AN: Yes! Another chapter finished! Although, I no longer work, it was still hard to write this chapter because I could think of so many ways on how the story should go! Well, after hard thinking this is what I came up with! I hope you all will enjoy this chapter! Also, don't forget to review afterwards, so I could receive feedback and be encouraged to continue!
CHAPTER 11
"Our Reflection"
When a picture was taken...for what reasons it was taken?
To hold a memory...
...or create one...
Perhaps in remembrance of something left behind?
While Yuki was still in shock, Tapo explained to everyone that the magazine photos were already developed and ready for show at the opening of Wantu's gallery, which will be held in the same building on the top floor. Also, that most of the audience will be art critics, representatives from a perfume company (they are the sponsors of the event), reporters from magazines and newspapers, and simple art lovers. Since, this event will be formal, the crew was sent to a nearby designer clothing store to pick out their formal wear, which will be covered by Tapo. That person wanted Yuki to appear almost as good as his photographs. However, Yuki really thought that it was very unnecessary.
"Demo," he paled after looking at the price tag, "This is really too much. I don't know if it's right to accept such expensive offering. Maybe I should find..."
"NONSENSE!" Tapo rejected, while that person was directing two assistants to aid the others in their clothing. "YUKI-CHAN ALREADY DONE SO MUCH FOR MOI! PLUS, IT'S THE BEST I COULD DO TO PAY BACK FOR THE 'DAMAGES'!"
"D-Damage!" Yuki sweated. The sound of that word reminded him of what he might see at the reception.
"ALL I KNOW IS THAT THE MAGAZINE PHOTOS WILL BE SHOWN. YET, THERE COULD BE OTHERS, SINCE IT'S WANTU'S SHOW."
"O-Oh..." the boy's eyes widened in fear of what would be seen. "Let's hope it's only the magazine..."
"I CERTAINLY HOPE THAT'S ALL IT IS! IF NOT..."Tapo stood serious for a moment, with a hand under his chin. "THEN, YOU COULD ALWAYS HOLD YOUR HEAD UP AND LAUGH! HA! HA! HA!"
"Ah..." Yuki paled even more whiter than he appeared.
In the dressing room, another feared member was trying on dresses she felt reluctant to wear. One of Tapo's assistants kept on handing her one dress after another. She rushed to put them on because of the limited amount of time that was left. Although, Tapo said it would start shortly, they would appear an hour later. In the booth next to her, a more enthusiastic girl fancied every dress that was handed to her. She was more prolonged in her decision, since she loved fashion.
"Ahh! Kimi don't know what to wear! Does Kimi want to look cute and innocent or cute and sultry? Kimi don't know!"she giggled.
The girl next door was silently looking at the dresses with uncertainty.
To me, it doesn't really matter. We just want the pictures back.
She walked out of her booth, after putting her regular clothes on. She sighed and sat down in one of the chairs near the booths. Her head rested on her hand, with the support of her elbow on her thigh. A sad look of nonaccomplishment appeared on her face.
"Do shita no? (What's the matter?)" a familiar voice asked her. A voice she wanted to hear.
"I can't choose. Gomenasi,"she spoke softly, with her head hanging low. "Nothing suits me."
"Um, demo...I was going to ask you if you like this?" The girl lifted her head to view a boy wearing a black suit with a blue shirt, with the first two buttons unbuttoned. He held out a simple, knee-length, white, spaghetti-strapped dress adorned with a white scarf. "I-If you don't like it, I could go look for..."
She grabbed the dress without hesitation and swiftly changed in the booth. Within minutes, she came back out in her newfound dress. She also took down her previously tied- up hair to let it cascade over her shoulders.
The boy stood in his place with wide gray eyes staring, a slightly blushed face and a loss for words. However, the one in a full black suit, coming behind him had a mouthful.
"Wow, wow, Machi! Where did you find that?" he asked. "Say something, Yun-Yun!" he poked the other boy with his arm. "You're suppose to say, 'Baby, you sure know how to light my night in white!' "
"You are not suppose to say anything, Manabe!" Machi steamed as she passed her brother and a silently, bashful boyfriend.
"Hey! Hey! It's the truth. You look nice! Aren't you going to scold your boyfriend for not saying anything?" he called out after her. The two trotted away from Yuki, who was totally lost in his wording, as well as his thoughts.
I am sorry, Machi. I couldn't say anything. There were no words, which I could describe you. You came out looking like heaven's child. An angel. Angels are undescribably endearing. There are no words...only that you appeared like I have imagined...if I said that would you believe me?
"Yun-Yun? Kimi to Yun-Yun! We are ready to go!" a cutesy, girly voice called Yuki out of his deep thought. A slim girl in a red dress was studying his face. Her face was too close for a respectable distance.
"Eh! Kimi!" he awoke from his thoughtful state. "Let's go!"
"Yay! Kimi wants to be Yun-Yun's escort! Kakeru-chan and Machi already went outside without us!" she informed.
"They did? Then, let's catch up!" he hurried to the entrance of the store to meet up with one of Tapo's assistants, who told him that Tapo left already with the other two and that she'll lead them to the gallery.
While the three were exiting for the gallery, Yuki had one lingering thought on his mind...
Did she leave because I didn't say anything?
While riding upwards in the glass elevator, Machi viewed the bluish-orange of the transforming sky through the glass windows of the skyscraper. Also, viewing from the glass was her own reflection.
If I stayed longer, what would he say? The truth is I didn't want to hear it. No words would fit with the look he had given me. That's all the complementing I needed.
After reaching the top floor, she exited with her brother, Tapo and one of Tapo's assistant. The assistant lead her by the hand to a door with sign displaying a symbol of a small circle over a triangle, with a gold plating saying "POWDER ROOM".
"Why?" she asked.
"You'll see," the assistant answered.
The assistant turned and smiled when they entered the room, only to be greeted by another assistant, who had beauty products lined up on the counter in front of a mirror with vanity lights. "If you are to be the lovely escort of rising star, you are more than required to become a lovely lady! It looks like you got the dress already, but..." she hesitated and grabbed the powder. "We could add touches with hair and makeup!" she gleamed.
Machi was astonished with the unexpected assistance and was going to depart from the room, but the aggressiveness of Tapo's assistants prevented her from leaving. So, she gave in and let them do what was needed to be done.
Yuki and Kimi arrived at the top floor ten minutes later and were also taken in account by Tapo's assistants. Kimi was taken to where Machi was at, while Yuki was taken to another room to get minor touches to his already beautiful face.
After Yuki was done, he went to go search for his beloved, but she was nowhere to be seen. He sighed and wondered around the highest complex to watch the formally dressed crowds entering a ballroom. He leaned against the wall in the hallway, with his back to the windows.
In the crowd, most of the men were suited in black and white, while the women followed the same order. Yuki almost chuckled of where that color scheme came from.
I think there is no secret what Tapo's favorite colors are.
"Yun-Yun!" called a female voice, "What are you doing standing there? Kimi wants to be escorted inside!"
"Kimi, have you seen Machi?" he asked once the girl had came up to him.
"Yes, she's already inside! Let's go!" she hurried.
"Okay, okay." Yuki held out his right arm to let Kimi interlock her left arm with it and escorted her to the double grand wooden doors ahead.
Inside, the pair awed at the black and white interior decorations and many blown up pictures of Yuki from his magazine shoot. Each picture has its own wall with its own lamp hanging over it.
"Waaah! Amazing! Yun-Yun's everywhere!" Kimi remarked with delight. However, Yuki, on the other hand, was beyond shocked and embarrassed to say anything.
H-How did they do this in such short time! That is almost every shot that was taken!
The boy scanned every photo to find the "unauthorized shots", but none were seen...so far.
At least there are none of 'those' pictures, I think.
"Oh Kami-sama! There he is!" a young woman's voice called out to the crowd. All of the sudden, Yuki finds himself (along with Kimi) surrounded by a group of people asking him different questions, ranging from modeling contracts to beauty secrets.
"You're popular, Yun-Yun!" Kimi beamed as she posed for the camera shots that were taken of them.
"Eh..."Yuki became dizzy from all that was going on and was about to fall over, until someone broke the crowd, took him by the hand and pulled him away, along with Kimi. His vision, which was blurred over by the strong camera lights, came into focus to see who was the one who 'saved' him.
"Sohma Yuki, ne?" the person asked in a small voice. Yuki finally saw a woman in a black dress with dark brown tresses over her shoulders. She stared at the boy with concern. "Please follow me," she instructed.
"Huh?"Yuki questioned, "Who are you?"
"I'll introduce myself at the back. You and your date could come with me."
"I don't kno...d-date? Oh no, oba-san (Miss), Kimi is not my date. I was just escorting her. Speaking of date, I was looking..."
"Sumimasen. Please follow. I must speak to you," she spoke seriously.
"Alright. Let's go, Kimi," Yuki called out to the girl, who was still enchanted by the media.
Nearby, a girl in the white dress was alone viewing one of the many pictures of her love. She looked away after a short glance and walked away. From the distance, she could see him walking with two women. One in a black dress and a familiar one in a red dress. She followed crew without hesitations. Her brother, who was looking at another picture, followed her close behind.
Yuki and Kimi were lead into dark room at the back of the ballroom. The lights were immediately switched on as they entered. It revealed the largest photograph of the entire gallery. When Yuki viewed the 'art', his heart almost came to a complete stop. His eyes widen as wide as they could go, and perpetration started to form from his forehead. He tried to speak, but the words wouldn't escape from his lips.
"Is this the photo, Yun-Yun?" Kimi asked, while she stared at it with curiosity of what the scene was depicting. The photograph displayed a scene of orange skies, quiet and still waters, and ...a silhouette two lovers. "It's very romantic! It's like an episode from someone's dream!" Kimi finally commented, once she registered in her head of what she was seeing.
"It is a dream," the nameless woman said from behind as she walked up to the pair. "At least that's what I hoped that's how my husband would depict it."
"EH?" Yuki finally responded after a moment of astonishment.
"I am Wantu Mikada," the woman finally introduced herself, "I am the photographer's main assistant, as well as his wife. He takes the photographs and I help him create them."
Yuki stared at her with an blank expression, while Kimi could only smile at the thought. However, the expression was quickly wiped from his face when someone else intruded in this private matter.
"Hey Yun-Yun! That's the picture, ne? I thought you said you didn't do it!"Kakeru's voice echoed into the spacious room. "So, it looks like the secret is out!"
"Shut it!" the accused boy snapped and immediately locked his fingers into a grip around the other boy's neck. "Stop making stupid assumptions when you don't even know what the hell is going on!" His eyes gave off a dark, fiery glare of anger.
"I think you are the one who doesn't know what's going on!" Kakeru retaliated with his own anger and his fingers gripped around the other boy's neck.
"Ooh, I never seen Yun-Yun so angry!" Kimi commented in her usual cheery manner. Next to her, Machi stared at the picture with an empty expression and wordless, as usual. However, deep inside, her heartbeat increased as she reminisced the time the photograph was taken. Her hand was held in a fist and close to her heart. She tried to keep her elated emotions inside. Without success, she closed her eyes and open them again with a brighter look.
"Watashi wa ureshii desu," she spoke. The boys stopped bickering, as if she blew a whistle on them.
"Machi?" Yuki questioned, "Did you just said that you are happy?"
"Ahem," Mikada purposely cleared her throat for everyone's attention. For the past few minutes she had been wanting to explain the reasons for this piece of art.
"Oh, W-Wantu-san!" Yuki finally reverted his attention to her, "Sumimasen, we have been so rudely interrupted by unnecessary remarks." He flashed a glare at the perpetrator. He got a goofy grin in response.
Idiot.
"As we were," Mikada explained, "My husband took this picture and I created it, with a team of assistants.Last night, he brought back the model shots that needed to be worked on overnight, so we could have the show today. While we were working, I ran across this shot from another series I was unaware of. He told me 'only that one'. Without question, I developed it."
"If I may add," Yuki said, "those were taken without our knowing. That's why we are here. To claim those pictures back before Kami-sama knows what he would do with those shots. Maybe you know?"
Mikada looked away for a moment and smiled sadly. "That's what I have been asking myself before, but the answer is in the photograph." She turned to the photo, then faced Machi who was looking at it. "I believe you know too, right?"
Machi, who still have her fisted hand to her chest, nodded. Everyone else were perplexed by the two women of what was that answer. Yuki stared atthe photgraphas he tried to figure out what they were seeing. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't figure it out. Unless...
"Machi," he called as he walked over to the girl, "You said you are happy. That's the first time I heard you said that," he spoke softly next to her. He put his hand on her shoulder and smiled. "I am so grateful to hear that."
"It's called Reflection," a voice called from behind the small crowd. A suited man appeared with a huge crowd behind him. Yuki's heart jumped at the sound of his voice, as well as the sound of bulbs flashing from behind.
"It's him," Kakeru whispered to Kimi, "Yun-Yun, I think it's too late to cover this photo now. You and Machi are about to be premiered," he spoke louder for the others to here. On cue, the couple turned to face flashing cameras and a mass of people as Wantu lead them inside the small private gallery room.
"A very unique piece indeed..."Wantu hesitated when his muses appeared in his view. He ignored them by clearing his throat a little and continued. "It holds a special place in my heart..."
"Wantu," Yuki interrupted, "I want to hear it now. Why?" His eyebrows narrowed as he asked.
"Ano, Sohma-san..." Mikada paced over to the boy and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Huh?" Yuki looked over his shoulder at the older woman.
"Mikada!" Wantu was stunned to see someone he least expected, besides Yuki and company.
"Yes, I am here, darling. I wanted to explain to Sohma-san that if he wanted to direct his anger at someone...direct it at me."
"Wha..." the boy said as he turned to her. "Why you?"
"Because...every since my husband started working in commercial photography, he doesn't have time for artistic freedom, or any freedom for that matter. As he continued to work in the field, he lost his inspiration to create a masterpiece. Our lives were dried with photography for the mass production. He was not the same man I fell in love with. Before he forgets the reasons of why he took up photography, I...I ... threaten him to create something...or it's done...with us. I didn't care about the money...I just wanted my husband, the artist, the man I loved, to return."
"Mi-Mikada..." Wantu stood in awe of his wife's confession. "I...done it...didn't I?"
"Hai. Arigato," she smiled. "It's been too long since I saw an orange-color photograph."
Her husband smiled in return and turned to the large crowd. "This the reason, why this is so dear to my heart. It's their 'reflection'," he held out his left arm to direct the crowd to the young couple. "As well as our own." He put his arm around his wife's shoulder and gazed full-heartedly at her smile.
Yuki was at awe of their story as he beamed at the girl next to him. "You knew the feeling too, huh?"
"It is too... reminder of how happy I am...to love someone like you." Machi spoke with a thoughtful gaze.
"Boku mo ureshii desu (I am also happy),"Yuki said. "There are no words to describe my happiness, because you already defined it." He moved closer to show his affections, but was interrupted again by the same perpetrator, plus one.
"That was the best romantic drama I saw all evening!" Kakeru said, coming in between the couple. "That reminded me to call Sume-chan when we get back!"
"Awwww! Kimi wants someone to love Kimi!" the red-dressed girl said, with her hands clasped together. "Kimi will call Kimi's boyfriend!"
"Which one?" Kakeru commented sarcastically on the girl's bad habit of not keeping a committed relationship.
"Kimi don't know yet!" she giggled. The rest of the crew sweated at her inconsistency.
After the show, the crew met Wantu and his wife. The photographer gave his apologies to Yuki and Machi, who both found a place in their hearts to forgive him. Also, they got what they wanted. Their pictures were returned, along with the negatives. In return, the pair let Reflection be viewed at the gallery.
"Thank you for everything," Wantu said to the pair. Mikada smiled serenely, next to her husband as he spoke.
"I didn't think that it will end up this way, but..." Yuki reached for Machi's hand and looked at her with a warm gaze. "It's definitely something to remember."
"AHHH!" a manly voice entered the conversation. Tapo appeared with two assistants, who were supporting that person's enthusiasm. "WHAT A BEAUTIFUL TALE TOLD BY A SINGLE ORANGE PHOTOGRAPH! A MEMORY REMEMBERED, A MEMORY CREATED! AHH!" That person became teary and was aided by one of the assistants for a handkerchief.
"I still don't know what that person is," Kakeru whispered to Yuki.
"As of now," Yuki laughed a little at the scene in front of him, "it doesn't matter."
After a relaxing trip back home, everyone split into doing their own task. Kakeru went to go call his significant other. Kimi reviewed her little black book to see whose available for a date after the vacation ends. While all the other two were doing their own things, the couple met up in Yuki's room after refreshing for the night's rest, to view the beautiful art work by Wantu Takashi.
"I didn't know how he could be quick with that camera," Yuki said as he came across an eight-by-ten picture of him and Machi falling into the shallow waters. "These shots takes great skill to capture." After a responding nod from Machi, he turned the page of the plain, black photo album. After viewing most of the album, the girl felt the heaviness of sleep taking over her eyes.
"Thank you so much for your love," Machi mumbled before she begun to fall asleep, next to her love.
He closed he photo book and reached out to stroke her soft strands of hair. He stared at her sleeping face as he entered his world of dreams, whispering a few words.
"Your welcome...angel."