Chapter Text
mao isara and ritsu sakuma. both second years at yumenosaki academy (although ritsu is a year older, simply having been held back a year), members of opposing rival groups, sun and moon, and as one may put it; frenemies.
although this term is not quite enough to entail all the details of their odd relationship. a rumor is afloat (neither confirmed or denied, though) that the two of them are actually childhood friends- which may make sense of their relationship a little more- but, as previously stated, this is merely a rumor.
what exactly is their ‘odd relationship,’ you ask? to answer that question, let’s take a look into their daily life...
ritsu flops down with a sigh, resting her head in mao’s lap. mao stares at the other girl. “are you going to sleep?” “nn.. ♪ yes...” “okay, i’ll wake you up before 2:00.”
“don’t,” ritsu yawns, “we don’t have practice today.” mao gives a hum before diverting her attention back to her phone.
if your current impression is ‘wooow, what terrifying enemies they are,’ rest assured your thought can be restated without the sarcasm after witnessing our next scene- which, in fact, takes place the very next day.
mao staggers back after a punch is thrown to her left cheek. “what the fuck, ritsu?” she delivers her own blow to ritsu’s face, and a few seconds later ritsu cups her now-bloody nose. “you’re an asshole,” she laughs dryly, “and you’re not?” mao challenges. ritsu simply spits at the ground, and the two of them go full head to head again as a crowd begins to form around them. another day, another fight. nothing new.
certainly something to behold, isn’t it? but it only gets more fascinating from there. fast-forward to the following day, at lunchtime.
“maa-kun, do you have any snacks?” ritsu whines, and mao sighs with a slight twinge of a smile being visible. “here,” the emerald-eyed girl replies, tearing open a bag of chips and holding it out to ritsu. ritsu readily accepts it, popping a few chips into her mouth before holding it out to mao for her to take some herself.
the vampire then makes herself comfortable leaning her head on mao’s shoulder, peeking at whatever youtube video is displayed on the other girl’s phone.
there certainly is more- their daily interactions grow stranger and stranger each day compared to the previous day’s.
ritsu passes mao in the hallway, not stopping to greet the other girl or even acknowledge her existence. mao seemingly does the same, acting as if the dark-haired girl were air. her eyes light up upon seeing her fellow trickstar member.
“sari! ☆” subaru exclaims, before taking a moment to register what is wrong. “uhm, did something happen between you and ritsu..?”
mao furrows her eyebrows in momentary confusion and then chuckles. “you’re funny as always, akehoshi. come on, let’s go to the practice room!”
similarly, arashi tries to check up on ritsu. “good morning ritsu-chan, wasn’t that mao-chan in the hall just now?” ritsu raises an eyebrow at her. “hmm? what do you mean?” the blonde girl quirks an eyebrow in return, “what do you mean ‘what do you mean’? mao-chan was in the hall just now—? oh, are you two fighting again?”
ritsu shrugs her shoulders and turns to leave, but not before saying “i have no idea what you’re talking about, nacchan.”
the two are very extreme, and that extreme is short-lived, as you can see. after the weekend, they are on good terms again, as if by magic. baffling, truly; and rest assured you aren’t the only one who thinks so. their friends never fail to be bewildered by their antics. in fact, some of them get the sense that they are more than simply ‘frenemies.’
hokuto tentatively approaches mao this morning (who has come to school straight from ritsu’s house, accompanied by the latter; the trickstar member having stayed over for the night) with a question in his mind. “um, isara? are you and ritsu... dating or something of the sort?”
mao blinks before smiling and delivering an immediate casual reply, “hmm? no way! besides, we fight too much for something like that.”
izumi, apparently more interested in his kouhais’s love life than one would expect; likes to pry every so often. “aren’t the two of you childhood friends? that’s considerably romantic, if i do say so myself.”
ritsu taps her chin in confusion, “we are, but it isn’t romantic, really?” she drapes her limbs over the couch and finishes with slight endearment, “that guy’s a real pain, but she’ll still take care of me; that’s all. ♪”
and so their odd relationship continues.
“maaa-kunnn~!” ritsu whines, stretching on the bed. “coming, coming~! ♪” mao calls, and in a few seconds she arrives upstairs with snacks. she flops down next to ritsu, turns on the tv, and passes a bag of chips to the dark haired girl. the magenta-haired girl hums as she unwraps a chocolate bar for herself, and upon hearing ritsu munch away at the chips, she reminds her to “don’t let any crumbs fall on the bed.”
ritsu murmurs something in reply and cuddles up to mao’s side, until she’s practically all over the emerald-eyed girl. “sheesh, ritsu, wait;” mao half-chuckles, adjusting her position, “why are you so clingy today...?”
“maa-kun didn’t have time for me yesterday or today,” ritsu huffs childishly, and mao looks up in thought. “today i had loads of practice- oh, weren’t we fighting yesterday?”
ritsu scrunches her eyebrows. “i think so.”
“what were we arguing about again?” mao wonders aloud, and then takes a chip from the bag currently in ritsu’s possession. ritsu shakes her head, taking a bite directly from mao’s half-eaten chocolate. “don’t care.”
rumors manifest from seemingly nothing, and by afternoon the next day, everyone and their mother has heard about ritsu’s overnight stay at mao’s home. “who’s getting this information, anyway?” mao complains, “and how? do we have a stalker or something...?”
“you guys showed up to school together,” makoto offers, to which mao retorts with “we always show up to school together, i’m the one that gets her out of her bed!”
hokuto gives a light shrug, “i guess someone walking to school noticed you two coming from the same house.”
“it’s creepy, either way,” mao groans, planting her face into her arms.
the magenta-haired girl and the dark-haired girl do end up fighting that day. the reasons are never quite crystal clear; but one could assume it might have something to do with the rumors circulating about them.
“it’s over for us,” ritsu grumbles, and izumi simply sighs, followed by an eye roll. “here we go again.”
“ritsu-senpai, you must realize you’ve repeated this phrase many times in the past yet never done anything?” tsukasa offers. “don’t you think it’s time you stop announcing the end of your friendship with isara-senpai every three or four days..?”
“i’m serious!” ritsu protests. “you were serious last time, too,” izumi puts in. “this is incredibly tiring. why do you two get so swept up in petty nothings?”
“it wasn’t a petty argument!” ritsu yells, “this time is different. she’s being annoying about those rumors about us.” izumi rolls his eyes again when ritsu doesn’t stop there. “i told her not to care about it, and she blew up at me.”
arashi, entering through the door, “maybe you two ought to be a little more considerate about each other’s feelings, hmm? ♪ did it cross your mind that even though it doesn’t bother you, maybe mao-chan doesn’t like being talked about behind her back? or maybe she’s upset you’re also being dragged into rumors?”
“no, she—! she...” ritsu trails off, and arashi gives a proud smile, content in having gotten through to her. “thank god,” izumi groans, “you’re a lifesaver, naru-kun.”
“i have to go apologize!” ritsu calls, before leaving the room. tsukasa shakes his head wordlessly, disapproving; and izumi clucks his tongue. “they have no pride at all.”
“maa-kun!” ritsu yells, out of breath. mao turns around, her expression dull. “what do you want?” ritsu wordlessly topples the magenta-haired girl over in a hug. “W-WAH—?!”
“i’m sorry for getting angry at you.” ritsu says, her arms still around mao’s torso, the two of them on the ground. “o-okay, okay! get off me, we’re in public!”
ritsu reluctantly lets go and helps mao get to her feet.
“i didn’t realize you might hate having people talk about you even if i don’t care,” she continues, “i didn’t look from your possible perspective.”
mao sighs and envelops ritsu in a sudden hug. “that’s not exactly it, but thank you...”
“what is it, then?” ritsu asks, and mao buries her face in the vampire’s shoulder. “the rumors are only becoming more frequent- and worse. it’s to the point that i think someone is actively involved in seeing what we’re up to. what i mean is—”
“a stalker?”
“yes,” mao breathes out, unmoving. “i’m sick of people prying into our personal lives and i’m sick of seeing rumors about you.”
ritsu’s features soften, and she embraces mao back. “i don’t mind, i swear.”
“well, i do,” mao says firmly. “i don’t want weird rumors about you. it makes me worry.” “okay, well, we can talk about this later. like you said, we’re in public, aren’t we~? ♪” ritsu teases, causing mao to jump back. “i-i forgot.”
over the span of the next few days, the two of them try to limit their contact in public, the only exception being mao carrying ritsu on her back to and from school. it’s something they’ve done for as long as they can remember, and there’s no way some petty rumors would ever get in the way of mao getting ritsu to school on time.
mao can feel ritsu’s hot breath- and the occasional softness of her cheek when she turns her head to the side- on her neck as she carries her home. “how are preparations for the fes going?”
“fine,” ritsu murmurs, still sleepy. “how about you..?”
“alright, but hokuto and subaru’s constant bickering isn’t great,” she sighs. “whenever i’m not there to stop the argument, they even end up like that for hours..”
“sounds tough,” ritsu notes. “sena is always arguing with everyone, it’s so annoying that i get mad sometimes. don’t you get mad at them?”
“mad? no... in fact i doubt i’ve ever yelled at them or anything,” mao thinks aloud.
“what
do
you get mad at, then?”
after a few moments of silence in which mao tries to think of something, ritsu’s head flops down on her neck again and she can feel the latter smile against her skin. “as i thought, the only thing maa-kun gets mad at is me... ♪”
mao scoffs with a smile threatening to show upon her lips, “that’s not a good thing, you know?”
the red-eyed girl hums, “well, it does mean no one is on the same level as me. i could never share maa-kun with someone who was just as important as me.”
mao chuckles, raising an eyebrow, “does that mean you view everyone else around me as lower than you?”
“in terms of importance to you, perhaps. i’d definitely hope so,” ritsu contemplates, and mao rolls her eyes fondly.
ritsu hops off once they arrive home and takes mao’s hand.
“ritchan, woah?” maa-kun splutters as ritsu pulls her after her. ritsu looks back at her with a grin, “all this talk is making me clingier, you know. ♪ come on, i need my daily dose of maa-kun.”
the next morning, the two are fighting again. “oh my god, isara,” hokuto says, massaging the bridge of his nose. “you two were cuddling just last night, right? so what the hell happened?”
mao rests her head on the cool desktop. “i told her that if she’s being an idol just so she can stay near me, she should stop and go do something else. i’m right, aren’t i?”
arashi sighs, leaning back into her chair. “well.. that’s certainly one way to put it. you know her best- she’s sensitive about things like this, isn’t she?”
“yeah,” mao exhales deeply. “i was going to try to rephrase it, but she just got angry and left.” “on a scale of one to ten, how bad is this fight?” hokuto inquires, and mao scrunches her eyebrows. “eight at the minimum. actually, i think she might even throw a punch at me sometime today.”
“goodness gracious, you guys are terrible,” arashi laughs half-heartedly. “what kind of worst fight have you guys had, exactly??”
mao looks up in thought. “we were in a physical fight where i got really bruised and ritsu’s face was all battered up. the fight got so long and bad that a teacher had to step in, and we got into loads of trouble. we haven’t had a fight like that since.”
“w-what was the fight about?”
“to be honest... i don’t remember at all.”
hokuto and arashi turn away in despair, “oh my god.”
“how do you usually make up?” hokuto asks wearily.
mao, explaining, “we either forget about it or someone comes to the other with hugs and treats or something of the sort.”
hokuto and arashi turn away in despair again, “they’re hopeless.”
“i don’t think that’s what she was trying to say, kuma-kun,” izumi starts, his eyes following ritsu around the room. “i think she’s just worried you aren’t happy.”
“of course i’m happy!” ritsu fumes, eyes blazing; and izumi rolls his eyes, muttering a sarcastic “you sure look happy right now,” under his breath.
“i don’t see anything wrong with wanting to stay near the person you love,” leo muses, walking behind the seated izumi and then tucking his head into his shoulder. “i’d do the same with sena and follow him anywhere he goes~! ♪ wahaha ☆ i love you, sena!”
“shut up, idiot,” izumi says, and ritsu looks up at leo. “right? so why did she say that..? does she have a problem with me or something? is she sick of me?”
“i really doubt that’s it,” izumi sighs.
“that’s enough of that,” koga grumbles, standing up. “how ‘bout i just go and ask shiny forehead what she meant and get this over ‘n done with?” without waiting for a response, he exits the room.
“a-ah..” ritsu manages, surprised. izumi simply breathes out in relief.
“oi, shiny forehead.”
mao look up from her student council work to address the speaker. “oh, koga. you’re not really supposed to be in the student council room... ah, whatever. what did you need?”
“i’m here ‘ta hear what you have ‘ta say about ricchi. i figured she’s too upset ‘ta talk with you properly.” koga says, leaning against the wall.
mao hums, spacing out a little. “it’s my fault. i didn’t mean to hurt her... i just wanted to make sure she wasn’t only doing idol work to be by my side, you know? i’d never forgive myself if she followed me everywhere and didn’t get to do what she likes because of that. but i screwed up the wording, and now she’s mad at me.”
koga nods, “ricchi’ll understand if you just tell her that. that guy cherishes you lots, ya know?”
mao sighs and smiles softly, turning to grin at her classmate. “yeah. i’ll wait a bit until she’s calmer and then i’ll speak to her. thank you for coming to see me, koga. ♪ i appreciate it!”
koga becomes flustered and turns away. “it’s not like i did anything, shiny forehead... just make sure you definitely talk ta’ that bastard...”
as promised, mao approaches ritsu the next day after class. “r-ritsu.. i need to speak with you.” prepared for a cold glare due to the seriousness of this fight (serious fights always lasted at least a few days), mao steels herself for whatever ritsu might have to say (or, what she might not have to say- the silent treatment was even worse).
however, she certainly doesn’t expect to be jumped upon with a cheery “maa-kun~!”
“eh? r-ritsu..?!” she stammers, thoroughly confused.
ritsu grins her usual grin, “ufufu ♪ good morning, maa-kun. i have to go get something from secchan, but wait for me later, okay~?” she begins to run off.
“wa-wait..!” mao calls out, reaching a hand out towards her; but she retracts it when ritsu steps out of the room.
hokuto walks up to the dazed mao. “isara? what’s the matter?”
mao is speechless for a moment. finally she chokes out “what... what was that..?”
during the break, mao glances at ritsu- who is happily tearing open a bag of chips- out of the corner of her eye. she tentatively offers the vampire a pocky stick, and ritsu leans in to take it from her with her teeth. mao sweats, pressing the pads of her fingers together in anxiety. “ritsu... can i-”
“hold on, let me finish these chips,” ritsu huffs, munching on them loudly. mao exhales quietly so ritsu can’t hear and awkwardly averts her gaze to the wall- then to the railing- then she lets it linger on ritsu for only a moment before returning to the wall. this is hell.
“done ♪” ritsu says, after what felt like ages, but before mao can open her mouth again; the bell rings. ritsu hops down and waves, trotting off to who-knows-where.
“she’s avoiding me,” mao says sullenly, and arashi groans in frustration. “it simply gets worse and worse with you two, doesn’t it?”
“i want to speak with her- i need to speak with her,” mao mutters. “i’ll definitely find a way...!”
“good luck, mao-chan,” arashi sighs, waving at her classmate as she heads off.
despite those brave words, ritsu manages to skillfully avoid mao all day.
during their next break, ritsu goes off to get snacks and returns exactly when the bell rings. whenever mao catches ritsu in the hallway, ritsu makes a bit of small talk before vanishing into the knights’s practice room- somewhere mao can’t go. as mao is looking for ritsu outside, she finds that the latter is not sleeping in some shade today- rather she is having a tea party with eichi, hajime, and tsukasa- something the timid emerald-eyed girl would rather not intrude on.
even now on their way home, ritsu is dead asleep on mao’s back. ‘i’ll definitely speak with her,’ mao thinks wearily, trudging up the steps to her house. after hanging up ritsu’s jacket and taking the older girl up to her room, mao sits on the bed- which dips due to her weight- and stares at ritsu.
she then sighs loudly and gets up to do her work.