Colors in the Dark

[54] Guests

The day of the festival had arrived, and Ayami felt her whole body buzzing with excitement and a few stray nerves. She quickly gathered her accessories she'd finished and put them in a small bag, wishing the rest of the class the best of luck. She noticed Midoriya running out for a last-second shopping trip, which was a bit of a risky decision, but she trusted the green-haired boy to be back in time.

Something at the back of her mind was telling her something was off, but she knew how easily anticipation warped her senses, so she shook it off and headed toward the school building.

The road there was once again packed, even more than before as the other classes put the finishing touches on their events; she saw people in costumes, ones carrying props, all sorts of final preparations.

After the few-minute walk and learned navigation of the school, she arrived. Entering the pageant room, she noticed Ibara and Kodai from 1-B alongside Kendou. The former visitor was holding a dark indigo bundle of fabric with a bit of violet and wine-red visible, while the latter visitor's was teal and seafoam.

Kendou turned around, waving excitedly as she gestured the redhead over. "Ayami, you made it! Look, our dresses are here! We should go try them on!"

"Wait..." She looked at the two students who weren't in the pageant, then the fabric in their hands. "Are you saying they were the ones who made out dresses?"

"Yep! Yui offered to make mine- she's pretty handy working with custom sizes thanks to her quirk- and Ibara offered to make yours as a small favor to repay your helping save her during the training camp incident. She's a natural at making clothes, too!" The 1-B rep explained.

Ibara bowed, handing Ayami the dress in her hands. "It was an honor to be entrusted with creating your dress. I'm sure you'll look divine out there!"

She gave the vine-haired girl a big smile, thanking her as she was led to the dressing room to try it on. As she unfolded it and held it out, she was speechless. Just as she requested, it was a tea-length-style dress with a high-low skirt, a dark indigo in color- it seemed to be made of a silk-like material, and gave her quite a bit of room to stretch.

The top was the wine red she had seen, while the sash between the top and skirt was the mediating violet, bridging between the blue and red hues. Her sleeves were elbow-length batwing sleeves, the deep red ruffles elegantly framing her shoulders and upper arms. Her barefoot sandals were also handmade- are those Ibara's vines laced with beads? Did she really use some of her own hair to custom-make this outfit?

Ayami took a breath and looked up from it on her and instead at the mirror, holding her breath. She had silently been wondering if she'd look ugly, or if it would be too short, or too long, or any kind of irregular, but as she gazed at her reflection, she was filled with awe.

Ibara clearly knew what she was doing: which aspects of the dress to use to emphasize Ayami's slender form and exactly where to be tight or loose. The holes in the back were also present, exposing a bit- but not too much- of her back. She felt... pretty wearing it, as if she wasn't just some poser picked off the streets.

I look like... I belong in the pageant...

Her expression melted into a smile as she spun around, the skirt fanning out around her. She reached into her bag, putting on her custom-made circlet, bracelets, the ribbons she'd made with Ansaluia's power, and finally, the red feather Hawks had given her.

You're getting your own little cameo, soon-to-be Number Two.

Once she was finished putting on the accessories and fixing her hair in the mirror- she had most of it down, but she tied a bit of it up in a bun with the blue-violet ribbon and stuck the feather in it- she stepped out with a grin, met with the practically-beaming Ibara. The vine-haired girl clapped as Ayami did another twirl and bowed.