Shutterbug

He stands there quietly, like a predator carefully waiting for his prey. The stance is deceiving—his shoulders are relaxed, his hands inside his pockets. But she knew better. Silvery hair glistened under the bright sun, almost blinding. His profile is just perfect.

Snap.

**********

Akutsu Jin quickly looked behind as soon as he felt that someone was looking at him. He muttered something under his breath and then made sure his voice was loud and clear enough to be heard by whoever was following him.

"If you're not going to show yourself, you might find yourself inside the hospital emergency room." Akutsu's voice was strong, sharp and threatening. As soon as he said those words, he could hear a rustling within the school's manicured bushes. Soon after, someone appeared.

But the person before him wasn't exactly the type he was expecting.

The girl was clutching a camera on her hand and she stood there, smiling sheepishly. This is bad, I got caught. Her eyes seemed to say.

"Why are you following me and why are you taking pictures of me?" Akutsu demanded. But the girl just stood there, now looking at him with an amused expression on her face.

"Ah. Ah..." Incoherence was the only thing he got when she finally opened her mouth. He looked her over. If only the girl hadn't followed him, he could have had a different impression of her. She looked like a shy, klutzy middle-schooler—seemingly innocent, and also the kind of girl that Akutsu could not tolerate.

"Don't you have a tongue?"

"Ah. Well... I was just thinking of the right words to say. By the way, I'm . Sorry if my presence made you feel threatened in any way..."

Akutsu smirked upon hearing this from the girl. "You actually think that I'm scared of you? Don't make me laugh, shrimp!"

"Well, it seems to me that you are, Akutsu Jin-san." quickly made her way to the pavement in order to talk to Akutsu more properly. She was wearing a pair of faded jeans and a graphic tee shirt. A black camera bag hung on her shoulder. walked towards Akutsu while putting the camera strap around her neck.

"You haven't answered my question yet. Why do you skulk around, taking pictures of me?" Akutsu demanded once more. The girl just looked at him sweetly and raised the camera in front of her face.

"Oh. I think that you're the perfect model for my project."

Akutsu scoffed at such a silly reason. "I'm not your model. And I certainly won't model for anyone. Stop stalking me or I'll crush your camera to pieces." He began muttering something under his breath before finally taking his leave.

What Akutsu didn't notice was the smirk that had formed on the girl's soft lips as he walked away.

**********

Akutsu was aimlessly wandering around the campus when he heard footsteps behind him.

"Akutsu-senpai!"

Dan Taichi finally found Akutsu and tried to catch his breath as soon as he managed to cut the distance between him and his senpai. He then remembered why he was there, and showed Akutsu a couple of magazines held in his hand.

"A-Akutsu-senpai!" Dan said, trying to find the pages that he was to show the older boy. "My classmates brought this magazine desu, and then they asked me about it, so... desu."

Akutsu quickly grabbed the magazine from Dan's hands and a surge of emotions went over him when he saw what was inside. It was a picture of him playing tennis on the earlier rounds of the Kantou tournament. The article mentioned something about the bright future of tennis in Japan, specifically focusing on the Kantou area. Akutsu looked at the caption and recognized the name of the photographer.

Anger, embarrassment, frustration—these feelings welled up inside him. He couldn't yet decide which one to irrationally act upon.

Finally, Akutsu returned the magazine back to Dan. The freshman, looking confused, trailed behind the leisurely-moving Akutsu, who looked more the steadily-stirring predator than usual. "Akutsu-senpai, is something wrong desu?"

"Nothing, Taichi. I'm just thinking that someone really has a death wish."

**********

smiled to herself, lying on her bed, holding up the copy of the recent edition of Rev Up! Magazine already on the market. With her father as the publisher, she had been able to practice her love for photography despite her young age. The current edition of the magazine featured her photos of Akutsu Jin and several young tennis players in Kantou that had received profuse compliments from her uncle. They had complemented his entertaining article very well.

stretched her arms and looked at her magazine copy. She knew that she had a great opportunity in her hands as soon as she accepted her uncle's offer. Taking photos of young tennis players was not a bad deal. In face, she had met several interesting students because of the equally interesting sports they played. And yet, none of them really made a significant impression.

Until Akutsu Jin.

She had seen him play a match in the earlier rounds of the Kantou Tournament. In her opinion, Akutsu Jin had something that other players didn't. Taking Akutsu's picture during the match was easy, but she felt that she wanted to know him better, which was going to be a difficult task since for one, he didn't know her, and also, because she knew he was the type to not let strangers get close to him. The article was an excuse, truth be told, and it didn't even actually require any information about him. After that match, she began only taking his pictures. Maybe it was also boredom. She felt that it was the only thing she could do that would make her life a bit more complicated.

stared at Akutsu's picture and she could not help but smile. He was too fascinating. He was also so easily riled up, even with that relaxed prowling stance of his. To think that she was the one who got him riled up.

But despite this accomplishment, couldn't help but feel that she might be in big trouble.

**********

Wisteria. Akutsu Jin looked at the embossed name on the building façade. He took a small paper from his pocket and checked to see if he got the directions right. He was correct, indeed. Akutsu shoved the paper back and proceeded to his destination.

Upon seeing his picture taken by that girl, he knew that she was going to be in trouble. Of course, she had to pay. What was with her and taking his pictures, anyway? Was she some kind of obsessed freak? How could such an annoying stranger barge in to his life like that? The fact that she had been taking his pictures without his permission already ticked him off and now, they were bandied about in a sports and leisure magazine, and again, without his authorization.

Just what the hell is that shrimp up to?

Soon enough, Akutsu reached unit 605. He saw the name engraved near the door, . He opened the door.

The place was dimmed, but there was enough light to see what was inside. Walls were decorated by numerous frames of various sizes and shapes, all of them carrying photos of people, places and landscapes. Akutsu knew nothing about photography or art, but he had seen dedication and effort. They were also invested in these photos. Though beauty, he had never seen until now.

He scoffed. Admiration was wasted on a stalking… paparazzi. He wasn't going to be fooled.

"Oh."

Akutsu abruptly turned back upon hearing a female voice. Just the person he was looking for.

was startled for a bit. She blinked twice, to make sure she wasn't seeing things. "Akutsu... san."

"Oi," Akutsu started, as he approached the girl. "I need an explanation about this." He took out a paper from his other pocket and showed it to .

The girl unfolded the paper, and saw a page of the article that her uncle wrote, with Akutsu's picture on it. "What about this?"

"Stop whatever you're doing." Akutsu snarled, looking at her with devilish eyes.

looked calmly at him and walked towards the revolving door with the sign Darkroom. "I don't think that's possible, Akutsu-san–"

She was cut off when Akutsu squeezed in with her before the door could turn. She noted that he had grabbed her wrist, though unnecessary, really, she thought with dizzying wonderment. They were practically embracing. Her cheeks heated.

Then they were inside and Akutsu abruptly pushed her against the wall.

Akutsu stood in front of her, still clutching her wrist tightly, as if he was about to break it any minute now.

"You're a very stubborn shrimp, aren't you?" Akutsu looked at her sternly, his eyes filled with anger. shot him a defiant look, trying to be as calm as she could. He was riled up, all right, and it was not looking good…

"I'm just doing my job."

"Job? What job?" Akutsu tightened his grip which made wince in pain. She wondered if he was even aware of what he was doing. "Is it your job to stalk people?"

"W-what do you want from me?" asked, her face now showing signs of pain and discomfort.

"I should be the one asking it, dumbass!" Akutsu said. He was about to say something when he suddenly froze. He noticed that he was too close to ; her back pressed on the wall of the darkroom. The reddish light faintly illuminated the whole room, including 's face and lips.

Tightening his hold on her small wrist, he stared at her eyes and lips, moving his face closer to hers.

**********

What the hell happened? asked herself as she sat on her bed, thinking about the incident that happened earlier. Seeing Akutsu inside her studio was one thing, but seeing him that up close was another matter.

She took her pillow and buried her face with it. She then put the pillow down and started punching it. Then started messing with her hair.

"Mou! I can't handle this anymore!" She screamed at herself as she stood up and looked at herself in the mirror. Slowly, she held her left arm and softly touched her wrist. Then she looked again at her reflection and traced her lips with her fingers.

"That was my first..." she muttered under her breath. Is this also part of my part-time job? She asked herself.

went back to her bed and lied down. With the sudden turn of events, she didn't know what to make of her feelings anymore

**********

"You look troubled, Akutsu-senpai." Dan Taichi commented as soon as he took a seat beside his senpai. Both were sitting at the bar inside the restaurant owned by Akutsu's mother.

Akutsu didn't say a thing. Instead he took a sip from the cup beside him.

"If you're thinking of something, I might be able to help, desu..." Dan continued, seeing that he wasn't getting any response from the upperclassman.

"This is nothing, Taichi." Akutsu replied.

He was lying to himself, Akutsu knew that. The incident that happened a couple of days ago had bothered him. Very much. It ticked him off because there was nothing, absolutely nothing to feel bad about. But after what happened, he just wanted to hit his head against the wall until it bled.

Never in his life did he feel utterly stupid. Though he didn't want to admit it, he knew the truth.

The truth was that he got carried away because of his anger and the damn lighting inside the darkroom had somehow converted that passion to something as intense, and yet thoroughly different. Thoroughly. He scoffed. Now he could probably put "kissing a stranger" on the list of his offenses.

But then, a smirk found its way on Akutsu's lips. Perhaps, it was the kind of offense that he should try to do over and over again.

**********

"You're really annoying, don't you know that?" Akutsu glared at as soon as he noticed that she was again, following him. Weeks had passed, and for some inane, unexplainable reason, the two were back to square one. was still taking Akutsu's pictures, and Akutsu was still questioning 's presence. Neither one of them tried to mention what had happened in the darkroom.

gave him a sweet and cheerful smile. "I'm here to work, so I do what I have to do." She held the camera at her eye-level and click, had taken another picture.

"A camera costs a lot. You don't want to get a replacement right now, do you?"

shook her head. "If you think that you'll scare me with your words, then you're wrong, Akutsu-san. It takes more than words to scare or hurt me."

Akutsu was quiet. His eyes began to observe who had shifted her lens from him and was now taking pictures of other people in the vicinity. They were at a public park. He knew he was seeing something for the first time, though he didn't want to pinpoint whatever it was. This must be how she takes those pictures on the wall. Now that the camera was not focused on him, he could see the enthusiasm in her movements, a smile brilliant on her face.

She made her own pretty picture.

Akutsu frowned. This was a foreign feeling. She was an annoying stranger following him and taking photos without asking permission and yet somehow, a feeling of fondness had replaced the anger he naturally harbored for people who invaded his life. It was stupid. It was unexplainable.

It was the only thing that did not make him want her to stop stalking him forever.

**********

His strong arms are draped on the bench. His appearance is more defined now; the light from the setting sun refines his features with amazing clarity. In fact, his face does not look scary at all, only, for the lack of a better term… misunderstood. Others would think differently but she knows she is seeing him, again, for the first time.

Nevertheless, he hides: with the face, the attitude, the act? Hidden things needed to be uncovered fast.

Snap.

put down her camera as soon as she finished taking Akutsu's photos. She put her camera inside her bag and with a smile on her lips, approached Akutsu before leaving.

She stood in front of him, obviously wanting to get his attention.

"I'll be leaving now. Thank you." She bowed politely to him before she finally took her steps away from the park.

"Oi, shrimp."

looked backed upon hearing Akutsu's voice. Akutsu was looking directly at her, and suddenly, a highly-amused smile started to form on his lips.

"You really don't know how to stop, don't you?"

was quiet for awhile, and then replied. "I'll be seeing you the day after the next, so please prepare yourself. I'm leaving. For now." She turned around, walking with a spring in her step, her eyes bright and cheerful.

##########

August 3, 2007
Written by: Megane-ko
Edited by: linchpin (with some added lines)

A/N: The title does not only intend to express the idea that the original character is a shutterbug (one who likes taking photos) but also someone who annoys another person because he/she is taking pictures. (Well of course at the end she doesn't "bug" him anymore, but that's beside the point.)