In a Place Outside of Time [Event - Open to All Not Taken by the Cat-Curse]
WHO: Everyone not under the cat curse who answered the invitation
WHAT: The Masquerade Ball!
WHERE: One of the mansions in the housing district.
WHEN: Day 72; 8pm-midnight
EVENT - THE MASQUERADE BALL
( My Methodist grandmother said that dancing was adultery set to music. )
WHAT: The Masquerade Ball!
WHERE: One of the mansions in the housing district.
WHEN: Day 72; 8pm-midnight
EVENT - THE MASQUERADE BALL
( My Methodist grandmother said that dancing was adultery set to music. )
He took out his camera (well, Sena's camera) and started recording, "SMILE FOR THE CAMERA, BIRDIE!" He made sure he captured her whole look, "Very Cinderella-y. Kekekekekkekee. Oh, and neither of you try to leave. I've given very specific instructions to our friends, the guards."
Meanwhile, he also had an iron grip on Sena. Before turning his camera to Sena, he whispered in his ear, "This is your punishment game. Now you know never to run away from me again while you're under house arrest, ne? All it takes is a simple knock or a note to let me know where you're going." He grinned, somewhat evilly, but also seriously, then let him go. "COUPLEA PICTURES! Then you can go find your friends." With that, he took some video for about, oh, 2, 3 minutes. And then he waved his hand in a sort of "gtfo" motion.
"If it gets reaaaallly miserable, I have a bag of clothes stashed away in the upstairs bathroom for you. But no sooner than 2 hours. I'll be watching you, lolita shrimp!"
He then turned to Kisa. Oh, the horrors of being the hostess' date. "Oh, tiger cub-chan. You look... eh... adorable! Yeah." That is the right thing to say, right? Ugh, parties.
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She was glad neither of them knew she had stashed clothes on the grounds before her entrance. They might steal them just to torment her. It was bad enough she could barely walk (her feet ached abominably) and that flying in the dress was awkward.
Breathing to keep herself from lashing out at the crowd (she was suddenly glad she'd agreed to get over her crowd fear. It made ignoring her fight-or-flight response a lot easier) to keep them away.
Luckily no one had tried to kidnap her for some freaky genetic experimentation. Already a plus.
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"Would you look at that, 'Special' Miss Bennet and her group of friends in person." He nodded a very slight nod in greeting, "And her date, of course. Hopefully I'm not interrupting any business among the lot of you."
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Grinning over at Hiruma and Sena, she nodded. "Or you could just pull a mysterious stranger and keep changing every ten minutes. Though that might turn into an inconvenience," she laughed softly.
So much for not saying the right thing. Hiruma got a smile as if to say yes, well done, that's perfect, you didn't even add profanity, before smiling down at Kisa again. "Who's here with you?"
It seemed none of the three would be staying long, but already they were being approached again. While Claire didn't mind too much, this was probably a bit of a burden on Hiruma's shoulders, and a part of her felt a tad bad about doing that to him.
"Business? This is an event to socialize and have fun, not to close a deal," she laughed, shaking her head. "Hisanori Hayasaka, this is Hiruma Youichi, and, well, vice versa. We talked in the journals." And he never stops smiling. But she could tell him that later-- or Hiruma would figure it out soon enough for himself.
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If he was capable of doing so, Hisanori would have given a puzzled look when introduced to Hiruma. It had nothing to do with the way it was done, but that it existed in the first place. Did Claire really think that he didn't review any of the numerous journal entries about this hot little item, or was she just following his instructions about formalities? Maybe it was just for the benefit of the other guy. "Yeah, I've read a bit about the two of you while flipping through old journal pages-" A slight laugh broke the statement in two. "-Your involvement with each other for this event was apparently really exciting for some people."
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Relieved that there was some way to get out of these godforsaken heels, he nodded before sweatdropping. He had done that before. And well, knowing that there was a change of clothes upstairs...suddenly, he didn't feel so gloomy anymore. Being shooed away as a another man came walking up towards them, he walked off himself, waving over his shoulder.
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To Sena, he gave a slight wave goodbye. No, he wasn't so heartless. He pretty much felt Sena's panic and frustration with the whole event lifting. Good. Hiruma wanted him to be very embarrassed, not completely miserable. It was a party, afterall.
Hiruma's mind immediately started clicking when he saw Hisanori approach. This man was obviously bad news. He definitely didn't trust that smile.
Reminded Hiruma too much of himself.
But he didn't say anything, or show any expression. He simply grinned, "Well, I couldn't tell you why they made such a big fucking stink about it, to be honest."
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"Hiruma can be a little hard to get along with until you know that he's so much better than most people think," she told the girl, expression warm. "But you and I both know that, right?"
Very kind to her? Okay, so maybe he was good with kids. She'd ask him about it later.
"Of course! It's no problem, I hope you have a ton of fun, too!" she said, grinning before waving to both her and Sena as they made their respective departures, returning her attention to Hisanori.
"Of course not," Claire reassured him, giving him a dismissive smile. Really, it was probably his comment about formality, as well as a slight warning to Hiruma. If Claire was going to go to those lengths 'introducing' someone to him, it had to mean something.
She looked back into the direction of Max, sending her a pointed glare as if to say less talking, more dancing. Honestly. Nodding at Hiruma's comment, she bit her lip.
If Hisanori was making her feel just that little bit more on edge and uncomfortable, it probably didn't show. If anything, it made her look tired, which was more than passable, given that she'd put all this together and put up with Max all day to boot.
"We're nothing special," she said, shrugging it off as if she meant it. "And people do love to gossip. But-- yes," she went on absently, "I do hope you're having fun? Or did you just get here?"
As if she hadn't seen him walk in. Better to look like less than one really was.
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"Even though anything between you beyond what's right in front of us right now is just gossip," he loved gossip, "You've done a great job coordinating. You match very nicely." Matching. Like his and Himura's flawless poker faces. This was like having to deal with a younger and significantly less round version of his former boss.
"Oh, and I've only just arrived." Wasn't it obvious? Out of anyone except maybe the guards, the hostess of the event should have been able to keep track of who entered and left.
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He faintly wondered who would crack first.
"Kekeke," the tail of his costume swished in a sort of pleased manner. How HAD he rigged it to do that? Oh well, a question for another day.
"Ah, well, I hope you have some fun or whatever, then! Kinda hard to keep track of the comings and goings when you have to make small talk." A low blow? perhaps.
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But really, this guy was far worse than Hiruma on the all smiles and no frowns basis. At least Hiruma had other facial expressions.
This guy didn't.
"Oh thank you." Gossip. She wondered what exactly he was referring to in terms of the two of them and what people were saying, but it wasn't as if it mattered particularly.
Nodding to Hiruma's comment, she smiled over at him before nodding her regards to Hisanori.
It was still going to be a long night.
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The more he heard Hiruma speak, the more he was determined that there probably was more to their relationship than what they were willing to admit. Really, why would a proper hostess select someone so... rough around the edges to accompany her if there wasn't something more to it? Whether it was relationship related or not, there was definitely something there. He needed more hints to put his finger on the exact nature of it, and it was obvious that this wasn't the right time to collect those hints.
Rough around the edges indeed. Feigning a sudden realization, his hands removed themselves from their usual position behind his back and made their way to his sides. It was about the most dramatic movement he had made since he showed up. "Oh dear," he started quietly as if talking to himself but quickly gained volume, "I hadn't meant to prevent you from keeping track of things." Actually, that was a lie. "I'll be on my way, then."
With that, he gave the slightest wave of a hand, turned, and began to stalk off. It hadn't been a completely unproductive conversation, but it could have gone better. No matter how things were going, it's not like he had anything but a look of slightly creepy satisfaction painted on his face.
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Hiruma simply waved a little, then sneered when he was positive that Hisanori was out of earshot and out of view. He then turned to Claire,
"Well, he's someone to look out for."
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"And he never stops smiling," she added, looking up at Hiruma. "Literally. It creeps me out."
It was then that, looking at the time, she figured it was overdue that she drag him on for a dance, but he'd probably seen that coming either way.
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"Sena-kun?" Kisa asked, before laughing brightly. "Ahn! You are like Ayame-san. He dresses like a girl sometimes when he feels adventurous. You look pretty." She smiled kindly.
The little girl blushed at Hiruma's words, giggling as she curtsied.
"Arigatou, Hiruma-kun."
Turning back to Claire, she pointed.
"My cousin, Yuki-kun. He's very nice and looks after me. I don't think he likes Hiruma-kun though. I don't know why." She looked at her hands, fidgeting. "He's very kind to me!" She had obviously never seen the more mischievous side of the tall blond.
Two people she had not yet met were around her, and she decided it was time to take the cue to go back lest Yuki worry.
"I have to go, but I'll see you later again?" Kisa asked Claire. "Thank you for speaking to me, I hope you have lots of fun tonight!"
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