Kaleidoscope Heart
Written by Sakurako
Shimizu
Chapter 1 – Going Nowhere
Ka-POW!
Sunao Fujimori's pale white fist slammed against the side of his roommate's face, sending him flying across the room. A subsequent thud! echoed throughout the living quarters as his dark-haired roomie crashed into a set of drawers.
"Ha ha!" Sunao laughed. "Whatta' wimp!"
"You…" Sora Hashiba growled, rubbing his swollen jaw. "What the fuck was that all about?!" he shot up, balling his fists.
"Hmph!" Sunao turned up his nose. "Take it like a man."
"Seriously, what the hell is your problem?!" Sora shouted, his cheek beginning to show the signs of a large purple bruise.
"You're my problem! Do you always need to pee in the shower?!"
Sora grew silent, "…You could tell?"
"Of course I could tell, you pig!" Sunao shouted. "Just piss in the frickin' bowl! Moreover, stop peein' on the toilet seat!" he started for the door. "You big, stupid, STUPID man!"
"Tch!" Sora muttered. "Stop bein' such a priss."
A vein burst in Sunao's forehead. He spun around, a hard punch connecting in the same place on Sora's face as it had minutes earlier. The taller of the two howled in pain, clutching his now bleeding bruise.
"Tee-hee!" Sunao giggled. "Pussy!"
"Wh-wh-what the hell was that for?!" Sora yelled.
Sunao's brow furrowed. "I just don't like your face!" he screamed, whirling around and storming out the door.
Sora rubbed the large mound that had formed on his face. "Bitch…"
– – – – –
Sunao stomped down the hallway for about ten feet before sighing, the scowl on his face dissipating into a blank stare. He wasn't normally such a violent person — at least, not physically; he did have a habit of becoming easily annoyed. But something about Sora just irritated him to no end. I know what it is. Sunao turned the corner, walking down the stairs towards the cafeteria. It's because he forgot about me… About us… Sunao felt a tear roll down his cheek, and all of a sudden he was sobbing uncontrollably. He ran into a nearby restroom, gently closing the door behind him.
– – – – –
"I'm sorry, Sora," Nurse Nanami smiled sweetly. "This may hurt just a little bit."
Sora winced as the school nurse gently dabbed the throbbing mass on his face. "Sh-shit…!"
"It hurts that much?" Nurse Nanami's ever-present beam was sad against the morning sunlight. "Sunao sure has a strong punch, doesn't he?"
"Tch!" Sora gritted his teeth. "You're tellin' me…"
"Sora…" the older man began quietly. "You're a very kind person, you know that?"
Sora turned towards the nurse, whose hair was tied back in a ponytail. "Why do you say that?"
"Well," Nurse Nanami stood on his toes, rummaging through a medicinal cabinet. "It's just that Sunao is always so…well, let's face it, violent with you, and yet you're always so gentle in response," the school physician found what he was looking for before silently closing the cabinet. "I just think it's sweet."
Sora grew silent for a moment, "…I never thought of hitting him back."
"O-oh!" Nurse Nanami gasped, then laughed nervously. "Well, don't go starting, okay?" he turned away sheepishly, hoping he hadn't given the student a new idea. "Besides," the nurse smiled. "I don't think you ever would. You're such a nice guy, and so much bigger than Sunao — it really wouldn't be fair, don't you think?"
Sora was sullenly quiet as Nurse Nanami sat down next to him. He flinched as the school's physician applied a large bandage against his swollen jaw.
"It's stinging," Nurse Nanami stated flatly. "I'm sorry. Gotta' hate that antiseptic, huh?"
– – – – –
Sora was casually hunched over an indoor railing near the cafeteria, gazing out of a sparklingly clean window. A beautiful viridian campus surrounded him, but he only thought of Sunao as he stared at a green and white bench absentmindedly. A group of chattering students rounded the corner, their loudness making Sora's brow arch irritably.
"Hey, look," one of the boys suddenly said, pointing in Sora's direction. "Sora's face is all bashed in."
"Hey, Sora!" another one shouted. "Did'ja get in another fight with Sunao?"
"Ha ha!" a different boy laughed. "Hey Sora, is Nao on his period or what?"
"Loud-ass bastards…" Sora muttered as the group passed by. He grumbled as he heard the cafeteria door close.
Silence, once again, swept over the empty hallway. After about twenty minutes Sora heard a soft pitter-patter of footsteps. He turned his head to see the form of Sunao Fujimori, who was quietly gazing down at the floor. His porcelain skin was a light, rosy color; his long, fair hair glittered in the sunlight. As the boy grew closer, Sora noticed that his eyes were bright red.
"Sunao."
Sunao jumped, startled. He looked up. "S-Sora…"
Sunao stared at Sora wistfully, who didn't know what to say. The smaller boy clasped his hand against his chest, opening his mouth to speak.
Sora looked down at Sunao, feeling tenderness despite the events that had transpired that morning. The fairer-skinned boy, who gazed at him with eyes bright red — bright red from crying — looked so beautiful standing in the gentle glow of the rising sun. Sora then noticed just how much smaller Sunao really was. His entire body, from his shoulders to his feet, was so delicate, so petite, so Sunao. Sora felt his cheeks redden considerably.
Sunao gazed up at the taller boy, feeling his heart throb in pain. Sora looked so handsome, yet so scary, as the rays of sun behind him cast shadows upon his face. His dark skin and strong facial features, coupled with his muscled arms and large, manly hands — all of these things made Sunao's insides grow weak. He's so handsome… Sunao stared up at Sora, his face growing redder and redder, before he finally closed his mouth. What was he going to say? Sunao turned away quickly as he felt tears well up in his eyes. Sora…!
The fairer-skinned boy continued down the walkway. He paused at the cafeteria doorway, whispered something, and entered the adjacent room. In the empty hallway, a very gentle "Hi…" fell upon Sora's ears. His brow knit slightly as his face turned a deep scarlet. After a few minutes he sighed and finally entered the cafeteria. Across the room, he could see Sunao sitting down at a table, idly playing with his long ponytail. If he squinted hard, Sora could make out an empty expression on the other boy's face.
After Talk: Hi everyone! This is Sakurako Shimizu. The end of each chapter of Kaleidoscope Heart — as well as all future stories — will have a special "After Talk" section featuring commentary by me, the authoress, as a special lil' gift for you readers. I hope I can interest you with what I have to say! Anyway, on to the actual commentary! Writing this chapter irritated me quite a bit. I had such a feeling of dread as I was writing the beginning; I hate violence and don't like writing violent scenes (lucky me — the next chapter has a lot of violence in it, too). This chapter was also tiring to write because both of the characters are so closed off about their emotions. Men really irritate me — they're so stupid! As my father always says, "You must talk about something that has hurt you so that you can cleanse the wound. If you don't, the wound will fester." But they just keep silent. Oh, well. Sunao is more to blame, I suppose, 'cause he's the girl. On an unrelated note, I like naming chapters with odd or otherwise unusual titles. I always entitle the chapters after I have written them; after writing all of Sora and Sunao's dumb male squabbling, the name "Going Nowhere" just seemed to fit. I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter!
XOXO,
Sakura
