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puss_nd_bootsTitle: A Whole New World, Part 1, 2/2 (Cut in two because of LJ's post limits, the first half of this chapter is here.)
Chapter: 1 of 3
Author: Boots
Rating: THIS CHAPTER: PG-13. FIC AS A WHOLE: NC-17
Genre: Urban fantasy AU, romance, smut
Warnings: : FOR THIS CHAPTER: None. FIC AS A WHOLE: Male/male sex, rimming, sex toys, magically enhanced sex
Pairing: Yo-ka (DIAURA) x MiA (Mejibray), MiA x Subaru (Royz), some Yo-ka x Yuuki (Lycaon)
Disclaimer: Mejibray belongs to White Side Group, DIAURA belongs to Ains, Royz belongs to B.P. Records, Lycaon belongs to Vogue Entertainment, I own the story only. This fic is partially based on elements from Walt Disney Pictures’ film Aladdin, which is property of Disney, and the TV series I Dream of Jeannie, which is property of the estate of Sidney Sheldon and Screen Gems/Columbia Pictures.
Summary: Once upon a time, there was a lowly photographer’s assistant that pined after Yo-ka, a gorgeous model – who, it was said, only dated other models. Then, one day, he happened upon a mysterious bottle on the beach. Enter Subaru, someone who could give him a whole new life – and you ain’t never had a friend like him.
Comments: Since this story came out rather long, rather than post it all at once like I normally do, I'm posting it over three days, hopefully consecutive (and this first part had to be further chopped in two because of LJ's post limits). Inspired by a certain recent photo of Subaru in which he looked, well, like a genie in a bottle – at least to me. In the first part of this fic, I’m using a rumored real name of MiA, Azu Shouya.
Yo-ka was beginning to feel like going to shoots was like being on a treadmill.
Whatever the brand, whatever the designer, it was the same thing. Stand up, smile, pose pretty, shift, pose again, get hair and makeup touched up, pose again . . .
He remembered when being before the cameras was a charge, an adrenaline rush, when he was feeling a real connection between himself and the photographer and the people he knew were going to be looking at the pictures. He remembered looking forward to going to shoots.
It had been awhile since he’d felt that way.
“So how’s it going, Yo-ka?” Kaoru said as he applied the makeup. Of course, the stylist was Karou today, it was a Black Moral shoot. Ruki never worked with anyone else.
“Same as always,” Yo-ka said. “How’s it going with you?”
“We’ve got a little bit of excitement today,” said Karou. “There’s a newbie on the set.”
“Really?” Yo-ka was surprised – Ruki usually had established models only.
“Yes. Guy nobody’s seen before. A last-minute replacement, I heard. But he came in here on fire – and he’s burning up the lens right now.”
“Hmmmm.” Well, no wonder the guy was enthusiastic if he was new. He’d had no time to become jaded.
“By the way – how’s it going with Toshi?” Kaoru said, turning his attention to Yo-ka’s hair.
“It fell apart,” Yo-ka said. “Two dates, that was it. There was just . . . nothing there. No spark. No fire.”
“It’s that way for you all the time, isn’t it?” said Karou. “None of your relationships last long.”
“That’s just the way it is,” Yo-ka said. Yes, the way it had been for the past six months or so. Ever since the love of his life had taken off for a year-long assignment in Milan . . .
Maybe he had been too harsh about it. Maybe he shouldn’t have fought with Yuuki before he left. Maybe he shouldn’t have been so upset at Yuuki’s suggestion they both casually date other people before their separation.
Maybe then they’d be talking on Skype every night, and still together and happy and very much a couple – instead of this “up in the air” stuff. Would they still be a couple when Yuuki returned to Japan?
He knew all too well that their separation was the point where everything started to feel like an endless loop of routine – career, dating, life in general. Without Yuuki to give him spark, everything was just so . . . flat.
“You can’t just mope around, you know,” Karou said. “Life is out there. Guys are out there. Hot guys. You’re the sexiest thing on two legs, you can score whoever you want.”
“I know,” Yo-ka said. “It’s just, well . . .”
Karou finished his work. “You just take a look at that newbie over there,” he said. “Maybe he’s a prospect for you.”
“Yeah,” Yo-ka said. “As if.”
He headed toward where the photographers were working, waiting for the newbie to be finished, and for him to get his turn . . . and then, his eyes fell on the man being photographed.
It wasn’t just that he was pretty. Yo-ka spent his whole life being surrounded by beauty – pretty people, pretty clothes, pretty surroundings. No, there was a spirit, a fire radiating from him that seemed to make the very air surrounding him vibrate.
The blond was turning this way and that, following the photographer’s instructions perfectly. One second he was cool and aloof, the next hot and alluring. He drew attention in – and kept it there.
He raised his head, an arm, looking like a living statue, a gorgeous sculpture made by loving hands. And then he shifted, the movement a graceful flow. Yo-ka, the jaded supermodel, suddenly found he couldn’t keep his eyes off the man.
This guy had all the fire that Yo-ka himself used to. It was like he was born to model.
The photographer put down his camera, the newcomer bowed, the crew applauded. He started to walk in Yo-ka’s direction – and suddenly froze.
He’s probably intimidated by me, Yo-ka thought. He quickly rushed over to the newcomer. “That was great,” he said.
“You think so?” said the novice, blushing slightly. “It’s my first time modeling – well, at a shoot as big as this.”
“I know so,” said Yo-ka. “You have a natural talent. Have you done a lot of this?”
MiA shook his head. “I’m usually a photographer,” he said.
“I’m impressed,” said Yo-ka. “I really am. Oh, I’m Yo-ka, by the way.”
“MiA,” he said, bowing. “My name is MiA.”
“It’s a lovely name for a lovely man..”
“Th-thank you.” His blush and stammer – especially in contrast to the fire he was showing in front of the cameras – just made him all the more appealing.
“Look, MiA, I have to go before the cameras next, but . . . would you like to talk more later? Say, over drinks?
MiA’s eyes flew open. His jaw nearly hit the floor. “I’d . . . sure, I’d love it! Yes, I’d love it!”
“Good. Give me your phone, I want to put my number in it.”
MiA handed the phone over with trembling fingers – and then looked equally shocked when Yo-ka handed over his own. He was cute as hell.
“I’ll see you later, then?” the newbie said, when they gave each other’s phones back.
“Yes,” Yo-ka said. “I’ll let you know where and when.”
MiA just about skipped away – and Yo-ka felt a strange warmth inside him.
He’d just met this guy. He didn’t know anything about him – though he was planning to remedy that later. But something was telling him he might have found the person who was going to give him his inner fire back.
* * *
When MiA arrived at the shoot, it suddenly hit him all at once that he was really, truly going to be a MODEL.
Up until now, it had been an abstract concept. “Model” had been “something he needed to be in order to be noticed by Yo-ka.” But here he was, sitting on a chair, having his hair and makeup attended to, watching the assistants (yes, that was him until a couple of days ago) running around pushing lights and scenery into place.
They’re going to be taking my picture, he thought. Me. Azu Shouya. No, not that anymore – MiA.
A small panic rose up in him. He’d never done this before. At all. The only photos he’d posed for were the kind your mom printed out and stuck in a scrapbook. He had no idea what to . . .
Yes you do, a voice in the back of his head said. You’ve watched models do it a thousand times, haven’t you? And you’ve heard what the photographers have said to them. All you need to do is relax, be yourself . . . and think about what you’re wearing. What you’re selling. What the designer might have been thinking when he created the outfit. Then convey that.
MiA took a deep breath. He glanced over at the rack of clothes – all blacks and reds, casual punk-funk. It needed . . . attitude. But with a touch of class.
He knew just what he was going to do.
When the photographer called out, “MiA, we’re ready to go,” he nodded and stepped onto the set. Okay, he thought. One, two, three . . . and we’re off.
At first, despite his best efforts to relax, he felt stiff and awkward. But after a few clicks of the shutter, he seemed to fall into . . . well, a rhythm. A groove. He was following the photographer’s instructions – turn here, raise this arm, look over there . . . but he was putting his own spin on it. He was the embodiment of the fashion he was wearing – no-nonsense, serious, but not without a sense of fun.
And before he knew it, the photographer was putting his camera down. “Beautiful!” he said. “Simply gorgeous. You’re a natural, MiA.”
“Thanks,” he said, bowing as the crowd applauded. Wow – he’d done that well, hadn’t he? He’d . . . well, surprised himself. This is going to work, he thought. This is really going to work!
And that’s when he saw Yo-ka, and froze.
* * *
Subaru was in MiA’s apartment, sitting on the floor in a lotus position, eyes closed.
Right now, he was in a meditative state, mentally reaching out into Tokyo while his powers were still heightened. Through a sort of astral projection, he could get an idea of the city, of its layout, what it had to offer . . .
He intended to explore it fully when MiA was out modeling. He’d followed proper protocol, asked his master for permission to leave the apartment when he wasn’t there, and received it. He hadn’t always been that lucky. Some masters had flat-out refused permission – thinking that letting the genie roam freely would mean he wouldn’t be available to grant wishes at any time. Others had just ignored the requests.
Subaru had been nearly giddy when MiA had granted his permission. He had been in that bottle way too long – when he was out, he was going to take full advantage of being out. The only time he’d go back in was when MiA would have company – and given how tiny this place was, he surmised that wouldn’t be too often.
He was feeling relaxed and happy – far more than he usually was at this stage, the first wish. That’s because he already knew that MiA was, well, different. Not like any other master he’d ever had.
The genie could usually tell a master’s personality from the nature of the first wish. Usually, the people who found him wished for instant wealth, instant power – and then immediately found out they couldn’t handle it. They then used their other two wishes desperately trying to get out of the messes they made with the first one.
MiA hadn’t wished for anything like that. He’d wished for a glamor career, to be sure, and to be beautiful and admired – but he’d wished for a means to improve his own station in life, to carve out his own way in the world.
MiA didn’t talk to him the way other masters did, either. He was the first to ever ask why he was in the bottle. He was genuinely interested in him as a person and didn’t treat him as, well, a wish dispensing machine.
There was something about him – a sweetness and gentleness – that reminded Subaru of someone he knew long ago, a man he had loved back in his home land . . . the main reason he knew he couldn’t marry the vizier’s daughter.
Maybe, Subaru thought, he will be the one who will free me. He knew that he could only be freed by his master’s third wish – and that he was forbidden to tell him that. He had to figure it out on his own.
It was said only a “diamond in the rough” could free a bottle slave – a person who proved to have a good, selfless heart when presented with the endless temptation of three wishes. MiA seemed like a person like that – but was he?
Subaru felt a sudden warmth over his entire body. His eyes flew open – and he saw a vision of three candles appear in the air in front of him, all lit. He knew full well what that was – the representation of his master’s three wishes.
The first candle went out. And that meant MiA’s first wish was officially fulfilled. He was now a model.
Subaru felt a tingling over his body as he powered down. He was in “between-wishes” mode now. He could only do little favors for MiA – until the next time the boy uttered the words “I wish.”
“Good for you, MiA,” he whispered. Now it was up to MiA to help himself in the industry, to sink or swim.
As for Subaru, he was going to disguise himself in human clothes, and zap himself into the middle of Shibuya. Nobody would notice a person suddenly appearing in the middle of those hoards. Time to experience this place he’d landed in.
* * *
MiA had never been in the “trendy” bars frequented by the photographers and models and designers before. It was an unwritten rule in the industry that those at the top of the fashion world went to one place – and the assistants and lighting people and publicists and the like went to standard watering holes.
But here he was, at a corner table in a place that was just lit enough for everyone to see each other, drinking from a glass that must have cost more than every bit of glassware in his mother’s place – and sitting across from Yo-ka.
He was trying hard not to stare at the other man’s face. He was just so damn gorgeous – even more so close-up than he’d looked when he’d watched him being photographed from afar.
“So why did you get into this, anyway?” Yo-ka was asking him. “You said you were a photographer.”
“Well, yes,” said MiA. “That’s why I came to Tokyo – I wanted to be a magazine photographer. But, well, it didn’t really end up taking off, and I ended up . . .”
Whoops. Couldn’t tell him he was a photographer’s assistant. He’d ask why he hadn’t seen him on a shoot before – and he couldn’t very well say he was some schlumpy guy he used to see around, could he?
“. . . doing odd jobs here and there. And then, well, this friend of mine decided to come up with a portfolio for me, and I figured I’d see where it would go.”
“It’s going pretty damn good, from what I saw,” Yo-ka said. “Ruki was very impressed with you.”
“Oh, that.” MiA blushed a little. “He said that he definitely wanted me for his next shoot – and he may even use me for Tokyo Fashion Week. I’d have to practice. I’ve never been on a runway.”
“It’s easy,” Yo-ka said. “You just have to walk with long strides and look straight ahead. The important thing is pacing yourself. I was on the runway for Ruki last year.”
“How long have you been at this?” said MiA.
“A few years. I got into it as a joke, really. A friend bet me that I wouldn’t go down to a modeling agency with some pictures. But I did, and they started using me – and kept doing it. And I found out I loved it.”
“When did you know that for sure?” said MiA.
“The moment I saw my face looking back at me from an ad in the subway,” said Yo-ka. “That’s when you knew that everything you did to create the picture – all the working together with the photographers and the stylists and the designer – was worth it.”
MiA nodded. “I wonder if I’ll ever see my face on a subway ad,” he said.
“The rate you’re going? I’ll bet it’ll be sooner rather than later. You’re going to get attention.”
“Why do you say that?”
“You’re not like other guys in the industry,” Yo-ka said, picking up his glass and swirling the beer. “I could tell just by watching you – you’re not selling your own looks. You’re selling the product – the clothes.”
“You figured that out?” MiA said, blushing a little. “I mean – that’s what I was thinking when I was up there, how best to convey the designer’s intentions.”
“Not enough guys think that way,” said Yo-ka. “They all go into modeling out of ego, or wanting prestige, or wanting to impress a particular person . . .”
MiA suddenly choked on his beer.
Yo-ka leaned over. “Are you all right?”
“Y-yes,” MiA said, thumping his chest. “Just went down the wrong way.”
“But, anyway – you are actually thinking about the big picture. Probably because you’re a photographer yourself.”
“Y-yes,” MiA said, swallowing hard, still not quite recovered from the choking. “In fact, I’m hoping that being a model will make me a better photographer.” And nice to have that line left over from his interview with the agency – it certainly came in handy here.
“You’re really cute, you know that? In every way possible.”
MiA looked down. “I never really thought of myself that way before,” he said.
“Too serious an artiste?”
He looked up at Yo-ka and smiled. “Sort of.” More like “too frumpy before I met a genie,” but he certainly wasn’t going to say that.
Yo-ka leaned over and put his hand over MiA’s. “I’ll make you a deal,” he said. “You keep my artistic integrity up, and I’ll show you how to have fun. How’s that?”
A broad smile crossed MiA’s face. “It’s a deal,” he said.
His heart felt lighter than he could ever remember it feeling. Was he going to get what he had really wished for – the wish that the genie was forbidden to grant him?
* * *
MiA just about floated up to his apartment on a cloud. He alighted from the taxi that Yo-ka had put him into, paid the driver and pulled out his phone.
A message from the agency. It seemed that Ruki was so impressed with the shoot that he’d called another designer, Mana. “You’ve been requested for a Moi-meme-Moitie
shoot next week. Call us in the morning.”
This was just getting more and more wonderfully surreal. He was humming to himself when he opened the apartment door – to find Subaru sitting on the floor, a bag in front of him.
“Hi,” he said. “Want an onigiri? I just came from the conbini.”
MiA looked puzzled. “You have money?”
“I can create it as I need it,” Subaru said. “But never mind that – how was today?”
“Wonderful,” said MiA. “Fabulous. Marvelous. They loved me, Subaru! They absolutely loved me! Thank you, thank you, thank you . . .”
“I already told you – no need to thank me. I fulfilled your wish.”
“I have another assignment already! With another big-name designer! And . . . and . . . I got asked out for drinks by Yo-ka! We went after we were done shooting.”
“Yo-ka? Is that the guy you had your eye on?”
“Yes! He’s so sweet – and we’re having dinner together tomorrow. Oh, my God.” He sank into a chair. “I can’t believe you made this all happen!”
“You made it happen,” Subaru said, softly. “All I did was fix you up so you’d be pretty and set up the first assignment. The rest of it is all you. It came from . . . here.” He reached out and touched MiA’s heart. “It was in you all along. You just needed the confidence to bring it out.”
“You gave me the confidence,” MiA said. “Oh, my God, I still think I’m dreaming.”
“If you are, it’s a long dream.” Subaru snapped his fingers, and MiA’s futon floated out of the closet. “You do need to eat something – and then get some rest. Models need their beauty sleep.”
“I will.” He reached for the bag of onigiri. “Subaru – do you sleep?”
“I don’t really need to,” he said. “At least, not fully sleep. I go into a meditative state when you’re sleeping.”
MiA nodded, suddenly realizing he was hungrier than he thought when he started to eat. “I’ll sleep after this – I promise.”
“Tomorrow’s another day,” Subaru said. “A new day in your new life.”
MiA couldn’t agree with that more. New life? This was a whole new world.
COMING IN PART 2: The second wish, and MiA finally gets a shot an an overnight date with his "princess." It'll be a magic carpet ride!
Chapter: 1 of 3
Author: Boots
Rating: THIS CHAPTER: PG-13. FIC AS A WHOLE: NC-17
Genre: Urban fantasy AU, romance, smut
Warnings: : FOR THIS CHAPTER: None. FIC AS A WHOLE: Male/male sex, rimming, sex toys, magically enhanced sex
Pairing: Yo-ka (DIAURA) x MiA (Mejibray), MiA x Subaru (Royz), some Yo-ka x Yuuki (Lycaon)
Disclaimer: Mejibray belongs to White Side Group, DIAURA belongs to Ains, Royz belongs to B.P. Records, Lycaon belongs to Vogue Entertainment, I own the story only. This fic is partially based on elements from Walt Disney Pictures’ film Aladdin, which is property of Disney, and the TV series I Dream of Jeannie, which is property of the estate of Sidney Sheldon and Screen Gems/Columbia Pictures.
Summary: Once upon a time, there was a lowly photographer’s assistant that pined after Yo-ka, a gorgeous model – who, it was said, only dated other models. Then, one day, he happened upon a mysterious bottle on the beach. Enter Subaru, someone who could give him a whole new life – and you ain’t never had a friend like him.
Comments: Since this story came out rather long, rather than post it all at once like I normally do, I'm posting it over three days, hopefully consecutive (and this first part had to be further chopped in two because of LJ's post limits). Inspired by a certain recent photo of Subaru in which he looked, well, like a genie in a bottle – at least to me. In the first part of this fic, I’m using a rumored real name of MiA, Azu Shouya.
Yo-ka was beginning to feel like going to shoots was like being on a treadmill.
Whatever the brand, whatever the designer, it was the same thing. Stand up, smile, pose pretty, shift, pose again, get hair and makeup touched up, pose again . . .
He remembered when being before the cameras was a charge, an adrenaline rush, when he was feeling a real connection between himself and the photographer and the people he knew were going to be looking at the pictures. He remembered looking forward to going to shoots.
It had been awhile since he’d felt that way.
“So how’s it going, Yo-ka?” Kaoru said as he applied the makeup. Of course, the stylist was Karou today, it was a Black Moral shoot. Ruki never worked with anyone else.
“Same as always,” Yo-ka said. “How’s it going with you?”
“We’ve got a little bit of excitement today,” said Karou. “There’s a newbie on the set.”
“Really?” Yo-ka was surprised – Ruki usually had established models only.
“Yes. Guy nobody’s seen before. A last-minute replacement, I heard. But he came in here on fire – and he’s burning up the lens right now.”
“Hmmmm.” Well, no wonder the guy was enthusiastic if he was new. He’d had no time to become jaded.
“By the way – how’s it going with Toshi?” Kaoru said, turning his attention to Yo-ka’s hair.
“It fell apart,” Yo-ka said. “Two dates, that was it. There was just . . . nothing there. No spark. No fire.”
“It’s that way for you all the time, isn’t it?” said Karou. “None of your relationships last long.”
“That’s just the way it is,” Yo-ka said. Yes, the way it had been for the past six months or so. Ever since the love of his life had taken off for a year-long assignment in Milan . . .
Maybe he had been too harsh about it. Maybe he shouldn’t have fought with Yuuki before he left. Maybe he shouldn’t have been so upset at Yuuki’s suggestion they both casually date other people before their separation.
Maybe then they’d be talking on Skype every night, and still together and happy and very much a couple – instead of this “up in the air” stuff. Would they still be a couple when Yuuki returned to Japan?
He knew all too well that their separation was the point where everything started to feel like an endless loop of routine – career, dating, life in general. Without Yuuki to give him spark, everything was just so . . . flat.
“You can’t just mope around, you know,” Karou said. “Life is out there. Guys are out there. Hot guys. You’re the sexiest thing on two legs, you can score whoever you want.”
“I know,” Yo-ka said. “It’s just, well . . .”
Karou finished his work. “You just take a look at that newbie over there,” he said. “Maybe he’s a prospect for you.”
“Yeah,” Yo-ka said. “As if.”
He headed toward where the photographers were working, waiting for the newbie to be finished, and for him to get his turn . . . and then, his eyes fell on the man being photographed.
It wasn’t just that he was pretty. Yo-ka spent his whole life being surrounded by beauty – pretty people, pretty clothes, pretty surroundings. No, there was a spirit, a fire radiating from him that seemed to make the very air surrounding him vibrate.
The blond was turning this way and that, following the photographer’s instructions perfectly. One second he was cool and aloof, the next hot and alluring. He drew attention in – and kept it there.
He raised his head, an arm, looking like a living statue, a gorgeous sculpture made by loving hands. And then he shifted, the movement a graceful flow. Yo-ka, the jaded supermodel, suddenly found he couldn’t keep his eyes off the man.
This guy had all the fire that Yo-ka himself used to. It was like he was born to model.
The photographer put down his camera, the newcomer bowed, the crew applauded. He started to walk in Yo-ka’s direction – and suddenly froze.
He’s probably intimidated by me, Yo-ka thought. He quickly rushed over to the newcomer. “That was great,” he said.
“You think so?” said the novice, blushing slightly. “It’s my first time modeling – well, at a shoot as big as this.”
“I know so,” said Yo-ka. “You have a natural talent. Have you done a lot of this?”
MiA shook his head. “I’m usually a photographer,” he said.
“I’m impressed,” said Yo-ka. “I really am. Oh, I’m Yo-ka, by the way.”
“MiA,” he said, bowing. “My name is MiA.”
“It’s a lovely name for a lovely man..”
“Th-thank you.” His blush and stammer – especially in contrast to the fire he was showing in front of the cameras – just made him all the more appealing.
“Look, MiA, I have to go before the cameras next, but . . . would you like to talk more later? Say, over drinks?
MiA’s eyes flew open. His jaw nearly hit the floor. “I’d . . . sure, I’d love it! Yes, I’d love it!”
“Good. Give me your phone, I want to put my number in it.”
MiA handed the phone over with trembling fingers – and then looked equally shocked when Yo-ka handed over his own. He was cute as hell.
“I’ll see you later, then?” the newbie said, when they gave each other’s phones back.
“Yes,” Yo-ka said. “I’ll let you know where and when.”
MiA just about skipped away – and Yo-ka felt a strange warmth inside him.
He’d just met this guy. He didn’t know anything about him – though he was planning to remedy that later. But something was telling him he might have found the person who was going to give him his inner fire back.
* * *
When MiA arrived at the shoot, it suddenly hit him all at once that he was really, truly going to be a MODEL.
Up until now, it had been an abstract concept. “Model” had been “something he needed to be in order to be noticed by Yo-ka.” But here he was, sitting on a chair, having his hair and makeup attended to, watching the assistants (yes, that was him until a couple of days ago) running around pushing lights and scenery into place.
They’re going to be taking my picture, he thought. Me. Azu Shouya. No, not that anymore – MiA.
A small panic rose up in him. He’d never done this before. At all. The only photos he’d posed for were the kind your mom printed out and stuck in a scrapbook. He had no idea what to . . .
Yes you do, a voice in the back of his head said. You’ve watched models do it a thousand times, haven’t you? And you’ve heard what the photographers have said to them. All you need to do is relax, be yourself . . . and think about what you’re wearing. What you’re selling. What the designer might have been thinking when he created the outfit. Then convey that.
MiA took a deep breath. He glanced over at the rack of clothes – all blacks and reds, casual punk-funk. It needed . . . attitude. But with a touch of class.
He knew just what he was going to do.
When the photographer called out, “MiA, we’re ready to go,” he nodded and stepped onto the set. Okay, he thought. One, two, three . . . and we’re off.
At first, despite his best efforts to relax, he felt stiff and awkward. But after a few clicks of the shutter, he seemed to fall into . . . well, a rhythm. A groove. He was following the photographer’s instructions – turn here, raise this arm, look over there . . . but he was putting his own spin on it. He was the embodiment of the fashion he was wearing – no-nonsense, serious, but not without a sense of fun.
And before he knew it, the photographer was putting his camera down. “Beautiful!” he said. “Simply gorgeous. You’re a natural, MiA.”
“Thanks,” he said, bowing as the crowd applauded. Wow – he’d done that well, hadn’t he? He’d . . . well, surprised himself. This is going to work, he thought. This is really going to work!
And that’s when he saw Yo-ka, and froze.
* * *
Subaru was in MiA’s apartment, sitting on the floor in a lotus position, eyes closed.
Right now, he was in a meditative state, mentally reaching out into Tokyo while his powers were still heightened. Through a sort of astral projection, he could get an idea of the city, of its layout, what it had to offer . . .
He intended to explore it fully when MiA was out modeling. He’d followed proper protocol, asked his master for permission to leave the apartment when he wasn’t there, and received it. He hadn’t always been that lucky. Some masters had flat-out refused permission – thinking that letting the genie roam freely would mean he wouldn’t be available to grant wishes at any time. Others had just ignored the requests.
Subaru had been nearly giddy when MiA had granted his permission. He had been in that bottle way too long – when he was out, he was going to take full advantage of being out. The only time he’d go back in was when MiA would have company – and given how tiny this place was, he surmised that wouldn’t be too often.
He was feeling relaxed and happy – far more than he usually was at this stage, the first wish. That’s because he already knew that MiA was, well, different. Not like any other master he’d ever had.
The genie could usually tell a master’s personality from the nature of the first wish. Usually, the people who found him wished for instant wealth, instant power – and then immediately found out they couldn’t handle it. They then used their other two wishes desperately trying to get out of the messes they made with the first one.
MiA hadn’t wished for anything like that. He’d wished for a glamor career, to be sure, and to be beautiful and admired – but he’d wished for a means to improve his own station in life, to carve out his own way in the world.
MiA didn’t talk to him the way other masters did, either. He was the first to ever ask why he was in the bottle. He was genuinely interested in him as a person and didn’t treat him as, well, a wish dispensing machine.
There was something about him – a sweetness and gentleness – that reminded Subaru of someone he knew long ago, a man he had loved back in his home land . . . the main reason he knew he couldn’t marry the vizier’s daughter.
Maybe, Subaru thought, he will be the one who will free me. He knew that he could only be freed by his master’s third wish – and that he was forbidden to tell him that. He had to figure it out on his own.
It was said only a “diamond in the rough” could free a bottle slave – a person who proved to have a good, selfless heart when presented with the endless temptation of three wishes. MiA seemed like a person like that – but was he?
Subaru felt a sudden warmth over his entire body. His eyes flew open – and he saw a vision of three candles appear in the air in front of him, all lit. He knew full well what that was – the representation of his master’s three wishes.
The first candle went out. And that meant MiA’s first wish was officially fulfilled. He was now a model.
Subaru felt a tingling over his body as he powered down. He was in “between-wishes” mode now. He could only do little favors for MiA – until the next time the boy uttered the words “I wish.”
“Good for you, MiA,” he whispered. Now it was up to MiA to help himself in the industry, to sink or swim.
As for Subaru, he was going to disguise himself in human clothes, and zap himself into the middle of Shibuya. Nobody would notice a person suddenly appearing in the middle of those hoards. Time to experience this place he’d landed in.
* * *
MiA had never been in the “trendy” bars frequented by the photographers and models and designers before. It was an unwritten rule in the industry that those at the top of the fashion world went to one place – and the assistants and lighting people and publicists and the like went to standard watering holes.
But here he was, at a corner table in a place that was just lit enough for everyone to see each other, drinking from a glass that must have cost more than every bit of glassware in his mother’s place – and sitting across from Yo-ka.
He was trying hard not to stare at the other man’s face. He was just so damn gorgeous – even more so close-up than he’d looked when he’d watched him being photographed from afar.
“So why did you get into this, anyway?” Yo-ka was asking him. “You said you were a photographer.”
“Well, yes,” said MiA. “That’s why I came to Tokyo – I wanted to be a magazine photographer. But, well, it didn’t really end up taking off, and I ended up . . .”
Whoops. Couldn’t tell him he was a photographer’s assistant. He’d ask why he hadn’t seen him on a shoot before – and he couldn’t very well say he was some schlumpy guy he used to see around, could he?
“. . . doing odd jobs here and there. And then, well, this friend of mine decided to come up with a portfolio for me, and I figured I’d see where it would go.”
“It’s going pretty damn good, from what I saw,” Yo-ka said. “Ruki was very impressed with you.”
“Oh, that.” MiA blushed a little. “He said that he definitely wanted me for his next shoot – and he may even use me for Tokyo Fashion Week. I’d have to practice. I’ve never been on a runway.”
“It’s easy,” Yo-ka said. “You just have to walk with long strides and look straight ahead. The important thing is pacing yourself. I was on the runway for Ruki last year.”
“How long have you been at this?” said MiA.
“A few years. I got into it as a joke, really. A friend bet me that I wouldn’t go down to a modeling agency with some pictures. But I did, and they started using me – and kept doing it. And I found out I loved it.”
“When did you know that for sure?” said MiA.
“The moment I saw my face looking back at me from an ad in the subway,” said Yo-ka. “That’s when you knew that everything you did to create the picture – all the working together with the photographers and the stylists and the designer – was worth it.”
MiA nodded. “I wonder if I’ll ever see my face on a subway ad,” he said.
“The rate you’re going? I’ll bet it’ll be sooner rather than later. You’re going to get attention.”
“Why do you say that?”
“You’re not like other guys in the industry,” Yo-ka said, picking up his glass and swirling the beer. “I could tell just by watching you – you’re not selling your own looks. You’re selling the product – the clothes.”
“You figured that out?” MiA said, blushing a little. “I mean – that’s what I was thinking when I was up there, how best to convey the designer’s intentions.”
“Not enough guys think that way,” said Yo-ka. “They all go into modeling out of ego, or wanting prestige, or wanting to impress a particular person . . .”
MiA suddenly choked on his beer.
Yo-ka leaned over. “Are you all right?”
“Y-yes,” MiA said, thumping his chest. “Just went down the wrong way.”
“But, anyway – you are actually thinking about the big picture. Probably because you’re a photographer yourself.”
“Y-yes,” MiA said, swallowing hard, still not quite recovered from the choking. “In fact, I’m hoping that being a model will make me a better photographer.” And nice to have that line left over from his interview with the agency – it certainly came in handy here.
“You’re really cute, you know that? In every way possible.”
MiA looked down. “I never really thought of myself that way before,” he said.
“Too serious an artiste?”
He looked up at Yo-ka and smiled. “Sort of.” More like “too frumpy before I met a genie,” but he certainly wasn’t going to say that.
Yo-ka leaned over and put his hand over MiA’s. “I’ll make you a deal,” he said. “You keep my artistic integrity up, and I’ll show you how to have fun. How’s that?”
A broad smile crossed MiA’s face. “It’s a deal,” he said.
His heart felt lighter than he could ever remember it feeling. Was he going to get what he had really wished for – the wish that the genie was forbidden to grant him?
* * *
MiA just about floated up to his apartment on a cloud. He alighted from the taxi that Yo-ka had put him into, paid the driver and pulled out his phone.
A message from the agency. It seemed that Ruki was so impressed with the shoot that he’d called another designer, Mana. “You’ve been requested for a Moi-meme-Moitie
shoot next week. Call us in the morning.”
This was just getting more and more wonderfully surreal. He was humming to himself when he opened the apartment door – to find Subaru sitting on the floor, a bag in front of him.
“Hi,” he said. “Want an onigiri? I just came from the conbini.”
MiA looked puzzled. “You have money?”
“I can create it as I need it,” Subaru said. “But never mind that – how was today?”
“Wonderful,” said MiA. “Fabulous. Marvelous. They loved me, Subaru! They absolutely loved me! Thank you, thank you, thank you . . .”
“I already told you – no need to thank me. I fulfilled your wish.”
“I have another assignment already! With another big-name designer! And . . . and . . . I got asked out for drinks by Yo-ka! We went after we were done shooting.”
“Yo-ka? Is that the guy you had your eye on?”
“Yes! He’s so sweet – and we’re having dinner together tomorrow. Oh, my God.” He sank into a chair. “I can’t believe you made this all happen!”
“You made it happen,” Subaru said, softly. “All I did was fix you up so you’d be pretty and set up the first assignment. The rest of it is all you. It came from . . . here.” He reached out and touched MiA’s heart. “It was in you all along. You just needed the confidence to bring it out.”
“You gave me the confidence,” MiA said. “Oh, my God, I still think I’m dreaming.”
“If you are, it’s a long dream.” Subaru snapped his fingers, and MiA’s futon floated out of the closet. “You do need to eat something – and then get some rest. Models need their beauty sleep.”
“I will.” He reached for the bag of onigiri. “Subaru – do you sleep?”
“I don’t really need to,” he said. “At least, not fully sleep. I go into a meditative state when you’re sleeping.”
MiA nodded, suddenly realizing he was hungrier than he thought when he started to eat. “I’ll sleep after this – I promise.”
“Tomorrow’s another day,” Subaru said. “A new day in your new life.”
MiA couldn’t agree with that more. New life? This was a whole new world.
COMING IN PART 2: The second wish, and MiA finally gets a shot an an overnight date with his "princess." It'll be a magic carpet ride!
