The Only Colour Better Than Black Is Transparent Chap 2
A.N. The actual University of Tokyo does NOT have courses in performing arts. I added them for the sake of the story. It does however, have a Department of Ethics (in the Faculty of Letters), a Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences (in the Faculty of Agriculture) and of course, the Faculty of Medicine. All students admitted to this prestigious University (ranked #1 in Asia and 21st in the world) are at the very top of the Japanese education system and many have IQs close to, if not well over 180. Anything about papers studied by my characters and/or timetable details is purely fiction (because I am too lazy to make them perfect) and to accommodate with the story.
Proven Fact: Hell on Earth is no urban legend. It is very, terrifyingly real. And if you fail to kill it with an Aston Martin, there was no way out.
Deflated, the angel tipped his head backwards and sank onto the floor in Shakespearian melodrama style. “Just go. Go to my room and get anything you want to wear and come back out.”
“Oh… umm sorry-
“JUST GO!!” Ueda covered his eyes and struck a pose, “Come out dressed in nice clothes and then make me breakfast!”
As soon as Junno was out of sight, Ueda dug his own cell phone from out of his pocket and frantically searched through his inbox information for Archangel Gabriel’s phone number. Punching the ‘voice call’ button, he waited for what seemed like an eternity of beeping tones before an unfamiliar male voice answered.
“Good afternoon this the Heavenly Ministry of Education’s office and I am Archangel Gabriel. How may I help you?”
“FUCK YOU!!” Ueda was on the verge of tears, “HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?!?! YOU KILLED MY PARENTS THEN SENT ME TO THIS HELLHOLE IN WHICH I AM PROBABLY GOING TO BE ETERNALLY DAMNED-
“Tatsuya-kun please calm down,” Gabriel cut him off, “I know you’re not prejudiced enough to be on my case about your parents, so what is the issue at hand? Is Earth not treating you well on your first full day? Isn’t it 4am Earth time right now?”
“Shut up! You know EXACTLY what’s happening to me because you sent that stupid text when I was about to leave him to die!!” the young angel punched the couch, “NEVER send me those texts again ya hear me?! Thanks to you, this ridiculous experience is going to be downright PAINFUL!!!”
“I think you may have gotten confused Tatsuya-kun, my entire office shares the same extension number… Your case worker sent you that text, not me. I’m just your dean and you only communicate directly with me when your life is in mortal danger.”
“Then which mother-fucker is my case worker dammit?!” Ueda spat, “Fire him!!”
“I’ll get him to contact you in a few days so don’t worry,” Gabriel replied curtly, “in the meantime, just use your common sense and try to stay sane dear. Toodles!”
Beep…. Beep…
Perfect. Archangel Gabriel has abandoned my hopeless case. God is probably next.
Taguchi Junnosuke stood in Ueda’s enormous walk-in wardrobe and was nearly blinded by all the gothic spikes that were attached to almost every piece of clothing. The cranky (but somehow nice) man who had slept on top of him hardly seemed like the kind to wear such outlandish clothing.
Finally settling on shorts (which were too short for him), a tamer white shirt (sleeves too short, with attached spikey necklaces) and a pair of knee-high lace-up boots, Junno looked at himself in the mirror. Aside from his wildly sweeping hair, the rest of him looked the very picture of a promiscuous visual-kei host. Having rolled up the sleeves of the shirt, the hanging tails just made the shorts seem shorter than they already were, not to mention the boots…
He gulped. What if my image is completely ruined the second I step downstairs? Oh well, these are his clothes… it will fit his fashion?
“What in devil’s name are you WEARING?!” Ueda recoiled, “We’re going to UNIVERSITY, not a strip club!!”
“But these are YOUR clothes,” Junno protested, “and they were the tamest I could find…”
“…” Ueda couldn’t counter that one. He could hardly say that the body corresponding to his had bad fashion sense because that would make him sound like he was clinically insane. “Fine, you look stunning, let’s get out of here!” The sooner I get rid of you, the better. I’ll just drop you off at school and that will be the end of our little façade.
“I have to make breakfast-
“GET IN THE FUCKING CAR.”
They spent the entire car trip in silence. Taguchi, or ‘Junno’ as he insisted in being called, sat fiddling with his spikey necklace while Ueda shut himself off from the world and drove with a blank face. It was only when they got to Main Gate (of Tokyo University) that Junno spoke. “Umm… I need to get to the Gotenshita Gymnasium so-
“Dude, the Gotenshita Gymnasium is about 400m to the right, past the Sanshiro Pond!! What do you even study? What course could ask you to go to that place first thing in the morning?” Ueda cried, “I’m not your taxi driver so can you walk?!”
OK, that came out a LOT harsher than I expected. But I’m tired and I deserve to vent some steam right?
The hurt look in Junno’s eyes told him otherwise.
“I… major in Contemporary Dance and the entire Department of Dance needs to go there to perform our audition dances live to our professors…” Junno mumbled, staring down, “…I can walk. It’s okay… Thank you for driving me here and I will repay your kindness someday-
“Oh for fuck’s sake I’ll drive you!” Ueda sighed, “It’s not like you’ll do too well in dancing after being hit by me yesterday… They might even expel you. In that instance, please don’t blame me.”
“OK!” the tall man lit up straight away, “Thank you so much for offering to drive! You really shouldn’t! You’re such a nice person-
Junno almost bit his tongue as the disgusted Ueda floored the accelerator towards the right.
Screeching to a halt 10m later, Ueda opened Junno’s door and fairly pulled the other man out of his car. Students passing by were already beginning to stare; Ueda thought his car might be attracting too much attention. Oh boy was he wrong.
“Righto,” he closed the passenger seat door, “screw that. We can’t drive into this place coz it has no roads so you’ll HAVE to walk. It’s not like we’re going to the Yayoi Auditorium. Now scram.”
100,000-watt smile. “THANK YOU!!! It can’t be helped then!” Junno beamed, “What do you study? I only remember your name as Ueda Tatsuya but there might be more than one on the university registrar so I might not be able to find you again…”
“No way in hell am I telling you,” Ueda scowled, “don’t EVER try to find me okay? Just go before you’re late for your performance. You’ll need to get past the pond that that takes FOREVER.”
“Un. Ittekimasu!!!”
Ueda watched as Junno gave a wave back and ran towards the general direction of the gymnasium. What a weird guy… I didn’t even end up driving him to where he wanted to go and he still thinks I’m a saint…
“JUNNO!!” he called out.
The tall man’s footsteps stopped and he whirled around, standing on the tarmac lined with trees.
“Good luck,” Ueda simply said, and walked back to his car. He failed to see the look of sheer shock on Junno’s face, nor the way his cheeks flushed and his expression changed into a shy smile.
[30 minutes later]
Oh my god…. I can’t believe I followed him. But hey, this sign says ‘Third year dance student’s live auditioning re-run. All welcome.’ So I have every right to be here. Yeah. I’m not worried about him or anything. I’m here for the enjoyment of watching him fail.
Pushing aside the heavy fire doors, he entered the dimly lit gym. A temporary stage had been set up on the polished floor and there were rows of seats, half-filled with students.
Every pair of eyes stared straight at his entrance and a wave of quiet gasps and mumbling rippled around the place.
“…Hey who’s that?”
“…You won’t believe it but that’s Ueda Tatsuya…”
“…that’s WHO?!”
“…I’m serious. He was in my Japanese class all through the first two years of general education!”
“…I was in his band…”
“…but what HAPPENED?! He looks like a Johnny’s idol…”
“…I heard he got into Medicine…”
“…no way…”
“…he was such a talented guitarist… why medicine?”
“…beats me… he’s always so eccentric…who knows how well he’ll do with the big-shots in med?”
“…maybe that’s why he got rid of his emo black bangs…”
“…but didn’t he top the ranking of entrance test scores?”
“…Shhh…. He might hear you…”
Great. People know me here, think I used to be an emo genius freak and I seem to study MEDICINE. This day is about as shitty as the last one.
Ueda nearly left out the same entrance but forced himself to take a seat.
“…Up next, number 1, Taguchi Junnosuke,” the announcer enthusiastically reported, “our highly anticipated rookie, whose routine scored a perfect 10/10 on video, now brings you all his raw talent live! Give it up for Taguchi-kun!!”
The audience erupted into a sea of applause, almost drowning out the sound of the intro music.
“He’s THIS popular?” Ueda wondered out loud.
The girl sitting next to him, obviously a Taguchi fan, giggled. “Of course, he’s the very best our faculty has. He can sing, act and his part-time jobs are modelling and choreography! But his dancing is just the best… It makes you lose yourself in a different world… All the major agencies have their eyes on him, even the London Royal Ballet!”
“Isn’t he doing Contemporary Dance?”
“He’s only taking it because it’s his WORST subject. His classical ballet and tap-dancing are already at professional level,” the girl was dreamy-eyed, “He’s such a kind person too… volunteers at the orphanage, animal shelter and always has a smile on his face.”
The intro music finished and in a bright series of spotlights, a figure back-flipped onto the stage, landed in a split and continued to move to the beat of pop music. His movements were flawlessly executed, mesmerizingly powerful and made the audience gasp.
How does he move like that without breaking himself up? Ueda couldn’t help but be impressed.
The music changed dramatically into a soft, classical tune. Junno’s demeanour also changed with his dancing style. On tip-toes, he leapt across the stage in one dramatic jump, landing into a triple pirouette, drawing satisfied ‘ooh’s and ‘aah’s from the professors. The beauty, the way he moved his body drew emotions from Tatsuya he didn’t even know existed. It was a feeling of wanting to cry, to laugh and to reach out and touch the man lighting up the stage.
He stood up to leave the moment Junno’s performance finished. The dancer was greeted with a standing ovation from his fellow students but his eyes only saw one person - the man with a head of copper curls, his hourglass necklace reflecting the harsh stage lighting straight into his eyes.
He came… to watch me.
He had to get out. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t stand being in that gym for another second - not when Junno’s eyes met his. Ueda made an unexplained dash to the exit, tripping over a mass of bodies in his way.
“No don’t leave Ueda-san!” Junno yelled from the stage, did a curtsy and jumped off it onto the gymnasium floor
.
“Taguchi-kun what is the meaning of this?” a clearly baffled professor called from the judge’s box, “Who is he?”
“Please sir, he rescued me yesterday!” Junno explained desperately, “If it weren’t for him taking care of me last night, I would be dead in town right now! I got hit by a car yesterday and-
“Are you finished?” Ueda spat, “If you are, get backstage and get changed. Your outfit is too sparkly! I won’t go anyway for god’s sake so get changed before you catch a cold!”
What am I saying? I don’t want to be here. I don’t care if he catches a cold… But it looks like he’s going to be okay.
Junno could hardly contain his glee as he threw on the spare change of clothes he kept in the gym lockers and took off his stage makeup.
He’s here… I can’t believe he’s here!
When he got outside, however, Ueda was nowhere to be seen.
“Excuse me!” he pulled over a student who was leaving the gymnasium, “Did you see the guy who was with me before? The pretty one with coppery hair in a curly bob?”
“Oh yeah him,” the girl nodded, “he left as soon you went backstage. He’s a med student so if you run, you might be able to catch-
She never finished her sentence. Junno was already taking off into a run, back the way he came with Ueda.
He followed me here… If he wants to get to the medical campus, he’ll need his car which means he’ll need to go back the way he came from the parking lot!!
As he predicted, Junno spotted Ueda walking briskly towards the main gate on the path adjacent to the Sanshiro Pond.
“UEDA-SAN!!!!” the dancer ran faster, fairly flying to his side. “You promised me you’d wait for me! Why did you leave?”
“How did you make it into Tokyo University with your IQ?!” Ueda walked faster as the hyperactive ball of energy caught up, “I lied, duh!”
“My IQ is officially 184!” Junno pouted, “And I was a good student! That has nothing to do with why you’re always acting differently to what you say!”
“Oh for fuck’s sake!!” Ueda couldn’t take it anymore, “Why the hell did you tell them I saved you?! I ran you over to begin with!!! Shouldn’t you hate me more than you currently do?! Or are you doing this so I can drown in self-loathing and guilt?! Humans are so disgusting… Get away from me and let go of my arm!! We’re unfortunately acquainted, not best buddies so if you’ll excuse me, I need to attend to some personal matters that have nothing to do with you!!”
“I’m not trying to do anything, honest!” Junno protested, “I’m really sorry if I’ve made you stressed or something but I think you’re a good person under all that bad language-
“FUCK YOU!!”
He hit Ueda’s weak spot. I am NOT a white-wing. I refuse to be a do-gooder!!!
“I’m NOT a good person!!” Ueda screamed and slapped away Junno's’ grip on his arm, “I REFUSE to be!! Can’t you take a hint you KY brat?! I want nothing to do with you and never want to see you again in my lifetime!! Ugh I should have run you over, backed over your corpse and let you rot in the rain!!”
“Ueda-san!” Junno tried to hold onto his arm again.
“I SAID FUCK OFF!!” the angel was seriously pissed. There was a sickening crunch as his fist came into contact with Junno’s jaw, and the last thing he saw was the man tumbling backwards at the force of his punch.
The last thing he heard, however, was a splash.
Oh great. He didn’t seriously fall into the pond?! Is he alright- NOPE I’M NOT GONNA TURN AROUND THIS TIME!!! THIS IS HOW HE’S POISONING MY MIND!!! I’M NOT A GOOD PERSON- ANGEL- WHATEVER!!!”
Ueda Tatsuya felt the need to change something in his life. He wanted to kill Taguchi Junnosuke with a bolt of lightning, or his bare hands. However, drastic times called for drastic measures.
He went shopping instead.
He needed anything to get the image of the smiling idiot out of his head so replacing his current wardrobe seemed like a good idea. Five hours in Ginza later, he had amassed 31 different outfits for every day of the month (31 pairs of pants, 31 shirts, 31 pairs of shoes, 31 hats, 31 jackets, 48 pieces of accessories, not including belts, underwear and socks.) and had them mailed to his address due to not wanting to carry them all to his car.
879,456,204 yen down the track, he still wasn’t feeling any better. The only people feeling better were the salespeople at Daimaru, whose monthly sales had just been boosted in the luxury men’s clothing section.
In fact, Ueda felt worse about himself. Every time he spied a piece of clothing he wanted, Junno’s slender frame would pop into his head and he would judge it depending on whether Junno would look good in it.
Thus, underwear shopping was a nightmare.
Dejected, Ueda returned into his home at around 6pm, dragging his feet in exhaustion.
He failed to notice that the lights in his living room were already on.
A.N. *dun dun dun dun...* so who's waiting for tat-chan in his hourse? XD basically junno fell in the pond, ueda can't get him out of his head and someone stalked him home. Comments for cookies?