Variance

Chapter Ten

-Persecution-

"Where on earth is my precious blossom?!" Kakashi called, looking around the stage and panicking. "I can't do anything without my star! Has anyone tried to contact Toshiro?"

"It went straight to voicemail." Minako told him with a sigh. She had to admit, she was worried. It was very unlike Natsumi to be late to a shoot, or anything for that matter.

Kyo just laughed, "She's probably having a bad hair day for the first time in her life."

Haru and Akito both laughed, imagining the scene of the beauty running around in a mass panic because one hair was out of place.

Suddenly the door opened, letting in a light as Toshiro came in, though he was unaccompanied by his sister. "Toshiro!" Kakashi sighed out in relief, hurrying over to the redhead. "Where is Natsumi?" he asked, looking around him as if she might be hiding.

"I'm sorry Kakashi, but the filming is going to have to be put on hold. Natsumi was in an…accident." He frowned.

Akito's eyes widened and he went over to his friend. "What kind of accident? It's not anything serious is it? Is she okay?" he asked in a rush, his brow marred with concern.

Toshiro looked to his friend, and Akito could see the redhead's hesitation. "It's nothing too serious…but she's been receiving a few threats from some…overly zealous fans and well…long story short, she's got a black eye."

"What kind of fans would hurt her?" the ebony haired man asked, extremely puzzled.

"Oh…they weren't fans of hers…" he trailed off. He really didn't want to say it, but obviously his friend wasn't getting it. "They were about nineteen and girls…"

It took a few seconds, but suddenly understanding dawned on Akito's face, and he looked shocked. Then he looked extremely pissed. "Kakashi." He said, getting the director's attention. "Since we aren't filming today I am going to go ahead and leave. I have something to take care of." He announced, walking towards the door and leaving everyone behind. He pulled out his phone and hit a number, holding it to his ear.

"Itachi, we need to call a press conference. Now."

Natsumi sat on her king sized bed, watching the movie 'Tangled' in her misery. She was curled up under the covers, relaxing against her fluffy pillows. There was an empty pint of ice cream on her bedside table, along with a halfway melted ice pack that was sitting in a bowl, so that it wouldn't leave any rings on the light wood.

She lifted her hand to her eye that was shadowed in a dark purple bruise, and attempted to soothe the slight throbbing. God she hated fangirls. This was all that stupid Akito's fault. Him and his stupid need to make her life miserable. She closed her eyes, trying to ignore the pain it caused in her right one, as she remembered what had happened.

She'd been shopping and getting on with her life and the horrible press conference incident. She'd even bought a new outfit to show off to Akito, since she'd promised her sister she'd give him a chance. Well, that chance was long gone now. As she came out of her favorite store, she'd heard her name, and the second she'd turned around she was slugged in the face by a few of the asshole's devoted fans, which were very unhappy that she was 'seeing him'. They'd even told her she had no right to date him. Like hell, she had more of a right than those nobodies.

At least she had gotten them back and given them a few injuries themselves. She'd be damned if she went down like some little frilly princess. It was then that she heard her doorbell and sighed. "I swear to God if it's those damn paparazzi I'm going to murder someone." She mumbled to herself as she paused the movie and got up from her bed. She adjusted her white tank top and headed out, only wearing a pair of draw string pajama pants that were red and white plaid.

Natsumi peeked out through the peephole in her massive mahogany door and groaned, not pleased with who was there. She unlocked the door and cracked it open, peering out at her visitor, only her good eye showing. "What do you want?" she asked harshly.

Akito just gave her a small smile. "I came to make you feel better." He said, bringing one of his hands forward, which was holding a bouquet of flowers. "I got you these flowers because they're pretty, and so are you." He held up his other hand, which had a basket full of stuff. "And I got you a basket of chocolates and candy, and I even put a cake mix in there with some frosting, since our last cake got destroyed by Kyo. And I brought my guitar," he motioned to his back, where his acoustic guitar was strapped in its case, "in case you wanted me to sing to you, or you wanted to learn how to play or something." He shrugged. "So…can I come in? Please?" he asked, actually seeming sincere.

She glared at him slightly and glanced around her massive front yard. "Are you by yourself?"

"Yes."

Natsumi closed the door and grimaced, resting her forehead on the wood. What should she do? She was mad at him. Sure it wasn't really his fault, but it was because of him this happened. The pink haired woman rolled her eyes and opened the door fully, standing behind it, so he still couldn't see her. "Alright. Come in."

He did so eagerly, not wanting her to change her mind, since he had thought that she was going to send him away when she had shut the door in his face. She closed the door then, and that was when Akito finally got a look at her black eye. A sad look came to his face, but before she could tell him not to pity her, it was gone. He transferred the bouquet of flowers to his other hand and reached out somewhat hesitantly to lightly stroke her cheek. "This is my fault. I'm sorry." He said softly.

"You're right." she said, taking the flowers from him. "This is your fault." She walked past him then and into the kitchen, pulling out a vase and filling it with water.

He followed her, setting down the basket on the counter. Then he took off his guitar and propped it against the wall next to the entrance to the kitchen. "Do you…like the flowers?" he asked, sounding unsure. "I've never gotten flowers for someone before, so I don't really know how these things work."

She glanced back at him, looking back to the beautiful mass of white lilies and red roses. "Yeah…they're really, really pretty." She touched the petals, smiling somewhat, but since her back was to him he couldn't see it. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." He said. "How have you been? You know…" he glanced off, not wanting to upset her any more than she probably already was.

"Okay I guess. Just sitting around and watching TV. Nothing much I can do. I can't go outside like this." She faced him again, it was definitely going to be hard not to stare at her eye, but Akito made sure to keep his gaze only on her jade depths.

He nodded. "I understand. But I think you're still beautiful."

She blinked, actually looking somewhat surprised, and a small pink blush began to stain her cheeks. "Luckily, I haven't seen much about it on the news. But then again I haven't watched anything but movies." She sighed and picked up the remote, turning on the flat screen that was mounted on one of the walls. She changed the channel, and Akito's eyes widened when he saw himself and the headline flashing across the screen on the press conference he'd just held.

"There's nothing interesting on, why don't we just change the channel or something." He said, making a grab for the remote. She shoved her hand in his face, keeping him at bay and holding the remote as far from him as possible, not shifting her gaze from the TV.

On the screen appeared Akito, wearing the same clothes that he had on right now. He walked up to the podium, actually looking somewhat pleasant. "Hello, ladies and gentleman of the press." He greeted, leaning against the podium. "As you all have heard by now, a couple of days ago my co-star, Sabaku no Natsumi, was attacked by some of my female fans. And I just wanted to say something to those special girls." He smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes.

"Really Natsumi, it's not interesting." He said into her hand, trying to get the remote once more.

"Be quiet." She ordered, keeping him away with her hand pressed against his face.

The Akito on the screen yelled out suddenly. "What the fuck is your goddamn problem?!" his hands gripped the edges of the podium as he glared hatefully at the crowd. "What kind of fans are you that you would go and attack one of the most important people in my life?"

He visibly took a deep breath. "Fans are supposed to want their favorite stars to be happy. Truly happy. Life is not a little fairy tale where we randomly run into a nobody on the street and then over a few series of strange events fall in love with them. That's crap that only happens in movies." His hand slammed against the podium.

Natsumi watched the conference, slowly lowering her hand from Akito's face and bringing the remote up and placing it against her lips. The television Akito continued. "If you were really my fans, you would want me to be happy. What, did you think that attacking the woman that means the most to me in life would make me happy? You're all just a bunch of fat, ugly, pimply faced bitches, who will only ever get any kind of sexual release if they do it themselves or go and find some loser who's equally as ugly and lonely as you are."

"This entire act has disgusted me. Natsumi is extremely important to me, and someone as kind and caring as she is doesn't deserve an act this terrible. To the ones who did this to her," his deep, turbulent emerald gaze looked straight at the camera, "you're no fans of mine. And when I find out who you are, and I will, you're going to wish those mean thoughts you had towards Natsumi never entered your mind. And that's not a threat, it's a promise." He walked off the stage then, disappearing behind the curtains.

Natsumi pointed the remote at the TV and turned it off, remaining silent after that. She returned to her previous position, tapping her chin with the remote. Finally, she glanced beside her at the man in her kitchen, and then to the flowers on the island in the center. "That was…informatively interesting." She said softly, looking off and away from him.

"Yeah, well…" he looked down at the tiled floor of the kitchen. "I felt that it was necessary."

She focused back on him and bit down on her lower lip, before moving closer to him. She touched her fingertips to his chin and tilted it slightly before covering his lips with her own in a soft, but sweet kiss. His eyes were wide when they separated. "Natsumi…" he reached up and stroked her cheek. "I would give anything to undo what they did to you. I'm so sorry."

She let out a sorrowful sigh. "It's ok. At least I'm still beautiful, right?" she smiled, laughing softly. "Unless you were lying."

He smiled tenderly at her, laying his hand on her cheek and cupping it. "I wrote Beautiful Soul for you. It's about you." He told her, feeling better about finally admitting it. "So to me, you will always be beautiful, no matter what."

"You really did?" Natsumi asked, actually breathless.

"Yes. I started writing it that day you came over and sang for me."

A dark blush spread across her cheeks and she avoided his gaze, something he noticed she did when she was nervous. "It was amazing."

He smirked. "Like I said, I was inspired by an amazing woman."

She smiled and shrugged, taking his hand and grabbing the basket full of treats. "Well, I'm worn and need to lie down. So we can continue our conversation in a more comfortable setting." The pink haired actress said, pulling him out of the kitchen, up the staircase, and into her bedroom. She released his hand and got into her side, snuggling beneath the sheets and patting the side next to her.

He smiled, walking over and slipping off his shoes before pulling back the covers and getting in the bed next to her. He reached over and took her hand in his, lacing their fingers together. He looked over at her then. "Is this okay?" he asked softly, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb. "I don't want to overstep my boundaries with you."

"I didn't realize that a woman inviting a man into her bed meant someone was overstepping boundaries. And if I recall, you smacked my ass and told me you'd see me later." She snickered, moving closer to him and resting against his firm body. "Besides, it's not like we're having sex."

"I know." He let go of her hand, wrapping his arm around her and holding her to him before taking her hand once more. "But I didn't want you to think that I was trying to make a move on you just because you did invite me into your bed." he said.

She smiled up at him, resting her head on his chest and listening to the pounding of his heart. "Please." She rolled her eyes. "I was pressed against you and came all over your throbbing dick. If you could hold yourself back then, you can do it now." She smirked, pressing the play button to continue her movie. "And it's probably hard to get dirty and sweaty with a Disney movie in the background."

Akito chuckled. "You know, for a virgin, you sure have a dirty mouth." He said, resting his head on hers.

"I've been in enough movies to have my innocent demeanor smeared." She shrugged.

"Touché. Though, the occasional innocence you do show is really cute." He said.

She blushed, looking down and trying to hide it. "I do not." She huffed in denial.

"Do too." He chuckled, lifting his head so that he could look at her. "In fact, you're doing it now."

"Shut up." She buried her face into his chest and then winced, lifting her hand to her eye. "Ow."

"Careful." He softly instructed, reaching up and gently stroking her right cheek.

She sighed, resting against him once more. "It really hurts."

"I know. I've taken a few hits to the face before. Not exactly the best thing in the world." He said.

"But I'm a lady. I'm far more delicate." She huffed, snuggling against him and smiling. He felt so perfect. "Akito…can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

Natsumi rested her hand on his chest and looked up at him, the only visible emotion on her face nervousness. "Could we…write a song together?"

His eyes widened in surprise, but then he smiled. "Of course. I would love to write a song with you."

"And I want to sing it with you."

"You do?" he asked, his eyes widening once more.

She nodded. "Yeah." Then her eyes widened. "Unless you don't want to. I don't want to force you or anything."

"Natsumi, if there's one thing you should know about me, it's that nobody can force me to do something I don't want to do." He told her. "Singing a song with you would be one of the best experiences of my life."

A beautiful smile graced her features then, reaching her eyes. She couldn't believe how happy she was to hear that. "Akito…I really like you." She admitted, meeting his gaze.

"And I really like you." He replied.

"Are you sure? I mean…you know…" she sighed. "I can't help but feel reluctant."

"Am I sure that I like you?" he asked. "Of course I'm sure. I haven't slept with anyone since that day you came all over my dick." He said. "And I think that really says something. On top of that, I almost killed Kyo that day he had to kiss you for the scene in the movie."

She blinked, a small little light bulb going off. "So that's why you were so mad." She laughed. "I wondered why you were in such a bad mood."

He huffed. "I just don't like the thought of some other guy kissing you. That's why I kissed you after I sang to you, because I didn't want Kyo's lips to be the last ones that touched yours."

"But it was just a little peck. You and I made out extensively and practically had sex in front of everyone." She pointed out, smiling up at him.

"That doesn't matter. I still don't want other men touching you." He pouted. "Even if it is just acting."

She gave him a skeptical glance. "That's not fair. What gives you the right to be so possessive over me?"

"Absolutely nothing." He said. "But that doesn't mean I'm not going to be anyways."

Natsumi arched a delicate brow and rolled her eyes, closing them as she began to rest. "So what does this mean?"

"I'm not sure." He sighed. "Do you…want to start dating? Not as like a couple or anything, but just to see if this will work."

"That's stupid. People will just say were a couple, so it's really all or nothing." She shrugged. "We wanted the unconventional life."

"Then will you date me?" he asked. "I want to be in the tabloids with you." He smiled slightly.

Natsumi snickered, looking up at him once more. "You mean like when they get those snap shots of us walking out of a store, holding hands in our sunglasses? Telling the whole world about how freaking interesting us going shopping is?"

"Exactly." He smiled, kissing her forehead. "Or about where it is we decided to fly off to for our vacation, and about how great we both look in our swimsuits."

"And how now on our fan pages it'll say taken?" she giggled, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Mhm. I bet we'll even be named Hollywood's Hottest Couple."

She nodded. "Probably." She arched up and kissed the juncture where his neck met his jaw. "And ever since you made me come…I've been craving you so badly."

He looked down at her and raised a brow. "Is that so?" he asked.

"Yeah." She whispered into his ear, rubbing against him and placing her hand boldly over his erection. "A lot. I've even had wet dreams about you. Slipping up in our sex scenes and taking me for real."

"Natsumi." He breathed out, laying his hand over hers.

She smiled, kissing his lips and gripping him tightly. "So when we finish our song you can pleasure yourself with this." She told him, taking his hand and smoothing it into her bottoms and against her wet sex.

He looked down to where his hand was and then back up at her face. "Well then we should get started on our song right away. These things can't just be left alone you know. It's not healthy."

"Fantastic." She said gleefully, removing his hand and lifting it to her mouth before sucking on his fingers that were dampened with her juices. "But for now, I'm tired." She told him, giving his fingers one more lick before snuggling down beside him once more.

He just stared at her, mouth hanging open. "You know…that's just cruel."

"Yup." She said, closing her eyes and yawning. "Just think how amazing it will be. Being my first and taking me. I hope you don't disappoint me."

He chuckled. "Trust me, I will make it the best experience of your life." He closed his eyes as well, laying his head on hers. "You thought my fingers were magical? Just wait until my tongue teases you, or when I'm easing inside of you and then pounding you into oblivion." He sighed, the corner of his mouth tilted a bit.

"I can't wait." She sighed contently, dozing off and forming perfectly to his hard body. They fell asleep, enjoying the company of one another, preparing themselves for the next steps of their relationship.