Before they knew it, it was the evening of the big event. Luckily, nothing had happened to any of them since the attack. In fact, they hadn't even been called in for hero duty since then.
"I swear right here and now, next dance I'll have at least two dates!" Alessia shamelessly declared.
"What? Are you trying to build a reverse harem? Wouldn't that just lead to needless complications?" Lailah questioned. "And shouldn't you start with getting at least one boy to go out with you?"
"No, no." Nephele laughed, "She'll need to get at least two, because I'm sure at least one will cancel on her."
"Oh, shut up!" Alessia stuck her tongue out at Nephele. "Just 'cause you found a guy who tolerates you, it doesn't mean you got to be a jerk about it."
Masuyo and Thea laughed at the exchange as Eda walked into the room with a variety of hats and tiaras for the girls with Aberforth, her butler, following with a mountain of shoes.
"Hey, at least I've gotten with a guy. I don't want to hear that from you two 'pure maidens'." Alessia mocked the two laughing.
"Hey!" Eda interrupted. "This is supposed to be a fun night. Let's be civil."
Alessia rolled her eyes and tried the tiara Eda handed her.
"Wow," Eda exclaimed, "You're looking so lovely tonight, Alessia."
"T-thanks…" She blushed.
The girls put the finishing touches on their outfits. Each one was exquisitely dressed. Their clothing showed off their figures, but were easy to move in. Eda had spared no expense on their outfits.
"Are you sure this isn't too much for me?" Alessia seemed a bit overwhelmed.
"We have to hurry." Nephele was rushing, trying on shoe after shoe. "Master Quil will be here to pick us up soon."
The other girls froze. "I'm sorry, did you say 'Master'?" Eda asked incredulously.
"Is he a lord or something?" Alessia joked.
"What? No, uh, no. I said 'Mister Quil'." Nephele quickly tried to correct herself to the group.
Thea prodded Eda and whispered, "Still sounds off to me."
"She's probably just nervous." Eda sounded like she was trying to assure herself just as much as Thea.
Nephele had been pretty 'off' recently. She was unfocused all the time, had mood swings, and especially recently, seemed pretty obsessed with Quil. Between the suspension, new boyfriend, dance, and upcoming exams, the girls figured it was just stress, so they let the behavior slide. Thea and Eda were beginning to worry about her mental state, but they agreed to wait until the team was back at full strength to address it.
A maid knocked on the door and entered. "Mister Forsole has arrived and is ready to escort you and your friends, miss."
Nephele's freaking out escalated, but the others calmed her down and made their way to the entrance. Quil was standing in the entrance hall. He was their age with fair skin and dusty brown hair. His eyes shown a bright emerald green, and stood just a little bit taller than the girls. He wore a high-quality tailored suit with a large solid gold band on his left middle finger. He bowed as the girls entered. Walking over to Nephele, he took her hand and kissed it. She turned tomato red, and Alessia turned to Masuyo, gagging.
"You look lovely this evening, Miss Zeferino. Or, perhaps I should correct myself and say, 'more' lovely. As whenever I look upon you, I feel I am looking upon perfection in human form, and tonight simply accentuates-"
"Yeah yeah, lover boy." Alessia cut him off, having heard enough. "Keep soliloquizing and we'll miss the dance." She began to shoo them all outside, an irked expression clear on Quil's face.
"It was a bit much." Thea whispered to the other.
Outside, a sizable limo was waiting for them.
"Are we picking others up with us?" Lailah asked looking around at the empty space.
"No, of course not." Quil chuckled. "I figured you'd enjoy a ride without distractions."
"You rented a limo just for us?" she was in disbelief.
"Ha, 'rented'? No, of course not. This is one of my father's. He allowed me to borrow it for the evening."
"Wow. Your father must be LOADED!" Alessia uncouthly exclaimed.
"He is. He really is." Quil laughed in a manner that made Masuyo want to punch him in the face. Despite their host, the ride itself was amazing and they traveled in good spirits.
Arriving at the school, a crowd quickly formed around the limo. Alessia, with a huge smile plastered on her face, was the first to exit. Next was Lailah, followed by Thea and Masuyo. The crowd's eyes were filled with envy as the girls left the luxurious vehicle. Finally, Nephele and Quil exited the vehicle. The driver then shut the door and drove off. Even though it was just a dance, the attention made the girls feel famous for a moment. A voice called out as they glided through the crowd.
"Masuyo! Tea!"
Both looked over to see Daniel with Charlotte. Thea had only really met her once, but she could tell she'd really gone all out. The girl had tightly curled hair and wore an expensive white and red dress with lace at the bottom and around the shoulders, and ruby-red lipstick. It gave her an almost angelic aura. Thea and Masuyo glared at Daniel, noticing his and Charlotte's hands clasped together.
"What?" Masuyo was ice cold in her response.
"I-I need to talk to you guys." He got closer and tried to whisper.
"That's funny, because I have no intention of talking with you two." She pushed past him and began to walk away.
"Wait…!" He grabbed for Masuyo's hand, but Thea caught it instead and threw Daniel to the ground with a little extra force. Luckily, he'd let go of Charlotte's hand, so she wasn't dragged along.
"Ooof!"
"Eeep!" Charlotte let out a small scream.
Thea was still holding his arm, her heel in his shoulder, forcing him to look up at the sky.
"She said she doesn't want to talk to you." Thea looked down at him angrily.
"It's-It's important." He pleaded through the pain.
"Whoa, whoa!" Quil interjected. "President, no need to be so rough on the guy." Thea reluctantly let go of his arm. Quil offered help up, but Daniel ignored him
Fucking bastard Thea seethed. She known Daniel for years, and this was the most scumbag thing she'd ever seen him do.
"You said you had something important to tell them?" Quil smiled at him.
After a moment of contemplation, Daniel bowed deeply. "I'm SORRY!" He shouted.
His outburst seemed to regather the crowd.
"I-I'm sorry for keeping Charlotte a secret from you and for not being the one who told you, Masuyo Yuno! And I'm sorry for not being more forward with you. Please forgive me, President Thea Amery!"
Both were caught off-guard from his confessions. Thea could feel her face was beet red, and Masuyo was just as crimson. He was debasing himself publicly for both of them.
"See? The kid just wanted to apologize." Quil smile grew bigger. "Not sure why he's apologizing to you guys about that, but whatever. Sure, he's weak, but he's definitely got balls to do that in front of the whole school!" he goaded the crowd.
"M-maybe we should leave." Charlotte suggested meekly, pulling his arm slightly.
"No, No!" Quil answered sounding more like he was speaking to the crowd more than Daniel or Charlotte. "I think you should definitely stay! In fact," His smile transformed into a nefarious grin, as he looked down on Daniel and spoke softer, "I insist you join us."
"Enough joking, Quil." Nephele said, standing next to him.
"I'm not joking at all," He gave her a stern look that made her recoil a bit, then clapped his hand against Daniel's back. "He is their friend, right? Or is it brother to one of them? Either way," he began to lead him into the school, "let's go!"
Once they entered the building, he leaned over. "Daniel, right? Have we met before? I've been at this school a while, but I don't recall seeing you before."
"If nothing else," Daniel answered a bit cryptically, "I don't believe we've spoken to each other before."
"With such a hot sister, I'm surprised I've yet to talk to you." Quil laughed.
Is this douche bag for real? All of Thea's consideration for him had drained instantly, His date is right here, and he said that about one of his date's friends! Daniel uncomfortably looked back, and Thea was glaring intensely at both him and Quil. In fact, the only one who wasn't glaring at them was Nephele.
"Is he serious?" Alessia whispered to the others.
"Oh, he's just playing." Nephele happily assured them.
"So, how did I not know about you having a sister like that?"
"W-well our parents just married about a half year ago."
"That must be it then!" He jovially slapped Daniel's back again. Then leaned in and whispered something the girls couldn't hear. Daniel pushed back a bit and looked back at Masuyo. The discomfort on his face obvious.
The auditorium was decorated floor to ceiling. It was professional work, as the school had hired a large group to set this up. Wooden swords and magical sconces adorned the walls. The floor was split into 4 sections, one with a few divided arenas to spar, complete with wooden swords, another section was a large dance floor, the third section full of carnival games, and lastly a buffet with tables. It looked more like a fair then a dance. This event, honoring the amazing sword woman called 'The Blade Queen', has always been about showing strength and swordsmanship, but also emphasized unity. It was a tradition at this school going far further back than anyone attending or teaching at it. Given the school's renown for fighters, sparing arenas at a school event definitely wasn't anything new, but the girls typically looked forward to this one more than most.
Once they'd made it a good distance inside, Quil turned to the ladies of the group. In a suave manner he gestured, "Ladies, what would you like to do?"
"Spar!"
"Dance!"
"Eat!"
"You!"
The whole group looked over at Nephele, who was now beet red, with her hands firmly clasped over her mouth.
"Plenty of time for that later." He winked and laughed off her response. The others all looked uncomfortable, and Thea's concern grew. The group headed over to the sparing arena first. Even though the girls were dressed up, they were more than willing to get into the ring. The girls purposely chose formal activewear for this event, lovely, yet not at all constricting. Charlotte was the only one of them that was hesitant to join. Though eventually she gave in.
"I'll face Masuyo!" Daniel quickly offered.
Most of the girls looked at Daniel with confused expressions, Masuyo most of all. Thea and Charlotte, however, had a slightly darker expression at his declarations. It was tradition for the ladies to face each other. There was even a rumor that if two love rivals fight, the winner was fated to win the heart of the one they were after.
"Nonsense." Quil intervened, "You'll face me."
Now Daniel had the confused look.
"Then I'll take on your date, Daniel." Masuyo proposed, sounding falsely chipper.
Thea was a bit concerned for both fights. She and Nephele followed Daniel and Quil to their ring. The others went with Masuyo and Charlotte. The ring was a twenty-five-foot circle covered in dirt, with two lines on either side of the center, showing the combatants their starting spot. The fighters were given three options, two short swords, a sword and a shield, or a long sword. Both of the boys chose the long sword. Thea looked at the next ring over and saw the others choosing their equipment. Masuyo chose Two short swords, and Charlotte had a sword and a shield. The matches were first to three wins. Either knocking the opponent to their back or getting them to surrender is how you win a round. A referee would oversee each match. The ref stood in the ring between the two guys, looked at them to make sure we were ready, the swung his arm down.
"Begin"
Quil didn't hesitate a moment. He thrust right at Daniel's shoulder. It looked like he was caught a bit off guard but quickly dove under the attack. Daniel attempted an upward strike, but the clash of wood on wood echoed as Quil parried. As he recoiled, Quil thrusted again, this time making contact with his left shoulder. Thea heard a 'crack' on the impact and even the ref flinched, as Daniel fell backwards to the ground. Thea's face, filled with worry, met Daniel's. He took a moment to pick himself back up for the next round. Thea could see is arm that had taken the blow was actually separated from the shoulder joint. Daniel grabbed the blade with his other hand and squared up.
"Not just 'one and done', I see." Quil taunted as the ref began round two.
He charged again. This time Daniel blocked the blow down. Knocking Quil off balance. Vulnerable, Daniel pulled back to strike.
"Match over!" The ref quickly interrupted. Then he ran directly to the other ring.
Thea then looked where he was running to and saw Masuyo atop Charlotte, beating down on her with her fist as the two refs tried to pull them off each other. Thea pushed her way over to join the other girls.
"What's going on?!" She asked them.
Evidently, the match had started fine. Surprisingly Charlotte had even won in two rounds. As they went to shake hands after he match, they started arguing, and the real fighting began. After hearing this Thea and Daniel quickly jumped into the ring to help restrain Masuyo, who was still on top of Charlotte. Thea got a hold of Masuyo, who she was sobbing hard. Daniel started to go to her, but Thea waved him off.
Thea sat Masuyo down outside the ring so the medical support could take a look at her. After they cleared her, Thea sat beside her friend.
"What started all that?"
Thea was well aware that Masuyo can be competitive. That's part of what made her a great person to fight beside. She'd NEVER seen her lose her cool like that when she lost. She's not a happy loser, but this seemed almost malicious.
"She… She… No, it's nothing." Masuyo deflected.
"If you say so."
They walked over to the sitting area, where the others were waiting. Soon after, they saw Daniel and Charlotte entered soon after, though they sat a bit away from them. Daniel's shoulder looked to have been put back in place, and she could see Charlotte cast a few minor healing spells on herself.
"Let's get something to drink." Nephele offered the others, trying to still sound chipper. Quil joined her as they went to get them.
"You gonna be good?" Lailah asked, concerned.
"How did you lose?" Alessia quizzically pondered.
"Now isn't the time Alessia!" Eda scolded her.
"Look," Masuyo started, "I underestimated her. I lost. And…"
"Oh, don't put any stock in that stupid superstition!" Lailah cut in, as Masuyo was losing her composure.
The girls sat in silence for a minute. Thea looked over at Daniel, who was chatting with Quil as Nephele returned to the table.
Assholes…
"Where are our drinks?" Alessia noticed Nephele had returned empty handed.
"Oh," Nephele looked around, "I think I left them at Daniel's table. I'll get them."
"Wait Neph," Thea stopped her. "You've seemed 'off' recently. Is everything okay?"
"Of course, Prez! I'm just so happy with Quil, I've been forgetting this or that."
"I really think maybe you should see a doctor or something. It just isn't like you."
Nephele looked a bit irritated now, but as she opened her mouth to speak, Charlotte arrived at their table with their drinks.
"I'm really sorry for what I said Masuyo. I didn't mean it. I really hope we can all be friends." Charlotte bowed.
Masuyo didn't say anything back but took her drink from the tray. The others followed and, silently, they all began to drink their beverages. Charlotte stood at the table quietly. Eventually Thea looked over at her.
"Look, Charlotte, about that day you spoke to me at the gates… Well I-"
Masuyo started coughing heavily and stood suddenly, only to almost immediately fell to her knees and dry heave. Her color quickly drained from her face. With few options available, the girls hurried her out of the auditorium towards the nearest restroom
Busting through the doors, Masuyo pushed off from her friends and dropped to her knees in front of the toilet and proceeded to empty the contents of her stomach.
"What's wrong with her?!" Lailah panicked at the loud retching noises her friend was producing.
"Is it the flu or something? B-but it's so bad!" Alessia seemed just frantic.
Charlotte entered the room soon after, looking very concerned. Thea grabbed her by the arms and pinned her to the wall. "What did you give her?!" Her grip tightened.
"W-What? I-I just brought the drinks!" She confusedly stammered as she tried to answer. "T-the guy you were with said they were for y-you."
This caught Nephele's attention, and she shoved Thea aside. As Charlotte was set free, she was once again pinned to the wall, but Nephele was holding her there by the throat. "LIAR!" She screamed. "My Mas- boyfriend would never do anything like this!"
Thea, seeing Masuyo becoming more and more pale, grabbed Nephele's arm to pull her off Charlotte. "Get her out of here!" She barked at whomever would listen pointing at Charlotte.
Nephele, still seething, forcefully rushed Charlotte out by the arm. Lailah stood guard at the door, while Alessia comforted Masuyo and Eda paced. Thea knelt beside Masuyo.
"You need to transform, Yo-Yo."
"Here?" Alessia sounded concerned.
"Yes. And now. If you've been poisoned, your powers should fix you right up. Right?"
"P-poisoned?!"
Masuyo, on all fours, focused used as best as she could. After a moment, she was able to transform. 'Unicorn' was now kneeling at the stall.
"Feeling better?" Thea asked, still concerned.
"Kind o-" Then a rainbow colorized liquid expelled from her mouth.
"Geez!!" Alessia exclaimed in surprise.
"Hey!" Thea grabbed UC. "Focus. '{Heal}'" she put her hands on UC's abdomen. Her hands glowing. UC focused on the area, and for a moment, the eruption stopped.
'{Poison extraction}'. UC was able to mumble. Her body began to glow, then a stream of what looked like a silver liquid flowed out from her mouth, into the air, and dropped into the toilet. She then fell back into Alessia and Thea's arms, and in a flash had transformed back to Masuyo. Her face was still pale, and she wasn't moving much, but she was breathing regularly. After a few moments she began to stir and opened her eyes. She heaved once more but didn't vomit.
"What the HELL was that?!" Eda was dumbstruck by what had just happened.
"Not really sure, but we learned that UC pukes rainbow." Thea let out a dry laugh.
Alessia and Thea helped Masuyo to her feet just in time for Charlotte to force her way back into the restroom with Lailah and Nephele trying to stop her.
"I can help! I know some healing…" but stopped when she saw Masuyo, though very pale, standing. Seeing their friend standing, Lailah and Nephele stopped trying to stop Charlotte and went over to the others. The air was still for a moment as Masuyo, looking at Charlotte, wobbled a bit. "You really don't look well. Are you okay?" Genuinely sounding concerned, Charlotte fidgeted a bit, not knowing what to do, outnumbered six to one, with each girl glaring at her.
She took a step towards Masuyo. Once she got close, after wiping the bile from her mouth, Masuyo punched Charlotte in the gut. Charlotte began to collapse from the hit, but Masuyo grabbed her by the hair to hold her up.
"What the FUCK did you slip me!?" She punched her again, this time in the face, still not letting her hair go.
Tears streaming down her face and blood pouring from her nose, Charlotte begged her to stop. "P-please I-I didn't…" Another punch to the face interrupted her and caused her to squeak in pain.
"What!? You didn't mean to poison me, you skank!?" She pulled back to unleash another strike and Charlotte whimpered preemptively.
"That's enough!" Alessia grabbed her arm to stop the punch.
"She tried to kill me! This isn't even close to 'enough'!"
"Masuyo!" Alessia slapped her, "Look at yourself!"
Looking at the mirror, she saw herself, pale as a sheet of paper, fist covered in blood. She was holding the hair of a defenseless and whimpering lower classman. Bruises covered Charlotte's face, and tears mixed with blood streaming down her face. Masuyo let go, and the beaten girl crumpled to the floor, crying softly.
"I didth doo ths, buth I stharry!" she sputtered on the floor through her possibly broken face.
Thea used her foot to flip Charlotte on to her back. Her dress was now much redder than before, covered in her own blood. The rest of her dress had been dirtied by the disgusting floor she'd fell to. With her still sobbing, Thea looked down on her.
"For your sake, you'd better hope you didn't." Thea threatened.
"I-I Sthware." She pleaded.
Masuyo reached down and put a hand on Charlotte's face, causing her to flinch. She then proceeded to heal her, but just enough to stabilize her and stop the bleeding.
"Get out of here." She said, devoid of emotion.
Charlotte hurriedly scampered up and busted out of the room, leaving just the girls.
"I know what she did, but…" Eda started.
"If you're about to try to defend her… don't." Masuyo said flatly.
"Don't forget, we're supposed to stop the villains." Eda threw at her.
"Sorry, boss." She mockingly returned.
"W-we should find Quil. We've been gone for a while and didn't tell him where we were going." Nephele seemed on edge.
"We should warn Daniel about his girlfriend, too" Lailah added.
Thea looked at Masuyo. She was slightly shaking, and a few tears were going down her face. "Or, maybe we should go home?" Thea quickly offered as an alternative.
"No," Masuyo wiped the tears away, and washed the blood from her hands, "n-no, we can go back. I'll be fine." She left the others to follow her as she headed back to the auditorium.
"Should we be letting her go?" Eda asked Thea, as they followed.
"She's far too stubborn for her own good. Even if we tried to stop her, I'm sure she'd find a way back, regardless."
The girls reentered the auditorium and returned to the table they'd hurriedly left. Masuyo picked up the cup and looked at its contents as well as the name written on the side. The attacker from the other day came to her mind, and she knew Charlotte wasn't the attacker. Maybe it wasn't her who poisoned me? With that thought, the guilt of what she'd just sank deeper. Even after washing them, she could still see some of Charlottes blood on her hands. She wiped it on the table. Why…Why did I do that? I only had a hunch and no real evidence, but I pummeled her mercilessly. Was it 'cause I really thought she did it, or… or am I really just a petty girl who was jealous he picked her over me. Waiting at the table for several minutes, the girls saw nether Daniel or Quil. After a while longer, they all were a bit worried, though Nephele was the most tense.
"Where is he?" She stood up and started pacing around.
"I'm sure he's fine. The boys probably just decided to use the restroom or something." Alessia tried to reassure her.
There was an odd, almost palpable tension in the air.
Looking around Thea said, "Does something feel 'off' to anyone else."
Then the building rumbled and a siren blared.