Let's Show 'em How It's Done! ...Or not.

It was a literal odd job that Ike had plucked off the guild bulletin board. He wasn't sure why he took it, to be honest. The ebony haired young man was bored, and wanted something easy. It was okay to want something easy every now and then, right? Being a higher ranked mage came with annoying expectations that normally landed him in the infirmary, so completing a job that had nothing to do with strength or rank would be a nice change of pace.

Besides, maybe he'd meet a cute girl. That was appealing. Being forever alone was dumb.

The train ride seemed long, but they always did. His stomach was queazy, so he spent most of it laying in his seat and whining to himself. Surely he could learn a spell to allow him to fly eventually. Then he could flip off these accursed vehicles and take himself where ever he chose. Sure, if he had any amount of travel baggage that would be a pain, but perhaps if he just mailed his things where he was going eventually he'd have his stuff. Or...perhaps just buy what he needs upon arrival. He had jewel now, so that wasn't an issue...

Crawling off the train when it finally stopped, Ike collected himself and headed for the studio. His motion sickness disappeared so fast that once he was out in the bustling streets, he hardly remembered how miserable he'd been moments before. Now...where was the studio?

On the topic of the studio and the job, the guy with the carmine eyes puzzled over the nature of the job. He'd been on plenty of dates in his lifetime. He'd even had a girlfriend for a year or two when he was around sixteen. Why have actors with no real life experiences to draw from? It seemed like a very poor decision to hire performers for a romantic movie that couldn't act the parts. Was it low budget? Were they friends of the director? It seemed fishy. This is where Ike's opportunistic thoughts kicked in. Perhaps if he dated the heck out of the girl they hired, they'd just fire the actor and hire him instead. This could be his big break into the entertainment industry! To become a triple threat...he'd have all the wealth, fame, and girls he wanted. That would satisfy the emptiness in his soul, right?

After uselessly wandering around Era, lost in his own thoughts with a goofy grin on his face, he came to the studio at last. Smoothing the wrinkles from his white button up, he pulled the door open and went inside. "Yo! I'm here to show you how it's done. Who is the lucky lady?"

[450/700]

"Zzzzzzz..."

"Hey...! Lady! You can't just fall asleep here! This isn't a place for a young lady to take a nap!" One of the men who worked at the studio grumbled, slamming a hand against the table on which the young woman's head rested. Of course, she didn't even stir. Not in the slightest. Not only was Ikumi a master at falling asleep anywhere and everywhere, but she was also an incredibly heaving sleeper, meaning that it would take a literal hurricane to wake her. Shaking his head and walking away, the man went on a search to find something that would perhaps be more effective.

Ikumi wasn't really sure why she was here. The job seemed like it was pretty straight-forward, and well, she needed some way to pay her rent. Unfortunately, the poor girl was too stupid to realize that this job didn't pay... Not even one jewel. But... Well... I guess she'll just have to deal with that problem later. Jobs like this were really the only ones she was comfortable taking at the moment. Being a little D rank mage was tough, after all. Plus the idea of fighting big scary monsters just sent chills down her spine. Going on fake dates for a bit of cash was good enough for her! Even though she had never really been on a proper date before. But that was beside the point! Faking it wouldn't be that hard.... Right!?

A few minutes later, the man from before had returned, what looked to be a large bucket within his chunky hands. Not long after he had returned, an eccentric gentleman entered as well, yelling something about a lucky lady. It would seem he was speaking of Ikumi, but she was too far gone to notice anything was happening.

"Alright, Whitey! Maybe this will wake you up!" The studio worker snickered, raising the bucket and pouring it's contents over the slumbering woman.

"C-C-C-C-COOOOOLD!" She cried, eyes snapping open and her body instinctively jerking backwards. It was a foolish move, considering the chair she was sitting in was very light and flimsy. As she jerked backwards, so did the chair, causing the woman and her seat to come crashing to the ground with a painful sounding THUMP.

"Owwww..." Ikumi mumbled, rubbing the back of her head which had just collided with the hard floor beneath her. "Th-That wasn't very kind of you, s-sir! I-I could have been hurt! O-Or had a heart attack!" She yelled, pouting angrily at the brute who had awakened her so rudely. He just chuckled, placing the bucket down on the ground in order to offer a hand to the now drenched maiden. Reluctantly, she accepted, using his strength to propel herself upwards and back onto her feet.

"Ah! It looks like you woke up just in time! The gentleman who will be accompanying you for the shoot has arrived!" Turning frantically to look in the direction the water thrower was looking, Ikumi stared, a bright red blush bursting across her cheeks. Well this was a great first impression!

"I-I-I am so so so so sorry! I hope I didn't keep you waiting for very long! I'm so embarrassed!" She rambled, bowing repeatedly to the handsome man before her.

[542/700]

....this was her?

At first he'd thought she was maybe the clueless actress who would be watching his date with someone more his taste. No one had really greeted him when he came in, so Ike had been standing there, awkwardly waiting. That also meant he was awkwardly watching this white-haired girl snooze away at a table, while an employee tried to rouse her. He tried not to be one to judge, but she didn't look like a professional actress. Sleeping on the job usually got people fired. If the male lead was anything like this girl, then it should be an easy sell to replace him in the film!

But...alas. This girl was his date. This sopping wet, big boobed girl was the one he'd be courting all day for the cameras. His face struck a note of resigned blankness. Normally his luck was pretty good. In this case, his wistful dreams of meeting that perfect girl and having a funny story to tell their kids about how they met were shattered. Sure, she was pretty cute, but this was not what he'd had in mind. The young man cringed as she was doused and flipped backward, conking her head. Wow. He nearly rushed in to see if she was ok, but she was quick enough to get up and scold the man who drenched her.

Ike was a generally a genial guy, though. She approached and bowed a few times, apologizing. A hand raised and he waved it at her dismissively, an easy smile crossing his lips. "Nah, don't be embarrassed. I haven't been here long at all! Do you need a few moments to dry off before we set out? The breeze might give you a chill or something..." he mentioned, smile turning sympathetic. What a hot mess. This date should be interesting for sure.


[758/700 - WC reached]

Ikumi's eyes began to fill with tears as the man before her spoke. How was he so kind to her? After she had just made a fool of herself and made him wait because she had dozed off while playing with her Flame Boy. Raising a hand upwards, she wiped the tears before they could fall. If she started crying she would just look like even more of a fool! Buck up, Ikumi! Now wasn't the time to be a big baby! "I-I should be okay to leave now! I always manage to keep warm even if it's really warm outside! I never knew why though!" She explained, letting out a light chuckle as she did so. "I wouldn't want to keep you waiting any longer either! I'm terribly sorry about falling asleep like that! I was just playing a new game on my Flame Boy and... Wait... WHERE IS MY FLAMEBOY?" Panicked magenta hues scanned the area, searching frantically for her precious game console.

"Uh... Haha... I haven't seen it! Are you sure you even brought something like that with you?" The worker who had doused her with water chuckled suspiciously, kicking an unidentified object to the side, and clearing his throat. Ikumi blinked dully, not quite registering what was happening. "Huh... Maybe I didn't bring it with me... Maybe I was just dreaming about it! Weird!" She murmured, dainty hand moving upwards to scratch the back of her head nervously. "Yep! That was definitely what happened! Now! It's about time you two lovebirds got going, isn't it?! Uh huh! Let's go! Chop chop!" Quickly advancing forward, the man placed an arm around both Ikumi and the other gentleman's shoulders, ushering them quickly towards the exit. "You two have fun now!"

And with that, they had been exiled from the studio. The only thing from it that still remained were the cameramen that worked there. Their lenses were trained solely on the awkward couple. Feeling a tad bit embarrassed, Ikumi shuffled around, not making eye contact with the man who was supposed to be her "date." For some reason, she hadn't expected it to be this... Well... Weird! Did they really have to have their cameras pointed directly at them like that the whole time?! How was she supposed to ignore that! "Uh... Um... So where do you want to go... Uh... Sweetheart?" She tried to give the random man a stupid pet name, and regretted it almost immediately after it left her lips. Just to make matters worse, her face burst into a dark shade of red. This was going to be an interesting day, that was for sure.

[983/700]

Ike took the nickname in stride where most others might balk at most things by strangers. Instead, he was furiously trying to think of one for her. It was only fair. However, the boy wasn't one for thinking too hard or long, so he ended up just blurting out the first thing he came to that wasn't about her scary huge jugs. Sugertits probably wouldn't be a good thing to teach these inexperienced actors portraying love, right? That was just about as much as he considered beforehand. "Dinner's pretty classic, wouldn't you say, chipmunk?" he responded, trying to remain unaware of the cameras, though they were the precise and only reason he was acting so suave. Offering his arm to her, he waited for her to take it so they could walk along the sidewalk at a leisurely gait.

"Where would you like to eat? What kind of food do you like?" Ike asked, though his mind was running everywhere. Pasta? That was romantic, right? Why? He had no idea. They should stay away from strong garlic and onions, should they feel like or need to kiss. As horrible as it was to sorta think it, he doubted that's where this would go. This would be one of those awkward first dates at best, though a good example of one all the same. Dinner, movie, walk in the park? Dessert, chatting on a bench...maybe some flowers. It wasn't that he wanted to do something generic, but at the same time, the more complicated the date, the less realistic it'd be for the actors - and himself- to pull off convincingly.

Chipmunk? Was that a reference to her cheeks? Were they big and squishy like a chipmunks?! Raising one hand up to her cheek, she squished and tugged at it, testing this theory for herself. Maybe he was right! Did she need to go on a diet?! Oh no! Why was she overthinking this so much!? Finally remembering that she was on camera, Ikumi snapped out of her stupor, reaching out for the arm which the man had extended towards her. "Y-Yes! Dinner sounds great! I'm really hungry!" She said, smiling probably a bit too widely at him. Except, if they were to get dinner, maybe she would need to order a salad... But then again... She could really go for some pizza right now... Or even a burger. Oh gosh, that wasn't going to make her look skinnier!

"Uh, um... I-I don't really know what I want! Why don't you choose for us!" The white haired woman suggested, a nervous chuckle escaping from her lips as she walked beside her "date." Maybe he would pick somewhere that had a salad bar. Oh god, there was always hope. What if he chose a big buffet?! Or a dessert bar?! She would be in trouble then! The smile she had plastered on her face was hopefully covering the worry that was bubbling within her chest.

Ike chuckled nervously in response to her non response. Oh please, not a woman's indecision! "Oh, lovelump, what would you like? If you're really hungry, surely you have something in mind?" he drawled in a sickly sweet voice, very mindful of the camera. He was trying to do this up right, but so far Ikumi had thwarted every mental image he'd had of how this would go. It wouldn't look good for the camera if he said what he was thinking, which was currently 'how can I choose dinner for you when I know nothing about you other than you sleep in the worst places, your boobs are huge, and your name is Ikumi?' and a massive amount of fear that she'd either not like his suggestions or be allergic to it or something. People had all sorts of allergies. It'd be just rollercoaster luck that he took her to a high dollar seafood place and she'd be allergic to shell fish and somehow fall asleep in a plate of it. Should he risk it and hope his abnormally good luck would kick in instead?

"I don't want to pick somewhere you don't like. Then you'll stay hungry and be sad, right?" he prompted more, hoping to draw more of an answer out of his date. "For instance, I don't like spicy things, so I would starve at a hot tamale stand. Now, your turn. What do you either really like or really don't like?" Ike would get an answer out of her one way or another, but in the mean time it seemed they'd just awkwardly stroll by multiple places to eat while one of them broke down and actually chose.