Creature in the Viewfinder - Chapter 2
Title: Creature in the Viewfinder
Author: paranoia_woman
Character(s): All the Yamane regulars with only slight differences.
Rating: Varies per chapter PG - XXX You are warned!!!
Warning: Language and Violence. AU
Summary: A combination of Viewfinder and Frankenstein. Creating life and the results thereof with Yamane's characters.
Disclaimer: Ownership of the Viewfinder series and all characters therein belongs to Yamane Ayano, In perpetuity. Frankenstein is not mine either or I'd be rich.
Creature in the Viewfinder
Chapter 2
The ride back to his apartment was quiet and uneventful. Opening the door, Takaba sighed in relief. "Home Sweet Home," he muttered under his breath. He kicked off his shoes off to the side and walked in, followed closely by his new acquaintance.
"Sorry for the mess. I live alone and I've never been good at cleaning, or so I've been told," he chuckled. He began picking up pieces of clothing left laying about the room and threw them in a pile in the corner.
"I'm going to change. I'll be right back so just sit on the couch and," he looked around the room for something to do. The remote was sitting on the couch arm so he picked it up and turned on the TV, tossing the remote back onto the couch, "Ah, watch TV till I get back," he turned and walked back to his room not noticing the strange look on the face of the man he'd left.
Changing out of that costume felt so good to Takaba. The shoes alone had given him blisters. 'Never again,' he thought to himself. He pulled out some comfortable sweats to put on and found some bed linens for his guest. Back out in the living room he tossed the bedding on the couch and sat down by his new friend.
"Anything good on?" he asked, becoming excited when he saw what was on, "Alright, Danger Zone's on. I love this show. I'd never want to be one of those contestants, but I love to watch their reactions." They watched as the contestants tried to win big money by playing a game of shuffleboard, the catch being that they were the ones on the giant shuffleboard pieces.
The show only had a few minutes left leaving Takaba disappointed, but with it over his hunger resurfaced, so he got up and went to the kitchen.
"Hey, Do you want something to eat? I'm making some ramen," he asked, but still didn't received any response. Taking that to mean he didn't want any, he made his portion, got two beers from his fridge, and went back out to the couch. The news was on and not being interested he picked up the remote and changed the channel.
"Uh!" he heard beside him. It was the first response he'd received since they'd entered the apartment.
"Were you watching that? Sorry, I'll turn it back," but instead the man took the remote out of his hands and looked at it curiously, then he began randomly pushing buttons, one of which turned off the TV.
"What are you doing?" Takaba asked, taking the remote back and turning back on the TV. "Look here," he said, "these buttons change the channel, this one turns it off, this controls the volume. I don't know if you understand all this…" he started, but stopped as the other man deftly began going through all the channels.
Takaba tried, but couldn't stifle a yawn as the days activities caught up to him. Exhausted he finished his ramen and beer, saying, "I'm going to bed. I'll clean up the mess here tomorrow so don't worry about it. You can watch whatever you want, just don't turn up the TV loud. You can sleep here tonight and I'll see you in the morning."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Waking up to the dawn of a new day, the realization of what had happened last night became clear. Takaba sat up, astounded by his own stupidity.
'I let a complete stranger into my apartment and let him spend the night. He could be dangerous for all I know. Gods, he might have robbed me blind. I'm such an idiot.' But thinking back to how he looked, so innocent, like a lost puppy, he knew he had done the right thing. He got up and quickly got dressed, muttering to himself, "I don't even know his name or why those people had him locked in a room. He could be crazy, but what do I know, I'm the one talking to myself. Guess I can't avoid it, I better just go see if he's still there."
Cracking open the bedroom door, a sense of déjà vu came over him. The man sat in what appeared to be the same spot on the couch, the bed linens looked unused beside him, and he was still watching TV. Even the beer Takaba had given him last night was unopened.
Feeling a bit apprehension, he walked over and asked, "Did you stay up all night?"
Takaba blinked as the man turned to look at him, his golden eyes beaming, and he said, "Good Morning," with a big smile.
Takaba smiled back, taken aback by the response. He hadn't been very talkative at all the night before and now… Confused, he asked, "Would you like some breakfast?"
"Itadakimasu," the man responded.
Completely confused now, Takaba felt a bit lightheaded. He walked to the kitchen, mulling over what he just saw, and since he hadn't been to the store in a week, to see what he had to eat. 'Yesterday all he said was one syllable words and today… This is strange.'
Finding cereal and some milk, luckily not soured in the fridge, he took two bowls from the cupboard and went out to the dining room table. "I hope your fine with boxed cereal," he said, filling the bowls.
Walking over, the dark haired man picked up the box and smiled saying, "Trix are for kids."
"Aren't you tired?" Takaba asked, as his guest sat down and picked up his spoon to eat.
Pausing, he sat with a thoughtful look on his face and then said, "No." He put a spoonful of cereal in his mouth and then immediately opened his mouth, spitting the cereal out back into the bowl, making a slight gagging noise as he did, sounding like a baby spitting out their first bite of peas. Takaba sat back trying not to laugh as his guest complained, saying, "Ack, ew, bad, bad," pushing the bowl away.
"Didn't like it, eh? Sorry, It's a bit sweet isn't it," Takaba said apologetically, pushing up from the table, "I'll go get you something else."
"No, fine… I'm fine. Drink… a drink."
"Okay, I'll get you something, just wait a moment," Takaba rushed to the kitchen and brought a glass of water back.
"Thank you."
"I'm sorry. I don't have much to eat here. Do you want to go out for something?" he asked, feeling bad.
"No…," he got up from the table, "Later… need TV," the tall man said, going back over and sitting back in front of the TV.
'Weird, weird, weird,' Takaba thought, finishing his bowl. He got up and cleaned up all the dishes from the previous evening and went over to where his guest still watched television.
Muting the TV, he asked, "I don't mind you staying here, but I've got to have something to call you. How about you tell me your name?"
"Don't have one," he said, appearing completely candid.
"What do you mean? Everyone has a name."
"Well then… you pick one."
"What? Pick one. What do you mean?" Takaba asked.
"What's that?" his guest asked, his golden eyes alight, pointing at the TV. It was a show about ancient Japanese legends, at the moment they were discussing the differences between the three claw and five claw dragons.
"That's a Ryuu, of course," Takaba stated knowingly.
"Ryuu," the dark hair man said slowly, carefully pronouncing it, "Ryuu, I like it."
Takaba could only stare at the enigma on his couch as the man continued watching the TV.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Over the next few months Takaba got used to his rapidly changing guest. One day he would quietly sit reading book after book, the next he would chatter, almost nonstop, or he'd want Takaba to take him out to see the city, acting like a kid in a candy shop for the first time. Takaba almost never caught him sleeping, and when he did, it was never for long. Soon he began going out alone, not returning till late and sometimes not returning till the next morning. Worried, Takaba tried talking to him, but Ryuu would assure him he was fine. He was just trying to find out more of his past.
Takaba was worried about that too. He had gone back to the warehouse the very next day, only to find it empty. Everything not nailed down had been removed leaving no sign that anyone had lived there for a while. He had tried to investigate who had leased the place, only to find a dead end. He couldn't even find any leads on who exactly Fei, Yan, or Yoh-gor were or where they came from. Whoever they actually were and why they had been holding Ryuu captive wouldn't be easy to find.
When he tried to talk Ryuu into going to the police, he'd balked. "No," he said repeatedly, becoming more and more agitated. He looked miserable. Takaba moved close, searching his face, trying to understand his reaction. Ryuu's long hair hung down over his eyes making them unreadable, leaving Takaba to wonder why he felt that way. Was it fear or something else? In the short time he'd known him he had grown to trust and want to protect him, so he agreed to not go to the police. His statement made Takaba wonder what that long haired man had done to him. He seemed to have wanted to protect him badly enough, but why did he have Ryuu locked up to begin with.
Since he'd agreed not to contact the police, he mulled over what to do next. He didn't have anyone to talk to about it right then. He hadn't seen Takato and Kou recently since they'd been so busy with their work and he didn't even have a clue on what he'd say to his family. (Hey, Mom, Dad, I found a man with amnesia, who was kept locked in a room, so I brought him home to stay with me while we try and find out his past.) 'Nope, bad idea,' he thought. He decided to keep investigating on his own quietly. He had inroads at the paper, police, and his informants too, that could help him. Takaba missed his friends, but he really didn't feel lonely at all with Ryuu staying there at his place. He truly wanted to help him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4 1/2 months since their first meeting
Sitting back on the couch, Ryuu carefully looked up over the edge of the book he had only been pretending to read, intensely watching the figure in front of him. Takaba was sitting in the floor with a stick of Pocky hanging from the side of his mouth, busily cleaning his camera, taking it apart, wiping down all the pieces, and putting them back together. He didn't notice the eyes upon him at all. Lately Ryuu had found himself watching more and more. Inexplicably, he couldn't figure out the person in front of him. Going out, he had discovered more about the people of the world, but every time he came back here, he could see a distinct difference from them. Other people looked at him differently. He could see fear in some people's eyes, indifference or even lust in others, but it was here and only here that he felt comfortable.
All of the sudden Takaba looked up and caught him staring, but clueless as always he only asked, "Hey, are you hungry? I bought some ramen today at the store. I would offer you a bit of this," he said, indicating his Pocky, "but I know how you dislike sweets."
"No," Ryuu replied, setting down his book. "You eat too much of that stuff, you know. You need more vegetables."
"Vegetables?" Takaba said laughingly. "Now you sound like my Mother. I eat what I like and I like ramen a lot."
"Yes, that I know," said Ryuu, standing up, "Actually I was planning on going out so I'll just get something out there."
"Do you want me to come?"
"No, I see you're busy and don't you have a job coming up that your preparing for."
"Yeah, a wedding, but that's not till the day after tomorrow. If you want company, I've time," he said, standing up.
Already at the door, putting on his shoes, Ryuu replied, "No, I don't know when I'll be back. It may not be till early morning."
"I'm fine with that. I'm always up for adventure. Just let me get my jacket."
"No," Ryuu said forcefully, then seeing the look on Takaba's face he realized his error. "I didn't mean that. I just want to go out alone. I've been cooped up in here all day and I just want to walk around and clear my head some."
Takaba was troubled by Ryuu's response when suddenly another thought came to him. "Do you have a date?"
"Date," the word fell flat out of his mouth as he frantically tried to remember what that meant. His mind quickly recalled all the meanings of the word.
noun
1: the oblong edible fruit of a palm (Phoenix dactylifera)
2 a: the time at which an event occurs date of his birth> b: a statement of the time of execution or making date on the letter>
3: The time during which something lasts; duration.
4: the period of time to which something belongs
5 a: an appointment to meet at a specified time; especially: a social engagement between two persons that often has a romantic character b: a person with whom one has a usually romantic date
6: an engagement for a professional performance (as of a dance band)
verb
1: to determine the date of
2: to record the date of: mark with the date
3 a: to mark with characteristics typical of a particular period b: to show up plainly the age of
4: to make or have a date with
He was certain Takaba didn't mean food since they had already discussed that and most of the other definitions didn't fit as well. With the sentence structure he knew it wasn't a verb usage and of the nouns only the last two made sense.
"A date?" he questioned back, hoping for a little more so he could figure out the proper response.
"Well, you have been going out for a while alone and coming back late. Have you met a girl?" Takaba asked, then blushing, he turned away, "I'm sorry. It's really none of my business what you do. Go on and have fun. I'll just finish what I was doing."
Looking back one more time, Ryuu went out, closing the door behind him. Outside the door his demeanor changed. His face took on a more stern expression as he tied his long hair back from his face. All he could think of while walking down the stairs was, 'Why did he turn red like that?'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
almost 6 months since their first meeting
'Late, I'm so late,' Takaba thought, unlocking the door to his apartment. It was already past 9 in the evening and he'd told Ryuu he'd be back this morning. Sighing, he picked up his camera bag, and opened the door, only to be met by darkness except for the radiance of one small lamp on his desk.
"Hello, I'm back," he called out, receiving no response. Closing the door behind him, he looked around. The room looked clean. 'That guy, he always does that,' he thought, smiling. Walking over to the light, he saw an envelope with his name on it. 'What's this?' Takaba thought. He set down his camera bag and picked it up. Opening it, he felt his like his legs had been kick out from under him as he read what was on the page.
Akihito
By the time you read this I'll be gone. I'm leaving Japan. I received a good lead on who I am and I'm going to pursue it. Due to time constraints, I've got to move fast on this. I know this is unexpected. You've helped me so much since the beginning, with little in return. I don't even think I've ever said Thank you. So I'll say it now.
For all the things you did for me, Thank you, but you have your own life and I can't help to think that I've been holding you back.
I didn't think I could take saying goodbye to you in person, and even here it's difficult, so instead I'll say,
See you later
Ryuu
The note fell to the floor from his nerveless fingers as Takaba stood immobile, his mind refusing to comprehend what he read. 'Why?' he wondered. 'You were never a burden. You didn't need to…' tears welled up in his eyes, but didn't fall. Right then the phone rang, and his heart leapt in his throat. Though the likelihood was low, hopeful, he thought, 'Ryuu!' and not looking where he was going, he stumbled over his bag, crashing to the floor. "Ow, Dammit," he exclaimed angrily. He started to get up, when the ringing stopped. "Dammit… Dammit all to Hell," he cried, pounding the floor, as the tears he had been holding began to fall freely down his face.
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Sorry, I meant to put this up a couple of days ago, but the God of Rewrites visited me. Inspiration or madness, I ended up redoing a couple of scenes. I hope you like it. ^_^
Author: paranoia_woman
Character(s): All the Yamane regulars with only slight differences.
Rating: Varies per chapter PG - XXX You are warned!!!
Warning: Language and Violence. AU
Summary: A combination of Viewfinder and Frankenstein. Creating life and the results thereof with Yamane's characters.
Disclaimer: Ownership of the Viewfinder series and all characters therein belongs to Yamane Ayano, In perpetuity. Frankenstein is not mine either or I'd be rich.
Creature in the Viewfinder
Chapter 2
The ride back to his apartment was quiet and uneventful. Opening the door, Takaba sighed in relief. "Home Sweet Home," he muttered under his breath. He kicked off his shoes off to the side and walked in, followed closely by his new acquaintance.
"Sorry for the mess. I live alone and I've never been good at cleaning, or so I've been told," he chuckled. He began picking up pieces of clothing left laying about the room and threw them in a pile in the corner.
"I'm going to change. I'll be right back so just sit on the couch and," he looked around the room for something to do. The remote was sitting on the couch arm so he picked it up and turned on the TV, tossing the remote back onto the couch, "Ah, watch TV till I get back," he turned and walked back to his room not noticing the strange look on the face of the man he'd left.
Changing out of that costume felt so good to Takaba. The shoes alone had given him blisters. 'Never again,' he thought to himself. He pulled out some comfortable sweats to put on and found some bed linens for his guest. Back out in the living room he tossed the bedding on the couch and sat down by his new friend.
"Anything good on?" he asked, becoming excited when he saw what was on, "Alright, Danger Zone's on. I love this show. I'd never want to be one of those contestants, but I love to watch their reactions." They watched as the contestants tried to win big money by playing a game of shuffleboard, the catch being that they were the ones on the giant shuffleboard pieces.
The show only had a few minutes left leaving Takaba disappointed, but with it over his hunger resurfaced, so he got up and went to the kitchen.
"Hey, Do you want something to eat? I'm making some ramen," he asked, but still didn't received any response. Taking that to mean he didn't want any, he made his portion, got two beers from his fridge, and went back out to the couch. The news was on and not being interested he picked up the remote and changed the channel.
"Uh!" he heard beside him. It was the first response he'd received since they'd entered the apartment.
"Were you watching that? Sorry, I'll turn it back," but instead the man took the remote out of his hands and looked at it curiously, then he began randomly pushing buttons, one of which turned off the TV.
"What are you doing?" Takaba asked, taking the remote back and turning back on the TV. "Look here," he said, "these buttons change the channel, this one turns it off, this controls the volume. I don't know if you understand all this…" he started, but stopped as the other man deftly began going through all the channels.
Takaba tried, but couldn't stifle a yawn as the days activities caught up to him. Exhausted he finished his ramen and beer, saying, "I'm going to bed. I'll clean up the mess here tomorrow so don't worry about it. You can watch whatever you want, just don't turn up the TV loud. You can sleep here tonight and I'll see you in the morning."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Waking up to the dawn of a new day, the realization of what had happened last night became clear. Takaba sat up, astounded by his own stupidity.
'I let a complete stranger into my apartment and let him spend the night. He could be dangerous for all I know. Gods, he might have robbed me blind. I'm such an idiot.' But thinking back to how he looked, so innocent, like a lost puppy, he knew he had done the right thing. He got up and quickly got dressed, muttering to himself, "I don't even know his name or why those people had him locked in a room. He could be crazy, but what do I know, I'm the one talking to myself. Guess I can't avoid it, I better just go see if he's still there."
Cracking open the bedroom door, a sense of déjà vu came over him. The man sat in what appeared to be the same spot on the couch, the bed linens looked unused beside him, and he was still watching TV. Even the beer Takaba had given him last night was unopened.
Feeling a bit apprehension, he walked over and asked, "Did you stay up all night?"
Takaba blinked as the man turned to look at him, his golden eyes beaming, and he said, "Good Morning," with a big smile.
Takaba smiled back, taken aback by the response. He hadn't been very talkative at all the night before and now… Confused, he asked, "Would you like some breakfast?"
"Itadakimasu," the man responded.
Completely confused now, Takaba felt a bit lightheaded. He walked to the kitchen, mulling over what he just saw, and since he hadn't been to the store in a week, to see what he had to eat. 'Yesterday all he said was one syllable words and today… This is strange.'
Finding cereal and some milk, luckily not soured in the fridge, he took two bowls from the cupboard and went out to the dining room table. "I hope your fine with boxed cereal," he said, filling the bowls.
Walking over, the dark haired man picked up the box and smiled saying, "Trix are for kids."
"Aren't you tired?" Takaba asked, as his guest sat down and picked up his spoon to eat.
Pausing, he sat with a thoughtful look on his face and then said, "No." He put a spoonful of cereal in his mouth and then immediately opened his mouth, spitting the cereal out back into the bowl, making a slight gagging noise as he did, sounding like a baby spitting out their first bite of peas. Takaba sat back trying not to laugh as his guest complained, saying, "Ack, ew, bad, bad," pushing the bowl away.
"Didn't like it, eh? Sorry, It's a bit sweet isn't it," Takaba said apologetically, pushing up from the table, "I'll go get you something else."
"No, fine… I'm fine. Drink… a drink."
"Okay, I'll get you something, just wait a moment," Takaba rushed to the kitchen and brought a glass of water back.
"Thank you."
"I'm sorry. I don't have much to eat here. Do you want to go out for something?" he asked, feeling bad.
"No…," he got up from the table, "Later… need TV," the tall man said, going back over and sitting back in front of the TV.
'Weird, weird, weird,' Takaba thought, finishing his bowl. He got up and cleaned up all the dishes from the previous evening and went over to where his guest still watched television.
Muting the TV, he asked, "I don't mind you staying here, but I've got to have something to call you. How about you tell me your name?"
"Don't have one," he said, appearing completely candid.
"What do you mean? Everyone has a name."
"Well then… you pick one."
"What? Pick one. What do you mean?" Takaba asked.
"What's that?" his guest asked, his golden eyes alight, pointing at the TV. It was a show about ancient Japanese legends, at the moment they were discussing the differences between the three claw and five claw dragons.
"That's a Ryuu, of course," Takaba stated knowingly.
"Ryuu," the dark hair man said slowly, carefully pronouncing it, "Ryuu, I like it."
Takaba could only stare at the enigma on his couch as the man continued watching the TV.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Over the next few months Takaba got used to his rapidly changing guest. One day he would quietly sit reading book after book, the next he would chatter, almost nonstop, or he'd want Takaba to take him out to see the city, acting like a kid in a candy shop for the first time. Takaba almost never caught him sleeping, and when he did, it was never for long. Soon he began going out alone, not returning till late and sometimes not returning till the next morning. Worried, Takaba tried talking to him, but Ryuu would assure him he was fine. He was just trying to find out more of his past.
Takaba was worried about that too. He had gone back to the warehouse the very next day, only to find it empty. Everything not nailed down had been removed leaving no sign that anyone had lived there for a while. He had tried to investigate who had leased the place, only to find a dead end. He couldn't even find any leads on who exactly Fei, Yan, or Yoh-gor were or where they came from. Whoever they actually were and why they had been holding Ryuu captive wouldn't be easy to find.
When he tried to talk Ryuu into going to the police, he'd balked. "No," he said repeatedly, becoming more and more agitated. He looked miserable. Takaba moved close, searching his face, trying to understand his reaction. Ryuu's long hair hung down over his eyes making them unreadable, leaving Takaba to wonder why he felt that way. Was it fear or something else? In the short time he'd known him he had grown to trust and want to protect him, so he agreed to not go to the police. His statement made Takaba wonder what that long haired man had done to him. He seemed to have wanted to protect him badly enough, but why did he have Ryuu locked up to begin with.
Since he'd agreed not to contact the police, he mulled over what to do next. He didn't have anyone to talk to about it right then. He hadn't seen Takato and Kou recently since they'd been so busy with their work and he didn't even have a clue on what he'd say to his family. (Hey, Mom, Dad, I found a man with amnesia, who was kept locked in a room, so I brought him home to stay with me while we try and find out his past.) 'Nope, bad idea,' he thought. He decided to keep investigating on his own quietly. He had inroads at the paper, police, and his informants too, that could help him. Takaba missed his friends, but he really didn't feel lonely at all with Ryuu staying there at his place. He truly wanted to help him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4 1/2 months since their first meeting
Sitting back on the couch, Ryuu carefully looked up over the edge of the book he had only been pretending to read, intensely watching the figure in front of him. Takaba was sitting in the floor with a stick of Pocky hanging from the side of his mouth, busily cleaning his camera, taking it apart, wiping down all the pieces, and putting them back together. He didn't notice the eyes upon him at all. Lately Ryuu had found himself watching more and more. Inexplicably, he couldn't figure out the person in front of him. Going out, he had discovered more about the people of the world, but every time he came back here, he could see a distinct difference from them. Other people looked at him differently. He could see fear in some people's eyes, indifference or even lust in others, but it was here and only here that he felt comfortable.
All of the sudden Takaba looked up and caught him staring, but clueless as always he only asked, "Hey, are you hungry? I bought some ramen today at the store. I would offer you a bit of this," he said, indicating his Pocky, "but I know how you dislike sweets."
"No," Ryuu replied, setting down his book. "You eat too much of that stuff, you know. You need more vegetables."
"Vegetables?" Takaba said laughingly. "Now you sound like my Mother. I eat what I like and I like ramen a lot."
"Yes, that I know," said Ryuu, standing up, "Actually I was planning on going out so I'll just get something out there."
"Do you want me to come?"
"No, I see you're busy and don't you have a job coming up that your preparing for."
"Yeah, a wedding, but that's not till the day after tomorrow. If you want company, I've time," he said, standing up.
Already at the door, putting on his shoes, Ryuu replied, "No, I don't know when I'll be back. It may not be till early morning."
"I'm fine with that. I'm always up for adventure. Just let me get my jacket."
"No," Ryuu said forcefully, then seeing the look on Takaba's face he realized his error. "I didn't mean that. I just want to go out alone. I've been cooped up in here all day and I just want to walk around and clear my head some."
Takaba was troubled by Ryuu's response when suddenly another thought came to him. "Do you have a date?"
"Date," the word fell flat out of his mouth as he frantically tried to remember what that meant. His mind quickly recalled all the meanings of the word.
noun
1: the oblong edible fruit of a palm (Phoenix dactylifera)
2 a: the time at which an event occurs date of his birth> b: a statement of the time of execution or making date on the letter>
3: The time during which something lasts; duration.
4: the period of time to which something belongs
5 a: an appointment to meet at a specified time; especially: a social engagement between two persons that often has a romantic character b: a person with whom one has a usually romantic date
6: an engagement for a professional performance (as of a dance band)
verb
1: to determine the date of
2: to record the date of: mark with the date
3 a: to mark with characteristics typical of a particular period b: to show up plainly the age of
4: to make or have a date with
He was certain Takaba didn't mean food since they had already discussed that and most of the other definitions didn't fit as well. With the sentence structure he knew it wasn't a verb usage and of the nouns only the last two made sense.
"A date?" he questioned back, hoping for a little more so he could figure out the proper response.
"Well, you have been going out for a while alone and coming back late. Have you met a girl?" Takaba asked, then blushing, he turned away, "I'm sorry. It's really none of my business what you do. Go on and have fun. I'll just finish what I was doing."
Looking back one more time, Ryuu went out, closing the door behind him. Outside the door his demeanor changed. His face took on a more stern expression as he tied his long hair back from his face. All he could think of while walking down the stairs was, 'Why did he turn red like that?'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
almost 6 months since their first meeting
'Late, I'm so late,' Takaba thought, unlocking the door to his apartment. It was already past 9 in the evening and he'd told Ryuu he'd be back this morning. Sighing, he picked up his camera bag, and opened the door, only to be met by darkness except for the radiance of one small lamp on his desk.
"Hello, I'm back," he called out, receiving no response. Closing the door behind him, he looked around. The room looked clean. 'That guy, he always does that,' he thought, smiling. Walking over to the light, he saw an envelope with his name on it. 'What's this?' Takaba thought. He set down his camera bag and picked it up. Opening it, he felt his like his legs had been kick out from under him as he read what was on the page.
Akihito
By the time you read this I'll be gone. I'm leaving Japan. I received a good lead on who I am and I'm going to pursue it. Due to time constraints, I've got to move fast on this. I know this is unexpected. You've helped me so much since the beginning, with little in return. I don't even think I've ever said Thank you. So I'll say it now.
For all the things you did for me, Thank you, but you have your own life and I can't help to think that I've been holding you back.
I didn't think I could take saying goodbye to you in person, and even here it's difficult, so instead I'll say,
See you later
Ryuu
The note fell to the floor from his nerveless fingers as Takaba stood immobile, his mind refusing to comprehend what he read. 'Why?' he wondered. 'You were never a burden. You didn't need to…' tears welled up in his eyes, but didn't fall. Right then the phone rang, and his heart leapt in his throat. Though the likelihood was low, hopeful, he thought, 'Ryuu!' and not looking where he was going, he stumbled over his bag, crashing to the floor. "Ow, Dammit," he exclaimed angrily. He started to get up, when the ringing stopped. "Dammit… Dammit all to Hell," he cried, pounding the floor, as the tears he had been holding began to fall freely down his face.
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Sorry, I meant to put this up a couple of days ago, but the God of Rewrites visited me. Inspiration or madness, I ended up redoing a couple of scenes. I hope you like it. ^_^