Chapter 2
The 7am call was easier to make for the Fairy Tail group then it appeared for the others. Mira and Evergreen stood bright eyed and ready with Freed while the other two boys hung back. Their passes had been delivered to their door slot in the door sometime in the night, but even so, they were on guard. The lobby was filled as the clock chimed the hour.
Just like his research proved, Freed saw two other bodyguards and another manager accompany their models. Out of the twenty or so women, only two appeared not to be staying on the premises. The team each made a note to find out why. It was a good start, but they doubted that either of the girls would be behind the case. It would be too obvious.
"Welcome!" The director called out the moment he entered the lobby. The room fell into hushed whispers.
"It looks like we're missing a few people but since we have a schedule to keep let's head back, and I'll show you the studio. There's been some updates for all of you who've worked with us before." The director waved them through a set of inconspicuous double doors framed by potted plants and down an industrial hallway. Evergreen gave Mira a confused look, but her guildmate could only shrug. She was used to location shoots. The idea of a large indoor studio was not foreign, but she would withhold her judgement until she saw it. As it stood, nothing about the setup or the people around her gave her any direction of danger. She glanced back at the boys, noting their heavy observation. Mira sighed.
The walk only took a minute or two. The hallway opened into a wide room with soaring ceilings and ample lightning. Natural sunlight flooded the room from raised windows and hidden skylights. The setup was enough that even Mira paused to take it all in. She felt a large presence stop just short behind her. Without turning, she knew it was Laxus.
"Quite impressive, right Ms Strauss?" The director beamed. Mira nodded, still marveling at the room and its mini studios. Somehow, the design team managed to allow each of the sets the proper amount of natural light. The room itself was clean and filled with racks of clothing, props, and camera equipment.
"Come along girls! The assistants would like to start their measurements and get color pallets going. The lounge is straight back!" The director called out. He took Mira around the waist and stepped forward. The other Fairy Tail members followed.
"I hope you'll find that while our setup is different from other magazines, it's very effective for getting the desired look we're going for. Last year, we built an entire bathhouse set for our winter issue. The girls especially liked that one when we weren't using it to shoot," the director mentioned happily. Mira let him chatter in her ear while they made their way to what he referred to as the lounge.
It was a cute setup with a fluffy carpet and half walls to separate the space from the hustle of the shooting studios. It reminded Mirajane of the one time she was almost a part of the Dark Angels fashion show. It appeared the show had since gone out of business, which did not surprise her. That company was more interested in pleasing their sponsors then putting on a good show. She was fortunate that the perfect mission came up and gave her an excuse to bow out gracefully.
Mirajane untangled herself from the director's arm and made her way to the open seat beside Evergreen on one of the three oversize couches. The other girls filled in the remaining spaces. It was immediately clear who knew each other from previous gigs. Normally, social politics did not bother Mira, but she knew for the mission it would be beneficial to know which girls liked each other.
"Alright! I'll start by introducing our staff that will be working with all you for hair and makeup. Our head makeup artist is Misha, she'll oversee the others. If you have any issues at all, please speak with her right away," the director stated. Misha smiled and gave them a quick wave.
"My team and I are excited to work with you all," she spoke. The three artists nodded, and the girls fell into hushed whispers. The excitement even got to Evergreen; she practically hummed in her seat as the photographers and the set director were introduced. Finally, the director turned to the last few people.
"And finally-"
"I'm here! Don't start without me!" A shout rang out and the doors across the studio were thrown open. All eyes turned to a raven-haired woman who strode through the entrance and over to the group.
"I told you 7am, Nessa," the director chastised. "Take a seat."
"A model needs her beauty rest," the girl pouted. With the grace of a newborn deer, she stumbled into the lounge and sat on the fluffy white carpet in the very center. The girls on Mirajane's other side whispered, but she did not catch their remarks. Feeling the boys' eyes on her, she noted they found the new girls' actions suspicious enough to warrant figuring out who she was. With the way this was going, their group would have a lot of leads to follow up on later.
"As I was saying, these are the designers for this issue. They'll be doing measurements and seeing which of you will be best for each of their designs, in addition to our in-house fashions. Everyone is guaranteed at least one major label during the shoots."
"A few of the younger girls made noises of uncontrolled excitement. Mirajane smiled.
She remembered her first shoot. The designer or her favorite sportwear bra had been there and Mira desperately wanted to be chosen to get to wear the newest outfits. It was not the correct fit at the time, but the excitement and anticipation was the same even now.
"We'll send you out in groups," the director announced, so if it isn't your turn just wait here. There's food over there if you get hungry, and the rest rooms are behind that corner in our remodeled changing rooms." The first group was called, leaving Mirajane and Evergreen alone on the couch when the other three girls left.
"So, how are you feeling?" Mirajane asked Evergreen.
"Somewhat nervous to be honest," the other woman stated. "I'm so focused on this modeling thing that I keep forgetting about the mission. Do you think one of these girls is the one doing it?" The two of them looked round to their fellow models. There were several younger girls bunched on the opposite couch. They all spoke in rapid, high tones, more excited at the prospect of their first modeling gigs than anything else. The other girls seemed to be a mix of seasoned models and just beginning, so it was anyone's call at if they were behind this.
"It's hard to tell right now," Mirajane sighed. "Hopefully, the boys will have better luck scoping thingss out if we get busy." Both girls turned to find the boys out of the way of the excitement.
Bicklsow perused the snacks set out; Mirajane knew no one would touch them for the first few days, so it was good someone was interested. Freed spoke with another man dressed in a crisp suit. The relaxed look on his face spoke volumes. Finding Laxus was a bit of a challenge. He had made himself at home near some extra lighting equipment and stood in silence watching the activity. He glanced over, as if feeling Mira's eyes on him, and they locked gazes for a moment. The blond raised his eyebrow and all Mira could do was give him a quick smile and turn back to Evergreen. Without trying, he had very much fallen into the bodyguard act for the mission.
"Mira, we're up!" Evergreen stated. The director waved them and three other girls over to where a row of vanities waited. The makeup artists and hairstylists took each of them in a chair and the questions began. Skin allergies and scents were written down before skin tones were recorded and color pallets produced. The girls were each asked about their skin and hair routines and conversation flowed from there as they were made up for their test shots.
The head of makeup made sure to have a word with each girl about she thought would be best and answer questions. Only one girl had issues to bring up, so the older woman spent most of her time assuring her that no- they would never attempt to ruin her makeup on purpose before her shots. Evergreen gave Mira a sideways look of disbelief. The white-haired girl had nothing to say. She assumed the young model must have gone to an unprofessional, if not jealous artist in the past, and was just anxious. Personally, the thought of having someone else do her photo-ready makeup and hair was a blessing. In the past, she'd always been told that her usual look- while gorgeous- needed to be turned up for the studio shoots. It was a balance that she mastered just in time to lose seven years on the island.
The artists made short work of the girls. Their final reflections were the perfect 'natural' looks that they all knew were anything but natural. Final notes were made as the five girls thanked the artists. The photographer's assistant called the girls over for test shots.
It did not take long for each girl to get their headshots and full body poses completed. The assistant fawned over Mira only long enough to be chastised by the photographer. Evergreen found Mira's reaction to the star dome attainted through her modeling carrier amusing but didn't comment on it as they were hustled along to the designers.
Each girl had all her measurements taken with relative ease. Aside from the numbers thrown out every now and again to be added their ever-growing file, the designers were silent with their work. With each girl finished, they took the numbers and filed them away.
"When will we get to know who's designs we'll be wearing?" asked one of the new girls.
"You should know tonight," came the answer. "We'll have lines shooting for the spreads each day, so you should get your assignments with your schedule." The girls nodded.
"Can we see some of the clothing?" asked another model. She blushed when she realized she had their full attention. "Sorry, I'm just really excited! I love all your brands so much and can't wait to see what everyone gets to wear." A few of the designers smiled at her outward excitement.
"Our outfits are all in the back right now. We unfortunately can't bring them out yet." The five models nodded in understanding. After a few more questions, they were released for the day. Evergreen and Mira spotted Freed and moved to speak with him.
"How'd everything go?" he asked. Bickslow and Laxus moved over as well.
"It went well," Evergreen nodded. "I don't see why we needed to get up so early though. Now all I want to do is take a nap, but I'll feel guilty about this makeup!" Mira giggled.
"It went as expected," she added. "You three weren't bored I hope?"
"Freed made friends at least," Bickslow stated. "Otherwise nothing out of the ordinary happened. This might be harder than we thought."
"There's no way the culprit would give themselves up on the first day," Freed said. "They've already had time to develop a strategy." The group looked at the space around them. The last few groups of girls moved through the process much slower than the first. Mira saw the nerves in the youngest girls' faces. The boys suggested they look around one last time, stealing Mira's attention back.
"Is there anywhere actually off limits on the set?" Evergreen asked.
"Not anywhere you'd be kicked out for going at least," Mira recalled. "I'm not used to a full indoor shoot. Since the building is theirs, I assume they had it set up to be as easy as possible to navigate. I'm sure there are still backrooms and dark corners for someone to sneak around through."
"Laxus and I did a walk through of all the sets while you both were getting your makeup done," Bickslow stated. "The place looks like what I'd expect. No one was creeping around in corners and no traces of errant magic caught our attention."
"Its all very- orderly," Laxus added, glancing around.
"The only place we didn't check was the dressing room," Freed mentioned.
"Why don't we check there now while its empty?" Evergreen offered. Everyone nodded, and the boys watched them head to the changing rooms. They were indeed newly remodeled and empty.
"This place is fancy," Evergreen stated. Mira nodded and wandered around the corner into a room with full length mirrors. Her reflection caught her off guard but not as much as the second person in the room.
"I'm sorry!" Mira apologized. "I didn't realize anyone was in here." The other model seemed just as shocked and dropped her hands from where she was poking at her face and neck.
"I didn't even hear you come in!" The other girl giggled over her embarrassment at being found. Mira recognized her from the first group of girls.
"Its really nice to meet you Mirajane! I'm Vivian but most everyone here just calls me Vi."
"Its nice to meet you too," Mira smiled. "I didn't mean to interrupt. I was just checking out the area since the director said everything was remodeled."
"It is! It was way worse before," Vi nodded. "It was really only a set of changing stalls made of curtains against a wall. To be honest they didn't really hide much. It was really uncomfortable when they did a high profile shoot two years ago and everyone had security around. Some of these guys were not as professional as you'd expect. This is so much better! Now the only guys who'll be in here are the designers and their assistants, and we all know none of them are going to be spying on us." Mira nodded as the model explained, wondering if she was one of the magazine's recurring models. She would need to see if anyone had old issues laying around that she could check. The girl's next question threw her.
"How do you still look so young and pretty?" Vivian asked suddenly. "I know there was magic involved, but its been seven years! How do you still look the exact same as you did? Do you have a special lotion you use or a secret diet maybe? I'd love to know! It's so hard when they keep hiring young and younger models!"
"Nope," Mira smiled, embarrassed. "All of it was the magic. We were literally frozen in time, so I didn't age at all."
"Lucky," the girl pouted. "That would be so cool!" Mira was not sure how to respond, so she was lucky when she did not need to.
"I have to go, it was great meeting you, Mirajane. Hopefully we'll be shooting together tomorrow!" Vivian waved and left the mirrored room just as Evergreen rounded the corner. The two Fairy Tail girls heard the door close and were left alone.
"Who was that?" asked Evergreen.
"Another model," Mira replied. "She said her name was Vivian. It sounds like she's worked here for a while." Evergreen shrugged.
"We could probably see if she knows anything about the girls who were affected with Magic Deficiency Disease. Maybe she'll know something useful to get us started." Mira nodded. The two girls headed out to the rejoin the boys in the main room.
Thanks for reading!
Short relatively uneventful chapter I know, but It didn't quite fit with the next chapter or the previous one. Look forward to next week :)