The Premier!

Shinobu wasn't privy to Cassie's joke, nor did he catch that it was nervous. He was about to ask why she'd hold something back when he was caught by the reason. Shinobu lived to steal a scene and he could command an audience with his suave nature. However, it seemed he'd come across someone who had been long practiced at the art as well.

The actor was forced to take in Gwendolyn as she came down the stairs and directed himself right towards him. Her voice was sweet when she called his name and Shinobu wondered who she was, clearly someone from the VIP section. There were celebrities, like himself and Cassie. Those who lived extraordinary lives that normal folk would never experience. However, that was not the plateau and even celebrities could lift their heads and not see the sky, but an unapproachable summit as well. Gwendolyn seemed to be in that class. Or, at least, in a position to rub elbows with them.

Her tone was inviting and focused. He took her delicate hand and bowed, leaning forward to gently kiss the gloved limb as she gave her full name. It was long and unusual but... familiar. His agent said something about the ringletted girl who was representing the family that... something something. His gears wound as he straightened up. She was one of the financiers of this party!

"Domo, Dupont-Bettencourt-san." He said, flashing his pearly smile at her. he couldn't understand the French but he only assumed that she was greeting him properly. "It is an honor to meet you. Everyone appreciates the work you've done to put this gala together. Please, I hope you'll take time out of your busy schedule to at least view the film." He said bowing his head once more.

Once pleasantries were out of the way, Shinobu glanced at Cassie. He could see Gwendolyn's aura almost visibly looming over her. His eyes brightened up and he took a step behind Cassie and put one hand on her shoulder, giving Gwendolyn the view of the red head. "Dupont-Bettencourt-san, please allow me to introduce my date for the evening. Cassie Elliot. I'm afraid I've thrust her unceremoniously into a rather intimidating world, but she's kind, and bold and really exceptional." he said, nodding genuinely at his assessment of Cassie.

Cassie briefly made eye contact, and gave Gwen a shy wave.

"Hi."

So bold.

The aura of superiority and high class that came from being in Gwendolynâ€s presence immediately brought a certain tension in the air that seemingly put an end to any levity between the apprehensive couple. As if you were meeting royalty for the first time and your mind was racing to remember ways not to offend the posh dignitary.

A butterfly or two would flutter in Gwenâ€s stomach from the feel of Shinobuâ€s lips pressed against her thinly gloved hand, the positively scrumptious actor demonstrating himself to be quite the debonair gentleman. Greeting her in a such a courteous fashion along with saying all the right things…the heiress certainly had good taste when she became fixated on Shinobu as a high school crush.

“Ah, you flatter me beyond reasoning Mr. Fujiwara. For a film franchise as beloved as your own these accommodations barely represent our appreciation for all of your hard and dedication to your craft. Iâ€m somewhat embarrassed to admit that Iâ€ve been an ardent follower of your work for some time, and I assure you I will be in attendance for its first screening~…" Stepping in closer in a nonchalant way to close the distance between the two, Gwen would halt mid-stride when Shinobu would abruptly turn away from her to introduce a mousey wall flower practically cowering off to their sides.

Gwenâ€s sly judgmental gaze would scan Cassieâ€s ensemble from boot to barrette, holding back a slight chuckle from the absurdity of not only her hilariously passà outfit but also at the notion that this fidgeting tomboy was Shinobuâ€s date for the evening. The shrinking violet standing before her could hardly compare to any of the glamorous starlets mingling in the crowd that night. Her eyes would narrow slightly to Cassieâ€s…succinct greeting; the green eyed gamine couldnâ€t have looked more uncomfortably out of place if she tried. Assuming that Shinobu merely took pity upon Cassie, Gwen decided to play along for the moment and see where this delightfully awkward situation was going.

“Bonjour Cassie,” Gwen would turn towards Cassie, giving the tomboy her undivided attention now with her imposing judgmental gaze now focused like a laser beam on Cass. “You‘ve nothing to fear Ms. Elliot, you have a remarkable guide at your side in Mr. Fujiwara to navigate you through this labyrinth of glitz and glamour…” Gwen would shoot Shinobu a brief alluring stare before returning to Cass with a condescending smile spread wide upon her face. “However, Iâ€m afraid youâ€ve broken the hearts of nearly half the young women in Japan by taking our resident ‘Phantom Detective†off the market, so to speak. I can only imagine the passionate love that must have flourished between you two….*giggle*....If youâ€ll satiate my curiosity, exactly how has your courtship been progressing? Have you already grown accustomed to dating a celebrity? How did you keep your love affair from leaking into the paparazziâ€s hands for so long?” Gwenâ€s shotgun explosion of intrusive questions was an obvious attempt to fluster the jittery Cassie even more than she may have already been, veiled with a kind-hearted smile.

"Bonjour," Cassie said in a conspicuously perfect French accent.

She bravely kept up her sweet and uncertain smile, even when she began to wilt under Gwendolyn's ultraviolet interrogation. When the moment came, just as Gwendolyn intended, Cassie's eyes widened in shock. She nearly gasped. She spluttered for a moment, but couldn't get a word in edgewise until the heiress had finished.

"Oh, we're not..." She waved her hands, palms out. She felt like she was taming a lion with nothing but cowboy boots and frantic, hurried explanations. "We're not together. Well, we're together, like, we came in the car, but we're not, um, we're... dating. I mean we're not dating! We're not. Not that I don't want to! Er, wait..." She waved her hands again and shook her head at herself, and then slapped her forehead down into her palm. She tried again. "I mean, what I mean is, not that I don't... not... wanted... I... We're friends. Shibo- er, Shibonu, Shinbu-" She sighed. "Shinobu's just my boyfriend. I mean boy. Er, friend. He's my friend. Friend who's a boy. Friend-boy, not boyfriend, I... oh god."

She glanced helplessly at Shinobu while sweat beaded on her forehead. The hole she had dug for herself was so deep it was a wonder she could still see him at all. Help me Shinobu Fukiwara, you're my only hope!

Shinobu was taken aback by Gwendolyn's ceaseless interrogation as well. It was rather unbecoming and the looks Gwendolyn gavhim told him exactly what the situation was. He was an actor after all.

Cassie's helpless appraisal of the situation was both amusing and quite telling. By the time she was finished, even he couldn't conceal a blush. However, he wasn't going to let this woman so as she liked, especially TO Cassie and even IF she was one of the hosts. he put a reassuring hand on Cassie's shoulder and smiled gently at her.

"I didn't realize the Dupont-Bettencourt's prided themselves on such an open display of others personal affairs." He said slyly. "Whatever is between Cassie-san and I, is just that. But, I'm afraid you're humbly mistaken. It is the Japanese men who would weep if Cassie-san were taken away from them by a bold suitor." He said.

"Cassie-san is a friend of an associate of mine." He said. "That is our common connection though, in some way, I could say she's an associate of mine as well. Not in the field oc acting, but another pursuit of which I've recently become a "professional." Shinobu chuckled. "Though, the word is uttered loosely when referred to myself.""

"She wrestles in the AFW League. Perhaps you've heard of her? Perhaps now her face will be more recognizable? She's extraordinary inside the ring."

Gwendoylnâ€s devious smile just grew and grew from watching Cassie sweat from under the spotlight. The way she flailed her arms in panicked gestures and stuttered ceaselessly, it was like Cassie was drowning only instead of gulping in water she was choking on her own words and insecurity. Gwen had never seen anyone ACTUALLY die of embarrassment, so this was sure to be a treat. Unfortunately Sir Shinobu galloped in on his white horse to save the maiden fair. Pity…

“Oh!! My sincerest apologies, Mr. Fujiwara, Cassandra. My predilection towards affairs of the heart can get the better of me, I meant no offense. Please forgive my intrusiveness Cassandra, Iâ€m afraid Iâ€ve always been somewhat of a romantic at heart.” Gwen would bow slightly before standing up right again. Shinobu was demonstrating himself to be a worthy competitor in the heiress†game of verbal fencing.

“A fellow pugilist, you say? Why, yes….Yes I believe I HAVE heard of dear Cassandraâ€s exploits in the ring. Quite a brutal competitor from my understanding, leaving her opponents in tears, hospitalized with broken appendages at times. Notorious for a rather heated rivalry with that ‘Angel†individual, Talia I believe her name was. Decimating her in the ring and driving her out of the league. Youâ€ll have to excuse me if Iâ€m missing any crucial details, I myself have only entered the federations employ a few months ago and thereâ€s so much history to catch up on….but Iâ€m sure youâ€re still a kind individual, as Shinobu suggests. ” Gwen would raise her gloved hand to her cheek, smiling away while she listed off the cliff notes version of Cassieâ€s darker moments in the league. In her down time Gwen would occasionally peruse the roster list for the more seasoned competitors simply out of curiosity, and Cassie had quite the file. Not that anything the heiress had said was technically incorrect, Shinobu asked if Gwen had heard of her. It wasn't her fault that the highlights of her career involved broken hearts and bones.

"No, not a pugilist, a... a..."

Cassie's face turned a deep crimson as she was assaulted by the horror of Gwendolyn's assessment of her career. Her hands began to shake enough that she needed both to hold onto the plate with her cherry pit and stem and half-eaten slice of beef. Her heart dropped into her stomach, and she had an overwhelming urge to run and hide.

"N-no, I-I..." She stammered uselessly. She didn't drive Talia out of anything! Talia was trying to drive her out! And... was that really how the rest of the world saw her now? She hated the idea more than anything else, but she knew that it was true. She remembered Aurora standing in the ring and calling her a monster, and it killed her.

"Only one person broke a bone," she said, in a mousey little voice. "Er... t-two." Her eyes flicked over toward Shinobu, but she couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye. "Excuse me, I have to... g-go..."

She took a step back, and then turned to walk off and look for an exit, her head bowed to hide her face from the rest of the glitterati. She just needed air.

Shinobu was horrified at the words that came from Gwendolyn's mouth. She didn't know the whole story one bit! Worse yet, seeing Cassie go, made shinobu's stomach not up. As the red head slinked away, Shinobu took a step and held out his hand.

"Cassie-san, wait! Onegai! Please!"

He watched her go and then turned to Gwendolyn. "Dupont-Bettencourt-san. I hope that you never find yourself matched up with the sort of opponents Cassie has had to endure. I wish it upon no one." He said. "And yet, I believe I can say with certainty that you will not have to walk the same path."

'I imagine you're far more like her opponents than like her.' He finished his thought in his head.

"Now, if you'll please excuse me." he said, bowing politely. Shinobu then turned and ran after Cassie. He hoped his moment to speak to Gwen wouldn't be enough to lose Cassie. Gwendolyn's words. They probably had nothing to do with Wrestling whatsoever. If not Cassie's career, then something else. So was the nature of a woman like that.

"Cassie-san! Cassie-san!" Shinobu called out, trying to push through the throngs to find her.

“Oh dear…..was it something I said?” Gwendolyn feigned ignorance towards her obviously hurtful remarks towards Cassie, who was by now bumping shoulders with other confused patrons on her way towards the exit. Her sly grin never left her face even after seeing the affects her words had, tearing Cassandra down was far more effortless than she thought it would be.

“Enjoy the rest of the evening , Shinubu-san!!” Gwen waved off the leading man after he said his peace to the heiress and politely excused himself before rushing after his ‘dateâ€. Whatever Shinobu was blathering on about rolled off her shoulders without a care given, not understanding what all the fuss was about anyway. Now back to her lonesome the heiress did have one regret….that she wasnâ€t able to have her picture taken with Shinobu on the red carpet. With their dual celebrity status those photographs would surely have grabbed more headlines than she could count and propel her status in night life of Japan. C'est la vie…

Helping herself to a glass of champagne from a waiterâ€s tray and turning her back to them Gwen proceeded into the crowd to mingle and find a new way to amuse herself for the evening. Though she highly doubted that even the ‘Phantom Detective†movie she was about to witness would bring her as much enjoyment as that little altercation.

Cassie found her way through the crowd to a side door that led to an outdoor patio, with a few tables with collapsed umbrellas on them and a view of the rest of the street. She took a long, deep breath, relieved to be away from the party for a moment. Try as she might, though, she could never seem to get away from later events of her career.

She looked up when Shinobu opened the door, and stepped to the side. She had to make sure she kept her end of the bargain and helped Shinobu have a good time at the party, so she put on a smile for him.

"Hi, Shinobu," she said. "Sorry, I was just getting a little claustrophobic in there with all the famous people. Everybody's so... All the girls are really pretty and stuff." She paused slightly. "That girl seems... she's really pretty. She's like a princess."