“Let’s Fly as the Birds Do…” Chapter 4

“Let’s Fly as the Birds Do…” Chapter Four

4/14/01

By: Hikari

Site: http://www.geocitites.com/hikari_nanase/

Notes: I’m going to be offensive in this fic. I will accept no flames because I have a purpose for everything I try to do.

Music theme to chapter: “Three Libras” by: A Perfect Circle.

~*~*~*~

“I don’t… understand what I’m doing… I can’t help touching you…”

“…You’re kissing me…”

“Why… are you letting me do that?”

“Because… I feel the same way…”

~*~*~*~

‘I’m not much for pictures…’ he once said. Certainly, he had stated this only out of polite modesty- his number one habit and rule. He looked stunning in pictures, and he knew it. The way his hair would swirl and drape over his shoulders- the lighting adding a surreal gloss to every curl and strand. His eyes seemed to light up before even the flash. Unfathomable green eyes momentarily mixed, and later absorbed by gold and amber. In the next second, the change would be gone, and the irises had reverted back to thick evergreen forests once more. Humorous, really. Seeing the photographers strain their focus lens, wondering why they had seen a transformation in his eye color. It brought a slight mischievous grin to lip.

Then again, he preferred taking the photos rather than being in them. It was a lot more pleasurable to be the one in control of the shutter. ‘Almost like playing God’, he mused, ‘only in a more unassuming form…’

With that in mind, fifth period always seemed to go by fast. Kurama often watched the clock pull its so-called extremities around its face, until it finally stopped and ring the cursed bell. This was the only class he sincerely enjoyed- besides biology, at least. It gave him a good excuse to go out and enjoy nature… what ever left there of in Tokyo. At any rate, he sat there again, at his table and fingering his camera.

Shutter open? Check. Clean lens? Check. Film? Film… The redhead left his seat and opened one of the drawers from behind the classroom. His hands rummaged around until he finally came to an occupied film tube. Smiling, Kurama opened the slip from behind his camera, inserted the roll, and shut the slip again with a hard ‘click’.

From across the room, Haruhiko watched him busy himself with all the simple ‘knicks and knacks’. Brushing back his hair, which was impossible since his hair was perpetually shaved, Haru thought him to be stupid. Photography 1A. It’s supposed to be a whiz coarse, not something for personal enjoyment.

‘Stupid.’ The word rang again in his mind. The only people who ever truly enjoyed photography- as far as he was concerned- were girls, the Paparazzi, entrepreneurs, and gays. Since Shuiichi was none of the first three, he immediately assumed the last to be his category. For one thing, the hair. It was long. Not masculine long, but effeminate. Secondly, Shuiichi appreciated the arts, on a far more profound level than other guys. Last of all, he was good at everything. Plausibly, Haru’s state of mentality was simply inclined to following jealousy’s stroke to his unending ego… or maybe he just hated him.

Again, their class went out. The air outside was fresh, but pleasantly warm. The sun was already passing over the roof of the school, creating a sheet of white light that darted out from the edges of the edifice. Kurama stepped back, knelt on one knee, and took the picture. He thought it would be nice- the sun coming close to its descend from behind the building made a good contrast between light and dark. When the film would be developed, he at once decided to keep the entire picture in black and white, except for the sun. That would get his emphasis across…

Walking around, he headed for the arboretum, taking the trail made of tender wood chucks- scented of American cedar and moss. Spying a tall maple tree, Kurama stood from under it, positioning his camera up for the perfect angle… It WAS perfect. From where he was, the tree seemed to stretch up toward the heavens, soft luminosity pouring through the breakage in thin foliage.

“Beautiful…” He murmured, snapping his shutter, when he felt something soft and moist push against his lips.

Lowering the camera, with its strap swung loosely around his neck, he blinked at meeting Hiei- eye to eye, albeit upside-down. For a time, he was too surprised to say anything, until finally the smaller flipped from the tree he was hanging from with his legs.

Landing on the ground, several wood chips went flying from beneath his pressing feet. Hiei turned, face unsurprisingly solemn. That didn’t last long, a charming, but small smile pulled across his features.

Another flash.

“That one… is for me.”

He closed his eyes. “Hn. Sentimental.”

“Oh?” Kurama asked on a rising note. “And who was it that was waiting for me in that tree?”

The youkai stared at the thin plant Kurama was standing under. “What tree?”

A frown was the response. A half-frown, the other half was a suppressed laugh. “THIS one.” Kurama batted the pale bark.

“That’s a twig, Kurama.”

His friend raised his finger, mouth gaping to say something, but he stopped. Better to make a sweet comeback than a sorry scold. “Well, if you were hanging from it, Hiei, you must weigh less than a twig then…”

Ouch.

Unfortunately, with the smaller’s pride, the rare smile faded. “You win…” He said evenly. “That means I have to kiss you again. My reprimand…”

Striding to Kurama with ease, he looked up to him to touch his lips. The camera at the redhead’s hands slipped, the weight of it pulling him deeper into the kiss. In that second, both of their eyes widened in shock. After a while, though, Kurama let go of his laugh- tickling Hiei in the nose with his breath.

A whistle sounded, causing them to straighten and look in the same direction.

“I’ve got to go… My class is heading back inside…”

Nodding, the youkai released his hold from around his friend’s waist and beneath the great mass of scarlet hair. Kurama walked off, for a short distance of four and a half meters, then turned back.

“It’s Friday today!” He yelled. “Do you want to do something tomorrow?”

Subsequently, Hiei turned on his heel. “Saa na…”

The redhead brightened, interpreting the reply as a ‘yes’, rather than what it really meant. Not that it mattered, one way or another he could always get the fire youkai to do something out of the question or league. That was some power, it was tempting to just test Hiei’s loyalty- but it wasn’t worth risking the opulent friendship they already had.

Traveling up the trail again, the surface began to rise a little once reaching the base of the hill leading out of the arboretum. Kurama checked the counter on his camera. Thirteen. He still had fourteen shots to spare; maybe he could ask Hiei to do some glamour shots. Now wouldn’t that be great? Having the disgruntled little guy walk down a platform, its floor covered with lights. He would turn his waist toward the crowd- that being Kurama- flash a sexy pose, possibly leaving his thin white shirt open, and look drastically away to some far off distance. His red eyes would be vacant, but deep. Two fans were to be situated at his side- blowing air that made the material of his attire go flying with the wind… Calvin Klein, eat your heart out…

The more Kurama thought about it, the more fun it sounded. What clothes would he have him wear? First, a nice tank top- to show off Hiei’s perfect skin, not to mention his muscles. It would be ash gray, made of soft cotton and would come down to Hiei’s lower abdomen. For pants, black beach shorts. Then, to accentuate some sexual flavor, a thin silver chain with a plain ring on it- hanging off of his friend’s slender neck. Shoes? Why not barefoot? The scenery could be at the beach during sunset.

What about the next style? A turtleneck. Yes, a turtleneck- mahogany in color, with a navy blue wool scarf flapping over his shoulder. The lower part of his body should be covered in matching blue slacks- shoes being quarter boots, black and shiny. That was classy…

Finally, just for fun, the third set would be completely composed of gothic/punker wear. A torn up shirt… No. No. A black FISHNET shirt, with silver chains and thin bondage straps hanging from the long sleeves. The pants will also be black, regular bondage straps crossing all around his legs. Black nail polish, that can’t be forgotten… Black lipstick- with eyeliner… Tall boots coming up to the knee- plenty of silver buckles on them… Facial henna? No, Hiei already had the dragon on his arm. An ear pierce! Of course! A silver hoop ring! On the earlobe? Or on the top?

Not paying attention to his surroundings any more, Kurama practically walked blindly into another person. He blinked a few times, coming out of his playful daze, when he recognized the student he stumbled into…

“Watch it, Shuiichi…”

“Gomen nasai! I didn’t see you, Haru.”

“Chikuso...” He wiped the lens of his camera, making sure nothing was ruined. “How could you not see me? I was coming up the other path! No one is down here except for the two of us!”

The redhead smiled quite guiltily. It was an accident, but it wasn’t such a big deal. A simple run-in, that was all. Still, Haruhiko’s hostility to him was always one of question. His silver eyes would glare, almost like steel. His frown, he did it so much that there appeared to be permanent creases on his forehead. From the way Haru looked, he could easily be mistaken for a graduate of military school. If Kurama hadn’t had the upper hand in combat ability, he probably would have been a little intimidated by the guy.

“I’m sorry.” He repeated.

“Whatever, common’ let’s get back in.”

“Mm… Right.”

Going further into the campus, Haru made sure to keep at least five paces away from Kurama and ten paces AHEAD of him. In a minute, he could hear a few of the female students run-up towards the redhead- they giggling and babbling like a bunch of sightless fools. He glanced back. Well, they WERE fairly pretty. It annoyed him, however, that all the girls on the planet would pause just to smile at Shuiichi; while for him, on the other hand, they were afraid of him. ‘Never mind the girls.’ He thought. ‘Making money is the higher priority as compared to love...’

*****

The students filed into the classroom, whispering a little over their findings outside. One of the students caught a dragonfly whizzing by, just at the right moment. Its wings were captured by the light, giving them a multihued appearance. Another found a hare darting across the football field. It was the typical brown kind, but its eyes were big and sad. The remainder of the class was still in the dark room, having their pictures developed.

Haru fumbled to pull the chain of the light switch. After he got it on, the little room was lit with an eerie tone of crimson red. Taking the film, he placed it into the developing pan- dipping and lifting as needed. When he was done, he pinned the photos onto a string for them to dry out. As they did, he examined each of them carefully- to make sure none of his shots were exposed.

His photos were irrefutably dull. No emotions of any sort were focused into his work. What he cared about was getting an easy A, and going on with his life. The first ten developments were all of trees, but at very monotonous positionings and angles. The next eight were nothing, but birds perched on a cable line. Actually, he kind of liked it- the way the crows stalked down from their roosts. Nonetheless, one could only make out the birds by the shape of their shadow. The rest of the photo was blank, not even the sky had that extra vibrance of a swirling cloud or a falling leaf. It probably would look better if he reversed the colors… Hm…

Pulling at the photos with his tweezers, Haru was pleased to find that most of them had already dried. Taking them down, he pressed another light switch to change the lighting from red to white. He sat on a stool situated there, and began shuffling through the collection. Nothing grasped his own interest, save for the picture of the birds, until he reached the twentieth or so shot. It was from behind the school, where the plants and rocks were more varied… He noticed there was a distinct patch of red coming through a maple tree. No doubt it probably was Shuiichi’s head full of hair…

“Damn it…” Haru groaned. “Even in my own work you piss me off…”

He squinted a bit. “Wait a minute…” He looked closer and found that the redhead seemed to be leaning over and… kissing a tree?! Now that was funny. REALLY funny. The student couldn’t help, but choke down some horribly restrained laughter. A snort inevitably tumbled out of his breath. Imagine that… Shuiichi, an arboreal sexualite. Oh, he could only wish. The exploits! The very idea made him shiver with excitement.

There was a magnifying glass on the counter top, and he hastily reached for it. His hands were shaking, becoming sweaty even. Haru licked his lips from corner to corner. Shuiichi was obviously kissing something, but it wasn’t a plant. For a moment, he leaned back. There was the possibility that he could have been secretly making out with another girl. But how? There wasn’t anyone following ‘Mr. Perfect’ from behind when they were called back… A girl from another school then?

Standing, he stormed out of the dark room, nearly slamming the door behind him when he incidentally bumped into someone.

“Sorry, I was about to knock, but…”

Haru didn’t hear him, in fact he didn’t even swear. He emphatically left the classroom, and headed straight for the library. Showing the librarian his I.D. card, he logged into a computer and prepared the scanner.

Open Kodak program. Click on scan. His mouse moved about the screen, flying around from button to button with speed and much fortitude. The sound of the apparatus functioning ensued, bright rays from the scanner sliding smoothly from bottom to top. Slowly, the photo appeared on the computer, fraction by fraction.

Again, he moved his mouse, positioning the arrow on ‘resize image.’ He clicked. Multiply two- hundred percent of current image. Haruhiko scowled impatiently. It still wasn’t clear. Fine then, multiply image three hundred percent. A smirk. Still not completely clear, but getting closer. Opening the ‘resize image’ box once more, he typed in the next measure: five hundred percent.

“Shit… There’re some branches in the way… I’ll have to transfer this onto another program…”

Clicking on a different icon, he saved the image under a Jpeg file and opened Photoshop Pro. Using the magic wand tool, he separated the overhanging branches from the shorter figure to the left. When this was done, Haru specified corrections onto the file to make-out who was it Shuiichi was with- magnifying, pasting, and cutting all along the way. Scrolling to full-screen display, he clicked on the menu and saw what he so worked hard for…

“It’s… a guy…”

A guy. He was short, but had a good build. His hair was black, dark black- the shine of it giving a highlight of blue. Both of them, the shorter and taller, were lip-locked- their eyes gently shut, with their arms somewhat roaming and embracing.

“I need to save this…” Haru minimized the window and looked around. “Naru! I need you for a moment!”

The library aid, far on the other end of the room, set the books at hand in a cart and walked to the table he was at. Haruhiko tried not to look at the number two pencils stuck in her hair. She would have been cute if it weren’t for that… and, well, her overalls and high-tops. The black glasses were a perfect touch- if she were sixty years older and had gray or white hair- anyone would call her Obaasan.

“Please don’t yell in the library.”

Typical.

“Sorry.” He mocked whispered. “Do you have a blank disc I can use?”

“Sure…” Her thin hands fingered around the front pocket of her outfit. “Here.”

“Wow… Just like a carpenter… Only…”

“Only not.” She said a little stiffly, but then grinned. “Anything else you need?”

Haru looked to the computer. The glow of it washed over his features, almost giving this sick look off brainwash over his eyes. “Yes… I want to use the net…”

“Really?” Naru spoke suspiciously. “What for?”

“A report… on… uh…” He searched for something to inspire him. Anything. Anything at all. Normally, he was good at making lies, but the all-knowingness this senior student next to him had given him a feeling of stupidity. Without thinking, he accidentally knocked the pictures off of the table. The photos rained down to the carpeting, flapping audibly in the quiet building.

Naru bent down to pick them up. Kindly, she arranged them into a neat pile, and handed it to him. Looking at the top picture, Haruhiko got it.

“A report on birds…”

Fine and smooth strands of beige hair slipped from her clip and fell over her hazel eyes. One of her thin eyebrows went up, lower lip pointing downward a bit in disbelief.

“All right then…” She shrugged. “Just sign on the clipboard on your way out, that tells us you used the modem…”

“Thanks…”

“Uh-huh.” Naru strolled away, grinning goofily to herself.

The student paid no heed to this, and quickly opened his e-mail account the moment the net was connected.

Subject: Shuiichi’s Love

To: …

He typed in all the possible e-mail addresses he could think of. If he could leak even at least one chain letter into the cyber world, that little drop of ink will touch ends with everyone… From here, to the ends of the earth. It was a perfect example of diffusion. Word spreads fast, especially via electricity. The second the letter makes it into an in-box, the person who receives it would surely forward it to everyone else he or she knows. Given that Kurama was such a popular student, the scandal would be enormous!

Attaching the image onto the letter, the last thing to do was to write ‘from’. From who? Anonymous? Boring… How about…

From: Bird Watcher

Perfect. Haruhiko tilted back on his chair, until only two of its legs rested on the floor. He pulled his arms behind his head and watched as the letter was sent.

A gray box appeared, the blue bars loaded from end to end, until finally a separate box popped in, reading:

Mail sent. Job completed.

With that, Haru shut down the computer, and went on his way.