"You guys were amazing today!" Astra beamed, practically bouncing on her feet. Her excitement was impossible to hide. "You two!" she pointed at Seiya and Seirou, "there was a moment I couldn't even tell who was who. It was like you became one person out there!"
The group of four strolled through the vibrant, lantern-lit streets, the distant sounds of drums and laughter filling the air. Astra skipped ahead slightly, munching on a puff of cotton candy as she kept talking, her eyes still sparkling while the twins exchanged a brief glance, then quickly looked away, each folding their arms with a scoff,
"But really," Astra continued, "I wanted Kaen to hear all this too! He didn't even come with us." She puffed her cheeks. "He never misses a strike, and tonight he looked like crimson flames himself just… alive. Fierce. Perfect."
Then her eyes turned to Shion. "And you….the flute at the end?" She blinked. "That wasn't your usual melody. I've never heard that one before, but… it felt familiar somehow. Like… a memory I never had. Have you ever played it before?"
Shion was quiet for a moment, his eyes trailing the glow of floating lanterns in the sky.
"…Maybe I have," he said finally, voice low. "A very long time ago. I don't remember it fully. But tonight…" He paused, glancing at Astra."…tonight, I felt like trying it again."
Astra nodded as they walked, her eyes lazily scanning the crowd until they suddenly locked onto something familiar in the distance. Her pace slowed, then abruptly quickened, eyes lighting up with excitement.
"Arisu?" she whispered under her breath.
Without another word, she darted ahead, weaving through the crowd with surprising speed. The three boys behind her blinked in confusion, then exchanged a glance and hurried after her.
As Astra neared, the figures became clearer and so did the commotion.
"Maihima! Can't you see I picked that fan first?! I laid hands on it this time! give it back!" Arisu exclaimed, trying to grab a beautifully crafted folding fan from the hands of the girl infront of her.
But Maihima simply snapped it open with a smug flick and began fanning herself with it.
"So what if you touched it first? I'm willing to pay double. Besides, I really like this one. Why don't you pick another?"
"I picked this as a gift, And why do you always want what I like? There are plenty of fans here why this one? Are you trying to copy me again?"
"Ennn?! How dare you accuse our leader like that?" Miaomiao stepped in with a scowl, "You are the one copying!" Meimei added, arms crossed. "Maybe you're the one jealous of her."
"Me? Copying her?" Arisu scoffed, pointing a thumb at herself. "Please, consider my visiting my grandfather—he's the best at fixing broken minds. Maihima's been trying to one-up me since we were kids."
"That's ridiculous!" Miaomiao barked. "Our leader has always been kind and considerate to you! Just because your father and grandfather are friends with hers doesn't give you the right to say whatever you want!"
Astra stepped in between them, her eyes sharp, repeated with a sarcastic laugh. "Kind and considerate?" She just looks like that. You sure your eyes are working?"
Before Miaomiao could retaliate, Meimei instantly backed off, only to receive a not-so-gentle elbow from Miaomiao.
Arisu's face lit up the moment she saw Astra. Without wasting a second, she rushed over and stood by her side while Miaomiao folded her arms and huffed. "Our leader has always been kind! It's you two who need an eye check-up!"
Astra, still holding the stick from her half-finished cotton candy, flipped it casually between her fingers, her head tilting,
"Really? Is that so?"
"Y-Yes," Meimei stammered, a bit unsure now.
"Maybe your leader is so kind… that she spreads kindness by throwing Sticks at beehives and then run away?"
Arisu's brows furrowed in confusion until it clicked. Her eyes widened.
"You mean… it was them that night?!"
Astra slowly turned to her, giving a knowing nod just as the three boys finally caught up and overheard the conversation.
"What are you saying?" Miaomiao blurted before her brain could catch up with her mouth. "Our leader didn't throw a stick, she threw a stone! A big one! I was the one who found it, and she hit the hive in one perfect shot!"
Silence dropped like a thunderclap.
"…So I wasn't wrong." Astra's voice was quiet but sharp. "It was because of you… we got stung."
The three girls instantly froze, eyes wide. Their expressions drained of color as they turned to look at each other in panic.
Arisu's eyes burned as she took a step forward, her voice trembling, "It was you Maihima...do you even know how much I suffered just to get better? Astra went missing because of that incident. And here you stand, like you've done nothing wrong without an ounce of guilt?! Apologize to us. Now."
Maihima's grip tightened around her fan as she glared, then began fanning herself furiously. "I was only trying to help you reach the honey faster. How was I supposed to know it would turn into that?"
"You call that helping?!" Astra stepped forward, her voice rising. "It looked a lot more like you wanted things to go wrong. Or were you trying to get revenge on us for something?"
Maihima, now clearly cornered and agitated, suddenly snapped. She threw the fan aside and shouted—
"Yes, I did it intentionally! So what?! I haven't forgotten how you two humiliated me in front of those fools who used to be too scared to even say my name and made me a laughing stock. Because of you, I had disappeared for a month!"
Arisu's eyes burned with emotion as she stepped forward, her voice firm and unwavering.
"Don't play the victim now, Maihima. You never did anything good. Since we were kids, you bullied those with lower status, used people however you pleased—and you didn't even spare me when I dared to question you."
Her voice cracked slightly, but she held her ground.
"I always thought you were my friend. I followed everything you said… did everything for you. And what did I get in return?"
Maihima scoffed, her temper flaring. "Stop with the nonsense! You're the one who left our group first! You abandoned us to run behind this troublemaker who never fails to drag disaster wherever she goes!" She pointed at Astra with a bitter glare.
Meanwhile, the three men stood off to the side, listening in silence. Seiya's fists clenched so tightly his knuckles cracked audibly. His jaw tensed, eyes burning as if ready to leap into the argument. Seirou, calm as ever, noticed and gently reached out, placing a hand on Seiya's shoulder. He shook his head silent, but clear.
Just then, Shion stepped forward, casually tapping his flute against his shoulder. The soft hum cut through the tension like a breeze before a storm.
"What a waste of a good night."he said quietly, though his tone carried weight. "I see people still arguing holding grudges in the middle of a such a beautiful festival?" Shion turned fully to Maihima, the playful glint in his eyes now gone. He tilted his head slightly, pointing the end of his flute at her.
"Well, well… what's happening here?" he asked, voice calm but laced with something cold. "And did I hear that right?"
He stepped closer, his flute still casually aimed like a blade. "You were the one who tried to hurt her?" he asked, his gaze flicking toward Astra, then locking back on Maihima.
Maihima froze, her eyes wide fixed on him as she tried to speak but couldn't. She opened her mouth again, but the words got caught somewhere when her eyes darted to the flute, then back to his face and lingered there just a second too long.
"I—uh—you… she—no, I didn't—I mean—" she stammered, hands gripping her sleeves, her voice losing its usual edge.
Everyone frowned, unsure what she was even trying to say. Shion lowered his flute slightly, brows raising.
"I'll ask again," he said, voice quieter now, "Are you the one… who tried to hurt her?"
Shion took another step forward, his gaze unwavering, calm yet piercing. Maihima instinctively stepped back, each of his movements shrinking the space between them like a tightening rope.
Just then, Miaomiao quickly threw herself between them, arms outstretched protectively.
"Hey, you! Don't come any closer! Are you trying to hurt our leader?!"
Shion paused mid-step, his brows furrowing slightly but before he could respond, Arisu grabbed his shoulder and pushed aside. Shion blinked, momentarily stunned, his feet rooted to the spot as she took his place.
"Enough of this," Arisu said sharply, "Maihima, apologize to us. Now."
Maihima let out a low scoff. She shoved Miaomiao aside and stepped forward again,
"Maihima never apologizes, And you can do whatever you want but let's not pretend you have the power to do anything about it." She narrowed her eyes at Arisu and added with a smirk, "Your father may be the Minister of Defense, but his rank still falls beneath my father. And even if you don't consider that… do you really think he'll ruin a lifelong friendship over a petty squabble like this?"
Arisu opened her mouth but no words came out. Deep down, she knew Maihima wasn't wrong—her father did love her fiercely, just like Arisu's father loved her. Reporting this would mean forcing the two old friends into a bitter conflict, and that wasn't something Arisu could bring herself to do.
Maihima noticed the hesitation instantly. Her lips curled into a smug grin as she flipped her hair dramatically and turned to leave.
"Typical," she said with a toss of her fan. But as she turned, her eyes locked onto Shion, who still stood there arms folded, eyes fixed on her glaring.
She froze.
And then, to everyone's utter confusion, Maihima blinked sweetly and… smiled?
"A-And you… may I know your good name?" she asked, voice soft and sugary, her hand reaching out delicately.
Everyone blinked in unison.
"…What?" Astra muttered, tilting her head. "Did she just… speak like that?"
"…Is that our leader?" Meimei whispered.
"Why is she acting like that?" Miaomiao added, squinting as if maybe their vision was playing tricks.
Shion, still staring flatly at Maihima, finally answered,
"Shion…..Shion Uta."
Maihima tilted her head again, lips curling into a smile. "Then… I'll call you Uta-rin."
Astra, hearing that choked violently. Seirou and Seiya looked at each other, exchanged a glance and nodded in unison like they'd just silently agreed to something.
Shion's brow twitched. If glares could stab, she would've had a few hundreds stabs by now, But Maihima simply smiled brighter,
"Uta…" she repeated softly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, "Hope we meet again."
With that, she turned around waving her fingers over her shoulder while walking. Meimei and Miaomiao followed after her, still whispering in concern.
"…Should we visit her grandfather?"
"Shhh, don't talk," Miaomiao muttered, dragging her twin away.
Arisu, who had been frozen the whole time, finally bit her nail, eyes wide.
"What just happened…?"