Aikatsu Crescent!

「Phase 38」Winter's Ball

A/N: Wow authors note in the beginning rather than the end? This will be quick before you exit out but I didn't want to put one at the end for reasons. So I just wanted to say, thank you for reading in advance! Hope you enjoy~

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Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick...

Kotone nestled her chin between her knees, slowly listening to the clock, each second passing by.

Time... it was all meaningless, wasn't it?

No matter how much everyone else insisted... they were lying weren't they?

Kotone didn't understand what the feeling weighing down on her heart was.

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Mai gave a small, uncertain twirl.

"Are you sure this looks good?"

"Of course it does!" Tsubaki reassured her, taking yet another photo. "It's perfectly cute - just like you."

Mai blushed slightly, rearranging her ribbon once again. It was finally the night of the Winters Ball, an event that students had been waiting ever since the unit cup had come to a close. Not long after this, the Celestial Trial would start, then it'd be the end of the year... time had flown by.

Mai and Tsubaki were dressing up in the outfits they had brought. Thankfully, then taking so long after getting lost didn't impact their selection of outfits. Mai was wearing a somewhat short, yet puffy, pink and white dress, with white ribbons decorating it. She had small white heels, along with her iconic hair ribbon.

Tsubaki, on the other hand, wore a more simple purple dress, which was nearly tight-fitting. It had a golden trim, and she had a golden butterfly accessory in her hair. Her hair was in a side bun, rather than her usual ponytail, and she was wearing purple heels.

"Maybe this looks dumb in comparison to yours."

"It doesn't," Tsubaki insisted, "It fits you well."

"If you say so..." Mai pushed a strand of hair back, "We should go down."

Tsubaki quickly checked the time. "You're right," she agreed. Then, outstretched her hand, prompting Mai to take it. The latter did, and the two walked down to the main hall, hand in hand.

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The main hall looked completely different compared to how either had ever seen it before. It was much more decorated than usual, with flowers aligning the wall and fairy lights strung along. The main lights were dimmed slightly, creating a magical feeling. All sorts of idols were gathered together, discussing and laughing.

"This is amazing..." Mai whispered, and Tsubaki nodded.

"Oi, you two!"

Approaching them was Hinata, who was waving. Having opted for a more casual appearance, Hinata wore a green dress with a yellow ribbon around her dress, along with green trainers. Although keeping her usual headband, she reluctantly wore her hair down; it was wavy, reaching just past the shoulders.

"Hina-chan!"

"Thank Kizuna you two came when you did, Suzume was in the middle of a rant about how inappropriate my shoes are for this event," she pulled a face, "I'm glad I had an excuse to escape."

"That sounds annoying," Tsubaki agreed. She paused. "How about Kotone? Has she came yet?"

Hinata shook her head. "Not that I've seen... outside of class, I've not really seen her at all. Not since that shopping trip at least... I think we annoyed her."