Artifice and Duplicity

[Ichi]

Húxiān would continue listening and taking notes. As she did that, she noticed that Hiro had a habit of biting his lip. To Húxiān, it seemed like he did this whenever he got nervous. In addition to that, Hiro seemed extremely hesitant when speaking about Kirie, as if he were carefully choosing his words.

Probably afraid of what his girlfriend would do if he spoke poorly of her, thought Húxiān.

"Oh, I don't think I got your name..?" asked Hiro, abruptly changing the subject.

"My name is Tsumura Kimie... but since LAW has people from all around the world, I usually go by Kimie. You can call me that if you like," said Húxiān with an innocent smile. Húxiān paused for a moment, as if she were contemplating something.

"You know, I noticed you paused a lot when talking about Tsukada-san. Is everything alright?" said Húxiān in a gentle, concerned voice as she lightly touched Hiro's arm. Then, Húxiān would retract her arm and lean in, as if she were genuinely concerned about Hiro. "I promise I won't put anything in my story without checking with you first."

[CaptainL]

"Huh...Kimie...that almost sounds like..." Hiro nodded nonetheless to the sound of it. What were the odds? This girl's name happened to be very close to his girlfriend's. It seemed almost like what someone would have thought of on the spot if they needed to come up with some sort of cover, but of course that was ridiculous; she was clearly too nervous to be hiding something. All the same, she had offered to let Hiro use her first name. Almost as if they were close. It was enough to make him blush just a little. He cleared his throat, reminding himself that it was just for international relations, but...it felt nice, all the same.

Hiro was soon shaken back to reality as "Kimie" leaned out and touched him on the arm, causing him to look back down. "Ah..?" Looking back at her, everything froze. Hiro found himself standing at a crossroads - did he tell her? It felt wrong, like he would be betraying Kirie in doing so. He was her manager, and he was supposed to stand up for her - and above that, he was her boyfriend. But he could hear the concern in Kimie's voice. He knew she wanted to help. She was a nice girl, and he felt bad having to say no to her, especially if she was this concerned. Leaning in closer, he met her eye to eye.

"Well...uh, don't tell this to anyone, please. I don't want to make things harder than they need to be. But she can be...difficult, at times. She's very, well...protective, I guess you could say. But she reads a lot into everything I do. She barely lets me talk to other girls, and I mean, I don't mean anything by it, but she won't take that for an answer. And if she thinks I'm trying to cheat on her - which I'd never do, honest - she can take things...a little too far."

[Ichi]

Truth be told, Húxiān chose the name "Kimie Tsumura" precisely because it was similar to Kirie's name. Húxiān hoped that the name would cause Hiro to feel extra affinity towards her persona.

When Hiro started tentatively revealing more about Kirie, Húxiān felt a surge of excitement: the fool was falling for her trap! Better yet, he essentially confirmed Húxiān's hypothesis that Kirie was the jealous type. Húxiān was now even more sure that her plan would work.

After Hiro finished talking, Húxiān would merely wait in silence as if she were expecting Hiro to continue. She knew that in these sorts of situations, people will often keep talking if they are not interrupted. This often leads to people revealing more than they originally intended. Húxiān would make sure to act as if she was completely engaged in what Hiro had to say---in a sense, she actually was. But instead of being genuinely concerned about Hiro, Húxiān was only eager to see Hiro dig his own grave.

[CaptainL]

Huxian had put thought into this. That was for sure. Despite barely having any prior contact with Hiro or Kirie, she had already worked out everything she would need to to wrap Hiro around her finger, and he was none the wiser about it.

With a pause coming to the conversation, Hiro sat there in awkward silence for a while. Was Kimie going to ask him any other questions? Try to get more details? She didn't even seem to be taking any notes. Eventually, it became clear to Hiro that she was waiting on him to say more. He didn't really want it to come to this. If he could get out of this meeting without saying anything that could be incriminating - and, knowing Kirie, that cast a pretty broad net - he would be content. But the interviewer wanted more.

She did say that she wouldn't put in anything without getting his permission first, at least. He wouldn't have to expose anything that would make his girlfriend upset. And the two of them were alone. After a while, working up the will to speak, Hiro took in a breath.

"She just...doesn't really like me seeing other girls. I mean, not in that sense, you know, but...well, she thinks it's that sense. She worries that I'm going to run off with someone, and I never would, mind...but I can't seem to convince her. I don't...know if she trusts me." He sighed, looking down; the guilt over saying something like that weighed on his shoulders. But it was the truth, one way or another. "And she's...intimidated girls she thought were threats to our relationship before. Even if they really weren't."

[Ichi]

"I know how you feel. My father would also---" Húxiān paused mid-sentence. Then, after a brief moment of silence, Húxiān would say "Sorry. I should stop... after all, I'm not the one being interviewed."

Húxiān would set aside her notes and look directly into Hiro's eyes. Then, in a reassuring voice, she would say "Don't worry, I won't include this part in the interview. This'll stay between you and me."

After saying that, Húxiān would reach out and lightly touch Hiro's arm once again. Then, with sadness and concern seemingly mixed into her voice, Húxiān would continue speaking.

"Is everything alright?"

[CaptainL]

Hiro looked up as Kimie continued, mentioning something about troubles with her father. He wasn't sure what she could mean by that, but he still tensed, something forming in his throat but fizzling out before he made so much as a noise. He didn't want to ask anything that might be uncomfortable for her, and she did raise a good point that she was supposed to be interviewing him; not the other way around. Still...with that look of sadness in her eyes, he couldn't help but be a little concerned.

As she touched his arm, Hiro looked up at her, meeting her eyes once again. "Y-Yeah. Yeah, everything's fine..." he began, before taking a pause. After a moment, he continued again. "Hey, uh...if you need to talk about anything, I'm here, okay? I just...I guess it might help. And you don't need to include it in the article. I won't tell, I promise...after all, you promised that to me, so I might as well extend the offer."

[Ichi]

"Hey, uh...if you need to talk about anything, I'm here, okay? I just...I guess it might help. And you don't need to include it in the article. I won't tell, I promise...after all, you promised that to me, so I might as well extend the offer."

Húxiān appeared to smile sympathetically at Hiro's statement. "I appreciate the offer but I'd rather not bore you with details of my life," said Húxiān in a friendly tone of voice. Internally, however, Húxiān's thoughts were much different.

What the hell? Why would an interviewer be including anything about herself in an article? What a socially-incompetent milquetoast. He must be so nervous around me that he can't even speak straight, thought Húxiān as she maintained her fake smile. Then, Húxiān would remove her hand from Hiro's arm and grab her "hot" coffee. Húxiān would bring the cup up to her lips take a few sips before discreetly popping the top of the coffee cup off with her thumb.

"Kyaaah!" yelled Húxiān in a fake-cutesy voice as the ostensibly hot coffee spilled onto her chest. "Ow! Hot!" cried Húxiān as she flung the coffee off to the side. The coffee would splatter on the ground away from Húxiān and Hiro. Then, Húxiān would quickly remove her dress and bra as if her clothes were saturated with burning hot coffee and she was trying to stop herself from being burned. A few moments later, Húxiān would be standing in front of Hiro, completely topless.

"Sorry about that," said Húxiān without a hint of embarrassment in her voice as she sat back down. "I can be really clumsy sometimes!" As Húxiān said that, her perky breasts would be clearly on display for Hiro to see.

[CaptainL]

"R-Right...anyway!" Now that the conversation had seemed to turn away from "Kimie" and her personal struggles, Hiro felt it was about time the interview itself began. He would admit that the girl was nice, and he didn't mind talking to her. She seemed like someone he wouldn't mind keeping in touch with - at least, he thought that for a few short seconds before he remembered how Kirie would inevitably pose a problem, and the guilt set in. Guilt for doing things like this behind his girlfriend's back, yes, but also guilt for dragging Kimie into something that no doubt wouldn't end well for her. In any case, he could appreciate the offer to change the subject so that he wouldn't need to think about this any more. "So, what did you want to ask-hey, wait!"

It was at that point that the lid on the interviewer's coffee cup sprung off. At once, Hiro jolted in his seat, stretching his hand toward her in an attempt to get her attention. But he was too late - and he shrunk back with a wince, shivering as the coffee poured over her. He could only imagine how much that had to hurt, and he brought his hands up to cover his eyes out of reflex.

"A-Are you okay?! I-" Hiro was cut off a moment later, however, as he peeked out just in time to see Kimie slipping off her dress. At once, he froze, his face going a vivid red. As Kimie went on to take off her bra, he could feel his heart thumping even faster and harder in his chest. He knew he shouldn't. It was improper, to say nothing of the fact he was taken - but he couldn't look away. He gulped, a tremble going through his body. "O-Oh, god..."

Kimie didn't seem all that bothered by it, as she sat back down in nothing but her panties. Hiro stared wide-eyed at her slender, toned form for what seemed like an eternity before he worked up the composure to turn his head to the side, clearing his throat. "A-Ahem..! I'm sorry about that...here, you can have my coat..." He began taking it off, looking to hand it over to the girl.

[Ichi]

Húxiān made no attempt to hide her body from Hiro---in fact, Húxiān did just about everything she could to give Hiro the best view possible without being obvious about her intentions. Despite outwardly seeming calm and nonchalant, Húxiān was ecstatic as she knew that she had Hiro wrapped around her finger. And judging by the way Hiro was looking at her, she would have plenty of material to work with.

"A-Ahem..! I'm sorry about that...here, you can have my coat..." stammered Hiro. Instead of taking the coat, Húxiān simply cocked her head to the side and looked at Hiro with a quizzical look.

"What for?" replied Húxiān, making sure to subtly stick out her chest to emphasize her breasts. "Don't worry, I'm not cold or anything."

While Húxiān could have done more seductive things, she decided to hold off on doing so. Instead, she decided to attempt to play the "innocent sheltered girl" angle to further ensnare Hiro, like a cruel spider slowly wrapping up its prey. Húxiān understood the need to go slowly---relationships and rapport are not established instantaneously. Granted, Húxiān was only trying to build rapport with Hiro so that when she did finally sink her fangs into him, the act would be all the more painful.

However, for now, Húxiān would hide her snake-like nature and pretend to be "Kimie Tsumura".

[CaptainL]

Some young men (and women) Hiro's age would have considered themselves to be very lucky if they found themselves in a secene like the one that was playing out. It seemed as though the universe was working to ensure he got as good a look at as much of this girl as possible. However, Hiro was already romantically involved, and he was not one to go looking at other women, no matter how much he seemed to have an unfortunate knack for it. He bit his lip, trying to suck down the redness rising in his cheeks as he turned his head to the side. Conducting one half of an interview while doing anything humanly possible to avoid looking at the other person was going to be awkward, but as far as he was concerned, it was less awkward than the alternative.

"H-Huh? What do you mean? I mean, it's not that-" Hiro said. His gaze turned momentarily toward Kimie again, only for him to shudder as she seemed to be leaning in closer still, her breasts hanging just in front of him almost invitingly. Clearing his throat, he turned aside. Was she coming on to him, he thought? No, no, of course not; she simply wasn't the type of person to do that!

"I just...well, I didn't want you to feel...uncomfortable like that," Hiro said. "It's...it's not anything weird. Really." Hiro meant every word he said - the only problem was that, given how nervous he was right now, an outside observer would be forgiven for assuming things were, in fact, weird.