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The sky was bright with a deep blue hue, and the sun’s rays shined directly onto Kira’s resting spot. He had a nice view of the lake, its sparkling waters glistening in the distance. The tree he sat against gave nice support and the grass was plush enough to rest on. He had just gotten back from selecting his lunch during his break from the office. It was a comfortable day to be alone and unbothered, and it was just as he wanted. No one noticed him nor asked any questions. He blended in well.
Kira reached into his brown paper bag to pull out his sandwich that he was ready to indulge in. Before he went any further, he released his lovely hand to enjoy the lunch with him. It wouldn’t be fair to just leave the hand without any company, so he allowed ‘her’ to lounge with him. He admired the view as he chewed carefree, the cool breeze flowing through his blond locks, allowing Kira to relax and have no worries.
As he continued to eat his sandwich, which is one of the best he had in a while, he noticed a man scoping out the lake far ahead of him. He almost flinched when the man turned his way, but it looked like he was more focused in the scenery rather than on people. The man was tall, and he wore a white outfit. It kind of made him stand out, but the man interested Kira. He wasn’t going to get involved or interact, but he had never seen someone out this far to the lake, and poking around in it even. Everyone was too busy walking and strolling by, it was always a busy hour for the people in Morioh.
It was peculiar how the man would just pace and back and forth with his hands folded behind his back, and then he would scribble something down in a notebook he was carrying. Kira was hardly ever fascinated in people unless they had nice and smooth hands, but somehow his attention shifted on this one person. He carefully placed his hand into the paper bag after he finished, and just rested for a moment. He wanted to see what would happen next.
Fortunately, the man that was hyper-fixated on the lake had disappeared from Kira’s sight within minutes, probably already becoming bored with the simple lake. Kira couldn’t blame the man, it was a beautiful lake but it held no mysteries. Kira closed his eyes to take in the fresh air and forget about what he saw; it was definitely a difference experience from what he normally had.
As Kira was dozing off slightly, the noise of feet crunching grass was approaching him. He opened his eyes, and noticed that the man from earlier was standing above him, looking down with a solid look on his face. Kira swallowed heavily, but kept his calm demeanor.
“Do you know anything about this lake?” the tall man asked, crossing his arms.
Kira shook his head slightly. “No.” Simple but effective.
“Are you a resident of Morioh?”
Kira nodded this time. “Yes.” He gave blunt answers to avoid confrontation.
The man looked around for a moment. “I’m Jotaro Kujo; I have a favor to ask of you.” He huffed deeply. “This lake? I took some notes on the creatures and the temperatures, as well as the pH and the salt balances. I think this is a particularly interesting lake, and I would like for a resident to tell of the information I discovered.” He began to mumble under his breath about depth or something. Kira couldn’t quite catch what he was saying.
Jotaro seemed to be pretty engrossed in marine life and bodies of water. Kira was never deeply interested but the way that Jotaro rambled on was fascinating to listen to.
It wasn’t something he would have normally agreed to but the offer seemed innocent enough. Plus, Jotaro himself was slightly intimidating but he seemed to be in a calm state. “I will help you,” Kira said softly. He brushed his hair back, and stood up, leaving his bag against the tree. It was a risky move but he was certain no one would go near it. Everyone was too busy to explore.
Jotaro smirked softly, and nodded. “Allow me to teach you of the basics while we observe,” and then he started walking towards the lake. It wasn’t particularly far from the tree but it was at a height, and the hill down seemed longer than expected.
Kira tried to relax, the tension was rising in his chest, and he wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t every day that a stranger would come up to him willingly, and actually offer to have a conversation. Kira never knew how to deal with cases like these, especially since he was usually by himself, living peacefully and quietly. If normal citizens had found out about his lifestyle, it would prove difficult for him in continuing his regular activities without trouble. People were always finicky, always prying into things that were not any of their business. It would have been a mistake on their part if they decided to delve too deep into Kira’s life, however. But, he hasn’t had to deal with any of that commotion in a long time.
As Jotaro walked, he seemed to like being ahead, but he always seemed to be on guard just in case. He wasn’t a talker, that was for sure, and Kira liked that. He admired people that didn’t always try to converse with him, since it would be a gateway to revealing personal information. Jotaro seemed to be an ordinary man who just loved marine biology, but it was impossible to read a person just based on one interaction. Perhaps Kira was so fixated on Jotaro because he was seemingly more handsome than most other people in Morioh. However, that wasn’t an important detail to be concerned about.
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They approached the lake finally, and Jotaro pulled out his small notebook and began to flip through the pages quickly. He was still not talking. Jotaro wasn’t a fan of strangers and asking them to get involved in his work, but something about the stranger being alone and relaxing without interacting with others appealed to him. He really needed to spread his research, especially since Morioh wasn’t updated on the latest findings.
He really wanted to make sure people were informed of dangers and warnings. Although he didn’t show it, Jotaro was always trying to make sure common people were safe and free of complaints. He did not like to hear when people complained and whined, it was one of the things he hated with a passion.
This stranger was interesting; he didn’t speak unless spoken to, and he kept an active ear whenever Jotaro was reading out of his notebook. He never got the stranger’s name, but it was probably not going to have any relevance to his research.
“The pH levels of the lake are a little above the acidic level. I strongly believe it’s because of all the toxic dumping from the citizens of Morioh. I want to inform the city manager that there should be an environmental protection, since plenty of Koi live in this lake. They are a delicate species, and because they already release ammonia into the water, it is essential to introduce beneficial bacteria into the waters to reduce the levels…” Jotaro kept rambling on, and Kira was just listening blankly.
Jotaro kept on talking about how to preserve safe levels for the lake, and he mentioned how the beauty of the lake would be shattered if there were no preventative measures taken immediately. He was extremely passionate about maintaining nature and the delicate state of how things were. It would have been devastating to him to see the natural order of things be destroyed without any reasonable means.
Shortly after Jotaro noticed that the stranger stopped paying attention to his ramblings, he placed a gentle hand on one of his shoulders to at least put him back into reality. This snapped the stranger back into the present, and he chuckled quietly out of embarrassment. He definitely noticed how gentle Jotaro was being with his touch, but Jotaro quickly pulled away to avoid any troubles. It was soothing to see someone not so distressed to innocent touches.
After a short clearing of his throat, Jotaro began speaking again. He always had a proud demeanor about him when he spoke about his beloved career and research; it was something that he could talk about for hours. Seeing how this random stranger hadn’t run away yet, it was comforting in a way. He hardly ever got to teach people about the basics of his marine study, and the man seemed to be absorbing the information. At least it seemed that way.
A few minutes passed and then Jotaro finished his lectures.
“Do you have any questions?” was his first question. He should’ve asked if the stranger had even been listening.
“No. Thank you for this information. I’ll take it to the council,” the stranger replied without any emotion. Jotaro was almost astonished by how direct the man was. But it was helpful.
After that was completed, the two shook each other’s hands and were about to part ways before the stranger stopped Jotaro in his tracks.
“Kira, by the way.” Then they went on their way.
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Kira got off of work pretty late, it was nearly 10 P.M by the time he was able to leave. He never complained about working late, but sometimes it would bug him because he couldn’t see his hand for a long time. Unfortunately, because of his stress, he decided to stop by the local bar for a quick drink to relieve some of his tension.
The bar that Kira went to was nice and small, with barely anyone going to it. The bartenders didn’t ask any questions and Kira was able to get some peace. Regular bars tended to have an obnoxious crowd but because this one was less known, people tended to avoid it. People always wanted to find others to make conversation with, so they flocked to bigger crowds.
The familiar ring from opening the door rang as soon as Kira entered, and a smile greeted him when he took a seat. It was luckily vacant, with the exception of himself and the bartender. The television in the corner buzzed quietly with whatever was on it, and the atmosphere was cool. Kira ordered a strawberry daiquiri on ice and took casual sips from it as he resorted to his thoughts.
He somehow ended up thinking about Jotaro. He was intrigued on how such a man with extraordinary qualities would have ended up in Morioh, but he could only see that he wanted to explore the bodies of water. It was so odd to think of someone in such a comfortable light, but it gave Kira some sense of relief that there were people that existed in the world that only tried to help others. Jotaro seemed strong, and capable of a lot, and it made Kira think of all the hardships the man went through. It was intense to think of someone he barely knew, but it was so new to him.
As Kira was lost in thought, the very man that he was thinking of, just happened to walk in through the door. The bell sounded off and Kira snapped out of his deep though, and almost gasped when Jotaro came through the door. In the low light, he looked so gruff and threatening, but he remained casual.
“Just tonic water for me,” Jotaro said to the bartender as he sat down next to Kira. He didn’t notice Kira at first because of the low lighting, but as soon as he moved, Jotaro jolted up and finally recognized. “You’re the stranger I met at the lake? Kira, was it?” He extended a hand.
Kira shook his hand firmly and smiled a little. Jotaro showed plenty of mannerisms that sometimes seemed nonexistent in Morioh. “Pleasure to come across you again.” He added a small smirk and nod and then took a sip from his drink.
He wasn’t ready to start conversing for a long time though, so he remained quiet. He observed the larger man with such a keen eye, tracing the outline of his body with his eyes. He did it all subtly, of course. Somehow, every time, his eyes stopped at the hands, and he soaked in all the details.
Jotaro’s hands were large, not very soft looking, and they were veiny. They were patchy from the exposure of the sun, and a few freckles dotted the inner crease of his thumb and index finger. Even though they looked to be rough, his nails were still neatly trimmed and kept, and this was really satisfying to Kira. He normally did not look at man hands because many did not keep their hands clean, but Jotaro was another story. They were rough but maintained.
Before things became weird, Kira looked away and stared into the bottom of his glass, watching the liquid swoosh around. He didn’t know what was making him so fascinated in Jotaro, it was only a quick interaction after all. But, just looking at how Jotaro presented himself and spoke and acted, it was all so perfect to Kira. It would be satisfying to get to know him better. But, no matter how bad he wanted to know the man better, it would have been wise to stay under cover to not disturb his quiet life.
It seemed like Jotaro was reading Kira’s thoughts when he spoke abruptly, “Do you have a career of your own?” With those simple words, they began to speak calmly. They spoke for a long time too, since they both had many things to say that appealed to each other’s interests.
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As the night passed, they finally decided to part ways at around 3 A.M. Kira was slightly upset that he was going to ruin his perfect routine and sleeping schedule of eight hours a night, but it was worth it to him. He got along well with Jotaro, and he admired so many of his qualities. He lacked a bit of humor, but he was easy to warm up to. His emotion was stagnant but when he displayed some happiness, it was always heartwarming. Kira found himself not wanting to leave right away.
Jotaro would stay for a while longer since he didn’t have a time limit, but Kira had to insist that it was time for him to go. They were both a little dazed from ordering several more drinks to fill them up as they spoke, and it was best if they slept it off. Kira didn’t usually drink more than one glass, but just speaking to Jotaro was enough to get him comfortable. A few more people came in after them but the atmosphere was still very safe and lovely.
Lovely. Now there was a word that Kira could have used to describe the night that he had spent with Jotaro. He found himself blushing when he thought of such an obscene thing. It was silly to want to spend more time with a stranger he had just met. It was unlike Kira to have these out-of-character moments.
He stood at the doorway for a while, not wanting to leave. Some driving force was holding him back. Whether it was Jotaro or just him being buzzed, he decided to return to his seat. Jotaro seemed to be out of his mind, but he perked his head up when he realized someone was next to him again.
“Have something on your mind still?” he asked with a grin.
Kira was shaking. He wasn’t sure what to do. He didn’t want to make a mistake. But he was so desperate for some sort of sign. A sign that showed him that it was right. He didn’t want to ruin everything in one night.
He gulped and finally found some courage. “Jotaro, may I see your hand?” Jotaro seemed awed at such a request, but he lifted his hand towards the eager Kira without hesitation. It might have been the alcohol that altered his state of alertness.
Kira gently held onto Jotaro’s hand, absorbing every fine detail of it. The veins, the creases, the bone structure, everything. Although, he wasn’t extremely fixated on just the hands of the person this time. He admired the person too. The finely sculpted person. The handsome person.
Kira turned Jotaro’s hand to face the knuckles, and he leaned in slowly to plant a soft kiss on his hand. It turned out much softer than he had previously predicted. It was a ballsy move, but Jotaro did not even flinch. In fact, his face flushed ever so slightly, though Kira knew he would never admit it. Kira nodded.
“We shall meet again, Mr. Kujo.” With those words, Kira stood up and took off as fast as he could. He thought it was the right move but with a guy as unpredictable as Jotaro, it was impossible to tell. There was never any certainty.
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Jotaro sat up in his seat and did not know how to carry on with such an experience. He enjoyed it a little bit, but he would never want to fuel the ego of someone in that regard. He was confused. Why would someone feel any kind of way towards him? The respect, the decency, the subtlety… it was all foreign to him. He was only used to teenage girls screaming every time he walked by. He was unaware of a grown man actually showing any sort of interest. Especially when all he could talk about was fish and nature. He figured it to be an automatic bore session.
But, Kira. Kira was different than all the rest. Jotaro actually was fascinated in someone. The way he maintained himself and kept a formal demeanor, even when drunk, it was impressive. Jotaro would never forget someone like that. Perhaps they would never meet again, but he hoped that they would run into each other once more in the future. For better or worse.