Camera Flash~
Original story:D-Gray Man by Katsura Hoshino
Principal characters:Kanda, Lavi, Allen, Lenalee
Pairings:KandaxOCxLavi, LaviYuu scenes
Genre:Drama, Romance and some Humour
Hold your own
Know your name
And go your own way
And everything will be fine -Details in the Fabric, Jason Mraz
A small village in Esashi District
September 10, 2010
"It's going to be alright, don't worry." her mother whispered in her earand patted her cheek encouragingly.
"I don't want to go." the girl wearily protested "Why should I go? They don't even like me."
"Oh, don't say those things, sweetheart. Onee-chan and Yuto-san will take good care of you." the woman smiled at her young daughter, softly caressing her brown hair.
The girl snorted sullenly, "They didn't take care of you when you were young. Why would they look after me?" The young girl stared at her mother with big, pleading eyes, "C'mon, mom."
"Don't make this any harder, Keira." the woman furrowed her eyebrows and exhaled tiredly. There were purple rings under her eyes and the hand with which she combed her daughter's long hair was full of wrinkles and dark freckles. Suddenly, she seemed way older than she really was.
"I'm sorry," Keira sighed, "But I really don't see why I have to go just because he says it." the girl pointed with a movement of her head the entrance of their new residence, inside of which she knew Malcolm, her brand-new stepfather, was having his evening nap.
"Keira, we've already been through this. He wants to have some space for us, to work better our marriage. It will only be one year, sweetie."
"Whatever" Keira huffed and thanked the servant when he put the last suitcase of her luggage inside the car's boot.
She wanted to say much more. She wanted to rant against Malcolm Leverrier and instigate her mother to speak her mind, to say that she didn't want her daughter to go so far away, but it was way too late for that. She tried before, like a hundred times, and anything worked. Her mother was blinded by the possibility of a new and better life where they didn't have to face hunger and poorness again, just the way it happened after Keira's biological father died.
But this, making her only daughter go away under the orders of new and reloaded Hitler was too much.
Keira balled her hands into fists and brusquely hugged her mother back. She let her kiss her cheek before climbing into the car that was going to take her to the airport.
"See you soon, honey. Be a nice girl. I love you."
"I love you too, mom. Bye."
Keira saw her mother wave the car goodbye even after it started moving forward, and the girl stared at the woman's slim figure until it vanished in the distance.
"Just a year. How many things can happen in a year?" she murmured to herself, trying to convince her wounded soul that it wasn't going to be as hard as she thought; that nothing had to change at all.
She had no idea.
Tokyo, Japan
September 10, 2010
The annoying, loud shrieks deafened him the moment he stepped out of the studio.
The young actor flinched at the high-pitched sound and scowled deeper, hoping that his dark expression might make the stupid fangirls shut up. Unfortunately, and as always, the scandal didn't stop as he wanted to.
"Kanda, I love you!"
"Kanda-san, you are so sexy!"
"Kanda-san, would you marry me?"
He snorted. As if he was ever gonna even date a stupid, random, common girl. Worse even: a fangirl.
"Here, Kanda-san," a male voice spoke near his ear. Kanda followed his manager silently while some security staff opened them a secure way between the waves of hormonal teenagers.
Just when he was climbing into the black Jaguar, another female voice shouted almost right in his ear.
"Kanda-san, you are the best actor ever!"
He smirked and put his sunglasses on to cover his eyes from the brilliant sun. Of course he was the best actor ever, at least in Japan.
Hollywood, USA
September 10, 2010
"And what do you think about this new proposal, Mr. Bookman, the one about working with Asian superstar, Kanda Yuu, in a movie?" the interviewer inquired, reclining nonchalantly on the back of his chair and staring at the young actor.
"I don't know, Sandler. They say he is really handsome and I don't like being overshadowed in front of the camera." Lavi Bookman teased with a smile.
He elegantly crossed his left leg over the right one and grinned charmingly, taking some sighs from the few females standing behind the camera. Even with the eye-patch, he looked exceedingly gorgeous.
Opposite to the general opinion, the American actor had climbed up the stairs of fame with all and his facial imperfection. However, some people were firmly convinced that it was that same imperfection the one that helped him reach the top of the showbiz so rapidly, since it generated a captivating aura around the male that no woman was capable to resist.
"But…" he continued, glancing once at the big poster of his most recent movie, "It would definitely be an interesting experience, so maybe you'll see me wandering around Japan's streets soon."
Haneda Airport,
Tokyo, Japan.
September 15, 2010
"Walker-san, what brings you to Tokyo?" a desperate reporter asked the recently arrived British boy, clumsily following him through the corridors of the International Airport.
"That's top secret." Allen winked cryptically and tried to keep walking between the bunch of cameramen and reporters that were mercilessly harassing him.
"Is it true that you are writing a new script for Kanda Yuu's next movie?" a female reporter asked in broad English, hastily shoving a yellow microphone in front of the Brit.
"Maybe," the scriptwriter shrugged nonchalantly. "You will know as soon as the contracts are signed."
"What is the story going to be about?"
"Top secret," the British boy repeated. He stumbled with his luggage before reaching the principal doors. Outside, the sun was shining, a weather so different from the one in London that he felt kind of free and light.
"Allen Walker, Allen Walker." a man was shouting to the crowd, holding a sign with his name above his head. Allen sighed with relief and approached the man, who was dressed in an impeccable black suit.
"Here, take me to the hotel." the boy handed the driver his luggage and entered the car, ignoring the desperate reporters that continued tapping the window.
He didn't think that he was going to be recognized there, in the other side of the world, but the moment he walked down the plane and saw the bunch of paparazzi waiting to meet him, he realized how wrong he was.
It was true that he was one of the best scriptwriters of the movie industry, already having won an Oscar at such a short age –only fifteen- and he also knew that it was all thanks to Cross Marian who, even with his arrogant attitude, helped him to climb up the stairs of showbiz. However, that was in the Westerner world, here it was supposed to be different.
"They are really annoying, aren't they?" the driver commented in perfect English when he stopped in a red light.
"Yes. I didn't expect that." Allen replied.
"Don't be surprised. That's what happens when you are working with Kanda Yuu. I drove him to a studio once, it was a circus."
"What is so wonderful about him? I met him once in an International Cinematographic Festival, and he is a complete jackass." Allen stared out the tinted windows, just to find Kanda's photograph pasted on the wall behind a bus stop. The Japanese actor was sitting on a chair, pointing with a pistol to the camera and staring intently at it, with that predator look that made all the females' hearts stop. Behind the chair was standing a Chinese girl, Lenalee Lee, looking innocently at the viewer but holding a PPK in her right hand. Above them, name of the movie was written down in kanjis.
A group of girls were pointing to the poster, murmuring and taking turns to photograph themselves beside the actor's face, hiding Lenalee's figure behind theirs. Allen frowned, imagining that probably the cute Chinese actress was the most hated girl in Japan, since she starred a movie as the love interest of Kanda Yuu's character.
The car started moving again, and the bus station was soon left behind.
Allen was starting to understand then that working with Kanda Yuu wasn't going to be exactly a walk in the park.
"High School? Why the fuck do I need to go to High School?" Kanda angrily muttered into his mobile's receiver.
"Because your education is important, son. You missed your senior year already to make a movie," a man replied fatherly from the other side of the line.
"I have a fucking job. I don't need to finish High School." the actor sourly replied.
"It is always good to have your basic studies completed; you can get a job if acting doesn't work."
"Acting does work, I am fucking famous!" Kanda grabbed a knife from the kitchen with his free hand. He placed the utensil over the counter and searched in the refrigerator for some vegetables.
"I have already sent your files to Black Order High School. If you don't show up to classes on Monday, I won't let you act again." The man stiffly said.
"Oi, I am not your fucking son, Tiedoll! Stop treating me like that!"
"But I am your legal guardian; which means I am in charge of your welfare and education even if I can't physically be with you."
"I am a fucking adult, I don't have to obey you." Kanda snarled harshly to the phone. He grabbed a pair of potatoes and tossed them over the counter.
"Fujimoto-san already agreed to this and he will make sure you attend school. I am sorry, son of mine, but I am truly worried about your education. You are missing a year!"
"Because I was making a fucking movie!" Kanda retaliated, "And who the fuck gave you permission to include MY manager in this?"
"Mouth, Kanda" Tiedoll scolded. Ignoring his huff, he continued talking, "I am sorry, but there won't be any more movie contracts if you don't go to school. You attend and you keep acting, that's the deal. Only one year."
"There's no way I'm doing that, bye."
"Kanda, plea-" Tiedoll's voice vanished the moment Kanda pressed the red button of his cell phone. He growled and tossed the device to the other side of the counter and continued preparing his dinner.
Why he had acceded, he couldn't remember.
Oh yes, because the old man put every important movie industry's member on his side. Damn, even the westerner director supported the idea of him attending school.
So there he was, leaned against a corridor's wall, just outside his classroom's door, waiting for the old teacher to prepare the class for the introduction. He could imagine the huge fuss his appearance was going to provoke and tried to prepare himself, mentally and physically –those girls could be aggressive sometimes- for the first attack.
Footsteps sounded down the corridor. It was supposed to be hour class, so there should have been no soul wandering around. Damn the stupid teenagers. Kanda closed his eyes and waited exasperatedly for the typical shriek, if it was a girl, or a contemptuous growl in case it was a guy.
But none of them arrived, even when he clearly heard the steps approaching and stopping just beside him. Perhaps it was just one of those slow girls that froze and gaped in his presence.
"Umm, This is class 3-A, right?" a female voice shyly asked. Well, she was at least smart enough to try to start a normal conversation, he deducted, and hide her unnerving feelings. He had already met half a dozen girls like that and wasn't falling for her charade.
"Hey, I'm talking to you," she exclaimed. "Are you deaf or what?"
"Your voice is annoying, shut up." Kanda responded nonchalantly.
There was an uncomfortable silence for a pair of seconds.
Finally, "What a dumbass." she snorted, clearly offended.
Kanda opened one eye to glance at her, taken aback by the girl's sudden hostility. He wasn't used to people, especially women, talking to him in that tone of voice.
"What? You finally found the guts to talk?" she snapped, facing him for one moment before averting her eyes.
She was tall and skinny, with a long brown mane falling down her back to her waist. She was tanned, the tonality of her skin produced by the kiss of the sun rather than a natural matter, since Kanda could see some traces of fair skin underneath the short sleeves of her blouse. He then stopped his scrutinize, deciding that she wasn't neither attractive nor someone original or with sense of fashion –she was just wearing a blouse, sneakers and jeans- and, hence, didn't deserve his attention.
"Che, your aspect is even more annoying than your voice." he sentenced, closing his eyes again.
"Who the fuck do you think you are to… " her rant was abruptly cut by the swing of the classroom's door.
"Onozawa-san, you finally arrived." a young, brunette woman looked at the girl with relief and whispered "I was waiting for you to make the introductions. You know, I think it'd be wiser to present you first because after Kanda-san-" she bowed nervously in Kanda's direction "enters, well, you can imagine…" she trailed off cryptically.
"Amm…I guess?" the girl alternated bewildered looks between the teacher and the man leaned against the wall, not clearly understanding but letting it go.
"If you could come now, oh, my name is Miranda Lotto," the woman shook nervously the newcomer's hand and the girl noticed the fingers' of the teacher were slightly trembling. She then followed her inside the classroom.
"Well, class" Miranda hit the desk with a rule to catch the students' attention, which then turned to see the new girl.
"She is…oh, I'm sorry, would you like to introduce yourself? I can do it if you want- "
"It's okay, sensei," the brunette girl smiled gently to the woman, and then faced the group of approximately twenty students.
"I am Keira Onozawa, I am seventeen years old and just arrived to Tokyo." she bowed and stoically stood the twenty pairs of eyes scrutiny. There were some whispers and some smiles that helped her ease her unexpressed nervousness.
"Alright, Onozawa-san, you can take one of those empty seats." Miranda pointed to one corner of the classroom, where two seats remained empty.
Keira nodded and headed to the one that was just beside the window.
"Hi, I am Maia Hiragizawa, I think we can be friends. Our last-names rhyme" a young, raven girl with typical Japanese features extended her hand to Keira and smiled amiably to her.
"Yeah, the world is really small." Keira heartily chuckled and shook Maia's hand.
"Really small. Where are you-" Maia's question was suddenly drowned by a loud, general shriek. Both girls turned to search the source of such a scary sound, and Maia's own scream joined the others.
The racket was so loud and the room so small for such scandal that Keira covered her ears. She couldn't understand the reason of such commotion until one girl screamed in a truly, high-pitched voice "It's Kanda Yuu. It's Kanda Yuu!" and pointed to the guy Keira saw before in the corridor. He was awkwardly standing in the front, glaring at every visible human being and wearing an infuriated expression.
"What's with the guy?" Keira tugged Maia's sleeve to catch her attention just the moment the raven girl was standing up.
"Are you kidding? He is Kanda Yuu, Japan's sexiest actor alive!" the student answered with a glint of pure adoration in her eyes. She then released herself from Keira's fingers and ran to join the bunch of girls that were already gathering around Kanda's annoyed figure.
Keira sighed and leaned back on her chair, observing the scene without any amusement. So he was an actor, what was the big deal, then? It wasn't like he had saved Japan from latest Godzilla's attack.
Okay, maybe he was sexy and had a pretty face, Keira had to admit it, but she still wondered how anyone dared get any closer to him when he was scowling so badly, emitting a completely antisocial aura. Besides, she had proved him, back in the hallway, to be an arrogant jackass with no sense of education. Nonetheless, all those girls, who clearly ignored his snaps and sneers, kept on surrounding him like bees around honey.
Keira caught a glimpse of the males scowling, and more than three casually turned around to see the only female that wasn't actually dazed or salivating. Some of them smiled encouragingly at her, but Keira didn't bother to return the attention, other issues crowding her mind.
It took half of the class's hour to control the crazy fangirls and for Miranda to start the day's lesson. The woman was busy writing some data on the blackboard to notice the way none of the girls were actually paying attention to anything she was saying, busy as they were smiling at Kanda, admiring him or just salivating in his presence.
He was sitting at the back of the second row of seats, just beside Keira's nonchalant expression. She was the only one actually taking notes, not bothering to turn around to gaze at her classmate.
The boys were murmuring amongst themselves, darting deathly glares to the male newcomer or exchanging compliments about the recently arrived female student, whose indifference upon the actor's appearance had suddenly elevated the opinion the boys had of her, making her brown hair more silky and shiny; her tanned skin, exotic or her blue eyes, captivating.
The first hours of the day passed in that fashion, until the bell rang indicating the start of their recess.
"Before you leave," the white-haired teacher of that hour spoke, catching the attention of the few students that hadn't already ran to Kanda's seat "I'd like to remind you that the inscriptions for the clubs are still open. It is not obligatory, but it will help you get extra credits for your final grade" he said. He then started to recollect his belongings spread across the desk.
"Where can I get information about the clubs, Yeegar-sensei?" Keira inquired, helping him to organize his things. The teacher lifted his head to look at the newbie and gave her a wry smile.
"In the reception are the leaflets, Mss. I'm going there right now, want to come?" he gently offered, packing his things inside his suitcase. Keira nodded and followed the kind teacher that reminded her so much of her grandfather, even when she had only seen him in pictures.
"Guess you are the new student that arrived, besides Kanda-san" Kevin Yeegar commented while they made their way through the hallways. Keira saw lots of girls hastily running to the door of her classroom, but simply ignored them, assuming that the gossip of Kanda's appearance was rapidly spreading. The last time she saw him, the actor was uselessly trying to stand up from his seat in spite of the group of girls forcing him down again.
"Yes, I just arrived to Tokyo" Keira answered to the teacher's question. He nodded at her answer without inquiring any further. Just then, a pair of sophomores accidentally pushed him in their rush to reach classroom 3-A. "Sorry, Yaegar-sensei." They absentmindedly apologized.
"You seem to be the only sane girl here," the teacher heavily sighed while pushing the reception's door open to let them both go in. "Or without any infatuation for the actor."
"I proved him to be an arrogant prick this morning." Keira shrugged.
"Watch your mouth, student. I'll leave you now. I have some things to do. There are the announcements for the clubs." he pointed to a section of the white wall where some papers were hanging. Keira bowed at his dismissal and approached the crammed board.
The announcements of the clubs were accompanied by a list where some students had already signed, indicating that they wanted to join the club. There were also some indications of where the meetings were held and who the teacher in charge was.
Keira examined them and considered her options.
Music Club "I don't even know what a freaking do is." she thought and directed her eyes to the next announcement.
Chess Club "Not smart enough"
Cheerleaders "Over my dead body"
Soccer Team "Not more, please."
Plastic Arts "Maybe it could work…" She took the pen that hung from one of the corners of the board, but realized that the lines for the inscriptions were already filled to the top. She growled and released the pen, searching for another suitable club.
Literature Club "I don't read that much"
Kendo Club "hmm…why not?" Keira remembered from her childhood how much she liked to play with sticks with her father, imagining they were swords or katanas. She wasn't a person that used to do traditional, Japanese activities, but maybe a bit of that kind of exercise may help her keep her mind occupied. She extended her hand to reach for the pen, but another person took it before.
A pair of girls were discussing at her side, deciding which club to enter. Keira feigned interest in the papers in front of her and waited for the pen to be free again.
"Kendo? Are you sure? I think Kanda-sama is more likely to go to the Drama Club." one of them said.
"Drama Club," the other, a fake-blonde one, sneered, "Of course he would never accede to go with those losers. Besides, he already knows how to act; he doesn't need to go there"
"And what makes you think he'll go for the Kendo Club?"
"Because I read in one of the magazines that he is a kendo fan and used to attend that club in his last high school. Everybody knows that!" the blonde girl swiftly scribbled down her name in the Kendo Club's list. Keira looked at her long, false nails with curiosity, wondering why the hell a girl that was evidently not suitable for the Kendo Club would subscribe to it just because she supposed Kanda was going to do the same. Her friend did the same and seemed to notice Keira for the first time when she asked for the pen.
"Are you planning to go to the Kendo Club too?" the blonde one inquired when Keira pressed the pen against the paper.
"Amm…yes?" Keira responded, raising an eyebrow.
"You are too skinny, you evidently don't fit for that," the student said, examining Keira from head to toes.
"And you do fit." the girl snorted sarcastically, eyeing purposely to the girl's nails.
"Don't talk like that to Aiko!" the blonde girl's companion, a classic Japanese girl with hair dyed of light brown, exclaimed. Keira breathed in deeply, trying not the make a harsh retort.
"It's okay, Keiko." Aiko said, "Maybe I actually do not like kendo." she answered Keira's implication, "But if I enter there, I am sure Kanda-sama will totally fall for me, because, who can resist me?" Aiko tossed her hair emphatically behind her back, a smug smile spreading across her face.
Keira found immediately the correct tag for her interlocutor: School bitch
She decided it was pointless to keep an argument with such a pigheaded, snob person, so instead she grabbed the pen again and scanned the board for the club the school bitch had declared Kanda would definitely not attend.
"Drama Club? Do you want to drop your reputation that fast?" Keira heard her snort. She utterly ignored her and scribbled down her name in the half-empty form.
"What a loser." Aiko and Keiko heartily laughed and sauntered past Keira. The newbie just sighed exasperatedly. At least she wasn't going to have to deal with those bitches during the club's hours.
"Onozawa-san, there you are!" a female voice called her the moment Keira stepped outside the reception. She turned around to find the source of the voice and found Maia's happy form running to her.
"Hey, Hiragizawa-san." she greeted.
"Oi, Just call me Maia. Do you want to have lunch with us?" she happily proposed, dragging Keira with her.
"Well, why not?" Keira smiled and let herself be guided to the cafeteria by her companion.
They arrived to one long table where a group of four students –two girls and two boys- were already having their lunch. Maia made the introductions, pointing to each person the moment she said their names, and Keira had to make an effort to memorize all of them.
"So, which club are you attending?" one of the males, a black haired boy with hazel irises, asked, the one Maia had introduced as Raito Yamamoto.
"Drama Club" Keira responded.
"Really? Cool!" Another girl, named Kaede Funaki, exclaimed. "We are all there!"
"Really?" the newbie inquired, curious about the fact and remembering what the Aiko bitch had said about the club.
"Well, we all, except Hikari-chan, she is in the Chess Club, and Koji-kun, he is in the soccer team" Maia explained, pointing to the said persons. Hikari just smirked behind her spectacles while Koji gave a thumb up.
Well, at least she wasn't going to be alone in the Drama Club. She didn't give a damn about what Aiko and her friend said, so she just pushed the idea out of her mind. These were really nice persons, all of them amiable and friendly. Keira inwardly tried to convince herself that everything was going to be just fine.
"Kanda! Kanda Yuu!" A male called him. He exhaled exasperatedly and stopped in his way to the black Porsche 911 that was waiting for him.
"What?" he spat when the other man approached him. The only reason why he had actually stopped walking was because he had recognize the man's voice and owed him some favors, but when he glimpsed the crowd of girls running to him from behind Komui Lee's form, he seriously considered leaving.
"Hmm…do you want to get in the car?" Komui inquired, also noticing the upcoming wave of fangirls. Kanda didn't respond but reached his car and let Komui climb on the passenger's seat. The Chinese man waited until Kanda had left the school's parking lot to make his request.
"I have one proposal for you, Kanda," he started saying, clinging to the leather of the seat when the driver scooted between a pair of cars.
"What?" the actor spat, sending him a suspicious sideways glance.
"I am the teacher responsible of the Drama Club of Black Order High School. My background as Lenalee's brother helped me for a while to set the Drama Club as one of the bests of school, but recently its population has dropped, especially since the Cheerleader's coach was changed and the Soccer Team opened, so I'd like to…"
"If you want to ask me to join your club, I am already in the Kendo Club." Kanda dryly responded before Komui could finish his phrase.
"I know, I saw the lists." Komui said, "But this will give you more extra credits, because I don't want you to enter as a student, but as a teacher."
Kanda turned to look at the teacher with disbelief. "No." he blurted after two seconds of deep thought.
"It would be more beneficial for you, because that means you won't be forced to have good grades to graduate, because you'll have the pretext of being not only a student, but also a teacher." Komui explained, pushing the subject. He wasn't receiving a negative for all answer.
"No." unfortunately, Kanda was too pigheaded.
"Alright" Komui sighed with feigned rendition, "But you should know who are going to be your club mates" the man mischievously grinned.
Kanda heard the brush of paper being unfold and parked in front of a business complex to see what Komui handed to him. It was the list previously exposed in the reception. He could see his own name scribbled down there, but under it there were so many signatures girls' handwriting that the lines designated weren't enough, so it extended to the back part of the paper.
He scowled, already imagining what was going to be to train with all those petty human beings harassing his sweated figure. It even sent shivers down his spine. There was also another paper which he read. The title prayed: Drama Club; and half of it was empty.
Komui remained silent, letting the actor think about the issue. Kanda was in sort of a dilemma: he liked acting, if he didn't, he wouldn't be an actor, but he didn't want to practice it too in the school, because that would absolutely be repetitive. On the other hand, he also liked kendo, but all those fangirls would probably make him hate the sport after one week.
He sighed. Teaching couldn't be that bad, and if it gave him more extra credits, he would probably be able to graduate before time.
"Give the pen"
