(A.N: I simply couldn't sit on this any longer, so I'm releasing it to the wild. Not sure when I'll update this again as it takes place after my story Afterward, so I'd like to finish that story before really diving into this one.)
Chapter One: Help me out, Shoujo-chan!
"What's with that makeup?"
"And her expression."
"She looks like she's ready to pull someone's hair out."
"Scary..."
"What does that "gal" want with Aya-san?"
Aya heard the terse whisperings of her classmates before she saw the girl herself.
"Oy," a rough voice addressed her. "You're Aya Sh-Shju-"
Aya turned, "Sjöholm." she blinked in surprise when she examined the woman in front of her.
"Right." The woman was all done up in ganguro style, with her bleached hair and tanned skin, and her light-toned make up, the brash and slightly outdated look was complimented by her flat expression. Despite this, her clothes and accessories were the last word in trendy and the black and white jumper one piece she wore lent to the edginess of her features. She stuck out a hand, "Mei Yasumura."
Awkwardly, and more than a little confused, Aya shook her hand, "N-nice to meet you?"
"You've got the top marks in the cosmetology department, right?" her voice was clear and a touch too loud for the half empty classroom.
"I- um- I suppose so." she spared a sidelong glance at her gossiping classmates, no doubt they were looking forward to spreading the rumor about the "girl gang" woman troubling Aya. "Wh-why do you ask?"
"I'm from fashion design." she explained. "I've got a runway project for my quarterly exam next week and I need someone to do the hair and makeup for my models, you free now for a rehearsal?"
The other cosmetology students of Nozawarai Woman's College looked on with interest. The contrast of the two women toward the front of the classroom was striking. Aya was the top student in their department, and her image did a good job of reflecting that. Her dark blonde hair was coifed and curled to perfection, and her fair skin was as even and blemishless as an airbrushed model in an advertisement, she dressed in creams and pinks and delicate whites. She was the envy and the pride of her classmates.
Aya blinked, caught off guard, unsure of what to make of the proposal.
Mei went on, "I'll have a photographer there, she'll be more than happy to provide as many copies as you need for your portfolio."
'She's got a pretty good sales pitch.' Aya thought. "Then I'd be happy to help you, Yasumura-san."
"Call me Mei-chan." she smiled, quite prettily for all of her loudness.
"Hey guys, this is Aya Shoujo." Mei introduced her to the scarce group she was using as "models".
"Sjöholm." Aya corrected without much passion.
"She's the top student in her cosmetology class. We'll have her do your hair and makeup for the show."
"I'll be in your care." Aya bowed, looking up at the trio gathered before her.
"Shoujo?" the two men of the trio said in unison. Their voices meshed together into an echoing chorus.
Aya nearly had to shade her eyes just to look at them, the pair was incredibly handsome. So much so that they were practically sparkling. The rightmost boy had spiky brown hair, a very good dye job if Aya's eyes didn't deceive her, and his eyes were a striking amber color. The leftmost boy had the exact same color eyes but his hair was ginger and fell in slight waves down to his shoulders. It was obvious the two were twins as aside from their hairstyles they were absolutely identical. The brunette, western woman sat between them was quite beautiful herself, though she seemed rather annoyed at the moment- Aya figured it had something to do with how the guys to either side of her seemed to be using her head as an elbow rest.
"For the last time, I'm not your armrest!" the bespectacled girl protested. "And she said it's Sjöholm, I won't let this become another "Bossanova" incident."
The guys grinned, eyes sparkling, "Sorry, Kiiro-senpai, you're just the perfect height for an armrest."
The girl, Kiiro apparently, looked like she was going to give them an earful before Mei snapped, catching the trio's attention.
"Hello?" Mei cocked her head. "Aren't you going to introduce yourselves? You guys are super rude for a bunch of rich kids."
"Ne? Where are my manners?" Kiiro stood, shaking off the guys arms, and made her way to Aya. "I'm Kiiro Harper, it's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Sjöholm." she pointed her thumb to the two boys behind her. "These children are Hikaru..." she gestured to the boy on the right. "...and Kaoru Hitachiin." to the boy on the left.
Choosing to ignore their senior's remark, Hikaru and Kaoru began circling Aya. The girl felt like she was being sized up, she stiffened, denying the urge to turn in circles to keep up with the two.
"So you're a stylist?" Hikaru asked, examining her hair with a critical eye.
Aya nodded, growing more uncomfortable by the second.
"She looks the part." Kaoru stopped in front of her, scrutinizing her face.
Aya's cheeks reddened.
"Wah! She's really cute when she blushes." Kaoru commented to his brother.
"Ah! You're right." Hikaru joined his brother, standing back to back and holding each other's hands.
"Then it's decided! You can be our new toy." they announced at the same time, their mischievous grins had returned.
"Toy?" she echoed, taken aback a bit.
"Ne? Hey, you two! You're going too far." Kiiro pinched their cheeks.
"Ow! Hey! Hey! Kiiro-senpai! That hurts! We were just kidding!" they struggled against the woman who was a good head shorter than them.
"I don't care if you're kidding!" she frowned, releasing them. "You've gone and freaked her out."
Aya didn't really know what to say about the scene in front of her. What exactly had she agreed to?
"Sorry about those two." Mei smiled warmly at her. "They can be kind of a handful sometimes but they're sweet once you get to know them." she turned to the trio of "models". "Alright you three, enough horsing around! You've got to practice!"
"But they started it." Kiiro batted her eyelashes at Mei. "Sorry, Mei-chan."
"I don't care who started it. Get into the prep room so we can get going!" she pointed to the adjoining room in front of her. "Thanks for helping out by the way Shoujo-chan, I don't trust any of the three here to stop bickering long enough to do a half decent job themselves."
"Hey, we resent that, Mei-chan!" the twins called back, pulling Kiiro into a hug, "We're all a big happy family, isn't that right, Kiiro-senpai?"
"Hands off before I remove them from you entirely, boys." the woman said sweetly.
"See?" the boys grinned again, ignoring her warning as they made their way back to the prep room.
"Right." Mei huffed, leading Aya by her elbow.
"So, Kiiro-senpai will be wearing this, this and this." Mei began, lying three ensembles on the folding table behind the curtain. "While the twins can have their pick of any of these." she gestured to the other outfits on the table. Aya was quite impressed by all of them, dresses and jackets that looked like they ought to belong in professional boutiques, intricate stitching that had to have taken Mei hours, colors that complimented each other so well it was hard to believe Mei was only in her first year of college.
"Right." Aya tapped her finger to her chin, looking the lot over and then glancing up at the trio across the table from them, trying to envision what kind of hairstyles and makeup she thought would go best with them. "Any suggestions?" she glanced at Mei.
"Just do your best effort."
"Of course, Yasumura-san." Aya nodded.
"Alright then you guys get changed into your first outfits and we'll start." Mei commanded with a wave of her hand.
Kiiro picked up the tuxedo dress that was first in line, and headed for the section of the room that had been cordoned off with a curtain.
"We can change right here..." Kaoru began unbuttoning his shirt.
"...right, Mei-chan?" Hikaru did the same.
"You will not!" Mei growled, pushing the two forcibly behind the curtain opposite the one Kiiro had entered. She huffed, "Jeez! Why did I even bother asking you two!"
Aya had to chuckle a bit, the four of these people were so funny and she'd only known them for twenty minutes.
"Because Tono would have gotten carried away." Hikaru's voice answered.
"And Kyouya-senpai's in America." Kaoru offered.
"And Mori-senpai and Hani-senpai's heights would have made the project more difficult?" Kiiro supplied from her dressing room.
"Exactly!" the twins cheered.
"Right." Mei sighed again. She glanced back at Aya, who was still giggling. Mei smiled, "Great, Shoujo-chan thinks we're crazy."
"It's not that, Yasumura-san, I just think you guys are really funny." Aya hid her smile with a hand.
"Ne! Boys, she's laughing at you!" Kiiro called.
"Really?" the boys stuck their heads out from behind the curtain. "You think we're funny?"
"Mhm." she nodded, still smiling.
"You'll get sick of them soon enough, Shoujo-san." Mei turned to the twins. "Oy! Get dressed! What am I paying you for?"
"You aren't paying us at all, Mei-chan." Kiiro said with a smirk as she emerged from her curtain, smoothing out the skirt of her dress.
"We volunteered out of the goodness of our hearts." the boys added.
"You two don't have any goodness in your hearts." Kiiro murmured flatly.
"We can hear you slandering us, Kiiro-senpai!" the two finished changing, sliding aside the curtain.
"But it is a little true, isn't it, Hikaru?" Kaoru leaned against his older brother, elbow on his shoulder.
The two grinned.
"Whatever." Mei dismissed their playfulness with a gesture. "Come sit over here. Shoujo-chan, ready to begin?"
"Mm."
"Wow." Kiiro looked at herself in the mirror. Her waves tamed in a thick, looping braid, her makeup an artful blend of smudged shadows and definitive lines of color. "It's easy to tell you're the top student, Shoujo-chan." she smiled at the younger girl, apparently forgetting that she was the only one protesting calling her "Shoujo" earlier.
"It's nothing." Aya shrugged. "I've just been doing this sort of thing for a while now."
"No, seriously." Hikaru examined his expertly ruffled hair, turning his head this way and that in the mirror. His eyes were lined perfectly, matching the black accents of his suit jacket.
"We couldn't have done any better ourselves." Kaoru admitted with a surprised smile. He winked at his own reflection, admiring the apple-red shade of his lips.
"Thank you." she said sheepishly.
"Thank you, Shoujo-chan." Mei grabbed the girl by the shoulders. "Hey, Kiiro-senpai, did you bring your camera?"
"Of course, why?" Kiiro looked over her shoulder at her friend.
"I told Aya you'd be able to take a few photographs of her work for her portfolio." Mei said with a grin.
"Oh, yeah, no problem." Kiiro fetched her camera from her bag.
"Why do you carry that with you?" Hikaru raised an eyebrow at her.
Her smile sparkled, "In case I have to take impromptu shots for the club's photobooks."
"She's definitely his finacée." Kaoru slumped.
"Say "ootoro", boys." Kiiro said sweetly as she began snapping shots. "I'll take shots from the show for you, too, Shoujo-san."
In spite of themselves they posed for the camera like real pros.
"Thank you, Harper-san." Aya gave a small bow.
"No problem, I'd been meaning to get a few shots of the boys anyway." Kiiro took close up shots of their faces. "Your merch has been severely lacking since the two of you graduated."
Aya wondered what kind of "merch" she could be talking about.
"Okay, guys, now we just have to make sure you look good on the catwalk." Mei began pushing the trio out of the prep room. "You should stick around until we're done, Shoujo-chan, Kiiro-senpai is taking us all out to karaoke."
"I am?" Kiiro glanced back at Mei, surprised.
"Yep. The Twins can get the tab after the actual show." Mei replied sunnily.
'I've never been invited to karaoke before.' Aya thought, a blush spreading to her cheeks again as she followed the quartet to the auditorium proper.
"Ah! Hikaru, she's blushing again!"
"I think she likes us, Kaoru!"
"What have I told you two about freaking her out?" Kiiro scolded them. "Besides you two hadn't even said anything!"
Aya watched the three practice their struts as Mei called out instructions. The brothers especially did exceptionally well, acting as if they had done this sort of thing a hundred times before.
'Maybe they really are in the modeling business?' she mused.
"Kiiro-senpai, you need to be in your next outfit by the time Hikaru finishes his rotation!" Mei coached the older girl.
Kiiro, who was now wearing a swirling hi-low dress and accessorized to the nines, nearly faltered on the stage they were using as an impromptu runway, "I can't walk that fast!"
"Her legs are too short!" Kaoru called from the other end of the stage, hiding his grin.
She glared at him.
"Just run then." Mei shrugged.
"In these heels?" the sleeve of her dress slid down her shoulder.
"I can help you to the prep room." Aya offered, "Just make it to the stairs and I'll help you get to the dressing room more quickly."
"Ah! Shoujo-chan is so sweet!" Kiiro beamed, "Not at all like any of these other meanies here!" she said loud enough for everyone to hear.
"You know I could always get Haruhi to take your part!" Mei stuck her tongue out.
The twins found that laughable, "Please don't, Mei-chan! Not unless you want your first exam gives points for comedy!"
After they had practiced walking the catwalk until Mei was finally contented they packed up and left Nozawarai's auditorium. Aya was surprised when two sleek town cars had come to pick them up. She recalled Mei's remark about the other three being "rich kids".
"Shoujo-chan can ride with us!" Hikaru and Kaoru announced, making to abduct Aya.
"Like hell!" Kiiro pulled the blonde to her side, "Shoujo-chan, you can ride with me. The Twins are simply devils."
"Well, we were the "Little Devil type."" she thought she heard Kaoru remark, unsure of exactly what that meant.
Kiiro slid into her towncar, patting the middle seat next to her. Mei sat on her other side.
"Where to, Miss Kiiro?" Kiiro's personal bodyguard/driver, Aijima, asked from the driver's seat.
"The usual karaoke place, if you please, Aijima-san." Kiiro smiled sweetly.
'Just how rich are these people?' Aya thought. "Out of curiousity, Harper-san, which university do you attend?"
"Please, call me Kiiro." the older girl began. "I attend Ouran University, actually."
"A stinking rich school for the stinking rich kid." Mei said, sticking her tongue out at Kiiro.
Aya's eyes widened a bit, 'No kidding.'
"I suppose if we met last year that would have made us rivals, then." she said.
"What do you mean?" Kiiro cocked an eyebrow.
"I graduated from Lobelia Girl's Academy last year." she explained.
"Lo-Lobelia?" Kiiro looked stricken.
"Wah! Are you alright, Harper-san?" Aya asked, worried about how mentioning her old school could result in a reaction like that.
"Long story." Mei said with a smile. "But I guess that means you're a rich kid, too, huh? How come you're going to a regular college like Nozawarai?"
"Ah, I'm not really all that well off." Aya shrugged. "My Mom's an actress and she wanted me to follow her footsteps and become part of the acting program there, but I've always wanted to become a stylist. Lobelia's university doesn't offer cosmetology so I started at Nozawarai because it's close to home."
"Acting program..." Kiiro muttered, recalling some unknown horror.
"Wow, you're Mom's an actress?" Mei's surprised tone was evident.
Aya nodded, used to this, "She's Kyomi Tendo."
"I've seen a few of her movies. Why do you have different last names? Is she divorced?" Mei asked with her usual tactlessness.
Kiiro snapped out of her stupor, waving her arms frantically, "Mei-chan you can't just ask that! I swear you're as bad as Haruhi sometimes."
"I don't mind, Harper-san." Aya returned her attention to Mei. "She is. My Dad is an actor in Sweden, that's why my name's so...outlandish."
Mei nodded, nosiness ausauged.
The car slowed as they approached the karaoke establishment, Kiiro asked Aijima to return home until she called him. Then she met up with the twins putting on a grave face, "You'll never guess what high school Shoujo-chan attended."
They tilted their heads, curious.
"Lobelia." she wilted, clutching their arms for support.
They acquired the same haunted look that Kiiro had had earlier.
"What's so bad about Lobelia?" Aya's confusion was apparent.
"Like I said. Long story." Mei said as she led them all inside to the counter. "Card please, Kiiro-senpai." she held her hand out to her senior.
Without any protesting, Kiiro produced a gold card from her purse. Aya's mother made good money, but golden credit cards were an entirely new category. Just what kind of people were these?
The receptionist happily showed them to their nicest karaoke room, "Right this way, Miss Harper. Please enjoy your time here." the woman said in the most polite tone Aya had ever heard.
"We want the first song!" Hikaru pumped his fist in the air, his other hand interlaced with his brother's.
"Order us something spicy, Kiiro-senpai!" Kaoru commanded as the brothers took the stage.
"Spoiled brats..." Kiiro's smirk twitched but she picked up the tablet with all the menu choices.
"Hey, Shoujo-chan! Come up and sing with us! We'll do a duet!" the brothers smiled, perusing the song selection.
"Just pretend like they aren't here, Shoujo-chan." Kiiro flipped her hair over her shoulder.
"So you guys are the sons of Yuzuha Hitachiin?" Aya cocked her head. "I knew the name was familiar." their mother was the best clothes designer in all of Tokyo, undisputed.
"Yeah, our Mom designed the wardrobe for a movie your Mom starred in." Hikaru tried recalling the title.
"On the Highest Hill, right?" Kaoru supplied. "No wait, she did Gilded Age, too, didn't she?"
"I think so. I know my Mom's commissioned a few dresses for events, too." Aya smiled, sipping her virgin daiquiri.
Kiiro swooned, "She designed the dress I was wearing when I got engaged."
"Are you swooning because of the engagement or the dress?" Hikaru asked flatly.
It was then that Aya noticed the cluster of diamonds on Kiiro's ring finger.
'Again, just how rich are these people?' Aya thought, incredulous.
"I didn't know that!" Mei's eyes widened. "Yuzuha-sama's the one who inspired me to make clothes! Well, her and my Dad, I guess."
"They're both fans of our Mom." Kaoru clarified with a smirk.
"Are either of you going to follow in her footsteps?" Aya asked him, curious.
"I might." Kaoru admitted. "I'm working toward a degree in fashion design."
"Kaoru can have the company." Hikaru grinned at his twin. "I'm doing game design."
"A true shame." Kiiro perked up. "The two of you would have been splendid evil masterminds."
"Kiiro-senpai, don't reveal our secret!" the two played along, making the whole group laugh.
"What made you want to become a stylist, Shoujo-chan?" Mei asked.
"Ah, when I was little I spent a lot of time in my Mom's dressing rooms, where her personal stylist watched me until it was time to go home. She's the one that inspired me."
"You were left in your mother's dressing room while she worked?" Hikaru asked, brow furrowing.
"That sounds so sad!" he mirrored his brother's expression.
Tears fell from their eyes.
She found herself enveloped in a hug from each of them, 'When did I get between them?!'
"Wah! It's not like that! Saki-san was there to keep me company!" she tried explaining to no avail.
"Come on, you two, enough suffocating Shoujo-chan!" Kiiro pull them away by their collars.
Mei stood, "Well, enough chit chat, it's my turn to sing. C'mon, Kiiro-senpai." she dragged her senior up out of the booth.
"Ne, Mei-chan, you know how I feel about singing in front of people!" she failed to stand her ground in her high heels.
"Come on, Kiiro, we're all friends here."
Aya found her cheeks coloring again.
"Ah! There she goes!"
"Mei-chan made her blush this time!"
"The Zuka club?" Aya asked. "Yeah, I knew of it. My Mom wanted me to join but I wouldn't be caught dead onstage."
"It's probably for the best." Hikaru said sagely.
"Yeah the three stars of it...well..." Kaoru trailed off, color draining from his face.
"Oh, I remember how everyone was crazy about Benio Amakusa when she was still in high school. There was an entire fan club devoted to her." she recalled, thinking of all the fanatical girls that would gather in the halls as the leading actress of the Zuka Club passed. "I never understood the hype."
"They were nuts!" the pair proclaimed. "They kidnapped a friend of ours and tried to steal her first kiss!"
Her brow furrowed, "You're kidding."
"Nope!" Hikaru waved away the notion.
"That Benibara was obsessed with her!" Kaoru affirmed.
"It's not like we have anything against same sex relationships, but those girls were just creepy." they concluded.
Mei and Kiiro rejoined them, "You guys can have a turn if you like." Mei said with a wave of her fingers.
"We never did get that duet, did we?" Kaoru looked slyly at his brother.
"No we didn't, Kaoru." his eyes turned to Aya.
"Please, Shoujo-chan?"
She shrugged, "I don't see why not."
"Mei-chan, keep your eyes open, won't you?" Kiiro shook her friend who was quickly falling asleep with her head on Kiiro's shoulder. "Aijima will be around to pick us up any moment."
Mei was doing well to disobey her.
The twins's town car came to a stop in front of them.
"Time for us to go." Hikaru waved at the girls.
"We'll see you all later." Kaoru shot a smile at them.
"Bye, bye, Shoujo-chan." they waggled their fingers at Aya as their doors were opened for them.
"Don't let them bug you, Shoujo-chan." Kiiro smirked, looping an arm around Mei's waist before she could fall to the pavement. "They get clingy with new people."
Aya shrugged, "I don't really mind it. They seem nice."
Kiiro grinned, "They are, when they're not being pigheaded. Ah, here's Aijima."
Kiiro's car sidled up to the curb. Aijima hurried out to open a door for them, supporting Mei until he could help her in last.
"What's your address, Shoujo-chan?" the older girl asked as she buckled Mei's seatbelt.
Aya told her her flat's address.
Kiiro blinked at her in disbelief, "You're kidding? I live in 4A!"
"You're my downstairs neighbor then!" Aya grinned.
"What an odd coincidence!" she said with a laugh. "In that case, Aijima, please take us to Mei-chan's house."
"Of course, Miss."
Kiiro pulled Mei's head onto her shoulder so she wouldn't hit the window, "She's out like a light." she muttered. "Sorry if my friend's troubling you with her project, Shoujo-chan. Mei is very passionate about her work. She really gives it her all."
"I can tell, it's really admirable. Half the girls in my class are only doing cosmetology because thy think it's easy. It's nice to meet someone so driven. Besides, I don't really have any plans these days."
"Why's that?" Kiiro cocked her head, careful not to knock into Mei.
Aya shrugged, "Ah, it's only the first quarter of college, I've not yet had time to mingle very much."
Kiiro smiled sweetly at her, "If this arrangement keeps up I'm not sure you'll have any trouble with that, Shoujo-chan."
Aya kicked off her shoes at the threshold of her apartment, and made her way toward her bedroom. She glanced up at the clock, unable to remember the last time she had come home so late. It was a nice change. The people she had met that day seemed so nice. She'd even acquired a new nickname somehow. As she changed and sat back on her bed she found she was actually excited to see them all again for Mei's show next week.
"You would be proud of me, Saki. I think I made some friends today."