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With long, tender hands braiding the other girl's auburn hair, one might say that Saori and Rika have gotten closer over the past few months.
The DJ's thoughts stray to when they first met as she parts Rika's hair into groups. It feels like a lot of time has already passed ever since they refer to each other by their last names.
Saori recalls the time she considered Rika as a mere acquaintance with who she shares some seminars. 'Acquaintances' might be the right label for them back then. They're not close to be considered friends, but calling her a stranger felt wrong.
To be frank, Rika was simply an acquaintance who has an overwhelmingly bright and powerful personality, too overwhelming that Saori finds her a troublesome person at first.
... No, she still finds Rika's presence overwhelming sometimes, even now that they've formed and became members of the same unit.
Rika's like the sun, always bright and full of energy, ready to bring joy and excitement to the people she encounters. The girl might seem stupid at first glance who seeks thrill above all things but Saori knows that Rika always has good intentions behind her actions, whether it may be for the benefit of her or for the people around her.
If Rika's not just an acquaintance now, then who is Rika to her?
Saori hums that specific question to herself as she ties the braided part of the vocalist's hair, moving the tips to the other side of her head and adding an intricate silver hairpiece to finish the hairstyle.
“Eh? Saori? Finished already?” Rika muses, even leaning her head back and catching Saori's light-colored eyes staring at hers.
They stay like that for a while, Saori's eyes unblinking while Rika's golden ones blink every once in a while, confused at the attention she's getting from the DJ. Saori seems to snap back to reality the moment Rika voices out her concern, asking the other if something's bothering her mind.
For a second she worries that she said her question out loud for Rika to hear. If that was the case then she's screwed, she's fucked up for real.
But that's not the case. At least, not this time. After spending some time with Rika, Saori has discovered that she's more observant than what she looks like. Despite being one of the things that stress her on a weekly—no, daily basis, Rika easily catches on whenever Saori wants to step away from the crowd, her worries getting the best of her.
And that's when Rika offers her a helping hand, giving her courage and warm words of affirmation that Saori will be able to do anything once she puts her mind on it.
The girl sometimes wonders if this certain vocalist is aware of how much she affects the people around her.
With all those in mind, who is Rika to her?
“...ori, Saori, Saori!” and she was snapped back to reality again. Saori hears a sigh of relief from Rika, who's now out of her seat. She stands in front of her—looks like she turned her around too while she was lost in her own thoughts—with her hands on Saori's shoulders. “Are you okay? You've been spacing out a lot today!”
Ah... with Rika's furrowed eyebrows, it seems that she has worried her, huh?
“Spacing out? I was not spacing out; I don't know what you're talking about.” and of course, Saori brushes it off this time, earning an Ehhh..? from the other.
Though Rika's confusion and worry last short, ushering Saori to take the seat she was on minutes ago. When the DJ protests, suspicious of what Rika will do to her, she is reassured that the auburn-haired girl means no harm.
She takes her seat. “And now? What will Rika do this time?”
“Fix your hair too, of course!”
Saori becomes aware of the mirror in front of her all of a sudden.
“My hair is short? What is there to fix?”
... Come to think of it, with Rika's hair always in pigtails it's rather rare to see her let down her hair. Somehow, it makes her look... less energetic and more grounded.
Though that doesn't stop the lively Rika from rummaging through Saori's accessory pouch, pulling out various pins and ribbons that would look awful and would not match her outfit today. The vocalist's “Fufufu, leave it to me!” doesn't exactly reassure her one bit.
But she relaxes. The purple-haired DJ leans back on her chair, letting herself get pampered for once.
Who is Rika to her... A friend, maybe? 'Friend' is a label used by people closer than acquaintances, after all. So perhaps that is it. Saori and Rika are ' friends ', case closed.
Yet somehow as her silver eyes study Rika's every move in the mirror, watching her mutter to herself as she tries on different pins on her hair, the label feels wrong.
Then what's commonly the rank next to being friends..?
“—Ah! This is it! Look in the mirror, Saori! Doesn't that pin suit you?”
It does, but Saori doesn't want to say it directly. The comment “Not bad… ” leaves her lips, busy admiring the accessory Rika picked for her.
“I specifically chose the one that matches both the hairpin you used on me and your outfit, you know! Hehehe... We look like lovers ☆”
Saori watches her expression turn from curiosity to shock, her wide eyes blinking multiple times as if that'll help her absorb what Rika has just said right now. Her cheeks start to feel warm too and she doubts that the pink-ish color present in them isn't from the blush-on applied ago.
“Lo... vers?”
“Yes! Like those couples and their matching shirts and rings, you know? But instead, we have—” Rika points her finger to the hairpiece Saori put on her hair. “—this! Isn't this romantic?”
... How can Rika say something like this straightforward? If she plans to kill Saori from making her too flustered then it's working.
Saori was even thinking along the lines of girlfriends and lovers! There's no way that Rika suddenly gained the power to read minds, right..?
... No, that sounds stupid Saori Hidaka what were you thinking.
But being lovers is the next step after being friends if one would remove the best friends and close friends ranks between the two of them. Saori knows that she reacted... differently when she thought along the lines of being Rika Seto's girlfriend.
It hits closer to home, but not necessarily. Not yet.
Saori's spent enough time thinking about this, so she has to set it aside for now. She'll tackle the topic... later. Preferably when she stops getting this weird feeling in her chest every time she thinks of it.
“Hey, hey, Saori. Can I take you on a date after going to Miyu-chan's party?”
A sharp inhale. Saori doesn't think she can put it aside that long, especially now that she feels one of Rika's hands holding hers, forcing her to stare back at her earnest golden eyes.
“... Alright, but make sure to prioritize our performance to show to Miyu-chan. Then we can have our date.”