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."
"Maybe we spent too much time with those fans," Mai suggested, "We weren't paying her much attention at that time... if we see her again today, I'm going to talk to her."
"Hope she's okay."
"Same."
Hinata patted her cheeks, in an attempt to lighten her mood. "Okay, that's enough about that! We have a ball to enjoy!"
As if on cue, the make-shift stage lit up (the auditorium didn't have enough space to hold a party in), revealing Rina. She wore her hair down, over one shoulder, and a pastel blue dress with white high heels.
"Good evening, everyone. Welcome to Celestial Academy's Annual Winter Ball!"
The students applauded.
"This night is magical. One to reflect on the past school year and the relationships that have formed. One last time to spend time with each other before everyone competes in the Celestial Trial. One last time for everyone to gather like this before us third years graduate to the high school or wherever our paths next take us," she smiled, "I hope everyone can enjoy it.
The stage dimmed, before turning into the Midnight Fairytale Stage. When Rina reappeared, she was wearing the Glass Heart coord, her beloved Premium Rare from Crystal Ribbon.
Flying through the sky, I wish that I
Could be a graceful butterfly
But until that day arrives
I'll work to find my wings
Her aura appeared, brighter than ever. Tsubaki noticed that her smile was just a little brighter, too.
(Ahhhh, La La La)
There was once a time where I
Was a little caterpillar
Unable to find my place in this world
There's no beauty in that at all
But then one day, I saw, a beautiful butterfly
And the world I once knew completely changed
Ah, how I long
To spread my wings high in the sky
But for now, I'll work hard, and one day
I'll call these wings mine!
Flying through the sky, I wish that I
Could be a graceful butterfly
Then I'll be able to dance, with endless beauty!
I'll be able to do it someday
But for now
I'll just do this Butterfly dance
I hope that you all join in too!
To finish the performance, she performed the appeal Premium Crystal Splash.
(Ahhhh, la la la)
Soaring through the sky, I'll truly shine!
Rina curtsied, the effects of the system softly fading away. Once she was back in her previous attire, she spoke up again.
"May tonight be a night to celebrate connections. To celebrate bonds. The most important ingredients to achieve happiness."
The students applauded once again, and then the ball officially began. Music began to play, and students resumed their prior conversations.
"The third-years will be graduating soon, huh?" Tsubaki asked, a hint of sadness to her voice. "It'll be strange without them around."
"Next year is going to be so different," Mai commented. "No Aino-senpai giving us advice, no Fuyuki-senpai trying to be cool. We won't be first years anymore either... we'll have to be the reliable upperclassmen."
"If you're unsure about your future," a familiar voice said, "Perhaps I can assist with that."
Nanatsuki Asuka was holding her cards, Yoshi right beside her. Asuka was wearing a thin black dress, whilst Yoshi wore a highly accessorised dress with all sorts of pastel colours on it. She held the arm of that bear from that one audition in her right hand, the rest of the bear danginglind down.
Asuka held the set of cards out to Mai. "Choose the one which calls to you."
So, Mai did.
"The Sky Cosmos top."
Asuka opened on the correct page. "You'll be faced with newfound responsibility and relationship problems. Be honest though, and you'll be fine."
"That sounds good," Mai said. She paused. "I hope it doesn't mean I'll stop being friends with Tsubaki or Hina-chan though."
"The future is yours to mould," Asuka advised.
"Besides," Yoshi added, "This is a celebration! You should all cheer up!!"
"Good idea," Tsubaki agreed, "This is the last event until the trial."
"Speaking of the trial," Hinata added, turning to face Yoshi dead in the eye, "I will be beating you this time."
"Mhm..." Yoshi grinned, "Okay!"
"Huh?! This is a serious rivalry, you know!"
"Is it?" she asked. Then, she smiled again, her aura appeared. "You're cute when determined!"
Hinata pouted. "And I'll use that cuteness to win."
"In the end, Yoshi-chan is the cutest of all though," Yoshi said quietly. She patted Hina on the head. "I'll look forward to it!"
Mai turned to Asuka. "What about.you, Nanatsuki-senpai? Do you have any plans for the Celestial Trial and next year?"
"Naturally, I plan to win," she answered, "I'll be exacting my revenge on the members of Kizuna for completely overshadowing MeguruMeguru in the unit cup, then the whole world will become our little monsters."
"Sounds just the slightest bit evil," Tsubaki commented, "But I like that. Go for it."
"Thank you for your support."
"Asu-chan!" Yoshi called, "Let's go and get some food!"'
Asuka giggled. "Seems I'm being called away. Have a good rest of your night." She waved, walking in the direction where Yoshi had gone. At the same time, Hinata walked to her unit.
"She's insistent that she'll win... doesn't she know who I am?! Hinode Hinata, member of Midnight who has held the title of the top first-year for this entire year."
"Maybe you'll win," Tsubaki said, "Or maybe I'll win. Who knows?" She winked, tapping Hinata on the forehead. Hinata's pout quickly turned into a smile, and the two laughed together.
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"You'll be fine," Rina reassured, "The high school really isn't much different to the middle school."
"Still," Aya complained.
Then, a pretty sounding song came on, and Rina took her chance, outstretching her hand.
"It's been a while since we danced together," she said.
"A-ah! Okay then." Heartbeat quickening, Aya held onto Rina, and the two danced. It was like something out of a fairytale; the two top idols of the middle school division dancing together in such a way. Once the song ended, the two posed gracefully, hand in hand.
"Good job," Minako said, "The two of you work well together. Though if you want some pointers, you could have done with a little more confidence. Some parts were a little shaky, you know? The timing could be improved too, along with-"
"Pretty~."
The pair turned around to see Midnight watching, completely in awe.
"Oh, you three," Aya said as nonchalantly as possible, breaking off Rina to try and pretend nothing had happened.
"I hope you're enjoying tonight," Rina said.
"We are!" Hinata responded.
"Thank you for all of your hard work," Mai added, bowing.
"It's no problem at all."
Minako walked over to join the crowd. "Good evening, Midnight."
"Good evening, Chibana-senpai."
Minako sighed. "Again, no need to be formal. Especially at a party of all things."
"A formal party," Mai corrected, "Besides, that's no reason to drop basic formalities."
Listening in, Rina raised her eyebrows. "You two know each other?"
"Oh!" Minako turned back to her unit members, "This is Mai-chan, Amamiya-kun's daughter."
"Really?!"
"The surnames do line up..." Rina noted, "Forgive me for not noticing earlier."
Mai waved her hands frantically. "No, no, it's fine! I didn't expect either of you to. I didn't exactly remember you two after all..."
"Oh," Rina giggled, "Then that works out."
"You knew each Kizuna member?" Hinata asked.
"I didn't exactly know them. I saw Aino-senpai and Fuyuki-senpai once from a distance, but Chibana-senpai was the only one I ever talked to at all. And that was only because she pressured me to," she giggled awkwardly, "Aside from Mina-nee, you know Kizuna now better than I did."
Tsubaki smirked. "Looks like our little Mai was always destined for the stage, knowing so many big names at a young age."
Minako's eyes lit up. "I always thought she'd make a cute idol too."
Rina nodded. "I think I recall you saying that once or twice."
"Maybe I should be a talent scout when I'm older," Minako suggested, I'm obviously not bad at it if I somehow predicted this."
"That's probably more of a coincidence," Aya said.
"You never know."
"You'll have to see if it happens twice," Rina suggested, "Otherwise it's just a fluke."?
"Not you too, Rina-chan!"
Midnight awkwardly giggled. It was nice to see that the three were getting along, at least.
"We're going to get out of your hair now," Tsubaki said, "Have a good rest of your night!"
"You too!"
Once they were out of earshot, Hinata sighed. "They confuse me," she said, "One second they're best friends, then enemies, then best friends again."
"I don't get it either," Tsubaki agreed, "But I'm happy for them."
"I guess it did mean my favourite reformed. Neko and Fuyuki-senpai being the same person... I wouldn't have guessed it at all."
Mai giggled. "Me neither." She paused, looking over to the exit. "I'm going to get some fresh air... I'll be back in a minute."
"You okay?"
She nodded. "I'm fine. Just need some alone time."
Tsubaki played with her loose strand of hair. "I see. Stay safe."
"I will."
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The outside was cold - as expected, it was a Winter's night after all. Fully intent on coming back into the warm inside soon, she foolishly let her eyes wander. They landed on the fountain. Somebody was sitting on the edge, staring down at the floor. Somebody wearing a midnight blue gown, one that was somewhat familiar to Mai.
Somebody with short, brown hair.
Mai's eyes widened. "Kotone-chan?" she asked herself, walking over. As she got closer and her vision became clearer, her theory was confirmed.
Nanami Kotone had spent the entire evening outside.
"Kotone-chan!" Mai called, "Are you okay?!"
Upon hearing her voice, Kotone perked up, ready to drift into autopilot. Until she noticed who it was...
"Amamiya Mai," she said.
"Aren't you cold out here?" Mai asked, "You'll get sick like this. You should come inside - everyone's waiting for you."
"I'll pass."
"Why not?" Mai asked, concern present in her eyes, "I don't want you to get sick."
"I won't," Kotone stated, her voice somehow even more lifeless than usual.
"At least get something to cover up a little," Mai pleaded.
No response.
"Kotone-chan, what's wrong? Was it because me and Hina-chan ignored you a little the other day? We're so-"
"It's not that."
Mai's expression softened slightly.
"What is it then? We can help you."
"It's..." Kotone bit her lip, "Nothing."
Mai pursed her lips. Then, she sat down next to Kotone. Inhaling, exhaling...
"You're thinking again, right? What's on your mind?"
Kotone slowly looked Mai in the eyes, making eye contact. She looked... hopeless.
"I'm not like you."
Mai furrowed her brows. "What do you mean?"
"You're lucky. You don't have to be a perfect idol. You can have friends and laugh together without being a failed experiment."
"You have friends too, though... you can laugh with us too. You're not a failure, either. Not at all."
Kotone took a second to respond. Then, she turned her back to Mai. For a moment, Mai thought she was going to leave, then... Kotone pushed her hair over one shoulder.
Mai's eyes widened. There was some sort of mark, on the back of her neck.
"I..." she paused, "I'm sorry. I don't understand."
Kotone took a second to think. "I didn't want you to know, but... I'd feel what you'd define as guilt if I didn't tell you."
"Know what?"
"I'm an android."
It took a moment of Mai to process this new information.
"...An... android?"
Kotone nodded. "Created to be the perfect idol. Something that can sing, dance. Something that'll never grow old," she paused, "Something that'll outlive everyone else."
After a brief silence, Kotone continued. "The perfect idol spends all of their time practising and refining their craft. I can't tire or fall ill so... I have no excuse. All this time, I've been playing around at the friendship thing... but it won't improve me. It was all a waste."
"You don't need other people. You're the perfect idol - if you love any fan more than the other, it'll frustrate them."
"If you spend time on nonsense like friends, when will you be working? You're a tool, Kotone. A means to an end. Don't forget that - if I find you're slacking, I can replace you. You'll no longer have a purpose in life, is that what you want?"
Kotone stood up. "I'm so sorry, but... we can't be friends anymore."
"Kotone-chan?"
The android turned around briefly, giving one last small smile before leaving.
"Knowing you has made me feel the one bit of happiness I've felt in my life."
"Thank you for being my friend."
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