Kuro Hana no Kyuuka Yabun

[Zetsubou-Libby18]

It had been a busy night at the bar. Walking home, Kuro remembered the rancid smell of cigarettes and the men ingesting glass upon glass of beer and other spirits. 'Disgusting...'
The cool summer night air was refreshing after being in the cramped stuffiness of the over-crowded bar. The asphalt and trees were wet with the light rain that had followed lunch, making the evening breeze sweet and fresh. But despite the cheery atmosphere, Kuro couldn't help feeling sorrowful.
'Hey, Yuichi,' he thought, gazing at the colorful lights of Tokyo, 'Remember that festival we went to when we were 9? Remember how awed and happy you were, how the lights lit your face and the air's scent melded with yours? How I fell asleep on your shoulder during the fireworks? That night was just like this, wasn't it?'
Kuro let out a cold laugh.
"Yuichi, my friend..." he muttered aloud, "Why did you leave me? Why you?"
As the first tear fell, as it did every time he thought of Yuichi, a small sad smile crept across his face.
"Yuichi..."  

[XLucidXX]

Lucid was sitting on a bench beside a park. He looked up from reading a book to see a man walking by. Seeing the sad look on his face, Lucid walked up to him to talk. As he approached the guy, he reconized him as the bartender at the bar. "Hey mister. Your name is Kuro, right? What is on your mind to make you look so sad?" Lucid asked, concerned.  

[Zetsubou-Libby18]

Kuro looked up, shocked. He quickly dried his tear-reddened eyes and sniffed, clearing his sore throat.
"H-how do you kn-know me?" he asked in a trembling voice.
This boy... this kind, gentle boy... reminded him so much of his beloved Yuichi.
Kuro's listless body was racked with tremors as Yuichi's soft, beautiful voice echoed in his head. Ku-tan, my friend...
Tears streamed down his face as he thought of him. The young man in front of him gazed into his face silently, watching the glistening tears fall from Kuro's angular face and to the cold ground below.
"Yu...yu...yui...ch-chi..." he sobbed.  

[XLucidXX]

"Hey man, are you alright?" Lucid asked, not knowing what to do. Lucid's eyes started to tear up from watching this man cry, but Lucid held back the urge to cry. Lucid guided Kuro to the bench Lucid was sitting at and sat him down. "Want to talk about it?" Lucid asked, sympathy in his voice.  

[Zetsubou-Libby18]

"Want to talk about it?" The simple, gentile words just kept the tears flowing. The sweet phrase had rolled from the boy's lips as if he were talking to a friend, or lover.
Kuro opened his mouth and took a deep breath, intending to tell the boy eveything about his life and lost love, when he stopped himself.
'What am I doing?' he thought, 'Why the hell would I tell this stranger anything?'
Kuro shook his head, closing his mouth and dragging his cold hand over his eyes to dry the tears, which unrelentlessly kept falling from his azure eyes in an unbroken stream. He glanced at the kind young man, noticing the slight sheen of moisture on his lower eyelid. 'What reason does he have to cry?'
"Who... who are y-you?" Kuro managed to choke out between sobs.  

[XLucidXX]

"Sorry, I forgot to tell you who I am. I'm Lucid." Lucid said sweetly, feeling like a jerk for forgetting to tell him who he was. Lucid patted his shoulder in an effort to comfort him. "Is there anything you need? I can help, because you look really stressed." Lucid was really concerned for this guy, seeing how he seemed to be disconnected from the world.  

[Zetsubou-Libby18]

Kuro had cried himself dry. He wiped away the salty crust of dried tears and shakily inhaled the summer air.
"Lucid, eh?"
Suddenly, Kuro recognized the lengthy tresses of amethyst, the striking scarlet eyes, the pale, flawless skin, the bewitching face.
"Lucid... from Nightwish 13?"  

[XLucidXX]

Lucid rubbed his head in embrrassement. "Yeah.....I was kind of hoping you wouldn't have noticed that." Lucid said, blushing. He didn't like drawing attention to himself because of who he was. He liked trying to blend in with the crowd, though his lavender hair and red eyes didn't help him to do so. "So, what are you up to?" Lucid asked in an effort to get away from the topic of him being a singer.  

[Zetsubou-Libby18]

Catching his drift, Kuro decided not to persue the facinating subject.
"Uh... I'm... I mean, I was... going home..."
'Wow, I'm barely two feet from Lucid, lead singer of Nightwish 13! This is undoubtivly the coolest thing that's ever happened to me!'
Like every fan of Nightwish 13, Kuro was captivated by Lucid. But, unlike other male fans, Kuro was enraptured by the celebrity's elegant features and delicate beauty. His voice, in speech or song, was hypnotic, seductive even, his lips forming each word flawlessly before freeing them to the waiting air. Even the blush that had crept across Lucid's perfect face had compelled Kuro to touch his cheeks and see if this angel was absolutely real.  

[LucidElliotAtray]

"Hmm, could I walk you home?" Lucid said with interest in his voice. He was bored. He had been reading for awhile now and needed a break from it. He had such a boring life outside of his singing career. Lucid smiled softly, gazing at Kuro's face. The silvery-blue hair that was down to his ears was so intriging and was even keeping Lucid's gaze away from Kuro himself. Not only that, but Kuro's green eyes held such intensity, as if something deep and secret was behind the gaze.  

[Zetsubou-Libby18]

Kuro nodded breathlessly, delighted and astonished that someone like Lucid, someone famous, would want to tag along with someone as common and ordinary as him.
Kuro got up, Lucid following suit. And they started walking, the commoner and the superstar.
The silence between them was deafening.
Kuro racked his brain for something, anything to penetrate the quiet that had fallen.
"Er...uh... what brings you here to Nara?"
Kuro mentally slapped himself. 'Genius, Kuro. You're strolling down the streets of the poverty-ridden, crap-hole part of town with a godly, famous person and that's the best you can come up with?'
At the same time, he watched Lucid until he looked Kuro's way. Kuro averted his eyes, a red tint seeping into his ashen face at being caught staring.  

[LucidElliotAtray]

Lucid giggled softly, noticing how Kuro was having trouble being around him. "Don't even think of me as someone famous. I am just as normal as any other person and I have grew up in a normal suburb house. As for what brings me here, I wanted to go to an art musium. I enjoy looking at paintings. Do you like paintings?" Lucid asked, thinking how if Kuro probably looked at a few art pieces, it would help relieve some of the stress Lucid sensed on him.  

[Zetsubou-Libby18]

Kuro flushed an even darker crimson at the cute giggle. 'Wait, cute? Why... why am I thinking this?'
"Well... um... paintings are okay, I guess... I-I've never been to a real museum before; just seen them online and stuff..."
Kuro cursed himself for stuttering. His heart was thumping erratically in his chest, trying to free itself from his ribcage. The beating was so loud he was sure Lucid could hear it. He selfconciously wrapped his arms around himself in a futile attempt to muffle the uneven rythm of his weary heart.
'What's wrong with me?!'  

[LucidElliotAtray]

((Man, you are way better than me at rping. I am jealous))

Lucid looked into his eyes. "Why don't you come with me then? I was going to go tomorrow, and honestly, I don't like going alone." Lucid asked with pleading shining in his eyes. Lucid smiled softly as he was sure he heard something beat. The beating sound was so soothing and calm, like birds wings. It took a second for Lucid to find the source of it, coming from Kuro's heart. It was hypnotic the way his heart would beat loud and soft at the same time.  

[Zetsubou-Libby18]

((I thank you, but don't be jealous; you're really good at it too))

'Is he... asking me on a date?!'
Kuro found himself brimming with an ecstacy he hadn't felt since Yuichi had last touched him. Before he could stop himself, a broad smile spread across his brightening face.
'Who the hell am I kidding? My love is for Yuichi, and Yuichi only. I... I can't let anyone else in, no matter how they make me feel.'
The smile slowly faded, imediately replaced by a saddened expression and quivering lips. Kuro felt a hard lump in his throat as tears fought to come up. The thought of giving up Yuichi's place to a person he barely new struck him as repulsive.
He recoiled from Lucid's gaze, tearing his cerulean eyes from the adolecent's violaceous ones.
"Sure, I'll go with you," Kuro said with a slight nod.