chapter seven ; you're invited!

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Five years.

Five years of smiling. Five years of posing. Five years of introducing herself as someone she was not, and getting along with everyone with her mother managing her as if she were a puppet controlled by her strings.

Five years of absolute micromanagement and deception.

The present day, the twenty-two year old woman had matured into the beautiful flower. A beauty fit for her name. A beauty that is twenty-two year old world-class model, Akiyama Misaki.

"Miss Akiyama?" The stewardess called once more, as she brushed her castle made of clouds and brought her thoughts back down to earth, seeing a rather worried but amused lady smiling at her, "We're five minutes into landing. Can I get you anything?"

"No, I'm fine. Thank you." She said, as she buried herself back into her seat, staring out her window at the sight of the city of Tokyo that she had not seen in months. She had left Tokyo for a while for a vacation, but now she returns, with an invitation in her hand.

-

Five years.

Five years of unanswered calls. Five years of viewing the same empty house that was considered haunted. Five years of demons haunting him, beautiful demons that resembled her very much so that it would distract him from reality, and he would find himself talking to the smiling ghost of her that would stand before him, who would only respond with the same smile that would melt his heart that was so used to the cold of the ice rink.

Five years since he last saw her.

Hanyu Yuzuru, the pride of men's ice skating. The crown jewel of the country. The Olympian that carried his country on his shoulders. He made a big name for himself, a name that had never been brought close to Akiyama Misaki.

The two were now celebrities in their own fields. Famous in different aspects. Each time in their interviews where they were mentioned of each other for being schoolmates, they would simply brush off by saying how the other was very popular that it was an honour to have even breathed the same air.

It was all to cover the pain each of them went through.

Pain in walking the runway as a product.

Pain in skating on the ice as a subject to be judged.

They were almost bare to the eyes of the world. It was those little brush offs and smiles that protected whatever little privacy they had left, and to protect each other.

Yuzuru panted as he finished his practice, sweat running down his temples as he skated to his bag and took out a water bottle, finishing the entire thing in one go. He ransacked through the bag once more, and looked at the special invitation that was sealed with wax.

-

An Invitation to Japan's Pride Gallery Grand Opening

The gallery to honour the pride and glory of the country; from its celebrities to its heroes to its Olympians. The gallery that had been built for those who had made a name for the country.

The two who were invited for the grand opening were none other than Akiyama Misaki and Hanyu Yuzuru themselves.

As Misaki put on her white dress, that had a lovely pattern that was sewed with lace, she posed once before getting into the limousine that was already waiting for her downstairs. Inside the vehicle, a middle-aged man that had several features that resembled hers was smiling the moment she opened the door. She got into the limousine to give him a hug as they greeted each other.

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