AN: Impromptu semi-sequel

"Aww, Dalia, what's wrong?" Noa asked, gliding over to the taller, older dancer. She was sitting alone at one of the local cafes in town, staring out a nearby window with a despondent expression on her face, jaw resting on her knuckles. Someone like her shouldn't look so sad! Especially on a day as lovely as this!

"Hmm, what?" Dalia turned to her, surprised. "Ah, Noa Fukushima."

"The one and only," Noa grinned, stepping closer to Dalia's table.

"I'm sorry, was there something you wanted?" Dalia asked, having not heard Noa's earlier question.

"Well, not wanted, per se," Noa replied. "I was just wondering why you looked so sad."

"Sad?" Dalia blinked. She hadn't realized.

"Yeah, I noticed you were just staring out the window, kind of forlorn." Noa's forehead creased in concern.

"Oh, no, it's nothing." Dalia tried to flash her a charming smile and wave off her concern with an unconcerned hand, but Noa only shook her head.

"Come on now, Dalia, I can tell when something's eating someone!" Noa may not have always seemed it, but she was incredibly intelligent and observant. She was good with people, and just really smart in general. She could always tell when someone wasn't happy. There were so many cues.

For a moment, Dalia seemed reluctant to open up to her, to concede that Noa was correct and admit that something was wrong. But Noa was nothing if not persistent. She stood in front of Dalia, hands on her hips, eyes stern but caring. Caring. As severe as Noa's expression was, there was genuine concern in her eyes as well. She just wanted to help Dalia. What was so wrong about that?

Well, Dalia supposed that she could argue that it was not Noa's place, nor her responsibility, to help Dalia, or to even decide that Dalia needed help at all, let alone Noa's, as if Noa was some kind of expert! But…

Shouldn't think like that… Dalia shook her head at herself. Ok, yes, it was true, she'd been feeling rather moody of late, and that moodiness was affecting several other aspects of her life, including social interaction. In fact, it was a social interaction that started the whole mess in the first place.

Just a few days ago, one of the patrons at the bar was getting a little rowdy. Naturally, Dalia stepped up to the plate to make sure that nobody got hurt. She wasn't trying to be a hero or a knight in shining armor, per se, but it was her job as the bartender and bodyguard/bouncer to make sure that as drunk as people became, order still remained. The customers, however, were none too pleased to be stopped and lectured by Dalia. What a buzz-kill! But none of them dared tell her that to her face. She was much too scary.

With her eyes flashing, towering over them, hands on her hips, she didn't need to say a single word to send them all slinking away, tails between their legs. Dalia sighed as she watched them go, hands falling from her hips and ferocity falling from her face, the scowl turning into a frown. It was only made worse when, later that same night, she heard the same patrons whispering behind her back, speaking ill of her.

"Who even was that lady anyway? She looked so… nasty! And mean!"

"Yeah, did you see the way she was glaring?" The second patron shuddered. "If looks could kill…"

There were other snide remarks, bitter complaints that they'd been wrongfully accused, but those were some of the ones that stuck with Dalia the longest, even days after the event had taken place. Nasty? Mean? Scary? Was I being too harsh, too out of line?

Perhaps the patrons hadn't been doing anything wrong when Dalia intervened, but that was kind of part of her job. She wasn't supposed to wait for a situation to happen before she tried to de-escalate it. And yet, she was cast as the villain for trying to maintain the peace.

My eyes… It was usually the eyes that scared people, along with her supposedly intimidating height and demeanor, and that was even before they found out that she had a black belt in karate! But her eyes, they were so fierce and piercing, it frightened a lot of people. Even people she wasn't trying to scare or intimidate would sometimes remark on how angry she often looked. Marika once even compared her to wolf!

"Hey, Dalia? Hellooo? Earth to Dalia?" Noa waved a hand in front of the dancer's face. She was scowling.

"Huh? What? Oh, right. Your question." Dalia blinked again. Of course, she wanted to deny that anything was wrong, but she knew that especially after falling silent for so long, for seemingly no reason at all, Noa wouldn't let her get out of it so easily. And as Dalia had thought before…

Shouldn't think like that… Shouldn't let my own resentment affect the way I treat other people, people who had nothing to do with… that night.

If anything, shouldn't she be glad that Noa was worried about her? Noa said she looked forlorn, not ferocious or furious.

"I guess… I just…" Dalia chewed her lip. It was difficult to explain. She didn't quite have the words, and she was certain Noa would think it was silly once she finally did, but, as reluctant as Dalia felt, something deep inside of her wanted to tell the truth, wanted for Noa to see her pain. So, she took another deep breath in, reminded herself to be brave, then started talking.

By the end of it, Noa reacted in a way Dalia would've never expected. "Aww, but Dalia, I think you're cute!"

"Huh?"

"Cute! I think you're cute, Dalia! No matter what those other people said!" Noa shook her head and snorted, crossing her arms. The nerve of some people! Making adorable people like Dalia Matsuyama feel anything but!

Meanwhile, Dalia was trying to decipher what Noa meant by "cute". That was certainly not an adjective Dalia usually heard about herself. Beautiful, maybe, and sexy; attractive, eye-catching, but never cute.

"Of course you're cute, Dalia!" Noa repeated encouragingly. "The way your ahoge moves whenever your head does, the way you tilt your head and bring a hand to your chin whenever you're lost in thought, your smile, and the way your eyes close when you do! Ah, but your eyes sparkle, too, when they're open and you're excited about something." Noa started smiling as well as she rattled off a very long, comprehensive list of all the ways that she thought that Dalia was cute.

Dalia, meanwhile, still had no idea what to make of it. Should I be flattered, embarrassed, or concerned that she's made so many observations of me? Dalia noted that Noa hadn't needed very long to start rattling off her list. But Noa was adamant, passionate.

"You are cute, Dalia Matsuyama, you are!" she said forcefully. "There's so much about you that's cute! Besides, it's not even just appearance! I know you're kind, friendly, supportive, helpful, protective. I know you take care of your unit, but you never fail to help out other units either."

Photon Maiden may not have been very close to Merm4id, but it wasn't as if Noa had never seen Dalia in action before, both on and off stage. On stage, her passion bled into every dance move she made, and there was nothing cuter than seeing the way Dalia's face would split into a wide, ecstatic grin as she spun and flipped her way across the stage.

But even off the stage, she was kind and gentle to everyone, be they fans or coworkers. She was polite and soft-spoken, but also confident and assured. She was intelligent, and spoke her mind, but she was never loud or arrogant. Noa had yet another long list of compliments for Dalia, and for a second time, Dalia wasn't quite sure how she felt about it. They were kind words, but… was it really necessary? And…

Cute? Still don't know if that's the word she's looking for… Dalia gave Noa a small, half-smile and tilted her head, raising a hand to her chin. Noa gave a squeal of delight and pointed at her excitedly.

"See?! There, right there! That's exactly what I'm talking about!" Dalia had such adorable, precious expressions, genuine and earnest and curious. People perplexed her, but she was never judgmental in her approach to it. She just wanted to know, to learn, to understand. And that was cute.

"I'm sorry, cute?" Dalia finally asked, chuckling softly and shaking her head. Noa almost squealed again as she watched Dalia's ahoge wiggle adorably atop her head as she made the gesture.

"Yes, cute!" Noa again nodded firmly, arms still crossed, eyes fiery and passionate. "Because cute isn't just how you look! It's a mindset, a way of being, a very lifestyle choice!" She was growing increasingly determined to get Dalia to see and understand. Dalia leaned back a little in her seat, surprised by Noa's intensity, but amused by it all the same. It was certainly a… unique and interesting perspective.

Never would've thought to use the word "cute" the way Noa does. It was almost… refreshing? Again, Dalia gave Noa a small, half-smile, tilting her head in curiosity as Noa continued to babble on and on about cuteness.

"And I'm the Kawaii Queen, so you can trust me that I'm an expert in this field!" she cried proudly. For a second time, Dalia chuckled lowly and Noa nearly squealed again. Dalia's laugh was soooooo cuuuuttteeee!

But even more than that, it was exactly as Noa said before. It wasn't just Dalia's appearance that made her cute. Not in Noa's eyes, at least. It was also in her behavior and her heart and her mind. It was even in her very soul! Dalia's kindness and passion, even if they were subdued at times, were cute. The care she showed everyone, not just her bandmates, was cute. Her almost childlike enthusiasm for music was cute. Her calm, quiet, intelligent way of speaking to others, especially while trying to offer advice or support, was cute. Cute was not just a look. It was a mindset, a way of being! And Dalia Matsuyama was cute.

"And don't let anyone tell you different!" Noa cried fiercely, her own eyes flashing as she looked seconds away from gripping Dalia's shoulders. The world had such a narrow definition of "cute", and it was such a shame. As far as Noa was concerned, the definition could be far broader, and one did not have to fit a singular or stereotypical definition of cute in order to be cute. Heck, anyone could be cute! All they had to do was be themselves, and be kind. That was cute.

Too long Noa was denied the title of cute. They used to call her scary, too, albeit in a different way than Dalia. And for the longest time, Noa believed them. Because the entire world thought she wasn't cute, then clearly, she wasn't, or more people would say she was! That was how Noa used to think. But then she came to realize, the world was so much more nuanced than that. Everyone was cute. Everyone. All that mattered was helping them see it, helping them find their own personal brand of cuteness. Noa had found hers, now it was time for her to help others find theirs.

I understand you, Dalia Matsuyama. I understand what it feels like to worry that no one is going to like you because you're too scary, or whatever. Because you don't fit their idea of cute. But that's such shallow-minded ignorance! The world is too big and bright and beautiful, too cute, to be constrained by mere definitions. And people DO like you, Dalia! Not just Merm4id, but so many more of us! Who cares what a few rude patrons at a bar think? Screw them! You've got the entire D4Fes Squad at your back! Even if we were rivals and competitors, I still think you're cute! You're cute in your own way, just like how I'm cute in my own way! After all, it was a mindset, a way of being. It was a lifestyle, not a look.

And as Dalia listened to Noa ramble about the philosophy and existential, universal nature of "cute", although she still didn't quite follow everything Noa was saying, she found herself feeling a little bit better, against all odds and expectations. She may not have come to the café expecting help, or even wanting it. As noted before, she initially had some reserves about confessing some of her deepest insecurities to Noa.

Now, though, Dalia felt the corners of her lips quirk up for the first time in several days. She was smiling again, and as Noa would've told her, it was absolutely adorable. Only for the first time in even longer than several days, Dalia didn't think she needed someone to tell her in order for her to think that maybe, just maybe, it could be true…

AN: Definitely need a Noa event where she comforts Dalia on her anxiety about being scary/intimidating.

Also, unless I get inspired to write it, I also need a Noa and Miiko event since Miiko is the perfect mix of kowai/kowaii with her love of horror/scary stuff, and yet how sweet and excitable she is, even around horror/scary stuff (coughchainsawcough).