“I’ve been here way longer than you,” Kitayama informs Nikaido, with his usual bluntness. <\/p>\n
“And yet, still not Leader~.” Nikaido chuckles as that hits home, making Kitayama scowl. Nikaido ruffles his hair, making him scowl harder. “Y’know, that brat act won’t be cute when you’re twenty.”<\/p>\n
“Says you.” Kitayama shoves him off. “When I’m 20 and grow my last ten cm, I’ll be way cuter than you, Nika-chan<\/i>.”<\/p>\n
“I’ll check in with you about it in 2011,” Nikaido assures. “Brat.”<\/p>\n
“Old man.”<\/p>\n
But Nikaido notices Kitayama doesn’t mind sharing the couch when he curls up for a quick nap. <\/p>\n
*****<\/p>\n
It’s hardly a secret that Senga is Fujigaya’s favorite senpai, even before the merge. Senga is funny and hard-working, has a cool perm, and doesn’t seem to mind that Fujigaya always tags along when he goes to the vending machine. <\/p>\n
Sometimes to other places too. <\/p>\n
“What are you even here for?” Nikaido sighs. Senga and Fujigaya beam at him. <\/p>\n
“It’s like we’re taking our cute little brother shopping,” Senga coaxes, pushing Fujigaya into the middle. <\/p>\n
“This is seriously weird,” Nikaido complains, but he doesn’t argue and pays for crepes later on. <\/p>\n
Fujigaya supposes there’s always room for more favorite senpai. <\/p>\n
*****<\/p>\n
Miyata has a mystery on his hands. <\/p>\n
Every night, Kis-My-Ft2’s dressing room is a disaster area, and every morning it’s mostly cleaned. The mystery is, it’s not Miyata doing it. Yesterday he’d been last out, but this morning, clean again. <\/p>\n
“Leprechauns?” Miyata wonders. “Ghosts?” Nikaido glares and Miyata shuts up. <\/p>\n
When he sneaks back after ‘leaving,’ he finds their leprechaun. <\/p>\n
“Yokoo-kun?”<\/p>\n
Yokoo jumps, scarlet-faced. “S-sorry\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6”<\/p>\n
Miyata understands; messes bother him too. He squeezes Yokoo’s thin shoulder, and two of them straighten up twice as quickly. <\/p>\n
The next day he scolds the group about the mess, and Yokoo’s eyes are grateful. <\/p>\n
*****<\/p>\n
Some things can’t be taught when you join so late. <\/p>\n
“Can’t you just\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6” the photographer sighs. <\/p>\n
“We’re close enough!” Nikaido protests, flustered. His arm is wrapped around Senga’s waist already. “It’s seriously embarrassing! Go shoot Tama and Miyacchi if you want that<\/i>.”<\/p>\n
“Hm~” Miyata wraps arms around Tamamori from behind; Tamamori just takes it, long-suffering. <\/p>\n
“Amateur,” Kitayama pronounces. He loops an arm through Fujigaya’s and yanks him close. Their grins are in place by the time their cheeks squish together.<\/p>\n
“You look like Fresh Jrs,” Nikaido grumbles, then flushes scarlet when the photographer tells him to stare into Senga’s eyes. <\/p>\n
*****<\/p>\n
Nikaido and Senga have always been the frontmen, lead vocal and dance respectively, and once in a while they throw Kitayama in there as a third to win over a different type of girl. <\/p>\n
But when things start to gel more seriously for them, management decides on a change. <\/p>\n
“We want a more sexy-type image,” their manager explains. “There might be some drama work coming up and\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6well to be honest, we’d like to see more than just Nikaido-kun and Senga-kun carrying the group.” <\/p>\n
“Eh, troublesome,” Tamamori sighs. He likes things the way they are. <\/p>\n
Everyone is looking at him. <\/p>\n
“Whaaaaat.”<\/p>\n
*****<\/p>\n
“Is it really so important?” Nikaido wonders sometimes. “To have been here so long?”<\/p>\n
He doesn’t realize he’s spoken out loud until Senga’s hand squeezes his shoulder. “Of course not, Nika.”<\/p>\n
But as Nikaido watches Kitayama, Fujigaya, and Yokoo sitting in their tight knot as usual, shoving at each other and calling each other familiar names, stealing bites of each other’s lunches, he thinks that maybe it is. <\/p>\n
“And then Hikaru-kun said\u00e2\u20ac\u201d” Fujigaya starts.<\/p>\n
“‘\u00e2\u20ac\u201dDon’t you dare\u00e2\u20ac\u201d'” Yokoo is already shaking with giggles.<\/p>\n
“‘\u00e2\u20ac\u201dtouch Yabu’s duck!'” Kitayama finishes, making them lose it completely.<\/p>\n
Sometimes Nikaido wishes for a time machine. <\/p>\n
*****<\/p>\n
“Nika should be your favorite senpai,” Fujigaya insists, “since Senga’s mine.”<\/p>\n
Kitayama and Nikaido eye each other. “Pass~.”<\/p>\n
Truth is, Kitayama’s favorite senpai hasn’t changed since he was in ABC Jr, way back when. Maybe they haven’t had a cutesty letter exchange like Fujigaya and Senga, and maybe he doesn’t get taken shopping, but Kitayama doesn’t mind. <\/p>\n
“Ah, Hiromitsu.” Totsuka’s eyes crinkle when he opens the door, his palm warm between Kitayama’s shoulders. “Nika-chan bullying you again?”<\/p>\n
“Hardly,” Kitayama snorts, but lets himself be pushed in the room all the same. <\/p>\n
Kitayama’s favorite is still his favorite, in the end. <\/p>\n
*****<\/p>\n
“Gokusen, huh?” Miyata asks when they hear the news. “Congratulations!”<\/p>\n
Yokoo isn’t nearly so shy as he used to be, but he feels a little like that as he ducks his head under his bandmates’ praise. <\/p>\n
“You’ll do fine,” Fujigaya assures. He’s had a couple roles himself, after all. <\/p>\n
“Try not to embarrass us,” Tamamori comments; Senga cuffs him over the back of the head. <\/p>\n
“And just where’s your drama role?” he asks. <\/p>\n
“Che,” Tamamori retorts, before Miyata lands heavily on his shoulders and says he’s glad Tamamori won’t have to go missing for filming for such a long time. <\/p>\n
*****<\/p>\n
Nikaido’s had the shaft the whole trip (he’s convinced Tamamori is rigging the straw-pulling somehow), but standing on a ledge, stories up and a rubberband around his waist, Nikaido closes his eyes and thinks about how much Johnny-san owes him. <\/p>\n
Then the staff pushes him off.<\/p>\n
His knees are still shaking when he gets back to the others (Senga looks near tears), but Ft2 is staring at him, wide-eyed.<\/p>\n
“Leader is amazing,” Fujigaya breathes, Yokoo and even Kitayama nodding. <\/p>\n
The way they look at him, like he can do anything, makes it easy to grin for TakiCHANnel after all.<\/p>\n
![](\"http:\/\/media.tumblr.com\/tumblr_lnkl7tIMXP1qgrdde.jpg\")
<\/a>