Diamond Rose

Chapter 21

Introductory Smile

Outside of work, Miku looked like the most ordinary girl possible. She wore caps and earmuffs depending on the weather. She liked fingerless gloves. She liked leather jackets and kitten heels. Her collection of skinny jeans appeared to be endless. If she could, she'd constantly be decked out in those clothes. It was too bad that her job called for something completely different. Sometimes it was just too girly. Sometimes it was rokku-kei (which is pretty cool). But today it was something Miku didn't like at all.

Gothic Lolita.

When she had first been contacted by her manager about the job, she had nearly dropped the sandwich she had been eating. Gothic Lolita was not the type of clothing Miku eagerly got dressed in for a photoshoot. It was the type of clothing which she'd prefer to rip into a million shreds.

So obviously, as she walked down the seemingly endless row of lacy, frilly clothing, she wished that it would suddenly start pouring outside so they'd have to postpone the shoot. As the stylist stopped and pulled out a cutesy, black number, Miku drew another deep breath as she took in the amount of lace around the sleeves and under the chiffon skirt. She drew another breath as she questioned the stylist. "How long is the skirt?" She really didn't want to stare and try to judge for herself.

The stylist "hm"ed for a second before answering the singer in an unnervingly cheerful manner, "It's above the knee – mini."

Miku consulted her clothes preferences. She got rather self-conscious in anything 7cm above the knee. She knew because she had actually taken a ruler and measured before. Back when Sorane used to force her into various casual dresses and skirts when they got free time in the city. Back then. As she followed the stylist out of the closet, she nearly whacked herself for thinking about it. Sorane was the least of her worries today. Sorane wasn't even that bad a person in comparison to the other bitches (especially the models) in the industry. She was just so special. It was painful to find that link cut all of a sudden.

Lavi was staring at a billboard that had his and Miku's face plastered across it. A few metres down the road, there was a commercial playing on five screens that featured Miku's solo B-Side. She was advertising some kind of perfume that he knew that Miku actually hated. Miku didn't wear perfume if she could avoid it. If there was any scent that she did wear – she stuck with women's deodorant and the unavoidable faint whiff of sakura-scented shampoo in her hair. Sometimes it made Lavi wonder how much care she put into her hair. It was quite obvious she washed it every day. With the same brand of shampoo. I think, he noted with an awkward grin, my nose is quite sensitive now. It was funny what love could do to a person.

He happened to remind himself of that fact again as he laid green gaze on the lyrics. Miku's normally neat handwriting was unnaturally slanted and messy as she penned certain notes in the columns. Hastily-drawn arrows pointed out trickier parts of the song he needed to work on. And at the very bottom of every page, she had drawn a rabbit with the same phrase coming from its mouth in a speech bubble.

"Ganbatte!"

The red head smiled as he touched that rabbit on the first sheet of paper. He knew that she probably didn't have any romantic intentions behind the small show of affection but one could hope.

One could hope.

What is it that I could do?

Something to make you smile,

Something to make your world,

Seem so much brighter,

I just want to make you happy,

In my silly, selfish way …

Miku sat on the bench next to the cat they had brought in. It was a chocolate Somali. Its amber eyes had stared at her curiously when its handler first brought it over. She had been told to look at the sky – not to tilt her head fully up, but to let her eyes drift upwards. This was easy enough. Miku kept a light smile on her face and freely studied the clouds lingering in the sky. Her ears picked up the clicks, her eyes noticed the flashes. They didn't really get to her any more. She had settled into a routine. Besides, this time, she didn't have to pout or smile into the camera. When she heard the yell of the director, she grinned wider, looking down from the sky. She turned to study the cat which was being distracted by its handler.

And it in turn, looked up to study her. Miku was fascinated, she loved animals but she had never had a chance to actually care for one – own one. Its amber eyes were captivating. They were opened wide, they blinked once or twice occasionally, but they maintained a watchful feel. She wondered if animals thought intelligently – kept their own opinions regarding certain people or other animals they met. Maybe cats didn't get along with dogs because they just couldn't understand one another. As her train of thought continued on, she wondered if they enjoyed living with people. Her thoughts were interrupted when the handler spoke to her.

"Kawaguchi-san, do you want to meet Tim?"

Miku blinked, "Tim?"

The handler smiled brightly, nodding, "Yes, his name is Timcampy, we all call him Tim though! So, would you like to meet him?"

"Ah, um … yes, I would like to meet him." Why was she nervous? Ah yes – first interaction with a cat. Ever.

Timcampy seemed to have caught on to what the handler said, and wasted no time in picking himself up and taking a few steps nearer to her on the bench. His amber eyes were studying her left hand now – she was wearing a charm bracelet.

Miku slowly reached across, and to her delight, Timcampy sniffed her hand, before bypassing that and tentatively nudging one of the charms on her bracelet with a golden-furred paw. Miku nearly giggled and raised her arm a little, encouraging a small game. Tim obliged, trying to nudge the same charm. At that point, the game was interrupted when the stylist rushed up.

"Please don't let the cat damage-"

"It's okay, Tim isn't scratching the bracelet." Miku was defending a cat. A strange, new experience.

The stylist shrugged and started to walk away on her stilettos – a pet hate of Miku's

Miku returned to petting Timcampy, lost in her little world, enjoying her short break to the absolute fullest. The cool breeze that travelled by, the distant buzz of voices and traffic some way away from them, everything seemed so fitting. It was perfect. She didn't even mind the black and white lacy dress and lace-up boots set. Somehow, she had just gained a little sanctuary.

Unknown to her, the main photographer had noticed the warm atmosphere, and captured the moment with a quiet shutter noise.

Allen picked up the thick envelope on his desk. There was a short note from Miku's manager – rare gesture from the busy woman.

They sent over the photos from the CROSS ANGEL Shibuya 109 shoot!

I was thinking that it'd be good if you showed them to Lee-san as well – Miku's request.

Please remember to return them to me in a week [09.10.2010]

Allen dropped the note and drew out the A4-sized glossy prints from within. And with all honesty, they amazed him – and he wasn't being biased.

The first shot was one of her walking down the road – taken from the front. There was a good view of the sidewalk, and there were people in the background. She was dressed in gothic Lolita – as expected. A black beaded hairband was settled in her hair, the white, lacy blouse was coupled with a red ribbon around the collar. She wore a knee-length ruffled black skirt – delicate white beading decorated the edge. Miku was walking in simple black flats, a cheerful grin on her features, her blue eyes looked directly at the camera.

There was a new confidence there that Allen had seen in months. Her blue eyes were filled with a new happiness, and her smile was pure – as real as a magazine photoshoot could produce. He ran his hand across her glossy, 2D features. He felt strangled with two sets of emotions. One half was joyful – happy to see that his friend was improving mentally and emotionally, but the other half wasn't as comfortable; questioning exactly how genuine the change was, and whether or not he accepted this new Miku. It was this concept of "new" that made him feel uncomfortable.

Perhaps he would discuss it with Lenalee or Sorane. And even though he considered, Allen knew that the probability of that discussion ever occurring with either one was near nil. He never discussed Miku with others. It was almost like a pet hate after one incident in the Rainbow Star Agency. Just one, highly significant incident.

As Allen thought back to that particular incident, he frowned. Just thinking back to that incidient sent a slight chill down his spine.

"But," he told himself as he withdrew another A4 print from the envelope, "that is a memory I shall dwell on another time." He decided as he held up the next photo up.

It was a particularly heart-warming photo. The lighting was warm and Miku's face, turned away from the camera showed an all-natural, pleasurable expression. She was playing with the long-haired cat, gently fondling one of its ears as her mouth parted a fraction as she nearly laughed. As Allen stared at the photo, he wondered if it really was something staged. It seemed much to genuine and touching to be staged.

Was it possible to stage such a beautiful scene?

He stood, still holding the photo, and began to head to the scanner in the main office. He knew he wasn't supposed to scan it, but he was sure he'd be able to get away with it. Allen might not be the best of friends with Lavi, but he knew how to cheer the guy up.

Plus, a photo like that? It was meant to be shared with everyone.

Your new, radiant smile,

Your steady, confident gaze,

Steadily, you are growing more perfect,

Maybe one day,

You'd be totally out of reach …

A/N - haha~ yes, Timcampy is a cat ^_^ I guess the story just won't be quite right without him, eh? I hope you enjoyed this chapter! And you know where the "Review" button is =]