a heartbreak's tale

chapter seven

They won. 

Kagura sighed as she made her way back to the match lobby. With the adrenaline from the match slowly wearing off, she was feeling more lethargic by the minute. "Good game, guys." Belerick stated, receiving appreciative smiles from his team. 

She turned around, wanting to thank Chou for saving her, only to find Lesley (where the hell did she come from?) pulling her into a hug. "You have a new skin!"

"What?" Kagura could barely make out, as the marksman's tight hug had squeezed all the remaining oxygen from her small frame.

"New skin." Lesley repeated, her eyes gleaming excitedly. She dodged her head down to whisper into her friend's ear, "and it's a matching one with Hayabusa."

Kagura's eyes widened. "No way."

Lesley squealed, clapping her hands in delight. "Come on, you have a photoshoot in like, an hour. Let's get you all dolled up and ready!"

The mage returned her enthusiastic smile. "Before that," she said in a playful tone, "there's something urgent you need to attend to." With that, she shoved the marksman in the direction of Gusion, grinning like a proud mother when her friend landed in the arms of the said assassin. 

-

"You know, if you took a picture, it'll last longer."

Hanabi watched as Hayabusa sighed at her retort. Her heart ached as she wondered if her comment would let him think of her as snobby, or irritating. She couldn't help it. Seeing him hopelessly in love with the white-haired mage since the beginning of time was making her irritated.

If he wasn't aware of his feelings for the mage, and Kagura wasn't about to make the first move, then Hanabi still had a shot, right? She laughed humorlessly in her mind. She was one of the best shadow ninjas, she had natural talent that far exceeded most of her peers. She knew how to stand her ground and attack in the most silent and deadly manners. Manipulating others to get what she wanted was another one of her abilities. She had always been told she was charming and a force to be reckoned with. She could probably get anyone to fall in love with her easily.

And yet, of all people, her heart decides to fall for the one shadow ninja that already had someone else in his heart. Fate really was cruel, huh.

She glanced towards Hayabusa next to her. They were at the photoshoot for Hayabusa and Kagura's matching (she rolled her eyes at the term) new summer festival skins. The administrators had decided that they wanted her at the set too, to look upset at the assassin lusting over the mage.

At least that was easy to do - it was exactly what she was doing, to be honest. And the cameras haven't even started rolling yet. Her blood boiled as she took in the sight of her crush resting his head on his hand, his eyes darting appreciatively at the mage - who she had to admit, looked absolutely stunning.