The Most Unforgettable Night

It's been so long since I've written vtubers, particularly Takamori, so I was so excited to give it another try; this time with their brand new party outfits! Please enjoy these dorks!

Disclaimer: I am in no way associated with Hololive or any vtubers.

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						The Most Unforgettable Night

Now, of course Calli had been aware of the fact that she would be receiving a brand new outfit. The higher-ups had worked with the most skilled, and classiest of designers and tailors in order to create the perfect attire for the gala, and of course these people had collaborated with Calli in order to get her input and preferences as well. She'd known, roughly, what the final product would entail, even long before it was finished.

However, to actually receive the golden-lined box in the mail one afternoon, hurry with it up to her apartment, and meticulously open it to view the contents inside… It had felt like Christmas morning.

Not only were the materials absolutely lovely, but surprisingly comfortable to the touch as well. She wasn't able to resist trying it on that very evening within the comfort of her own home, though she'd been painstakingly careful not to go near any food or drinks or anything else that could've potentially stained anything.

That night alone, she'd felt like a princess just by wearing the crimson dress and all of the accompanying accessories.

But tonight, on the actual night of the gala, where she would be coming together with her closest gen-mates and seeing all of their outfits for the first time, too…

Well, she didn't want to go so far as to say she felt like a queen, but she kind of felt like a queen.

Anyway, tonight was when the lavish party they'd all been invited to would be held at an exclusive banquet hall. From there, Calli and the others would hold a livestream collab to chat with viewers, and do a bit of live karaoke as well, and at the end of the night they would reveal a special announcement. But they'd also be able to eat and talk and dance and just chill.

It was going to be super fucking rad. Quite doki-doki, if you will.

In spite of her extremely excited jitters, Calli had managed to eat a little something before showering and getting into her brand new dress, which she'd admittedly twirled around her room in a few times before actually heading out. It'd felt a little strange to leave without her scythe for once, but tonight was going to be about having fun, not reaping souls.

She'd arrived at the banquet hall at the time designated by the invitation she'd received. The fancily-dressed staff had greeted her and let her in…

Which brings her to the present moment.

Calli had been brought into a private room for the moment, where she's going to wait for the others to arrive. They're all going to stay in their own rooms until all five of them are in attendance, and then walk out in unison to see each other's new outfits for the first time. Calli is much more excited to see the other girls than she is to show off her own outfit, though she does think it's very dope.

"Oh man," she mumbles to herself as she paces her fancy little room. "Everyone's gonna look so freaking pretty and cute! Aaaah, I can't wait!" She doesn't know how much longer it will be before she's able to step out, so for now she tries to calm her nerves a little bit with a sip of wine from the bottles and glasses provided in her room. She considers it a miracle that she doesn't spill any on herself, considering how much her hands are trembling in anticipation.

In order to pass the time and simultaneously warm up her voice for karaoke later, Calli begins humming and singing a few random lines of a few random songs, trying to string lyrics together that rhyme until she's created a cool hodgepodge sort of verse.

And then, suddenly the door of her room is opened. Calli gasps and squeals.

"Oh my gosh! Is it time? Is it time to go out and see everyone?! Gyaaaah, this is gonna be so awesome!"

After voicing her excitement to herself, Calli draws in a few deep breaths before slowly making her way toward the door. There are purple curtains on the other side, and after giving a few small bounces in place, Calli pushes through them.

The ballroom on the other side is massive and extravagant. The ornate chandlers hanging overhead are bright with dangling chains of diamond lights, the walls are lined with fancy white tables clothed with lace and covered with all sorts of food and appetizers, colorful streamers are hung on the walls, and several large flower pots add greenery to the scene with large plants.

Music is playing, and it only takes a second for Calli to realize that the tracks are songs of the EN members' karaoke songs - recordings of things they've all sung on their streams these past few months.

Most notable of all, however, are five massive paintings at the back wall, all of which mysteriously depict the five girls who will be in attendance tonight.

Calli only briefly looks them over, admiring the artistic excellence for a few seconds before her attention is drawn to the sound of footsteps approaching from nearby. A fresh trill of excitement shoots through her chest as Calli prepares herself, then turns around to face them. Both she and Gura gasp at the same time.

"Whoooaaa, Calli!"

"Holy cow! Gura!"

Gura beams her shark-teeth smile up at her as Calli gives an excited little clap.

"Holy canole! Calli, you look incredible! Very… death-ish… But in a good way!"

"You too, Gura! I love the style of your new outfit! It's very… Atlantasy! But also still super cute!"

"Oh gosh, you're already making me blush."

"Haha, you're making me blush, too. But seriously, you look great!"

"Aw, shucks."

Calli giddily continues her compliment war with Gura for another minute or so, until both girls agree it's time to go find and admire the rest of their friends. Calli doesn't have to go far. The next person she spots is Ina, adorning her brand new white dress.

"Whoa!" Calli blurts out. "Ina!"

Ina whirls around, her long hair fluttering out behind her as her face lights up.

"Oh my gosh, Calli! You look amazing!"

"Thanks! You too, Ina! I love the simplicity of your dress! But it's still so fancy! Oh wow, you look so cute!"

"Thank you. I think yours is very… 'ara ara'-looking. Definitely perfect for a fancy party like this!"

"Thanks! Oh gosh, this is so exciting!"

Again, she spends a moment with Ina, and then they both turn to the next person. Calli catches a glimpse of long blonde hair contrasted by a sparkling gray dress.

"Watson! Whoa, did you get hair extensions?"

"Calli~!" Ame grins as she scampers over. "Yeah, I got hair extensions with the new outfit! I looove your dress!"

"Thanks! Oh gosh, you look beautiful!"

"Heheh, that's what I said to your mom last night."

"O-Oh my… uh, well…"

"Sorry, sorry! I couldn't resist!"

"Haha, wow, Watson. You might've gotten a refined new outfit, but you still have the same dirty mind."

"You know it!"

Calli laughs again. She can't remember the last time she'd felt this sort of happiness, of just getting to be with everyone in-person with them all at a special event.

Before long, Ame spots Gura and hurries off to go talk to her, which leaves Calli to seek out one final person.

"The only person I haven't found yet is-"

She doesn't get to finish the thought, because somehow it seems that the lighting in the room suddenly shifts. Calli blinks, and sure enough, she can definitely tell that everything seems a little brighter. The golden floor beneath her shoes catches a tint of an orange glow, which reflects off the nearest wall and splashes onto Calli's red dress, turning it almost a blend of dark pinks and maroons.

There's only one person she knows who can create such a natural, beautiful light without even trying.

There's a faint tapping of shoes, and then a loud gasp, the kind someone makes when they were about to say something but were suddenly rendered totally speechless. Calli whirls around, already smiling, though in only seconds her jaw drops open at the sight of her.

Small ruby shoes are adorned by little golden wing ornaments, and black stockings coat her legs and dapple with stars the higher they go. Her dress is red, almost matching Calli's own, though the sections curving down on either side of her hips resemble wings more than anything else.

Her hair, which has always been beautiful no matter what form it was in, is now suddenly even more luscious and fuller than ever, like fluffy orange clouds the color of sunrise, blending lightly into teals and greens at the ends. A headpiece resembling layers of golden feathers fans out across the left side of her head.

All of these warm colors - the red of her dress, the orange of her hair, the gold of the headpiece, and the peach of her skin - fill Calli with sparks of pleasant heat that crackle and bubble up inside her chest like fireworks.

In contrast to all of these, the shawl around her shoulders is bright blue, the color of flame when it burns most passionately. And to match this, a pair of beautiful sapphire feather earrings dangle to just above her collarbone, shimmering the faintest hint of green, to deep blue and purple.

Everything about her outfit conveys exactly who she is, warm and powerful and lovely. But of course, not even the decorative little party mask over her face can hide her identity as her name falls from Calli's lips in a breathless wheeze.

"Kiara…"

And she's barely even aware of it, but Calli's own cover of "Isn't She Lovely?" had started playing not too long ago. As she gazes upon her gen-mate, the line of the song echoes around her in her own voice.

'Isn't she lovely? Isn't she wonderful? Isn't she precious…?'

Kiara's gloved hands are still covering her mouth at the moment as she finishes taking in Calli's outfit as well. She gives a little bounce of glee, the glint of purple in her eyes shining amongst the oranges and pinks.

"Calli! Oh my gosh-! Holy-" She seems to remember she's in a professional and elegant setting right now and stops herself from cursing, but then immediately afterward realizes she doesn't care and can't contain herself. "Calli, holy shit-! You look amazing! Stunning! Like… really fucking hot! I hope it's not rude for me to say that, but like… you look gorgeous!"

Calli feels her heart twist and flip in ways that are just a little bit different from when the others had showered her with praises. She feels a heat coming into her face and wishes she'd thought to bring along a party mask as well.

"N-Nah, nah! It's not rude at all, Kusotori! Thanks! I think you look super dope as well! You look beautiful! That whole outfit really suits you! And your hair is so pretty! Holy crap!"

"Yeah, yeah! You too, Calli! I love your hair in that side-ponytail style! I think you can get away with it not being too much like the dead anime mom hairstyle, hah-hah-hah!"

"Oh shit, you're right… But I'm death anyway, so it's fine."

"Yeah, exactly! Hey, we almost kinda match!"

"Yeah, kinda!"

"The red dresses," Kiara chuckles. "It reminds me of that one Vine of the chicken in a little red dress and there's the song playing in the background like, 'got my red dress on tonight, dancing in the dark in the pale moonlight~' I dunno why I just thought of that, hah-hah! Of course it involved a chicken hah-hah!"

"Yeah! I know the one!"

"And then I always think about 'Look at all those chickens!'"

"Yeah! Me too!"

"And then there's the one of the guy with the rubber chickens that make that really obnoxious noise and he pushes them all at the same time and they make that horrible screaming noise!"

Kiara continues babbling on for a minute, perhaps out of nervousness herself. But even though she's letting her dorkier side out, Calli wouldn't have it any other way. She's convinced she's never seen anyone look more stunning than Kiara is tonight, but the fact that she continues to just be her genuine, nerdy self makes it all the better.

The two of them laugh about random chicken videos for a moment longer, comfortably awkward while still secretly admiring one another in their new outfits.

"But for real, Calli," Kiara continues. "You look really pretty. I didn't think it was even possible for you to be even prettier than you already were, but here you are!"

"Aw, thanks, Kusotori! You look super beautiful, too! I really love your whole outfit! Gosh, you look incredible!"

"Agh, Calli, you're gonna make me blush!"

"Same here… Oh gosh my face feels all fuzzy…"

With this, Calli has finally seen all of her friends in their new outfits. But the night has only just started. They still have a bit of time before their stream will start, where they'll project themselves and the chat onto a large screen and have fun with their fans before doing some karaoke and giving their announcements.

Before that, the girls come together to chat and compliment each other's outfits even more, and eventually make their way over to the food tables to grab some snacks. All the while, the music filling the room shifts through various tracks they've all sung or karaoke pieces they'd covered, from "Sparks" to "King" to "Country Roads" and everything in between, from official songs to fan-made remixes.

As the girls all chat and eat and laugh, Calli isn't even fully aware of the fact that her gaze has been wandering. Particularly to wherever it is that Kiara is standing at any given time.

She only ever catches herself when Kiara turns her head and catches her gawking, and though Kiara always gives a pleasant smile, Calli always sputters and turns away or quickly shoves some kind of chocolate or wine into her mouth as a fruitless effort to cover up. It becomes quite glaringly obvious, at least to the other three, as to what's going on.

Therefore, when Kiara is occupied for a moment chatting with Ina, both Gura and Are make their way over to Calli with sly grins on their faces.

"Soooo, Sheriff," Gura says, nudging Calli in the side. "Got your eye on someone, huh?"

"She's got both eyes on her, Gura," Ame snickers.

"H-Huh…?" Calli's response is absentminded, because she'd - of course - been too busy staring at Kiara. She quickly snaps out of her little trance and shakes herself off. "I… have no idea what you guys are talking about."

"Yeah, uh-huh."

"Calli, if you stare at Kiara anymore you're gonna burn a hole through her dress. Unless that's what you're after-?"

"What?! No!"

Gura and Ame stifle a bout of good-natured laughter before reeling themselves back in again.

"Calli," Gura says. "You may be the apprentice to the literal Grim Reaper, but you're honestly so precious."

"Huh?! No way! I'm definitely not!"

"Easy there, cowgirl," Ame chuckles, but then softens her voice. "Why don't you ask her to dance?"

At that notion, Calli sort of feels as though her brain is temporarily smothered by a wave of static, and for a solid ten seconds nothing makes any comprehensible sense, except for the fact that she's staring at Kiara again and she looks really fucking pretty.

"Dance…? Me…? With Kusotori…?"

"Uh-oh, Calli's losing the ability to talk," Gura chortles. "Do we need to have a Learning English stream for ya, Sheriff? Watson's right. You should go ask Kiara to dance~!"

"Yeah, yeah! Ask her, Calli!"

"Huh? U-Uh… I mean sure, I guess… just as friends, y'know?"

"Uh-huh. Just as friends."

"Yup, whatever you gotta tell yourself."

Calli gives herself a small shake, takes one more sip of wine before putting her glass down, and then slowly starts making her way across the room. She hasn't drank much at all this evening, but she still feels as though she's completely intoxicated due to how wobbly her legs are.

Ina must be able to tell exactly what's about to happen, because the second she catches Calli's eye, she gives a small smile and ends her conversation with Kiara before taking a few steps back.

Calli half-stumbles to a stop a few feet shy of Kiara, realizing that her other three friends are all standing back and waiting expectantly, though they all casually strike up another conversation amongst themselves so as not to put too much pressure on her.

Calli gulps hard, and it would've made for a stupendous "guh!" if it had gone down correctly. But it doesn't, and she almost chokes on it as soon as Kiara makes eye contact with her.

"Oh, Calli!" she beams, and once again every light in the room seems to dim in her brightness. Calli does her best to stammer out words.

"H-Hey, Kusotori… So, um… I dunno, just for fun until the stream officially starts… uh…" She glances back at the others, who all giggle and wave her on. For a split second, Calli feels her mind go completely blank as every sensible thought is wiped clean, but then all at once she's back and present in her body and mind again - or at least as present as she can possibly be in this situation.

"Uh, so… I was wondering if… maybe you'd wanna… dance…? Or something…?"

Kiara makes a small sound in the back of her throat, but is frozen solid for a minute as she comprehends what's happening.

"Wh…" In one swift motion, she removes her mask and tucks it into the black sash on her waist, revealing the full beauty of her face. "Calli, you-? You wanna dance with me?"

"Y-Y'know! Just as friends!"

From behind her, there's a small chorus of cheers. And in front of her, Kiara's eyes light up like stars.

"Yeah! Of course I wanna dance with you, Calli! Oh my gosh, we've never danced together before!"

"Oh, wow. Yeah, you're right."

"Then we better make this a good one!" Kiara lifts up one of her hands expectantly, and it takes Calli a hot second to realize that she actually has to move now. She quickly offers her palm out to hold Kiara's hand, then when Kiara places her other hand on Calli's shoulder, Calli puts hers on her partner's hip.

"Uh, j-just a disclaimer," she mumbles. "I'm not really much of a dancer. Even though I'm immortal and have literally lived long enough to do everything, dance is one thing I never really got into."

Kiara chuckles and steps in closer.

"That's okay! I'm not really that good either. We can just take it slow and have fun!"

"Y-Yeah! All right!"

For a moment, both of them smile, but neither of them move. Then, Calli jolts herself awake again.

"Oh! Okay then. Uh, follow my lead, Kusotori."

"Heehee, roger!"

So Calli begins leading her slowly and carefully across the fancy tiled floor as the next song begins to play. And it just so happened to be Gura's karaoke version of "Can't Help Falling in Love," but that surely has no relevance to the current situation whatsoever.

Calli moves slowly, and Kiara follows, and together they set a leisurely pace as they begin waltzing. Their friends clap and cheer softly from the sidelines.

For Calli, it's difficult to cement herself in the reality of the moment. Every time she blinks she just feels like she's in a dream, and yet she knows she can feel Kiara's hand in hers, and breathe in her sweet scent, and see the sparkle in her eyes…

Little does she know that Kiara is equally as smitten with her, and equally as stunned.

They step around the ballroom together, and occasionally Calli feels confident enough to give her a light twirl here or there. Kiara laughs each time, and Calli's chest gets that much closer to bursting.

"Calli, you're a great dancer!"

"You are too, Kusotori!"

They waltz together for the remainder of the song, having fun in this special moment together. And when the song is over, Ame, Ina, and Gura immediately start clapping and cheering louder.

When Calli realizes it's over, she hesitates to let go of Kiara's hand. She doesn't want it to end. She wants this to last forever…

But since it can't, she supposes that's what makes it so precious.

All at once, Kiara opens her arms and pulls Calli into a big hug.

"Yaaay! Calli, that was sooo much fun!"

Calli remains frozen for a second until she remembers how to move her arms. She quickly squeezing Kiara back.

"Yeah! I had a lot of fun, too!"

By then, it's almost time for their livestream to begin, so everyone starts getting ready to take their places. Kiara and Calli part as well. But not before Kiara leans in to leave a small, warm kiss on Calli's cheek. She pulls back with a wink.

"It's something friends do."

Calli blinks slowly, reaching up to brush her fingertips over the spot.

"Yeah… For sure."

With this, she and Kiara head over to join the others to start the livestream on what would be perhaps the most unforgettable night.

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A/N: I loved writing wonderstruck Calli~ And this was actually my first time writing Gura, Ame, and Ina too! I hope I did everyone justice. Had to take some liberties just trying to describe whatever 'world' they're in haha