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[thekingofkamenriders]

It was a beautiful day in New Jersey, which might be an odd statement, considering it's New Jersey, but the statement stands. Tsukasa Kesswick was doing the final checks on the lighting for the photo shoot that he had set up. He had been looking forward to this one for a while, not because it allowed him to look at half-naked models, but because it allowed him to work with one of his favorite models, Misato. The two of them just seemed to get along very well, and he really enjoyed working with a woman as professional as she was.

His thoughts were broken by a yell from the back. "HEY TOMMY! You ready for the next shoot? We're wasting hours here." He sighed a bit, then turned. "Yeah, I'm ready Carl. Send Misato in when she's ready." With that, Carl left, and Tsukasa went back to working on his camera. Gotta get it set up perfectly, or the shots just won't come in right. He'd switched to a high powered DSLR recently, and he wasn't really sure how he felt about that. It got the job done, but he wasn't sure that it really felt the same as film. Ah well. It'll do for now. Maybe he'll switch back to film when he does his next shoot for the gallery. Sometimes, the imperfections that non-digital allowed make things that much better.

Comments

[imbibing]

It's isn't long before Misato Katsuragi makes her appearance.

"Hey, you." Misato says, as she waltzes out of the dressing room. She's wearing a purple bikini top and some dangerously low-cut blue jeans shorts. Hung over one of her hands is a tiny matching blue-jean jacket.

It may still be winter, but summer shoots start months in advance of the actual season. If there was anything to be grateful for, it was that this shoot was being held indoors, and not at out at some cold beach somewhere. They made sure to keep the indoors comfortably warm for the models.

Misato flashes Tsukasa a smile. "Long day for you today, huh? I heard you don't get out until late."

[thekingofkamenriders]

Tsukasa turns and flashes a big smile for when Misato gives her greeting. "Hey. Glad that you're on for today. Some of the other models that they use can be a little...well, you know. Come on in, make yourself comfortable." He would agree that it's good that they're inside, and not out on the Jersey Shore somewhere right now. East Coast winters have been cold, as of late.

"Yeah, it can be a bit long for us, especially when they have a new seasonal fashion shoot to do, and when they send me some new models so that I can help them get acclimated." And then there's the editing, the getting the best shots made, that sort of thing. "I'm just sad that I don't get to spend the whole day with you."

[imbibing]

Misato knows exactly what he means. Thankfully, most of the models she associated with were as laid-back as she was. Hopefully, eventually, those girls would grow out of it; it was all too easy for some of the models -- especially the younger ones -- to let their ego get ahead of them.

"Well, they can't all be me," she teases. The truth was, it was the same for her. Misato had to deal with more than a few sleezy, big-headed photographers herself. She couldn't always have Tsukasa photographing her, especially because she was under contract for several ad agencies at once.

"Do we want to shoot on the towel or the chair first?" Both were placed out on set, so she assumed they'd be using both props at some point during the shoot.

Once Tsukasa gives his directions, Misato'll get right to work. In contrast to her usual "c'est la vie" personality, the moment she was behind a photographer's lens, she was ready to go. Small talk was over until their first break -- or work was done.

[thekingofkamenriders]

"No, no they can't. Such a shame, too. Maybe that means that you should just start going out with me, then you could tell everyone that you only want your boyfriend to take your photos." It's a half joke, delivered with a smirk, but there's some truth to the comment. He'd deny it if pressed, because it would just be unprofessional to date one's subject.

Well, that's what he always told himself, anyway.

"Lets go with the chair first to get warmed up. Take a few shots there, then move to the towel." And then the business talk kicked in, and Tsukasa moved in to a good position, camera in hand. "Lighting should be good. So, whenever you give me the go ahead, I'll start shooting."

[imbibing]

Misato's grin widens at Tsukasa's blatant attempt to flirt. If she weren't already thoroughly convinced the photography was gay, she might have had a difficult time discerning whether or not he was actually being serious.

"Oh? I'm afraid I don't have that much pull these days. It won't be that much longer before they trade me in for a younger model." Misato's acutely aware of that fact. Her looks wouldn't last forever, and there was far more call for young, attractive women than there were for women old enough to be mothers. If she took good care of herself and maintained her reputation for being a straight-to-work sort of woman, she might be able to prolong her stay in the business.

And that's part of the reason why she's so quick to get to work now. Misato takes her place on the chair, folding one leg over the other. Her feet are stretched out in front of her, revealing a set of perfectly-manicured emerald toenails. Misato rolls the blue jean jacket over her one hand, then throws her arm over the back of the chair. Her lips are tugged into a suggestive smile.

"Ready when you are," she says, a bit smugly.

[thekingofkamenriders]

Tsukasa seems to snort a bit at that. "But who else could command the camera in the same way you do? You're discounting yourself too much." You're also the most beautiful woman that he's ever worked with, but that's something that he will leave out. "I'm sure you've still got many more years of modeling left in you. Age is just a number, after all."

And the second that she gets into position, Tsukasa becomes all business, his eye to the viewfinder and mind to the task at hand. "All right, lets see you pout a bit, Misato. Then a sly look at the camera, and after that, the most smoldering look that you can give me." With each comment, he's changing the position, both of himself and of the camera. He seems to really know what he's doing.

[imbibing]

"Oh, Tsukasa, you flatter me." Still, the smile she flashes the lens is genuine -- not simply orchestrated for the camera.

But soon enough, it's back to business again. Minato pouts, smiles slyly, then gives Tsukasa the most smoldering look she can manage.

Both of them are pretty skilled at what they're doing. It only takes twenty minutes for Tsukasa to get the first set of shots he needs.

"You never told me," Misato begins, taking a long swig from her water bottle. "How you got into the whole photography biz in the first place."

[thekingofkamenriders]

"You know that I can only speak the truth, Misato."

In any case, the photo shoot goes splendidly, and Tsukasa had a lot of fun shooting these first set of photos, and as he removes the little memory card from the camera, he pauses, looking back at Misato.

"Well, to be honest, it's because it's something that I was always good at, and it was also something that pissed my parents off a lot. It's more the former than the latter, though. My folks wanted me to be a lawyer, but I just found it dull."

He's not going to talk about how they treated his sister, not right now.

[imbibing]

"A lawyer?" Misato's eyes widen in disbelief at first, then her expression turns mirthful. "You can't be serious!"

Misato waves a single, empty hand in front of her; the other's still clutching her water bottle. "Not that I don't think you're capable or anything!" she says, lowering her arm back down to her side. "It's just hard for me to imagine you doing anything else."

He was so good at the photography stuff, after all.

"My parents didn't care what I did as long as I graduated college," Misato says. "They're the complete opposite of your parents."

[thekingofkamenriders]

"Hey! You'd be surprised. I'm actually very convincing in a mock trial. Trust me, my parents made me do a few junior mock trials when I was a kid. They were dull as anything."

He smiles a little, "Yeah. The second that I got a camera in my hand, it seemed so...natural. I've been using a digital for a few years now, but I really want to get back to using film again. May do that for my next non-fashion shoot."

He chuckles, "It sounds like you had it easy. My parents wouldn't give up until after I graduated from the college around here. I couldn't go to school anywhere near them, or they probably would have forced me into law school no matter what I said."