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The first runway of the spring was similar to that in the fall: the HANA private previews. Kaoruko was out in full force in the hours before the show, directing contracted workers here and there, testing the view from every vantage point, followed here and there by Futaba who was constantly on the phone via her bluetooth headpiece.
Mahiru, for her part, was also directing the chaos, ensuring that the scene was set for a successful preview. Mahiru’s image was made into reality, and for the second time, Maya was able to fully admire her vision and her prowess at her craft. For the crystalline show, the stage was white and shining, with icy crags projected onto it from above. Mirrored pillars flanked the stage every few meters, reflecting the blues and whites more widely and also creating illusions as the models walked down the stage. The seats themselves were clear acrylic, and the soundsystem was playing a track that reminded Maya of standing in an icy cave.
She was ushered backstage by one of the stylists, eager to add the finishing touches to her look. Maya looked around the dressing room at the models and crew getting ready, impressed at how HANA had grown even from the autumn. There were several new stylists among them, including the one currently teasing out Maya’s hair, and Seiran agency had brought even more models to help with all the new designs they would be showing.
The looks were very similar to some that they had already done for the HANA catalogue shoots: sleek hair, smoky eyes, angular, strict contouring, but the main change was the outfits they were modeling. As with the last private HANA show, Hikari, Kaoruko, and the other staff designers had pulled out all the stops, with couture wear that would be enviable both in Japan and on foreign runways.
To begin, Maya was wearing a crocheted white gown, with individually hand-sewn details such as beading around the trim and embroidery in blue and silver. The top was a halter style that left her shoulders exposed, and she was also given tall boots and long gloves, both white as well.
Claudine was wearing a charcoal jacket and skirt, both made with Hikari’s distinct style with ribbons on the side seams and a boxy shape that was both curious and alluring. Beneath the jacket, Claudine just wore a silk camisole-style dress, lending more femininity to the otherwise androgynous outfit. She was wearing a pair of combat boots on her feet.
Maya also caught sight of Koharu who was also wearing one of Hikari’s designs: a custom leather jacket over a light blue gown, the two styles clashing tastefully and bringing more interest to the outfit than either of the pieces modeled separately.
“It’s pretty cool, getting invited to work here,” the stylist said as she pulled Maya’s hair back into the prescribed sleek and straight look.
“Yes, did you just start?” she asked. It felt strange to be the veteran in this situation, as she had only been with the company for about 8 months, but this was no longer her first runway, she was no longer testing the waters. She was here to firmly put to rest the unstated rivalry between herself and Yukishiro Akira.
The stylist chattered on about how she came to get the job through a friend she knew, and Maya listened politely, her body now jittery with the anticipation that came before putting on a performance. She visualized herself on stage, about how many steps it would take her to get to the end, about the turn she would use with the current outfit, about walking in this particular pair of boots. She schooled her face into a few expressions in the mirror until she found a suitable one: neutral, but with a sort of mystique, and she stored this away for later, to change into on demand.
The stylist reminded Maya to come find her and her assigned wardrobe assistant backstage to get the changes done in the correct time, and Maya confirmed this. She was feeling good, listening as the din in the main room grew louder as more attendees arrived.
Finally she was released and she met up with Claudine who was reviewing the order for the runway models and outfits, despite Maya knowing that they both have had it memorized for days. She found Claudine’s nervousness before these sorts of events an endearing feature, but she was confident that for all her worry, Claudine would impress as always.
“There goes Futaba,” Claudine said, glancing up at the monitors. The stage now had a projection announcing the .::crystalline::. show stylized as it had been on the materials, and Futaba’s voice echoed all around the room, introducing the show. As she began reviewing the venue rules and policies and emergency procedures, all of the models were ushered backstage and queued in their assigned order. Distantly, Maya heard Futaba announce the livestream of the show, and wondered if perhaps her mother would be watching her. Certainly Claudine’s parents would be tuning in. She supposed it didn’t matter, as it was more than likely they would be at the same shows as Sarazashi in the coming weeks, at least on the runway events they did domestically. But still, she wondered.
“Have a good show,” Koharu said politely as she passed, making her way to the front of the line. She would be opening the show, a fitting role for Seiran’s top model. She was gone before Maya could form a response, and Maya took it as her cue to focus more intently at doing her best.
Koharu stepped onto the stage to a few awed gasps, and the show began. Maya didn’t have a good view of the stage or the monitors from her place in the middle of the line, but she realized it wasn’t the time to think of others. They all had been trained well, they all would do their best. She had a responsibility to do the same. And so, before she knew it, Maya was being ushered onto the stage, and she was greeted with a view of a packed room, made even more full by the reflections of the crowds she caught in the mirrored columns. For a moment, the combination of the mirrors and the moving projections on the floor made her dizzy, and she was nervous she might slip up, but she moved her gaze to the camera at the end of the runway - Nana’s camera, and recovered well. By the time she turned back, she wasn’t even aware of anything but her own movement, her performance.
And what a performance it was. Outfit after outfit, each time she strode down Mahiru’s perfectly cultivated runway felt better than the last. She could hear the rapid camera shutters each time she emerged, people intent on capturing both her and the clothing designs she wore from every angle. She had a variety of poses, little details to change each time she walked the runway, and she could feel the eyes on her, the attention something she could drink in like a type of nourishment. By the time the show was over, she felt she had barely begun, like she had pent up energy. Futaba saw this in their after-show huddle and joked that this was good, since they had several weeks of runway to go.
“Excellent job everyone,” Kaoruko said, all eyes in the huddle on her. “I want to thank our guest models from Seiran, all of the new wardrobe assistants and stylists that came on board for this project, and of course our in-house team. The show was a success because of the efforts of every single person here. I haven’t seen Seigfeld’s show yet, but I can’t imagine them topping this. Now everyone get ready - we have an afterparty.”
The staff cheered at this, eager to drink and relax after a long day. Maya was distracted as the staff helped her out of her outfit, packing away the accessories carefully. It was true, Siegfeld’s show would come second. But as their closest domestic competitor, this season of runways felt personal - the two of them battling it out for the role of ‘Top’. Maya continued to replay her performance, wondering if it was enough to hold up against Yukishiro Akira.
“Come on, slowpoke,” Claudine prodded her, already changed into a casual blazer and pants. “I deserve a drink.”
Maya quickly finished changing, accompanying Claudine to the car that would take them to the afterparty. Karen and Hikari piled in with them, both of them animatedly looking at the reviews of the show. “People loved it!” Karen said excitedly, her fingers quickly moving to update their instagram story with more shots she had collected. “We’re trending on Twitter!”
Hikari had been scrolling through Twitter, her eyebrows raised in interest as she read various tweets about the shows. “Tendo-san is world class,” she said aloud with a wry smile in Maya’s direction. “Brb sneaking my ass into Paris Fashion Week to meet Saijou Claudine irl.”
Maya expected Claudine to prickle at the insinuation of a fan sneaking in to the closer to them, but she laughed amusedly, moving over to look through the tweets with Hikari. She had noticed Claudine had changed recently, and she was enjoying this new, relaxed Claudine. She wasn’t sure if it was the news about Kirin’s investigation, her father’s improved health, her therapy sessions, or a combination of all of them, but Claudine wasn’t on edge all the time, and genuinely seemed to enjoy working on the HANA team. It made Maya glad to see it, and she wondered if that was how Claudine saw her. She wondered how she saw herself, to be honest. She supposed she was happy here, but she wasn’t sure if she would ever be truly happy until she could definitively say she was the best.
The afterparty took place in an arcade, by far the most creative choice so far. Models, staff, industry people and VIPs were milling about - some drinking together, some playing arcade games, some busy at the buffet table after such a long day. The lights were dim, and although Maya craved the fresh air of a rooftop patio, she knew the season was still too early for that to be comfortable, so she agreed when Karen asked her to split a huge bucket of tokens for playing the games. Claudine got her champagne and was challenged to a game of darts by Hikari, the two of them goodnaturedly trash talking each other.
Maya realized she had never played most of the games in the arcade, just by nature of her childhood being mostly spent in school, tutoring, or attending cultural events, but Karen was more than happy to demonstrate the basics. Maya quickly understood the addictive nature of the games, determined to kill more zombies than Karen, to shoot more hoops in basketball than Karen, and beat her in air hockey. She was largely unsuccessful, though Karen did concede she was a good shot as far as zombie attacks go.
Eventually, Karen was challenged by an industry guest to another round of air hockey, and as Maya turned back to find Claudine she was stopped by an older woman with dark hair and a gracious smile. She handed Maya a drink - what looked to be whiskey, and invited her to talk for a moment. They walked to a section of tables, standing across from each other with their drinks resting on the table.
“Tendo Maya,” the woman said, and Maya noticed she was tall and well-dress, perhaps a former model. “My name is Saegusa Chizuru. I represent the Seiran Agency. I was appointed just this season, in an effort to further legitimize Seiran Agency.”
“Congratulations,” said Maya, noticing that the woman might have been a bit older than Kaoruko, but still far younger than her mother, her position impressive for someone of her age.
“Thank you. My first effort has been to gain an exclusive contract for Seiran for next year. We will be the premier models of SaikaiEyes campaign next fall, and we are looking to confirm a contract with 74th Division also.”
Maya nodded, realizing Seiran was truly getting serious. Koharu would be pleased, she thought, as this was her dream: exclusive contracts, stopping gig work, being the face of her company. “I’m glad to hear it,” Maya said, realizing as she said it that she really meant it.
Chizuru nodded. “To further our efforts, our next aim is further cultivating our personnel. We want to be the modeling agency people look to as a template for success. This is why I urge you to consider a contract with us. We can offer extremely competitive pay and more exposure than you can imagine. I want to see Tendo Maya around the world - the height of fashion modeling.”
Maya sipped her drink, enjoying the way the whiskey burned on the way down. She had to admit she was getting sucked into Chizuru’s pitch, but she wondered how much of that had to do with her adrenaline racing since hours before. “I’m in a contract already,” she managed, taking another sip.
Chizuru nodded. “Yes, I understand you are under contract until August. We would like to immediately take over at that point, with no gap in your work.”
Maya wanted to say something, to respond in some meaningful way, but her rational questions were failing her as her mind could only focus on one thing. “What about Claudine?”
Here, for the first time, Chizuru gave pause. “There’s a reason I’m soliciting you, Maya,” she said, regaining her confidence. “You are reliable, extremely talented, and you are a fresh face. Established faces like Saijou Claudine and Yukishiro Akira have the weight of past controversy and concerns about their viability on a longer timeline. We are only extending this offer to a select few.”
“I understand,” Maya said, her voice as steady as she could make it. “I will consider your offer. You will hear from my agent.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Maya,” Chizuru said, and then she was gone.
Maya stood at the table for a while longer, contemplating the conversation that had just taken place. Thankfully, the arcade and bar area were in full swing, and not as many people were left at the tables set up for dining, so she was left alone - a small miracle at a party like this where she was one of the main attractions.
She wanted the Top. She wanted to be the best in the industry, and here was a woman offering to put an entire company behind her, to put resources forward to pursue that goal exactly. Both companies Chizuru was planning to contract Seiran with were undoubtedly top tier, with global exposure, and it would be Maya leading the charge. But still… she wasn’t sure she wanted to accept. She and Claudine had never discussed what came next - once the HANA contract was over, but pursuing the Seiran path meant not working with Claudine. She wasn’t sure where their relationship was - had they been dating, she would perhaps content herself with just seeing Claudine at home - but as it was there was a chance she wouldn’t see Claudine at all if she took the Seiran job. She would likely move, or Claudine would, and if they weren’t in a relationship she wondered how often they would see each other.
No, she didn’t want to be apart from Claudine, at least not like that. But Claudine was not needed to reach for the top. In fact, changing her plans just for Claudine was contrary to her allegedly single-minded pursuit of the top. Logically, she should solicit various offers and take the one that provided her the best chance of reaching her goal. But she realized, for not the first time in her life, that being human meant logic didn’t work perfectly, and it was very possible to want two things in different directions.
She wanted her quiet life in the museum, discussing puzzles with her father. She wanted the life of bright lights and high fashion, in the same circles as her mother. She wanted to occupy the sole spot as ‘best’. She wanted to go on a quiet date with Claudine. She tipped back the glass, swallowing the last of the whiskey, squeezing her eyes shut as she winced the strong liquor down. When she opened them, Claudine was before her.
“What are you doing, drinking alone?” Claudine asked. Her cheeks were flushed, she was smiling easily, and she walked around the table to stand behind Maya, where she could wrap her arms around Maya’s waist and rest her head on Maya’s shoulder. “You should at least invite me,” she purred into Maya’s ear.
Now it was Maya’s turn to blush, but she leaned into Claudine’s embrace rather than pulling away. She wanted this - as much, if not more than any ambitions with her career. “You’re always invited,” she replied, turning her head to see Claudine and forgetting about everyone else at this party as she watched the suggestive way Claudine bit her lip.
“If that’s so, let’s get another round. Tendo Maya might be great on the runway, but can she beat Saijou Claudine at basketball?”
Maya smiled easily, amused that Claudine’s interest at the moment was getting drunk and playing arcade games. It was a nice change from her usually serious demeanor, and Maya was never one to shy away from competition. “You better watch out, Aijou-san just gave me lessons.”
“I’ll take you all down,” Claudine teased, pulling Maya away towards the bar. She drank more, beat Claudine just barely at basketball, and proceeded to forget completely about Saegusa Chizuru. For now, she was content at Claudine’s side.