The Same Deep Water As You (07/54)

[haikuesque.livejournal.com]

The Same Deep Water As You
by solo____ & jo_lasalle
Pairing: Kamenashi Kazuya / Akanishi Jin
Rating: Explicit
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Alternate Universe fiction. None of this is true.
Warnings: If there are any warnings for this story, you will find them here.
Summary: Kame's got his reasons for seeing prostitutes. Jin's got his reasons for being one. Life is pretty screwed up.
Notes: Story notes, acknowledgements and frantically reiterated disclaimers are here.

Previous chapters | Current chapter

"Do you know Jin?" Yamatani asks, with the restraint that characterizes this place but a hearty undertone that seems to suggest that knowing Jin is somehow a good thing.
 

Comments

[agustin1982.livejournal.com]

Yayyyyyyyyyyy New Update!!!!

I always waiting this every week^^
This time I know what Kame thinking about Jin, really~~~ Kame always see Jin and he want or not, he keeps starring at Jin and Jin dont want see him and prefer ignoring him but No~~ he cant do that~~~
They two really have bad connection, maybe their background make them like that...
So tense and uncomfortable feeling, I think Kame cant stop himself to make Jin flinch and tensed^^
This started to be more interesting now^^
I will waiting for the next update~~
*HUGS*

[haikuesque.livejournal.com]

Yes, that's a pretty good summary of what's going on with Kame. He is really quite helpless, the poor bunny. He just can't stop himself messing with Jin. Bad connection, indeed. :-)

We're glad you're finding these turns interesting! More in... just four days! *g* Thank you for commenting!

[silverrain184.livejournal.com]

Ah, sorry I missed commenting on the previous chapters.

I'm also sorry for not having to say more than: can I beat Kame up?^^
Ah, I really, really don't like his behavior, it makes me want to bitchslap him hard!

The way he thinks, the way he acts, the way he sees and treats especially mostly Jin.

I do like the tension though, reading and reading on the edge of your chair, anticipating, almost fearing what's coming next.

I'm really curious where this will lead to and what's gonna happen and if I will ever find sympathy for Kame in this fic^^

[haikuesque.livejournal.com]

Hellooo! Thank you for commenting now! :-)

No, you cannot beat Kame up, we need him for the rest of the plot. After we're done, you can have him. ;-)

But seriously, we know how you feel. :-) He's really not at his best here, to put it mildly, and... well. There have been worse candidates for a good bitchslapping, is all we can say.

We're glad you're enjoying the tension anyway, and hope that'll tide you over while Kame is still sorting out his issues and being a jerk. And now of course we're very curious, too, if you'll ever find sympathy for Kame. You'll have to keep us informed. :D

[nightinbird.livejournal.com]

I'm completely in love with the way this is written. Kame's thoughts flowing and jumping so naturally, watching Jin, the fixation on Jin's hair, being irritated by Jin behaving differently/warmly towards other people while he's distanced and shut-off with Kame, and how Jin makes him forget all his strategizing and smooth talk and doing what's appropriate. It feels like with Jin, he acts on instinct, without really rationalizing things.
And Jin, I love the way you describe him through Kame's eyes. All the tiny details that show how Kame's presence upsets him, how he can't really believe this is happening, again. And the way Kame sees him, describes him, it's like I can see him, too. I don't know how to explain it, but your writing is very... visual. Vibrant, I think. It's like watching a movie, only it's better because we're in their head, Kame's in this case, and to me, they're like... real people.
Basically, this chapter is brilliant, I've read it twice already, and I'm contemplating marking all Thursdays in my calendar, because wow, am I hooked on this!

[haikuesque.livejournal.com]

We're completely in love with this comment. :-) It's wonderful to know that some of what is going on with Jin is coming through even through Kame's heavily filtered and biased point of view. He really can't believe this is happening to him again, no.

But what you say about Kame, too... it's great that the way Jin affects him seems to come across right. Jin totally makes Kame do things he'd never think he'd do. (Poor confused bunny.)

The 'watching a movie' comment pleases us too. It must be a nice compliment for any writer for the reader to really be able to see what's going on, and yay!

Thank you so much... maybe we'll start marking Thursdays too, as the day we'll get comments like that from you. ;p

[natsukashi-yume.livejournal.com]

It was nice to see some Tatsuya and Kame interaction.. how easy and familiar and light it is in comparison to the vortex of Jin/Kame. Loved the inside joke about Nakamaru's shaving foam technique! I noticed "shadow minister".. are you guys British by any chance? This was just so hilarious: "someone will surely take him and fuck him sometime." Oh Kame, put him out of his misery will you? The possessiveness, the rationalization, the snarkiness, the whole mindfucking tension, imagined or real. Did Kame break any unspoken rule by claiming Jin from Nishikido or is he within the club's boundaries? And OMG... even just this one sentence has more erotic charge than some whole smut fics I've read: "He lets the hair go, traces one fine cheekbone with the back of his hand and it gets him a short sudden breath whispering over his forearm and wrist." It must take such hard work to simply inhabit Kame's skin... "food anecdotes from the forty-seven prefectures and a number of overseas locations to tell".. he ponders and analyzes everything to death, but he's adorable doing it. He's so easily frazzled when it comes to Jin, it makes me wonder what else makes him so unbalanced. Thank you for another illuminating chapter! (This is azurebloom, by the way.. changed my username) :)

[haikuesque.livejournal.com]

Oh, hello, user formerly known as azurebloom! (It's funny, reading your comment we totally felt like we'd talked to you before, only we couldn't remember the name. Thank you for clearing up our confusion at the end!)

It was nice to see some Tatsuya and Kame interaction.. how easy and familiar and light it is in comparison to the vortex of Jin/Kame.

Isn't it? YAY It's totally what Kame prefers. That other stuff, that's just that Jin guy's fault. TOTES! *g*

I noticed "shadow minister".. are you guys British by any chance?

Um, Solo lives in Scotland and it never occurred to her that Shadow something-or-others weren't a feature of politics in other countries. Jo did not query it, as it seemed logical enough for a parliamentary system as Japan, so we are apportioning the blame equally. ;-) Guess we need to do some more research... maybe we'll make the guy the opposition party's spokesperson in the end. Thanks for asking!! PS: are *you* British, or just very knowledgable about political systems?

The possessiveness, the rationalization, the snarkiness, the whole mindfucking tension, imagined or real.

Hee, this sentence made us bounce happily. Yes, all that. Oh Kame.

Did Kame break any unspoken rule by claiming Jin from Nishikido or is he within the club's boundaries?

Kame was definitely on the ruder side there, but Nishikido hadn't really laid claim to Jin yet (Jin was just hoping that he might get a move on and do it quickly), so it wasn't a terrible faux-pas, just a... well. A little weirdness, not enough of a transgression that people will really remember and talk about it, particularly since some of the more self-involved clients are frequently less smooth than Kame, and since Kame did show afterwards he's a nice guy and all. The people who noticed probably saw it as a slight blunder due to horniness. (Hey, Kamenashi is young!)

"food anecdotes from the forty-seven prefectures and a number of overseas locations to tell".. he ponders and analyzes everything to death, but he's adorable doing it.

We're glad the adorable is in there. ;-) No, really, we are very aware Kame is not very nice to Jin, so it's reassuring he's not entirely unappealing while he's flailing and figuring out his issues (or not, as the case may be).

[natsukashi-yume.livejournal.com]

Haha, name changes can be confusing, so sorry I left it to the end. :)

By pointing out the shadow minister thing I was just excited/curious because before I was obsessed with all things Japanese I was a huge Anglophile (still am). I studied in London for a year during school, so got quite familiar with their politics. Still miss it a lot.

a slight blunder due to horniness.

That made me snort with laughter... if only they knew his iron grip on his... *ahem*.

Please don't worry about how likable they are because gray characters are so much more interesting. It's lovely trying to figure out what makes each one tick. There are so many subtle things in this Kame that remind me of the real Kame.. just yesterday I read an essay/interview where he was comparing showing too much about your life as an artist as showing the trick in magic. You ladies nailed his personality, but also made it dark and twisted in a way that's not evident at first. Can't wait for this Thursday's installment.

[haikuesque.livejournal.com]

Please don't worry about how likable they are because gray characters are so much more interesting. It's lovely trying to figure out what makes each one tick. There are so many subtle things in this Kame that remind me of the real Kame..

... and that sound you hear is the haikuesque collective going squeeee. :-)

We do worry a bit because, well, it would suck if people didn't like half our pairing anymore halfway into a 400k word epic, but it's wonderful to hear that you can see the real Kame only 'dark and twisted' -- we certainly had an idea for where we're extrapolating from here, and while we think it's easier to connect those dots from 2006/7!Kame than from present happy relaxo Kame, to us the dots are still there, it's only a question of whether people will go along with us. So... yay! *g*

[natsukashi-yume.livejournal.com]

Oh, and not sure if this is useful at all, but the legislature in Japan is the Diet. As far as I know, before the election of the Prime Minister before Naoto Ken (both of the Democratic party), Japan was pretty much a one party system with the Liberal Democratic party in power since almost the end of WWII. I'm not sure there was a strong enough opposition party to have a shadow cabinet, but your shadow minister could be a powerful senior member of the Diet, maybe? (This is all information that will never be useful in my life... :))

[jo-lasalle.livejournal.com]

That sound you hear is Jo's head hitting the keyboard. *duh* I'm not an expert on the Japanese political system, but I did know they had pretty much a one-party system, so why on earth I never noticed I should maybe double-check the shadow minister concept...

(Hi there, political scientist, good thing I'm not getting marked for political whoredetail!)

Thank you for pointing this out, again; we'll have to look into it, and I strongly suspect there'll be some sneak editing in the medium-term future. *g* Senior member of the Diet sounds like a good suggestion! (Esp. given what seniority means in Japan.)

[diisa-pinky.livejournal.com]

whooaaaaa~~ i'm happy to see this update ^^
love the akame interaction here
nice story for bedtime, totally can imagine how Jin acted like a child being scolded every time Kame was there near him

[haikuesque.livejournal.com]

Hee, we like the idea of this for a bedtime story! *g* Glad you enjoyed the Akame interaction, we are aware it's been a little while. Thank you for the feedback!

[souleater-angel.livejournal.com]

ahh wanna read so bad but i have class. will comment properly in a few hours...

[souleater-angel.livejournal.com]

so many things to say about this chapter.

I absolutely love Kame's inner battle with himself; he's so hilarious about his obsession with 'that stupid incompetent escort that he doesn't even like'


"...and what is that escort doing lurking there like some... and why does the waiter have to block Kame's view with his tray full of... their food. All right."

"...and he's never going to relax with Jin doing... whatever, that, in the background and since they're all so keen and Jin can't manage to stay out of Kame's business..."

"...when Jin gives a little bow in welcome and steps into the group to sit down... on the empty seat next to Yamatani... What the hell does he think he's doing?"
The fact that Kame is totally oblivious to his own continuous contradictory behavior just makes this both more frustrating and more hilarious. Kame has some serious control issues. I don't know how he's managing to make anything work in a marriage when he's such an obvious control freak.

The writing is very natural in this. it's so easy to picture; I can so easily imagine Kame's head weaving back and forth around people 'who won't quit blocking his view dammit' trying to get a glimpse of what 'that stupid escort that he doesn't even want' is doing.

It was also nice seeing Kame and Ueda's interaction. so incredibly different from Jin and Kame.

I thought where the chapter ended was a bit sudden. Even though technically very little actually happened in the chapter it was still quite suspenseful, and since Jin had successfully ignited Kame's fury (again) I was curious to see what would happen as the night continued. (Not that Kame was interested in Jin at all or anything.)

I also had a somewhat delayed reaction today when I realised that yes, you did say 54 chapters and yes, you do post once a week and yes, that will take a YEAR to get through. ugh. this is a novel. the kind of novel i would conquer in a weekend and it's GOING TO TAKE A FREAKIN YEAR. Sorry. you guys are awesome.

[haikuesque.livejournal.com]

I absolutely love Kame's inner battle with himself; he's so hilarious about his obsession with 'that stupid incompetent escort that he doesn't even like'

Thank you! *g* We admit to being perversely amused by some of Kame's inner shenanigans ourselves. This is really the wheels coming off the sanity wagon, and at least among all this angst and tension, someone (the reader! Neither Jin nor Kame are amused!) should have some fun.

The fact that Kame is totally oblivious to his own continuous contradictory behavior just makes this both more frustrating and more hilarious. Kame has some serious control issues. I don't know how he's managing to make anything work in a marriage when he's such an obvious control freak.

The marriage works very differently from this, and he doesn't have feelings anywhere near as intense as what's happening to him there. Sad, but true. (This will become clearer later.) And yes, he has serious control issues. Like you say, he's a bit of a control freak anyway, and Jin just provokes that side of him no end.

We're really happy about your comment regarding the difference between Kame and Ueda vs Kame and Jin. That's really the more normal Kame you get there.

Thank you for all this detailed feedback, it made us very very happy. This is a lovely comment.

I was curious to see what would happen as the night continued. (Not that Kame was interested in Jin at all or anything.)

He was totally not! Who, Kame? Interested in Jin? Never! Psst. Evening is not over yet. Kame shares your impression that they're not *quite* done yet.

the kind of novel i would conquer in a weekend and it's GOING TO TAKE A FREAKIN YEAR. Sorry. you guys are awesome.

We do not want to be blamed for people turning into whorezombies over a weekend. (Just for kicks, we looked around what our 400k word count actually *means*, and it turns out it's about as long as Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and The Half Blood Prince *combined*.) We are just being responsible. *nodnod* Also we need time to edit. 4realz.

[souleater-angel.livejournal.com]

I can see what you mean by Kame's interaction with his wife. He seems to have hardly any real feeling or passion in the relationship at all. (from what i have seen so far anyway.)

Ah look forward to how the evening turns out then. Can't wait!

And the very detailed comments will keep coming from me i'm sure for every good chapter you put out (as in every one), which will also help me deal with the taking a whole year part. You make me so happy that you guys ACTUALLY DO take the time to edit and freaking spellcheck and make sure it's perfect, so few do that. I am honestly very grateful for that, so ignore my constant complaints about how FREAKING LONG IT IS.... XD.

Don't feel obligated to reply to this (nudges to go edit instead) doumo arigatou ne^^

[haikuesque.livejournal.com]

You never saw us, we are not here, not replying to this comment, because we spend all day editing! Ha. *g*

(Thank you. It's actually nice to hear that our comma discussions and various hair-tearing sessions over editing tricky bits are worth it. :-)

[nitzi.livejournal.com]

"Oooh, Kamenashi-sama, you wouldn't be trying to get me drunk, now would you!"
this is the best part ever! :D never thought Jin would dare to challenge Kame after being so submissive when giving the blowjob - looking forward to Kame's revenge!

[haikuesque.livejournal.com]

So glad you liked that!! Yes, Jin is getting a bit fed up with Kame's antics. But of course he can't antagonize a client, not really... and the blow job submissiveness is also part of his job, he has to play along.

Jin has a very healthy streak of self-preservation, but push him far enough, and he'll forget that.

[tokutamai.livejournal.com]

Akame's reactions are so awkward ^^

[haikuesque.livejournal.com]

Aren't they! Thank you for commenting. :-)

[ina]

Really really great read. The suspense was great and I loved all the interactions between the different characters. I was waiting for a chapter set in the club and it certainly painted a very vivid picture.

So amused that Kame analyzes everything and everyone but totally fails to notice his own behavior. :D And that he is genuinely surprised and jealous (even though that is one of the things he doesn't notice) that others like Jin. :D

[haikuesque.livejournal.com]

Hey there! Glad you're still enjoying. Now with 100% more Akame interaction here. *g*

You have a very good summary of Kame here... Not a lot of self-perception, really. And Jin really doesn't help in that regard.

Ps: see you soon now!

[lady-aenea.livejournal.com]

Ok... I know I say this on EVERY comment... but GOD I LOVE UEDA!!! For me is the hardest character in the fandom to get right and you go and make it... and not *barely make it", you excell at it *o*

And you made Nakamaru environment minister!! I'm in BLISS here.

I also love what you did with Tegoshi (and I don't even particularily like him in our world XD)

I loved this chapter to death. I loved Kame and his possessiveness even in denial, and I *LOVED* the way his thoughts became obssesive and... crumpled? when Jin appeared. *o*

I reaaaaally don't know what my colleages think about me anymore... every thursday I just go to the bathroom a LOT and come out all flushed and grinning xDD

Thanks for this girls!! I'm loving every bit of it!

[haikuesque.livejournal.com]

Wheeee! We're glad you like 'our' Ueda. This is such an Akame-centric story (no, really, even if you have to wait chapters for any interaction, it totally is!) that we're really super glad if what we do with other KAT-TUN members works. And we like Ueda too. *g*

Nakamaru is going to do great things for the environment. And shaving foam.

YAY! We want to make a joke about Tego being an easy sell in this world... ;-) But we like him, and Jin likes him, so we're very glad he's growing on you in this story!

We have been wondering about the phone+toilet situation. Maybe we should have added something in our disclaimer about suspicious toilet breaks. But good you're getting some mileage out of your new phone! *g*

Thank you so much for commenting, this is lovely feedback!

[brindhakrishnan.livejournal.com]

So Jin still doesn't really fancy Kame.While Kame just seems drawn to him.. I think Kame is trying too hard with Jin. And should just give up. I am still eager to find out just why and how these two are going to hit it off if they are going to do so. Seems like Jin is going to be an anti-kame fan for awhile. Why does Ueda have so much nice things to say about Kame and Jin doesn't.
Thanks for sharing this!^^

[haikuesque.livejournal.com]

No, Jin doesn't really like Kame... Kame doesn't behave very nicely towards him. You're right, Kame is drawn to him, he doesn't even know what's going on. Hey, he wants to give up. It's just not working well. ;-)

Why does Ueda have so much nice things to say about Kame and Jin doesn't.

Hmm, yeah, why do you think that might be? ;-)

[azluv.livejournal.com]

when i read their first encounter, they've already awkward yet fascinated with each others, doing things that they never do with other characters such as kame's kinkiness and jin's charms that didn't work on kame so it triggered some fear in jin towards kame. although jin's playing hard to get, he also keeps thinking about kame lol. that's what i grasped so far, i hope i'm in the right track here, some readers think they read kame's pov but personally i think i read it through your pov so... i'll just wait for up dates :)

[haikuesque.livejournal.com]

Yes, you are pretty much on the right track: they don't like each other, in different ways and for different reasons, but they can't really stop thinking about each other.

About the POV... we switch and sometimes it's Jin's, sometimes it's Kame's. Obviously we as the authors are ultimately hiding somewhere behind/in there, but we're trying to show the situation as if filtered through Jin's or Kame's eyes. It's a complicated thing. :D

[ununoriginal.livejournal.com]

omg kame is being so totally self-deluding, tho i like how everyone else's objectivity bt jin is show thru kame's observations as well. i'd love to see jin's take on the situation. can't wait for the next chapter!

[haikuesque.livejournal.com]

Oh, we love this comment. Self-deluding is pretty much where Kame lives here, yeah. :-/ We're so glad that everyone else's views still make an impression while filtered through Kame's slightly insane preoccupied lens.

We may be able to help you with Jin's take on the situation. :-) Stay tuned!

[kamakazuya.livejournal.com]

SPOT!!
Thank you for this chapter.

Hugs
Pikka

[haikuesque.livejournal.com]

Thank you for this comment! *g* Much appreciated!

[angedecristal.livejournal.com]

Awesome chapter! :)
At last,akame's reunited!
awww...Kame's really cute here & there,so i couldn't comprehend why he was so verbally harsh and cruel with Jin during the blowjob!
It might have been more pleasurable somehow,but still i am wondering what's the meaning of this? This need to dominate Jin?
So far from the Kamenashi composed & so well mannered Tatsuya describes...Poor Kame!Though he's analizing everything & everyone,he seems to be taken off guard by Jin's weird behavior!
I really like Yamatani here.Maybe i'm wrong but it looks like he sincerely cares for Jin.
And Ryo as the king(the Emperor?)of bagels!Really? lol U're so creative!
To be honest,i am so relieved nothing happenned between Jin & Ryo in this chapter...
ANd since Jin takes great care to appear shorter & to hunch his shoulders so very often,Ryo's may not the best client for him,right?
Anyway,Jin's really not at ease being an escort!Poor him!!Even the new and young recrew Yuuya's better at that!
Can't imagine how frustrating that must be for Jins clients finding him so distant &inattentive!
A Sexbomb being charmless! O-o
Can't wait for the next chapter! :)

[haikuesque.livejournal.com]

Awesome comment. :-)

Kame is pretty unstable here, isn't he. And you're not the only one wondering what the meaning is - Jin would really like to know that, too!! You're right, Jin totally catches him off-guard (though Jin would argue that he isn't behaving weirdly at all, it's that Kamenashi creep who is weird, so there!)

Yamatani does care for Jin! Thank you for noticing. :-) He is currently Jin's favourite client, and with good reason. You're right that Jin is not all that at ease around the clients, even when there's no Kame haunting him; he's probably at his best around a guy like Yamatani, really.

Ryo is king of bagels, but totally working on the emperor part. Just give him a few months. ;-) And yeah, Jin likes him as a client, but Jin is not exactly Ryo's type for the long term.

Can't imagine how frustrating that must be for Jins clients finding him so distant &inattentive!
A Sexbomb being charmless! O-o

This made us bounce with joy. :D Given the way people are often unhappy with real Jin for not being all charming and playing sexy, we figured he would not make a very good prostitute. :D

[shirayuki1582.livejournal.com]

I'm so not catching up with commenting. hontouni gomenasai! D:

well in this chapter I really loved the very beginning. the club truly sounds like a very comfortable place to be. very cosy and relaxed and not complicated. And I love how the guests and escorts are so friendly and respectful with each other... and like they are talking very casually, meaning not only about sex. we often have those ideas about places like that to be vulgar but this one's kinda not. :)

Kame and Jin's encounter is very interesting. The moment when he touches his hair and cheek and just looks at him.... it's very powerful!
I can absolutely understand Kame's fixation on Jin's hair and lips. That's two things I love a lot about him too ;)

[haikuesque.livejournal.com]

We totally love that you're catching up. :D

The club is trying to cater to very rich people, so it's got a certain reputation and ambience to uphold. That doesn't mean there aren't clients who are a bit more crude than others - you'll meet some. But on the whole, everybody aims to have the civilized sort of fun they'd normally have *outside* the club, only there they can't have it with other guys because of their jobs. Less refined people probably generally go to cheaper places, or pick somebody up at a street corner... there's a reason Jin prefers the club so much to his previous working conditions. :|

THANK YOU for picking out that moment with Kame and Jin! We really like that, too. :D