III

Tomoyo had a meeting with Tsukishiro Yukito, in his studio, at noon. She knew there was no need to take her whole portfolio once again (after all, she already had gotten the job), but still took it with her in case she needed to get from there any special or relevant information. That day, she was wearing an A cut dress, with three-quarter sleeves. The dress was a light pink, that looked extra cute with her black coat. Her high ponytail, the tiny pink purse that reached her hip and the thin dark belt that fit her waist, gave her a Parisian look, that she decided to enhance, wearing low heels.

She reached the building fifteen minutes before noon, time she took to receive her access card for the studio staff. Once she finished with that, she made her way to the third floor, sat in the meeting room, and proceeded to wait. However, when the door opened, five minutes later, it was not the white-haired man who appeared, but another one, with bluish-black hair, and bright blue eyes, hidden behind his round-frame glasses; his pale skin made an elegant contrast with his black jacket and pants, as well with his blue shirt and tie. In one of his hands, he held a cardboard cup filled with coffee.

He smiled at Tomoyo, and hurried to close the crystal door, and then proceeded to sit across from her.

"You'll have to excuse our disorganization." He said in an incredibly elegant tone, with a distinctly foreign accent. "Yukito had some important business to do, and in his absence, you'll have to deal with me."

More than a threat, it sounded as a funny comment. Tomoyo counld't resist, and smiled at him. There was something about him that she seemed to like a lot.

"No problem." She replied, making the blue-eyed man to smile back at her, and hurried to extend her hand. "I'm Daidouji Tomoyo."

"Hiragizawa Eriol." He introduced himself as he placed his cardboard cup on the table, and shook her hand. "It was supposed that Yukito would be the one to introduce us… But given the circumstances, hi, I'm the director of our new summer project. I understand that you'll be working in the Design Department for our next movie, am I right?"

Tomoyo nodded instantly. Hiragizawa then introduced himself as one of the Executive Producers of the company, and also, as the director of the trilogy for which Tomoyo had been hired, for its first film. Basically, that meant he was Tomoyo's boss, and so, he continued with pleasure and interest the interrupted session that Yukito had left, regarding the wardrobe for his movies.

In Tomoyo's eyes, Hiragizawa turned to be a very curious person. He had the same radiant personality as Yukito, but his work style felt more like Yue's. he heard Tomoyo's opinions without question them, although he did ask for a lot of details. He left her draw her sketches, and listened attentively to why she had made such decisions. It seemed like he allowed his team members to express their own opinions, and encouraged them when he felt they were quite promising. They continued working this way for around two more hours, until Hiragizawa said he needed to leave, since he had an already scheduled meeting with the Photography Department.

"You think I can expect a fabric preview for the costumes of the main characters, let's say, next week?" He asked, as he stood up and took his cupboard cup, now empty. "We can meet up with the rest of the staff, and even the cast. Maybe we could even start taking their measurements."

Tomoyo said yes to everything. She and Hiragizawa smiled at each other once more, and after saying goodbye and leaving quickly, she was left alone once again. Not minding this, she hurried to pick up all her papers and sketches, and after putting it all inside her portfolio, she left the meeting room soon after. If she planned to dedicate herself entirely to that project, she had better finish her personal business, and that could only mean to go back home and sit in front of her sewing machine. Also, she would need to inform Yue that she would be too busy to carry out her usual duties, during the following months.

The following days, Tomoyo pushed herself into marathon work sessions. Once she finished with her personal clients, she devoted herself to read the books in which the films would be based on, did importat annotations of several details that felt that shouldn't be missed, and sat to draw the sketches of the most representative costumes the protagonists would be wearing.

A new message from an unknown number arrived just a week later: Yukito had gave her number to Hiragizawa, and just as he had said in his last meeting, he was ready to see any progress Tomoyo had made. That afternoon, with her hair in a long braid that rested on her right shoulder, Tomoyo made her way to the studio, wearing her black jacket and fitted jeans. Her dark glasses and sneakers gave her once again an urban look.

Feeling good about herself, she finally arrived at the studio, with her sketches and fabric samples inside her black leather folder, completely sure that Hiragizawa would like them as much as she did.

Once again, she got into the elevator, up to the third floor, walked through the hall, and arrived at the meeting room. She knew this time the place would be more filled up with people she didn't know yet, but still, she wasn't prepared for what she saw when she opened the door.

He stood out from the rest. When Tomoyo opened the glass door, his serious and piercing gaze made her feel nervous. What was he doing there? Was it even possible for him to be the main actor in the film? That was just impossible! The story was about a teen romance! He was just too old for such a role…

And still, there he was, sitting right to Hiragizawa, with his dark hair perfectly combed back, wearing a white turtle neck shirt, dark blue pants and shoes, with an elegant black long raincoat.

"Daidouji!" Hiragizawa said happily when he saw her standing at the door. He stood up from his seat, with impecable manner. "Come in, come in. We were waiting for you."

Tomoyo swallowed slowly, and forced herself to stop looking at Touya. Closing the door behind her, she entered the room and sat at the other side of Hiragizawa, in an attempt to not look at that man, since his sole stare made her shudder.

"Ok, Daidouji here means were complete." Hiragizawa said to all. Tomoyo smiled at them (apologizing for apparently being late), and waited, with her leather folder resting on her lap.

"Shall we start with the presentations?" the blue-haired man continued. All the attendees nodded. "Ok, then, let's start with the staff… Would you get up as I introduce you?" Another nod. "Okay. First, the director of photography, Nakuru Akizuki…"

A tall woman with pink skin and long dark straight brown hair, which she wore in a ponytail, stood up from her chair. She was wearing dark jeans, a monochromatic striped shirt, and a black sweatshirt. She smiled at those present, and sat down again.

"The costume director, Tomoyo Daidouji…"

Tomoyo stood up from her chair (still holding her folder against her legs) and once again apologized for being late.

"The script writer, Naoko Yanagizawa…"

A woman with short brown hair, eyes same color, and round-rimmed glasses (quite similar to Hiragizawa's) stood up from the furthest to the right seat. She was wearing a baggy sky blue shirt and fitted navy blue pants.

"The author of this magnificent story, Yuuko Ichihara…"

The woman sitting next to Yanagisawa stood up. She was a very beautiful lady, with long black hair, held in a high ponytail, with pale skin and pink lips. She was wearing a fitted black dress with red roses, and low-heeled shoes. As she said hi to everybody in the room, they took a moment to applaud at her. Tomoyo took that moment to quickly look at Touya, and found him drinking from his coffee, absentmindedly.

"Ok, you'll meet with the rest of the team once we start filming…" Hiragizawa's voice brought Tomoyo back to reality, and she hurried to stop herself from look at Touya, and better focus on the two people that hadn't been introduced. "Let's see, here, we have our protagonists… Once again, you'll meet the rest of the cast as soon as the casting has been concluded… First, Li Syaoran, our knight in danger…"

A young man with bronzed skin, amber eyes, dark brown hair and a serious expression, stood up, bowed briefly (he was wearing a green shirt and dark blue jeans), and quickly sat down again. Tomoyo felt his faced looked somehow familiar. If she recalled correctly, he was a foreign actor, from China… She was quite sure she had already seen some of his work, but in that moment, she couldn't remember a single movie at all.

"And finally, Kinomoto Sakura, the heroine of our story…"

A pretty girl, with short light brown hair, beautiful green eyes, and pink lips and cheeks, stood shyly. She was wearing a pretty white dress, with tiny gold flowers on it. Tomoyo couldn't help but be surprised, for two reasons. First, the girl looked so young (she seemed she haven't turned 20 yet), and second, her last name. Kinomoto…

"And as Sakura's representative, we have her older brother, Kinomoto Touya."

She felt as if a stone had sunk in the bottom of her stomach. How come she hadn't seen it? It was true Sakura was still young, but she wasn't a stranger in the scene. The emerald-eyed lady was known for being a singer who had emerged a couple of years ago, and who immediately had become a celebrity. How was it possible that Tomoyo hadn't realized the two Kinomoto were actually brother and sister? Yeah, they didn't look alike that much, and yeah, she also hadn't been following both of their careers closely, but still…

Touya didn't get up from his seat. He just nodded, and took another sip from his cup of coffee. No one bothered with his serious attitude, as if all of them were already used to his personality.

"This will be my first acting role." Sakura said in her sweet and calm voice (perfectly fit for an eighteen-year-old girl), catching everyone's attention, who promptly forgot about her older brother. "I promise I'll do my best."

The rest of the meeting went with the head departments showing the progress they had made so far, either for approval or correction by the author of the book. Naoko offered copies of the script to everybody (including Touya), for them to study it and review it, while Tomoyo and Nakuru showed their sketches for the costumes and scenery, respectively. After two hours where no one had any complaints (neither Touya regarding the dangerous scenes where her sister would participate in, nor the author regarding the changes that had been made in some of the book passages), the meeting finally ended, and all of them were finally allowed to leave.

"I'll send you a mail indicating you the address for our first set." Hiragizawa told them, as they all stood up, and started picking up their stuff, so to leave. "We'll do some test shots, rehearse some dialogues, and review the mobility of the actors once they try on their costumes."

Hiragizawa's words made Tomoyo work overtime. She had already finished the sketches and the fabrics had been approved, but now, the pieces had to actually be made, with the help of her department's staff. From the ten sketches she had, at the end of the month, they just had finished three.

On April first, they all received the address for the first set, which they were required to attend the next day, and turned out to be a high school in southern Tokyo. They were only allowed to film during the weekends, so as not to interrupt with the classes. They had also hired twenty students to act as extras, and in that moment, while Naoko and Yuuko were talking with Nakuru about how they wanted the filming to be made, Tomoyo was working with Sakura and Syaoran, giving the final adjustments to the school uniforms that would be their costumes for that day's filming.

"You think you can cut the shirt a little bit, Daidouji?" Asked Li, as he raised his arms. "A couple of centimeters longer and it could pass for a dress."

Tomoyo nodded, and quickly send one of her assistants to take action, while she dedicated herself to do the same with Kinomoto's skirt.

"Is this length okay?" The gray-eyed lady asked the girl. "I understand that after this, you'll be filming a persecution, and I don't want it to be too short…"

"Well, it is." Said a male voice, from behind her. She didn't need to turn around so to know who he was. She would recognize that low tone even in China.

Touya stopped next to her, and looked at her younger sister, evaluating Tomoyo's work. She rushed to grab her seam ripper from her ear, and began undoing the skirt's hem. It was about ten minutes of total silence: while Tomoyo worked, Sakura left her do her work, and Touya supervised.

"That's much better. Thank you." Said Sakura, when she finally finished the work, and gave Tomoyo a nervous smile, as if she was trying to apologize for her older brother's cold attitude. The black-hair girl turned to look at the brown-eyed man.

"Any other request?" She asked, but Touya didn't reply. "Well then, I'll go see if Li needs anything else to be fixed."

She said goodbye to Sakura, and walked away. Still, when she arrived with Syaoran, her assistant had already finished fixing his shirt, and there was nothing else to do. The school bell rung above their heads, and Hiragizawa's voice, coming from a megaphone, told everybody it was already time to film the first scene.

"Tomoyo, come here." Said Hiragizawa, as he moved his hand in the air. "I need you to be around here, if anything needs to be fixed in the moment."

They sat side to side in those high chairs, while the rest of the staff and actors got in their positions. With a signal, the blue-haired man told them to be ready, and just a couple of seconds later, he yelled "Action!"

"The book says fire and water are supposed to meet in the middle of the school entrance." Hiragizawa said to Tomoyo, getting close to her so to whisper in her ear, as he looked at the scene that was happening in front of them. "It says it happens at first time in the morning, but I was thinking filming in the afternoon would be better. You know, a romantic sunset…"

Tomoyo nodded, as she kept on looking at the scene. Yes, definitely a sunset would give a much more emotional atmosphere, specially if they put into consideration what was supposed to follow in the next scene.

"I was thinking of putting up some extras in the back." The man said, fixing his glasses, as he pointed to the scene. "You think you can get ready some other ten school uniforms in two days?"

"Am I allowed to not include the boys' blazers? I mean, considering they're on their way back home, it makes sense for them to be anxious to take off their uniforms..."

He chuckled.

"Why not? Cut!" Hiragizawa yelled on the megaphone, and once they all stopped, he once again turned to Tomoyo, to add. "I like the way you think, Daidouji. You've got vision."

He couldn't help himself, and patted her on the head, messing up her hair a bit. Not saying anything else, he got down of his chair, and walked towards Sakura and Syaoran, ready to discuss some details about what just had been filmed.

Tomoyo also got down from her chair, ready to tell her assistants about the extra work they would have to deliver in two days. Still, when she turned around, she faced Touya. The man was, once again, holding a paper cup with coffee, not drinking from it, and looked right at her. He snorted, just as a half smiled appeared on his face, and walked away, finally taking a sip from his cup.

That night, a new message from him arrived at Tomoyo's phone.

"Tonight. 10 pm."

Tomoyo read it, and just as always, she didn't reply. There was no need, and actually, she didn't want to get distracted by typing even the littliest reply. So, ignoring the message and the phone, she continued working in the uniforms she had to make, so the filming could keep its tight schedule. But still, just as every time she got immersed in her work, she forgot about the outside world and couldn't help to get startled when at 10 pm sharp, the doorbell rang, the sound reaching every corner of her apartment. She stood up from the living room floor (where she had sat so to work in the skirts hems), and walked to the door, still dressed in her oversized white shirt, a denim short and her round glasses, with her hair in a messy ponytail, and her pink slippers.

"Touya." Was the only thing she could say when she opened the door, suddenly remembering the message she had not answered.

The tall man was wearing that night white pants, black shoes a black shirt, and a white leather jacket, similar to Tomoyo's black one (but without any shiny print). This time, his hair was lazily falling down his face, covering his forehead and a bit of his eyebrows.

Still confused, she moved aside, so to let him in. He didn't move, and just looked at her, with an expression quite impossible to decipher. Was he mad? Was him just as confused as her? Was he disappointed that she wasn't ready to leave?

"I'm… I'm sorry." Was the only thing Tomoyo could say, when she came to realize that it was quite probably that she had just fucked up whatever was the plan for that night.

"You still working for Hiragizawa?" He asked. This time, it was Tomoyo who couldn't talk. That had just been a quite long phrase for his standards.

"I'll be ready in a minute." The long-haired girl insisted, still waiting for him to come in. Touya sighed deeply, and finally walked inside the apartment. She finally closed the door behind him. "I'll be back right away. Get comfortable."

She pointed to the living room, but he didn't move. It seemed he didn't have any interest into getting inside her apartment, since he hasn't even made any attempt into taking of his shoes. Still bewildered, she quickly walked into her bedroom, and took the first thing she found in her closet. She then walked to the bathroom, and tried to do something fast with her hair and makeup. She didn't forget to take off her glasses, and fifteen minutes later, she walked back to the door, where Touya was still waiting, with both his hands inside his pockets.

Tomoyo came back, wearing a white round-neck shirt, an A cut skirt, and a black coat with a big white bow on her back. She smiled at Touya, trying to let him see that she had tried to match his look, but he remained inexpressive. After putting on her white ballerinas (with a black bow on the front), and taking her little black purse, Tomoyo turned off the lights and walked out from her apartment, with Touya almost stepping on her heels.

She was tempted to ask him how did he found out where she lived, but as she sat next to him in the back of a black car, she saw the driver was the same man that had took her back home the last time she had met Touya.

The car crossed Tokyo, and once again, arrived at the expensive neighborhood, where it drove down to the house's basement. Kinomoto walked out the car by himself, while Tomoyo was helped by the driver. Then, Touya told her to follow him, and while the car drove off to park in its rightful spot, Tomoyo started walking behind him, along that dim corridor.

Still, when they both arrived at the end of it, she finally realized it was a different corridor from last time. Yes, it also ended with a spiral staircase that seem to also take to the foyer, but instead of having concrete walls, one of them was crystal. Whatever was at the other side of the glass was in utter darkness, and Tomoyo was quite sure that, even if she pushed her face against the glass, she wouldn't be able to see what was at the other side.

In the middle of said crystal wall, there was a door, also made of glass. Touya stopped in front of it, and opened it, without saying a word. Automatically, the room turned on all its lights, showing them the long halls that made Tomoyo first think it was a library. Still, after getting used to the dim lights, the girl saw that what was resting in those shelves were not books, but wine bottles. She didn't get surprised by this, and instead, asked herself why she hadn't seen it coming. Touya looked like the classic man, absorbed by expensive art and expensive alcohol. She then asked herself if he also had a special room for playing piano and listening to classical music. They walked along some of the halls, until Touya finally stopped, and without saying a word, he took one of the bottles that rested in the shelf he was facing. He showed Tomoyo the label (she read a date from about twenty years ago, a place in Portugal, and the name of a brand she never had heard of), and nodded, not knowing if that harvest had been any good.

With the bottle in his hand, they both walked out the room (the lights turned off automatically just as the door got shut), and with Tomoyo right behind him, they walked up the spiral staircase.

They appeared in the foyer, from the other door that Tomoyo had seen the first time she had visited the place. Still, this time they didn't walk up the stairs, but actually turned right and walked along the house (once again her mouth opened a but when she saw those beautiful and expensive paintings and statues), until they reached the kitchen.

The kitchen had grey accents, and a long horizontal window on the front wall, where due to the hour, only darkness could be seen. Tomoyo sat in one of the island stalls, in front of the huge grey marble counter, while Touya opened the freezer and took out an ice tray. He placed the ice cubes in an ice bucket, and placed the bottle inside it, so the wine could get cold, while he opened one of the cabinets and took out a couple of glasses.

He placed the glasses in the counter, opened a drawer, took a corkscrew and also placed it there, but instead of taking the wine bottle to open it already, he walked to the fridge, and opened the door. The light brightened his face, giving it a serious and elegant filter. How could the simple fridge light give him the same effect as an expensive professional photograph session?

"Sakura's birthday was yesterday." He said, still looking inside the fridge. "There's a bit of leftover cake. You want some?"

Tomoyo nodded immediately. He took out the cake, and closed the fridge's door behind him. Walked once again towards the counter, and placed the cake (strawberry sponge cake, with white frosting and a pink fondant cherry blossom), and turning once again to the cupboard, he brought back two plates, two forks and a knife.

Tomoyo was the one who cut the cake. A slice for each one laid in the plates, while Touya opened the bottle of wine and poured it in the glasses. They did a silent toast, and proceed to eat the cake without saying a word. Which was a shame, since the cake was simply delicious, and Tomoyo felt that was something to be acknowledged.

Her thoughts landed in Touya's sister. Maybe she didn't know Sakura that much yet (after all, both girls had just exchanged some words while she had fixed her dress earlier that day), but she was most sure they'll end up getting close in the next year of filming. Maybe next year she could congratulate her on her birthday.

And yet, she soon tried to get rid of that thought. How could she even dare to explain the little girl that she knew her older brother, when no one else knew about it? If Sakura ever shared the tiniest remark with her brother, she'd definitely would be a smart woman, and would soon suspect something was happening between them both. Maybe it was best to pretend they didn't know each other. Even if once a week they ended up tangled underneath the bed sheets. After all, they didn't have a relationship. It simply was his lust, and her dedication to please him, as none of them had nothing better to do so to spend their time alone.

Tomoyo, who had been thinking all of this while looking at the bottom of her almost empty glass of wine, finally looked up and fixed her gaze in Touya. A little smile formed in her lips. He hadn't noticed the tiny amount of frosting that had smeared next to his upper lip. But, instead of doing something silly, Tomoyo decided to let him do the job, by pointing at herself.

"You got a little bit of…"

Touya ran his thumb through his lips, taking the frosting and proceeding to eat it. Tomoyo looked away, and proceed to drink the last drops of wine. She felt kind of disappointed.

They both ended their cake slices, and so Touya left the dirty dishes in the sink. Then, Tomoyo saw him walk around the counter, and understood it was already time for them to head towards the bedroom. Still, she couldn't come to comprehend why they had shared that moment, if it meant something, or if it was supposed to make her feel a certain way. She was about to jump off the stall, and follow Touya out of the kitchen, when she felt how he pressed her against the island.

She felt him inhale against her neck, which made her whole skin bristle. His left hand rested softly against her waist, and his fingers slowly slid down, until he caressed her leg, while with his other hand, he slid down her right arm, and stopped at her hand. For a moment, she thought he was going to intertwine his fingers with hers, but Touya kept on going, getting further away from her hand, and finally reaching out for the bottle of wine. And just like that, all the contact between their skin broke, as he stepped back.

Once again, Tomoyo felt nothing more than disappointment.

"Take it off." Said Touya in his deep voice. What did he mean exactly? Once again was he talking only about her purse and shoes, or…?

She had understood the instruction right away; it was only she was too shy to admit it. They weren't going up to the bedroom. They were going to do it right there, on top of the counter. He wanted her to undress competetly. He has going to fuck her right there, and call her his, over the gray marble surface. Nervous yet excited, Tomoyo stood up, left her purse on top of the counter, took off her shoes, and let her coat fall down to the floor. Her skirt landed on top of it right away. Same with her blouse.

She was just about to take off her bra, when the contact of his skin made her stop. Touya's fingers started to caress once again the back of her neck, going down her scapula, until he reached her bra. Still holding the bottle of wine with one hand, with the other one, Touya did a sharp move and undid her bra. Then, he pushed her hair over her shoulder, which made the strap fall off, and finally, using his index finger, he slid down the other strap.

The bra finally fell on top of the counter. Touya pressed himself against her pale skin, and pressing the cold bottle against her ass, he took his time to caress every inch of her back with nothing more than his lips. Her skin, white as snow, was burning hot at that time.

He penetrated her just like that. Touya hadn't even bothered in taking off his shirt or pants, and Tomoyo's panties had also not fell to the ground; it had been barely moved out of the way, just enough to let him do his business. And still, she couldn't help but to moan, nailing her elbows against the gray marble, lifting her ass to facilitate him the penetration.

She was the one to reach climax first, but he followed right after.

He stepped away, fixing his pants and proceeding to drink straight from the bottle of wine. Tomoyo, still finding it hard to breathe, was just about to fix her panties and grab the rest of her clothings, when Touya's voice stopped her right away.

"Follow me." Was all he said.

So easy for him to say that, considering he was fully dressed! Being conscious of her almost total nudity, Tomoyo was tempted to say no. She had had enough; just as always, it had been amazing, but it was already late and she had to go back home. She had still work to do, and time was running…

She couldn't say a word. Touya had reached his arm, waiting for her. And so, Tomoyo took a step forward, and reached for his hand too. Finally, his fingers intertwined with hers, and pulling her closer, they finally walked out of the kitchen, and proceeded to head towards the bedroom.

He made her walk in first. He turned the lights in the lowest dim, and stopped her at the end of the bed, where he finally took a moment to look at her. But this time, he wasn't looking at her almost naked body. No, this time he wasn't looking at her long legs, her belly or her breasts. This time he was looking at her face: her lips, her cheeks, her gray eyes. This made Tomoyo feel naked in a way she had never felt before. He wasn't looking at her skin, it was as if he was looking at her soul, or inside her thoughts.

"Let's not fall in love." He finally said, and proceeded to close the door behind him.

Tomoyo smiled under her breath, while trying to hold a buff. That was such a ridiculous idea! She had never thought of him in that way. All her feelings towards him were mere lust. She had never ever fell in love with anyone before, and with his cold attitude, he was not going to be the exception.

"Let's not fall in love." She repeated, which made Touya smile and buff too.

"Sounds like we got a plan." He added, before pouncing on her neck.

I feel this one is the one that has the most gramatical mistakes of all I've ever written, but tbh I have no mind to fix it. My brain is just not working today. Sorry bout that.

-Ribo