"Miracles you'd seen in dreams aren't coming but the distant sky will lead you to them."- Hyde, Neo Universe

Waves of guilt washed over Claire as she drove towards the hospital Jill was in. She really had no one else to talk to about the situation she was in. Should she tell Leon? He would probably lose his cool and want to beat Kazuya up then have him arrested for sexual harassment. That would put an end to Claire's modeling career really fast. Snow began to fall from the sky as she pulled into a parking space at the hospital.

Before long, she had made it up to Jill's room. She looked the same, except the bandage on her head was fresh. "Hi, Jill. It's me." Claire greeted, sitting on the chair next to the bed. "I don't know if you can hear me, but I have no one else to talk to. There's this really gorgeous guy who's been at Sunrise lately…and he's been affectionate towards me. At first he was just a total asshole, but then he kissed me. And just now he started kissing my neck and I don't know what would have happened if the elevator hadn't shown up and snapped me back into reality!"

Taking a breath, Claire looked at Jill's face for any change. "Well, I don't think I'm going to tell Leon about this. He'd just get upset and probably want to hurt the guy. The thing is, I'm a bit hesitant because this guy is really famous and I so desperately want to have a good career. That's not to say that I'm…offended by his behavior. I'm just…so unsure of what to do. I wish you were awake so that you could give me some advice…or if you knew him. He would probably have chose you over me anyway. That's how it always is…" With a sigh, she stood up and left the hospital as quickly as she had entered it.

When she got home, she changed into her pajamas and prepared a salad for herself. Her apartment was eerily silent as she sprinkled some shredded cheese over the pile of greens. With a sigh, she brought her bowl and a glass of water into the living room and turned on the television. Every now and then, she'd look outside to see if the snow was still falling. After watching a creepy Robert DiNero in "Cape Fear", she tossed her dishes in the sink and went to her bedroom.

Picking up the phone, Claire dialed in the number for Leon's cell phone. He picked up after a few rings. "Hey sweetie." He greeted.

"Hey. How was your day?" She replied, pulling back the covers on her bed.

"Alright. I drove around a lot then took a short break in a small town. I got you something."

"Oh, really? And what might that be?"

"Just something cute I found at a thrift shop. I thought of you when I saw it, so…how about you?"

"Fine. Nothing eventful." Damn. I lied to him without even thinking about it. Now I can't tell him…

"It's snowing, actually." She added, glancing out the window again.

"Oh, yeah? Is it sticking?" Leon questioned.

"Mm-hmm. A bit. It's cold out."

"I wish I was there to warm you up."

"Me too. There's no change in Jill's condition, by the way."

"Yeah, I figured as much. She may wake up a week from now…a year from now. We won't know for sure till it happens."

Claire sighed and reached for her alarm clock. She'd be sleeping in tomorrow since she had nothing to do until eight that night. "Yeah."

"Claire, are you okay?" Leon asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"…things have been…weird between us lately."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that things don't seem normal. Like we're drifting from each other or something."

Oh God, does he know? Did he send someone to spy on me? Should I fess up now and get it over with?

"What are you saying?" She squeezed out.

"Remember when we first starting going out, we'd take walks and talk about everything and the first time we…it was like magic." He replied.

"It's still like that."

"For you, maybe. I feel like you care more about modeling than being with me."

"I could say the same thing about your work. You know that's not true."

"Whatever. Listen, I have to go. It's raining and I shouldn't stay on the phone. Can you do me a favor tomorrow?"

"…sure."

"Someone at work gave me a plant and I haven't been taking the best care of it. It probably needs to be watered so can you run by my apartment and do it for me?"

Turning off the light, Claire nodded to herself. "Okay."

"Thanks. What are you doing tomorrow?" Leon asked.

"I have a gig at eight."

"Oh…that's good. Have fun, I guess."

"Thanks. I'll call you later."

"Sure. Talk to you then…love you."

"Love you, too. Bye."

The following day, Claire woke up late and took a quick shower. After jotting down a small shopping list, she got in her car and headed to the supermarket. Her mind was filled with conflicting thoughts. She already made the decision not to tell Leon about Kazuya's flirtatious behavior for the time being. She could keep it a secret as long as nothing further happened between her and the famous photographer.

But she couldn't guarantee that. After mulling around the supermarket for an unnecessary amount of time, Claire finally headed towards Leon apartment. She had been to his place dozens of time, even when he wasn't there, but now she felt like snooping around. Leaving the groceries in the car, she quickly hurried into his apartment. It was a fairly nice place, a bit messy but that's how Leon liked it.

She started in the bedroom, looking in drawers and other conspicuous places. There were no phone numbers, or ladies underwear laying around. She searched under his bed, and in old shoe boxes for love letters from mystery women. Leon was starting to look saintly. Claire quickly checked the bathroom for toothbrushes, earrings and other things. Leon still had the "His" and "Her" towels up. The "Her" towel was bone-dry.

Why am I hoping to find something? Leon wouldn't cheat on me…he's too good for that. But if he did, then would what I'm doing be justified? What am I doing? I'm snooping around my boyfriend's apartment!

With a defeated sigh, Claire stood up and went into the kitchen. She filled a glass with water, and went into the small living room to water Leon's dying plant. Upon returning to the kitchen, she noticed the answering machine light was flickering. Her index finger slowly moved towards the play button. Leon would want to know if he had any important phone calls, no? She pressed the button and listened attentively.

"Ah, hi, Leon….this is Sarah, from the other night?" A female voice began. "I just was calling you to thank you. Like I said, I was starting to think there were no good people in this town, but you prooved me wrong. It means so much to me, you just being there. Um…I think fate brought us together, that night, and I just wanted to thank you."

Claire staggered back, falling against the wall. Her hand covered her mouth in shock. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she slid to the floor. Oh my God…I can't believe this…he cheated on me? Recently, too…oh, God. Pushing herself up from the floor, Claire stumbled towards the door of the apartment. Her head was spinning as she hurried to her car. It was a miracle she didn't walk into oncoming traffic.

Once safely inside, Claire broke down on the steering wheel. How could he? How could he? He should have said something if he thought we were growing apart! Instead of talking, he went and fucked some woman! I thought he had honor! How could he do this…

Later that night, Claire called Leon on her way to her shoot. He sounded normal, like everything was fine. He had just arrived in Ajo and was going to start his investigation immediately. Claire wished him luck, and told him not to call her because she'd be working. She was careful not to come off to bitchy, or else he might detect something.

At this point, she didn't really care if Leon found out about her and Kazuya's relationship, if one might even call it that. He was simply acting seductively towards her, and she hadn't returned the gestures. That didn't even compare to Leon's bedding another woman. The night was cold, and dark. A full moon hung in the sky, casting the city with a bright blue-ish glow.

She was still feeling hurt by Leon's betrayal as she walked into the Sunrise building. The place was pretty much vacant. Everyone made it a point to leave no later than 6. Most of the lights were off as well, making Claire's walk to the photo suite a bit spooky. She thought of Leon, and their time in Raccoon City. They were both strangers, back then. That relationship grew; they became lovers and were soon inseparable. When did that change?

Leon moved up in the ranks quickly, as expected, and was currently a first grade detective along with Chris. Claire on the other hand was indecisive about a career. She finally decided on modeling, and Jill accompanied her on her many trips to the different agencies. When she first arrived at Sunrise, the people automatically assumed that Jill was applying. Didn't they know how much that would sting?

The photo suite was mostly dark, except for the safe lights near the exits, and the moonlight pouring in. Claire didn't realize it, but at some point through her reminiscing she had started to cry. She made her way over to Kazuya, who had a prop bed set up.

"Hi." She greeted, stopping a few feet from him. He turned and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Are you…okay?" He questioned. She shook her head and covered her face. "Your eyes will be red."

"My boyfriend is cheating on me."

"How unfortunate."

"To think that I was feeling guilty about you and me! How could he do this to me!"

"Don't feel guilty about your feelings."

Claire wiped her face. "I don't. Not any more. Not after he goes and sleeps with some strange woman." She retorted. Kaz stood beside her.

"Well, there are two ways to handle this." His accented voice said softly.

"And what might those be?"

"One…you can approach him and shout and let him know you feel hurt. Or two, you can get shizuka no fukushu."

"And that is?"

"Silent revenge. Get back at him without his knowledge. Then, consider it even."

"How would I do that?" Claire asked.

"That depends how far you would like to take it." He replied, turning back to his camera. "And who with."

"Are you propositioning me?" Claire questioned, pulling her coat off. Why did I wear something provocative today? I'm such an idiot, feeding into his desires. She wore a lacy tank top, not quite fit for the weather outside.

Kazuya sighed. Claire waited for an answer. "Hey, don't ignore me! I asked you a question." She said, jumping up.

"What does it matter?" Kaz asked.

"What is it with you? First you're an asshole, then you're all over me, now you're acting so cold! Are you bi-polar or something?"

He chuckled, running his fingers through his loose hair. "Why do you care? You have some boyfriend who cheats on you, you cry over him, then come over here to gain sympathy? What's with you?"

"I still love Leon, but this hurt me! And my best friend is in the fucking hospital in a fucking coma, and I have no one to talk to! And don't even act like you were sending me any signals, either. Maybe you can suck a girl's neck in Japan and not think anything of it, but not here."

Kaz stalked over to her and put his face right in front of her's. "Well, Miss Claire. My deepest apologies. I won't go near you any more, okay?" He said, smiling smugly.

"That's not what I want, I just—" Claire covered her mouth. Do I want him to continue trying to seduce me? Will I feel better if I get even with Leon and have an affair as well?

"I think…that you don't know what you want. Let me know when you figure it out." Kaz said finally, straightening his back.

Claire huffed. "What do I have to wear?" She asked. Kaz pointed to a screen. She stalked over and walked behind it. There was some lingerie waiting for her. Claire was about to ask what the deal was when Kaz called out, "The campaign is very sex driven. American woman are seen to be a bit exotic in Japan. The slogan has something to with exotic things."

She began to feel a little bit nervous as she changed into the sexy clothes. No one but Leon had seen her in such things. I'm a professional. Models do things like this all the time. I'll be fine. Biting her lip, Claire walked out from behind the screen over to the bed. "Sit for make up." Kaz said, reaching for a make up case. She did as she was told, wondering how she could casually cover her cleavage. He pulled up a stool in front of Claire and started searching for the right colors.

"Your eyes are very blue. We must bring them out more. There are no blue eyes in Japan…except in contacts." He said, collecting eyeshadow pods in his hand.

"Mm-hm." Claire sat nervously, wringing her hands in her lap. Kaz turned to her.

"Relax. No need for nerves." He said calmly. "Close your eyes." With a sigh, Claire did.

There's no turning back now. I'm too far down the track.