yin & yang, ririka x oc

𝕥𝕨𝕖𝕝𝕧𝕖 / the puzzle piece, does it fit or not?

"Y-you know? That's why... I-I think?" A flustered and confused Y/n sputtered out. It was posed more like a question, to be honest. Like the young woman wasn't completely sure of her feelings. 

Oh, but she was. It had taken her a while to notice it, or maybe she even pushed aside the lightweight feeling she felt around the Vice President- but it was there.

She looked down at her feet, confidence suddenly ebbing away like the tide. 'Ririka's going to make fun of me, I'm sure of it...'

"H-huh?" Ririka was now at a loss for words. The platinum-haired woman remained speechless, knuckles white from her iron-clad grip on her mask. She thought she had an auditory hallucination for a moment, her brain becoming fuzzy.

The pair stood in silence for a moment.

"A-are you just going to make me stand here?" Y/n said meekly, peering up at the Vice President through her thick bangs.

"O-oh! Uhm, I-I-" Ririka blushed deeply, and her mouth opened in a gasp. But her lips simply couldn't form the words I love you back. She was paralyzed in shock, staring at the bubbly and cheerful Y/n being reduced to a embarrassed mess.

The pair stood in silence for another beat.

"I-I understand, Vice Prez." Y/n began. She clenched her hands around her eyes, and doubled over, elbows pressing on her breasts. She sniffled loudly, eyes and teeth clenched tightly. 'S-stop crying, Y/n... not in front of her!!'  Her mind screamed internally.

"W-watashi..."  Ririka still didn't know what to say. 'What if Kirari found out my mask fell off? What if the clan found out I'm in love with a girl? What if-'  Her mind spun a mile a minute, many different questions coming to light.

Damn it, why did love have to be so complicated?

But Y/n didn't stick around to answer the question. "I-I get it if you don't, I'll just-" She spun around quickly, hair whipping against her back. She sprinted away, loafers making a hard clicking sound on the floor. Each step felt like it hardened herself into the cement-like qualities of fate. It was clear now: she was never going to be with Ririka Momobami.

"Y-y/n!" The blue-eyed girl finally found a noun she could sputter out, and her feet began hustling into motion. She took off, sprinting after the e/c-eyed girl in hot pursuit. They both zoomed down the hallway, each fueled by their own negative feelings.

In Y/n, lie embarrassment, heartbreak, and a deep and hollow sadness.

In Ririka, lie guilt and anxiety.

The h/c-haired woman turned a corner abruptly, and slammed the door closed to a room marked Women's Restroom. Ririka slammed her fists on the door and hung her head.

Y/n locked the door quickly, and sunk to the ground, bringing her head in between her knees.

Ririka heard the sound of the lock turning, and pounded her fists one more time, droplets of salty tears clouding her vision. 'Why can I never come through when it counts?!? I-I'm a disappointment to everyone around me...'  The thoughts spiraled through her head, sending her down the dark path she tried to avoid every day. Her existence was never meant to even be.

Ririka's voice cracked as she tried to speak, to say something, anything, to the e/c-haired girl in distress. Her eyes watered over, blocking her vision; and anxiety clawed up her throat, blocking her voice. 'W-why can't I speak?!? What am I so afraid of?!?'

Truthfully, it was everything. The elders of the clan, how controlling they were. The teenage clan representatives, how ruthless they were. The students of the academy, how bloodthirsty they were. They would stop at nothing just to climb a rung of Hyakkaou's ladder. But that wasn't their fault, Ririka knew. When they were placed in such a Darwinian environment, what else to do than survive or die?

But she even felt this way with her own twin sister, how meaningless everything was to her besides a good gamble. But Ririka still cared deeply about Kirari, she knew what good qualities the girl had that just were buried underneath. Kirari revealed them when they were alone. But where did Ririka fit into the puzzle of life?

Nowhere. A misshapen piece, destined to not fit anywhere. If she tried enough, she could mimic Kirari's piece; but only momentarily before she slipped back into the role of a shadow, an observer, a masked figure nobody truly wanted cared about.

But Y/n.

She made Ririka feel like she did have a meaning. Simply for existing. Y/n made Ririka feel like she was a fitting piece to the puzzle of life. Ririka made Y/n feel like she could do anything, stand up to the bullying of the representatives, outright refuse the orders of the controlling elders, and stand up to any cruel Hyakkaou student.

Y/n made Ririka feel wanted, fearless, and finally loved. Something she didn't think she had felt since her parents died. Something that she gave out to people, like a gift, but never got one in return. But why couldn't she express that?

Because she was too fucking scared.