Shizuka the Fashionista Part 2

Chapter 3

As her star rises Shizuka is asked to take part in video games and movies.

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A week later Yuki and Shizuka were back in Japan. Their whirlwind trip to Paris went by in a flash, with nonstop cameras and fashionable wear on display everywhere they went. It took a while to unpack their souvenirs and reflect upon their experiences, but they returned to their shared apartment with a feeling of triumphant accomplishment.
Yuki had been a little worried about the long trip, but it turned out, it was not as tiring as it had seemed. In fact, it was a lot of fun. The memories of Paris would stay with them forever.
Shizuka was also glad to be back. As absurd as it sounded, she missed her carefully curated wardrobe. She loved modeling for the latest fashions, but it was the clothing in her closet that Shizuka loved to wear the most.
The two relaxed in the living room, with Yuki lounging in a tank top and shorts, and with Shizuka being extremely dressed in a pink Sweet Lolita dress, deciding to get comfortable in their own ways. 
"Do you suppose we'll get to go on more trips like this?" Shizuka wondered.
"I'm sure we will," Yuki replied. "Everything went great on this trip. Paris isn't the only city with high fashion shows."
"Yeah, theres's London, New York, and Milan, too," Shizuka added.
"I'm sure you'll get more invitations to fashion events. So you'll be able to go on more trips."
"Yeah, so I can go on more trips," Shizuka smiled.
Shizuka looked so happy, and Yuki was glad. The two friends were great company for each other. They had such a similar perspective on life, and it made them interesting, fun, and unique.
They continued to reflect upon their trip, and the designer invitation that Shizuka had received was on Yuki's mind. The invitation was a sign of her acceptance into the fashion world. She had been nervous before the trip, but now that Shizuka had been accepted, Yuki was filled with a sense of certainty that she was going to be a famous and successful photographer.
----
Two days later Shizuka was back working as a fashion model at Moon River, working with Yuki again. She would be posing in a room full of mirrors. The idea was to walk slowly around the room, looking at the reflections and trying to find her place in the world. 
Shizuka stepped into the mirrored room, a vision of ethereal grace. Her dress, a confection of layered pink and purple tulle, bloomed around her like a ballerina's skirt. Delicate silver threads woven into the fabric shimmered like fairy dust, catching the light as she moved. A tiny crown of glittering flowers, nestled amidst her lilac hair, added a touch of whimsical royalty.
Yuki navigated the maze of reflections with practiced ease. Each mirror became a portal, capturing Shizuka from a different angle, her expression a kaleidoscope of emotions mirrored back at her. The lights, strategically placed, danced across the tulle, creating a mesmerizing halo around her.
Shizuka moved with a dancer's poise, gliding through the reflections as if searching for something hidden within. Her eyes, wide and curious, met her own in each mirrored face, seeking answers in the depths. Yuki, watching her, felt a pang of both admiration and concern. Shizuka, beautiful and seemingly carefree, held a secret vulnerability in her gaze.
Yuki's camera captured the fleeting moments, freezing the fairy princess in a web of light and glass. Each frame was a story, a whisper of Shizuka's soul reflected in the mirrored world. As the photoshoot came to an end, Yuki felt a sense of accomplishment, yet a lingering unease. Shizuka, studying her reflection, seemed lost in thought, a flicker of doubt clouding her.
"What are you thinking?" Yuki asked gently, her voice breaking the silence.
Shizuka turned, her expression a mix of sadness and defiance. "I was thinking how times like this don't last forever," she whispered, her fingers tracing the outline of her reflection.
Yuki's heart ached for her friend. "Shizuka," she said, her voice firm, "you are twenty-four, not forty. Your beauty is ageless. You have a lifetime of stories to tell, both on stage and off."
Shizuka smiled, a flicker of hope returning to her eyes. "Maybe you're right," she admitted, her voice softer now. "Modeling is fun, but I have so much more to offer."
Yuki beamed. "Exactly! Now, come on, let's get out of here and find some food to fuel our next adventure."
And with that, the two friends left the mirrored room, reality and reflection merging into a single path, ready to face the world together, one photoshoot, one story at a time.
----
Yuki and Shizuka sat down on the couch and turned on the television. Arisa informed them that Nana was going to appear on the variety show that night with other idols. Both girls knew that the show was purely for entertainment and the idols that showed up inevitably got humiliated, but it was all for the sake of humor.
The first part of the show was a quiz show, featuring Nana and two other idols. The object of the game was to answer all the questions correctly, while answering three questions wrong put the loser in a penalty game-- in this case they were escorted to a booth and had green slime dumped over them.
The quiz portion of the show ended with Nana getting three questions wrong. She was dragged to the sliming booth kicking and screaming. 
"No! I don't want to be slimed!" she cried as she was thrown in the booth. 
"You're going to get slimed anyway, don't try to change the rules," the referee said, laughing.
Nana gasped in shock as she was covered in the green, gooey mess. It seeped around her clothes, her face, her hair. It dripped down her face as she screamed.
"No! This isn't right! I was supposed to get a present! I didn't get a present!"
The sliming ended and the referees let her out of the booth. She collapsed on the floor panting heavily as a laugh track played over her shocked reaction.
The emcee bent down next to her with a microphone. "How do you feel?" he asked.
"I feel like I got bukkake on live television!" Nana yelled. 
The audience laughed and cheered.
"Wow, Nana has no filter," the emcee laughed.
Yuki and Shizuka laughed as they watched her walk off the stage.
"That was pretty funny. She's usually pretty serious," Yuki said.
Shizuka nodded. "I can't believe she actually said that."
"I know, it was..." Yuki trailed off as she realized what Nana had actually said. "That's so vulgar!"
The two watched the second segment, which Nana wasn't involved in. The third segment was a silly obstacle course with all the idols, including Nana. Six idols in total had to ride around a track on tricycles that were much too small for them, then pick up a bat and spin around it while resting their forehead on the end, and finally walk across a spinning log suspended over a vat of cream. The entire point was to humiliate the idols for the sake of entertainment.
Nana was eliminated in this segment, although it didn't really come to much. She rode in a tricycle, spun her head around the bat, then tried to walk across the spinning log. She was making good progress until in the middle when the referees threw a basketball at her, knocking her off and falling in the vat of cream below.
The audience laughed and cheered when she got covered in cream, then cheered even more when she got up laughing and joking. 
"That was... unexpected," Yuki said.
"I would have been more surprised if she made it across," Shizuka replied. 
The two watched the rest of the show in silence. It ended with only one of the idols making it across the log. The emcee gathered the six idols, with five of them, including Nana, covered in cream. 
The emcee walked up to Nana. "So, how do you feel about this?" he asked her, holding up a trophy.
Nana was still a bit shaken up from her fall, so she wasn't sure what to say. "I... don't know," she said slowly. She looked at the emcee, seemingly dazed. "I need a hug."
To the emcee's surprise, and to the audience's laughter, Nana reached out and gave the man a great big hug, slathering his suit in cream as well. 
Shizuka shook her head. "You couldn't pay me to be on a show like this."
----
Shizuka's higher profile as a fashion model also improved her standing as an actress. Her preference was in voice acting because her appearance didn't matter as much while she worked in a sound studio, but she also took the occasional live action role because some productions wanted a woman of her appearance. While none of her roles were in a starring position, Shizuka did not mind playing a supporting role because it allowed her to devote more of her time to modeling.
To her surprise, one production asked her to audition for a starring role. The production committee was looking for a girl to play a mature and refined Gothic Lolita character, and they remembered her previous role as the Gothic Lolita-themed magical girl Sakura from Magical Girl Wars. She was offered the role in a murder mystery film "Yandere Murder Massacre" featuring a murderous yandere girl as one of the victims of the murder spree. It was a relatively low-stakes role, but still very dramatic and character-driven. 
The audition itself wasn't as long as Shizuka had expected. To her relief, Arisa called her on her phone while she waited for the elevator. Her audition went very well; she was offered the role immediately. She decided to accept.
"Yandere Murder Massacre" was a story that took place on a small cruise ship where a private party was taking place, where a rich host invited ten girls, one of which was the murderer. Shizuka knew ahead of time her role was to play one of the victims and her character would die during the course of the film, but what gave her pause was the scene where she would be murdered.
Her character would be murdered by being pushed off the boat to drown in the sea. Shizuka knew how to swim, but was very afraid of drowning. The production committee decided on this fate for her character because her character wore an expensive and elaborate Gothic Lolita dress, which would get ruined by getting soaking wet in the water. The murder scenes were meant to be both chilling and titillating and the committee wanted Shizuka's character to get the wet look. They wanted the audience to both be scared by the murder and angry about ruining the dress.
Shizuka's Gothic Lolita costume was not an authentic dress for the style, but her objections fell on deaf ears from the producers. As Lolita fashion was a modest style the production committee wanted to 'glam it up' by making it more appealing to the thirsty men who would surely watch the film. 
The dress was made of a heavy satin, a dark shade of purple that made her skin appear paler. The blouse initially had a cleavage window, but since Shizuka's chest was small it was decided it was better to cover it up instead. As a result the skirt, which would have usually been the standard bell-shaped pattern, was shortened so Shizuka's bloomers and the tops of her stockings on her thighs could be seen when she moved. The dress had several layers of ruffles that extended past the skirt's edge. Her silver wig was tied up in a ponytail and held in place by a ribbon. 
The most absurd additions to the outfit were the accessories. She wore handcuffs on her arms that were not attached to each other, the chains hanging loosely. She wore a collar around her neck with a long, silver chain hanging down the front like a morbid neck tie. It seemed to Shizuka that the production committee wanted to play her character up as a bad girl, enforcing a weird incorrect stereotype about Gothic Lolita girls. Shizuka was apprehensive about the outfit because it was unusually heavy, which would not help her when she had to film her drowning scene. However, she decided to go along with the outfit and not to argue. 
Shizuka arrived at the set of the film which was taking place on a small cruise ship rented for the production. The cast and crew greeted each other and went over the specifics of what was going to happen. Each night the cast would go out on the boat and film their outdoor scenes, while the indoor scenes would take place on conventional studio sets during the day.  
For Shizuka it was decided to film all her scenes with the drowning scene taking place last. She had three versions of her costume, one of which was designated the one she would wear during that scene. Most of the detailing was left out and it was made as light as possible, but Shizuka still felt it was too heavy.
After Shizuka returned home from her costume fittings, she confided in Yuki about her issues.
"I was so excited to get the part at the start," Shizuka said, "but now I see all sorts of problems."
"We can't know everything ahead of time when we do a job," Yuki replied. "That's just the nature of the business."
"I know," Shizuka said, nodding in agreement. "It's just... I'm afraid I might drown for real."
"Don't worry about it. You're a good swimmer, right?"
"I know, but it's out on a boat in the ocean."
"You're going to be fine."
Shizuka smiled as if reassured, but the thought still plagued her as she filmed her scenes in the coming weeks. For most of production she put on her best face and gave her strongest effort, playing the character she was cast to play. The director was satisfied with her performance. 
As the production was nearing a close, the crew began preparing for Shizuka's drowning scene. It was one of the last scenes to be shot and Shizuka's last scene in the movie. She finished the dialogue scenes in her normal costume and was fitted with the costume she would wear when she plunged into the ocean. The chain from her choker was removed, as well as the handcuffs in an attempt to reduce weight and stray objects floating around, but Shizuka still felt an overwhelming dread.
The director gave her the option to use a stunt double to get pushed off the side of the boat, but Shizuka insisted on doing that part herself, in part due to authenticity and another because she didn't want to ruin another dress in the filming, even though the dress was already budgeted. She knew she would need to film herself in the ocean water anyway. Cameras were set up in various places to capture the stunt and her subsequent drowning scene; the plan was to do it all in one take. 
Shizuka steeled herself as she stood on the edge of the boat against the railing. She stared at the dark water below, which seemed to go on forever. The crew was ready to go, and she walked to the platform where she would be pushed off the boat. The platform was a simple set of stairs made to go just over the railing, and Shizuka stood on the top step with her back to the water.
"Well, I guess it's now or never," she muttered.
"Action!" the director shouted.
The crew pushed her, and she fell backward over the railing. Shizuka screamed in genuine terror. Her heart pounded in her chest as her arms and legs flailed in the air as she fell off the side of the boat toward the dark ocean below. Her scream was cut short as she hit the water.
There was a loud, echoing splash, which was dulled out as the water rushed to embrace Shizuka. She flailed in a panic in the dark water, and only saw darkness in every direction. She did not know which way was up and which way was down. For several seconds she saw only darkness, only to make out the light of the camera crew on the boat and she surged toward it. Her chest started to burn as she broke the surface and sucked in oxygen. It felt like she just swam through an endless void and come up from the other side.
As the crew was still filming Shizuka had to stay in character. She splashed and flailed as she yelled for help, but the effort and the weight of the costume was pulling her down the longer she went. A stray wave crashed over her, pushing her under further. She started to panic, screaming even more for help as she realized she was drowning for real. She tried to kick her way up to the surface as her lungs started to burn. She broke the surface finally, gulping in air as if it was the most precious thing in the world. Her burning lungs were relieved to breathe in fresh air, but she sucked in so much water she thought she would drown right there.
A hand grabbed her arm and pulled her up to the surface. The crew realized almost too late she was in trouble and came to help her out of the water. Her head spun as she tried to take in air. Her ears were still ringing from the sound of the boat bobbing in the water as she was pulled to the surface.
"You're okay! You're okay!" the crew were saying.
Shizuka was pulled back onto the boat and a towel draped over her. The crew gave her space as the director approached.
"I'm so sorry that happened," the director said. "But you did a good job."
Shizuka took a few deep breaths as she struggled to catch her breath.
"Thanks for your help," she said.
"I mean it," said the director. "I think you did a good job."
Shizuka smiled weakly.  "It was good, right? We got the shot? I don't want to do it again!"
The crew laughed heartily.
She returned to the cabin that served as her dressing room on the boat, and was helped out of her wet, ruined dress by the staff. She put on a bathrobe and slumped in her make-up chair, and stared at the ceiling.
"I'm a terrible actress," Shizuka muttered as she rubbed her eyes.
----
A few weeks later "Yandere Murder Massacre" was screened to the cast and crew and their friends. Shizuka brought Yuki with her to the screening. They watched silently through the setup in the first third of the movie, with the rest of the movie devoted to the girls on the boat getting murdered one by one. Shizuka held her breath when her death scene appeared, the memories of being in the ocean dominating her thoughts as she watched herself scream desperately for help as the waves crashed over her. Yuki watched in silence too. 
"That was... disturbing," Yuki said with a shiver.
"I know," said Shizuka. "I didn't... I didn't know it would be that bad."
"I know you didn't," Yuki said. "But you put your all into it."
"I'm a terrible actress," Shizuka said.
"No, you're not. I'm not sure anyone could've done that scene better. The audience was on their feet," said Yuki. "I know you have a soft, delicate exterior, but you're not soft inside. You have a lot of courage."
"I don't think I have enough courage."
"You're already braver than most people," said Yuki. "That's saying a lot."
The rest of the screening went by quietly. The murderous yandere girl succeeded in killing off most of her rivals, but was undone by the final girl, who turned the tables on her and ended up with the male host in the end. 
When the film released "Yandere Murder Massacre" found only modest success. While it was a competently made film critics found it formulaic and the only reason to see it was to watch archetypal women get killed by a crazy woman. Horror fans, on the other hand, loved it, and word of mouth kept it afloat enough to be considered a success.
The drowning scene Shizuka filmed was praised because it appeared realistic and gave a tiny bit of hope her character would survive. What moviegoers didn't know was just how close Shizuka was to drowning for real.
----
While Shizuka had no social media presence, she still had a sizeable fanbase which Arisa monitored out of curiosity. Many of her fans loved seeing her in Gothic Lolita outfits, which was in turn divided over how inauthentic the outfit was. Some of them felt the producers tried too hard to turn it into a kinky fashion while at the same time admiring Shizuka's legs. While these fans felt Shizuka was being typecast, they still loved the fact that she was a real life Lolita. 
Arisa looked at a discussion group formed for Shizuka's fans and started reading threads. She came upon a topic wondering why Shizuka hasn't transitioned into acting full time, whether it be live action or voice acting. Fans felt she was spreading herself thin by being a fashion model and an actress at the same time instead of concentrating on one of them.
"Shizuka says she is a fashion model first," one fan posted. "Acting for her is an indulgence for our benefit."
A second fan disagreed. "She wastes her talent as a fashion model. As long as she doesn't go all the way with acting she will be stuck with support roles."
"We don't know her acting range," the first fan countered. "All she gets are stoic, icy girl roles."
"I heard Shizuka has already landed a minor part in "Makai Wars," a live-action movie which is currently in production for next year," said a post.
Someone else replied. "If she continues to be typecast, she'll never be a star. That's just how the industry works."
"Some people are trying to get Shizuka to switch to voice acting so she can be successful."
"Voice acting? How is that different from live action? Maybe she really prefers it, I hope she can get past her typecast status and finally be a star," the first poster said.
Several fans pointed out that voice acting didn't preclude typecasting as a specific role. Others claimed Shizuka wasn't good at voice acting. Still others said that in today's industry, voice acting was becoming the main way of acting.
"Do you know how much money she makes from modeling?" someone asked.
"I would assume it's a good deal," said another.
"A good deal? She's already making more than some voice actors," said a fan. "Shizuka would lose money and prestige if she left modeling despite what people here think."
"She's basically a voice actress with a model contract."
"She's successful."
"Is that so important?"
"Well, it's not like she needs that money, is it?" said a fan.
There was a long pause.
"Are you serious right now?" someone asked. 
A poster then linked a page of Shizuka's appearance at the Paris fashion show. "Voice actors would only wish they got to do what she does."
"She can do whatever she wants with her career," said a fan.
"She doesn't even do that much."
"I've seen her cosplay at the park. She goes with her friend all the time."
The first poster replied. "She's one of a kind. We get to see her on a regular basis. You get to see her from afar."
"But do you know her?" said the second poster.
"I met her," said the first poster.
"Do you know if she ever acts on her own?"
"She does do her own thing," said the first poster.
"I don't see her at any voice acting events."
"That's because she doesn't do it that much. I think she's too busy modeling."
"Well, I hope she makes a star of herself one day."
"That's up to her, I guess."
"I'll try to post something to her page if I think of anything else."
Arisa sat back and looked at the clock. She realized she was engrossed in the thread. She should probably stop reading now, otherwise she would be here all day. She loved that Shizuka's fans were appreciative and understanding of her art.
----
That weekend Shizuka invited Yuki to attend a Lolita tea party. In the past Yuki was resistant to the idea, but after hearing that Arisa already took her up on the offer she felt the need to know what she missed out on.
The late afternoon sun filtered through the curtains, casting a warm glow on Shizuka and Yuki's apartment. It wasn't just any afternoon, though. Today, their living room had transformed into a whimsical wonderland, brimming with delicate teacups, dainty pastries, and enough frills to fill a confectioner's dream.
Shizuka's dress was a confection of baby pink, its layers of lace and chiffon cascading down to her knees. Tiny pearl buttons and delicate ribbon rosettes adorned the bodice, while a matching bonnet perched atop her head, crowned with a cascade of silk flowers and lace. Her platinum blonde wig, styled in loose curls, framed her face like a fairytale princess.
Yuki, a touch more demure in her first foray into Lolita, wore a lavender dress with a sweetheart neckline and tiered skirt. Pastel ribbons adorned the bodice, and a dainty lace collar framed her face. Her auburn wig, styled in twintails with playful bows, added a touch of youthful charm. Yet, her nervous smile held a childlike wonder as she sipped her tea, carefully balancing the saucer on her lap.
"See, Yuki?" Shizuka said, her voice as sweet as the rose-infused tea. "There's no need to rush. Slow down, savor the moment. Imagine every bite, every sip, as a tiny adventure for your senses."
Yuki took a deep breath, letting the floral aroma fill her lungs. "You're right, Shizuka," she confessed. "It's like... entering a different world, where everything is delicate and beautiful."
"Exactly!" Shizuka exclaimed, her eyes sparkling. "Now, pick a macaron. Which color is calling to you?"
Yuki's gaze fluttered across the pastel rainbow of macarons arranged on a tiered cake stand. Each one, a tiny masterpiece of meringue and buttercream, tempted her with its delicate hues. Finally, she reached for a pale violet one, its surface dusted with edible glitter.
"Violet, huh?" Shizuka chuckled. "That's quite the elegant choice, my dear. Tell me, does it taste as dreamy as it looks?"
Yuki took a delicate bite, her eyes widening in delight. "Oh, Shizuka, you have to try this! It's like... violets and lavender and sunshine all at once!"
Their laughter filled the room, echoing between the rows of plush teddy bears and antique dolls lining the shelves. Each bite, each sip, was an excuse for another giggle, another whispered secret shared between friends lost in their own whimsical world.
As the afternoon wore on, Shizuka guided Yuki through the finer points of Lolita etiquette. They practiced graceful curtsies, mastered the art of balancing cakes on tiny forks, and even attempted a clumsy waltz amidst the overflowing skirts. Each clumsy twirl, each accidental tumble, only added to the laughter and the charm of their afternoon.
By the time the last crumb of pastry had been devoured and the last sip of tea sipped, a contented silence settled over the room. Yuki, her cheeks flushed and eyes sparkling, leaned against Shizuka's shoulder.
"Thank you, Shizuka," she whispered. "This was the most magical afternoon ever."
Shizuka squeezed her hand gently. "Anytime, Yuki. Remember, the magic of Lolita isn't just in the clothes and the teacups. It's in the way you choose to see the world, to find beauty in the smallest details, and to share that joy with others."
With that, the two friends, bonded on all things sweet and frilly, snuggled down on the floor, surrounded by the remnants of their tea party. The sun dipped below the horizon, painting their world in hues of lavender and rose, a fitting end to a day filled with sugar, laughter, and the magic of friendship.
----
Arisa sat down at her computer, engrossed in the visual novel. Mystical Dream Girl 5 finally released, and while the six girls in the game were themed after idols with various personality quirks, which Arisa found distasteful, her love of the series allowed her to overcome that hangup. The visual novel put her in the role of the producer for the six idols and the way to pick a girl's route was obvious: choosing the girl as the center. However, since this was a Mystical Dream Girl game, it involved the idols getting killed in various ways. The player's choices affected how the idols died. 
Arisa sat at her desk, wondering which of the six girls she would pick for her first route. She automatically passed over the youngest girl and the tsundere, brash girl. She skipped the eldest girl because Arisa didn't want to play a story about an over the hill idol. She passed over the wild, outgoing girl because she reminded Arisa of Nana. That left her with the closed-off otaku girl and the yandere girl who played with knives. For a moment Arisa considered picking the yandere girl, but in the end felt it was too obvious that she would go on a murder spree, so she picked the otaku girl. 
To her great shock, the first girl on the route who died was the yandere girl. She was stabbed by a crazed fan who was also interested in knives, and she paid the price for it. 
The next one to go was the wild girl, who was pushed off the side of the building and died from the fall. Arisa felt a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach as she started feeling bad about being callous to the idol characters at the start, but in the end decided she was getting engrossed in playing as their producer. She gave credit to the writers for getting her to want to protect the girls even if it wasn't possible. 
The next girl, who was a tsundere, suffered a fatal neck injury from being strangled by a man who wanted her to be his. The situation was relatable and identifiable, but Arisa knew that the entire pop idol premise was always meant to turn into a morbid scenario, which is why the deaths of the girls hit so hard. It was a sad thing when those girls died, but it was just something that needed to be done to make the story realistic. 
The fourth death was the eldest of the girls. She died in a relatively plain and ordinary way of a drug overdose. At that point only the youngest girl and the otaku girl, with the otaku girl becoming more unhinged and detached from reality. Arisa was starting to have a bad feeling about the route. 
The fifth death was obviously the youngest girl since she was the only other girl left. She was pushed off a bridge and drowned in the river because she couldn't swim. 
Arisa was puzzled as to where the story was going because in the previous games in the series the deaths were more controlled, but this game's story the deaths seemed more random and disjointed. And to her surprise, the game didn't end there. Normally the visual novel ended with the player character getting with the chosen girl, but it kept going.
Her surprise went further when her chosen girl also died. She cracked under the weight of having the rest of the idols die and did a murder suicide on the player character, which shocked Arisa. There wasn't a happy ending to the route.
Dumbfounded by what happened, she went online and looked at her usual Mystical Dream Girl discussion group to see what other players thought.
"What the hell happened?" was the first question asked there.
"I don't know why I played this game," was another.
"Did you die and go to hell? The game just ended in a suicide?" was yet another.
Arisa sat there in her room, her head spinning. She put her head in her hands. From what she gathered from other players, no matter which girl you picked, all of the idols died in the end. It felt defeatist and pointless that people started wondering why they played the game at all if it was so morbid. 
She wanted to take it out on someone, and so did other fans. They bombarded the production company with hate mail, angry at what happened in the game and making all sorts of ludicrous demands. To their credit the company did not respond to any of it, and smugly replied that it was a faithful game in the series.
The anger kept going for nearly a week until a breakthrough appeared in the discussion group. One player decided to play through all the routes before passing judgment, and it drew a lot of attention.
"There's a hidden, seventh route," the player revealed. "It has an ending where all the girls survive, and you can actually go on a date with them."
The news spread like wildfire, and the game's fanbase grew even larger. There was hope that the game wasn't totally lost, and it felt good. Arisa looked forward to trying the route and seeing how it ended.
The seventh route wasn't as straightforward as the player led people to believe. Arisa found that in this route the girls still had a chance to die, but, using information you learned from the other six routes, you could prevent them. It was almost like a fix fic for the entire game. 
When Arisa reached the end of the route she was given the option to romance one of the idols, but since it was inappropriate to date your employee like this the idol had to retire first. In other words, the idol had to choose between her career and love, and Arisa felt bad about pressuring a girl to choose love.
She went back to the discussion group and read what other players thought about the seventh route. What Arisa was puzzled by was the lack of the titular dream girl, who was supposed to be unattainable. In this game, all the girls were attainable.
"Who is the dream girl?" she posted.
"The dream girl is whatever you want her to be," one of the posters responded. "All of the girls are unattainable in their own routes. It seems like the seventh route is more of a wish fulfillment scenario."
That answer made the most sense to Arisa.
Arisa was disappointed that the game did not live up to the previous game, Mystical Dream Girl 4, and many other posters shared that sentiment. It was felt the fourth game was a series high that was insurmountable, so any follow-up would only be disappointing by comparison. However, a few players were enthusiastic about the game and felt that, despite all the tragedy, it was still a good time.
----
Shizuka walked into Arisa's office, ready to sit in on another meeting about her career. 
"I have some new job offers for you," Arisa said. "Have a seat."
Shizuka nodded and sat down in one of the chairs opposite Arisa. 
Arisa punched a few keys on her computer and started reading off the screen. "The first offer is for a voice over role in a video game. It's an RPG where you'll be playing one of the side characters."
"I'll think about it," Shizuka replied. 
Arisa nodded. "The second offer is for a photoshoot. A very rich man saw your appearance in Yandere Murder Massacre and wants to take pictures of you in the costume. He's already got permission from the studio to use the costumes, so it's up to your approval now."
"I'm not sure if that's the kind of image I want to project," Shizuka said, hesitating. "It wasn't a real Lolita outfit so I'm not sure about promoting that."
"You're not promoting Lolita fashion, you're promoting the film," Arisa corrected. "Anyway, the third offer is a swimsuit spread." 
"I'm not a gravure idol and I don't do swimsuit modeling," Shizuka said, shooting down the offer immediately.
Arisa shrugged. "The fourth offer is to cosplay a video game character at an upcoming trade show. Apparently the production company saw your portfolio and think you can bring the character to life."
"Send me the details on the character they want. I want to know before accepting the offer."
"Okay then. The fifth offer is to be a brand ambassador for a popular fashion label. They want you to be a fashion model, photo model, and brand ambassador for their product. They would send you on trip and pay for all your expenses, but you would be expected to promote their products and endorse their clothing."
Shizuka pursed her lips and nodded in consideration. "I see. That does sound... interesting."
"The sixth offer is a lead role in a live action film. The script is already done, but they need a girl to play the main character because the actress they tapped for it dropped out and they need a replacement fast."
Shizuka's eyes widened. "What film are we talking about?"
"It's a horror film called Vampire Princes Luka. You're being offered the role of the titular character, Luka. She has a Gothic Lolita theme, so you need to be into that sort of thing."
"Vampire Princes Luka... I've heard of it. It's a video game adaptation, right?"
"Yes and no. The film is based on a game of the same name, but the story is its own thing. You'll have to read the script to know what's different. I can't make any promises, but I'll try to get you some pictures of the costumes to look over before you make your decision."
"Well, I'm interested."
"They need to start filming next week so you don't have a lot of time. I'll arrange a meeting for you."
----
Shizuka could feel her heart beat faster as she stared at herself in the dressing room mirror. In the past she played one of the murder victims in the horror murder film Yandere Murder Massacre as a Gothic Lolita girl who wore a chain and handcuffs as accessories. Her murder scene was iconic in the film as she was pushed over the side of the boat into the dark ocean and drowned, and many of her fans loved that scene despite being one that nearly took her life. 
Now she stood in front of the mirror dressed in the same costume, and the memories of nearly drowning flooded back into her mind. She shivered slightly as her gaze returned to the mirror. Her eyes were wide as she stared at her reflection. Her skin was pale and smooth, with just a bit of blush on her cheeks. Her silver wig was tied in a ponytail that hung behind her. She let out a breath, her pulse slowing. 
Her eyes narrowed as she watched her reflection in the mirror. 
"You'll do," she said to her own reflection.
She grabbed a tube of black lipstick from the table and applied it to her lips. She pursed her lips together, distributing the lipstick more evenly. She smiled at her reflection in the mirror once more, her eyes narrowing as she took in her appearance.
She walked out of the dressing room and to the set. The client was a big fan of her character from Yandere Murder Massacre and wanted a personal photoshoot done in the costume. Yuki would be taking the pictures. The session was divided into two, one on the normal set and one on a wet set where Shizuka would be soaked in water at the client's request.
The normal set was going to be easy. Yuki was going to take a series of pictures of Shizuka in various poses and settings. The wet set would be more difficult. The client wanted to see how Shizuka would look and act when she was soaking wet, as if she had just drowned. Both Shizuka and Yuki initially balked at doing a wet shoot, but since the client provided and paid for the costume and the shoot they had no choice but to comply with his wishes. Yuki had several ideas of her own for the shoot, but the client had the final say. Yuki was simply there to take pictures of Shizuka.
The shoot for the first part went smoothly. Yuki took pictures of Shizuka in all sorts of poses and angles, using a variety of props to make the pictures more interesting. It didn't take long for the shoot to be completed. Yuki had taken more than enough pictures of Shizuka for the client, and the client had approved of all of them. 
The three moved to the wet set afterward. It was structured like a large shower, lined with clean white tiles and a number of adjustable shower heads, with a drain in the center. It was big enough that they could have filled it with water and still had room to move around in the space. 
"You're going to have to get wet to do this," Yuki explained to Shizuka. "I'll turn on the faucet over there and fill up the space with water. Then we can start the shoot."
"Alright," Shizuka said.
She walked into the set and stood in the center of the space. Shizuka's eyes looked up at the various shower heads above her, her heart beating in anticipation. She knew the Lolita dress was likely going to be ruined by this shoot, but it was not up to her. 
Yuki turned on the faucet and filled the space with water. It poured out of the shower heads in a steady flow, filling the space with a few inches of water.
"Alright," Yuki said. "Let's begin."
Shizuka stepped into the space, wading through the water. She closed her eyes as she stepped forward, feeling the water come up to her knees. 
She opened her eyes again and looked around. The water was up to her waist and it was not too cold. She smiled at Yuki. "It's nice."
"Good," Yuki said. "Now, just walk around a little. Take your time. Don't rush. I'll be taking pictures as you go along."
"Alright."
Shizuka walked around, moving her arms around. She stopped for a moment, looking up at the shower heads and the various streams of water falling down onto her. She moved her head from side to side, closing her eyes and tilting it back. Then she opened her eyes and looked around again. She resisted the urge to reach down and touch her legs, knowing her wet stockings would likely run and tear and ruin the image she was supposed to project. 
She continued walking around. She stopped at one point, turning her head to the side. She opened her eyes and saw Yuki standing there. 
Yuki smiled. "You look so pretty. You're like a beautiful angel. I love it."
"I'm just a girl," Shizuka said.
"Not for long," Yuki said, smiling.
Shizuka snorted.
"Alright, let's keep going," Yuki said. "We have some pictures to take."
Yuki took pictures of Shizuka as she walked around. The water level was up to her shoulders when Yuki shut the water off. She stood gracefully in the water, adjusting her body so that her head was just barely breaking the surface. Shizuka was almost hesitant to fully submerge herself despite her makeup being treated to survive being underwater. She knew once she submerged herself she was fully committed to the client's wishes for the shoot. Yuki coached her through the shots she needed.
"Alright, this one's a good angle," Yuki said. "This one's great. You're beautiful."
Shizuka was a natural at posing. She stood still as Yuki took several shots of her from different angles.
Yuki took a step back and Shizuka knew the time had come. "Okay, we're going to do the full submersion shots. You're going to be completely underwater. Don't be afraid to let yourself float around. And don't worry about the upskirt shots, since the client wants those, too."
"Right," Shizuka said, nodding. 
She took several deep breaths and closed her eyes, then dropped her head under the water. It was time to film a drowning girl, she knew. The lukewarm water closed around her and it felt as though she were being smothered. She kicked her legs, trying to escape. Then she realized she could stay underwater forever. She would be beautiful, like an angel, and no one would care if she was dead. She would be able to breathe and move through the water and she would be beautiful. 
She opened her eyes as she broke the surface of the water, gasping and choking. She coughed as she kicked her legs, trying to stay afloat. 
"I'm okay," she gasped.
"Are you okay? You seemed like you were drowning."
"I was. I couldn't breathe. I panicked."
"We can stop now if you want."
"I'm fine," Shizuka said, coughing. "Let's do another round."
Shizuka took another deep breath and dived back in the water. This time, instead of tensing up, she relaxed her body, letting go of the world and resisting the urge to return to the surface. She realized quickly that this was easy. This was natural. She felt free.
After a few minutes, Shizuka opened her eyes and quickly forced her head back up to the surface. Her head pounded with a dull roar and her chest heaved for the air she denied herself for the sake of the shoot. 
Yuki laughed. "You really went for it. How was it?"
"It was great," Shizuka said, coughing. "It was scary, but it was worth it." 
"You're really brave," Yuki said quietly. 
"Not really," She said. "I was just really, really scared."
"It's okay if you're scared. You just have to be brave enough to be scared."
They finished the shoot. Shizuka was exhausted, but she knew she had done a good job and that the photos would be excellent. She knew the shoot was worth it.
As Yuki handed Shizuka a towel, the client walked up to the two of them. "Excellent work, girls," he said. "Now, I know this was not in the contract, but I just had an idea for something extra you can do for me."
Yuki and Shizuka looked at each other, then turned to the client.
"What is it?" Yuki asked, her voice steady.
The client gestured toward Shizuka. "I'd like you to photograph some pictures of her in bondage."
Yuki's eyes widened. "Bondage?" 
"Yes," he said, adding quickly, "I mean, her character is wearing chains and handcuffs, and we can do it while she's still soaking wet, like she went to hell or something after she drowned."
Shizuka shook her head. "No, I don't think so."
"Why not?" the client asked in disbelief.
"That's not in the contract."
"But...."
"I mean, if you really wanted that you should have asked for it before we started. I would have just said no for the entire thing."
The client let out a deep sigh. "Very well, have it your way."
Yuki and Shizuka watched the disappointed client leave. They didn't say anything until the door closed behind him.
"He was very forthcoming about wanting lewd pictures of you," Yuki said, lowering her voice to a whisper.
"His money was good, but I'm not going to whore myself out," agreed Shizuka.
----
A few days later Shizuka and Arisa went to meet the producers for Vampire Princess Luka. They were in a bind because the original actress they hired to play Luka dropped out at the last minute, so they needed to fill the role of Luka quickly. Shizuka found that they tapped her because she played a Gothic Lolita in Yandere Murder Massacre and felt she looked similar enough to Luka. Although the producers were mum about the true reason the previous actress dropped out, Arisa recognized it as a rare opportunity to give Shizuka the lead role in a film, albeit a low budget one. 
The wardrobe test went better than expected and the producers liked the way Shizuka carried herself, but Shizuka had her reservations. It was a black outfit, certainly, but it was, like her costume in Yandere Murder Massacre, a Gothic Lolita outfit of a more erotic bent. It had a short skirt that seemed more like a tutu, black thigh high stockings, a cleavage window, and, to Shizuka's distress, black thong panties. She felt it was more Erotic Lolita than anything.
For the rest of her costume Shizuka had to wear a long, flowing silver wig, which felt a little heavy for her head. She wore contact lenses which changed the color of her eyes to a deep, blood red, and wore equally red lipstick. Her skin was lightened to give her a more pale complexion. The effect was subtle against Shizuka's natural skin, but noticable. She was fitted with prosthetic teeth to give her cute little fangs, and while it bothered Shizuka to wear them she knew she needed to get used to it. She looked at herself in the mirror and idly thought she was a pair of cute little bat wings and a tail away from being a cute little anime vampire girl, but was glad to not have to deal with extra things hanging off her outfit.
Shizuka started filming a week later. She was getting the impression that the thong was so the director could get good shots of her butt when she walked, ran, or jumped. She was certain the cast and crew were getting an eyeful of it. 
"I'm getting real self-conscious about this role," Shizuka confided in Yuki. "I know it is a horror film and the producers want to show everyone my legs, but I don't like them showing my butt."
"You should be happy about it," Yuki said. "If they're paying attention to your assets, then that means they want the audience to like you. That's good."
"So you're saying I should embrace being a sex object?" she asked, mortified at the thought.
"Would that really be so bad?" the photographer wondered.
After another week of filming Shizuka discovered why the previous actress bailed on the role. The production committee for the film balked at the blood and gore the video game was known for and instead amped up the other thing it was known for: sexy women in compromising positions. 
"They say they want a serious film, but it feels like they want an adult film," Shizuka reported in a hushed voice to Yuki. 
Yuki looked concerned. "That sounds terrible." 
"This might not be the right role for me."
"It might be," Yuki replied. "Luka is an action girl. You're athlethic and good looking, so it's a good fit for you. But it's up to you."
"I know, but..."
"How bad can it be?" Yuki asked. 
Shizuka looked at her friend. "That's definitely tempting fate."
----
A few days later Shizuka was asked to film a scene she found offensive. The scene called for Luka to be captured by the antagonist and psychologically tortured, but the director decided to get 'creative' and turn it into a full blown bondage scene.
Shizuka sat down on her knees with her hands tied behind her back. The actor playing the antagonist apologized profusely.
"I'm really sorry," he said. "This is probably going to be awkward."
Shizuka shook her head. "I'm not blaming you. I'm blaming the director."
The director, for his part, looked positively amused and eager to shoot the scene. He wanted to amp up the sexiness of the scene, having Shizuka wear fake boobies that made her cleavage look bigger for this scene and giving her the laciest black thong he could find. 
"If you do a good enough job, we will get it done in one take and it'll all be over," the director said sadistically.
Shizuka had no doubt in her mind that it would not go that smoothly as a crew member put a ball gag in her mouth. She was supposed to play Luka as defiant against her captor, but she also had no doubt that the director intended to play out one of his personal fantasies in this scene. 
"I think we're all ready to go," the director said with a grin. "Action!"
Shizuka braced herself as the antagonist stepped forward. He briefly lifted up her chin as if studying her face, monologuing his scripted speech. Then he let her go and slapped her across the face. 
"That's good," the director said. "Keep going."
Shizuka groaned with the ball gag in her mouth as the antagonist slapped her a second time. The third slap was scripted so she would fall over onto her side, with her butt facing the camera so the film could capture her rear end.
"Tuck in your legs more!" the director shouted. "Let's see some ass!"
Her butt cheeks quivered and clenched as her body went into convulsions. This was supposed to make the audience feel sorry for her, but she couldn't help but wiggle them in a way that would be highly suggestive if her legs weren't restrained. 
"Perfect!" the director exclaimed with delight. "Cut!"
Yuki and the other crew members rushed in to help her up. "How do you feel?" Yuki asked, but Shizuka just groaned as she lay on the floor. "Are you okay?"
Shizuka mumbled through her ball gag. Yuki apologized and quickly removed it.
"They better have gotten the shot," Shizuka mumbled, involuntarily drooling.
"Yes, they did," Yuki confirmed. "So, are you okay?"
"I guess so," Shizuka replied. 
At that point, the director rushed in, panting. "I can't believe it! You did it! That was awesome!" 
"I know," Shizuka replied sarcastically. "My ass wouldn't be on the line otherwise."
"I need you to get ready for the next shot," the director said. "We're going to be doing the closeup and we're going to drizzle you in slime."
Shizuka reeled back in revulsion. "You're kidding." 
"Nope," the director said. "It's gonna be awesome!"
Shizuka glanced at Yuki, who gave her a worried expression. The crew put the ball gag back on her and the camera moved a little closer so as to do a bust shot. Another crew member brought a bucket which Shizuka saw was filled with a white liquid. 
"Now, when we start, you can't flinch," the director said. "If you mess this up we'll have to do it again."
"Of course," Shizuka mumbled through the ball gag.
"Roll camera!"
Shizuka kept her eyes open and stared forward blankly. She was not going to give the director the satisfaction of repeating this scene again.
"Action!" the director shouted.
On cue Shizuka felt the crew dump the slime over her head. It emptied slowly, landing on the top of her head and slowly oozing its way down her face. She closed her eyes as the slime came, the warm, viscous liquid slowly covering her head. She felt it drip down her chin and onto her fake cleavage, and down her dress. She was not going to show any enjoyment or fear, not going to give anyone the satisfaction. Her body remained stiff, but she kept her face completely emotionless as she tried to block out the world around her.
"Cut!" the director exclaimed. "Great job! Perfection!" 
The crew quickly rushed in and helped her out of the slime. She was spitting out the ball gag, which had got so tightly wedged in her mouth that it felt like it was glued on. 
"That's a wrap," the director said. "We're done for the day."
"I'm going to need a few minutes to myself," Shizuka announced, her mouth full of spit and saliva.
A crew member quickly untied her. "You did a great job!"
Yuki rushed back to Shizuka's side and helped her to her feet. "You look terrible," she said.
"I feel terrible," Shizuka replied. 
Shizuka's steps felt wobbly as she became stiff after standing on her knees for a long time, and being covered in thick slime wasn't helping. Yuki helped her back to the dressing room to get cleaned off and out of the messy clothes. 
Her assistants helped her out of the slimed dress, setting it aside to be taken to the refrigeration unit so it could be used for the next scene which would be filmed later. Shizuka didn't like the idea of filming multiple scenes in a sticky, slimy dress, but the director forced this on her and she hated him for it. 
Yuki helped her into a shower where she cleaned off the filth. Yuki brought her some fresh clothes from her closet.
"Thanks for your help," Shizuka said. 
"No problem," Yuki replied, "let's just get out of here."
Shizuka was stiff from the slime and her body felt sore. She leaned on Yuki for support and stepped out of the shower.
"Do you feel okay?" Yuki asked.
"Not really," Shizuka replied. 
"You should rest."
"Yeah, I will."
The two girls left the studio and headed back to their apartment. Shizuka was not looking forward to putting on the slimy dress again.
----
The next few days Shizuka felt like hell. The director wanted to film the rest of the torture scenes, which meant that Shizuka had to get back in the slimy dress. The dress was cold from being refrigerated to keep the slime moist so she shivered through most of the shoots. She hated having to be coated in more slime to keep the glistening look on her hair and skin. Shizuka had the distinct feeling the director was really enjoying himself at her expense.
"This is really uncomfortable," she said through the ball gag. 
"Shut up," the director said. "It's part of the character."
When the shoot was finally over, she felt dirty. Everything from her hair to her skin was covered in slime and there were large puddles of it under her feet. 
"I feel horrible," she said to Yuki as they left the set and headed back to their apartment.
"I think the director is going overboard," Yuki said. "I'm not at all familiar with Vampire Princess Luka, but I don't think the game is quite so... erotic."
"I don't want to talk about it anymore," Shizuka said. 
"Okay. I won't say anything. Let's just go inside and I'll make us some tea."
"Sounds good." 
They walked into their apartment and into the kitchen. Yuki turned on the kettle and looked at her friend. Yuki grabbed the tea bags from the basket and filled the kettle with water. 
Shizuka sat down on a chair at the small table. Yuki sat down across from her.
"I take it you're not too happy with what you've been doing lately," Yuki said.
"I'm not."
"You should talk to the director. Find out what's going on."
"I did. The director wants to make the movie more sexy. The production committee wants to make it more sexy. They don't seem interested in making a more authentic film to the game."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean the game is about a vampire girl hunting monsters. I expect blood and guts and gore, and I'm okay being covered in that when I'm fighting monsters. Heck, at this point I'm okay with the thong. Instead, I'm filming borderline adult video bondage scenes."
"Oh."
"I'm a big girl," Shizuka continued, "I can handle it. But I'm not okay with the director replacing all of the gory bits with... prettier... shots. It's just not the same."
"We need to do something about it. It sounds like the director is going to ruin the movie."
"We don't have a choice. We're contracted to do the movie his way."
"Well... what if we found a way to get rid of the director?" Yuki wondered.
"Like how?"
"You know, if word got out that the director is a hack who abuses his actors, we could do it that way."
Shizuka shook her head. "I don't know how to do that, and even if I did, he'd just get back at me."
"No one said you had to do anything," Yuki replied slyly.
Shizuka stared at Yuki, studying her face. She nodded. 
"I guess I'll leave it up to you," she decided.
----
As Yuki promised, word started to spread that the director for the film adaptation of Vampire Princess Luka wanted to turn it into an adult video. The fans of the game picked up on the rumor and immediately started bombarding the studio and the director with hate mail in retaliation. 
The production committee tried to assuage the fears of the fans with promises that the film was being produced with authenticity in mind, but another rumor started floating around that the director was forcing his actors to film 'extra' adult scenes for his personal pleasure. An anonymous member of the crew tacitly confirmed that borderline adult scenes were filmed, which only fueled the outrage. The anger against the director exploded instantly, with the scandal making the news. 
Arisa, as Shizuka's agent, was called to attend a meeting with the production committee. The director and the agent for the antagonist's actor were also in attendance, along with others, to discuss the latest development.
"Someone leaked this to the news!" the director yelled angrily. "The entire crew needs to be fired to root out the leak and set an example."
"You can't do that," one of the producers said. "That would make things even worse."
"Do you think this makes it any better?" another producer asked. "A scandal like this just won't blow over."
"I'd like to add," Arisa said, speaking up, "that my client is in fact being abused on the set. The scenes she's filmed in the past few days are not in the script."
"She's an actress," the director replied coldly. "She should do what she's told without question."
"You're a director, not a dictator," Arisa shot back. "My client's well-being is very important."
"If I may," the other agent said, "my client, while not being the subject of these 'creative' scenes, has also objected to them. He feels very uncomfortable doing them. We did not sign up for a film to do these kind of scenes."
"Your clients are cowards," the director said.
"But you can't fire both of them," a producer pointed out. "That would draw even more scrutiny."
"Maybe we can get the other actor to drop out," the director said.
"And how do we do that?" the agent asked. "You can't just fire someone for no reason. You need a valid reason."
The director turned to the producer. He finally realized what the meeting was about. "You can't fire me!"
"Yes, we can," the producer said. "You don't seem to understand that all the problems are coming from you."
"You can't fire me!" the director repeated. "Your film will fail without me!"
Arisa watched with fascination as the director tried to fight for his life to keep his job, which inevitably ended in failure. The director was fired on the spot, and the studio issued a press release he was 'let go for creative differences' which was the most polite way to say it. Production on the film halted until a new director could be found, but Shizuka didn't mind. She decided to commemorate the director's firing by celebrating with Yuki.
----
Following the scandal involving the director of Vampire Princess Luka, Arisa decided to monitor reactions to his firing. Many of the fans were glad he was gone because a film about Vampire Princess Luka without the blood and gore was not true to the game. Others were upset at how Luka was portrayed, feeling that she was made out to be a damsel in distress rather than a badass, assertive heroine.
Without a director the assistant director took over, but it put the film production back two weeks while scenes were reorganized. The borderline adult scenes were excised from the film to Shizuka's great relief, but to her dismay she still had to wear the thong panties for continuity's sake with the existing footage. She hated it when they made her wear that kind of thing for a role, and she was still aghast that they made her wear it for real.
When filming resumed the blood and gore was back in while toning down the sexy melodrama. Shizuka's action scenes put a lot of emphasis on her slender legs while the crew threw buckets of fake monster blood on her to simulate her slashing a monster that would be added in post production. Shizuka didn't mind this time because it was simply a part of being an action hero in a horror film.
More importantly, Shizuka started having fun on the set. Where the atmosphere of the previous director was morbid and domineering, the assistant director was more laid back and lax, and more willing to accept input from the actors when scenes weren't working.
This laid back atmosphere allowed Shizuka and the other actors to develop a rapport that wasn't possible the first time around, and the scenes filmed were much better for it. There were still instances of bad behavior and bad lines by the actors, but overall it was much more fun to film.
The film was pushed back two more weeks, but now that the assistant director was in charge of production it was a more fluid, organic process, which actually meant things got finished on time. By the end of the filming, everyone was having a great time. The actors were becoming closer to one another, and the scenes were fun to film.
A week after the shooting wrapped, the film was screened to the actors and crew, along with a friend. Shizuka decided to bring Yuki with her.
The film, for all of its flaws, was surprisingly fun to watch. While the effects would need to be added in the next few months the cast and crew loved the cut screened.
Yuki and Shizuka went out for sushi and talk about the film.
"I liked that," Yuki said. "It was fun seeing you covered in blood and gore for half the movie."
"Oh, you would like that, wouldn't you?" Shizuka teased. "It was so weird getting stuff thrown on you all the time."
"Yeah, it was weird and cool at the same time." Yuki smiled. "You looked really cool in that outfit. I think it was super cute."
"Thanks. I felt like I could kick ass and take names," Shizuka said.
Having said that, Shizuka did not like how often she saw her thong-clad butt on the screen. She would have to bring it up with editing to tone it down, but she knew that it was impossible to remove it completely. She resigned herself to the idea her first starring role would feature her butt on the big screen.
----
In the following months Shizuka took many of the other jobs Arisa presented her as they were more often one-off projects, and a few new ones. She attended the premier of Vampire Princess Luka with Yuki, seeing the finished film for the first time. The film was a huge success and she was congratulated for making a great horror movie.
Shizuka received praise for her role as Luka where, despite her lines in the movie being few, her expressions, mannerisms, and movements did a lot to communicate what Luka was feeling at any given time. It was considered an improvement over her previous stoic roles that gave her character more humanity in a 'less is more' approach.
Fans of the video game were more divided on the film adaptation. While Vampire Princess Luka was known for its gratuitous blood and gore, and the sexy women, they felt that some of the gratuitousness seemed excessive in the film. While blood and gore flying around in the video game was seen as humorous, the film took it a lot more seriously and it came off more disturbing seeing Luka running around covered in the monster guts. 
On the other hand, the fans that were into horror films, and horror fans in general, praised it for sticking to the game's original intention. The blood and guts was not glorified in any way and meant to be horrifying. That Shizuka played Luka as humorless and very serious only added to the horror. 
The attention on Shizuka as Luka's actor brought more attention on her previously acclaimed roles. Her new fans were surprised to learn she played more reserved, non-action roles in the past, and even did a comedy. While some fans were disappointed in this change of style, others admired Shizuka for expanding her horizons.
"Shizuka played a victim in Yandere Murder Massacre, but in Vampire Princess Luka, she's the hero," a fan said.
"A lot of her live action roles and voice over were for support, so this is her first leading role," added another. "I hope this leads to her getting more starring roles."
"I'm surprised that she's taken more lead roles. I thought she was too cute to play a tragic character. I hope that doesn't get in the way of her being funny though."
"I like that she doesn't take herself too seriously. She is relatable."
The positive comments regarding Shizuka's change in style continued for a while. Then a new one came in.
"Shizuka is doing a disservice to the Lolita fashion she claims she loves," the poster claimed. "She is sexing it up like crazy shortening her skirt. She's even wearing a thong so we can see her ass."
"What are you going on about, that's Vampire Princess Luka's costume in the game?"
"I'm talking about the movie, twit. She's supposed to be a Lolita and she's not."
"Yeah, but that's the game's fault, not hers. Besides, I would have popped a blood vessel seeing a real Lolita outfit covered in gore."
"I still think it's wrong."
"Oh, I don't care. She looked cute in it. If you don't want to see it, don't look, but don't go ripping Shizuka's work to shreds just because you're an internet douchebag."
The argument continued, but Shizuka did not learn of it and therefore never paid it any mind. 
With the success of the film Shizuka was asked to appear in costume at a fan event. She agreed to wear the costume again under the condition that she got to wear bloomers under the skirt. She did not want to encourage fans to look under her skirt for the expected thong and wanted to preserve her modesty at a live event.
She looked down from her position on the stage and knew the fans could see up her unreasonably short skirt, but in fairness it was made like a tutu. She saw the disappointment on some of their faces when they saw she wasn't wearing a thong, but pushed it out of her mind to play her part at the event.
The event was a panel consisting of the director, the producer, Shizuka, and the original game's writer. They took a lot of questions, most of them mundane, until one fan asked an interesting question.
"How much did this movie change with the change of directors?" the fan asked. "Was there anything cut?"
The director said "Yes, there was a significant amount, but we got a lot of input from the staff and they helped us a lot with the movie. We were able to make it a lot better with the new ideas they gave us. I'm glad we kept as much of the original story as possible."
Shizuka added, "I did a lot of research for this movie. I tried to make it as accurate to the source material as possible. I tried to keep the themes, settings, and characters as true to the original as possible."
"Yes, but what about changes?" the fan pressed on. "There were a lot of changes, weren't there?"
The panel members glanced at each other wordlessly. Shizuka knew exactly what the fan was asking, and everyone on the panel, including herself, looked visibly uncomfortable. 
"There are things," she began, "but they are not appropriate to discuss. I hope you understand."
"Yes, of course," the fan said, but his tone hinted that he did not believe Shizuka at all. 
The rest of the panel members did not say anything. 
"I'm sorry, but your questions are not appropriate for a panel like this. We are simply here to talk about the film. We aren't here to discuss juicy tabloid gossip."
"I understand, although I am curious about the changes. I'm sure the director will be more than happy to explain it if I ask him directly."
The audience started getting irritated with the fan for taking up so much time. They started booing him as security arrived to remove him for not giving other fans their turn.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that, but it's nothing new for these types of things," the director said to Shizuka. 
"I'm okay," Shizuka replied. "He was trying everyone's patience."
The rest of the panel went as scheduled without further incident.
----
No sooner had the panel ended Arisa noticed that someone, likely the ejected fan, was busy making waves on social media trying to stir up trouble with the cut scenes from the film.
"We need to demand the uncut version of the film!" the trolling fan argued. "We need to see more smut!"
To the credit of the majority of fans they harshly talked him down, but somehow this movement to see an adult version of Vampire Princess Luka found its way to a huge troll discussion group who decided to take it upon themselves to make the issue bigger than it actually was.
The troll group decided to focus its attention on Shizuka, blaming her for the changes made to the film. While she did not see any of the cut footage, she did not see the unedited version of every cut scene either. In fact, she had only one scene from the movie where most of the smut was omitted. This did not stop the trolls from attacking her.
The trolls also attempted to cause drama online. If Arisa was reading anything related to the movie or Luka's fans she would see comments like "Shizuka is a cunt." This sort of talk would then be followed by a "#notallfans" hashtag. The trolls even went so far as to post photoshopped images of Shizuka in scandalous poses.
If the intention of the trolls was to shame Shizuka online, they failed miserably. Shizuka had no social media presence and did not spend any time on the internet as she was too busy with her chain of jobs. Her work ethic caused her to be almost constantly on a different job during the week so she had no time to learn of the attacks, nor react to them.
On the other hand, Arisa, Shizuka's agent, was a very avid online reader and monitored what people were saying about her clients, and it was starting to affect her deeply. 
Arisa made it a personal policy of not intervening in the flow of discussion groups because her inside knowledge could affect how fans see things. Yet the slew of organized troll attacks was getting to her, to the point that she was starting to feel angry herself.
She asked Yuki and Shizuka to join her for dinner, and the three girls went to Arisa's favorite restaurant. They sat down in their own corner of the restaurant and ordered their food. 
"Something's been bothering you lately," Shizuka noted.
Arisa took a few minutes to think through her answers. She did not want to insult her friends, so she tried to word her reply carefully.
"People have been saying mean and nasty things about you on the internet," Arisa explained. "It's not like one or two people, it's like a mob. They're out to get you because they think you're responsible for Vampire Princess Luka not being an adult film."
Shizuka blinked. "Well, in a way, I kind of am."
"But that's no reason to go through the lengths they're going to!" Arisa protested.  
"I know," Shizuka replied. "But it's true I didn't want to film an adult film. If they want to be mad about it, that's their problem."
"It will be your problem if it affects your future job opportunities," Arisa replied.
"Well, they are trolls, right?" Yuki said. "If you don't pay attention to them, they'll get bored and talk about something else."
Arisa sighed in frustration. "I wish you didn't have to go through this. I wish we lived in a world where people weren't so backwards about these things."
"I can't do anything about that," Shizuka said. "All I can do is keep moving forward. If people are bored enough to talk tough without acting on it, I don't need to pay them any mind."
Yuki nodded. "That's fine."
Arisa leaned back and sighed. "I guess I'll just have to stay on top of this mess."
"Yeah, you always do," Yuki said.
Shizuka nodded. "You always do."
Arisa smiled. "Thanks for listening. You know I trust you."
"I know," Yuki said.
Arisa paid the bill and the three girls left the restaurant and headed back to the office.
----
The actions of the trolls were falling on deaf ears. The media did not pick up on it and the tabloids dismissed it as the story had already played out when the first director for the film was fired for trying to turn Vampire Princess Luka into an adult film.
The trolls' goal of getting Shizuka fired was not realized. Most were becoming bored when nobody was reacting to their outlandish posts and started moving on to other topics. The original troll, however, would not be deterred even if his weaponized troll mob dissolved.
On the other hand, the trolling did yield a result, and that was the disgraced director putting out an actual adult film, "Vampire Princess XXX" which, as a vindictive vehicle, featured a poor actress dressed as Luka being taken advantage of in compromising, adult film ways. The troll found this adult film and started banding it around as the true version of Vampire Princess Luka. 
Unfortunately for the troll, it backfired on him spectacularly. Even his former supporter trolls thought he went off the deep end and refused to entertain his thoughts any further.
----
Thanks to the high profile gained from being the leading lady in a hit horror flick, Shizuka started getting more job offers than ever. Arisa asked her to join her in her office in order to sort them out.
"I'm real proud of you," Arisa said. "A lot of productions really want to talk to you now."
"Yeah, but that's as an actress," Shizuka replied. "I still think of myself as a fashion model."
"Regardless, it is success, and your work as a model is what made you successful as an actress," Arisa said.  "I think you'll be seeing a lot more of both jobs, so get used to it." 
"Are you saying I'm under pressure as an actress?" 
"Well, let's face it, you're under pressure as a celebrity."
"Oh," Shizuka said, blushing. "I'll keep that in mind."
Arisa smiled at her. "Good. Now, let's get down to business. I've sorted through what we've got and I'll let you hear the big ones. The first job is an offer to appear in the music video for one of the hottest boy bands in the country. The song is a love ballad, so it'll be more drama-oriented than simply looking good."
"Okay," Shizuka said. "They're not expecting me to kiss the lead singer or something, are they?"
Arisa shook her head, laughing. "No! His fangirls would kill you over that. Anyway, the second job offer is for an advertorial. They want a photoshoot with you, but it'll be of you doing different poses that represent different products. You'd be a model, not an actor, so you wouldn't be singing or dancing."
"I don't mind doing the poses if the pay is good."
"So, the third job is a modelling contract. They want a fashion shoot, so they'll pay you to model different clothing for their brand. They want a lot of pictures with you with the merchandise."
"I'm okay with that," Shizuka said. 
"Good. So, the fourth offer is a guest appearance on a variety show."
"A variety show?" Shizuka asked. 
"Yeah. Don't worry, it's just as a guest judge for the contestants. You're not doing any crazy stunts or anything."
"Well, that's different. I can do that."
"So the last big job I've got is for an anime in development. The producers saw you in Vampire Princess Luka and Yandere Murder Massacre, and is a big fan of your portrayals of Mia in Mystical Dream Girl 4 and Sakura in Magical Girl Wars. They've been following you for a while and really want to meet you."
"Huh? For what?" Shizuka asked, taken aback. "Why? What kind of show is this?"
"It's an animated adaptation of a light novel series, "Chronicles of the Green Dragon". They want you to read for an esper that has a hard time showing emotions because of the information overload she receives."
"That sounds... weird."
"Yeah, but apparently the studio thinks it'll be a big hit, so they want to hire you and leverage your celebrity, if they can," Arisa said. "The pay is pretty good."
"Well, it is a voice over role, so it can't be that bad," Shizuka said. "I'll do it."
"Good. The audition is in a week. I'll send you the details later."
The two went over the details of other, smaller projects that would require very little of Shizuka's time.
----
It took Shizuka a week to prepare for the audition. She had to read a 12-minute script, and the scenes were all voice acting. Though she had a hard time, she did well. Her performance was good enough for the studio to offer her a regular voice acting role in the anime.
She was given a room with a recording booth in a nearby studio, and she was there most days from early morning to late at night. It was a tiring schedule, but the pay was good, so she was willing to put in the hours. And the rest of the time, she would just chill in her apartment. It was nice to have some time to relax.
Her first recording session was filled with a lot of anxiety, but she soon got used to it. It became routine for her to get to the studio early in the morning, wait for a director to give her instructions, record the lines, wait for the director to give feedback, then repeat the process for hours until the recording session ended. Because of the long hours and the pressure of the recording sessions, she started to feel like a part of the production team. She even started to look forward to recording sessions.
After recording for six episodes the first episode of the anime aired on network television. Her performance was well-received. She was given a lot of positive attention, and she was glad about that.
The voice actors for the anime went to a meet and greet event with the fans, and Shizuka was among the cast who went. She had a great time meeting them and signing stuff. 
What she did not know was there was a man in a black hoodie and black pants waiting in line to meet her. 
When the black hoodie man made it to the front of the line, he said, "I've been watching your career."
"Oh, you have? That's very nice of you," Shizuka said politely. 
"Oh yes," the black hoodie man said. "You really stand out."
Shizuka was getting a bad feeling in her gut, a feeling she had not felt since she worked as a freelance model. "Okay then, was there something I could do for you?"
The man grinned, and put his hand in his pocket. "Well, now that you ask...."
Suddenly, he lunged at Shizuka with a knife. The surrounding fans gasped as Shizuka flipped backward in her chair to avoid the thrust, and the event security tackled him.
"You ruined Vampire Princess Luka!" he cried as the security beat him down.
One of the other actors came to help Shizuka back up to her feet. "Are you okay?"
Shizuka nodded. "He didn't get me," she replied. 
The man continued to struggle as the security dragged him out of the building. "You'll pay for this, you monster!" he cried.
As the man was led away one of the staff came up to Shizuka. 
"Maybe we should cancel the event for your safety."
Shizuka shook her head. "I think that's just a one time thing. The rest should be okay."
She picked up her chair and sat back down. She took in a deep breath and resumed greeting the fans as if nothing happened.
After the event ended Shizuka learned that the attacker was the same crazed fan who accosted her at the Vampire Princess Luka event. His motivation was revenge for 'ruining' the adult scenes he wanted to see in the film that were cut, blaming Shizuka for either not wanting to do them, or not wanting them in the film at all.
Shizuka ignored the crazed fan, and only paid attention to him long enough to know he was sent to prison.
----
At the end of the week Yuki and Shizuka went to cosplay at the local cosplay event at the park. It was a small event meant for the local cosplayers to show off their latest costumes, and Yuki was no different. She dressed as Luka from Vampire Princess Luka, the character Shizuka played in the live action film. Shizuka decided to forego cosplaying this time as she was now a known film actress and did not want to draw extra attention to herself.
As they walked through the park Yuki stopped occasionally to pose for pictures from the photographer fans, who complimented her costume. Some of the regulars recognized Shizuka from the film and praised her performance, while others had no clue the actress was in attendance. 
"I'm glad we can still go to events like this," Shizuka said. "No unwanted attention save for the ones we're looking for."
Yuki giggled. "Oh, stop. You know you like the attention."
"Maybe, but there's nothing bad about keeping a low profile, either."
Yuki and Shizuka continued walking through the park. They stopped at the central fountain where Yuki sat down on an empty bench. Shizuka sat down next to her.
"Do you suppose we're growing more apart?" Yuki wondered aloud. "It seems more rare that we do stuff together now that your acting career took off."
Shizuka looked down at the ground. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I didn't really want to transition into acting, but it just kind of happened. I'm not sure if this is what I really want."
Yuki studied her friend carefully. Shizuka always professed she was a fashion model first and an actor second. However, circumstances and success drove her more and more into bigger acting roles. Taking the lead role in Vampire Princess Luka made Shizuka a known talent outside of the fashion world and her demand went up accordingly. Yuki suspected a part of her wanted to prove to the world she could do more than model, and perhaps this was the beginning of Shizuka exploring other interests. 
"It'll work out," Yuki said encouragingly. "I didn't cosplay as Luka for nothing, you know. I did it because I believe in you."
Shizuka smiled weakly. "Thanks, Yuki."
"If you want to take more acting roles, I'm happy for you. I'll be there for you every step of the way." Yuki smiled gently at her and patted her on the shoulder. 
Shizuka stood up. "Come on, let's see some other costumes."
They left the fountain and made their way to the designated area where other cosplayers were gathering. 
----
That night as Yuki lay in bed she thought about Shizuka. She had been acting so distant lately. Maybe it was because she had been offered a lot more roles recently. It might also be because of her new fame as a Vampire Princess Luka character. She had been recognized a lot more. 
The truth was, Yuki was a little jealous of Shizuka's fame. The more attention Shizuka got, the less Yuki got. It was difficult to maintain the balance of power in their relationship. However, that wasn't stopping Yuki from trying. 
Yuki closed her eyes and imagined herself and Shizuka as two butterflies fluttering around each other. They were dancing, twirling, swirling in a beautiful dance. Their movements were graceful and delicate, but they were determined. They weren't going to let anything come between them.
Yuki was confident the next time she saw Shizuka, things would be better. She would definitely be more flattering to her friend. She smiled and drifted off to sleep.
The next day Yuki went to a scheduled photoshoot with Shizuka at work. It was one of the few times where Shizuka's busy schedule was open. Yuki arrived at the studio in time for Shizuka to finish dressing. She wore the costume from the Vampire Princess Luka video game that was themed after a maid outfit. It had the same dimensional shape as her normal Lolita outfit, including the short tutu skirt and thigh high stockings. Her black lipstick and dark eye shadow gave the impression of a gothic maid. Yuki entered just as Shizuka was adjusting her wig.
"Oh, there's my lovely princess!" Yuki said in adoration.
"I know this is not an official costume, but it's very well made," Shizuka praised.
Yuki's eyes sparkled with joy. "I love it!"
Shizuka looked over her shoulder. "So, uh... I'm wearing the black thong panties you wanted me to wear. Why are you being so specific about that?"
"Stop being such a prude," Yuki said, slapping her on the shoulder playfully. "Everyone saw you wear it in the film, so it's expected now."
The two stepped out of the dressing room and onto the set. The set was dressed like a gothic manor, with a sofa and a table and chair set up as props. Yuki planned to make the most of her session with Shizuka, and she prepared her camera for a long shoot.
"Alright, let's get started!" Yuki said cheerfully. 
Yuki took her position behind the camera. Shizuka sat down on the sofa and folded her hands in her lap. Yuki snapped several pictures of Shizuka as she looked off into the distance. 
"Great, keep that look!" Yuki said.
Shizuka kept her usual stoic face as she crossed her legs on her knee. Yuki gulped as she got a momentary peek of Shizuka's panties, and her mind was already imagining undressing her. She shook her head, breaking herself out of her reverie, and continued taking pictures.
"Come on, Yuki," she whispered to herself, "stop thinking of your sexed-up friend."
"What did you say?" Shizuka asked. 
"Nothing!" Yuki replied quickly.
Yuki kept her cool and went back to taking pictures. She asked Shizuka to do normal poses, but mixed it up by inserting a more suggestive one in the middle. She hated to admit that she was still feeling some sort of attraction to her best friend and knew it was pointless because Shizuka would never return those feelings. Yet, as her photographer and close friend, Shizuka did those poses without a second thought, trusting Yuki completely. It was that trust Yuki hoped she was not violating. 
"Keep doing what you're doing." Yuki said.
Shizuka gave her gentle smile. 
They continued taking pictures until the time was up. Yuki felt like going a little longer, but knew that Shizuka had a schedule to keep. Yuki herself was also busy in her own schedule. Getting the two schedules to align as it did today was difficult and rare, and she missed being able to do three or five shoots with Shizuka a week. But, as the days went on, it was getting more and more difficult to see her friend.
Yuki walked up to Shizuka and put her hands on her shoulders. "You did great," she praised.
"Thanks," Shizuka said, feeling a little awkward.
Yuki released her friend, and looked her up and down. "You are my hero, Vampire Princess Luka."
"Oh, stop that," Shizuka protested.  
"No, seriously," Yuki said, tears welling in her eyes. "You've inspired me to be a better photographer... a better person." 
"Well... I'm glad," Shizuka said, trying not to smile, but finding it difficult. Yuki's smile was infectious, and it came easily. Shizuka's awkwardness faded away as she relaxed and laughed with Yuki.
They stood there staring into each other's eyes. No words passed between them, as they were thinking the same thing. They wanted moments like this to last longer and stay in the days when it was just the two of them against the world. But they knew their blossoming careers would not allow it, so they stayed together as long as they could.
----
Shizuka and Yuki's career paths took them apart, but they still shared the same apartment. However, their schedules were such that the only time they saw each other was either early in the morning or late at night, and for the two, it seemed like they were spending less and less time with each other.
Yuki plopped herself on her bed and let her mind wander. She hoped that the day would come where she and Shizuka would be able to be together more often. As it was, Yuki was not sure if she would be able to call her close friend a friend anymore. And, even if she could, Yuki would still wonder if she would be able to handle seeing Shizuka with someone else.
She focused on that one thought. Yuki had never seen Shizuka show interest in getting together with anyone, man or woman. She didn't know if she was really straight, only that she wasn't interested in having an intimate relationship with Yuki.
Yuki was quite a bit more curious than she was comfortable being, but she didn't think she needed to stalk her close friend to find out what she was up to.
She got up from the bed, and went to the desk in the corner of the room. On top of it was a small pile of pictures. She picked them up, and looked at them. She was quite familiar with this sort of picture, as they weren't anything too extraordinary. Most of them were selfies, some of them posed shots, but the ones that caught her eye were just the two of them in various locations, being goofy. Yuki remembered those times, feeling those candid moments were worth it.
There were three photos of the two of them together. The first photo showed them at the park, both wearing costumes. In the photo, Yuki was cosplaying the magical girl Lovely Asuka, and Shizuka was cosplaying Dark General Malefika, both from the same series, doing a famous pose where Malefika was staring intently into Asuka's eyes while holding her close. It was the first cosplay costume Yuki made for Shizuka, and the first true sign of the sexual tension she felt toward her friend.
"This was a good one," Yuki said to herself.
The second photo showed Yuki and Shizuka both dressed in fox mascot costumes. Shizuka never liked the costume so Yuki put it on herself to help her friend feel better and they play wrestled on the floor of the studio set. She had set her camera on automatic while they wrestled so she could keep the moment forever.
The last photo showed Yuki and Shizuka dressed in Sweet Lolita outfits drinking tea. Yuki was awed at how much they looked like little princesses in the photo. 
Yuki put the pictures down, and she feared what could happen in the future. She did not want to see Shizuka with a man or another woman, as unlikely as it seemed to happen. She did not want to share her with the rest of the world. But, at the same time, she knew that clinging too tightly to her would only drive her further away. 
Societal norms would expect someone of Yuki's age to have grown up and become a submissive, dutiful housewife. Yuki, as a photographer with a creative imagination, resisted that pull and maintained a healthy working relationship with her inner child. She saw the same thing in Shizuka, who chose a similar career path in an artistic direction that was far from an ordinary job.
Yuki felt that the rest of the world was conspiring to separate her from her best friend, but knew it was simply the result of their successes in their careers. It would be wrong to ask Shizuka to turn down her ascending career, and Yuki felt it wrong to drop her photography just to stay with her.
She dropped herself back on her bed and stared at the ceiling. She knew if Shizuka saw her moping around she would make fun of her. She could hear the laughter in the background, and she didn't want to deal with it. If she found a way to have Shizuka in her life without having to choose between her and her career, she would be satisfied, if only temporarily.
The best way to stay together was to work together. The more creative and out of the ordinary Yuki's work was, the more likely Shizuka would be to get caught up in it.
Yuki didn't have a lead on anything right now, but it was probably a good idea to start. She got up and went to her computer. She knew Arisa was the best person to organize such projects for her.
----
When Yuki woke up the next morning Shizuka was already gone for work. She knew that voice acting for a regular anime series was very time consuming and hated that Shizuka wasn't around to share breakfast with, but at the same time admired her work ethic.
She lamented being unable to schedule another photo session with Shizuka for another two weeks at the earliest, then remembered that her own schedule was busy as well. Yuki was scheduled on a session with a few gravure idols modeling swimsuits. She idly wished that Shizuka would be there, but knew her friend did not do swimsuit modeling.
Yuki quickly got dressed and made her way to the studio. She greeted the gravure idols and their manager, and discussed the kinds of shots they wanted and other technical details. A part of Yuki's mind was wandering through all this, although she made sure to maintain an air of professionalism. A gravure idol's career was very short, and it was important to shoot high quality photos now so their career would have legs to run for years to come. She didn't want to waste a single second of her time if she didn't have to.
Once all the technical details were ironed out, Yuki brought the gravure idols to the set and started working. The purpose of the photos was to appeal to male magazine readers so the swimsuits showed a lot of skin and the girls posed in a provocative manner.  The girls knew exactly what kind of photos they wanted to sell, and worked well with Yuki to get the perfect poses. 
The gravure idols were unaware that Yuki was a lesbian and their provocative poses were getting her hot under the collar. It was as if the restraints on Yuki were unleashed and she started asking the girls to make even more suggestive poses, pushing the envelope on what was allowed to be printed, just to see if she could do it. The gravure idols were shocked at first, but then got into the spirit of the photos. They started asking Yuki to make the pictures more explicit and took control of the poses so they could pose in a way that they felt comfortable with.  
Yuki couldn't help but smile to herself as she worked. Being her own boss was the best job she'd ever had. She wasn't bound by anyone else's judgment or rules. She got to be creative, and her work was put out into the world without anyone looking over her shoulder. When she was finished, her panties were damp with sweat. Or, what she thought was sweat.
Yuki's session ended at lunchtime. She was working on such an aroused high that she was out of breath. Her mind wandered and wondered if she could ever get Shizuka to do swimsuit modeling for her in the same way the gravure idols did, but quickly dismissed it. A photographer taking advantage of their models like that was a common horror story for both professions that Yuki didn't want to deal with.
The rest of the day went by in a blur for Yuki. She didn't even pay attention to the other girls she was working with. She just kept her mind focused on tomorrow and what she could do differently to get her next job.
She was on her way home when she realized her phone was vibrating in her pocket. She fumbled to pull it out and saw that the caller was Shizuka.
"Hey," Yuki said. "What's up?"
"I'm going to be home late," Shizuka said. "I'm going out with coworkers tonight. Sorry."
"No, it's okay. I'll see you when you get back."
"Yeah, see you tomorrow. Good night."
"Good night," Yuki said.
Yuki hung up and sighed. She missed Shizuka so much that her heart hurt.
----
Yuki managed to secure Shizuka's time for another shooting session, but it would not occur until another two weeks. She had that much time to decide what costume and set she wanted to do the photos. 
She wanted to photograph Shizuka in a costume she wanted to see her in and she had to make it count. Yuki looked to Shizuka's body of work for inspiration. She had already had her do photoshoots as Vampire Princess Luka and Legendary Flying Swallow's Kasumi. Shizuka did a live action role as Sakura in Magical Girl Wars so doing that again would not feel special. Shizuka's only major role so far which she had not dressed as the character was as Mia from Mystical Dream Girl 4.
The truth was Mia's outfit was a conventional, everyday wear clothing set, and that did not inspire Yuki enough to go with it. Sakura was a Gothic Lolita, Kasumi was a kunoichi, and Luka was an Ero Lolita, all of which had some visual flair to them. Mia's appeal was in being a normal and practical person, which did not translate into a fashion model. Yuki thought about her own interests, her love of the fantastical, her desire to create a world apart from the boring modern day world. Yuki wanted to do a set that would inspire her imagination and show off some of Shizuka's abilities.
Yuki decided to think along a different track. Shizuka was mostly a tomboy to Yuki's girly girl, but Shizuka had her moments of girly. Yuki wanted to create a set and costume that would appeal to Shizuka's feminine side and pay homage to her tomboyish nature.  
It took two weeks to plan the set and costume. It had to be something different that Yuki had not photographed her before, and in a way that was reminiscent of Shizuka. The costume would have to be something that would be visually appealing and would highlight the skills that Yuki knew that Shizuka had. 
The set was designed to be an old-style courtyard of a castle from the Sengoku period, which was also reminiscent of Kyoto, Shizuka's hometown. It would not look out of place in a period samurai movie, which was what Yuki was going for.
When the time came for the shoot, Yuki waited anxiously on the set while Shizuka got dressed. She fretted on the details, wondering if she did enough to prepare, or if she did justice to her idea.
Shizuka finally came out of the dressing room and Yuki took the time to admire her. She was dressed as a lady samurai of Yuki's original design, wearing a flowing kimono with an obi. The kimono separated widely at her waist, where Shizuka wore shorts matching the color of the kimono, leaving her legs free from restraint and easily visible. She wore tabi socks and sandals for footwear. 
Her hair was styled in a long ponytail and her head was covered with a wide straw hat for blocking out the sun. As a prop Shizuka carried a long, sheathed nodachi that was as long as she was tall. Yuki wondered how anyone could get the nodachi out of its sheath, but decided it didn't matter because the visual of having such a long weapon next to a willowy girl in a kimono was striking to her. 
"So, what do you think?" Shizuka asked.
"You look... wow," Yuki said, struggling to find the words. 
"Yeah, I thought so," Shizuka said, smiling.
Yuki smiled at her friend. Shizuka nodded, giving Yuki an expectant look, as if waiting for Yuki to give her instructions.
"Alright," Yuki said, "let's begin!"
Shizuka took her spot in the courtyard as Yuki raised her camera. The camera captured Shizuka in her moment. She looked like a character from an old samurai movie with a modern twist. Shizuka composed herself with the grace of a noblewoman and the staunch determination of a samurai. Yuki snapped the picture as Shizuka stared into the camera with a proud expression. 
"Okay, I want you to do some sword poses," Yuki said.
Shiuzka nodded, then lowered the nodachi. She started unsheathing the long blade. Yuki captured every moment as the lighting reflected off the blade. She knew the nodachi was beautiful, but seeing it with the costume and set made it into a piece of art. 
Shizuka raised her sword and started swinging it around. It looked so fluid. Just the slightest move of her wrists and arms gave the impression that the sword was dancing of its own volition. It was a joy to watch. 
Yuki suddenly wondered how Shizuka could wield the sword so easily. Her friend never talked about her past before moving to Tokyo, and all she knew was Shizuka seemed very old-fashioned despite getting into a modern career path.
Yuki snapped a picture of Shizuka as the girl swung the sword in a wide arc in the air. She went on for several minutes before returning the nodachi to its sheath. Yuki admired her friend's physique and agility. It was something she'd never seen Shizuka do before, and it was beautiful to behold.
"Wow, that was amazing!" Yuki said. "You should keep that up in your shoot as a regular pose." 
"I was just warming up," Shizuka said. "Picking up a sword like this was like meeting an old friend."
Yuki studied her friend's face. Shizuka looked at the sheathed nodachi with a strange, longing feeling. She didn't know what that meant, but did not want to pry.
Yuki took more pictures as Shizuka sat down on a low wall and leaned against the sheathed nodachi. Shizuka closed her eyes and took off the straw hat, placing it by her side.  The light hit her face with a warm glow. The light shining on Shizuka's skin made her look so luminous and pretty that Yuki couldn't stop staring at her friend.  
Shizuka tilted her head to one side, moving the loose strands of hair behind her ear. Yuki captured the image as it was, afraid to lose it in the editing process. She had never looked so vulnerable before. 
Yuki wanted to touch Shizuka's face, but was afraid that would make things awkward. She never really felt like she knew Shizuka, and her friend had a wall of stoic, reserved silence surrounding her. Yuki was not sure what Shizuka truly thought or felt. For a moment Yuki thought she caught a glimpse of the true Shizuka. 
Yuki's friend turned to her with a spark of awareness in her eyes. Her expression was so innocent that Yuki gasped. 
"Are you okay?" Shizuka asked, raising her eyebrows in slight confusion. 
"Yeah, I just..." Yuki said, "I just... I don't know. I can't explain it, but I felt like I really got to know you for the first time."
Shizuka's lips twisted into a smile once more. "Really?" she asked, raising her eyebrows and leaning in. "That is such a weird thing to say."
Yuki felt her cheeks warm up. "Well, perhaps a little bit," she laughed nervously. The two friends shared a moment of silence, laughing and smiling softly.
Shizuka stood up and brushed herself off. "I should go change. I'll be back in a minute, okay?"
"Okay, sure," Yuki said, not moving from her spot. "I'll be here."
Shizuka left the studio set and headed back to the dressing room, with Yuki's eyes following after her. Yuki wondered for a minute if she should have taken more pictures, not wanting this moment in time to end.
Yuki quickly looked through the photos she had taken. The one that stood out, and her favorite, was the one with Shizuka leaning against the nodachi with her eyes closed. If that were the only picture she took that day it would have made the day worth it to Yuki. 
----
When Shizuka was asked to be a celebrity guest judge on a variety show, she did not think much of it beside a way to promote herself for other jobs later down the line. What she found out instead was a feeling of dread that she thought she put past her.
Variety shows, especially the ones shown late at night, were meant to be entertainment. The show Shizuka was a guest judge on was no different, and it featured random ordinary people doing embarrassing and humiliating stunts for the sake of getting on television. It reminded her of the old days of being a freelance model where she had to put up with humiliating jobs just to make ends meet. 
Shizuka had to bite her tongue to keep from doing any arguing with the producer or director over small changes to the filming schedule. Instead, she focused on trying to stay composed. 
As an actress and fashion model her spot on the three judge panel was considered 'the air-headed bimbo judge'. Guest judges in her position were expected to giggle and laugh like a little girl as if everything was funny even when it was not. The producers tried to persuade her to 'act' in this capacity, but she refused, citing that her stoic persona was her main selling point.
The theme of that show was 'fashion' but it was really getting ordinary people to wear weird costumes and be judge on it. The loser got humiliated in some manner. Shizuka kept quiet, trying not to look as if she were laughing at the contestants' misfortune. She tried to watch the contestants as closely as possible, watching for anyone worth saving.  
The first three contestants were emblematic of what was to come. This group featured a salaryman wearing a hot dog costume, a female grade school teacher dressed in a pink ballerina costume, and another man who looked like he was drunk and wearing a girl's sailor uniform. All three of them seemed like the gullible type looking for attention and fame.
All three of the contestants performed a little stunt. The salaryman tried to do a dance, but ended up falling over and rolling off the stage. The teacher tried to do a cartwheel, but failed. The drunk man didn't even do his assigned stunt. 
The judges voted on the stunts and Shizuka was unimpressed so she gave all three of them a negative mark. 
"Wow," the emcee said, "you're pretty harsh."
Shizuka folded her arms and just glared back at the emcee.
To nobody's surprise, the drunk man was chosen for the penalty game. Two crew members dragged him away to pie him in the face. The other two judges laughed, while Shizuka remained unamused.
The second set of contestants seemed to be an improvement over the first set. This time it was a set of three gullible teenage girls dressed in bunny suits. Shizuka was already unimpressed with the costumes. The girls were asked to run an obstacle course which consisted of them jumping between the bars of a playground set. At the end of the course, the girls were to jump off a high diving board into a tub of flour. All three girls made it to the end and were covered from head to foot in flour, but they did not complete the obstacle course in the same time. Shizuka and the other two judges decided to punish the slowest girl, so she was dragged away and covered in chocolate cream.
The final set of contestants was another group of three consisting of a teenage girl dressed as an idol singer from an idol anime, a teenage boy dressed like a monkey, and another teenage boy wearing a girl's yukata. Shizuka had to do a double-take on the third contestant because he looked convincingly like a girl. 
The girl's stunt was jumping rope. This was a pretty simple stunt and the girl did it straight-faced without any attitude. When the girl finished her stunt, the emcee congratulated her and called out for the audience to give her a round of applause for being such a good sport. The audience obliged.
The monkey boy was the next contestant. His stunt was to climb a set of stairs leading to a platform, jump off the platform into a circle, and catch a ball in mid-air. It was a pretty tough stunt, but the boy managed to pull it off. The boy's momentum carried him past the platform and he landed in the middle of the circle upside down. The monkey boy stood up after a few seconds and waved at the crowd with a smile before climbing back up the stairs.
The last contestant was the boy dressed in the girl's yukata. Just as he was asked to dress as a girl to appear on the show, his stunt was to act like a girl, too. The boy strutted and twirled around on the stage while the judges stared in awe. The boy did a very convincing impression of a girl and the judges were so impressed that they gave him a perfect score right away. 
"Wow," the emcee said, "this guy's a natural!"
Shizuka and the other two judges were so impressed the boy was in no danger of losing. After some back and forth, and a difference of opinion, Shizuka decided to give the penalty game to the idol girl, with one other judge concurring. She watched as the idol girl, who was formerly composed, break down into tears and beg for mercy as she was dragged to a booth to be slimed.
Shizuka was relieved the show's taping was over, and went backstage to get away from the nonsense atmosphere of the variety show. No sooner had she gotten to the green room the boy in the yukata approached her. 
"Excuse me," the boy said, "you're the actress that played Sakura in Magical Girl Wars, aren't you?"
"Yes, in the live action version," Shizuka confirmed.
"I'm a big fan of yours," the boy continued, "I just want to thank you for playing the role of Sakura. That role really changed my life."
"You're welcome," Shizuka said. "You did a good job. The audience seemed to like you."
"I know," he replied. "I was inspired by Sakura to keep on living because she didn't give up when she lost her powers."
"It sounds like you had quite a story yourself," Shizuka replied in admiration.
"I've got a lot of stories... stories that I can't tell anyone, stories I can't tell myself. I wanted to tell someone the other day, but I couldn't. I thought maybe if I came on this show and did this I could tell someone. I could finally tell the truth. But that wouldn't be fair to anyone else on the show, would it?"
"I understand," Shizuka said, feeling a certain sense of sympathy for the boy. "I hope you feel better."
"Thanks," he said. "I wish you the best of luck and will be cheering for you."
Shizuka waved as the boy ran off. She never considered how her role as an actress could change someone's life before, and to hear such a frank confession like that touched her heart.
She left the filming studio and made her way back to her apartment. The show was slated to air later that night. She entered her apartment to find Yuki there waiting for her.
"So, how did it go?" Yuki asked.
"It was insane," Shizuka replied. "I don't know how I made it through all that. I don't understand how people humiliate themselves just to get on television."
"I don't get it, either," agreed Yuki. "At least you don't need to resort to anything like that to get on television."
Shizuka gave her a sideeyed glance. "Yeah, yeah, yuck it up, Yuki."
The two friends chatted small talk as they ate dinner and waited for the variety show to air later that night. When the time came they sat down on the couch and watched the television.
"Oh, that wasn't really fair," Yuki said, when the drunk man failed his task. 
"That was more like putting him out of his misery," Shizuka commented.
They then watched the second round and the bunny girls jumping into a tub of flour.
"Oh, that's so weird," Yuki said. "That stuff gets everywhere."
Shizuka shrugged and continued watching the show. When the boy in the girl's yukata won, Yuki clapped with excitement.
"Oh, that boy is so precious, I'm glad he won," she said.
"So am I," Shizuka agreed.
After the show ended, Yuki turned toward Shizuka. "So, what was it like being a judge?"
"It felt like I was in one of the circles of hell," Shizuka answered. "Those people were mostly terrible."
"It's probably because it's their first time," Yuki said reassuringly. "They probably were nervous. I'm sure they'll get better with practice."
"You're being too generous," Shizuka countered. "Those people went on just to get attention and didn't care how."
"How do you think they felt about it?" Yuki asked.
"They were probably proud," Shizuka said. "They probably felt like celebrities. 'Look at me, I made it onto a television show!'"
"I don't know," Yuki said. "I probably wouldn't feel proud, or even anything. I'd be worried that people were watching, and that they might think I was stupid for acting like a fool on national television. Of course I'd be worried that I might get in trouble as well."
"I'm glad we agree, then," Shizuka said. "I wouldn't want to be on television for all the wrong reasons."
The two friends watched the rest of the television show in silence before turning it off and heading to bed.
----
For the past few months Shizuka was doing voice acting on the fantasy anime "Chronicles of the Green Dragon" playing the role of an esper girl named Lily who could not express her emotions. She felt the story was really nothing worth talking about, as her character was just one of several love interests of the male main character, Green Dragon, and Shizuka assumed that Lily was not the main love interest. 
All of that changed when she received the script for the day's episode. She read the script twice just to make sure she wasn't mistaken about what was happening. 
In the next episode, almost all of the girls pining for Green Dragon summarily dump him now that his usefulness in the main plot's conflict was over. 
"What the heck is going on with this story?" she wondered out loud.
She read the script again, and realized the writers were being serious. The show's cultivated multiple choice girlfriend element was being dropped in this episode with the majority of the girls kicking Green Dragon to the curb. Lily was one of the characters that didn't outright reject him along with some of the other party companions. 
She inquired to the writer as to what this meant, and was only told that the group dynamic as it was is no more and the story was going to cover Green Dragon and his remaining friends in one half and the girls that rejected him in the other. 
After reading the script a few more times, Shizuka understood how to play this. She would play her character in a way that was different from the how her character was originally written. The original scripts stated that Lily would be a kuudere, a popular type of character that is cold and emotionless. With this episode's turn, instead of being cold, she would be compassionate, kind, and understanding.  
This would give her character a different dynamic with the other characters. At the start Lily was emotionally distant. She would play a different role in this episode in regards to her character. Now that she had all of the information Shizuka would be able to prepare for her acting. 
Following the airing of the episode fans were divided on the girls' betrayal of Green Dragon, with some taking the side of the girls and some taking side of Green Dragon. As Lily was written to take Green Dragon's side she received fan letters both thanking her for sticking with him and hate mail from fans of the girls for taking Green Dragon away from the others. Shizuka laughed at the notion as she had no real control of the writing direction for the series, but she took it in stride.
In her own mind, Shizuka thought that the episode was a good representation of how complex relationships could be. She felt that the interaction between Green Dragon and each of the girls could teach the viewer about how relationships could be. 
Shizuka had thought about the implications of this episode on the show's direction and decided that she was glad that the show was going to go into its third season. There were a lot of questions that the show had yet to answer, and Shizuka felt that following this episode the show would be able to focus on Green Dragon and his true friends a little more.
The aftermath of the party separation left the girls' party going further on the adventure while Green Dragon and his remaining companions are left behind, with Green Dragon shell-shocked and in denial about the mass rejections. Lily, having psychic powers, fell into a sort of therapist role and became his helper on his road back to recovery, which meant Shizuka had to act out of her comfort zone and give more shows of caring than before. Even though Lily was already one of the main characters in the anime, she felt this sudden importance in the story put her character more in the forefront, and started thinking the writers were intending to put Lily and Green Dragon together. After all, the other girls rejected him, and Lily was the last love interest left.
Shizuka was confident in her acting, but as a twenty-five year old, she didn't feel as emotionally invested as she would have if she was a teenager like Arisa. She wasn't scared, she was just mindful of her emotions.
The reading for the next three episodes took place in one session, with just her and Green Dragon's voice actor. It was an intense speed run through the stages of grief which the other voice actor getting to run through the emotions and Shizuka having to control hers in order to stay in character. After the third stage of grief she started getting annoyed by the situation and it showed through her acting, which the producers loved. Shizuka suspected that was the intention behind recording the entire sequence at once. By the time Green Dragon reached the acceptance stage he was a crying mess and Shizuka's tone in acting became more sympathetic and caring. 
----
After the grueling recording session Shizuka was given the rest of the week off so the other voice actors could record their lines. She made her way to Arisa's office to talk about the experience.
"I think sessions like that really sell the difference between a model acting and a real actor," Shizuka said. "I don't think I could do an emotional scene if I tried."
"You're being too hard on yourself," Arisa replied. "Everyone is good at different things. It just so happens you're good at controlling your emotions."
"I guess, but it's not natural for me. I'm not like that, I just don't... I don't think that way."
"Well, even if you don't think that way, you are doing a good job of selling that caring, worried tone in that scene."
"Thanks. It was really fun recording it."
Shizuka waved to Arisa as she left her office, then walked down to the studio where Yuki was doing photography for an up and coming idol singer. She watched Yuki work her subject, getting the poses she wanted. Shizuka remembered the old days when Yuki had to direct her poses more often, and knew that things came more naturally to her now.
Shizuka pulled up a chair and watched silently as Yuki worked with the idol, and noticed Yuki was growing frustrated with her. After a few minutes they decided to take a short break, and then Yuki walked up to her.
"She's new, isn't she?" Shizuka asked.
"Yes," Yuki confirmed, nodding. "She doesn't understand how to stay still."
Shizuka looked back at the idol. In her eyes she was just another manufactured sensation, lured by the promises of fame and fortune because she looked cute with her short skirt and midriff-exposing outfit. Most idol singers of the sort were not spectacular singers, but Shizuka knew that was not the selling point.
"I don't like her," Yuki muttered. "She's really full of herself and acts like a diva when she's only just starting out."
"I don't doubt she slept her way to where she is now," Shizuka said.
"That's not what I'm talking about. She... she's like a monster. I'd be scared of her if she was actually nice."
Yuki looked at the clock. "I'll talk to you later. I've got to finish this shoot." 
"Later, then."
Shizuka watched Yuki walk back to the set and the bratty idol. She quickly lost interest and started walking out until she heard a shout behind her.
"Hey, you!"
Shizuka turned around to see it was the idol singer. 
"Yeah, you!" the idol yelled. "You're a model, aren't you?"
"Yes?" Shizuka replied, annoyed that everyone was looking at her.
"Come over here," she demanded. "Tell the photographer that she's being difficult!" 
Yuki threw up her arms. "I'm not the one being difficult, it's you."
Shizuka walked back to the set and stood next to Yuki.
"I take it she doesn't like being told what to do," Shizuka guessed.
Yuki nodded wordlessly. 
Shizuka sighed. "Come on, let's show her how it's done."
She moved to the set and pushed the idol aside. She closed her eyes and thought about what it would be like to be an idol singer. Shizuka had her own ideas of what that entailed, but pushed them aside. The point was to show this idol how a photoshoot should go, and it was time to show her how professionals do it.
"I'm ready," Shizuka announced. 
"Let's do it," Yuki said, raising her camera. 
The two women got to work, with Yuki directing Shizuka how she wanted the shoot with the idol to go. Shizuka picked up the groove immediately to the idol's surprise, and, despite not wearing a costume, she put in her best effort. The idol was amazed at how easily it came for Shizuka and how much Yuki cooperated with her. When they were done, Yuki and Shizuka turned to the idol.
"That's what you should be doing," Shizuka said. "Stop wasting everyone's time being a diva."
The idol was furious that she had been called a diva, and began to yell at Shizuka for saying so.
Shizuka and Yuki listened to her rant without moving or making eye contact. Yuki had never before heard the idol be so loud. She looked over at Shizuka and shrugged. Shizuka knew she couldn't let the idol get to her.
"I don't know why you even put up with it," the idol said. "I would've walked out the second you told me to do the pose again."
"I'm sure you would have," Yuki said, continuing to not make eye contact with the idol. "Let's get one thing straight. If you decide to walk out on an assignment, you'll be risking more than your pride. That door will always be closed to you."
The idol didn't respond. She was not used to Yuki's attitude and didn't know what to say.
Shizuka decided to walk away. As far as she was concerned the conversation was done and her point was made. Before she made it too far, the idol's manager stopped her.
"I'm sorry you had to put up with that," the manager said. "She's a bit of a handful."
"Well, you'd better watch out, because that can hurt her career in the long run," Shizuka advised, before leaving.
Shizuka had a very low opinion of idol singers and this young idol only reinforced that notion. She was not going to let her outburst ruin the rest of her day, so she decided to treat herself to sushi.
----
The next week came and Shizuka was back to work at voice acting "Chronicles of the Green Dragon". She ignored the parts of the script dealing with the girls' party and stuck with Green Dragon's party since Lily was with him. Green Dragon's party decided to regroup and try to finish the adventure themselves despite the fact they were much weaker than the girls' party, so their adventure went in a different direction. Shizuka had no doubt the two parties would converge again by the end of the series, but at this point it was clear which girl Green Dragon was going to end up with.
Much to Shizuka's surprise, Green Dragon's party, in order to make up for the lack of raw power the girls' party had, started working on ways to mix their own abilities into effective combinations. In other words, their teamwork abilities started to increase in successive episodes. Shizuka's character, Lily, was completely ineffective in combat so she became the group's tactician and coordinator since having psychic powers allowed her to communicate with everyone at once.
The girls' party, on the other hand, continued to act as a unit where each individually became powerful, but fought in a chaotic manner because they did not work together well. Each one of the girls was trying to one-up the others, so they were effectively competing with each other trying to become the hero. Of course, they would all eventually come together again to fight the bad guys. For now, the story just skipped from one set of adventures to the next.
While these set of episodes were being recorded, the ones Shizuka recorded in previous weeks aired and the reactions to Green Dragon's emotional breakdown was mixed. There were those who felt sympathy for his plight and those who felt that his actions were out of character and that he was being overdone.
Shizuka, however, felt that Green Dragon was right to feel the way he did since he was just dumped by the girls who previously admired him. The more she watched the episodes the more she felt that he was actually more relatable to her than any of the other characters. His character arc was far more interesting to watch develop over the course of the show. She felt Lily and Green Dragon were growing together as a natural couple. It was almost like they became closer as a result of their experiences and struggles, and then Shizuka was more receptive to the idea of the two getting together.
The next time she went to the recording studio, Shizuka started seeing more relationship teases between her character and Green Dragon in the script. She was not a romantic by any means, and still had to play Lily as emotionless, but she allowed her perception to work into her voice in subtle ways. The studio was very pleased with the results, and they continued to give her more romantic subtext in the scripts.
At the end of one recording session the producer approached her. "I'm glad you're still with us. Your performance has really improved. You're almost as good as the others," he said. Shizuka accepted his compliment with a shy smile and a nod. She felt she had progressed as an actress and a person since the first time she had come to the studio.
----
While Shizuka already had a number of jobs already Arisa called her into an office for another meeting.
"I know you're busy, but you keep getting new offers," Arisa said. "It's good to be in such demand."
"Yeah, I know," Shizuka replied, "but I think I'm getting to the point where I have to start turning down roles."
Arisa nodded. "Well, I'm going to have to start with the most important job, then. You're being asked to reprise your role as Mia for Mystical Dream Girl 6."
"What seriously?" Shizuka asked. "I thought each game in the series featured a different set of girls."
"Yes, that's true," Arisa confirmed, "but since this is a special title they're doing an all-star cast by having the previous five dream girls in the game."
"Isn't there supposed to be six girls? And I thought one of those girls was dead."
"Yes, I know, but I think this is supposed to be a dream game. It's more accurate to say it features one girl from each of the past games and it's not so much as a continuous story so much as it's a what-if scenario."
"Huh. Well I suppose being in a dream means I don't have to worry about continuity. I guess I could do it, but is it really worth it?"
Arisa leaned forward. "Yes, you ought to do it."
Shizuka was taken aback by how serious Arisa looked. "Well, I guess I would disappoint fans if I didn't do it, right?"
Arisa nodded. "Good. I'll let the production company know you're on board. Don't worry too much about scheduling because I can work that out for you. You just might have to put in some extra hours on the weekends."
Shizuka nodded slowly. 
Arisa went over the rest of the projects, most of which Shizuka had to turn down due to her busy schedule.
When Shizuka and Arisa went to meet the production company the producers and the head writer elaborated on their idea for Mystical Dream Girl 6. 
"The game is still in the early planning stages," the producer said, "so everything we're talking about today is subject to change."
Shizuka nodded.
"The idea is to assemble the previous five dream girls together into one game."
"I thought Mystical Dream Girl 5 had six dream girls?" Arisa asked in confusion.
"That is true," the head writer said, "but we've conducted a poll on who the most popular of the girls was and she's going to be the representative in this game."
"In any case," the producer interrupted, "we know the dream girl is supposed to be unobtainable, so this game is literally a dream. A dream to attain the unattainable girl."
"That sounds kind of like a betrayal of what the series is about," Shizuka pointed out. "If you attain the unattainable, the series is over."
"It's a work of art," the head writer replied, nodding. "The unattainable girl is a metaphor for perfection. The game is about having a wish fulfilled, about making your dreams come true, so the unattainable girl becomes the embodiment of that."
"I suppose, but if all five of these girls are supposed to be unattainable then what is the point?"
"The point is to give players the opportunity to experience all five dream girls in one place. This can be a great way for players to compare and contrast the different girls. If you have a favorite girl from the previous games, then you will be able to spend more time with her in the sixth game. This can be a great way to rekindle your love for the character, and to get to know her even better."
"That's an idea," Shizuka conceded, "but the way the girls became unattainable dream girls is also important to their character. I don't think it's a good idea to change that aspect of them."
"I understand what you're saying," the producer said. "Getting together with the player character shouldn't be a universal thing. I think it works for only some of them."
Shizuka nodded. "You might be right. This may be a project better suited for a spin-off game, or perhaps even a side story rather than a full blown sequel. Like how you developed a spinoff for Mystical Dream Girl 4 featuring Mia."
"I understand you have an investment in Mia, and I assure you, she's a very important character in the franchise," the head writer said. "Mia is by far the most popular of the dream girls and to make her attainable after both the main game and her featured spinoff could be too much."
"I suppose you're right. Well, let me think about this a bit more, but I doubt this will be the final word on it."
The meeting went on for another hour or so. Finally, the meeting ended and Shizuka and Arisa said their goodbyes.
"That was a very interesting meeting," Arisa said.
"I agree," Shizuka said, nodding. "I feel like they allowed me to have input on how Mia should be used in the game which is why they haven't written their story for it yet."
Arisa nodded slowly. "I understand why you like her so much," Arisa said. "And I think that they're right in how they're planning to use her."
"I can't wait to see how they end up developing the story."
They left the studio. Recording for the game would not take place until a later date after negotiations with the other actors involved concluded. Shizuka was confident her character would be handled correctly.
----
Shizuka sat in the dressing room and stared at herself in the mirror. She fixed her silver wig and adjusted her dress. She had to go out on stage dressed as Vampire Princess Luka, and to accommodate her modesty she wore bloomers over her thong underwear. Nobody wanted to cause a public scandal by having everyone in the front row able to see it up her tutu skirt.
She was asked to reprise her live action role as Luka to help promote the next game in the series, Vampire Princess Luka 2. While she did not voice Luka in the game she was still recognized as the live action Luka, and Luka's actual voice actor did not want to wear the costume.
"You're going to be fine, don't worry so much." Yuki told her. "I'll be watching your back, I won't let anything bad happen to you."
"Thanks."
"Just remember to have fun, okay?"
"I will."
Shizuka went out to the auditorium. Yuki watched from backstage with encouraging eyes. She did not have to do much except stand there while the producers did all the talking. Her mind blanked out the formalities of their speech as they played a trailer for Vampire Princess Luka 2 on the large screen behind her. 
The audience went wild when the trailer ended. 
Shizuka took a deep breath and picked up the microphone.
"Thank you for coming to our event," Shizuka said, keeping her eyes fixated on the audience. 
The crowd gave a roar of approval.
"Please look forward to playing Vampire Princess Luka 2!" she added, finishing the remaining scripted lines.
Shizuka stood back as the producer took back the microphone. For the remainder of the event all she had to do was stand there and smile as the audience cheered for the new game. 
At the end of the event, Shizuka and the rest of the stage speakers bowed and walked off the stage to thunderous roars of approval. She could not wait to get out of the costume and do something else beside being window dressing.
As soon as she left the stage Yuki was there to greet her.
"You did great," she said in encouragement.
"Well, it's not like I had to do much of anything," Shizuka replied. 
The two walked back to the dressing room as Yuki fawned over her friend.
The truth was the success of the live action adaptation for Vampire Princess Luka encouraged the game developers to make a sequel game. Shizuka had no idea if this meant they were planning to finance another live action film, but she knew if they did she would be asked to come back and reprise her role as Luka. As things stood, her role in promoting Vampire Princess Luka 2 was over for now.
"Well, I think that went well. We got a great response and people are excited for the game, so I think you did your job," Yuki said.
"I'm just happy I was able to help out. I wouldn't mind doing more of these events. It's basically free money for me," Shizuka said.
"Thats good. You're really on the up and up. I think maybe you'll be in the next generation of anime movies," Yuki said, letting her imagination run wild.
"I don't care about that. I just want to get back to doing regular modeling. I don't want to stick with one project forever."
Yuki frowned as she looked at her friend. She honestly did not know how Shizuka's mind worked. 
"You're different from other people. You're just so restless."
"Well, maybe it's a good thing," Shizuka said, trying to hide the slight smile on her face.
Yuki rolled her eyes. "Come on, let's get you changed and get out of here."
Shizuka nodded and the two made their way to the dressing room. She got out of her costume and the two left as the last of the fans left the auditorium.
----
It turned out Shizuka's thoughts that she would not be dressing as Luka again anytime soon was wrong. The game studio asked her to come to the studio and act out the character for them in live action sequences for the game. Although it would be cheaper to do this in-game they wanted to capitalize on Shizuka's appearance in the film to help promote the game. This meant she was getting to dress up in Luka's costume and be in live action scenes for the game.
Shizuka did not mind at all. The live action sequences would be shot before the game's digital animation. This would give her a chance to work as a model for the game. Plus the studio gave her a royalty for the sales of the game. She knew it was all because of her success as an actress in the live action film, and she saw no harm in it.
For the live action sequences she would be allowed to use her own voice to act out her part. The game producers were confident she could act out the part of Luka. Shizuka just had to stay true to the character and they would be fine.
As she did for the film Shizuka put on her costume and acted in front of a green screen. While many actors balked at acting against nothing Shizuka was used to filling in the scene in her mind. Since the video game did not have a film budget she was not going to have buckets of blood and gore thrown at her in these sequences as the studio did not have the budget to trash her costume like that.
The sequences she was tapped to film were the opening and the closing scenes. While the scenes themselves could have been done with the in-game engine the developers felt this would serve as a special treat for the fans.
Shizuka walked onto the set to film the opening sequence. She was dressed in a school uniform and walking by herself away from the school at sunset. She had no dialogue as it would instead be done as a voice over internal monologue. All she needed to do was walk against the green screen. She was largely disappointed by this sequence, but knew it would look better once the developers worked their magic on it.
For the closing sequence she put on the familiar Luka costume. As the script she was given did not give much context for what was happening at the end of the game Shizuka had to improvise the state of mind Luka would be in as she ran across the green screen, pretending to jump across rooftops on green blocks placed on the set. Once again the intention was to have a voice over internal monologue so Shizuka did not need to speak any lines, only do her running and jumping. It was exhausting running around for this part, but her imagination made it look better in her mind.
After filming was over the producer approached Shizuka. "You did a good job for us," he praised.
"Thank you," Shizuka said, bowing politely.
She walked off set to get out of her costume. Shizuka made her peace with Luka's outfit, but did not like having to wear the school uniform. Despite her age Shizuka could reasonably pass as an older teenager, but she did not like the implications of wearing such an outfit for more lecherous minds. The costumers were a little too specific for her tastes, even providing her a specific set of panties to wear even though they would not be seen in her scenes.
When she returned to the apartment she found Yuki there, sitting on the couch reading a magazine.
"Hey, Yuki," Shizuka said. 
"Hi, Shiuzka," Yuki replied.
"You know about Vampire Princess Luka... the game, right?"
"Yes, I've played it."
"Is that game known for fan service?"
Yuki put her magazine down and looked back up at Shizuka. "Well... how should I put it?  You already know about the blood and gore, but it does have its share of fanservice. Luka's panties are real easy to see in her costume, but she's got a bunch of other costumes you can have her wear. You can even buy more as DLC."
"And I guess you can get covered in blood in gore in all of them," Shizuka guessed. 
Yuki nodded. "Why are you asking?"
"The game studio had me dress in a school uniform. They were very particular about it, down to what panties I should be wearing."
"Oh, I see!" Yuki said, squealing in excitement. "I love that costume. I assume it was the striped panties?"
Shizuka glared at her. "You're weird."
"I wish I could have seen it," Yuki pouted, then quickly amended, "the costume, I mean...."
"Well, you can see it when you buy Vampire Princess Luka 2," Shizuka replied, rolling her eyes. "I don't know why you're perving out on me."
"I'm not," Yuki protested. "It's just... well, Luka can get into some compromising positions in the game. Some people do it on purpose."
Shizuka closed her eyes and shook her head. She was well aware of how deviant people could be and it was entirely the reason she never gave permission to use her likeness in interactive media. It was true that enough of her voice and image was out there to make lewd things happen, but at least that required some work on the part of the people involved. She wasn't about to make it easier by handing that to them on a silver platter.
While Shizuka didn't identify herself as being Luka, she was starting to think Yuki did.
She only glared at her silently before going to her room. Yuki wisely decided to keep her mouth shut.
----
Yuki sat on the couch for what seemed like hours, at a loss at what to do. She realized her words truly offended Shizuka and she had never seen her so mad before. Now she was under the impression Yuki was playing Vampire Princess Luka to do weird things with her while pretending Luka was Shizuka. Yuki wanted to believe that wasn't the case, but knew that was exactly what it sounded like. She wondered if she really believed it. She wondered if that meant she really was a closet pervert.
Yuki knew Shizuka knew she harbored romantic feelings for her, but having those kind of fantasies was on an entirely different level. Shizuka was her close friend and Yuki didn't want to jeopardize it over something like this.
She got up from the couch and walked up to Shizuka's door. She gently knocked. 
"Shizuka?" Yuki called. "I know you're angry with me, but can we talk?"
There was no reply. Yuki started having cold feet about what she was doing when Shizuka opened the door. 
"Yeah, we need to talk," she agreed. 
Yuki stepped into Shizuka's room quietly. Her eyes scanned the room, noting nothing was in disorder from a cursory glance. 
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean that the way it came out," Yuki said, her lips quivering.
Shizuka waved her off. "It's alright. I'm not mad at you, really." 
"Yes, you are," Yuki persisted. "We've known each other long enough."
Shizuka sighed. "I guess we can't just ignore it and move on, huh? Yes, I'm mad. There's nothing I can do about it. It's not like this is something I can change."
"I know," Yuki replied, sitting down on the bed. "You didn't do anything wrong. It's what I did wrong."
"I don't want you to change who you are for my sake," Shizuka replied. 
"And I don't want you to change for my sake, either."
"So, I guess this just means we need to redraw our boundaries."
"Yeah, I guess so," Yuki replied, deflated.
Shizuka sat down on her bed. "Look, I know your feelings for me, but I never imagined you were fantasizing about me. It kind of puts some of your costumes you had me wear in a different light and I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around it."
"I wasn't thinking about that when I asked you to model for me," Yuki insisted. "All of that was for the art. I didn't start thinking about it until I played that game." 
"I see," Shizuka said. 
"I never wanted our relationship to be difficult," Yuki said nervously. "You're the best friend I have, and I don't want to lose you."
"You're not going to lose me," Shizuka assured her. "We're just redrawing our boundaries. Nothing more, nothing less. We'll still be friends."
They didn't speak of the matter again after that.
----
Later that night, Yuki dreamed she was Vampire Princess Luka. Her long silver hair cascaded down her back in a fashion similar to the film. Her pale skin was flawless, just like the movie's Luka. She wore a short black dress with a tutu skirt, looking just like the real Luka's. She wore her long silver sword on her back. She wore makeup that was far less glamorous than that of the movie's Luka, but similar in that it was flawless. In the dream, she was running across the hills with her hair trailing in the wind, just like in the film. 
She happened upon a swarm of monsters. She drew her sword and slashed them as she ran, blood and gore splashing on her as she went. She smiled and laughed with a mixture of fear and happiness. She eventually found herself in a clearing, surrounded by a pack of wandering monsters. The sun vanished and the moon rose as she destroyed the monsters with a few swings.
Yuki wiped her face. Her body was covered head to toe in monster gore, and she reveled in it. It felt good to be covered in blood. She smiled and laughed again as she heard the monsters' howls echo across the hills. She felt powerful.
Her ecstasy turned into alarm when she felt a hand grab her butt. The feeling of power drained away from her in an instant, and suddenly she wasn't the powerful warrior princess, but a hapless piece of meat ogled on by perverted men.
She felt something sticky on her leg, and she looked down and saw a tentacle wrap around her ankle. She screamed in alarm as more tentacles shot out of the darkness and grabbed her limbs. She dropped her sword, and she was bound tightly by the tentacles, unable to move.
She struggled desperately, but she was unable to free herself as the tentacles tightened around her limbs. She heard the zipper of her leather skirt pop, and her skirt fell open dramatically as the tentacle ripped her clothing from her in one fell swoop. She was left starkly, albeit dramatically, clad in her underwear. She continued to struggle, but she was helpless as her arms were seized and pulled behind her back.
Then, she was lifted into the air.  The tentacles dragged her through the air, carrying her like a rag doll. She closed her eyes, and she felt herself falling. She opened her eyes again and saw a cave. Her eyes widened as she realized she wasn't about to die.
She woke up suddenly in her bed, heaving for air.
She was drenched in sweat, and her sheets and blankets were drenched in sweat. She wiped the sweat off her face and her brow.
Yuki got out of bed and went to the bathroom. She stared at herself in the mirror, and she only saw her sweat-drenched face staring back at her.
"It was just a nightmare," she decided.
----
What Yuki did not know was at the same time Shizuka was having her own nightmare.
Shizuka stood alone standing in the middle of the bridge overlooking the river. She was dressed in a dark Gothic Lolita dress that matched the color of the night such that she blended in with the darkness. She looked out at the moon and the stars longingly. 
She turned, startled, when another approached. She sighed in relief when she saw it was Yuki.
"Yuki, it's just you," Shizuka said. 
"There's no one around but us," Yuki said, her voice dripping with venom. 
Shizuka blinked in surprise. "Yuki, is something wrong?"
Her only answer was Yuki fastening a cuff to her ankle. Shizuka's eyes saw it was attached to a rope, and the other end was a large rock.
"Yuki, what is going on?" Shizuka asked. 
"You're too good for this world," Yuki said. "The world would be better off without you."
Without ceremony, Yuki pushed Shizuka off the side of the bridge, with the rock trailing behind. She splashed in the river below, and the rock shot past her and toward the dark abyss below.
Shizuka wanted to scream, but the waters of the river filled her mouth and then her lungs. The air was escaping her as her body was dragged further to the bottom of the river. 
The last thing she saw before her world went dark was Yuki smiling down at her, her smile that of a monster. 
She opened her eyes slowly, unsure if the dream had ended or it had consumed her. Shizuka bleakly wondered if she was dead and this was the sorry afterlife that awaited her. She turned on her side, and realized she was still in her bed, and the clock told her it was the middle of the night. 
Shizuka sat up and cradled her head. It was not the first time she dreamed of drowning, but it was the first time she dreamed Yuki pushing her off the bridge. 
She got out of bed, went to the bathroom, and splashed water on her face. She looked at herself in the mirror and realized she looked as if she had been crying. She sighed, and got dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. She fixed her hair in the mirror, and headed to the kitchen. She poured a cup of tea and headed toward Yuki's room.
"Yuki," Shizuka called, knocking lightly on the door.
Yuki opened the door, and looked up at her friend. 
"What is it?" Yuki asked, her eyes filled with fear.
Shizuka took a deep breath. "I had a bad dream."
Yuki let out a breath. "A bad dream?"
"Yes. You pushed me off a bridge and I drowned."
Yuki laughed nervously. 
"I'm sorry if I woke you up," Shizuka said.
"No, it's okay. I was already up. I had a bad dream, too." 
"Tell me about it," Shizuka said, sitting down on the edge of Yuki's bed.
"I dreamed I was you. Well... you as Vampire Princess Luka. At first I was having fun, but then it got really bad and turned into a tentacle nightmare." Yuki shivered.
Shizuka wrapped her arms around Yuki and held her close. "No more hentai anime for you."
"Well, maybe you should stay away from bridges," Yuki replied teasingly.
"Maybe I should." 
Yuki and Shizuka stayed silent for a few moments, before Yuki sighed and turned to face the wall, leaning her head against Shizuka's shoulder.
"You know, sometimes, I wish I wasn't... you know," Yuki said. "I don't know why, but I just feel like you'd make the world a better place if I wasn't around."
"That's stupid." Shizuka said, pulling back from Yuki. "The world's a better place because you're around. I'm a better person because you're around."
Yuki turned to face Shizuka, and gave her a small smile, with an expression of relief on her face. "Thanks, you know, for being a really good friend." 
"We'll get through this," Shizuka said. "No matter how many times you push me off bridges or you get attacked by tentacles."
"You're not going to let that go, are you?" Yuki asked, laughing. 
"Probably not."
Yuki laughed and jumped out of bed. "We should get some sleep."
Shizuka yawned deeply, and decided to go back to sleep. She grabbed her pillow and climbed into her bed, where she eventually fell into an uneasy, restless sleep.
The next day, Shizuka woke up refreshed, ready to start her day.
She was surprised to find her apartment had already been cleaned and breakfast was already cooked. Yuki must have been up all night cleaning and cooking, while Shizuka slept. 
"You're early," Yuki said, as she put a plate of food down in front of Shizuka.
"Well, it looks like you either got up even earlier, or you didn't sleep," Shizuka said, as she dug into her food. "Is there any reason I should know about?"
"No," Yuki said, before starting on her food. "I didn't want the tentacle monsters to get me, is all."
Shizuka glared at her best friend.
"What?" Yuki asked.
"You're weird."
"So are you."
Shizuka laughed, and the two finished eating in silence.
After they finished eating, Yuki and Shizuka headed to work.
----
Yuki had been feeling down ever since that night. It felt like she was getting further and further away from Shizuka, and closer and closer to the edge.
Shizuka acted like nothing was wrong. Yuki was unsure if it was because she was good at faking it or she was that naive. She doubted Shizuka was naive as she often proved to be surprisingly perceptive at times, but she was very difficult to read.
Yuki also knew that if she tried to talk to Shizuka about it, she would only find herself crying and begging her to listen. That wouldn't fix anything. And it wouldn't stop the inevitable distance from growing. 
She kept her feelings bottled up. She had no need to keep Shizuka as a friend if she couldn't be herself around her. She was losing her best friend, and that was the reason she couldn't be herself, because she was terrified of losing Shizuka. It was almost to the point where it made her sick. Her relationship with Shizuka was her only source of happiness, so to have that disappear... it was too much. She couldn't take it.
Yuki wanted desperately to go back to the days when it was her photographing Shizuka modeling fashion. Everything was so simple back then because it was always the two of them taking on the world. They achieved their dreams of success, but at the cost of their time together. Yuki was starting to think the success was not worth it. 
Shizuka was the only person who understood her. They were closer to each other than anyone. To lose Shizuka was to lose the only person that could truly understand her.
Yuki waited for Shizuka to come home at the end of the day. She bought sushi for her and decided to break the news gently.
"So, what is the occasion?" Shizuka asked.
"I'm going to quit being a photographer," Yuki announced.
Shizuka blinked. "You can't do that. That's your dream job."
"I know. But I don't want to pursue my dream anymore. I want to quit."
Shizuka looked worried. "Why? Don't you like it? It's a good living."
"I don't want to lose you."
"You're not losing me. We're still together."
"I feel like we're drifting apart. Our jobs are no longer working together. I want to go back to those days, but I know that's impossible."
"I understand. We both have dreams that are taking over our lives. We're both busy with photography and modeling. We're only together a few hours a day, so it's easy to drift apart. We'll still be together. Just not quite as much."
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For still being there for me." 
Shizuka smiled faintly. "Well, I'm still here for you. And you're not quitting. That's not going to make you happy."
"I know, but I have to do what I think is best for me."
Shizuka looked away. "I know you do, but you're not quitting." She picked up her phone and scrolled through it. "You've got a photoshoot scheduled tomorrow. It would be disappointing if you let them down."
Yuki sighed deeply. She knew it wouldn't be professional if she left the fashion show on the lurch like that and knew Shizuka was right. "Alright, but after that, you need to take what I'm saying seriously."
"I'm always taking you seriously, Yuki," her friend replied evenly.
----
The next day Yuki's mind was still filled with doubts when she went to the fashion show that afternoon. 
As the first model sashayed down the runway, Yuki felt the familiar pull of the lens in her hands. The click-clack of the shutter, the flash illuminating the faces, the way light danced on fabric and skin – it was all like a forgotten melody, reawakening within her. She adjusted the aperture, her fingers instinctively seeking the perfect settings.
As the models paraded past, each one a canvas of vibrant colors and textures, Yuki found herself lost in the rhythm of the clicks. The world narrowed to the viewfinder, where fabric whispered stories and expressions held fleeting emotions. The doubts and anxieties that had plagued her for days began to fade, replaced by the familiar thrill of capturing a moment in time.
With each click, Yuki felt a piece of herself returning. The fear of losing Shizuka, the suffocating pressure of her own despair – it all receded, replaced by the quiet hum of creative energy. She wasn't just documenting the fashion, she was telling stories, weaving narratives through light and shadow.
When the final model left the runway, Yuki set down the camera, a bittersweet smile on her face. The fashion show hadn't been just about clothes; it had been a catalyst. It had reminded her of the love she held for photography, the language she shared with Shizuka beyond words.
Yuki picked up her phone and sent a message to Shizuka. "I'm glad you talked me out of quitting," she wrote.
Shizuka replied almost instantly. "So am I."
Yuki smiled. Even though they were not working together anymore they were still a team.
----
Shizuka went to the recording studio to read her lines for the upcoming Mystical Dream Girl 6. After several rounds of negotiations all of the voice actors for the girls from the previous games agreed to appear in the new Mystical Dream Girl game. 
The game's selling point was it featured five dream girls from the previous five games. The first dream girl was a murderer. The second dream girl was dead. The third dream girl was dumped by the male protagonist. The fourth dream girl, Mia, rejected the male protagonist. The fifth dream girl was an idol singer. The setting of this story was in a dream world which brought those five girls together in the same story along with the male protagonist who could seek each of them out in the hopes of attaining the girl of his dreams.
Of course, the gimmick the Mystical Dream Girl series was known for was the story was a death game and it was possible for multiple girls to die in each route. Each game had a different scenario justifying the deadly game, and this sixth scenario featured a malevolent entity called the Dream Eater which was going around killing the girls depending on the player's decisions. 
The story's main theme was about letting go of the past and moving on with your life. Each girl represented a different part of the past and possibility. The murder girl's story was about letting go of hate and finding redemption. The dead girl's story was about finding peace in such a short life to be able to go to the afterlife. The rejected girl's story was about getting past rejection to find love again. Mia's story was about letting go of a love that didn't exist in reality. Finally, the idol girl's story dealt with finding hope after the despair of being put through a cutthroat career. The Dream Eater brought the girls and the male protagonist to its realm to ensure they failed so it could consume their dreams.
Shizuka read through the script which included all the lines she needed to record. Mia's story route wasn't so much about her letting go than it was the male protagonist's obsession, as Mia was portrayed as an unattainable, idealized dream girl. Mia's route was primarily about the male protagonist coming to grips with the idea that Mia wasn't as perfect as he dreamed and Mia was her own person, leading to him having to let her go free at the end of the game. It wasn't a complete downer ending, however, as Mia's freedom allowed her to make the choice to do as she pleased, including possibly reciprocating the feelings in the future.
Shizuka knew it was going to take several recording sessions to get through the entire script, but she was excited for Arisa. She knew Arisa was a big fan of the Mystical Dream Girl series and loved Mia in particular. Shizuka felt the script was doing Mia's character justice. 
The character of Mia was an aloof, dark-haired girl who was thought of as kuudere in her own game. In this game her control art had her depicted with handcuffs and chains while sitting in a gilded bird cage, representing a prisoner to another person's whims, which in this case was the male protagonist. Shizuka found the imagery appropriate to Mia's character arc in the game. 
Shizuka walked into the recording booth and put on her headset. She opened the first page of her script and began recording her lines.
----
Shizuka had been reading the script for two solid hours before Arisa arrived for the recording session.  She brought a bag of chocolate chip cookies which were passed around among the crew. 
Shizuka was feeling it was about time to take a break from the recording booth to chat with Arisa. The two of them walked out to the other side of the recording studio. 
"I've heard so many good things about this game. I hope I can play it soon."
"Yeah," Shizuka agreed. "I'm glad we decided to do this. It's just going to take a while to get through all my lines."
"I think you'll do fine. You've got a great voice and you're really good at reading scripts."
Shizuka and Arisa sat down on the couch in the recording studio, munching on cookies. Shizuka was careful not to spoil the story for Arisa because Arisa wanted to find out as a player herself.
"So, what do you think of Mia being a virtual prisoner in this game?" Arisa asked.
Shizuka lowered her head in consideration. The key art of Mia in the bird cage was public knowledge, but the reasons for it and what happens to her in the game because of it was not. There were a lot of fan theories that the imagery was a metaphor, but others wondered if Mia was stuck in a bondage scenario and were wary of the story because of that.
"It's different from the last time I recorded for her," Shizuka said, choosing her words carefully. "In a sense the death game scenarios in Mystical Dream Girls are prisons in of themselves, but the prison for Mia here is a lot more personal."
"Yeah, it's a bit sad. But it's an interesting way to interpret it. And you really did a great job making it feel personal. She's real."
"Thanks," Shizuka said.
"So I'm curious about what happened to her in the game. You said she might be in a relationship with the main character, so what happened?"
"Ah, well, it's a bit of a twist, actually," Shizuka said. "She's a virtual prisoner to him until the end of the game. And then she's free, but what happens to her in the end is up to her and the player. It really does depend on how they choose to go through the story."
"That's some serious dating programming."
"Yeah, but it's not so much a relationship in the traditional sense. There are rules to the game, and the relationship is based on them. Depends how you choose to go through it," Shizuka said.
"Well, where does the handcuffs come into play?"
"The handcuffs? You're free to do whatever you want and interact with her at your leisure, but if you choose to be more aggressive with her, there are consequences."
Shizuka had already read the lines for such a path in the story and was being coy about answering Arisa's question. The truth was the player could force Mia to submit to them, and while Shizuka didn't like recording those lines she knew it was to service the game's theme. Forcing humiliation on Mia was one of the choices that inevitably got the player character killed.
Arisa only nodded in response. Shizuka hoped she understood why she wasn't elaborating further because it was a sticky subject to talk about in the open.
"Thanks for the cookies," Shizuka said. "It was a really good idea to bring some snacks."
"No problem. I'm just glad you're enjoying the game. I really want this to be a great experience for you guys."
"Thanks. We're having a great time," Shizuka said. "I haven't felt this excited about a game in a long time.
"Good! Glad to hear it! I've got a lot of energy and feel great about what we're doing with this project. I'll catch you later."
Arisa got up and waved. Shizuka finished her cookies and went back to the recording studio.
----
Several months later, Arisa received an advanced copy of Mystical Dream Girl 6. She was excited receive the game, and felt especially privileged to be one of the first people to play the game. 
She needed a good distraction because Nana, the idol singer she represented as an agent, decided to leave Moon River, citing she got another agent with a 'better offer' for her career. Arisa was disappointed that Nana cut ties with her and the company, having grown fond of her, but her attitude slowly reverted after her comeback tour. It seemed that, after the initial highs of her comeeback, Nana's name disappeared from the hot news topics and she became just another idol singer again. Not to be daunted, she started falling back into her own bag of tricks of trying to keep attention on herself, which Arisa advised against, but she didn't listen.
She wished Nana wasn't so impulsive, but it was out of her hands now.
After installation of the game finished Arisa immediately launched the game and decided to find a way to pick the Mia route.
After the introduction of the story was over, Arisa was shocked that Mia was made the slave of the male protagonist. She had not picked any discernible route yet so Mia starting out the story in this state was a surprise. To her credit Mia was defiant of her situation, and as the player controlled the male protagonist she could either encourage her or exert control over her. Arisa decided to pick the options most sympathetic to Mia.
To her chagrin, Arisa found being sympathetic to Mia did not make her open up to the male protagonist since Mia was assuming he was playing mind games with her. As long as she was his slave she could never be free to express her true feelings, but releasing her from servitude was not as straightforward as removing her handcuffs.
Despite this, Arisa decided that she would try her luck in encouraging her to break free.
Arisa finished the third puzzle room when the male protagonist was about to get killed. To her surprise, Mia pushed him out of the way and died herself. She stared at the screen and her jaw dropped.
"What just happened?" she asked out loud.
Arisa was positive she was picking all the good options for Mia. That the game put a swerve in her plans by making playing too nice to her to cause her to unexpectedly save the male protagonist's life was a subversion Arisa did not expect. She tried to play further in the route, but it ended prematurely in a bad ending with all the girls and the male protagonist dead.
She sat back in her chair and wondered what she did wrong. After a few more minutes she decided to end her session of the game.
"Nothing's working," she sighed. "It's like I picked the wrong route or something. I don't understand."
Arisa went back to the main menu and considered her options. She decided to try again because she didn't know what else to do.
Upon completion of the puzzle room, Mia died again, and then so did everyone else, just as it happened the first time.
Arisa sat back in her chair and rubbed her eyes. There was obviously something she was missing, and she did not have the benefit of asking other players online because they would not have gotten their copies of the game yet. She decided to go back to the first puzzle room and figure things out from there.
As before, Arisa was given the option to pick which girl to take with the male protagonist to the puzzle room. She reached an epiphany: she did not have to take Mia. Mia's story was about forced servitude and making her follow the male protagonist was likely the wrong thing to do. The protagonist would not become her ally and Mia would not be free.
Arisa decided to take the idol girl this time. While Arisa did not have a real attachment to this girl it would at least serve the purpose of keeping Mia away from the male protagonist.
Upon completion of the puzzle room, Arisa unexpectedly found herself in another puzzle room, this time from the perspective of Mia as the player character. 
"Oh, this is awesome," Arisa exclaimed. "I must be on the right track."
The only other time in the series controlling one of the girls happened was in the special Mia Epilogue for Mystical Dream Girl 4, so to be able to control her again in this game was a significant event. It was clear to Arisa that was the key to unlocking the Mia route.
Once Arisa cleared this puzzle room the story elaborated on Mia and her current partner, and their shared history as someone's dream girl. After this scene the player control returned to the male protagonist again, and then a choice on which girl to take into the second puzzle room.
Arisa decided to pick the dead girl this time, and then partnered Mia with a different girl. She was getting the impression after the first time the idea was to both keep Mia away from the male protagonist and have Mia go into each of the puzzle rooms with a different girl, ultimately having her go through one room with each of the other girls. 
As she guessed and expected, after completing the second puzzle as the male protagonist she was given back control of Mia for her puzzle room. The pattern repeated for the third and fourth puzzle rooms.
When she reached the fifth puzzle room Arisa had already picked all the other combination of girls to separate Mia from the male protagonist, but now she felt this was the time to have them go into the puzzle room together. At this point Arisa believed that the trust the male protagonist showed toward Mia by letting her do her own thing would finally pay off. On top of that, none of the other girls died following this route, so Arisa was confident she was hitting a Golden route, where everyone would survive.
Arisa decided to go with it and upon completion of the fifth puzzle room she was surprised the game didn't end. In fact, the player control once again switched back to Mia and the male protagonist was the secondary character. She found this switch bizarre. When she brought up the route map Arisa was surprised by what she saw. Instead of unlocking the Mia route like she expected, it was the route of the male protagonist.
"What does this mean?" Arisa wondered aloud.
As she kept playing the route, control over Mia never relinquished. Instead of focusing on something in Mia's past that she needed to let go, the story was emphasizing how the male protagonist needed to let Mia go. Arisa knew the theme of the game was letting go of the past, and she was curious as to how this applied to Mia, but this revelation made her realize that Mia was not the one who had the problem. Instead, it was a route where Mia was trying to coerce the male protagonist into letting her go free. 
This thought process confused Arisa, but then she remembered that the key to unlocking the route was to make the male protagonist decide to trust Mia. The route was not so much about getting the girl to fall in love as it was about learning to trust. That was why Mia was presented in this game in chains and handcuffs as the male protagonist was not willing to let her go.
Arisa continued playing. It was still possible through her choices for characters to die and she went back and changed her decisions accordingly to keep everyone alive. When she finally reached the end of the route Mia was freed from her shackles and Arisa was presented with a final option: to have Mia stay with the male protagonist, or to leave. She decided it was true to Mia's character to leave.
Arisa sat back in her chair, satisfied. Mia decided to opt for her freedom, but the male protagonist, having fallen in love with her, understood her feelings. The route ended on a hopeful note that time heals all wounds and that both Mia and the male protagonist would find happiness in their own ways even if it was not together.
Her curiosity got the better of her, so she went back and picked the other option. In the alternate ending, Mia decided to stay with the male protagonist, and they decide to face the world together. 
Arisa felt the first ending was more appropriate for Mia and the alternate ending was sappy, but understood that the option was there for people who felt the game's trials put the two characters in the position they could trust each other enough to start a true relationship.
She got up from her chair and stretched out. Mia's ending was satisfying to see and Arisa was glad the game studio didn't mess it up. She looked forward to seeing the reactions of other players once they got their hands on the game.
----
The next day Arisa took Shizuka out to lunch. She wanted to get her opinion on the way Mystical Dream Girl 6 played out.
"I finished the Mia route last night," Arisa said. "I was surprised the route changed to her perspective and she became the player character."
"I'm glad you liked it," Shizuka replied. "Although it did mean I had to record way more dialogue than the voice actors for the other girls."
"I think it was a good idea," Arisa said. "I liked that the route was really about the player letting her go and let her live her own life instead of forcing her into a relationship she didn't want. It's like a reinforcement of her story in the fourth game."
"I'm just happy Mia gets to go out on a happy note," Shiuzka added. "If she never comes back into the story again I can be content that she is left in a good place. Some stories just ruin it by continuously following the same characters over and over."
"Meh. I'd still rather play as her than the male protagonist," Arisa said. "I feel like playing as her and seeing where her story ends would be a lot more fun."
Arisa and Shizuka finished their meals and went back to work. 
---
A week later Arisa hired Shizuka to cosplay as Mia from the game and assigned Yuki as the photographer. Yuki was all too happy to accept the assignment because it meant she got to work with Shizuka again. For Shizuka, although she had voiced Mia before, this was the first time she cosplayed as her, and now she will have cosplayed as all of her major acting roles.
Shizuka wore a simple white blouse and denim skirt that went all the way to her ankles. The skirt was buttoned on the left side down to her mid thigh, leaving the rest of it like a slit. She wore a black wig on her head. For her appearance in Mystical Dream Girl 6 she wore large handcuffs like in the game and chains all around her body to signify her status as a prisoner in the story.
They went to the usual studio set, which was a large white drape serving as a background with several boxes also covered in white drapes for Shizuka to sit on for poses that Yuki had in mind. She quickly got to work taking pictures while Shizuka tried her best to mimic Mia's movements and expressions from the game.
Yuki took pictures of Shizuka sitting on the box, her cuffed hands on her lap and an sullen expression on her face. She wanted to capture Shizuka as Mia at the start of the game, as a resigned and defeated prisoner to the male protagonist, but defiant to being an obedient slave. 
After taking numerous shots in this manner, Yuki decided to change things up a little. 
"Okay, I want to do a series where you're forced to do things against your will. Act like the camera is your master," she instructed.
Shizuka nodded, then got down on the floor on her knees and listened to Yuki's instructions. 
"You're going to start off like this," Yuki said. "It'll look more like a slave girl, like you're being forced to do things against your will. We'll try your character's personality out in different ways."
"Okay," Shizuka said.
"Good. Does it feel good to you? Do you feel rebellious?"
"Yes."
"That's great. It's rebellious. Perfect," Yuki said. 
Yuki had her pose as she instructed and she was happy with it. She then had Shizuka do the same pose while she adjusted the camera's zoom settings. 
"I want to try something a little different with this next picture," Yuki said. "I want you to look at the camera and feel uncomfortable. I want you to feel as if you're being watched. I want you to be paranoid and fearful."
"Okay."
"Is there someone watching you? Can you feel it?"
Shizuka hesitated a moment. Then she nodded with a fearful expression on her face. 
"Perfect. That's perfect. One more," Yuki said.
Yuki loved the expression on Shizuka's face. It was perfectly miserable and hopeless. 
"That's good," she said in encouragement. 
Next they did another series of pictures. Chains, shackles, manacles, padlocks, locksets, and handcuffs were placed around Shizuka's hands and ankles. Yuki locked them in place. Then they took pictures as the locks were picked and the shackles broken. 
In all of the pictures Yuki made sure to show the struggle prominently in Shizuka's face. She had Shizuka grimace in pain and anger as she was forced to endure her captivity. Yuki even had Shizuka spit in the direction of the camera while she struggled against her bonds.
"You're doing great," Yuki said. "I really love the expression on your face."
The pictures were finished. Yuki was satisfied with them, proud of Shizuka's work. Yuki then showed the pictures to Shizuka. 
"I really like these," Yuki said, "They're exactly like the way I pictured you in my head. I love that you look so defeated in them. You look so hopeless. I want to do more pictures like that." 
Shizuka shook her head. "This is bordering dangerously close to a bondage shoot."
Yuki laughed. "Right, no kinky stuff," she agreed. "Let's get you untied, then."
Shizuka watched and waited as Yuki unlocked the shackles and unwrapped the chains from around her. 
"I can't wait to show these pictures to Arisa," Yuki said, holding her camera for Shizuka to see.
"These turned out pretty good," Shizuka said, nodding in approval. "I like the way you managed to capture my character's personality in them."
"Thank you," Yuki said. "I'm really glad you like them."
Shizuka went to the dressing room to change into her street clothes while Yuki left the studio and headed for Arisa's office to show her the pictures. Arisa was sitting behind her desk as usual when Yuki entered.
"So, how did it go?" Arisa asked, anxious.
"It was good," Yuki replied, showing Arisa the pictures on her camera.
Arisa was impressed. "I really liked the pictures," she said. 
"Great," Yuki said, "I'm glad you liked them."
"It's a little more risqué than I imagined, but you really make it work," Arisa added.
"I was thinking of going a little further, but Shizuka objected," Yuki explained. 
"Well, I'm glad she did, because we can't get carried away with stuff like this."
"I know," Yuki agreed. As much as a part of her wanted to do more with Shizuka tied up she knew it was a line she should not be crossing both as a professional and as her friend. 
"So, I heard Mia was just one of five girls in Mystical Dream Girl 6," Yuki said, changing the subject. "I don't see any plans to do shoots of the other four girls."
"Well, that's because Shizuka works for us here so we got first dibs on doing the shoot with her," Arisa explained. "That, and I'm a bit less interested in the other girls. Truth be told, I wanted this shoot done more for myself than for the game."
"That's really selfish of you, isn't it?" Yuki asked.
"Yeah, it is," Arisa said, "But you're benefiting by getting time to do a shoot with Shizuka, so you're getting something out of it, too."
"That's true," Yuki admitted. "I guess I'll just have to live with being selfish once in a while."
"I'm glad you can," Arisa said. 
Yuki and Arisa made some small talk until Arisa had to excuse herself for a meeting. Yuki got up and left her office and found Shizuka waiting for her outside.
"I guess she really liked it," Shizuka said.
"Yes," Yuki confirmed. "Let's go get something to eat."
They walked outside the building and to the noodle cart peddling its business as usual. They ordered a couple of bowls and started eating. 
"You know, when I first started voice work for Mystical Dream Girl I never would have thought I'd still be doing it now," Shizuka said. 
"That's because the writing is so good and you did a good job of bringing the character to life," Yuki replied. 
"It's just that I'm a model and not an actress, although I guess I am an actress now."
"Well, the two professions can have overlap, you know. You're not the only model that went into acting."
"That's true."
"And it's also true that plenty of actors became models at some point in their lives," Yuki said.
Shizuka and Yuki continued to talk about various things until they finished eating and they went back inside the office building.
----
As Yuki predicted she was hired to do photo shoots of the other four voice actresses for the girls in Mystical Dream Girl 6. She worked with them over the course of a week, but was not as inspired as she had been with Shizuka's shoot. Only the girl who voiced the idol singer had previously cosplayed her character and Yuki found her the easiest to work with. The other three had never cosplayed before, much less modeled. They had no idea what to wear and how to pose and Yuki had to teach them and keep them on track.
She was filled with renewed appreciation for Shizuka's talent for modeling and acting, with this series of shoots being a harsh reminder that not every model can act, and not every actor can model. On the other hand, all four of the voice actresses could sing, which was something Shizuka was notoriously terrible at. For a photoshoot, singing ability did not matter to Yuki as a photographer since sound was not a realm she dealt with.
As her week of work continued Yuki got to know the girls better. They were a fun group to work with. They all had their own little quirks and were easy to get along with. She was happy to have the opportunity to get to know them and look forward to the next time she might meet them.
Yuki walked home to her shared apartment. She did not expect Shizuka to be home because she was recording for an anime series at the production studio.  
When Yuki stepped inside her apartment she was surprised to see Shizuka waiting for her.
"You're home earlier than usual," Yuki said.
"Yeah, I finished early today so I figured I'd come home."
"Okay, so we can have dinner together tonight."
"That's great."
Yuki and Shizuka went to her kitchen to cook. Shizuka began to say something but she stopped herself. Yuki felt good however, because she knew that things were back to normal between the two of them. 
They cooked their dinner and sat down to eat.
"How was your day?" Yuki asked.
"It was okay," Shizuka said. "I had to record some sappy dialogue, though."
They ate dinner in silence and enjoyed each other's company. Yuki felt happy and contented to be with her friend.
"I had a good day," Yuki said. "I got to spend a lot of time with the voice actresses for Mystical Dream Girl 6."
"Great," Shizuka said. "I'm glad you got along with them."
"I'm glad. I think this will be the best game yet in the Mystical Dream Girl series."
"I hope so," Shizuka said. 
They fell into a comfortable silence again, basking in the shared warmth of their friendship. The distance Yuki felt growing between her and Shizuka seemed like a distant memory, replaced by a renewed appreciation for the bond they shared.
----

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~ Razorclaw X