sweetdevil | 75th ♫ | Shall I name this heart-rending pain "Snow Halation"?

[That actually gives him pause for a moment--he had dueled Asuka once before, and she had defeated him soundly. But... that was first year, and this is now. Maybe things have changed, so when Manjoume responds, his tone is a little more careful in his words.]

The only way to really know that for certain would be to face her head on again.

Or to face someone else who was already stronger than her, right?

[Well. That gets his eyebrows raised a fair bit, and yet, she's definitely got his attention, hook line and sinker.]

What exactly are you planning here?

[Some part of Rei should probably feel guilty for this.

But she's Rei, queen of the incredibly overcomplicated plans, and Manjoume just makes this so easy.]

You know, if I were to duel Asuka, it wouldn't be hard for me to shut her down completely- Her deck has a big, glaring weakness. And then, while she's on the defensive and has no way to win... A certain someone might jump in to save her.

Really now.

[Manjoume's tone is skeptical at the prospect of Rei being able to defeat Asuka that easily. Still...]

In the completely hypothetical event of you actually winning, how exactly do you foresee how... a certain someone might be able to jump in to help her?

[manjoume she uses rituals and we predate literally ANY ritual support. frankly i could shit all over seto kaiba because the blue-eyes support ALSO hasn't been invented yet.]

You know how there's that winter tournament coming up?

[Listen, I absolutely believe Rei could accomplish it, but good luck convincing Manjoume the simp of that.]

Yeah, I'm aware of it. I'm guessing that's the stage you're wanting to use for this plan of yours?

[you are SO lucky she won't call you a simp to your face.]

I might have gotten a peek at the rules ahead of time. It's going to be a battle royale format, where duelists can jump in to interrupt each other...

[Oh]

I get it now. So you want to duel her, and then when it looks like she's on the ropes, I tag in to interrupt you from dealing her the finishing blow...

[There's a pause before his brow furrows.]

Wait, so what is it then that you're hoping to get out of this? I'm assuming you've got some kind of plan for this to work in your favor for getting Judai's attention, right?

Of course. Even if I lose, don't you think holding my own against both you and Asuka at the same time would get my beloved Judai's attention?

[this is a lie. this is 10000% a lie. she is lying through her teeth.]

[Manjoume, unsurprisingly, looks grumpy at the mention of his rival, and the reminder of Rei's crush on him, but...]

Judai is rather oblivious when it comes to most things, but... if it involves a duel, you do admittedly have a better chance of getting his attention that way... I guess.

[As much as he hates to have to agree with her on something like that. Plus...]

And if it does get his attention, then... that means I shouldn't have to worry about him interrupting my chance to win over Asuka...

[So Rei might actually be on to something after all, if this works out in a way to benefit them both here??]

Exactly! You get it.

[Of course, what she's really banking on is Judai seeing a 2v1 and deciding he wants to jump in and help.

But she's not going to tell Manjoume that.]

Everyone wins in this situation, right?

[It's probably a good thing she didn't bring up this possibility: there's a big chance that Manjoume would genuinely forget about the goal of this being to further his chances of winning over Asuka (and Rei getting closer to Judai), if he gets distracted by the thought of fighting against his rival here and trying to get the win over on him for once...]

Yeah. If you actually manage to back Tenjoin-san into a corner to kick all this off during the tournament, that is. But if this really plays out like you think it will...

[There's a pause, before finally, he offers his hand in a handshake, an agreement with a fellow collaborator.]

Then fine, I'll go along with this plan of yours.

[ When November gives way to December, the city of Nijiyama is taken over by colorful lights. Despite the chill in the air as winter blows through, the streets are always full and merry and there's a promise of something exciting on the horizon. Sakura... has no idea what to make of any of it. She's guessing there's some sort of winter solstice celebration or maybe even just a year end one but she doesn't recognize any of the customs or understand what the lights are for.

Still, they're pretty. And when she'd told the girls she was going to take Ao into the city so they could look around and figure things out together, there'd been a lot of giggling and encouraging words that had nevertheless made her feel like she was walking into the punchline of a joke she wasn't privy to.

But it's too late to worry now. They meet outside Fuyuka's house where she's been staying and despite all her confusion, Sakura's face still lights up when she spots them and comes hurrying over. ]

Ao-kun, you're here already...! Ah, I'm sorry I'm late, it took forever for everyone to agree on my outfit for some reason...

[ It sure is a high effort outfit — a fuzzy white beret, a pink cape jacket lined with white fur and thick white winter tights. Girlypop got colour coordinated like her life depended on it. ]

[ Christmas celebrations for the Hoshino household are a private affair by necessity - nothing like the kind of gaudy party that B-Komachi were allegedly posting photos of on social media to show what close friends they all were. Never mind that all the photos had been taken in the back end of August and they'd all been suffocating in the winter clothes they'd been styled in. What mattered was how it looked to the fans and what they thought Ai of B-Komachi was up to over Christmas. So while Ai of B-Komachi sings karaoke and laughs and drinks with friends, Hoshino Ai can worry about the real celebration.

... Emphasis on worry. ]

Aquaaaa! Do you remember where the band aids are?!

[ Disaster strikes in the Hoshino family kitchen once again and dead in the strike zone is a despondent looking Ai, carefully elevating her hand high above and away from the cutting board.

Christmas dinner prep is... not going well. It's the first year that Ai has insisted on doing the whole thing herself and the learning curve has been... interesting to feel out. ]

Edited 2023-12-07 07:57 (UTC)

[ Even if there'd ever been a chance of Ai going to any high school, it would never have been a fancy place like Gekkoukan. Well, strictly speaking, she has no real frame of reference for how fancy or otherwise it might be but it's Kotone's school and Kotone's so much smarter than she is - so it stands to reason that it's not the kind of school that someone like Ai would be able to get into. So she has no reason to come by.

Except here she is on the last day of term before winter break just casually hanging around at the school gates as if she's not the least bit out of place. She's made a barely token effort to go incognito with cute braids and a heavy winter jacket but she seems to mostly be relying on the sheer plausible deniability and people dismissing the idea that B-Komachi's Ai would be hanging around a place like this. And bizarrely, it's working?!

She doesn't really draw a lot of attention to herself while she's waiting (though inevitably she does anyway - occupational hazard) but the instant she spots Kotone, Ai pops out from beside the gate and starts waving. With both arms. She's kind of making a scene?!?! ]

Over here! Surpriiiiiiise!

[ December comes and paints the town over in rainbow lights. It seems like ever year in Tokyo, there's no expense spared on illuminations and they get brighter and even more colorful every single time. For a lovey-dovey gachikoi group like B-Komachi, Christmas is usually one of the busiest times of the year for them but Saitou's been unusually lax this time around. He'd made some excuses about Ai having a busy year and giving her some time to breathe, but Ai suspects he's taking a bit of a calculated loss - because Ai would've made her own plans for Christmas anyway.

It's not quite a true white Christmas yet - too cold for snow, the weatherman says - but everything is frosted over in white as it is and Ai finds that she likes this better. It's so cold, in fact, that bundled up in a scarf and coat and after dark, even without covering her face, nobody recognises her. Nobody even looks twice. To anybody who gives her a passing glance, Hoshino Ai looks like any other girl on a Christmas Eve date. ]

Shouuuu! Did I keep you waiting?

[ They're meeting a little ways away from the lights they're going to see and Ai knows it's a bit silly to make him go on head - they live together, after all. But there's something about actually coming to meet him for a date that makes her feel kind of fluttery and excited. For just one night, Hoshino Ai gets to be a regular girl like anybody else. ]

[ Are senpais supposed to give presents for Christmas? Ai's not sure - none of the girls in B-Komachi had ever done it, apart from the year Kyun had gotten really into baking and loaded them all up with cookies. She only ever really bothers with gifts for the twins and then Saitou and Miyako but it strikes her as she's shopping that it feels a bit mean to leave Kana out.

So she gives it a shot. She can't get anything fancy — it's kind of terrifying to have an adult press something like that onto you, right? — but she's caught Aqua and Kana reading the same books enough times to guess their shared taste and Ruby and Memcho manage to help her pick out something she hasn't read.

She waits until everyone else is out and it's just Kana in the office (that's less embarrasing, right?) before she pokes her head in quite casually, the messily wrapped gift hidden behind her back. Hoshino Ai is a master of stealth and subtlety. ]

Oh, Kana-chan! It's just you today?

[Ao, on the other hand, is dressed like they always are. In jean and plaid and leather. But when they see Sakura's outfit they break into a bright grin]

Oh. It.... you look really nice. Bright, like the lights.

[They don't get the lights anymore then she does, honestly]

Ah, really? [ She smiles, looking a little relieved and her cheeks flush pink to match her fluffy coat. ] I felt like I'd dressed up a little too much but if you think it looks good, then I guess it's fine...

[ Ao's going to be the one looking at her all evening, after all, so their opinion is really the only one that matters much.

Still, though — they don't look bad (because really, they never do) but in this sort f weather... Sakura peers up at them. ]

You won't be too cold like that?

Ah...

[ Kana should have expected this. After all, this was the Strawberry Productions office, one where any of their staff members, idol or otherwise could wind up coming and going.

But she finds herself feeling a little awkward in Ai's presence, especially given that it is very much just the two of them. ]

Yeah, it's just me. I just dropped by to check in on some things with Miyako-san, especially since it's getting close to Christmas.

[ it is a nice school. nicer than any kotone's attended previously. either way, if she heard ai voicing those thoughts, she would probably just put her hands on both sides of her face and tell her not to talk about herself like that. like she's one to talk, some days. but then, they see something in each other they can't always recognize in themselves, right?

she normally keeps busy, maintaining a couple of extracurriculars along with her music practice and everything at home, but with the holidays approaching, she's actually getting out at a normal time. kotone does a double take when ai just jumps out into view, expression going on a rapid journey between surprise, happiness, excitement, and girl what the fuck are you doing? either way, she can't quite shake the light feeling in her chest as she approaches, or the smile tugging at her lips. ]

Oh my God, hi! Sei-chan, it's been so loooong! [ her eyes briefly widen in a please be cool sort of way as she says the fake name, before she pulls ai into a hug, hopping with excitement despite herself. ]

Aah, isn't it just? I'm glad they eased off the gachikoi for you three... it used to be we were going nonstop all through Christmas, since it's the most romantic time of the year... it's the sort of time fans want to feel like they're not alone, you know?

[ Truth be told, she hadn't minded it — not then and not now, even in hindsight. She might have mixed feelings about everything to do with her time in B-Komachi but that she can never regret. If she'd been able to reach out and make someone's lonely days just a little brighter, how could that ever be something she regrets? ]

Have you at least got a little free time for Christmas, though? Or do you have plans?

Honestly. Well, I'm sure some idols don't mind the gachikoi, but I'm certainly not one of them. If they don't want to feel alone, they can go watch something on Youtube with some fried chicken or something. Idols are people, too.

[ ...

She does look at Ai with a bit of curiosity when she brings up if she's free or not. ]

I don't really have any plans for Christmas. Why?

[ Sei-chan? She can't stop a laugh from bubbling out of her (seriously, did Kotone just have that one on tap or something?) but it's a pretty giggly situation, so she gets away with it. She happily tosses her arms around Kotone in turn, squeezing her in a tight hug and enjoying the way her cheeks burn up when she does so. They're definitely being stared at by passing students but Ai doesn't care — in fact, letting everyone see this little reunion is ideal! ]

Right? Hasn't it? It's been forever! [ hours, even. how on earth did Ai even survive? ] My bad for not calling ahead but- I mean, it's your last day in school, right? I wanted to surprise you for winter break!

[ That's the truth, at least. ]

75th ♫ | Shall I name this heart-rending pain "Snow Halation"?

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

actofrevenge

foolaround

dissimilar

bakingsoda

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject