Chapter Text
Isagi made his way across campus, pedaling carefully amongst fellow students. Photography class started at 10am and he was early. Ensuring his camera was tucked into his backpack, he texted Bachira, asking if he wanted anything from the convenience store nearby. The sliding doors opening signaled his arrival into the store, and he scoured the aisles for a new brand of sour gummies to try out. Ping! Isagi glanced at his phone to see that Bachira had asked for a bottle of soda water. He always asks for soda water, Isagi mused as he paid for the items and scurried over to class.
Bachira lit up as Isagi passed through the doorway, waving at him to sit down. “We get to take portraits of anyone we want for today’s assignment!” His friend was quite the social butterfly and seemed thrilled to chase down strangers for a photo.
Their professor described the fundamental rules of taking portraits—how to set up the subject, direct the light source with your positioning, and so forth—before shooing them out of the room. “Take as many portraits as you can for the next 30 minutes! It may feel awkward at first, but most people are curious about having their portraits taken. So have fun!”
Isagi and Bachira agreed to establish a mini competition, betting on who could snap the most photos. The pair split off in opposite directions, with Bachira prancing off to the campus restaurants while Isagi wandered towards the library. He checked the settings on his camera, enabling the wireless sharing feature in case his subjects requested a copy. Scanning the walkway, he settled into what their professor described as the ‘photographer zone’. Let’s see… who to pick… who to pick… Today’s personal objective, Isagi decided, was to approach as many bright-haired people as possible.
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Click, click, click. Isagi looped through the photos he had taken, pausing briefly over each one. A student slightly taller than him, with luscious magenta hair half-braided on his left side. Purple, chin length hair adorning the face of a man dressed in ridiculously expensive clothes. His boyfriend, Isagi assumed, had complained about having his portrait taken, claiming it was a hassle. The white-haired beanpole eventually relented after the promise of a piggyback ride. Click. A younger student with intense teal eyes lined with thick lower lashes. Click. Isagi landed on one of his favourites, examining the pink side braid and shark teeth of….he said his name was Kurona. Click. The most interesting hair colour he’d captured so far was this one. Short, cyan locks framed this person’s delicate features, almost caressing his owl-like eyes.
The chatter of people drew Isagi’s attention away from his camera. 20 minutes had passed, and some classes were just ending. Observing the influx of people pouring from the kinesiology building, a curtain of golden-blue hair stood out. Isagi had seen this person before, but only from the back, his face always remaining a mystery. Isagi weaved through the stream of students with a sense of urgency. I have to see his face. Reaching out, he tapped insistently on the man’s shoulder, which had a sports duffel bag slung over it.
The blonde turned around, tucking the shorter ends of hair behind his ears. “Can I help you?” By the tone of his voice, he was definitely not interested in offering any assistance. Isagi decided to introduce himself anyway.
“My name is Isagi Yoichi. I’m taking portraits of strangers for my photography class—would you mind if I took yours? It’ll be brief.” He fiddled with the camera strap around his neck, blushing as the stranger gave him a sly smile. The intensity of his gaze settled over Isagi like a smothering blanket.
“Oh, is that so? You can take all the photos you want then, Yoichi. Just be sure to tell people it’s Michael Kaiser when you display them.” He led the two of them to a fountain, propping himself up on the concrete bench and staring at Isagi’s lens.
He agreed quite quickly, Isagi noted, snorting as Kaiser yanked off his shirt before resuming his posing. He was starting to get a sense of Kaiser’s self-centered personality.
“I don’t need your shirt off for a portrait,” Isagi muttered. The sunlight was peeking through the fountain, blending the rivulets of water into sparkling threads. Isagi tried his darndest to avoid checking Kaiser out, but the thorny rose tattoo wrapping around his left side made it very difficult. Why does he have to be hot and a pain in the ass to deal with? He slowly circled left and right, seeking the right angle to frame Kaiser’s face in front of the fountain. Click.
Kaiser grinned, the smugness rolling off him in waves. “I know. It’s more for you to view and admire.” He was met with a deadpan stare as Isagi rose from his crouch.
“Are you always this insufferable? People typically don’t strip so soon after meeting each other.” It was about time Isagi wrapped up, he was nearing the 30 minute time limit. A tattooed hand ruffled his hair as he packed away his camera.
“When would be the right time to strip, then?” Kaiser peeked suggestively at Isagi, batting his eyelashes in a ridiculously half-teasing and half-serious manner. Something about the sprout-haired photographer piqued his interest. He wrote his number on a slip of paper as Isagi rolled his eyes, scoffing at the question.
"I would only do that in front of someone I’m interested in romantically. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to head back to class now. Thank you for your time." Isagi was stopped by the paper Kaiser thrust into his face.
"Text me later and we can change that." Kaiser winked before sauntering away, leaving Isagi frozen in disbelief. The nerve of this guy! He hadn’t even bothered to put his shirt back on before leaving.
Isagi stomped back to the photography building, shoving the paper into his bag. Thoughts about Kaiser would have to wait. He had a class to catch.
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Isagi stood in line, chatting with Bachira about their encounters as they waited for the class printer. After each class assignment, their teacher would have them print out two copies per photo. One would be displayed in class for critique, while the other was to be taken home for personal analysis. Pulling on a slim pair of black gloves, Isagi collected his prints and tucked them away into his folder.
“I always see you use gloves when handling photos, why is that?” Bachira peered at his friend with curious eyes. Isagi paused, debating whether or not to tell the truth. Now is not the time. There were too many people around them, too many idle ears.
“It’s to prevent fingerprints from sticking on them.” The real reason was a secret only he and his family knew. When Isagi was younger, he discovered he could read a person’s thoughts by touching a printed photo of them. The timespan of readable thoughts was from the moment the picture was taken until 10 seconds after. Although the duration was brief, Isagi was able to glean a considerable amount of information using this ability. People tended to think a lot during a photoshoot, it turned out. During the first project of the year where he worked with couples, he’d been bombarded by an overwhelming array of thoughts. The sheer contrast of lovey-dovey, jealous, and doubtful feelings coming out of the pairs as he’d sifted through his work overwhelmed him. Gloves became an essential part of his routine after that. Until he was able to review his work privately at home, they stayed on.
I remember that one couple particularly well… Sae and Shidou? Their photo was an absolute rollercoaster of emotions. Isagi held up the freshly printed photo of Kaiser, wondering what type of information lay hiding in his picture.
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Isagi cleaned off the metal shelf in his bedroom, removing last week’s photos to make room for today’s. His gloved hands neatly arranged the portraits in chronological order, Kaiser’s being last. Isagi preferred to analyze each photo’s composition before handling any with his bare hands. Grabbing a clipboard and pen, he worked his way through the line of photos, recording notes. When he had finished his initial review, he peeled the gloves off.
Isagi never knew what to expect when reading photos. Taking a deep breath, he picked up the first one. A ripple of thoughts glided through his consciousness.
“This photographer has the blandest haircut I’ve ever seen, but it looks soft. I wonder if he uses hair conditioner.” Isagi sighed. Whatever haircut standards this redhead princess had were beyond him. He continued down the line.
“I’ll have to review the stock market activity during lunch. Also, I don’t think Nagi will want to have his photo taken. But I want another picture of my treasure, so I’m going to make you do this, Nagi! ”
“I hope his boyfriend feels the same way,” Isagi prayed. Nagi was evidently very cherished and cared for.
“I’m so tired… when is Reo going to give me that piggyback ride? Why is this stranger putting in so much effort for a portrait? Thinking about doing his work… going up to strangers and asking to take their photo… it’s too much of a hassle.”
Isagi blinked, setting the picture down. That’s quite the difference. Well, maybe he isn’t like that all the time. I’m only reading 10 seconds, after all.
“If this is the photographer who took that godforsaken photo of Sae and that demon, I’m going to throw up.”
Demon? Oh, I suppose this guy and Sae are brothers. Their eyelashes and signature flat stares were quite similar, after all. He secretly wondered what the drama was between him and Sae’s boyfriend.
“I would team up with this guy if we were ever on a sports team together. He seems trustworthy, trustworthy.”
Isagi found comfort in the fact that Kurona thought highly of him. The next time their paths crossed, he’d make an effort to befriend him.
“Ah, I hope Nanase was able to save me a seat. Too many outsiders have been crashing lectures these days.”
The cyan-haired student was carrying a plethora of gaming equipment this morning. Their university was well-known for its exceptional game development courses, so perhaps he was a game design major.
Isagi paused in front of Kaiser’s photo, recalling the way he’d ended their conversation. ‘Text me later and we can change that.’ Isagi scoffed. In your dreams, Kaiser. His sky-blue eyes almost mockingly stared back at Isagi through the picture. Isagi found it irritatingly difficult to break eye contact with his portrait. His fucking portrait—not even the real thing!
There was no denying Kaiser was extremely attractive. He’d been enraptured by the blonde’s appearance from the start, even before he knew what Kaiser’s face looked like. However, Isagi suspected he had an extreme superiority complex, which did not appeal to him in the slightest. Despite this, Isagi found his thoughts straying towards inappropriate territory—especially for a person he’d just met.
“If he had just kept his mouth shut, I would have asked him out on a date.” Was there a chance Kaiser would become less complacent if they dated? A vexing thought wormed its way through Isagi’s consciousness... Maybe he’s already taken. Isagi found himself becoming irritated at the thought of someone else feeling up Kaiser. Then he became pissed at himself for even thinking of that. You barely know this guy, just read the damn photo first! He snatched Kaiser’s portrait off the shelf, bracing himself.
“Yoichi would make such a lovely dog.” Isagi’s hand went slack, the photo fluttering out of his hands. It swayed down and across his feet before kissing the ground. No, he must have misheard. Scooping up the picture again, Isagi waited for the thoughts to change. But the same sentiment echoed through his mind.
“Be my dog, Yoichi.”
Was something wrong with Kaiser, or did he just have a power play kink? Whatever it was, Isagi wanted answers. Gritting his teeth, Isagi rummaged through his backpack for the paper containing Kaiser’s number. He furiously tapped at his phone before shooting off a text.
Isagi: Meet me at the campus cafe tomorrow, 2pm. I have something to discuss with you.
Kaiser: It’s a bit early for a marriage proposal, don’t you think? Although I’d love to see you kneeling down for me ;) You can practice on your own tonight.
Isagi threw his phone onto his blankets, grabbing a pillow so he could scream into it. He couldn’t tell if he wanted to beat some sense into Kaiser or get on his knees for him. To do what? His mind prompted him to finish that thought. To suck his dick, obviously—
“That’s enough thinking for the day! Stop stop stop—” Isagi adamantly shook his head and buried his face into his pillow to yell his lungs out again. What is wrong with me? Kaiser was messing with his brain.
Isagi had no idea what to expect for tomorrow.