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Yugi Amane has never, ever, picked up a camera before in his life.
Well, not in the literal sense. He has used a camera a few times before, but unlike his pink haired friend, it wasn't like he had a knack for it either. To him, a camera was just something to take images of things, nothing more, nothing less.
What made this time so different, though?
Maybe it all began one summer day, in the white room of a hospital just across the street where he lived.
He wasn't the type to take interest in a lot of things (except astronomy, he could probably even say he'd never get tired of it either), but he couldn't say it was the case for the person he had grown accustomed to visiting in that hospital, just for the mere reason of providing company.
He'd known Yashiro Nene for a long time now. Since childhood, they've been close with each other, his younger twin brother included. She was energetic, kind, and a bit of a klutz, but he found it to be quite endearing.
Things changed however, when a month ago, she had unwittingly dropped on the floor in her home's kitchen. Luckily, he had been there at the time that happened, and after frantically (he likes to think he was quite level-headed at that situation, although Mitsuba and Kou made it seem like that didn't happen at all) taking her to the hospital, that's when they found out she had suffered extreme fatigue that day, and her body couldn't handle it any further.
"Why did you overwork yourself like that?" Was what he asked, sitting beside her bed as she apologetically smiled at him.
"It was just a simple case of forgetting, that's all!"
"Simple case, my ass. How can anyone forget to sleep for almost a week?"
She frowned, looking down at her left hand, hooked to an IV. "I took a couple of quick naps in between writing, though."
It felt like he was beginning to develop a headache from their conversation. Oh, she was stubborn, alright. Ever since she found her calling as a novelist, she had been neglecting her own health as a consequence.
"That's not going to cut it. I was really worried, you know? Seeing you fall down like that… it still scares me." There was a slight tremble in his voice. Now, he didn't want her to see him suddenly burst into tears right there. That would be embarrassing.
(And it would totally give way to the obvious feelings he's always had for her, but that's for another time.)
Nene's gaze softened at that, and she reached out her free hand to take his own, squeezing it reassuringly. "I'm sorry for worrying you that much. I promise I'll make sure I take good care of myself from now on."
"You better. It'll be easier for me to look after you that way." He wouldn't ever admit it, but since they were kids he had always kept an eye out for her as she did for him. He was more used to being roughed up already, whether it be fights at school or some minor roughhousing with his brother.
Nene however, he thought, wasn't cut out for that kind of lifestyle. She was strong, sure, but that didn't stop the urge of wanting to protect her from the things he's experienced. He hated seeing her get hurt. And he'd hate himself even more for letting her feel that way.
He was pulled away from his own thoughts when he heard her sigh. "I'll be stuck here for at least a few days, they said. Until then I won't be allowed to do any work at all."
"Obviously. They need to make sure you're absolutely well enough to even do anything."
"It'll be soooo boring, though!" Nene whined. "I won't see any of the outside anymore! The flowers, the cute little hamsters, everything!"
Amane rolled his eyes at that. "You're exaggerating."
"Am not! What if I forget what a dog looks like?" A look of worry instantly etched across her face.
"You won't. They're not that easy to forget about, Yashiro." It was hard not to crack a smile at her ridiculous worries.
"Or what if… I forget what YOU look like?!" She turned back to him, now looking terrified at the mere idea. He shook his head, suppressing a chuckle, settling for a grin and a pat on the head.
"Crazy daikon, have you forgotten that I'll be visiting everyday? And how can you say something like that? I know you won't ever forget my handsome face even if you try." He faked hurt, grinning even more when she blushed and retorted with a weak smack on his shoulder.
"You're anything but handsome!"
"The more you deny the more you'll eventually believe it, Yashiro!"
She huffed, crossing her arms. "This is a serious matter. Who knows how long I'll be here. You never know what would happen."
Amane put on a thoughtful look, trying to rack up an idea in his mind. Well, if Nene was being serious in forgetting what things look like outside her hospital room, then the best thing he could do was offer a solution, right?
And a solution came, indeed.
"What if…" He started, perking up her interest. "I took pictures of things outside for you? A little report on stuff, or something like that. So you won't miss out on anything."
"Pictures? Like, of the park? And the cute little bakery in town?" There was a glimmer of hope in her eyes, making her look even cuter (if he thought she was already cute, this just intensifed things).
"Yeah. So you won't forget about what they look like while you're in here."
Nene nodded, smiling brightly. "That's a great idea! But… do you even know how to work a camera?"
"Shouldn't be too hard. I can learn." If it's to make you smile, then I'll try.
And that was what all it took for him to bring himself to Mitsuba's house, standing in front of him holding a fairly new camera in his hands.
(He had obtained it from their dad, who had bought it some two years ago, but never used it for whatever reason. Oh well.)
"...you want me to teach you how to use a camera." Mitsuba repeated, as if he was learning some kind of new word for the first time.
"Not exactly. Just how to take good shots and stuff."
Mitsuba raised an eyebrow with suspicion. "Didn't take you to be the photographer type of person, Yugi-senpai. What's the sudden interest all about?"
Now, Amane didn't exactly like admitting to things he found embarrassing. He knew just how much Mitsuba and Kou teased him about his crush on Nene and spilling the truth to him was akin to a death sentence.
So instead, he shrugged, making himself sound as nonchalant as he can. "Can't I pick up a new hobby every once in a while?"
Luckily for him, Mitsuba seemed to believe him, and agreed to help. Being a professional photographer himself, it was no surprise to anyone he was adept at teaching how to master the camera. It was also just Amane's luck he was a pretty quick learner, and he got the hang of it immediately.
Didn't mean he succeeded in the first couple of tries, though. The first practice runs with the camera resulted in blurry shots and questionable angles. It was a wonder how Mitsuba tolerated all of that.
The next day, Amane left for the public park, along with his camera. It was one of the places Nene liked to visit, because she'd always tell him "new things seem to happen here everyday!".
He noticed a new statue displayed near the children's playground. It was a big, cartoonish whale, painted in a bright blue color. A few kids gathered around it, making faces at it and trying to see what was on the top of it's head.
Yashiro would like seeing that. She's a sucker for cute things, after all. He turned the lens of his camera at the sight, and snapped his first picture of the day.
His gaze moved to the playground, where a couple of other children were running about. A little boy was climbing on the monkey bars, the string of his left shoe loose.
A small laugh escaped his mouth when he managed to capture the moment the kid's shoe went flying in the air when he kicked his foot up, and it landed on a clueless old man passing by.
If Nene had been there with him, she'd be scolding him for laughing at such a sight, but he knew she'd find it funny regardless, even if she didn't want to admit it.
It wasn't much at all, he thought, but before he knew it, he had taken a decent amount of photos in the park alone. So much had happened in a single day that he felt compelled to show Nene as much as he can.
"She's right… a lot does happen around here."
He had his pictures developed, and as the weekend rolled by, he got the chance to show them to Nene, although he felt a bit nervous.
"And that's where an old guy got a kid's shoe flying at his head. The kid was climbing on top of some monkey bars and he accidentally had his shoe slip off his foot, and the old man just so happened to be walking nearby." He pointed out to the photo of the distressed old man rubbing his nearly bald head, and a shoe on the ground next to his feet.
"Don't laugh! You should have helped the poor man." Nene slapped him on the shoulder, though it barely hurt him. He knew she found it as funny as he did, though, so it didn't matter to him.
"Someone came in to help, don't worry."
She sighed, looking down at all the photos on her lap. He caught wind of how her expression changed from cheery to…
Sad?
"Do you… do you not like them?" Somehow he found himself asking. Nene quickly shook her head.
"No, it's not like I don't like them! It's just… I already miss being outside. It hasn't been that long, but I can't help it." She gathered the photos and held them close to her chest.
Ignoring the relief that washed over him, Amane reached out to give her a comforting head pat, as he always did. "Then you better start getting well again. I promise that when you get out of here, I'll take you to see that whale statue."
"Really? You mean it? You're not joking or anything, right?"
"Really." He can't help but smile warmly at her. He rarely smiled at anyone else but her, in actuality. Maybe that's why he would feel embarrassed if someone else would point it out.
Right before leaving for the day, he had also promised to give her more pictures next time he visited. The moment he closed the door of her room behind him, his smile didn't fade away right up to when he drove back to his house.
To his unfortunate luck, however, Tsukasa was quick to deduce the reason behind his unusually happy mood. If there was anyone else who knew exactly what he had in mind, it was his twin brother, for obvious reasons.
"The stupid grin on your face tells me something happened between the two of you."
"Nothing happened. We only talked about the pictures today." Amane tried to avoid his inquiring gaze, but Tsukasa kept insisting on figuring out the whole story.
"Hmm, is that so?" Tsukasa followed him all the way to the kitchen, sitting on top of the counter while he opened the fridge. "Why don't you just ask her out already?"
"She doesn't like me like that. You out of all people should be aware by now." It was a touchy subject for him. Nene was the kind of girl to fall for literally any good-looking guy around her, and he didn't see himself as someone she'd go for, even as an option.
There was still some hope in him somehow, though.
"And you, out of all people, should be even more aware about the fact she obviously likes you too." His brother said, in a as-a-matter-of-factly tone.
Amane shut the fridge, plain donut in his mouth. "Don't fill my head with ideas, man." His muffled voice came out from his food, crumbs sticking to the sides of his mouth.
"Besides, there's no time for that. Her full recovery is the first priority at the moment."
"Right, that, and you confessing to her. Got it."
"You're totally not listening to what I'm saying right now, aren't you?"
Tsukasa grinned. "I mean, if you're not big into the whole confessing to her directly idea, why not use those pictures you've been taking for her?"
A slight pause. Amane finished up the donut, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as he stared at his brother, eyebrow raised up. "What exactly are you getting on here?"
"Think about it! A message expressed through images that words can't convey! I learned that from Mitsuba. If you can't tell her with words, just tell her with pictures."
"..." Huh. It wasn't that bad of an idea, Amane admit to himself. Still, he wasn't exactly sure if he should go for it.
Although he also preferred not to wallow in regrets should he choose to continue keeping his bottled up feelings undisclosed to Nene.
"I'll… I'll think about it. But that doesn't mean I'm going to do it." He shot at Tsukasa before he could say anything else.
Tsukasa was more than pleased at that answer, though. "Good enough for me!"
And the idea was what became stuck into his head for the rest of the night.
A week passed. And another one. And another one. By the time he was aware of it, three weeks had passed since then. He had gotten good at his photography skills, not as professional as Mitsuba, but decent enough to end up in someone's photo frame in their living room, at least.
Nene's collection of various photographs grew in number, Amane having brought along an album to keep them organized for her. It had become a routine by then, with him always carrying a new set of pictures to show her.
A dog leaving paw prints on some construction site's wet cement. Butterflies amongst a newly planted flowerbed. Mitsuba's scarf flown off by a strong wind and getting stuck on a tree branch. Kou attempting to help get it back by climbing, and Mitsuba laughing hysterically as he managed to get the scarf, but accidentally fell on a bush below the tree. He wasn't hurt badly, but Mitsuba witnessing all that left him embarrassed.
"After that, I saw this highschool girl suddenly break down crying in front of the cafe." He stuck another photo in the album, as Nene smoothened out the page. "She was talking through her phone when that happened. I thought she heard some bad news or something, but she suddenly started laughing and crying at the same time."
"Why didn't you take a picture of her?" Nene asked, and he pinched her on the cheek.
"That'll be weird. Taking a picture of a stranger without consent isn't what I wanted to do. So I just took a picture of the cafe sign above her." There, in his hand, was the picture of the cafe's sign, but she could make out from the lower corner spot the top of the girl's head.
"I guess so."
He looked at the wall clock. A lot of time has passed. It was funny that whenever he was with Nene, he could literally not notice time moving forward.
She noticed him looking at the clock, and she closed the album. "Going back?"
"Mm-hm. Tsukasa's probably going stay up all night playing video games again if I'm not back home in time."
"Tell him I said hi." She laughed when he rolled his eyes at the thought of his brother splurging on another all-nighter trying to complete a video game.
"I will. I'll see you tomorrow." Before he could leave, a hand tugged on his shirt, pulling him back. He turned around to look at her.
"Yashiro?"
It took her a second to begin speaking again, as she took a breath, and faced him directly. "Wait a sec. I have something to give you."
"What is it—" Everything became a blur when he felt her warm lips press upon his cheek.
In fact, his heart pounded so much, if he tried hard enough, he could literally hear it.
"...a magic spell. As a thank you gift… or something." She avoided his eyes, a lovely shade of red slowly filling her cheeks. He was sure his had done the same, as all he could do was blink owlishly.
A magic spell, huh…
When he had woken up that morning, he felt a new resolve take over himself. Tsukasa himself had noticed his change in demeanor, his sudden confidence and all.
"I'll be off, Tsu." Amane stood up from the breakfast table, grabbing his camera and slipping it over his neck. Tsukasa waved, watching his brother leave through the door.
He sipped his coffee, a little smirk curling up his lips. There was that feeling that something exciting was going to happen today.
The park was slightly devoid of people today, with a few children already playing near the whale statue. He gripped on the camera, not noticing someone approaching him from behind.
"You seem to come here often, young man." An old woman's voice spoke. She walked up to his side, hands behind her back.
"I… I guess I do."
The old woman laughed, taking notice of the camera in his hands. "I see you take photographs whenever you come here. Is it for a job?"
"No, nothing like that. It's just for someone special." Amane looked down at his camera, a smile creeping up his face. He felt like a big idiot right now, but he didn't care anymore.
"Ah, I see. Pictures are worth a thousand words, as they say." Those words made him remember what Tsukasa had told him before.
"If you can't tell her with words, just tell her with pictures."
He didn't realize it until now, but before he knew it, he found himself standing in front of Nene's hospital room, with the door standing in between them.
He took a deep breath, gripping on the doorknob. He felt nervous, but he came this far, so he couldn't afford to give up just yet.
"Yashiro?" Opening the door, he let himself inside, putting his camera on the small table beside her bed. She didn't answer, rather, she was fast asleep, clutching on the photo album by her side.
His heart began to beat even faster against his chest. Should he wake her up? But he didn't want to disturb her rest, and maybe he should just wait until she wakes up on her own.
Turns out, he didn't even have to worry, as the moment he sat down on the chair next to her, she began to wake up, having sensed his presence.
"Mm… huh? Amane, is that you?" She drowsily spoke, rubbing her eye as she tried to sit up on her bed.
"It's me. Did you sleep well last night?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. You're here early."
I have something important to tell you. "I wanted to see you again, that's all."
She became flustered, now fully awake and aware of her surroundings. "Oh…"
He smirked, tilting his head to the side rather teasingly. "Is my little daikon shy?"
"N-no!" Nene pouted at him. "And it's not funny to tease me like that!"
"I get it, I get it."
With a sigh, she spotted the camera sitting on the table, and she remembered the album next to her. "Oh, right! Any new pictures?"
"Ah…" Crap. How was he going to do this without looking awkward? "Actually… there aren't any right now…"
"Is something the matter? You don't have to take pictures anymore, if you want to." There she was, concerned about other people's wellbeing instead of hers. He shook his head.
"It's nothing that serious. But for today, I… wanted to start out by taking a picture of you first."
"...of me? I—I don't look great right now, Amane. Just look at me. My hair's all messy and I probably have eye bags or something." Nene gestured to herself with her hand.
It was true; her hair looked all disheveled and hadn't been combed yet, and there was some slight dark circles underneath her eyes, but to Amane, however…
She had never looked so perfect.
"Like that matters. You're still you in the end." She turned red at that, shaking her head with a quick adjustment to her hair, probably to get rid of her blush.
"F-fine. Don't blame me if I don't look great!"
Chuckling, he raised the camera up to his view, adjusting the lens and focusing it to her form. She let out a smile, trying her best to look at least decent in front of him. There was a click, and the picture was taken.
"There. That wasn't so bad now, was it? Why don't we both take one together next?" Before Nene could say anything, he had already moved closer to her side, flipping the camera around so the lens faced themselves.
"Smile for the camera! At the count of three… One..." His thumb hovered over the button, as Nene put on another smile and a little peace sign to go with it for the camera.
"Two…"
His heart raced, aware of exactly what he was about to do.
"Three."
He leaned forward, planting a quick kiss on her cheek, just as the click went off.
"E-eh? Amane—?!" She turned around to look at him, cheeks dusted in red more than ever, as he became closer, to the point their foreheads touched.
"Yashiro…" He stared into her ruby colored eyes, his heart now feeling like it could soar into the sky if it could. "Yashiro, I…"
It felt like hours in there. Like time has stopped completely. But they both were distracted with each other to care.
"I like you, Yashiro. I like you a whole lot."
two months later
"Wow, you took these all by yourself, Yugi-senpai? Not bad." Mitsuba flipped through the photo album in his hands. The three friends were waiting for Nene to finish getting ready, and were standing by in front of her house.
"Aren't some of them weird though? Like that picture of the old guy who got a shoe thrown at him." Kou pointed at that particular photo. "Still, they look great!"
Amane shrugged. "I just thought to take a snapshot of the things that mattered, that's all."
"Mattered, huh. You really took Senpai's request that seriously."
Mitsuba snickered, giving the album back to Amane. "Should have known that were the case. But again, it's not like he'd tell it to us directly."
"Why not?" Kou asked, confused. Before Mitsuba could reply, Amane did a cutting neck gesture, signalling him to shut up.
"See for yourself."
"Hey guys, sorry for making you wait!" At last, Nene walked out of the house, immediately moving to Amane's side and intertwining their hands together with a smile. At that sight, Mitsuba nudged Kou on the shoulder, telling him to observe.
"It's fine. You ready to go?"
"Mm-hm! Can't wait to see that cute new whale statue at the park!"
"The whale statue? That's what you're excited about?" Mitsuba asked, though he secretly felt excited about it too for some reason. His upperclassmen's enthusiasm must have been contagious.
"I did promise to take her there once she left the hospital, after all." Amane gave them an apologetic look, although it was really anything but apologetic.
"Yep! And for our first date together!" Nene added, leaning closer to his side. Mitsuba had to hold back a laugh when he saw how much Amane combusted at that, face all flushed in bright red.
"Oh, I got a text from Tsukasa. He's waiting for us at the park now. Shall we go?" Kou pointed out at his phone. "It's been a while since we all went out together as a group."
"I call shotgun, airhead." Suddenly both Mitsuba and Kou were racing towards the car, trying to get to the front seat first. It was Mitsuba's car in the first place, so it didn't matter that much when Kou won in the end.
"Those two…" Amane sighed, shaking his head at them. Nene laughed, then she noticed the camera around his neck from the corner of her eye.
"Taking more pictures again?" She asked, as the two of them followed after their friends, side by side.
With a smile, he looked at her, giving her hand a firm squeeze. "Of course."
Nene returned his smile with one of her own.
Meanwhile, by the park, Tsukasa sat on a bench, a knowing smirk on his face as he looked at his phone. A picture of his older twin brother was on it, dated from last night. He was sleeping on the couch of their living room, unaware of everything going on around him.
What really made it all the funnier, was the two new photos tucked under his palm. The two photos he had taken of Nene and himself, close to his chest as he slept.
With a chuckle, he sent his brother a quick "so when's the wedding happening" message, putting his phone back in his pockets and leaning back on the bench, eyes closed and letting the gentle park breeze cool him off.
Now that was going to be a different story itself altogether.