December 22nd
Ohmiya Yoshio was bouncing a tennis ball against the wall and floor of the meeting room at Iris, which was on the 6th floor of the twelve story building. He is a twenty-six year old, tall and athletic man with short ruffled hair with an ombre color of black on top and gray on the tips. He has blue-grey eyes and also three black piercings on his right ear. He wore a light gray and black hooded jacket with a thin navy blue muffler tucked underneath. He wore brown cargo pants and light gray slip on sneakers to match his jacket.
Him tossing around the tennis ball was the only audible sound in the room, but he stops after a while and sighs, slumping in his seat, hearing the clock in the room ticking and then looking out the windows at the sleepless city, the sky a dark navy blue.
"She's really late." He grumbles, tossing the tennis ball in the air and catching it in his palm. His voice was deep and monotone.
Across from him was Kazuyoshi Riku, a twenty-three year old man with layered, midnight dark-blue hair that is parted to the right, usually with a lock reaching his nose, turquoise-blue eyes and black rectangular glasses, which he adjusts with his middle finger. His attire consisted of a beige sweater vest over a slate gray dress shirt and a firebrick red tie. His pants were an ash brown color and he wore light brown loafers.
"It's a bit rude to have us wait like this, especially on the night before this big event." He speaks in a professional, mature manner.
"I hope she knows that some of us have things to do after this. I don't want to be here later than 8:15." Kurihara Saeko pouts, one of Iris's security guards, who sat a couple chairs down from Riku, placing her elbow on the table and resting her cheek in her hand. She was joined by her partner, Ozaki Mamoru who was quietly playing a game on his phone.
"Maybe Yukina-chan probably got caught up on something?" Wakaba Yuu comments.
At the far end of the table was Shizuka, who was watching the entire session go down, her chin resting atop of her linked fingers and she swings her leg. Yayoi was next to her, tapping away on a holographic laptop, reviewing the agenda Yukina had sent her.
The members in the meeting room were volunteers to plan and set up for the event. They were also there to help with cleaning, but anyone was welcome to lend a hand for that.
Things calm down for a little after Shizuka makes her comment. She was looking at the frosted glass doors at the other end of the table, waiting for Yukina to arrive.
To her surprise, it wasn't long until she catches a quick shadow and the doors open.
"I'M HERE! I'M SO SORRY EVERYONE!"
Yukina bursts in, slightly alarming everyone.
Yoshio swings around in his chair, holding his tennis ball in his hand, but remained slumped in his seat as he turns to face everyone.
"Where have you been?!" Saeko asks, irritated and clenching a fist on top of the table while Yukina laughs with embarrassment.
"Sorry sorry, I was in Shizume City and I tried to get back on time but I was delayed...obviously, ahahaha." She continues laughing while placing a folder on the table.
"What were you doing in HOMRA Territory?" Yoshio asks, spinning the tennis ball on the table
"Business, duh! I found the perfect Lolita model for my new manga so I'm super excited! I bet you're proud of me now Yuu-chan, my beloved editor~" Yukina flashes a thumbs up and Yuu scratches the back of her head, feeling a little exposed and emberrassed, but everyone wasn't as excited, except for Shizuka.
"That's nice to hear you found some inspiration while you were there and staying out of trouble." She says, praising Yukina and she beams, fixating her red glasses.
"I had everything under control with my secret weapon! Don't worry! Well then enough of that. Let's get this started and I'll be quick to catch up on lost time."
"If you would please." Riku speaks, adjusting his glasses and Yukina slams her palms on the table with excitement.
"So! Today we are here to finalize everything for the party just to make sure things are good for tomorrow. Earlier this month and this week I finished sending invites and getting people to start shopping for their secret Santas, so people should've gotten a name already, while Shizuka-san finished off reminding everyone else about it before the companies and departments closed down...even though it was last minute." Yukina lowers her voice on the last sentence and when she mentioned the secret Santa game, everyone immediately thought of their person who they have bought presents for. "But! I got remarkable responses so this event is going to be great! We also know that the dress code will be semi-formal so be prepared to wear something nice even though it's cold out. So, how is the status on that penthouse at your fancy Tres Spades casino, Asahina-chan?" She asks, eyes sparkling as she looks over at her senior.
"I checked it out the other day and it's been prepped and cleaned for our use and we are more than welcome to enter the room at anytime." She explains, typing on her laptop and Shizuka glances at her from the corner of her eye, knowing she had more to say, but instead, she brings up the main lobby of the two story penthouse on a hologram, full screening it at the center of the table for everyone to look at. It was fully decorated with a Christmas theme, wreaths hung on the doors, tinsel wrapped around pillars and hanging from the staircases with red bows tied between every arch made. There was also a glamorous Christmas tree in the corner already decorated with ornaments. White and red tables were set up, possibly to put goodies and snacks on, and were positioned near the front of the room.
"Wow~ It looks pretty!" Saeko was dazzled by the penthouse, eyes sparkling with wonder ad Yukina nods her head in approval.
"Brilliant! Now, what's next..."
The meeting about the party lasted another hour. Friendly arguments about food, drink, music went around and off topic discussions added onto the time, but it was good that Yayoi had been there to set things straight, seeming to be exhausted for the day.
"And that concludes it! Meeting adjourned!~" Yukina points to the ceiling and everyone sighs with relief.
"Haa, finally." Saeko stretches her arms, grabbing her phone as she stands up and Mamoru yawns, delaying when getting up from his chair and she had to grab his arm and force him up; the two leaving the room after saying good night to everyone.
"Good night, see you guys tomorrow." Yoshio lazily heads to to the door, yawning and Riku follows after him quietly, waving a hand to everyone.
"Thank you for your hard work!" Yukina calls after them.
"Ja, we'll be going as well. It's been a long day for us." Shizuka pats Yukina on the shoulder and they look at each other.
"Right! Thank you for the hard work and I'll see you tomorrow!" She bows and they return the gesture.
"Good night everyone." Shizuka waves at Yuu, who was gathering her belongings to depart.
"Good night, Takahiro-san; Asahina-san" she calls as Shizuka and Yayoi turn to right, disappearing behind a corner and heading to the elevators.
"Hmmm, you didn't mention about the catering your aunt offered." Shizuka looks at Yayoi, who keeps her eyes forward.
"I rejected it." She finally answers and Shizuka lifts an eyebrow, curious. "I do appreciate that she allowed us to use one of her beloved penthouses, but the food, I won't allow her to cover. We already sent out a notification that members are free to bring food and drinks; however it isn't required since we have it under control, which is why we had the meeting today. That woman is too proud of herself so you can't always trust her if she thinks things will go her way, and you should know that since you've witnessed how she's like with people. How embarrassing." She finally answers and Shizuka grins.
"She has quite an interesting personality, despite how she likes to play mind games, but she is friendly...I guess. I want to say that she is still your aunt even if you two don't get along, but...blood isn't always thicker than water apparently."
They stop by the elevators, Yayoi pressing a button to call for one. "Hai. I don't want to take a gamble with her since Christmas is so close, if I do...who knows what would befall the Iridescent Clan."
Shizuka slightly narrows her eyes, pausing for a short moment. "Naruhodo..." She says in a low tone as the elevator doors open and they walk inside.
"This is a selfish request I'm asking from you, but please don't mention what I said if you end up running into her, which you would most likely will tomorrow. It's better if I do it...whenever that will be." Yayoi sighs as they are lifted to the top floor.
"If that's what you wish, then I will fulfill it." Shizuka's tone was serious but reassuring at the same time, putting Yayoi at ease.
"By the way, you haven't bought a gift for your person yet have you?" Shizuka asks.
"Yes, I have, and you?" Yayoi looks at her with a challenging look, smirking and lifting an eyebrow.
"After I brought Sumika-kun back to Iris and headed out to lunch, I took that time to look for something. I nearly forgot about it, but Yukina-san sent me a reminder, which was polite." Shizuka chuckles and the elevator stops on their floor as Yayoi pats her on the shoulder before they walk out.
Back in the meeting room, Yukina then rushes over to Yuu, sliding in the chair besides her while holding onto her camera bag.
"Ne ne, Yuu-chan. I gotta show you these pictures of my Lolita girl!" She giggles, pulling out her camera.
"Haaaai, but I can't stay for too long." Yuu edges closer to her and watches as she fidgets with her camera. Yuu glances into her camera bag, noticing that she didn't have her other camera with her like normal.
"What happened to your Polaroid?" Yuu asks, her voice was low as she questions and Yukina waves a hand, shushing her at the same time.
"Just hold on, I'll get to that." She says, pulling up the photos she took on the screen of her camera. "Mite mite! Isn't she adorable! I was so lucky at Shizume City today, as if this was meant to be!~"
Yuu leans in to look at the photos of a small, whaite-haired girl with red eyes, wearing a red Lolita styled dress posing in different ways, sometimes she would just be standing there or looking somewhere else, but all of her expressions were the same. Calm and emotionless, even when she slightly smiled.
"Kawaii ne?!" Yukina asks as the photos ended and Yuu draws back. "I wanna work with her again, so I hope she gives me a call someday soon. Hee hee."
"Well, she would fit the perfect image of a doll to be honest, ah, but she does have style for someone so young and I really like her little hat...I should buy one for Chibi-chan...yaa~ he would be so cute" Yuu giggles to herself.
"Your pet bird right? How adorable would that be!" Yukina cheers with her for a while and they finally calm down. It wasn't long until the three of them finally gathered themselves and exit the meeting room, heading their separate ways after bidding farewells.
"Now, what happened to your Polaroid?" Yuu questions and Yukina laughs, rubbing her head nervously as they enter an elevator.
"I...let someone borrow it for a while."
"What?"
"I can always buy another one, plus I had a reason to let her borrow it...I just...somehow...I felt sympathetic."
Yuu looked at her for a long moment before pressing the button to her floor, the elevator doors closing on their own slightly before she did.
"I gave it to the girl...Anna. The one in the photos." Yukina speaks but Yuu was silent. "She's a member of HOMRA and was with two other guys; one tried to attack me but it was just a misunderstanding. I don't think they're bad people, they just looking out for each other, just like our Clan." She continues. "Anyways, Anna talked about this man she knew who owned what I think is a retro video camera...I don't know what over came me, but I just let her have the camera for a bit, giving her my contact information in case she needed something...it might be that I have a soft spot for kids which is why I let her borrow it or whatever. She seemed really interested in cameras." She laughs, brushing a strand of her hair behind her ear.
"HOMRA, you say? Wow, you're a bold one, but at least you didn't start a huge fight, but even if you think they're not bad, I think you probably got played by that little girl, so good job." Yuu speaks but Yukina just laughs.
"That's fine, then. It's more of a reason to go back and visit."