My Sweet Butterfly

Chapter 1: The Incident

Some time in April 2020

The day began like any other, with Hakuko sitting in the waiting room of the Rhythm League headquarters waiting for a certain someone to come strolling in. Just then, the sound of footsteps rang out across the room, as a particular figure appeared in the doorway.

"What is happening, my fellow yees and haws?" MC Adore announced as she strode into the room. The mere sight of her beloved girlfriend was enough to make Hakuko jump out of her seat and rush over to greet her.

"Hi, honey!" she cried, giving Adore the biggest hug she could.

"Hey, babe," Adore replied. And it was at this moment that Hakuko noticed something... different about Adore on this particular day.

"Oh, you don't have your headphones today?" Indeed, her signature purple headphones were nowhere to be seen.

"Afraid not, babe. The damn things just stopped working for some reason."

"Oh, jeez, that sounds rough. Are you sure you'll be alright without them?"

"I'll be fine. It isn't gonna kill me to not have music on for a day or two."

"Eh, I guess you're right. Anyway, shall we?"

"Oh, of course." And so, the two of them headed off for another day of keeping their rhythm up, neither of them suspecting for even a second that things would quickly go off the rails. It all began during lunch, when a sudden announcement blared from the loudspeakers.

"Attention, everyone," it said. "Once you've had lunch, please make your way to the assembly hall for a mandatory seminar hosted by Paprika."

"Ugh," Hakuko and Adore groaned simultaneously. Whatever the seminar would be about, they knew that Paprika would find a way to make it incredibly boring. But still, they both knew better than to invoke his wrath, so once the time came they joined everyone else in making their way to the assembly hall.

"What do you think he'll be yammering on about this time?" Adore asked.

"I don't know. Probably some dumb conspiracy theory about how KFAD was rigged because I didn't win," Hakuko replied. Just then, Paprika strolled out onto the stage.

"Good afternoon, everyone," he announced. "How are we doing today?"

"We were doing great until you forced us to be here," Adore joked, stirring a round of quiet chuckles among the audience.

"Har har, very funny," he replied sarcastically. "Now, then. I've gathered you all here to discuss an important issue."

"This oughta be rich," Adore muttered under her breath.

"As I'm sure you know," Paprika continued, "April is Autism Awareness Month. And if you didn't... well, you do now. With this in mind, the Rhythm League asked me to put together a presentation to help you understand more about the subject. With that said, let us begin by discussing exactly what autism is."

Look at that, Adore thought to herself. Paprika thinks he knows something about autism. This should be fun.

—

Half an hour of inaccurate research later...

"And so," Paprika droned, "in conclusion, that is why we as a society ultimately need to learn to put up with autism. Any questions?"

"Yes. Several," Adore replied.

"Well, you'll have to wait to ask them," he continued. "Before we carry on, I thought it would be fun to raise awareness of the issue of autism... through dance."