Variance
Chapter Seven
-Unease-
"Alright everyone!" the grey haired director called the group together, using his megaphone since they were all chatting and off in other parts of the warehouse. The shooting had been going extremely well and they were already seven months into filming. It was amazing how much better the dynamics were between his two stars. Kakashi even noticed that Akito wasn't twisting his little starlet's knobs just to piss her off. And Natsumi was even becoming somewhat nice.
"Today we're going to shoot one of the few romantic scenes between Andy and Hunter. Natsumi, darling, come here, and Kyo." He gestured for the two. Once they were before him, he lowered the voice projector and smiled at the two of them. "Now in this scene, it's one of the first in the movie. So mindset. You two are doting and still have feelings for one another. Keep it light and smiling, like everything is alright. And remember the kiss you practiced, it was perfect last time so let's get it on camera."
Natsumi nodded and opened her script, reading over the lines once more just to make sure she had them down. Kyo looked at his script as well. He was kind of nervous about this scene, not because he liked Natsumi, but because he was afraid of Akito. The ebony haired man had been a bit moody since this morning, and he had a feeling that it had to do with his upcoming scene. He glanced over at Akito and then quickly looked away, because currently the Uchiha was sitting in his custom made chair, arms crossed, and glaring threateningly at him.
Then Kakashi announced that it was time to begin filming the scene, and so he put down his script and walked onto the set, getting into position.
Natsumi followed after him, not looking bothered at all. "Don't worry Kyo. It'll be perfect just like we practiced. And don't worry, I promise not to ravish you with my lips." She snickered, trying to help him loosen up a bit.
He smiled at her. "Oh it's not you I'm worried about. Trust me." He said.
"You want a Capri Sun?" she asked.
"Yes." He replied, sounding, and looking, like a child.
"Alright. Hold on." She told him, running off to the cooler. She pulled out a strawberry kiwi one and then started back over, stopping by Akito when she saw his upset. "What's up with you?" she questioned, moving in front of him, since he seemed to have his gaze focused ahead.
He looked at her. "Nothing." He pouted, settling back into his chair a bit.
She leaned forward, giving him a beautiful smile. "You sure?" she said in a teasing tone.
"No." he sighed, the corner of his mouth tilting up a bit reluctantly.
"Want a Capri Sun?" she asked, holding up the one in her possession and offering it to him. "They always make me feel better."
He gave the small drink a considering look, debating with himself. Then he nodded. "Alright." A real smile broke out onto his face as he took the drink from her. "Thanks."
She couldn't help but mirror the expression. "You have such a pretty smile." She said without thinking, and held his cheek with her hand. "Mmk, I gotta go get Kyo one now. He's all nervous for some reason." She laughed, walking back to the cooler and grabbing another one before running it over to Kyo.
Akito's smile vanished and instantly went back to glaring daggers at the blonde as he unwrapped his straw and jabbed it inside the Capri Sun. Kyo, having seen this, gulped, doing the same with his own drink, only his hands were shaking. Wanting to lessen the amount of fear he was feeling, he faced away from Akito and quickly gulped down the beverage, tossing it in the trash just as Kakashi announced for them to get ready, because they were about to begin filming.
The scene began and as usual Natsumi was flawless, looking absolutely perfect in her element. Even Kyo seemed to relax when the lights flashed on, and he could no longer glimpse at his seething friend. Haru came and sat next to Akito, his eyes on what was happening on the screen. "Man Natsumi's really good." He commented. "And Kyo's not half bad either, I think he's pretty perfect for the role, don't ya think Akito?" the brunette asked, glancing at his friend.
He blinked, his brow furrowing in confusion. "Dude are you okay?" he asked, but got nothing in reply, since Akito was glaring hatefully at the stage and mumbling something incoherent, but by the tone Haru could tell it was only a string of curses. "Um…Akito…?" Haru called once more, a bit shakily, pulling out the straw of his drink and poking his friend from a safe distance. He recognized that look and it only meant one thing. Death.
"What." the ebony haired man said lowly, transferring his glare from Kyo to the brunette.
He shied away, attempting to scoot his chair off. "You okay man?" he swallowed. "You got this dark aura that's pretty menacing."
"Why would anything be wrong? Does something have to be wrong for me to wish death upon Kyo?" Akito asked, somewhat scary sounding as a psychotic glint entered his forest green depths.
"Um…yes. Usually there is something wrong. What did he do?" Haru gasped then. "Did he take the last toaster strudel?! I knew it was him!"
"Please." He scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Vincent ate the last toaster strudel. And no, it's not about something as trivial as that."
"Then what's it about?"
"Nothing." Akito faced forward once more, watching the romantic scene between Hunter and Andy progress. They kissed then, and Akito clenched his hand into a fist, squeezing all of the juice out of his Capri Sun and shooting it into Haru's eyes. "Damn him." He cursed under his breath.
Haru yelled out in pain as the clear fruit juice nailed him in the eye, and he actually fell backwards and out of his chair. "My eye! What the fuck man! You just blinded me!"
"Well you shouldn't have been looking at me." Was all Akito said, his gaze still trained on Natsumi and Kyo to make sure the blonde didn't overstep his boundaries.
"I wasn't looking at you! You douche!" Haru exclaimed, jumping up from the floor and tackling Akito to the ground.
"What the fuck is your problem?!" Akito asked, shoving the brunette off of him. "It's not like I did that on purpose you big idiot!"
Haru hit him over the head and growled threateningly at him. "What the hell is up your ass? Is this because Kyo and Natsumi are kissing?" he snapped.
"They are not kissing." Akito denied, crossing his arms and pouting. "It is just a small peck." He mimicked the action himself as a demonstration.
"What's a small peck?" they heard and both glanced over, to see a very curious Natsumi, and a pale Kyo.
"Nothing." The Uchiha glowered, getting up off the floor and dusting himself off. "Right Kyo?" he asked, giving the blonde a dangerous look.
Hazel eyes widened. "Right Akito, yup. Nothing. Nothing at all." He laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck and looking around. "I'm gonna…go over there." He pointed off, quickly making his escape.
Natsumi looked after him and then to where Haru had been, seeing him run off as fast as he could. "What's going on?" she asked, looking back over to Akito.
"I don't know." He shrugged. "Those two are just being freaks."
"Oh." She laughed and nodded, sipping obliviously at her Capri Sun. "So how's that song you said you've been working on?"
Akito perked up instantly. "Oh, I finished it just a few days ago." He told her. "And it came out pretty awesomely. All I have to do now is teach it to the guys so they can play all the instruments, and then we can record it for our next album."
"Cool." She smiled. "So are you going to show it to me when it's done? Or should I come over and hear it?"
"I can show it to you now if you want."
Natsumi looked a bit surprised. "Really? Now?"
"Sure." He said. "I just gotta go grab my acoustic, and then we're good to go."
"Alright. I'll meet you over in the 'lounge' area.' She snickered, rolling her eyes at the random open space with a few chairs and couches Kakashi had designated as the cast lounge.
"Cool." He said, walking over to his dressing room and grabbing his guitar. He put it on and then walked back out, going over to the lounge, where Natsumi was already seated. Seeing him coming, she sat forward in her seat, leaning forward excitedly as she awaited his song. He smiled slightly at her, beginning to strum his instrument. After a few bars of this, he took a breath and began to sing.
"I don't want another pretty face, I don't want just anyone to hold, I don't want my love to go to waste. I want you and your beautiful soul." He sang, watching her the whole time.
Natsumi watched him in fascination. She'd listened to the CD he'd given her, but watching him and hearing his voice with her own ears was something profound. Akito continued to the next verse.
"I know that you are something special. To you I'd be always faithful. I want to be what you always needed, then I hope you'll see the heart in me." He smiled, beginning the chorus once more. "I don't want another pretty face. I don't want just anyone to hold. I don't want my love to go to waste. I want you and your beautiful soul. You're the one I wanna chase, you're the one I wanna hold, I won't let another minute go to waste. I want you and your beautiful soul. Your beautiful soul. Yeah…"
It was absolutely amazing. His voice, his tone, it was intoxicating to hear him. No wonder he had women throwing themselves at him all the time. And this song tugged at her heart. It was so much different than she thought he would play for her. In fact, it was pretty different from all the other things he'd done.
"You might need time to think it over, but I'm just fine moving forward. I'll ease your mind. If you give me the chance, I'll never make you cry c'mon let's try." He sang out, going back to the chorus. "I don't want another pretty face. I don't want just anyone to hold. I don't want my love to go to waste. I want you and your beautiful soul. You're the one I wanna chase, you're the one I wanna hold, I won't let another minute go to waste. I want you and your beautiful soul." He sang the last word loudly.
Then he stepped forward and leaned down, so that his face was closer to hers. "Am I crazy for wanting you? Baby do you think you could want me too?" he cocked head to the side, as if he were really asking her the questions. Then the corner of his mouth tilted slightly. "I don't wanna waste your time."
He cocked his head to the other side. "Do you see things the way I do? I just wanna know if you feel it too. There is nothing left to hide."
Natsumi stared at him, slightly confused and yet embarrassed at the same time. She didn't want to think the things that were popping into her head at this moment, but the hints kept nagging at her. She'd have to ask why and who he wrote the song for, or about, to sate her curiosity.
Akito straightened then, looking down at her. "I don't want another pretty face. I don't want just anyone to hold. I don't want my love to go to waste. I want you and your beautiful soul. You're the one I wanna chase, you're the one I wanna hold, I won't let another minute go to waste, I want you and your soul." He sang a bit louder. "I don't want another pretty face. I don't want just anyone to hold. I don't want my love to go to waste. I want you and your beautiful soul. Oh…your beautiful soul…yeah…"
He sang softer then. "Oh...yeah...your beautiful soul. Yeah..." his voice died down and faded out, and he stopped playing, swinging his guitar out of the way so that he could move his arms.
"So, what did you think?" he asked.
"Wow." She breathed out, in total awe.
Akito smiled at her. "You liked it?" a mixture of hope and happiness was in his tone, something she'd never heard before.
She nodded excitedly, "Yeah it was amazing. You have a great voice, and it was completely different than anything I've ever heard. I mean, from what you've already done, you know? What made you write it?" she asked curiously, leaning closer to him.
He lifted his shoulder in a shrug. "I just got inspired to write it all of a sudden. At first it was just the melody, you know? And then later I found the perfect words to put to it."
"Wow." She breathed out again, resting her elbows on her knees and her chin in her palms. "That's pretty phenomenal. I can't believe you can do that."
Akito reached out and gently grasped her chin, smiling tenderly at her, giving her a look that was similar, and yet different than the one Seth gives Andy. This one was not only extremely real, but it had so much more feeling behind it. "I can do anything when I have an amazing inspiration." He said softly, stroking her chin before bending over and kissing her softly on the mouth.
Natsumi's eyes widened. She didn't know what to do. Actually, she wasn't even able to comprehend what was happening. But before she could pull away and try and ask why, she kissed him back. It was so much better than the kiss they'd shared a few months ago. And that kiss was incredible. Finally, she snapped back, her eyes wide and filled with confusion. "What are you doing?"
"Kissing an amazing woman." He replied, kissing her forehead before straightening. "Well," he said, looking around. "I'm gonna go grab something to eat for dinner. You wanna come?"
She stood quickly, still looking totally lost. And then she looked pissed. "You can't just go around kissing people you want for no good reason you stupid jerk!" she yelled, hurrying past him and out of sight.
He sighed. Well, that could have gone better. But, on the bright side, she loved his song, and he got to kiss her, so it wasn't a complete loss. Hearing his stomach growl, he headed off to his dressing room, intent on putting away his guitar and going to get himself some dinner.
There was a small click and someone crept out from behind a box of crates, staring down at the screen of the cell phone that had just recorded the whole scene. "I'm gonna be rich." He chuckled, hurrying out of the room.
