XXx Aya xXX
"Ouch! Shiori that was my foot!" Setsuko hisses as she falls back into the armrest of the overly stuffed plush throne the five of us are posed around.
"YOU JUST RUINED THE PICTURE SETSUKO!" Renge yells from behind the line of cameras. "Now we have to reposition you all, which just means more work for me!"
"Calm your tits Renge," Setsuko grumbles as she nurses her foot. "Shit, there's a red circle in the middle of my foot! Look at it!"
Setsuko extends her leg, bunching up the fabric of her emerald green dress in her fists. Sure enough, right in the middle of her foot is a bright red dot resting right underneath the strap of her black pumps.
"Oh look," I muse as I poke it gently. "It's throbbing."
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Shiori whimpers as Setsuko jerks her foot away from me.
"Please," Aiko sighs from her stiff position in a throne we borrowed from Tamaki. "It's not like she broke skin or anything. Don't be such a drama queen."
"You forget who we're talking to here Aiko," I snicker from my spot on the floor. "That's like asking hell to freeze over."
"I happen to be very distressed at the moment thank you very much," Setsuko huffs as she tosses a lock of hair over her shoulder.
"Focus on the shoot you guys!" Renge snaps as she clutches her clipboard to her chest. "We haven't even gotten through half the themes I've scheduled for today!"
"Cut us some slack Renge," Shiori whines as she rests her forehead on the throne's armrest. "This is the eighth costume change already."
"You can complain about it later," Renge replies as she examines the time chart on the top page. "I'm trying to put together a high quality product here."
"Just how big is this photo book anyways?" Akina asks from her spot on the other side of the throne.
"Well I was shooting for eighty pages," Renge sighs as flips through some of the pages on the clipboard. "But at the pace we're going at, that seems more like wishful thinking."
"Ever the slave driver aren't we?" Setsuko mumbles sarcastically as she seats herself on the armrest and leans against the back of the throne.
"Well how else will things get done around here?" Renge replies as tucks the clipboard under her arm and makes some sort of gesture to the photographers . "That's enough for today. But be ready to work twice as hard in the next session to make up for lost time. Man I've gone soft…"
And with that, I'm finally allowed to stretch out my stiff muscles.
I was definitely not made to be any kind of model, but Renge was insistent that all the girls should come together for one big photo book. So now I get to experience the hell that models go through on a daily basis. I guess some people are just made of stronger stuff than I am.
And at least they get paid for it.
"Thank god for small miracles," Aiko groans as she arches her back.
We all wince as a symphony of pops and cracks come from her spine, but she doesn't even bat an eyelash. She just pushes herself to her feet and rolls her shoulders, which also snap and crack like a bag of microwave popcorn. She turns back to us and places her hands on her hips, rubbing circles on her lower back through the rough sequined material of her gold dress.
"My butt went numb an hour ago."
"Don't even start," Shiori sighs as she throws her body across the arms of the throne. "At least you got to sit through all that!
"It wasn't that bad," Akina says softly as she slides her heels off her feet.
"You have no room to talk," Setsuko grumbles as she reaches over to poke Akina in the ribs. "You do this kind of thing all the time. And in point shoes too! I bet this barely made you break a sweat."
"Well when you have the embodiment of the stereotypical Russian ballet teacher breathing down your neck all your life, yes…things like this are easy," she says with a sheepish smile as she clutches her pale pink heels to her chest.
"I really need a break from all this nonsense," Setsuko wails as she throws her head back against the throne.
"Well about that…" I trail off.
Gnawing my lower lip nervously, I turn around to face the four of them. How exactly do I go about inviting people to a lounge singer's show?
"Yeah?" Aiko prods as the other three look up at me curiously.
"Well are you going to ask them or not?"
I jump slightly at the sound of Honey's voice suddenly right next to me. I whirl around towards him, still recovering from my mini heart attack and slap his arm half-heartedly.
"Don't do that!" I hiss as I clutch my chest.
"Well you were just standing there gaping like a fish," he replies innocently. "Would you rather I just let you stand around like that?"
"I was going to do it," I argue as I jam my elbow into his ribs. "I was just debating the best way to ask!"
"Well is somebody going to ask something or are we just going to lay here all day?"
I turn back to see Setsuko glancing at me lazily from under her bangs, thinly veiled annoyance still lingering on her face.
"Right…sorry," I mumble as I wring my fingers nervously. "I was just wondering if you were all free tonight."
"See?" Honey teases as he ruffles my hair. "That wasn't so hard was it?"
"Well excuse me," I snarl as I glare at him. "But I'm not usually the one that goes around asking people to go out! Cut me some slack."
"That was it?" Aiko asks as she kicks off her gold sandals. "You want to go out tonight?"
"I'm free!" Shiori exclaims as she bounces to her feet. "What did you have in mind?"
"Well, my Aunt's in the area," I explain. "She's a lounge singer on a cruise ship that's docked in Tokyo Bay right now and she wanted to meet you guys. So she's invited you all to her show tonight."
"That sounds like a lovely idea!"
Tamaki's hand rests on my shoulder and I automatically stiffen. But if he felt it, he doesn't act like he did. He just gives an overly dramatic hair flip and continues on with his unfiltered speech as the rest of the hosts gather around him.
"I was beginning to wonder when we'd be getting to know our darling senpai's family," he sighs dreamily.
"Trust me, you don't wanna," I sigh as my shoulders slump. "My Aunt's cool, but everyone else in my family is a nightmare in their own special way."
"I'm not sure I'd go that far," Honey muses as he clutches Usa-chan to his chest. "Your parents aren't that bad."
"You've met her parents Honey-senpai?" Kyoya asks. "Interesting."
"Maybe we were right Kaoru," Hikaru says with a smirk that Kaoru mirrors.
"Right about what?!" Tamaki asks, his voice wavering slightly.
"There must be more to their relationship than they're admitting Boss," Kaoru replies.
"After all, this proves it right?" they continue in unison. "It seems like they're already at the meeting the parents stage."
I flinch and my eyes jump to Honey's. I can't see any of my uncertainty reflecting in them, but he seems unfazed about that particular detail he spilled. I guess this mean it's time to tell them then. Real sad though, it's barely been two weeks.
"How do you know Aya-senpai's parents Honey-senpai?!" Tamaki whines as his grip on my shoulder tightens. "When did you meet them?"
"Well Aya-chan's dad is the oldest son of the Atsumi Clan," Honey answers confidently. "My dad's known him for a long time. All martial arts families meet at one point or another at competitions and stuff. Especially the ones that are on the road to becoming the future heads of the family. It's really not that unusual."
"Well, technically the new Head of the family took over about a year ago," I chime in, feeling my heart rate slow at the redirection of the conversation. "You know my cousin Shingo right?"
"I've seen him fight, but I've never spoken with him," Honey muses. "He didn't really seem like the talkative type. Right Takashi?"
"Yeah."
"Good assumption," I sigh. "He's not. Though don't take it personally. In his heart of hearts he's pretty much just a bitter little kid who got his candy stolen."
"I thought he always looked really mature though," Honey replied.
"Sorry to shatter your mental image."
"So how the hell do you expect us to show up if you don't tell us where to go?" Setsuko grumbles from her spot on the throne.
"Right, sorry," I apologize. "The ship's name is the Sea Butterfly."
"Pretty," Shiori coos as she leans on the armrest.
"Is it formal?" Aiko asks as she pulls the pins from her hair. "I think we've all had enough dress up for one day."
"Casual is fine. It's just a lounge."
But as soon as the words leave my mouth a thought dawns on me. Do any of these guys actually have any idea what it means to dress casual?
Oh well…
"So we'll meet in the lounge at six then?" I ask as I nervously scrape at the tips of my nails.
"I'm assuming dinner is included?" Akina asks softly as she unclasps her pearl necklace.
"You assume correctly," I reply with a smile. "The chef they have for the lounge kitchen is quite exceptional actually. A fresh graduate from a prestigious culinary academy in Paris."
"And from the look on your face I'd say that he was quite a piece of eye candy."
A full minute passes before what she said sinks through my skull. I stare dumbfounded at Setsuko, who just sits there smirking widely. And then I feel a blush explode across my face, down my neck, and up to my ears.
"NO!" I screech.
"Is THAT the kind of boy my daughter is interested in?!" Tamaki wails as his arms constrict around me.
"No Tamaki," I sigh as I squirm in his arms. "Please let me go."
"You mean you aren't interested?" he whimpers. "But he can cook! And he's French!"
"No offense Tamaki," I gasp as I hang from his arms. "But I'm so over French boys."
"Great!" Setsuko claps childishly. "More for me then!"
I glare at her as Aiko steps up and holds out her hands to Tamaki. He looks at the curiously, obviously not getting the message. She sighs in response, a little irritated that she has to spell it out for him.
"Can we have Aya back now?" she asks curtly. "We need to go home and get changed."
"Nonsense," Hikaru and Kaoru say in unison as they slide over to us. 'We have plenty of clothes here for you to choose from."
"Just change here and we'll be on our way," Kaoru commands as he gives Akina a not to gentle shove towards the dressing room.
"We have multiple pieces from our mother's fall and winter line," Hikaru continues as he takes the more…proactive approach and releases me from Tamaki's grip without giving him any time to resist.
"No way am I wearing that stupid Christmas sweater dress in public," Setsuko grumbles as her happy mood evaporates.
"We have more than that in the line," they snap at her as Hikaru puts me back on the ground.
"Just go look in the boxes marked with your size," Hikaru orders as he turns me towards the curtains and gives me a shove.
"It's not rocket science," Kaoru sighs as he decides to be somewhat gentlemanly and hold aside the curtain for us. "Try not to be all day about it either."
"That's rich coming from you," I snap as I pause by the entryway. "Who was it that took an extra half an hour to get dressed before we went to go visit Haruhi?"
"Details," he sighs as he dismisses my argument with a wave of his hand.
"Well hurry up!" Shiori orders as he shoves me through the curtains and into the dressing room. "I wanna meet Aya's Auntie."
The two of us walk into the room to see boxes piled on top of and around the central table. Aiko already has a few boxes open at her feet as she shifts through mountains of thick knit sweaters in various hues of golden ocher. She already has a pair of low heeled black knee boots laying on the floor next to her.
"Well, that was quick," I sigh as I pick up one of the boxes I share with Shiori.
Aiko just gives me a half smile as she sets aside a long sleeved pastel cream sweater before digging through a stack of designer jeans. Shiori pulls out a deep plum colored sweater dress and holds it up to her body before turning to look in the mirror.
The corners of my lip twitches upwards as I begin pulling out various pieces of clothing from my own box. Nothing really jumps out at me, so I go to my default choice. I toss the extra clothes back into the box, not bothering to fold them back up and begin unzipping the back of my blue sequined cocktail dress.
Retreating back into my personal cubical with my clothes draped over my arm, I shuck off the scratchy dress and begin pulling on a pair of faded light blue jeans and a pair of pale brown fuzzy boots. I've just pulled my gray tank top over my head when Shiori pokes her head through the privacy curtain.
"Wear this one," she commands as she tosses me a pale gray-blue knit sweater.
"Why?" I ask as I furiously yank down the hem of my top with one hand and catch the sweater in the other.
"Need to look your best for that hot chef," she giggles. "It would make the night more interesting."
My flush brightens as she ducks back out and a fit of giggles erupts from the rest of the girls. Oddly, I don't really feel mad. Maybe when you have friends that you treasure more than anything, you're willing to overlook some things that normally irritate you.
The sweater isn't bad anyways…
I pull it over my tank top and take a glance in the floor length mirror. The color compliments my overall pallor, but it obviously wasn't picked from any box of my size, as the hem almost reaches my knees and I have to roll the sleeves up several times to find my hands. On another glance I feel like the neckline is a bit too low, so I drape my photo shoot dress on the bench and head back into the dressing room and brows the accessories strewn all over the table.
I pluck a light weight cream cashmere scarf and wrap it around my neck.
Satisfied with my find, I go rescue my backpack from the messy pile on the floor and head back to the club room. No one else is here yet, so I make myself comfortable on the couch farthest away from the loud shouts coming from behind the curtains.
Pulling out my phone, I send a quick text to Élise, telling her to reserve a table for fourteen. She quickly responds saying that it'll actually be sixteen, since her backup singers Jaqueline and Henriette have decided to grace us with their presence. I roll my eyes. They are such drama queens. Tamaki would love them, or uh…they'd love Tamaki. And with the tables in the lounge, we're all going to end up being really close (both figuratively and literally) by the end of the night.
A familiar hand chooses that moment to rest on my head, and I glance up to meet Honey's large eyes.
"Was it a good choice?" I ask as I pull him down onto the couch next to me. "I thought it was going to be cold tonight and it's rather thin."
"Oh, you mean the sweater," he says as he wraps an arm around me. "And here I thought you meant inviting everyone else to dinner. But to answer your question, yes. Just remind me to block all view of you from the kitchen."
"You do know that was a joke right?" I grumble as I slump into his embrace. "Setsuko just likes putting people on the spot."
"Of course," he replies cheerfully as he sweeps the bangs from my eyes. "But I can never be too careful."
"You know I'm not going anywhere," I mumble as I poke his face with my index finger. "Unless of course you decide you don't want me around anymore. Then I'll require a polite two week notice and one hell of an alimony settlement."
"Don't even joke about that," he sighs as he grabs my hand and lowers it down to my lap. "You know I won't divorce you."
"I should hope not," I tease. "After all the effort it took opening up and trusting you it would really suck. Not to mention Élise would probably kill you if you managed to escape my wrath. She knows people."
"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," he quotes flawlessly.
"And don't you ever forget it," I reply before placing a small kiss at the corner of his lips. "Now hurry up before we have to come up with a BS excuse to pacify His Highness and the Twin Terrors."
"Élise and Christian aren't planning on doing anything that will put us on the spot will they?" Honey asks as he pulls us to our feet.
"They promised nothing."
XXX
The large ocean liner looms in front of us, light spilling from every window. While it's not the most luxurious of lines, it's still a rather impressive sight with its large glossy white body detailed with thousands of multicolored abstract butterflies.
"Well this is it," I say proudly as I turn to face the group.
They all take in the view quietly, except for Setsuko, who is still in shock from when Haruhi stepped out of the dressing room in a black dress about twenty minutes ago courtesy of Hikaru and Kaoru. The other three were able to brush it off with a laugh, but Setsuko still has that glazed look to her eyes that tells us she's still beating herself up about not noticing sooner.
But my attention is diverted by the familiar figure that detaches itself from the rest of the group.
Élise weaves through the crowd effortlessly in her five inch heels, her silver maxi dress glinting like aluminum foil in the lights of the loading dock. Her hair billows out around her in a curtain of glossy gold that just seems like one giant mass held in place by a few small pearl headed pins. She stops a few feet away from us, planting her hands on her hips and surveying the scene in front of her.
"Impressive," she says after a long pause. "You really do have friends!"
Another long pause stems from that statement and she sheepishly rubs the back of her neck.
"That came out wrong didn't it?" she asks.
"Yeah," I rely with a small smirk. "So I guess I'll just introduce you when we get inside?"
"Sure!" Élise replies as she turns on her heel and gestures for us to follow. "The show started a few minutes ago, but we don't go on for another two hours. That should be enough to talk and get cozy. Unfortunately, Jaqueline and Henriette have been brushing up on their Japanese and have gone out man hunting, so you'll have to make due with just the two of us."
I follow her immediately, and after a second I hear another set of footsteps behind me. Then the rest of them follow as Honey matches our strides and takes a quick glance at Élise.
"No promises huh?" he sighs.
"None whatsoever," she replies in my place as she winks at us from over her shoulder.
XXx Author's Notes xXX
I am so sorry. For the amount of time I went without updating this is really short. I suck. I know...
Lotsa love, Krystal