Chapter 6 – CANDY GIRL

After having Megumi’s attention, Hitomi gets closer to the young one, who is feeling more nervous than before. She corrects Megumi’s posture, raises her chin, and faces her firmly, and then, straightforwardly says:

“Relax your expression. Release your shoulders, remove all this tension.”, Noticing that the novice model seemed to have realized her lack of posture, she is sent to the photo shooting session.

The photo shoot was short; three photos would decide the professional fate of each of the candidates. The tall and blonde one showed a confident attitude before the cameras, transforming herself completely. After finishing the mini photo shoot, she was sure to have given her best shot and calmed herself down; now had to wait patiently for the results.

The agency owner was a tall man with dark skin, short curly black hair, and a well-groomed beard. He was always very well-dressed and polished, and his name was Jacques. After photographing the candidates, he informed them that all they could do now was wait, as they would be analyzing the profiles. He, Hitomi, and the photographer gathered in a private room, reviewed the photos one by one, checked previous work, and talked and discussed for almost two hours.

“Have we reached a consensus, then? I know you expected me to choose ten candidates, but it will only be three," Hitomi said, making it clear that her decision was final, and she would not hear any more opinions.

The three of them left the room with serious and determined looks. The famous model wanted to be the spokesperson for the news herself; she stood in front of all the young women present and simply announced the names:

“Esther. Yesenia. Megumi.” the three stood up, waiting for the next command; after all, they didn’t know if it was a call to stay or to leave. However, Hitomi continued. “You have been chosen to be trained to become professional models. We thank everyone for participating. Those who were not called are dismissed. And for those who stayed, a warning! The level is below expectations. You'd better put love and professionalism into this. The glamour is only for the public; this job demands all of your emotional strength. Work with seriousness. And if you think I'm being harsh, don’t even try to go further; you will hear much worse things.”

After this first interaction, everyone was dismissed; training would only begin the following day. Now it was time to go home and rest after such a tense day.

March, 9^th

The day had started with a pleasant temperature, and the smell of coffee being brewed could already be felt in an apartment in the city's upscale neighborhood. A young woman was setting the table for three, with delicate and ornate porcelain dishes. Everything was being done in silence and discretion. Hitomi quietly observed the woman with long blue hair and black streaks, tied in four sections, who was wearing a pastel-colored dress with floral embroidery that looked handmade. Suddenly, she approached from behind and hugged her by surprise.

“Good morning!”, says Hitomi, hugging the girl affectionately.

“Good morning, love!”, she responds warmly, happy with the gesture. "Ready to teach the new models?”

“Ready!? Only if it's to bother me! I can already smell the stress. I'm sure the payment won’t be worth the hassle.”, Hitomi vents with a mocking expression. “Can you believe I only liked two of them, but they pushed a third one on me? These agencies are all the same.”

The young woman with blue hair starts to laugh, covering her face with her hand to keep from bursting into laughter as they sit down to start their coffee.

“Hahaha, you little meany!”, she laughs teasingly.

“What? Little meany would be if I lied and said they were good… And where’s Hana? Isn’t she coming for coffee?”, Hitomi was already being sarcastic and holding back from complaining.

“She’s already coming, she’s quite excited, she said she made a friend!”

“That’s great, Nami! That cheers me up.”, Hitomi replies with a more relaxed expression.

“Good morning, mommies!”, says Hana, arriving very excited for her breakfast.

The three of them chat, sharing the latest news, until Hitomi needed to leave to work at the agency with the new recruits.

At the Model Agency

At the agency, Hitomi was feeling impatient, sitting at her desk, tapping her index finger on the surface at rhythmic intervals, like a metronome. It was the only sound heard, as silence hung over the tense atmosphere. The models Megumi and Yesenia were sitting, waiting. Yesenia maintained a serene and focused expression, while Megumi appeared a bit uncomfortable.

“That's enough, it's time! I've waited well beyond the scheduled time.”, the top model finally broke the silence. “You who arrived on time, please introduce yourselves: name, age, height, and how long you've been in the industry.”

Megumi thought it was a bit unfair not to wait for the third girl, but she understood that being late was not a professional stance.

“My name is Megumi Hoshino, I'm 22 years old, and my height is 1.80 meters. I’ve been in the industry for just 3 months, but I’ve already worked on catalogs.”

“My name is Yesenia, I’m 22 years old, 1.78 meters tall. I joined just two days ago.”

“What?”, asks Hitomi, her eyes wide. “You’re both rookies? I’m truly impressed.”

As she finished speaking, the door opened, and the third model walked in as if nothing had happened, very cheerful and greeting everyone.

“Good morning! Sorry for the delay!”, Esther says with a wide smile on her face.

“No need to apologize! You’re late. Introduce yourself now with your name, height, and how long you’ve been modeling.”, Hitomi couldn’t hold back and showed all her irritation in her tone. To her, it was outrageous to act that way.

The young model simply ignored that Hitomi was upset and responded nonchalantly.

“I’m Esther, I’m 18 years old, 1.75 meters tall, and I’ve been in the industry for 6 years. I’ve been with two agencies, done several catalogs, and walked for various brands.”

Hitomi leans on her elbows, clasps her hands, and stares seriously at the young woman:

“You’re the most experienced one and still showed up late. Major and serious clients don’t tolerate that; let this be a lesson.”

The young woman glares angrily at the top model. She huffs but then joins the other colleagues, and they continue with the training and classes on makeup and runway. The day was long but quite productive. Hitomi was demanding in every detail but also instructive and precise with her tips.

After everything was over, Yesenia walks through the streets of the city, near the residential area of the neighborhood. She seemed to be searching for something.

“I felt something, but which one? Well, my mission is simple: to attack. From what I saw in the papers, one of the models lives here.”, she stops in front of a large house and observes with a cold gaze. “If she has Potentia, she will react.”

From the tips of the woman's fingers, greenish flames form. She then sets the house on fire, which is quickly engulfed in flames. Screams of pain and despair come from inside the house. Yesenia remains standing, her facial expression unchanged.

“Ah, just screams. It’s not her,” she realized after a short while and decided to leave, leaving the place as it was.

In the vicinity, at a height sufficient to see much of the neighborhood, was Hitomi's apartment. Fortunately, at that very moment, she passed by the window and saw a plume of smoke that soon turned into flames. Without much thought, she called the fire department to report a house nearby that was on fire… a fire with GREEN flames.

The next day, the atmosphere at the agency was tense; the fire's victim had been Esther, the young model.

“And how is she? What’s the situation?”, Hitomi asks the agency owner, who is impatiently pacing back and forth with clenched fists.

“The family reported that she has second-degree burns and will need rest and treatment. But the police conducted a full investigation and couldn’t find the cause. They believe it was arson; the firefighters found the reports of green flames strange, but when they arrived, it was indeed the case. And the strangest thing… the fire wouldn’t extinguish; it gradually diminished until it disappeared.” Jacques paused briefly and took a deep breath. “There have been many strange occurrences in the city lately.”

Among the revelations and questions from the agency owner with Hitomi, the photographer decides to give his opinion.

“Could it have been one of the models trying to get revenge?”

Hitomi and Jacques exchanged glances and looked at the young photographer with disdain. He, then, decided to leave.

“Well, I’ll start the classes. Keep me informed about Esther.”

The model resumes her composure and goes to the room where the other candidates were, and, in a professional manner, heads to the room where the other selected ones were.

“It will be just the three of us today. Esther had an accident…”

The day continued with runway lessons, where they learned better ways to walk and how to strike a good pose to be well-framed by photographers from various magazines and tabloids. By the end, Hitomi decided not to extend the session too long, as one of the girls had been affected by what was likely a crime, and she didn’t want to put the others in any kind of danger.

“It’s late, and that’s enough for today. Let’s go home and watch out for suspicious people on the street!”. She concludes her warning.

They say their goodbyes and leave the agency, heading to their respective homes. Not long after leaving the premises, the tall, blonde model Megumi calls out to her. Hitomi hears and looks back, spotting her protégé with a hint of apprehension. The young woman, who was not shy, started the conversation directly.

“I apologize for bothering you. But I admire your work and your effort in teaching us. I’d like to know if it would be possible to talk and have a relationship beyond work.”

The veteran looks at the novice with seriousness and quickly thinks about the situation.

“Look, Megumi, I have no problem with that, as long as it’s a friendship.”

Megumi stared at her with confusion. What kind of relationship had her idol thought of? The doubt lingered briefly in her mind. The two then found an opportunity and started chatting about the most random topics, appearing very animated.

“Hmm, how lucky for the two of them, so vulnerable,” thought the beautiful Yesenia, watching her carefree colleagues from afar.

The young woman with short green hair takes advantage of the models’ distraction to launch a long-distance attack. Forming flames at the tip of her finger, she makes the fire spread towards the two and prepares to hit them by surprise. However, the blonde quickly notices the approaching fire and moves at once to protect herself and her mentor.

“HITOMI, WATCH OUT!”, In an impulse, she ends up shouting and pushing Hitomi out of the flames' reach.

“WHAT IS IT, MEGUMI?”, Hitomi responds aggressively, not having noticed the situation, but upon realizing what they were dodging, she becomes frightened upon recognizing the green fire that caused Esther’s accident. “THIS FIRE!”

“HITOMI, LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!“, Megumi calls to her mentor, but realizing it will be difficult to move her, she grabs her phone from her bag and calls Sayuri’s house, and by luck, Naoko, the Water Potentia, answers. “NAOKO, I NEED HELP, IT'S A FIRE POTENTIA. COME QUICK, IT'S AT…”

Yesenia continues to observe the scene. She notices the panic of both women but finds their reactions strange.

“Something's off… they’re not reacting… but I feel something.”

Then the rival decides to create more fire to force the two to reveal whether they have Potentia and if they are from Earth. Megumi continues trying to pull Hitomi away from the area, but Hitomi’s stubbornness is as strong as her physical strength. She decides to break free from Megumi's grip, ordering her to let go, leaving her even more confused.

With her hands and arms free, Hitomi now had space to act. At that moment, flames in vivid red burst from each of her hands, ready to defend against the attack from Yesenia. She manages to repel the attack, meeting fire with fire."

“Hitomi is a Fire Potentia,”, thinks Megumi as she watches the situation in astonishment.

“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you, Megumi!”, Hitomi responds, noticing the surprised expression on the model’s face and deciding to reassure her.

But the veteran’s self-confidence didn’t last long. Yesenia’s flames fell to the ground and began to take the shape of blazing tongues.

“WHY DO THESE FLAMES SEEM TO BE ORGANIZING?”, Hitomi shouted in desperation.