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FIC: The Prince vs. the Groupie, Part 1 of 2
Title: The Prince vs. the Groupie, Part 1 of 2
Rating: NC-17 overall
Fandom: Haru wo Daiteita (Embracing Love)
Pairing: Kikuchi/Onozuka
Characters: Kikuchi, Onozuka, Yoshizumi, Asano, Takashi, Ayumi
Word count: ~4,840
Warnings: Spoilers for "Groupie"
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Sequel to: Unexpected Opportunities, Comeback (Part 1 and Part 2), Forgiveness, Firsts, First Date (Part 1 and Part 2), Going Steady (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6), Audition (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), Cookout (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), Press Conference (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), and Sanctuary. The series also includes two side-stories that are outside of the main timeline: Valentine's Day Surprise and Strictly Business.
Summary: A crossover with the "Groupie" manga. The famous groupie Takashi sets his sights on Kikuchi, much to Onozuka's displeasure. Takes place immediately after Sanctuary.
Author's notes: Groupie is probably set earlier than Harudaki, but I'm fudging the timelines a bit so that this takes place shortly after the end of Groupie and concurrent with Harudaki.
***
"Hmm," Takashi said, leaning closer to the TV screen as he watched the "Love Reborn" press conference. "Kikuchi Katsuya is surprisingly hot for a guy who must be at least forty."
"That's disgusting," Ayumi said scornfully. "He's old enough to be your father!"
"Not really," Takashi replied, without looking away from the television, not noticing the jealous scowl on Ayumi's face. "Well, maybe if he had me when he was a teenager. But it's rather unlikely that he could be my daddy, considering his preferences." He giggled and added coyly, "My sugar daddy, maybe."
"I didn't say that he was your father, just that he could be," Ayumi retorted sullenly. "Anyway, I thought that you liked foreign celebrities. Kikuchi is just a washed-up, has-been Japanese actor."
"Well, he lived in America for ten years, so he's almost a foreigner," Takashi said playfully. "Besides, it's interesting to see an openly gay actor making a comeback ten years after he was run out of Japan for having a male lover."
"What's so special about Kikuchi, anyway?" Ayumi grumbled. "That couple, Iwaki and Katou, are already famous for being gay lovers, and aren't they better-looking than him?"
"They're bi, not gay," Takashi corrected him. "They used to date women before they hooked up. Hell, they used to do women before they hooked up--they're former porn stars, after all! But they're said to be a devoted couple, so I wouldn't want to come between them even if I could." He smiled mischievously and added, "Besides, they're pretty, but Kikuchi has a more rugged, masculine look that I really like."
Takashi had given up his groupie ways, but he still had a fondness for celebrities, and loved watching variety shows and reading tabloids and entertainment magazines. Still, Ayumi hadn't seen Takashi this captivated by a celebrity in a long time, and it filled him with an irrational sense of jealousy and anger. It didn't help that they had only recently become an exclusive couple, and Ayumi was still a little insecure and uncertain of how to proceed without Koshiro's involvement.
So instead of laughing it off like he normally would, Ayumi found himself snapping, "Well, if you like that old has-been so much, maybe you should go do him!"
Takashi gave him a startled, hurt look, and Ayumi was about to apologize when Takashi's eyes flashed with anger and he raised his head defiantly, retorting, "Maybe I will! I can seduce any man, no matter how straight, so picking up a gay actor like Kikuchi should be a piece of cake." He rose to his feet and slapped his backside. "After all, who wouldn't want a piece of this?"
"And what are you going to do?" Ayumi scoffed. "Just waltz into the TV studio and jump his bones?"
"Do you think that a veteran groupie like me can't manage to track down my target?" Takashi retorted. "I've sweet-talked my way backstage before, but I don't really need to bother with that. The director and the cast will probably go out for a drink after the press conference, somewhere near either the TV station or the movie studio." He snatched up his bag (Chanel, of course) and headed for the door.
"Takashi, wait!" Ayumi shouted, feeling a sudden burst of panic. "Where are you going?"
Takashi glanced back over his shoulder and patted his ass again, saying, "Work!" And then he stalked out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him.
***
Onozuka managed to deftly maneuver himself into the seat next to Kikuchi at the pub without being obvious about it--well, perhaps Asano noticed. He had a rather sour expression on his face, although he quickly replaced it with a smile when the producers, Sato and Hasegawa, greeted him. Onozuka didn't get the feeling that Asano was really attracted to Kikuchi, so he was probably just a sore loser who wanted to cause a bit of trouble.
Bring it on, Onozuka thought, smirking slightly. You're no match for me, if you're dumb enough to think that you can come between Katou and Iwaki. And what the hell is it about Iwaki that people find so fascinating, anyway?
Yoshizumi and Asano urged Kikuchi to tell the others about "the yakuza priest," so Kikuchi repeated the story once again.
"What a fascinating story!" Mizutani exclaimed. "You're right, that would make a good movie!" She smiled at Kitamura and teased, "Perhaps your next project, Kitamura-san?"
"Well, if you write the script, I'll consider it," Kitamura laughed.
"Kikuchi-san could play the priest, since he's played a yakuza before," Asami said with a grin.
"I'm not very priestly-looking," Kikuchi chuckled.
"Well, that's the whole point, right?" Kitamura countered. "To have an unconventional sort of priest. But what character could Asami-chan play?"
"The priest's love interest, of course," Yoshizumi replied.
"Catholic priests are supposed to be celibate," Kikuchi said dryly.
"Even better!" Yoshizumi said cheerfully. "It'll add a bit of angst to the story, to have the hero torn between his love for a woman and his love for God."
"So which would he choose in the end?" Mizutani wondered.
"I suppose that depends on whether you want the story to have a happy ending or a sad one," Onozuka replied.
"It could be both," Asano argued. "He could choose the church and feel content in his faith, but still feel a little sad about the woman he had to give up."
"A bittersweet ending," Sato murmured. "You know, I rather like that!"
They all continued to elaborate on and debate over the hypothetical movie, growing louder and more enthusiastic as the liquor flowed. They had just begun discussing Asano's murder mystery series idea when their waitress came over and set a glass down on the table in front of Kikuchi.
"I didn't order this," Kikuchi said.
"It's from the young...er...gentleman at the bar," the waitress replied, gesturing towards a slim boy with reddish-brown hair. The reason for her hesitation was made apparent by the boy's effeminate beauty and mannerisms as he swiveled around on his bar stool to wink at Kikuchi.
Kikuchi smiled and raised the glass in salute, and the boy slipped off the stool and sashayed over towards them, like some exaggerated parody of a runway model. He was dressed in skin-tight black jeans that left little to the imagination, cut above the ankles capri-style; and a short, zebra-print blouse that left his midriff bare.
"It looks like Kikuchi-san has a groupie," Onozuka said lightly, trying to keep the jealousy out of his voice.
"Not just any groupie, but the Groupie!" Asami whispered to him excitedly.
"What do you mean?" Onozuka asked.
"That's Takashi," Asami explained. "He's a famous groupie--it's said that he can charm his way backstage anywhere, and that he can seduce any guy, no matter how straight! He usually goes after foreign celebrities, but it seems that he's taken a liking to Kikuchi-san. I had heard that he retired, but I guess that rumor was false."
"Isn't he cold, dressed like that?" Asano muttered under his breath, but Takashi had reached their table by then, and had apparently overheard him.
"Then why don't you keep me warm, Kikuchi-san?" the groupie cooed, leaning over to press against Kikuchi and wrap his arms around him. And Kikuchi, the bastard, didn't push him away.
"You're really cute, but I think that you're a little too young for me," Kikuchi said with a wry smile, sipping at his drink.
"But I'm of age!" Takashi protested, pouting childishly with a jutting lower lip, much like Katou and Miyasaka often did. But while Onozuka found it cute on his friends, he had to fight back the urge to smack that pretty, pouting look right off the groupie's face.
"Did you want to see my I.D.?" Takashi continued coyly, and Kikuchi just laughed.
"Didn't you tell the reporters that you weren't interested in either romance or sex right now, Kikuchi-san?" Onozuka asked sweetly.
"Are you jealous, Onozuka-kun?" Asano asked slyly, and suddenly Takashi wasn't the only one that Onozuka wanted to slap.
"Not for myself," Onozuka replied calmly, still smiling. "But I was thinking that Eisuke would probably be jealous if someone started flirting with Ryotaro in front of him."
Kitamura gave Onozuka a sidelong glance that was a little too knowing for Onozuka's comfort, and said blandly, "Perhaps you should tell us how Eisuke would react, just as an exercise in characterization."
"Well, let's see," Onozuka said, pretending to think it over. "I think that having seen Ryotaro through Midori's eyes in his dreams, Eisuke was already in love with Ryotaro before they met, even if he wasn't consciously aware of it. After Midori used his body to make love with Ryotaro, Eisuke became aware of his feelings, and wanted Ryotaro to love him for himself, not just as a substitute for Midori. But he's afraid that if he reveals the truth, he'll scare Ryotaro away, and he'd rather be a substitute lover than lose Ryotaro completely. So if someone started flirting with Ryotaro in front of him, Eisuke would try to hide his jealousy, but he's a naive and open-hearted young man, so he wouldn't be very good at it. He'd try to be polite, but he would find himself glaring at his rival and speaking curtly to him. And when Ryotaro asked him what was wrong, he'd jump up and run out of the room."
"Bravo, Onozuka-kun," Mizutani laughed, applauding. "You were definitely the right choice for the role; you have a great insight into Eisuke!"
"Thank you, Sensei," Onozuka replied, inclining his head graciously. "That's a wonderful compliment, coming from you." Then he smiled mischievously and added, "But I wonder if Ryotaro would run after Eisuke?"
"I'm sure that he would," Mizutani replied with certainty.
Kikuchi just grinned, then turned back to Takashi and said, "Even if you are over twenty, you still seem too young to be chasing after an old man like me. Shouldn't you be more interested in my handsome young co-stars?"
Takashi gave Onozuka, Asano, and Yoshizumi only a fleeting glance before turning back to Kikuchi and saying dismissively, "I prefer strong, masculine men, so I don't mind that you're older." He smiled flirtatiously and ran his hand along Kikuchi's arm, pausing to squeeze his biceps.
"That's a low blow," Yoshizumi laughed, recoiling in mock dismay. "I think he just insinuated that we're not manly enough, Onozuka-kun, Asano-kun!"
"First Kojima-san, and now Groupie-san--that's twice that I've been shot down in one day," Onozuka said with a good-natured smile, sourly thinking to himself that he deserved a Best Actor award for his performance tonight. And how long was Kikuchi going to let that insolent little groupie hang all over him?
Hasegawa was obviously wondering the same thing, for different reasons. He gave Kikuchi and the groupie a disdainful look, his upper lip curling slightly in a sneer. "Kikuchi-san, even if you are out of the closet, it really isn't appropriate to be exhibiting this sort of behavior in a public place," he said in a disapproving and condescending voice. "The press would have a field day with it."
"I thought your policy was that any publicity is good publicity, Hasegawa-san," Kikuchi said with one of his sharp-edged wolfish smiles. "After all, you seemed to think that Asano-kun's 'misunderstanding' with Iwaki-kun was helpful in raising his profile with the public. And besides, this young man is the one who propositioned me, not the other way around."
Asano frowned, and Hasegawa returned Kikuchi's fake smile with one of his own, which was really more of a grimace. "Asano-kun is a young, upcoming actor who could benefit from such publicity. Your profile is already sufficiently high with the public."
"Oh, I didn't mean to make any trouble for you, Kikuchi-san," Takashi said coyly, although he looked quite pleased to be the object of contention. "Why don't we continue this in private? I know of a nice hotel just a couple of blocks away..." The groupie smiled seductively at Kikuchi, and reached down to trail his fingers teasingly along Kikuchi's thigh.
Onozuka determinedly fixed a pleasant smile on his face, although he was inwardly seething, wondering how far Kikuchi was going to carry on this game. A few seconds later, he got his answer: as Takashi's fingers drew dangerously close to Kikuchi's crotch, Kikuchi reached down and firmly grasped the boy's wrist.
Maybe a little too firmly, because Takashi winced in pain, giving Onozuka a sense of malicious satisfaction. "Ow, Kikuchi-san, that hurts!" the groupie whined.
Kikuchi removed Takashi's hand from his leg before releasing him, and said, "That's enough. I thank you for the drink, but I'm not interested in anything else tonight."
"Whaaat?!" Takashi exclaimed in disbelief. "Are you honestly telling me that you don't want a piece of this?!" He slapped his palm against his pert little butt while Onozuka entertained fantasies of wrapping his hands around the groupie's pretty little neck and throttling him.
"As tempting as it is, I'll have to pass," Kikuchi said dryly. "As I told the reporters at the press conference, I'm putting business before pleasure, at least until the movie is completed. You've had your fun; now run along. I'm sure that a handsome young man like you won't have any problem finding companionship elsewhere."
"No one ever turns me down!" Takashi said indignantly.
"Well then, you've just had a new experience," Kikuchi said pleasantly. "It's always good to learn new things."
That's telling him! Onozuka thought gleefully.
Takashi stared at Kikuchi incredulously for a moment, then turned on his heel and flounced away from the table in a huff.
"Oh my, the famous Takashi was rejected!" Asami laughed. "I suppose that no one can win all the time, but weren't you a little cruel to him?"
"You were a bit harsh," Mizutani agreed.
"He's cute, but not my type," Kikuchi replied with a careless shrug. "Besides, I don't think that he was really interested in me; he just wanted to sleep with a movie star. He looks too young to remember any of my old films."
"He could be a fan of 'Future Wars' or 'Yakuza Love Story,'" Asami pointed out.
"I don't think so," Kikuchi disagreed. "He never mentioned either show, and I didn't get that vibe from him. I don't mind casual sex, but I want the guy to like me for myself, even if it's for nothing more than my looks. If anyone famous will do, then I'm not interested."
"You're an interesting man, Kikuchi-san," Yoshizumi said with a smile, giving Kikuchi an appraising look, as if there were more to Kikuchi than he had expected.
"Besides," Kikuchi said with a grin, "I think that I was being used as a pawn in a lover's quarrel." He gestured towards the pub entrance, where a dark-haired young man stood, sweating and breathing heavily, as if he had run a long distance. He confronted a startled Takashi, who had been about to walk out the door.
"I can't believe it!" the dark-haired man snapped. "You really did come here to pick that guy up!" He shot a jealous glare at Kikuchi.
"So what?" Takashi retorted coolly. "Isn't that what you told me to do?"
"I didn't mean it!"
"Then you shouldn't have said it!"
"Take it outside!" the pub owner snapped impatiently, and the two lovers left the building, still arguing.
"You see?" Kikuchi sighed, shaking his head regretfully. "Our little groupie was just using me to make his lover jealous."
"I'm sure that there are plenty of other men who would like you for yourself, Kikuchi-san," Asami teasingly consoled him. "Isn't that right, Onozuka-kun?"
"Oh, absolutely!" Onozuka agreed with a bright smile, even as he was thinking to himself that he was going to make his lover pay for flirting with that groupie.
Just then, Onozuka's cell phone rang, and Asami teased, "Is that a groupie of your own, Onozuka-kun?"
Onozuka recognized the ring tone, and he laughed, "Not at all! It's just my friend, Miyasaka. Excuse me, I'll take this outside." He answered the phone and said, "Hang on a minute, Miya-chan."
Outside, the two lovers appeared to be making up. "Stupid Ayumi!" Takashi wept, pounding his fists on the other man's chest. "How could you let me run off into another guy's arms? Why didn't you stop me before this?"
"I'm sorry, Takashi," the dark-haired man--Ayumi--said, gathering the groupie into his arms. "I lost my temper and said stupid things. I just got so jealous when I saw you admiring that Kikuchi guy on TV."
"Stupid Ayumi," Takashi repeated in a muffled voice, sniffling as he pressed his face against Ayumi's chest. "Didn't I give up being a groupie for your sake?"
"Yes, you did," Ayumi said tenderly. "I won't forget that again. From now on, I'll try to become a man worthy of you, as I promised."
The two lovers kissed, oblivious to Onozuka's presence, and he rolled his eyes, muttering, "Stupid kids," under his breath, even though they were probably only a few years younger than him. Then he turned his attention back to his phone, saying, "Hey, Miyasaka, what's up? Did you tape the press conference like you promised? Good. Yeah, I think it went pretty well. What? They showed an interview with you? Why the hell are you showing up during my press conference?"
Onozuka laughed as Miyasaka recounted the story of how he'd ended up defending their friendship. "Aw, that's really sweet, Miya-chan. No, I don't think I'll be able to join you guys for a drink tonight--I'm at a pub with the director, cast, and producers right now. You know how it is; it's part of the job. Anyway, what are you complaining about? You get to spend the night with Iwaki-san and Katou, so you must be happy. Yeah, okay, I'll see you at home. I might be late, so don't wait up."
He ended the call and was about to go back inside when it rang again--this time signaling an e-mail from Kikuchi.
***
Shortly after Onozuka went outside, Kikuchi excused himself to go to the restroom. Fortunately, it was empty, so he was able to take out his phone and send Onozuka an e-mail: "Want to come over to my place afterwards? You can take a cab, and I'll drive home separately in order to avoid suspicion."
Onozuka immediately replied: "Are you sure you wouldn't rather take that groupie home? (^_^)"
Kikuchi grinned. Onozuka had added the smiley face to make it sound like a joke, but Kikuchi got the distinct impression that his lover was jealous, and it pleased him to no end. He'd probably pay for it later, but it was worth it to know that he was able to get under Onozuka's skin.
He replied: "You know that you're the only one I want, Yuu."
Onozuka's reply read: "Empty flattery will get you nowhere. But I'll stop by your place later...if I feel like it."
Kikuchi hung up the phone, unconcerned. In spite of Onozuka's threat, he was certain that his lover would show up tonight. If Onozuka stayed away, it would be proof of his jealousy, and the cool, collected Ice Prince would never be able to bring himself to openly admit that he was jealous. Onozuka would still try to exact some revenge, but Kikuchi figured that would only make their eventual make-up sex all the more passionate. Grinning smugly, Kikuchi returned to the table, where Onozuka had already rejoined the rest of the party. Onozuka gave Kikuchi a sweet, princely smile in return, but a cold glint flashed in his eyes for just a moment, vanishing before anyone else seemed to notice.
Yes, he's definitely still pissed off at me, Kikuchi thought to himself in amusement.
***
Unlike most of Onozuka's nights out with Miyasaka and Katou, this one ended before anyone was really drunk. The presence of the producers kept the mood more-or-less professional, and Kitamura and Mizutani seemed like serious types who didn't drink very much; they nursed a couple of drinks throughout most of the evening.
Onozuka drank a little more than that, but was careful not to overdo it, mindful of his plans for later. Although really, it would serve Kikuchi right if he just went straight home and let Kikuchi sleep alone tonight.
Except that they'd been too busy with work to meet for the past few days, and Onozuka badly wanted to get laid. It worried him a little, that he'd been able to endure six years of near-celibacy without any problems, and now he couldn't go for a few days without craving Kikuchi's body.
Well, all those years of repression had just made the craving stronger when it was finally fulfilled, Onozuka rationalized. It was perfectly logical, though a bit frustrating and inconvenient. So he decided that he'd grace Kikuchi's bed with his presence...eventually, after making Kikuchi work for it.
With thoughts of lust and revenge in his mind, Onozuka called his usual taxi company and was picked up by his favorite driver, a man named Yoshida. He was friendly, but not overly chatty, and was absolutely discreet. Onozuka had tested the driver once by asking about some of the other actors from his agency who used the taxi company, and Yoshida had politely but firmly refused to give out any information about them--which reassured Onozuka that Yoshida wouldn't gossip about him, either.
Yoshida was also an Iwaki and Katou fan. The driver appeared to be the honorable type who didn't need to be bribed to keep his silence, but Onozuka figured that it couldn't hurt to earn some goodwill by occasionally gifting him with an autograph or a pair of tickets to Iwaki or Katou's latest movie. Yoshida always seemed delighted with the gifts, and none of Onozuka's late-night visits to Kikuchi's apartment building had ever been reported to the press.
Yoshida politely asked about the press conference, to which Onozuka replied that it had gone very well, and they rode in comfortable silence the rest of the way to Kikuchi's place. But as they approached, Onozuka saw two cars parked on the street outside, which was normally empty, and he thought he saw a camera lens protruding from one of the open car windows.
Onozuka quickly ducked down, lying flat on the back seat and hissed, "Keep going! Don't stop!"
A short time later, Yoshida said, "You can get up now, Onozuka-san. I don't think they noticed you. At least, I didn't see any flashbulbs going off. Those were paparazzi, right?"
"Yes, they must be staking out Kikuchi-san's place," Onozuka replied. Although Yoshida hadn't asked, and probably didn't care whether Onozuka was sleeping with Kikuchi or not, Onozuka provided a polite white lie anyway: "Kikuchi-san asked me to come over to rehearse some lines, but the press will make a big deal about it if I show up at his place at night."
Yoshida shook his head and said disgustedly, "Don't those people have anything better to do?"
"Apparently not," Onozuka sighed. He ought to play it safe and go home, but he really wanted to see Kikuchi tonight, especially after that encounter with the groupie at the pub. He didn't really think that Kikuchi would bring home a groupie if he wasn't around, and in any case, the groupie appeared to have made up with his boyfriend and presumably was no longer available. But still, some irrational instinct made Onozuka determined to wipe the memory of that pretty groupie out of Kikuchi's mind, and it had to be tonight, not tomorrow or the next day.
"What do you want to do, Onozuka-san?" Yoshida asked.
"Find a place to pull over and park for now," Onozuka instructed him, then took out his phone and dialed Kikuchi's number.
"Hello?"
"There are paparazzi lurking outside your building."
"Yeah, I saw them--I'm just parking the car now. Where are you?"
"A couple of blocks down the road. Is there a back entrance or something I can use to sneak in?"
"No, but I have an idea," Kikuchi said, his voice filled with sly amusement. "Give me a few minutes, and I'll lure them away."
"How are you going to do that?" Onozuka asked, but Kikuchi had already hung up. Yoshida gave him a curious look, and Onozuka explained, "Kikuchi-san says he's going to lure the reporters away so that I can sneak in."
"This is kind of exciting," Yoshida said with a grin. "Sort of like being in one of those detective dramas!"
"Am I supposed to be the detective or the criminal?" Onozuka asked wryly.
***
Meanwhile, Kikuchi left the apartment building and made a show of glancing around furtively, as if checking to see if anyone was watching. Of course, the reporters were pretty much sitting out in plain sight, but the car engines and headlights had been turned off, so Kikuchi could plausibly pretend that he didn't notice them. Besides, the paparazzi tended to view their targets with contempt, so they wouldn't be surprised that an actor was too dumb to spot them.
Kikuchi walked quickly down the street, still trying to look as guilty and sneaky as possible. He was careful not to turn and look back, but he heard a car door slam and a car engine start up, which meant that one of the reporters was going to follow him by car and the other on foot. A real target could have heard them coming from a mile away, so they were either really green or really sloppy. Then again, as much as it galled him to admit it, Kikuchi was no longer a top-tier star, and--as far as the public knew--he wasn't dating anyone, so the tabloids wouldn't send their best people to spy on him. These losers had probably been assigned to him on the off-chance that he might get a late night male visitor, but they had probably expected to spend the evening sleeping in their cars without anything happening.
He led his pursuers to a nearby convenience store where he ducked in to make a quick purchase. The reporters lurked outside, attempting to look inconspicuous without much success, as the parking lot was practically empty at this time of night. Kikuchi exited the store, pretending not to notice the paparazzi (honestly, did they think he was blind?), then continued walking for a couple more blocks. He judged that by now, he'd given Onozuka enough time to get safely inside the apartment building, and quickly darted down a side street.
A minute later, the reporters rounded the corner and jumped out at him, the flashbulbs of their cameras going off...
Just in time to catch Kikuchi lighting up a cigarette.
"God, you guys almost gave me a heart attack!" he exclaimed in what he thought was a convincing facsimile of genuine surprise. He was a Best Actor award winner, after all.
The two paparazzi lowered their cameras, looking puzzled and disappointed. "What are you doing here?" one demanded indignantly.
"What does it look like?" Kikuchi replied casually. "I'm having a smoke." He took a drag on the cigarette, then exhaled in a sigh of pleasure that wasn't completely an act. He had given up smoking while living in America, but like any addiction, the craving never went away entirely, no matter how many months or years it had been since his last cigarette.
"Then what was with all the sneaking around?!" the reporter asked in exasperation.
"Ah, just habit, I suppose," Kikuchi replied sheepishly. "You see, in America, it's politically incorrect to smoke. Nobody cares if you kill or rape someone in a movie, but light up one cigarette, and the activists get up in arms and scream that you're glorifying smoking to impressionable young minds. It's even worse when an actor is caught smoking in real life, because then you're a bad role model."
"You're kidding, right?" the second reporter asked skeptically.
"I'm serious," Kikuchi insisted. "There are all kinds of smoking bans in California--you can look it up on the internet if you like."
"But it's not that big a deal here," the reporter pointed out.
"I know," Kikuchi replied. "Like I said, it's just become a habit for me to smoke in secret." He laughed and added, "Sorry there was no scoop for you tonight; my life is pretty boring these days. I guess I should be flattered that you guys still think I'm worth following around!"
"What a waste of time," the first reporter grumbled to the second. "Come on, let's call it a night."
Part 2
***
Afterword: For more thoughts on Groupie (and White Brand) see my meta post on the Youka Nitta IJ Asylum. However, if you're a big fan of those titles, be aware that it's a mixed review and there are elements of Groupie in particular that trouble me. That said, we agreed in the comments that even a mediocre story by Nitta-sensei is of higher quality than most yaoi manga titles.
Also, I had maxed out my LJ userpics, so I finally deleted a Lupin icon that I hardly ever use so that I could add a lovely new Onozuka icon! ^_^ I felt like I ought to start using either a Kikuchi or Onozuka icon since they're usually the main characters of my Haru fics. That's one thing that I really love over on IJ--the generous icon allotment, so that I can tailor the icons to match the fics more appropriately.
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"Bravo, Onozuka-kun," Mizutani laughed, applauding. "You were definitely the right choice for the role; you have a great insight into Eisuke!" *snigger, snigger, snort*
Am I supposed to be the detective or the criminal?" Onozuka asked wryly. ^_^
I adore Onozuka's jealousy! Gorgeous.
*I haven't read "Groupie" (although i have read White Brand, and wasn't that thrilled) so I'll go read your review later. I don't have the manga, but depending on the review, I may chase it up.
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I read the scanalations of Groupie, but it wasn't really my cup of tea. Still, there were some interesting elements--one of the characters is practically begging for a story of his own--and at least it did provide me with a good plot bunny for this story!
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And Onozuka is so cute ♥
"You see, in America, it's politically incorrect to smoke. Nobody cares if you kill or rape someone in a movie, but light up one cigarette, and the activists get up in arms and scream that you're glorifying smoking to impressionable young minds. It's even worse when an actor is caught smoking in real life, because then you're a bad role model."
>> OMG. SO TRUE.
I remember my host family thinking I was a rebel cuz I told them that the majority of my friends, in Italy, smoked *sweatdrops*
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