I had never figured out why Zac believed that his disguise was foolproof. He still acted like himself and even gave subtle hints.
I remembered seeing Zac at the Regional Tournament. But I was too invested in all the activity happening to notice him.
As expected, Valt believed that he was dreaming. I tried my best not to laugh. Classic oblivious Valt!
Finally, Toko and Nika had had enough and pinched Valt at the same time to convince him that he was awake.
'This is ridiculous. Take off your mask,' said Daigo.
'But all my fans will notice,' Zac started to say before noticing that everyone was watching him. So he had no choice but to reveal his identity.
Valt stared open-mouthed at Zac before letting out a shrill noise. My ears kept ringing for an hour after that.
'Valt, do you always have to do that?' asked Kairi. 'Honestly, it's a miracle you didn't make anyone deaf yet.'
Zac himself looked rather startled. He was probably wondering how a small person can make such a loud noise. Then he invited the Beyclub to a party that he was throwing. Of course, I already knew what was going to happen there.
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My new Mom has been pestering me about Shu for a while now. So far, I had managed to evade all questions about him. I didn't want my new Mom, of all people, to find out that I have a boyfriend.
But it's very difficult to evade questions about someone your mother seems to like. According to my new Mom, she said that Shu was really smart and mature.
Speaking of Shu, he had invited me to come to the party with him. 'Zac said that we're allowed to bring guests. We needn't make this a date. Everyone will think that we're going as friends.'
Obviously I said yes. But it turned out that I wasn't the only one who had a pretend date to the party.
'Wakiya asked you to the party?' I asked Kairi.
'Yeah,' said Kairi. 'I had no idea he could be so charming. Am I dreaming? Somebody pinch me.'
I was tempted to do that, but I knew that Kairi didn't mean literally.
'So are you and Wakiya official?' I asked.
'Yes. No. I don't know,' said Kairi. 'We haven't said anything about that conversation field yet.'
I sighed. 'Oh Kairi, you are impossible. You were the one yapping at me to confess to Shu, but you...'
Just then, I heard a noise. Kairi and I were in the gym. Did someone overhear us?
Kairi and I went to the door and peeked out. I saw a quick flash of pink and purple hair disappearing round the corner. Uh oh. There was only one person in the school who had pink and purple hair.
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As the day went on, I grew more certain that Tamiko had overheard us. She kept giving me smirks and knowing glances. I felt nervous. Would she tell the school?
I had never been more thankful to hear the last bell ring. It was Friday, so I didn't have to see Tamiko for two days.
I quickly placed my books in my locker. But just as I closed it, I found Tamiko looking at me.
'What do you want?' I asked.
'Is it true?' asked Tamiko. 'Are you and Shu really a couple?'
I didn't know whether to tell the truth or lie. Either way Tamiko wasn't going to be happy.
'Listen, you need to tell Shu that you've changed your mind about going to Zac's party. Say that you're sick.'
', I'm not doing that,' I said. 'You're just jealous.'
'If you don't do that, I'll make your life miserable. I'll tell everyone that you're dating Shu Kurenai.'
'I'm not scared of you. You can't bully me into this.'
Tamiko pulled at my hair. 'You are so gonna regret this,' she said. 'Just you wait.'
I pulled away and ran off.
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No one, even someone who was dreading what a mean girl had in store for them, could fail to enjoy a good party.
There were performances and many food stalls. Children and adults alike roamed the streets.
I saw two teenagers using a karaoke set. They both looked like they were having fun. As soon as they were finished, I quickly took one of the microphones.
I debated which song to sing. I wanted to sing We Don't Talk About Bruno, but that wasn't an option because Encanto wasn't out yet. I finally decided on Part of Your World from The Little Mermaid.
I got so carried away in the song that I didn't notice that people were watching. 'I wanna be where the people are, I wanna see, wanna see 'em dancin...'
'Rose!' called Kairi. 'Gracious me, was that you singing? For a moment I thought that it was Jodi Benson herself.'
'My voice isn't that good,' I said.
'Well, it's quite lovely. Zac has invited a special guest, and sparks are flying. No, not literally, don't be so frightened.'
Special guest? I had a feeling that I already knew who it was...
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The atmosphere was so tense that you could cut the tension with a knife. Shu and Lui Shirosagi were glaring daggers at each other.
I didn't know much about Lui. I knew that he was the four-time National Tournament champion and the world's second ranked blader. I knew that he had scarred Shu's eye the previous year. And I knew that he and Shu had a mutual hatred towards each other.
However, I noticed that in Season 5, Lui and Shu seemed to at least tolerate each other. I had wondered if they had ever put aside their differences.
Valt and Zac had a battle. Zac won, but it was a close call. However, Lui went up to Valt afterwards and called him a weak blader.
Even though I had already expected this, I still couldn't help feeling pissed. I remembered how Valt had defended me against Tamiko. There was no way I was letting someone else say rude things to him.
I stormed up to Lui. 'Hey!' I said.
Lui looked at me in annoyance. 'What?' he asked.
'How could you? How could you be so mean to others?'
'Who are you?' asked Lui.
'Rosalie Charmille, but people call me Rose.'
'Alright,' said Lui. 'Let me get this straight. I don't care what you think.'
Now that we were close to each other, I noticed that I was taller than Lui. Well, his hair was taller than me, but that's not the point. Lui Shirosagi is so freaking short!
'Well, why do you hate Shu so much? What has he ever done to you?'
'Listen, Rose girl, it doesn't matter what you think of me. All that matters is that I will win the National Tournament again this year.'
'You're so arrogant,' I muttered under my breath.
'What did you say?' asked Lui. Wow, he really had sharp ears.
'I thought that you didn't care about what I think about you,' I replied coldly. Without another word, I turned around and walked away.