hikaruorkaoru | Ninth Pattern ; video

Ninth Pattern ; video

[Between make-up and natural recovery, Hikaru looks pretty good now. Definitely not like he got a beat down awhile ago. He looks at the camera, one brow arched.]

So. 'Bout that whole. "Evil Valentine's Day" thing people kept going on and on and on about...

This was kind of anti-climactic, y'know?

I mean. Seriously. Nothing.

Booooring.

[Someone doesn't know not to tempt fate, obviously.]

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Were you and your brother hoping for something terrible to happen then? Maybe that was their plan: to bore you into submission.

We were hoping something would happen. At least make things interesting. It's been so quiet and boring.

Why not go out and find your own fun then? Or are you two incapable of that in such a small town?

It's certainly harder.

Doesn't help that we've totally missed fashion week in Paris. [This might be to blame for the growing restlessness. Just the knowledge of it going on and being away from it, even if everyone assured him he wouldn't have missed it when he went back.]

Twice now, for me.

...Is that what is bothering you the most?

Yeah.

[No. But it's the easiest thing to focus on.]

So what?

It just seemed a little odd to me. [Because he went from worrying only for his brother and his friends, to just about a fashion show in so little time.]

I would think a boy of your age might be concerned about other things than just Paris.

[With Kaoru here, he can relax on that worry. He knows where his brother is, knows he's safe, knows he isn't missing him. And his friends... It takes the right mood to make him admit to that.

But Paris...]

It's not "just Paris."

It's Fashion Week at Paris. Every major designer, every up-and-coming designer who will be anyone. They're all there. All the magazine execs and the models, every make-up company. Milan, Paris, New York, London.

They're all major things. And our mom always takes us to Paris with her. The others, not so much. But always Paris.

[So, Paris Fashion Week has become something to focus the homesickness on.]

You'll have to forgive me - the last time I saw Paris, it was being freed from under an oppressive maniacal dictatorship.

[But that comment about his mom - that explains a lot. Two trips missed, two times he was supposed to have seen his family gone.]

You'll be able to return and see them soon, I'm sure. Fashion Week, I mean.

Oh. Right. Allied forces, World War Two. Forgot.

[That is the part he is going to focus on. Because. That's just easier for everyone. Right? Right.]

Nowadays? Paris is one of the fashion capitals of the world. I mean, other culture, too, but. Designer. Fashion's my main concern.

[Peggy shrugged a little - it wasn't like she expected people to remember her era when they spoke. She knows he's avoiding the real issue, but pushing him would only drive him away.]

I heard you and your brother were doing designs again - have you set up your own shop or are you pushing it via the establishments in town?

We're working out of our apartment right now. It's enough space for now.

For now? Thinking of expanding later then?

Definitely. This is a great test market for designs.

And what designs have you been doing lately?

We're working on a summer collection. Just a minor one. The real spring and summer collection is going to debut in the winter.

We'll have a proper Fashion Week here come December.

Sounds like the two of you have figured out a good way to keep yourselves constantly busy. And what of models? Have you started your search for them?

That's going to be a headache. Because so many people want to be models but have no idea what it's really like.

Count me out of the modelling pool - but if you need people to vet others, I'm quite good at that.

We'll keep you in mind for that!

Then I wish you both luck, Hikaru. I'll speak to you again soon.

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Ninth Pattern ; video

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