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- - -
“Saijo-san?” Maya’s amused voice interrupted Claudine from where she was huffing off stray strands of silvery hair out of her eyes.
Their hands were clasped into each other's firm grips, feet meeting in the middle and maintaining their posture by the sheer force of itself as they sat with each of their limbs stretched out. They were taking turns bending backwards while the other pushed her body forward. Maya had come to notice that, every time Claudine came back up from a forward-bend, she would appear slightly disgruntled when thick waves of ash-blonde fell into her face as determined by gravity.
“What is it?” She grumbled, trying to shake all her hair back without letting go of Maya merely for the sake of using her hands.
“Is something the matter?” Maya could clearly see what the exact matter was, but of course she still had to ask. Sparing Claudine’s dignity wasn’t an option.
Claudine looked at her, half her face practically covered with a curtain of tangled curls.
“Oh, no - I am having a grand ol' time.”
“Ah, so the absence of your hairband was intentional.” Maya stated as-a-matter-of-factly. “It is perhaps a fashion choice, then, instead of a means of convenience as you allow for your gorgeous golden tresses to hide your stunning face. I must say,- while I enjoy seeing more of your fascinating locks borne by your French bloodline, you are even more captivating when I am able to see every aspect of your facial features. Nevertheless, I must express my appreciation for this view you’ve presented in front of me, as your luscious waves are the equivalent to that of a waterfall gleaming underneath the luminescence of sunrise-”
“Mon dieu,” Claudine said out loud. If she didn’t stop her now, surely Maya would have monologued for the rest of the class session - going into detail how absolutely breathtaking every single strand of hair on her head was. “Tais-toi, I lost it! My hairband!”
The sarcasm was not lost on Maya's ears. The brunette chuckled lightly, unhooking her fingers from Claudine’s and setting them both free from the stretch posture. “I had an inkling that you did not decide to forgo it today on purpose.”
“Then what was that all about?” The blonde demanded.
“It is too difficult to resist from teasing you, Saijo-san.” Maya’s eyes sparkled, annoying Claudine even more. “Alas, I must give in to the temptation before all the words are left unspoken.”
“They were better unspoken!”
“I do not rescind them, for I meant every word.” She folded her legs underneath her, seeming content with staying seated on the floor despite not even completing their stretches. “I acknowledge that the lack of your hairband was granting you discomfort, however, so if I may-”
Maya stretched her arms backwards, moving to untie her bow from where it sat holding in a portion of her hair in a half-ponytail. Her hair was less likely to puff up and fly into her face as much as Claudine's did, so she never truly needed to do much about keeping it out of the way. Wearing it the way she usually did had always been more towards the purpose of accessorising rather than practicality. Sometimes, Maya would pull all her rich chocolate strands into a full ponytail, though it did not happen often.
As Claudine watched, the rest of the top student’s hair fell down into place, and she was utterly dumbfounded when the periwinkle ribbon was handed to her.
“Here, please use this to secure your hair in place. It pains me if you were to suffer from further discomfort.”
“Must you be so dramatic?” Claudine complained. “I don’t need it, it’s yours. Put it back on.”
“I do not need anything to keep my hair out of my face.” Maya was saying now, her voice growing gentle. Then, she shuffled forward until she was knee-to-knee with Claudine. “Perhaps, if you feel guilty over accepting my kindness- then please. Allow me.”
Claudine wasn’t sure what otherworldly force it was that caused her to bend to Maya’s will. She found herself craning her neck forwards before she could think, so the top of her head was facing Maya. When nimble fingers began carding through her hair, nails brushing her hair back into position, she was closing her eyes before her mind could scream at her to stop enjoying the situation. Her face flushed a deep crimson, the close proximity between them throwing her heart into an unexpected tap-dance.
She hadn’t even realised how much time had passed by the time Maya leaned back to savour her handywork.
“I’m done.” The brunette spoke breezily.
Claudine straightened herself, getting a feel of how none of her hair was falling forwards into her face now, save for the bangs that had always been meant to drift over her forehead. She touched the soft velvet at the top of her head before turning to the mirrors, taking note of how Maya had taken to tying her ribbon in place of where her hairband used to be. She’d completed it with a little bow by itself at the top of Claudine’s head, though it was positioned slightly more to one side instead of being a centrepiece.
“Do you like it?”
The half-French didn’t respond immediately. The heat in her face remained for a few minutes longer. She wasn’t sure what to feel about this sudden act of generosity from Maya. The colour of the ribbon contrasted horribly with her bright magenta eyes and faded pink leotard, though she couldn’t help liking how the thought of something that was such an important part of Maya was now used to customise her hair. She’d have to return the ribbon, of course - it held a certain significant value to her partner. But for now, she allowed herself to lavish it.
A hand touched her shoulder, and she found herself pulled out of her thoughts as she turned to face Maya once again.
“Saijo-san? If you don’t like it, then I can-”
“It’s fine!” She snapped in interruption. Immediately realising how rude she was being, Claudine turned to Maya with an apologetic look. “Pardonne-moi. Merci. It’s… perfect.”
Maya smiled in relief. “Glad to hear it. Now, shall we?”
- - -
Maya told her to keep the ribbon for as long as she needed, just until she had the chance to purchase a new hairband to replace her old one. Now, naturally, Claudine's initial reaction was to procrastinate on doing exactly that for as long as possible. However, when the thought of wearing what had to obviously be something of Maya's while the brunette herself was to be seen without, it surely would cause ridiculous and highly embarrassing rumours to arise. She knew one particular classmate would jump at the chance right away. The likelihood of Kaoruko going around dropping suggestive comments to whomever would listen was simply too high, Claudine couldn't possibly risk it just for a mere ribbon.
No matter how much her heart fluttered at the thought of Maya sacrificing something so important to her, it was just not worth giving up the small amount of sanity she had left since the blue-haired Kyoto girl came into existence.
That was the resolution Claudine settled with when she went off by herself to the mall that evening. For a hairband and nothing more. That was the purpose of the visit. She wasn't supposed to get anything more than that. She wasn't supposed to have her thoughts stray back to one girl with cascading brown hair that reminded her of hot chocolate, the kind of beverage that fills you with so much warmth during a cold night it felt like an extremely pleasant warm hug-
That was it. She wasn't supposed to think of anything else. Just a replacement for her hairband, because her waves were so wild she had to push them back from flowing into her face so much. She already had her bangs for that, though her bangs were short and controlled, her curls less as so.
And yet, all it took was for her eyes to fall on the assortment of colourful ribbons at the aisle filled with variations of gorgeous hair accessories. She'd made her selection for a hairband quickly enough beforehand - the usual black, before going back and getting one of gentle dark blue even though she would never wear it because she barely owned anything to match it with. It felt right, somehow, and Claudine had no reasonable explanation for the way her face flushed so red upon picking it up.
But then came the collection of ribbons, waiting for Claudine to give into her temptations, practically mocking her - perhaps she should get Maya another one, just as a way of thanks. But Maya probably wouldn't exchange anything for the one she was almost always seen with. She was far too fond of it to basically ' cheat' on her ribbon with a whole new one.
Despite those reasonable (questionable) thoughts, Claudine grabbed a black ribbon. It was the same width as Maya's own, the only difference with the black having a distinctive sheen to it, a telling giveaway to how it was so clearly new. Maya probably had her ribbon for years, though she seemed to have taken good enough care of it for the colour to not appear faded in the slightest.
Once she'd made the short journey back to her dorm room, the recent purchases hidden well in a small paper bag, Claudine instantly found herself staring at her own reflection. The little bow in the midst of the makeshift hairband was still there, if only slightly crooked and getting loose since Maya had it put in some hours ago. She closed her eyes and sighed deeply as she tugged the knot out, feeling some of her hair drop forward to her shoulders, freed from the confines of said ribbon.
Claudine folded it, wondering if she should get it cleaned. But then she thought about how Maya probably missed it by then, and she shouldn't dawdle any longer in returning it. Upon reaching this conclusion, the blonde reached into the paper bag to grab the new hairband. However, as she was doing so, her fingers brushed the silky surface of the new ribbon and she was pulling it out before she could process what was happening.
The ribbon was smooth and slippery in her hands, a different texture from Maya's own. She rubbed it against her fingers for a while, forming a slight fondness to the item.
Then, the subject of Maya's ribbon returned to her mind and she forced herself to hurry up and pull her hair back the same way the top student always had.
She remembered the gentle way Maya had carded through her hair with her delicate fingers, combing it down and carefully pulling out any tangles as she took great care not to accidentally tug a strand too harshly at its scalp. Maya had pushed her hair back, gathering the top half of it up into a half-ponytail before remembering that it was Claudine's hair she was caring for, not her own. She'd let it go, tucking back every loose strand of hair behind Claudine's ears instead before slipping in the ribbon from the back of her head to the top, tying it up in place with a perfect bow, as if Claudine was a present box and that was the finishing touch.
Or perhaps Claudine herself was the gift.
As she recalled the memories, her hands seemed to attempt to copy what she remembered feeling. Though it was revealed to be a massive fail as when Claudine looked at herself again, she received quite a shock at what she was witnessing.
Her hair was done up, instead of being pushed back, into a half-ponytail. A black bow was keeping it in place, tied firmly in what Claudine could only imagine was something of a bow. She couldn't quite see how it looked, if she even tied it as nicely as Maya had.
Of course thinking about Maya would make her unintentionally copy the top student's ever consistent hairstyle. Of course it would.
- - -
Everyone was scattered around the lounge by the time Claudine decided to step out of her room. She held Maya’s ribbon carefully in the palm of her hands, slowly slipping it into the pocket of her shorts in the hopes of handing it over to the girl in question as quickly as possible and get this entire situation over with. Having ownership over the object for longer than she needed was starting to drop an unexpected weight on her shoulders, and every moment of her breath was spent mulling over how Maya must feel so inadequate without the object of her treasured possession.
Sure, Maya had told her to keep it for as long as she needed, but she never truly needed it in the first place. Claudine could’ve just made do without. She didn’t need it keeping her wild hair back for as long as it did, she could even live without it. She could deal with hair flowing in her face every other second. What she didn’t need was how unsettled her heart was, thumping furiously in every waking hour of her remembering how gentle, soft, careful Maya had been-
Shaking her head free of such thoughts, Claudine reeled herself back to where she was. She started with a greeting, waving in the doorway as she paused and did a quick scan of the room. “Hey, has anyone seen Ten-”
Futaba glanced up the moment she approached, immediately speaking as if Claudine hadn’t uttered a word. “Oh hey Tendo.”
Claudine froze, doing a quick turnaround to see if Maya happened to stand right behind her. There was no one there, causing her to furrow her brows discontentedly as she stared Futaba down. To her surprise, her friend skidded back a bit on her rump underneath the half-French’s gaze.
“Tendo-han, don’t scare Futaba like that.” Kaoruko chided, dropping herself into Futaba’s lap as the shorter girl came close enough.
“I- Tendo Maya’s not here…?” Claudine gaped for a moment, confusion clouding over her features.
Mahiru, even more puzzled by the statement for some reason, piped up. “Yes she is?”
“Yeah, you’re funny Tendo-san!” Karen giggled from where she sat beside Mahiru on the floor, legs stretched forward as her arms stretched up. She reminded Claudine of a cat. Hikari nodded, apparently agreeing with her childhood friend’s statement.
The blonde stared at Futaba and Kaoruko and then at the trio. “What are you all talking about?”
Just then, Junna appeared, holding a plate full of banana muffins. Noticing the newcomer, she beamed at Claudine and Claudine dared hope, just for a moment, that there was still one sane person amongst her friends.
“Welcome, Tendo-san. It has been a long day, hasn’t it? Why don’t you join us in a little bit of relaxation for a while?”
Hope shattered into a million undecipherable pieces.
The blonde puffed up her cheeks, ruffled by the absurdity of it all. “What are you guys on about? It’s me, Saijo Claudine!”
Karen blinked at her statement, then her eyes lit up as if Claudine said something that finally made everything click. “Oh, you were looking for Kuro-chan! She went out, I don’t think she’s back yet-”
“Be more subtle about it! If she’s pining, we have to let it happen naturally.” Futaba, of all people, was trying to reason. Claudine felt her eyes bulge out at the bluntness of it.
“Oho but isn’t it so precious?” Kaoruko purred. “She misses Kuro-han so much she’s forgetting herself.”
“I don’t think that’s how love works…” Mahiru murmured, accepting a muffin Hikari was handing over to her.
Futaba grinned. “It’s Tendo, she’ll forget anything for Kuro.”
This was… strange. To hear her friends speak of her as if she was Maya, and apparently this version of Maya was apparently really into Claudine. “Can you guys not talk like I’m not here?”
“Oh right. Sorry, Tendo. Join us?”
“Stop calling me that. It’s me, Claudine!”
Everyone froze, watching her with varied emotions of inquisitiveness and concern. Whatever it was that was going on, it appeared she’d said the wrong thing. Or the strangest thing, despite how normal it was supposed to be. She was Saijo Claudine. Tendo Maya was Tendo Maya, not Saijo Claudine. Whatever this oddity was, she hoped her friends would stop the moment she did sit down, expecting for them to burst out in laughter and apologise, letting her know how they were simply joking to mess with her.
Unfortunately, whatever prank it was they were playing, they were determined to keep it going.
“Have a muffin, Tendo-san.”
Not bothering to repeat her name anymore, Claudine took one with a dip of her head and a word of gratitude.
Everything seemed to settle for a moment, until of course someone had to speak up again.
“You look a little different today, Tendo-han. Trying something new?” Kaoruko winked, arranging her fingers across each of her cheeks as she spoke in mock surprise, gasping all the way. “Perhaps for our dearest Kuro-han?”
“Cut it, Kaoruko.” Futaba dropped a piece of muffin into her roommate’s mouth to shut her up. It worked, partially, but at least the sounds of complaint coming out of an heiress noisily chewing her food and trying to make her annoyance known was easier to ignore than her usual talking. “I do have to admit though, something about you is… different.”
Claudine rolled her eyes. Of course she was different. She was Saijo Claudine, not Tendo Maya.
“Let me guess, my blonde hair?” Claudine grumbled, just about done with the ridiculousness.
“Well,” Hikari joined in. “The only consistent thing about you is the bow.”
“Yeah! You did something to your hair.” Karen looked thoughtful, leaning forward as if to get a good look at Claudine. “Did you cut it?”
Hikari sighed. “No, bakaren. I think she curled it a bit.”
“Her bangs do seem shorter.” Mahiru hummed.
“Oh for the love of-”
The bow? So that was it, they were addressing her by Maya’s name because she had a bow worn the same way Maya always did? Did they simply associate anyone with a hair bow as Maya?
“I got it.” Junna was speaking again after a moment. Claudine turned to her, the culprit that caused all hope for a partially sane group of friends tarnished. “Did you get a new bow? It looks nice by the way.”
Pinching the bridge of her nose, Claudine exhaled sharply. "Yes, I did. Obviously. It's black instead of violet. Perhaps you can notice how my hair is blonde instead of brown too."
They seemed to not hear her last sentence.
"It looks really pretty!" Karen praised excitedly, bouncing uncontrollably in her seat.
"A truly wise colour choice." Hikari nodded, though Claudine had a feeling she just liked the black.
"Are you trying new things, Tendo-han? And here I thought you'd stick with the same drab fashion sense." Kaoruko shrivelled her nose as if to prove her point regarding how Maya's tastes were just not up to her standards.
Claudine ignored them, close to being absolutely done with this conversation. She quickly finished her muffin and moved to stand up.
"Well, I'm done. Thanks for the food. I'm actually leaving to look for Tendo Maya now."
"B-but you're Tendo-san…?" Mahiru seemed to insist, looking absolutely confused now. Claudine wondered if she'd hit her head. If they'd all hit their heads.
Just then, another - hopefully a saviour - arrived in the form of Daiba Nana. She came bearing a jug full of what looked to be some sort of fruit juice, with paper cups stacked beside it on the tray. She placed it down on the table, smiling happily at the sight of her friends enjoying the snacks.
When Nana didn't look directly at Claudine and address her, the blonde felt the need to drag her attention up to her, just to see what name Nana would come to acknowledge her by. After Junna, she didn't dare hope. But perhaps, if there was still a small possibility left…
"Hey, Nana."
Soft green eyes flicked to her at once. "Yes, Kuro-chan?"
One normal person, thank the stars.
"Ah, you do know my name. That's good."
Nana looked sceptical now. "Have I gotten it wrong before…?"
"No, no. But everyone seemed to think I'm Tendo Maya." Claudine rolled her eyes. "For some reason."
Amusement quickly replaced the taller girl's confusion, and she smiled brightly. Her eyes seemed to fall on something at the back of Claudine's head. "I see."
"But your name is Tendo." Futaba frowned.
"No, it's Claudine! Saijo Claudine! You even gave me a nickname, don't you remember that?"
Scratching the back of her neck, the pink-haired girl shrugged. "Sure I do. But I gave it to Kuro-ko, not Tendo."
Claudine has no idea what to make of this situation anymore. Deciding to return to her original agenda, she checked to see if Maya's ribbon was still tucked safely in her pocket before she made her way towards the door. Just then, someone took a turn from the hallway and appeared right in front of her, from which she was stopped by two hands grabbing onto her shoulders before they could collide.
"Excuse me." Ever so polite, Tendo Maya squeezed her shoulders and released her. "That was close. Do look where you are going next time. No one would want you getting hurt."
Claudine was stunned into silence, holding her breath as Maya looked her up and down, seeming to make sure if she was indeed unharmed, despite having stopped the collision on time. But then there was something in Maya's eyes, some odd sort of recognition that Claudine wasn’t sure she liked, and the girl tilted her head as she accessed the blonde in front of her.
"You seem familiar." Maya said at long last. “Are you… a relative of mine?”
Claudine snorted. The fact that even Maya was seeming to think she was another Maya was just making the situation even more ridiculous. She couldn’t believe she was just thinking of this earlier, how she basically pined for a certain Tendo Maya due to the girl’s selfless generosity.
“Guys…” Nana’s unsure voice sounded from where the rest of the group were seated.
Suddenly, there was a loud smacking sound of skin against wood, one that Claudine didn’t have to turn around to figure out that it was most definitely someone slamming their hands onto the coffee table.
Futaba did a spit take of her drink once she turned to see who the other person at the door was, while Kaoruko let out a titter that Claudine did not need to know the meaning of.
“Impostor!” Karen yelled, pointing an accusatory finger at Tendo Maya. The real Tendo Maya.
“Seriously?!” Claudine shrieked, throwing her hands into the air.
“I can’t believe it…” Hikari muttered under her breath. “There are two of them now…”
“Oh wow, I’m seeing doubles…” Mahiru agreed.
"What is this, a Tendo-takeover?" Junna wondered.
Amongst it all, Nana spoke again, thankfully the only sensible person in the room. “How are you all enrolled in a prestigious school…”
Claudine had just about enough of it all. She raised a hand and tugged at the black ribbon, successfully bringing down her luscious ash-blonde locks. Collective gasps sounded from the group of friends all around, followed by the sound of what she could only assume to be Nana facepalming. Several uttered words of her name were spoken, shock evident in their voices as if Claudine had just performed a disappearing act.
“Tendo-san’s twin disappeared and it’s Kuro-chan in her place!” Karen’s voice was, unsurprisingly, the loudest.
Nana sighed. “Honestly… how…”
“Here!” Claudine all but yelled, taking Maya’s ribbon out of her pocket and shoving it against the taller - also looking extremely surprised, for some reason - girl’s chest before stomping away with an undignified huff. She uttered several curses in French the entire time. Curiously, her face was glowing crimson.
Maya caught the ribbon before it could drop to the floor, staring at it for a moment before turning to where Claudine had run off to. She was left to face everyone else, all her friends except Nana staring back in equal shock. Nana still had a hand on her face, frozen in an eternal facepalm.
“I was of the belief that I was facing my evil twin for a moment.” Maya actually sounded disappointed.
Somehow, her voice carried through the hallways enough for it to be heard by an incredibly agitated Saijo Claudine.
“YOU’RE THE EVIL ONE!”
- - -
