Modeling Agency — March 8th (continuation)
After calling Megumi out, Hitomi walked up to her. The rookie looked even tenser than before. The veteran straightened Megumi's posture, lifted her chin, held her gazesteadily, and said plainly.
"Relax your face. Drop your shoulders. Let go of that tension."
When she saw Megumi was ready, Hitomi gestured for her to go take her photos. The shoot was short: three pictures that would decide each candidate's professional fate.
Megumi took a deep breath and faced the cameras with confidence. She transformed completely—delivering her best poses, making both herself and the outfit look stronger. When the mini shoot ended, she knew she'd done her best, and her body finally loosened. Now all she could do was wait.
Jacques Leclair, the agency owner, was a demanding man—tall, dark-skinned, with short black curls. His beard was neatly kept, and he was always dressed sharp, perfectly put together. He followed every session closely. He cared a lot about who would be chosen.
After the candidates finished, he told them there was nothing left to do but wait—their profiles would be reviewed.
Jacques, Hitomi, and the photographer Yusuke met in a private room. They went through the photos of every participant one by one, checked past work, talked things through, debated, for nearly two hours..
The wait felt endless. The candidates' nerves were obvious. Some silently judged the others; some tried not to think at all. Hands clenched. Legs bounced. Eyes avoided.
"So we've reached a consensus, then?" Hitomi said. "I know you expected me to choose ten. But it'll be three."
That was her final word.
The three of them walked out with serious, decided expressions. Hitomi became the messenger. She stood in front of the young women and said only the names, to keep expectations in check.
"Esther. Yesenia. Megumi."
A beat.
"You've been chosen for training, to become professional models. We thank everyone for participating. Anyone whose name wasn't called is dismissed. And for the ones who stay—listen."
Her tone hardened.
"The level is below what I expected. Put some love into it. Put professionalism into it. The glamour is for the audience—this job takes everything from your emotional side. Work seriously. And if you think I'm being harsh, don't even try to push forward. Or you'll hear things a lot worse."
After that, they were dismissed. Training would begin the next day.
Now it was time to go home and try to breathe after a day like that.
March 9th — Hitomi's Apartment (Morning)
The day started with pleasant weather, and inside an apartment in one of the city's high-end neighborhoods, the smell of coffee already filled the air.
A young woman with blue hair streaked with black was setting the table for three, arranging delicate porcelain dishes with careful, ornamental detail.
Everything was quiet, with discretion.
Hitomi watched, then approached silently from behind. The woman—Nami—wore a feminine dress in pastel tones, embroidered with floral patterns that looked hand-stitched.
"Morning," Hitomi said, wrapping her arms around her from behind, affectionate.
"Morning, love. Ready to teach the new models?"
"Ready?" Hitomi scoffed. "Only if it's to annoy me. I can already smell the stress. I know the pay won't be worth the headache. Can you believe I only liked two of them, and they pushed a third one on me. Agencies are all the same."
Nami laughed, covering her mouth so she wouldn't burst out too loud. Then they sat down to eat.
"Hahaha. You're so mean," Nami teased.
"How am I evil?" Hitomi shot back. "Evil would be lying and saying they were good."
She took a sip, then glanced around.
"And where's Hana? She's not coming for breakfast?"
"She's coming. She's super excited—said she made a friend!" Nami said, starting her coffee.
"That's good, Nami. That actually cheers me up." Hitomi's expression softened.
Footsteps suddenly sped up, and the little pink-haired girl appeared.
"Good morning, moms!" Hana greeted brightly.
The three of them talked, shared news—until it was time for Hitomi to leave and go deal with the rookies.
Modeling Agency — March 9th
At the agency, Hitomi tapped her index finger against the desk in a steady rhythm, like a metronome. She was impatient. It was the only sound in the room—because silence hung over the tension.
Megumi and Yesenia waited in their chairs.
Yesenia kept a calm, focused expression. Megumi looked slightly uncomfortable.
Hitomi finally stopped tapping.
"Enough. I've waited past the time."
Her gaze cut across them.
"You two who arrived on time—introduce yourselves. Name, age, height, and how long you've been in the industry."
Megumi didn't love the idea of not waiting for the third girl, but she understood: being late wasn't professional.
"My name is Megumi Hoshino. I'm 22. I'm 1.80 meters. I've only been doing this for three months, but I've already done catalogs."
"My name is Yesenia. I'm 22. 1.78 meters. I started two days ago."
Hitomi blinked.
"What? You're brand-new?" Her tone sharpened. "I'm genuinely impressed."
Right then, the door opened.
Esther—the missing model—walked in like nothing had happened.
"Good morning! Sorry I'm late!"
"Sorry doesn't matter. You're late." Hitomi didn't move an inch. "Introduce yourself. Name, height, and time in modeling."
Esther ignored Hitomi's irritation and answered lightly.
"I'm Esther. I'm 18. 1.75 meters. I've been in the industry for six years. I've been with two agencies, done a bunch of catalogs, and walked for several brands."
Hitomi leaned forward, elbows on the desk, hands clasped.
"You're the most experienced one here—and you still showed up late. Serious clients don't accept that. Learn the lesson."
Esther glared, angry, and huffed—then joined the others.
They trained. Makeup. Runway. Etiquette. Posture. Poses.
The day was long, but productive. Hitomi was strict down to the smallest details—yet her instructions were clear, precise, clear, didactic, and precise.
When everything ended, they went home.
Yesenia walked through the city streets near the residential area, scanning the surroundings like she was searching for something.
"I felt something… but which house was it?" she thought. "Doesn't matter. My mission is simple: attack. According to the papers, one of the models lives here. If she has Potentia, she'll react."
She stopped in front of a large house, her face cold, still.
Greenish flames formed at the tips of her fingers.
She guided the fire toward the house.
Within seconds, it was swallowed by flames.
Screams of pain and terror came from inside. Yesenia didn't flinch. She stood there, expression unmoved, watching her fire crawl through the building.
"Just screams. Not her," she thought after a moment, and turned away—leaving it as it was.
Nearby, high enough to see most of the neighborhood, was Hitomi's apartment. By chance, at that exact moment, she passed the window and saw a spot of smoke become fire.
Without thinking twice, she called the firefighters—reporting a house nearby was burning.
A GREEN fire.
Modeling Agency — March 10th
The next day, tension was thick at the agency. The victim of the fire had been Esther.
"And how is she? What's the situation?" Hitomi demanded, turning to Jacques.
"The family says she has second-degree burns. She'll need rest and treatment." Jacques exhaled hard. "Police investigated, but couldn't find the cause. They think it was criminal. The firefighters thought the reports of green fire were strange—until they arrived and saw it really was."
He paused, jaw tight.
"And the weirdest part… the fire wouldn't go out. It slowly weakened, then just vanished."
He looked down for a second.
"A lot of strange things have been happening in the city lately."
While Hitomi and Jacques tried to process it, Yusuke offered his opinion.
"What if it was one of the models—trying to get revenge?"
Hitomi and Jacques exchanged a look, then turned their disgust on him like a blade.
Hitomi stood.
"I'm starting class. Keep me updated about Esther."
She left.
Back in the room with the candidates, she delivered the news professionally.
"It'll be just the three of us today. Esther suffered an accident…"
The day continued with runway lessons—better ways to walk, better ways to pose, how to be framed well by photographers from different magazines and tabloids.
By the end of the day, Hitomi didn't extend training. One of the girls had been the victim of a crime.
"It's late. That's enough for today. Go home. And be careful with suspicious people on the street."
They said goodbye and began to gather their things.
Outside the agency, Megumi spotted Hitomi ahead and called out.
Hitomi turned with some wariness—only to see her pupil approaching with zero shyness. Megumi started direct, but polite.
"I'm sorry to bother you, but I admire your work a lot—and the effort you put into teaching us. I wanted to ask if it would be possible for us to talk… and have a relationship beyond work."
Hitomi stared at her, serious, thinking fast.
"Look, Megumi. I don't mind—as long as it's a friendship," she replied, not especially enthusiastic.
Megumi tilted her head, confused.
Still, they started talking.
And somehow, they found room to talk about the most random things—like they'd been friends forever.
"Hm. Lucky. Two of them like that—open, distracted," Yesenia thought, watching them from a distance.
She took advantage of the moment.
A flame formed at the tip of her index finger. Then she sent it—fire spreading toward them, aiming to catch them off guard.
By coincidence, Megumi looked back right then.
She saw the danger coming and ran to protect Hitomi.
"HITOMI—WATCH OUT!" Megumi screamed, shoving her out of the flame's reach.
"What is this, Megumi?" Hitomi snapped—still not fully understanding what was forming.
Then she saw it.
The green fire.
Hitomi froze, eyes widening, brow pulling tight. That was the same thing that had hurt Esther.
"THAT FIRE—"
"HITOMI, WE HAVE TO RUN!" Megumi grabbed her, trying to pull her away—but she could tell it wouldn't be easy to drag her out.
Megumi yanked her phone out of her purse and called Sayuri's house.
By luck, Naoko answered—the Water Potentia.
"NAOKO, I NEED HELP—IT'S A FIRE POTENTIA. COME NOW. IT'S AT—"
Yesenia kept watching, reading their panic—but something about their reactions bothered her.
"Something's off… they're not reacting… but I can feel something."
So she generated more fire.
She wanted to force the truth out of them.
Megumi kept pulling, trying to get Hitomi moving—but Hitomi's stubbornness was as strong as her physical strength.
Hitomi tore her hands free and ordered her to let go, refusing her help.
Now that her arms were free, she finally had space to act.
From each of Hitomi's hands burst vivid red flames—ready to answer Yesenia's strike.
Fire met fire.
Hitomi repelled the attack.
Megumi stared, shocked.
"Hitomi is a fire Potentia…"
"Don't worry," Hitomi said, voice sharp with confidence. "I'll protect you, Megumi!"
But that confidence lasted only seconds.
The green flames hit the ground and began to rise—taking shape into organized tongues of fire, circling them.
"WHY DO THESE FLAMES LOOK LIKE THEY'RE ORGANIZING?!" Hitomi screamed, stepping back in panic.