𝐌𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝐌𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍. ʜᴀɴᴀꜱʜɪʀᴏ

1 8 : 綺麗

Pretty

—

It wasn't long before another soul appeared before the two of them; as alluring and enticing as the blue sea outside, it was a girl with a small frame and light demeanor. She had attractive indigo eyes that reminded her of baptisia flowers that bloom in spring. Her long thin hair was long and it flowed till it reached her waist. She plopped down on the seat across from theirs as Hanako moved towards Nene's seat, "I'm Aoi Akane. Nice to meet you."

"I-It's a pleasure to meet you!" The flustered girl squeaks as she shakes her hand, her heart thumping underneath her chest wildly — this Aoi was indeed beautiful, she couldn't help but stare and wonder if she was some kind of a model. Even her voice was mellifluous and soft! "Y-You're really pretty!"

"Thank you." Aoi giggles.

Hanako deadpanned at Nene; she kept on gushing about how the new girl was really beautiful. He looks over at Aoi and purses his lips, his eyes narrowing — to be honest, if he would be asked, she would only be between cute and beautiful (based on his meter about girls): pretty, cute, beautiful, drop-dead gorgeous.

Close enough. Well, plus points for her slim legs and petite figure.

"Hmm?" Aoi hums as she meekly looks over at Hanako with a smile, noticing his stare. "Is there something wrong?"

"No, everything's fine," He chuckles nervously. "Would you mind if I start explaining then?"

"Oh, please do."

Hanako went on and on about this and that as Nene only either listened to how he says it or she would look out at the calming scenery before them. Either way, it felt like home.

"If you hear a bell, please do let us know. It means that you are alive and you have a chance to go back," he smiles. "I'll tell you how to answer the call so you could return. Well, that's all. This is a bit late but, welcome."

"I see. Thank you very much for the detailed explanations," Aoi mirrors his smile. "I appreciate it."

It made Nene purse her lips after he said that; he never said anything to the others before about the bell because he's never heard their story yet. He listens first, judges and decides if he would say it. Just what was his deal for saying it when he hasn't even heard Aoi's story yet? She didnt understand, but she decided that she would just ask him about it later. For now, she would just try to get to know her.

"Say, Aoi," Nene grins as she meekly inches a bit forward towards the girl. "Are you some kind of celebrity?"

Aoi giggles, "Not really. But, so as to say, I am a bit popular, I guess? I'm a ballerina."

"You do ballet?!" Her ears perked up at the thought. She grinned, her eyes shining in amusement. Hanako was interested too. "That's so cool! I heard ballet dancers are really great and they're always performing in plays."

"I've played at a play before," she points at herself with a shy smile. "Although I wouldn't say that I'm a celebrity at all. Just a bit known. Besides, I'm not really great."

"No way! But that explains why you look so pretty and sophisticated," Nene chuckles. And then, she glances at her feet. "I've also heard that ballerinas suffer so much from their profession. How many years have you been dancing?"

Aoi smiles innocently at her, replying without any ounce of hesitation in her voice, "My whole life."

For a moment there, Nene was at loss for words; Aoi was indeed smiling, but there was something in it that made the cream-haired feel a bit uncomfortable — it felt like there was some meaning behind her smile, that felt twisted, unusual and just utterly inexplicable.

But she decided to shake it away; no, she should not judge a book by its cover. Maybe that was just how Aoi smiled.

Although it seemed fake this whole time.

"T-That sounds like you're a professional now, then," Nene says as she tries to lighten up the mood again after a moment of silence. "I would love to see you dance if we were back in the living world!"

"I doubt that you would want to see someone like me on stage, though," Aoi says as she puts a palm on her face, sighing. "Someone is so much better than me. I think you'd like her more."

"I wouldn't really say that," she says as she tries to make her think a bit more positive. It was a bit hard, especially because they've just met. But she was a crusader and she wouldn't go back on her word. "Besides, I've never really watched a recital before so I'm not sure how to like other dancers more."

Aoi smiles and stands up. And then, she stands on her tip toes, as if it was just a piece of cake. Nene and Hanako 'oohed' and 'aahed' as they also clapped, amused by Aoi's small performance in front of them. Hanako grins, "Say, what do you call that kind of technique? It looks really hard but you make it look like your weight is as light as feather."

"This is the pointe technique," she says as she turns around while still on her tip toes. It certainly looked amazing and graceful. "It's a classical ballet technique. You must be skilled and have your legs, feet and ankles to be strengthened and developed. Balance and body alignment are also needed, of course."

"You're so amazing," Nene cries as she sighs heavily. "This might be weird and awkward because we just met, but I already love you!"

"Teehee, you're so cute," Aoi giggles again as she finally falls flat on her feet, patting Nene's head the next moment. "But I'm not that great. Just average, still."

Hanako stares at her and props an elbow at the sill, giving her a sideways look, "You always say that. But after seeing your skills, you're pretty great, you know. You should accept that fact," he grins again. "You worked hard and you deserve praises."

Aoi fell silent as she stared at him. She didn't look flustered or dumbfounded or anything. It was just like she didn't have any emotion written on her face at all. She just plainly looked at him. Nene swallows a lump in her throat; did Hanako offend her or something when he said that? But didn't his words meant good? What was in there to be mad at?

The indigo-haired beauty plops down on the seats again as her eyes wanders towards outside and says, out of nowhere — because it didn't really had any relevance towards the topic from before, "I like the sea outside. It looks calm and pretty. I'm jealous."

Hanako and Nene glanced at each other quietly, neither of them knowing how to respond back to what she said. The tension in the air was too heavy, it made Nene uncomfortable. She looked down; didn't Hanako said something about this before? He wanted her to be in charge with things like these because he wasn't good with socializing, especially with women. But even though she was a female herself, she honestly had no idea what to say.

"Hey, if you're wondering how I came here," her words made Nene look up in surprise. Aoi still had a smile on her face, but she wasn't looking at them. Just at the sea. "I'll tell you."

And then, she froze.

"I ran away."