It was jarring to look in a mirror. The person staring back at her was so infuriating, and yet, it was her reflection nonetheless. Yoshiko always got lost staring into her own eyes. She could see an emptiness there that nobody else had ever picked up on. Eyes are the windows to the soul after all, and through her eyes, Yoshiko could see all her insecurities and doubts; all shrouded behind her extravagant alter ego.

Yohane was a comforting thing. A persona to fall back on when she didn't want to be Yoshiko Tsushima (which was, for the record, pretty often.) As embarrassing as the datenshi act might've been, it was something she held near and dear to her heart. Her other self had become such an integral part of her life for so long, such an essential coping mechanism, that she couldn't imagine a life without it. She didn't really mind. She liked being Yohane. She liked being Yohane far more than she liked being Yoshiko. Yohane was interesting and outgoing. She was special; a beautiful angel who was tossed from the heavens.

Yoshiko was… not all that special. Not good with people, not confident, not standout in any way.

She hated her reflection.

She hated that when she saw it, she didn't see dark feathery wings or corrupted halos. She only saw distant magenta eyes, and the unimportant girl they were attached to.

Sighing, Yoshiko turned away from the mirror. She needed to get ready for school and no amount of self depreciative stares at the mirror were going to get her an education. She grabbed her uniform and tugged it over her head. The flowy grey skirt to accompany the cutesy sailor uniform came next, followed by the trademark way she styled her hair.

Getting dressed, doing her hair, brushing her teeth, getting her stuff together and finally eating a quick breakfast took about an hour. By the time she was done, she needed to start heading to school.

Kissing the sweet peaceful sanctity of her home goodbye, Yoshiko opened the door and begrudgingly left her den to trudge into the outside world.

Another beautiful day…

She sat down with an exhausted plop. School was as uneventful and boring as it usually was. She was glad to finally get to the clubroom. She was the first one to arrive, and for a couple minutes she sat quietly awaiting the other members of Aqours.

The first to show was Riko.

Which meant… she was now alone in a room with Riko.

She was torn between cursing the high heavens and thanking fiery hell. On one hand, she knew she was about to act like a complete and utter idiot (crushes will do that to you,) but on the other hand… Alone in a room with Riko.

"Riri!" She greeted the redhead excitedly. "Welcome to my lair little demon. Have you come to offer up your soul? Or simply to bask in the radiance of Yohane?"

Though once upon a time Riko would've rolled her eyes, Yoshiko was glad to see her crack a gentle smile. Riko's smile was far more beautiful than any painting she'd ever seen, and the sight of it made her stomach flutter.

"Good afternoon to you as well Yocchan." Riko giggled as she sat down by Yoshiko's side. "How's your day been?"

"Ehhh…" She shrugged. "Boring."

"I get that." Riko responded with a nod. "I'd think that if anyone could make sitting in class for hours interesting, it'd be you though."

Yoshiko raised a questioning eyebrow at this.

"Oh don't give me that look." Riko snickered. "I guess I wouldn't really know since we don't share any classes, but I figure you of all people would know how to keep yourself entertained. Or does the great Yohane take a backseat during class? Perhaps you're secretly dutiful and studious?" She nudged Yoshiko's arm in a teasing and playful manner. The friendly gesture made Yoshiko's heart skip a beat.

"Pfffft a-as if!" Yoshiko stuttered. Her pale cheeks filled with a rosy blush. "For centuries I've roamed this mortal coil. No amount of plebeian high school study could hope to provide knowledge which rivals all I've already catalogued within the impressive depths of my mind!"

Riko hummed in response. "Hmmmmmmm what's your GPA again?"

"Irrelevant!"

The pianist chuckled lightly. The sound was music to the ears.

A thought popped into Yoshiko's mind… She'd really like to ask her favorite little demon to hang out sometime. Obviously not as like, a date or anything. Just a friendly get together. It'd been a while since the two had spent one on one time with one another.

Maybe they could go shopping? Bookstore? Restaurant? Strolling down the beach at sunset? The more she pondered it, the more her ideas seemed like date plans. Of course she'd love to go on a proper date with Riko, the girl was stunning and smart and kind and talented. But there was no way. Riko was so far out of her league it was absurd. Did she even like girls, Yoshiko wondered. Even if she did there's no way she'd return her feelings. Yoshiko was too weird and socially inept for someone like Riko. Too neurotic, too abnormal, not pretty enough, not smart enough, not—

"—Yoshiko!"

"H-huh? What?"

Riko looked at the younger girl with a mild concern on her face. "You alright? You sorta spaced out for a bit."

"O-oh. Of course!" Yoshiko waved her hand dismissively. "Don't worry your pretty little head about it Riri."

She seemed unconvinced, but went with it anyway. "Hm… if you say so. Oh! By the way, I wanted to ask you something."

"Yeah? What's up?"

Riko pulled her bag into her lap and rummaged around in search of something. Yoshiko noticed with great amusement that as she did so, she tried and failed to hide the presence of a trashy doujinshi which resided alongside the rest of her items.

Perking up as she spotted what she was looking for, Riko whipped out two small pieces of paper. "I uh… My mom was going to go to a concert with my dad for their next date night. But something came up with work and they had to reschedule so… she gave these to me."

Yoshiko blinked. She took a second to eye the tickets Riko was holding and— "Holy crap!" She exclaimed, quickly snatching the paper from Riko's hands with the enthusiasm of a master robber grabbing unmarked bags of cash. "I-is this…? Are these tickets to a Malice Mizer reunion concert?"

Riko blushed and glanced bashfully toward the floor. "Ah… y-yeah."

"Your parents listen to Gothic music?" Yoshiko stared in amazement. "That's so goddamn cool!"

"Hey!" Interrupting her intense bout of fangirling came a sudden shout from the entrance. Dia entered the room with a disapproving scowl. "Watch your language." Behind her followed Mari and Chika.

"S-sorry," Yoshiko apologized, embarrassed. Following a hum of acknowledgement from Dia, she turned back to Riko and spoke eagerly with a face splitting smile. "Sorry, for being so excitable it's just… Gods they're so cool! Honestly, screw whatever your parents have going on, how could they possibly pass this up?"

Riko smiled and rubbed sheepishly at the back of her neck. "Er… y-yeah. I know right…?"

Yoshiko noticed her little demon was wearing a peculiar sort of expression. The sort of face a child might make when they've broken something but won't own up to it. Or when you're telling a friend a white lie.

"What's going on?" Chika asked, having apparently tuned into their conversation. "What's going on with your parents?"

"Ah… Nothing," Riko answered hesitantly. "Anyways! That's not the important part!" She fidgeted in her seat before continuing somewhat quietly, "Since I have the tickets… and it seems to be your cup of tea… Would you like to go with me?"

"Oh my god, is it finally happening!?" Mari poked her head up from whatever had been previously occupying her attention.

"Is what happening?" Chika asked.

"Mari don't embarrass them!" Dia scolded with her signature stern, authoritative voice.

"Ohhhh Dia, I just can't help it." Mari raised her hands to her face and swooned elegantly. "It's just too precious."

Yoshiko had no idea what the hell they were talking about. Maybe she was missing something though, because the deep scarlet blush painting Riko's face seemed to imply the redhead knew exactly what was happening, and that it was something to feel flustered about.

Though she felt out of the loop, for the sake of her sanity, Yoshiko opted not to ask Mari to elaborate. Instead she simply turned her attention back to Riko and offered a cheeky grin. "Great stars have aligned for you, lucky mortal!" She did a peace sign-esque motion over her right eye and smiled. "I, the beautiful, cursed, and damned fallen angel herself; she who disobeys gods and fraternizes with devils, would be more than happy to accompany you on your journey to plunge straight to the depths of a melodious hell! We shall have a jolly night mingling with the earth's loveliest rowdy wenches and bastards!"

"Language!" Dia barked.

Soon after the rest of Aqours arrived. Practice proceeded as per usual, save for a couple slip ups on Yoshiko's part. She couldn't help it though. Her head was swimming with excitement. Attending a visual kei/goth rock concert with the prettiest girl on earth? It didn't feel real. For the time being, troublesome thoughts left her mind. She was too excited to be critical of herself. She looked Riko's way, and as she did, a smile tugged at her lips.

Another Beautiful Day.