one. For instance, Nanami would lead to Minami. No word can be repeated in a round and it does have a tempo to it. If you fumble, take too long, or repeat, you're out and a new round starts."
"Could we try?" Shion suddenly asked, his face tinging slightly as they looked at him. "It sounds interesting."
Chiyo and Kenta looked at the producers and earned a nod. "Who wants to start off?"
"Why not Hikari-san?" Chiyo suggested. "She can show us the tempo."
Hikari glanced at the teens then nodded, clapping slowly. "Clockwise? Umi." (ocean)
"Misaki," Daiki provided. (Blossom)
"Kiru," Tomochika said. (Wear)
Kenta squinted. "Runa." (Luna)
Chiyo spoke, "Nana." (Vegetables)
"Natsu," Eiji added. (Summer)
"Tsumetai," Shion murmured. (Cold)
"Taijutsu," Yamato said slowly, squinting at Shion. (Body Techniques)
"Tsuki," Hikari. (Moon)
"Kimo." Daiki. (Liver)
"Momo." Tomochika. (Peach)
"Moji." Kenta. (Script)
"Jisho." Chiyo. (Dictionary)
"Shoyu." Eiji. (Soy Sauce)
"Yume." Shion. (Dream)
"Megane." Yamato. (Glasses)
"Neko." Hikari. (Cat)
"Koko." Daiki. (Here)
"Kowai." Tomochika. (Scary)
"Wai…" Kenta faltered then scowled. "Is there even a word beginning with that?"
"There's "waiter" but it's English," Eiji said and looked at Hikari in confusion.
"No language switching. Sorry, Kenta-san, but you're out." The man pretended to collapse in grief before straightening, switching seats with Yamato. "Chiyo-san, start us off, please."
"Ichigo," Chiyo said. (Strawberry)
"Gogatsu." Yamato. (May)
"Tsuna." Eiji. (Rope)
"Nashi." Shion. (Pear)
"Shishi." Hikari. (Lion)
"Shika." Daiki. (Deer)
"Kaze." Tomochika. (Wind)
The game slowly went on, with people fumbling words until only Hikari and Yamato were left and Tomochika swore sparks were flying between the two.
Yamato had just passed it on to Hikari, smirking smugly when she promptly said, "Tatakai."
He froze up, bewildered then glowered. "You wanna go?"
"Go on a date?" Hikari returned with a witty snap. "Only if you pay."
Tomochika burst out laughing at the dumbfounded look on Yamato's face. Daiki was chuckling along with Chiyo, Kenta, and Eiji and Shion was shaking his head with a very faint smile.
"Now, now," Chiyo cut in, grinning. "I don't think your presidents would be happy with that."
"Worth a shot," Hikari chirped, swinging her feet as she winked obnoxiously at Yamato, earning a scowl.
"Well," Kenta began with a chuckle. "Because the game went on for longer than expected, we'll have to skip to the second part."
Hikari, when they moved to the next location, darted over to speak with the producers, babbling apologies and Tomochika laughed with Daiki.
"At least no cuss words flew," Daiki said as they walked. "Hikari-chan was looking a bit irritated near the end."
"But we know another game to keep an eye on back at the dorms," Tomochika pointed out. "Can't cut it quite yet."
"You guys play games in you dorms?" Eiji asked curiously. He smiled apologetically, but she waved it off.
"Yeah. Stuff like karaoke, DDR," Tomochika began. "Poker - we use candy or IOUs - uh, some of the Korean games Kari brings out of her room."
"Mario games on the systems," Daiki added. "Some board games, except for monopoly."
She looked at him. "Did the window ever get fixed?"
"I think so. I mean, it was after the debuts…" He trailed off, noticing the five stares. "Uh."
"Somebody broke a window over monopoly?" Yamato asked, baffled.
Tomochika silently shared a look with Daiki, both picturing calm, solemn Tokiya and she snorted despite herself, both glancing away with quiet laughter. "Y-yeah."
"Who broke a window?" Hikari asked, jogging over and falling into step.
"M-monopoly," Daiki coughed out and she shook her head.
"We almost died, Tomo-chan, you shouldn't be laughing about that," she chided even as she grinned.
"Ryuya-sensei nearly bust a gut," Tomochika retorted, grin starting to hurt.
"Only because I yowled like a cat while in my calico onesie," Hikari drawled.
"... onesie?" Shion voiced, blinking.
"Onesie." The girls shared grins.
-AA-
Hikari listened as the hosts began pointing out the obstacle course they'd be doing and bounced in place with a wide grin. "This is going to be fun," she declared.
Yamato let out his own chuckle, a vicious grin on his face. "It is… so long as you can reach, midget."
"That's what jumping is for."
"Are those acupressure mats?" Tomochika cut in, pointing at the ground by the rock wall.
"Yep! We borrowed the idea from a South Korean variety show after hearing Hikari-san would be joining us." Chiyo chuckled as Hikari mock preened. "The very same ones, in fact."
A maniacal laugh left her as Tomochika and Daiki sputtered. "You're joking!" Daiki blurted out in horror.
"We have to run this barefoot?" Tomochika wheezed, looking at her feet in terror.
"Yep!" Kenta said cheerfully, shaking his head as Hikari shook in quiet laughter. "I take it you three have experienced it already?"
Daiki and Tomochika wordlessly glared at Hikari, who merely wiggled her brows. "At least it isn't hopscotch."
"I will punt you," Tomochika warned.
Kenta coughed lightly and they smiled apologetically at him. "Sorry."
The three from Raging were shaking their heads slightly, but focused on the directions.
"Alright! All six of you will start on different paths." Kenta pointed them out. "The complementary colors are what you'll follow. Orange and blue, red and green, purple and yellow. Choose a number and color. The things you get from the rockwall will assist you in the last task."
Hikari shared looks with the others before heading to orange, since it matched her hair more and blue was usually a good color on her. "Four!" She called out.
Tomochika rushed to the red, blowing a raspberry at Yamato who had stepped towards it. "One!"
He scowled lightly before hurrying towards the yellow. "Five."
Daiki called out next. "Two." His was purple.
Shion chose blue. "Three."
Eiji was last and chose green. "Six."
They were told to take and put their mics on their colored starting spots, near their socks and shoes.
"Let's start with one. Tomochika-san, go!" Chiyo called.
-AA-
Tomochika glanced at Kenta. "Is this timed?" He shook his head and she sighed. "No rush then." She eyed the way Hikari and Yamato were eyeing each other and shook her head, starting towards the stretchy ties.
They were looped around a jungle gym that had wide spaces that were cut into smaller spaces and she carefully wiggled her way through it, squawking in alarm as her foot caught and she tumbled into a roll, sitting up and moving to her feet, looking over her ankle before moving to the large water area with water lilies. Tomochika eyed the pads before hopping, choosing a path that would help her get to the red path on the other side. Luckily, the things Hikari had put her through made it easy to jump from pad to pad, but she still sighed with relief when she landed safely on flat, unmoving surface.
Reaching the climbing structure, she moved up the steps and slid down the pole, nearly smacking into the steps on the other side and hurried to the roundabout, spinning to the rockwall when she stopped and froze, blinking away the dizziness. Tomochika started again only to stop and stare hard at the mat.
"Get to it, Tomo-chan!"
"Buzz off!" She yelled back at her friend, jabbing a threatening finger and moved, growling out fruits in the form of cursing before she got to the wall, climbing carefully and grabbing the small red bag and headed back down. The mat slipped her mind until she landed a couple inches above and lurched forward, screeching helplessly as her palms collided.
Her friend burst into cackling laughter and she scrambled off, staggering like she was drunk or beyond dizzy, heading towards Eiji and collapsing by him with a whine.
-AA-
Daiki winced as Tomochika hit the ground before holding an arm up and nodding to Kenta.
The first three paths, one, two, and three, had the same obstacles and he faltered a reaching the lily pads before choosing the wimpy way out and settled on his haunches, pulling the nearest one closer to the edge and crawled on. Hikari's laughter muffled and he figured she was covering her face, his lips twitched. Sitting on the pad, he looked where he needed to go and saw a mostly clear path. Facing the way he came, he kicked off the edge and waited till he spun to a pad closer to the wall and crawled along them until he was out, standing and moving to the roundabout, spinning slowly unlike Tomochika.
He reached the wall and stared at the mat, tossing the producers and hosts a wounded look before moving over it quickly, muttering, "One more step, one more step, one more step!"
Making it to the wall, Daiki huffed weakly as he climbed it, wincing at the strain and figured, if he was already exercising with Hikari, he might as well do so with Masato and Tokiya since they didn't go all out like Otoya and Syo. Daiki flailed a bit before grabbing the purple bag and squawked just like Tomochika had when landing on the mat and staggered his way over to Yamato, sitting down and rubbing his feet, making a face at the tingling sensation.
"Is it really that bad?" Yamato asked curiously.
Blinking at him, Daiki shrugged. "Kind of. I mean…" He squinted as Shion untangled himself from the ties. "It's kind of like stepping on Lego, but less hazardous to your health. Hikari likes using them with Syo for yoga, the maniacs."
He felt no remorse at poking the back of Yamato's knee and making him stagger, copying Hikari and ignoring the glare (honestly, Ringo was way more terrifying).
-AA-
Shion's eyes widened and he yelped lightly as he staggered onto the mat, cringing and colliding with the wall and pulled himself off of it, toes pressing into the holds as he shook a foot out. He'd underestimated the spin he'd done on the roundabout. Collecting his bag, he made his way down and looked between the distance of when he was and where the mat ended. Taking a risk, he pushed off the wall and landed a bit too hard on his feet, but managed to jog over where Hikari was (all three from Shining had said to use their first names).
The girl bounced even more, eyes bright as he stopped beside her. "I''m goin'! Bouncing once more, she darted past him to the wall.
Tomochika squealed when she bounced on the mat and Shion smiled faintly in amusement at her horrified expression. "Hikari, stop that, you're hurting my feet!"
-AA-
Hikari swung up with ease, taking the bag and dropping from the wall into a crouch. Tomochika screeched in horror and she laughed as she headed to the roundabout, spinning quickly and stopping it sharply and jumped onto a lily, sending water up and she continued to move hazardously, absently wondering if she could get something like somewhere.
Nearly falling over the steps when she reached stasis land, she took the steps two at a time and swung down the pole, making her way to the ties, which she practically threw herself into, gymnastics put to good use. Leaving it with a cartwheel, she jogged over to the blue.
-AA-
Yamato barely put his arm up before moving towards the wall, easily jumping the short distance to the wall, easily avoiding the mat as he pulled himself up, snagging the second to last bag and dropping, a startled curse flying past his lips as he forgot the mat. He staggered, nearly falling to his knees and making his way to the roundabout. It really did feel like stepping on Legos.
He hopped onto the lilies like Hikari had, making his way easily to the structure and moving up it quickly then down. Yamato… was slightly ashamed to say he struggled through the ties and he felt his face burning slightly as Hikari began giggling.
He cast a dark glare at her.
-AA-
Eiji shook his head as Hikari began poking at Yamato and headed over to the wall, nervously stepping onto the mat and making a face as he stepped to the wall. He could hear Tomochika making dramatic noises as he climbed, grabbed the bag, and hurried down, yelping as he stepped across the mat and hurriedly spun on the roundabout. Unfortunately, he didn't give himself enough time to catch his bearing…
"Ack!"
And slipped on a lily pad, falling into the water with a flailed sputter.
Bursting out of the water, he coughed and wiped helplessly at his face. Blinking rapidly, Eiji pulled himself onto a pad and was relieved he'd stuck the bag into his pocket. Copying Daiki, he crawled on them and cringed at how all of his clothes were soaked. At reaching and climbing up the structure, he gave a wary look at the pole and headed to the steps on the other side, not knowing nor caring if it wasn't allowed (he didn't want to be injured because of it). Surprisingly, after passing through the ties, he didn't get into trouble.
Chiyo looked him over with Kenta, making sure he was okay before they continued. "Alright, now first, you'll get in partners. It was by complementary pairings, so Hikari-san and Shion-kun, Yamato-kun and Daiki-kun, and Eiji-kun and Tomochika-san."
"We'll let you get changed into full swimwear before heading to the next part," Kenta added. The six teens nodded, looking at their partners curiously.
-AA-
Tomochika fixed her swim shorts before settling in a chair beside Eiji. The two were in a different area of the others and she listened to the producer as he spoke.
"This is the Halloween special," the man began and indicated the spooky decorations. "Pull out your items."
Hers was a doll, like the one from an America film and nearly dropped it in her surprise. Eiji's was a clown and she shivered, hissing, "Dolls."
Eiji let out a small, slightly wavery laugh. "Are these clues?" He asked the producer curiously.
"Yes. You'll be needing to find the corresponding pieces to them. The clown requires something he sorely needs to change from scary to funny. The doll needs something to change from creepy to cute. It can be anywhere here in the resort areas and will be in the same colored container. Afterwards, an announcement will go on of who got their items and can be taken out of the game via omamori charms you will find. The last person standing will win with their partner."
Eyeing the doll warily, she wondered what it needed.
-AA-
Daiki eyed the tiny mannequin he'd gotten and looked over at Yamato's torn paper. His mannequin had something like a suit on and Daiki figured it was supposed to be Slenderman. "I think mine needs papers, like in the video game."
"What about mine?" Yamato asked, lifting up the paper and Daiki squinted at it.
"I think it's from Corpse Party, the Sachiko charm. You'll need the other half of the paper body." Daiki couldn't help muttering, "That was a really creepy game."
"But you still played it," Yamato stated, smirking as Daiki blushed and looked away.
"It was fun…"
-AA-
Hikari looked over the mask she had received. "Oni… oni… what would I need? A prayer?"
Shion looked at the oni mask and nodded. "I believe so. It's said to be the only thing to get rid of them. Do you know what mine is?"
She tilted her head and considered the mask. "I'm pretty sure that's a wendigo mask. Maybe vegetarian stuff since they're cannibals in many myths?"
They looked at each other blankly then shrugged in unison.
-AA-
Tomochika screamed as a mannequin popped out of a locker, smacking into Eiji and the camera guy for the male in her haste to back away. She simply collapsed by their legs, wheezing. Eiji was letting out strangled noises and she kind of watched as he lurched and snagged the green bag, nearly tripping trying to sidestep her.
"Please… please, say we can go to one of the open areas," she partly begged, letting him tug her up to her feet so they could walk out of the check in area.
"Yes… yes, we'll, uh, stop there for a five minute break." He dropped flat onto a bench and she copied him on a nearby one, motioning for the cameramen to sit down.
"And you two," she jabbed a finger at her cameraman, "Don't think I didn't see you, you tried to leave us."
"Sorry… kind of." Tomochika let out a helpless giggle.
-AA-
Yamato swore violently, feeling Daiki latch onto his side as something like a zombie lurched from the shadows. "Dammit, I nearly decked you!" He barked. "What's wrong with you?!"
He grabbed Daiki and tossed him over his shoulder after forcing the other teen to hold the yellow bag, storming away to find somewhere they could take a break and breath without panicking.
"HIKARI AND SHION HAVE FOUND AMATERASU'S WREATH. TOMOCHIKA, EIJI, DAIKI, AND YAMATO CAN BE TAKEN FROM THE GAME. I REPEAT, HIKARI AND SHION HAVE FOUND AMATERASU'S WREATH AND THE OTHER TEAMS CAN BE TAKEN OUT."
A strangled laugh left Daiki. "Of course she'd find it. We're doomed."
"Over my dead body."
-AA-
Shion blinked at the wreath, wariness and mild exasperation filling him. "I don't think they meant for the wreath to be used like this."
"I haven't been told that yet, nor have I been told that I can't. Until it does, I'll use it like this." He sighed at her words. Hikari dropped the red and purple bag in the middle of the wreath and dusted her hands, her orange bags, tied to her shorts like his blue ones. "Ready? Let's go hide."
"Where?" He asked, jogging after her to the larger pool area.
She tossed a bright, wicked smile back at him and pointed up. He followed her finger and faltered. "They have camera sticks to."
"You're crazy."
"I get that a lot. C'mon!"
-AA-
Tomochika spotted Daiki and Yamato coming down the hall just before she spotted the two colored bags. She figured it was a trap but bolted to them anyway, wanting to get out of the creepy place. Yamato copied her and they smacked into each other, toppling and grappling to grab their bags first. It wasn't ladylike at all, but the nerves were getting to her. Eiji and Daiki arrived, flailing at each other before simply grabbing the bags. They all froze when the intercom came on once more.
"TOMOCHIKA, EIJI, DAIKI, AND YAMATO HAVE BEEN TAKEN OUT BY AMATERASU'S WREATH. I REPEAT, TOMOCHIKA, EIJI, DAIKI, AND YAMATO HAVE BEEN TAKEN OUT BY AMATERASU'S WREATH."
The four shared bewildered looks then Daiki cried out, pointing at the ground. "They pulled the wreath apart!"
Tomochika groaned, realizing they'd been outfoxed and flopped off of Yamato. "It was inevitable. Kari's too crazy to beat."
The two producers following the pairs got their attention. "We'll be having the ending ceremony at the large pool."
"You'll be cutting out when we swore, right?" Yamato asked, sitting up.
"Of course."
Tomochika let out a sigh of relief with him and they exchanged grins as they got to their feet, following the producers to the pool. They looked over to see the third and final producer, the man hiding his face and laughing with the other staff. She looked around for Hikari and Shion, frowning when she didn't spot them.
"You can come out now!" The producer called out, laughter still escaping.
"Coming!" Tomochika felt her eyes widen as a camera stick came flying and an assistant caught her. Her jaw dropped as Hikari appeared on top of one of the inflatable slides, high up in the air. Her friend climbed down and jumped down onto the large pool trampoline, bouncing. Tomochika looked up to see Shion coming down, face paler than it had been earlier.
He cried out in alarm as his foot slipped and fell safely to the trampoline, only to send Hikari high into the air, earning a startled shriek that was cut off by the sound of Hikari hitting the water hard.
She bolted over with Yamato, dropping into the pool to grab a flailing Hikari. He reached her first and pulled her up by the back of her shirt. Tomochika moved to ask if she was okay when Hikari blurted out, "That was so cool! Lemme do it again!"
Yamato had to block Tomochika from drowning the other girl.
-AA-
"Hey!" The boys of Raging Agency stopped in walking to their van, turning to look as Hikari, Tomochika, and Daiki came up. Hikari had been the one to call out.
"Yes?" Eiji blinked at them, Shion and Yamato to either side of him
"Will you give us your numbers?" Hikari asked bluntly, her hair still wet and making her shiver. Something Daiki noticed and swooped a scarf around her, earning a yelp.
"Despite us being rival industries?" Shion voiced in mild confusion, something Eiji understood from his father's brusqueness. People from other companies didn't really care for it.
"We're only rivals in industry," Tomochika pointed out. "We can still go out in public if we get disguises."
Daiki smiled hopefully. "Please. I'd like to have a few more sane people in my circle of friends."
"Oi, why are you looking at me like that?" Tomochika pouted at him. "I'm nothing like her." She jabbed a thumb at Hikari.
Eiji smiled softly as the girls fell into easy banter and pulled his phone out, handing it to Daiki. "I think I'd like that."
"Us, too," Yamato said, then paused looking at Hikari. "You know my brother? Personally?"
"Who, Ryuya-sensei?" Hikari snickered. "Even better. I have blackmail. And I'll share."
Shion made a noise of protest as he handed her back her phone. "please don't. He has too much blackmail already."
Hikari grinned. "Don't you know, doll? Blackmail makes the world go round. Text ya later!"
The trio waved and hurried off. Eiji smiled down at the three new contacts before following his friends into the van.
Shining was smiling as he finished watching the episode three of his employees had participated in and looked over at the plaque Hikari had won and given to him, along with a framed photo.
A silver plaque with "On The Flipside Winner" above the show's twisting arrows logo.
His eyes shifted to the photograph of the six kids and the two hosts on either end. Hikari stood in the middle with Shion, hands linked as they held up the mask keychains that had acted as the little clues. Yamato was ruffling Hikari's hair with Daiki slightly in front of him and Tomochika had her arms thrown over Shion and Eiji's shoulders, holding up peace signs. All eight were smiling, the two girls beaming. Daiki had a bright smile along with Chiyo and Kenta while Yamato was grinning viciously. Shion and Eiji were the only ones with calm smiles.
He was reminded of his old group of friends and figured he would call them up soon. Actually, being reminded of the UtaPri awards, Shining wondered if Raging would be participating with one of his groups. He'd have to quietly ask around...
This whole chapter was original… is it okay? Did I keep the future (present?) members of HEAVENS in character (kinda/sorta/not one bit)? The "Word Chain" game is one I've seen repeatedly on Running Man, a South Korean variety show, and I kinda had to twist it around since Japan has a completely different alphabet. Same with the acupressure mat, those were on the show, too.
I can't think of anything else right now, but I hope you enjoyed the chapter! And you can count on those three reappearing from time to time!
See you next time!