The duo had stopped at Baska for a day to stock up on supplies before they started a longer trip. Haru had left Akira at a nearby café and told her to take it easy while he did the shopping. On his way back, he was stopped by a boy in his early teens and was handed a large pink envelope. The name on the cover sounded very familiar, but it took him a long while before he remembered the man. “Ah… Fernando!” he said out loud as he entered the café. He sat opposite to Akira and opened the letter. “It’s that fashion designer. He is looking for people to help him at the boutique,” he said, giving the thick parchment to his partner. “We could just keep going if you want to get further away. I’m sure he’ll find someone else,” Haru offered. Right then, nothing mattered to the swordsman except for Akira’s comfort.
Finding Models [Quest | Akira]
Thu Dec 06, 2018 10:52 am
![Hatsuharu](https://2img.net/u/3013/50/43/46/avatars/24753-28.jpg)
The duo had stopped at Baska for a day to stock up on supplies before they started a longer trip. Haru had left Akira at a nearby café and told her to take it easy while he did the shopping. On his way back, he was stopped by a boy in his early teens and was handed a large pink envelope. The name on the cover sounded very familiar, but it took him a long while before he remembered the man. “Ah… Fernando!” he said out loud as he entered the café. He sat opposite to Akira and opened the letter. “It’s that fashion designer. He is looking for people to help him at the boutique,” he said, giving the thick parchment to his partner. “We could just keep going if you want to get further away. I’m sure he’ll find someone else,” Haru offered. Right then, nothing mattered to the swordsman except for Akira’s comfort.
Thu Dec 06, 2018 10:52 am
![Akira Shimada](https://2img.net/u/3013/50/43/46/avatars/24755-41.png)
She knew she brought it upon herself and the healer had the best intents at heart. But she also needed him to know that while she was quite shaken up that night in Oak, she was better now. Opportunity presented itself in the strangest manner. He returned to the cafe wielding a very extravagant pink envelope. As he passed her by, she could have sworn the parchment was scented. When he declared who it was from, it didn't take her long to recall the tailor... She rolled her eyes, apparently he had allowed his stint to escalate into fashion designing.
Perhaps that was always his status, she merely didn't value it enough. 'I think Baska is fine, we have the support of the people, we saved them after all, I doubt the Phantoms would try anything here.' she said, genuinely evaluating the danger. Though this meant that they'd be working for that designer again, grudgingly she asked what he wanted and declared that she'd finish her food first.
Thu Dec 06, 2018 10:53 am
![Hatsuharu](https://2img.net/u/3013/50/43/46/avatars/24753-28.jpg)
The villagers of Baska had been extremely kind to the two Knights. So much so that they refused to take payment for the food they ordered. Haru wouldn’t have any of it, however. It was their duty as Rune Knights to protect the citizens and they are being paid for it with the tax money that the citizens pay. So, he promptly left the money they owed on the table after they finished the food and also a few more Jewels as a tip. The café owner thanked them another dozen times as they left the building and walked towards Fernando’s Boutique.
When they reached there, Fernando too thanked them briefly for saving the city from the plague before he proudly unveiled his autumn collection. “Welcome! Witness my magic,” he said, grinning widely.
Thu Dec 06, 2018 10:54 am
![Akira Shimada](https://2img.net/u/3013/50/43/46/avatars/24755-41.png)
When they neared the boutique, Akira held her hand up to her forehead, mostly to hide her face. She acted like she had come down with a severe headache. She did want to stick around, but she had a feeling Fernando might decide otherwise upon noticing her, that is if he recalled her face. She remembered him vividly, he too was amidst the first to give the duo any jobs. She could only hope that he'd forgotten her face, considering he was so flamboyant and social. She smiled politely and tried to feign being impressed by the man's magic.
Thu Dec 06, 2018 10:54 am
![Hatsuharu](https://2img.net/u/3013/50/43/46/avatars/24753-28.jpg)
Haru surely didn’t want to correct the confusion. If the man thought she was a different person and liked her this time, then good for her. So, he simply laughed nervously and changed the subject. “So… What did you need help with?” he asked.
Hearing that, Fernando swiftly moved away from Akira and walked towards his pieces, feeling their fabric one by one. He went on a philosophical rant about how his collection was dormant when they hung on cloth hangers and only came to life when a beautiful model displayed their magnificence. His rant ended with him tasking the swordsman with finding five potential models from anywhere within the town of Baska. And with that request, the busy man vanished into his workshop.
Thu Dec 06, 2018 10:54 am
![Akira Shimada](https://2img.net/u/3013/50/43/46/avatars/24755-41.png)
She wondered if it had changed her in more ways than she and Tsuru realised, maybe it was other things too. She'd grown up... become just a little bit more mature perhaps. Her experiences had given her countless opportunities to explore a more lady-like demeanour. She hadn't quite succumbed to leaving her rag-tag self behind, but she was in uniform, so her fashion sense, or lack thereof, wasn't being critiqued as harshly.
She decided to have a little fun at the man's expense. She'd been working on playing around with her skills at pretending lately, it definitely served the duo well. The idea was to reveal her true identity after they were through. Little did she know how long she'd have to keep up the charade. 'I'm Kiara, lovely to meet you.' she said, offering her hand gracefully. As expected the designer gently kissed her knuckles. The Shimada merely smirked and winked at her partner.
Thu Dec 06, 2018 10:54 am
![Hatsuharu](https://2img.net/u/3013/50/43/46/avatars/24753-28.jpg)
Their job was to find five beautiful girls who were interested in modelling and bring them to Fernando. It sounded like an easy job, but the healer would learn of the nuanced difficulties soon enough. Girls seldom travelled alone. Most of the young ones were always in a group and the swordsman had no idea how to call out only one or two of them as model-material without offending the others. The first was a group of three, and while he found all three beautiful in their own way, he knew for a fact that Fernando would approve only the tallest among them as a fit.
Talking to Akira about this wasn’t any easier. “Er… What do you think of the tallest one among those three?” he asked, trying to keep his voice as professional as he could.
Thu Dec 06, 2018 10:55 am
![Akira Shimada](https://2img.net/u/3013/50/43/46/avatars/24755-41.png)
In a way Akira searched for a new identity, much like a person looks for a new garment to wear. There was no harm in trying the several stereotypes. Eventually, they were informed of their task and Akira struggled to not break character. She truly couldn't believe that he was so shallow and superficial. She wondered if that is what made him allegedly successful in his field. She'd have to learn to mimic that discerning eye of his, perhaps it was a trait that could be trained just like any other. It was all about observation and reproduction anyways. She was lost in her own thoughts till Tsuru's words forced her out. She merely nodded in agreement, without even fully grasping the question. Airhead, confirmed.
Thu Dec 06, 2018 10:55 am
![Hatsuharu](https://2img.net/u/3013/50/43/46/avatars/24753-28.jpg)
When he asked her for her opinion on the girl, what he truly meant was for her to go do the talking. However, she simply nodded and didn’t make a single move that indicated that she was willing to go and try to recruit the girl. With a heavy sigh, the healer approached the trio and cleared his throat, getting ready to introduce himself.
Before even he uttered a word, the three girls started whispering to each other and giggling. “Umm… I- er…” he struggled to find the right words and that only made the girls giggle more. One of them teased him by pointing towards the direction of the school and telling him that’s where he could learn to speak. Haru simply gave a nervous laugh and attempted to speak again.
“Fernando is looking for models and… I think you would be a great one for his collection,” he said, looking straight at the tall one. The one he spoke to was completely taken by surprise and went all red, while the other two took a step back from her with their eyes filled with jealousy. Trying to avoid any scene, the healer took her aside and requested her to meet them at the boutique if she was interested, before half-running back to Akira.
Thu Dec 06, 2018 10:55 am
![Akira Shimada](https://2img.net/u/3013/50/43/46/avatars/24755-41.png)
Akira stifled the urge to snort. Instead, she gracefully sashayed towards the tall girl, mirroring her movements. The girl was still feigning surprise, somehow Shimada managed to turn the expression of incredulity into something welcoming and almost accepting. Akira was pretty certain the tall one knew she'd be the chosen one the moment Tsuru explained the situation. Finally, their eyes met. Her scrutinising gaze made her intent obvious, it was almost like she was sizing Akira up.
'Are you trying out for this model thing too? Aren't you a wee bit short?' It was no surprise that she resorted to thinly veiled slander. The lunar mage held her own, looking down at herself almost humbly. 'Oh no, I'm merely recruiting and in charge of the security of those who are chosen.' she said, deciding to play it like a shy damsel, unaware of the conniving nature of the conversation.
Thu Dec 06, 2018 10:55 am
![Hatsuharu](https://2img.net/u/3013/50/43/46/avatars/24753-28.jpg)
Akira seemed to continue with the roleplaying she had taken on and the healer was actually quite impressed as to how well she was pulling it off. Had he not been with her for that long, there was no way he would have realized it was an act. The swordsman didn’t approve of Carina’s insecure remark, even before she knew whether or not Akira was her competition. “It’s because her cranium isn’t hollow. You know… Gravity,” he said with a condescending smile, pointing to her head and then to the ground.
Seeing how she was outnumbered and ruining her chances, Carina took her leave rather quickly after that conversation. It seemed all she cared was that Akira wasn’t her competition and she was well on her way to the boutique to bully those who are. Once she was out of the vicinity, Haru turned towards his partner and suggested something that he should have a long time ago. “You know what? You should try out to be his model,” he said, with a very serious expression.
Thu Dec 06, 2018 10:55 am
![Akira Shimada](https://2img.net/u/3013/50/43/46/avatars/24755-41.png)
She had a few ideas on what conventional beauty consisted of. Apart from symmetry, there was talk of a good bone structure, high cheek-bones, strong jaw line narrow nose... And that was just the face. Following which they had to have a slim well-maintained body to accompany it. One that acted as a prefect hanger for the clothes basically. She spotted two men and another woman who fit the category. It was heartbreaking to know that not too many people fit that ideal standard and yet so many spent their life trying to achieve it.
She pointed the people out, beckoning her partner to take the lead again. He must've made a quick calculation and realised that they were short one. His words almost made her leap out of character. Widening her eyes wondering if his proposal was an insult or a compliment. 'I'm afraid my cranium may be housing something too heavy for that...' she responded, sweetly as her eyes scanned the host of faces on the street. 'Now, go!'
Thu Dec 06, 2018 10:55 am
![Hatsuharu](https://2img.net/u/3013/50/43/46/avatars/24753-28.jpg)
When they finally shortlisted a few of them as potential candidates, they were still left with only four and Haru couldn’t see anyone who he found beautiful, except… for his partner. So, he tried giving the same suggestion again after he spoke to the four she pointed out and all of them agreed to meet Fernando at the boutique. “No! Seriously… I don’t see a single other girl here who is a better fit than you,” he said. Truth be spoken, it wasn’t even because he was biased to her. While she may be slightly shorter than normal, she had everything else that they were looking for in a model.
“You’ve been playing this sweet girl persona for a while. Why not go the whole hog and become a model?” he asked. At this point, he was hell bent on convincing her that he had given up on looking for anyone else. In all this, there was the ulterior selfish motive that he wished to see her in the rich and fancy clothing that Fernando had designed.
Thu Dec 06, 2018 10:55 am
![Akira Shimada](https://2img.net/u/3013/50/43/46/avatars/24755-41.png)
Perhaps it was worth the adventure, in all likelihood, the charade wouldn't last too long. She wasn't sure if she could keep up pretenses for long enough to skilfully execute whatever it was that models had to do... walk mostly and remain extremely patient while people fussed over them. 'Oh, you're too kind, thank you for considering me, I suppose it will be churlish to refuse any longer.' she said in a saccharine sweet voice, batting her eyelids at the older Knight.
With that they made their way back to the boutique. She walked in step with her partner, yet there was something different about the way she held herself. Akira had drawn herself to full height, no longer slouching and ducking her head to avoid meeting the gaze of people. As they slipped back into the boutique Fernando made his assumptions without even waiting for Tsuru to confirm that Akira, or rather... Kiara had agreed to do her part. Making a bee-line for the duo, he took the girl by her hand to escort her among the others. Carina mouthed something that read like 'snake.'
Thu Dec 06, 2018 10:56 am
![Hatsuharu](https://2img.net/u/3013/50/43/46/avatars/24753-28.jpg)
When the duo reached the boutique, Fernando was sizing up the models that had gathered there. All four to whom he offered the opportunity were there and the fashion designer seemed pleased. Fernando was truly impressed, however, only after he witnessed the fifth candidate enter the boutique, which was Akira. “Ah! There you are. I knew you couldn’t resist the opportunity and I’m glad to you chose to be here,” he said, grinning widely. It was probably the designer’s extreme enthusiasm with Akira, which seemed to be missing with the other four, that Carina’s expression changed from happy to bitter. The woman mouthed something nasty towards his partner. As much as the healer wanted to shut her down immediately, this was Akira’s battle and he wasn’t going to dishonour her by fighting it for her.
He did want to warn Akira about it, however. “Watch out for that one,” he whispered in her ears, before Fernando took away all five of the models to make them try out his collection.
-Exit-
Thu Dec 06, 2018 10:56 am
![Akira Shimada](https://2img.net/u/3013/50/43/46/avatars/24755-41.png)
Tsuru too, had noticed the silently made antagonistic remark from Carina, when he warned Akira, she disguised a soft derisive snicker in a gentle trill of a giggle. When she stopped, she turned towards her partner and held his gaze, her response was a soft whisper. 'Think you may be warning the wrong girl.' her words were punctuated with yet another playful wink. Following which she went on to explain that in Carina's eyes, Akira had gone back on her word and she definitely didn't attribute it to a happy coincidence.
As much as she judged herself for agreeing to be a part of something she disagreed with fundamentally, she could get used to all the pampering. Additionally, while the two female contestants gave her wide birth, the male models seemed to be hovering and searching for an opportunity to exchange words with her. Naturally, Akira wanted to avoid them and shamelessly did so by slipping away to the healer whenever she got the chance. They were all paid a handsome some of money in advance. She got her share for helping recruit along with Tsuru, as well as a bit more for taking the job.
~Exit~
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