The Hitachiin mansion that night was slightly chaotic, full to the brim with perfectly suited men and finely dressed ladies chatting politely on the dance floor, grouping by the buffet and wine table to mingle with wealthy potential business partners. The music was gentle and calming in the background, providing a delightful undertone to the general conversation that was constantly humming.
The cause of such a ruckus was a welcoming party, and a celebration of not only a successful fashion show but a coming new season. The Hitachiin label had recently picked up a brand new model from the runway of Paris fashion week to become the new face, and the new summer, fall and winter collections for later in the year were waiting to be re-modelled and shot.
A slender blonde stood anxiously in the corner of the room, a confidently fake smile lighting up her features. Her hands were clasped gracefully around a wine glass in front of her, her feet positioned smartly and delicately together in simple black pumps. She wore a floor length dress which hugged under her bust and flowed elegantly down the rest of her body, lying on the curve of her hips and flaunting her long legs. It was a dusty, coal black; with thin spaghetti straps that fastened behind her neck in a small bow.
Her pale eyes flickered around the rest of the room as she watched the guests mingle. There was Kyoyama Akiya, a famous young actress who had the lead role in that TV drama. Misakizawa Ryuu, a photography veteran who had worked with some of the modelling giants in the business – and over there, Nishimura Yano was talking intimately with her fiancé Takashima Izumo, the lead singer of up-and-coming j-rock band Knights.
Gulping, she averted her eyes from each in turn, avoiding awkward staring eye contact with anyone. Parties were never her forte, as she normally didn't talk unless people talked to her – but she could feel lingering stares from various people, and they made her feel slightly more uncomfortable than usual.
Timidly she tucked a strand of curly blonde hair behind her ear, inconspicuously checking her pinned up messy bun as well.
"Fiore-san! How are you enjoying the party?"
The blonde turned her head sharply, caught unawares by the familiar voice, to smile at the maker of her dress – a beautiful strawberry blonde woman by the name of Hitachiin Yuzuha. Though the woman was in her forties, she barely even looked 30, her skin keeping its youthful elasticity and wrinkle-free texture. She had wonderfully golden eyes that glinted mischievously and the kind of glossy red smile that made young men look twice to question her real age. She wore a smart and flattering deep forest green gown with a mermaid tail and crossover v-neck bodice.
"It's… energetic," she replied, chuckling; her voice soft like the gentle chime of bells.
"Oh, you are too quiet. Go and talk to people!" She said, beaming brightly at her.
"Ah, but, it's my first model party…"
Yuzuha smirked and placed her hands firmly on the blonde's dainty shoulders. "Fiore Anzu, you are a gorgeous, young new model who is the new star of the Hitachiin label! I can guarantee almost every woman in this house envies you."
Anzu could feel herself blushing at the comments the older woman made. "Are you jealous too?" She asked cheekily.
Yuzuha just smirked knowingly at her, before changing the subject swiftly. "I do believe you haven't met my darling sons yet! Imagine, you've been named as face of my label for over a month now and you've not even seen their faces once. I must introduce you!" She exclaimed happily, removing the wine from Anzu's hand and leaving it on a table before taking her arm in hers. She barely even had time to blink before the peppy older woman began dragging her into the throng of rich people.
"Hitachiin-sama, are you sure you know where you're going?" The blonde asked uncertainly, smiling her apologies as she bumped people accidently.
"Of course, of course! Don't worry!"
Meanwhile, across the room, a large group of mainly female spectators were gathered together, trying to look inconspicuous as they stared lustfully at two almost identical men. They were lounging idly in the corner, one reclining on a chair while the other leaned against the wall; alcohol in their glasses and not really paying attention to the world. Both were intensely alluring and mysterious – well, the women gathered around them whispered that between themselves.
"I wish the others could come. This party is boooring." The man with ashen hair whined to his twin, sipping his drink. He was leaning coolly against the wall, one hand in his dark chocolate trouser pockets, his feet crossed in his tan brogues. On his torso was a loose white shirt and tweed jacket with tan elbow patches, a pocket watch clipped to his breast pocket.
"Saturday is usually a busy night, Hikaru. You can't blame them," the younger strawberry blonde replied. Compared to his brother, his attire was a slight more conventional – a dark khaki blazer with rolled up sleeves, off-white smart shirt and grey skinny tie, and a pair of tailored dark grey trousers with dark grey dress shoes. One ear was pierced with a small tunnel, and a few string bracelets hung on his wrist. "But I'm bored too."
"Booooo~!" Hikaru sighed, setting his drink on the table beside them and folding his arms. "I wanna do something fun, Kaoru! I can't believe Kaa-san made us come to this ridiculous party. I'd rather go sleep at Tono's house."
Kaoru smiled sympathetically at his brother. He understood his thoughts, but at the moment he was content with just people watching. Especially since they hadn't really been together much for a while, as brothers – Hikaru had been living in England with a model, studying fashion design and photography in a London university. Kaoru, on the other hand, hadn't really moved away from home much, modelling for his mother whenever they were short of a male model and visiting friends. It had been almost 6 months since the last time they had seen each other, and they were both already becoming different people.
Hikaru huffed and stretched, cracking his fingers as he pouted. His jacket rose with his arms and he tugged it down, dusting thread off his pants. A few women tittered as they caught a glimpse of his pale flesh, and Kaoru snorted mentally.
"Oh boooooys! Mama's here!"
"Speak of the devil," Hikaru mumbled to himself.
"Oh who are you calling a devil now, dear?" Hitachiin Yuzuha smirked at her sons as she appeared in front of them, who were now alert and ready. "Ahh, anyway, I have someone I'd like you to meet! Boys, this is-"
She stopped as she realised her company had disappeared. She spun around, searching frantically for any sign of the tall blonde, until suddenly a slender female pushed through the crowd, almost collapsing on her.
"Oh, Hitachiin-sama! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"Nonsense, nonsense." Yuzuha chuckled and helped her straighten herself out before turning back to her sons. "Hikaru, Kaoru, I'd like you to meet the new star of Hitachiin – Fiore Anzu! Fiore-san, these are my beautiful sons, Hikaru and Kaoru!"
Anzu gathered her wits, smiled politely and bowed, her hands held in front of her. "It's an honour to meet you," she said gently, almost laughing awkwardly as Yuzuha hugged her sons lovingly.
Kaoru looked in wonder over his mothers shoulder as she hugged him. The woman was quite tall, yet shorter than him he could tell. She was slim and delicate, with a slightly smaller-than-average chest and from what he could deduced, gorgeous long legs. Her eyes were strangely cat-like and large, framed by thick eyelashes. They glimmered wildly under the chandeliers light, giving her an almost feline look. These killer eyes, matched with the unruly light blonde curls thrown in a messy bun on the back of her head, were nearly enough to bring a man to his knees.
Hikaru glanced at his brother, smirking as watched him check her out. He had to admit, the girl was insanely attractive – and she looked like she knew it, even if only a little.
"Well, I'm gonna leave you kids to play for a bit while I go talk to some important people about Fiore-san's future. Tanoshinde!"
The three 'kids' stared after her as she quickly made her exit, an uncomfortable silence settling over them. The twins shared a look with each other before turning to the woman, their expressions blank.
"W-Well…" Anzu stammered, scratching the side of her face awkwardly.
They had found a new toy.
"We're booooored~!"
Anzu blinked, slightly shocked at the perfect synchronisation, but soon returned to normal – relaxing a little in the happy atmosphere the two brothers gave off. "Me too. I'm not really used to attending these gatherings… especially not when I'm supposed to be the 'honoured guest'," she replied with an embarrassed chuckle.
"Ah yeah, you're the new model aren't you? We'll probably end up working together at some point. I'm Hitachiin Kaoru, the younger twin, in case my mother didn't say who was who clearly enough…" He held out his hand and she took it politely, curtseying.
"Of course, thank you. I look forward to working with you." Her eyes closed as she grinned happily, before turning to the other. "Therefore, I assume you must be Hikaru-san, yes?"
Hikaru nodded, shifting his weight to his left leg. He pulled his hand from his pocket to shake her politely before returning it. "It's nice to meet you, Anzu-san. You're an incredibly beautiful woman – our mother has a good eye for her models."
Anzu could feel her cheeks bursting into colour so she looked away hastily, eyes not meeting theirs. Kaoru glanced across at him only to finding him smirking back and wiggling his eyebrows. "Th-Thank you," she stammered, playing with the skirt of her dress. Looking back at them, she swallowed her nerves and smiled, relaxing slightly again as the moment passed.
"So," Kaoru began, salvaging the conversation, "how long have you been modelling for, Anzu-san?"
Hikaru could have face-palmed right there in front of her at Kaoru's initiation of small talk. Apparently his eyebrow wiggle had not been obvious enough to make Kaoru follow up on the compliment.
"Well, I only seriously started to think about modelling when I was 19… so, 2 years I guess. I'm quite the novice really," she replied cordially.
Before Kaoru could say something weak, Hikaru jumped in with another comment. "Well you're certainly a natural – I was in Paris for the fashion week and saw you on the catwalk. Remember, Kaoru? I showed you some photos. She was gorgeous wasn't she?"
"E-Er, yeah, you were beautiful Fiore-san," he stuttered, his cheeks turning pink as he sharply elbowed his twin. Hikaru frowned as his brother slipped to using her last name.
Anzu, on the other hand, was watching their silent exchange awkwardly. Her fingers fidgeted as she waited for their staring contest to stop, smiling faux-obliviously as she internally sweat dropped.
"Hikaru! You never told me you were coming here tonight!"
A wave of relief rushed over her as the foreign voice interrupted and a new face appeared; a slim auburn brunette with seductive chocolate eyes and a heart-shaped face. She slinked towards the older twin in her delicate pale pink strapless chiffon gown; the trail was picked up in her hand so it didn't drag, and she rested her arm on his shoulder, leaning her body against him.
"Evelyn!" He said brightly in English, slipping his hands around her waist and whirling her around. "What are you doing here? I thought you were staying in England!"
"Well, someone forgot to invite me to such an important party. Your mother rang when she found out you arrived in Japan alone and ordered me here instantly."
Hikaru turned slightly pink and scratched the back of his head. "Oops."
"Indeed," the woman replied with smug smirk, but she kissed him lightly on the lips anyway, playfully tapping his cheek. She turned towards the others who were watching the exchange oddly, and opened her mouth in realisation. "Ah, apologies! I haven't met either of you before, yet I know you're Kaoru," she said in a joking tone. "My name is Evelyn Jackson, I'm Hikaru's girlfriend. Pleasure to meet you."
The short introduction was finished with a tiny bow of respect. Anzu blinked, a little bewildered at her sudden appearance, before replying in English. "I wasn't expecting to meet Hikaru-san's girlfriend here – it's an honour. My name is Fiore Anzu – I just recently became a Hitachiin model…"
"Oh, you're the new face! And you speak English! Congratulations, it really is amazing to land a job like this in your first few years. You must have worked extremely hard to get where you are."
She laughed and nodded awkwardly. Apparently not everyone knew she had simply been picked up off a runway.
Before the conversation could be picked up, Kaoru had caught her eye and gestured almost unnoticeably to leave and give the couple some space. Catching on, she nodded slightly back and curtseyed, excusing her and Kaoru with the excuse that she needed to use the facilities and Kaoru would chaperone her.
Once away from the two, Kaoru let out a breath he never knew he was holding, attracting the attention of the new model. She looked at him curiously, and as he glanced back she blushed and turned the other way quickly. "Ah, sorry," he began sheepishly. "It's just, I didn't really wanna be third and fourth wheel… plus I've heard from Hikaru that she's quite a handful. He does love her a lot though…"
Anzu grinned at the handsome younger twin and nodded, holding her hands in front of her. "It's no problem, really. However, I would like to request you actually do show me where the bathroom is now."
Well, that's it for the first chapter! :) I hope you enjoy it, and please let me know what you think and what could be improved! :)