Woot, let's hear it for branching out! This is my first fanfic in the Skip Beat fandom, and I don't actually hate how it turned out. xD
Anyways, I should probably mention that this story is part of the A-Z OneShot Story Game, and the prompt for this story was provided by claraowl. I do not own Skip Beat, or I would be writing the real thing rather than fanfiction. ;3
Chiori marched into LME, boldly wearing her gaudy pink Love Me jumpsuit. She carried a backpack on her back and a camera around her neck, and her expression conveyed that she meant business. The crowds scurried out of her way, some even ducking behind garbage bins to escape the glare of the terrifying pink.
But Chiori's mind was on work, not pedestrians. As the only voluntary member of Love Me, she had finished an assignment that she now needed to turn in.
To the LME president himself.
She ran into Lory almost instantly, along with his rather large and flashy entourage. Of course, his followers weren't nearly as flashy as the man himself.
Today, he seemed to be going with a Native American theme, wearing crude (which of course was a design technique, rather than actually being poorly made or primitive) leather pants and moccasins, decorated with strings upon strings of multi-colored beads. Instead of a top, he wore painted marks that Chiori could only assume symbolized a warrior or chief. To complete the costume, an enormous and gaudy war bonnet perched on his head and draped down to drag on the floor behind him.
His entourage was similarly, though more conservatively, dressed in American Indian outfits, and a few of them were even carrying matching instruments or spirit sticks.
If Chiori had stopped to think about it, she would have taken a picture of such a blinding sight. She would have also declared Lory's outfit and servants much more of an eyesore than her lone pink jumpsuit.
But she kept her mind on track.
"Amamiya-kun!" Lory greeted her with a smile. "How is your 'Something Fun' going?"
Chiori tried not to grimace as she got flashbacks of the trouble with her "Something Fun" – appearing on the "Are You Serious?" comedy variety show. She hadn't honestly expected it to go well, and it had met her expectations perfectly. But she had to be careful what she said around Lory; after the Valentine's Day slip-up, wisdom said to think through her answer before saying anything.
Besides, it wasn't like she necessarily regretted accepting the "Something Fun."
Chiori slipped her backpack from her shoulders and reached in to grab one of the notebooks. She fingered her poison notes lovingly, then pulled out a separate notebook and handed it to Lory.
"Just like you wanted, sir, here's a summary of what happened and how I can both use it to my advantage and improve," she said sweetly, smiling as best she could after such torture.
Lory accepted the notes with a flourish and started flipping through them right then and there, ignoring the stares they were getting that Chiori was just now noticing.
"Ahh, these are good, Amamiya-kun! Yes, yes, very good!" He continued to scan her notes, smiling and nodding in approval, until he got to one page.
Then his expression darkened.
"Amamiya-kun, what is this?" he demanded, turning the notebook around to show her what he had seen.
Chiori blanched. Apparently, sometime during her writing process, she had slipped in a "poison note" about how the other stars were all fools and she was the only one sincerely trying to make a good joke. She couldn't tell if the darkness surrounding the words were ink smudges or remnants of the dark aura she'd probably had as she wrote it.
She laughed nervously. "Oh, that!" She laughed again, her voice shaking. "W-well, doing comedy improvisation is difficult, as you know, of course, sir! I was only noticing that several of the people seemed to be playing the fool to help their routine and cater to the audience!" She gave another nervous chuckle, scared for her future since the president didn't seem to be buying her excuse.
Ten minutes later, Chiori found herself pouting in the Love Me Section, with pen in hand, notebook before her, stand-up comedy acts playing on the television across the room, and dark aura haunting the room as a whole.
Why hadn't she gone over her notes again before turning them in to Lory? Why hadn't she noticed the poison note?
Her manager had even gone over the notes and added contributions the other day! Why hadn't Yoshimoto commented about that poison note?
Now Chiori was stuck in a position almost as terrible as when she had had to take notes praising Michika Kawagoe's acting. Nothing would ever top that, but this took second place, at least. This time around, she had to take notes on what an audience enjoyed and how to correctly deliver a punch line, be it the best or worst punch line in the history of comedy.
She supposed it was for her own good. She did indeed want to get to the point in her career and abilities when she would throw herself into acting no matter the type of role. It was why she had joined Love Me, after all.
But it was still so annoying.
Chiori suddenly remembered the camera she wore, and she snapped a picture of the scene before her to capture her annoyance.
The camera idea had been suggested by Yoshimoto, after the woman had accidentally stumbled across Chiori's poison notes the previous day. Chiori could tell her manager had feared what could happen if the wrong person were to discover the way Chiori vented her frustration; Yoshimoto had talked Chiori into using a camera instead, at least for a day – and also to capture the good moments along with the bad, for perspective, Chiori supposed.
Well, it was worth a try. They did say a picture was worth a thousand words, after all.
This evening, Chiori would show Yoshimoto how the world looked through Chiori's lens.
Chiori had worked her way through two DVDs of comedians when Kyoko and Kanae walked into the room together, both also wearing the pink jumpsuits of their section.
Aside from the glare of the outfits, the scene was a happy one. Kyoko was smiling in the pure bliss of being with her "Moko-san" again. Meanwhile, Kanae was wearing her usual disinterested expression that meant she was trying not to let Kyoko know she was actually enjoying herself too.
Chiori smiled at the sight, lifted her camera, and snapped a picture.
Kyoko flinched in surprise, and Kanae gave Chiori a weird look.
"What are you doing, Amamiya-san?" Kyoko asked, eyes wide as she took in the scene, one step away from mirroring the first time the two girls had walked in on Chiori in the Love Me Section.
Chiori's smile vanished as she returned her attention to the comedy act before her. Most normal people would probably be laughing hysterically at the jokes and have a severe case of the giggles in the times between punch lines, but Chiori was having anything but a good time.
"The president is making me take notes on professional comedy to increase my appreciation for my new coworkers," she said, her sarcastic tone conveying that she was nearly quoting what Lory had said to her. Her hand itched to write poison notes.
"He enjoys torturing the Love Me section," Kanae said sympathetically, putting away the bag she'd carried in.
"Isn't that the truth," Chiori said. "How are you guys doing with your 'Somethings' from the president?"
Kanae visibly shuddered. "Do. Not. Ask." Her expression was so dark that Chiori decided she was better off not knowing how the role of the "stalker" orphan was going.
Kyoko, on the other hand, turned about as red as a tomato. "A-ah, well, you see, uhm…"
If memory served, Kyoko had gotten "Something Dangerous," right? She had had to meet some guest of Lory's. What about "Something Dangerous" would cause Kyoko, who slipped into the bully Natsu's role with ease, to actually blush?
With the way Kanae was looking at Kyoko, it seemed Chiori wasn't the only curious one.
"I... I can't tell you!" Kyoko finally burst out.
Chiori decided a face that priceless had to be memorialized, so she snapped another picture of Kyoko just before the girl ducked to huddle on the other side of the benches. No amount of persuasion on Chiori's or Kanae's parts would get the girl to spill what had happened when she went to meet Cain Heel.
Chiori finished her notes (and she'd triple-checked to make sure they were all positive) and got up from her seat. Her back popped as she stretched.
It was almost time for lunch, so Chiori had finished just in time. Now she just needed to take the DVDs and notes to Lory and hope he was available to get them from her. Or maybe she could leave them with an assistant or something.
As it turned out, Chiori left her latest completed assignment with one of Lory's assistants, a girl matching Lory's Native American theme and even looking after a raccoon who ran around in the room connecting Lory's office to the hallway. Chiori took a picture of both the raccoon and Lory's office's closed door, then spun on her heel and walked away.
And then Chiori nearly collided with none other than Ren Tsuruga.
"Amamiya-san, good afternoon," Ren said, giving her a polite smile.
Chiori stood rooted to the floor. He knew her name? Since when? It was their first time meeting, right?
Smile, be your trademark cute self, she thought.
She smiled up at the top male celebrity in all of Japan, standing in a way that emphasized her natural adorability. "Good afternoon, Tsuruga-san. How did you know I'm Amamiya?"
His polite smile never wavered. "Your Love Me outfit gives you away."
Oh, of course. With only three members in the Love Me Section, and Kyoko and Kanae having worked at LME long enough to have run into Ren multiple times even outside of the drama Kyoko had done with him, it was only a matter of knowing the name of the third member.
"Tsuruga-san, there you are! Amamiya-san, don't let him run away!"
Chiori and Ren both turned to the source of the voice – Kyoko, who was jogging towards them.
"Good afternoon, Mogami-san," Ren said cheerfully.
Was it Chiori's imagination, or was his smile more genuine now? Kyoko flinched as he directed the sunny smile at her.
"I'd better be going," Chiori said when Kyoko reached them. She waved good-bye to Ren and Kyoko and moved down the hall, discreetly glancing back over her shoulder every now and then.
Kyoko glared at Ren. "Don't 'good afternoon' me. You haven't had lunch yet, have you? Where's Yashiro-san? You need to have a good meal when you have these kinds of breaks from work! No, actually, you need to have good meals whether or not you get a break from work!"
"I had lunch," Ren protested.
Kyoko narrowed her eyes. "Mhm. It wasn't just rice, was it?"
Ren thought for a moment. "Rice and coffee."
"That doesn't count as lunch!" Kyoko practically exploded.
The duo walked off in the opposite direction Chiori had taken, with Kyoko lecturing Ren on the importance of a good diet and Ren taking it all as if it was a pleasure to be scolded.
Chiori held her camera up and took a picture of the two.
Chiori soon had to be at another studio for a role in a commercial; but first, she needed to change. Since she wasn't going to be spending her afternoon at LME, her current outfit would attract far too much unwanted attention. It might even offend the director.
After changing, she planned to get lunch somewhere along the way. Usually, Yoshimoto would pick her up in her car, but Chiori had lately taken to walking. She did it partially because her senpai Kyoko always walked and partially because Chiori surprisingly enjoyed the fresh air and exercise, even if it took longer this way.
On her way into a fast food restaurant (which she took a picture of, since she didn't particularly like anything about fast food restaurants except their convenience), she ran into Kanae.
"I didn't realize you liked these kinds of places, Kotonami-san," Chiori said as the girls placed their orders.
"I dislike them with a passion," Kanae responded. "They're far too unhealthy for a girl who has to be careful to maintain her figure. Way too many calories. But they are convenient when I'm in a hurry and forgot to make a boxed lunch for myself."
Chiori smiled and nodded in agreement, and the girls sat down at a table together to eat.
"Kotonami-san?"
"Hmm?"
"What's the relationship between Kyoko-san and Tsuruga-san?"
Kanae had been lifting her drink to her lips, but at Chiori's question, she set it back down untouched. She rubbed her chin with her thumb for a moment before answering. "As far as I can tell, Kyoko mothers him somewhat when it comes to certain habits of his, and Tsuruga-san gives her advice on acting every now and then. But some things, Amamiya-san, are probably best left unasked."
Liar.
Chiori snapped a picture of Kanae, whose serious expression gave way to surprise and a 'Why is this weirdo taking random pictures at unpredictable moments?' look.
Kanae was telling maybe a portion of the truth, but not the full truth. Chiori was convinced Kanae wasn't sharing her full observations.
But Chiori let the topic of Kyoko and Ren drop, and Kanae didn't comment on the sudden snapshot.
Maybe Chiori was just too new to the Love Me Section still. Kanae and Kyoko had been together for a year, and Chiori had only joined a month or so ago. She couldn't expect them to be as open with her as they were with each other.
The two girls finished their meal on a safer topic: their plans for the afternoon. As it happened, Chiori and Kanae were headed to the same studio, even if not for the same reason.
So Chiori walked with Kanae after they finished their lunch, passing the time and distance by comparing various actors' acting styles. They rarely disagreed on any points.
Chiori breezed through the commercial shoot. She barely needed to do any retakes, and the character she portrayed fortunately wasn't going to emphasize her mean image as Yumika.
The role also mercifully wasn't as embarrassing as trying to get laughs.
Between shots in front of the camera, Chiori sat patiently in a chair off to the side of the set. She hadn't run into Kanae since the girls walked into the building and went their separate ways, but she didn't have to deal with too much boredom, what with working hard on this (however insignificant-seeming) character.
Finally, the talents were permitted to go home.
Chiori changed from her costume into the clothes she'd worn into the building, wondering if she would run into Kanae again on her way out.
On her way out, however, she saw Lory (without his huge group of followers) and Ren. The two men seemed to be in a deep discussion; but when Lory noticed Chiori, he motioned her over.
Wary because of Ren's expression of annoyance, Chiori nonetheless did as her superior requested.
"Amamiya-kun, Ren here is having some trouble with one of his roles," Lory said flatly. "Will you help?"
Chiori very nearly lost her voice from surprise. "I don't know what I can do, but I'm willing to help if I can."
"Good, good," Lory nodded emphatically, looking over at Ren as though demanding he speak.
Ren glared right back at the president and didn't say a word.
"We need a young female's perspective," Lory said, finally breaking the awkward silence. "Ren is playing someone in love with a girl who is completely clueless when it comes to love. What would be his best move?"
Chiori thought for a moment. She nearly asked a couple questions about if the girl was in love too, eve if she didn't realize it. But then Chiori figured that that wouldn't have much if any effect on what Ren's character should do.
She still couldn't believe she was being asked to give acting advice to a star.
"I would think," Chiori said slowly, choosing her words with care, "that he should be as obvious as possible and not leave anything to be inferred. If he asks her out, he should clearly use words like 'date' and 'girlfriend.' If he just tells her he likes her, or even if he tells her he loves her, he should make sure she is fully aware that it's of the romantic kind."
She anxiously waited for the men to respond.
Once again, Lory was giving Ren a significant look while Ren still glared at the president.
Maybe Ren resented being given advice by someone who was his junior, both in life and in acting. Even if Chiori suspected she had been acting longer, he had proven to be far more successful far more quickly.
Chiori lifted her camera and took a picture of the men before her.
Lory automatically struck a dramatic pose right before the picture finished taking, and Ren automatically rearranged his expression into a polite smile at around the same time.
Chiori found their reactions immensely amusing, so she took a second picture instantly after the first. Ah, the camera's effects on professionals...
Never mind that Lory wasn't an actor.
"Amamiya-kun, you really shouldn't take pictures without asking first," Lory said sternly when all the flashing had diminished.
Chiori gave the president a wounded-puppy-dog expression that melted his stern expression immediately.
"But, as long as you don't do it again, I see no reason to ruin your momentary joy," Lory said, as though he'd intended to add this to what he was saying the whole time.
"Thank you for the advice, Amamiya-san," Ren said, speaking for the first time since she'd met him this afternoon. "I'll keep it under consideration."
Chiori was relieved that he seemed to have forgotten his anger and perhaps wounded pride. Or, if he hadn't forgotten it, at least he was hiding it.
Then again, that might even be scarier. Chiori sincerely hoped he was genuinely no longer angry.
"What role is this for?" she asked hesitantly, already mentally bracing herself to watch him not take her advice should she come across him playing that role on TV at some point.
"I haven't decided if I will accept the role yet," Ren replied. "But if I do, you can be sure the president will be announcing it to the world several times a day."
"Oh." Chiori wasn't altogether sure she understood all the nuances that were going on in this vague situation, but she was pretty sure she would look like a Ren-groupie if she tried to press any harder.
She was debating whether or not to take another picture when suddenly, both Ren and Lory focused on something behind her.
Chiori turned and nearly went blind.
Someone had finally managed to outdo Lory's sense of fashion.
A girl was marching towards the trio with an expression of pure delight. That was okay. She had a nice smile, and she didn't seem to be purposely threatening.
But threatening she was. No one, not even a Love Me member on her most motivated day, ever dared to wear that much pink, especially of that particular shade!
The girl was wearing a jumpsuit that almost exactly matched the Love Me jumpsuit. There were a few minor differences that belied the jumpsuit's non-official origins, but it was still obvious where the inspiration had been drawn from. That might be okay too, if not for some of the other variations from the look of an original Love Me member.
Her hair matched her jumpsuit; in other words, the girls' hair was dyed pink. But did she stop there? No, she wore her hair in pigtails tied with bright pink ribbons too!
Also, each of the Love Me girls chose to wear a non-pink t-shirt underneath the jumpsuit. This girl had opted for a pink t-shirt too, it seemed.
To finish the horrendous sight that really should be illegal, the girl actually wore pink tennis shoes that flashed pink lights each time the girl took a step!
All in all, Chiori thought she just might burn. The sight would forever be seared into her retinas.
Chiori looked around for a hasty retreat, discovering that Ren had had the same idea and vanished at some point. Lory, unfortunately, was blocking Chiori's only exit.
"You're a Love Me girl, right?" the girl asked excitedly when she got within a few feet of Chiori and Lory.
"Yes, that's right," Chiori acknowledged, trying to smile.
"OH MY GOSH, I'M YOUR BIGGEST FAN!" the girl shrieked, pulling a pink stick from her pocket that opened into a pink paper fan as though to prove her point.
Chiori was disturbed to note that the fan had her face on it along with Kanae's and Kyoko's.
"You have excellent taste!" Lory said, giving the girl a thumbs-up. "What is your name, young lady?"
"Just call me Fangirl!" came the enthusiastic response.
"Amamiya-kun, I hereby give you the honor of showing Fangirl-kun just what Love Me is all about – give her a personal tour in the life of you for the next few hours!" Lory said, patting Chiori on the shoulder and racing away before Chiori could protest.
"Chiori-chan, I can tell we're going to be best friends!" Fangirl said, hooking her arm through Chiori's and giving her a wide smile.
Chiori looked in the opposite direction from the pink girl, trying to retain what was left of her vision.
"What are we doing first?" Fangirl asked.
Chiori tried to think. Her schedule was pretty much clear for the rest of the day – which meant she had half an afternoon and a full evening that she had to spend with Fangirl. Joy. Chiori couldn't wait to be seen in public with so much... pink.
Show Fangirl the life of a Love Me member, huh? Alright. For that, they probably needed to go back to LME.
"First things first, we're going to make our way to LME, the Love Me headquarters," Chiori said, putting on her best actress face to be able to smile.
She tried to ignore the humiliation that would probably ensue. Dressing up in a Love Me jumpsuit was one thing; matching your entire body to its pink was something completely different.
"Ooo, I get to see where it all started!"
Fangirl's eyes sparkled as Chiori led her to the elevator. There several other people in there, most of whom crowded to the opposite side of the elevator as Chiori and Fangirl.
Once the elevator doors slid shut, Fangirl turned from Chiori to the other people. "I hope you all know why I've brought you here," she announced.
The other people varyingly stared or avoided eye contact.
"We're on a mission, and we need your help, citizens. You see, this very same elevator plunged six full floors just last night, and we have been chosen to fix it today."
The other occupants' eyes widened, and one of them desperately pushed the button for the very next floor.
"It will be difficult, no denying, but—"
The elevator dinged the next floor, and the doors slid open. Every single occupant aside from Chiori and Fangirl rushed out.
Chiori wished she didn't have to admire the girl's scary (in more ways than one) improvisation skills. It would be so much easier to be irritated with Fangirl if she didn't have to deal with the unwanted admiration welling up inside her.
The two girls were now alone as the elevator continued its trip towards the ground floor. Fangirl was silent for the rest of the trip, but when the doors opened again, she rushed out, stopped suddenly, and looked around as if in a daze.
"Fangirl-san, what—" Chiori tried to ask, but Fangirl ran up to one of the random people in the lobby and grabbed their sleeve.
"Quick, what year is this?" Fangirl demanded.
As Chiori fumbled to take a picture with her camera, the stunned person gave the year.
Fangirl cheered, waving her fan around like some kind of trophy. Or pompom. "It worked!" she yelled, grabbing Chiori's hand and running with her out of the building.
"Chiori-chan, it's this way to LME, right?" Fangirl asked in a slightly more normal tone of voice, pointing in the right direction.
Chiori nodded wordlessly, and the girls walked side by side.
They passed a line of trees, and Fangirl picked up a stick that had fallen on the ground. She looked around, then deserted Chiori to approach a random boy on roller blades.
Chiori hesitated before deciding, for the little kid's sake, she'd better follow Fangirl.
As Chiori got close enough to hear their conversation, she realized Fangirl was trying to sell the stick to the boy.
"It has magical properties!" Fangirl insisted. "Anyone in their right mind would snap this chance up in a heartbeat!"
"Fangirl-san," Chiori tried interrupting.
But the kid debated only a moment before pulling a few yen out of his pocket.
Fangirl snatched up the money and slapped the stick into the boy's hand. "Fine choice, young man! You'll grow up to be a splendid knight in shining armor! Or a Prince Charming!"
The kid grinned, albeit somewhat dubiously, and roller bladed away.
Was it Chiori's imagination, or did she see Fangirl slip the boy's money back into his pocket before he got away?
"Who are you?" Chiori asked as the girls once again got on the path to LME.
"I'm the biggest fan of Love Me there is!" Fangirl answered cheerfully without missing a beat.
Chiori narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the girl. Silence ensued while Chiori glared and Fangirl beamed.
Finally, Chiori broke the silence. "You look fami—"
For the umpteenth time that day, Fangirl interrupted her. She dove to the pavement and picked up a bill that had been lying on the sidewalk.
"Look what I found, Chiori-chan!" Fangirl said, holding it up. It was a significant amount.
Chiori looked around at the pedestrians around them, some of whom were staring and some of whom were ignoring. There was no way to tell who had lost the cash.
Then Chiori looked back to Fangirl only to discover the girl had vanished. A panicked search quickly ended when Chiori spotted Fangirl buying what looked to be a dozen pink roses from a street vendor with the money she'd found.
Fangirl came back to Chiori and handed her half of the roses. "Let's hand one of these out to each person who looks down or stressed!" she said, smiling.
Chiori just could not for the life of her figure this girl out.
But she accepted the roses and followed through on Fangirl's idea. She temporarily regretted not currently wearing her Love Me uniform; such a "lovely" deed suited the Love Me Section, and it had been the idea of a girl who wasn't even officially a part of the program!
Well, that probably meant that Fangirl wouldn't even be admitted into the program because she apparently had what the Love Me members lacked and were supposed to be getting.
Chiori and Fangirl spent the next several minutes split up, giving one pink rose after another to a stranger who looked like they needed it.
It was embarrassing, but it also felt good.
Finally, the girls were on their way again.
Chiori found herself thinking again that Fangirl was completely incomprehensible. She seemed completely insane and annoyingly mischievous one moment, then thoughtful and supportive the next.
And on top of that, the more time Chiori spent with Fangirl, the more familiar she seemed.
What would Fangirl do next?
Chiori didn't have to wait long to find out. The girls had just gotten into a relatively thick crowd of people when, out of nowhere, Fangirl shouted "LOOK OUT!" and ducked.
Chiori instinctively ducked with her and probably about twenty other people. She realized her mistake when Fangirl giggled, then outright burst into laughter.
Chiori slowly got to her feet, alongside the other people who had fallen for Fangirl's prank. Many of them muttered under their breaths, and Chiori couldn't blame them. Her face was burning as she hauled Fangirl to her feet as well and marched off with the still-laughing girl in tow.
They finally made it to LME without any more distractions, and Chiori figured she needed to count her blessings.
"Well, this is where Love Me started," Chiori said, not sure how to go about conducting a tour in the life of a Love Me girl. She should probably take this one step at a time, to avoid getting overwhelmed. The next step would be getting to the Love Me Section of LME. "The president got it going to help promising talents who are missing something."
Fangirl made a noise that Chiori took to mean she was impressed. The girls' arms were once again hooked together, and weird as that seemed, Chiori preferred it over letting Fangirl have the run of the place.
Too bad keeping Fangirl practically glued to her side didn't keep the girl completely out of mischief.
They were passing a bird-keeper who was in the building for goodness-knows-what-reason, and Fangirl forcibly stopped Chiori from walking right past him and his cartload of birds in cages.
"Awwww, they're so pretty!" Fangirl gushed, sticking her fingers into the cages. She quickly removed them when one of the birds squawked angrily and tried to bite her finger.
Then her eyes fell on a bag of bird seed.
"How long does it take the seeds to grow into birds?" Fangirl innocently asked the keeper, who gave her a weird look as if trying to decide if she was serious or not.
"Ahahahah, you're so funny!" Chiori laughed nervously, patting Fangirl on the back and being none too gentle about it. "Thank you for letting us see the birds, sir; we'll be going now!"
"Ow! But he didn't answer my question!" Fangirl protested as Chiori dragged her away.
Chiori breathed a huge sigh of relief when the girls made it safely into the deserted Love Me Section. Kyoko and Kanae weren't here. The longer Chiori could keep Fangirl in this one area, the better. Probably.
"Oooo, is this where the Love Me members spend most of their time?" Fangirl asked, turning wide eyes on every corner of the room and exclaiming over every detail.
Chiori debated whether she should lie by saying yes and hope that that kept the girl there longer. But she really couldn't expand on the lie too much because she just couldn't think of any reasons why the girls (especially Kyoko, a big hit on television as Mio and Natsu) would spend most of their time sequestered away in the boring room that mostly served as a locker room for them.
"Not really," Chiori finally confessed. "This is where some of us receive or complete Love Me jobs," like Chiori writing reviews to stupid acting or comedy, "but most of our time is spent with our other jobs, like our roles on TV."
"Ahhh, yes, you're Yumika, one of the bullies in Box 'R'!" Fangirl said, getting a dreamy look in her eyes. "The way you bullied that protagonist, using nail polish, of all things! And you're on 'Are You Serious?' too, aren't you?"
Chiori took another picture of the girl, doing her best to keep her expression pleasant. "Yes, that's right."
Fangirl fanned herself with her disturbing fan, sighing blissfully and not even seeming to notice the picture being taken.
Chiori looked at the clock, wondering just how long she had to keep entertaining this girl.
Fangirl finally broke out of whatever dreamland she'd been in. "What's next in the life of a Love Me girl?"
Chiori bit back a sigh. "Uhm, well, let me change into my Love Me uniform, and then we'll see." One step at a time.
Fangirl nodded enthusiastically and mercifully seemed content to wait and hold still while Chiori went into the back to change.
But Chiori should have known better. By the time she came out wearing her pink jumpsuit, Fangirl was nowhere to be seen.
This boded ill. Very, very ill.
Chiori ripped open the door to the hall and ran out, wondering where Fangirl would have gone.
Chiori didn't have to wonder for very long. She heard Fangirl's voice in the distance.
"FREE DONUT SEEDS! ANYONE WANT DONUTS? PLANT THESE SEEDS AND LOVE THEM AND YOU'LL GET THE BEST DONUTS EVER!"
Chiori was a force to be reckoned with as she marched into the room where Fangirl was still yelling about donut seeds, holding up a box of cheerios. Chiori's murderous intent probably shone through her eyes, and Fangirl for once actually seemed nervous when Chiori finally got to her.
Chiori gripped the girl's wrist, turned, and marched right back out of the room, ignoring the multitude of stares and yanking Fangirl after her.
It was only when the entire room gasped that Chiori could make herself calm down enough to look back at Fangirl.
And then Chiori gasped too.
Apparently, Fangirl's hair had not been dyed pink – it was a wig.
And underneath the wig, Fangirl's hair was a chestnut color.
And with the revelation of Fangirl's true hair, Chiori suddenly felt like a dunce for not realizing Fangirl's true identity sooner.
Kyoko stood grasping at the fallen wig with her free hand, her other hand still in Chiori's custody.
Twenty minutes later, both girls found themselves in Lory's office with the man himself.
Apparently, Kyoko's latest Love Me assignment from the president was to play the role of Fangirl, just as Chiori's had been to show Fangirl around. Lory confessed to following the girls all the way back to LME and even planting the money Kyoko had used to buy the pink flowers.
As far as Chiori could tell, though, Kyoko's act had been completely improvisational. Aside from getting the assignment and characterization details from Lory, there had been little to nothing planned between them ahead of time.
Lory seemed very pleased with the result, even though Chiori couldn't imagine what he had hoped to gain from it.
However, Chiori was not going to complain about the 100 he'd just stamped onto her and Kyoko's Love Me notepads. Instead, she simply took another picture.
"But... Why?" Chiori had to ask.
"Hm?" Lory looked up from the piles of paper he'd been rearranging on his desk. "Because it seemed like it'd be fun."
Chiori sweatdropped. That was too shallow.
Lory folded his arms across his chest. "And... You girls needed this lesson. Patience, understanding, and most importantly, love for all. You've passed, and I look forward to further Love Me love being spread in the future."
Chiori figured the roses incident had probably been the cincher. When she and Kyoko were dismissed from Lory's office, Chiori mentioned it to Kyoko.
"Ah, no, that was just a whim!" Kyoko protested, blushing. "I saw the pink flowers and realized they'd be the perfect match for Fangirl's look, but then I didn't want to carry them for so long on my own before I could get them in water, so I tried to think of what else I could do with them, and..." She paused to breathe.
Chiori smiled. "You looked like you were having so much fun as Fangirl."
"I'm really sorry I was so rude and embarrassing!" Kyoko said, bowing.
Chiori giggled and snapped another picture. "It's okay. I was annoyed at the time, but it's all really funny in hindsight."
Kyoko smiled in return, and the girls walked down the hall commenting about each of Fangirl's various antics.
Later that evening, Chiori looked back through her pictures with Yoshimoto. Even though about two thirds of her pictures had been taken out of annoyance, Yoshimoto seemed proud that there was that one third that expressed joy.
Chiori noticed, flipping through the pictures, that all of the pictures that fell under the category of 'good' or at least 'not bad' were of her new LME friends.
Chiori smiled, looking at them - the world through her lens.
Compared to her poison notes, the lens made the world look much brighter.
Well, that was fun! I feel like the ending can be improved upon, and maybe I'll tweak that sometime in the future. x/ But! Now is the time for me to shut up and for you to tell me what you think! ^_^ Please review~!