1. Capturing the Moment
LucaxHotaru
Author's Note: Hello hello again! So this is kind of a sequel to Well, that Just Tipped the Awkward Scale. I guess. Or another part to it. I hope you understand. :) More drabble-shots! Enjoy!
It wasn't stalking.
And if you did call it that, she would more than likely hit you square in the head with the famous baka gun. It would serve you right to have a hoof print embedded on your forehead for a few days.
Stalking. Pssh. Never.
It wasn't obsession either, so don't even think about suggesting that. Nor hate. Or love. She was indifferent about it, as she was with most things.
Indifferent. Got it? Nothing more, nothing less. That was her final word on the subject.
Oh, but you could say love was involved, though. Just a bit. Her love for money.
Money was her goal, and Hotaru Imai never failed at reaching her goals. Usually. But the three times in her life when she didn't, she acted completely impassive. As she did with nearly every situation. She functioned that way. Simply the polar opposite of her best friend, who was always making an overdramatic scene over everything.
Yet somehow they were closer than macaroni and cheese. The world worked in weird ways.
It was brought up by Koko one day that she should work for the paparazzi in the future, out to catch the most shocking images. It was a playful joke on his part, of course, but it wasn't that bad of an idea. She could do it as a side job.
Her jaw-dropping photos would sell for millions to millions, and that would only be on the weekends when she wasn't running her mega corporation selling her inventions. Really, Hotaru had one of the most profitable alices in the academy.
She was already a pro at taking pictures of people at their most venerable moments while being as silent as a leaf blowing in the wind. Not that she had anything against them.
If there was cash involved, she was there.
That would explain why she was sitting in a tree in the middle of the northern forest.
She was pursuing her favorite photo victim.
Just pursuing, remember.
A single violet eye trailed the head of short blonde hair through the lens of her expensive, high quality camera. It was a task that involved patience, which was certain. Minutes and minutes of waiting for the perfect shot and having fast enough reflexes to actually get it.
The "prey" was a few feet away. She had learned that this clearing was obviously his favorite spot. There were plenty of animals hanging around there at all times, and every single one knew Luca. Sure, he loved the animal barn too, but anyone could walk in on him being… um… using his alice.
Positioning herself at the best angle possible without falling out of the tree or being seen, Hotaru waited eagerly as he approached the groups of animals.
Right away a couple of bunnies and deer had a race to see who could bound over to him the fastest. Raccoons, foxes, birds, squirrels, among many others all barraged him like a dozen snowballs. They sent their love to him and he returned it tenfold.
As soon as this started happening our inventor friend began clicking away. She couldn't wait to put them up for sale.
After a while passed by the boy said his goodbyes to his friends and headed out of the forest. He may have been a happy camper, but Hotaru was by far the more elated of the two. She had gotten quite the collection that time and knew it.
Once he was finally out of sight she gracefully hopped down from the tree branch and reviewed her work. They were all pretty average for a session with the animal alice. As usual he was showing the most vulnerable side he had while hugging and petting the forest creatures with a special twinkle in his blue eyes.
She stopped at one particular picture that stood out from the rest. She had missed the animal in his arms completely, but instead got a close up of Nogi. The twinkle was still present, but there was definitely something different. With this frontal shot it almost looked like he was posing for the camera. His smile was simple. Yet at the same time… it showed more happiness and content than she had ever seen from him.
It was like he was smiling at her.
And for some, completely odd reason, it made her heart race.
Looking around to see if someone would notice though she knew she was alone, she pocketed the picture.
Nope. It wasn't stalking at all.
She was simply… capturing the moment.