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“HANA Fashion House is accessible to the average… well, maybe slightly above average Japanese woman,” said Kaoruko, leading a meeting of a smaller group working on the Eclipse show. “We have the same style and quality as some of the higher end brands, but we make everyday pieces. Our classic blouse, our tailored slacks, our cropped jacket – people know us for these pieces, they recognize them on sight. But that’s not what Eclipse is for. Eclipse is to show off our crown jewels, all the fun projects we’ve been working on all season. Eclipse is haute couture.”
Karen gasped, apparently truly surprised at this revelation, and the note of irony in Kaoruko’s tone at the French phrase slipped right over her head, Claudine was sure.
For Claudine’s part, she stifled a yawn, sipping her iced coffee as she tried not to roll her eyes at how Tendo Maya was attentively noting everything that was said. It was a self-hosted runway show, of course they were going to pull out their exclusive and unique pieces. How stupid would they look strutting down the runway in the classic blouses everyone had seen before? For her part, at least, she was intrigued by what Hikari, Kaoruko, and the rest of the designers could pull out when they weren’t bound by the constraints of budget, mass production and mass appeal.
HANA was a new fashion house, not present at the runway shows when she was a child, and while technically not allowed to call itself haute couture in the strictest sense due to the designer’s lack of notoriety, there had definitely been some whisperings about the prodigiousness of both Kaoruko and Hikari’s work.
As the conversation continued, and Hikari and Kaoruko began showing off various concept drawings to the ‘oohs and ahhs’ of the gathered staff. While the change to couture was distinct, Claudine could certainly feel that they were sticking hard to the theme of ‘Eclipse’ - a Sun and a Moon, light and darkness, and a fairly monochrome palette. Not that it bothered her much. She watched the proceedings idly, and half-watched Maya take it all in, a hobby that seemed to be just as amusing.
Maya was taking notes, snapping pictures on her phone, and even mouthing key phrases back to herself as Kaoruko spoke them, as if to commit them to memory. She was nothing if not a hard worker, Claudine had to admit. It was the kind of thing Claudine was not used to. First, when Claudine had begun working, she was too young to bring to these types of meetings, so she was briefed on set. Later, when she was older, she was such a pro at the proceedings that she never found it necessary to ‘study’ in this way. It was fascinating, and a little intimidating, to see someone approach the show with such studiousness. She figured she better bring her best as well.
Claudine’s phone vibrated and she dared to look at it under the table. It was an alert from Instagram. Karen had posted a photo of her from earlier in the week, wearing a HANA classic sheath dress (in black, of course), staring out one of the studio windows. In all honesty, she didn’t realize Karen had captured the shot, and she was a little annoyed, but it wasn’t a bad photo. Her hair was clipped up, waiting for the stylists to finish, but her makeup was done. Instantly, the comments began to fill in real time. ‘Claudine, my love!’ ‘Marry me!’ ‘<3<3<3<3’ ‘Ugh, how is she still relevant?’ ‘FIRST’ ‘I love you Claudine!!!’ ‘Show more Maya, I’m sick of Claudine’.
Claudine was stopped from reading more by Maya, who grabbed her wrist and stopped her from scrolling through the comments. Maya looked up at Kaoruko, indicating they should be paying attention to the meeting. Claudine wondered if she was just being a hardass, or if she knew what Claudine had been looking at. Either way, Claudine turned off her screen and returned to the present.
Once the meeting was over, she could see others checking their phones, and wondered if they also read the comments. It was chilly that evening, so she slipped on her jacket, pulling up the hood, and donning her usual mask before exiting the building.
“We should get home and get home and get to bed,” said Maya, walking with her to the train station.
“Sure,” said Claudine, not sure what Maya was implying.
Maya didn’t respond again until they were waiting on the train platform a few minutes later.
“You just seemed a little out of it at the meeting. We need to be in top condition going into these shows,” said Maya.
“Of course I’ll be in top condition. I don’t need you to take care of me!” she bit back. She bit her lip under her mask, secretly concerned about who else on the staff thought that she didn’t look to be in top form. Was Maya going to overtake her? Had Maya already overtaken her? But what was she thinking? Maya hadn’t even been in a major show yet…. Show more Maya, I’m sick of Claudine. The comment returned to her memory.
“Then I’m relieved,” said Maya. “But I’m tired myself.”
Claudine rode home next to Maya, staring out the window, but not really seeing any of the scenery. Why was she even concerned with Maya ‘overtaking’ her anyways? Did she really care about this job, and by extension, her popularity, that much? She hated when people recognized her in public, didn’t she? What would it matter if Tendo Maya became the most popular model in all of Japan, leaving Saijou Claudine behind to wither?
She felt Maya nudge her, indicating that it was time for them to get off. They stopped at the convenience store closest to their building for dinner. Luckily, it was mostly empty when they visited, and they could browse in peace. Maya went on her usual evening run while Claudine heated up the food, they ate, and somehow, it was bedtime before Claudine knew it. Her days had become: work, eat, work, eat, sleep. She wasn’t sure where Maya found extra time for workouts, making fancy teas, reading novels, but it was enough that Claudine could put together a presentable outfit each morning.
In the middle of the night, Claudine woke with a start. She could feel her phone vibrating under her pillow and groped at it in the dark. “Hello?” she said, forgetting to check the caller ID.
“Claudie, baby, I’m so glad you picked up!”
Claudine’s chest tightened with fear at hearing her mother’s voice. “Maman, what’s wrong?”
“Everything is ok, we… we had to go to the hospital. Your father’s breathing was getting worse and the oxygen at home wasn’t helping enough, so we needed to get him on a better machine at the hospital.”
“You’re at the hospital? Which one?”
“Oh, no, Claudine! It’s the middle of the night, and you have shows coming up, even if you don’t tell me, I watch the news and I remember the busy seasons from before.”
“It doesn’t matter, I’m putting my shoes on now.”
“We’re going to be fine, Claudine. Please, stay in Tokyo. I just wanted to let you know so you didn’t call your father and wonder why he wasn’t picking up.”
Claudine took a few seconds to calm her breathing, trying to convince herself that her mother wasn’t lying. “And the bill?”
“We will manage. And I’ve gotten the checks you’ve sent so far, so we can use that, but honestly honey, you don’t need to do that. Buy yourself something. Are you eating enough? Your father said the apartment did look nice…”
“Don’t worry about me, mom, I can send more money if you need.” Claudine could hear shuffling in the next room and knew she woke Maya. “Or I can just get a ticket, it’ll be a short ride…”
“I think we might be transferring to a hospital near Yokosuka tomorrow. There’s a specialist that was recommended. That’s almost two hours by train. Stay in Tokyo, I’ll call every day to keep you updated.”
“Alright. Tell them to give dad a room with a nice view of the water, at least.”
Claudine heard her mom give a tired laugh. “Of course. Well, try to get a little more sleep. I love you, and so does your father.”
“I love you too, goodnight.”
Claudine sighed, knowing she wasn’t going to get back to sleep. She slipped on her robe and walked out to the kitchen, unsure of what to do with the hours of time before work started. Perhaps she could brew one of Maya’s teas, or read one of Maya’s books. Perhaps she could go on one of Maya’s runs.
Unsure, she found herself standing at the kitchen counter for several minutes, which is how Maya discovered her when she emerged from her bedroom, looking rather cute in her pajamas with no makeup and slightly disheveled hair.
“Is everything alright?” Maya asked, with the tone of someone who knew everything was not alright, but was raised in a family where topical, and not probing, questions were the norm.
“It’s fine,” Claudine said. She tried to swallow down the information she just received over the phone, unsure why she didn’t want to share it with Maya. It wasn’t as if she didn’t trust Maya - if fact, she trusted Maya a great deal. It was more of the fact that she didn’t want Maya’s pity, and more importantly, she felt that saying the words aloud would make them more ‘real’. “My mom called with some news from home, but everything’s ok.”
Maya looked at Claudine with an expression indicating that she didn’t quite believe Claudine, but she would let it slide for now, and then turned to start the coffee machine. “I’m glad everything’s ok,” she said.
Claudine’s phone buzzed before Maya could add anything more, and she reached for it with ferocious speed. It turned out to be an Instagram alert, and not a notification from her mother, but Claudine opened it anyways for the distraction. She noticed how Maya watched her desperately check her phone, but didn’t comment on it. The post Karen put up was one of a solar eclipse, announcing the HANA self-hosted runway show’s theme. “She posts at the oddest hours,” Claudine said.
“Hey… do you want to go get breakfast?” asked Maya.
“What?”
“Want to leave the apartment for a bit and go get breakfast? We have a lot of time before work.”
“Oh… sure.”
Claudine got dressed, unsure of why exactly she was spending so much time with her hair and her outfit when she was just going out with Tendo Maya, and they set off for Odaiba.
It quickly became apparent that not much was open so early in the morning, and they got food from one of the only options available, a vendor just inside the station, and sat out at the park near the cruise terminal.
“Why did we come to Odaiba, Maya?” asked Claudine. “We’re farther away from work now.”
“Yeah, but the water is all around us now. I thought that might cheer you up.”
“Who said I needed cheering up?” she challenged. “Besides, I don’t know if it cheers me up or brings me down, to be honest.”
“Oh, is that Saijou Claudine?” called a voice from across the park. Claudine didn’t stiffen as she usually did because the voice was female and shy-sounding. She turned to see Yumeoji Shiori. With her were two other Edel models: Yukishiro Akira, and Liu Mei Fan. A short manager was beside them, perhaps in charge of getting them where they needed to go, but her attention was buried in her smartphone. A second handler or manager also seemed to be with them, but she was talking on the phone and wandered away a bit, which seemed to be fine as the park was empty in the dawn hours.
“Good morning,” Claudine said, standing and bowing to greet the new guests. Maya stood beside her.
“Good morning, Saijou-san, and is that… Tendo-Maya-san?” asked Shiori. Introductions were made all around, and Claudine took note of Akira, the current top model of Siegfeld. Where she went, the others followed, it seemed. She carried herself regally, and there was something… Maya-like about her presence, if Claudine was honest. The shorter girl beside them was Otori Michiru, the name familiar to Claudine as she had been the one acting as Yachiyo’s informant.
“What brings you here?” she asked, addressing Shiori, with whom she was most familiar.
“We have a job today, at one of the art exhibits here in Odaiba,” explained Shiori. “We’re-”
“Kuro? Is that you?”
Claudine finally paid more attention to the person who had been speaking on her cell phone. She had a hood drawn up around her face, and was wearing rather casual clothes, but there was no mistaking it - before her was Yachiyo.
“It’s me,” she said, rolling her eyes a bit. She introduced Maya to Yachiyo after a moment, realizing that the two had never actually met, and learned a bit more about Siegfeld’s job that morning. They were to model the latest winter designs of Siegfeld, in some of the TeamLab exhibit halls with endless mirrors, lights, flowers, and other projections and incredible designs. Both Maya and Claudine were curious about the project and kept asking questions, until Yachiyo made the Edels keep the rest of the details secret.
“Let’s talk about you two instead,” she said. “That’s all Japan wants to do anyways, according to my Instagram,” Yachiyo teased.
“That’s not true,” Claudine said. “That picture of Akira on Siegfeld’s Twitter went viral last week.”
“So you do keep track!” Yachiyo said. She turned to Michiru. “I told you! She acts clueless, but she knows!”
Michiru only shrugged, her eyes fixed on her phone screen.
“You really ought to get a personal account, Maya,” suggested Liu Mei Fan. “Even if the staff run it. It will definitely help with your popularity and help with jobs down the line. I was surprised when I saw you didn’t have one!”
“Oh, I will ask the staff about it, thank you” said Maya.
Soon enough, it was time for the Edels to start their job and time for Maya and Claudine to head to Ginza for their work. Before leaving, Yachiyo leaned in, so only Claudine could hear her. Claudine watched as Maya noticed their exchange but tried to give them some discretion.
“Listen, Kuro… I heard a rumor. I didn’t get Michiru to look into it yet, but I heard something about Kirin being back in town…” said Yachiyo, her whisper trailing off.
“What a nasty start to this day,” Claudine grumbled, her voice a little louder than Yachiyo’s. Noticing Maya’s gaze, she dropped back to a whisper. “You or Michiru don’t need to look into anything. Forget you heard anything about it,” she said, her voice firm enough that Yachiyo nodded, despite seeming like she wanted to protest.
They said goodbye and parted ways, exchanging numbers before doing so. It felt strange to exchange numbers with the models who had worked at HANA before she did, so she made a mental note not to mention it to Kaoruko.
“What did Yachiyo say?” Maya asked directly as they rode the bus back into Ginza.
“Nothing important. She’s trying to make a big deal out of something from the past.”
Maya looked more disappointed than Claudine expected to have Claudine avert her answer. “Yachiyo and you seem very close,” she said, “I’m glad.”
Maya’s expression didn’t exactly give the impression of being glad, but it was hard to tell with her mask on. Was she suspicious of Yachiyo? Jealous? Claudine almost laughed. To want a friendship with her, it was nearly comical. Maya had Koharu, why would she want to be Claudine’s friend?
“Yes, I suppose we are,” Claudine replied at last. “For several years, Yachiyo and I were the only underage models at our agency.” She bit her lip under her mask, deciding how much she wanted to talk about the past today. “Then Yachiyo finished the last years of her career with Edel, so it was just me.”
They were approaching Ginza, at least.
“Do you keep in touch with anyone else from before?” asked Maya.
Claudine had expected her to ask why Yachiyo left, but then she remembered that Maya did not pry into people’s lives. She only asked minimally invasive questions as she was doing now. “Just Souda-sensei,” Claudine replied. She laughed a little. “She was still a teenager when we met. Now pay attention, it’s time to get off.”