A/N: Dear Lord, too much drama in the last chapter. ._.
Thanks To:
The Guardian of Oblivion – Wait no more, my dear! Bwahaha!
-my-forgotten-rose- - Yes it is sad,I hate writing angst. *sigh* Thanks for the review. :D
Shnitzel – You iz a Pinay? :D *ecstatic* Yayz! 8D Hee, the plot bunnies are going crazy in my head and I don't know which of them should I include the explanation of the necklace in. D: Thanks for the review! *hug*
ZeroPanda – Teehee. I have been resurrected. :D Actually, ever since I started updating again, I've been watching a lot more anime lately. So you (and other readers) can expect more categories inhabiting my account. 8D
Enjoy!
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Chapter 14: Assisting the Model
Ring ring!
Akane groaned in her sleep and rolled over to the other side of the bed. She turned in the tangles of her bedsheets and lay down on her stomach, pulling the thick pillow over her ears to block out the loud ringing of her phone.
Ring ring!
The loud shrieking of her phone continued to pierce through the air of the previously tranquil room. Akane cursed lightly as she sat up on her bed, rubbing her eyes in attempt to pull herself out of her sleepy state. She peered at the clock hanging on her room's wall.
8:30… The red head's short thoughts were cut short as the angry pounding of a million fists in her head made her collapse back to the softness of the bed. Dear Lord. She thought
"My head…" she groaned as the shrill ringing continued. She reached over to snatch her phone from the desk and flipped it open. Her eyes almost rolled to the back of her head when she saw a large 'Sakura' flashing on the screen. Summoning up all of the strength she had left, she pressed the 'answer' button.
"Sakura. This better be important," the red-head mumbled through the complaints of her pounding head.
"It is, actually," the model's cheerful voice rang through the speakers, causing Akane to wince at the loudness of it, "How's your hangover?"
"Horrible," she replied blankly, "Never ever drinking again."
The model chuckled at the naivety of her friend. Akane whined softly at the loud sound as she pressed a hand to her temple as if to stop the shrill ringing in her ears.
"Ever."
"Well no one told you to drink as much as you did," Sakura scolded her friend softly, "You only have yourself to blame."
"Oh, whatever," Akane muttered as she got up from the soft confines of the mattress, her feet hitting the soft carpeted floor with a thump. "I doubt you called here just to check upon me, what do you need?"
"My agency is short two models, Kane-chan," Sakura said, the playful suggestion rolling of her tongue, "And since you're my bestest friend ever,"
"No," Akane replied bluntly.
"But Kane-chaaaaan!" Sakura whined, making said red head hold the phone away from her ear, "Please? You'd be doing a really big favor me, it'll be just a few hours, I promise. Please? For me?" the model asked with a pleading tone. Akane sighed and rubbed her temples thoughtfully, padding outside her room's door to find Ruo and some painkillers.
"But who would be your other model? Didn't you need two?"
Sakura smirked a little on the other line, "Leave that part to me."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
I can't believe I'm doing this.
Akane stared up at the big commercial building, the feeling of dread and anxiety slowly creeping up her body. "I'm an idiot for agreeing to do this…"
"Yes, we all know that."
Akane turned to look at the stranger's voice, shocked to see Hatori Sohma himself standing behind her. The young vet turned model stood with hr jaw hanging open as she pointed to Hatori then to the building then back to Hatori.
"What are you doing here?" she asked slowly as the shock wore off. She was literally freezing in the winter air, and even though 'dress lightly' was what Sakura had instructed, her outfit somehow ended up being too light thus providing the woman with practically no protection from the piercing cold.
"Yamamoto-san," Hatori coughed a little embarrassedly, not believing that he had actually complied to do the bidding of the golden-haired model, "…required assistance." He finished lamely, his eyes darting from Akane's amused green eyes to the snow showered floor.
"Wait," Akane held a hand up disbelievingly, "You're the other model?" she stared at the doctor a second longer then burst into hysterical fits of laughter. "Oh my God, how'd she do it? Bribery? Blackmail? A threat maybe?" she coughed out in between spits of laughter. She clutched at her stomach and wiped a tear that escaped from her clenched eyes. Hatori raised an eyebrow at her and ran a hand through his long hair.
"I don't think you need to know," he replied flatly before walking over to the building's door, "Let's go, you don't look clothed enough to stand the cold any longer."
Akane peered down at her attire and smiled, her laughter having brought some warmth to her shivering body, "Alright-y then."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"…maybe we should just try the Victorian ensemble," Sakura's delicate voice sounded through the door. Akane and Hatori glanced at each other a final time, as if rooting each other on before pushing the tinted glass door open. Akane peered inside the room through the crack of the door and called out softly, "Sakura?"
The model turned to face the door and smiled widely as she saw the familiar red hair, "Kane-chan! It's about time you got here, did you happen to see-" Sakura's question was cut off as Akane opened the door wider and stepped inside, allowing the larger figure behind her to be revealed. Sakura's smile grew tenfold as she ushered the two in, "Ah, perfect! Well, let me introduce you to everyone."
Akane laughed as the excited blonde pulled Hatori and her all around the room, shouting random names and positions as they passed one staff member after another. The young girl bowed at each of them politely, sometimes handing out handshakes for the foreign staff members. Akane hit Hatori with her elbow when he responded to each of the introductions with blank looks, "At least smile a little," she said while pointing her head at the man Sakura had introduce as Yu Ryuji, the photographer of the day's shoot.
Hatori peered down at the red head then turned to look back at the man in front of him, "Hello."
Akane felt a bead of sweat roll down the side of her head at the less than warm salutation of the doctor and decided to continue for him, "We're very honored to be working with you and everyone else today," she recited politely with a small bow. "We'll do our best."
The middle-aged man smiled brightly, his graying hair slicked back exposing his widow's peek. He returned the bow and moved closer to Akane and Hatori, giving both of them a scrutinizing gaze. A hand went to his chin to stroke his chin, his small eyes shrinking even more as he squinted at the two doctors.
"Have you ever considered taking up modeling as a full-time career?" he asked suddenly, surprising Hatori and Akane. "You two have beautiful bone structures!"
Akane took a step backwards as Ryuji moved closer to examine her cheekbones. "Ehh…" she stuttered out nervously, raising her hands up modestly, "I don't think this job is meant to be for me," Hatori looked at Akane then back to the older man, nodding in agreement.
Ryuji sighed dejectedly then turned to pull Sakura out of her conversation with one of the make-up artists, "Sakura, my dear, bring these two to hair and make-up?" Sakura grinned and followed the instructions, immediately grabbing Hatori and Akane by their upper arms and dragging them to another direction.
"Okay, you guys!" Sakura said excitedly, facing them with her hands on her hips, "Your first shoot will be a sort of 'love-y dove-y romance-y' kind of thing," she elaborated with stars in her eyes, as if having a private viewing of the soon to come photoshoot in her mind. "So look happy and in love!" And with that, she pushed the two to sit on two separate chairs and called for a couple of stylists to come over.
"I'll leave them to you then," Sakura stated to the stylist, giving them all winks, "Make them so beautiful they'd fall for each other in a heartbeat."
Hatori sighed at the model's antics and slouched in his chair, "I cannot believe I agreed to this." he muttered to himself as the make-up artist began dabbing some sticky concoction on his face.
Akane glanced at him through the corner of her eyes and resisted the urge to laugh, "You're wearing make-up, Hatori-san!" Said man glared at her through his visible eye, though one eye having as much intensity as two. Akane chuckled lightly then kept silent for the next few hours of having her make-up and hair done.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Hatori, Akane and Sakura had their make-up and hair done in a span of one hour and fifteen minutes. Akane winced as she got a knot out of her neck with a soft crick, sitting in a chair while holding her head in the same position wasn't exactly comfortable. She rubbed her neck a little as Sakura guided all three of them to one of the big room's back corners.
There, three racks were standing in a line, several hangers of clothing hanging from each. Sakura dived to the rack with 'Sakura' written on a piece of paper and hung from the corner and rummaged through it hanger-by-hanger. When she noticed Hatori and Akane standing stiff, she beckoned them over with a hand. "These are our outfits for the day's shoot,"
Akane walked towards her rack and looked skeptically at each outfit. "Are we going to have to model all of these?"
"Don't be silly, of course not!" Sakura said with a chuckle, "There are three themes; a casual winter escapade, formal attire, then a contemporary piece." The two of them gave the blonde clueless stares as a reply. Sakura sighed softly then elaborated, "Pick three outfits that fit the theme,"
Akane's mouth formed an 'o' and turned back to her rack. She shifted through the hanger and after a few minutes gave a frustrated sigh, "They're all too flashy…" the redhead looked over her shoulder and to the doctor who stood idly beside his rack, not even attempting to look through his options. "Hey, Hatori-san, aren't you picking your outfits yet?"
Hatori looked up at her then frowned, "This is degrading."
Akane shook her head then walked over to the man's rack. She pulled one hanger aside then another then another then finally stopped at a white long sleeved button up shirt. She gave a 'hmm' and tilted her head to the side to examine it. She smiled and removed it from the rack, holding it up to the doctor's body. After a few seconds, she gave a definite nod. "Use this one for the casual attire with…" she faced the rack again and shuffled through the many different articles of clothing, "…this." She said with a proud smile, pulling out simple straight-cut dark blue jeans.
She shoved it into the tall man's arms and shooed him to one of the dressing rooms, "Go fit it." Hatori collected the clothing in his arms then retreated one of the curtained cubicles.
Akane turned back to her rack of clothing and pulled out a champagne colored frilly top and a black high-waisted skirt. I suppose this will do for the casual one…
"Found anything yet, Kane-chan?" Akane jumped at her friend's sudden appearance beside her and held a hand out to steady herself, "Whoops," Sakura giggled, "Sorry 'bout that."
Akane looked back to the two pieces in her hands and held it out for Sakura to see. Sakura examined each of the articles of clothing then smiled approvingly, "Very nice. Go try it out?"
"Have you chosen your outfits yet?" Akane questioned the professional model as she gathered her belongings and shoved it in a random corner. Sakura smiled and nodded happily, "Yep! I don't need to try it on since they're all fitted for me anyway." Akane gave an understanding nod then walked to one of the cubicles.
"I'll go try this out then."
Just as Akane pulled back one of the curtains, the one beside her coiled sideways to reveal a dressed Hatori. He was wearing the white polo she had chosen, the top button left undone and un-tucked. The dark blue jeans fit his slim legs perfectly and Akane couldn't help but ogle a little. Hatori noticed the spot of red beside him and turned to look into the young woman's green eyes.
"Well?" he asked, spreading his arms wide and giving a half turn, "Is your fashion sense as good as you presume it to be?"
Akane snapped out of her Hatori-ogling state and gave him a cold stare, "It suits you." She then marched into her own cubicle and drew the curtain shut. She stared at herself in the mirror the small space was provided with then noticed the small redness rising from her neck. He looked good.
Shaking the thoughts away she pulled her shirt over her head and tried on her first outfit.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"God dammit!" Akane shouted as she fell over her tangled feet, the black skirt stuck on her hips, "Damn these freaky thin models!" she cussed as she attempted to pull the skirt down. The top she had chosen had a bust size to big for her own while the skirt's waistline was to narrow to pull over her hips. She threw the offending piece of clothing to a corner and pulled on her shorts and turtleneck, not bothering to wear her tights and boots anymore.
She stomped out of the dressing room and sat down on one of the chairs, letting out a frustrated sigh.
"Kane-chan? Why aren't you dressed yet?" Sakura asked as she sauntered over to her friend, her body already fit snugly in the outfit she chose. Akane smiled at the white mini dress Sakura was clad in, the big black bow tied around her chest accentuating her upper curves perfectly.
"Because you models need to eat more," she replied with a silly smile, "Big boobs and puny waists and whatnot." Sakura laughed at Akane's stereotyping and sat down on the chair beside her, pulling on a pair of black heels.
"Why don't you hurry and pick another one? You and Hatori will be staring in a few minutes."
With another deep sigh, Akane stood and walked over to her rack, "I hate modeling."
"It isn't for everyone, Kane-chan!" Sakura shouted as her friend's crazy red hair merged into the mass of different people preparing for the shoot.
"Yeah, yeah!" Akane called over her shoulder with a dismissive wave. Sakura smiled and went back to strapping on her high heels.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Give me more emotion!"
Ryuji had been stressing over the stiffness of his two models and groaned as Akane tripped over one of the props, "Okay, okay, go get a drink of water or something!" he shouted from behind the camera positioned on top of the tripod. He called Akane over as she snatched a bottle of water from the big blue cooler in the corner of the room.
"You called for me?" she asked as she took a swig of the cool, refreshing liquid. Ryuji shook his head from side to side, unfastened his SLR and linked arms with the redhead.
"Listen," he started, taking Akane for a walk around the large room, "I need more emotion from you, look at these photos," he played back the last few pictures he had taken of her and the doctor. Akane cringed at the awkwardness of their positions, and seemed to make a more distasteful face as he moved from picture to picture. "See!" Ryuji said with a laugh, "We wouldn't our reader's to have the same reaction as you do right now!"
Akane sighed and looked at her photographer, "I'm sorry, I'm just really new to this kind of thing. And me and Hatori aren't exactly…" she glanced across the room and let her gaze land on the doctor sitting down with a bottle of water gripped tightly in his hand, "…the best of friends."
Ryuji frowned and held Akane by the shoulders, "Models aren't models because they have the perfect body type or facial features," he said, his serious expression turning into a playful smile, making Akane blush while recalling her previous wardrobe incident. "It's because they can make themselves appear to be so."
Akane thought about this for a while, not really getting the point of the photographer's statement.
"Now, what I need from you and Hatori-san is the illusion of being in love," he said while patting her on the shoulder, "Even if you 'aren't'," he finished with air quotes and a knowing wink. Akane instantly turned a shade that rivaled her own hair color and stuttered incomprehensibly. Ryuji laughed loudly and shook her protests off. "So, are we ready to get a little love from you two?"
Akane gave a nervous smile but nodded nonetheless. Ryuji smiled in response and snapped a shot of the redhead's blushing face.
"Perfect."
Akane took long strides to the backdrop of her and Hatori's photoshoot. She gave the doctor a small smile when they caught each other on set and moved to her position. Ryuji set up his camera and fixed the lighting and peered into the eyepiece of his SLR.
"Remember Akane, romance!"
Snap!
Akane shuffled in her outfit, her eye twitching at the memory of her blonde friend suggesting the black and grey body hugging skirt and white corset-like bodice. The metal of the thick chain-like necklace sat coolly around her neck and on her chest, and as the first picture was taken, she got into character.
Akane placed her hand on Hatori's shoulder, the soft cotton material bristling under her soft touch. She brought her free hand up to touch Hatori's cheek, nudging it lightly to make him face her. She smiled sympathetically at Hatori's shocked face as the lights flashed, signaling the taking of another picture, "The better our shots are the faster we can get out of this hell hole."
Hatori nodded and pushed the hand on his cheek away, placing his hand at the small of her back and pulling the redhead's body closer to his, making sure their chests don't actually touch. Akane turned bright red at the closeness of her body to his, but remembered to angle her body prooperly. She let her foot's heel come off the floor and tilted her head slightly, allowing the camera to catch a glimpse of her face from the side.
"Oh!" Ryuji exclaimed as he snapped more pictures from behind his camera, "Romantic escapade, indeed!" he stood up from his crouched position and applauded at the scene before him, wiping a few tears of joy. "That should do it for this outfit! Go get changed you two!"
Akane beamed at Hatori and held her hand up for a hi-five, "We did it!" When the stoic man looked down at her from the corner of his eye, not even attempting to return the happy woman's hi-five, Akane sweat dropped while letting her hand fall back to her side and scampered towards her outfit rack.
"Stupid tall old geezer…" she muttered noticing how even in her heels, her head barely reached his chin*.
Akane pulled out the hanger holding her next outfit. Once again, Sakura had chosen the contemporary piece due to the lack of interest Akane had for any of the outfits. She gaped at the outfit she held, never noticing how sheer the piece of clothing actually was. The cloth was gauzy and had different shades of purple, blue, and pink blending together perfectly. Akane snatched the skin-toned body suit (for conservative purposes) and retreated to her dressing room.
The young woman reemerged from the curtains and stepped out barefoot. Her feet glided against the marble floor as she made her way to the make-up section. "Sakura?" she called as she spotted the model getting her hair styled. The blonde looked to her side and smiled at Akane brightly, instantly proud of herself for her choice of clothing for the redhead's contemporary piece.
The thin cloth hugged her chest with the help of a thin chain belt then cascaded loosely around her torso and legs in asymmetrical hems. Sakura thanked her stylist and hopped out of her chair with a thump. She excitedly grabbed Akane's hand and twirled her in place, liking how the loose skirt bubbled around her legs. "You look wonderful, Kane-chan!" she said ecstatically, pulling her in the direction of the table holding all of the shoot's shoes and accessories. "Wait 'til you see Hatori, man is he-"
"Yamamoto-san?"
Akane turned around to look Hatori, and couldn't help but let her jaw drop in astonishment. The incredibly quiet, incredibly good looking man was clad in nothing but black slacks.
Yep, that's right.
Hatori was topless.
Squee.
Sakura clapped loudly and ushered Hatori beside Akane, holding her hands out in front of her and forming a rectangle with her slim fingers. "Ah," she sighed happily, the stars reappearing in her blue eyes, "Picture perfect,"
Hatori crossed his arms over his bare chest, "I demand a shirt."
Sakura glared at him and pointed, "Our agreement, Hatori!"
The doctor sighed into his open palm, "I'm beginning to think that maybe I should have just let her be…" Akane looked innocently at the two before shrugging off their short conversation.
"Alright, alright!" the three looked to where Ryuji was standing beckoning everyone to move away from the backdrop. He motioned for Hatori and Akane to come over and begin with their next shoot. Sakura smiled at them both and gave them each a pat on the back.
"Goodluck you two,"
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
This is ridiculous. A vein on Hatori's temple throbbed as the photographer screamed at them to move closer together. If Ayame and Shigure ever see this…Hatori shuddered at the image that appeared in his mind, I'll kill myself.
Hatori suddenly jumped at the cold hand that connected with his bare chest. He looked down at the apologetic eyes of Akane and raised a dark brow at her.
"Sorry, it's getting kind of chilly again," she explained as she withdrew her hand from his chest. Hatori nodded idly and turned back to the camera as Ryuji snapped a picture.
Suddenly, the older man came up to them and pulled Akane away. "One more picture and we're done," he explained as he twisted Akane's body to a certain angle. The redhead ended up kneeling on the floor, one leg stretching out behind her. Her arms were extended to latch on to Hatori's outstretched hand, his face turning away from her.
Akane stared blankly at the doctor's turned face. So dramatic.
Click!
"Okay, we're done! Go change Hatori-san, Akane-san," Akane sighed in relief and released the doctor's hand. Collapsing to the floor in exhaustion, Akane rubbed her bare feet, annoyed at the rough sandpaper needed as props pricking into her feet ever since the start of the second shoot.
"I'm tired!" she whined loudly, her red hair, done in loose curls, sprawled over the scratchy floor, "A break, I need a break!" Sakura dashed over to Akane after her last frame was taken, pulling her arms softly to sit her up.
"Come one Akane, one more theme and we can all go out for some cake," Sakura coaxed her gently, rubbing her back encouragingly, "My treat." Akane's green eyes flickered to meet Sakura's blue ones, giving her taller friend a curious look.
"Cakes?"
Sakura nodded. Akane sighed and pushed herself from the floor, smiling at her friend' offer, "I guess I'll have to endure then, won't I?" Sakura laughed and patted the top of the shorter woman's hair.
"That's my Kane-chan!"
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Akane pulled up the silky fabric up her legs and over her hips, pulling the glittery straps over her right shoulder. This was actually the only attire she chose for herself, the fit being perfect save for the length of the skirt, causing the excess material to pool at her heeled feet. The dress was a platinum silver color, the upper torso area being stretched to the hip for a ruffled effect.
The rest of the fabric flowed freely across Akane's legs, the not-supposed-to-be-there train dragging behind her. She looked at herself one last time at the cubicle's mirror, pulling up the dress's sweetheart neckline and adjusting the silver strap clinging to the edge of her shoulder. The redhead took a deep breath and pulled her hair over her shoulder, the dark locks curled in thicker diameters and pinned to the side of her head, allowing the soft curls to cascade down her cheek and brush against her exposed shoulder blades.
She drew back the curtain and smiled as Sakura and Hatori, who were standing in front of the dressing room, looked at the sudden sound of the curtain's ring against the metal of the pole. Akane gave a small smile and shrugged her shoulder lightly, "Well?"
Sakura squealed instantly and attacked her made-up friend with a big hug, jumping up and down despite the three inch heels she was wearing. "You look amazing Kane-chan!" the excited blonde turned to look at the brooding doctor, "Doesn't she, Hatori-san?"
Hatori gave the blushing Akane a once over then focused his dark olive green eyes in her bright ones. "She looks tolerable."
Akane almost fell in her dress at the flatness of the man's comment, "So mean." she sniffed and held her dress up over her feet, allowing her heel-clad feet to march themselves away from Sakura and Hatori, never noticing the small twitch the appeared on the corner of the man's lips.
"Hey, Hatori-san," Sakura said, reaching her hand out to pat said Sohma on the shoulder, "Don't be so mean to Kane-chan, eh?" Hatori glanced at Sakura before allowing a small smile to grace his lips.
"Her reactions are most amusing," he replied with a shake of his head, recalling the several times the redhead lived true to the nature of her hair color. Sakura tilted her head back as if examining the doctor's face and smiled a little.
"As are yours…" she said distantly to no one in particular before walking past him to catch up with Akane.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Bravo, bravo!" Ryuji cried out from behind the camera as Hatori and Akane worked it on the set. Hatori, clad in a pure white tuxedo with a red rose pinned to the white dress coat's pocket, held the much shorter girl by her waist, his free hand holding hers to the side, and draped Akane's free hand over his shoulder. Akane looked up at Hatori and chuckled a little, causing his eyes to flicker at her.
"May I ask what amuses you?"
Akane shook her head apologetically and shifted into a different position, this time her body covering Hatori's with her head titled to the side as the doctor moved closer to her expose neck, "It's just that this all comes naturally for you, I'm quite impressed, really." she said as she held Hatori's hand in her own.
Said man's gaze landed on their connected hands before leaning in closer to Akane's neck, his hot breath contrasting perfectly with her cool skin, "Wasn't it you who said that the better we do the faster it will take? And besides, don't expect that I enjoy this nor will I ever do it again,"
"Eh?" Akane said as Hatori pulled her to a different pose, "But don't you want to try this out professionally?" Hatori shook his head and stood straight from his last position, now making the two of them stand apart from each other.
"No, I don't," he said bluntly, ignoring the lights that flashed as the scene they were displaying was taken, "Even if I wanted to, Akito would never allow it." Akane frowned lightly but didn't press the subject further when Ryuji asked Sakura to join their shoot. Sakura emerged from the sidelines and smiled at the two, holding her dress up with one hand and waving with another.
The blonde was wearing a royal red empire-chest dress, thick silver, glittery bands forming an 'x' across her chest and circling around her waist. Akane smiled and held her hand out to give a hug, and after a few minutes of preparation, the next frames began to be taken. The shoot was much livelier now that Sakura modeled with them; she would pull the two into different positions and show examples of how their faces should look like in what angle, Hatori, of course, barely following it.
"And…" muttered Ryuji as he took the last few frames, "Wonderful! That's all for today!"
The entire crew clapped happily as the three models walked off the prepared set, shaking hands and bowing with one staff after another. Ryuji, now holding six plastic bags with what seemed to have been the outfits they wore, made his way over to his two amateur models, "That was really amazing you two, are you by any chance interested in joining us for another shoot?"
Hatori looked over to Akane as she did to him and bowed stiffly in unison, "No, thank you." Ryuji gave a hearty laugh and patted the two on the back. He then lifted the six bags and handed three to Hatori and the other three to Akane, "Then at least take these off my shoulders?"
Hatori reluctantly took the bags from the scrawny man's hands and muttered a, "Thank you," that seemed more of a sigh than anything else. Akane took hers more graciously and bowed again at the beaming man.
"Thank you very much!" Ryuji waved it off dismissively.
"No, thank you! Now you can actually call yourselves professional models!" he grinned playfully, "Why don't you let these guys change, huh?" Ryuji asked Sakura as she passed by the three. Sakura nodded and led the two to their clothes and belongings, laughing as Akane tripped over the train over her dress several times.
"Hey, Kane-chan," Sakura said as she plopped down on the chair beside the redhead as she stuffed her thing into her bag. The redhead looked up from her belongings and gave a smile to her friend.
"Hey, Sakura."
"I'm afraid I'll have to treat you some other time, Ryuji is making me stay overtime to get some work done," she explained with an apologetic smile. Akane waved it off and stuck her tongue out.
"Yeah, yeah, but you still owe me."
"Of course," Sakura replied while poking Akane's side, giggling as she squealed at the ticklish touch.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Sakura looked up from the developed pictures in front of her and waved at the door as Akane shouted 'bye' to everyone in the set. She smirked to herself in success as she heard footsteps come up behind her, ready for the lecture she'd be getting that day.
"And why, exactly, did you bribe Kazuki and Ayoko with a shopping spree around Tokyo in exchange for them not showing up for the shoot?" Ryuji asked as he leaned against the wall, looking at the blonde model with a raised eyebrow.
Sakura's lips curled upward, happily recalling the past moments Akane and Hatori had during the shoot, "I have my reasons."
End Chapter 14
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* - For height references, Akane is 5'4, Sakura is 5'6, and Hatori is 6'0. :) Yes, I torture my characters by making them short. Bwahahaha!
A/N: Long chapter overload. *brain short circuits* Too much…outfit…describing…*explodes* Re…view…please? Oh, by the way. I'll be re-editing the first few chapters of Playing the Memories! *iz embarrassed by naïve writing* So, I'll be reposting those chapters before I continue with Chapter 15. :) You might want to re-read the entire thing once I'm done editing those chapters, but it's up to you. Again, review!
P.S. You'll find out why Hatori agreed to this is in the next chapter. :)