Visual Kei

“You’ll let me dress you up, right Alice?” Shinji asked with a cute smile.

“I guess, if you want,” I said with a shrug. I followed him into their apartment’s small bathroom and sat on the lid of the toilet. “What do you have planned?”

“Well, I was thinking about how adorable you would look in gal style! But then again, a darker, gothic look would be pretty too… what would you prefer? Oh, I know! Maybe something a little of both: more like Lolita!”

I put my hands up, becoming slightly worried. “Whoa, Shinji! Chill out, it’s just a party… it’s not like I’m going in for a photo shoot or something. The less attention I attract, the better.”

“But I want to make you look like a princess!” he said, waving a huge messenger bag around by the thick black strap. “Not that you aren’t already really cute as it is, but it would be fun to put makeup on you and see how you look. You never wear any.”

“I do too! I wear eyeliner and mascara. Sometimes.”

He laughed. “That doesn’t count. I mean REALLY doing your makeup. Like foundation, eyeliner, eye shadow, lip liner…” Shinji continued the list which seemed to go on forever. He dug through the messenger bag, producing all of the products he’d just mentioned. “Okay, tie your hair back so I can make you look like a goddess!”

“You’re a little too excited about this, Shinji…” I said, “Please be gentle.”

“Awh, Alice! You talk like I’m going to smack you or something… it’s just makeup, how bad could it be?”

“You are smacking me—with cosmetics! How many different products are you going to use, anyway? So far, I see three just for foundation. That’s not even counting the other base products. Please tell me you don’t plan to use all those…”

“Don’t worry, you’ll look perfectly fine, and to answer your question, no I do not plan to use every product here, just a few. Did you know that I always do Tsurara’s makeup for lives? You’ll be great, Alice!”

“How comforting.”

Shinji squeezed one of the many bottles and gently massaged the contents on my face. His fingertips were somehow soft and tender though I knew they should probably be calloused from playing bass guitar. After applying the foundation, he began to work on my eyes. I closed them as he worked, both excited and slightly nervous to see how I would look when he was finished, but I was not disappointed. When I opened my eyes, they seemed to spring to life—very accentuated with the thick black eyeliner that traced my upper eyelid and half of my lower one. Long, thick eyelashes drew further attention to my striking green eyes, and the finishing touch was a strip of silver eye shadow that traced the inner curve of my eye.

Needless to say, I would at least match Hizaki in beauty tonight—something I had never thought possible. Shinji looked me over with a contented smile, carefully replacing each of the products into the bag as if they were made of glass. His delightful smile in turn made me smile, though it was difficult not to be happy seeing myself for once looking symmetrical and somewhat physically-appealing.

“Wow, you look really good. Do you like it?”

“Yes, thank you, Shinji. I’m sorry for doubting you earlier, you do some amazing work.”

He smiled hugely. “Thanks! Now all we need to worry about is a dress, right? You aren’t going Lolita-style to a ball, that won’t do. How about we go shopping for something traditional? Since you’re so unconventional, it would be cool and ironic to see you dressed in kimono or yukata.”

“I’ve always wanted to wear one at least once,” I admitted with a grin. “Aren’t they really expensive though? I could never pay you back for it.”

“But we can’t just buy a cheap one! It’s not the same!”

“Shinji!”

“No, it’s your late birthday present! I’ve decided!” He winked. “What color would look best on you? Hmm…. Maybe a dark purple? Yes, that’s definitely it!”

Before I could protest again, he had produced what appeared to be a plum-colored authentic silk kimono. Even in his arms, it was long with a train that swept across the floor. It was elegant and aristocratic, and I wasn’t even wearing it yet.

“Where the hell did you get that from?”

“Sometimes we buy clothes for photo shoots that we end up never wearing... This is Tsurara’s, but it was too tight in some places and loose in others. Besides, he didn’t really like the color with his other features, so he wouldn’t care.”

“Are you sure? I mean, it looks pretty expensive…”

“Oh it is!” Shinji assured me, “but no one else will wear it, so you will!” His smile looked almost painfully large.

“Okay, okay, sheesh…”

*

When everyone congregated in the apartment, I peeked out of the bathroom nervously. How would they respond to my new look? I shivered in anxiety just thinking about it. However, Shinji almost literally pulled me out of the tiny room and into the view of the others. He had touched up my makeup last-minute by giving me traditional geisha-style lipstick and a small fan. The moment my foot touched the carpet, heads were turning.

Rei and Chino looked awestruck. Their faces were nearly cartoonish in how their jaws literally dropped and their eyes went wide with surprise. I blushed under their scrutiny, but even more when I noticed Kiiro’s attention. Tsurara was a little better at being subtle.

“Whoa, you’re a bombshell, Alice!” Rei nearly shouted, a piece of food in his hands frozen in mid-air at his mouth. Shinji and Chino laughed. “Holy crap!”

I rolled my eyes. “Thank Shinji. It was his cosmetic genius that got me to look anything more than ordinary.”

“Thank you, Shinji,” Rei said quickly before turning to stare at me again. “Wow.” I blushed and fought the urge to flip him off.

We filed out of the apartment and into a limousine. Rei and I took up a lot of space by stretching out onto one another. His optimism was infectious. The whole way there, our excitement and happiness seemed to build, even Tsurara’s, though he probably wouldn’t admit it. We finally stepped out and I was assaulted with the heavy stares of multiple attractive Japanese men. It was like a small Heaven. I returned the smile of some random hot guy when Kiiro walked faster to be at my side, his hand snaking around my bicep. It reminded me of the hospital, and I flinched before I could stop myself. He quickly moved his hand away and it remained at his side until we were inside the large house.

Once inside, our group scattered: Rei to the bar, Tsurara to the dance floor with Uruha, and Kiiro simply disappeared into the crowd. Shinji and Chino led me around introducing me to all kinds of people, all of whom were in Visual Kei bands. I felt strange with so much makeup on and wearing the silk kimono. It was holding in my body heat.

After a few hours of mingling, I felt a little weary and uncomfortably warm, so I stepped out onto the wrap-around balcony. The stars illuminated the violet sky, where a very thin sliver of moon peeked out from a fluffy, dark cloud. On my hot skin, the cool air felt pretty good. I turned, feeling the presence of someone else on the balcony: Kiiro.