Altered Affection (Brothers Conflict)

Chapter 6

Copyright: Any dialogue or pictues used from the anime/manga "Brother's Conflict" belongs entirely to the creator of said show/manga. Any additional dialogue/ideas belong to me. Thank you.

Finished! I thought as I put on the red lipstick. Now to get dressed.... I took my dress off the rack and into my dressing room along with some heels that looked less painful than the ones Ema lent me. I fit myself into the tight dress and heels, then, looked at myself in the mirror. I had to admit, I looked good. I stayed in my dressing room until it was call time. 

By the time the announcer called all the participants backstage, I found that the effects of wearing a super-tight dress and heels starting to kick in. By the time I caught up to Ema, I was basically choking for air. I finally got ahold of myself and stood in line with Ema. "So Ema, are we going first?"

"I'll be the 25th girl, and you'll be 38th, which is last..." Ema bit her lip. Why would they put me last? "All right, girls," the producer announced. "Get in your spots! Kira here will give you your badge with your name and number on it. The first event is interview, so you're going to answer whatever the host asks. Alright!" He clapped his hands, telling us to do our best and walked away. After Kira, the assistant, gave us our badges, I glanced at Ema, who looked a bit nervous. I looked over at the reason I was in this pageant. Takami Asuli. She looked absolutely stunning, but she had a look of hatred in her pretty eyes. Takami was the third girl to go on stage. We looked at the monitor as all the girls recieved a variety of easy or confusing questions. Some answered with a confident voice and neat answers. I couldn't say the same for most other girls, though. Finally, Ema was called on stage. "Next up is number 25, Ema Hinata!" Ema walked calmly across the stage, towards the announcer. She flashed a big grin and turned to face him. The camera panned over the audience, and I caught a glimpse of my brothers, their mouths wide open. I giggled and turned back to Ema. "Your question is.... Why did you join the pageant?"

Ema flashed a big smile before turning to the audience and answering. "I joined this pageant to boost my self esteem and feel beautiful. Beauty is not only what is on the outside, but that excitement buzzing around inside me is what makes me feel beautiful. Not just the makeup, the dresses, and the shoes, though that does play a part!" She laughed. I gave her a sincere nod of approval. She showed no hint of fear, or of hesitation. Besides that, she looked so calm. Takami has some real competition because, even though she did well, Ema did better. Ema left the stage and walked over to me, recieving glares from other contestants, which I returned back to them. I quickly hugged her. "That was inspiring," I said. "Thank you, Ana. You better do well too! I didn't train you for nothing!" She laughed nervously. She looked so calm on stage, but now she was a nervous wreck. "Calm down, Ema! That wasn't too bad, was it?"

"Well.. I guess not.." 

"Good! Go back to the dressing room and get ready for the next competiton." I smiled. "No," she shook her head. "I want to see you answer the question." My eyes widened. "T-that's not necessary!" I said, but Ema still wouldn't give up. Oh well, there was nothing I could do. I waited for the other contestants, and before long, my name was called. "Now, last but not least, Ana Hinata!" I reluctantly walked towards the announcer, avoiding the audience's gaze. I walked, trying to imitate a calm and cool attitude, although I'm not entirely sure it worked. I guess I would find out later. "Your question is...." There was a moment of silence. What would he ask?! "If you were a gem, which would you be and why?" I thought for a moment. One second. Two seconds. Three seconds. Four seconds. "Miss Ana?" I ignored his call and answered. "A diamond, because diamonds are strong, basically unbreakable. Their ability to be strong develops over many years because they experience different and painful changes. Then, a person who overgoes troubles and pain becomes beautiful, like a diamond." Whoa. Did I really just say all that? "Excellent, thank you." I flashed a smile towards the audience and caught another glimpse of my brothers. They looked speechless, eyes wide. I resisted the urge to giggle and returned backstage. I walked over to Ema. "That was...Ana.."