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“Kisa!”
The Quartz student turned around to the sound of a familiar voice to find it belonged to Yuki who was unusually alone as he made his way through the emptying cafeteria.
“Yuki-chan? Hello! Where are the others?”
He dismissively shrugged, “Minorin-senpai is making them train and sweat I think.”
“What about you?” Kisa tried not to let her confusion show on her face.
“I took the day off, it’s Saturday after all, Mare Mare and Eiko told him I feel sick. I’ll cover for them next time.”
She knew she probably shouldn’t be impressed, but the lack of remorse in Yuki’s explanation left an impression on Kisa as his innocent smile grew, “I also know you won’t sell me out since we are such good friends!”
“O-of course I won’t!” Kisa was quick to reply and it dawned on her why Yuki liked to wear little demon horns.
“Sweet! So, I wanted to ask for your help…” he began and held up a bag containing mystery contents.
“What do you need?” Kisa asked with a friendly smile.
“I dyed my hair,” he stated while sitting down on the chair across from her, making sure to throw his hair back in a flowing motion so any spectators would be in awe.
“You…” Kisa was taken aback and looked at his pink hair trying hard to see the difference from the last time they’d met, “... right, it’s a shade darker.”
“Lovely, isn’t it? Anyway!” His happy grin turned conspiratorial, “I still have some dye left and it would be a shame to let it get to waste.”
“I see… but I wasn’t planning on dying my hair anytime soon.”
“No, not you, your hair color is perfectly fine. We have to find someone else.”
The Quartz student let her face fall into a slight frown: “We have to…? Do you have anyone in mind?”
“Oh, you see. Everyone in Rhodonite is covered. Just like pretty much all other regular Jeannes. I mean I would never ask someone like Takashina-senpai or Sugachi-senpai to change their hair color. Although someone like Mitsuki-sama with light hair would actually be perfect. But that only leaves us with Otori in Quartz… and to be honest, he seems like a big party pooper and the color needs someone with grace to make it pop.”
“Right…” Kisa wasn’t sure if she could follow his reasoning but was curious to where this scheme was going.
“Then I thought about Onyx and remembered Kasai had nice pink highlights, so Onyx is covered, because let’s be real, they can’t handle much more pink. Which only leaves Amber.”
Nodding along, Kisa repeated, “Someone from Amber?”
“Of course, they can surely make any color look good, gotta give them that.”
“I guess… but why do you need me?” Kisa couldn’t fathom how she was supposed to convince someone from Amber to dye their hair pink.
Yuki blinked at her, confused as to why this wasn’t obvious. “You’re my selling argument number two. Right next to myself, of course.”
“Huh!?”
“We will go and grab Kasai to help, too, and then we’ll dye Amber pink!”
“I don’t think that’s going to work…” Kisa wanted to protest, yet, Yuki wouldn’t listen and ushered her out of the cafeteria, deciding that she had had enough to eat.
“Let’s go! Come on! This’ll be fantastic!”
It didn’t take them too long to find Kasai along with some other members of Onyx as they were about to leave the school compound.
“Kasai, heeyyy, over here! Kasaiiii!” Yuki called, waving his hands and Kisa thought that she would never call out as loud as him in the middle of the school. But he didn’t care about any of the turning heads. Kasai turned around as well, saying a few words to his classmates before jogging over.
“Ushiro. Tachibana. Is everything alright? Do you need anything?”
Yuki smiled sweetly, “We need your help, you’re free, right?”
Kasai looked a little confused, and Kisa wondered if he had experience with ‘helping’ Yuki. “What can I do? We were about to head out to town…”
“Shush, it’s important that you come with us. Moreover, you’d be spending time with Kisa and yours truly.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “Where’s the other two graces? Do you need more help? Should I ask the others to come, too?”
“It’s irrelevant where Mare Mare and Eiko are, but it’s of the utmost importance that you are helping us and no one else.”
Kasai and Kisa exchanged a glance and Kisa shrugged, still a little lost if this was going to be a good idea.
“Okay, and what do you need?”
Kasai seemed down to help with whatever it was. He waved to the others, miming them to go on without him and then followed Kisa after Yuki who began strolling towards Amber.
“We will turn Amber pink,” Yuki declared solemnly.
“He wants to dye someone’s hair,” Kisa explained and Kasai frowned.
“Wait. Why do you need us…?” Kasai asked amused by the absurdity of this idea.
“Bait,” Yuki deadpanned.
“Huh?” Kasai was taken aback.
As was Kisa, “What?”
“Just let me work my magic, please, okay?” his voice was laced with sweetness.
Soon enough, they walked into Amber’s building and Kisa had the suspicion that Yuki didn’t just want to find anyone here.
Eventually, they stood in front of the main training hall. Tanakamigi seemed to be instructing his classmates. Or at least he was watching them dance and perform. He didn’t look too pleased right now.
“There they are…”, Yuki smirked.
“Is this really a good idea?” Kisa wanted to know but Yuki opened the door without hesitation, earning annoyed and questioning looks.
“Heeey, everybody, it’s good to see you be productive on this fine afternoon…” he began.
“Are you crazy bursting in like this?” Kamiya almost screamed while Momonashi went to stop the music. But Yuki didn’t care, he just shoved his hand right in front of Kamiya’s face.
“I’m not talking to you, your eyeliner is all messed up.”
“What!? You-!” he started but actually turned to have a look in the mirror just to find nothing was wrong which left him even more seething.
“Tanakamigi-senpai, I have a proposition,” Yuki tried again.
Their upperclassman was not impressed as he replied, “And what could that be? What was your name again?”
“Ushiro Yuki and I brought Kasai Ataru and Tachibana Kisa…” He turned his head, waving his hand so that Kisa and Kasai stopped loitering in the middle of the door way and actually came inside.
“And I brought some pink hair dye!” he practically beamed as he looked back to Amber’s prodigy.
“So what? No one cares," Kamiya began again in a furious tone to which he only earned an annoyed side eye from Yuki.
“Don’t you have like, a dance to practice or something?”
“Gotta bring the trash out first-”
But Tanakamigi silenced his underclassman, “Let them speak. What’s up with the dye?”
Yuki cleared his throat, “Did you ever notice how only the very best students of each class have pink hair?”
Tanakamigi’s gaze turned to Kasai, then to Kisa and back to Yuki.
“No…”
“Do you want to say you’re Rhodonite’s best student?” Momonashi asked.
“Well, you’re definitely not Amber’s best one, are you?” Yuki replied while rolling his eyes.
“What is he trying to accomplish?”, Kasai asked in a hushed voice and Kisa shrugged once more, “I think he wants to dye Tanakamigi-senpai’s hair…?”
They exchanged another look, “Should we go? I’m not sure he really needs us here.”
“I don't know… Let’s wait a minute,” Kisa answered.
“Anyway, I have some hair dye left, do you want me to give you some highlights?”
Tanakamigi seemed confused, Kisa didn’t know he could look that way.
“Why would I want this?” he seemed genuinely interested in his answer. At least as much as Kisa could tell.
“Because it’s fun,” Yuki declared with a bright smile, “You guys are always so gloomy, like… have you ever spent a day in the sun? Where’s your whimsy?”
“I swear, if you pester Tanakamigi-senpai any longer.”
“Kamiya, Mononashi, once again.”
“But-” Kamiya wanted to protest some more but was cut off.
“I don’t need to be focused unless you’re actually got your timing and movement right but your progress is slow, so keep practicing while I talk with the others,” Tanakamigi instructed.
Without making a fuss, Momonashi smiled his stoic smile and turned the music on again. Eventually even Kamiya obliged and resumed his dancing.
Tanakamigi didn’t watch them, his attention back on the pink haired Rhodonite student next to him, “I don’t understand how pink and whimsy will make my performances better, go on.”
“That’s why I brought my friends. I’m sure Kasai could actually dance this part,” he was pointedly looking at the other Amber students twisting in their dance, “so Kamiya would have an easier time with his movement and the right distance to his dance partner.”
Tanakamigi raised an eyebrow and looked to Kasai who straightened up next to Kisa due to the sudden attention.
“Sure, why not? You can try, Kasai,” he offered.
Kasai made a few more steps into the room before speaking, “Alright… but I didn’t watch closely. Can I see it one more time?”
“Tanakamigi-senpai are you serious?” This time it was Momonashi who protested.
But Tanakamigi nodded, “Show him once more.”
Kisa wondered about their blind devotion to Tanakamigi but they followed his wish right away, dancing the same dance once again. This time she watched them more closely, as did Kasai.
There were some jerks and bumps in their choreography but it was mesmerizing overall if a little repetitive.
“So the themes are… longing and distrust?”, Kasai wondered and Kisa instantly understood what he meant even though she wouldn’t have been able to put it into words.
Tanakamigi nodded, “The distrust is supposed to dwindle as the dance goes on but these two keep fighting.”
“We’re one unit, it’s getting better with every dance!”, Kamiya declared with a frown.
“It’s not,” Tanakamigi stated matter-of-factly.
“Let me see, if I can dance this. I’m not too confident I get it on my first attempt,” Kasai said modestly but didn’t hesitate to take Momonashi’s place who went to restart the music.
Kisa watched their movements closely, Kasai’s energy was so different from Momonashi’s although the dance was close to the one she saw before. But this time, Kamiya had an easier time falling into his dance figures which was impressive.
After some time, Kasai stopped Kamiya’s figure, looking to Tanagamiki, as he wondered, “Wait a second. We could exaggerate this pose some more or go faster. It’s not clear from what I’ve seen. What’s the vision?”
“You should’ve watched closer,” Kamiya ranted as he got back to his starting position but Tanakamigi looked at Kasai as if this was the first good question he heard in a long time.
“It’s a twisted longing, I want you to get the most out of it.”
Then the music restarted once more.
“Pink whimsy, I tell you…” Kisa heard Yuki’s whisper as the dance played out in front of them.
“Stop here,” Kasai eventually called out again and Kamiya almost crashed into him.
“That’s where he keeps messing up,” Tanakamigi noted.
“You start the figure on the wrong foot,” Kasai pondered, “we have to meet closer together, but you’re off.”
“Huh? Can’t be. Maybe you’re off.” The frown was etched into his face, he wouldn’t give him the benefit of the doubt.
“I bet Kisa could do it better…” She could practically hear Yuki’s grin as he whispered loudly to Tanakamigi.
“Probably. Tachibana? Would you try?” their upperclassman then asked.
“I, um, sure. Okay,” Kisa agreed.
Dancing with Kasai shouldn't be that weird even if they were still in the Amber classroom and Tanakamigi was watching her.
Kamiya seemed to be done with the whole situation, slumping down on a nearby bench, mumbling to himself, shaking his head in the process.
The music started one more time and Kisa tried her best to keep up with Kasai while also remembering the steps she saw as best she could. It was a blessing that she danced the Jeanne part of the dance and Kasai was the one prompting her turns. The dance had looked so bleak and strange at first but this turned out to be a fun challenge.
“Pink whimsy…” Yuki echoed once more in an alluring voice, “What do you think, do you want some pink highlights now or what?”
“I guess it won’t hurt. Go ahead,” Tanakamigi finally complied.
"Splendid!"