My failed interrogation has left me completely unsettled. I retreat to a dark corner of the studio, my mind replaying LUNA's flawless, condescending denial over and over. Am I crazy? Am I just seeing connections that are not there? My confusion must be written all over my face, because Rina and Haruka keep shooting me worried, suspicious glances from across the room.
"Alright, people, it is time for the main event!" the photographer bellows, his energy somehow still at a hundred percent. "The cover shot! The three queens! Let's make some magic!"
The set is an epic, multi-tiered throne room sculpted from fake ice. A single, magnificent throne sits at the top. The tension in the studio, at least for me, is now at a critical level.
The photographer gives his directions. LUNA is the supreme Empress on the throne. Ectiqa and Hime-Hime are her powerful, rivalrous vassals on the steps below. The shoot begins, and the on-camera drama is electric. Rina and Haruka, who had been momentarily united in their awe of LUNA, are now back to being rivals, competing not just with LUNA, but with each other for the camera's attention.
I am watching LUNA, but I am not seeing her performance. I am looking for a crack. I am looking for Aiwa. LUNA's performance is perfect, her regal expression never wavers. She is an impregnable fortress of professionalism.
Then, Rina and Haruka decide to bring me back into the drama.
"Oh, whoops!" Rina exclaims, "accidentally" stumbling and grabbing my arm for support. "So clumsy!" she says, shooting a triumphant look at LUNA.
A moment later, Haruka "trips" and grabs my other arm. "Rui-kun, you are a true hero!"
I am once again trapped, a human support beam for two warring ice queens. The photographer is ecstatic, yelling about "the loyal knight torn between the two queens!" and snapping away.
I risk a glance up at LUNA, who is sitting on her throne, looking down at the chaotic scene at her feet. She is supposed to look regal and dismissive. But I see it. Just for a second. As she watches Rina and Haruka fawning over me, her perfect, serene mask falters. She rolls her eyes. It is a tiny, almost imperceptible gesture of pure, unadulterated annoyance.
And it is the most Aiwa Matsuki thing I have ever seen.
It is the exact same eye-roll she does in class when Kenji asks a stupid question. It is not LUNA's cold disdain. It is the exasperated reaction of a normal teenage girl.
My doubt, which had been planted by her flawless denial, is suddenly gone. The fortress has a crack. And I know, with a sudden, gut-wrenching certainty, that I am right. She is Aiwa. And she is a terrifyingly good actor. The game is back on.