Chapter Text
A week had passed since their fateful evening at the glistening tower, and Sayaka was beginning to go crazy. It seemed like it never even happened for Kirari, that it was just another regular evening for her. Sayaka cursed herself for ever feeling like something would change between them, her feelings were getting ridiculous and in the way of her duties as secretary.
Ever since Kirari had “rehired” her, she had been messing up even the smallest things. First, Sayaka forgot to start Kirari’s morning tea, she could pass that off as a simple mistake. But forgetting the morning reports, and now, forgetting to restock Kirari’s favorite sky blue nail polish? She was beginning to wonder if Kirari’s tongue had the magic to erase brain cells.
Sayaka always arrived early to the council room, way before anyone else would get there. She always made an effort to go over the schedule at least 10 times before the first member arrived. Today, the first thing to do was discuss the election standings. Sayaka snickered to herself, of course the president would reign superior. Sayaka had absolutely no doubts that Kirari would be the president again, as she should be.
Sayaka walked over to Kirari’s chair and ran her finger against the arms, the chair somehow never got dirty. Just like Kirari, everything about her was polished, pristine, and perfect. There was never a move out of place for Kirari, never a crack in the armor she wore. She blushed at the thought of Kirari, she pinched her arm to snap her out of her thoughts.
Sayaka looked at the clock, 7:40, and the council members were going to start coming in. Kirari was never exactly “on time,” she exclaimed that she liked to be fashionably late and to have an entrance, so Sayaka didn’t start her tea just yet.
The first one to arrive was Midari, surprisingly, the one-eyed girl normally didn’t even show up. Sayaka could infer that she was in the bathrooms with all the complaints she had received from the house-pet janitors about her.
“Yo, Sayaka!” Midari said, “I’m here, did ya miss me?” She lazily sat down and placed her feet on the table Sayaka had just cleaned.
“Goodmorning, Midari,” Sayaka said through gritted teeth, her patience was already being severely tested, “I don’t know if ‘miss’ is the right word,” Sayaka mumbled, “Feet off, now,” She said sternly, grabbing a cloth to wipe the mess that was created on the table by Midari’s grubby shoes.
“You’re no fun, Sayaka,” Midari drawled out, “Any luck with the Prez yet?” She fidgeted with her gun, Sayaka didn’t bother to ask if it was real or fake.
“You ask me that everytime you see me,” Sayaka sighed, “The answer is the same as it always is, no,” Sayaka walked over to the tea kettle and began prepping Kirari’s morning tea, earl grey. Midari had known Sayaka since middle school, and with both of them being on the student council, they quickly formed a friendship. Midari knew about Sayaka’s crush on Kirari far before Sayaka even knew.
“When are you just going to take her by the hips and kiss her?” Midari groaned, “I’m sick of seeing you guys give googly eyes to each other during meetings, it’s gross,” Midari made a gagging sound, sticking her pierced tongue out.
“You know I can’t do that, enough talk about this, the other members will be here soon,” Sayaka let a small smile form on her face, her ears a bright pink.
But why can’t I do that?
——
As expected, Kirari made her entrance by being 30 minutes late to the meeting. Although it was completely illogical and ruined Sayaka’s meeting plans, it made Sayaka even more entranced.
“Goodmorning, Sayaka,” Kirari breathlessly said, placing her hand on Sayaka’s shoulder as she walked over to her seat at the head of the table, “Now, what’s on the schedule for today?” Kirari smirked, looking up at Sayaka who would read off the schedule.
“First, a scheduled gamble with the computer club, then a meeting with the Math society club…” Sayaka said before she was cut off by a loud sigh of Kirari’s, this was a usual occurrence.
“That’s boring, cancel it all,” Kirari said, propping her head up with her hand, “If that is all, you all are free to go,” She said with a wave of her hand, all the members except Sayaka took this as a chance to escape from Kirari’s mischievousness.
Sayaka watched Kirari closely from behind, the president picked up her teacup and carefully sipped the tea. Sayaka noticed that today, however, Kirari did not drink all of her tea. She quickly began to panic, the worst case scenario flooded her mind, was it too sweet? Not sweet enough? Diluted? Too strong? She began sweating and didn’t even realize Kirari was calling her name until Kirari pulled on her blazer.
“Sayaka, are you feeling alright?” She asked, a small smirk on her face as she watched Sayaka’s face turn blood red.
“Yes, I’m just fine, is the tea to your liking?” Sayaka looked down at the sitting girl, and her mind swirled, Kirari looked radiant.
“Of course it is Sayaka, you always make it delightful,” Kirari smirked up at the flushing girl, she ran her manicured nails over her braid, feeling it become frayed, “Sayaka, dear, come redo my braids for me,” Kirari said softly, placing her hands in her lap elegantly.
“Yes, president,” Sayaka nodded her head calmly, secretly, this was Sayaka’s favorite thing to do. Kirari’s platinum blonde hair was nothing short of soft, shiny, and long. Her hair smelt of lavender shampoo, and there wasn’t a split end in sight, (probably because of Sayaka’s diligent work of learning to trim hair, just for the president.)
Sayaka stood next to Kirari, undoing the black ribbon holding her braid intact. She grabbed a soft-bristle brush that she had in her skirt’s pocket, Sayaka made an effort to always come prepared for the president. She brushed and untangled Kirari’s now crimped hair, the hair was incredibly long and healthy, Sayaka made a mental note to inquire about the President’s hair care routine.
As Sayaka was almost done braiding the second one, she began to get lost in her thoughts. Her mind always brought her back to a particular moment, the moment where Sayaka had completely outed her love for Kirari, and the moment where Kirari had reciprocated, (or she thought she reciprocated.) It was stressing her out, never knowing what Kirari truly wanted, did she want her? Her intertwined fingers started to become more aggressive and harsh the more she continued to think about the President.
Sayaka continued pulling until she saw Kirari wince and let out a tiny gasp, “President! I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize…” Sayaka explained, her voice got caught in her throat, she didn’t mean to hurt the president. Her president. Sayaka quickly finished plaiting the platinum hair, tying the braid in place with a black satin bow.
“It’s quite alright, Sayaka,” Kirari said, but the usual teasing tone was replaced by something else that Sayaka couldn’t quite put her finger on. She watched as Kirari ran her hands delicately over the plaits, “A fantastic job as usual, Sayaka,” Kirari turned her head and smirked at her.
Sayaka’s whole day was quickly made at any praise the President gave her, her strive for perfection was appreciated! Sayaka flushed and quickly bowed her head in thanks, she heard Kirari let out a quiet chuckle under her breath.
———
“You know, I’m starting to think this partnership is a bad idea if all you’re gonna do is follow me around like some creep,” Mary harshly said, turning to face the masked girl in a lonely corridor, “And you don’t have to wear that stupid and ugly thing around me, too,” She added. Mary hated it whenever Ririka wore her mask around her. How were they supposed to build trust if Ririka couldn’t even show her her own face?
“Mary..we’re going to have to gamble for some more chips,” Ririka said timidly, Mary was brash, independent, and brave. Ririka had been ordered around and made to feel like she didn’t matter.
“Yeah, yeah, we will,” Mary rolled her eyes, crossing her arms, “Seriously though, you don’t have to follow me everywhere, I already agreed to this damn partnership and being your friend,” Mary explained, she was truly tired of feeling stalked in the one place she should not be getting stalked at. The creepy mask brought shivers down her spine, and people didn’t like being around her because of the ‘parasite’ always following her.
“Okay, I’ll take that into consideration,” Ririka said quietly, quickly becoming slightly embarrassed that her stalking skills weren’t all that unnoticeable, she lowered her head in shame.
“Take throwing away that god-awful mask into consideration, as well,” Mary spat, she looked at Ririka and felt an odd sense of determination. Ririka had all the same features of Kirari, but Mary saw on Ririka’s face a softness that Kirari lacked. Ririka just looked more human, and Kirari creeped her out even more.
“You know I can’t,” Ririka explained with a certain bite to her voice, her hands clenched the mask tighter, it was useless to explain why she couldn’t. At least right now it was.
So she does have some boldness..she’s not a total wimp… Mary thought, she eyed Ririka down, “Whatever, just leave me out of your conjuration,” She said, as she started walking away from the platinum haired girl.
This partnership is going to be the death of me.. Mary sighed deeply. She was incredibly annoyed with the outcome, and of course, her partner had to be some timid and shy girl who does nothing but listen to everyone else around her.
——
At the Momobami Manor, Ririka barely even spoke, unless it was to her sister Kirari. She could hear her father talking about investments, stocks, politics to his business partner none of that concerned her. She looked over to her right, Kirari didn’t seem all that engaged either, she was poking and prodding at her food with her fork, something that annoyed their father the most.
“Kirari, you know better, stop playing with your food. Eat.” He sternly said, before going back to ignoring the two siblings and bragging about his accomplishments. Kirari sighed loud enough to grab the attention of everyone at the table, she dropped her fork causing it to clank against the fine China they used. Kirari quickly stood up and left the table, without another word, Ririka didn’t miss the way she ran her hand over her braids, however.
Her father chuckled awkwardly, trying to ease the tension and embarrassment for his business partner, “Teenage girls, am I right?” The partner chuckled awkwardly, “Ririka, go see what’s wrong with your sister,” Her father said, only Ririka could decipher the threat hidden in the demand. She nodded her head, the mask digging into her cheeks in the process.
Ririka walked up the large spiral staircase to Kirari’s room, it was the last room at the hall, completely opposite from Ririka’s. They both liked to be kept separate from each other, along with everyone else. Ririka didn’t bother knocking, she walked into Kirari’s room, it was incredibly messy, which was unlike Kirari. When Kirari was a little kid she had insisted on having sky blue walls, no one dared to question her, she never repainted it since.
Kirari was sitting on the edge of her bed staring at her aquarium, probably lost in thought, “Normally you knock,” Kirari said, her eyes still fixated on her fish.
“Normally you engage in conversation at dinner,” Ririka countered, she walked over and sat down next to her twin and removed her mask. One thing that Kirari and Mary shared was the disapproval of the plastic hardware against Ririka’s face.
Kirari’s lips twitched up into a smirk, “It’s boring if it’s the same conversation every time,” Kirari ran her hand across her neck, an unusual movement for her, something Ririka noted.
“Mary Saotome….how is she?” Kirari said, her eyes hadn’t left the fish tank once, “Is your partnership going well?” She questioned, interested in hearing her sister’s response.
Ririka fidgeted with her hands a bit, a small blush painting her cheeks, it was somewhat uncomfortable for her talking to her sister, they weren’t necessarily ‘close’, “It’s going well, I believe. Mary is brave, independent, and determined, she has a unique way of warming up to people,” Ririka smiled to herself at the thought of Mary, she could feel her heartbeat quicken, “She’s going to change things..” She added, her fidgeting coming to a stop.
Kirari’s eyes quickly flickered to Ririka, what once was devoid of any emotion was replaced with amusement, “Interesting,” Is all Kirari said, her cerulean eyes scanned over Ririka’s features. Ririka was right, Mary is going to change things, and she already has.
When Kirari looked at Ririka, instead of looking back at her own face, she saw something different. She saw the real Ririka instead of the fake Kirari.
———