Work Text:
It is estimated that there are over 20,000 species of fish in the world, she has many in her home, and certainly her younger sister has an aquarium at school that is filled with said fish. It would be safe to assume that Ririka Momobami was familiar with fish, wouldn't it?
Wrong
In honor of her first obsession, her younger sister presented her dear Sayaka with a common red marble fish. It was caught personally by the Student Council President when she won a game at the Bloom Festival last year. As far as Ririka knew, the fish was close to immortality by the end of this year.
Sure, the secretary had given the fish its own small aquarium in the Student Council room, where she checked on it multiple times per day, fed it a special diet to keep it healthy, but when she raised this question to her younger twin, Kirari replied with a wink and a sick dreamy look, saying that the power of love made the fish live longer. Ririka never asked again.
Hence, when Ririka entered the Student Council as a first arrival as she usually would, she placed her bag on the table in front of her before stopping dead in her tracks. In the water, she noticed the fish. It lay dead and floated on the surface.
In Ririka's mind, she felt a sense of dread. Who knew how the now lovey-dovey couple would react to the loss of their love child? Dealing with her dramatic younger sister was hard enough, but dealing with her dramatic now ⎯coupled⎯ sister is ten times harder.
***
While Kirari Momobami was not an early bird, her lover, Sayaka Igarashi, was, and she was thrilled to finally be able to be a couple with her true love.
When Kirari gave Sayaka a common crimson marble fish, she knew it was more than just a fish for her, there was nothing more fulfilling to Kirari than gifting her secretary a fish of her own to cherish and love, and seeing Sayaka adore the fish as if it were their child filled Kirari's heart with joy.
Kirari enjoys talking with Sayaka about fish and enlightening her with facts that she did not know about them. Sayaka was almost like an encyclopedia! Whenever Kirari was able to surprise her, she felt triumphant.
So, when Kirari came to the student council meeting early that day with the intention of surprising her, she was surprised to see the fish at the end of her life. There was no choice but to let nature take its course. That was her only choice.
Wrong
As far as her love for Sayaka was concerned, Kirari Momobami was not a logical person. As soon as she brought a brand-new fish into the aquarium ⎯as she usually did⎯ she left to find Sayaka.
***
It is not uncommon for Sayaka Igarashi, an honor student, the student council secretary, and Kirari Momobami's proud girlfriend, to arrive early at the student council room, to prepare for the meeting and to begin her duties, including printing the agenda and checking on the fish.
Unlike the president, she did not have a fascination with fish, but rather she was obsessed with Kirari and this led to her studying and learning everything. There is no need for Kirari to have an encyclopedia of fish when Sayaka is available!
The love she has for Kirari has led her to learn and also understand that crimson marble fish have a lifespan of one year, but due to her special care and dedication, her fish lived longer than average.
Thus, when she found the dead fish dead, Sayaka paid her respects and had prepared a report to inform Kirari of the time of the death. This was the logical choice, and Sayaka has always been logical, hasn't she?
Wrong
When Sayaka returned to the student council with a small glass tank she almost dropped it. The fish was still alive, even though Sayaka was certain that all the signs were there.
Sayaka looked into the fish's eyes and it was absolutely alive, sweat dripping down her forehead. When she realized that she had made a mistake, Sayaka was about to return the new fish.
But whenever the vice president asked the president about the fish's unusual lifespan, the president would give Sayaka a dreamy look and say that it is because of their mutual love.
Therefore, Determined, Sayaka poured the new fish into the container. Every living creature deserves to be able to experience the love and happiness she shared with the president! seeing the two fish made her smile.
Sayaka took the empty box back to the storage room.
***
As Ririka alighted from the helicopter, she walked directly to the student council room after returning from the faraway pet store. It was regrettable that she had zoomed out and doodled when Kirari explained the fish supply chain to Sayaka.
There was a sudden stop in Ririka's footsteps as she sweated profusely.
Her plan was to scope the dead fish and replace it; when she saw two very alive, wide-eyed fish staring at her from the small aquarium, her sister's voice echoing in the back of her mind.
“It’s the power of love”.
Taking her fish, Ririka set out to find Mary.