well, my readers, here's chapter nine. it might be listed at chapter eleven, but that's only because of the prologue and the character list chapters at the very beginning of this fanfiction as chapters one and two. the real fanfiction started at chapter three. a certain several of my fanfictions do start at chapter two or further into the fanfiction's chapters. I'm on the last day of my vacation in Lake Tahoe right now. I know a lot of people outside the United States don't know where that is, but the lake here is quite beautiful, especially if one likes clean and clear water and fresh-smelling country air. I happen to actually prefer the smell of lake or sea water over the nasty smell of city air. I usually come here for a vacation around this exact time of year. it's such a great time to go to Lake Tahoe. anyway, let's get back to talking about this nineth chapter, in particular. this nineth chapter, though listed as chapter eleven, is a good one-thousand-two-hundred-thirteen words of storyline long. it is a storyline that doesn't include this headnote, right here, the (mandatory) disclaimer which makes up the paragraph following said headnote, or the author's notes/comments from yours truly hidden within the storyline of this very chapter.
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.
Yuu and his wife/co-chief executive director, Yukari, finally found Amu along with her best friend at work, Senna, in a closet at the studio. Of course, they had only found Amu after Senna knocked on the door.
Senna Hanazono: Amu?
Then, Senna opened said door not long after she knocked on it. Yuu and his wife/co-chief executive director, Yukari, and kid-brother-in-law, Kairi, were all with Senna when she opened the door to the closet in which Amu was founding kneeling down.
Senna Hanazono (continued): Found her.
Yuu quickly became the first one amongst the familial trio to speak up to Amu about all of the ratings that Ikuto had brought back to her show.
Yuu Nikaido: One-thousand-one-hundred-forty-three calls, over three-hundred emails_
Yukari near instantly became the next of all three to comment to Amu about the ratings for the show that Ikuto had brought in, although interrupting her own husband/co-chief executive director, Yuu, in the process.
Yukari Sanjo/Nikaido: And fifty-three percent of them were even from women.
Yuu just commented to Yukari's statement about the ratings that Ikuto had brought in for the show to keep going and stay on all of its feet. He pointed to his wife/co-chief executive director as he spoke to Amu about the newest ratings.
Yuu Nikaido: What she said.
Kairi and then Senna were the next two people to speak to Amu about her show's newest ratings.
Kairi Sanjo: The guy's a lightning rod.
Senna Hanazono: He also brought Hikaru and Rikka a lot closer together.
Amu, herself, was, of course, shocked as to what her bosses, her director and her best friend at work had all but told her about Ikuto.
Amu Hinamori: They liked him?
Of course, Yuu and Yukari naturally had a thing or two to say about Amu's argument against keeping Ikuto as a commentator of any kind on their show.
Yuu Nikaido: Liked him, nothing.
Yukari Sanjo/Nikaido: They loved him.
Kairi quickly became the one to tell Amu just what percentage actually did like Ikuto's comments about everything he had continued to say about men and women.
Kairi Sanjo: Ninety-three percent positive.
Amu only grew more and more shocked by exactly how much Ikuto seemed to improve the ratings of her show.
Amu Hinamori: How is that possible?
Both Yuu and Yukari naturally had a response back to Amu in return.
Yuu Nikaido: I don't even know.
Yukari Sanjo/Nikaido: But Yuu and I are so scaling back the news and giving it directly to 'The Ugly Truth'.
Of course, Amu, in turn, did not feel as though it would be the wisest choice ever to trust a guy such as Ikuto.
A/N: that could just be the offensive feelings she felt the night before talking, though.
Amu Hinamori: Yuu, Yukari, Kairi, I really think that this is a mistake. What do we even know about this guy? Who is he, really?
That was where Senna came to the rescue with her informational clipboard. She always had an answer to just about any question her friend, Amu, had asked, no matter what.
Senna Hanazono: Born and raised in Tokyo his whole life, shot two consecutive children's basketball championships in sixth grade.
Senna then let forth a comment about what she thought of Ikuto's basketball championship in grade six.
Senna Hanazono (continued): Cute.
Then, Senna finally got back to describing exactly who Ikuto was to Amu, Kairi and the two co-chief executive directors, Yuu and Yukari.
Senna Hanazono (continued): Voted 'Most Likely to Get Slapped' in his senior yearbook. Three years at Tokyo University. Salesman of the Year at Honda Pharmaceuticals in 2018.
A/N: the name of that pharmaceutical company was my own nod to what would have happened in 'Fruits Basket' with Tohru Honda's family had Katsuya Honda survived his pneumonia. you know, the case of pneumonia that killed Tohru's poor father and forced Katsuya to leave his wife and daughter behind and became the cause of her hatred and resentment towards the poor man for a reason that was pretty much beyond his control.
Ikuto's 'Salesman of the Year' Award from a Pharmaceutical Company, of all workplaces, impressed Amu just a little bit… just a little bit. What Senna had to say next about Ikuto got Amu right back onto the track of being straight appalled with the blunet, though.
Senna Hanazono (continued): Once arrested for urinating out of a moving vehicle.
Of course, to that bit of information, Amu might have been appalled by it when the look on her face showed up. Senna, however, was just as impressed with how well it had been done as Yuu, Yukari and Kairi had been at the time.
Senna Hanazono (continued): That is actually incredulously difficult to do.
Kairi, however, had been the only one amongst them all to comment about it.
Kairi Sanjo: Tell me about it.
After Kairi's little comment about the difficulty of doing anything even close out of a moving vehicle, Senna got right back to her information about their show new commentator, Ikuto.
Senna Hanazono: Never been married, hates leeks, onions, chives and other stringy root vegetables.
When Senna had finished unloading her information about Ikuto onto Amu and the others, she had discovered that the part about his least favorite foods continued onto an additional page in his resumé.
Senna Hanazono (continued): Oh, I found something else.
Kairi Sanjo: What does it say?
Senna Hanazono: It says that while he can at least stand miso soup, he can't even tolerate miso dengaku.
A/N: all of that information about leeks, onions, chives, and miso is all foods that a certain Kyo Sohma from the anime, 'Fruits Basket', doesn't like, himself. Kyo Sohma was a cat boy, too. I just thought that Kyo and Ikuto might have at least those things in common, you know, in this fanfiction.
Of course, being the avid supporter of a guy they felt could raise their show's ratings through the roof and beyond, Yuu had no qualms with wanting to make Ikuto a happy commentator on said show.
Yuu Nikaido: Look, Hinamori-san. Let's just keep a smile on this guy's face, and we can all get our contracts renewed.
Yuu smiled at the thought of keeping his job as the chief executive director of the show, no matter what sacrifices he had to make to keep his job. Kairi was just as thrilled as Yuu to finally have an exciting commentator on the show.
Kairi Sanjo: I'm telling you, Amu, that this guy's great. He's basically a lightning rod for our ratings.
Yukari, as a woman, had finally started to get slightly uncomfortable with her husband/co-chief executive director's decision to hire a guy who had once been arrested for urination out of a moving vehicle.
Yukari Sanjo/Nikaido: Amu, as nervous as I, myself, am about letting a guy who had once been arrested for_
The icy-purple-haired priss of a woman then shuddered as she tried to think of a much more appropriate word for how to describe the crime for which Ikuto had gotten arrested but could not think of one even if her life had depended on it. So, she chose to just not name it to Amu.
Yukari Sanjo/Nikaido (continued): _ that kind of thing, _
At first, Amu started to believe that Yukari was finally on her side and willing to look at the situation with their new blunet commentator from the pink head's side of things. But then, Yukari changed her mind about the crime for which Ikuto had been arrested in the first place.
Yukari Sanjo/Nikaido (continued): But if he can get mine, my husband's, and my kid brother's contracts with the big bosses approved for their renewal, as far as I'm concerned, this guy's list of criminal offences can just be a thing of his past. And I honestly hope that you can keep this guy happy, you know, especially since he has the power to get your contract renewed, too.
With that rousing speech from the icy-purple-haired boss lady, Yukari left Amu and Senna to join her husband/co-chief executive director and her kid brother with their celebration of having finally gotten a good rating on their show. Meanwhile, Senna only had one word to offer to Amu about Ikuto appearing on the show as a commentator.
Senna Hanazono: Omedeto?
Amu, however, did not want to hear Senna's congratulations at the time and just closed the closet door back up… with her still inside said closet.
A/N: oh, looks like someone still wants to stay in the closet.