she's fire and ice.
you'll fear the cold and crave the burn
WITH NATIONALS FINISHED, the volleyball season came to an end, and thus was their return to school. Mizuki started putting all her focus into her studies, taking a break from the volleyball team. The boys understood, and the other third years followed suit. This was their last year. They needed to work hard to get into their desired universities.
Today, however, was a break from studies for the whole school. Today was their school carnival.
The week before, Mizuki's class took the time during homeroom to plan out what they would be doing. She sat at the back, settled comfortably in her usual seat. Shockingly, instead of a book in her hand, Mizuki was scrolling through her phone, more accurately, her messages.
tetsuro kuroo
Do you know why dark is spelt with a k and not a c?
koutarou bokuto
Why??
tetsuro kuroo
Because you can't c in the dark
Mizuki rose her eyebrows at the notification that shortly followed the text.
[tetsuro kuroo has been removed from the groupchat]
mizuki
i think that may be a bit too much, kenma.
keiji akaashi
No.
It was the right decision.
koutarou bokuto
BAHSLSKJDNK KUBRO!
"Sayeko? What do you think?" asked one of the girls, pulling Mizuki's attention away from the device cradled in her hand, her new book, Crime and Punishment, sitting idly on the side of her desk.
Mizuki put her phone away. "Sorry?"
Her classmates stared at her incredulously. Instead of opting to read, the girl was looking at her phone— she was smiling at her phone! That alone shocked them. When had they, in their three years of knowing her, of studying beside her, seen her smile like that?
Never.
"The boys want to do a maid cafe," said Akane, one of the girls in her class, someone who had seen how Mizuki was nothing but human. She was not an Ice Queen, nor was she some celestial being. She was just she— Mizuki Sayeko. Nothing more, nothing less.
A hum escaped her lips, tapping her chin in a thoughtful manner. "I think that would be a good idea," she answered, the girls gasping in shock whilst the boys cheered, pumping their fists in the air. They knew that if Mizuki agreed on their theme, it was going to be the final one.
"S-Sayeko-san?!"
"However," she interrupted, calming down the hurricane of emotions each student was feeling. "I recommend doing a reverse cafe."
"A reverse cafe?" questioned Tsubaki, tilting his head. He was the opposite of Akane. Mizuki to him was a divine goddess; he worshipped the ground she walked upon, drooled over her appearance, yet he never took it further than that.
Divinity should never be tainted by the presence of mere mortals.
Some of the girls caught on, mischievous smiles spreading across their faces, hushed promises of later explanations to their friends leaving their lips. "Yes! Let's do it then!"
"Alright," said Hayato, the class president, "all in favour for a reverse maid cafe?"
Everyone rose their hands, especially the boys. They couldn't wait to see the girls, Mizuki primarily, in a maid outfit. She was absolute, dangerous, toxic— she was beautiful, but she was beautiful in the way a forest fire was beautiful.
"Who'll do the costumes?"
"I can do them," Mizuki said. "I'll just need everyone's measurements."
"Aw, Sayeko-san! You're so sweet."
She only smiled. And god, if that didn't do things to them.
Mizuki Sayeko was a labyrinth of mysteries, a maze of confusion. Her thoughts had been incorporated into knots and tangled with hidden meanings whispering into the pinna of one's ear like psithurism on autumn days. It was a game she never knew she played— never knew she dominated.
They stepped forward to play.
But no one ever won.
Well, at least, not to their knowledge.
For the next hour, Mizuki took the measurements of all her classmates, oblivious to the blushes spreading across their faces as her fingers delicately wrapped the tape around them, around their arms, chests, waists, hips, thighs, legs. One of the boys, Yoshiyuki, clamped down on his tongue harshly, using the pain as a distraction from the threatening rise of his little friend.
Given that they had the whole day off, the students in class 3-5 formulated a plan for their cafe, going over their menu for the day, the decorations they would use and the roles assigned to each student. Everyone had to work; no one was going to laze around, not when Mizuki was watching anyway.
The girls were more than happy to use Mizuki as an instigation, forcing the boys to comply and submit to their proposals. They were thankful for her being in their class. She always managed to reign in the rowdy boys, though, she also served as a massive distraction to those sexually preferring the female gender.
"Is that everyone?" asked Mizuki, brushing back her hair as she stood up from the floor, glancing at everyone, checking off their names in her mental list.
"Yup! Thank you again for doing this, Sayeko-san!"
"It's no problem."
Mizuki spent the next week or so on the costumes, making sure everything was perfect right down to the tiniest details. Hence, it was fair to say that she ended up cancelling on her soulmates. She had a duty to her classmates. The costumes needed to be done before the school festival, and that meant no dates. They only served as distractions to the lavenderette.
•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••
When the festival came, the cafe was all ready and set. Desks were pushed together, white cloths draped across them to serve as tables for their customers. The blackboard dawned the students' skilled art, the list of food written neatly across the board in coloured chalk, adding a vivid, profoundly hued ambience to the room.
"Here are the costumes," said Mizuki, bringing out the rack from behind the large white curtain in the corner of the room, an area they dubbed as the kitchen; they would proceed to make the customers orders there.
The boys drooled over the maid costumes, their imagination running wild, picturing the girls they favoured in the costumes. They, especially, couldn't wait to see Mizuki wearing one.
Their reverie, however, was cut short as the girls took the butler outfits with their names inscribed in blue along the collar.
"W-What are you doing?"
"What does it look like?" questioned Niko, another classmate of Mizuki's. "Taking our outfits."
"B-But those aren't yours. Those are," Souta said, pointing to the maid costumes, a look of horror washing over his face as the scene registered through his mind.
"Last I checked, your names are on them." Reina picked up the dress closest to her, showing the male name inscribed in pink along the collar.
"Sayeko! You tricked us!"
"I did no such thing," she said, grabbing her costume. "I recommend doing a reverse maid cafe, and you all agreed."
"Mhm," sounded the girls, devilish smirks spreading across their faces.
"Not her fault you didn't check for clarification."
A sullen mood fell over the boys, their backs hunched over and lips jutted outwards as they grabbed the costume with their names on it, sulking profusely. Had they known they'd have to dress up in maid costumes, they would have objected the idea the moment it came up.
Curse their stupid hormonal minds!
"Look on the bright side," Mizuki started, "no one else is doing this. We have a unique idea, one that breaks gender norms, one that shows that the boys don't care about appearances at all. If anything, this shows just how much more manlier you are to the rest."
They all perked up with that, and the girls sighed in relief. Mizuki knew precisely how to raise the spirits of their classmates. A few simple words and they were sold on the idea.
Hayato rose his fists. "Then we'll be the best reverse maid cafe out there!"
"Yes!"
•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••
"So this is Karasuno," mused Bokuto, glancing around the vibrant campus. "It's much more livelier than I thought."
His soulmates agreed with him, walking through the corridors in their casual outfits, having skipped school in favour of going to Mizuki's school festival. They passed by each year, saying hi to Hinata and the other first years. It was fair to say the orange-haired crow was ecstatic to see his favourite owl, loudly calling his name and dragging him into their classroom, showing off their collective works.
"We'll stop by again later, Shoyou," Kenma reassured, noticing his friend's dejectedness when they had to leave. "We're going to go see Mizuki now."
"O-Oh! Alright!"
With a smile and a large wave, Hinata watched as the seniors left, returning back to work when a classmate of his called his name.
"I'm guessing the third years are at the top of the school," said Kuroo as they walked up the stairs, mindful not to bump into any of the rapturous students running around. "It's a similar layout to our schools."
Akaashi nodded. "All schools in Japan are like this."
"Oh? What are you guys doing here?"
The group turned to the side, spotting the captain of Karasuno's boys volleyball team standing outside his classroom, dressed in a somewhat murky costume.
"Daichi!" Bokuto bounded over to the male, embracing him in a quick hug like always. "Sugoi! Your costume is amazing! Are you doing a haunted house?"
Daichi nodded, stepping away from the door as a person existed, seemingly unimpressed. Daichi couldn't blame them. What could they do in a classroom? This idea was better than their previous one, that was for sure.
"Do you know which one is Mizuki's class?" Kuroo asked the male, the four standing outside his classroom.
"Yes, her classro—"
"BOO!"
"HOLY SHIT!"
Bokuto jumped, a hand clutching the material over his chest, his heart racing, golden eyes enlarged as he turned to see a familiar silver-haired male cackling, his hands on his knees, stomach cramping.
"Your reaction!" Sugawara laughed, slapping his knee. "Down right hilarious!"
"That wasn't nice," said Daichi, though he struggled to hold back his own chuckles.
Bokuto's hair deflated, a whine escaping his lips. "Suga! That wasn't funny!"
"It kind of was."
He gasped, betrayal shining in his eyes as he saw his soulmates refusing to hold back their laughter, amusement glossing over their eyes.
"Is everything alright out here?" The group turned to the tall ace walking over, a concerned expression spread across his face. "I heard a scream."
"That was Bokuto," said Sugawara, still giggling.
Now, though, their amusement was no longer directed at the owl-like male. Instead, they stared at the costume Asahi was wearing: a long-sleeved white robe with the ends dragging across the floor, his hair cascading down his shoulders whilst his head donned a thorn crown.
"Nice fit," chuckled Kuroo.
"Are you meant to be Jesus?" Bokuto asked, eyeing the male curiously.
Asahi flushed under the stares, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Yeah."
"As I was saying," Daichi interrupted, gathering back the attention, "Sayeko's classroom is the last one. They're doing a maid cafe."
All four of their eyes lit up.
Their soulmate in a maid costume?
A dream come true!
With a quick goodbye, the four hurried off, and Sugawara snickered. "You think we should tell them it's a reverse maid cafe?"
"Nope."
Standing before the classroom at the end of the hall, their eyes widened when they looked inside, seeing the boys dressed in maid costumes and the girls dressed in butler outfits.
"It's a reverse maid cafe," mused Akaashi, reading the sign placed outside.
"Hi! Welcome to our classroom! Table for four?"
"Ah, no," said Kuroo, a polite smile curling at his lips. "We're just looking for someone. Is Mizuki here?"
"Sayeko-san?" the girl questioned, her brows furrowing forward in surprise.
They nodded.
"Y-Yeah. Let me go get her."
Niko walked back inside, heading to the end and pushing back the white curtain, glancing at Mizuki who was helping the others with the food. "Sayeko-san," she called, the lavenderette pausing in her activity to look over. "There are four guys outside looking for you."
That caught the attention of everyone, all of them turning to the said girl.
Mizuki nodded, rinsing her hands and wiping them dry on the towel. She exited the make-shift kitchen, lilac eyes scanning over the room until they landed on her soulmates.
They widened in surprise. "I didn't know you were coming."
Her look alone made Bokuto, Kuroo, Akaashi and Kenma all feel an adrenaline rush, as if they were high on her. They consumed her like a drug, inhaling and exhaling, feeling a warmth when she was around. Feeling like they were secure and safe.
Only she could do this; only she could make them feel whole.
Bokuto was the first to snap out of their ruminations, a dopey grin expanding across his lips. "We came to surprise you!"
"You look hot," said Kuroo, greedily taking in her form. She wore a pair of black fitted jeans, a matching coloured coat thrown neatly over a white tucked-in shirt, the twin-tails reaching just below her knee. Her lavender hair was let loose, flowing down her back with every twist and turn she made, her eyes donning black eyeliner, emphasising the lilac orbs stationed within.
The sky that is overly blue permeated into the depths of her eyes, an enormous breadth they wanted to soar through on their own.
"Would you like a table?" she asked, a gentle curl on her lips.
Kuroo winked. "Only if you'll be our butler."
"With absolute pleasure." Tucking back a strand of her hair, Mizuki moved to the side, motioning for the four to walk in. "Come on in."
Surveying the room, she found a space for her soulmates in the corner, pulling out the seat closest to her for Kenma, her smile widening as she spotted the red flush on his cheeks.
"What would you like?"
Akaashi looked up at their oldest soulmate, inhaling deeply to calm down the tsunami of emotions crashing through his insides. "What do you have?" he questioned, looking to the blackboard once she pointed to it.
"Well, since this is a classroom cafe, we're serving pre-made treats that a few of the girls and I prepared. There's chocolate cake, blueberry muffins; we've unfortunately run out of the fudge brownies and the apple pie."
Mizuki felt her heart contract in her chest, spotting the dejected look pass through Kenma's eyes.
"I'll make some for you later, Kenma," she said, smiling softly.
"Okay," he whispered, relaxing against the hand she placed on his shoulder, content with the warmth she exuded. "Can I have a coffee?"
"Black?"
He nodded.
"Alright." Mizuki jotted the order down, turning to her other soulmates. "Have you decided what you'd like?"
"I'll have a hot chocolate!" Bokuto exclaimed giddily. "Oh! And a slice of chocolate cake."
"Sure thing."
"I'll have a club sandwich and a bottle of water, please."
Mizuki hummed, scribbling along the paper. She looked at Akaashi, seeing him scan the board. "I can make some onigiri," she said, noticing how he perked up immediately.
"Really?" She nodded. "Then I'll have some of those."
"Coming right up–" Mizuki paused, mischief twinkling in her eyes as she bowed lowly, a hand to her chest–"masters."
And fuck, if that didn't do things to them.
Mizuki headed back to the kitchen, their eyes never leaving her form. Her walk was like a shot of whiskey: neat and strong and full of purpose. And so many underestimated her punch.
"Ne, Sayeko-san," called Akane as the lavenderette stepped behind the curtain. "How do you know them?"
Everyone saw the interaction between the third year and the four random males. She was playful and warm with them; they couldn't help their curiosity from spiking.
"Hm? Oh, they're my soulmates."
Everyone was shocked.
And so, by the end of the day, everyone knew and many managed to catch a glimpse of Mizuki Sayeko, the Ice Queen of Karasuno, and her soulmates. The beings they thought she despised with every ounce of her frozen soul.
"How was it?" she asked, walking out of the school in her uniform, the boys having waited for her to get changed once the bell rang, signalling the end of the day. "Did you like the festival?"
"Yes! There were so many cool rooms!"
After having food, the boys ventured off, popping into the rooms that spiked their interest. Mizuki joined them on her break, but that was only for twenty minutes.
"I'm glad you enjoyed your time."
"Yours was the best though," Bokuto added, looking towards their final piece. "Your costume was amazing! You looked absolutely gorgeous!"
A laugh bubbled out of her lips.
"Thank you, Koutarou."
Across the school ground, Yui Michimiya looked over. She shifted too fast and too far in the wrong direction.
She heard Mizuki laugh.
She saw her smile.
It was the kind of smile that transformed her into someone else entirely, the kind of smile that put stars in her eyes and a dazzle on her lips and Yui realised she had never seen Mizuki like that before. She had never even seen her teeth—so straight, so white, nothing less than perfect. A flawless, flawless exterior for a girl with a thawing frozen heart. It was hard to believe that this was the same Mizuki she fell in love. She looked so soft and vulnerable — so human. Her eyes were squinting from all her grinning, and her cheeks were pink from the cold.
She had dimples.
Mizuki Sayeko was easily the most beautiful thing Yui had ever seen.
And she wished she had never seen it.
Because something inside her heart was ripping apart, and it felt like fear, it tasted like panic and anxiety and desperation, and Yui didn't know how to understand the image in front of her. She didn't want to see Mizuki like this. She didn't want to think of Mizuki as anything other than the cold Ice Queen she could never have, the queen nobody could ever have.
This wasn't right.
She looked over the world, that scene — radiant trees balanced on earth, grasses wavering, the sky above...Yui stood there and felt her heart shatter.