Night

Chapter Five

Disclaimer: Naruto characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto, not me.

Rose

A soft, flowery scent wafted across the scene, sprinkling lightly onto each working nose. It was strong enough of a smell to find its way into a few clogged up noses as well. The more sensitive sniffers wrinkled reflexively at the strength of it. Most heads turned to check the source, and they weren't quite expecting what they saw. (A/N: My humor for the chapter. I'm done now... Probably...)

Accompanying the flower perfume was a masterpiece of a girl. She had soft, white-blond locks of hair that curled gently around her figure, reaching down to her lower back. Her eyes were a brilliant blue-grey, shifting with each second. Her face was a combination of the soft edges of a youth and the harsh lines of an adult. The clothes adorning the girl were modest; a white button-up under a dark grey windbreaker, a black, plaited skirt that reached just above the knees with white stockings going above the the line, and simple black flats. The dark colors contrasted nicely with her pale skin.

"Miss Rose," a man called out to the girl, walking over swiftly. He towered over her at 6'1" when he finally stood in front, and the girl was forced to look up to meet his eyes. She looked small and defenseless compared to the man, who was sporting baggy jeans with chain loops, a tight black T-shirt that showed off muscles, and several piercings. Rather, she should have. The small, gentle-looking girl in reality handed a death glare to the man who had approached, causing sweat to roll down his face and neck. "Miss Rose," he continued, taking a step back submissively, "I'm glad you could make it today. We were prepared to start filming without you, but such is difficult when the one missing is the main role."

"Thank you, Mr. Maddox." The context of the reply was denied severely by both the expression and tone in which it was given. The girl took a breath, though, and managed to keep her killing intent to a minimum. "I will be able to be here at this time Monday through Friday unless circumstances prevent my coming, and weekends will for the most part be entirely open. I will also be sure to notify everyone of the days I find myself unable to make it."

"Brilliant," Maddox said, relief in his voice when it no longer seemed as if death was imminent. "If you would follow me then, I will show you to your changing room."

The females in the room turned back to what they were doing after they had gathered sizable portions of envy, but the men found it a little harder. Rose had captured their attention completely, without even doing anything. She could only think to herself that it was going to be a very long rehearsal.

The dressing rooms weren't too far from the main filming areas for ease of access, so the walk wasn't long. There were not actual separate rooms with each gender's side, but curtains could be drawn in multiple areas for privacy.

Rose gave a slight nod of the head, then turned back to the filming being prepared for. "What scene has been planned first? I'm afraid I haven't received the schedule, if you couldn't tell."

"Oh, terribly sorry!" Maddox apologized. "The only explanation I can give is we handed them out at the second meeting and nobody got one for you. If you will wait here for one second I will go and grab one for you."

Rose's eye twitched, but she was doing rather well on not killing anyone today. She was already irritated that the director of her contracted company had signed her up for this movie, and it took a lot of energy to not fume over that. Somehow she had enough energy to stay relatively calm as well.

"Here you are, Miss Rose," Maddox said hurriedly when he returned. He was trying to please the star of the show, but so far it was proving difficult. Almost as if she was deliberately resisting his efforts. Which she probably was. It was not unknown that Rose carried an eternal grudge against tall people.