Selective Focus by Kagome Yuki Niwa

Partial Encounter

Selective Focus

Chapter One: Partial Encounter  

x . . . . x

Autumn leaves swirled around her gently as she clicked at her camera with an unrelenting pace. There was so much to take in – so much to look at and enjoy and she wanted to capture each and every moment on film. Technically – it wasn’t film because her camera was through and through a digital monstrosity which is beside the point. The air smelled crisp and the children playing in the leaves brought upon a wave of nostalgia. She giggled lightly as a small girl pushed an even smaller boy into the leaves with a squeal.

Crouching she captured the moment with a quick click of her shutter. Looking down at the image she smiled softly, ebony hair curling about her heart shaped face. The picture was absolutely darling! She managed to catch the girl’s smile and the boy’s angry face as he chased her. Children, she thought ruefully as she relocated, crimson leaves following in her wake with the light breeze. She had never been to Osaka before and now that she was there she didn’t know why! It was absolutely gorgeous and completely different from the bustling streets of Tokyo. She pulled her light brown coat around her a little tighter as the wind continued to pick up, the leaves beginning to make a small storm and almost impossible to see through.

It made her laugh as she twirled happily, tilting her camera into the sky enjoying the swirl of colors and wanting to capture it forever. She clicked a few times, looked at her camera, and smiled happily. The shots were perfect! She made her way through the proverbial storm, children rushing about delighted and parents scolding them for running off.

Her ears tingled when she heard a man call out lightly to a small a girl, the voice a smooth baritone that no doubt turned heads where he went. She turned to look, cerulean hues curious, camera already in her hands. Through the barrage of crimson, yellow, and orange she caught tendrils of silver which definitely confused her more. It was too early for snow after all. Using her camera she zoomed in on a man dressed in charcoal gray and with features that were no doubt young and did not belong to an old man like she had assumed when she realized all that silver was actually hair. Curious, she watched as the man crouched with opened arms to accept a hug from a small child.

Of their own mind her finger pressed the button and that was it – the picture was captured.

The moment was forever preserved.

Through a barrage of autumn colors she was able to see the joy within the child’s smile and the absolutely love through the man’s citrine orbs as the child leaned forward and touched small lips to his nose. The scene was precious and it made her heart skip a beat. She looked up to catch more but scowled lightly to see both the child and the man… gone. As though they were never there only she was sure that they were – she had the picture to prove it!

Nibbling her bottom lip she took a few steps forward to head to the spot and see if she could somehow find them through the leaf storm but a hand on the back of her neck made her stop as she was abruptly turned and her lips were pressed to another. She knew the scent – she knew the softness of the lips and she melted into a familiar embrace. Her eyes fluttered close as the scent of autumn filled her senses mixed with the dizzying scent of the man she was pressed against and she lifted her arms to wrap around his neck.

A few moment s later she pulled away, crimson flaming her cheeks, her smile bright and loving as she touched the cheek of the man that kissed her senseless. Her voice was light and cheerful when she spoke, “You frightened me for a moment, Bankotsu!”

Bankotsu gave her smirk that never ceased to inspire wicked thoughts and as his obsidian gaze bore into her, “Mission accomplished then! You know it’s my favorite pass time, babe.” He chuckled lightly, his calloused fingers rubbing soothing along her back. His eyes were soft, his usual arrogance and cockiness gone for just a moment , “You disappeared, idiot. I was near frantic searching for you – this is a new city and one you’ve never been in. It may not be as metropolitan as Tokyo but it does have its share of dangers. What if some deranged lunatic was on the run and found you?”

Kagome rolled her cerulean hues playfully, “Oh Bankotsu – not everyone has such a bleak outlook on life like you. If I thought like that I’d never do anything!”

Bankotsu pouted, his ebony braided hair flowing behind him, “Look, woman, I’m paranoid because I know what’s out there.”

She patted his chest and shushed him with her lips before pulling away, “Blah, blah, Mr. Bodyguard! Be quiet and go do something so I can take pictures.”

There was a darkness that settled in his eyes that made her shiver with both fear and anticipation, “I’m fairly certain we could put that camera of yours to good use back at the apartment and take some really adult pictures for our personal use.”

Her laughter washed away the darkness as she shook her head and ran off in the leaves and wind, her voice carrying behind her, “Only if you can catch me!”

It was a challenge that Bankotsu didn’t intend to lose, his stroll light as he followed her happily.

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Later that evening as Bankotsu dreamt and snored softly, Kagome sat in overly large T-Shirt at her desk, her laptop booted with *Lightroom 4 open. She sipped slowly at a cup of tea and waited as her pictures from the day uploaded and saved onto her external hard drive, her screen flickering with images. After the initial upload she began to choose specific pictures that would require some editing or that she thought she could improve on until she reached the one.

It was the picture of the man and child.

She zoomed lightly and took in the curve of his cheek bones and aristocratic features. She vaguely wondered if the man modeled. She brought her attention to the child whom was so joyful to see the man there. Moments passed as she hovered over the picture until she finally decided on editing needed to be done and placed the picture in a folder titled ‘Portfolio’.

As she slept the night she dreamed of citrine orbs and silver hair wondering if she would ever see the man again. She didn’t think so considering how large Osaka was and for some reason the thought made her ache.

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She woke up to the scent of pancakes in the air and quickly got up when she heard a feminine curse from the kitchen. As she tumbled out of bed with a screech she frantically called, “Am I late?”

There was soft laughter from Bankotsu as the woman in the kitchen called back, “No! Not yet! I was just about to send in Bankotsu to wake you!” Kagome slipped into a pair of form fitting skinny jeans, purple in color and added a cropped horizontally stripped yellow and purple shirt. She quickly pulled her hair into a messy bun and ran out of the bedroom still filled with boxes.

She was presented with the scene of her best friend turned manager cooking pancakes. The pencil skirt fit her like a glove and the crimson colored, silk, long-sleeved shirt accented her small waist and bust. Kagome pouted as she looked down at what she was wearing, “Am I under dressed?” she inquired.

The woman turned, crimson orbs narrowed as her scarlet lips twisted into a scowl, “Honestly, Kagome! You’re such a child!”

“But Kagura - ”

Kagura pointed her spatula at the girl, “We don’t have time for you to change or even eat so these pancakes are to go, girl.”

Bankotsu arched a brow and crossed his lean arms over his impressive, naked chest, “Pancakes to go?”

Kagura’s signature scowl was back in place, “Yes, Bankotsu. Do I need to repeat myself?”  

Kagome shuffled as she grabbed her laptop, camera, and portfolio’s, “And how is this going to happen?”

“We’re putting it on a stick.” There was a moment of silence except for the cooking of pancakes before Kagome and Bankotsu burst into laughter. There was indignant sniff as Kagura did as promised and began to wrap skewer the pancakes. “Oh be silent you two hyena’s! We’re going to be late if you don’t get your shoes right now, you child!”

Kagome giggled and slipped into a pair of flats, running by Bankotsu and pressing her lips to his cheek, “Bye, Ban! Text me when you get your new assignment! I want to know who you’re guarding today!”

Bankotsu nodded and tugged her ponytail playfully, “Yeah, yeah, woman, now go and have fun with today’s photo-shoot.” She was halfway out the door, her manager cursing lightly as she tapped at her cell phone, “Who is it today?”

Kagome called back with smile, “His name is Miroku Hinamori!”

Bankotsu nodded as the door closed behind her – his fingers already tapping on his own cell to have Renkotsu dig up as much as he needed to know on the man. After all – he only wanted to make sure she was safe. He didn’t think it was too much overkill on her protection.

He shrugged as he nibbled on the pancake on the stick and had to give it to Kagura – she was bitch on a daily basis but she did know how to cook.

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‘Gome Yuki:: New story – I KNOW I SUCK but I really wanted to write this one for Theia whom inspired meee!!! This one will be short. No more than ten chapters maybe.  IDK, I have the tendency to overkill my stories. Baaah - I love Bankotsu. He's smexy(:  If you follow the KYN Facebook page then I'll probably be posting excerpts and other random stuff so be on the look out for those! If you don't and would like to the link is in my profile!

*Lightroom 4 is a popular Adobe program used by photographers! It’s freakin’ awesome!