Chapter Text
"Nee... san...?"
Ao immediately covered her mouth, while the other person stared at her with an indescribable expression, the words "what the fuck" was written all over her face.
"I-I'm s- I'm shorrie, I-...!" Ao attempted to apologize, but it all came out as an unintelligible mess.
But before she could say anything else, she felt the mature aura had become something more... sinister. It was... black , like some kind of mist surrounding the older girl, the aircon vent blowing her long hair only added to the horror. Or everything was from Ao's imagination. She did not know.
"Where did you hear that from...?"
The murmurous tone of voice - which had dropped an octave - did not help either. Ao wiped her cold sweat, "Y-Yes...?"
"The 'Nee-san' thing... Where, when and whom did you hear that from?"
"Um, uh... From... my friend?"
"Whose name is...?"
Before Ao noticed, they were close. Too close. She was in a stereotypical kabedon situation, but the person in the passive side was her this time. She stammered, "It's Ju-J-Juri..."
And with no warning, the black miasma stopped at once. Ao did not feel any sign of it anymore. All she could see was the upperclassmen had let go of her, burying her face with her hands. It did not look like she was crying, more like... disappointment ...?
"For the love of Laws of Cycles..." Her quiet voice was muffled even more. "I've told her to call me 'Onee-chan'...!"
Ao had understood why Kureha Yuna was a demon. That... kabedon(?) spoke everything.
They were sitting together on a table after Yuna had proposed to treat Ao to some shaved-ice, and she suddenly held a hand to her, making her confused.
It took a few seconds, and Yuna's cheeks slightly red, "I... I was just about to give you a handshake, and... Or maybe it's too informal in Japan? Should I bow? No, maybe dogeza, or, um..."
Yuna had just come home after a long time abroad, and reverse culture shock was inevitable. Being able to fluently use Japanese was already a miracle. Ao held Yuna's hand in return, "It's alright". She did not want to see her kneeling on the ground, that was too much for this afternoon.
Also, her surname... "Kureha", huh... It was familiar for some reason. Ao remembered seeing it on the news.
Yuna answered nonchalantly, "Indeed. My father is Futatsugi's mayor."
"Did you read my mind?!"
"Your face is like an open book." Yuna rested her chin on one hand, the other tracing on the table. She grinned, "No wonder you and Juri become fast friends. How cute."
Ao blushed at the word. Cute. Urara, Juri, and now Yuna said that as well?
"Oh dear, it's almost time." After checking the phone, Yuna became more hurried, quickly packing up her belongings. "It was a good time talking to you, Kasane-san."
"O-Okay..." Things happened rather quickly, and Ao did not know how to react.
Yuna was about to go, but stopped in her tracks and returned to the table, "Also, I have an offer, if you don't mind."
"Yes?"
"Is it alright if you come to my house tomorrow? There's some unpacking work, but I'm afraid I can't do it all alone. Of course, there will be a couple of more people." She paused. "... I don't mean that I need your labor or anything. It's just... The more the merrier."
Ao thought for a moment. She was not scared of being around people, it was just too abrupt. They had just met, yet Yuna was already casual with her. No wonder why she did not realize the latter was the mayor's daughter at first.
"Juri will be there too, so you can come with her if you'd like to go." Yuna pulled a piece of paper from her bag, handing it to Ao. "Here are my contacts and address."
Ao slowly received it with both hands. Yuna smiled, waved at her and left the store for real this time. She then looked at the paper. The writings were neat, as if written from a fountain-pen. There was even a chibi tiger drawn in the corner.
This pulled a chuckle from Ao. Was this thing called "gap moe"...?
"To think that you met her in the freezer..." Juri held onto her sides, laughing hysterically. "And a fucking kabedon ... Oh my Laws of Cycles..."
"Stop it! That's not funny." Ao pouted in return.
They were heading to Yuna's house now. Today was Sunday, and her mother actively kicked her out of the house so that she could have more fresh air and chances to socialize instead of sleeping in and playing games. Her father was against that at first, for he would be missing a teammate and ally for the upcoming Esports tournament, but eventually agreed to his wife.
Upon arriving, they could see trucks and vans parking outside of Yuna's house, people with construction uniforms carrying items inside it, most were cardboard boxes. A girl with orange hair in a ponytail was seen coming out of the house and lent them a hand as well.
"Who's that?" Ao asked.
"She's Hors- I mean, Hikaru. She's the secretary of the student council."
"Student... What?"
"I didn't tell you? My bad." Juri scratched her head. "Yuna is the prez of Torayamachi school."
"I-I see..."
Apparently, the Hikaru girl noticed them as well, "You're late, Juri-san!"
"It's more like you're too early ." Juri ran over to her, playfully hitting her shoulder. "My house is on the opposite side of the bridge, can't help it!"
Ao also kept up with Juri. The latter introduced, "Here's Ao. She's in middle school like you too, but don't bully her, okay?"
"The only one I want to pick on is you ." Hikaru glared at Juri, although the latter knew too well that the glare did not hide any ulterior motives, just nothing more than a friendly joke.
She then grabbed Ao's hand for a handshake, "Apologies for my behaviour earlier. I'm Kirari Hikaru."
The blue-haired girl stuttered, "K-Kasane... Ao..."
Hikaru began to lean closer, and Ao felt that this was going to be hard.
"Where's your house? What's the school you enroll in?" As expected, she began to bombard a ton of questions. "Do you play lacrosse? I usually play it with my team on the weekend! Also, I have a pet dog, his name is Fluffy. We have morning runs everyday!"
Ao did not know how to respond, or rather - could not respond. Hikaru was so fast, so rapid, her speed was like some kind of machine gun, mercilessly firing bullets everywhere in its path.
"Can I call you Ao-san? ... Oh, by the way, how did you meet Yuna-san... I mean, the President? Did you two have a talk? And-"
"Okay, enough!" Juri called out loud for attention. "You two took so long that the trucks have already left. Let's bring these shits upstairs, Yuna's waiting."
Yuna's room was almost empty since items had yet to be arranged, but Ao could see the smooth wooden floor and the walls painted in a soft yellow tone. Like the colour of her eyes, she complimented. There was also a desk, a large canopy bed, an emerald-coloured sofa set and a dust-covered television with its cable off, a sign that it had not been used for a long time.
The girls began to open up the cardboard boxes and pulled out the stuff inside, bit by bit; gradually putting it in places as Yuna told them to.
Ao picked up a stack of books, "Where should I put this?"
"On the shelf, please."
"Please hurry!" Hikaru urged Juri to open the rest of the boxes.
The latter begrudgingly stabbed the paper-knife in another box, "I know, I know!"
Gradually but surely, the items had been put into place. Books on the shelf, clothes folded and placed inside the closet, the stuffed-animals neatly placed on the bed.
"Just how many plushies you have, if I may ask?"
Ao's question brought redness to Yuna's face in a span of seconds.
"I mean, you're in high-school now, and aren't they a bit..." This addition did not help, either.
Juri tried to suppress her scornful laugh, while Hikaru just waved her hand, "Eh? I think it's cute, though."
"Plushies aren't specified for any type of people! No matter what gender, sexuality, or how old you are, you can still play with them!" Yuna punctuated her every word, veins could be seen popping on her forehead. "Am.I.Right...?"
Ao felt that black miasma floating around again.
"My bad, took it too far~"
"Apologies, President~"
Juri and Hikaru clasped their hands and pressed their cheeks together, looking apologetic; so dramatic that anyone could spot that they were not apologetic at all. It seemed like only when teasing Yuna did they share the same braincell.
Only one box was left. Juri hurriedly tore it open.
"Wait, don't...!"
It was too late for Yuna to stop. The items were spilled outside, and the only thing she could do at this moment was to bury her face in her hands, hiding her embarrassment.
Photos, fanarts, figurines.
Copies of signatures, badges, CDs.
All of them, every shade of pink.
Now Juri could not stifle any longer, but laughed out loud, literally rolling on the floor. Ao picked up one of the CDs. This looked familiar.
Oh, right...
Every, every single item featured the center member of Kamiha✰Magica .
Hikaru commented, "I don't know that you're into-"
"Oh, hush!" Yuna cut off. "I told you not to open it!"
"Are you a fan of idols?" Hikaru asked.
"Actually, I've only listened to her solo songs..." Yuna started to play with her hair again. "Of Tamaki-san, I mean."
The center member of Kamiha✰Magica . Tamaki Iroha.
"But it's not a bad thing, is it?" Ao's words make Yuna stop covering her face and look at the younger girl. "I've been watching their videos, too... Just lately. They're great, aren't they?"
"Their songs are... therapeutic? I must say." Yuna pulled her legs close, resting her chin on her knees. Her voice fell flat, "You don't know how it feels when you're in a country whose language you don't know and no one close to help you. Listening to their songs helped me quite a lot, and I ended up buying their merches without knowing it."
Ao noticed it herself. She had been listening to their songs after doing her homework, to detox - for lack of a better word - herself from the heavy atmosphere at school. They were... inspiring , each song making the fans want to be like them too.
"I'll take care of things from here." Yuna stood up, putting back the merchandise into the box. "You can leave... well, except Hikaru. The documents at school still need some amendment."
Hikaru faked a salute as an affirmative, leading Juri and Ao outside, her ponytail bouncing with her every movement. Yuna bid them goodbye, then returned to her desk, took out her laptop and turned it on.
She scrolled through the websites and opened the tab that had been saved. A colourful banner appeared, writing "Kamihama Idol Festival" .
Yuna put a finger on her chin, subconsciously mimicking Juri's thinking pose. Her brows furrowed, deep in thought. The mouse hovered over the "sign up" button. Should she...?
With a sigh, she decided to close the tab and opened the school's website. Student council work was more important right now.