Rei's muttering was almost drowned out by the surrounding cheers, prompting Shizuru beside her to turn and look at her.
Rei took a deep breath and grabbed Shizuru's arm. “Wings of Freedom, Meruru, Lightweaver... All of my favorite Magical Girls have appeared right in front of me today! Shizuru-senpai, pinch me. Am I dreaming?”
Rei waited for a moment, but when she didn't hear Shizuru's reply, she turned her head to see if her senior had been captivated by the performance on stage.
Instead, she saw Shizuru with her mouth slightly open, staring unblinkingly at Lightweaver on stage, her brow lightly furrowed.
“Shizuru-senpai?” Rei waved a hand in front of her face. Shizuru snapped out of it, her expression quickly returning to her usual composure, though a faint blush still lingered on her ears.
“It's nothing... Haha...”
Shizuru averted her gaze from the stage. “I just thought that doll was quite exquisite. She's never made anything like that for anyone else before.”
“How do you know she's never made one for anyone else?” Rei asked curiously.
“Because—” Shizuru opened her mouth, only to realize she couldn't answer.
Fortunately, Rei's attention was quickly drawn back to the stage, where Meruru was holding her microphone and asking Lightweaver if she could weave more creations with her threads of light.
The light-thread doll obediently hopped off Qiluo's shoulder, floated in mid-air, and curtsied to the audience.
Soon, a second doll began to take shape: this time, it was Seina, with her bow drawn taut, her arrow pointing to the sky, and her hair blowing in an invisible wind. Another wave of screams erupted from the audience.
Seina stared with wide eyes at her other self mimicking an archery pose in mid-air. She couldn't help but reach out to poke its cheek. The doll wobbled from the poke, then turned its head to “glare” at her, making her burst into laughter.
Nuomi had been held in Shizuru's arms this whole time, being kneaded and squeezed like some sort of stress-relief toy.
Its fur was completely ruffled, its ears flattened and then perked back up, and its tail twisted into a spiral.
To make matters worse, Shizuru was still rubbing its belly—its most ticklish spot.
“Stop squeezing me!” Nuomi finally couldn't help but cry out, slapping the back of Shizuru's hand with its tail.
Shizuru looked down at Nuomi, whose eyes were wide and round, its ears twitching in anger.
Shizuru pulled her hand away from Nuomi's back. Nuomi was busy using its tail to groom its messy fur, its ears still twitching from the recent torment. Seeing her stop, it actually tilted its head up and nudged the back of her hand with its nose.
“...Sorry, I was spacing out just now.”
Shizuru smoothed down the few tufts of fur still sticking up on Nuomi's back, one by one.
Nuomi squinted its eyes and let out a soft grunt of forgiveness from its throat.
“Just this isn't enough.” Meruru took a step forward, her voice carrying across the entire venue through the microphone. “Since you don't want to sing, surely you know how to dance?”
Before Lightweaver could speak, the crowd's cheering and teasing surged like a tidal wave.
Beside them, Seina covered her mouth and giggled. Caught by Lightweaver's glare, she immediately stifled her smile, though her shoulders were still shaking.
“I don't know how to dance,” Lightweaver said honestly.
“That's fine.” Meruru handed the microphone to Seina, walked over to Lightweaver, and extended her right hand. “I'll teach you. Consider it payback for the special care you gave me at the Association training ground last time.”
Lightweaver fell silent for a long moment before finally reaching out and placing her hand in Meruru's palm.
“Just for one song. If you miss a beat, I'll help you cover it up.”
“Also, I'll help you remove that tracking rune on the keychain once we get back.”
“It should have been removed long ago.”
The music started up again, a lively dance tune perfect for a duet.
Meruru laced her fingers through Lightweaver's, resting her other hand on Lightweaver's shoulder. She stood on her tiptoes, leaned in close to her ear, and said, “Follow my steps. Left foot first, shift your center of gravity after three beats. Don't be nervous.”
“I'm not nervous.”
Her hands were sweating slightly, but fortunately, Meruru didn't call her out.
Qiluo found herself being spun around by Meruru.
The steps were simpler than she had imagined. She only needed to shift her weight with the beat. Meruru's hand steadily supported her back, gently guiding her away whenever she was about to make a misstep.
“You dance better than you said you did.”
“Only under your guidance, superstar.”
Meruru spun her around, taking the opportunity to draw closer again. “You know, someone in the audience is staring at you with a very intense gaze~ I think she's either envious of me, or envious of you. Which one do you think it is?”
Lightweaver didn't need to look back to know who it was. That gaze had been fixed on her ever since she stepped onto the stage, but she had no time to respond right now.
The music continued.
Meruru applied a slight pressure to the hand resting on Lightweaver's shoulder, leading her through half a turn and casting a glance at her younger sister during the rotation.
Seina stood by the wings of the stage holding her bow, watching them spin in the center of the stage with a smile on her face.
Meruru winked at her sister, silently mouthing “get ready,” and then released her grip on Lightweaver's waist.
Using the momentum of the spin, she gently sent her sliding outward. No one could tell this was a spur-of-the-moment decision.
Seina was startled for half a beat but immediately understood her sister's intention.
She quickly stowed her bow away and took a few steps forward, catching Lightweaver just as she was pushed over by her sister.
Meruru, what are you doing?!
Lightweaver was just about to flare up at the impolite Meruru.
But with a stumble, she crashed into someone's arms. Instinctively reaching out to grab onto something, she caught Seina's outstretched hand.
“Caught you.” Seina held Lightweaver's hand, her palm slightly damp—it was hard to tell whose sweat it was. “Sis said I should dance the second half because she got tired.”
The music transitioned into a gentler melody.
Seina slowed her pace, gently leading Lightweaver in a slow spin.
“When you helped me deal with that Erosion Body during the last concert, I didn't even have time to say thank you.”
“You already thanked me last time,” Lightweaver said, trying her best to maintain her usual cold demeanor.
“That was Sis thanking you, not me.”
Seina's arm gently rested on Lightweaver's shoulder. “So today, I wanted to thank you myself. Even though I didn't arrange the drawing, I was actually very happy when you were chosen.”
With the change in their steps, her mana became intertwined with Lightweaver's. She looked down at it but didn't untangle them. Instead, she took an extra half-step, drawing the two of them even closer together.
Rate on N.U.
