One dance quickly became two, then three, and at some point Miku stopped counting. This handsome man with the midnight hair, sapphire eyes, and warm smiled lead her through dance after dance after dance. She must have been sweating by this point, but Miku didn't care. His hand was warm in her own, the other a comforting presence on her waist. The easy way they moved together made it seem as if they were meant to fit together, like two pieces to a puzzle.
When another song ended, the man said, "I'm sorry to break this streak, but I need to rest before I wear my shoes out. Would you like to get a drink and talk with me for a minute?"
Not trusting herself to speak, Miku nodded. She followed the man off the dancefloor, grabbed a glass of water she desperately tried not to drain in a single gulp, and walked with him so that they stood on a balcony.
Miku looked up at the three moons. They were in line tonight. She couldn't help but think of the old saying: When the moons are aligned, magic is real and wishes come true.
Please, please reveal my true love to me, Miku prayed to the goddess. She took a small sip of her water. Her heart still beat erratically in her chest.
"I don't believe I caught your name," the man said after a minute. He stood a respectful distance away, yet Miku still felt the warmth of his body.
"Hatsune Miku," she said, curtsying the best she could with a glass in hand. "And the name of my dance partner?"
The man bowed. "Shion Kaito, at your service."
Gasping, Miku questioned, "Shion, like the lord of the Idun District Shion?" He nodded. "Do you know the lord?"
"Well, of course I know him. He's me."
Fear-stricken, Miku curtsied yet again. "My humblest apologies for spilling punch on your suit! I meant no insult, my lord."
"I thought we already went through this," Lord Shion replied. "Half the blame is mine to bear. Besides, you danced with me more than enough times to compensate; no reason to believe you are in some debt to me."
Miku bit her lip. "You are most gracious."
"As you are beautiful."
The temperature in Miku's face increased dramatically. Knowing that she was blushing, Miku kept her head down. Words were lost to her.
"So," Lord Shion said, sounding relaxed as he changed the subject, "what was a beautiful girl such as yourself doing by your lonesome when I made my sneaky approach?"
Miku didn't know what to answer. Luka was involved with the boy from before, so Miku received nothing more than a simple greeting from her. Gakuko tried to introduce Miku to a couple of boys, but it was clear they fancied the Vinyl twins so Gakuko gave in and decided to introduce them. Ona was nowhere to be found – perhaps she chose not to attend the ball. That left Miku searching for Len, the boy she danced with that first ball, just so she could interact with someone she knew. She couldn't find Len, and she was sorry to miss him. However, admitting that last part to Lord Shion would not give her a favorable impression.
"I had yet to find company worth having," Miku replied, the statement not totally untrue.
Lord Shion seemed to exhale in relief. "Then I suppose I should be glad you chose to dance with me."
"If only because it was the way to make up for the punch on your suit," Miku said, finding herself slowly but surely slipping into a state of pure ease and comfort.
"Anyway," Lord Shion said after he finished his water, "which district do you call home?"
"The Venus District."
"Really? I visited once. Truly the most beautiful of the districts."
"Although we lack beaches, being in the center of the continent," Miku said. "Unlike the Idun District, which is so nearly surrounded by them."
"You like the beach?"
"I love the beach."
"Seems we have something in common," Lord Shion replied, leaning against the balcony rails.
"How about art?" Miku had to ask. "Do you love to look at paintings, appreciate the work the artists put into them, and allow yourself to be consumed by the feelings the images bring out, or do you merely like them as decoration?"
Chuckling, Lord Shion answered, "I'm afraid I lack the passion you possess, but I do appreciate the occasional visit to the museum."
"Who would you say your favorite artist is, if anyone at all?"
Lord Shion hummed as he thought about it. "Fukase. The way he captures simple moments in everyday life always hit me with this sense of how each minute is precious and should not be taken for granted. You know, how in the moment we don't realize how wonderful the time is until it becomes a memory. Dinner with family, outings with friends, one-on-one conversation – events we find ourselves wanting to go back and relive, wanting to not take them for granted the second time around."
Miku found herself hanging on to his words. Not as passionate as me, he says. She smiled to herself and tucked a loose hair behind her ear.
"I'm afraid I have yet to see any of Fukase's works," she shyly admitted, "but I will be quick to remedy that."
"And who is your favorite artist?"
There was no hesitation to answer. "Vy Mizki. I adore her nature works. Every time I see one of her paintings, I wish I could jump in and live there." Miku took another small sip of water. "Although I have lately found myself intrigued by the new artist Kamui Gakupo. His works are too few to form a valid opinion, but I won't let him slip from my radar until I know what to expect."\When Lord Shion began to laugh, Miku blushed and asked, "What is it? Did I say something funny?"
"No," Lord Shion said, his laughter subsiding. "Well, yes, but not a bad kind of funny. I'm merely surprised you mention Kamui Gakupo. You see, he and I are childhood friends."
Miku gasped. "No! Really?"
Laughing again, Lord Shion replied, "I can tell you right now that he's afraid of the dark and likes hot sauce on his eggs. Hmm, perhaps I can ask him to visit one of these balls sometime. He would be so excited to meet a fan."
Curtsying so low it seemed as if she tried to touch the ground with her forehead, Miku said, "If I get to meet one of my favorite artists because of you, I shall forever be in your debt, Lord Shion."
"Please," Lord Shion offered her a hand, "call me Kaito."
Smiling softly as she kept her head bowed, Miku said, "Only if you call me Miku."
"It would be an honor, Ms. Miku." Lord Shion, Kaito, took her hand and kissed the back of it. "Now, will you grant me the pleasure of leading you through another dance?"
Chest growing warm, Miku couldn't stop the joy as it flared to life on her face. "The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Kaito."
Rin would have given anything in that moment to be working. Anything was better than sitting alone at a table or standing by herself in a corner of the room. She hoped and prayed this would not become the norm every time the academy held a ball.
Seeing Ia by herself as she collected the empty plates from the buffet table, Rin approached her and greeted, "It's so good to see you again. How are you doing? How's everyone else doing?"
Instead of answering, Ia looked at Rin before quickly paying attention to anything but the girl in front of her. Wordlessly, she gathered the rest of the plates and scurried away. Rin frowned at her fellow Juliet's retreating figure.
Unsure of what else to do, Rin began to wander around while simultaneously avoiding guests. Ms. Hatsune was no longer in sight, so Rin took her mistress's absence as permission to go wherever she liked. Anything to cure her restless boredom.
Rin left the ballroom and walked down the halls, grateful to stretch her legs. The things Master Tonio said resurfaced in her mind, but Rin pushed them down. Now was not the time to dwell on such things.
"Cul." A smile spread across Rin's face when she saw the redhead approaching. "Am I ever glad to see you."
Carrying what looked to be someone's laundry, Cul passed Rin in the hallway. As with Ia, she didn't return Rin's greeting. However, Cul took a step further and sneered at the blonde, the rhythm of her footsteps not slowing for an instant.
Wounded, Rin stopped where she was and turned around. Cul kept marching forward, not looking back. There was no denying she had completely brushed Rin off.
"Why?" she whispered, unheard. Rin wiped her eyes before any tears could threaten to fall. Returning to her walk, Rin wandered aimlessly as she tried to understand why her friends had suddenly decided to treat her so coldly.
Giggling and spinning without control, Miku held out her skirts and danced around her rooms. Her chest was light, her stomach fluttered, and her lips could not stop smiling. She never knew colors could be so beautiful, smells so wonderful, and sounds so musical. It was as if the lenses were finally removed from her eyes and she was seeing for the first time exactly how amazing the world could be. If this was nothing more than a dream, Miku did not want to ever wake up again.
"Shion Kaito," she whispered his name to herself. Miku ceased her dancing and put her hands over her pounding heart. "Why are you making me feel this way?" She giggled again. "Would you please never stop?"
The sound of her front door opening snapped Miku back to reality. Assuming it was one of the Alices coming to prepare her for bed, Miku took a deep breath and moved towards the center of her room. However, it was Juliet CV02 who entered the bed chambers.
"Oh, it's you," Miku said, not sounding disappointed. She smiled again. "I had a wonderful night!"
Juliet CV02 merely nodded. It was more of a sign she heard Miku than anything else. Her slumped shoulders revealed that the night did not have the same emotions attached to her as it did Miku.
"What's wrong?" Miku asked, brows furrowed. Juliet CV02 shook her head. "Is there something I can do to help? I'm a great listener, if you need to talk."
"I don't want to talk about it," Juliet CV02 answered, words too soft and frail. She made her way towards the bathing chamber. "I'll draw your bath."
Not knowing what else to do, Miku frowned and watched as Juliet CV02 entered the chamber and closed the door behind her. Miku chewed on her lower lip, all her previous joy entirely forgotten. Her heart broke at the soft sobs that sounded from the other side of the door. How desperately she wanted to do something. Anything to ease Juliet CV02's pain, even for a moment; but as far as Miku was aware, there was nothing to be done.
She didn't mean to start crying. Wiping her eyes with her forearm, Rin took a deep breath to calm herself down. There was no need to cry any more than she had already.
Yet the ache in her chest did not lighten. Rin didn't wander long after sneaking out of the ball before she found herself in the gardens, and that gave her enough privacy to express herself then. The tears should have dried up by now, but her emotions didn't calm for long before her eyes decided she needed to shed more tears.
Try as Rin might, she couldn't understand why Ia and Cul were so cold to her. They were supposed to be her friends. Not for the first time, Rin wondered if anything Master Tonio said had to do with it. Maybe they heard something, or maybe they already had their own assumptions, or maybe it was nothing of the sort. All Rin knew was the two of them refused to so much as smile at her. She didn't want to imagine how the other Juliets would react to seeing Rin.
When the bath was drawn, Rin splashed her face with cold water and stepped out of the chambers. Two Alices were already helping Ms. Hatsune undress for the night. Rin told the Alices the bath was ready then turned to Ms. Hatsune.
"I'm going to retire early tonight, if that's all right, miss." Rin didn't care if the Alices reported her talking to a Cinderella. It didn't matter if she got in trouble. Let the punishment come.
Ms. Hatsune frowned, and she didn't seem to question Rin's talking to her. Instead, when she opened her mouth, she only expressed concern. "Are you unwell?"
"Yes, miss." Rin didn't have the energy to be angry at Ms. Hatsune's display of care.
The frown deepened. "If that is what you wish."
What I wish is none of this was happening, but I must maintain appearances. Rin curtsied. "You are most gracious. I shall see you in the morning."
Too emotionally tired to exert the energy and effort, Rin chose not to change out of her dress before she crawled under the blanket on top of the loveseat she slept on. She curled into a fetal position, her front facing the back of the seat. Cradling her head on her arm, Rin allowed only the silent tears to fall.
She missed her old home.
She missed her old way of life.
She missed Nero.
He would know how to make this whole thing better, Rin thought, her throat closing in on itself. Slowly, she reached for the pendant in her dress pocket. Ever since the accident, she didn't think about him much. The memories were still too raw, too painful to recall.
Rin lied awake even as the Alices left the room. When Ms. Hatsune drifted off to sleep, her soft snores coming from the other room, Rin was still awake. It didn't matter if she fell asleep – Rin knew her dreams would be no break from reality.
While awake, one had some control over what he thought and felt. Asleep, all that control was gone. Dreams could be either pleasant or horrid, but no one was able to pick which dream he would have.
Yet as Rin's eyes grew heavy, she willed the dreams to be happy dreams. She wanted to pretend, even for a moment, that this wasn't her life. If everything would be all right, even if only in sleep, Rin would be more than grateful for it.
However, when she finally did fall asleep, nightmares plagued her.