OK, this is quite possibly my longest chapter to date, right now. it's chapter eight of my first ever 'Shugo Chara' fanfiction, although it's listed as the tenth chapter. it's really because of the first two 'chapters' that are actually the prologue and the character list and in that order. anyway, this eighth chapter is a good, strong five-thousand-seventy-two words worth of the fanfiction's very storyline long. it's a storyline that, however, excludes this headnote, right here, and the (mandatory) disclaimer which makes up the following paragraph. it also excludes both of the author's note/comments from yours truly hidden within the precipice of this chapter's own very long storyline. I can't believe that I've actually written my longest chapter ever of my first ever 'Shugo Chara' fanfiction that is this one, right here, out of my technically eighth chapter. OK, enough jawing around. time to get on with my fanfiction's (mandatory) as usual disclaimer.
disclamation: I don't own 'Shugo Chara' or 'The Ugly Truth' in any way, shape, or form. I am but a humble fanfiction blogger on both FanFiction and Wattpad. I have an account with Wattpad that I keep meaning to edit my own username. the same goes for my usernames on both YouTube and on DeviantArt. why do I keep forgetting to edit my own usernames. anyway, 'Shugo Chara' is owned by the duo of manga artists known in their home country as Peach Pit, AKA Banri Sendo and Shibuko Ebara. Meanwhile, 'The Ugly Truth' was directed in 2009 by Robert Luketic and was written by a trio of writers made up by three women with the names of Nicole Eastman, Karen McCullah Lutz, and Kirsten M. Smith.
As soon as she had finally managed to lose him before the show's opening segment would air, Amu started talking to Hikaru and Rikka about what she wanted the two of them to do with Ikuto as soon as their segment on her show had started as the trio just continued walking to the studio set.
Amu Hinamori: Hikaru, Rikka, listen to me. I want you to skewer him. I want Ikuto Tsukiyomi to go down in flames. I want Ikuto Tsukiyomi to be nothing but a pile of ash on the seat next to you both. I want the janitor to come in and vacuum up the ashes of Ikuto Tsukiyomi with his Dustbuster and when he dumps it in the dumpster outside, I want the rats to vomit and defecate on the ashes of Ikuto Tsukiyomi.
Rikka was actually getting so scared of Amu, it had actually taken Hikaru commenting on her own bitter anger to snap poor slightly terrified Rikka out of the very state of horror she felt alarmingly towards Amu, of all people in her life.
Hikaru Ichinomiya: Wow! And here I thought you were angry and bitter. But those exact comments from Hinamori-san, of all people, just about take the bitterness and anger cake.
Rikka Hiiragi: Um, no, Hikaru. My bitterness and anger is all directed to the stand still friendship between both you and me. You know you and I both want each other.
Later on the studio set with Hikaru, Rikka and the man of the hour, himself, Ikuto, all three of them were just about ready to say their lines for the show when featuring their new guest commentator. Of course, Ikuto was more than ready, though he was not happy to have lost Amu on his way to the studio set. As a matter of fact, the deep-dark-blue-haired guy was pretty pissed off to have lost the cherry-blossom-pink-haired girl who had managed to go from being called 'ugly' by him from over the phone to kidnapping his attention span within less than even twenty-four hours. Granted that Ikuto was usually right about a woman whenever he called said woman 'ugly', but he was genuinely shocked to have been proven wrong about Amu after finally getting the privilege of seeing the face behind the voice he had prematurely labeled as 'ugly'. He had hated the very idea of being wrong about anyone, and the fact that she seemed to hate him in return. In Amu's defense, Ikuto could not actually blame her for hating him. He did, after all, call her 'ugly' without once getting a look at her.
Back outside the contents of his brain, Ikuto was getting talked to by someone on the studio set. It was a guy. He was not happy about it.
Man: Tsukiyomi, twenty seconds to air.
The guy on the set with all three of them then began talking to Hikaru to see if he, himself, was ready to air the beginning of Ikuto's time on their show.
Man (continued): About ready? Hikaru?
Of course, Hikaru could only complain about something being wrong with his dressing room. Rikka, on the other hand, was too busy applying her lipstick to listen to her friend/co-anchor at the time.
Hikaru Ichinomiya: There's a bird in my dressing room, just so you know.
Man: I'll take care of it.
Rikka finally started talking to her friend/co-anchor just in time to reveal that she had heard what Hikaru had told the man working for the time with the two of them and Ikuto on the news.
Rikka Hiiragi: A real bird?
Hikaru was only too informative to tell his friend/co-anchor, Rikka, about the bird in his dressing room.
Hikaru Ichinomiya: Yeah. It's flying around.
Of course, it was only natural that Rikka was concerned about her friend/co-anchor, Hikaru's, dressing room.
Rikka Hiiragi: Why's there a bird in my co-anchor's dressing room?
The man guessed the bird in Hikaru's dressing room to have been that of a sparrow.
Hikaru Ichinomiya: I don't know what type of bird it is. It's a god**** bird.
Rikka Hiiragi: The security here is appallingly awful. You guys have really got to keep the doors closed.
It was then that the man on the set with Hikaru, Rikka and Ikuto was getting ready to cue them for a go on the segment that was set to feature Ikuto, himself.
Man: Five, four, three …
Then, the man who had counted down from five to three pointed at Hikaru then at Rikka, signaling them that their segment had begun at last.
Hikaru Ichinomiya: Ohayo gozaimasu, minna-san, I'm Hikaru Ichinomiya in another beautiful day in Tokyo. And I'm sitting her with a beautiful woman.
Back in the backstage camera viewing room, a freshly-heartbroken-from-a-date-gone-sour Kairi instructed everyone on the set on what they were all supposed to do to cater to his adult sister and brother-in-law's wishes for better ratings.
Kairi Sanjo: Go, camera one.
Then, both Yuu and his wife/co-chief executive director, Yukari, came into the backstage camera viewing room and sat on both sides of Amu. Yuu was the only one to speak to her in a barely audible whisper, that was.
Yuu Nikaido: All right, here we go.
To being called beautiful by her friend/co-anchor, Rikka only laughed with Hikaru's compliment in acknowledgement before speaking back to the young man in question.
Rikka Hiiragi: Thank you, Hikaru. Hi. I'm Rikka Hiiragi.
Back in the camera viewing room, Kairi continued to tell the camera staff what to do to cater to his adult sister and brother-in-law's wishes for higher ratings than that of which the show had been getting.
Kairi Sanjo: Ready for the signal on Rikka.
Back on the studio stage, Rikka was ready to talk about what she and Hikaru were supposed to talk about.
Rikka Hiiragi: For years, there have been concerns about lowering television standards. But many believe that this man, right here…
The camera then signaled itself onto Ikuto as Rikka continued talking about the show's new guest commentator.
Rikka Hiiragi (continued): … and his local public-access show…
Ikuto winked out to the audience before the camera focused back on Rikka as she continued to speak to said camera.
Rikka Hiiragi (continued): … have brought things to a new low.
Backstage in the camera viewing room, while Amu was smiling at what Rikka had said about Ikuto, Yuu held a quite disturbed smile by what had doubtlessly been written by Amu for Rikka to say as he shook his head. Meanwhile, his wife/co-chief executive director, Yukari, simply smiled as she still held her face in her right hand. Meanwhile back on the studio stage set, Rikka pretended to extend a welcome to Ikuto as she shot the speaking to the camera over to him.
Rikka Hiiragi: With that, we welcome Ikuto Tsukiyomi.
As the camera shot to him, Ikuto raised his right hand as a means of waving out to the audience.
Ikuto Tsukiyomi: How you doing, minna-san?
Hikaru was the first of the two co-anchors to actually talk to the show's new guest commentator, Ikuto.
Hikaru Ichinomiya: Ikuto, how do you respond to the people out there who say your show is offensive?
Of course, Ikuto already had his answer for the people in Tokyo who had called his show out for being as offensive as Hikaru had labeled it to be.
Ikuto Tsukiyomi: Well, uh, it is. But then again, so's the truth.
Rikka only laughed at Ikuto's answer to her and her friend/co-anchor.
Rikka Hiiragi: The truth about what, Tsukiyomi-san?
Ikuto had an answer for Rikka's question, too, as the camera started focusing on all three with the logo for Ikuto's own show, 'The Ugly Truth', in the backdrop behind them all.
Ikuto Tsukiyomi: Well, what relationships, even friendships, are really like. Take the art of marriage, for instance. It's all about social pressure, status and sex.
Meanwhile back in the camera viewing room off the stage, Yuu grew intrigued by all three of Ikuto's statements about marriages, relationships, even friendships. As did his wife/co-chief executive director, Yukari. Back on the set of the studio's main stage, the lines for the show continued rolling along but Ikuto was clearly improvising them the whole way through, especially when considering what he kept on saying to both Hikaru and Rikka.
Ikuto Tsukiyomi (continued): If it weren't for these three things, men and women would never even speak to one another.
Rikka, even though slightly nervous about Ikuto's clear-cut adlib on the local news, chose to keep calm and stick to the script assigned to her, just as she knew Hikaru would.
Rikka Hiiragi: Oh, dear. Sounds to me like no one's ever loved you, and you're taking that out on the female population.
Rikka and Hikaru both chuckled up a perfect storm of laughter upon her calling Ikuto out about his show. Meanwhile backstage in the camera viewing room, Amu was also happy about Ikuto being served a taste of his own medicine from her best news anchors, Hikaru and Rikka.
Amu Hinamori: Good one.
Yuu and his wife/co-chief executive director, Yukari, were none too pleased with Rikka having insulted who was more than likely their only chance to get higher ratings for their show and for their three kids studying abroad in both Florence, Italy, and Paris, France, at either a beauty school or a beautician's academy. Yukari was the only one who spoke to Amu about it, though.
Yukari Sanjo/Nikaido: It's like 'Crossfire'.
Amu, however, really did like what Rikka had told Ikuto about his own life up until that point of it.
Amu Hinamori: That was a good one.
Meanwhile back on the set of the studio's main stage, Ikuto, however, was definitely not all that phased by Rikka's statement that no one had ever loved him. In fact, her statement did little to even stun his confidence.
Ikuto Tsukiyomi: While-while we're making these observations, Rikka, you and Hikaru project this image of a couple of people who are perfectly happy with being just friends when clearly, it's a complete and total lie.
Rikka then Hikaru both turned their faces towards Ikuto upon hearing that he thought their projected image of a couple of people who were perfectly being just friends. Hikaru was the one to speak up about it, though.
Hikaru Ichinomiya: Sumimasen?
Backstage from within the camera viewing room, Senna seemed to see exactly what was coming in the very near future on their show by then. She spoke surprisingly calmly about it, though, even while using a curse word regarding her worries.
Senna Hanazono: Holy crap.
Amu sensed the imminent danger to her family-run television program even more. She, however, refused to resort to curse words like Senna had… right away, too.
Amu Hinamori: Oh. Break for commercial.
Of course, Yuu wanted nothing to do with Amu's request/demand for a commercial break upon having sensed what was coming up in their show at the time.
Yuu Nikaido: No, no, no.
Being Yuu's co-chief executive director in addition to being his wife, Yukari did not want to even permit a commercial break, herself.
Yukari Sanjo/Nikaido: No, Hinamori-san. There won't be any commercial breaks during this segment. Control over the present segment is the same as driving. It's a privilege, not a right.
Of course, since the onstage director was Kairi, her date from the night before, and he was on Yuu and Yukari's side by then, he also did not want to break for commercials as she had told him to do.
Kairi Sanjo: My sister and her husband said to keep rolling no matter what.
Amu, for one, did not understand why the dark-turquoise-haired guy was defying her order for a commercial break. Meanwhile, Yuu and his wife/co-chief executive director, Yukari, just nodded their heads as a response to Yukari's kid brother, Kairi's, own defiance of Amu's demand for a commercial break.
Amu Hinamori: What?! When? This is my show!
Of course, Yuu, Yukari and Kairi all responded with the same answer as one another in perfect unison, almost as if they were thinking the exact same thing at the time.
Yuu Nikaido, Yukari Sanjo/Nikaido and Kairi Sanjo: Not right now, it isn't.
Meanwhile back on the set of the studio's main stage, Ikuto finally brought up what he was trying to tell Hikaru and Rikka, but most of all Hikaru.
Ikuto Tsukiyomi: Come on, Hikaru. I've been watching your show since back when you started out reporting the news at age fifteen. Back in those days, you were like this cool, confident cat. What the hey happened to ya?
Then, Ikuto started talking to Rikka about her issues with having been labeled as the other half of a pair of people who were perfectly happy with being just friends.
Ikuto Tsukiyomi (continued): And you, Rikka. I mean, you're no dumb bunny, yourself.
Meanwhile in the backstage camera viewing room, Kairi just laughed wholeheartedly at exactly what Ikuto had called Rikka, or rather what the deep-dark-blue-haired guy did not call the wintery-pink-haired girl news anchor. Amu, however, was totally appalled at Kairi for laughing at what Ikuto had said to describe Rikka's closet deviance.
Amu Hinamori: That's not funny, Kairi.
Of course, Kairi had his own excuse for his laughter to combat Amu's usual need to be in control of every little thing in her life.
Kairi Sanjo: Oh, come on, Himamori-san. Think of that laughter as my revenge for the date gone sour last night that you ruined by being a total control freak.
Ikuto Tsukiyomi (continued): You knew that the only way you were gonna get off the weekend shift was by even just making friends with Hikaru. Then, Hikaru, lo and behold, Rikka became more popular than you did. She even ended up with double your salary.
Backstage in the camera viewing room, Amu just grew appalled at Ikuto basically offending poor Hikaru and Rikka on the set of the main stage in their own studio.
Amu Hinamori: Come on, Hikaru. Take him down.
Senna tried her hardest to at least calm down her friend, Amu, but it was to little avail. All she did was shush at her.
Meanwhile on the set of the studio's main stage with Hikaru, Rikka, and Ikuto, the blond in question was more than ready to defend his news anchor partner/friend to the deep-dark-blue-haired guy with both of them on said main stage.
Hikaru Ichinomiya: Hold on, there, buddy. I am very proud of my friend and co-anchor's success. Honestly, I couldn't have asked for a better and more happily platonic partner. Rikka and I are more than comfortable with just being friends.
Unfortunately for Amu, Ikuto already had an argument against what Hikaru had told him about Rikka's success and both of their happiness with being just friends.
Ikuto Tsukiyomi: Baloney, you're either one of those things. You hate Rikka's success, and I'm just guessing this, but my instincts are tellin' me that you hate being just friends with her even more. You feel emasculated by Rikka. And that screws with your head, which in turn, screws up your manhood.
Hikaru was about to make an argument about what Ikuto was telling both him and his friend/co-anchor, Rikka, about what he thought of her popularity and success in the news media. Just as he was about to make said argument against secretly disliking his broadcasting partner's success, Ikuto spoke to him some more… about his closet dislike of being just friends with Rikka, that time.
Ikuto Tsukiyomi: As for being comfortable with just being friends, I think I speak for the both of you at once when I say that comfort is the exact opposite of the way you two feel about being just friends.
Hikaru and Rikka both blushed at basically being told that neither one of them was as comfortable with just being friends as they had always acted on the screen.
Rikka Hiiragi: Wha-wha-what's your point, Tsukiyomi-san?
Despite her stammering at the beginning of her statement to the deep-dark-blue-haired man in question, Amu was very proud of Rikka in the backstage camera viewing room for trying to maintain control over hers and Hikaru's own shared segment by questioning Ikuto about his point, even when she could barely spit it out at first.
Amu Hinamori: Yes, yes, Rikka. Take control.
But on the set of the studio's main stage, Ikuto was still planning to make his point out to Hikaru and Rikka.
Ikuto Tsukiyomi: My point, Rikka_
Ikuto suddenly stopped as though he did not know what his point was, which made Amu feel good backstage in the camera viewing room. Her good feeling did not last long, though. Right when Amu figured that Ikuto did not have everything in his life as together as he made himself out to be, he then revealed that he had actually just been thinking about what to say to express his point.
Ikuto Tsukiyomi (continued): My point is that you and your friend had already made the boyfriend/girlfriend transition a while ago, and you two chose to keep quiet about it, anyway, just so that you could stay popular and give your entire viewing audience to think that they actually have a shot with either one of you.
Of course, Amu was appalled at Ikuto for saying that Hikaru and Rikka already were boyfriend and girlfriend and only kept silent about it for an audience that needed to have the idea that they had a shot with either of them. She realized that keeping as quiet as they had been about them already going out with one another, there were several hints that they were an obviously official couple already. Amu suddenly could no help but wonder what hints of other kinds of things to which she had been painfully unaware.
There was also the fact that they were secretly letting down their fans by having been pretending to be available the whole time. Hikaru and Rikka went all around selling themselves when neither one of them was even on the dating market, probably ever since Rikka joined Hikaru on the morning news and became 'even more popular than him', judging by what Ikuto had said about their friendship.
Hikaru had his own response to what Ikuto was implying about even his platonic friendship with Rikka.
Hikaru Ichinomiya: Tsukiyomi, that's not my fault.
Ikuto suddenly went from badmouthing and mocking Hikaru to defending him in just a single second.
Ikuto Tsukiyomi: I know.
Hikaru actually began failing to understand just who was at fault if it was not him.
Hikaru Ichinomiya: I mean, come on.
Of course, Ikuto, the man with an answer for everyone's question it seemed, also had an answer for Hikaru basically missing the point as to who was at fault for his hesitance for himself and Rikka to demonstrate their mutual affection for one another to their own viewing audience.
Ikuto Tsukiyomi: I know, I know. It's her fault.
Rikka, of course, took obvious offense to Ikuto basically labeling her as the one to blame for her and her friend/co-anchor, Hikaru, being too scared of the loss of their fans to give him the time of day into front of the audience.
Rikka Hiiragi: Why's it my fault? I mean, what am I supposed to do about it? Say no to my own salary so that Hikaru can get turned on by me?
Backstage in the camera viewing room, her friend, Amu, might not have been crazy about the whole scene playing in front of said cherry-blossom-pink-haired young woman and her audience, but Senna could not stop grinning ear to ear as she had felt quite exhilarated and excited about the tension build-up taking place on the set on the studio's main stage. She even bore a highly amused grin on her face. Amu, herself, however, was very appalled by the way that Rikka was being forced to speak by a guy like Ikuto.
Amu Hinamori: She just said 'turned on' on network television.
Of course, it was no surprise that Yuu did not see any problem with the way Rikka had described getting an ere*****. At least, it was pretty tame compared to calling such a sensation 'getting a b*n**.
Yuu Nikaido: The other networks do it. No big deal.
Of course, it was quite obvious that Senna, being an even lonelier young woman than Amu, herself, was getting quite excited to hear everything they talked about and wanted more than anything by then to hear more.
Senna Hanazono: They're talking about getting turned on by the opposite sex! Minna-san, be quiet!
Naturally, Yukari knew her husband/co-chief executive director, Yuu, knew what he was doing in having hired Ikuto before consolidating the rest of the staff outside of her. She knew her husband hired the deep-dark-blue-haired guy to improve their admittingly best show's ratings, and Yukari was surprisingly fine with what Yuu had done, especially if it meant further provisions for their son and two daughters in beauty school in Florence, Italy, and a beauticians' academy in Paris, France respectively. Yukari was also all for hiring Ikuto to boost the show's ratings if it meant the couple could visit their children more frequently and be able to take them home for the holidays like only the most loving parents could.
Yukari Sanjo/Nikaido: They use that kind of term for that sort of thing all the time on 'Sesame Street' and on 'Barney'.
Back on the set of the studio's main stage, Ikuto still talked to Hikaru and Rikka about their not-so-platonic-anymore friendship, especially since it was pretty obvious by then that they already were boyfriend and girlfriend, after all.
Ikuto Tsukiyomi: I know. I know. I agree.
Rikka was naturally grateful to Ikuto finally seeming to have taken her side of the newfound argument between her and Hikaru.
Rikka Hiiragi: Arigato.
The only problem with Rikka actually thanking Ikuto for agreeing with her was that she had no real idea about exactly what the deep-dark-blue-haired guy was actually agreeing with her.
Ikuto Tsukiyomi: You've economically emasculated your friend and ignored both his feelings and your own for one another to such a point that Hikaru's afraid to express your already romantic friendship in public.
Rikka groaned as soon as she realized exactly for what she was really thanking Ikuto agreeing with her about.
Ikuto Tsukiyomi (continued): I mean, sure, you could dump his sorry bum, but, honey, have you even seen the eligible guys in Tokyo? Ah, God. It's all slim pickin's out there even for a chick just in her twenties, I can tell you that.
Of course, Hikaru could only chuckle at how old Rikka had appeared to Ikuto.
A/N: I, myself, know that it might not sound completely old, but I can tell you that is roughly about the earliest time in one's life when wrinkles can start showing up.
Kairi Sanjo: Hold that shot with Rikka and Ikuto.
While Kairi was enjoying himself with everything that was going on, Amu was completely appalled with Ikuto for talking about Rikka's age, of all things about which he could have talked.
Amu Hinamori: He just talked about her age. She's gonna kill me for that.
Of course, Yuu and his wife/co-chief executive director, Yukari, could not have cared less if Rikka was going to kill Amu for something she could not prevent. Yuu was the only one amongst the two to say anything.
Yuu Nikaido: Well.
It was more of an inaudible whisper than anything else. Meanwhile back on the set of the studio's main stage, Rikka wondered why Ikuto bothered pointing out her age.
Rikka Hiiragi: Twenties?
Ikuto helped Rikka recover from the blow simply by telling her what she needed to do with Hikaru.
Ikuto Tsukiyomi: I mean, you ain't gonna do any better than Hikaru. You just have to let him be a man.
Of course, Hikaru did not quite understand what Ikuto meant when saying that Rikka had to let him be a man.
Hikaru Ichinomiya: Hm?
Ikuto, on the other hand, knew what he was saying when he told Rikka that she had to let Hikaru be a man.
Ikuto Tsukiyomi: You have to give him the chance to be your lover instead of you friend.
Hikaru and Rikka suddenly saw exactly what Ikuto was saying about her letting him be a man. It was so they could demonstrate their obviously shared love life to the public. Of course, Rikka saw no point in it, though.
Rikka Hiiragi: I let him be a man. I give him every chance possible to be my lover instead of my friend.
Her friend/co-anchor, Hikaru, however, wanted to tell Rikka the truth about how he felt more than anything right then and there.
Hikaru Ichinomiya: You have to let me be a man. You have to give me the chance to be your lover instead of your friend.
Rikka, herself, still saw no point in what she and her friend/co-anchor, Hikaru, were arguing over with one another.
Rikka Hiiragi: I've tried to let you be a man. I've always given you every chance I could to be my lover instead of my friend.
Ikuto quickly saw that he had to take over and instruct Rikka on exactly how to let Hikaru be a man and be her lover instead of just her friend.
Ikuto Tsukiyomi: Let him be a man. Let him be your lover instead of just your friend.
Hikaru, himself, saw that Rikka, his Rikka, was really willing to let their clear-cut relationship be drowned out and emasculated by their own work life together.
Hikaru Ichinomiya: You have to let me be a man. You have to give me a new chance to be your lover instead of just your friend.
Rikka only got nervous by exactly what Ikuto, himself, had said next about her emasculating her own friend/co-anchor, Hikaru.
Ikuto Tsukiyomi: Simple as that.
Ikuto then turned his attention from Rikka onto Hikaru as he continued to speak of their more than obvious by then relationship in place of their perfect friendship.
Ikuto Tsukiyomi (continued): Now, you, Frowny McLackluster, come on.
It was then that Ikuto brought his point further forward and positioned Hikaru directly towards Rikka for closer contact. Meanwhile backstage in the camera viewing room, Amu was unsurprisingly appalled by exactly what Ikuto had called Hikaru, as though it was the only thing she heard him say or saw him do. She even gasped in indignation at what she heard and saw the deep dark blunet do.
Amu Hinamori: Oh, God.
Amu might not have liked anything Ikuto was doing to her staff, but her brunette friend, Senna, seemed to really like what was happening on the set of the studio's main stage. Of course, Kairi, having still been as bitter as he was about Amu basically turning what could have been a good date into a downright horrid one the night before, only followed his sister, Yukari, and her husband/co-chief executive director, Yuu's, orders to keep rolling no matter what. The deep-dark-turquoise-haired guy was only too happy to do so, after all.
Kairi Sanjo: Ready for a three-shot. Zoom in.
Meanwhile on the set of the studio's main stage, Hikaru was only too upset about being called such an unflattering nickname as 'Frowny McLackluster' by a guy like Ikuto.
Hikaru Ichinomiya: I'm not frowny.
Of course, Ikuto had an argument against Hikaru's own theory that he, himself, was not as frowny as Ikuto had made the young blond anchorman out to be.
Ikuto Tsukiyomi: Yes, you are.
The blunet then directed Hikaru's chair further towards where Rikka was by then and told the two of them what to do from there going forward.
Ikuto Tsukiyomi: Move in here and give this beautiful woman a kiss.
Of course, Rikka, herself, was quite appalled by exactly what Ikuto was telling her and her friend/co-anchor, Hikaru, to do at the time.
Rikka Hiiragi: Oh, God. This is ridiculous.
Hikaru was also quite confused by the other part of the nickname Ikuto had assigned him after the very word, 'Frowny'.
Hikaru Ichinomiya: 'McLackluster'?
Hikaru then turned his head in Ikuto's direction to ask him a question.
Hikaru Ichinomiya (continued): Does that mean what I think it means, Tsukiyomi-san?
A/N: in case anyone's wondering what 'McLackluster' would mean, it would be another word for the many definitions of the word 'flaccid'. you would have heard the lead of the original 'Ugly Truth' call the head anchorman 'Frowny McFlaccid' in the actual film. as I had said before, lackluster is just a synonym for the many other words for 'flaccid'. I just didn't really know how appropriate a word like 'flaccid' would be for a fanfiction for the 'Shugo Chara' fandom. of course, I'm just guessing the lead would've meant by 'McFlaccid', but I'm pretty sure he probably would've meant something other than lackluster for the way he was trying to define the head anchorman in the film. 'Frowny McLackluster' is also my own take on the nickname, 'Frowny McFlaccid', as a means of ironic punishment for the way Hikaru was throughout the entire 'Shugo Chara' anime, as the so-called boss of 'Easter'. I hated the way that company was operated in the anime. it really did create a bad name for the actual holiday of 'Easter' in my opinion.
Of course, Ikuto had meant what he said right when he told them what he had thought about what he said.
Ikuto Tsukiyomi: Yes, it does. Kiss her.
Meanwhile in the backstage camera viewing room, Amu, herself, was highly concerned about what Ikuto had told co-anchors, Rikka and Hikaru, to do to one another.
Amu Hinamori: No, no, no. They're not gonna_
Back on the set of the studio's main stage, Ikuto just continued encouraging Hikaru and Rikka to finally seal the deal.
Ikuto Tsukiyomi: Right in front of me. Give it to her.
Then, the blunet looked out towards the entire viewing audience.
Ikuto Tsukiyomi (continued): Also, right in front of them.
Of course, Hikaru was finally sold on what Ikuto had wanted from both the blond and his dark-pink-haired friend/co-anchor, Rikka.
Hikaru Ichinomiya: Let me_ God****it, Rikka. Let me be a man and let me be your lover instead of your friend!
Then, Hikaru finally pounced on Rikka with his lips, and they started to kiss in a fit of passion like nobody's business. Meanwhile backstage in the camera viewing room, Amu and the rest of them saw the situation on the cameras perfectly well. Amu, of course, was clearly appalled by the display before her on the cameras.
Amu Hinamori: No!
Everyone else in the camera viewing room, however, seemed to really enjoy the sight before them, even Amu's own best friend at her job, Senna. Of course, Kairi, himself, definitely appreciated the sight of it.
Kairi Sanjo: Oh! Zoom in on that, camera two! Zoom in!
Amu just continued to defend her claims that hiring a guy like Ikuto would have been bad for their business.
Amu Hinamori: Japan doesn't wanna see this!
Meanwhile back out on the set in the studio's main stage, Ikuto just continued to tell the entire country about just what was going on with their beloved news anchors, Hikaru and Rikka, at the time.
Ikuto Tsukiyomi: And that, my friends, is the ugly truth.
Backstage in the camera viewing room, Kairi was finally ready to roll for a break and get things back on track because he finally got even with Amu for the lousy date the night before.
Kairi Sanjo: Get ready to roll your break. Ready to roll your break.
Meanwhile, Yuu and Yukari enjoyed Hikaru and Rikka's fit of passion so much, they started laughing together at the fun the two of them were both having with Ikuto's show having completely taken over theirs. Not long afterwards back on the set of the studio's main stage, Hikaru grabbed Rikka by the waist and hoisted her up to his shoulders. Rikka started talking all excitedly about having been lifted right off her feet.
Rikka Hiiragi: Oh, you are a man and my lover. He is a man! Break!
Meanwhile backstage in the camera viewing room, Amu was still just as appalled as she had been the minute she had contacted Ikuto on his show the night before.
Amu Hinamori: Cut to commercial! Cut to commercial!
Yuu and his wife/co-chief executive director, Yukari, however, really enjoyed Ikuto's take on their show.
Yuu Nikaido: That was great! Wasn't that great, honey?
Yukari Sanjo/Nikaido: You were right, darling. He really is great.
Yuu Nikaido: I told you that guy was great!
Yukari Sanjo/Nikaido: Great job, everyone.
Yuu Nikaido: Wow!
After Yuu and his wife/co-chief executive director, Yukari's, conversation with one another while completely ignoring Amu, the cherry-blossom-pink-haired young woman in question decided to simply disappear from sight and hide out somewhere.