Chapter Text
Kira enjoys being challenged.
It’s inevitable. People love tilting the status quo to let the water of hope be poured in their favor and Kira does appreciate the courage. It’s just how humans are: ambitious.
Kira knows what’s worth her while. A woman like her doesn’t have time to indulge in silly games, after all. She does things with a plan laid out neatly in her head. Step by step. Like clockwork. She loves it that way.
So when she’s given the news about a newbie, transferring mid-term, Kira feels her plan shifting a little. She didn’t have the time to prepare for it, catching her off-guard. It’s not her to miss. She takes pride in being ahead. She hates leaving things to chance.
People fail trusting fate.
“I’m Kira. Student Council President.” Kira introduces herself. Not missing a beat. She regards the woman before her with a look that doesn’t really show much. Kira masters control; one of the many things she’s good at.
“I’m Yumeko.”
Kira knows. Of course, she does. There’s nothing special about Yumeko Kawamoto. She has a smile on her face that Kira can only assume as a facade to appear bold. Her bangs, cut sloppily, curtains her face. Her necktie, different from what students are usually given, is barely tied, dangling around her neck like an accessory. Her skirt is short… too short that Kira can only imagine what one wrong bend can entail. Yumeko obviously didn’t take the time to read the handbook.
“For you,” Yumeko’s voice is a whisper as she hands Kira a small box wrapped in fancy gold. A blue ribbon keeps it together. An irony. “Student Council President Kira-san.”
Kira masks her hesitation as she reaches for the box. Yumeko still has a smile on her face; too sweet for someone who had just taken a step on an unfamiliar territory.
Kira feels bad for her.
St. Dominic is not a place for kindness. It eats naivety. It tramples on innocence. It barrels on dreams.
A system Kira built brick by brick. Proudly so.
Yumeko doesn’t know what she’s getting herself into.
Or she does.
Kira clenches her fist. The leaderboard lights up menacingly; a reminder that Kira has taken Yumeko too lightly. Kira is not one to underestimate. She just has her way to separate weaklings from fighters.
She can admit, however, when she gets too ahead of herself.
Mary Davis is too many spots lower than where she was before she dumbly dared the newbie to a challenge. The weight of the Student Council’s black blazer hangs on her shoulder. She screams, defeated.
Kira doesn’t say anything; only watches from above like a God. Her blue lipstick is a dark contrast against her pale skin.
Yumeko grins from ear to ear, unapologetic for having kicked someone out of status. Two men stand by her side like towers; protecting.
Ryan and Michael.
Kira can only roll her eyes. A day in and Yumeko is already forming a troupe with two of the most notorious losers God has ever created.
It’s hilarious if not a little infuriating.
“A seat on the table.”
Yumeko drawls, hands behind her back in a careful stance, regarding Kira with a flickering gaze.
“Yes. A seat with us.”
Kira knows how to intimidate. Another thing her father has demanded she learns before she could even write her own name. She has a full deck and she plays her cards well.
“Hmm…” Yumeko hums.
Kira fights the urge to tap her heels on the ground: a habit she can’t really outgrow. Her council stands behind her like dogs to an owner. “It’s a special offer meant only for you.”
Yumeko’s eyes twinkle. “Does that make me special too?”
Kira’s forehead creases. Not the response she was expecting at all. She bites the inside of her cheek; patience wearing thin. “I guess you can say that.”
It’s all Yumeko needed. She grins; one that makes Kira’s lip twitch.
“I appreciate the offer, Kira.” Yumeko then says and Kira mentally lets out a sigh of relief. “But I prefer to explore first. See what’s there for me, you know?” And air catches in her throat.
Kira clenches her fist, jaw tightening in an attempt to hold the little control she has left. She has never been rejected. The bitterness of it quickly settles on her tongue and she grunts in distaste.
The audacity of this woman.
“Sure.” Kira says, however. “I guess being special really doesn’t mean much, yeah?”
Yumeko lifts her brow, holding back a smile. “I guess it doesn’t.” She agrees.
Kira turns on her heels, leaving the scene before she can even have the thought of maybe burning it to the ground. She curses under her breath.
Yumeko’s dorm room is far from what Kira had imagined.
Kira has been given enough proof to assume that Yumeko lives life messily. Unlike Kira who thrives in order, Yumeko finds fun in chaos. They are two sides of the coin. Kira wants to play her part strategically. Losing is not something she takes lightly or at all so she digs.
Books fill Yumeko’s bed, leaving little to no space for her to sleep on. Interesting, Kira thinks to herself. A bookworm: seems very unlikely for someone with Yumeko’s energy.
There are frames on the table; empty other than a single one that holds a photo of an elderly couple. Yumeko’s parents, maybe.
She’s pure Japanese, it seems. Kira thought she’s part trouble.
Kira hears the door creak but she doesn’t react. She waited for it. Yumeko’s surprise is apparent in the way she jumps at the sight of the council’s President.
“President Kira-san.”
There’s that honorific again. Kira dislikes it: hates the way Yumeko says it like a rehearsed song. On beat. Kira turns around, heels loud against the floorboard.
“There you are.”
Yumeko tilts her head, lost: a refreshing view from how she confidently carries herself. Kira hums to herself.
“Am I in trouble?” Yumeko asks, voice sounding so genuinely concerned that Kira would have bought it if not for the faint glint of mischief in her eyes.
“No. Not really.” Or yet. “I’m just doing an inspection. Council thing.” Kira lies.
Yumeko’s gaze flickers. She closes the door behind her, trapping the noise of the hallway away. Kira watches how fast the younger girl’s mood shifts. It’s almost impressive.
“Well,” Yumeko leans in, just close enough to take Kira’s breath out of her lungs. The proximity catching her off-guard. “Did I pass?”
Kira takes a step back, legs wobbling a little. She blinks. Yumeko only giggles, knowing full well what she has done.
Kira gulps, filling her chest with much needed oxygen- and courage. She holds Yumeko’s stare. “You’re a little bit of a slob for my standards.”
Yumeko’s nose scrunches. And for a brief second, Kira finds her cute. “I just love to read.” She reasons.
Kira really doesn’t give a damn. “You have a lot of overdue books in that pile, Kawamoto. Dori really doesn’t like late returns.”
Yumeko shifts from one foot to another, puckering her lips. “I will return it soon.”
“Now. Return it now.” Kira insists.
“Are you worried Dori would do something to me?”
Kira rolls her eyes with a scoff. “She can kill you for all I care.” She says, sounding so unnecessarily defensive.
Yumeko giggles and Kira notices two dimples appearing on both sides of her lips. Yumeko must have noticed the sudden pause because she smiles wider, her eyes now straight as a line, disappearing.
“Are you worried for me, Kira-san.”
“Stop calling me that.”
“Call you what?” Yumeko dares. “Kira-san?”
Kira balls her fist. Her patience is being challenged once again and she has no idea why, for the love of her, she keeps putting herself in this situation.
“Would you rather I call you something else?” Yumeko teases. “Ma’am? Madame? Lady Kira?” She recites. “Or perhaps you’d like something more personal? Babe? Baby? Lov-“
“Kira is fine!” Kira cuts off. Her voice is sharp.
Yumeko doesn’t back away. She never did. “Okay, Kira.” She finally says. “Your wish is my command.”
Kira exits the room with big strides. Yumeko’s laugh echoes in the otherwise empty hallways of their floor. Kira can still hear her heartbeat in her chest. It’s raging. Too fast for how badly she tried to keep her cool.
Yumeko is a force. An obnoxious one at that. And she knows how to get into Kira’s nerves and she does it well.
Too well.
It’s faint but Kira takes notice.
Yumeko’s eyes glisten like she’s restraining herself from any reaction which is technically the point of the game. Her lips are on a thin line, and the hold she has on the card in her hand is tight; the paper crumpling.
“Are they dead?” Suki asks, provoking: talking about Yumeko’s parents. “Bet it’s your fault.”
Kira only knows enough. Yumeko has little to no information about her life. Other than the picture on her table, her parents are non-existent in Yumeko’s record. It must be why this topic seems to throw her off.
Yumeko’s heart rate goes up. A little higher and she’d lose the game. Kira should be glad. It’s what she was after, in the first place; to humble Yumeko, to put her in her place. Kira, however, feels uneasy.
Yumeko doesn’t say anything- doesn’t even try to. She sits there, unmoving: face red and lips quivering. Seconds pass. Too slow for something so unsettling. Then the timer pings.
Yumeko breathes out, visibly shaking from where Kira is watching. She made it through without going beyond the heart rate limit. None of Suki’s previous opponents have made it this far.
Kira is impressed.
“You did well.”
Kira gives credit where credit is due. She’s vain but she acknowledges effort. Yumeko is a headache but Kira can compliment her for trying hard. And so she does.
Yumeko stands beside her, quiet. Kira lets her.
“Suki does it to everyone.” Kira states like it’s meant to be something: like it would make Yumeko feel better. “It’s more transactional than personal.”
“You didn’t ask.” Yumeko finally breaks her silence. “You saw the photo on my table. You saw my records. But you never asked.”
Kira shrugs, “It’s none of my business.”
“I just thought you like making everything your business.”
Kira looks at Yumeko, curious. The new girl’s eyes are puffy like she has been crying. Kira wants to feel snarky; say some words that hurt to make a point because she normally would.
“Would you rather I asked?”
Yumeko purses her lips, looking away. “It would have made you seem caring.”
Kira rolls her eyes. “And why would I care, right?” Kira feels. It may not seem like it but she knows joy, sadness, grudge- pain. She cares. A little too much for her own good even.
She was just taught to conceal it.
“Do you know how much electricity this room has consumed since you got here?”
Yumeko jumps, closing the book she was reading quickly. She looks around and sees Kira hovering.
The President has her signature blue lipstick on but instead of her hair being kept by a headband, her hair falls on her shoulders. Yumeko eyes the fringes covering Kira’s sight like a protective layer. Kira lifts a brow.
Yumeko looks away.
“You act like you pay for it yourself.” Yumeko retorts, going back to reading.
Kira doesn’t move. “No. But I do the paperworks explaining why.”
Yumeko smirks. “Bet you hate the title now, huh.”
Kira doesn’t respond. She watches. Yumeko is reading through yearbooks. Tons of them. “And here I thought you were studying.”
“I am studying.”
“What? History?”
Yumeko closes the book again and huffs. She faces Kira, her ears red. Obviously annoyed. “Where was this energy when I was trying to start a conversation with you before?”
Kira fails to hide the smile on her face. “Bet you know how it feels now, huh.” She says, mimicking Yumeko’s previous line.
Kira expected Yumeko to back down, to tell her to go, which Kira would have done anyway because she really didn’t have a business being in there.
“If you wanted to see me, you could have just said so.”
Kira makes a face. “Too much reading makes you delusional.” She says, backing away. Her guard threatened. She exits the library in a rush which didn’t really help her situation but at least she’s far from Yumeko’s suggestive eyes.
Yumeko laughs, voice loud in the vast silence of the library. “It was nice seeing you too, Kira.”
If there’s one thing Kira has learned through the time she spent as St. Dominic’s Student Council President, it’s the fact that she has a team that she can never trust her life with.
Sure, she has Riri but even Riri would find dealing with this group exasperating.
Kira should not be surprised. It’s not like everyone had submitted resumés for their seats. They didn’t. They were born for it: with it.
So Kira deals with it the best way she can.
“Decline Dori’s challenge.” If Kira can’t pluck the root, she’ll wait by the tree.
The tree, however, is just as draining. Yumeko stares at her like she’s grown another head. “Why would I?”
That’s a fair question. “She’s not after winning. She only wants to break your bones.” And that’s true.
Yumeko waves a hand at her. “You’re so dramatic.”
“I’m not being dramatic. Dori can and will kill you.”
Kira really should just let Dori be. Who cares if she has to bury a body, anyway? It’s not the council’s first ride. She’s done it before. She can always do it again.
“Your concern is adorable, Kira but I can handle myself.”
Kira palms her face, tired. “Fine. Die if you must.”
Yumeko only giggles, that dimpled smile flashing yet again.
Kira forces herself to watch. She can’t wrap her head around it. Yumeko infuriates her just as much as she amazes her. It’s a confusing combination. Of all the games Yumeko could have picked, she landed on Duel . A battle for first blood. Literally. The crazy part is, Yumeko doesn’t look worried: not when Dori swings a sword close enough to cut her bangs clean.
Yumeko only lets out a devilish grin, highly entertained.
Kira has learned to expect less from Yumeko not because Yumeko doesn’t meet them but because the younger girl always goes beyond what Kira would have thought her to be.
Yumeko wins the fight. Dori groans loudly as she holds her nose, blood dripping from how Yumeko just punched it.
Yumeko glances at her from a distance. Kira could only assume she’s gloating and Kira gives her the privilege to.
Yumeko can indeed handle herself.
“I will win as Gala Queen. I always do.”
Kira doesn’t really understand the need to share that. Maybe to make a point. Maybe to send a message. Or maybe she just wants to get into Yumeko’s nerves.
Yumeko holds Kira’s hand tight, giving away a small smile. “I don’t doubt you will.”
That catches Kira by surprise like many other things Yumeko would randomly just say for the fun of it. “Then why bother coming here? With that excuse of a man, no less.”
If people don’t know them, this distance could have been mistaken as intimacy. Music plays in the background. Kira has her hold firm on Yumeko’s waisy. She has her fingers pressed against Yumeko’s warm ones. Their bodies touch as they sway along the soft hum of the stereo.
“You sound very jealous right now.” Yumeko teases.
Kira doesn’t bite. “You wish.”
Yumeko pulls away, extending her arm so Kira can spin her around. She takes a turn: the hem of her gown bouncing as her back presses against Kira’s chest. “Right. That would be silly.” Yumeko says, voice barely audible from how loud the music is. “It’s you who I’m dancing with, anyway.”
Yumeko spins again, steps away from Kira. Their hands kept contact even with the distance and Kira allowed her gaze to linger, to stare a little too long.
Kira would never admit it out loud but Yumeko is gorgeous- breath-takingly gorgeous.
“You flatter me.” Kira finds her voice.
Yumeko shrugs, “I just say what’s expected of me.”
Right.
Of course.