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[PP-F11] ♪~Jenny, darling, you're my best friend~ ♪


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February 12, 2026

"--but, Shiro-chan, you don't understand!" A certain purple-haired girl gripped her best friend's shoulders and shook her back and forth as if to emphasize a point. Her ashen eyes filled with fake tears and she buried her head against the girl's rather ample chest. It didn't have the same effect as she would have liked, as her forehead banged against the cold, hard armor her best friend wore underneath her casual clothes. She straightened, bounced back on the soft bed, and cried: "A Valentine's-limited quest that can only be taken once! Literally only happens once a year! And he goes off and takes it with her! That goddamn, snooty guild leader of his! He didn't even bother consulting me first!"

"Aaghhh!!" The small girl let out a wordless sound of frustration and fell back against the bed, curling up against the panda plush toy that her best friend always slept with. She rolled onto her back, still holding the plushy - more like almost raking the cottony material apart with her hands - and fuming. "And guess what excuse he came up with?! 'Both of us really needed the stats and the EXP, and she didn't have anyone else to take it with. Also, I figured you would normally complain about the date being "too cheesy for you," so I didn't ask.'" She sat up and hugged the plushy close to her chest. "Do I even have to tell you what's wrong with that?!" 

The silence held for a few moments. Arabelle let herself fall back against the bed again. She closed her eyes, hugging Mishiro's plushy tight.

"Stupid scout..."

[ooc: plot and "plot." tag @Mishiro]

Edited by Arabelle
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 Two months. Listening to Arabelle bemoaning her relationship problems awarded the quiet girl a single merit: a reminder of just how much time had passed. She had been like a ghost: drifting, observing, yet leaving no particular effect on the real world aside from a small ripple that occasionally reminded humans of their existence. Her recollection of the past weeks consisted of nothing but a haze of dull, endless routine - like it had been the past two years - and Mishiro wouldn't have noticed otherwise. It was like a strong wake-up call, and for the first time in a few months, she suddenly felt that she was truly physically and mentally present in the current time. 
 
"Arabelle..." She could only sigh at the small girl's complaints. They were in the back room of Cafe Myosotis. The sun was starting to set, so the little shop was closed for the day. Mishiro sat on her bed, facing a problem she knew someone with little to no relationship experience like her couldn't solve. One half of the problem was nowhere to be found, leaving only a vague PM about 'wanting to be alone'. The other half was rolling around on her bed - with her favorite plushy. That was Roman's birthday gift to her. She felt a twinge of annoyance at seeing her best friend handle it so recklessly. 
 
Priorities, priorities. 
 
"Don't you dare smother Pochi with your tears," Mishiro admonished. She took a plain, white pillow from the head of her bed and pushed it toward her friend, while gently prying her favorite panda from the small girl's surprisingly strong grip. No - it wasn't much of a surprise anymore. Arabelle wielded a scythe Mishiro could hardly lift, and somehow made it seem easy in the process. She successfully retrieved the panda plushy and possessively hugged it close to her.
 
She shifted closer and absentmindedly patted the girl's head, running her fingers through a few strands of silky purple hair. Headpats always made Mishiro feel better, and Arabelle seemed to like it as well. "You guys have been fighting a lot lately. And..." She recalled the past instances and thought she saw a pattern. "On special days, no less. But from what I observed, you always find a way to reconcile and move past that, somehow."
 
What did Arabelle say when she appeared at Cafe Myosotis's doorstep after two years of no contact, again? 
 
There, complete with her grand gestures: "love always finds a way!"
 
"But, constant arguments are still unhealthy. You know that already, right? It's stressful, gets in the way of everything you do, and most of the time you're just wondering what made you both so mad in the first place." She paused. Lifted her hand. Discarded that chain of thought. "Try to understand each other's sides, I guess? I'm sorry. Am I helping at all?"
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The small purple-haired girl couldn't see it, but she was certain Mishiro was giving her That Look. You know, that kind of look you gave to people whose antics you were fed up with but couldn't just leave behind, so you were kind of just stuck helping them all while thinking they were absolutely stupid? Arabelle wasn't that affected though. Baka!
 
"Hehe. So it has a name? I know you like stuffed toys, but I never knew you were still stuck in that phase." Arabelle placed the pillow under her head and tilted her head up to meet the girl's steady grey gaze. She felt a soft pat on her head, and fingers running through her hair. It was oddly comforting, and she could imagine the quiet girl did it a lot... with a certain someone whose hair was a bit longer than hers. She giggled to herself and rolled to her side. Maybe she should be dating Mishiro instead!
 
"Ah! I know, right?! Maybe it's a conspiracy!" She sat bolt upright, all traces of her misery gone. Arabelle turned to the girl with a glint of enlightenment in her eye. "This-is-totally-happening-because-some-amateur-writer-has-no-idea-how-to-write-Claude-yet-and-that's-the-best-excuse-they-could-come-up-with-to-keep-him-out-of-their-threads! And that totally sucks! NPC Characters are characters too, you know?!"
 
What.
 
"Dummy. I'll give you a gold star... complete with the words 'you tried.'" Mishiro - who should already be familiar with how the small purple-haired girl talked - would think she was joking. But there was a part of her that wasn't and that was the part that had noticed the bitter edge in the girl's tone as she tried to comfort her. She was doing a terrible job. Honestly, who would believe you when you give advice with that dejected expression?
 
Arabelle waved her gloved hand in front of her best friend's distant gaze. God, wasn't she  the one who was supposed to be depressed here?! "Hey, hey. Earth to Shiro-chan." She supported herself against the bed with her hands and leaned forward. "So there's no bringing that quest back. Not until next year anyway. But hey, here's my bright idea! You haven't done that quest yet, right Shiro-chan? So let's have our revenge. Let's have fun by ourselves and make them feel bad that it's not us they spent time with!" Or simply kept around for the matter. If a certain event in a past ended differently, how much would have changed? She didn't pursue that line of thought any further. She reached down and held her friend's hand.
 
"Shiro-chan, let's go on a date."
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A date. And revenge on whom...? Arabelle was the only one with relationship problems here. Mishiro chose to ignore that remark and inched back as the small girl leaned too far into her personal space. "A date," she repeated quietly. For some reason, Arabelle's offer caused a different sort of warmth to rise in her chest. Her best friend had called most of the times they spent one-on-one with each other "dates," so there was no reason to assume that this would be any different from the previous instances. 

Yes, she thought as the purple-haired girl eagerly leaned close. 

It wouldn't be--

She found her hands had moved to hold Arabelle back by her shoulders.

--Any.

Different.

"The event-limited quest, right?" questioned Mishiro. She inched back, shyly holding Pochi up to function as some sort of barrier between her and the girl who was, and always would be, her best friend. She averted her gaze, finding interest in the scene outside the back room's window. A flock of birds cutting through the tranquil view of a virtual sky painted with the lingering colors of the sunset. "I don't have anything else to do for today, so I can take it with you."

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There was a Valentine's fair in Taft's teleport plaza. Much like the Christmas Extravaganza, it only opened once a year, for a week at a time. Every year featured new additions, with one of the major attractions only being added in the previous year: an event-limited quest with the extremely cliche name and concept of the <<Tunnel of Love>>. It was back again this year, with less rewards but somehow more eager quest-takers... if the long line was any indication. "Aren't couples supposed to be taking this thing on Valentine's Day?" Arabelle clung onto her friend's arm with a huff. One hand let go to tug idly at the collar of her favorite lime green-colored turtleneck shirt as she stood on her tiptoes, attempting to count the number of pairs ahead of them. The quest didn't need any enhancements of the sort, it was more of something that was added for players to have a good time and get some nice rewards in the process like most event quests were designed, so she had chosen to forgo her light armor for a set of warm casual clothes and a pair of white sneakers.

She thought she counted more than ten. This was going to take forever.

"There were less people in here last year." She shifted on her feet impatiently and glanced at the newest addition to the fair: a photo booth that printed the pictures out into what looked like Polaroid strips. Arabelle could still vaguely remember going to one of those places with her friends. It wasn't her fondest memory, but - she found her gaze subconsciously being drawn to the girl standing at the corner of her vision. "Ever gone to a photo booth before? No, wait, don't answer that, Miss Perfect Student." She turned her head and a teasing smile played on her lips. "Want to try it now?"

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  • 1 month later...
They didn't arrive at the best of times, it seems. Standing in line, Mishiro gave a small, amused smile at her friend's obvious frustration. She didn't like waiting in lines either. A small part of her wanted to convince Arabelle to leave and perhaps come back with her some other time, though remembering the small purple-haired girl's dejected expression from earlier, she couldn't bring herself to. Seeing her always playfully nonchalant friend that way felt... wrong. "Aniki said something about the end of the line almost reaching the fair's entrance last year, so perhaps the couples here are trying to avoid it by coming earlier." She reached down and squeezed the girl's gloved hand with hers. "It might take longer than expected, but I think the ride and the rewards should be enough to compensate for the wait."
 
With Arabelle now preoccupied with counting the number of pairs ahead of them, Mishiro took the opportunity to look around and tried to commit the place to memory. Tonight, Taft's teleport plaza was a blend of vintage and romance. The photo booth nearby had a vintage camera effect over the Polaroid strips it produced. There was the <<Tunnel of Love>> quest, not so much resembling a modern Tunnel of Love attraction, but was rather made to appear like a boat ride through the canals of Venice. Strategically-placed lanterns left the place in dim lighting, and there were certain areas which the light did not touch at all. What couples did when they disappeared into one of those could only be left to the imagination.
 
The girl shivered at a slight breeze. It was cold at night, and she was silently grateful for wearing leggings underneath her usual schoolgirl-esque ensemble. 
 
"Hm, not really. I spent most of my free time studying, but I also had a few friends who would convince me to come along. I've tried that for a few times now, and I still have the pictures in my house." Talking about them, Mishiro's expression held a reminiscent smile. It wasn't often she spoke about her old friends, or even thought about them. So much had happened in three years; she had changed and they wouldn't have remained static either. By this time, they were probably unrecognizable to her by now. But, that didn't necessarily mean that was the end. Having good memories of a person only led to wanting to create more, and when she returned to her ordinary life, Mishiro planned to speak to them once again, as she should have after that accident. 
 
She was pulled out of her thoughts by Arabelle's question. Mishiro looked at the line of couples ahead of them, then down at the girl on her arm. "We'll lose our place in the line. Besides, we came here for the quest, so we might as well prioritize it." Taking into consideration her friend's boredom, she added, "Do you want to look around? I'll stay in line for the both of us. Just bring me something to eat if you end up buying something."
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"Shiro-chan actually having friends and not just studying with them? And going to photo booths?!" It was kind of difficult to imagine, moreso if you take into consideration how stiff and boring the girl was at the start of the game. She gave off the impression of someone who was just as fun-loving as Arabelle's boarding school teachers. "If those anime episodes are any indication... those types of places are popular in Japan, right? Well, it's not so much in my place, so I've only ever gone once. You've been to photo booths more times than me. Color me surprised~." Arabelle let go of her friend's arm. She smiled innocently. They knew very well it was just her way of teasing, but her friend was pretty fragile lately. Even Claude was acting like he was stepping on eggshells whenever he spoke to Mishiro. And she could rest all the blame on one person. Hoo boy. Falling in love with a longtime friend was fun, but them breaking your heart and going poof was not. "Ahahaha! Did I offend you? Gomennasai~, but you really give off that type of vibe. Like, the type of person who would probably die of overwork unless someone pulls you out of it or something!"
 
Which she probably just did. When was the last time her friend suggested they spend some time together on a day that was not a holiday?
 
"I think it's cool though. You don't need someone to tell you what to do, and you probably get the best grades because of it. How'd you do that? When I was studying, I often just tend to play games and sleep, unless some deadline's coming up.
 
The line inched forward. There was approximately a five to seven minute gap in between pairings. She came here to have fun with her best friend (consider that an "AND" statement), but this was boring. She hated lines and hated waiting, even if there was someone with her. She practically jumped at Mishiro's suggestion. 
 
"I'll buy you a caramel apple, like old times!"
 
And with that, she was off.
 
Banners and lanterns hung above the wooden stalls. She skipped down an aisle, taking note of the ones that had the longest lines. Roses in different colors, Valentine's cards, chocolates, and lots and lots of sweets. There were practically hearts in her ashen eyes. Against her better judgment (what is a better judgment for a girl like her, anyway), the small purple-haired girl fell in line, and a few minutes wait later, she had a paper bag and 1,000 Col less from her inventory. She was just gonna make up for it by mooching off of Claude later. Arabelle stopped in front of a building's wall, covered in Post-Its. 
 
Smiling to herself, she handed some Col in payment to the stall set up next to it and started writing.
 
Quote

Ara x Mish, ftw

 
Maybe he would come back to the fair and see it. She returned the marker and continued walking down the line of stalls. There was one with a particularly longer line than the others (not counting the photo booth, cause honestly, that thing took forever), and she naturally gravitated to it. "Hello there, young lady! A fortune for you and the one you love?"
 
Oh. Of course, of course. Fortune cookies. Those things were a big scam; in these types of events, they never gave anything less than positive. Even so, she decided she'd blown enough of her money anyway, so she bought one for her and Mishiro and carefully dropped it into her already-full bag of sweets, which was then placed in her inventory.
 
Having made her rounds, Arabelle returned to Mishiro and was pleasantly surprised to see that there were only four pairs ahead of them now. "Here you go~." As promised, he handed the girl a caramel apple and took a cookie out of her inventory. "Mostly just the cliche Valentine's stuff. Guess they have to appeal to the market and such. Oh, I got this, too. Don't get me wrong, I don't believe in fortunes either, but let's just try one for the fun of it, okay?" Her best friend was handed one fortune cookie while the other remained in Arabelle's gloved hand. "Not our fortune. Think of the person you like and open it~. But wait! I want to do it together. On my count. One... Two..." 
 
She applied tension to the cookie between her gloved fingers.
 
"Three!"
 
It broke open and a piece of paper fell out.
Edited by Arabelle
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