Photogenically Speaking
Stuff to Know: Completely fluff. I'm just making this pairing for the heck of it since I'm so incredibly bored. I'm trying to get more detailed in my style of writing, and also get just a tad more serious; without all the corny jokes.
And for all you dubbies reading:
Kasumi: Misty
Tooru: Todd/Snap
Togechiiku: Togetic (you're all smart enough to know that!)
**
The wind blew Kasumi's hair wildly to the side, and loose strands from under her hooded scarf were whipped across her face. She spat out a lock that had managed it into her mouth and brushed it behind her ear. Slowly, she lowered her umbrella closer to herself.
The drops of rain trickled down the curved sides and were swept away into the wind. She took a cautious step forward and one blast of wind hit her, almost knocking her off her feet. She continued to walk towards the little house and the tapping of her shoes were overwhelmed by the cracking of the rain.
"Hello? Is anybody there?" she called out, knocking on the wooden door.
Her pale tan skirt was flown out as far as it could before repeatedly hitting against her right leg. She pulled her matching jacket closer to her, hiding the pale pink of her shirt and she knocked again.
"Is anybody home?!" she called out, a little louder that before. She hoped her voice could get through the storm.
She waited a moment, and the door opened, creaking at its hinges. She smiled greatly, hoping the person answering would be kind enough to let her stay for the night.
She couldn't remember clearly how she got here. Her subway to Yamabuki City didn't go quite where she had wanted to, making her original trip to Tamamushi in a mess. A storm broke out only a little later when she got off the subway, and she had to keep Togechiiku in an extra monster ball. It would get worse soon; she was sure of it, and she wouldn't be able to last long unless whoever the owner of this cozy pad would let her inside.
She clutched the handle of her umbrella tighter, her smile still humble and wide, but as she saw just who was opening that old wooden door, her expression changed to shock.
A man at her exact height with curly auburn hair stood in front of her. There were chunky brown boots with grass stains tucked away by the doorway and she could see rows of pictures hung along the walls behind him.
"Tooru? Tooru-kun, is that you?" she asked, placing her hand over her mouth in surprise.
His face lightened up at the red-headed woman before him. She looked strangely familiar... he must know her if she knows his name.
"Yes? Who are you?" he asked.
"Kasumi!" she replied, grabbing one of his shoulders with her dampened hand. "Tooru-kun, do you remember me? We met as children a long time ago... with Satoshi!"
He smiled and took her hand, letting her inside. "I remember!" he said. "Kasumi-chan! It's been such a long time since I've last seen you!" He took her jacket and hung it along the coat rack. "What were you doing outside in that rain?"
She nodded, smiling unsure as she took off her shoes and hooded scarf.
"I, umm... I was taking a trip to Tamamushi City, but a bad chain of events got in the way. I'm sorry to intrude like this without letting you know in advance."
He shook his head, leading her into the living room. "I don't mind at all. Actually, I'm quite glad you stopped by. It can get a little lonely sometimes." He walked back to his kitchen. "How has it been lately?" he asked from down the hall. "Well, besides the past hours, of course. Are Satoshi and Takeshi doing alright?"
She nodded. "We're still in touch. I don't think we ever could loose each other after what we've been through."
"Kind of sounds like I only got little tastes of your journey," he said and started too pour hot tea into a couple cups.
Kasumi looked at the lines of photos hung up on the wall before her. Some of them were black and white, but most were color. Though they all looked splendid. "Maybe, but it looks like you had a little adventure of your own. These photographs look so wonderful. More than before."
A mechanical click and a flash startled her and she shot her head to her left, where Tooru stood holding his camera. He let it drop to his chest, held by the strap around his neck. He picked up the tray of teacups and set it on the coffee table in front of Kasumi.
"Sorry," he said and sat down across from her, "but that expression on your face."
"Nn?" she mumbled and he smirked.
"You had this look of mystery and curiosity. It was like the look that friendly monsters give me after I take their picture." He laughed a little. "Actually, you still have it."
She looked down at her lap, smiling a little and she shakily exhaled.
"Don't be embarrassed, Kasu-chan," he said and slid the tray of tea closer to her. "It was a beautiful look. If you want, I can develop the film overnight so you can see it."
She could feel herself blush lightly. She lifted one of the cups of tea and brought it to her mouth slowly. The chill of the air was still hanging around her. She could feel the mildly flavored tea rush down into her stomach, warming her slowly.
"Alright. Maybe... just for the heck of it. I don't think it'll be a very flattering picture, though," she said and set down the cup. She raised her eyes up to Tooru.
He nodded slightly and slipped the camera off his neck and placed it on the table. "That was the last of my film," he said. "I needed to find something to take a picture of anyway. But I'm sure that just because you're not an animal, it won't make it any less of a picture. Or at least what I'll consider a picture. You looked very natural and not posed, so it could still turn out okay under my standards."
**
Kasumi slowly opened her eyes. The morning light was dim and there was still a slight drizzle that she could hear from outside. She yawned loudly and noticed a small note stuck to the lamp next to her.
"'Gone out to take some photographs. Breakfast is in the kitchen,'" she read out loud.
She sat up and rubbed her eyes. She couldn't remember any of her dreams, but there was still some faint mixed feelings left in her head that hadn't completely vanished yet. It would go away a little later; maybe after she ate.
She stood up and grabbed her tan skirt that was laid over the back of a chair. She slipped it on, hating that she was wearing the same thing from yesterday. There was still a small scent of rain on it, and the fabric became cold over night, so it sent goosebumps up her legs.
She trudged her way downstairs and found her way into the kitchen. The pattering of the rain was a little louder now and she noticed that her umbrella was gone. Tooru must have taken it.
There was a bowl of cereal with a spoon sitting on the table. Kasumi opened the refrigerator and took the carton of milk.
"Toge!" she heard and lifted her head up in surprise, only to knock herself on the roof of the refrigerator.
She retracted her head and looked down at her Togechiiku, that stood patiently by her feet.
"Togechiiku? How did you get out of the monster ball?" she wondered, but shook her head. "Doesn't matter. You're hungry, aren't you?"
She reached for the milk once again and walked back to the table. The togechiiku flapped its wings and fluttered beside her, following her footsteps back and forth. It chirped wildly and tugged at the hem of her skirt.
"Be patient," she said and poured the milk into the bowl.
Kasumi turned back to the refrigerator, trying her best to keep Togechiiku's constant squawking under control.
"Togechiiku..." she cooed and it fled in front of her, looking up impatiently. Startled, Kasumi tripped over her battling partner, landing on her side with a thud and the carton of milk dropped to the floor, spilling the creamy liquid over the smooth floor tiles.
She groaned with pain and shook her head as a piece of paper slowly floated to the ground in front of her.
"Oh," she exclaimed, grabbing the thick paper. She picked herself up to her knees and turned it over. She could feel the smoothness on one side and recognized it as a photograph.
It was the one Tooru had taken last night. She studied it for a moment. She had her head rested on her fist, and curls of wet, knotted hair were caught in between her fingers and small drops of water were dripping down on the couch where she was sitting. Perhaps you do need to really see a picture to notice everything about you. But... did she really have a look of curiosity and mystery? It didn't seem to stand out much if she did; but then again, maybe those kind of things are always blind to the subject of the photograph.
"You have that look again," she heard.
Kasumi abruptly stood up and faced Tooru, setting the picture down on the table. She didn't hear him come in. Perhaps she was too bothered by Togechiiku, or too focused on the picture. Togechiiku stopped squawking and looked up at Tooru in confusion with only a slight 'humm.'
"Really?" she asked and looked down at the picture.
He nodded. "You know, you're really very photogenic," he said, joining her.
"Really?" she repeated.
"Yes, you're facial structure," he said, tracing his finger on the picture, along her cheekbone. "is standing out perfectly. It's not as flattened as most others are."
"I guess I never really considered that in a photograph," she said.
Tooru smiled. "Most don't." He looked down at Togechiiku, who was silently licking the milk off the floor. "What happened?"
"Oh!" exclaimed Kasumi, holding hand over her mouth. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to do that. I-"
"No, it's okay," he said, tearing off a piece from a roll of paper towels that was hung up over the sink. "I can clean it up."
"No, I will- I insist," said Kasumi.
Both crouched down, bumping their foreheads into each other and they started to laugh. Togechiiku stopped for a moment and looked up at the two. It squawked loudly and flapped its wings twice, furiously like a disturbed bird. Kasumi and Tooru looked down at it, and let their laugh fade to a smile. Tooru backed his head away a little and looked at her, tilting his smile to the side.
"You know, for some reason, things always seem to be much more exciting with you around, Kasumi-chan."
**
Kasumi sighed and sank deeper into the water. She rested her head against the side next to the soap and stared up at the ceiling. She could still hear the rain pouring down from outside, tapping against the roof of the house.
She blinked slowly and sat up straight. Her clothes must have been done washing by now. She stepped out of the bathtub, and walked to the towel rack, leaving wet footprints on the cold floor. She wrapped one towel around her body and another in her hair silently and sucked in her breath a little as she looked at her reflection in the mirror.
She opened the door and looked back and forth down the hall, making sure Tooru wasn't anyplace where he'd see her. Hearing and seeing nothing but the furniture, she quietly made her way into the guestroom where she found her clean clothes in a folded pile on the bed.
As she dressed, she could see the flashes of lighting beat down through the window, and the drumming thunder that accompanied it. Of course she could just take her umbrella and walk out the next day- she could have done that the moment she woke up and take a ride on a bus. But she didn't.
Kasumi paused suddenly, her blouse half over her head.
What if she loved him?
She pulled the rest of her blouse over her arms and sat down on the bed. Another crack of lightning and thunder beamed through the sky and a cloudburst started. The tapping of the raindrops turned into a massive cackle and rap on the rooftop and it sounded like it were hailing outside.
She shook off her thoughts. Just because he was nice enough to take care of her for a couple days... just because she was making herself at home... it didn't really mean anything. They were friends. And it's not like he was watching her.
And a flash struck out through her room; but it wasn't from the lightning. And a different sound came along with it. Something... mechanical. She shot her head to her right, seeing Tooru with his camera in his hands. He let it drop to his chest again.
"How long were you there?" she asked with a tremble in her voice.
He raised his eyebrows a little. "Just came in when I heard the cloud burst."
She let out a sigh and ran her fingers through her hair until they came across a damp knot. She stood up straight and felt her togechiiku rub against her ankle affectionately.
"It got a little shaken up by the noise," he said, looking down at the winged creature. "But I got a couple shots of it. Your togechiiku didn't mind the camera at all."
"Really," she said and picked it up.
"Toge!" it chirped and closed its eyes with comfort.
"I could show them to you if you want," he said and sat down on the bed next to her. He held out his camera in front of her, showing the small screen on the side.
He went through each slide, saying some kind of explanation about every one of them. Kasumi smiled and she looked up at him, ignoring the images.
"...And this one is actually a little too bright for my liking," he said, but didn't continue when he felt a warm breath against his neck.
He turned his head to her, meeting her eyes. They sat still for a moment, lightly blushing. Tooru placed one arm around her shoulder and brought himself closer to her.
"And," he started, switching to the last image, "this is the one of you I just took. You know, you had that look again. It's so strange. Did I mention you're very photogenic?"
A flash of lighting struck, and the thunder echoed through the room. Kasumi chuckled a little.
"I think it's just in your head."
"No, no, no... You really are wonderful with the camera..."
**
The End
**
Okay, this was probably really boring, and the lack of plot didn't really help either. And the title doesn't relate well enough to the story... But look on the bright side! Umm... umm..... okay, never mind...