Categories > Anime/Manga > Gravitation > Butterfly Boy
Butterfly Boy
The creation of Japan's supergroup...and the shy little boy that learned to fly. Will have a NC-17 rating later on.
?Blocked
This is an old story that I started writing while experimenting with writing styles. Forgive the goofy writing style.
I figured that since Gravitation is supposed to have happened around 1996, that Tohma, Ryuichi and Noriko were children of the 1980s, so that's when this story takes place. I think I just gave away my age. -facepalm- (^_~)
Gravitation is owned by Murakami Maki-sama as well as its various companies. I only use her characters out of love for their eccentric and unique personalities, as well as with the deepest reverence for her and her work. Any other characters are my creation; they exist purely to help enhance the storyline.
Just figure that I'm going to say this the rest of the story, okay? >:P
Author's Notes (A/N) at the end of the chapter.
~~~~~~~~~~~~*
Butterfly Boy
Track One: Egg
Excerpts from ‘Sparkle and Shine: the True Story of a Rock God’ by Yuki Eiri
“…he was just another beautiful soul waiting for a chance to fly. And he was given that chance with his band. I’ll forever be grateful for Tohma and Noriko for breaking my boy out of his shell. Too bad his father didn’t live to see that day.”
Sakuma Manami, Sakuma Ryuichi’s mother
~~*
“I know he’s special. I knew it from the day he was born. He just needs to believe in himself…I can’t help him with that; he will have to discover that on his own.”
Sakuma Natori, father-deceased, as remembered by Sakuma Manami
~~*
He used to prowl the halls of M. Academy, a shadow unnoticed as he went on errands both before and after classes for the teaching staff. Working off the difference between the money left from deceased father’s scholarship, Sakuma Ryuichi took messages, snacks, or packages to the rulers of the scholastic domain. Thus, he was frowned upon by most of the other first-year high school students he shared his class with.
Not that they would have spoken to him anyway, for who would waste their time speaking to one such as he? He already stood out as the smallest boy in both the high school and the affiliated middle school. At 133.8cm tall and 25.5 kg, the size of an average ten year old, he was already thought of as being a freak by others that towered over him. The fact that he rarely spoke had even the teachers thinking that he was a “little slow,” as it was kindly put when he was in earshot. Of course, behind his back, even those that he spoke to were unsure of what thoughts and emotions lay inside of the head of their mostly silent messenger boy.
Only one being ever heard the thoughts that lay inside of the head of “the quiet boy,” and that being was incapable of speech, being made of pink cloth and filled with cotton batting.
To Ryuichi, Kumagorou or Kuma, as the stuffed rabbit was affectionately called, was a treasure chest of wisdom. Full of ideas, comments and suggestions for the shy, mossy-haired sixteen-year-old, Kuma helped the boy survive the lonely and usually harsh school days. Of course the plushie had nothing to say to anyone other than Ryuichi even if anyone would have been within earshot.
“I wish I could be taller like the others, Kuma. I want to grow more, I’m tired of being so damn short,” Sakuma Ryuichi confided to the plushie bunny that hid inside of his ever-present leather bookbag as the teen carried a message from the physics teacher to the music teacher one sunny spring morning before classes.
The plushie rabbit voiced his opinion…even if Ryuichi didn’t want to hear it.
“You’re right Kuma…maybe I haven’t hit my growth spurt yet…but its sure taking forever,” Ryuichi sighed but acknowledged as he complained yet again to the worn plushie as he approached the door to the Music Room, note in hand.
The voices of the Music Club members were easily heard through the colorfully decorated wooden panel as his hand reached for the knob. Thus, when the door slid open unexpectedly and Ryuichi ran in to the chest of someone much taller, the teen was so surprised that he fell to the ground as the bookbag that Kumagorou was hidden in tumbled to the floor.
“I’m so sorry, are you all right, uh…” a pale, delicate hand reached down to help the startled boy. Ryuichi’s eyes made their way slowly upward to gaze at an angelic face that seemed to bear a golden halo. Blond hair that shone in the early morning sun, which chose just that moment to emerge from behind a cloud and shine through the Music Room’s windows.
Speechless, Ryuichi dropped the message, grabbed his bookbag and fled the scene; shocked at the image of the luminescent being that had seemingly reached down to help him up from his seat on the hallway floor.
Shiozu-sensei, the music teacher, having seen the entire exchange, only shooed off the occurrence when he was asked by the blond.
“That’s Sakuma Ryuichi-kun, the school messenger boy. He runs errands for us teachers before and after school. He’s more than likely a little slow, according to the school nurse. I bet that that future high school dropout will forget about this incident before the day’s over,” the cocky former minor rock star turned music teacher explained to the strikingly beautiful teen, who, since the sun had become hidden by a fluffy white cloud had become just another student, even with the naturally light blond hair that made him unique among the others in the school.
Despite the music teacher’s not so kind words, Ryuichi did not forget the platinum-haired boy that held out his hand to him as he sat upon the floor. Instead, the image of the beautiful teen had imprinted itself into his brain and most importantly his heart, never to leave, for to the smallest boy in the entire academy, it was the image of an angel.
A crack had appeared in the bashful egg that was Sakuma Ryuichi.
~~~~*
One rainy April day, Ryuichi stood just inside of one of the school’s many doorways, bracing himself for the wet walk home. He had lost his umbrella, or so he at first thought.
Instead, it had been stolen by one of his classmates while he had taken a restroom break. Arakaki Katashi had made it his duty to make school like miserable for Ryuichi ever since the small teen had accidentally spilled milk on the much larger boy while still in M Academy's middle school
“That idiot will probably think he left the house without it,” Arakaki said as he tried to justify his theft to the group of bullies that he headed. The others in the group snickered to themselves as they watched the teen look around the classroom for the missing item. As the last bell rang, the olive-haired boy spotted the missing item underneath the arm of the bully as the group left the classroom. Sighing to himself, Ryuichi instead resigned himself to walking in the cold rain, internally happy that at least Kuma had a dry place to be on the long walk home.
So there the small teen stood, just inside the school’s door as he watched the rain fall in sheets. Shoulders slumped, he tried to will himself to accept the idea of the cold water making its way down the collar of his uniform to snake its way down into his underwear and leave his most intimate parts sopping wet and his shoes squishing as he trudged home.
“Hmm, I see no umbrella. Would you like to share mine? It’s the least I can do…” a voice came up from behind the bashful teen as he stood blocking the doorway out. So lost in thought was he that he never heard the footsteps behind him.
Turning, Ryuichi once again saw the stunningly beautiful face of the second-year boy he had begun to think of as ‘my tenshi.’ Mouth agape, he didn’t hear the suggestion made to him as the much taller boy’s turquoise eyes stared into his own sapphire blue ones. The gaze caused heat to form in the belly of Ryuichi, who stood unable to speak as the blond smiled kindly and inclined his head.
“Whatever is the matter, kohai?” the golden-haired teen asked of Ryuichi, which forced the much smaller boy out of his shy stupor. As he began to run away once again from the platinum blond, he managed to make it to right outside the school gate before a muddy, uneven piece of sidewalk caused the small boy to trip and land in the puddle it had formed.
Hurrying over, the platinum-haired boy held his huge black umbrella over Ryuichi as he picked himself up and grabbed his bookbag, which had somehow managed to miss the puddle. Used to being bullied instead of the kindness of the angelic-looking teen was showing him, Ryuichi instead hugged his bookbag to his small chest, a perplexed expression on his now muddy face at the thoughtful action of the blond teen. Smiling, the much taller boy gently touched the much smaller Ryuichi on the shoulder, which caused him to jump and turn. Since he was standing in the muddy puddle, Ryuichi only managed to splash mud onto the legs of the blond’s uniform.
“At this rate, we’ll both be drenched and muddy by the time I walk you home. Where do you live?” the taller boy smiled as he asked Ryuichi, who hugged his bookbag even closer and began to walk. The blond boy nodded as his long legs easily kept up. Still holding the umbrella over them both, the pair walked together in the rain as they silently made their way to the front door Ryuichi‘s small apartment.
Stopping on the stoop, Ryuichi bowed low and patted his pockets as he searched for the key to unlock the front door before gazing up for a moment to look into the blond’s face and then back toward the way they had come.
Realizing that the smaller teen must have lost the key when he fell, the blond turned around and began to walk. “Coming?” he asked as Ryuichi stared at the door for a moment longer before he too turned around to make the long journey back to the school.
So together, they made their way back to the uneven sidewalk, not a word more said by either boy during the wet journey as the torrential rain tried its best to wash them both into the street the entire way.
Bending down, careful not to let his bookbag get any wetter, Ryuichi searched the mud puddle and the area around it for the missing key. Just as he was about to give up, a silver glint winked at him from just beyond it. The key, having flown from his pocket, had managed to fall into a crack in the sidewalk just beyond the puddle.
“You found it! Good job!” the blond said in a congratulatory manner as he beamed at the much shorter boy.
Ryuichi fished the key out of the crack and stuck it deep into his pocket before he turned and gazed once more up into the taller boy’s face.
The blond teen gasped in surprise, for upon Ryuichi’s face was the most brilliant smile he had ever seen. It only lasted the briefest of moments, but to the platinum-haired boy, it seemed to light up the otherwise dreary, miserable day.
As they once again made the long walk back to the smaller boy’s front door, the blond replayed the image of the smile in his mind’s eye over and over again, a treasure forever captured in his heart.
He never, ever would forget that first real smile.
~~~~*
From that day forth, the tall blond would rise early enough to walk Ryuichi to school, who often made boiled eggs to be shared with the tall teen on the long walk. The pair would often not speak, for it was comforting to both just to be in one another’s presence before they split off to their respective classrooms.
And at the end of the day, they would wait for each other after school and repeat the journey in reverse to Ryuichi’s doorstep, where the small boy would bow, the blond returning said bow and smiling kindly before making his way to his own doorstep, which was only a few streets from the school.
But that, he did not tell Ryuichi.
Unknown to the blond, his habit of walking the timid boy home every evening prevented him from being assaulted by Arakaki Katashi and the said-same group of boys that made it their duty to bring suffering to the smallest boy at M academy ever since he had enrolled in the middle school.
But that, he did not tell the beautiful teen.
But, unknown to Ryuichi, the golden boy had already known that. And had dealt with it in his own way.
But unbeknown to either of them, Arakaki vowed to get back at them both. How, he had no idea...yet.
~~~~*
After walking to his doorstep one afternoon a few weeks later, Ryuichi did not unlock his front door, bow and walk inside as was his custom. Instead, the shy boy shifted from one foot to the other as if nervous. Ever patient, the blond waited with bated breath to see what would happen.
“M...my name is Sakuma Ryuichi, senpai,” the much smaller boy stammered in a tiny voice that seemed to fit his diminutive stature before bowing low.
Echoing the bow, the blond smiled, wiping the unseen smile off of his face as he came back up.
“And I am Seguchi Tohma, Sakuma-san, ever at your service,” he replied as he stood up and smiled gently at his now-named friend.
Unknown to the mossy-haired teen, Tohma had remembered the smaller teen’s name when Shiozu had mentioned it the day Ryuich had bumped into him.
But that, he did not tell Ryuichi.
Once again Ryuichi gave him the brilliant smile, right before he ducked inside of the front door and Tohma turned to go. Making his way home, lost in thought that day, Tohma realized that his kind actions had broken through the shy boy’s shell. Smiling to himself the entire way home, he went into his bedroom and began his evening's homework.
Little did the blond know that Ryuichi was in the throws of first love.
The golden boy’s kindness and attention over their walks to and from school, not to mention his angelic beauty had caused the little teen to fall head over heels.
But that, he did not tell Tohma.
To offset the idea that he was in love with ‘his tenshi,’ the tiny lad got into the habit of spending what should have been study time writing his thoughts and feelings in a notebook. At first the feelings came out as thought fragments, but soon they evolved into song lyrics, usually about himself, his confusion, and his feelings about how he felt toward the platinum-haired boy.
The fact that he spent the time in his room pondering his emotions and writing in the notebook instead of doing homework and studying caused his already middle of the road test scores to drop further; a fact that caused Ichimura Manami, his mother, much consternation whenever she was shown a D or F on his homework, which she began to make her duty to ask about every evening right before Ryuichi's bedtime.
So to try and hide from her firey-tempered husband, Ichimura Kenji that her son was, in fact failing in school, she began to work as a housecleaner for a wealthy family in order to pay for an after-school tutor. She explained to Kenji that the teen was attending cram school, thus he gave his wife no arguments about her working. The tutoring helped to increase Ryuichi’s D- grades to C And even an occasional C+.
When Tohma found out that his new friend was doing pretty poorly in school, he offered to tutor Ryuichi instead of needing the after school teacher. The olive-haired boy flat-out refused. Tohma naturally assumed that it was because the introverted teen dreaded the idea of being in another boy’s bedroom. So instead, he offered to tutor Ryuichi at the local library near the school, to which the mossy-haired teen agreed.
But it wasn’t the idea of being in another boy's bedroom that had caused Ryuichi to balk. It was the idea of being in Tohma’s bedroom, alone with the beautiful teen that often caused the small lad to have a rather physical reaction, which would cause him to need to relieve himself by masturbating…often.
Ryuichi was struggling, truly struggling, with the idea that his first love was another boy, however exquisite that boy may be.
~~~~*
One sunny May day, the pair met after school to begin the walk to Ryuichi’s doorstep. Tohma had seemed on edge every time Ryuichi saw the platinum-haired teen that day, especially noticing during lunch where, thought silent, they always ate together.
Not that anyone would have been able to notice the differences in Tohma, but Ryuichi, by now hiding the fact that he was head over heels in love with the golden boy, noticed them, however insignificant they may be to anyone else.
“Sakuma-kun, I would like to show you something, if it is okay with you,” the blond teen said, a light blush coloring his pale face as they walked together at the end of the school day. Since the show of any form of embarrassment from the normally confident older boy was unusual for Ryuichi to witness, he nodded silently, daring a sideways glance as they walked through the gate. Instead of taking the long walk toward the small apartment where the tiny boy lived, Tohma’s footsteps led them both to a spotlessly clean street near the school.
Following Tohma as the blond walked towards a very ornate gate behind which lay a very large home, Ryuichi read the placard on the outside gate wall. Reading the kanji for ‘Seguchi,’ the younger teen hid his surprise, as he had assumed that Tohma lived far away from the school in the same direction that his home lay.
Not saying anything, he waited as the platinum blond pulled on the well-oiled gate and motioned for him to enter. Stopping to wait for Tohma, Ryuichi couldn’t help but notice the huge yard with the painstakingly maintained landscaping, flowers making colorful patterns in the beds in which they lay.
Also not speaking, the blond teen led the way down the walk and onto the front doorstep. The door opened as if by magic, which startled the timid Ryuichi, who hid behind the much larger boy before he realized that it had been opened by a pretty woman dressed in a sky-blue French maid outfit.
“Welcome home, Seguchi-kun, and welcome guest,” she said as she smiled and bowed to the delicately beautiful teen before she took the bookbag that he handed to her. Gesturing, Tohma pointed to the maid as she waited to take Ryuichi’s bookbag. He hugged it and shook his head as if afraid to speak to them both, his sapphire eyes wide.
Shrugging, Tohma took off his shoes and placed his feet into a pair of turquoise slippers embroidered in gold with the kanji for Seguchi and indicated that the much smaller boy do the same into a pair of plain black ones as he shooed off the maid. Leading the way deeper into the house, Tohma smiled as he turned to make sure that his guest was following.
Ryuichi did, amazed at the artwork that decorated the walls, the marble floors, the expensive-looking statuary that seemed to make the huge house seem more like a museum than the home it was. He followed the golden boy into a large sunlit room in which a huge black grand piano sat.
As he watched Tohma sit on the bench, Ryuichi stood in the doorway as if afraid to enter such a fancy room, instead gazing around at the various and sundry awards, trophies, and musical instruments that resided within. Once again Tohma gestured for the olive-haired teen to come within the room, which he did reluctantly, taking a seat on the floor near the piano as if afraid to sit on one of the many overstuffed chairs and couches that were placed around for others to sit in as they were serenaded by musicians.
The golden boy pushed up the cover to the ebony keyboard and after first wiggling his fingers to warm them up a bit, he began to play. The classical music was unfamiliar to its only audience member, but seemed to soothe the one playing it, as he soon closed his eyes while he played, seemingly forgetting that there was someone listening. He played for quite some time, music that was so calming to the smaller teen that he sat, enraptured with a serene look in his azure eyes while the blond played.
When the beautiful pianist moved from classical music to opera, a small, clear voice began to sing along with the song being played, which caused the platinum-haired teen to open his eyes and look in surprise. Bursting forth from the throat of Tohma’s small guest was the song ‘Ave Maria,’ which was the song he was currently playing on the piano’s ivory keys. The blond, ever the professional, did not pause in his playing, instead continued the performance while Ryuichi, who before had been sitting quietly on the floor listening to Tohma play, now stood next to the piano, his sapphire eyes closed while his normally small voice filled out and seemed to envelope them both in its rich sound, the bookbag laying on the floor as if forgotten.
Storck's translation -
( Schubert's Ave Maria lyrics)
Ave Maria! Jungfrau mild,
Erhöre einer Jungfrau Flehen,
Aus diesem Felsen starr und wild
Soll mein Gebet zu dir hinwehen.
Wir schlafen sicher bis zum Morgen,
Ob Menschen noch so grausam sind.
O Jungfrau, sieh der Jungfrau Sorgen,
O Mutter, hör ein bittend Kind!
Ave Maria!
Ave Maria! Unbefleckt!
Wenn wir auf diesen Fels hinsinken
Zum Schlaf, und uns dein Schutz bedeckt
Wird weich der harte Fels uns dünken.
Du lächelst, Rosendüfte wehen
In dieser dumpfen Felsenkluft,
O Mutter, höre Kindes Flehen,
O Jungfrau, eine Jungfrau ruft!
Ave Maria!
Ave Maria! Reine Magd!
Der Erde und der Luft Dämonen,
Von deines Auges Huld verjagt,
Sie können hier nicht bei uns wohnen,
Wir woll'n uns still dem Schicksal beugen,
Da uns dein heil'ger Trost anweht;
Der Jungfrau wolle hold dich neigen,
Dem Kind, das für den Vater fleht.
Ave Maria!
As the song wound down, the olive-haired boy opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling, not seeing it, for in his singing he had forgotten that he was in a strange home. And as the song ended, on a whim Tohma began to play a more modern song, one which he had only taught himself how to play over the previous weekend. As the platinum-haired teen began to play ‘A Kind of Magic’ by Queen, Ryuichi’s singing style easily changed from opera to operatic-sounding rock to keep up with the song.
‘A Kind of Magic’
by Queen
It's a kind of magic
It's a kind of magic
A kind of magic
One dream, one soul, one prize, one goal,
One golden glance of what should be (It's a kind of magic)
One flash of light that shows the way
No mortal man can win this day, (It's a kind of magic )
The bell that rings inside your mind
It's a challenging the doors of time (It's a kind of magic)
The waiting seems eternity
The day will dawn on sanity
Is this a kind of magic? (It's a kind of magic)
There can be only one
This rage that lasts a thousand years,
Will soon be gone
This flame that burns inside of me
I'm hearing secret harmonies (It's a kind of magic)
The bell that rings inside your mind
Is challenging the doors of time
It's a kind of magic
It's a kind of magic
(It's a kind of magic)
This rage that lasts a thousand years,
Will soon be, will soon be
Will soon be gone!
This is a kind of magic (magic!)
There can only be one
This rage that lasts a thousand years,
Will soon be gone (GONE!)
Magic (It's a kind of magic)
It's a kind of magic (magic, magic, magic, MAGIC!)
Magic (Ah ha ha ha, its magic!)
It's a kind of magic!
And as the last notes of the rock song, still relatively new to the Japanese shores died away, Ryuichi turned his gaze onto Tohma, who sat as if frozen, for within the introverted olive-haired boy’s normally lackluster blue eyes now lay an intensely radiant sparkle the blond had never before seen. And as the rare smile that the platinum-haired teen loved so much appeared on the face of the diminutive teenager, no traces of that dull shyness lay within the sapphire depths of Ryuichi’s eyes.
The boys had found a common bond. That bond being their love for music.
Little did the world know that it was about to be swept away by the magic that later became known as Nittle Grasper.
~~~~~~~~*
Tsuzuku
(To Be Continued)
~~~~~~~~*
Author's Notes (A/N):
Please Rate and Review!
Japanese/explanations in this track:
*133.8cm and 25.5 kg equals to about 4’3” tall and 56 pounds, which is the size of the average Japanese ten year old.
*Tenshi - angel
*Bento - box lunch
*Senpai - elder, senior, predecessor
*Kohai – junior (in age, rank or position)
Songs mentioned in this track:
*Ave Maria https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GTEa5eGAho
*‘A Kind of Magic’ by Queen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWf5BLUOhNM
For more details of the stages a butterfly go through, see this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly#The_four-stage_lifecycle
~~~~~~~~~~~~*
I figured that since Gravitation is supposed to have happened around 1996, that Tohma, Ryuichi and Noriko were children of the 1980s, so that's when this story takes place. I think I just gave away my age. -facepalm- (^_~)
Gravitation is owned by Murakami Maki-sama as well as its various companies. I only use her characters out of love for their eccentric and unique personalities, as well as with the deepest reverence for her and her work. Any other characters are my creation; they exist purely to help enhance the storyline.
Just figure that I'm going to say this the rest of the story, okay? >:P
Author's Notes (A/N) at the end of the chapter.
~~~~~~~~~~~~*
Butterfly Boy
Track One: Egg
Excerpts from ‘Sparkle and Shine: the True Story of a Rock God’ by Yuki Eiri
“…he was just another beautiful soul waiting for a chance to fly. And he was given that chance with his band. I’ll forever be grateful for Tohma and Noriko for breaking my boy out of his shell. Too bad his father didn’t live to see that day.”
Sakuma Manami, Sakuma Ryuichi’s mother
~~*
“I know he’s special. I knew it from the day he was born. He just needs to believe in himself…I can’t help him with that; he will have to discover that on his own.”
Sakuma Natori, father-deceased, as remembered by Sakuma Manami
~~*
He used to prowl the halls of M. Academy, a shadow unnoticed as he went on errands both before and after classes for the teaching staff. Working off the difference between the money left from deceased father’s scholarship, Sakuma Ryuichi took messages, snacks, or packages to the rulers of the scholastic domain. Thus, he was frowned upon by most of the other first-year high school students he shared his class with.
Not that they would have spoken to him anyway, for who would waste their time speaking to one such as he? He already stood out as the smallest boy in both the high school and the affiliated middle school. At 133.8cm tall and 25.5 kg, the size of an average ten year old, he was already thought of as being a freak by others that towered over him. The fact that he rarely spoke had even the teachers thinking that he was a “little slow,” as it was kindly put when he was in earshot. Of course, behind his back, even those that he spoke to were unsure of what thoughts and emotions lay inside of the head of their mostly silent messenger boy.
Only one being ever heard the thoughts that lay inside of the head of “the quiet boy,” and that being was incapable of speech, being made of pink cloth and filled with cotton batting.
To Ryuichi, Kumagorou or Kuma, as the stuffed rabbit was affectionately called, was a treasure chest of wisdom. Full of ideas, comments and suggestions for the shy, mossy-haired sixteen-year-old, Kuma helped the boy survive the lonely and usually harsh school days. Of course the plushie had nothing to say to anyone other than Ryuichi even if anyone would have been within earshot.
“I wish I could be taller like the others, Kuma. I want to grow more, I’m tired of being so damn short,” Sakuma Ryuichi confided to the plushie bunny that hid inside of his ever-present leather bookbag as the teen carried a message from the physics teacher to the music teacher one sunny spring morning before classes.
The plushie rabbit voiced his opinion…even if Ryuichi didn’t want to hear it.
“You’re right Kuma…maybe I haven’t hit my growth spurt yet…but its sure taking forever,” Ryuichi sighed but acknowledged as he complained yet again to the worn plushie as he approached the door to the Music Room, note in hand.
The voices of the Music Club members were easily heard through the colorfully decorated wooden panel as his hand reached for the knob. Thus, when the door slid open unexpectedly and Ryuichi ran in to the chest of someone much taller, the teen was so surprised that he fell to the ground as the bookbag that Kumagorou was hidden in tumbled to the floor.
“I’m so sorry, are you all right, uh…” a pale, delicate hand reached down to help the startled boy. Ryuichi’s eyes made their way slowly upward to gaze at an angelic face that seemed to bear a golden halo. Blond hair that shone in the early morning sun, which chose just that moment to emerge from behind a cloud and shine through the Music Room’s windows.
Speechless, Ryuichi dropped the message, grabbed his bookbag and fled the scene; shocked at the image of the luminescent being that had seemingly reached down to help him up from his seat on the hallway floor.
Shiozu-sensei, the music teacher, having seen the entire exchange, only shooed off the occurrence when he was asked by the blond.
“That’s Sakuma Ryuichi-kun, the school messenger boy. He runs errands for us teachers before and after school. He’s more than likely a little slow, according to the school nurse. I bet that that future high school dropout will forget about this incident before the day’s over,” the cocky former minor rock star turned music teacher explained to the strikingly beautiful teen, who, since the sun had become hidden by a fluffy white cloud had become just another student, even with the naturally light blond hair that made him unique among the others in the school.
Despite the music teacher’s not so kind words, Ryuichi did not forget the platinum-haired boy that held out his hand to him as he sat upon the floor. Instead, the image of the beautiful teen had imprinted itself into his brain and most importantly his heart, never to leave, for to the smallest boy in the entire academy, it was the image of an angel.
A crack had appeared in the bashful egg that was Sakuma Ryuichi.
~~~~*
One rainy April day, Ryuichi stood just inside of one of the school’s many doorways, bracing himself for the wet walk home. He had lost his umbrella, or so he at first thought.
Instead, it had been stolen by one of his classmates while he had taken a restroom break. Arakaki Katashi had made it his duty to make school like miserable for Ryuichi ever since the small teen had accidentally spilled milk on the much larger boy while still in M Academy's middle school
“That idiot will probably think he left the house without it,” Arakaki said as he tried to justify his theft to the group of bullies that he headed. The others in the group snickered to themselves as they watched the teen look around the classroom for the missing item. As the last bell rang, the olive-haired boy spotted the missing item underneath the arm of the bully as the group left the classroom. Sighing to himself, Ryuichi instead resigned himself to walking in the cold rain, internally happy that at least Kuma had a dry place to be on the long walk home.
So there the small teen stood, just inside the school’s door as he watched the rain fall in sheets. Shoulders slumped, he tried to will himself to accept the idea of the cold water making its way down the collar of his uniform to snake its way down into his underwear and leave his most intimate parts sopping wet and his shoes squishing as he trudged home.
“Hmm, I see no umbrella. Would you like to share mine? It’s the least I can do…” a voice came up from behind the bashful teen as he stood blocking the doorway out. So lost in thought was he that he never heard the footsteps behind him.
Turning, Ryuichi once again saw the stunningly beautiful face of the second-year boy he had begun to think of as ‘my tenshi.’ Mouth agape, he didn’t hear the suggestion made to him as the much taller boy’s turquoise eyes stared into his own sapphire blue ones. The gaze caused heat to form in the belly of Ryuichi, who stood unable to speak as the blond smiled kindly and inclined his head.
“Whatever is the matter, kohai?” the golden-haired teen asked of Ryuichi, which forced the much smaller boy out of his shy stupor. As he began to run away once again from the platinum blond, he managed to make it to right outside the school gate before a muddy, uneven piece of sidewalk caused the small boy to trip and land in the puddle it had formed.
Hurrying over, the platinum-haired boy held his huge black umbrella over Ryuichi as he picked himself up and grabbed his bookbag, which had somehow managed to miss the puddle. Used to being bullied instead of the kindness of the angelic-looking teen was showing him, Ryuichi instead hugged his bookbag to his small chest, a perplexed expression on his now muddy face at the thoughtful action of the blond teen. Smiling, the much taller boy gently touched the much smaller Ryuichi on the shoulder, which caused him to jump and turn. Since he was standing in the muddy puddle, Ryuichi only managed to splash mud onto the legs of the blond’s uniform.
“At this rate, we’ll both be drenched and muddy by the time I walk you home. Where do you live?” the taller boy smiled as he asked Ryuichi, who hugged his bookbag even closer and began to walk. The blond boy nodded as his long legs easily kept up. Still holding the umbrella over them both, the pair walked together in the rain as they silently made their way to the front door Ryuichi‘s small apartment.
Stopping on the stoop, Ryuichi bowed low and patted his pockets as he searched for the key to unlock the front door before gazing up for a moment to look into the blond’s face and then back toward the way they had come.
Realizing that the smaller teen must have lost the key when he fell, the blond turned around and began to walk. “Coming?” he asked as Ryuichi stared at the door for a moment longer before he too turned around to make the long journey back to the school.
So together, they made their way back to the uneven sidewalk, not a word more said by either boy during the wet journey as the torrential rain tried its best to wash them both into the street the entire way.
Bending down, careful not to let his bookbag get any wetter, Ryuichi searched the mud puddle and the area around it for the missing key. Just as he was about to give up, a silver glint winked at him from just beyond it. The key, having flown from his pocket, had managed to fall into a crack in the sidewalk just beyond the puddle.
“You found it! Good job!” the blond said in a congratulatory manner as he beamed at the much shorter boy.
Ryuichi fished the key out of the crack and stuck it deep into his pocket before he turned and gazed once more up into the taller boy’s face.
The blond teen gasped in surprise, for upon Ryuichi’s face was the most brilliant smile he had ever seen. It only lasted the briefest of moments, but to the platinum-haired boy, it seemed to light up the otherwise dreary, miserable day.
As they once again made the long walk back to the smaller boy’s front door, the blond replayed the image of the smile in his mind’s eye over and over again, a treasure forever captured in his heart.
He never, ever would forget that first real smile.
~~~~*
From that day forth, the tall blond would rise early enough to walk Ryuichi to school, who often made boiled eggs to be shared with the tall teen on the long walk. The pair would often not speak, for it was comforting to both just to be in one another’s presence before they split off to their respective classrooms.
And at the end of the day, they would wait for each other after school and repeat the journey in reverse to Ryuichi’s doorstep, where the small boy would bow, the blond returning said bow and smiling kindly before making his way to his own doorstep, which was only a few streets from the school.
But that, he did not tell Ryuichi.
Unknown to the blond, his habit of walking the timid boy home every evening prevented him from being assaulted by Arakaki Katashi and the said-same group of boys that made it their duty to bring suffering to the smallest boy at M academy ever since he had enrolled in the middle school.
But that, he did not tell the beautiful teen.
But, unknown to Ryuichi, the golden boy had already known that. And had dealt with it in his own way.
But unbeknown to either of them, Arakaki vowed to get back at them both. How, he had no idea...yet.
~~~~*
After walking to his doorstep one afternoon a few weeks later, Ryuichi did not unlock his front door, bow and walk inside as was his custom. Instead, the shy boy shifted from one foot to the other as if nervous. Ever patient, the blond waited with bated breath to see what would happen.
“M...my name is Sakuma Ryuichi, senpai,” the much smaller boy stammered in a tiny voice that seemed to fit his diminutive stature before bowing low.
Echoing the bow, the blond smiled, wiping the unseen smile off of his face as he came back up.
“And I am Seguchi Tohma, Sakuma-san, ever at your service,” he replied as he stood up and smiled gently at his now-named friend.
Unknown to the mossy-haired teen, Tohma had remembered the smaller teen’s name when Shiozu had mentioned it the day Ryuich had bumped into him.
But that, he did not tell Ryuichi.
Once again Ryuichi gave him the brilliant smile, right before he ducked inside of the front door and Tohma turned to go. Making his way home, lost in thought that day, Tohma realized that his kind actions had broken through the shy boy’s shell. Smiling to himself the entire way home, he went into his bedroom and began his evening's homework.
Little did the blond know that Ryuichi was in the throws of first love.
The golden boy’s kindness and attention over their walks to and from school, not to mention his angelic beauty had caused the little teen to fall head over heels.
But that, he did not tell Tohma.
To offset the idea that he was in love with ‘his tenshi,’ the tiny lad got into the habit of spending what should have been study time writing his thoughts and feelings in a notebook. At first the feelings came out as thought fragments, but soon they evolved into song lyrics, usually about himself, his confusion, and his feelings about how he felt toward the platinum-haired boy.
The fact that he spent the time in his room pondering his emotions and writing in the notebook instead of doing homework and studying caused his already middle of the road test scores to drop further; a fact that caused Ichimura Manami, his mother, much consternation whenever she was shown a D or F on his homework, which she began to make her duty to ask about every evening right before Ryuichi's bedtime.
So to try and hide from her firey-tempered husband, Ichimura Kenji that her son was, in fact failing in school, she began to work as a housecleaner for a wealthy family in order to pay for an after-school tutor. She explained to Kenji that the teen was attending cram school, thus he gave his wife no arguments about her working. The tutoring helped to increase Ryuichi’s D- grades to C And even an occasional C+.
When Tohma found out that his new friend was doing pretty poorly in school, he offered to tutor Ryuichi instead of needing the after school teacher. The olive-haired boy flat-out refused. Tohma naturally assumed that it was because the introverted teen dreaded the idea of being in another boy’s bedroom. So instead, he offered to tutor Ryuichi at the local library near the school, to which the mossy-haired teen agreed.
But it wasn’t the idea of being in another boy's bedroom that had caused Ryuichi to balk. It was the idea of being in Tohma’s bedroom, alone with the beautiful teen that often caused the small lad to have a rather physical reaction, which would cause him to need to relieve himself by masturbating…often.
Ryuichi was struggling, truly struggling, with the idea that his first love was another boy, however exquisite that boy may be.
~~~~*
One sunny May day, the pair met after school to begin the walk to Ryuichi’s doorstep. Tohma had seemed on edge every time Ryuichi saw the platinum-haired teen that day, especially noticing during lunch where, thought silent, they always ate together.
Not that anyone would have been able to notice the differences in Tohma, but Ryuichi, by now hiding the fact that he was head over heels in love with the golden boy, noticed them, however insignificant they may be to anyone else.
“Sakuma-kun, I would like to show you something, if it is okay with you,” the blond teen said, a light blush coloring his pale face as they walked together at the end of the school day. Since the show of any form of embarrassment from the normally confident older boy was unusual for Ryuichi to witness, he nodded silently, daring a sideways glance as they walked through the gate. Instead of taking the long walk toward the small apartment where the tiny boy lived, Tohma’s footsteps led them both to a spotlessly clean street near the school.
Following Tohma as the blond walked towards a very ornate gate behind which lay a very large home, Ryuichi read the placard on the outside gate wall. Reading the kanji for ‘Seguchi,’ the younger teen hid his surprise, as he had assumed that Tohma lived far away from the school in the same direction that his home lay.
Not saying anything, he waited as the platinum blond pulled on the well-oiled gate and motioned for him to enter. Stopping to wait for Tohma, Ryuichi couldn’t help but notice the huge yard with the painstakingly maintained landscaping, flowers making colorful patterns in the beds in which they lay.
Also not speaking, the blond teen led the way down the walk and onto the front doorstep. The door opened as if by magic, which startled the timid Ryuichi, who hid behind the much larger boy before he realized that it had been opened by a pretty woman dressed in a sky-blue French maid outfit.
“Welcome home, Seguchi-kun, and welcome guest,” she said as she smiled and bowed to the delicately beautiful teen before she took the bookbag that he handed to her. Gesturing, Tohma pointed to the maid as she waited to take Ryuichi’s bookbag. He hugged it and shook his head as if afraid to speak to them both, his sapphire eyes wide.
Shrugging, Tohma took off his shoes and placed his feet into a pair of turquoise slippers embroidered in gold with the kanji for Seguchi and indicated that the much smaller boy do the same into a pair of plain black ones as he shooed off the maid. Leading the way deeper into the house, Tohma smiled as he turned to make sure that his guest was following.
Ryuichi did, amazed at the artwork that decorated the walls, the marble floors, the expensive-looking statuary that seemed to make the huge house seem more like a museum than the home it was. He followed the golden boy into a large sunlit room in which a huge black grand piano sat.
As he watched Tohma sit on the bench, Ryuichi stood in the doorway as if afraid to enter such a fancy room, instead gazing around at the various and sundry awards, trophies, and musical instruments that resided within. Once again Tohma gestured for the olive-haired teen to come within the room, which he did reluctantly, taking a seat on the floor near the piano as if afraid to sit on one of the many overstuffed chairs and couches that were placed around for others to sit in as they were serenaded by musicians.
The golden boy pushed up the cover to the ebony keyboard and after first wiggling his fingers to warm them up a bit, he began to play. The classical music was unfamiliar to its only audience member, but seemed to soothe the one playing it, as he soon closed his eyes while he played, seemingly forgetting that there was someone listening. He played for quite some time, music that was so calming to the smaller teen that he sat, enraptured with a serene look in his azure eyes while the blond played.
When the beautiful pianist moved from classical music to opera, a small, clear voice began to sing along with the song being played, which caused the platinum-haired teen to open his eyes and look in surprise. Bursting forth from the throat of Tohma’s small guest was the song ‘Ave Maria,’ which was the song he was currently playing on the piano’s ivory keys. The blond, ever the professional, did not pause in his playing, instead continued the performance while Ryuichi, who before had been sitting quietly on the floor listening to Tohma play, now stood next to the piano, his sapphire eyes closed while his normally small voice filled out and seemed to envelope them both in its rich sound, the bookbag laying on the floor as if forgotten.
Storck's translation -
( Schubert's Ave Maria lyrics)
Ave Maria! Jungfrau mild,
Erhöre einer Jungfrau Flehen,
Aus diesem Felsen starr und wild
Soll mein Gebet zu dir hinwehen.
Wir schlafen sicher bis zum Morgen,
Ob Menschen noch so grausam sind.
O Jungfrau, sieh der Jungfrau Sorgen,
O Mutter, hör ein bittend Kind!
Ave Maria!
Ave Maria! Unbefleckt!
Wenn wir auf diesen Fels hinsinken
Zum Schlaf, und uns dein Schutz bedeckt
Wird weich der harte Fels uns dünken.
Du lächelst, Rosendüfte wehen
In dieser dumpfen Felsenkluft,
O Mutter, höre Kindes Flehen,
O Jungfrau, eine Jungfrau ruft!
Ave Maria!
Ave Maria! Reine Magd!
Der Erde und der Luft Dämonen,
Von deines Auges Huld verjagt,
Sie können hier nicht bei uns wohnen,
Wir woll'n uns still dem Schicksal beugen,
Da uns dein heil'ger Trost anweht;
Der Jungfrau wolle hold dich neigen,
Dem Kind, das für den Vater fleht.
Ave Maria!
As the song wound down, the olive-haired boy opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling, not seeing it, for in his singing he had forgotten that he was in a strange home. And as the song ended, on a whim Tohma began to play a more modern song, one which he had only taught himself how to play over the previous weekend. As the platinum-haired teen began to play ‘A Kind of Magic’ by Queen, Ryuichi’s singing style easily changed from opera to operatic-sounding rock to keep up with the song.
‘A Kind of Magic’
by Queen
It's a kind of magic
It's a kind of magic
A kind of magic
One dream, one soul, one prize, one goal,
One golden glance of what should be (It's a kind of magic)
One flash of light that shows the way
No mortal man can win this day, (It's a kind of magic )
The bell that rings inside your mind
It's a challenging the doors of time (It's a kind of magic)
The waiting seems eternity
The day will dawn on sanity
Is this a kind of magic? (It's a kind of magic)
There can be only one
This rage that lasts a thousand years,
Will soon be gone
This flame that burns inside of me
I'm hearing secret harmonies (It's a kind of magic)
The bell that rings inside your mind
Is challenging the doors of time
It's a kind of magic
It's a kind of magic
(It's a kind of magic)
This rage that lasts a thousand years,
Will soon be, will soon be
Will soon be gone!
This is a kind of magic (magic!)
There can only be one
This rage that lasts a thousand years,
Will soon be gone (GONE!)
Magic (It's a kind of magic)
It's a kind of magic (magic, magic, magic, MAGIC!)
Magic (Ah ha ha ha, its magic!)
It's a kind of magic!
And as the last notes of the rock song, still relatively new to the Japanese shores died away, Ryuichi turned his gaze onto Tohma, who sat as if frozen, for within the introverted olive-haired boy’s normally lackluster blue eyes now lay an intensely radiant sparkle the blond had never before seen. And as the rare smile that the platinum-haired teen loved so much appeared on the face of the diminutive teenager, no traces of that dull shyness lay within the sapphire depths of Ryuichi’s eyes.
The boys had found a common bond. That bond being their love for music.
Little did the world know that it was about to be swept away by the magic that later became known as Nittle Grasper.
~~~~~~~~*
Tsuzuku
(To Be Continued)
~~~~~~~~*
Author's Notes (A/N):
Please Rate and Review!
Japanese/explanations in this track:
*133.8cm and 25.5 kg equals to about 4’3” tall and 56 pounds, which is the size of the average Japanese ten year old.
*Tenshi - angel
*Bento - box lunch
*Senpai - elder, senior, predecessor
*Kohai – junior (in age, rank or position)
Songs mentioned in this track:
*Ave Maria https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GTEa5eGAho
*‘A Kind of Magic’ by Queen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWf5BLUOhNM
For more details of the stages a butterfly go through, see this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly#The_four-stage_lifecycle
~~~~~~~~~~~~*
Sign up to rate and review this story