The Photo Shoot of a Lifetime

It was midnight; the sky blanketed a perfect shade of black with small speckles of brilliant light decorating the painted mass in an intricate way that only few could comprehend. In the center of the sky was a small sliver of golden light, the moon that had just begun to go through its cycles once more in an attempt to become full once more. The air was crisp and cold, freezing in fact and colder than it had been all week which was all the more unusual for the Golden Gate City. However the girl who was jumping across the buildings could have described it as completely perfect because it posed the best ride. The police did not find it to their taste to go chasing after children in the freezing cold, most getting too sick so the storm riders were allowed to run free.

A bright smile was painted on Ophelia’s lips as she leapt from one building to another, hoping to the heavens that she was not late to meet up with Bunshichi. It had been three days since she had seen him and since then all she could think about was the photo shoot that was about to come. Excitement had been bubbling up in her chest at the idea of seeing just how elegant she looked when she performed some of her most practiced tricks, ones that she loved to pull off because of the freedom them gave her and how much it reminded her of dancing. She only hoped that he would actually show up at her house though like they had planned because if he did not she would feel incredibly stupid. She had trusted him with so much of herself in such a short amount of time so the prospect of him lying to her only made her a little anxious. She doubted that he would ditch her though because he had been a perfect gentleman when he was at her home, leaving her laptop put away on the charger and her blankets folded up when he had left.

With a heavy sigh she came to a skidding halt on the building she was standing on, only two or three blocks away from her home now. Her face was freezing from the biting wind; her lips probably even tinged a blue color that she was unable to see even in the reflection of her cell phone. The numbers on the screen read 12:15, fifteen minutes late for when she was supposed to meet the man at her home. She internally cursed herself as she shoved her cell phone back in her pocket and took off at top speeds, her wheels leaving marks on the buildings as she soared through the air and over the buildings in an attempt to get home quicker. With her luck she would end up being too late and he would leave something that she would have felt horrid about.

Out of the corner of her eyes she eventually saw the three hundred block come into view through her wind tousled hair, the long locks spinning around her face as she counted down the numbers to her apartment. It was probably getting close to twenty after midnight now, well past the time she was supposed to be there which made her sigh heavily. Her mood was starting to impair her thoughts, her red eyes laced with sadness as she readied for the next turn that she always took.

Her whole body swerved as she bent her knees to jump, her speeds at forty miles an hour as she threw all her weight down on her wheels before pushing up and launching into the air. Her hair waved around her head as she fell from the sky gracefully, her wheels sparking against the cold pavement as she slid to a halt. As usual she had to use her hand to keep herself from falling, but as soon as she felt secure in her positioning she pushed herself and began to peer around with bright eyes for the man that was supposed to be here, her breaths coming out in heavy gasps and causing her chest to rise and fall with each attempt to fill her body with oxygen.

The cold wind buffeting his face was like thousands of needles piercing his vulnerability without mercy. It was absolutely relentless and unbearable. A cold feeling at its worst, turning his face into a hardened lump of frozen meat. If it wasn't for the rest of his body fully protected by the necessary amount of clothing for the weather, he had surely been dead in minutes. He had worn a white long-sleeved shirt under his brown jacket, jeans, a pair of gloves, and two layers of socks inside his brown high-cut boots. It gave him the necessary heat he needed to survive the night, unlike the ones that he had three days ago.

The way back to Ophelia's apartment wasn't as bad as the weather though. Bursting his way through empty streets and dark alleyways like a vengeful spirit out to hunt its prey. He had pushed his treks to the limit which gave him an amazing amount of acceleration needed to fill his need for speed. Crouching a little while maintaining his speed, Bunshichi waited to get as close as he can to the railing from the flight of stairs that led down to a six foot drop to the sidewalk. Arriving at his target, he made a short jump and landed on top of the railing with his ATs, before switching to a one-hand stand then finishing it off with a six foot backflip drop on the sidewalk. He felt a slight sting of pain at his knee when he roughly landed on the pavement, but he quickly shook it off and continued riding with a grin on his face. Haven't done for a while..

He had arrived earlier than expected. His watch showed 11:45, which gave him a good amount of time to set his gear up before the photoshoot.

Thirty minutes have passed and still no sign of her. It made him a little anxious as he wasn't quite sure if she would be coming or not. He had gone through a great deal of trouble telling his wife about his extended stay and it would be a shame to let all that trouble go to waste.

But it wasn't long 'till she's finally appeared from the shadows. The sparks from her ATs gave away her position. Bunshichi quickly stood up from where he sat and approached her. "I thought you'll never come." He smiled a little. "Anyway, it's good that you're here.. and.. I have a little something for you." Reaching for his backpack, he pulled out a magazine and handed it to her.


"Nice eh? what do you think?" He asked with a hint of excitement in his expression.

A shaky breathe left the girl’s now pale blue lips as she peered around the dark street to catch any sign of the man who she was there to meet, hoping to the heavens that he was still hanging around and had not taken off because she was so late. At first not a even an inch of the street gave away his positioning which made her heart drop into her stomach suddenly, feeling disappointed in not only him but herself as well. If she had only left a little earlier she probably would have caught him easily on the street but her inability to move at a quick speed because of the cold had destroyed her chance to meet up with him again.

She was about to sigh in a sad tone when a sudden voice caught her attention, her head swiveling over to peer at the man who was approaching her from the shadows. His voice sounded extremely familiar but it was too hard to make out his facial appearance in the dark night, her squinting her eyes to finally make out his appearance. Slowly she watched as he came to a halt in front of her, the familiar face of Bunshichi coming into view and causing a bright smile to break across her lips.

”I’m so sorry I’m late. It took longer than expected to get here and the cold only slows me down.”

Ever word that left her lips caused a breathe of steam to be released in front of her face which only reflected how cold it was outside. If it got only colder she thought she was going to die right there on the spot, her clothing not helping at all. She had on something of similar color to the last night he had met her only instead of a tank top and skirt she had on a long sleeve, crimson shirt and a pair of skin tight, black skinny jeans that extenuated her curves with her air treks. She had also thrown on her leather jacket to keep her relatively warm, though it wasn’t offering much in this weather especially when she was traveling forty miles an hour down the street.

As he spoke once more she began taking note of his aura and just how excited he was. Every part of his aura radiated excitement and it was clearly reflected in his eyes as he smiled down at her. With curiosity of what exactly had caused this excitement she watched as he reached into his bag and pulled out a dual colored magazine, her eyes locking on it immediately as he offered it to her. For reasons she could not explain her heart began to pound inside her chest as she reached out with shaking hands, that partially from the color and partially from excitement, before raising it to her eyes to peer and what exactly it had on it.

The image before her was absolutely stunning, her eyes widening in shock as she stared down at it. The two images of herself over the cover amazed her because of how perfect they looked together, a true model who held the true heart of air treks and flying in every move that she was making. It was so perfect in fact Ophelia doubted that she was even looking at herself because there was absolutely no way that the beautiful woman on the cover was herself.

”This is so beautiful.”

That was the only thing she could think to say to describe what she was looking at, her eyes holding the same adoration and spark of excitement that her voice reflected. If this was what he could do with two shots, one taken without her knowledge eve, she could only image what he could do when he was having her pose and purposefully do tricks; this magazine was going to be spectacular.

Her smile never faded as she handed him back the spectacular piece and wondered just what they would do now that he had her ready. She figured that she wouldn’t have to change, or at least she hoped that she would not because of the cold. Slowly she allowed her question to pass her lips as she crossed her arms over her chest in the hopes that she would warm up a little bit, if any at all.

”So what are we going to be up to today?”

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OMG that picture is amazing!~ ^0^

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Ophelia's reaction was exactly what he wanted. Not only did it prove that he truly had talent in his chosen line of work, but it also proved his friend's company's capabilities in producing quality magazines. Which would reflect on his future as well, as he had been promised to be well compensated along with his chosen models. As long as they take quality shots of course.

"Glad you liked it." Bushichi replied, handing her back the magazine. "Don't worry, it's yours. We already have tons of copies published and will be selling them in underground stores soon. There's also a small white envelope inside. It's a little something from the publisher." He winked. Obviously knowing what was inside.

"Okay for our photo shoot. I'd like you to just ride all around town. A few tricks here and there. Just have fun and don't mind the camera. I do suggest you don't ascend too high. A good ten to twenty feet high flight would be enough."

He paused for a moment. Making sure she heard and understood everything he said. To make this thing perfect, she would have to do exactly as he says. But not to the point that the certain limitations and directions he had provided would distract and put a lot of pressure in her. He needs her to be relaxed and just have fun. That's when the true beauty of the image shows itself. The love for ATs.. The heart of a true storm rider.

After strapping the camera securely to himself, Bunshichi tightened the laces on his treks as he took a crouching position. Sparks flew in every direction as he gave his wheels random bursts of accelerated spins. Convinced that they were working fine, he gave Ophelia a thumbs up. "Ready when you are young lady."

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(Thanks ^^ )

Ophelia looked down at the magazine in her hand, shock evident in her eyes that they had given her something in return for her pictures. She did not feel as though she deserved any money, that being what she assumed to be in the envelope of course, but she did not want to come off as rude for rejecting such an offer. She smiled softly at Bunshichi, knowing well that the little money would help her make her apartment payments and possible give her a little extra spending money to herself.

”Thank you so much for this, but you really did not have to. I am happy doing this simply because I love riding air treks.”

That was she let slip from her lips as she put the magazine in her jacket for safe keeping, knowing that it would be fine where it was while she was riding. As she did so she listened to Bunshichi give her instructions on what he wanted her to do, pausing for a moment as she wondered just why he wanted her to stay so low to the ground. Her thoughts began to wonder back to the night that he had followed her, he never getting off the pavement of the ground by the sounds of his air treks. She began to wonder why he did not enjoy getting off the ground but she felt that it would be far too rude to simply state her question for no reason. With a small smile on her pale lips she nodded to him in understanding, watching as he readied himself for the photo shoot and revved his air treks. The sound brought her smile into a smirk as fire entered her bright red eyes, her simply turning as she started to skate towards the middle of the street.

”If I go too fast or high just shout at me so I can change tactics.”

Her words left her lips in a light tone as she eyed him silently, her air treks suddenly bursting to life as a gust of wind picked up around her. Her pale locks began dancing around her face as she thought of what she would do for him and where she would even go since she had to avoid extremely tall buildings. These were the thoughts that flashed through her mind as she began flying down the street at about thirty miles an hour, her eyes flashing over the buildings that lined the street.

With grace that only a true dancer had she pushed down on her back wheels and then launched herself in the air, her wheels connecting with the side of a building before she bent her knees once more and launched herself across the gap to the next building to get a little higher. This dance of back and forth jumps continued until she was soaring about seventeen feet in the air, her hair sticking to a few places on her face as she did a single front flip before landing on the top of the building. Her momentum never faded as she kept going, pushing her body low to the building before skating forward. The road before her posed one thing that she wanted to do, a series of flips that would probably make a few good shots for the camera man. She let her excitement seep out all around her, her body tingling with excitement as she pushed herself forward.

Her foot brushed up against the ground as she pressed down on only her front wheels, sending her body lurching into the air and across a seven foot gap as she did a single front flip. Her execution was graceful in every way as her body conformed to move properly, though it appeared she was going to crash at the end because she was descending head first into the building. Before she hit it though she held her hands out, grabbing onto the ledge and pushing herself back up into the air. Her eyes were dancing with excitement as she soared through the air, her body twisting so she was facing the sky just as she had been a few days ago. Her hair waved around her softly in the breeze, her mind continuing to formulate the rest of her trick that would take place as she started her decent downward. With a kick she forced her body to do a one eighty so her feet were facing the oncoming surface, executing another perfect triple axel in the mix of her descent before skittering across the concrete in a bust of sparks and continuing down the path.