A/N: Hey guys! I'm really sorry for the late update. My family and I went out of town for some vacation at a beach resort (which I got myself a nice tan). So, to compensate, I wrote a pretty long chapter for you guys!

So, here it is! "Colored Powder" Chapter 4.


'Is he stalking me or what?' Ayano thought as she peeked on her right side and saw Kise sitting on the chair beside her and was quite intently taking down notes.

She didn't know why but… fate seems to play on them. Home room, English, Biology, Math, Foreign Language… every subject!

'So do I really have to spend my whole first year of high school with him?' she stated in her mind and turned back her attention towards the blackboard where her Biology teacher was discussing all the requirements and all the activities that the class will do for the whole semester.

'I just really hope that he'll not be in my Physical Education class.' she said in her mind and proceeded to taking down notes as well.

Mr. Ono, the Biology teacher, put down the chalk and faced his students. He is a middle aged man with few gray hairs already but looking youthful nonetheless.

"Okay class. Today, I'm going to be assigning your lab partners. You don't have to look too far because they are just right beside you. Your seatmates will also be your lab partners for the whole year. With the remaining time, I would like the two of you to at least get to know each other and discuss on the parts that the two of you will play in the experimentations." He said and after that, sat down on the teacher's chair and got his class record.

Soon, shuffling of chairs was heard and Ayano found herself facing a grinning Kise.

"So?" Kise asked while leaning his chin on his palm with his elbow propped on the desk.

Ayano raised an eyebrow at Kise then went to open up her notes to scan them and busied herself with looking at her writings so that Kise will not disturb her.

But…

"Ono-sensei said that we should get to know each other so… what's your favourite colour?" Kise asked, staring intently at Ayano.

'But the little prick couldn't just shut his mouth…' Ayano thought angrily and looked at Kise, discarding her efforts to focus on her notes.

"How is my favourite colour related to Biology?" she asked, not even bothering to cover up her annoyance.

And Kise, as stupid and dumb as he was, well for Ayano at least, just shrugged his shoulders and gave a smile at her direction. "What's the harm in telling me your favourite colour?" he asked with a note of playfulness.

'There will always be harm talking to someone as dim-witted as you…' she stated in her head but just let it pass since it was of no importance.

"Burgundy" Ayano replied. She then saw Kise's smile widen if it was even possible. "Why?" he asked again.

'Isn't this bastard tired of asking questions?!' she mentally rolled her eyes but maintained her composure.

"Because it's such a sophisticated colour that suits everyone. Besides, it's really a good lip colour for the fall season." Ayano replied nonchalantly.

'So still related to makeup' Kise thought and just shook his head. 'But who can I blame? She's a makeup artist…'

"And you? What's your favourite colour?" Ayano asked.

Suddenly, Kise found himself staring deeply into Ayano's eyes. "Cerulean" he muttered, unaware of the odd look that Ayano was giving him.

"Well, I thought you might say yellow." Ayano replied. Just when Kise was about to ask why, the bell rang signalling that Biology class was over.

Ayano fixed her chair and just stared off the window, clearly ignoring Kise and without her noticing Kise's gaze still on her.


(Fast forward: Dismissal)

'And sure… we ended up having the same schedule…' Ayano mentally sighed as she stood up to get her bag. She was so sure that they wouldn't have the same last class but…what do you know? They did end up having the same schedule.

The annoyance in Ayano's face was so priceless when she saw Kise's face at her Physical Education class that Kise couldn't help but laugh so loudly.

'At least I don't have to deal with his face after school. If I see any more of that blonde mop of hair of his, screw the 3 year paternal custody! I'm going back to Paris!' she mentally exclaimed while hurriedly getting out of the classroom.

She was walking down the staircase and saw that the others already went to their specific clubs for the first club meeting. Joining a club in Kaijou High is only optional so the others who aren't interested in joining one can simply have their early dismissal or roam around the school campus until the club meetings end.

'I'll just think about what club I would choose later… Which reminds me… the limited edition autumn/winter collection of MAC comes out today!' she thought and opted for an early dismissal to go to the MAC outlet.

The MAC limited edition autumn/winter collection is only sold at their outlets the day after they were launched. After that day, you can only buy that collection online at thrice the price! The collection consists of colours ranging from sparkling champagne to deep browns and burgundy.

Quickening her pace, she went out of the school's campus and had a taxi, of which she made sure that it's a real taxi driver this time, and asked the driver to drive her towards the mall where she knew, had a MAC outlet.

On halfway the ride, her cell phone rang with the ring tone for her job. She looked at the screen and saw that it was one of the makeup artists that she has to work with for the Alice in Wonderland photo shoot.

Ayano pressed the 'accept call' button and brought her cell phone to her ears. "Hello? Nakamura-san, why did you call me? Is it about the meeting on Saturday?" she asked and peeked at the window of the car and saw that they were nearing the mall.

"Yes, Shoji-san. Aikawa-san forgot to tell you that the characters that will appear on the photo shoot are Alice, the White Queen, Queen of Hearts and the Mad Hatter. I would just like to ask you to pick one of the characters for you to work with." Nakamura-san informed.

The taxi stopped in front of the huge mall and Ayano paid the driver while holding her cell phone on the other hand.

"Yes. I would like to work with Alice. I don't do well with very festive looks as much as you do." Ayano replied while stepping inside the mall and heading towards the huge department especially for perfumes and cosmetics.

"That's what I thought I would hear. So, let's just see each other again on Saturday. Bye!" then the line went off. Ayano put back the phone into her bag and went to the direction of MAC cosmetics.

"Yes, ma'm? How can I help you?" the saleslady asked with an approachable voice.

"I'm looking for the limited edition autumn/winter collection, please." Ayano replied while looking at the different shades of lipstick in the tester section.

"This one ma'm" the saleslady said, her hand motioning to the set of cosmetics displayed on a glass case.

"Yes. That one." Ayano replied. The saleslady then nodded and went towards the shelf where all the tester pieces from the collection were stored. Since, it was only available for today, the testers only came in palettes while the actual collection sells individual ones.

"Here, ma'm. They are only available in our outlet for today so don't miss your chance." Ayano nodded and got one of the eye shadows. She saw a beautiful shade of dark chocolate. She then got one of the brushes provided and tested the pigment on her hand.

'Ummm… well, it's very densely pigmented. It reminds me of that vintage makeup called Biba.'

She saw other eye shadows with colors of plum, warm cinnamon, ivory and very rich browns like burnt sienna and rust. After that she got a lipstick brush and tested the burgundy shade on the palette. It was a very dark and pigmented shade, almost similar to the famous Tom Ford "Black Orchid" lipstick. Other lipstick shades were of course, plums, deep browns, nude, deep berry and the likes.

After testing each piece of the collection, she looked at the saleslady and said that she'll get them all. The saleslady's eyes widened in delight and she eagerly gave her a huge paper bag that contains every piece of the collection and gave her a cotton swab and sprayed alcohol on it to remove the makeup on Ayano's hand while she motioned Ayano to go to the counter nearby.

Ayano accepted the paper bag and wiped off the makeup from her hand but instead of going straight to the counter, she went to other cosmetic brands to buy additional makeup for her studio.

Soon, she got the whole fall collection of MAC, Chanel Rouge Coco in Mademoiselle, one Dior Crème de Rose lip balm, new sets of false and individual lashes and her new stock of cream eye shadows and blushes. She got her makeup filled basket and went to the counter and paid for it using the credit card connected to her father's bank account.

'At least I spend most of your fucking money for my job instead of new hookers every night.' She thought sarcastically as she watched the card being swiped.

After the payment, she got all of the things that she bought and called straight for a taxi to go home.


Ayano sighed as she removed her uniform and changed into a plain white t-shirt and sweatpants. She removed her shoes and socks and slipped into her house slippers. After that, she tied her auburn hair in a loose bun and went towards her makeup studio bringing with her all the makeup that she purchased earlier.

The studio itself is painted in a pure white color with the same lacquered cherry wood flooring. The room was filled with huge shelves containing different labelled drawers, organized respectively according to what kind of cosmetics they were, the color of the makeup, if it falls under reds or nudes in lipstick for example, etcetera.

Other shelves contained many silver makeup kits varying in size. They contained cosmetics that are already handpicked and formed a collection so whenever Ayano has to do certain looks for a client who'll let say, will go to the red carpet, she'll just pick the small makeup kit specifically for red carpet looks. The same goes for photo shoot clients. Palettes are very useful in this case. It only takes up a little space of the makeup kit and still, you can choose many different shades of colors.

Then, there was a huge makeup desk with very good lighting, same lighting as the daylight, which is the most preferred lighting if you're going to apply makeup because if your makeup looks good in the daylight, it is most probably sure that your makeup will look good in any other light be it evening or artificial light.

On the desk was a silicon bust, a model designed for makeup practicing, a kit where all of Ayano's makeup brushes were stored, a box of tissue and a sprayer filled with water if the brushes needed to be dampened.

She was about to get a makeup kit on the shelf which is intended for practicing when the doorbell rang. She lightly grumbled and pressed the intercom.

"Who is it?" she asked and was immediately greeted with a giddy voice.

"Hi! This is Ryouko-san. Your neighbor at number 200. I'm just here to give you a welcoming present." A woman's voice replied. Ayano sighed as she contemplated whether or not will she invite her in.

Ayano decided on the latter and opened the door for her. She was immediately taken aback by her new neighbor. She expected a naggy, old woman but this lady here, with long blonde hair looks like a fashion model of some sort.

'But why does she kinda reminds me of… Wait, no! It couldn't be… but… their name is kind of similar… Ryouko and Ryouta…' she mused in her head but was immediately snapped back into attention. 'Why do I have to even think of him now?!'

"Come in, Ryouko-san! Make yourself at home." Ayano said while she went to the kitchen to prepare some tea.

Ryouko stared at their neighbour's apartment and sat on one of the white leather couches. 'Very tidy and modern… But why on earth is she even living alone? She doesn't even look like she's past 18!'

After a moment, Ayano came back with a tray of two glasses filled with tea "Here Ryouko-san, have some oolong tea." She said and set down the tray on the sleek black table.

Ryouko took one of the glasses and smiled. "Thank you…?" Ryouko asked, not knowing her name. Ayano smiled at her in return. "Shoji Ayano but you can just call me Ayano."

Ryouko nodded and took a sip of the tea. "So, what do you do Ayano-san? I presume that you're still a student." Ryouko asked.

"Yes I am but I also work as a makeup artist." Ayano replied and also took a sip of the tea.

'Makeup artist? What a coincidence… Is it possible that she's the one that Ryouta was talking about the other day?' Ryouko silently mused to herself while drinking the oolong tea.

"That's very interesting. I often work as model for a lifestyle magazine but I do work on some high fashion magazine too." Ryouko said. She glanced around the living room for awhile until she spotted a rack filled with many fashion magazines. Most of them Vogue and Elle.

"You really do have a lot of Vogue Magazines." Ryouko commented. Ayano just gave her another smile as she put down her glass.

"Yes. I subscribed to Vogue for my monthly copy when I was in Paris." Ayano replied. Ryouko just gave her a pout and muttered. "Lucky you…"

Ayano then stood up and looked at Ryouko. She glanced at her makeup studio. 'Maybe I could practice with a real model instead of that silicon bust…' she thought to herself.

"Ryouko-san, do you want to see my makeup studio?"


"I wonder what club did Ayanochii picked? I am certain that there is no club related to cosmetics in Kaijou High… Maybe I could invite her to be our club manager if she still hasn't found a club!" Kise muttered excitedly to himself as he walked out of the elevator and go inside his condominium.

He got his keys and opened the door. "Tadaima!" he announced. He took off his school shoes and slipped on his house slippers. Kise looked around and saw his older sister sitting on the couch, flipping through some fashion magazine.

Ryouko looked up from the magazine and smiled when she saw her younger brother. "Welcome back." She said.

Kise then noticed that she got some makeup on her face. Quite beautifully done actually. "I'm surprised that you actually knew how to apply makeup now. The last time I checked, you looked like a big panda when you tried to do a smoky eye for prom." Kise said with a hint of humour in his voice. Then, he also noticed a small box on the table. He picked it up and read it. Chanel Hydra Beauty Gel Crème…

Ryouko then glared at him lightly but continued to scan the magazine. "I've stopped my attempts after that. It was actually our new neighbor who applied makeup on me. You should have seen her studio. It was filled with boxes and boxes of makeup. She was also the one who gave me that Chanel product. She said that her mother sends her many makeup and beauty products from Paris so she had loads of them. " Ryouko replied.

'Wait… makeup?' Kise thought and proceeded to sit at the couch across his sister. "So, you mean our new neighbor is a makeup artist?" Kise asked. Ryouko just stared at him then nodded her head. "Quite young to be one too but she's really talented. I mean, she already had have worked with Vogue at the age of 16." Ryouko replied.

'Makeup artist… 16 years old… no… it can't be possible but…' Kise mused in his mind. Finally, he stood up and went towards his sister.

"Can you tell me our new neighbour's name?" Kise asked with a frown of concentration on his face. Ryouko just raised an eyebrow at him and nodded. "Sure. Her name is Ayano. Shoji Ayano."

And after that syllable, Kise absentmindedly went out of their condo without even bothering to change his house slippers and rang the doorbell of unit 201.

After some moments, the door opened and revealed Ayano who was dressed in a sleeveless black silk nightgown matched with a flowy long black silk robe with its ribbon loosely tied on her petite waist. Her hair was tied in a bun and on her face was some sort of white facial mask.

Kise's eyes widened when he saw Ayano. He clearly didn't think that it was possible… Same school, same class, same schedule and they even live in the same building! It was all…like fate…

"Kise? What on earth are you doing here? Wait, in the first place, how did you even know where I live?" Ayano asked with irritation in her voice. She clearly was lounging in her couch, browsing through her Vogue Magazines and sipping on some calming chamomile tea while she gave her face the much needed treatment after her stressful day at school.

Kise was as shocked as she was and the only thing he could do was ran a hand through his hair and point at his right side, to the direction of his condo.

Ayano then read his signals and piecing everything together, her eyes widened at the revelation as she mimicked the direction of Kise's hand.

"W-Wait, don't… don't tell me you live at unit 200 with Ryouko-san.." Ayano said in a loud whisper. Unfortunately for her, Kise nodded his head. "Yes. She's my older sister." He replied.

Ayano did all that she could to stop her mouth from dropping and for her mask to crack. It was all too surreal.

Then ,as quick as a snap of a finger, she shut her door down and took a sit on her couch and released a sigh.

"Oi, Ayanochii!" Kise called while pressing on the doorbell button repeatedly. Ayano then sighed again in annoyance and stood up. She pressed the intercom button and yelled in a loud voice, "Just shut up and go back to where hell you came from!"

A few seconds later, the repeating doorbell sounds stopped and Ayano went back to her couch.

'Well, as long as he doesn't bother me, I wouldn't have to pack my Loius Vuitton Baggage bags and book a one way trip to Paris.' She thought and took a large gulp of tea.


To be continued...