Hide Away

Chapter 1: And So She Hides!

Once she had finished getting dressed, she heard her phone buzz and picked it up, looking at the screen 'In front of your room.' She glanced out her window to see a familiar plain green minivan. Setsuko grabbed her backpack and walked to the door. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and rushed towards the car, opening the door and sliding in before slamming the door shut, feeling a bit of relief as the car started to drive away.

Looking in the rearview mirror, she saw someone step out of the motel lobby wearing a hat and mask before he walked over towards one of the rooms, the exact room that she had been in just moments ago. A chill went up her spine as she turned and sunk into her seat.

"Looks like I got you just in time." A voice said and Setsuko looked to her side to see a man who looked to be in his late thirties. His black hair was slicked back and hardened by the products he had used, and his face was clean shaven, giving him a younger appearance. Setsuko knew this man as Kuwata Akari, her manager.

"Yeah." Setsuko said, resting her head against the window. "What's going to happen now? I... we... thought I'd be safe at that motel, but he found me after just a few days. I'm not safe anywhere, am I?"

"Not until the police catch this man, no." Kuwata said grimly. "I had hoped that it wouldn't come to this, but it looks like you're going to have to go into hiding for a bit."

"Hiding?"

"In other words, you're going to be made into a different person, new look, new name, new everything. The cops like to call this Witness Protection."

"What about concerts? As much as I want to right now I can't just up and leave and abandon my fans. Not to mention it'll look suspicious if I suddenly stop performing."

"You'll... still do your concerts, but we're not going to book any new ones. I'll figure out an excuse that won't affect anything. For now, your safety takes priority."

***

It was only half an hour before they got to Setsuko's management agency and in her dressing room. She sat at one of the chairs messing with her hair tie as her manager made a few calls. By the time he hung up on his most recent call there was a knock at the door, and he walked over, glancing out the peephole before opening it.

The person who was on the other side walked in. From her blonde hair and fair skin Setsuko was able to tell that she was foreign. "Kuwata, it's been too long." She said with a heavy French accent. "We should catch up. Though now isn't really the time, is it?"

Kuwata chuckled. "Not right now, no." He then turned to Setsuko, "This is Ophelia Delicroix, her name is widespread all throughout Europe, Japan, and America. She's an old friend of mine and has been sworn to secrecy about what's about to happen in this room." He turned to the stylist with a smile. "Thanks for coming on such short notice."

"It's not an issue." Ophelia said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Delicroix." Setsuko said, bowing her head in greeting.

"It's my pleasure, giving the famous Momoko a makeover is like a dream come true! Now, once I'm done with you, you're going to be an entirely new person!"

With that Setsuko sat in front of a mirror and Ophelia started on the makeover. It was about three hours until the makeover was done, and after looking in the mirror Setsuko barely recognized the person staring back.

Her long brown hair had been chopped off to just above her ears and dyed black. It was styled in a messy fashion, but somehow still looked good. She had been given contacts that changed her eyes from aquamarine to brown. Just under her eye she had been given a small beauty mark- by the looks of it, it seemed to be a temporary tattoo, permanent enough to have from day to day but easy to take off if she needed to make an appearance as Momoko. If she didn't know any better, she'd mistake herself for a boy.