"Hmmmm", Lumine slumped over the coffee table with a drawled sigh.
Yae looked up from the book she was reading with her brow raised, "that's a long one. Do you have something in your mind, Lumine?"
Ayaka patted her friend's head gently, "she's a little overwhelmed by the university costs."
The three of them were hanging out in the Kamisato siblings' living room.
Lumine scribbled on her note with a groan, "the two housemates we were supposed to share the place canceled. They will stay with their boyfriends or something."
Yae put down her book to give her full attention, "you are staying at a rented house? Not a dorm?"
"Dorms don't let us twins stay together because of some dumb rules. So, we rented a house near the campus. It has 6 bedrooms so the price is high", the blonde sat up, "currently, we have Xiao and Venti with us. But, the rent is too expensive for 4 people. Aether said he'll look for housemates in his major so if he can find them, it will be settled from next month."
She tapped her pen among the paper, "still we spent a bit more than our budget this month. I'll need to find a quick way to get some money."
Yae propped her face on palm, "how about part-time?"
Ayaka shook her head with a frown, "we already tried several offers. They said they won't pay until the end of the month. And, she'll need some extra money before next week."
Yae snapped her finger, remembering something, "oh! You are fresher, right? We have all kinds of events for you all. It's an annual event here to ensure freshers enjoy their start."
The two freshers sat up straighter at her words, curiosity shone in their eyes. She grabbed her phone with a light blue case and tapped on the screen quickly.
Turning the screen toward them, she explained, "these events are held by the school officials and clubs so you can bet winning one can cover your expense for at least a month. Look up which game will suit you."
Ayaka read from the screen, "singing contest, dancing contest, robot invention, make-up contest- oh- beauty pageant!"
Lumine shook her head aggressively at her friend's sudden change in tone, "no way, Ayaya! I'm not doing that stuff again!"
Ayaka playfully smiled back, "why not? You did well the last time."
"That was when we were in elementary school!", she argued.
Yae's curiosity peeked at this, "you were in a beauty pageant before?"
Lumine grimaced from memories, "just a few times, let's just say that my mom loved to dress me up. A lot."
Ayaka opened her phone, showing her old photos to Yae.
"Ayaya! I thought I had already deleted those??", her golden eyes widened in disbelief.
The light blue-haired girl giggled, "I had them saved in DRIVE."
Lumine gasped loudly at her betrayal, "you tricked me?"
Before she could do anything, smirking Yae grabbed her right arm, "Ayaka, you have makeup in your room, right?"
Lumine shivered at her tone, "no-"
Smiling Ayaka also held on her other arm, "of course, Yae-senpai."
"No, no, Ayaya! Please no! Yae-senpai, I don't-", no matter how much she struggled, the two grinning ladies dragged her into the room.
~
"I'm back-", when Ayato entered the apartment, he could hear giggles and complaints from his sister's room.
"Come on, just one more."
"No thanks, senpai! I had enough of layers."
"Then how about I-"
"Ayaya! You're NOT shaving my eyebrows!"
He couldn't help but chuckle at their sounds, "Uh Oh, my girlfriend and sister found a new way to get along", and moved to the kitchen to put down grocery bags.
Thoma smiled toward the direction of the room, "sounds like today is Lumine's unlucky day."
Kaeya commented at his junior's wording, "nah, it's their sisters bonding time."
Itto added without much thought, "you and Diluc could use some bonding time too", earning him a slap on the back from the tanned man.
Ajax just glared at the door when he heard a sharp shrill from Lumine, "that noisy pipsqueak."
The guys were just chilling in the dining room for a few minutes before they heard some shuffling and stomping.
"She is escaping, senpai!"
"Don't let her get away. We haven't finished her dress!"
The door was opened with a jolt and Lumine ran out of the room. Clearly, her makeup was still in progress, smeared lipstick, eyeliner was drawn too long, colorful eyeshadow, gold-silver glitter on her cheeks. The long dark green mermaid dress was worn over her T-shirt and pants. They could tell that she was practically forced to wear it.
She tried the bathroom door first but unfortunately for her, Itto was occupying the bathroom. She silently cursed to herself before running into the dining room, "Ayato-senpai! Thoma, SOS!"
On the path of running toward her most trusted men in the room, she slipped on her long dress and lost her footing. Ajax, who was the nearest, stood up from his seat to catch her by instinct.
But, today wasn't his lucky day either because instead of just falling into his arms like a normal person would, she slammed her elbow into his chest to regain stability on her body.
"Oof!"
Ajax could feel his soul almost leave his body from the impact. Kaeya winced at his pain and patted his back. While he was holding his chest in pain, Lumine ran past him and hid behind standing Ayato, "senpai, help!"
Yae entered the room with a smirk, still holding makeup in hand, "come on, Lumine dear. We still need to find out which shape suit you the most."
Lumine argued back with a scowl, "you said you will do only one! We had been over 10 different colors."
The pink-haired lady only smirked deeper, "because you look cute in every color. Come on, just one more."
She stuck out her tongue in response, "you said that 7 colors ago too!", and started running when Yae tried to catch her from the side.
Ayato hugged his girlfriend's waist with one arm and pulled her into his chest, "now, haven't you had enough fun for today?"
Yae looked up with a pout, "I have, but I still want to try a few more."
He leaned down to kiss her forehead, "I think leaving you for 2 hours is more than enough so why don't you give your boyfriend some attention? I got your favorite, fried tofu."
She smiled genuinely at this, "smart man. Deal, you got me."
Seeing that Yae was no longer interested in chasing, Lumine pumped fists to herself. When she saw Ayaka at the entrance of the dining room, she ran behind Thoma, "I'm not afraid to use your weakness, Ayaya."
The light blue-haired girl just rolled eyes at her friend's empty threat and walked forward with a makeup remover, "you should at least wait for me to remove makeup. You look like a mess."
Kaeya put down his drink and asked, "so, what's the occasion for this makeover? Over a week we have known each other, you didn't seem to care about it."
Thoma thoughtfully added, "the last time you got all dressed up was for that science boy", and moved to the side, letting Ayaka help Lumine with makeup.
Lumine visibly grimaced at the memory, "please don't remind me. High school me was dumb."
Ayaka teasingly asked, "even though it happened just a year ago?"
"Exactly! I had character development during this time frame", Lumine closed her eyes when her friend removed eyeliner.
"Except brain development, I see", Ajax, who had just recovered from the pain, murmured.
"You're still alive? Not bad, as expected from a power forward, handpicked by Ayato-senpai", she retorted monotonously.
He felt a vein pop on forehead, "you did it deliberately, didn't you?!"
When she only returned a wide smile, he was about to get up from his seat, "you little-", but Thoma pushed him back down to the chair and changed the topic, "is this about the fresher beauty pageant?"
"Oh! How did you guess?", Yae asked while chewing on the tofu piece Ayato fed her.
"Actually, she had already briefly mentioned her problem with expenses before. And combine that with today's outfit. It's not hard to guess", Thoma answered while handing a piece of tissue to Ayaka when he noticed her trying to find one.
"Her? In a beauty pageant?! Oh please, even finding a needle in a haystack has higher chances", Ajax snorted with judging eyes.
"As if I would count your opinions", Lumine replied promptly.
He smirked at this, "you didn't know? Our Beauty pageant contest is 50% a voting system. So, let me tell you something as one of the people who has the right to judge you. Don't bother."
Then, he leaned forward with elbows on the table, his tone laced with nothing but blunt insult, "you aren't even pretty in dresses."
Normally Lumine wouldn't even bother herself with other people's comments but something about his smirking demeanor irked her so much that she firmly accepted his challenge. Bending herself on the table, she slammed her palms in front of his. It would have been her win if he did flinch or blink, but he didn't react at all.
The two's matching heated eyes met each other head-on. His deep azure eyes with mocking smugness, her amber eyes with burning annoyance.
"I will make you eat those words", her voice was equally chilly.
His smirk grew wider in amusement, "Hmm~ I can't wait for it then."
With one last glare, she backed away from him and walked away, nearly bumping into Itto, who had just entered the room. Thoma and Ayaka shared a worrying look between their friends before she followed her friend to help her out of the long dress. Kaeya whistled when the door was slammed shut. Ayato and Yae silently enjoyed their snack with their eyes showing interest.
Itto looked at each of his friends and asked quietly, "it wasn't her ice cream that I ate, right?"
~
Ajax ran out of his class as soon as the bell rang, not caring about the old professor's yells.
"Thoma!", he called out for his friend who was looking down at his phone.
The blonde put away his phone and sighed, "about time."
Ajax put his arm around the other's shoulder and speed walked toward a certain gym, "sorry, sorry, I forgot that I had this class."
Thoma frowned at his friend, "then, why are you insisting on going to this contest? You're never interested in it anyway."
He shook his head with a smirk, "not this year, I had to see with my own eyes that she lost."
Raising an eyebrow, Thoma asked, "she? Who are you-"
"Come on, we're here!", Ajax let go of his friend and entered the gym.
The gym was decorated with lights, flowers and silky sheets for the fresher beauty pageant. In the middle of the room, there were several young ladies on the brightly lit stage. Judging from the way the crowd was noisy, they just made it in time for voting.
"Yo! You two are here? They are already done with stage walking!", Itto yelled from the other side of the crowd, earning a few glares.
The two pushed through the crowd and reached his side, "Itto-senpai, you are here? You like this stuff?"
Kaeya chuckled at Ajax's question, "you expect too highly of this meat chump. Apparently, he's here because Sara invited him here. And, he dragged me here."
He nudged to the stage with his chin, "she's up there as one of the school committees now so we're waiting for her."
On the stage, the presenter Sara was wearing a neat violet long dress and her hair was obviously styled by the hands of a professional. She looked more sophisticated than usual and yet softer at the same time.
The tall white-haired man howled his laughter, "I know she can't stand still after losing to me last week. I bet she called me out for this. If she thinks I cheated, Kaeya can be our judge for the next match."
Thoma sweat dropped, "I don't think she'll call you out on such a day for just a match."
Itto tilted head to the side confusingly, "what else would she call me?"
Kaeya shook his head, "don't even bother, Thoma. That level is still too far for his brain. The question is what are you two doing here? Looking for a girlfriend?"
His sole eye landed on Thoma subtly, "haven't you already had someone special?"
The junior looked away from his know-it-all gaze with blush and cleared his throat. Ajax glanced at his friend for a moment before facing forward again, "I'm here for that little troublemaker. I want to see her loser face."
Kaeya frowned thoughtfully, "her? ... You have another fresher that you don't get along with?"
Itto also added, "yeah, that's very odd of you, Ajax. You get along with almost everyone."
Before he could answer, Sara announced into the mic, "the voting will be closed soon. So, if you haven't participated in this, please open our school App on your devices and place your votes within the next 3 minutes. This is your final notice, we will not be counting votes after the time's up."
"Oh, shit!", he cursed to himself and pulled out his phone.
Then, he nudged Thoma with elbow and murmured, "don't vote for the blonde."
His friend was left confused but opened the app to vote nonetheless. Entering the fresher beauty pageant page, he scrolled down the young ladies' profiles and photos. He skipped the blonde ones like Ajax said. His finger stopped briefly at the one girl named Ami who has the whitish-blue hair.
Except for her hair and height, she was nothing like Ayaka. After years of silently glimpsing at her from afar, he noticed that Ayaka doesn't like to wear this shape of purple. He knew that Ayaka likes ribbons more than glittering hairpieces as this girl does. He learned that Ayaka would wear her silky long hair in a ponytail when she needs to feel confident for exams or events like these. A smile appeared on his face when he realized how much he was conscious of her. That didn't go unnoticed by Kaeya's watchful eye. Even though Ami wasn't her, she still reminded him of Ayaka so he placed his vote for her.
Only then, the senior speaks up, "Hmmm~ So, she is your type, Thoma?"
Thoma blushed when he saw Kaeya's smirk. Putting his phone away, he turned to Ajax, "hey, I'm done. I didn't vote any blonde like you said."
Ajax grinned widely at this, "thank you! I knew I could count on you."
Itto turned his eyes from the stage to the other junior, "who did you vote for?"
Ajax shrugged causally, "a brunette girl named Cara."
Girls beside him gasped at his answer and giggled between them, while sneaking looks at him.
Kaeya remarked with a short chuckle, "oh good, her friends heard you. Maybe you can expect her visit soon."
Ajax grimaced to himself silently. Both Ayato and the coach didn't like it whenever girls came during their training. He would get another earful scolding if she really visits him.
After several minutes passed, Sara walked up to the middle of the stage with closed envelopes in her hands. Speaking into the mic, her tone was as firm as ever, "thank you for your patience, everyone. We have results from both judges and voting. I would like to announce these three beautiful ladies now."
The crowd fell silent and gave their attention to the announcement. Sara looked over to the crowd for a minute. A small confused frown appeared on her face when she saw her name displayed in LED on Itto's phone. The man in question gave her a wide grin with a big thumbs up as if she was the one in the contest. Blinking rapidly, she fought back the incoming blush and looked down at the envelopes. Kaeya and Ajax, the ones who encouraged Itto, covered their mouths to suppress their laughter. Even Thoma smiled a little when he saw Sara's reaction to Itto's action. Yep, she definitely didn't invite him out today for a re-match.
After regaining her composure, she spoke up, "the second runner-up for this year is- Ami from Biology!"
The girl smiled shyly at the announcement and stood in front of the others. Kaeya intentionally commented loudly at this, "oh, what do you know? Looks like the girl you voted won, too!"
Poor Thoma could only blush when gossiping girls heard this and giggled again.
Sara continued again, "the first runner-up is Momo of computer science!"
The second girl waved kisses to the crowd before standing beside Ami.
Sara looked at the crowd, "and now, the winner of this year's fresher beauty pageant is-"
She waited for the drumrolls, "Cara of Accounting!"
The brunette took her time walking and posing on the stage. Clapping overwhelmed the gym with cheers. Different shapes of confetti were dropped onto the stage. "Congratulations ladies!"
Ajax cheered loudly at the winners, making girls giggle again. Thoma and Kaeya shared a look before asking, "what makes you so happy for this? It's not like they know any of them."
With a smirk, he answered, "what else? That pipsqueak lost. Damn, I can't wait to her loser face. Where's she at? Do you see her anywhere?"
Itto scratched his head, "what are you talking about? Lumine isn't here."
"... What?", his hands stopped clapping.
His head snapped back to the stage, trying to find a certain troublemaker. He tried from right to left, but didn't find anyone resembling her.
"Isn't she supposed to-", he cut himself and turned back to his friends, "where is she then?"
~
"Of all the events for girls, she had to choose this", he mumbled as he stepped into a different gym. This one was well-lit for both audience and participants. The middle area was full of different obstacles such as rails, blocks, stairs, etc. The game was already in motion when he arrived. Judging by the matchups on the board, it is almost over. People cheered loudly at two running participants.
Thoma seemed to find Ayato, Yae and Ayaka as he waved at them. And, he could see that one blonde mess among the participants. He's 100% sure that was her because as soon as her amber eyes landed on him, her smile immediately transformed into a scowl. She was with Aether, Xiao, Venti and two more guys he didn't know. One has white hair with a single red streak on his right, another has dark reddish-purplish hair. Rolling his eyes, he looked up at the banner that says 'Chase Tag' and mumbled, "how did she reach this far in this game?"
Then, he read the team's name written behind her, "5wirl & 1 Avis", and snickered to himself, "Avis as in bird? they got that right though she can be a tiny swallow bird with that height of hers."
Ayaka greeted them with a smile, "Hi, I thought you said you couldn't make it?"
Thoma replied with an equally sweet smile, "yeah, Ajax was done with his business."
She clapped her hands excitedly, "I'm glad you make it. The team is about to run their finals soon", but added with a worried expression, "I'm sorry if you aren't interested in this game. Did Thoma make you come here?"
He stopped his glaring contest with Lumine and faced the pretty girl with his usual playful wink, "no, it's my heart that made me walk toward you."
Ayaka only blinked cluelessly at his cheesy line. Ayato and Yae wore similar teasing smirks when his line failed. Thoma pushed him away, not so gently and took a place beside her.
Embarrassed that his line didn't work, his eyes returned to Lumine, who was already awaiting him with a heh face. She obviously saw his failed flirting attempt. He could only wish that she loses the match so that he could do the same expression to her.
After a while, the judge called for her. Aether gave her a pat on the back and the others spoke to her briefly. She smiled back at them and walked onto her chaser platform. Ajax scanned her opponent, a young man who seemed much taller and faster. He chuckled to himself, thinking that she will lose.
'She probably reached this far because of her team. Her luck has already run out.'
But her expression told him the otherwise. Her eyes were already calculating routes and her rival's footing.
As soon as the beep sound alarmed, Lumine dashed toward her opponent. The time started counting to 20 seconds. She faked left and chased him from the right. He climbed the rails, probably thinking her height would slow her down. Except that, she was also an athlete so the obstacle was just a mere decoration for her. When he took sweet time jumping over another obstacle, she dived under it and closed the distance to tag him. The green light flashed and announced her victory. The timer showed just 15 seconds.
Ajax blinked once and twice. '... What was that?'
Yae nudged at him with narrowed eyes, "you seriously didn't think she got here because of the team, right?"
Ajax flinched slightly, "of course not! I'm not sexist."
Ayato added from the side, "he's more of anti-Lumine", and his light purple eyes landed on the younger man, "I know you don't get along with her but take this chance to see her as a fellow athlete. Who knows, you might learn some new techniques."
Ajax nodded his head thoughtfully at his captain's words.
'As a fellow athlete ... An equal.'
His deep azure eyes reached her again. She was giving high-fives with her teammates, Aether hugged her shoulder with a grin. Ayato smiled to himself when he noticed a certain gaze in Ajax's eyes. The calm gaze with utmost focus, that he used to study his opponents on the court. He was no longer judging her, more observing her skills.
In the next round, she was an evader. Before the chaser reached her, she got on one high block. When her opponent tried to catch her leg, she escaped with a flip. Next, she faked climbing on the rails before jumping off halfway, leaving the opponent stuck. Her smaller body gave her an advantage while maneuvering between the obstacles. His eyes followed her every movement and choice. He noticed her strong muscles in her arms and legs for the first time. The way she lifted herself onto the rails and how she twirled on her legs to avoid a chaser were flawless. She truly looked like a brave swallow bird flying high in the sky.
The red light flashed when the chaser failed to catch her within 20 seconds. He didn't know he was holding a breath until that moment. She shared a friendly handshake before joining her team again. He watched as her team took the first place and posed for the camera. Six of them wore similar grins to their victory, reminding him of wins with his own basketball team.
Ayaka welcomed her back with a hug and squealing. Yae teased her a bit but she was obviously proud of her too. When Ayato and Thoma talked with Aether and the rest, she turned to him with a smirk to boast about her success. But, her smirk turned into confusion when she saw him smiling sincerely at her, "I see you aren't lying about your athlete skills."
She snorted unladylike, "why would I need to lie to you anyway?"
He crossed his arms on chest, "what happened to make me eat my words for saying that you aren't pretty in dresses?"
She shrugged aloofly, "oh, that? You are so insignificant to me that I've already forgotten about it."
He laughed at her blunt hate toward him. But, if only he could read minds, he would know that she hadn't forgotten about it after all. What kind of girl could forget such an insult anyway?
When he extended his hand toward her, she blinked bafflingly like he did earlier.
"I'm still not going to take that back yet. This is just a congratulatory handshake for your win today."
Her eyes traveled between his hand and face several times before she placed her hand in his hesitantly, "thanks, I guess? I will take it."
It was a peaceful handshake for a few seconds ... before both of them tried to crush another's hand with tight grips.
"What's wrong, pipsqueak? Should I go easy on you if you're SO tired from the game?"
"Don't worry, gingerbread. I still have energy left just for you."
~