Picture Perfect
A/N: Shocked that I'm writing a 'oneshot'? Me too... I just want to try it... but I'm afraid not on mistletoes. To be honest (don't proceed if you'll gonna think I'm an idiot...) I was staggered when I learned the tradition about it. Seriously, is it true or is it just a made-up tradition here...? I know... lame question. Stab me if it pleases you. and yeah, if there's any OOCness, forgive me. Stab me more.
Disclaimer: I am not Taito Kubo-sensei. I am just a wannabe daughter of him. And anybody has the right to dream, right?
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Kuchiki Rukia and her co-worker, Inuoe Orihime were sitting side-by-side on an unnamed Internet café, browsing the stored information provided by the net.
Rukia stared tediously at the PC. She wasn't interested in stuffs like these for she has no idea how to work those out. The only 'modern' thing she was maneuvering skillfully was her camera... a plain camera.
It was Inuoe who was manipulating the controls while Rukia was simply watching her typing and clicking the links away.
3... 2... 1...
Inuoe clicked another link, much to Rukia's amusement.
Just how many clicks will it take just to see 'that'? she thought almost glumly.
After the PC was finished loading—which wasn't long by the way—a page appeared, revealing a blue background with a profile of a guy named...
"Uryuu Ishida..." Rukia had read with a tinge of amusement, making Inuoe had a feint blush on her cheeks. Rukia paid no attention to this, she was more focused on what the information did the modern piece of technology brought to her.
On the upper left corner of the page was a picture of a specky guy—probably the named Ishida Uryuu.
He was wearing a powdered blue polo with a bear-decorated necktie.
Rukia swallowed a scoff for Inuoe's sake.
After charily scrutinizing the guy, Rukia glanced at Inuoe who was wearing a nervous face.
"Wha-What do you think?" the question escaped her lips with difficulty. She knew Rukia wouldn't lie, being a blunt person she was. Whatever she would say, she would mean it.
Rukia tentatively cupped her chin, eyes back to the screen. "He looks like a funny fine guy. He fits you quite likely."
Inuoe sighed a relief, placing her flimsy hands over her chest. "You think so?"
Rukia smirked reassuringly. "Yes. Not my type but definitely yours."
"Wha-Whaaaiii!!!" Inuoe clapped her hands in pure delight then she started to talk about how they met—after paying for the bill of course.
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Ishida and Inuoe met because of a stupid and silly and kind of a clichéd incident. It was quite a long story that started with a picture of Inuoe and her 'onii-chan'—which was taken by Rukia—which was why Inuoe was awfully thankful to her that she gave all her kudos to her.
The love story of Inuoe started in a snowing morning. She was crying silently at her loss of her brother, staring intently their picture.
It was their last and recent picture taken together and she couldn't help but to wonder why it had to end so fast.
In the picture shown unshed happiness. Both of them looked so lovely and vivacious.
Inuoe smiled weakly at the memory. Then as if told by her senses, she picked up a pen and wrote something at the back of the glossy picture, planning to burn it with the ashes of her brother.
Wherever you are, I hope you're fine... I don't know what to say really. I'm not good at this... but you know? I miss you and I love you. I still cannot move on but I try. Please be happy and I'll be happy.
She wrote.
And being a clumsy her, she had dropped it on the bench where she was sitting for she was in a hurry to catch the bus.
The next day, when Inuoe was retrieving for picture—and succeeded—she saw some writings other than hers on the back of it.
It was nothing much, but some words of encouragement to move on and that it would be all right—nevertheless she was touched by it so she took out her pen and wrote—rather vandalized the bench with her words of thanks.
The freaking mushy scene continued until Inuoe caught Ishida replying at her message—poof!—story finished and Rukia was fighting the urge not to scoff at Inuoe's love story.
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Rukia was a photographer, capturing people's faces, places and events. Though a lot of people were saying that she was extremely talented, leading her to capture almost all of her desired scenery, she has never taken a picture of herself. And she hated the idea.
"What happened to the picture?" Rukia asked curiously.
"It's still up until now," Inuoe replied with a giggle.
"You didn't burn it with your brother's ashes?"
Inuoe shook her head, "Uryuu-kun said that onii-chan was the one who helped us meet so I wouldn't be alone anymore," she smiled at the memory, "He's such a good guy..."
"...and Uryuu-kun's very romantic. Did you know that he was the one who gave me Asaya-chan?" Inuoe continued, blush deepening every sentence finished.
"Asaya-chan's very cute! Too adorable! She's our baby!"
Rukia had to hush Inuoe for this, she might get people jump into a conclusion.
"Yeah, too cute for a teddy bear," Rukia said as loudly as possible, hitting Inuoe with her elbow lightly.
And Inuoe forced a giggle out.
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A couple of days later, Rukia attended a convention for photojournalists.
They were to stay in the woods for a week and take as many pictures as they could for a week's time.
This would be the real start of the story...
Rukia, being a gung ho type she was, wanted to get the would-be-given-award added to her collection. She wanted to gain it by making her 'masterpiece' done... and not with mediocre-type sceneries.
It sure was hard to find the 'perfect one', she had no doubt about that, she might not even find it but she hoped that somewhere deep in the woods, she would somehow see a glimpse of it and capture it.
And so she walked around the woods, wanting her inspirations for her 'Picture Perfect' to ground out. She took a chalk with her to leave a mark on every tree. She was enjoying herself, noticing things that no one ever did before and took pictures of them. Her hunger for her 'Picture Perfect' continued to surface whenever she found more interesting panoramas.
Her thoughts and ambitions started to blind her, making her utterly forget to leave chalk marks—and before she knew it, she was lost in the middle of dark woods... her only light was the moon shining down at her.
She wasn't afraid, at first. She was prepared for this so she shoved a flashlight out of her rucksack and quickly searched for chalk marks along the tree barks... but she found none. Here, she officially concluded that she was lost. Alone. Cold. What was worse was the battery of her flashlight was already blinking, an indication that it was running out of power.
She mentally cursed the damned pirated batteries named 'Everygizer'.
I'll never buy pirated batteries again. They're cheep but they last only for ten good minutes!
The sound of the crickets started to invade Rukia's ears. She shuddered in slight fear for the scene she was into was quite similar with a suspense movie.
Relax, this isn't a virgin forest. There are no carnivorous here, she thought, convincing herself.
She was standing on the same spot for a couple of seconds until she decided to walk, thinking that there wouldn't be any progress to her hellish situation if she would do nothing. Then, as if Kami had head her cry for help, she saw a light (quite literally) of hope and immediately followed it, running, not wanting to get her chance to be 'saved' be engulf by darkness.
There's light! There's someone in here! Near where I am!
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"Oi," she said when she caught up on the man infront of her. She subsequently looked at the person behind the voice. She was half-expecting to see an old geezer with whitening mustache and a riffle pointed at her, instead (she was thankful for the word) she saw an apparently young guy with orange head and riffle-like eyes, staring pointedly at her.
She was lost for words at his glare but she wouldn't lose so she shot back her best.
"What do you want and what are you doing here?" the guy asked, brows knitted in a way the made Rukia felt that she wasn't wanted.
She shrugged, "As you can see I'm lost," she said crudely. She wasn't planning to talk like that but the way he talked at her spoiled it.
"So?"
A vein cracked out, clenching her fists furiously at her side, fighting the urge to 'murder' her 'knight-in-shining' armor.
"Well I hope that you can help me," she said politely this time, wanting to get the desired answer.
The guy tsk-ed, scratching the back of his head and raised his head momentarily, a gesture that made Rukia relax. He was going to help.
Silence.
Annoyed at the sound made by the crickets, the orange-haired guy stoke a conversation.
"Why are you lost?"
A short pause. "I was taking pictures. I'm a photographer."
"Ah..." he said in understanding, "So you're one of the photojourns who were here for a... convention?"
Rukia's eyes flickered with hope. "Yes! Do you know where's our cabin?" she asked excitedly, squeezing the arm of the guy.
He shook his head. "No. I just heard it from a random person."
"Oh..." she set her eyes down, "Do you live here?" she asked, quite amused for he was walking straight without thinking, as if he knew the rounds of the forest they were in.
"No. I am camping... well sort of."
"Then how come you know your way around here?"
He stopped at his tracks to give her a look, "I'm," he hesitated, "I'm lost too."
She glared impossibly at him, Oh great! I'm stuck and lost with another lost person!
"Y-You mean y-you're...?"
"Don't make me repeat it!" he said, a feint brush creeping across his tanned face.
"What! You let me come with you and you don't know either where to go!"
He was offended by her retort, "Well, in the first place, you WERE the one who wanted to follow me! I did not force you!"
"I wanted help! Not another person who's lost like me!"
"And what the hell are you thinking? That I like being stuck here with you? For your information, shorty, I'm better off without you but I was sorry for your pitiful ass."
"Shorty?" she echoed, eyes flickering dangerously, "Why you damn, jinxed, insolent, obstructive, useless, pathetic bastard!"
"How dare you to call me bastard, you bitch! Don't you have at least a word of thanks! If I knew this would happen, I would have left you!"
"Then you should have!"
—And like the usual scene set up most especially for them, they glared angrily at each other until they were satisfied.
"Where are we going?" Rukia asked, uncomfortable with the silence.
"Anywhere,"
"Aren't we going to set a bonfire?"
"Just wait, will ya? I'm searching for the right spot."
"I'm hungry."
He shot a glare at her, raising his index finger, "One complain at a time."
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Rukia smiled contently at the beacon infront of 'them' and the 'juicy' roasted chicken that they found fortuitously while walking (well, the chicken was alive then).
The guy divided the meat into two parts, and being a gentleman he was, much to Rukia's surprise, he gave her the larger portion.
"We'll find where your cabin is at daybreak," he said casually then proceeded to blow his piece of meat to cool it down.
Silence.
"Thank you," she half-whispered, rolling her eyes away from him.
"You can say thanks? How interesting," he mocked, earning him a kick on his gut.
Silence again—except from the guy's cry of pain.
"I am sleepy but I can't sleep," she remarked to herself.
He folded his arms, pissed at what she had done to him, "Then do something that might interest you."
"I don't have films left..."
He shot her a glare, "You mean you use cameras that needs films?" he said dubiously, brow arched quirkily.
She rolled her eyes in defense, "What else would I use?"
"Digital Cameras?" he offered.
She puffed an air of embarrassment, "I don't use such things, they're cumbersome."
"Cumbersome?" he echoed in disbelief, "They're even simpler than ordinary cameras."
"If they're simpler then I shouldn't be having troub—" she cut herself off, he had laid his trap and she was caught.
"You don't know how to use it?" he ridiculed, suppressing an annoying snicker.
"Shut up, I don't care about that piece of shit," she defended herself rather proudly.
"There's no need to hide it," he teased, reaching for his rucksack, "I'll show you how."
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"You click this," he gestured at the button on the topmost part of the camera, "to capture."
"It works almost like a standard camera," he continued, focusing the lens to her as if to illustrate how and clicked the 'fire' button.
She snatched it.
"You just took a picture of me!"
He raised his hands defensively, "I was just showing you how. It's not like I wanted to have yours!" he snatched it back, not wanting the piece of technology being destroyed by her.
"Erase that!" she protested, trying to reach the camera but he was holding it away from her.
"Because you said it, I won't. I'll keep this picture, a remembrance that you were being defeated by me."
"Defeated? I am not defeated! Give it back!"
He smirked, "Pleasant dreams!" he mock-replied.
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The next day, the two of them looked for Rukia's cabin. They were silently walking, side-by-side, not wanting to ruin the wonderful day. And after a few hours of walking, they saw along a clearing that most likely, was Rukia's place.
She began sighing a relief, and even though her legs were already exhausted, she ran to it and confirmed that it was her cabin-sweet-cabin. She let out a un-Rukia squeal of delight, spinning her heels back to the guy... only to find out that he was already gone...
She blinked in question, feeling a pang of regret.
I haven't thanked him yet...
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A month after the incident, Rukia had already won the award she wanted. She titled her work 'Picture Perfect'... earning her a great round of applause and a lot of praises... but she wasn't happy like she had expected... she wasn't satisfied... like some touch of magic was missing. She knew it was clichéd but she wouldn't give a damn... she felt that her winning entry wasn't the 'Picture Perfect', causing her depression. The guy she met was the second reason of her depression, wondering and curious what happened to him after he disappeared.
She momentarily checked her appearance in the mirror, just to make sure if she looked decent. After confirming it, she skirted out of the public restroom, gradually becoming aware of the droll stares people were giving her.
She stopped at her tracks, perplexed at the attention she was gathering. She knew she was famous in the world of photography but not all the people were interested in those sorts of things.
She checked herself again, half-positive that there was something wrong with her.
What could she have missed when she stared at the mirror?
She spun her heels, planning to get back to the restroom to see what was wrong... then in hit her... it was infront of her!
She felt like she was in comatose.
Before her was her own picture! No wonder people kept giving her such stares! Just imagine, you were beside your picture!
What the hell's the meaning of this? She began searching if there was award money for her capture but she found none, nothing that could help her why except that—
Goddammit... it was my picture when I was lost... wasn't it?
"I've found you," said a voice behind her, sending chills down to her spine.
"Y-You!" she nervously pointed an accusing finger on him, "What's the meaning of this!" she demanded.
He looked away, blush spreading across his face.
"I—uhh—" he scratched his cheek meekly, "I forgot to ask your name,"
She squinted her eyes, "You what?"
He ignored her, extending a hand to her, "Kurosaki Ichigo,"
She stared at it then decided to take it, shaking it lightly, "Kuchiki Rukia," she managed a smirked, "and I appreciate if you'll remove the picture."
He was about to deny but he decided that lying could bring him more trouble, "Curiosity," he said pointedly.
Silence.
"You have some place to go?"
"Are you leading the way?"
He sneered, "You first,"
—They started to walk out of the building, walking side-by-side just like what they did last time. There wasn't between them, but everyone knew that it would be a start of a good friendship, or maybe, if permitted by fate, something more than the platonic type.
Rukia smiled to herself, telling herself that she might have found her 'Picture Perfect'.
-t.h.e. e.n.d.-
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A/N: XD I know! It's corny! Go on! Kill me! But do drop a review first, please! Thankies! There wasn't 'much' humor, I know, but I couldn't bring myself to categorize my story solely as a romantic fic... there wasn't even much fluff. Great kill me again. I'm double dead.