Chapter Text
Little Tsukumo Sana sits kicking her legs peacefully on a tree, flipping through a dense college-level astronomy book, her fingers grazing the worn pages. Wearing a comfortable white NASA sweatshirt with baggy black sweatpants and brand-new purple sneakers, Sana’s soft, bleach-blonde hair is styled into twin braids styled with colorful beads, bobbing with her movements.
As Sana’s starlit eyes read distractedly, three rowdy boys trample across the grass and stack up behind her until they reach her height. Roughly shoved off the tree by the bullies, the poor girl tumbles into a puddle, drenching her clothes and ruining her hair. As the boys run away noisily snickering, Sana desperately flips through the ruined pages with a shaky breath, as the ink messily bleeds through from the water.
Shooting an irritated glare at the delinquents, small Ceres Fauna rests a gentle hand on the girl’s shoulder. With a long curtain of pine-scented green hair and two oak branches acting as antlers, Fauna wears a pretty sunflower-yellow dress as her honey-gold eyes look at Sana in pity. Calming Sana’s frenzied breath with her warm touch, Fauna guides her little hand to a chirping baby bird resting on her shoulder.
Across from the trees, a pair of young girls enjoy their time on the creaky seesaw.
Nanashi Mumei giggles excitedly, clapping her hands. With tawny brown hair and feathers, the small girl’s amber eyes glitter with excitement. Clothed in a grey sweater and blue jeans, the comfy little owl smelling of berries thoroughly enjoys her fun.
Ouro Kronii sits, arms crossed, as she tolerates the tedium of the playground. With a short bob of dark-blue hair, Kronii’s bright blue eyes gaze uninterestedly at the seesaw. Donned in a dark-blue pantsuit smelling of parchment, the small and serious girl seems incredibly bored. The only grin on her face is at seeing Mumei’s joy.
In a torrent of mischief, the boys jerkily pull Mumei by one of her feathers until she falls on the ground with a heavy thud. Curling up into a ball, the hurt girl shakily weeps hot tears as the plucked feather ripped from her head slowly falls back on her face. Kronii madly lunges at the bullies as they scamper off.
Wrapping Mumei in a tight hug and softly kissing her on the forehead, Kronii runs a small hand across her back in an attempt to soothe her.
“Shh… It’s okay, Flower. It’s okay.” Kronii whispers, eliciting some tired giggles from Mumei.
Mori Calliope sighs, turning down her noisy heavy metal music as she pulls into the asphalt parking lot past the rickety wooden sign in her family’s used black minivan.
Council Creek Elementary School
Staring at the bleak, beige building, Calli thinks of it more like a prison every day. With rusty chain-link fences and the drab color palette, it’s a wonder anyone enjoys going here. Still, staring out into the sunny, grass-green meadows with a colorful, vibrant playground, she sees some way.
Especially with her little half-sister.
Calli truly loves Hakos Baelz with all of her heart, but at the same time can’t seem to escape a general sense of malaise. Calli’s in college now! She should be studying her love of music and composition, meeting new people, and having fun parties. Instead, she works here as a glorified babysitter.
Groaning with annoyance, Calli slams the black car door behind her as she steps out, stashing the newest song she’s been writing into her sweatpants pocket. Wearing wrinkled casual streetwear with a cap and sunglasses, Calli can feel eyes come her way. Who cares? She feels comfortable.
Taking a deep breath, Calli readies herself to be patient. A mischievous, hyperactive child, Bae can certainly be a handful.
What she sees instead breaks her heart.
Fauna wraps Sana in a cocoon of warm blankets, doing her best to clean the muddied child as she shivers from the cold puddle. Kronii, meanwhile, hair sweaty and disheveled from her leap at the bullies, gently pets a sniffling Mumei.
Calli feels her fists roughly clench at the next sight, knuckles turning white as her fingernails dig into her palms.
Hakos Baelz sadly limps her way out of the school’s large double doors. Fuzzy ears pressed limply against her head, her fiery red tufts of hair seem almost dulled. Blue eyes locked to the pavement, her face is neatly bandaged, still not fully hiding her scratches and black eye. Bae’s red sweatshirt of Calli’s band, The Deadbeats, is torn and muddy, as are her black shorts. Hopping, Bae seems to wear one red hi-top sneaker with another missing, along with dirtied white socks that accentuate her bruised legs.
Proudly holding her hand, head held high, a slightly taller, tan girl with ruby-red hair, black horns, and pink and blue eyes marches confidently. Wearing a pretty black dress, the taller girl presses next to Calli’s sister, uncaring of her filthiness.
“Calli!”
Bottom lip trembling, Bae runs up to her big sister as tears drip down her cheeks. Clutching her in a tight hug, the poor child bawls into her sister’s jacket. Bae smells strongly of ointment.
“Easy there, big sis is here! No need to worry…” Calli assures, gently patting Bae on the head, her hair still gritty with dirt. Calli’s mind floods with worries. Does she have fresh clothes? A first aid kit? At the moment, comforting Bae seems at the top of her list.
“Want to tell me what happened?”
Bae fervently shakes her head, Calli’s eyes glancing to her new friend
“HiRyS, I’m IRyS! I’m Bae’s wife,” Calli would laugh at the girl’s greeting if it weren’t for the girl’s serious face and solemn posture.
“Well, Mrs. Baelz, would you care to say what happened?”
“After Bae and I got married at recess, a bunch of bullies came and picked on her just because she looks different! I wanted to stop them, but they wouldn’t listen…”
Calli notices how IRyS’ expression furrows and her arms cross, a look glazes across her eyes that Calli knows all too well. Anger. Not at the bullies, the teachers, or even the school, but anger at herself that she wasn’t good enough.
Calli walks over, Bae clinging desperately to her leg, before kneeling on the concrete sidewalk to meet IRyS at eye level, resting a hand on her shoulder.
“I think what you did was very sweet. I’m not always gonna be around to look after my baby sister. Can you keep her safe for me?”
IRyS looks up at Calli, nodding determinedly. Calli gently nudges her sister off her before marching over to the busy playground. Bae instead clings to IRyS, whose face blushes a passionate red.
Marching up confidently to the bullies, Calli squares her shoulders and widens her stance as the bullies continue to cackle and high-five each other.
“HEY!” Calli barks, the bullies stopping in their tracks.
“Have you boys ever heard of a funeral dirge before?”
The bullies grow silent, staring at Calli gravely as they shake their heads wildly in unison.
“Well, they’re going to play yours real soon if you keep bullying those girls, got it?” Calli snarls.
All color drains from the boys’ faces, their eyes popping out of their skulls as they unanimously nod their heads in affirmation.
“Scram,” Calli growls.
The boys shriek in fright, trampling over each other as they run wildly away.
In the background Calli can hear cheering, the girls whooping and hollering at the fleeing bullies.
“Well done, Liebling,” A voice purrs in her ear.
Calli feels hairs stand up on the back of her neck.
Takanashi Kiara is a classmate of Calli’s at HoloU, and the closest person Calli has to a friend. Conversations with Kiara tend to be simple, the weather, food, what classes they have. Calli never feels awkward or uncomfortable with small talk, in fact, she sometimes wants to skip classes altogether just to speak with her.
It’s undeniable that Calli is head-over-heels for her. With blazing orange hair and cyan highlights, kind amethyst eyes, a pretty white smile and the smell of cinnamon, Kiara’s beauty always sticks with Calli in dreams. Even in a simple orange dress, Kiara captures all of Calli’s attention.
Kiara’s a bright, bubbly theater major while Calli tends to be a lonely band geek. Calli had long ago given up hope of any prospect for a relationship.
“K-Kiara! I–uh, what are you doing here?” Calli squeaks, wincing at her awkwardness.
Smooth going, Mori.
“Taking care of my special little friend here!” Kiara beams, patting Mumei on the back.
“Hi, Ms. Mori!” Mumei cheers.
“Well, um, I ought to get going…”
“Wait, don’t you want this?”
Calli’s face grows hot.
Calli never missed a single performance from the drama department. Each spectacle seems to top the next. Moreso, Kiara’s performances always leave her stunned. Seeing her friend on stage like that, Kiara’s ability to completely adapt to a new character always astounds her.
One day, Calli decided to work out her feelings for Kiara in a song. “Firebird”. Ideally, it would be Kiara’s number in a musical Calli wanted to write. The story would follow a gloomy Reaper and fiery Phoenix. Separated by their nature, the two still nurture feelings for each other and find a way to love. Calli had never finished it.
Now, in Kiara’s hand, are the crumpled up remains of the music that must have fallen out of Calli’s pocket.
“Oh! Sorry you head to read that, it’s still a… work in progress,” Calli admits shyly.
"Sorry? ” Kiara cocks her head to the side, curious.
“I… well,” Calli stammers, drops of sweat forming at her temples.
“Calli, don’t be sorry! You have a real talent for this stuff, you know,” Kiara assures.
“Yeah! I–I know,” Calli bluffs.
Right then, Kiara starts to laugh. It’s almost a delightful cluck, nasally but warm and pleasant to the ears. Kiara’s laughter is the most beautiful sound Calli’s ever heard, she just wants to clothe herself in it and treasure the noise for the rest of her days.
“I’ll give this back to you, but you have to listen to me!”
“...okay?”
At that moment, Kiara places a soft peck on Calli’s cheek. Calli’s face flushes with warmth, the aroma of cinnamon seems to encapsulate all of her senses. A tantalizing sensation hits her tongue as if the spices Kiara smells of can be tasted.
“I think it was very sweet of you to stand up for your sister like that,” Kiara whispers, batting her eyelashes.
Calli opens her mouth, but no sound exits.
“A brave girl like you deserves a reward, no? I want coffee with you later tonight!”
“I’m not a big coffee fan, the stuff’s pretty bitter–” Calli blurts, immediately cringing at her outburst. She had never told anyone that before. Why now?
The sound of Kiara’s laughter drips down Calli’s ears like hot molasses.
“I never took you for a sweet tooth! You can buy some kiddie drink instead.”
Kiara’s flirtation is interrupted by Sana’s gagging, calling out to the two from atop the same tree, Fauna at her side.
“Ew. Cooties!” Sana teases.
“I thought it was sweet…” Mumei pouts.
“Oh, be quiet, Sana!” Bae snaps.
“Yeah, just admit you want to smooch Fauna!” IRyS counters.
“Do not–” The sound of Sana’s objection is muffled by a quick kiss on the lips by Fauna, who smirks at Sana’s stunned face. Falling backward off the tree and ruffling its branches, Sana runs around shrieking.
“AHH! I HAVE COOTIES I HAVE COOTIES!”
Fauna politely nods to the group, before setting the baby bird back in its nest.
“Well, I’m afraid we have to be going. See you later tonight. You’re going to love it, Calli!” Kiara promises, guiding Mumei out of the school.
“Bye, Kronii~” Mumei smiles sweetly, waving excitedly at the dark-haired girl.
Kronii places her hands on her hips, huffs, and rolls her eyes, blowing a lock of hair from her face. At the same time, Calli can’t help but notice Kronii’s rosy pink blush and the way her eyes glance back to the ground.
“Later tonight…” Calli sighs dreamily, taking Bae by the hand as her sister places a kiss on IRyS’ palm.