Ugly (chapter 1)
Title: Ugly
Author: pe_gret
Pairing: Uruha/Kai;
Chapter: 1/???
Genre: AU; Slight Angst; Comedy; Romance
Rating: PG-13
Synopsis: “You will never be pretty.”
Warnings: None;
Disclaimer: The story is mine; The characters are yet to be tamed.
The last day of the first year of junior high could be pretty insignificant to many people, considering that there were still many days to go to get to high school and then get through college. There could be some exceptions, like there could always be, and that exception was once 12-year-old Yutaka Uke.
Second period came on that March morning of 1993, and Yutaka Uke sat silently at the edge of his chair, looking over at the most beautiful girl in the whole school. Her name was Kotoko Takahashi, the one who Yutaka had been fawning over for more than 4 years now. That March morning would be the day that he would be confessing his love for her and perhaps begin a relationship filled with spring romance.
He had prepared well for many years and as the day got closer, he only became more anxious. He told himself that 12 was the number right before bad luck, meaning it had to be great luck. He looked at himself in the mirror for hours that morning; he even woke up at 4 a.m. that morning to ensure that his looks were the best. He took a shower, blow-dried his hair, straightened his hair, put in contacts. He had done so many things to his face, he even stole some of his sister’s pore strips to ensure that his pores were clear.
Yutaka tried his hardest on his looks. He had never found himself really attractive, but he thought he was okay. Kotoko was a beauty, but he wasn’t going to give up just because his looks weren’t as good compared to hers. He watched the clock, hoping that class would end quickly.
When the time came, Yutaka stood up from his chair and tip-toed closely to Kotoko. She didn’t know he existed, that much he knew. No one really knew who Yutaka was. He had no friends and he was always alone. He wanted to get someone to be alone with together. As he got closer, he thought he’d introduce himself first.
“Hello.” Yutaka smiled. The girl looked up from her things that she was trying to store into her bag, without an expression on her face. “I am Yutaka.” He continued, trying to look into her eyes. They were prettier close up. “I have been liking you for a while now…and I was wondering if you would like to go on a date with me.”
Kotoko looked down at her things, as if she was speechless. The smile on Yutaka’s face was priceless, filled with innocence and excitement. He was beginning to think perhaps she had a crush on him and she was way too excited to express what she felt. That’s what Yutaka thought at the moment.
“Kotoko-chan, why are you talking to that nerd?” A high voice came from Kotoko’s best friend, Yuki. She was next to Kotoko, looking over at Yutaka with a disgusted face.
“I didn’t talk to him, I swear!” Kotoko cried, beginning to have that same disgusted look on her face. “He just asked me out and…and…!”
“Look, dork.” Yuki pressed a finger to Yutaka’s chest, causing him to step back. His eyes were wide with shock and fear. But most of all, sadness. “Stay away from her. She has a boyfriend. He will be hearing about this. And he’s a year older than us. So scram!”
Yutaka dashed away before more words could be spoken, his face reddened and tears in his eyes. He looked back only a little bit and saw an apologetic look coming from Kotoko’s face. That was the last time he was planning on ever looking her way.
Yutaka found a hiding spot near the gym and decided he would skip the rest of the day. It all went fine until it was time to leave and he finally stepped out of his safe spot. He had calmed down and the tears were completely gone. At least for the moment.
As he was getting ready to step off of school grounds, someone took him by the shoulders and spun him around.
“So I heard you tried to ask my girlfriend out.” The boy in front of him spat. He was taller than Yutaka by a lot, and he was a whole lot better looking. His eyes were big and brown, something that he and his girlfriend had in common. What Yutaka found odd was that his hair was prettier than his girlfriend’s. It was shoulder length but pulled to one side, honey blond curls falling like a waterfall. He was in awe.
“Um.” He couldn’t say much, just stand there with the pale face in his. Yutaka would have reached out to touch the skin if it hadn’t been for the fact that he was in terrible danger. He couldn’t feel it though. The feeling of fear was gone.
“Um? You’ve been trying to get my girlfriend for a while and all you can say is um?” The boy spat. Yutaka glanced down at the shirt and saw a name for this stranger. Kouyou Takashima. He had heard of this boy, but he had never seen him before. Girls cried over him. That was all that was in his brain for the moment. Girls cried over him.
Yutaka still didn’t answer, he just stood there frozen. He noticed people gathering around to see what was going on but he knew no one was going to do anything about it. He was just hoping that whatever beating he received didn’t make too much of a mess so his mother wouldn’t go cry in the basement. Again.
“My girlfriend would never go out with someone like you…” Kouyou began laughing, looking closer at Yutaka’s face. “Look at you! You’re UGLY!”
Ugly.
Yutaka’s eyes began tearing up as he heard the word.
Ugly.
He wanted to scream but he couldn’t.
Ugly.
His mother always told him he was her treasure.
Ugly.
His mother must have had a terrible taste in treasures.
“What is it, ugly duckling?” Kouyou cooed into Yutaka’s ear. “Can’t take the fact that you’re ugly?”
“I want to be pretty.” Yutaka whispered softly, but not loud enough for anyone to hear him.
“Let me make you beautiful like me.” Kouyou snorted as he looked over Yutaka’s features. “This will take a lot of rearranging.”
And the first punch was felt.
And the next one.
And the next one.
The punches and kicks rained down on him for about 20 minutes until kid began scattering away to their school buses. Kouyou finished him off by allowing him to fall to the ground and then leaning over, close to Yutaka’s face and smirking.
“You will never be pretty.”
That is all Yutaka ever remembered.
---
Yutaka shut off his beeping alarm clock by throwing it at the wall. It would have been an exciting morning for someone who felt like they had something nice ahead of their lives. Yutaka slowly lost confident through the years and decided that working was only for survival. Why he was still bothering on surviving, he didn’t know. All he knew was that he was completely alone in the world.
He rubbed his eyes as he got up from his bed and glanced at the calendar with anger obvious in his face. It was his first day on the job working for a fashion magazine. Why someone would hire a person as sloppy and old-fashioned as Yutaka, you ask? He was an excellent photographer, whether it was seen once way or another. He was also a magnificent writer and could make stupid sentences sound like they were written by a professor at Harvard.
That was all they liked about Yutaka.
Just what he did.
He got up from bed in a snap and picked up clothes off of his dresser that he had gotten out the day before. Some loose, black jeans and a burgundy turtle-neck, accompanied by some black shoes that he had gotten about a year before and his thick-rimmed glasses.
It didn’t take him long to get a bite of bread and brush before he walked out the door with his bag slung over his arm and a subway pass in his hand. The ride wasn’t too bad either, it only took a few minutes to get to his stop and he was running out. He was late on the first day.
“I’m really sorry.” Yutaka bowed in front of his boss, who was smiling at him and handing him some papers.
“It’s okay, it’s only the first day.” She smiled sweetly at him. “Here are the topics I would like you to research and write about, I would also like you to schedule us at this place.” She pointed at a picture. “We need to have a shoot there next week. Sorry to pile up all this work on you, but we’ve been missing people. OH. The deadline is next Thursday.”
“Will there be anything else?” Yutaka tilted his head.
“I’m not sure…” She said thoughtfully. “Wait! Also. There is a young man in the office that you have been assigned. You must bring him things when he asks for them, run your work by him and become friends with him. He will be your partner, except he has been working longer so he has the upper hand in the relationship.”
“Okay, will do.” Yutaka smiled, bowing a little before exiting the office.
Great. A relationship with a person. The one thing he had been avoiding since he had been a child.
He walked clumsily past the nicely dressed people until he arrived to his office number. Room 21.
He entered and shut the door, setting down all his papers on the empty desk and throwing his book bag at the corner. There was no one inside the office, but he saw a jacket slung over a cushiony seat and several papers on the desk. That was probably his partner’s.
He signed into his computer began his work, but casually kept looking over that the desk. He was nervous for some reason. He didn’t understand why. Maybe the thought of having to get close to someone was beginning to sicken him, but it was only natural for someone who had been an introvert for a while. More than a while.
He ended up noticing there was name plate on the desk after a while. He couldn’t exactly see the name that was printed of it because of the angle so he stood up and went over to the desk. The name plate was turned around. He picked it up off of the desk, reading the name.
Kouyou Takashima.
“You must be my new-what are you doing?”
Yutaka dropped the name plate.
Life was truly a nightmare.
---
Author’s Note: New fic, yay. I should make this clear, this story won’t have much angst. ^^ It’ll just be a few scenes, and well a large part of this chapter really. But nothing that is too much. I hope you guys like it, let me know what you think. (:
Author: pe_gret
Pairing: Uruha/Kai;
Chapter: 1/???
Genre: AU; Slight Angst; Comedy; Romance
Rating: PG-13
Synopsis: “You will never be pretty.”
Warnings: None;
Disclaimer: The story is mine; The characters are yet to be tamed.
The last day of the first year of junior high could be pretty insignificant to many people, considering that there were still many days to go to get to high school and then get through college. There could be some exceptions, like there could always be, and that exception was once 12-year-old Yutaka Uke.
Second period came on that March morning of 1993, and Yutaka Uke sat silently at the edge of his chair, looking over at the most beautiful girl in the whole school. Her name was Kotoko Takahashi, the one who Yutaka had been fawning over for more than 4 years now. That March morning would be the day that he would be confessing his love for her and perhaps begin a relationship filled with spring romance.
He had prepared well for many years and as the day got closer, he only became more anxious. He told himself that 12 was the number right before bad luck, meaning it had to be great luck. He looked at himself in the mirror for hours that morning; he even woke up at 4 a.m. that morning to ensure that his looks were the best. He took a shower, blow-dried his hair, straightened his hair, put in contacts. He had done so many things to his face, he even stole some of his sister’s pore strips to ensure that his pores were clear.
Yutaka tried his hardest on his looks. He had never found himself really attractive, but he thought he was okay. Kotoko was a beauty, but he wasn’t going to give up just because his looks weren’t as good compared to hers. He watched the clock, hoping that class would end quickly.
When the time came, Yutaka stood up from his chair and tip-toed closely to Kotoko. She didn’t know he existed, that much he knew. No one really knew who Yutaka was. He had no friends and he was always alone. He wanted to get someone to be alone with together. As he got closer, he thought he’d introduce himself first.
“Hello.” Yutaka smiled. The girl looked up from her things that she was trying to store into her bag, without an expression on her face. “I am Yutaka.” He continued, trying to look into her eyes. They were prettier close up. “I have been liking you for a while now…and I was wondering if you would like to go on a date with me.”
Kotoko looked down at her things, as if she was speechless. The smile on Yutaka’s face was priceless, filled with innocence and excitement. He was beginning to think perhaps she had a crush on him and she was way too excited to express what she felt. That’s what Yutaka thought at the moment.
“Kotoko-chan, why are you talking to that nerd?” A high voice came from Kotoko’s best friend, Yuki. She was next to Kotoko, looking over at Yutaka with a disgusted face.
“I didn’t talk to him, I swear!” Kotoko cried, beginning to have that same disgusted look on her face. “He just asked me out and…and…!”
“Look, dork.” Yuki pressed a finger to Yutaka’s chest, causing him to step back. His eyes were wide with shock and fear. But most of all, sadness. “Stay away from her. She has a boyfriend. He will be hearing about this. And he’s a year older than us. So scram!”
Yutaka dashed away before more words could be spoken, his face reddened and tears in his eyes. He looked back only a little bit and saw an apologetic look coming from Kotoko’s face. That was the last time he was planning on ever looking her way.
Yutaka found a hiding spot near the gym and decided he would skip the rest of the day. It all went fine until it was time to leave and he finally stepped out of his safe spot. He had calmed down and the tears were completely gone. At least for the moment.
As he was getting ready to step off of school grounds, someone took him by the shoulders and spun him around.
“So I heard you tried to ask my girlfriend out.” The boy in front of him spat. He was taller than Yutaka by a lot, and he was a whole lot better looking. His eyes were big and brown, something that he and his girlfriend had in common. What Yutaka found odd was that his hair was prettier than his girlfriend’s. It was shoulder length but pulled to one side, honey blond curls falling like a waterfall. He was in awe.
“Um.” He couldn’t say much, just stand there with the pale face in his. Yutaka would have reached out to touch the skin if it hadn’t been for the fact that he was in terrible danger. He couldn’t feel it though. The feeling of fear was gone.
“Um? You’ve been trying to get my girlfriend for a while and all you can say is um?” The boy spat. Yutaka glanced down at the shirt and saw a name for this stranger. Kouyou Takashima. He had heard of this boy, but he had never seen him before. Girls cried over him. That was all that was in his brain for the moment. Girls cried over him.
Yutaka still didn’t answer, he just stood there frozen. He noticed people gathering around to see what was going on but he knew no one was going to do anything about it. He was just hoping that whatever beating he received didn’t make too much of a mess so his mother wouldn’t go cry in the basement. Again.
“My girlfriend would never go out with someone like you…” Kouyou began laughing, looking closer at Yutaka’s face. “Look at you! You’re UGLY!”
Ugly.
Yutaka’s eyes began tearing up as he heard the word.
Ugly.
He wanted to scream but he couldn’t.
Ugly.
His mother always told him he was her treasure.
Ugly.
His mother must have had a terrible taste in treasures.
“What is it, ugly duckling?” Kouyou cooed into Yutaka’s ear. “Can’t take the fact that you’re ugly?”
“I want to be pretty.” Yutaka whispered softly, but not loud enough for anyone to hear him.
“Let me make you beautiful like me.” Kouyou snorted as he looked over Yutaka’s features. “This will take a lot of rearranging.”
And the first punch was felt.
And the next one.
And the next one.
The punches and kicks rained down on him for about 20 minutes until kid began scattering away to their school buses. Kouyou finished him off by allowing him to fall to the ground and then leaning over, close to Yutaka’s face and smirking.
“You will never be pretty.”
That is all Yutaka ever remembered.
---
Yutaka shut off his beeping alarm clock by throwing it at the wall. It would have been an exciting morning for someone who felt like they had something nice ahead of their lives. Yutaka slowly lost confident through the years and decided that working was only for survival. Why he was still bothering on surviving, he didn’t know. All he knew was that he was completely alone in the world.
He rubbed his eyes as he got up from his bed and glanced at the calendar with anger obvious in his face. It was his first day on the job working for a fashion magazine. Why someone would hire a person as sloppy and old-fashioned as Yutaka, you ask? He was an excellent photographer, whether it was seen once way or another. He was also a magnificent writer and could make stupid sentences sound like they were written by a professor at Harvard.
That was all they liked about Yutaka.
Just what he did.
He got up from bed in a snap and picked up clothes off of his dresser that he had gotten out the day before. Some loose, black jeans and a burgundy turtle-neck, accompanied by some black shoes that he had gotten about a year before and his thick-rimmed glasses.
It didn’t take him long to get a bite of bread and brush before he walked out the door with his bag slung over his arm and a subway pass in his hand. The ride wasn’t too bad either, it only took a few minutes to get to his stop and he was running out. He was late on the first day.
“I’m really sorry.” Yutaka bowed in front of his boss, who was smiling at him and handing him some papers.
“It’s okay, it’s only the first day.” She smiled sweetly at him. “Here are the topics I would like you to research and write about, I would also like you to schedule us at this place.” She pointed at a picture. “We need to have a shoot there next week. Sorry to pile up all this work on you, but we’ve been missing people. OH. The deadline is next Thursday.”
“Will there be anything else?” Yutaka tilted his head.
“I’m not sure…” She said thoughtfully. “Wait! Also. There is a young man in the office that you have been assigned. You must bring him things when he asks for them, run your work by him and become friends with him. He will be your partner, except he has been working longer so he has the upper hand in the relationship.”
“Okay, will do.” Yutaka smiled, bowing a little before exiting the office.
Great. A relationship with a person. The one thing he had been avoiding since he had been a child.
He walked clumsily past the nicely dressed people until he arrived to his office number. Room 21.
He entered and shut the door, setting down all his papers on the empty desk and throwing his book bag at the corner. There was no one inside the office, but he saw a jacket slung over a cushiony seat and several papers on the desk. That was probably his partner’s.
He signed into his computer began his work, but casually kept looking over that the desk. He was nervous for some reason. He didn’t understand why. Maybe the thought of having to get close to someone was beginning to sicken him, but it was only natural for someone who had been an introvert for a while. More than a while.
He ended up noticing there was name plate on the desk after a while. He couldn’t exactly see the name that was printed of it because of the angle so he stood up and went over to the desk. The name plate was turned around. He picked it up off of the desk, reading the name.
Kouyou Takashima.
“You must be my new-what are you doing?”
Yutaka dropped the name plate.
Life was truly a nightmare.
---
Author’s Note: New fic, yay. I should make this clear, this story won’t have much angst. ^^ It’ll just be a few scenes, and well a large part of this chapter really. But nothing that is too much. I hope you guys like it, let me know what you think. (: