Summary: Yuzu is preparing for a holiday show when she gets a pleasant surprise.
"Ky – ri – e, é – le – i – son…"
The music room reverberated with sound as the call went out, and then vibrated again with the response of the recorded choir responding in pure synchronization.
Kyrie éleison.
Yuzu waved her fan as she would a conductor's baton, pretending to direct the choir belting their part out from the practice CD and self-direct her own half-confident trilling.
"Kyrie~—éleison~—"
Kyrie éleison.
She pitched her voice higher for the next part, unduly excited now that she'd mastered it—
"Christe éleison, éleison! Christe éleison, éleison—"
"Él – e – i – son, él – e –i – son, éleison—"
-–only to startle as another voice joined hers on the downward melody without warning. Yuzu had had her eyes closed to absorb the accompaniment, and when she opened them Koutsu Masumi was standing across from her in the room, staring closely at her parted lips.
"—ack! W-What are you doing here?!"
"Following your voice," Masumi replied, wrinkling her nose. "Well. Mostly. Until you squeaked on that last part."
"I did not squeak!" But Yuzu pouted even as she flushed, noting that her rival did not look convinced. "You… startled me, is all. I didn't expect to be found down here this late after school."
"And I didn't expect to find you here." The Gem-Knight user gestured to the acoustically-pleasant room, one neither of them normally spent much time in, before crossing her arms and making an effort to sound cross too. "I didn't know you sang."
"I'm… sorry?" Not like it would have come up in one of our duels! "It's not a big hobby of mine, I'm just practicing for part of a show. You Show performs every year at the convention center for the less fortunate."
Masumi nodded. "That makes more sense. While your vowels are crystal-clear and your diction is fine, the song doesn't seem to be to your taste."
She sat down after that pronouncement, humming along with the rest of the song once it resumed. Yuzu was dumbfounded. This may have been their first conversation about something that wasn't Duel Monsters, but (sadly) it wasn't the first time she was struck speechless by something Masumi had done or said, and this time she found herself blushing again following yet another backhanded compliment from this girl.
The only way to save face in these situations was generally to mess with Masumi right back—so Yuzu rolled up her sleeves and plopped down next to her rival, smirking when the other girl glanced quickly at her and away. For a little while she had the upper hand.
"Hey—if you're not into faithful hymns, I've got some dance music on here we can listen to."
Trading her fan for the speaker's remote was the work of a moment. In the next moment, the reverent choir was replaced with youthful, warbling reggae.
"And another one bites the dust—"
The sterner girl's lips twitched. "Sia?"
"Hey, my nearly-soundproof room, my rules. I've got thick skin and an elastic heart~…"
Yuzu expected to be mocked anyway, so her surprise doubled when Masumi hummed this song's tune too along with her words. Though they only got through one verse before her rival 'politely' requested some other song, just being able to sit by her side for a while, trading notes and barbs, made Yuzu's insides warm and fluffy.
"When is the show?" Masumi asked once the music fizzled out.
"Next Saturday."
"Perfect. I'll be there."
Yuzu smiled wryly. "In the audience… or on stage with me?"
Masumi took Yuzu's hand. For the first time, she smiled openly.
"Whichever one motivates you most to do your best."
