"So fucking unbelievable..."
—~—
Third Person POV
"You cheated."
"(Y/n)—"
"How could you do this to me, Haitani?"
"Listen—"
"You lied, you jerk...!"
"(Y/n)," Rindo repeated— his violet eyes boring into her with a serious, emotionless facade, "One king."
And with that, the younger Haitani threw down his last card face-down onto the pile. Smirking at his victory, Rindo laid back with crossed arms as (y/n) released a sound of irritation.
"There's no fucking way," the (h/c)-nette grumbled in annoyance.
"Then call it," he replied with absolute confidence.
Quickly, she turned to the other male sitting across from her, "Taichi, you do it."
"E-Eh?!" The raven-haired boy exclaimed, "No, I think he's telling the truth, (y/n)-san."
"Fine! I call bullshit," she declared and reached over to the abomination of strewn about cards, "You were on your last card anyways, so there's no way you could've—"
She paused and Rindo grinned at her silence, "Well? What was it?"
"..."
"Was it a king?"
"..."
"It was a king, wasn't it?" He jibed and (y/n) narrowed her eyes at the face of the card that seems to be mocking her as well, "Take the whole deck."
"Ugh, screw you and your damn poker face," she griped and started to organize the deck in order. Give her a couple of minutes, this was going to take awhile, "You did lie on your other turn! That's not a 10, you put down four 3's!"
"I'm surprised nobody called bullshit on that," the blonde boy shrugged, "I just wanted to make the game more interesting but nobody called me out on it. Who's stupid enough to lie about four of a kind?"
"(Y/n)-san is," Taichi unhesitatingly responded and said female gasped in offense.
"You can't do that to me!" The (y/h) girl exclaimed, "Also, why haven't you been calling out his bluffs, huh? It's not fair that I'm the only one calling him out and losing every time because you're too scared to do it."
"No, no, no, we just have an alliance," Rindo interjected and (y/n) immediately narrowed her eyes at him, "Right, Taichi?"
The poor first-year nervously chuckled— ready to throw his last card away before he receives either one's fury, "A-Anyways, do you want to end the game—?"
"Not after what you said!" (y/n) answered, her voice seeping with incredulousness, "I hope you're ready, Taichi, because I have the whole deck in my hand and I'm about to fucking obliterate you."
"Alright..." he trailed off, "One ace."
"Bullshit!"
"Check..." he warily responded. Oh god, the blank look on her face tells him that the storm is coming.
"The hell— How are you both so lucky?" She cried as she placed last in their game.
Out of irrational anger and spite, the (h/c)-nette slammed her hand— more like the whole deck— onto the table. Then, she smacked her forehead onto the pile and weeped at her fifth loss of the day.
"Sorry, (y/n)-san," Taichi said.
"Sucks to suck," Rindo jeered and tried to pat her shoulder, to which she swatted his hand.
It was their lunch break and (y/n) suggested to play cards with Rindo after he brought the deck to play with his friends later that day. Bringing along a reluctant desk mate, aka Taichi, the three played multiple rounds of Goldfish, 21, Speed, Spoons, and their latest game, Canadian Poker. She was just lucky that they didn't make any bets because yikes.
So here they are, an unlikely trio as two of them tried to comfort the losing one. Rindo was casually talking to Taichi while patting (y/n)'s back as Taichi gave words of encouragement for the next time they played.
"(L/n)-san, an upperclassman is looking for you," a classmate announced and the three peered over to the door in confusion.
"O...kay?" the (h/c)-haired girl sounded in a perplexed manner. She turned to the two males and they just shrugged in return.
Getting up from her seat, (y/n) walked over to the doorway to be met with the sewing club's president and she widened her (e/c) eyes in surprise. She closed the sliding door behind her and the older female chuckled at the younger girl's puzzled face.
"Prez? What are you doing here?" (Y/n) asked, "Is something the matter?"
"(L/n)-san, I have amazing news for you!" The third-year exclaimed as that only peaked the first-year's interest, "I was going to tell you during club but I couldn't wait."
"What is it?"
"Bunka Fashion College is hosting a teen fashion show in December," she said, "And I personally recommended you as a candidate to join for this year's batch."
"Wait... Prez," the (y/h) female's breath hitched in her throat as her eyes widened considerably— 'shock' couldn't even begin to describe what she was feeling at that point, "Bunka is the best fashion school in Japan... How...?"
"I joined their competition when I was a first-year myself," she explained, "I have a full-ride scholarship and that's where I'm gonna go after I graduate. Which, I forgot to mention, the winner gets their tuition paid for, so I thought this would be a great opportunity for you!"
"Prez... I'm so grateful but," (y/n) bit her lip in contemplation, "What about the other members? I don't want to take this away from them when they're more qualified."
"I actually held them back during morning club to talk about it. We all agreed that you were the most qualified out of all of us," the older female smiled and the younger one had to hold back her teary expression, "You're so passionate about design that you spend most of your day in that club room. Heck, you're reaching my level of craziness when I was your age."
"You sound like an old lady, Prez," (y/n) snickered.
"Hey, I'm being serious," she returned the gesture with a small chuckle, "Let me know if you're interested so I can help you apply. I would love to see you as my underclassman again."
"O-Of course!" The (h/c)-nette stammered— on the verge of tears that her dreams were coming true, "Thank you so much, Prez!"
"Always," she grinned, "I'll tell you more after school. Bye now, (l/n)-san!"
The third-year student left and (y/n) stood in front of her classroom's door in a daze. It was only when one of her classmates needed to get through that she snapped back into reality. Stumbling into the room like she had too much to drink, Rindo and Taichi were both curious and concerned about the girl's well-being.
"Stop smiling like that, you look creepy," Rindo said to poke fun at her but the wide smile on her face never faltered, "Okay, I didn't receive a rude response so something good must've happened. What's up?"
"I..." (y/n) started and the two looked expectantly for her to continue, "I'm invited to Bunka's fashion competition!"
"Is that... good?" The blonde boy rose a brow.
"Bunka is the best fashion school in all of Japan! Junya Watanabe, Jun Takahashi, and Kenzo Takahada went there," she ranted as there were practically stars in her eyes. Rindo smiled at his girlfriend's excitement, "Prez made a recommendation for me to enter, and she said that the winner gets a scholarship to the school."
"Woah, that's amazing, (y/n)-san!" Taichi commented and she rapidly nodded her head in agreement.
"Congrats, I'm proud of you," Rindo's gaze softened whilst he ruffled the (h/c)-nette's hair, "Let's grab ice cream after your school ends. Knowing you, you're going to forget my existence so might as well celebrate."
(Y/n)'s grin never went away and her cheeks began to hurt, 'I'm getting closer to my goal.'
|—~•~—|
(Y/n) never wished for school to end faster. As soon as the last bell rang, she was already up and out of her seat and ready to bolt out of there. It was only when Rindo caught the back of her collar that she skidded to a stop. An impatient pout painted her face whilst the violet-eyed male shook his head with a chuckle and kissed her forehead.
"Ran and I have somewhere to go right now, but I'll stop by your house afterwards so we can hang out," he explained and she nodded her head in understanding, "Text me when you get home and I'll see you later."
"Will do. Bye Rindo, love youuu!" The (y/h) girl exclaimed— her voice fading as she ran down the corridor— and he blinked in surprise.
Rindo shook his head and headed out to find his brother, 'She's cute... I don't think she meant to say that out loud.'
Meanwhile, (y/n) crossed to the other side of school in record time after dodging and weaving through the crowd of students heading home or to their extracurricular activities. Bursting through the door, she was greeted by the third-years who snapped their heads in concern.
"I see you told her already, Prez," the club secretary smiled.
"She may have gotten here first if the first-year classrooms weren't so far away," the treasurer spoke with a knowing grin.
The president of the home ec club chuckled, "(L/n)-san, how fast do you think you're able to create ten outfits in a month?"
And the four third-years explained everything— the day of the event, the process, tips and suggestions— everything. They even offered to help during their spare time if the younger female wanted it. (Y/n) learned that the event will be held on December 20th but before that, there will be a small event where professors can evaluate portfolios if interested in applying to the college.
"Wait, I just realized this," (y/n) spoke up and the group listened intently, "You said it's a competition? How exactly is that going to work out?"
"It's a runway," the vice president explained, "I think one of the modeling classes made it mandatory for the students to be the models, so you don't have to worry looking for people. It'll be a quick ten minute presentation and the headmaster and a few professors will judge it."
"My work is going to to be on display? And modeled?" (Y/n)'s eyes lit up enthusiastically. She never really had people wear the clothes she personally made other than Rindo and Maya.
"The show is also open to the public so maybe you can catch other designers' interest and make connections," the secretary added.
"Huahhh, I'm so excited," the (h/c)-haired girl murmured dreamily.
"I know you want to get started as soon as possible, but we want you to take it all in and rest for the day," the club president smiled warmly at her, "Besides, we just finished the school festival so I think we all need a break. That said, club is dismissed! See you tomorrow!"
The sewing club members departed and congratulated their youngest member for the newfound opportunity. Thanking everyone for the encouragement, (y/n) basically ran home to tell her parents and to plan everything before Rindo gets there.
She still couldn't believe it. The whole day seemed like a dream she never wanted to wake up from. All her time drawing, sewing, and the like, where she essentially gave up her whole childhood for... it was all going to be worth it, in the end.
Exiting the train station, (y/n) made her ten minute walk into five and she hastily barged her way to the front door— scaring the absolute crap out of her parents.
(Y/n)'s mom dropped the frying pan she was using to cook and sighed in relief seeing as it was just her daughter, "Well, don't you seem energetic."
"Did something happen in school?" (Y/n)'s father questioned after placing a hand on his chest where his heart would be.
"Mhm! I have great news," the eldest daughter of the (l/n) family exclaimed and her mother sat down at the dining room table with her husband, "I'm going to participate in Bunka's fashion competition! I think I told you this before, but that's my dream school so I think this would be great experience for me. And if I get first place, they offer full-ride scholarships so I won't have to worry about how to pay for it either. And—"
"(Y/n), that's sounds great but..." her mother interjected and warily shared a worried glance with (y/n)'s father, "Are you sure you want to pursue fashion? I thought that was just your childhood dream. Don't you want to be a doctor or a lawyer or something?"
"Huh?" The (y/h) girl blinked. Suddenly, her kaleidoscope of fantasies vanished and she peered clearly into the lens of reality seeping in, "I... always wanted to be a fashion designer. That's never going to change."
"But that career path is not certain, no?" Her father said, "We want you to be financially stable, (y/n). Maybe pursue fashion as an aside and work towards something more practical."
"But this is such a rare opportunity!" She emphasized, her speech increasing by pace and the anxious feeling she would get when talking about her aspiration reappeared involuntarily.
"I'm not saying you shouldn't go to the event because I think it would be fun for you to hang out with your friends," her mother tried to reassure her daughter but only received an upset frown, "But this hobby of yours is not guaranteed."
"This 'hobby' is not something I do just for fun," (y/n) uttered in a serious manner and crossed her arms, "I worked hours in club for the school festival that I had people pay me for personal commissions. I visited Shibuya Fashion School so I could improve my art and grow as a designer. I even won that local fashion contest in middle school!"
The young girl threw her hands to her head in frustration. Just what were they not getting?
"Don't take this the wrong way, but we just want to secure your future," her father furrowed his eyebrows worriedly, "We don't want you to regret your decision."
Something in (y/n) snapped. The wall she built came crumbling down and all the suppressed feeling came rushing.
"That's... That's so unfair!" She screamed in painstaking misery.
"(Y/n) (l/n)—!"
"You gave Maya everything— everything— she's ever wanted," (y/n) cried in frustration, "Even if she didn't want to pursue music, you would still support her choices because she just has a knack for certain things but as soon as I start to show interest in something, I don't have that same support. Why? Is it because I'm not naturally gifted? That if I don't succeed, then what was the point in trying? How would you know if I haven't even tried in the first place?!"
"(Y/n) it's not like that—"
"You say it isn't but we moved to an entirely different city just to support Maya," the (h/c)-haired girl yelled, "You didn't even consider my feelings. How I had to cancel plans to attend Maya's recitals. How I had to drop off and pick up Maya for extra classes and music practice instead of my own extracurricular. How I had to move to a different city and start a new school life, more so that my sister can be recognized in big music schools than either of our education."
At this point, her parents were quiet. It may be that they're listening to their daughter for the first time. It may be that they realized how much everything had affected her.
It may be that they finally saw their selfish intents with the way they raised their two daughters.
"I didn't expect for you to do the same. Finding fashion schools with me, attending my middle school designer contest, or even acknowledging my hobby. In fact, I don't even expect you to say 'go for it'..." the (h/c)-nette casted her gaze to the floor and forced a bittersweet smile, "I just wished I wasn't the one that had to sacrifice everything without being given the chance to prove myself. You didn't try."
'You didn't try,' she repeated in her head and that's what caused her to freeze up as if her throat was closing on her. Tears crept up to her vision and she trembled so intensely that she clenched her fists to try and stop herself. If anything, all it did was puncture her skin and she bled all over her palm.
How fucked up was that? That all her suppressed emotions since she was seven were explained in a mere three words. The inferiority she felt towards her younger sibling and the need to redeem her 'giftedness' she once had before. Or at least, that's what her parents would say, but that all vanished as soon as they saw real talent.
"If you don't support my decision, don't... don't say anything at all," she cried pathetically like a little child not being heard. Oh, how she wished her voice would reach them, and yet, it probably never would, "After all, I'm no longer a gifted child... 'I'm just a hard worker'."
That felt like a punch to the gut— both to her and her parents. Those words of affirmation she heard time and time again felt the opposite of its connotation. Hearing it back to them, (y/n)'s parents finally understood why their daughter never liked that phrase even though it was meant as a compliment.
The young girl scrunched up her face and closed her eyes. She could no longer handle it anymore and needed some fresh air. So, with a hasty spin on her heels, (y/n) rushed out the front door and slammed it shut— leaving everyone involved in a negative mood.
'I hate this...' she thought. She focused her gaze downwards to avoid any contact with people whilst her feet hurriedly plodded down the apartment's staircase, 'I hate this, I hate this, I hate this—!'
"Oi, oi, oi why are you crying?" The familiar voice she recognized all too well spoke in front of her and she bit her trembling lip, "Aren't we supposed to be celebrating?"
There was a bit of hesitation but she looked up anyways. The worried expression on the younger Haitani's face made her flinch ever-so slightly but she had to recover quickly... Her little sister was right beside him, one hand holding onto his as the other held a lemon popsicle.
"Rindo..." (y/n) trailed off since she felt a sob emit through her throat. She couldn't let Maya see her like this, she determined.
With that in mind, the (y/h) teen coughed into her hand to hide her distress before faking a wide smile. She went to dismiss everything until Rindo sent a lighthearted smirk.
"You look like you're frowning even more. I miss your smile, (y/n)."
—~—
Please read this author's note: WE'VE REACHED THE FINAL ARC!
That's so crazy to me as if I didn't write the 'enemies' arc not too long ago. I hope you're ready for the last few chapters but I still don't know how many is left 😅
Anyways, take care and see you in the next chapter :)