"Live entertainment?" All the boys except Shori had repeated the words. Shori already knew that this was what he had signed up for. But he hadn't told the other boys. It's not like he lied to them or kept it secret from them. He really didn't know what they would have to do.

"And being waiters. And maybe help out in the kitchen a bit." Shori's future brother-in-law smiled at them. "Can you boys handle it?"

"I'm sure we can, sir." Kentaro being the oldest out of all the boys answers for them. "But, what kind of entertainment would you like us to do?"

"Shori already knows this, but... That's kind of why I needed you. I don't have any good ideas. And, you boys are young. So, any ideas?" The nine boys all looked at each other in question. There were a lot of things popular these days, but... What they coud use to attract more customers to save the restaurant was another story.

Upon entering, the boys had discovered that the restaurant wasn't doing so well. It was pretty empty and the tables looked old. They were a worn out mahogany colour and beaten a bit. Not to the point where they were no longer good, but enough to tell that they were probably about ten or twenty years old. Clearly this place wasn't running on much anymore. And getting it back to its old self would be pretty much impossible. In the end though, the boys all had the same thought. That was what they signed up for. That and jobs not being easy.

"How about a band or a musical group? I mean... They're the most popular right now." Shori points out as the other boys look to each other and nod in agreement.

"Not a bad idea..." His future brother-in-law nods. "Can you boys sing or play instruments?"

"We don't need to know how to sing." Ryuya points out. "We can just make a CD and then edit our voices with computer programs."

"That's true." Shori nods. "And then we can lip-sing to the track as we perform. We just have to learn to dance, I guess."

"Well, you learn to do that and also come up with a group name." Shori's future brother-in-law smiles at them. "And tell me the concept so I can make your outfits. Also, I need your measurements." He goes to the back again as the boys start to talk about their concept and the group name. In the end, they decided to try out the concept they thought of first before making a CD and adding a group name to themselves. The concept was to be a cool and mysterios group. They told Shori's future brother-in-law and he agreed to it, deciding that dark clothes would be the best for them, as well as some eyeliner to make them look a little mysterious.

"So, when are we going to perform?" Shori asks, hoping to mentally prepare himself before they actually have to perform. He sings to himself usually, but has never done it in front of anyone. So this was pretty nerve-wracking, since they had to do it in public. Even if it wasn't them actually singing, it still gives Shori pressure. He hoped that he wasn't the only one feeling that pressure and that the other boys also felt it.

"Most likely it will happen next week. So, go home, get some rest, and do your homework for today. The next few days before your performance, get to know each other. You guys are going to be groupmates, so you can't get off with not knowing each other." Shori blinked at his future brother-in-law, wondering how he knew that they didn't know each other all that well. Or at least, how most of them didn't know each other all that well, since he did know Jinguji out of all the boys. "It was obvious when you came in. If you all knew each other and were friends, you wouldn't have come in so quietly. I didn't even know you were here until Shori called out to me!" The boys all blinked at him and looked at each other, wondering if they really were that obvious to read. "Now go."

So they did. On the way home though, Shori was thinking about his future brother-in-law's words and stopped, turning to face the eight other boys that were walking silently behind him. "Guys, lets go have dinner together and get to know each other a bit." He suggested to the group. The boys agreed after a bit of hesitation since they had to get home and do their homework, but Shori convinced them to just give an hour more of their time. So they went to a family restaurant nearby and had dinner, Shori starting up the conversation. "So, lets tell everyone a little bit about ourselves and then we can add on from there."

"Well, I'll start then." Jinguji volunteers. "So... I'm 16-years old, I'm an only child, I have a pet dog and her name is Hime-chan. Um..."

"What about crushes? Anyone you like?" Shori asks, honestly being curious about this. The other boys look to Jinguji who is looking away from them, flustered a little. "There is, isn't there? Mind telling?"

"Only if you guys don't tell him." Jinguji answers. The boys all nod in agreement. "Genki..."

"Woah, seriously? I thought you two were best friends." Shori blinks.

"We are best friends." Jinguji corrects him. "Genki doesn't know about my feelings. And that's how it's going to stay because I don't want our friendship to be ruined." The boys nod, understanding that.

"That's the same as my position, actually." Aran adds, making the boys look over at him. "I fell for Miyachika..." Jinguji bursts out laughing to this while the other boys are confused.

"Miyachika? You fell for a taken guy?" Jinguji smiles sympathetically after his laughing fit. The other boys all look between Jinguji and Aran, silently asking for an explanation. All except for Fu. Jinguji looks to Shori, Ryuya, and Myuto. "You guys know Kishi, right? Well, Miyachika Kaito is his boyfriend. Miyachika's the same age as Aran, Amu, and I." Jinguji explains it to the other boys. The other boys finally nod, understanding the situation now. Well, most of them anyway, since Kentaro and Takuto didn't necessarily know who the other boys were talking about.

"Anyway... As Jinguji said, I'm the same age as him. In the same class too. And... I have my parents as well as my little brother for family. You guys already know about my love life, so I guess I'm done." Aran smiles, relieved that the boys wouldn't be paying attention to him anymore.

"Since we were on the topic of liking taken people, I'll go." Fu is the next to volunteer himself. "I'm a year younger than Jinguji, Aran, and Amu. I have my parents and older sister as my family. And, just like Aran, I like a taken guy..."

"If you say you like Kishi, i swear..." Jinguji starts.

"I like Kishi." Fu nods at Jinguji.

"Oh..." The guys all groan in disapproval as they shake their heads at not only Fu, but Aran too.

"You two are terrible..." Jinguji sighs.

"How so? It's not llike we're getting in between them or anything. We just like them despite the fact that they're already taken." Aran points out as Fu nods in agreement. The other boys can't argue with that logic. It was true. There was nothing wrong with liking a person who was taken. It would only be a problem if they were trying to split up the couple to have that person to themselves.

"I guess I'll go next." Shori speaks up. "I'm 17-years old. I'm in the same class as Ryuya and Myuto. And... For family, I have my parents, two brothers, and one sister."

"Your boyfriend." Kentaro and Takuto say together as Shori blushes a bit. He hoped he wouldn't have to say anything.

"And I have a boyfriend, a university student, Nakajima Kento." Shori continues before Kentaro takes over.

"I bet I'm the oldest out of all of us since I'm 22." The other boys nod at his statement, so he continues. "I'm in the same university as Shori's boyfriend, same class too. Like Jinguji, I'm an only child."

"Crushes?" Shori asks, hoping to get back at Kentaro if the older boy had someone he liked.

"Your classmate and my childhood friend, Keigo." Kentaro answered immediately.

"Really? What I saw the other day really wouldn't make me think that you liked him that way. I mean, he's so cold to you." Kentaro nods at that statement and then frown, making Shori wonder if he had said something wrong. Before he can apologize though, the older boy is talking again.

"He wasn't always cold to me... In fact, it started 3 years ago, when I entered university." He explains. "I don't know why he's cold to me now and he doesn't tell me why, even if I ask." The boys all give him sympathetic looks but don't know what to say about that. What could they say? Even if they experienced the same thing, it doesn't mean that they handled it the same way that Kentaro is handling it. So, they can't really feel the true nature of the pain and sadness that he feels.

"I'll go next then." Amu breaks the silence. "I'm the same age as Jinguji and Aran. I'm also in the same class as them. For my family, I have my parents and younger sister. And since we're talking about our love lives, I like Nakamura Reia. He's also in our class."

"Reia? Seriously?" Jinguji and Aran ask, not really expecting this. Amu blinks at them, questioning them about their shock. They explain that it was just shocking, but move on to the next boy. They learned that Takuto was in the same class as Kentaro and Kento, but was actually friends with Kento. He had his parents, older brother, older sibling, and a pet as family. Ryuya was in the same class as Shori and Myuto, also being good friends with Myuto. Like Jinguji and Kentaro, he's also an only child. Myuto is in the same class with Shori and Ryuya, having his parents, older sister, and younger brother as his family. And none of them had love interests at the moment.

The week went by faster than expected with everyone being busy with school as well as their personal lives. But, throughout the week, the nine boys definitely got closer. Close to the point that they could call each other friends and tell each other secrets. Now they were walking to the restaurant, talking and laughing as if they had been friends forever. When Shori's future brother-in-law saw them, he smiled, figuring that the boys had gotten close over the week that they were given.

The clothes were ready and the boys did their own eyeliner, getting help from one another since they initially don't put a lot on. They worked hard, but... In the end, they got about fifteen customers to come. Still though, that was better than what the restaurant got normally. They performed a pretty popular song, but in the end, it wasn't enough and they wondered what they could do to improve their act so more people would come. "How about an original concept?" Their manager who was Shori's future brother-in-law suggested. "I mean, the cool and mysterious type is so overdone."

"We could, but... What idea has no one come up with yet?" Shori asks. It takes them a while to come up with something. In the end, much to their distaste, they come up with crossdressing idols.

"Are we seriously going to do that?" Amu asks, being the one to dislike it the most.

"If you want, you can stay in the back with us and help with cooking." Their manager offers and Amu nods in agreement. "You still have to crossdress to serve the orders though." The other boys laugh at the misfortune that Amu got, having to still wear the girl outfit. "Come up with names for yourselves and I'll get your costumes ready. Also, make a CD with a song. You'll be performing in one week." With that said, their manager left.

The boys talked it out, giving their opinions for names. In the end, Dani was for Shori, Sera was for Jinguji, Kelly was for Kentaro, Samantha was for Fu, Julia was for Myuto, Yuri was for Aran, Kylee was for Ryuya, and Shawn was for Takuto. Now, they had to make the CD. So, the boys went to Shori's house after agreeing that he would be the leader of their group. Shori's family was surprised to see so many boys, most that they didn't know, but didn't question it as the group went to Shori's room to make the CD.

A week later, everything was ready. They had made a CD and titled it. They came up with a dance. Their outfits were ready. And they were all mentally prepared. As the few customers they always had were eating, their manager came up to the center of the restaurant where they had moved the tables so that the boys could dance, calling out to the boys. The eight of them came out and introduced themselves as guys. Shori then starts the proper introduction to their group.

"We are..." He says before they all say the group name together.

"Chicken Basket." As soon as that was said, Amu started the track before going back to the kitchen. In the meantime, the other boys started to lip-sing and dance along to the track that they had made.

To say that the customers liked it was an understatement. By the next two days, the restaurant had gotten so many more customers that even Amu wasn't enough anymore. Each one of the boys was taking orders and serving them out when they weren't performing as Chicken Basket.

 

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A/N: Third chapter done~ Oh, and if you guys haven't seen Chicken Basket, this is them from the last scene of the j-drama, 49. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkTcrkRL6LM Anyway, please comment.